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Tag: police commissioner

  • Police conclude investigation into ex-MAG, transfer findings to Levin’s legal adviser

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    Police Commissioner Daniel Levi has decided that the evidence from the investigation of the former military advocate-general (MAG) Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi won’t be transferred to the Attorney General.

    Israel Police on Tuesday announced the conclusion of the investigation of former military advocate-general Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi regarding the leak of CCTV footage from the Sde Teiman detention facility.

    Following a briefing with the head of investigations and the probe team, Police Commissioner Daniel Levi instructed the force’s legal adviser to update Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s legal adviser on facts relevant to potential conflict-of-interest questions, and recommended appointing a senior external professional to review the case, according to a police statement.

    Levi has announced that he has decided to adopt the position of the High Court of Justice to wait until the arrival of the Ministry of Justice legal adviser regarding a conflict of interest suspicion. He has determined that the investigation evidence of the Sde Teiman case will not be transferred to the Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, Maariv reported.

    The waiting goal is to create a possibility of transferring the investigation’s findings to an external body, as decided by the High Court.

    The Israel Police explained in its statement that, since the Sde Teiman case is of high public sensitivity, “the Commissioner believes it is appropriate to allow an additional senior professional authority, external to the police, to review the entirety of the investigative actions carried out, as is customary in investigations of this type and as determined in a High Court of Justice ruling. Such an authority, it should be noted, has not yet been appointed.”

    Head of the Shin Bet David Zini and Police commissioner Daniel Levy. November 03, 2025. (credit: MOSHE SHAI/FLASH90)

    The Police Commissioner met with the head of the Investigations and Intelligence Division and with the investigation team, who reviewed before him the findings that arose in the case, Walla reported.

    Israel Police has declared that, “The Commissioner reviewed various fundamental issues and received the necessary explanations from the investigative team. It should be noted that, contrary to inaccurate reports, the Police Commissioner did not interfere in the investigative work.”

    It concluded, “In accordance with the opinion to be issued by the legal adviser of the Ministry of Justice, the investigative material will be transferred to an authorized review body, external to the police, which will be able to examine the investigation’s findings and the continuation of proceedings in the case, including the need for additional investigative steps, the summoning of additional witnesses and suspects, or alternatively, the filing of indictments against suspects found to be relevant.”

    The investigation into MAG Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi’s case started after the Sde Teiman incident in 2024, developing into a deep national case into the IDF’s actions regarding dealing with Palestinian detainees.

    Tomer-Yerushalmi Sde Teiman leak

    The investigation into Tomer-Yerushalmi stems from a July 2024 incident at the Sde Teiman detention facility, in which IDF reservists were suspected of severely abusing a Palestinian detainee from Gaza. The alleged assault, which occurred during the early months of the war, was investigated by the Justice Ministry’s Police Investigation Department (PID) and later led to indictments against several soldiers.

    The case drew heightened public attention about a month later, when video footage documenting the alleged abuse was leaked to the media and aired by television outlets, despite an active investigation and ongoing legal proceedings. The publication of the footage intensified political backlash against the military prosecution, with coalition lawmakers accusing the IDF legal system of selectively targeting soldiers and undermining morale during wartime.

    In response to the leak, a separate criminal investigation was opened in late 2024 to determine how the footage reached the media and whether its release violated confidentiality obligations or constituted an abuse of authority. As part of that probe, investigators examined decisions made within the Military Advocate General’s Office regarding access to and handling of the material.

    Tomer-Yerushalmi later acknowledged that she had approved the release of the footage, arguing that the decision was intended to counter misinformation circulating about the case and to demonstrate that the IDF was taking credible action. The admission placed the sitting MAG at the center of the leak investigation – an unprecedented development given the office’s role as the military’s chief prosecutorial authority.

    Following the disclosure, Tomer-Yerushalmi stepped down from her post, and law enforcement authorities continued examining whether the authorization amounted to a criminal offense or fell within prosecutorial discretion. As of now, the investigation remains ongoing, with no final determinations announced regarding potential charges.

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  • Gunmen kill nine in South Africa tavern attack

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    A manhunt is under way after a shooting at a tavern in South Africa left nine people dead and another 10 injured.

    Police said seven men and two women were killed in Bekkersdal, near Johannesburg, after about 12 unidentified gunmen arrived in two vehicles and opened fire at patrons.

    The shooting happened at about 01:00 local time on Sunday (23:00 GMT Saturday) and the perpetrators “continued to shoot randomly as [people] fled the scene”, police added.

    South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world. Sixty-three people were killed every day on average between April and September this year, according to police figures.

    Murders are often the result of arguments, robberies and gang violence. The motive for this attack is not clear.

    At the scene, deputy provincial police commissioner Maj-Gen Fred Kekana told broadcaster Newzroom Afrika that the perpetrators, armed with pistols and one AK-47, were “unprovoked”.

    “The poor patrons were just enjoying themselves when people came and shot,” he said.

    Two of the victims were shot outside the tavern as they tried to flee and a third was a taxi driver who had dropped off a passenger nearby, Maj-Gen Kekana added.

    Police have been carrying out investigations at the tavern [AFP via Getty Images]

    Resident Nokuthula Bhukwana went to the tavern after she heard the shooting.

    “When we arrived at the scene, we opened the doors and indeed scores of people were lying on the floor,” she told the Reuters news agency.

    “We rushed around and others were calling the police, and we also called the ambulance and they arrived. We had to carry some of the injured people using wheelbarrows to the clinic.”

    Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, one resident described how gunfire had become a normal thing at night in Bekkersdal.

    “Criminals, they do as they please here,” the unnamed man said.

    “These guns, they sound each and every evening… as soon as it’s dusk we know that gunshots are about to sound and they will sound severely.

    “It is terrorising our communities.”

    Interviewed at the scene, deputy mayor for the local municipality Nontombi Molatlhegi said that locals were afraid of speaking out and identifying those responsible.

    She said that the police were under-resourced, and too thinly spread, and called for the military to get involved in protecting residents.

    “We are crying, as well as the city political leadership, for the intervention of the national government to release [the army] so that they can be able to come in this space” and be visible.

    There are about three million legally held firearms in South Africa, but there are at least the same number of unlicensed weapons in circulation in the country, which has a population of 63 million, according to statistics cited by Gideon Joubert from the South African Gunowners’ Association.

    Earlier this month, at least 11 people – including a child – were shot dead at a hostel near Pretoria.

    There has been a significant increase in mass shootings – where four or more people are either killed or injured – since 2020, Claire Taylor, a researcher at campaign group Gun Free South Africa, told the BBC.

    Looking at media reports from 2024 her organisation recorded 80 such incidents, which was up from 71 the previous year. There has, however, been a decline in reported mass shootings in 2025.

    Among the most common locations are licensed taverns, such as in Bekkersdal this weekend, or illegal drinking spots, known locally as shebeens, which was the case in the 6 December killings.

    Additional reporting by Damian Zane

    More from South Africa:

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    Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

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  • Three police officers killed, two wounded in York County ‘domestic-related’ investigation

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    Governor Josh Shapiro and the Pennsylvania State Police commissioner offer details on a shooting in York County that left three police officers dead. (Photo courtesy of Commonwealth Media Services)

    *This is a breaking news story. We’ll move quickly to provide the best information we have at the time.*

    Three law enforcement officers were shot and killed in North Codorus Township, York County, on Wednesday during an investigation into a “domestic-related” incident that happened at a home there the previous day, state police said. 

    Two others were wounded and were in critical, but stable, condition Wednesday night. The suspect was killed by police, according to State Police Commissioner Col. Christopher Paris.

    As of 6:15 p.m. Wednesday evening, there was no active threat to the public, Paris said at a press conference.

    “Our hearts and prayers go out to them, to the families of the deceased and the families of those officers who were wounded,” Paris said. “There are simply no words that I can offer to assuage the grief that this community has experienced, and unfortunately will continue to experience.”

    The injured officers are being treated at WellSpan York Hospital. Paris did not share which law enforcement agencies the officers who were shot worked for, and noted that many details would not be made public until the investigation progresses.

    It’s the second time a York County officer has been killed in the line of duty this year. In February, West York Patrolman Andrew Duarte was killed during a hostage situation at UPMC Memorial Hospital in York.

    Gov. Josh Shapiro, who made a speech against political violence last night in Pittsburgh at the Eradicate Hate Global Summit, travelled to York County Wednesday.

    “This kind of violence isn’t ok,” he said at a press conference. “We need to do better as a society. We need to help the people who think that picking up a gun, picking up a weapon, is the answer to resolving disputes. We need to do better when it comes to mental health.”

    It was the deadliest single day for law enforcement in the commonwealth since the Pennsylvania Fraternal Order of Police began keeping track on their fallen heroes page, which dates back to 2012. On April 4 2009, three officers were killed in a shooting in the Stanton Hill neighborhood in Pittsburgh after responding to a domestic call. Two others were wounded. 

    Governor Josh Shapiro talks with Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Col. Christopher Paris after a shooting in York County left three police officers dead on September 17, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Commonwealth Media Services)

    The name of the suspect in Wednesday’s shooting was not released, but the incident took place near a home on Haar Road.

    Phoebe Luckenbaugh, who lives several houses away from where the shooting happened, said the property with a farmhouse and a red barn close to the road was home to a young family.

    Craig Zumbrum, who is listed in property records as the owner with his wife, Elizabeth, died in 2023. His widow and four children, including two teenagers, still live in the home and were often seen in the yard, Luckenbaugh said.

    “They’re a nice normal country family,” she said, adding that she has no first-hand knowledge of what happened at the farm Wednesday. Since Craig Zumbrum’s death, a relative has raised crops on the farm for the family, Luckenbaugh said.

    State Police are asking the public to avoid the scene.

    Paris said that state police will lead the investigation, in collaboration with York County District Attorney Tim Barker. He added that state police have been in touch with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s office in Philadelphia.

    “I can assure you that all of the resources of the Pennsylvania state police are being brought to bear,” Paris said. He added that, for the time, state police will be taking over calls for service for the Northern York County Regional Police Department.

    Shapiro said he was contacted by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who he said “shared with me we have the full support of the federal government.”

    “We so appreciate law enforcement at every level, and we of course appreciate our federal partners,” Shapiro added.

    Bondi said in a post on the social media platform X that the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were on the scene.

    “Violence against law enforcement is a scourge on our society and never acceptable,” she wrote. “Pray for the officers involved.”

    Attorney General Dave Sunday, who previously served as the York County District Attorney, said on social media that he was travelling to the county after hearing about the incident.

    Learning that three officers were killed in York County where I worked for many years as a prosecutor, and where I still call home, is unfathomable,” he said in a statement. “Having served alongside these officers, I know of their caliber, their professionalism and the lasting impact they had on our community. This loss is a heart-wrenching reminder of the sacrifices police officers and other first responders make every single day.”

    Shapiro has ordered flags in the commonwealth to be flown at half-staff until the officers are interred. No date has been set yet.

    The Pennsylvania Capital-Star’s Peter Hall contributed to this story. 

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  • More than 1,200 new NYPD recruits approved as city’s fiscal fortunes continue to improve: Mayor Adams | amNewYork

    More than 1,200 new NYPD recruits approved as city’s fiscal fortunes continue to improve: Mayor Adams | amNewYork

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    Mayor Eric Adams (at podium) with (l. to r.) Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey, Police Commissioner Edward Caban and Chief of Patrol John Chell at an April 18, 2024 briefing at One Police Plaza.

    Benny Polatseck/Mayoral Photography Office