WASHINGTON President Barack Obama plans to put in place new restrictions on the use of military equipment by police departments, following unrest in U.S. cities over the deaths of black men at the hands of police officers, the White House said on Monday.
Obama will ban police use of equipment such as explosive-resistant vehicles with tracked wheels like those seen on army tanks, the White House said in a fact sheet. For other types of equipment, such as MRAP (mine-resistant ambush protected) vehicles and riot shields, departments will have to provide added justification for their use.
Obama will announce the steps, which are the result of an executive order, during a visit later on Monday to Camden, New Jersey, where he plans to push efforts to encourage trust-building between police and the communities they serve.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/18/us-usa-race-obama-idUSKBN0O30UQ20150518?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews
MEANWHILE:
Cops in Waco, Texas are wishing they had a few actual tanks at their disposal!
WACO, Texas (AP) — Law enforcement remained on alert in Waco, Texas, early Monday after a deadly shootout between rival biker gangs shook up the community, and attempts at intimidation ensured officers will stay on the streets, police said.
Waco police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton said 192 people have been arrested on charges of engaging in organized crime following the Sunday afternoon brawl at a Twin Peaks restaurant that left nine bikers dead and at least 18 more wounded.
"Our citizens are safe. I will tell you that we have had threats against law enforcement officers throughout the night from various biker groups. We are very aware that some of them have come into our city and we have a contingency plan to deal with those individuals if they try to cause trouble here," Swanton said at a news conference early Monday.
The violence erupted shortly after noon in the restaurant at a busy shopping center along Interstate 35 where members of at least five rival gangs had gathered for a meeting, Swanton said late Sunday. Preliminary findings indicate a dispute broke out in a bathroom, escalated to include knives and firearms, and eventually spilled into the restaurant parking lot.
"I was amazed that we didn't have innocent civilians killed or injured," Swanton said.
The interior of the restaurant was littered with bullet casings, knives, a club, bodies and pools of blood, he said. Authorities were processing the evidence at the scene, 95 miles south of Dallas. About 150-200 bikers were inside during the shootout.
Parts of downtown Waco were locked down, and officials stopped and questioned motorcycle riders. FBI and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents were assisting local and state authorities in the investigation.
Police and the operators of Twin Peaks — a national chain that features scantily clad waitresses — were aware of the meeting in advance and at least 12 Waco officers in addition to state troopers were outside the restaurant when the fight began, Swanton said.
He said officers shot armed bikers and that the actions of law enforcement prevented further deaths. It wasn't immediately clear whether any of the nine dead were killed by police officers. The identities of the dead have yet to be made public.
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission has closed down the Twin Peaks location for a week due to concerns there could be more violence at the site, Swanton said.
"Because of the significant threat to our general public, TABC is able to do a suspension of business for Twin Peaks," he said.
"That's a good thing for law enforcement here. That is one issue that we don't have to worry about people coming in and creating another incident after the tragic incident we had last night," Swanton said.
A statement sent Sunday night on behalf of Jay Patel, operating partner for the Waco franchise, said his management team has had "ongoing and positive communications with the police." Swanton said the management has not cooperated with authorities in addressing concerns about the gangs and called Patel's statement a "fabrication."McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara, whose office is involved in the investigation, said all nine who were killed were members of the Bandidos or Cossacks gangs.
In a 2014 gang threat assessment, the Texas Department of Public Safety classified the Bandidos as a "Tier 2" threat, the second highest. Other groups in that tier included the Bloods, Crips and Aryan Brotherhood of Texas.
The Bandidos, formed in the 1960s, are involved in trafficking cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamines, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Texas assessment doesn't mention the Cossacks.
There's at least one documented instance of violence between the two groups. In November 2013, a 46-year-old from Abilene who police say was the leader of a West Texas Bandidos chapter was charged in the stabbings of two members of the Cossacks club.
THERE'S ONE THING ABOUT THE GOOD OL' UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ..........., THEY SURE KNOW HOW TO HAVE A GOOD TIME DOWN THERE!
------------------------------------
And while we are on the subject of cops:
TORONTO – Police officers across Canada have been getting paid for years to stand around manholes and construction sites during off-hours.
But no one seems to know just when the practice first started, or where — not even those who reap millions of dollars every year from so-called “paid duty,” a program that allows companies and individuals to hire off-duty officers for various events.
“When we tried to pin down where these requirements came from, nobody could tell us,” says Alok Mukherjee, chair of the Toronto Police Services Board, which oversees the force.
From a thick binder labelled “Paid Duty,” he pulls a copy of a document from 1957 — minutes from a police board meeting that references setting the rate for paid duty.
As far back as the 1920s, Toronto’s then-police chief criticized paid duty, saying it would likely be rescinded.
But today, the practice has become a funding source for cash-strapped police forces, and a lightning rod for criticism.
In cities that include Montreal, Waterloo, Ont., and Calgary, critics are raising concerns that the system grants better protection to those with the means to pay for it, and questioning whether officers can remain impartial towards those who offer lucrative contracts.
In Toronto, where the program has been a political hot potato for decades, city officials are eager to cut back the funds doled out each year for paid duty supervision of municipal projects.
Mukherjee also worries about what he calls the “reputational” cost.
“When people talk about police officers these days, it is interesting how frequently they talk about the police officer who is standing guard over a sewage drain doing nothing, slouching, holding a cup of coffee,” he said.
Base salaries of police constables in Toronto range from $63,436 to $90,623, the force’s website shows. Meanwhile, paid-duty earnings amount to an average of $8,909 per officer, according to Ontario’s so-called sunshine list.
Mukherjee wants to overhaul the program, including eliminating what he calls “rent-a-cops,” where officers are hired for events that aren’t required by law to have a police presence, such as Maple Leafs and Blue Jays games.
He also wants the city and the province to change rules that mandate when an officer must be on scene, usually to guide traffic, on larger roads that are under construction.
“I’d rather see a combination of special constables, paid duty and private security,” he said.
In 2014, Toronto police officers made more than $27 million for performing paid duties, with the service raking in another $4 million from a 15-per-cent “administration fee” and another $1 million for equipment.
More than 80 per cent of that cost is paid for by private individuals or organizations, which is why the head of the police union said the debate is not about finances since it doesn’t affect the police budget.
“There’s no economic basis to attack paid duties, so they’ve shifted to the reputational impact, which, to me, holds no water at all,” Mike McCormack said.
“When we have officers who are downtown or in the city to improve traffic flow, it actually increases our reputation.”
Mukherjee doesn’t think so. The police board has the power to set guidelines on paid duty, he said, but change will have to come from the incoming police chief, Mark Saunders.
A spokesman for Saunders said paid duty is among the issues the new chief will tackle once he’s sworn in, but would not elaborate further.
http://metronews.ca/news/canada/1371137/critics-want-cop-paid-duty-program-overhauled/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+canada-news+%28Canada+news+from+metronews.ca%29
But no one seems to know just when the practice first started, or where — not even those who reap millions of dollars every year from so-called “paid duty,” a program that allows companies and individuals to hire off-duty officers for various events.
“When we tried to pin down where these requirements came from, nobody could tell us,” says Alok Mukherjee, chair of the Toronto Police Services Board, which oversees the force.
From a thick binder labelled “Paid Duty,” he pulls a copy of a document from 1957 — minutes from a police board meeting that references setting the rate for paid duty.
But today, the practice has become a funding source for cash-strapped police forces, and a lightning rod for criticism.
In cities that include Montreal, Waterloo, Ont., and Calgary, critics are raising concerns that the system grants better protection to those with the means to pay for it, and questioning whether officers can remain impartial towards those who offer lucrative contracts.
In Toronto, where the program has been a political hot potato for decades, city officials are eager to cut back the funds doled out each year for paid duty supervision of municipal projects.
Mukherjee also worries about what he calls the “reputational” cost.
“When people talk about police officers these days, it is interesting how frequently they talk about the police officer who is standing guard over a sewage drain doing nothing, slouching, holding a cup of coffee,” he said.
Base salaries of police constables in Toronto range from $63,436 to $90,623, the force’s website shows. Meanwhile, paid-duty earnings amount to an average of $8,909 per officer, according to Ontario’s so-called sunshine list.
Mukherjee wants to overhaul the program, including eliminating what he calls “rent-a-cops,” where officers are hired for events that aren’t required by law to have a police presence, such as Maple Leafs and Blue Jays games.
He also wants the city and the province to change rules that mandate when an officer must be on scene, usually to guide traffic, on larger roads that are under construction.
“I’d rather see a combination of special constables, paid duty and private security,” he said.
In 2014, Toronto police officers made more than $27 million for performing paid duties, with the service raking in another $4 million from a 15-per-cent “administration fee” and another $1 million for equipment.
More than 80 per cent of that cost is paid for by private individuals or organizations, which is why the head of the police union said the debate is not about finances since it doesn’t affect the police budget.
“There’s no economic basis to attack paid duties, so they’ve shifted to the reputational impact, which, to me, holds no water at all,” Mike McCormack said.
“When we have officers who are downtown or in the city to improve traffic flow, it actually increases our reputation.”
Mukherjee doesn’t think so. The police board has the power to set guidelines on paid duty, he said, but change will have to come from the incoming police chief, Mark Saunders.
A spokesman for Saunders said paid duty is among the issues the new chief will tackle once he’s sworn in, but would not elaborate further.
http://metronews.ca/news/canada/1371137/critics-want-cop-paid-duty-program-overhauled/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+canada-news+%28Canada+news+from+metronews.ca%29
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