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  • She made history as Chicago mayor. Reelection may be harder

    She made history as Chicago mayor. Reelection may be harder

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    CHICAGO — Lori Lightfoot made history as the first Black woman and first openly gay person to serve as Chicago mayor, sailing to victory four years ago as an outsider who vowed to rid City Hall of corruption and deliver a safer, more equitable city.

    But her bid for a second term is very much in question amid concerns about continuing high crime in the nation’s third-largest city and accusations that she is overly hostile and sometimes flat-out mean — criticism she has dismissed as sexist and racist smears against a tough leader who is passionate about Chicago.

    Ahead of a crowded Feb. 28 election, Lightfoot has been forced to go on the defensive in a heated race that has turned into both a personality contest and a policy debate.

    “We have started to change Chicago around for the better,” Lightfoot said during a recent debate. “I want to finish the job that we have started.”

    With nine candidates in the race, it is unlikely that anyone will exceed the 50% threshold needed to win the officially nonpartisan election outright. That means the winner is likely to be decided in an April 4 runoff between the top two vote-getters.

    Were she to lose, Lightfoot would be the first Chicago mayor in decades to run for reelection and fail. And unlike her predecessors, Lightfoot doesn’t enjoy a fundraising advantage over her top rivals.

    The election will be an early test this year of how crime factors into mayoral races in big-city Democratic strongholds. Other major cities electing mayors this year, including Philadelphia, are also grappling with how to balance progressive ideals with residents’ day-to-day concerns about keeping their families safe.

    Lightfoot, a former federal prosecutor who had never before run for political office, emerged from a crowded field in 2019 to defeat far better known candidates with support from voters weary of political corruption and coverups.

    She says her administration has made concrete progress on critical issues, from putting money into neighborhoods that have seen decades of disinvestment to taking illegal guns off the streets. But she notes that the last four years haven’t been easy, with a global pandemic and protests over police violence that she said represented “some of the toughest times that we’ve ever faced” in Chicago.

    Lightfoot’s handling of crises has sometimes drawn praise, such as when she ordered lockdowns early in the coronavirus pandemic and an image of the stern-faced mayor became a popular meme. But at other times, Lightfoot’s actions have been questioned.

    After the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police prompted protests and civil unrest, including smashing of storefront windows and fires, Lightfoot ordered the city to raise drawbridges over the Chicago River in an attempt to block protesters from entering the downtown area. Some in the city saw it as elitist, a way of protecting upscale parts of the highly segregated city at the expense of neighborhoods with struggling business districts that also suffered serious damage.

    But Lightfoot has taken the most heat for increased crime, with homicides hitting a 25-year high in 2021 with roughly 800. Lightfoot says she has a plan that is working, noting that homicides decreased last year. But they are still higher than when she took office, and concerns have grown about other violent crime in the city, including carjackings.

    “We’ve made progress year-over-year,” Lightfoot said. “But I recognize that people in the city don’t feel safe.”

    Lightfoot’s most formidable opponent may be two-term U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, a former member of the Chicago City Council, state Senate and county board who lost a runoff eight years ago against then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

    Lightfoot has run TV ads accusing Garcia of corruption, noting his House campaign took money from Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX accused of massive financial fraud. Garcia said he didn’t know Bankman-Fried, and his campaign returned direct contributions.

    Garcia touts his record of working with communities across the city and playing well with others in a way that he says Lightfoot does not.

    “She is combative, unnecessarily. She is over the top,” Garcia said.

    Elected as a reform-minded outsider who would rid the city of pay-to-play politics, Lightfoot was criticized when a campaign staffer sent out an email to public school teachers seeking students to volunteer for the campaign in exchange for class credit. Lightfoot apologized, calling it a mistake. Inspectors general are reviewing for possible policy violations.

    Some of Lightfoot’s biggest battles have been with the Chicago Teachers Union, which backed her first run for mayor. The two sides butted heads during an 11-day teachers strike in 2019 and bickered over returning to in-school instruction during the pandemic.

    This year, the teachers union has endorsed Lightfoot rival Brandon Johnson, a Cook County commissioner and former Chicago teacher and union organizer. Johnson, who has criticized Lightfoot for running as a progressive and then breaking campaign promises, wants to shift money away from the police department and toward better mental health care and other services for long-neglected neighborhoods like the one where he lives on the city’s West Side.

    Lightfoot has also clashed with the Chicago police union, the Fraternal Order of Police. At a City Council meeting, Lightfoot was caught on a microphone referring to a union leader as “this FOP clown.”

    The police union has endorsed mayoral candidate Paul Vallas, a former city budget director and schools leader who served as an adviser to the police union during negotiations with City Hall. He’s repeatedly called for more police officers, saying, “Crime is out of control.”

    Lightfoot has criticized Vallas as a Republican in disguise, noting he has received campaign contributions from GOP donors. Her campaign blasted him for being too cozy with the police union, calling its leader a “notorious bigot” and supporter of former President Donald Trump.

    Lightfoot has increased her support in some areas of the city. Former Rep. Bobby Rush, a major critic during her first campaign turned prominent booster this year, joined Reps. Danny Davis and Robin Kelly — whose districts include predominantly Black neighborhoods — in praising her commitment to investing in the areas. Lightfoot maintained that commitment, Rush said, even “under the toughest of circumstances.”

    The mayor points to a record of achievements that include pushing through a $15 minimum wage that labor unions had sought for years and approval of a long-sought casino that’s expected to bring millions in revenue and thousands of jobs. She also has budgeted over $3 million to protect access to abortion, including for people who travel to Chicago from states where the procedure is illegal.

    In addition to Garcia, Vallas and Johnson, the other candidates running are wealthy businessman Willie Wilson, Chicago City Council members Sophia King and Roderick Sawyer, activist Ja’Mal Green and state Rep. Kambium “Kam” Buckner.

    ___

    This story has been corrected by deleting the reference to Atlanta as among the major cities electing a mayor in 2023.

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  • Prosecutors say Brian Walshe searched online for, ‘Can you be charged with murder without a body?’ The law says you can | CNN

    Prosecutors say Brian Walshe searched online for, ‘Can you be charged with murder without a body?’ The law says you can | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Ana Walshe – a Massachusetts mother of three who hasn’t been seen since the new year – is still missing, even as her husband was charged this week with her murder.

    Getting a murder conviction without a body may seem next to impossible. But with strong evidence – as prosecutors have argued they have against Brian Walshe – it’s not that rare, legal experts told CNN.

    Some 86% of more than 500 so-called “no-body murder cases” that made it to trial from the 1800s to 2020 resulted in convictions, said Tad DiBiase, a former Assistant US Attorney for the District of Columbia who’s tracked such cases for years.

    Among them is a former New York City plastic surgeon serving life in prison after killing his wife and dumping her body from a plane. A mother and son also were convicted of murdering a Manhattan socialite whose body never was found. And a jury last year convicted a man of murdering Kristin Smart, whose body hasn’t been seen since she went missing in 1996.

    “Among prosecutors, the old adage was: no body, no murder. You had to have a body to prove that someone was actually killed. That has changed a lot over the years,” CNN Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst John Miller told “CNN Tonight.”

    “We know this can be done. And in (the Walshe) case, with DNA, blood evidence, cell phone, you know, E-ZPass, all of the things that string together for circumstantial evidence that didn’t exist just a short while ago, it’s not what defense lawyers used to have the advantage on.”

    Walshe, 47, has pleaded not guilty in state court to charges of murder and disinterring a body without authority, as well as misleading investigators who were searching for his wife, for which he was jailed January 8. He is being held without bail.

    “It is easy to charge a crime and even easier to say a person committed that crime. It is a much more difficult thing to prove it, which we will see if the prosecution can do,” his defense attorney Tracy Miner said Wednesday in a statement.

    “We shall see what they have and what evidence is admissible in court, where the case will ultimately be decided.”

    Corpus delicti – Latin for “body of the crime” and a common American law principle – holds that sufficient evidence a crime occurred must be shown before someone can be convicted of it.

    But that doesn’t necessarily mean a physical body, DiBiase said.

    A murder conviction without a body can be relatively easy to prove when “circumstantial evidence is overwhelming,” criminologist Casey Jordan told “CNN Newsroom” on Wednesday.

    And it seems to be in the Walshe case, she added.

    A central example may be a key question Googled by Brian Walshe just days after he said he last saw his wife – “Can you be charged with murder without a body?” – according to prosecutors who cited his online browsing history.

    Indeed, in the days after 39-year-old Ana Walshe’s disappearance, Brian Walshe allegedly made a series of Google searches: “dismemberment and the best ways to dispose of a body,” “hacksaw best tool to dismember” and “can you identify a body with broken teeth,” according to prosecutors, including Lynn Beland on Wednesday in court.

    Brian Walshe’s phone data also shows he traveled to apartment complexes in nearby towns, where prosecutors accuse him of disposing of evidence in dumpsters, they’ve said. Surveillance video from two complexes shows his Volvo and a figure fitting his description throwing bags into the dumpsters, Beland alleged.

    Ten trash bags of evidence found at a garbage collection station contained apparent blood stains, a hacksaw, hatchet, towels, rags, gloves, a heavily stained rug and a full-body hazmat suit, Beland said. In the bags, investigators also found Ana Walshe’s Covid-19 vaccination card, a Prada purse she carried and part of a necklace consistent with one she can be seen wearing in photos, she said.

    DNA from Ana and Brian Walshe was found on some bloody items in the bags, she said.

    A search of the couple’s home uncovered blood stains and a bloody knife in the basement, prosecutors have alleged. And blood was found in Brian Walshe’s car, Beland said.

    Prosecutors also have listed items Brian Walshe allegedly bought that they believe are tied to his wife’s killing. At a Home Depot on January 2, Walshe wore a face mask and rubber gloves as he bought mops, brushes, tape, a Tyvek hazmat suit with boot covers, buckets, baking soda and a hatchet, they’ve said.

    No-body murder cases typically don’t feature witnesses but have at least one of three key types of evidence, said DiBiase, who in 2006 prosecuted the second such case in Washington, DC, according to a news release from that federal prosecutor’s office.

    The types, he said, are:

    • Forensic evidence – the gold standard and most common – can be DNA from blood or hair fibers or cell records placing a person in a particular place.

    • Specific evidence can include a defendant’s confession to friends and relatives or simply their retelling to someone of the crime.

    • Confessions to law enforcement usually come when a criminal’s conscience overwhelms them.

    The law treats confessions to friends and family very differently than confessions to law enforcement, DiBiase said, because police must advise a suspect of their rights before getting a statement, whereas friends and family don’t have to.

    Confessions to people who aren’t police – including jailhouse informants – also typically not recorded or written down, while most police confessions are, he said.

    In the Walshe case, prosecutors have not obtained a confession, but what they’ve said so far offers “a map of forensic evidence and placing Brian Walshe in the locations where that forensic evidence was found,” defense attorney Misty Marris told “CNN Newsroom” on Wednesday.

    “This all under the guise of those very, very damaging social media searches that really was that blueprint of his actions, according to prosecutors,” she said. “This really put the puzzle together to show the story, which is what was needed in a circumstantial evidence case to establish probable cause.”

    Over time, the notion a body is needed prove someone was killed has changed a lot, Miller said.

    It wasn’t until nearly 40 years after the infamous disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz that prosecutors in 2017 – using the suspect’s own words to investigators and mental health experts – secured a murder conviction. The case lacked forensic evidence tying the suspect to the crime, and Patz’s body was never found.

    To convict Smart’s killer some 26 years after she vanished, prosecutors relied on soil samples from the suspect’s father’s home that tested positive for human blood, photos of the suspect’s dorm room and the detail that cadaver dogs had been alerted to the smell of human remains while searching the building, CNN affiliate KSBY reported.

    And a New York City plastic surgeon was convicted in 2000 based entirely on circumstantial evidence – with no forensics or eye witnesses – of killing his wife, Gail Katz, whose body was never found, CNN affiliate WABC reported. The widower was serving to up life prison sentence when he made a chilling confession to the crime during a 2020 parole board hearing.

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  • First on CNN: New Mexico AG probing campaign finances of GOP candidate accused of orchestrating shootings | CNN Politics

    First on CNN: New Mexico AG probing campaign finances of GOP candidate accused of orchestrating shootings | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez’ office is taking the lead in probing the campaign finances of Solomon Peña, who police say was behind a spate of shootings at Democratic officials’ homes.

    The move comes after Albuquerque police said they were investigating whether Peña’s campaign was funded in part by cash from narcotics sales that were laundered into campaign contributions.

    “We have formally opened an investigation into the campaign finances,” Lauren Rodriguez, a spokesperson for the attorney general’s office, told CNN.

    Peña, a Republican and vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump who lost a state House race in 2022, is accused of hiring and conspiring with four men to shoot at the homes of two state legislators and two county commissioners.

    He was arrested Monday and is due to appear in district court on January 23 for a hearing that will determine whether he is detained or released with conditions.

    The Albuquerque Police Department said in a statement that investigators believe Peña “identified individuals to funnel contributions from an unknown source to his legislative campaign.”

    “Detectives are working with other law enforcement agencies to determine whether the money for the campaign contributions was generated from narcotics trafficking, and whether campaign laws were violated,” the department said in the statement.

    Campaign finance records show the single largest contributor to Peña’s campaign was José Trujillo, a man who police say Peña recruited to be part of the team of shooters.

    Police say Trujillo, who donated $5,155 to Peña’s failed campaign and listed his occupation as “cashier,” was arrested on January 3 – the night of the last of four shootings – on an outstanding felony warrant.

    A Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputy found Trujillo with more than $3,000 in cash, nearly 900 narcotics pills worth roughly $15,000 and two guns, one of which was ballistically matched to that day’s shooting, police said. He was stopped driving Peña’s car, said a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

    Albuquerque investigators are focused on Trujillo’s large campaign contributions and whether they might have come from drug money, because investigators say Trujillo has no known legitimate source of income and was arrested with drugs and money, the law enforcement official said. In an assault case in which Trujillo was the victim last fall, police records say Trujillo told police he was between homes at the time.

    “You have a suspected gunman who claims to be homeless with $3,000 dollars in cash and a bag of drugs making big donations to a campaign. You have to ask yourself where that money is coming from,” said the law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

    Trujillo’s mother, Melanie Griego, donated $4,000, according to campaign finance records. But Griego staunchly denied making any campaign contributions in an interview with the Albuquerque Journal, telling the newspaper she lives on a “monthly income” and doesn’t have thousands of dollars to invest in a political campaign.

    CNN reached out to Peña’s and Trujillo’s attorney but did not immediately receive a response.

    A criminal complaint in the court case against Peña says that Trujillo, his father Demetrio and his two brothers conspired with the failed Republican candidate to shoot up the homes of four politicians. The four have not been charged, but additional charges are expected in the case.

    A law enforcement source said Peña met members of the shooting team he allegedly recruited when he was in prison serving time for his role in a smash-and-grab team that specialized in stealing cars and driving them through the windows of big box stores to steal high-end electronics.

    Peña had to obtain state court approval to run for office as a convicted felon. The state court concluded that under current New Mexico law, Peña was eligible to run because he had served his sentence and completed his parole.

    Gunshots were fired into the homes of Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa on December 4; incoming state House Speaker Javier Martinez on December 8; then-Bernalillo Commissioner Debbie O’Malley on December 11; and state Sen. Linda Lopez on January 3, according to police.

    Peña lost his race to Democratic state Rep. Miguel Garcia 26% to 74%. A week later, he tweeted he “never conceded” the race and was researching his options.

    Barboa said, after November’s election but before the shootings, that Peña – who had embraced Trump’s claims of widespread election fraud on social media – had approached some officials at their homes with paperwork he claimed was evidence of election fraud.

    “He came to my house after the election. … He was saying that the elections were fake … really speaking erratically. I didn’t feel threatened at the time, but I did feel like he was erratic,” Barboa told “CNN This Morning” on Tuesday.

    CNN has reached out to Peña’s campaign website for comment. On Wednesday, his attorney, Roberta Yurcic, said in an email that the allegations against him are “merely accusations.”

    “Mr. Peña is presumed innocent of the charges against him,” Yurcic said. “Mr. Peña and I look forward to a full and fair investigation of these claims. I plan to fully defend Mr. Peña and fiercely safeguard his rights throughout this process.”

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  • 5 Memphis officers fired after death of man who was hospitalized after his arrest | CNN

    5 Memphis officers fired after death of man who was hospitalized after his arrest | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The Memphis Police Department has terminated five police officers in connection with the death of Tyre Nichols, who passed away in a hospital after being arrested by police earlier this month, according to a post from the department’s verified Twitter account.

    “The egregious nature of this incident is not a reflection of the good work our officers perform, with integrity every day,” Police chief Cerleyn “CJ” Davis said in a statement.

    Investigators working on an internal review of the arrest found the officers violated policies for use of force, duty to intervene and duty to render aid.

    The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is looking into whether the officers’ actions were criminal in nature. The Department of Justice and FBI have opened a civil rights investigation.

    “Due to the ongoing criminal investigation, the Memphis Police Association will not comment on the termination of officers in the Tyre Nichols case,” the union representing the officers said. “The citizens of Memphis, and more importantly, the family of Mr. Nichols deserve to know the complete account of the events leading up to his death and what may have contributed to it.”

    On January 8, the police department announced officers pulled over a motorist for reckless driving the previous day. “As officers approached the driver of the vehicle, a confrontation occurred and the suspect fled the scene on foot,” officials said in a statement posted on social media.

    Officers pursued the suspect and again attempted to take him into custody when another confrontation occurred before the suspect was apprehended, according to police.

    “Afterward, the suspect complained of having a shortness of breath, at which time an ambulance was called to the scene. The suspect was transported to St. Francis Hospital in critical condition,” officials said.

    The man, identified as Nichols, died a few days later, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

    Details about the injuries Nichols suffered or his cause of death have not been released. CNN has reached out to the Shelby County coroner.

    On Tuesday, city officials said the video record by the officers’ body-worn cameras will be released publicly after the police department’s internal investigation ends and after the family is given a chance to review the recordings. Attorney Ben Crump on Friday indicated the family would see the footage Monday and said he and the family would hold a news conference that afternoon.

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  • 5 Colorado first responders charged in 2019 death of Elijah McClain plead not guilty to all charges | CNN

    5 Colorado first responders charged in 2019 death of Elijah McClain plead not guilty to all charges | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The five Aurora, Colorado first responders indicted by a state grand jury for the 2019 death of Elijah McClain pleaded not guilty to all charges Friday afternoon in an Adams County courthouse.

    Aurora Police officers Randy Roedema and Nathan Woodyard, former officer Jason Rosenblatt and Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec in September 2021 were each indicted on charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide as part of a 32-count indictment.

    McClain, a 23-year-old Black man, was walking home from a convenience store on August 24 when he was apprehended by Aurora police officers responding to a “suspicious person” call, according to the indictment.

    Officers pinned McClain to the ground after a brief physical struggle. Woodyard then applied a carotid hold, which caused McClain to lose consciousness, the indictment said.

    In testimony to the grand jury, Roedema also put McClain in a bar hammer lock. Roedema stated he “cranked pretty hard” on McClain’s shoulder and heard it pop three times.

    Eventually paramedics arrived to the scene. Cooper made the decision to administer a 500 mg dose of Ketamine, according to the indictment.

    “A correct dosage of Ketamine is calculated according to a patient’s weight, with 5 mg of Ketamine per kilogram of patient weight,” stated the grand jury indictment.

    “Cooper said he estimated Mr. McClain’s weight to be approximately 200 pounds (90.7 kg). At that weight, in accordance with the standing order from their medical director, Mr. McClain should have been administered 453 mg of Ketamine,” the indictment read.

    “Cooper administered 500 mg of Ketamine. Mr. McClain actually weighed 143 pounds (65 kg) and as such his weight-based Ketamine dose should have been closer to 325 mg of Ketamine.”

    After giving him the dose, McClain was put on a gurney by the officers and paramedics.

    “By the time he was placed on the gurney, Mr. McClain appeared unconscious, had no muscle tone, was limp, and had visible vomit coming from his nose and mouth,” the indictment says. “(Officer) Roedema said he heard Mr. McClain snoring, which can be a sign of a ketamine overdose.”

    The paramedics found he had no pulse and was not breathing and performed CPR. He never regained consciousness and was declared brain-dead on August 27, the indictment states.

    The original autopsy report listed the cause of McClain’s death as “undetermined.” An amended autopsy report, completed in 2021 and made public last September, said McClain’s death was caused by complications from ketamine injection following restraint. The manner of death was left “undetermined.”

    Aurora police confirmed to CNN Woodyard and Roedema remain suspended indefinitely without pay. Rosenblatt was fired by the department in 2020.

    Ahead of their arraignment in Adams County, Colorado court on Friday, a district court judge ruled the trials of five defendants in McClain’s death will be split.

    Paramedics Peter Cichuniec and Jeremy Cooper will be tried together, but separate from the other three defendants in the case, Judge Mark Warner announced in an order issued on Wednesday.

    Aurora police officer Woodyard will be tried separately from officers Roedema and former officer Rosenblatt, Warner said.

    The trial date for Roedema and Rosenblatt is scheduled to begin July 11. Cooper and Cichuniec’s trial is scheduled to begin on August 7 and Woodyard’s trial on September 18.

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  • Opinion: Horrific acts of London police officer are a flashing warning light | CNN

    Opinion: Horrific acts of London police officer are a flashing warning light | CNN

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    Editor’s Note: Holly Thomas is a writer and editor based in London. She is morning editor at Katie Couric Media. She tweets @HolstaT. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author. View more opinion on CNN.



    CNN
     — 

    This week, an officer in London’s Metropolitan Police appeared in court and pleaded guilty to 49 offenses, including 24 counts of rape over an 18-year period. David Carrick’s crimes were as audacious as they were grotesque. Detectives say that he lured victims to his home before imprisoning them, depriving them of food and subjecting them to the most depraved acts of violence and cruelty.

    After the news of Carrick’s guilty plea broke on Monday, Detective Chief Inspector Iain Moore, who led the investigation by the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, said: “It is unbelievable to think these offenses could have been committed by a serving police officer.”

    Moore’s statement struck a chord, not because it rang true, but because it stood so sharply at odds with recent history. It has been less than a year since Wayne Couzens, the former Metropolitan Police officer who used his position to kidnap, rape and murder Sarah Everard, lost his appeal to overturn his life sentence because of the exceptionally sadistic nature of his crimes.

    Like Carrick, who was sacked on Tuesday, Couzens had previously held an elite, coveted role as an officer with the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command, the unit that protects the Palace of Westminster and protects government ministers.

    Carrick and Couzens gained access to one of the most trusted positions in public service thanks to repeated, egregious failures in vetting. The same month that Couzens pleaded guilty to Everard’s murder, an allegation of rape was made against David Carrick that led to his arrest. He was placed on restricted duties. He was not even suspended from the force.

    “We should have spotted his pattern of abusive behavior and because we didn’t, we missed opportunities to remove him from the organization,” Assistant Commissioner Barbara Gray, the Met’s lead for Professionalism, said. “We are truly sorry that Carrick was able to continue to use his role as a police officer to prolong the suffering of his victims.”

    To say that it is “unbelievable” that an officer could be capable of the most heinous crimes is not just naive: it is willful blindness. That blindness is endemic, in the Met and everywhere else. It is the fog that allows sinister behavior to escalate unchecked. It is the bridge that allows predators to reach their victims.

    Again and again, law enforcement overlooked major transgressions that ought to have stopped Couzens and Carrick in their tracks. In the wake of these fiascos, around 1,000 current Metropolitan Police officers and staff who have been accused of sexual offenses or domestic abuse are now under review, and the National Police Chiefs’ Council is instructing all forces in England and Wales to check their officers and staff against national police databases.

    This isn’t enough. The responsibility for the evil that Couzens, Carrick and who knows how many others have done doesn’t just fall on them. It falls on everyone who failed to heed warning sign after warning sign that they were bad people who might be capable of doing bad things and cultivated an environment where those failures were normalized. Thanks to them, what ought to have been glaring red flags blended into the background.

    Both Carrick and Couzens had nicknames at work. David Carrick’s friends at the Met Police reportedly called him “Bastard Dave,” because he had a reputation for mean and cruel behavior. Couzens was reportedly called “The Rapist” by colleagues at the Civil Nuclear Constabulary where he worked before he joined the Metropolitan police — because he made women feel uncomfortable.

    Once he joined the Met, he and other officers infamously sent each other grossly misogynistic and racist messages in a WhatsApp group they shared, reportedly joking about rape and fantasizing about using Tasers on children and people with disabilities.

    The judge who eventually sentenced two of the officers involved to three months in jail said during her judgment that it was clear the defendants viewed the group as a “safe space.” There, she said, they “had free rein to share controversial and deeply offensive messages without fear of retribution.”

    As any parent or teacher can testify, when naughty kids sit together, they egg each other on. An adult who’s paying attention can spot a deteriorating situation and mete out discipline or split up the potential miscreants before real harm is done, but the more that kids are allowed to get away with misbehavior, the further they’re likely to push their luck. The same is true, and far more dangerous, in adulthood.

    The rot at the core of the Metropolitan police is shocking because it is the literal job of the police to prevent harm, but it mirrors a problem we see everywhere else. Bystanders vastly outnumber predators, but if they’re passive, they offer as much protection as air.

    WhatsApp groups are overrun with toxic men (and other people) who routinely talk over each other, but fall silent when someone goes too far. Friends of friends who are known to be “creepy” are still invited to the pub on occasion or aren’t turned away if they show up regardless.

    Men (and other people) are quick to declare their horror at Couzens and Carrick and cry #NotAllMen whenever the latest ghoul is unmasked, but they’re so often hesitant to act when they hear a second-hand story about someone they know personally. Most people will almost always choose a quiet life over an uncomfortable confrontation, and over time, that is how institutions are poisoned.

    Earlier this week, Sir Mark Rowley, the Met commissioner, apologized for the force’s failure in missing nine opportunities to arrest David Carrick over the 17 years during which he served as an officer.

    “We have failed. And I’m sorry,” Rowley said. “He should not have been a police officer. We haven’t applied the same sense of ruthlessness to guarding our own integrity that we routinely apply to confronting criminals.”

    That’s the problem, again and again, everywhere. We focus intensely on the perpetrators and their crimes after the fact, but not nearly enough on the people who might have stopped them but for their own laziness, thoughtlessness or cowardice. It’s so much easier to denounce a villain after it’s too late than to step in first. But if more people did, it would be so much harder for the Carricks and Couzens of the world to slip under the radar.

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  • 3 active-duty Marines charged in Jan. 6 Capitol riot

    3 active-duty Marines charged in Jan. 6 Capitol riot

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    A Marine who said he was waiting for “Civil war 2” and two other active-duty members of the military have been charged with participating in the riot at the U.S. Capitol, authorities said in newly filed court papers.

    Micah Coomer, Joshua Abate and Dodge Dale Hellonen were arrested this week on misdemeanor charges after their fellow Marines helped investigators identify them in footage among the pro-Trump mob on Jan. 6, 2021, according to court papers.

    Dozens of people charged in the riot have military backgrounds, but these three are among only a handful on active duty. A Marine Corps officer seen on camera scuffling with police and helping other members of the mob force their way into the Capitol was charged in 2021.

    No defense lawyers for the men were listed in the court docket, so it was not immediately clear whether they have attorneys to comment on their behalf.

    Their service records show they are all active-duty Marines. Maj. Kevin Stephensen, a spokesman for the Marine Corps, said it is aware of the allegations and “is fully cooperating with appropriate authorities in support of the investigation.”

    Coomer, of Indiana, is stationed in Southern California’s Camp Pendleton; Abate, of Virginia, is at Fort Meade in Maryland; and Hellonen, of Michigan, is stationed at North Carolina’s Camp Lejeune, according to the Marines.

    The men spent about 52 minutes inside the Capitol, authorities say. At one point while in the rotunda, they put a red “Make American Great Again” hat on a statue to take pictures with it, according to court papers. Hellonen was carrying a “Don’t Tread on Me” flag, authorities said.

    Coomer posted photos on Instagram that appeared to be taken inside the Capitol with the caption “Glad to be apart of history,” according to court documents. Days after the 2020 election, he and another person discussed over Instagram message how he believed the election was rigged.

    And in late January 2021, he told another person in a message that “everything in this country is corrupt.”

    “We honestly need a fresh restart. I’m waiting for the boogaloo,” Coomer wrote in a message detailed in court documents. When asked by the person what’s “a boogaloo,” Coomer responded “Civil war 2,” authorities said.

    The boogaloo is an anti-government, pro-gun extremist movement. Its name is a reference to a slang term for a sequel — in this case, a second U.S. civil war. The movement is named after “Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo,” a 1984 sequel to a movie about breakdancing.

    Supporters have shown up at protests over COVID-19 lockdown orders and protests over racial injustice, carrying rifles and wearing tactical gear over Hawaiian shirts. The shirts are a reference to “big luau,” a riff on the term “boogaloo” sometimes favored by group members.

    During an interview related to his security clearance in June, Abate acknowledged walking through the Capitol with two “buddies,” investigators said. Abate said they “walked around and tried not to get hit with tear gas.”

    The trio face charges including illegal entry and disorderly conduct.

    Among Jan. 6 defendants with military backgrounds are members of the far-right extremist group the Oath Keepers, accused of plotting to violently keep President Donald Trump in power. The group’s leader, Stewart Rhodes, a former Army paratrooper, was convicted of seditious conspiracy in November.

    A Navy reservist from Virginia accused of storming the Capitol was convicted this week on charges that he illegally possessed silencers disguised to look like innocuous cleaning supplies. Hatchet Speed is scheduled to go on trial in his Jan. 6 case later this year.

    And a former U.S. Army reservist described by prosecutors as a Nazi sympathizer was convicted of storming the Capitol to obstruct Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s electoral victory. Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, who was employed as a security contractor at a Navy base, was sentenced to four years in prison in September.

    Nearly 1,000 people have been charged so far in the riot and the tally increases by the week. Almost 500 people have pleaded guilty to riot-related charges and more than three dozen have been convicted at trial.

    ____

    Richer reported from Boston. Associated Press reporters Tara Copp, Michael Kunzelman and Nomaan Merchant contributed to this report from Washington.

    ____

    Follow AP’s coverage of the Capitol riot at: https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege

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  • Indiana police kill shooter in Walmart, 1 person wounded

    Indiana police kill shooter in Walmart, 1 person wounded

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    EVANSVILLE, Ind. — A gunman shot at police as he weaved through the aisles of an Indiana Walmart before officers shot and killed him late Thursday, authorities said.

    The gunman, who was not immediately identified, wounded at least one other person in the store, Evansville Police Department Sgt. Anna Gray told WFIE-TV. The victim was transported to an area hospital and the severity of their injuries was not immediately known. No officers were wounded, she said.

    Evansville police and Vanderburgh County sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of an active shooter in the store at around 10 p.m.

    “When officers went in, they were trying to locate the suspect and he was all over the store. He would shoot at officers and move. So it wasn’t contained to just one area inside,” Gray said.

    Multiple law enforcement members returned fire during the encounter and the gunman was killed, Gray said.

    “At this time we don’t know how many other people he shot at,” Gray said, adding that there could could be additional victims who fled.

    Authorities asked anyone who left the scene with injuries, no matter how small, to contact emergency medical services, WFIE reported.

    A Walmart representative did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking additional information.

    Further details would be provided from the scene at 5 a.m. Friday with a press conference later in the day, the city’s police department said in a tweet.

    Evansville, a city of around 116,000 residents on the Ohio River, is located 172 miles (276 kilometers) southwest of Indianapolis.

    A Walmart manager in Chesapeake, Virginia, killed six people when he began shooting wildly inside a break room before a routine employee meeting last November, two days ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. Six people were also wounded. The gunman shot and killed himself before officers arrived.

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  • Protests erupt in Peru as thousands of police officers deploy to guard capital | CNN

    Protests erupt in Peru as thousands of police officers deploy to guard capital | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Protesters and police clashed on the streets of Lima on Thursday, as thousands of protesters from across the country convened upon the Peruvian capital, facing a massive show of force by local police.

    The Andean country’s weeks-long protest movement – which seeks a complete reset of the government – was sparked by the ouster of former President Pedro Castillo in December and fueled by deep dissatisfaction over living conditions and inequality in the country.

    Demonstrators’ fury has also grown with the rising death toll: At least 54 people have been killed amid clashes with security forces since the unrest began, and a further 772, including security officials, have been injured, the national Ombudsman’s office said Thursday.

    Police are pictured in the capital Lima on Wednesday.

    Protestors marching in Lima – in defiance of a government-ordered state of emergency – demanded the resignation of President Dina Boluarte and called for general elections as soon as possible.

    State broadcaster TV Peru showed a group of protesters breaking through a security cordon and advancing onto Abancay Ave, near Congress. In the video, protesters can be seen throwing objects and pushing security agents.

    Police forces were also seen unleashing tear gas on some demonstrators in the center of the city.

    Fierce clashes also broke out in the southern city of Arequipa, where protesters shouted “assassins” at police and threw rocks near the city’s international airport, which suspended flights on Thursday. Live footage from the city showed several people trying to tear down fences near the airport, and smoke billowing from the surrounding fields.

    Public officials and some of the press have disparaged the protests as driven by vandals and criminals – a criticism that several protestors rejected in interviews with CNN en Espanol as they gathered in Lima this week.

    Even if “the state says that we are criminals, terrorists, we are not,” protester Daniel Mamani said.

    “We are workers, the ordinary population of the day to day that work, the state oppresses us, they all need to get out, they are useless.”

    Protesters are seen in Lima on Thursday.

    “Right now the political situation merits a change of representatives, of government, of the executive and the legislature. That is the immediate thing. Because there are other deeper issues – inflation, lack of employment, poverty, malnutrition and other historical issues that have not been addressed,” another protester named Carlos, who is a sociologist from the Universidad San Marcos, told CNNEE on Wednesday.

    Peruvian authorities have been accused of using excessive force against protesters, including firearms, in recent weeks. Police have countered that their tactics match international standards.

    Autopsies on 17 dead civilians, killed during protests in the city of Juliaca on January 9, found wounds caused by firearm projectiles, the city’s head of legal medicine told CNN en Español. A police officer was burned to death by “unknown subjects” days later, police said.

    Jo-Marie Burt, a senior fellow at the Washington Office on Latin America, told CNN that what happened in Juliaca in early January represented “the highest civilian death toll in the country since Peru’s return to democracy” in 2000.

    A fact-finding mission to Peru by the the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR) also found that gunshot wounds were found in the heads and upper bodies of victims, Edgar Stuardo Ralón, the commission’s vice-president, said Wednesday.

    Ralon described a broader “deterioration of public debate” over the demonstrations in Peru, with protestors labeled as “terrorists” and indigenous people referred to by derogatory terms.

    Such language could generate “a climate of more violence,” he warned.

    Riot police shoots tear gas at demonstrators seeking to an airport in Arequipa.

    “When the press uses that, when the political elite uses that, I mean, it’s easier for the police and other security forces to use this kind of repression, right?” Omar Coronel, a professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, who specializes in Latin American protests movements, told CNN.

    Peruvian officials have not made public details about those killed in the unrest. However, experts say that Indigenous protestors are suffering the greatest bloodshed.

    “The victims are overwhelmingly indigenous people from rural Peru,” Burt said.

    “The protests have been centered in central and southern Peru, heavily indigenous parts of the country, these are regions that have been historically marginalized and excluded from political, economical, and social life of the nation.”

    Protesters want new elections, the resignation of Boluarte, a change to the constitution and the release of Castillo, who is currently in pre-trial detention.

    At the core of the crisis are demands for better living conditions that have gone unfulfilled in the two decades since democratic rule was restored in the country.

    While Peru’s economy has boomed in the last decade, many have not reaped its gains, with experts noting chronic deficiencies in security, justice, education, and other basic services in the country.

    Protesters are seen in Lima on Thursday.

    Castillo, a former teacher and union leader who had never held elected office before becoming president, is from rural Peru and positioned himself as a man of the people. Many of his supporters hail from poorer regions, and hoped Castillo would bring better prospects for the country’s rural and indigenous people.

    While protests have occurred throughout the nation, the worst violence has been in the rural and indigenous south, which has long been at odds with the country’s coastal White and mestizo, which is a person of mixed descent, elites.

    Peru’s legislative body is also viewed with skepticism by the public. The president and members of congress are not allowed to have consecutive terms, according to Peruvian law, and critics have noted their lack of political experience.

    A poll published September 2022 by IEP showed 84% of Peruvians disapproved Congress’s performance. Lawmakers are perceived not only as pursuing their own interests in Congress, but are also associated with corrupt practices.

    The country’s frustrations have been reflected in its years-long revolving door presidency. Current president Boluarte is the sixth head of state in less than five years.

    Joel Hernández García, a commissioner for IACHR, told CNN what was needed to fix the crisis was political dialogue, police reform, and reparations for those killed in the protests.

    “The police forces have to revisit their protocol. In order to resort to non-lethal force under the principles of legality, necessity, and proportionality and as a matter of last resort,” Hernández García said.

    “Police officers have the duty to protect people who participate in social protest, but also (to protect) others who are not participating,” he added.

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  • DOJ and FBI open civil rights investigation into the death of Memphis man who passed away after arrest | CNN

    DOJ and FBI open civil rights investigation into the death of Memphis man who passed away after arrest | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The FBI and Department of Justice have opened a civil rights investigation into the death of Tyre Nichols, who passed away in a hospital after being arrested by Memphis police, according to a statement from US Attorney Kevin Ritz on Wednesday.

    “Last week, Tyre Nichols tragically died, a few days after he was involved in an incident where Memphis Police Department officers used force during his arrest,” Ritz said in a Department of Justice news release.

    Immediately following the incident, the officers involved were relieved of duty, pending the outcome of the investigations, the police department has said. Police did not release how many officers were involved in the incident.

    The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating whether officers broke any law while Memphis Police are investigating whether department policies were violated. The police department’s administrative investigation should be finished later this week, city officials have said.

    “In addition, the United States Attorney’s Office, in coordination with the FBI Memphis Field Office and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, has opened a civil rights investigation,” Ritz said.

    He said he could offer no more comments about the case as the investigation remains open.

    CNN has reached out to the FBI Memphis Field Office for comment.

    On January 8, the police department announced officers pulled over a motorist for reckless driving the previous day. “As officers approached the driver of the vehicle, a confrontation occurred and the suspect fled the scene on foot,” officials said in a statement posted on social media.

    Officers pursued the suspect and again attempted to take him into custody when another confrontation occurred before the suspect was apprehended, according to police.

    “Afterward, the suspect complained of having a shortness of breath, at which time an ambulance was called to the scene. The suspect was transported to St. Francis Hospital in critical condition,” officials said.

    The man, identified as Nichols, died a few days later, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

    The death led to protests and for the family to call for the release of video recorded by cameras worn by the officers.

    “This kind of in-custody death destroys community trust if agencies are not swiftly transparent. The most effective way for the Memphis Police Department to be transparent with the grieving Nichols family and the Memphis community is to release the body camera and surveillance footage from the traffic stop,” attorney Ben Crump, who represents Nichols’ family, said Monday in a statement.

    On Tuesday, city officials said the video will be released publicly after the police department’s internal investigation ends and after the family is given a chance to review the recording.

    Details about the injuries Nichols suffered or his cause of death have not been released. CNN has reached out to the Shelby County coroner.

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  • Man killed, trooper shot while ‘Cop City’ protesters cleared

    Man killed, trooper shot while ‘Cop City’ protesters cleared

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    ATLANTA — Authorities said they killed a man who shot and injured a Georgia state trooper Wednesday morning as law enforcement officers tried to clear protesters from the site of a planned public safety training center just outside Atlanta.

    Officers from several law enforcement agencies were conducting an operation to clear people out of the area around 9 a.m. when someone fired at them and officers shot back in self-defense, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Mike Register said during a news conference. A trooper was shot in the abdomen and the man who shot at the officers was killed at the scene, Register said.

    The trooper was rushed to a hospital, where he underwent surgery, Georgia State Patrol Col. Chris Wright told reporters. The trooper’s vital signs are good and he’s in stable condition, but he is in the intensive care unit and “he’s still not out of the woods yet,” Wright said.

    Register and Wright declined to identify the trooper or the man who was killed, citing the active investigation and the need to notify family members.

    Register said the “clearing operation” was being conducted in the same area where a handful of people were arrested last month and charged with domestic terrorism. DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston said at the time that people attacked firefighters and police officers as state and local law enforcement officers with rocks and weapons as the officers removed barricades blocking some entrances to the site.

    The GBI and other law enforcement agencies “embrace a citizen’s right to protest, but law enforcement can’t stand by while serious criminal acts are being committed that jeopardize the safety of the citizens we’re sworn to protect,” Register said.

    People are “illegally occupying” the area and are committing criminal acts that endanger the community, including arson, beating people up, using explosives and setting booby traps that have the potential to seriously hurt someone, he said.

    Register said four people had been detained with possible charges to come and that the situation remains fluid.

    Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp released a statement earlier this month applauding the arrests and saying “they will not be the last we will take down as this project moves forward.”

    “Domestic terrorism will NOT be tolerated in our state, and we will not hesitate, we will not rest, we will not waver in ending their activities and prosecuting them to the fullest extent of the law,” he said in the statement posted on Twitter.

    Opponents of the training center have been protesting for over a year by building platforms in surrounding trees and camping out at the site. They say that the $90 million project, which would be built by the Atlanta Police Foundation, involves cutting down so many trees that it would be environmentally damaging. They also oppose investing so much money in what they call “Cop City,” which they say will be used to practice “urban warfare.”

    The 85-acre (35-hectare) property is owned by the city of Atlanta but is located just outside the city limits in unincorporated DeKalb County, and includes a former state prison farm.

    In an email to news outlets Wednesday morning, opponents of the training facility said they gathered outside the DeKalb County courthouse on Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, to demand that Boston drop the charges against people who were arrested at the site on Dec. 13 and 14. They “spoke about how the movement to stop cop city continues Atlanta’s history of resistance to state violence,” the email says.

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  • Failed state GOP candidate visited 3 Democratic officials’ homes before allegedly targeting them in shootings, police say | CNN

    Failed state GOP candidate visited 3 Democratic officials’ homes before allegedly targeting them in shootings, police say | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A Republican former candidate for New Mexico’s legislature arrested on suspicion of orchestrating four recent shootings at Democratic leaders’ homes had visited at least three of those officials’ homes to discuss election results, Albuquerque Police said.

    Solomon Peña, who lost a 2022 run for state House District 14, is accused of paying and conspiring with four men to shoot at the homes of two state legislators and two county commissioners.

    According to police:

    • Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa’s home was shot at multiple times on December 4.

    • Incoming state House Speaker Javier Martinez’s home was shot at on December 8.

    • Former Bernalillo County Commissioner Debbie O’Malley’s home was shot at on December 11.

    • State Sen. Linda Lopez’s home was shot at on January 3.

    • Peña went to another commissioner’s home to discuss the election, but that commissioner “never reported any shots fired,” Albuquerque police said.

    No one was injured in any of the shootings. Peña is also accused of trying to participate in at least one of the shootings himself, Albuquerque police said. He was arrested by a police SWAT team Monday.

    The investigation found “these shootings were indeed politically motivated,” Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said. He called Peña “an election denier.”

    After losing the election, Peña approached a state senator and two county commissioners at their homes with paperwork claiming there was fraud involved in the elections, Albuquerque police said.

    Peña was arrested on preliminary charges of felon in possession of a firearm; attempted aggravated battery with a deadly weapon; criminal solicitation; and four counts each of shooting at an occupied dwelling, shooting at or from a motor vehicle, and conspiracy, according to a warrant.

    CNN has reached out to Peña’s campaign website for comment and has been unable to identify his attorney.

    False and unfounded claims about election fraud have exploded nationwide in recent years and fueled anger and threats of violence against elected officials – even in local politics.

    Barboa, the county commissioner whose home was shot at multiple times on December 4, told CNN about an “erratic” encounter with Peña before the shooting.

    “He came to my house after the election and he’s an election denier. He weaponized those dangerous thoughts to threaten me and others, causing serious trauma,” Barboa told “CNN This Morning” on Tuesday.

    “He was saying that the elections were fake … I didn’t feel threatened at the time, but I did feel like he was erratic.”

    Similarly, O’Malley – the former Bernalillo county commissioner – told police Peña was at her home just days before the December 11 shooting there, according to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained from Albuquerque police.

    “Debbie recalled that he was upset that he had not won the election for public office, even though Debbie O’Malley was not a contender,” the affidavit says.

    Ring doorbell camera footage recorded at O’Malley’s previous residence and obtained by CNN shows Peña approaching the door and knocking, holding documents in his hands.

    The current resident speaks to him through the camera’s speaker feature, telling him O’Malley no longer lives at that residence and directing him to her new home.

    While no one was injured in any of the shootings, Peña “intended to (cause) serious injury or cause death to occupants inside their homes,” an arrest warrant affidavit reads.

    “There is probable cause to believe that soon after his unsuccessful (political) campaign, he conspired … to commit these four shootings” at the officials’ homes, the affidavit states.

    Firearm evidence, surveillance footage, witness accounts plus cell phone and electronic records helped officials connect five people to the alleged conspiracy, Albuquerque police Deputy Cmdr. Kyle Hartsock said Monday.

    Peña was first connected to the January 3 shooting at Lopez’s home.

    That day, Lopez “heard loud bangs but dismissed them as fireworks at the time,” she told police.

    But her 10-year-old daughter woke up thinking a spider was crawling on her face and that there was sand in her bed. It turned out to be sheetrock dust that was blown onto the child’s face from a bullet passing through her bedroom, the affidavit says.

    Police later found “12 impacts” at the state senator’s home and shell casings nearby, according to the affidavit.

    About 40 minutes after the shooting, a deputy spotted a silver Nissan Maxima with “an improperly displayed license plate sticker” about four miles from Lopez’s home and made a traffic stop, the affidavit states.

    The Nissan was registered to Peña – but it was driven by another man at the time who had a felony warrant out for his arrest, the affidavit states.

    In the trunk, the deputy found a Glock handgun with a drum magazine and an AR pistol, police said. The handgun matched the shell casings from the lawmaker’s home, police said in a news release.

    Investigators then connected Peña to the shootings at the other officials’ homes. On Monday, detectives served search warrants at Peña’s apartment and the home of two men allegedly paid by Peña, police said.

    Albuquerque police released a photo of a

    “After the election in November, Solomon Peña reached out and contracted someone for an amount of cash money to commit at least two of these shootings. The addresses of the shootings were communicated over phone,” Hartsock said Monday, citing the investigation.

    “Within hours, in one case, the shooting took place at the lawmaker’s home.”

    One of the conspirators initially told shooters “to aim above the windows to avoid striking anyone inside,” the affidavit reads, citing a confidential witness with knowledge of the alleged conspiracy.

    But Peña eventually wanted the shooters to be “more aggressive” and “aim lower and shoot around 8 p.m. because occupants would more likely not be laying down,” the affidavit says, citing the confidential witness.

    In the latest shooting, police found evidence “Peña himself went … and actually pulled the trigger on at least one of the firearms that was used,” Hartsock said. But an AR handgun he tried to use malfunctioned, and more than a dozen rounds were fired by another shooter, a police news release said.

    Authorities are still investigating whether those suspected of carrying out the shootings were “even aware of who these targets were or if they were just conducting shootings,” Hartsock said.

    Peña, who lost the election to Democratic state Rep. Miguel Garcia 26% to 74% – had publicly alleged that the race was rigged, his Twitter account shows.

    “Trump just announced for 2024. I stand with him. I never conceded my HD 14 race. Now researching my options,” Peña tweeted November 15 after losing his race.

    On January 2, in response to someone who asked him if his election was rigged, Peña tweeted: “Si, mine was also rigged. And I will fight it until the day I die.”

    The most recent time Peña tweeted that he did not lose the election was on January 9, when he posted “When we finally defeat the rigged NM elections, oh, the hero I will be! MAGA nation 4ever!”

    Keller, the Democratic mayor of Albuquerque, called Peña a “right-wing radical” and a “dangerous criminal.”

    “This type of radicalism is a threat to our nation and has made its way to our doorstep right here in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but we will continue will push back against hate,” Keller said in a statement.

    “Differences of opinion are fundamental to democracy, but disagreements should never lead to violence.”

    In addition to making unsupported claims about election results, Peña replied to several Twitter users who mentioned his criminal history and time spent in prison.

    During the fall campaign, Peña’s opponent, Garcia, sued to have Peña removed from the ballot, arguing Peña’s status as an ex-felon should prevent him from being able to run for public office in the state, CNN affiliate KOAT reported.

    Peña served almost years in prison after a 2008 conviction for stealing a large volume of goods in a “smash and grab scheme,” the KOAT report said.

    A district court judge ruled Peña was allowed to run in the election, KOAT reported.

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  • Climate activist Greta Thunberg released after being detained by German police at coal mine protest | CNN

    Climate activist Greta Thunberg released after being detained by German police at coal mine protest | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was released by German police on Tuesday evening after being detained earlier in the day at a protest over the expansion of a coal mine in the western village of Lützerath, police confirmed to CNN on Wednesday.

    ”Thunberg was only briefly detained. Once (Thunberg’s) identity was established, she was free to go,” Max Wilmes, police spokesman in the city of Aachen, told CNN.

    ”Due to the recognition of her name, police sped up the identification process,” Wilmes said. He said she then waited for other protesters to be released.

    Thunberg swiftly resumed campaigning on Wednesday, tweeting: “Climate protection is not a crime.”

    “Yesterday I was part of a group that peacefully protested the expansion of a coal mine in Germany”, the activist said, adding: ”We were kettled by police and then detained but were let go later that evening.”

    Thunberg was part of a large group of protesters that broke through a police barrier and encroached on a coal pit, which authorities have not been able to secure entirely, police spokesman Christof Hüls told CNN Tuesday. This is the second time Thunberg has been detained at the site, he said.

    Since last Wednesday, German police have removed hundreds of activists from Lützerath. Some have been at the site for more than two years, CNN has previously reported, occupying the homes abandoned by former residents after they were evicted, mostly by 2017, to make way for the lignite coal mine.

    The German government reached a deal with energy company RWE, the owner of the mine, in 2022, allowing it to expand into Lützerath in return for ending coal use by 2030 – rather than 2038.

    Once the eviction is complete, RWE plans to build a 1.5-kilometer (0.93-mile) perimeter fence around the village, sealing off its buildings, streets and sewers before they are demolished.

    Thunberg tweeted on Friday that she was in Lützerath to protest the expansion. On Saturday, she joined thousands of people demonstrating against the razing of the village.

    Addressing the activists at the protest, Thunberg said, “The carbon is still in the ground. And as long as the carbon is in the ground, this struggle is not over.”

    Hüls said Thunberg had “surprisingly” returned to protest on Sunday, when she was detained for the first time, and then again on Tuesday.

    The expansion of the coal mine is significant for climate activists. They argue that continuing to burn coal for energy will increase planet-warming emissions and violate the Paris Climate Agreement’s ambition to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Lignite is the most polluting type of coal, which itself is the most polluting fossil fuel.

    “We need to stop the current destruction of our planet and sacrificing people to benefit the short-term economic growth and corporate greed,” Thunberg said.

    Clashes between activists and police have been ongoing this month, and photos from the protests have shown police wearing riot gear to remove the demonstrators.

    More than 1,000 police officers have been involved in the eviction operation. Most of the village’s buildings have now been cleared and replaced with excavating machines.

    RWE and Germany’s Green party – a member of the country’s governing coalition – both reject the claim the mine expansion will increase overall emissions, saying European caps mean extra carbon emissions can be offset. But several climate reports have made clear the need to accelerate clean energy and transition away from fossil fuels. Recent studies also suggest that Germany may not even need the extra coal. An August report by international research platform Coal Transitions found that even if coal plants operate at very high capacity until the end of this decade, they already have more coal available than needed from existing supplies.

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  • ArmorSource Introduces Next Generation Aire System

    ArmorSource Introduces Next Generation Aire System

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    Press Release
    –

    Jan 17, 2023


    LAS VEGAS, January 17, 2023 (Newswire.com)
    –
    ArmorSource has introduced its Next Generation Aire System, a full spectrum of advanced hole-free head protection solutions for military, law enforcement, and special forces personnel. The Aire System includes six Next Gen Lightweight Shells, a revolutionary Liner System, an ultra-lightweight helmet mount, and multiple helmet accessories to provide maximum protection and comfort.

    ArmorSource users can choose from the following six unique boltless shells:

    1. ‘Aire‘ – Providing high frag protection plus NIJ IIIA at less than 1.9 lbs./850g. for the complete helmet, the ‘Aire’ is one of the lightest certified ballistic helmets.
       
    2. ‘Aire II‘ – Meeting the U.S. DOD Advanced Combat Helmet GEN II specifications with lower areal density, better trauma and frag protection.
       
    3. ‘Aire EX‘ – An Extended Rifle Resistance Helmet that provides protection against M193, M80 ball, 7.62X39 LC, and other rounds to enhance the safety of front-line and anti-terror operators.
       
    4. ‘Aire LE’ – Designed to defeat several handgun threats that law enforcement agents frequently face on top of NIJ IIIA.
       
    5. ‘Aire CF’ – The first Carbon-based safety helmet that comes in an ACH geometry for tactical missions and training.
       
    6. ‘Crew II’ – ArmorSource was recently awarded a contract to provide the U.S. Army with 14,000 Next Generation Advanced Combat Vehicle Crewman Helmet units starting in Q2/2023.

    Each of these shells has a unique matrix, but all are versions of the ArmorSource Next Generation Ballistic Technology that utilize the most advanced ballistic composite materials available.

    The Aire System also provides three ‘AireSupport’ suspension systems, as well as three ‘AireLink’ retention systems, for users to choose from. Available accessories include ultra-lightweight AireMount shrouds, AireRail side-rails, and multiple newly designed accessories.

    An additional Aire option is the ‘AireLock Liner System’, a ballistic version of the Skydex IsoFit. When worn with an ArmorSource-certified shell, this revolutionary floating/mesh system provides a new level of comfort and safety to users.

    “The new Aire system provides not only the highest ballistic and environmental performance at the lightest weight, but is also versatile and modular, built to allow each of our customers, no matter if they are front-line warriors, tankers, marines, law enforcement, SWAT, special command, or security guard, to build their own head protection configuration. This is a new game, not only for ArmorSource, but for its customers,” says Nick Gramly, ArmorSource’s VP of Technology. “To make sure the system performance stays consistent for long periods, the shells went through extensive third-party testing that included testing under multiple conditions such as extreme hot and cold, salt water, exposure to common field agents, high altitude, and accelerated aging.”

    Leveraging its state-of-the-art design, R&D, testing and manufacturing facilities, ArmorSource strives to continuously enhance its products’ ballistic capabilities while maintaining and improving all aspects of comfort and durability.

    ArmorSource’s recognition as a trusted ballistic helmet solution provider for militaries, law enforcement organizations, and special forces on multiple continents is a testament to its dedication to maximizing the survivability of personnel around the world.

    For more information, please contact ArmorSource at info@armorsource.com.

    Source: ArmorSource LLC

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  • Police: 8 people shot, 1 critical at Florida MLK Day event

    Police: 8 people shot, 1 critical at Florida MLK Day event

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    FORT PIERCE, Fla. — Police in Florida said eight people were shot Monday during an MLK Jr. Day event, with one of the victims listed in critical condition.

    The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office confirmed all the victims in the early evening shooting in Fort Pierce were adults, WPBF-TV reported.

    The shooting occurred at Ilous Ellis Park at 5:20 p.m. during an MLK Car Show and Family Fun Day, which the sheriff’s office said was attended by more than 1,000 people, WPBF-TV reported.

    “Multiple people were shot, it sounds like from our initial investigation here on scene there was a disagreement of some sort between two parties, and unfortunately, they chose to resolve that with guns,” St. Lucie County Chief Deputy Brian Hester said.

    Police said four people including a child sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the ensuing confusion, the station reported.

    “It was mass chaos, as you can imagine, when shots rang out,” Hester said. “There were a thousand plus people here at the event, and as the shots rang out, people were just running in all directions.”

    The sheriff’s office said two deputies at the event responded immediately and aided victims, WPBF-TV reported.

    Video obtained by the station showed people ducking, running and hiding behind cars, including a woman running to safety while holding a baby.

    “It’s really sad in a celebration of someone who represented peace and equality that a disagreement results in a use of guns and violence to solve that disagreement, and that’s what’s really sad to me about what happened here,” Hester said. “And then so many innocent people who were injured or hurt and were not part of the disagreement as well.”

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  • Former NFL player arrested in Mississippi on kidnap charge

    Former NFL player arrested in Mississippi on kidnap charge

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    RIDGELAND, Miss. — A former University of Mississippi and NFL football player has been arrested in Mississippi on kidnapping charges.

    Jerrell Powe, 35, remained jailed Monday in the Jackson suburb of Ridgeland with no bail set. It’s unclear if he has a lawyer to speak for him.

    Ridgeland Police Chief Brian Myers told WLBT-TV that Powe and another person were arrested on Thursday at a bank in the city.

    Myers said the kidnapping began in Laurel, 75 miles (120 kilometers) southeast of Jackson, and ended after the victim was able to contact Ridgeland police. He said the victim is safe.

    Powe is scheduled to make an initial appearance before a judge on Tuesday.

    Powe played defensive tackle for Ole Miss from 2008 to 2010. He finished with 69 tackles, seven sacks and an interception in 37 games. Powe was named Second-Team All-Southeastern Conference in 2009 and 2010.

    The Kansas City Chiefs selected Powe in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL draft. He played in 12 games over three seasons for the Chiefs, garnering eight tackles and one sack. Powe played in 16 games for the Houston Texans in 2014, recording 10 tackles.

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  • Memphis Police relieve officers pending investigations into the arrest of man who later died, chief says | CNN

    Memphis Police relieve officers pending investigations into the arrest of man who later died, chief says | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The Memphis Police Department and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation have launched investigations into the action of officers involved in a traffic stop arrest of a man who later died and plan to take “immediate and appropriate action” against them, according to a release from the city.

    On January 8, the police department announced officers pulled over a motorist for reckless driving the previous day. “As officers approached the driver of the vehicle, a confrontation occurred and the suspect fled the scene on foot,” officials said in a statement posted on social media.

    Officers pursued the suspect and again attempted to take him into custody when another confrontation occurred before the suspect was apprehended, according to police.

    “Afterward, the suspect complained of having a shortness of breath, at which time an ambulance was called to the scene. The suspect was transported to St. Francis Hospital in critical condition,” officials said.

    The man, identified as Tyre Nichols, died a few days later, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

    The city’s release said the bureau is looking into the officers’ use of force and the police department is investigating whether agency policy was violated. The police department’s administrative investigation should be finished later this week, according to the news release.

    Immediately following the incident, the officers involved were relieved of duty, pending the outcome of the investigations. Police did not release how many officers were involved in the incident.

    “After reviewing various sources of information involving this incident, I have found that it is necessary to take immediate and appropriate action,” Memphis Police Chief CJ Davis said in a statement released Sunday. “Today, the department is serving notice to the officers involved of the impending administrative actions.”

    During community protests in Memphis on Saturday, Nichols’ stepfather, Rodney Wells, while standing next to a photo of Nichols in the hospital, told CNN affiliate WMC, “You shouldn’t be on a dialysis machine looking like this because of a traffic stop.”

    Details about the injuries Nichols suffered or his cause of death have not been released.

    Attorney Ben Crump, who represents Nichols’ family, is calling for the police department to release the body-worn camera footage of the incident.

    “This kind of in-custody death destroys community trust if agencies are not swiftly transparent. The most effective way for the Memphis Police Department to be transparent with the grieving Nichols family and the Memphis community is to release the body camera and surveillance footage from the traffic stop,” Crump said in a statement.

    Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said, “Make no doubt, we take departmental violation very seriously and, while we must complete the investigation process, it is our top priority to ensure that swift justice is served,” according to the city’s news release.

    “We want citizens to know that we are prepared to take immediate and appropriate actions based on what the findings determine,” he added.

    Neither Davis nor Strickland elaborated on what action will be taken against the officers.

    According to the city’s news release, “there is a required procedural process before government civil service employees can be disciplined or terminated from employment.”

    CNN has reached out to police, the Shelby County District Attorney, the Shelby County Coroner and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for more on the investigation.

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  • Indiana man arrested after toddler shown on live TV with handgun | CNN

    Indiana man arrested after toddler shown on live TV with handgun | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A man was arrested in Beech Grove, Indiana, after video was shown on live TV of a toddler, reportedly the man’s son, waving and pulling the trigger of a handgun.

    The video was aired by Reelz series “On Patrol: Live,” during the TV show’s live broadcast on Saturday, January 14, according to a news release.

    A police incident report obtained by CNN affiliate WTHR said Shane Osborne, faces a neglect charge. The report also lists “ring camera footage” that was obtained and uploaded to a police server. A 9mm gun found at the scene had 15 rounds in the magazine, but no rounds in the gun’s chamber, the report said.

    Osborne is expected to appear in court Tuesday afternoon, according to WTHR. The show identified Osborne as the boy’s father.

    Beech Grove Mayor Dennis Buckley released a statement to WTHR saying he was “mortified” about the incident.

    “As with all of you, I’m mortified and what took place and I’m so thankful that no one was hurt, especially the young child. I appreciate the quick action taken by the Beech Grove Police Department to secure the small child and the gun in question.”

    Video from a neighbor’s security camera that aired on “On Patrol: Live,” shows a little boy in the entryway of an apartment complex waving a handgun back and forth and pulling the trigger.

    According to a release from the show, Beech Grove police officers responded after a neighbor called 911, “stating she and her son had witnessed the child alone in the hallway outside their unit, and that he had been holding a gun and pointing it at them.”

    When officers arrived, the purported father of the child said he did not have a gun. “I don’t have a gun,” the man said, as police entered his apartment, “I have never brought a gun into this house, if there is, it’s my cousin’s.”

    Police proceeded to search the apartment looking for a gun and eventually found a firearm under a television in the living room.

    It’s unclear if it’s the same gun seen in the neighbor’s security footage, but one of the officers on the scene says it’s a “Smith & Wesson SD9mm.”

    Police are later seen taking the man, handcuffed, out of the apartment complex.

    An officer said after speaking with on-call prosecutors, there was enough for an arrest “for child neglect, that’s a felony,” since there was a loaded firearm in the apartment.

    CNN has reached out to the Beech Grove police department, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office and the mayor’s office for comment and more information.

    It is unclear if Osborne has an attorney at this time. CNN has reached out to the public defender’s office for more information.

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  • Arizona dad seeking answers after son dies in state care

    Arizona dad seeking answers after son dies in state care

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    FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Richard Blodgett, a single father, was jailed on a drug charge when a worker from Arizona’s child welfare agency delivered the news: His son was brain dead and on life support — just days after being taken into state custody.

    Blodgett screamed, cried and screamed some more. Jakob was his only son, a “darn cute,” curious 9-year-old who loved remote control cars and video games.

    Blodgett is now struggling to understand how it happened.

    A medical examiner listed Jakob’s death in late December as natural with complications from diabetes, a condition he was diagnosed with as a toddler. Specifically, Type 1 diabetes, which means his body was unable to produce enough insulin to survive.

    Blodgett said he suspects the Arizona Department of Child Safety failed in its duty to protect his son, either by not monitoring his blood sugar levels or not ensuring that Jakob had enough insulin to prevent a serious, life-threatening complication known as ketoacidosis.

    “They couldn’t keep him alive for two weeks, two weeks,” the father told The Associated Press while on a recent furlough from jail. “That’s absolutely insane. That was my pride and joy. I’m lost. I’m completely lost. My family is completely lost.”

    The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office is investigating Jakob’s death. The office declined a request for an interview with Sheriff Paul Penzone, citing the ongoing investigation.

    The Department of Child Safety also declined to comment specifically on the case, citing confidentiality laws. But spokesperson Darren DaRonco said, in general, that foster parents are required to receive training from a medical provider before taking in a child with any medical condition.

    DaRonco did not respond to further inquiries, including whether Jakob’s insulin pump was removed and if the boy’s regular doctor was consulted about his care — questions raised by Blodgett and his mother, Cheryl Doenges. They said Jakob could not manage the insulin on his own.

    In the fiscal year that ended last June, about 26 children died while in the agency’s custody, including from overdoses, medical conditions, natural and still undetermined causes. In the previous fiscal year, that number was 14. The figures amount to a fatality rate of about 97 per 100,000 children during that period, the most recent for which data is available.

    That rate is higher than overall deaths of children in Arizona. Nationally, about 55 children died per 100,000 children in the general population of all causes in 2020 — similar to Arizona’s number.

    Karin Kline, director of child welfare initiatives at the Family Involvement Center in Phoenix, said the death of a child is a concern, especially if it happens under the custody of the state.

    “Rest assured, somebody is going to look into it if there’s an inkling that the death was a result of negligence or abuse,” she said.

    Jakob and his father had been living at a motel when Blodgett was arrested in December. Blodgett, who already had a drug case pending and has spent time in prison, said was operating a backhoe much of the day and pulled over at a gas station to take a nap. The report from the Show Low Police Department corroborated as much, but officers wrote that they suspected Blodgett nodded off as a result of drug use.

    Authorities ultimately found more than 4,000 fentanyl pills in Blodgett’s possession, according to the report. Blodgett was booked into jail in Holbrook and charged with one count of drug possession, Navajo County Superior Court documents show.

    Blodgett told the AP he had been using fentanyl for pain management after he dropped 300 pounds with weight loss surgery.

    “I wasn’t getting high. I wasn’t abusing them. I was using them to be able to work and provide for my son,” Blodgett said. “Unfortunately, they are illegal. I can’t get around that. But they were stronger than my meds, and they were working.”

    Jakob was alone in the motel room when an officer picked him up and alerted the Department of Child Safety, according to the police report. Blodgett said someone at the motel always checked on his son, whom he called as police confronted him.

    He told Jakob he got into trouble, and the boy asked if his father was going to be OK, Blodgett said. The two often traveled together in vast expanses of Arizona — taking selfies, stopping at gas stations to get snacks and playing with Nerf guns.

    “The last time I got to see my son, he was already dead,” Blodgett said.

    Doenges couldn’t make the trip to see Jakob at the hospital from Washington state where she lives because of bad weather. But she asked a friend in Arizona to sit with Jakob, pray with him and play music for him so he wasn’t alone — even if he didn’t know she was there.

    Furloughed from jail, Blodgett arranged for a ride to Phoenix, more than three hours away, to see his son unresponsive in a hospital bed. Hospital staff had placed a teddy bear next to the boy and a heart-shaped pendant — Blodgett kept one half and the other half will be cremated with Jakob, Doenges said.

    Blodgett took pictures, hugged and kissed his son and talked to him. The hospital had a memorial for Jakob on Dec. 26 — the day some of his organs were harvested and later donated with Blodgett’s blessing, along with a moment of silence.

    Before the year ended, Blodgett was back in jail.

    Doenges said her son will have to find a way to piece his life back together.

    “My suggestion to him is to live a really good life in memory of Jakob and do something positive,” she said. “He probably didn’t even hear me, he’s so full of grief.”

    ___

    Associated Press data journalist Camille Fassett in Seattle contributed to this report.

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  • London police officer admits to dozens of offenses against women, including 24 cases of rape | CNN

    London police officer admits to dozens of offenses against women, including 24 cases of rape | CNN

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    London
    CNN
     — 

    A serving officer in London’s Metropolitan Police has admitted to 49 offenses, including 24 counts of rape over an 18-year period, reigniting calls for urgent reform in the United Kingdom’s largest police force.

    David Carrick appeared at Southwark Crown Court in the British capital Monday to plead guilty to four counts of rape, false imprisonment and indecent assault relating to a 40-year-old woman in 2003, the UK’s PA Media news agency reported.

    At the Old Bailey criminal court in London last month, Carrick admitted to 43 charges against 11 other women, including 20 counts of rape, between March 2004 and September 2020, according to PA.

    A series of recent scandals has shed light on what the UK police watchdog called a culture of misogyny and racism in London’s police service.

    In September 2021, Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the abduction, rape and murder of Sarah Everard, a case that horrified the nation and sparked debate about violence against women.

    The Metropolitan Police Service Commissioner Cressida Dick resigned from her post in 2022, after a damning review by the Independent Office for Police Conduct issued 15 recommendations “to change policing practice” in the country.

    The UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) called Carrick’s case one of the “most shocking” it’s ever seen.

    “The scale of the degradation Carrick subjected his victims to is unlike anything I have encountered in my 34 years with the Crown Prosecution Service,” CPS Chief Crown Prosecutor Jaswant Narwal said.

    “I commend every single woman who courageously shared their traumatic experience and enabled us to bring this case to court and see justice served,” Narwal continued while speaking outside Southwark Crown Court Monday.

    The senior investigating officer in the case, Detective Chief Inspector Iain Moor, called Carrick’s crimes “truly shocking.”

    “The police service is committed to tackling violence against women and girls in all its forms,” Moor said, adding “no one is above the law.”

    Assistant Commissioner for the Metropolitan Police Barbara Gray also apologized on behalf of the police force to all the victims.

    Gray said Monday that Carrick “should have been dismissed from the police service a long time ago.”

    She later added: “We should have spotted his pattern of abusive behavior and because we didn’t, we missed opportunities to remove him from the organization. We are truly sorry that Carrick was able to continue to use his role as a police officer to prolong the suffering of his victims.”

    “The duration and nature of Carrick’s offending is unprecedented in policing. But regrettably he is not the only Met officer to have been charged with serious sexual offences in the recent past,” she said.

    The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Londoners will be rightly shocked that this man was able to work for the Met for so long and serious questions must be answered about how he was able to abuse his position as an officer in this horrendous manner.”

    Khan commented that work to reform the culture and standards of the Met has already started following an interim review and that a new, anonymous police complaints hotline and anti-corruption team has recently been established by Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley.

    “But more can and must be done,” added Khan on Twitter. “It’s vital that all victims of crime have confidence in our police, and we simply must do more to raise standards and empower police leaders to rid the Met and all other police services of those officers who are clearly unfit to serve.”

    Women’s rights organizations called for an inquiry into the Met following Carrick’s case.

    UK domestic abuse charity Refuge called Carrick’s crimes “utterly abhorrent.”

    “When a man who has been charged with 49 offences, including 24 charges of rape, is a serving police officer, how can women and girls possibly be – or feel – safe,” Refuge tweeted Monday.

    UK organization End Violence Against Women also posted on Twitter: “This is an institution in crisis. That Carrick’s pattern of egregious behaviour was known to the Met and they failed to act speaks more loudly than their empty promises to women.”

    “Solidarity with the victims & all who are feeling the weight of the traumatic details being reported,” it added.

    The British Women’s Equality Party tweeted: “The Met knew about the allegations for TWENTY years. They did nothing as a serial rapist abused his power. They are complicit. Misogyny will never be stripped from the police without a nationwide, statutory inquiry.”

    The Fawcett Society, which campaigns for gender equality and women’s rights, said on Twitter: “Any act of sexual violence is a disgrace. But it is particularly harmful when, yet again, these crimes have been perpetrated by a person who has additional responsibilities to keep the public safe.”

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