YAHOO/AFP: British police chief quits over terror blunder

LONDON (AFP) – Britain's top anti-terror police chief has tendered his resignation following a security blunder, London Mayor Boris Johnson said Thursday.

Johnson told BBC radio he had accepted Assistant Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bob Quick's resignation with "great reluctance and sadness," after the blunder triggered premature anti-terror arrests Wednesday.

"I have this morning with great reluctance and sadness... accepted Bob Quick's resignation as head of counter terrorism," he said, adding that Assistant Commissioner John Yates would take over from him.

Quick was photographed Wednesday as he arrived at Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Downing Street office for talks on police reform with a sensitive document clearly visible.

EXAMINER: Windsor SWAT team nabs man who evaded border units

DETROIT (Map, News) - Police in Windsor, Ontario, say they arrested a 25-year-old Detroit man who rammed a stolen car through Canadian customs at the Ambassador Bridge and led officers on a chase. The bridge links Detroit and Windsor.

The Windsor Star says a U.S. border guard fired at the car when it refused an order to stop. Windsor police Staff Sgt. Stefan Kowal tells the Detroit Free Press his department's SWAT team and other officers arrested the man at 4:40 p.m., soon after they learned of the border breach.

CNN: NY gunman fired 98 shots in about a minute, police chief says

(CNN) -- The gunman who killed 13 people at an immigrant services center fired 98 shots in a minute or so, the police chief in Binghamton, New York, said Wednesday.

YAHOO/AP: Binghamton officials defend response to massacre

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – Even if police officers had immediately entered the immigrant center where a gunman had just shot down 13 people, the victims' injuries were so severe that none would have survived, a county prosecutor said Sunday.

The shooting at the American Civic Association stopped shortly after the first 911 calls came in at 10:30 a.m. Friday, but police didn't enter the building until nearly 45 minutes later.

YAHOO/AP: Fight over urinating dog got police to Pa. ambush

PITTSBURGH – A 911 call that brought two police officers to a home where they were ambushed, and where a third was also later killed during a four-hour siege, was precipitated by a fight between the gunman and his mother over a dog urinating in the house.

The Saturday argument between Margaret and Richard Poplawski escalated to the point that she threatened to kick him out and she called police to do it, according to a 12-page criminal complaint and affidavit filed late Saturday.

NJ.COM: Berkeley Heights police chief receives one-time payment of $65,264

BERKELEY HEIGHTS -- A last-minute resolution, introduced and passed while two Township Council members were on vacation, will provide the police chief with a one-time payment of $65,264.

Police Chief David Zager's salary will be adjusted retroactively to $138,306 for 2007 and $152,137 for 2008. The total of the retroactive salary increases amounts to $33,319.

YAHOO/AP: 14-year-old fake Chicago cop drove patrol car

CHICAGO – Chicago police said Tuesday that the 14-year-old who posed as an officer drove a patrol car and aided in an arrest, and that seven officers face disciplinary reviews for the "lax" behavior that allowed the teen's escapade to happen.

"They weren't paying attention," Superintendent Jody Weis said at a news conference announcing the completion of the investigation. "They were lax. I'm very upset. This whole incident is very disturbing."

NORMAN TRANSCRIPT: Before they were called doctors, 11 were police officers

Robby Frantz, M.D., Buck Hill, D.O. and Terry Hill, D.O. are used to working in high-stress situations as physicians at Norman Regional Hospital. Dr. Frantz serves as medical director of emergency services. Dr. Terry Hill practices emergency medicine, and Dr. Buck Hill is an anesthesiologist. The fast-paced environment is nothing unfamiliar.

Before they wore the white doctor's coat and carried a stethoscope, they were Norman police officers who worked in the Emergency Medical Services unit. The Norman Police Department was in charge of the ambulance service from 1978 to 1995.

"We were the EMS division," Frantz said. "You had to go to the police academy and do everything a police officer did."

FIREHOUSE: Massachusetts Town May Lay Off Entire Fire, Police Forces

NewsCenter 5's Jorge Quiroga reported that the central Massachusetts town of Dudley may lay off its entire fire and police forces. All members of both departments received a 30-day notice.

"Even if one or two got laid off from a full-time staff of six, it could have a real negative impact," said Dudley Fire Capt. David Koneczny.

All the jobs at Town Hall are also on the line.

NJ.COM: LAC OKs public safety position

LOWER ALLOWAYS CREEK TWP. - In a bitterly controversial decision, the township committee has created a public safety director job here to essentially put the entire police department under the microscope.

After nearly an hour of back-and-forth debate at a township meeting Tuesday night, the ordinance was adopted by a 3-2 vote that held fast to party lines.

Mayor Ellen Pompper (R), Committeewoman Donna Rhubart (R) and Committeeman George Stiles (R) carried the decision while committeemen Sherman Wood (D) and Richard Venable (D) voted against it.

Proponents of the post say the director will objectively evaluate the department and at some point in the future be able to choose the next chief, a position which has remained vacant since the retirement of Lee Peterson last November.

DETROIT NEWS: Trooper wins $500,000 in lawsuit against Detroit police

DETROIT -- A federal jury on Wednesday awarded a $500,000 verdict to a Michigan State Police trooper who brought a malicious prosecution lawsuit against Detroit police.

Trooper Jay Morningstar sued after he was charged and acquitted of second-degree murder in the shooting death of a homeless man while Morningstar was on duty in Detroit's Greektown area in April 2005.

Morningstar, who is white, testified in his lawsuit that he did not believe a black officer would have been charged in the shooting, given the same set of facts. The homeless man, Eric Williams, was black and unarmed.

JOURNAL ONLINE: Public Safety Remodeling To Improve Communication

Renovation of the entire fourth floor of Rosemont Village Hall will likely be completed within three weeks resulting in the consolidation of all police and fire-related offices and a more efficient operation, according to Deputy Superintendent Donald Stephens III.

Remodeling work on the building's fourth floor has been underway for several weeks. The purpose of the project is to consolidate Public Safety offices that are currently on the building's first, second and fifth floors as well as the village's Higgins Road fire station into one central location at 9501 Devon Ave. Once the work is finished, the entire floor will house department command and administrative offices and support staff. That, said Stephens, will improve intra-department communication tremendously.

Specific work includes constructing several separate offices along the periphery of the floor and position cubicles in the center portion. Department records, crime prevention, fire prevention, special services and detectives will occupy much of the space.

"It will make things a lot easier for all of us," Stephens explained. "Now if I have to talk to someone on the fifth floor, I have to go up there."

Village Board members on Jan. 7 approved spending $114,250 for fourth floor electrical work.

REUTERS: China policeman jailed for nightclub fire disaster

BEIJING, Jan 21 (Reuters) - China has jailed a senior police officer for 11 years for taking bribes and dereliction of duty in connection with a night club fire that killed dozens of people last year, local media said on Wednesday.

PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: City plans to renew Motorola contract

Since being put into operation in 2002, Philadelphia's $62 million emergency radio system has been plagued with problems - from systemwide failures to blocked calls for police and firefighters.

Nonetheless, the city wants to extend its contract with Motorola Corp. for four years and $34.5 million.

City officials say it is the least expensive choice. Unions for the police and firefighters agree, although with reservations about the system's reliability.

Another emergency management program take-over

In a news report on citizen.com on December 30, 2008, it was reported that the Meredith emergency management director is stepping down.

The article noted that the emergency management director observed that the new director must be able to meet the commitment required of the position in today's environment.

In spite of that recommendation, the political leaders decide to get rid of the separate EM Director position and give the responsibility to the chief of police.

While Selectman Worsman said another option might be to have a separate individual take the position to provide a wider view of emergency management, the article quoted Selectman and Deputy Fire Chief Chuck Palm saying that he worked for a town with a similar system and "that did not work well at all."

While every jurisdiction is different, and there is no such thing as one size fits all, how does this make sense? Maybe it "did not work well" in that one town but that is not the consensus opinion across the country. This seems like another example of a lack of understanding of the emergency management profession and the roles and responsibilities of a local emergency manager. The political leaders should take another look at their decision, and make sure that it was decided with all the available information.

AP: Police officer deaths drop in 2008

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fewer police officers died in the line of duty in 2008 compared to last year, reflecting better training and tactics, two law enforcement support groups reported Sunday.

The findings reversed the trend for 2007 when there was a spike in police deaths, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and another group, Concerns of Police Survivors.

The groups reported fatalities through Sunday.

Officer deaths this year totaled 140, compared to 181 in 2007.

VIRGINIAN-PILOT: Portsmouth makes a smart investment in public safety

Despite tough times, Portsmouth's City Council is moving toward implementing a long-promised - and long-overdue - plan to boost salaries for police and firefighters.

A $2.3 million retention plan, endorsed by the council in a recent special session, would establish a new, more predictable pay scale for public safety officers in the upcoming budget year. Although new hires would see some benefit, the changes are primarily geared to help experienced personnel.

DETROIT FREE PRESS: Teen held in Oak Park police officer slaying

Officer Mason Samborski, 28, of Howell died from a gunshot wound to his head during a struggle at an apartment complex about 12:30 a.m. Sunday, authorities said.

Samborski had taken 16-year-old Jonathan Belton of Detroit to the Rue Versailles apartment complex at 10 Mile and Greenfield roads to turn Belton over to an adult relative following the traffic stop, police said.

Several police departments joined Oak Park police in searching for Belton most of Sunday before Belton turned himself in, accompanied by his father and pastor, at a police station in northwest Detroit about 4 p.m. He was later taken to the Oak Park Public Safety offices.

Oak Park Public Safety Director John McNeilance said Belton could face murder charges as early as today.

WBKO: David Spade Helps Phoenix Police Buy Rifles

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Phoenix Police Department has gotten some high-powered goodies courtesy of actor David Spade.

The one-time Phoenix resident donated $100,000 so that the department can buy approximately 50 AR-15 rifles.

RAND: Better Efforts Needed to Track, Prevent Career-Ending Injuries Among Public Safety Workers

Non-fatal injuries to police officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians and other public safety workers are common, but little is done to track these incidents in order to improve prevention efforts, according to a study issued today by the RAND Corporation.

"We have pretty good information about the causes of fatalities that strike public safety employees, but we do not do enough to track the less-severe injuries that routinely strike this group of workers," said Tom LaTourrette, lead author of the study and a physical scientist with RAND, a nonprofit research organization.

Non-fatal injuries among public safety workers are far more common and create more costs for employers than fatal injuries, according to the RAND study.