Cool Training Opportunity, and the Price is Right, Too

Trace Evidence Symposium sessions to be streamed live online

Ohio CPT?  The agenda is available on the web-page, and it looks to be oriented mainly at lab-based forensic scientists, but if we field-types have a better understanding of what the lab-types can do, and whatthey need to do it, we all win.  Lots of stuff on soils...and as the father of a teenage girl/college student/ business lady/performance artist, I'll definitely be checking out: 

3:40 pm-4:00 pm - Glitter:  The Ideal Trace Evidence?  Claude Roux, Professor of Forensic Science, Centre for Forensic Science, University of Technology, Sydney, Broadway, New South Wales, Australia

Next year I'll be presenting: Sequins: Threat or Menace?

Am I fit enough? - NSW Police Online

Am I fit enough? - NSW Police Online

Actually, It Was a Great Movie

CDC NIOSH Science Blog: Horrible Bosses: Workplace violence in the real world

U.S. Border Patrol Weekly BlotterJuly 7 - July 13 - CBP.gov

U.S. Border Patrol Weekly Blotter</br>July 7 - July 13 - CBP.gov

Rangers Rescue Man Following 300-Foot Fall

From NPS Incidents, emphasis added,
On Monday morning July 11, 2011, 27-year-old Eric Brimlow from Syracuse, New York fell from the rim of the Crater Lake caldera in Crater Lake National Park. He was traveling in the park with friends when he went beyond a barrier wall along the walkway leading to the park's Sinnott Memorial overlook and jumped onto a snow bank. Eyewitness accounts indicate that the man slid head first down a snow chute, past  50 feet of vertical cliffs and several hundred feet of very steep, rocky terrain.  Brimlow came to rest at the base of a tree 300 feet below the caldera rim...

Responding to Epilepsy: Online LE Training Resources

Epilespsy Foundation: Law Enforcement/EMS Response to Seizures

Special Events at Hopewell Culture NHP:

Guided Walk at Fort Hill
July 30, 2011, 9:00 am - 12:30
Length: 4 miles
Difficulty Level: Moderately challenging with significant ascents and descents. Hikers should wear sturdy walking shoes and bring water and trail snacks.
Fort Hill, owned by the Ohio Historical Society, is one of the best preserved Hopewell hilltop enclosures in the world. The earthen wall is between 6 and 15 feet high, with 33 gateways along its impressive one and a half mile length. Because it was built on a hill top instead of agricultural land, this earthwork fared much better than most Hopewell complexes. Hikers who make the ascent can actually walk beside an intact 2,000 year old embankment wall. At the foot of the hill lies another mysterious enclosure. Unlike most Hopewell walls, this circle covers two rows of posthole molds that were discovered by archeologists in 1952...continues...

(Others on webpage, check them out)

Bicyclist Killed By Falling Tree (NPS Digest)

Bicyclist Killed By Falling Tree (NPS Digest)
CHESAPEAKE & OHIO CANAL NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK
Bicyclist Killed By Falling Tree
On July 3rd, park visitor Neil Reich from Forest Hills, New York, was riding his bike on a multi-day trip on the canal tow path from Harpers Ferry to Washington D.C. An afternoon storm hit the area with strong winds causing numerous trees to shear and fall in that section of the park. While he was biking through the event near Mile Post 33, a tree fell and struck him in his head area. Emergency services workers needed to cut trees that were blocking the tow path to reach him. A passing visitor had started CPR on him, but he was pronounced dead upon the arrival of the emergency squad. Ranger Brad Sones investigated the incident.

Bill's Note: My daughter was at Harper's Ferry around that time period, and said the weather was brutal. We also had high winds earlier this week that caused some issues, but no fatalities. The incident also points out the value of having some basic tools in the cruiser. While a chain saw might be a little much, plus you don't want pre-mix 2 stroke fuel in your trunk, particularly in a Crown Vic, bow saws are dirt cheap and might be all that's needed. A tow strap hooked to the frame, not the bumper, could pull reasonably-sized, downed timber out of the way. OSP still carries axes, mainly for entrapments, but I've gone on record as saying that if I ever saw a trooper headed towards me in a crashed car with an ax, I'd shoot myself. I don't think they cover axemanship in the Academy, certainly not directional felling.

Indiana Dunes Experiences Typically Busy July Fourth Weekend (NPS Digest)

Indiana Dunes Experiences Typically Busy July Fourth Weekend (NPS Digest)
290 Warnings
94 Violation Notices
78 Traffic Violations
3 Personal Watercraft Violations
15 Alcohol Incidents
2 Drug Incidents
44 Resource Violations
2 Vandalism Incidents
162 Miscellaneous Violations
2 EMS Responses

Comparing the Next Generation of Police Cars

Comparing the Next Generation of Police Cars
I haven't driven any of them, except a limited run in the first iteration of Charger. I assume that the Tahoe is still in the running and believe it was in last years' MSP test and showed very well.

I like over-powered RWD as much as the next arrested adolescent male, but we need to face reality and learn to live with AWD and traction/stability control. For the conditions we work in, they can only help, and as the LE community's traffic safety record shows, we could use all the help we can get, before we have to start installing Martin-Baker 0-0 ejection seats

The Fingerprint Sourcebook: It's Finished

It seems like it's taken forever, but then I didn't have to write it.  All the sections are on the NIJ page for download, or it can be purchased for 44 beans through NCJRS or GPO.  At a measly 388 pages, I'd fry the agency's printer.

In Fairness to the College...

...something neither Them or Me are big into, They did put a new sign up, though I think a set of gallows or brick wall for a firing squad pending the next round of bloodletting would be a nice touch.

Alhambra Police Officer Killed In Crash: Officers Crash After Responding To Same call - ktla.com

Eerily similar to the crash that killed Wellston Ohio PD Officer Kelli Lambert in 2003.

Alhambra Police Officer Killed In Crash: Officers Crash After Responding To Same call - ktla.com

August Academy Spots

We might ave a few seats opening up in the upcoming Academy - Connie returns from vacation and I'll have finished an all-consuming project Monday, and we'll try to sort out what's available and who might be able to fill in.

Yellowstone Bear Incident

It made the national news, but in case you missed it:

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
Yellowstone Visitor Killed by Grizzly Bear

A 57-year-old Torrence, California, man is dead after an encounter with a grizzly bear Wednesday morning. Brian Matayoshi, and his wife Marylyn, were hiking Wednesday morning on the Wapiti Lake Trail, located off the South Rim Drive, south of Canyon Village and east of the park’s Grand Loop Road. The couple was hiking west back toward their vehicle. At approximately 11 a.m., at a point about a mile and a half from the trailhead, they walked out of a forested area into an open meadow. It appears that the couple spotted a bear approximately 100 yards away and then began walking away from the bear. When they turned around to look, they reportedly saw the female grizzly running down the trail at them. The couple began running, but the bear caught up with them, attacking Matayoshi. The bear then went over to Matayoshi’s wife, who had fallen to the ground nearby. The bear bit her daypack, lifting her from the ground and then dropping her. She remained still and the bear left the area. She then walked back toward the meadow and attempted, without success, to call 911 on her cell phone. She began to shout for help and was heard by a distant group of hikers who were able to contact 911 by cell phone. Two rangers already in the area on backcountry patrol were contacted by the park Communications Center by radio and responded to the scene of the incident. Matayoshi received multiple bite and clawing injuries, and was dead when rangers arrived at the scene at approximately 11:30 a.m. Rangers immediately closed the hiking trails in the area. A subsequent helicopter patrol of the area failed to turn up any other hikers or backpackers. This small section of the park’s backcountry is expected to remain closed for several days. The initial investigation suggests the sow grizzly acted in a purely defensive nature to protect her cubs. This female bear is not tagged or collared, and does not apparently have a history of aggression or human interaction. Typically, the National Park Service does not trap, relocate, or kill a bear under those circumstances. A Board of Review which will include interagency experts will be convened to review the incident. Bear attacks are extremely rare. No one was hurt by a bear in Yellowstone in 2010. This is the first time a human has been killed by a bear in the park since 1986. Park visitors are encouraged to stay on designated trails, hike in groups of three or more people, and be alert for bears and make noise in blind spots. Visitors are also encouraged to consider carrying bear pepper spray, which has been shown to be highly successful in stopping aggressive behavior in bears. The Matayoshis were not carrying pepper spray.

Regarding Verdicts...

I can't remember the source of the first two paraphrased quotes, but they very definitely apply:

• We are a nation of laws, not men
• It is better to let 10 guilty men go free than to risk convicting an innocent man
• What you know, and what you can prove beyond a reasonable doubt, are two different things
• "Not guilty" is not the same as innocent or exonerated
• The American justice system has a lot of problems, but it is light-years better than the alternatives
• You may beat the rap, but you won't beat the ride
• Jury nullification is bad - they have to render verdicts based on the facts presented in court, and not on their personal opinions.

N.C. Officer Dies After Training Incident - Officer.com

Right now I'm butt-deep in writing risk assessments and drafting mitigation protocols, but this just goes to show that no matter what, bad things still happen.

N.C. Officer Dies After Training Incident - Officer.com

DCoE - FEATURE: Fit for Duty - Building Psychological Resilience

DCoE - FEATURE: Fit for Duty - Building Psychological Resilience

Ouch - I Hate When That Happens

Portland police mistakenly fire live rounds from a less-lethal shotgun, wounding a suspect | OregonLive.com

And this is ANOTHER reason why you inspect each round you are loading into the shotgun. In my opinion the idea of "dedicated" less-lethal shotguns is inherently flawed. If the gun will accept standard ammo, eventually someone will load it with standard ammo, no matter what color the stock is. I also wonder if sooner or later some EDP or tweaked out biker will retain a sufficient grasp of reality to realize that the guy or gal with the orange shotgun doesn't really mean business. It has to be costly also, inventorying essentially duplicate shotguns.

The only solution I can offer, other than keeping your head out of your butt, would be to maybe use such a radically different shotgun that the user would have to put on the mental brakes and double check what they are doing. For this I nominate my personal favorite, the side-by-side coach gun.

DHS Open Source Infrastructure Report

I gotta admit that I frequently delete this daily report without reading it, but with floods, wildfires and swarms of jellyfish attacking nuke plants it's probably worth checking out out:
Jellyfish swarm forces nuclear power plant to shutdown after they swim into filters Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2009771/Jellyfish-force-shutdown-nuclear-power-station-swimming-filters.html#ixzz1QrbRftGd