Shortly before 1:30 AM, Deputy Paul Finn and Possum began to track the suspect. They tooka break then shortly after 2:30 AM, Possum suffered a major seizure, which caused his bodytemperature to spike in the hot weather. Although deputies were able to cool him immediatelywith water and ice from a nearby home and perform CPR, K-9 Possum died while en routeto the vet. The cause of the seizure is unknown, although veterinarians consulted in the caseindicated the possibility of a brain tumor or other neurological or vascular abnormality issuspected given the details of the event.

“Possum’s passing was certainly unexpected,” said Sheriff Craig Webre. “He was anextremely talented K-9 who enjoyed the work. Possum will be sorely missed among our teamof highly trained K-9 officers,” Webre added.

Born January 1, 2004, K-9 Possum was bred by LPSO’s own Captain Dean Savoie (at thattime a Sergeant in the K-9 Division). The Belgian Malinois was first trained and handled byDeborah Lillie, a reserve K-9 deputy with Assumption Parish Sheriff’s Office and the wife of Deputy Paul Finn.

K-9 Possum began his career as a working dog at a K-9 D.A.R.E. demo at Zephyr Fieldwhen he was just 4 months old. Before joining LPSO and handler Paul Finn, Possum’sworking career focused on detection work for cadaver and narcotics. In addition to servingin numerous school and jail searches, Possum searched for bodies in the Lower 9th Ward afterKatrina. He aided in several water recoveries, from a drowning victim located in 35 feet ofwater in the False River area of Vidalia Parish in 2006, to a young man who drowned nearLafourche Crossing in 2007. He also aided in the recovery of the bodies of two little boys in anapartment fire in Reserve, LA in 2008.

Early in 2010, when Paul Finn joined LPSO, the unit was short one K-9 dog. DeputyLillie turned her beloved Possum over to her husband, and he and Possum passed theircertifications in Patrol and Narcotics shortly after.

In their short time on the road together, Paul and Possum quickly gained the trust and respectof the other officers as a reliable, highly skilled team. They tracked a burglary suspect fromthe crime scene to the subject’s house, where he later confessed to the burglary. A subjectin Chackbay wanted for battery involving domestic violence fled into a wooded area. WhenDeputy Finn and K-9 Possum arrived, the subject promptly gave himself up, not wanting toencounter the dog.

The team made numerous narcotics finds, the most notable of which led directly to the seizureof approximately 25 pounds of marijuana, 12 grams of methamphetamine, and numerousfirearms. In an earlier case, K-9 Possum performed a sniff of the closed safe and alerted to theodor of narcotics. This gave agents probable cause for a warrant, the safe was opened, andwas discovered to be full of narcotics and money.

Deputy Finn stated that what he found most remarkable about K-9 Possum was how well-rounded his skills were. “Many dogs are strong in one area, but weak in others. Possumexcelled in every aspect of his job. He was an amazing police dog. He always had my back.He wouldn’t let anyone come up behind me while we were on a search, no matter who theywere,” said Finn.

K-9 Possum would have been seven years old in January and was laid to rest on Finn’s familyproperty. The job will now begin to find another dog to train to take his place.

This story was provided by Sergeant Lesley Hill from the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office

You can easily add to the above list every incident of school violence that involved some sort of explosive devices, as well as other workplace violence that had the same.  The list is long, and the trend is very clear: personnel-borne explosives are on the rise.

In this article I want to concentrate on the “Low-tech” bomber — the one who walks into a school or a mall wearing the explosives on his body, or carrying them in a backpack; the one who will blow himself up in the name of god, or because society, in his mind, wronged him.

Identification

There are clues. We have to be vigilant, act in sort of a paranoid way, to be able to pick on these small indications that something is off.

Rule number one: if something seems odd, it probably is. If it makes the small hairs on the back of your neck rise, there is typically a reason. Something is out of the ordinary. If you suspect anything you should take the appropriate actions.

Psychological clues: I do not care whether these men, or women (and more and more of this type of attacks are executed by women, as well as young children) perform these acts willingly and knowingly. They are still timid, afraid of being caught, afraid of the explosives not working, afraid of the unknown death. So although they may be acting on their own volition, they will still act nervously, keep to themselves, be suspicious of everything, and be easily jumpy.

Physical clues: it is not uncommon for suicide/homicide bombers to wear clothes which are out of season, like long jackets in summer time. They will usually carry a backpack or a briefcase. They will try to hide behind sunglasses or a hat. Sometimes, wires or switches can be seen, or a bulky object will be notable. Most of these low-tech explosives still work on manual detonation devices and require the bomber to press a button or switch to initiate the explosive.

Stopping the threat

We need no more heroes. Asses the situation — is it possible securely to remove people from the scene without alerting the bomber? What would the casualties be if the bomb went off? What are your chances of succeeding in any kind of disarming the terrorist?

Ideally, if you recognize a possible suicide bomber, call for back-up, try to evacuate as many people as you can without causing chaos and alerting the bomber. Then get as far away as possible.

Sometimes, though, you will not have the time, you will not have the means, but your actions may still save many. If you decide to act you must do so decisively and aggressively, realizing that failure is not an option. If you mess things up, you must keep going. The lives of many may depend on it.

If you are the only person who can engage the bomber you must follow three guidelines:

• Control the bomber’s arms
• Assure that you do not detonate the bomb yourself by mistake; often, the bombers will wear the switch on their stomach, so if they are taken down on their stomach, the bomb will go off
• Deactivate the bomber. You do not want to fight a person with a bomb strapped to their body, make sure the bomber is no longer a threat!

The process

You should approach the bomber form the side or behind. Your arms should go toward the bomber’s shoulders, to assure you get a hold of his arm (if his arms are moving you may not catch them). Once you placed a hand on his shoulder you will slide it down and hook underneath it. The other hand will do the same on the other side, securing the bomber’s hands. Note that if the bomber is larger and stronger this may be a difficult task to accomplish, but taking down a suicide bomber on your own will never be simple. Make sure to perform these steps in an aggressive and violent manner to gain control over the bomber.

Once you secured his hands you should drop back and roll the bomber on his side. Make sure not to fall forward.

This is when the task gets really nasty. You must neutralize the target. Any attempt to hold him down, grapple, secure, or deal with the explosives will most likely result in the device going off and taking the bomber, you, and any bystanders with it. The most readily available lethal target from this given angle will likely be the jugular vain. A strong bite that would pierce through it will result in severe bleeding. An alternative will be to wrap a leg around the bomber to control him while you free one hand and use that one to execute any one of numerous possible actions to deactivate the bomber, such as: a strike to the trachea, deep penetrating eye gouge that would reach brain matter, or others.

Approach, Initial Contact and Control

Takedown and Target Elimination

Conclusion

You should hope you never have to see whether this works, but if the moment comes and you must act to protect yourself, loved ones, or other innocent civilians, you must know what to expect and how to act to increase your chances of survival and that of those around you.

This by far sends a message to all law enforcement departments and agents that our criminal justice system will abide by the  Due Process of law and expects the same from the very professionals who are here to protect and serve the rights of all.

This ruling has in fact sent a message, warning all officers and departments that if an individual’s fourth amendment rights are violated, a great risk toward losing a case exists. I also believe the ruling has given a certain amount of reassurance to individuals throughout the United States that our criminal justice system seeks to protect the rights of each for which our constitution was written. Weeks V. United States was the initial case that led to other cases, such as Silverthorne Lumber Co. v. U.S. in 1920 to create the “fruit of the poisoned tree” and Mapp v. Ohio where the exclusionary rule was added into the State courts.

Miranda v. Arizona, 1966. In my opinion, this court ruling has to be one of the most well known cases in recent American history and has played a very important part on protecting individual’s fifth amendment rights. Without the Miranda warnings, anyone foreign, born national or simply unaware of the laws would lack the legal protection needed during a time of misfortune. The Miranda warning protects each individual with a professional counsel and prevents anyone from self incrimination or by making statements that could be misinterpreted thereby being used against them in the court of law.

The third case I believe has had a serious impact on the United States criminal justice system and with modern policing is Texas v. Cobb, 2001. This ruling states that an individual’s sixth amendment right to counsel is offence specific and due to Mr. Cobb’s voluntary confession to his father about the murders he had committed during the burglary, his rights were lost. I believe this makes it harder for criminals and easier for law enforcement officials to land convictions due to the fact, most criminals tend to brag of past crimes they have committed to friends. Now if someone commits a crime that consists of more than one offence, and that criminal waives his or her right to counsel for only some of the charges, it still leaves this criminal open for self incrimination later down the road.

What do you think?

Written by Steven Limbaugh

The president of the Alabama Association of Chiefs of Police, Boaz Police Chief Terry Davis, said he’s trying to understand what the law requires, but he’s not giving any special advice to chiefs yet.

The executive director of the Alabama Sheriff’s Association, Bobby Timmons, said he plans to conduct a school for sheriffs and deputies on what the law requires.

The law has been described by opponents and supporters as the toughest in the country. It is scheduled to take effect Sept. 1, but U.S. District Judge Sharon Blackburn in Birmingham has not ruled on lawsuits seeking to block all or parts of it.

Davis said he doesn’t plan to make a lot of changes in how his police officers operate. He said if officers stop someone who is in the country illegally they would follow the law, but they “will not stop people just because they are Hispanic.”

The law allows police to detain someone after a routine traffic stop if they suspect the person to be in the country illegally. The law also makes it a crime to knowingly provide transportation or shelter to an illegal immigrant.

“We’re just going to do our job. We’re not going to go out and stop people just because they’re Hispanic,” Davis said. “I don’t think being Hispanic is illegal.”

Timmons said the law specifically prohibits law enforcement officers from profiling and he said he has passed on that message to sheriffs.

“We’ve told them absolutely no profiling,” Timmons said.

Unless it is blocked by the federal judge, Timmons said he has told sheriffs to “enforce the law just like it’s written” when it takes effect on Sept. 1. He said he was working with Madison County Sheriff Blake Dorning, president of the sheriff’s association, to set up the training. He said he would go over specifics of the law with sheriffs after Blackburn releases her ruling and make sure they understand what’s still in it and what, if anything, the judge has blocked.

What do you think about  laws that give  Law Enforcement the right to detain someone after a routine stop if they believe that the person (s) is in the country illegally?

I work with various LE agencies and officers in many different assignments, from patrol, to investigations, to tactical team members.  Each agency, and more so, each officer requires different approach to training.  Training must be relevant to the duties and comply with policies.

However, regardless of the assignment, jurisdiction, or the individual officer’s abilities, as a DT Instructor it is my duty to make sure all officers I train can survive a violent encounter.  At the end of the day, my goal is to provide the officer with the best possible tools.

I have my way of doing things.  My skills and my drills.  Regardless of what you teach/train there has to be a component to the training that to some extent replicates the scenario or possible circumstances in which the skills will be utilized.  After all, a fight on the street will not take place  in a climate-regulated room, with matted flooring and protective gear.  If we do not introduce these variables into the training we are setting the officer for failure.

Note that I didn’t even begin discussing stress inoculation, where the goal is to simulate as closely as possible the stress an officer will experience when the fight is on, and this time the suspect’s goal is to kill the officer and there is no instructor around to call an end to the fight when things get out of hand.

I use a variety of drills in my training.  I try to simulate the loss of fine motor skills by getting officers physically fatigue.  I simulate hyper ventilation and tunnel vision by having the officer don an old fashion gas mask with a narrow field of view and restricted air-flow.  I increase auditory confusion by playing loud sounds.  And I try to do it all in scenarios which are a realistic situation the officer may find him/herself in.

Recently I had various discussions with several administrations of several police departments and police academies.  I found it interesting to see the great variance in the approach to stress drills.  Some were completely for it, realizing the necessity of providing officers with the “shock value” of a true encounter.  Others shy away from it stating that injuries are too likely to happen and liability is a concern.

I am not here to judge or criticize any particular administration.  I must admit, that even though I am a proponent of drills (and the harder the better), I do see their point.  One only has to recall the events that took place at the Virginia Beach academy where a recruit lost his life due to strikes sustained during ground fighting drills, to realize the risk is there, it’s real, and administration must remain vigilant in assuring that no in juries occur.

At the end of the day, an injured recruit/student who can not participate is not only a liability, but of no use to the department when on light-duty.

In all my years training police officers, I was able to maintain a high level of realistic drills while maintaining zero injuries.  It can be done.  It should be done.  And a few steps must be taken to implement a good training program:

1. The instructor should, whenever possible, not be the one striking at a student.  Role players (preferably other sworn officers, and certified instructors when available) should be utilized.  The instructor’s role is to monitor and act as a safety officer.  If the instructor is involved in he fight or scenario he/she cannot effectively control a safe training environment.
2. The instructor should be at the very least certified as a first aid provider, CPR/AED certified, but more importantly poses the keen ability to recognize the signs of distress and act upon those.
3. The market is saturated with training aids that can assist in maintaining a realistic and safe training environment.  From protective suits to training guns with marking pellets, and knives with electric edge.  These tools allow for a the pain-response associated with an inadequate defense, and immediate feedback as to what should be corrected.  One must remember that pain does not equal injury, but rather a physical stimulus that elicits a response.  A response we want our students to learn.

As the title of this post suggests, there is a fine line between realistic training and the liability associated with potential injuries.  However, as instructors we must recognize that fearing injuries and liability may result in sub-par training practices that will eventually result in officers who are ill-prepared to truly defend themselves getting injured on the job.  There is a name for that:  Liability due to Failure to Train!

As an instructor, it is my responsibility to keep my students safe.  On the same token, it is also my responsibility to provide them with the best training practices possible to assure they go home at the end of every shift.

Stay safe!

Agents conducting surveillance around the Dennis DeConcini Port of Entry observed a white box truck with Arizona license plates parked near the Morley Pedestrian Gate. After noticing suspicious activity, agents followed the truck when it departed the area, and with assistance from the Nogales Police Department conducted a traffic stop. Inside the truck, agents discovered 2,621 pounds of marijuana. Through further investigation, they learned that the marijuana was smuggled into the truck through a drug tunnel located underneath the pavement at the initial parking spot. HSI agents then contacted the Nogales Border Patrol and Mexico’s Secretaria de Seguridad de Publica (SSP) to assist with locating the tunnel.

“The discovery of this latest tunnel was based on the strong cooperation between ICE HSI, the Border Patrol, the Nogales PD and Mexico’s SSP,” said Kevin Kelly, assistant special agent in charge of ICE HSI in Nogales. “We will continue to work together to thwart drug smuggling into the United States.”

The tunnel is approximately 90 feet long, 3 feet wide and 3 feet tall. Approximately 45 feet of the tunnel is within the United States with an additional 45 feet in Mexico. The tunnel is 4.5 feet below street level. The exit within the United States was cut with a bore-type saw and was 10 inches in diameter. The illicit tunnel was plugged with a cylinder shaped piece of concrete held in place with a large floor jack from within. The tunnel contained shoring with two-by-fours and plywood. There was ventilation tubing, tools and electrical cord located within the illicit tunnel.

Three individuals found travelling in the vehicle are facing federal drug charges. Anthony Maytorena, 19, a U.S. citizen from Nogales, Sonora; Jorge Vargas Ruiz, 18, from Nogales, Ariz.; and a juvenile Mexican citizen had their initial appearance Wednesday at the federal court in Tucson, Ariz.

A criminal complaint is simply the method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

I’ll just say it up front…I am not an expert on this topic.  The following thoughts are just those of a person who has encountered officers dealing with PTS (Post Traumatic Stress) and how it affects every facet of their life.  My intentions are to offer some type of hope - a Christian perspective - to someone out there who might be hurting.

I like to try and set my training hides ahead of time, and then return to them some time later so it’s not in my partners mind that we are training or doing something at that moment.  This becomes an issue with Narcotics training, as we all know we need to know the dope is secure and not going to be found by someone who would like to get their hands on it.  So being able to do hides like that requires an area that is physically under my control. As you can guess there are not a whole lot of places like that at my disposal, so plan A of setting them early is usually out the window.

Also I have found that mixing up my training routine a bit seems to help.  By doing some sort of patrol or tracking work before or between the narcotics hides makes a big difference.  It also throws some kinks for the dog, as he change gears as to the type of training or exercise is being thrown at him. If you have a dog like mine, he wants to work all the time, and really doesn’t care what it is we are doing.  I do see that switching things up during the training regimen seems to keep him more alert than if we were to spend all of our time on activity.

Making training fun and challenging is the key.  Taking the time to make a hide a real challenge can make the training more rewarding.  I have been to training where the hides have been in floor drains, or high over head in a light fixture.  I recently was at a training session where the decoy was hidden well, and he said when my dog located him underneath a trailer all he could see was the glowing of his eyes.  I have even seen a decoy hide in a school locker.  So changing things up and making it fun makes all the difference.  Take some time and make things different, add a level of difficulty to it that is different than the standard training session. Or just make it fun!

We all know training is paramount to maintain the readiness for street deployments.  This is also important when it comes time for annual certifications.  I spoke with a friend a while ago, and we were discussing how many different certifying bodies there are out there.  I know there are issues between some handlers who a certified through one group or another and others from another group.  This is no different than being a fan of your favorite sports team.  I say as long as this doesn’t get in the way of the mission at hand, then there is no difference.  We are all out there doing the same job, and at the end of the day we all have the same mission.

Certifications can be a stressful time.  I know my blood pressure goes up about 30 points before I have to run one of the certs for the year.  I keep finding that I just need to trust my partner and let him do the work.  I know this is not always as easy to employ as it is to theorize.  So let me know, who do you certify through, and what ways do you use to change things up in training?

And hey…Lets be careful out there!

Immediately as I read this my thoughts drifted, first to my husband (a Christian cop), then to all the officers wrestling with the demons of the night (and day) as a Christian cop. It is easy to stay spiritually strong when we surround ourselves with other Christians; that is what the Bible tells us to do, not because we are not to interact with lost souls but because the Holy Spirit strengthens us through them and their support. Through this constant support and accountability group we cannot stumble in our faith and if we do they promptly reach out, take our hand, and pull us back up. Every shift my husband kisses us and leaves to report for duty, my children and I pray for God to support him and give him strength, not just of body but of faith. It takes a lot of faith in the Lord to see what every officer sees and deal with the situations and continue to hold their head high and “give thanks in all circumstances”(1 Thessalonians 5:18).

I know through personal contacts that being a truck driver is a very dangerous job. May God bless them all and keep them safe. However, I do not know many people who dislike truck drivers because of the career that has been chosen for their life here on earth. I do know and see and hear almost daily the hatred and contempt of police officers, not because they do their job but because their job is to enforce laws made by our governing bodies. Those who choose to dislike our governing bodies blame the officers for enforcing the laws made by the governing bodies; the people who choose to live a life outside the boundary of the laws hate them for threatening their way of life. The life of a Christian cop is a little more complicated because, not only is the officer hated for doing their duty to the organization and community they serve, they also meet resistance in life as a Christian.

First we must look at the danger the hatred has put our officers in. There are those who murder an officer just because of the job they do. This is heinous. This not only effects the officers that walk out into the world daily donning the uniform but their families. Here, I believe, is where the Christian officer and their family have a great advantage. They see life on this earth for what it is…temporary. They know that God has a plan for their life and death and if that time comes while on duty they will take it in stride; tears, painful grief of the loss, and all. The family lives life to the fullest everyday and cherishes every second of time spent together full of love. This is not excusing the behavior of murdering our heroes in cold blood, however. Officers are more than a uniform, badge, lights and sirens, and a trip to jail; they are a very vital and loved part of a family. They are a son, a daughter, a brother, a sister, a mother, a father…and so much more. However, there is a sense of peace in a Christian cop’s family where death is concerned because in John 11:25 it says: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies…” It is important to remember an officers work is good and needed, see Romans 13:1-3 –“ Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.”

Now we turn our sights to another obstacle of the Christian cop. It is difficult to be faced with the evils that abound in this broken world every day and night, all while not only keeping their faith but keeping it strong enough to face another shift. When the rest of us hide from the evil of the world or take measures to avoid it, the officers of the world must walk right into the “other world” and try to keep the lawless from shattering the peaceful world of others. For comfort from this we must visit John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Not only must the officer survive, they must leave the evil behind when they take off the uniform. Our officers see atrocities that often defy the imagination. Dealing with these sensitive issues, officers are forbidden to discuss details with anyone outside the ranks. Officers are bound to silence out of fear of reliving horrendous events.

However, the Christian cop should not be discouraged. They have a very powerful tool and an armor they carry with them that others do not. That tool is prayer and the armor is from God. Prayer is powerful and the Holy Spirit can do what they cannot.  If you are an officer that feels smothered in the sin and sorrow of the world…stand back, pray, and watch what the strength of the Lord can accomplish. God tells us in Isaiah 40:31: “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” If you start to drown, reach out to other Christians, such as a Pastor or friend. Know there are other officers that feel the same way and you cannot save all the people of the world. But one soul you can nurture is your own and through that you can make a difference. Just doing your job can make an impact on others. You may be unaware of the good works which God has set forth for you to do. In Ephesians 2:10 He tells us: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”. God chose this profession for you; He can work through you without your help. All you need to do is feed and nurture your faith and keep it growing. Be strong in your faith because the path of the Christian Cop is a hard beat to walk.

Submitted and written by Sherri Mahoney

Beginning from almost the start of any police academy, you are taught how to defend yourself physically and how to survive as a police officer. You spend several weeks learning defensive tactics such as arm-bars, wrist locks and leg sweeps. You might even spar with a partner wearing some level of protective gear to see how you react to a punch or make sure you know how to strike effectively. You are given training in less lethal force options including being sprayed with OC spray or being subjected to 50,000 volts from a Taser. You even spend a week or two on a firing range learning how to put bullets in center mass, reload while running, clearing malfunctions and at night. You might even be trained with an M-4 assault rifle or an 870 shotgun.

All of this training, time and effort, manpower and focus, and yet we still bury a hero every 3 days in this country. Maybe there is little we can do to prevent such a rate. Automobile accidents, ambushes, and felonious assault are things we have very little control over, but maybe there is something we can do individually to make help make sure we go home at the end of our shift.

Warrior mind set is a concept I teach during women’s self defense courses, and I’ve found that it works well when I apply it in police work. It is simply the idea that you are going to survive no matter the cost or the injury. So many times when you apply for a job there is the little box that asks if you are capable of taking someone’s life in the course of your duties. Of course you mark “YES”, who would hire you if you didn’t? Yet, when it comes down to it, have you made that decision? Have you thought if it was necessary would you pull the trigger and deal with the legal, emotional and political aspects later?

I am an advocate of the video of the traffic stop resulting in the tragic death of Laurens County Deputy Sheriff Kyle Dinkheller. The video is heartbreaking to watch, and leaves you with a feeling with an emptiness and loss, as you feel you could be there to help him. I believe every police cadet should watch this video then watch it again.

Knowing all of your weapons, fancy take-downs and PIT maneuvers is excellent and should be a priority in your training. I also believe that you should know in your heart that you are willing to do whatever it takes to go home at night. The only way we have to move forward is to stand on the shoulders of those that have fallen before us, so that we might not suffer a similar fate.