Articles for 17 Feb

Mexican Cartels Threaten North American Stability: AZ Official ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne says that criminal enterprises based in Mexico present "an immediate and escalating threat" to North America because of their ability to sabotage economies and destabilize the Mexican government, the Arizona Republic reports. Horne spoke yesterday to Border Security Expo 2011, an annual symposium and trade show in Phoenix. His remarks took on a sober urgency with the Tuesday murder of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Special Agent Jaime Zapata in Mexico. Because of that incident, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton canceled his keynote address while other expo speakers said the slaying served as a reminder of violence by crime syndicates south of the border. Matthew Allen, the ICE special agent in charge for Arizona who replaced Morton as a keynote speaker, said the murder offers a "tragic illustration" of challenges in combating Mexican cartels that "have no regard for human life and play by a different rulebook." Arizona Republic

House Overturns Committee, Restores COPS Budget ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A close U.S. House of Representatives vote to restore $280 million for the Justice Department's Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program indicated some second thoughts among Republicans about the depth and direction of the reductions demanded by conservatives and tea party supporters on the right, reports Politico. Some 70 Republicans joined 158 Democrats on a 228-203 vote yesterday that restored the funds for COPS, a favorite initiative of Vice President Biden. And given the power of the firefighter lobby, as many as 132 Republicans backed an amendment by Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) to restore $510 million for Homeland Security grants for first-responders. Politico

Memphis Police Domestic Violence Chief Accused of Pointing Gun at Wife ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Memphis police major in charge of the department's Domestic Violence Unit has been accused of domestic violence, says the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Maj. Stanley A. Eason, 46, charged with aggravated assault, was arraigned yesterday. He was suspended with pay. Police Director Larry Godwin and Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich said the case would proceed like any other. "The fact that it is a police officer that's been charged is disheartening and upsetting [] but that doesn't change our job," Weirich said. On Valentine's Day, Eason is accused of pointing a handgun at his wife, Lora Eason, 42. The incident occurred when Eason's wife was in a parked vehicle talking with a friend, identified as Albert Richardson. Eason ordered Richardson was ordered to put his hands up and the two men exchanged words, Godwin said. Eason was not on duty and not driving a police car. Godwin and Weirich did not answer whether a police weapon was involve Memphis Commercial Appeal

TX Prosecutor Offers Staff 1/2 Day Off for Getting More Cases To Trial ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos, who said, "justice is not a game" during her 2008 campaign, has started three staff competitions that reward taking more cases to trial, the Houston Chronicle reports. Prizes include assisting on a murder trial or a Friday afternoon off. The three prosecutors winning the afternoon off are encouraged to spend it together going to lunch or a movie or bowling. "The purpose of these competitions is to reward folks who go to trial and achieve justice," said an office memo. "In addition, hopefully it will be fun for all." Critics say Lykos has changed the outcome of pending cases. Weaker cases that would have been dismissed or resolved with plea bargains may now go to trial. Defense attorney Mark Bennett posted the memo on his blog. "The D.A.'s office is playing games with people's freedom, their futures and their lives," Bennett said. "It seems they're having trouble getting young prosecutors eager to try cases without turning it into some party game." Bennett said several of his clients may be affected if prosecutors refuse to offer reasonable plea offers in a bid to get more trial dates Houston Chronicle

Seattle Mayor Seeks Police Use of Force Review After Officer Quits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Seattle police officer Ian Birk bowed to what appeared to be a certain firing, resigning after department brass released a scathing report of his fatal shooting of woodcarver John Williams, the Seattle Times reports. Mayor Mike McGinn and Police Chief John Diaz had strongly signaled that Birk would be fired in a matter of weeks, despite the announcement by prosecutors that they wouldn't seek murder or manslaughter charges against the 27-year-old officer. Williams "did not pose a threat of serious harm to the officers or others," Diaz said, adding that Birk did not follow training and department policy when he used deadly force. McGinn said the city needs to repair the damage spawned by the shooting and other controversial confrontations between officers and minorities. McGinn said any attempt to change the culture and practices of the Police Department would "take a long time" but that he and Diaz had put in place changes, including reviews of officer training. He said an ongoing review of the department's practices by the U.S. Department of Justice would give the city some answers and called on police to shift the emphasis from "when we can use force" to "when we should use force." Seattle Times

Study: Solitary Confinement Doesn't Worsen Mental Illness ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Long-term solitary confinement in prison has long been a source of controversy as most literature and critics of the process say it exacerbates mental illness. Now, a federally-funded study from a diverse group of researchers say this is not the case; solitary confinement does not appear to cause greater psychological mental illness regardless of the type of confinement (general or solitary), says The Crime Report.. Researchers studied 302 inmates housed in the Colorado Department of Corrections over a year. Researchers cautioned that although their conclusions do not show greater mental illness as a result of solitary confinement, policy makers should not take these findings as a "one size fits all" across prisons nationwide. National Institute of Justice/The Crime Report

Portland, Or., Considers Re-Joining Joint Terrorism Task Force ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Portland, Or., City Council, which has staked out its independence from the federal government loudly and often on terrorism issues, is scheduled to vote next week on whether to send its police officers back to the Joint Terrorism Task Force, an intelligence-gathering partnership between local and federal government, the Los Angeles Times reports. In 2005, Portland became the only major metropolitan area in the U.S. to withdraw its officers from a joint terrorism unit. The City Council may reverse the decision after the city's high-profile terrorism scare. Mohamed Osman Mohamud, a 19-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen from Somalia, was arrested and charged with plotting to set off a bomb during the city's Christmas tree-lighting ceremony last fall. The "bomb" was a dud supplied to Mohamud by undercover FBI agents, and federal officials said Portland's residents were never in serious danger. Los Angeles Times

Baltimore Re-Starts Inspections Unit To Check On Police ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Every hour on the hour, Baltimore police dispatcher John McCall used to remind officers on the street to wear their seat belts, says the Baltimore Sun. That was more than a decade ago, and McCall's brand of police shtick is no longer a fixture on the radio. New reminders will be coming for officers who disregard the rules and drive without seat belts, or who walk in scuffed-up shoes, or who misuse office equipment, or misspend money. Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld is restoring the Inspections Unit. The unit will not take punitive action against fellow cops, but will report their findings to commanders, who will be expected to make appropriate adjustments. Inspectors will examine whether undercover officers are appropriately spending money on informants, whether cops are carrying the required equipment, whether vehicles are clean and up to code and have all their headlights, and whether officers are illegally texting while driving. The president of the Fraternal Order of Police union, Robert Cherry, noted a deterioriation in appearance of the rank-and-file cops. "I think we need to tighten up," he said. Baltimore Sun

IL Prosecutors Want To Use Hearsay Against Ex-Cop ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In attempting to get hearsay statements admitted in former police officer Drew Peterson's murder case, prosecutors from Illinois' Will County yesterday found themselves arguing against the very law they helped create, reports the Chicago Tribune. The proceedings - which were televised live, a first in state history - focused on prosecutors' desire to admit several hearsay statements at trial. The statute requires judges to consider two things: whether the statement is reliable and whether the bulk of the evidence shows that the defendant made the witness unavailable to testify. Trial Judge Stephen White sided with prosecutors in finding that the preponderance of evidence suggested Peterson killed his third wife, Kathleen Savio, and caused his fourth wife Stacy Peterson's disappearance. The "preponderance" standard does not imply that Peterson would be found guilty at trial because the burden of proof is lower than the beyond-reasonable-doubt standard imposed on juries. Chicago Tribune

Feds' Statements On "Secure Communities" Varied, Documents Show ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Even as federal immigration officials were telling Arlington County, Va., San Francisco, and other jurisdictions that they could not opt out of a controversial immigration enforcement program, they were telling other municipalities that they could, say Department of Homeland Security documents reported by the Washington Post. The documents, released as a result of a lawsuit by opponents of the program, show an agency at odds over how to handle criticism of Secure Communities, the Obama administration's signature immigration enforcement program, without running afoul of constitutional limits on what the federal government can demand of local jurisdictions. The program sends fingerprints gathered by local law enforcement agencies to the FBI and then through a federal immigration database to identify undocumented immigrants. About 1,049 places in 39 states participate. About 59,000 undocumented immigrants have been deported via Secure Communities, including 21,000 convicted of murder, rape, and other violent crimes. The program has come under fire from some local officials because of worries that Secure Communities could discourage immigrants from reporting crimes. Washington Post

Colorado Gov. Proposes Closing Prison, Cutting Vocational Programs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Colorado's new corrections director, Tom Clements, is proposing nearly $10 million in cuts to help the state balance its budget next year, reports the Pueblo Chieftain. The largest cut of $3 million would be to academic and vocational programs, eliminating 41.5 jobs. Gov. John Hickenlooper's budget proposal suggests suspending GED programs, social science programs, and the potential closure of career, technical education and vocational training programs. "These reductions may alter the culture within correctional facilities and their potential safety. It may also impact offenders' ability for successfully re-entry into society," says the proposal. The next deepest proposed cut, for a net savings of $2.9 million, is the closing of Fort Lyon Correctional Facility. That would eliminate 148 jobs; workers may be able to shift to other facilities Pueblo (CO) Chieftain

Ex-State Senator Street, An Ex-Con, Challenges Phila. Mayor Nutter ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An ex-convict is challenging Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter in this year's primary election, says the Philadelphia Daily News. Another potential candidate is millionaire businessman Tom Knox. Candidate Milton Street, a former state senator, spent 26 months in prison and a halfway house for not paying $413,000 in taxes on $3 million in income. Street said he is counting on the help of 300,000 former inmates to help him best Nutter in the primary. Street said he has "zero" financing but claimed that "all of Fort Knox's money" won't defeat an army of ex-offenders. Street, brother of former Mayor John Street, pledged to hire 3,000 people to help patrol city neighborhoods, claiming the money saved in local jail costs by preventing crime would pay their salaries. Philadelphia Inquirer