Four Lakewood Police Officers-May you all rest in peace

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I have spent a lot of time with my co-workers at the beginning or the end of shifts at different coffee houses.  A truly evil person came in and took these Lakewood Police Officers lives, it easily could have been me or anyone that I work with.  At times like these I rarely know what to say other than I know that:

1.  God is always good-Daniel 9:7 -"Righteousness belongs to You, O Lord, but to us open shame,

2.  God is always working for good-Romans 8:28

3. God Loves us-John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotton Son, that whosoever believes in Him, will have everlasting life." 
This verse is so important because it shows that God loved the world (Every person who has ever been born or will be born) so much that He was willing to allow His one and only Son to be born into the sin filled world; just so we can live eternal life with Him one day, if we chose to.

4.  He will never leave us-Deuteronomy 31:8 - "And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. he will be with you, He will not leave you nore forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed." 

5.  His justice is perfect-1 Timothy 1:9-1We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers--and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me."

These men died serving their community.  Why God allowed this to happen and how with will be used to further his perfect plan-I will only know when I am finally reunited with him.  As for now I can just fall back on the above five promises, and pray for the people these men left behind. 

A look at the four police officers who were slain at a suburban coffee shop on Sunday:

Sgt. Mark Renninger, 39

Renninger was described as a cop's cop: A tough guy who excelled at his job and was regarded as a leader and teacher in the close-knit Lakewood police force.

"He was the most competent and tactically proficient man I ever knew in police work. I do not say this because he was killed and that is something you should say," Lakewood police union president Brian Wurts said. "Everyone in our department and all who knew Mark know this was true."

Relatives said Renninger, who grew up in Bethlehem, Pa., came to Washington state through military service. The East Coast native was blunt-spoken but "never belittled anyone," Wurts said.

"Mark had that spark that made you like him and respect him. He was truly a rock in our department, someone you always counted on," Wurts wrote.

The union said Renninger was married with three children.

---

Officer Tina Griswold, 40

Her sister, Tiffiny Ryan, said Griswold liked to cook, ride her dirt bike and was a certified diver.

"My worst nightmare has come true," Ryan told reporters on Monday. "I can't tell you how painful it is to lose my sister."

Griswold knew she wanted to be a police officer by the time she finished high school, a weeping Ryan said.

Their father is a retired police officer, while their mother was an administrative assistant at the Washington Supreme Court, Ryan said.

Tina Griswold began working in law enforcement as a dispatcher in Shelton, then became a police officer in Shelton and Lacey before going to work in Lakewood five years ago, Ryan said.

Griswold also has a 21-year-old daughter and a 7-year-old son, Ryan said.

---

Officer Ronald Owens, 37

Relatives said Owens - known to friends and family as Ronnie - was a lifelong resident of Parkland, the Tacoma suburb where he was killed. The police union said Owens has a daughter.

Wurts said Owens' fun-loving personality "made everyone around him feel positive."

He "was the laid-back, dirt-bike-riding, surfer-hair-having cop you would always want at a party or with you on any call," Wurts said. "Though he had a laid-back perspective, he was sharp and an extremely dedicated and hard worker."

Owens was a Washington State Patrol trooper from 1997 until 2004, when he left to join the Lakewood police, Patrol Chief John Batiste said.

"While we have many ranks and honors that we offer for exemplary service, the most coveted honor is to simply be respected by your colleagues as 'a good troop,'" Batiste said. "Ron Owens was most definitely a good troop."

---

Officer Greg Richards, 42

Richards liked nothing better than spending time with his wife Kelly and three children, the union president said.

Richards enjoyed music in his spare time, playing drums in a rock band that performed this summer at a charity event for a hospitalized fellow-officer.

Richards was liked by everyone he met, sister-in-law Melanie Burwell said. Even though the family knew his job could be dangerous, his death was a shock, she said.

What happened...and how this man should never had been out of prison to kill.

Former Arkansas governor/GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee might have made a huge mistake when he commuted Maurice Clemmons' 60-year prison sentence nine years ago: Now, Clemmons is wanted for questioning in the horrific shooting of four Washington State police officers.

This morning, a man walked into a coffee shop in Lakewood, Washington and opened fire, killing four police officers in what officials are calling an "execution-style" shooting. Now police are looking to question 37 year-old Maurice Clemmons, who theSeattle Times reports has had a long criminal history. It started in 1990, when Clemmons was sentenced to 60 years in prison in Arkansas for burglary and theft of property:

When Clemmons received the 60-year sentence, he was already serving 48 years on five felony convictions and facing up to 95 more years on charges of robbery, theft of property and possessing a handgun on school property. Records from Clemmons' sentencing described him as 5-foot-7 and 108 pounds. The crimes were committed when he was 17.

Clemmons served 11 years before being released.

News accounts say Huckabee commuted Clemmons' sentence, citing Clemmons' young age at the time the crimes were committed.

After Huckabee freed Clemmons it was all downhill: According to the Seattle Times report, Clemmons racked up eight felony charges after moving to Washington—the most recent being second-degree rape of a child, for which he had been in jail pending a trial for the past few months. Clemmons was released from jail six days ago after posting his $150,000 bail with help from a company called Jail Sucks Bail Bonds.

Then he might have gunned down four police officers this morning:
Sgt. Mark Renninger, Officers Ronald Owens, Tina Griswold and Greg Richards.

Giving Thanks on Thanksgiving

As I sit here next to my son, supervising his homework, I am reminded of all the things that I should be thankful for and have not acknowledged as much as I should.  It is appropriate to do this now due to this upcoming holidays (wow original blog post-thankful on Thanksgiving Day-but I digress).

I am thankful for:

1. A God that cares enough for me to send his son to die for my sins so I will not have to go to hell. What really blows my mind is that he did not die just for my big sins, but for all of them. I remembering watching part of the Passion of the Christ and shaking my head wondering why he would be willing to suffer and die in such a way so that I am not condemned for all the little stupid bits of evil I do everyday.

2. For Carol my wife of soon to be fifteen years. I met her when she was fourteen and when we finally dated, we dated for four years. I did everything I could to mess this up and yet here we are and I am thankful.

3. For Rosario-my firstborn. His personality is as different from mine as it possibly could be and yet he is a precious stone slowly being cut into a gem.

4. For Rebecca-the best challenge that I could ever have.  First Becca has to lookout, then lookout world!

5. For Police work- provided me with a purpose and a paycheck-especially in a time where most people lack both at the same time.

6. For the Adler School of Professional Psychology Masters of Police Psychology-came at a dark time in my career-repurposed me till I was granted an assignment that I was able to utilize my talents once again. Bill Powers will never be forgotten, R.I.-well deserved-P..

7. The United States of America-through the blessings of God and the forethought of our founding fathers-I have the ability to say what I wish, to worship how I choose and work how I may.

8. Family-got a good start with love

9. Friends- life is a team event with individual scoring

10. Health-little actual sickness-my cut off finger, broken left hand, broken right hand, ruptured right ACL, broken nose, perforated left eardrum, broken right ankle, broken right foot, 2nd degree right shoulder separation, torn right calf, etc and etc. Were all self inflicted in one form or the other.

I and I can safely say many others, loose sight of how truly blessed we all are and focus on the very few things we lack. Now is a time to remember all that we should be thankful for and help others to fulfill their needs so that they may become equally thankful.

Colossians 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

Why do all movies made from Video games stink worse than cheese on the radiator for three days?

I just finished watching the flaming Iraqi oil derrick that is Max Payne. I would really like that time back, standing on a street corner counting blue cars would have been a better use of my time.

Why do all movies made from Video games stink worse than cheese left on the radiator for three days?


I wonder why the transition between video game and movie seems to be such an insurmountable task. What follows is a brief list of this genre I have complied. Watch were you walk, you do not want to get these on your shoes.

Max Payne-great game in the noir style-bad movie in no style-note to director YOU NEVER USE THE BARRELL OF THE Heckler & Koch MP5KA4 you are carrying to open a door!!!!

The Resident Evils-The zombie genre is scary if you think it could somehow happen to you and you care about the lead actors/actresses-neither is accomplished here.

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within-Cool lets make a movie that has nothing to do with any of the games other than the name, yes that will work.

Alone in the Dark-Christian Slater just what happened to you man?

Wing Commander-Thanks for getting bullet time technology to the Matrix Movies and your plot to Oblivion.

Silent Hill-great series of games that put gothic horror survival games into a new prospective.  The movie would have been better as a silent black and white film...made just all silent and all black.

Super Mario Brothers-Dennis Hopper and Bob Hoskins?  And it still sucked? How is that possible?

Laura Croft Tomb Raiders-Attention all future directors; a plot is like a tree with many branches coming off a central trunk-not a stright line like a 747 Jumbo Jet runway.

Double Dragon-I could finish this game in the arcade with just 50 cents-they could not finish this movie with two Lee Brothers and 15 million.

Street Fighter-Jean Claude Van Damme?  Wasn't Claude Jean Damme Van available?  Or Damme Van Claude Jean?  Finishing move...suck till it blows!

Doom-Not bad...well I had about 8 beers before I saw it...but it was not so bad...I mean I did not want to set fire to the set...

BloodRayne- You know how you meet a beautiful girl that suddenly gets ugly when her stupidity and witlessness comes out when she speaks?  Well it happens when they act too.

Mortal Combat-Moby sound track really really cool-Christopher Lambert really loved Highlander-I would say more but they pulled my horribly rendered spine with cord attached out of my crappy CGI body.

Ok I could go on but it is too painful.  I feel my dinner trying to escape my body in two spots.  Look for you own good please stay far far away.  Play the games and burn the movies.  Cheers.


1 Chronicles 4:10


Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." And God granted his request.

Cleaned up Blog

I got a few complaints about the load times for this blog so I cleaned up the pictures etc.  It should now load fairly quickly.

Enjoy

Psalm 116:6


The LORD protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me.

Baylor Wins an away game!

A Baylor University Football away game win is rarer than a gold coin in a sea of silver.  Baylor 40 Missouri 32.  The last away game we won in the Big 12 was against Colorado a couple of years ago.  Good win.

Hooky from the Blog

Well the perfect storm hit to put me way behind my blog posts.  They are as follows in no particular order:

1.  New Playstation 3 consul
2.  New Facebook Account
3.  Mom and Dad in town for two weeks from Arizona visiting our kids

So I am a little behind with the blog.  So for this post a quick hit lets talk about Brandon Spikes eye gouge.  This is what happens when a "win at all costs" mentality exists in youth sports.  I am not naive enough to not know that this happens in the pile-ups at the end of football plays and I have heard different Dad's instruct their children to do similar unsporting actions.  I really do not have a solution other than this guy is that co-worker that we all have that lives on stepping on your corpse to get a head.  Watch the video and be appalled.    There is no sound but it is not necessary.

Weeee! Job Security!

By Dustin Kass | dustin.kass@lee.net | Posted: Wednesday, August 26, 2009 12:05 am |

James Prusi never thought a pair of phone calls Friday about a live, spray-painted goat in a customer's trunk would thrust him and his co-workers at Tires Plus into the national spotlight.

Little did he know.

Just days after calling animal control, which seized the animal, news outlets from across the country jumped on the story of the bound, purple-and-gold alpine goat with the number of new Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre shaved into its sides.

The New York Times, USA Today and The Boston Globe, as well as newspapers from Sacramento to Miami, printed the story of the goat - now named Brett - and area television crews swarmed the shop Monday.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals even referenced it in a Twitter post, calling for animal cruelty charges against the "Brett Favre goat woman."

That kind of exposure never came to mind when Prusi called the Daily News.

"I thought I'd just get the locals a kick," by telling the story, he said. "The main reason we called (animal control) was for the well-being of the goat."

Tires Plus employees called animal control Friday after two customers stopped in to have a belt replaced and mentioned they had a goat, which they planned to slaughter, in the trunk of their car.

That call may also lead to misdemeanor charges.

Assistant City Attorney Brian Glodosky said he plans to charge Janelle Riopel, 21, of St. Paul and Sonny Yang, 24, of La Crosse, Wis., with overworking or mistreating animals and cruelty in transportation.

A message left for Riopel was not returned Tuesday, and attempts to reach Yang were unsuccessful.

In an interview with Milwaukee radio station, Riopel said she and her boyfriend picked up the goat at a Wisconsin farm and planned to eat it. She said the animal was already painted and shaved when they received it.

But Brett is not a meat goat, said animal control officer Wendy Peterson.

Life at Tires Plus has been hectic since the incident, said store manager Dave Hanner.

Prusi said he's already gotten his fill of his name in print and his face on newscasts.

Hanner and Prusi have given interviews to radio stations in Milwaukee, Chicago, Rochester, N.Y., and even Canada.

"It's all been very positive," Hanner said. "Any publicity for the store is good publicity."

Hammer said they've also received dozens of calls from people thanking them for saving the goat - including one from a New York actress. A local woman even dropped off doughnuts Saturday morning.

"I feel good about what we did," Hanner said. "It is a unique story, and it's something out of the norm."

Reporter Nolan Rosenkrans contributed to this report.

Ok may not be the best of things but it struck me...

A e-mail sent to me...

It's not difficult to make a woman happy.


A man only needs to be:

1. a friend

2. a companion

3. a lover

4. a brother

5. a father

6. a master

7. a chef

8. an electrician

9. a carpenter

10. a plumber

11. a mechanic

12. a decorator

13. a stylist

14. a sexologist

15. a gynecologist

16. a psychologist

17. a pest exterminator

18. a psychiatrist

19. a healer

20. a good listener

21. an organizer

22. a good father

23. very clean

24. sympathetic

25. athletic

26. warm

27. attentive

28. gallant

29. intelligent

30. funny

31. creative

32. tender

33. strong

34. understanding

35. tolerant

36. prudent

37. ambitious

38. capable

39. courageous

40. determined

41. true

42. dependable

43. passionate

44. compassionate


WITHOUT FORGETTING TO:

45. give her compliments regularly

46. love shopping

47. be honest

48. be very rich

49. not stress her out

50. not look at other girls

AND AT THE SAME TIME, YOU MUST ALSO:

51. give her lots of attention, but expect little yourself

52. give her lots of time, especially time for herself

53. give her lots of space, never worrying about where she goes

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT:

54. Never to forget:

* birthdays

* anniversaries

* arrangements she makes



HOW TO MAKE A MAN HAPPY

1. Show up naked

2. Bring alcohol

Rigid Morality

One of the constant knocks against Christians in the media and in our society in general is our perceived rigid morality.  Since the standard is a sinless Christ and our guidebook is the Bible, rather than a standard we make up ourselves, our morality and thus, ideally (we all are still sinful creatures and fall down a lot), our ethical behavior by necessity is rigid.  The world can not understand how a Christian can condemn the action but still love and support the actor.  The goal is salvation not condemnation, that is the role of a righteous God at the end of time.  Christian moral absolutes force any Christian to abstain from and prevent violence against another regardless of their proclivities, politics and belief systems.  Evil is still evil if an action is carried out against another and creates a victim.  If the action is evil and the attempt to justify is a bastardization of the Bible's verses, that person is not a Christian but rather evil trying to hide behind a cheap justification.  The New Testament is the blueprint for a Christians proper moral conduct, set in time and place and without regard to the whims of society.


The world wants a sliding ethical system without judgement or the impediment of action of others.  The best current example of this is the reaction to the recent Roman Polanski arrest.  Here are some quotes "As a Swiss filmmaker, I feel deeply ashamed," Christian Frei said.  "He's a brilliant guy, and he made a little mistake 32 years ago. What a shame for Switzerland," said photographer Otto Weisser, a friend of Polanski.  "The list of supporters giving Polanski their impassioned support read like a Who's Who of the cream of the movie-making world. It included, among many others, Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, David Lynch, Harvey Weinstein, Pedro Almodóvar and Ethan Coen".  The cream of the movie world throwing their support to a self admitted child rapist.  


Here is a brief description of what happened from wikipedia.

Sex crime conviction

In 1977, Polanski, then aged 44, became embroiled in a scandal involving 13-year-old Samantha Gailey (now Samantha Geimer). It ultimately led to Polanski's guilty plea to the charge of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.

According to Geimer, Polanski asked Geimer's mother if he could photograph the girl for the French edition of Vogue, which Polanski had been invited to guest-edit. Her mother allowed a private photo shoot. According to Geimer in a 2003 interview, "Everything was going fine; then he asked me to change, well, in front of him." She added, "It didn't feel right, and I didn't want to go back to the second shoot."

Geimer later agreed to a second session, which took place on March 10, 1977 at the home of actor Jack Nicholson in the Mulholland area of Los Angeles. "We did photos with me drinking champagne," Geimer says. "Toward the end it got a little scary, and I realized he had other intentions and I knew I was not where I should be. I just didn't quite know how to get myself out of there." She recalled in a 2003 interview that she began to feel uncomfortable after he asked her to lie down on a bed, and how she attempted to resist. "I said, 'No, no. I don't want to go in there. No, I don't want to do this. No!', and then I didn't know what else to do," she stated, adding: "We were alone and I didn’t know what else would happen if I made a scene. So I was just scared, and after giving some resistance, I figured well, I guess I’ll get to come home after this".

Geimer testified that Polanski gave her a combination of champagne and quaaludes, a sedative drug, and "despite her protests, he performed oral sex, intercourse and sodomy on her", each time after being told 'no' and being asked to stop.

Charges and guilty plea

Polanski was initially charged with rape by use of drugs, perversion, sodomy, lewd and lascivious act upon a child under 14, and furnishing a controlled substance (methaqualone) to a minor. These charges were dismissed under the terms of his plea bargain, and he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of engaging in unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, according to the documentary Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, the court ordered Polanski to report to a state prison for a 90-day psychiatric evaluation, but granted a stay of ninety days to allow him to complete his current project. Under the terms set by the court, he was permitted to travel abroad. Polanski returned to California and reported to Chino State Prison for the evaluation period, and was released after 42 days. All parties expected Polanski to get only probation at the subsequent sentencing hearing, but after an alleged conversation with LA Deputy District Attorney David Wells, the judge "suggested to Polanski's attorneys that he would send the director to prison and order him deported". In response to the threat of imprisonment, Polanski fled the United States.


Bottom line-some of reasoning I have heard to support him are: the victim does not want him jailed (she now admits he paid her), the crime was a long time ago, there were procedural errors in the case (did not keep him from seeking a plea agreement and then fleeing) and he is great artist and director.

This is what situational ethics gives you.  Christian-child rape is always wrong-whether it is done by the dirty homeless man under the bridge or the greatest man who ever lived (not to soil the reputation of that Dos Equis man).  Situational ethics-well it was a long time ago and he is a great artist lets look the other way.

The reason that Polanski's victim can not call off the case is all victims are represented by either the state of the federal government.  The thought behind this is once a victim is created all of us in society are likewise victimized.

Christian's want justice done, the world wants Roman to escape justice because its not that bad and it wasn't my daughter.  The world does not get sick to their stomach like they should when they consider his actions.

Rigidity looks a lot better doesn't it.

James 1:21

Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

More and More Job Security

Strangely, this store hit me rather viscerally.

Cops: Wife, three other women torture husband

August 3, 2009 12:13 PM | 67 Comments

STOCKBRIDGE, Wis. -- Three women who had affairs with a married man are accused of luring him to a motel where, joined by the man's wife, they tied him up and applied Krazy Glue to his private parts.

Therese Ziemann invited the man to a motel on Thursday, tied him up, promised a massage and then sent text messages to the other women, according to Calumet County prosecutors.

Once all the women were there, they confronted him about his infidelity, police say. Ziemann punched him in the face and glued his penis to his stomach with Krazy Glue, according to the criminal complaint.

The women fled the motel when the man started screaming, officials said.

Charged with false imprisonment are Ziemann, 48, of Menasha, Wis.; Michelle Belliveau, 43, of Neenah, Wis.; Wendy L. Sewell, 43, of Kaukauna; and the man's wife. The Associated Press was not naming the wife to protect the man's identity. 

Authorities say Ziemann punched the man in the face and glued his penis to his stomach.

The women are free on $200 cash bails.

-- Associated Press

More Job Security

Arrested man accused of rubbing women's legs
Associated Press

11:43 p.m. CDT, September 28, 2009

WHEATON, Ill. - DuPage County authorities say a college student from Aurora has been charged with breaking into the unlocked apartments of three women and rubbing their legs as they slept.


Police say that when the women awoke, the man fled.

Bond was set at $100,000 Monday for 19-year-old Quincy Forrester, who was charged with three counts of criminal trespass. Authorities say Forrester is a student at Kishwaukee Community College in Malta.

Assistant DuPage County State's Attorney Brooks Locke says three different women at the apartment complex where Forrester lived reported to police that they were awakened by a man dressed in all black rubbing their legs. No other contact was reported.

Forrester was arrested early Sunday morning by an Aurora police officer near the apartment complex.


***Why Law Enforcement tends to be recession proof***

Please ladies lock your doors!

Godly Women

I would like to start a post where I did not shoot my mouth off but this one will not be the first of the "I thought before I spoke series". Anyway I have finally jumped on the bandwagon that is Facebook, it was something my wife and her friends have been doing for sometime. It fun for doing quick hits and finding people that you have not spoken to in twenty years. If you do not know, part of the process is finding and befriending people. I became facebook friends (sign of theApocalypse number 17) with one of the fathers of Ross' schoolmates.  Without thinking I also facebooked (verb?) his wife since she was a facebook friend of my wife.

Fast forward a few days and we are all out at the park district since we run three soccer teams from Ross and Rebecca's school. That wife and I really do not talk to each other but I speak to her husband throughout most of the game. About halfway through the first game she walked up to me and was clearly nervous. She then told me that she has rejected my facebook request because she has a policy that the only men that she has "friended" is her husband and two other male family members in order to maintain accountability. I then told her that, that was fine and a good standard to maintain. At this time someone else in the group said that they knew a couple of people getting into trouble on facebook by looking up old girlfriends and getting reacquainted. I would have been fine had I just stopped there but not wanting to let a smartass moment get away I said to her husband as she was walking off, "I think the real the real problem, Joe, was your wife can't handle my super hot stud-ness."  At which we all laughed and someone else said, "Sure that's what the problem was!".

I thought about this for about a day and realized that here was a wife trying to be a Godly woman and maintain appropriate relationships and boundaries in an age that praises neither trait and further, rather than just reject my friend request she had the courage and forthrightness to speak to me about and further still she was not attacking me for my conduct. I repaid her kindness and Holiness with ridicule.

So after sending her husband an e-mail praising her conduct I began thinking how much better would our society be if more Godly women were supported and praised. Almost every case of adultery that I know about started with a minor boundary violation. The work lunch that had just two people in attendance, the joke swop e-mail exchange, the venting of personal problems to a non-family member (an aside here, there maybe some exception somewhere but most men that I have know only listen to home troubles of a friend/co-worker of the opposite sex in order to use it to manipulate the outcome, a lot of paths to the bedroom started that way).  How could it happen in the first place if the first boundry was never crossed.  Its hard to have sex on the soccer field in front of everyone and it is hard to make the suggestion if the communication has to go through the husband first! 

So if you want the divorce rate to finally slide under 50% then praise the Godly woman and hope there is one waiting for you when you get home...I have one waiting and now I will make sure I praise others as I meet them.

1 Timothy 3:11


In the same way, their wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.

Pins have been Pulled

Well the pins have been pulled and now I need to get into physical therapy for about six weeks and I will be finished. The longest pin ran from the pinkie side of my hand all the way to the other side and starting last week you could see the bump where it was pushing up from the inside. It is healing well but continue to keep me in your prayers.

Job 5:18
For he wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal.

Misunderstandings

I had promised myself that I would not be jumping into the media fray involving the Sergeant Jim Crowley of the Cambridge Police Department, President Obama and that knucklehead breaking into his own home because I try to stay away from the furor of the moment. Putting the politics aside I want to point out that Jim's beer pick of Blue Moon was by far the best choice of all the beer that had been assembled, it showed a refinement and intellectual grace lacking in the other beer selections, but I digress.

This incident made me think back to the calls that I responded daily to in patrol where our mandated response was not well understood to the public. I selected the type of call that would be told to me at a party where they did not know I was in law enforcement and the story would start with, "Let me tell you what this stupid cop did to me the other day..." After hearing the story I would interject the reasons for the Officer's actions and get a ,"Oh I guess that makes sense, I guess I just did not know." and I always would respond ,"And yet you were more than happy to label him/her a jerk even though you had no idea what was going on. I hope that does not happen to you through the course of your day."

Due to the incredible slowness of my typing with one good hand I will just be providing two quick examples and more to follow once the right wrist is back in the locked and upright position for liftoff.

1. The above Sgt's call. I have had many such calls in my career, where the homeowner or associated family member has to break into their home because they have locked themselves out. You want the neighbors to call 911, when someone, even you, is breaking into the house, burglars tend to look like all the rest of us-the hamburgler ruined it for all of them.
What we do: This is considered a hot call and emergency response is used. The emergency lights and siren are shut down before we get arrive on scene. Two officers are around the house to respond to subjects fleeing the home and two officers are assigned to make contact with whomever is in the house. We will not be ringing your doorbell, knocking on you door or calling your telephone because if it is bad guys in the home it usually is not a good idea to let them know that the Police are here(I used to get asked that all the time, why didn't you...). We will usually enter the same way you entered. We will let you know who we are and make contact with you. You will be required to provide us with a picture I.D., no matter who you are. We can not just take your word for it because, well, criminals tend to lie (I know shocking) and handing me a framed picture of you that was found in you home will also not suffice because of domestic violence problems. Orders of Protections restrict offenders from addresses they own. I have arrested Men and Women breaking into homes at addresses they have been residing in just the week before. Finally I am going to ask for your telephone number, it is necessary for the report and the associated computer data entry. I promise I am not going to sell you Am-way.
What you need to do: It’s simple, call 911 and let us know you are locked out. We will arrive, we will make sure it is property that you can legally enter and then leave, wishing you a good day, in the process. No fuss no muss.

2. Non-physical domestic trouble call. Assuming there is not an Order of Protection (O.O.P.) in play this is considered a non-emergency call. Usually there will be two of us there to separate the involved parties and calm things down while getting the account of what had just happened. First, what has happened in the past is of no concern to us. One of our first task is getting to what has happened, just now, that caused the 911 call, not what horrible things she did to you in college in 1968. It is not that we do not care that she just broke your great-grandmother’s clown holding red balloons sculpture but if it took ten years to get to this point, I will have to spend a shift and a half with you just to get to today’s issue. Second, the first person to call 911, does not win. It really does not even come into play; if it did we would have abusers with 911 on speed dial with a baseball bat handy. Third, I am once again going to ask you for a picture ID, yes even if it was you who called 911 or just got home from work (for the same reasons as example 1). Forth, I only have the power to remove someone from their home if it is a court order or a provable criminal act has occurred. As much as you may want me to drag your husband kicking and screaming to his Brother Ray’s house for the night, I just can’t, even if you ask nicely and then start screaming at me. Fifth, you can do the following: be drunk in your own home, invite friends to the house that do not like your significant other, have sex with people other than you, repaint the living room walls, rearrange the furniture, play video games past 10:00pm, smoke in your fully restored 1968 Stingray and well a bunch of other things-I may not like it but really do you want me pulling you from your house because you dropped a lollipop on the white shag carpet-I thought not. Six, we really do not want anything bad to happen to you and please do not come to this conclusion just because we did not immediately acquiesce to your multitude of demands. Seven, complementing/coming on to me and vice versa bringing the legitimacy of my birth and the moral standing of my mother into question will not cause me to side with you, just the facts ma’am. Eight, what you current income is, whether very high or very low, does not change my response to this incident. Nine, if you call us, a written report will be made and yes it will contain your slanted and suspect oratory of the event but it will also have a equal amount of narrative time dedicated to the other persons slanted and suspect oratory. Ten, yes at all times I want to be able to see my partner, Officer safety is my first responsibility, you should not ever get alone time with either of us.
What you should do: If you believe that a relationship duress is getting beyond you control I want you to call 911. I will be happy to go to a thousand domestic troubles if it prevents even one domestic battery. We not fix your relationship, hopefully we can get the two (or more) of you to calm down and separate long enough for the professionals to step in. Please understand that if there is someone out there in the street injured your argument will not be a priority. Pray, lots and lots of prayer is always needed, when times are good and when they are bad.

I hope this helps. More to come in some future post.

Ecclesiastes 8:11
When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong.

Video Status Update on Wrist

The Biggest Drug Case in DEA History

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, August 20, 2009
WWW.USDOJ.GOVAG
(202) 514-2007
TDD (202) 514-1888

Ten Alleged Mexican Drug Cartel Leaders Among 43 Defendants Indicted in Brooklyn and Chicago as Part of Coordinated Strike Against Mexican Drug Trafficking Organizations
WASHINGTON – Forty-three defendants in the United States and Mexico, including 10 alleged Mexican drug cartel leaders, have been charged in 12 indictments unsealed yesterday and today in U.S. federal courts in Brooklyn and Chicago, the Department of Justice, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced. The alleged leaders and other high-ranking members of several of Mexico’s most powerful drug cartels are charged with operating continuing criminal enterprises or participating in international drug trafficking conspiracies.

"Breaking up these dangerous cartels and stemming the flow of drugs, weapons and cash across the Southwest border is a top priority for this Justice Department," said Attorney General Eric Holder. "The cartels whose alleged leaders are charged today constitute multi-billion dollar networks that funnel drugs onto our streets and what invariably follows is more crime and violence in our communities. Today’s indictments demonstrate our unwavering commitment to root out the leaders of these criminal enterprises wherever they may be found. We will continue to stand with our partners in Mexico to dismantle the cartels’ insidious operations."

"Realizing that neither of our two countries can win over drug traffickers on its own, we have built up the bilateral cooperation between the United States and Mexico to allow us to combine our investigative and legal resources to dismantle these transnational drug organizations and bring the leaders to justice," said Mexican Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora. "We can only protect the right of our societies to live in peace and harmony through our governments’ mutual trust and shared responsibility."

Three of the suspected leaders were charged in both Brooklyn and Chicago. Joaquin "el Chapo" Guzman-Loera, Ismael "el Mayo" Zambada-Garcia and Arturo Beltran-Leyva, who are allegedly among the most powerful drug traffickers in Mexico, are alleged to be present and former heads of an organized crime syndicate known as the "Sinaloa Cartel" and "the Federation." Each of these three is designated as a Consolidated Priority Organization Target or CPOT by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).

Also charged in the Brooklyn indictments were seven other cartel leaders, including CPOT Ignacio "Nacho" Coronel Villarreal, Hector Beltran-Leyva (Arturo’s brother) and Jesus Zambada-Garcia (Ismael’s brother), each alleged leaders within the Federation; CPOT Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, the alleged head of the Juarez Cartel; CPOT Luis and Esteban Rodriguez-Olivera, alleged leaders of Los Gueros; and CPOT Tirso Martinez-Sanchez, the alleged head of his own international drug trafficking organization.

Together, the four Brooklyn and eight Chicago indictments charge that between 1990 and December 2008, Guzman-Loera, Ismael Zambada-Garcia, Arturo Beltran-Leyva and others were responsible for importing into the United States and distributing nearly 200 metric tons of cocaine, additional large quantities of heroin, and the bulk smuggling from the United States to Mexico of more than $5.8 billion in cash proceeds from narcotics sales throughout the United States and Canada.

The indictments unsealed today collectively seek forfeiture of more than $5.8 billion in drug proceeds. Also, more than 32,500 kilograms of cocaine have been seized, including approximately 3,000 kilograms seized during the Chicago investigation, approximately 7,500 kilograms seized during the New York investigation and 22,500 kilograms seized previously that were later linked to the activities of the Federation. The indictments also detail seizures of 64 kilograms of heroin and more than $22.6 million in cash during the course of the investigation.

As part of the coordinated actions, eight defendants have been arrested in the Chicago and Atlanta areas in the last week. Earlier this year, 10 additional defendants, all customers of or couriers for the organizations, were charged separately in Chicago. Five defendants, all New York-based wholesale distributors or logistics coordinators for the cartels, were charged separately in Brooklyn. In all, 58 individuals have been charged in the investigation coordinated between the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in Brooklyn and Chicago. All but one of the defendants face a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted of the charges against them.

"The indictments announced today are the result of a sweeping national and international effort to stem the flow of drugs across the U.S./Mexico border and into our communities," said Benton J. Campbell, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. "We will apply all available resources to win this battle." Mr. Campbell extended his grateful appreciation to ICE and the DEA Task Force in New York, the agencies responsible for leading the Eastern District’s investigation, and to the assistance provided by ICE and DEA in Miami, Houston, Mexico and Colombia.

"These indictments are among the most significant drug conspiracy charges ever returned in Chicago," said Patrick J. Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. "They charge two major international supply organizations with importing many tons of cocaine and large quantities of heroin into the United States, often to wholesale distribution customers in Chicago, as well as to customers in other major cities. The defendants allegedly used practically every means of transportation imaginable to move these large amounts of drugs and to funnel massive amounts of money back to Mexico. I applaud the efforts of the DEA investigators who worked hard to put these cases together." Mr. Fitzgerald also thanked the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division agents in Chicago and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin in Milwaukee for their assistance.


"Today’s indictments are yet another strike against the leadership of the Mexican drug cartels," said DEA Acting Administrator Michele M. Leonhart. "Our relentless investigations penetrated deep into these pervasive criminal organizations, connecting street operations in U.S. communities like Chicago and New York to the top drug kingpins calling the shots in Mexico. Make no mistake; along with our courageous partners in Mexico, we will break these cartels and pursue their leaders."


"Law enforcement agencies in the Americas are working closer than ever before and setting up a united, borderless offense against drug cartels," said Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for ICE John Morton. "This is a significant step in breaking down the infrastructure of these criminal organizations."


According to one of the Brooklyn indictments, between 1990 and 2005, Guzman-Loera, Ismael Zambada-Garcia and Arturo Beltran-Leyva, together with Hector Beltran-Leyva, Jesus Zambada-Garcia and Villareal as leaders of the Federation, conspired to import more than 120 metric tons (264,000 pounds) of cocaine into the United States through the cooperative arrangements and coordination that the Federation provided. Members of the Federation shared drug transportation routes and obtained their drugs from various Colombian drug organizations, in particular, the Colombian Norte Valle Cartel. For example, in 2004, two shipments totaling 22,500 kilograms of cocaine were seized by the U.S. Coast Guard off the coast of Mexico. The indictment alleges that the defendants employed "sicarios," or hitmen, who carried out hundreds of acts of violence in Mexico, including murders, kidnappings, tortures and violent collections of drug debts, at their direction.


The indictments in Chicago allege that in approximately early 2008 Arturo Beltran-Leyva split his alliance with Guzman-Loera, Ismael Zambada-Garcia and the Federation due to various issues, including control of lucrative narcotics trafficking routes into the United States and the loyalty of wholesale narcotics customers, including the alleged leaders of a Chicago distribution cell. The indictments charge that Guzman-Loera and Ismael Zambada-Garcia, together with seven other high-ranking associates, including two of their sons, Alfredo Guzman-Salazar (Guzman-Loera’s son) and Jesus Vicente Zambada-Niebla (Ismael Zamada-Garcia’s son, who is in custody in Mexico), coordinated their narcotics trafficking activities to import multi-ton quantities of cocaine from Central and South American countries, through Mexico, and into the United States using various means of transportation, including Boeing 747 cargo aircraft; submarines and other submersible and semi-submersible vessels; container ships; go-fast boats; fishing vessels; buses; rail cars; tractor trailers; and automobiles

Guzman-Loera and Ismael Zambada-Garcia allegedly coordinated their cocaine and heroin smuggling activities to wholesale distributors throughout the United States, including a large distribution cell in Chicago of which 16 individuals were charged in an indictment unsealed today. On average, the Chicago cell allegedly received 1,500 to 2,000 kilograms of cocaine per month, at times obtaining all or a large portion of that quantity from Guzman-Loera and Ismael Zambada-Garcia and the factions of the Sinaloa Cartel they controlled, while also obtaining a substantial portion of that quantity from the Arturo Beltran-Leyva Cartel. From Chicago, the indictments allege that large quantities of cocaine and heroin were further distributed to customers in Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio; Detroit; Milwaukee; New York; Philadelphia; Washington, D.C.; Vancouver, British Columbia; and elsewhere.

Guzman-Loera, Ismael Zambada-Garcia and the factions of the Sinaloa Cartel they controlled allegedly used various means to evade law enforcement and protect their narcotics distribution activities, including obtaining guns and other weapons; bribes; engaging in violence and threats of violence; and intimidating with threats of violence members of law enforcement, rival narcotics traffickers and members of their own drug trafficking organizations. According to the indictment, Guzman-Loera, Ismael Zambada-Garcia and his son, Jesus Vicente Zambada-Niebla, discussed obtaining weapons from the United States and using violence against American and/or Mexican government buildings in retaliation for each country’s enforcement of its narcotics laws and to perpetuate their narcotics trafficking activities.

In one of the indictments unsealed today in Brooklyn, Vicente Carrillo Fuentes is alleged to be the leader of the Juarez Cartel, which operates in the Juarez-El Paso corridor, one of the primary drug smuggling routes along the border between the United States and Mexico running from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, to El Paso, Texas. The DEA estimates that approximately 90 percent of the cocaine that enters the United States comes through Mexico. The Juarez Cartel allegedly received multi-ton cocaine shipments in Mexico from the Colombian Norte Valle Cartel and from the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC), a Colombian paramilitary organization and a major drug trafficking organization. According to the indictment, the Juarez Cartel maintained its power through the payment of bribes and through numerous acts of violence, including murder.

In another Brooklyn indictment, brothers Luis and Esteban Rodriguez-Olivera are charged with leading Los Gueros, a drug trafficking organization that rose to prominence within the Federation. According to court documents, Los Gueros operated a narcotics supply route that originated in Mexico, stretched into Texas and then branched off to various points, including the New York metropolitan area. Between 1996 and 2008, Los Gueros allegedly imported more than 100,000 kilograms of cocaine into the United States. The DEA estimates that between 2004 and 2006, the organization was responsible for shipping more than 2,000 kilograms of cocaine to New York City alone. In January 2006, Mexican authorities seized approximately 5,200 kilograms of the organization’s cocaine destined for the United States.

Tirso Martinez-Sanchez is alleged in one of the Brooklyn indictments to be an organizer and leader of an extensive international narcotics importation, distribution and transportation organization that is responsible for the distribution of multiple tons of cocaine in the United States. Martinez-Sanchez’s organization allegedly imported cocaine into the United States from Mexico through California and Texas, and then transported the cocaine overland to large distribution centers, including Los Angeles, New York and Chicago. In addition to coordinating the distribution of his own organization’s cocaine, Martinez-Sanchez also allegedly transported and distributed narcotics for members of the Juarez Cartel and the Federation.

The cases in the Eastern District of New York are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrea Goldbarg, Claire Kedeshian, Bonnie Klapper, Stephen Meyer, Walter Norkin, Patricia Notopoulos and Carolyn Pokorny.

The cases in the Northern District of Illinois are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas Shakeshaft, Michael Ferrara, Greg Deis, Lindsay Jenkins, Renai Rodney, Angel Krull and Halley Guren.

The cases were investigated by the DEA, ICE and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, in cooperation with Mexican and Colombian law enforcement authorities. Additional assistance was provided by U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Milwaukee, Miami and Houston. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs provided assistance in these cases. The investigative efforts were coordinated with the Special Operations Division, comprised of agents, analysts and attorneys from the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section (NDDS); DEA; FBI; ICE; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Marshals Service; and Internal Revenue Service. Certain individuals named in indictments unsealed today have also been charged by other U.S. Attorneys’ Offices around the country and by NDDS.

An indictment is a formal charging document notifying the defendant of the charges. All persons charged in an indictment are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Copies of indictments can be found at: http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/cartel-indictments.htm

###

09-824

A Primer on High Level Drug Investigations

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Attorney General Eric Holder at the Press Conference to Announce Mexican Cartel Indictments
Washington, D.C.
Thursday, August 20, 2009

Good morning. Joining me today are U.S. Attorney Pat Fitzgerald from the Northern District of Illinois, U.S. Attorney Ben Campbell from the Eastern District of New York, Acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration Michele Leonhart, and Assistant Homeland Security Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement John Morton.

Today, we are announcing, in a coordinated action, major drug-trafficking charges against 43 individuals, including cartel leaders, members and associates in two federal districts. Specifically, we allege that these defendants shipped multi-ton quantities of narcotics into the United States through various established smuggling corridors, and then, through a network of affiliated distributors, dispersed these drugs into cities and neighborhoods across the country.

The defendants whose indictments we announce today include alleged leaders of the Sinaloa and Beltran-Leyva cartels, such as:

•Joaquin Guzman-Loera – also known as "Chapo";
•Ismael Zambada-Garcia – also known as "el Mayo"; and
•Arturo Beltran-Leyva.
The indictments unsealed today outline nearly two decades of criminal activity by these cartels and their leaders here in the United States, as well as in Mexico and other countries.

These cartels are not abstract organizations operating in far-off places. They are multi-billion dollar networks funneling drugs onto our streets. What invariably follows these drugs is more crime and more violence in our communities. The audacity of the cartels’ operations is matched only by their sophistication and their reach.

But today, because of the dedicated work of our DEA and ICE agents, the diligence of our prosecutors in Chicago and Brooklyn, and the support of our courageous law enforcement partners in Mexico, we are able to charge leaders and members of these insidious cartels for their heinous crimes here in the United States. Our friends and partners in Mexico are waging an historic and heroic battle with the cartels as we speak. This is not a fight that we in the United States can afford to watch from the sidelines. The stakes are too high and the consequences too real for us. We will continue to investigate, charge, and arrest the cartel leaders and their subordinates, and we will continue systematically to dismantle and disrupt their far-reaching and dangerous operations.

I will let the two U.S. Attorneys with us today describe the charges in more detail, but suffice it to say that the criminal conduct alleged in these indictments did not take place solely in Mexico. Rather, it played out right here in our own backyards. For example, in Chicago we have arrested and charged individuals who allegedly worked directly with Mexican cartels to receive thousand kilo shipments of drugs, and then dispersed those drugs into the Chicago community and throughout the country.

We have learned from previous successful experiences in fighting organized crime that we must not only go after the leaders of these cartels, but also seize the money that funds their operations. That is why in these indictments, we are seeking forfeiture of more than $5.8 billion in illegal drug proceeds. If we can suffocate their funding sources, we can cripple their operations.

Breaking up the Mexican drug cartels and stemming the flow of drugs and illegal firearms across the Southwest border is a top priority for this Justice Department. And we have made important strides in this fight:

•Earlier this year, an extensive investigation of the Sinaloa Cartel known as Project Xcellerator led to the arrest of more than 750 people in the United States and Mexico and the seizure of more than $59 million in illegal drug proceeds.
•We have rolled out the President’s National Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy to stem the flow of illegal drugs and their illicit proceeds across the border.
•We have directed much-needed resources to break up the cartels and to support border-related initiatives. Just last month, for example, I announced $8.7 million in Recovery Act funds for California communities to use in fighting crime and drug trafficking as part of our Southwest Border Strategy.
•We have formed an arms trafficking working group, led by the Criminal Division, to tackle the critically important problem of weapons flowing across the border into Mexico.
•We have formalized agreements with our partners at the Department of Homeland Security and with the government of Mexico to increase cooperation as we carry out our fight on several fronts.
•And we have brought charges against high-level Mexican leaders of the Gulf Cartel, now known as the "Company," and 15 of their top lieutenants for drug trafficking-related crimes.
All of these efforts have been in addition to the numerous investigations, prosecutions, arrests, and interdictions that our prosecutors and agents carry out across the country every day.

Today’s charges demonstrate that we will not stop until these violent criminal enterprises have been eliminated. And we will continue to stand with our partners in Mexico as we carry on this vital fight. On that note, I would like to acknowledge President Calderon and his administration for all that they continue to do in leading Mexico’s fight against violent narco-traffickers. I would also like to thank the brave professional agents and prosecutors here in the United States who have made the indictments announced today possible. Their hard work, courage, and sacrifice make all the difference in our ongoing fight. They have shown in the past that we can defeat international narco-traffickers; I am confident that, with their help, we will do so again.

With that, I will turn it over to Pat Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.

New Cast

My new smaller black "sleeper cast". I will be revaluated in three weeks to see if the rods will be pulled and cast removed.

Colossians 3:8
But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

I even found this a little creepy

A picture of my wrist with the first cast off and before they put the second cast on. I was told this looked excellent! I wonder what horrible would look like. The pictured rods had gauze put over them and then the cast placed over them, so what is in the picture is exactly what is under my cast. I asked how the rods would be taken out and the answer was...we wiggle them and pull them out. I have a lot of fun waiting for me in my future. Hopefully back to full duty in three months, right now light duty.

Ecclesiastes 7:9
Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.