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6 years ago · by · 0 comments

Georgia Teacher Barricades Himself In Classroom After Firing Gun

 

 

In Dalton, Georgia, students and faculty were plunged into a lockdown and subsequent evacuation after a well-liked social studies teacher barricaded himself in a classroom and fired a handgun at Dalton High School. Police arrested 53-year-old social studies teacher Jesse Randall Davidson after he barricaded himself alone inside a classroom and fired shots from a pistol as a principal tried to enter. The incident began at about 11:30 a.m. when Davidson refused to let students into his classroom while he was in his planning period. When the principal put a key in the door in an attempt to enter, Davidson fired a shot from a handgun through an exterior window of the classroom. The school went into lockdown and police quickly arrived and evacuated the immediate area around his classroom. After about 30 to 45 minutes, Davidson agreed to surrender and was taken into custody without further incident. Dalton police spokesman Bruce Frazier said there is no evidence Davidson was trying to fire at anyone.

Dalton police said the school resource officer, who has a close relationship with school staff, was at the junior high school when the incident began and then came to Davidson’s classroom. The officer was able to speak to the teacher and persuade him to leave his room without harming anyone. “We’re very, very proud of this officer and everything that he did to render this horrible situation safe as quick as what he did,” Dalton police Assistant Chief Cliff Cason said.

No students were in the classroom and the only injury was to a student who hurt her ankle while running away. Police confirmed that the teacher was Jesse Randal Davidson, 53. He taught social studies, and served as play-by-play voice of the school’s football team. Davidson had been at the school since 2004 and was recognized as the school’s “top teacher” in 2012. Davidson has been charged with “aggravated assault, carrying weapon on school grounds, terroristic threats, reckless conduct, possession of gun during commission of a crime, and disrupting public school,” according to Dalton Police. Police did not release any explanation for what motivated the incident. Principal Steve Bartoo said Davidson was an “excellent teacher” who was “well thought of in our building.”

According to a sheriff’s report obtained by The Associated Press, deputies in Dade County-where Davidson lives, had three rifles taken away after setting the family car ablaze at his home two years ago. Authorities seized the rifles for safe-keeping and took him to a hospital for a mental evaluation after he torched the Mitsubishi Outlander on Aug. 13, 2016. In that incident, a deputy arrived to find heavy smoke and flames pouring from the Mitsubishi. The deputy told Davidson’s wife Lisa and their daughter Megan to seek safety in his patrol car. Davidson’s adult son, Johnny, told the deputy that his father “was not acting like himself and was sitting down with a rifle in the back yard watching the vehicle on fire.” Johnny Davidson was eventually able to talk his father into giving up the gun. Davidson’s wife told the deputy they had argued about financial troubles that morning and had filed for bankruptcy in late 2015.

Two other reports from Dalton Police in Whitfield County show Davidson has been hospitalized at least three times in recent years as people worried about his state of mind. In March 2016, Davidson walked into the Dalton Police headquarters lobby and told a wild story including his suspicions that someone had been murdered. Detectives couldn’t verify any truth to the story and Davidson was taken to the hospital after expressing thoughts of hurting himself. In January 2017, school employees and a police officer began searching for Davidson after he went missing. He was later found sitting on a curb a few blocks from campus, being propped up by two school staff members.

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6 years ago · by · 0 comments

Daily HI4E.org Trivia Contest Winners For The Week Ending: Sunday, March 4th, 2018.

In an effort to broaden the company’s “social interaction” with our clients and FaceBook fans, Daily Trivia Questions are posted on both of our business pages. Here are the weekly standings for this past week, and the winner of the Sunday night Weekly Drawing for an AmEx gift card!            

Congratulations  – To this past week’s Trivia Contest Winner!!   Our latest contest winner for the weekly FaceBook HealthInsurance4Everyone/Health & Life Solutions, LLC Trivia Contest, drawn randomly by computer late Sunday evening, March 4th, 2018 was:

 

ALLYSON  BECKER

Owatonna,  MN

Winner Of A $25.00 AmEx Gift Card

 

Each day, fans who have “liked” either of our company FaceBook pages (HealthInsurance4Everyone  or Health & Life Solutions LLC) are able to test their skills with our Daily TRIVIA QUESTION.  The first 20 winners who post the correct answer to the TRIVIA QUESTION, will then get entered into the weekly drawing held late on Sunday evenings for a $25.00 Am Ex Gift Card.


Weekly Gift Card winners will be posted in our blog at this site.  Remember to become a FaceBook “fan” on either of our company pages to enter and post your answers. 

 

Here are the daily contestants from last week’s Trivia Contest that were entered into the Sunday drawing:

 

 

 

 

2/26/18

 

Lauren Bradley

Mary Mcmenamy

Kathleen Marks

Amanda Peters

Misty Shallcross

Jennifer Marie

Tracey Smith

Jenifer Garza

Joanie Waterman

Sunney Michelle Johnson

Beth Meemo

Nikki Bankert

Kizzy Alvarez DeSantis

Trish Musgrave

Melissa White

Wilma Mast

Brianna Ketchum

Brittany Michelle

Isis Sample

Dawn Raasch

Robin Griffitts Pratt

Melissa Maiestas

Kelly Jo Francisco

Debbie Gremlin

 

 

2/27/18

 

Sarah Bellestri Shih

Trish Hysell

Eleazar Ruiz

April Denise Council-Redmond

Alisa Jones

Alexis Maureen

Jenn Hess

Mandy Smith

Rondi Clark-Conn

Bea Patrick

Nacole Patrick

Emily Rice Bowersock

Kizzy Alvarez DeSantis

Allyson Becker

Sheila Carvell

Paula M Bondy

Jane Peterson

Ashley Agner

Kelly Prestenbach

Jenifer Garza

 

 

2/28/18

 

Mike Adamski

Amber Chandler

Sunney Michelle Johnson

Lia Jill

Sherry Lilly

Rachael Dakota-Two-Feather Smith

Eva Biggs

Cassandra Berholtz

Anna Nichols

Megan Rhyne

Jenifer Garza

Tiffany Greene Elliott

Jennifer Vega

Amanda Peters

Helen Saez Deverter

Tammy Dolby

Beth Cleveland

Theresa Sigournery

Deborah Farris

Amy Chavis

Wendy Messer-Brinnon

Aaron Chambers

Beth Stelzer-Smith

Trish Musgrave

Kacie Rogers

Dave Miller

Brandi K Chaney

 

 

 

3/1/18

 

Trish Musgrave

Lia Jill

Kizzy Alvarez DeSantis

Betsy Riddle

Jenifer Garza

Kacie Rogers

Vickie Gipson

Kathleen Marks

Sheila Carvell

Jodi Stevens

Brittany Light

Sunney Michelle Johnson

Helen Saez Deverter

Joann Tompkins Winborn

Amanda Rosario

Vinessa Vaquez

April Ashcraft

Tiffany Greene Elliott

George Pownall

Kathleen Hickman

 

 

 

3/2/18

 

Carrie Strickland

Kayla Hernandez

Wilma Mast

Jenifer Garza

Alicia Johnson

Priscilla Shimp

Samantha Rentschler

Isis Sample

Sheila Carvell

Eleazar Ruiz

Dee Washington

Alexis Maureen

Timothy Simpson

Karen Bondehagen

Jennifer Saavedra

Amy Marie Wilkinson

Kathleen Marks

Kimberly Taylor Hall

Bea Patrick

Carla M. Williams

Kaitlyn Rutherford

Mikey Mellor

 

 

 

3/3/18

 

Jennifer Lee Clack

Christy Hawkes

Lia Jill

Chelsie Nicole

Jenifer Garza

Anna Nichols

Melissa White

Amanda Peters

George Pownall

Cheyenne Shaw

Misty Shallcross

Becky Holland

Be Schwerin

Tracey Smith

Samantha Rentschler

Kacie Rogers

Ashley Agner

Amanda Rosario

Tina Mimick

Kendra George

Robin Griffitts Pratt

Jenn Anthony

Helen Saez Deverter

 

 

 

 

3/4/18

 

April Ashcraft

Beth Meemo

Eleazar Ruiz

Sheila Carvell

Trish Musgrave

Heather Marie Stacy

Margaret Gipson

Kendra George

Lia Jill

Chuck Derr

Be Schwerin

Thalia BunBunz

Amber Chandler

Sheri Boydston

Priscilla Shimp

Mary Ann Cody

Deborah Farris

Christy Hawkes

Jenifer Garza

Katrina Worford

Karyn Koehler

Tonya Velazquez

Jennifer Lee Clack

Cindy Schierl

 


Be sure to watch both of our FaceBook pages for your chance to win and enter again next week, with questions posted daily on HealthInsurance4Everyone or at Health & Life Solutions, LLC!!

Remember that if you try your hand at answering the Trivia Question several days each week, your odds of winning the Sunday weekly drawing are much better. 

Also note that a number of the posted answers each day are from contestants who have forgotten to “Like” one of our pages, so their names WILL NOT be entered at the end week drawing for the gift card, giving our fans a better chance!

You may also find that if you “Like” BOTH of the business pages, you will receive faster notifications of the other players as they post their answers to compete with you!  

—————————————————————-

At Health Insurance 4 Everyone, we not only want to improve our customer service but also interact with our customers on a social media level that wasn’t available before. Interested in connecting with us?  Look us up on…. 

 

Twitter: Healthinsurane4  (Follow Us On Twitter To Receive Faster Notifications When Daily Trivia Questions Posted, & To Be Immediately Notified When Weekly AmEX Gift Card Winners Are Announced!!)

 

 

Click-On for LinkedIn To Follow Our Posts: LinkedIn

 

Like us on facebook: HealthInsurance4Everyone or Health & Life Solutions, LLC

 

Over 54,000 Combined Fans/Followers To Our Social Media Sites, & We’re Growing Daily!

 

Follow Mark Shuster, Founder/Owner at Health & Life Solutions, LLC for daily health tips! 

 

 

Mark Shuster FaceBook Link

 

Follow our word press blog and read about everything from health insurance and reform news to healthy living and current events!

 

Company Blogs

 

Find out more about LegalShield, our corporate partner which gives you the power to talk to an attorney about any legal issue, and offering high-quality Identity Theft plans.

 

LegalShield

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6 years ago · by · 0 comments

Haiti Suspends Oxfam Charity Over Sex Crimes Scandal

 

 

 

Haiti has suspended the British charity Oxfam as it investigates reports that it tried to cover up sex crimes by senior aid workers in Haiti after the devastating 2010 earthquake. An internal Oxfam review concluded in 2011 that senior aid workers hired prostitutes at Oxfam properties in Haiti and then tried to cover it up. Prostitution is illegal in Haiti, but Oxfam refused to report the activity of its aid workers to Haitian police. Oxfam’s internal report also includes claims that three Oxfam staff members physically threatened a witness during the internal investigation.

The report confirms that Roland van Hauwermeiren, the country director in the Caribbean nation for Oxfam’s Great Britain arm, admitted to hiring prostitutes to his official residence. A news report revealed there had been at least one “Caligula orgy” with women dressed in Oxfam T-shirts. No public disclosures were made of the alleged abuse at the time, though the 2011 report shows that the director and six others were dismissed or resigned for misconduct, including three who did so because of “use of prostitutes.” All of the names in the document were redacted besides van Hauwermeiren. Oxfam said in a statement that the full un-redacted reports will be given to the Haitian government. The Charity Commission has said it was not told the full story when Oxfam first looked into the allegations in 2011.

The scandal around van Hauwermeiren, who also faced allegations about work in Chad in 2006 where he presided over an office with employees accused of hiring prostitutes. The history of alleged abuse, and the fact that he was allowed to go on to work for another charity in Bangladesh, prompted Oxfam to call for an independent review of itself by women’s rights groups.

An internal investigation by the charity into sexual exploitation, the downloading of pornography, bullying and intimidation is claimed to have found children may have been exploited by employees. The report also clarifies that the charity was aware of concerns about the conduct of two of men at the center of the Haiti allegations when they previously worked in Chad.

Oxfam has been hit with dozens more misconduct allegations involving a slew of countries, in the days since The Times of London revealed Oxfam tried to cover up the sex crimes by senior aid workers in Haiti. The charity now faces worries about funding from the British government and its ability to fundraise while multiple prominent ambassadors for the group have resigned.

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6 years ago · by · 0 comments

Ohio Attorney General Files Suit With DuPont

 

 

 

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine filed suit against chemical giant DuPont, charging the company with illegally dumping a toxic chemical from its Washington Works plant into the Ohio River for decades. The Ohio lawsuit comes as the Environmental Protection Agency ordered DuPont to test water near its Washington Works plant for another chemical, GenX—which was billed as a replacement for C8 but which is linked to many of the same health problems.
The suit charges DuPont released the chemical, which is used in Teflon coating, even though it knew of the dangers of PFOA, also known as C8, which has been linked to cancer, thyroid disease, high cholesterol and low birth weight in babies. Studies have found Tristate residents have a higher level of the chemical in their bodies, likely a result of industrial discharge into the Ohio River.
“Human Exposure to PFOA — even at very low levels — has been linked to kidney and testicular cancer, thyroid disease, pregnancy-induced hypertension and low birth weight, high cholesterol and ulcerative colitis,” the lawsuit says. PFOA is known to be toxic and carcinogenic in animals and is resistant to typical environmental degradation processes. The lawsuit alleges DuPont negligently caused environmental contamination and created a public nuisance by allowing PFOA to enter air, soil and water in Ohio. “DuPont’s conscious disregard for the right of Ohio and the safety of its citizens has caused and continues to cause substantial harm to Ohio, and the property and natural resources it holds in a trust for its citizens and will likely cause substantial harm in the future,” the lawsuit says.
DuPont has been hit with a number of lawsuits in recent years after many have said the company released toxins into the environment. The company now faces 3,500 lawsuits filed in federal court by Mid-Ohio Valley residents in a 185-square-mile area around Parkersburg, West Virginia. An Ohio man who developed cancer was awarded $5 million in compensatory damages against DuPont in 2016.
A New Jersey city filed a $1.1 billion lawsuit against DuPont, alleging the company spun off the Chambers Works facility to avoid environmental cleanup costs. It alleges the Chambers Works site, where Teflon has been manufactured since 1938, is polluted because of a toxic chemical used in the product’s manufacturing. The lawsuit claimed DuPont dumped over 100 million pounds of toxic chemicals into the water and ground since the plant opened in 1892. Toxins from these products, which generated billions of dollars in sales for DuPont, impacted residents as far as two miles away from the plant. Hazardous substances including mercury, benzene and ethyl chloride were all used at the plant. DuPont settled that class action suit for $8.3 million.

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6 years ago · by · 0 comments

Daily HI4E.org Trivia Contest Winners For The Week Ending: Sunday, February 11th, 2018.

 

In an effort to broaden the company’s “social interaction” with our clients and FaceBook fans, Daily Trivia Questions are posted on both of our business pages. Here are the weekly standings for this past week, and the winner of the Sunday night Weekly Drawing for an AmEx gift card!            

Congratulations  – To this past week’s Trivia Contest Winner!!   Our latest contest winner for the weekly FaceBook HealthInsurance4Everyone/Health & Life Solutions, LLC Trivia Contest, drawn randomly by computer late Sunday evening, February 11th, 2018 was:

 

HAYLEY  CORDARO

Brick, NJ

Winner Of A $25.00 AmEx Gift Card

 

Each day, fans who have “liked” either of our company FaceBook pages (HealthInsurance4Everyone  or Health & Life Solutions LLC) are able to test their skills with our Daily TRIVIA QUESTION.  The first 20 winners who post the correct answer to the TRIVIA QUESTION, will then get entered into the weekly drawing held late on Sunday evenings for a $25.00 Am Ex Gift Card.


Weekly Gift Card winners will be posted in our blog at this site.  Remember to become a FaceBook “fan” on either of our company pages to enter and post your answers. 

 

Here are the daily contestants from last week’s Trivia Contest that were entered into the Sunday drawing:

 

 

 

2/5/18

Chrissy Kim

Katrina Worford

Tammy Isom

Kathleen Hickman

Ashley Agner

Dean Bruss

Brittany Light

Dawn Raasch

Stacy Lynn Nelson

Stephanie Griffith

Eleazar Ruiz

Paula M Bondy

Lyvona Lena Perry

Be Schwerin

Jodi Stevens

Lauren Bradley

Jessica Davis

Kizzy Alvarez DeSantis

Geri Rus

Maria Bouchard

Trish Marks

 

 

2/6/18

 

April Ashcraft

Brandi K Chaney

Chelsie Nicole

Vickie Gipson

Tera Wardrip

Bea Patrick

Katrina Worford

Michelle Hughes

Amanda Rosario

Jill Nauyokas

Kristina Rosson

Alicia Smith

Kendra Lynne Ramsey

Geri Rus

Joanie Waterman

Michelle Rayeske-Jeske

Ashley Agner

Meg Marshall

Ann Patrick

Nacole Patrick

 

 

 

2/7/18

 

Christy Hawkes

Margaret Primos

Amber Chandler

Brittany Light

Alicia Johnson

Kathleen Marks

Jenifer Garza

Katherine Oliveira

Jenn Anthony

Karen Ann Hinkle

Jennifer Kearney

Ashley Stamey Phillips

Tera Wardrip

Adaria Johnson

Brian Fulop

Deborah Farris

Suzie Mize Lockhart

Althea Thomas

Wendy Messer-Brinnon

Kendra George

Bethany Henry

Jill Nauyokas

Sunney Michelle Johnson

Alysia Jackson

Sara Heller

 

 

 

2/8/18

 

Amy Marie Wilkinson

Rachael Dakota-Two-Feather Smith

Jill Nauyokas

Amber Chandler

Jenifer Garza

Nicole Blaha

Mikey Mellor

Amanda Peters

Becky Holland

Alisa Jones

Sara Heller

Deborah Farris

Sheila Carvell

Nacole Patrick

Melissa White

Mike Adamski

Lindsey McCoy

Christina Montes

Kathi Taylor

Vinessa Vaquez

Bea Patrick

Alexis Maureen

Diane Hamric

 

 

 

2/9/18

Sheila Carvell

Ashley Agner

Amber Chandler

Jill Nauyokas

Enna-LenLen DR-Villafuerte

Priscilla Shimp

Michelle Hughes

Trish Musgrave

Eleazar Ruiz

Susanne Killion

Dave Miller

Alicia Smith

Kelly Jo Francisco

Carla M. Williams

Isis Sample

Kizzy Alvarez DeSantis

Brian Fulop

Wendi Black

Michelle R. Carlino

Amy Conyers

 

 

 

2/10/18

 

Rachael Dakota-Two-Feather Smith

Jenifer Garza

Jennifer Kinner

Shelby Howke

Tiffany Greene Elliott

Sherry Lilly

Eleazar Ruiz

Karen Ann Hinkle

Wayne Gallas

Ambreen Rouf

Jennifer Ramlet

Bethany Henry

Brandi Kerr

Kayla Clemons

Karyn Koehler

Alexandria Fields

Chris Blythe

Jill Nauyokas

Diane Hamric

April Ashcraft

Demetris Crutcher

Marcy Coull

 

 

 

2/11/18

 

Jackie Poole

Jenifer Garza

Dawn Raasch

Jennifer Ramlet

April Ashcraft

Anggie Marie

Mikey Mellor

George Pownall

Jessica Bognear

Stella Methvin

Misty Shallcross

Jennifer Vega

Kendra Lynne Ramsey

Kizzy Alvarez DeSantis

Shelby Howke

Jodi Stevens

Kristina Harris

Rachael Dakota-Two-Feather Smith

Abby Cox

Jenn Hess

Marcy Coull

Hayley Cordaro

Marilyn Wall


Be sure to watch both of our FaceBook pages for your chance to win and enter again next week, with questions posted daily on HealthInsurance4Everyone or at Health & Life Solutions, LLC!!

Remember that if you try your hand at answering the Trivia Question several days each week, your odds of winning the Sunday weekly drawing are much better. 

Also note that a number of the posted answers each day are from contestants who have forgotten to “Like” one of our pages, so their names WILL NOT be entered at the end week drawing for the gift card, giving our fans a better chance!

You may also find that if you “Like” BOTH of the business pages, you will receive faster notifications of the other players as they post their answers to compete with you!  

—————————————————————-

At Health Insurance 4 Everyone, we not only want to improve our customer service but also interact with our customers on a social media level that wasn’t available before. Interested in connecting with us?  Look us up on….

 

Twitter: Healthinsurane4  (Follow Us On Twitter To Receive Faster Notifications When Daily Trivia Questions Posted, & To Be Immediately Notified When Weekly AmEX Gift Card Winners Are Announced!!)

 

 

Click-On for LinkedIn To Follow Our Posts: LinkedIn

 

Like us on facebook: HealthInsurance4Everyone or Health & Life Solutions, LLC

 

Over 54,000 Combined Fans/Followers To Our Social Media Sites, & We’re Growing Daily!

 

Follow Mark Shuster, Founder/Owner at Health & Life Solutions, LLC for daily health tips!

 

Mark Shuster FaceBook Link

 

Follow our word press blog and read about everything from health insurance and reform news to healthy living and current events!

 

Company Blogs

 

Find out more about LegalShield, our corporate partner which gives you the power to talk to an attorney about any legal issue, and offering high-quality Identity Theft plans.

 

LegalShield

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6 years ago · by · 111 comments

Seventy Arrested At Georgia House Party For Less Than Oz of Marijuana

 

 

Cartersville, Georgia police are facing criticism after arresting 70 people at a house party in an Atlanta suburb after no one would claim ownership of a stash of marijuana that totaled less than an ounce. Partygoers say police entered the home without permission or a warrant, and arrested everyone inside when they couldn’t determine the owner of the less than an ounce of marijuana they seized.

Cartersville police responded to a “shots fired” call around 2:18 AM on New Year’s Eve at the Morgan Square apartments on Cain Drive. Someone from the apartment complex called 911 to report the noise from the party, drawing police to the site of the party, just blocks from the apartment complex. Partygoers allege that the sounds were fireworks, not gunfire and that while police were checking things out-they smelled marijuana in the front yard. They say police didn’t have a warrant at that point but they said two officers entered the home anyway.

Deja Heard had rented the home where the party was held through Air BnB to celebrate her 21st birthday by having a “Christmas Lingerie Party”. Flyers for the party said “Party Alert. East Atlanta Santa’s 21st Sexy Christmas Lingerie Pajama Party” and advertised a cover for drinks, Jell-O shots, “drunk/strip Twister” and beer pong.

Those arrested ranged in age from 15 to 31 years old and some remained in jail 2 days after the arrest- causing them to lose their jobs. Jail records showed that 63 of the 70 arrestees had all been processed with a single count of marijuana possession under one ounce. Some parents of those arrested have cried foul at the arrests, claiming that if the incident happened in Atlanta, the attendees would’ve walked away with a $75 ticket.

Several of those arrested, now called “the Cartersville 70” on social media, have given interviews to local media outlets saying they fear they will have a criminal record. Austen Davis told a reporter “I was told we were just being detained; one of the officers said we’re putting you in a van to keep y’all warm.” Others say they were verbally abused during their arrest. Along with the attorneys representing the young people arrested, the NAACP is now involved.

The Georgia chapter of the NAACP said most of the drug charges should be dropped because officers didn’t have the right to search the home. “We believe, based on what we know from the police report and independent witnesses and video, that there was a violation of people’s Fourth Amendment rights,” The Fourth Amendment protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures of property. The NAACP contends that the house and those attending the party were unlawfully searched and that citations could have been issued, rather than arresting the party-goers.

In a news release, police said they obtained a warrant and found two stolen guns, marijuana individually packaged and several smoking devices throughout most of the first-floor rooms. Individually packaged suspected cocaine and cocaine-related paraphernalia were also located upon initial contact with multiple subjects, the release said. According to Cartersville Police Lt. M.E. Betttikofer, the police investigation is presently ongoing.

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6 years ago · by · 255 comments

Denver Gunmen Kills One, Wounds Six

 

 

 

 

A gunman in Denver, Colorado used a rifle to fire at least 100 rounds in an “ambush-style attack” at police who were responding to a disturbance. The suspect, Iraq veteran Matthew Riehl, shot and killed Sheriff Deputy Zackari Parrish, 29, and injured four other officers and two civilians.  The gunman used a rifle and fired at least 100 rounds. The gunman, a 37-year-old former soldier and lawyer, was killed in a shootout with SWAT officers.

Douglas County Deputies were called to the apartment in the Copper Canyon Apartment Complex at 3 a.m. on a report of a verbal disturbance between two males.  Riehl’s roommate told the four officers that arrived that the suspect was acting bizarre and might be having a mental breakdown.   Deputies cleared the scene at 3:40 a.m. and left because no crime had been committed.  Officers were called back to the scene at 5:14 a.m. on a domestic disturbance call and all four officers were there by 5:35 a.m.  Riehl’s roommate returned to the apartment, gave deputies a key and permission to enter the apartment but left before the gunman opened fire at 5:56 a.m.

After the officers entered the suspect’s apartment, they found that he had barricaded himself inside a bedroom.  The officers talked with Riehl through the door and determined it to be a mental health call.  In the officers body cam footage Parrish is heard saying “It’s deputy Parrish, DougCo Sheriff’s Office.” “Hey, Matt, it’s Zack. Yes we can help you. I’m with the sheriff’s office. Right here man. We can talk out here. I just want to make sure you’re OK.”  Deputies talked to Riehl and tried to help him until 5:35 a.m.  Parrish is then heard  “He’s going through a manic episode,” “We’re going to take him for an M1.”  M1 stands for a mental health hold.

Between 5:35 a.m. and 5:57 a.m. deputies were developing a plan to get medical and mental health aid to Riehl, until he opened fire.  All the officers were wearing bulletproof vests but were struck in unprotected parts of their bodies.  During a news conference, Sheriff Tony Spurlock said all four officers went down within seconds of each other.  Deputy Zackari Parrish was shot several times and the wounded officers tried to pull him out but were unable to because of their injuries.  The wounded deputies then crawled away while other officers responded to the shots fired call.

SWAT team members entered the apartment at 7:30 a.m. and exchanged gunfire with the gunman.  The gunman was killed and another officer was wounded by the suspect.   Riehl’s roommate was not injured and has been cooperating with investigators.  The injured deputies are Michael Doyle, 28; Taylor Davis, 30; and Jeff Pelle, 32. Castle Rock police officer Thomas O’Donnell, 41, was also wounded. All were listed in stable condition at area hospitals.  Two people in adjacent apartments were also wounded, but their injuries were not life-threatening.

During the press conference, Sheriff Spurlock said Riehl was an Iraq war veteran that at one time worked as a lawyer in Rawlins, Wyoming.  He had no criminal history but was well known to law enforcement.   Spurlock said Riehl has posted a number of anti-law-enforcement videos on YouTube and other social media.   Deputy Parrish, who had been a deputy for about 7 months, was rushed to the Littleton hospital but he had suffered mortal wounds.  A motorcade of officers from various police agencies accompanied the fallen officer from the hospital to the coroner’s office.  Parrish is survived by a wife and two young daughters.

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6 years ago · by · 0 comments

Investigative Reports Prompt Puerto Rico To Review All Deaths After Maria

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Facing mounting evidence that Puerto Rico has vastly undercounted the number of people who died because of Hurricane Maria, Gov. Ricardo A. Rosselló ordered that every death on the island since the devastating storm be reviewed.  Officials will look review all deaths attributed to natural causes after the hurricane, which made landfall Sept. 20 and knocked out power to 3.4 million Puerto Ricans and to their hospitals and clinics.

Roselló made the order to the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry, which is the island’s vital statistics bureau, and to the Department of Public Safety following the investigative media reports on the death toll and after residents claiming deaths of their loved ones were caused by Maria.  The governor also said he’d create an expert panel to review the island’s death certification process.

The Puerto Rican government has put the official death toll at 64 but several investigations have revealed that nearly 1,000 more people died.   The prolonged blackout hampered critical medical treatment for some of the island’s most vulnerable patients, including many who were bedridden or dependent on dialysis or respirators. But if they died as a result, the storm’s role in their deaths may have gone officially unrecorded.

Several news organizations, including The New York Times, conducted independent analyses and found that the number of deaths traceable to the storm was far higher than the official count.  The Times’s review, based on daily mortality data from Puerto Rico’s vital statistics bureau, found that 1,052 more people than usual had died across the island in the 42 days after Maria struck. The analysis compared daily figures for 2017 with an average of figures for the corresponding days in 2015 and 2016.

The leading causes of death on the island in September were diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease, Puerto Rican government data show.  There was a sharp 50 percent spike in the number of recorded deaths from sepsis, a complication of severe infection that can be tied to delayed medical care or poor living conditions.    Reports emerged of people being unable to use oxygen and dialysis equipment, unable to refrigerate insulin, evacuated from hospitals that lost emergency power and other problems.

Reviewing the circumstances surrounding each death will require interviewing family members and doctors who signed death certificates to find out if, for example, a heart attack might have been brought on by stress from the hurricane, or might have been fatal because an ambulance could not get through debris-blocked streets in time to help.

The governor’s announcement comes as the Center for Investigative Journalism in Puerto Rico reported that nearly three months since the storm, 45 people are still listed as missing and efforts by Puerto Rico’s police to locate them have been minimal or almost nonexistent.    Parts of the island are still without power leaving many to celebrate Christmas in the dark.   The power grid is only operating at 70 percent of capacity and officials say power won’t be fully restored until the end of May.

 

 

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6 years ago · by · 205 comments

Amtrak Train Derails In Washington State

 

 

 

Officials say three people are confirmed dead and 70 injured in the derailment of an Amtrak passenger train that plummeted off an overpass in Washington state.  Part of the train was left dangling over a busy freeway between Olympia and DuPont at the height of the Monday morning commute.   The high-speed passenger train was on a trip from Seattle to Portland when it derailed.  Federal investigators say the Amtrak train was traveling at 80 miles per hour when it barreled off the tracks in a 30-mile-per-hour zone. The accident sent some of the train’s cars tumbling onto the highway below.

The train, identified by Amtrak as the high-speed Train 501 from Seattle to Portland, was carrying 77 passengers and seven crew members when it derailed just after 7:30 a.m. local time.   All but one of its cars and engines jumped the tracks and at least one fell to the roadway below.  Multiple vehicles on the roadway below were struck by train cars that left the train tracks.   Washington Governor Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency to aid the response to the crash, which also clogged one of the state’s busiest roadways, used by some 60,000 people every day.

Amtrak Cascades trains began using a faster, more direct route that day, making this its inaugural trip.  Previously, it used to snake along the edge of Puget Sound, which was a slower route but began running on tracks known as the Point Defiance Bypass, which are owned by the Sound Transit agency. The Washington State Department of Transportation says the Federal Railroad Administration funded and reviewed recent upgrades to the tracks. All told, the project’s budget was nearly $181 million.

The change in route was met with criticism from some residents in the area after it was announced. Lakewood Mayor Don Anderson even predicted a deadly accident.   “Come back when there is that accident, and try to justify not putting in those safety enhancements, or you can go back now and advocate for the money to do it, because this project was never needed and endangers our citizens” Anderson said.

The National Transportation Safety Board says it’s too early to tell what caused the derailment and that its investigators would spend a week or more scouring the wreckage for clues. Ahead of the crash, the mayor of the city of Lakewood raised safety concerns about the new rail line, predicting earlier this month it could lead to multiple deaths. The train was not utilizing positive train control—a technology mandated by Congress, but rarely operating in Amtrak trains—which could have prevented the crash.

 

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6 years ago · by · 0 comments

New York City Bombing Attack

 

 

 

New York City police have identified the suspect in the bombing attack in a Midtown Manhattan subway station that took place during the busy Monday morning commute.  The accused attacker was identified as 27-year-old Brooklyn resident and Bangladeshi immigrant Akayed Ullah.  Ullah was carrying a pipe bomb strapped to his body with Velcro and zip ties whe he detonated it in a tunnel connecting the busy Port Authority and Times Square terminals.   Five people were treated for minor injuries at area hospitals, while the suspect was said to be seriously injured.

Investigators have been pouring over surveillance footage of the area.  Ullah was first spotted on a security camera as he climbed the subway station stairs to the 18th Avenue F. train platform in Brooklyn at 6:25 a.m.  He then switched to the A train at Jay St./MetroTech stop in Brooklyn before exiting the train at the Port Authority Bus Terminal stop in Manhattan.

The blast detonated around 7:20 a.m. in an underground walkway connecting two subway lines beneath the Port Authority Bus Terminal, near Times Square, which accommodates 220,000 passenger trips a day.  Surveillance footage shows commuters walking through a tunnel when a burst of smoke erupts into the hallway, quickly filling it.  Commuters flinch and take cover, and when the smoke clears, an injured man, Ullah, can be seen lying on the ground in the hallway.

Law enforcement officials say Ullah was inspired to set off a bomb in retaliation for U.S. attacks against ISIS in Syria.  He faces five federal terrorism-related charges and three state terrorism-related charges after he allegedly detonated the homemade device made of a battery, wires, metal screws and a Christmas tree lightbulb during the busy morning commute.  According to Department of Homeland Security, Ullah is a Bangladeshi immigrant who has been living in the United States since 2011 on an F43 family immigrant visa.  He is a legal permanent resident living in Brooklyn and has no criminal record in the United States.

According to a federal complaint, Ullah admitted to investigators that he built and detonated the device and said he was inspired to do so by ISIS.  He said that he was prepared to die and told investigators he was motivated in part by pro-ISIS Christmas attack propaganda circulated about a month ago online with an image of Santa Claus over Times Square.  Investigators recovered a passport in his name with a handwritten message: “O America, die in your rage.”  Investigators say Ullah’s ISIS radicalization began in 2014 and he began researching how to build improvised explosive devices about a year ago.  He began collecting the necessary items to make the device two to three weeks ago, and built the bomb in his home a week ago.

According to law enforcement officials, Ullah had two homemade devices with him but they did not elaborate on the second device.  Andrew Cuomo said in an interview that the device was an amateur, “effectively low-tech device” that partially detonated.  The explosive chemical ignited, but the pipe itself did not explode, lessening its impact.  Cuomo added “Fortunately for us, the bomb partially detonated, he did detonate it, but it did not fully have the effect that he was hoping for.”

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