A Balch Springs police officer was fired for violating several department policies and procedures in the shooting death of a Texas teen. He was later arrested on a murder charge in the killing of Jordan Edwards, who was a passenger in a car that was driving away from a party. The former officer turned himself in at the Parker County Jail, posting his $300,000 bail that evening. If convicted of murder, he faces up to life in prison.
Roy Oliver, 37, was the second of two officers who responded to a report of a loud party with underage drinking in the Dallas suburb of Balch Springs. Oliver and the other officer went into the house to talk to the host of the party as teens scattered from the party. During this time, 15-year-old Jordan Edwards, his two older brothers and two 16 year old friends got into their car driven by his older brother Vidal.
As the officers were talking to the host they heard what sounded like gunshots and went outside. Both officers went outside to see what was going on and saw several people fleeing the party. The other officer, who has not been identified, walked toward the area where he thought the shots had been fired while Oliver went to the patrol car and got his rifle.
The second officer tried to stop a black Chevrolet Impala at the nearby intersection. The car slowly reversed, and the second officer pulled his gun and walked toward the passenger side of the car. As the car started to drive forward, the officer used his gun to break the rear passenger window. Oliver got behind the officer and fired several rounds into the car as it drove past him.
Jordan Edwards was shot in the head as he sat in the front passenger seat of the vehicle. Originally Balch Springs Police Chief Jonathan Haber said the officer fired after the car drove “aggressively” toward both officers but he later said he misspoke. Both officers were wearing body cameras and body camera footage showed the car was driving forward, away from the officers, not reversing toward them as he originally reported. The officer’s behavior “did not meet our core values,” Haber said.
Records reveal that Officer Roy Oliver, a 6 year veteran with the Balch Springs department was suspended in 2013 for sixteen hours and ordered to attend “anger management and training in courtroom demeanor and testimony.” That same year, according to his personnel files – he demonstrated a low score on “the extent to which this employee is able to communicate with the public as wells as other employees both verbally and in writing.”
Jordan Edwards was a freshman at Mesquite High School and a straight A student with a 4.0 GPA. He was a talented athlete who played quarterback and receiver on the football team. He lived in an upper middle class neighborhood in Balch Springs with his parents, two older brothers and younger sister.
Those who knew him say he was the last person you’d expect to die in a police shooting. His family, teachers and coaches described him as a happy, hardworking and respectful teen that was always in a good mood. His father Odell, said that his son Vidal, continued driving away so that no one else would be shot. He stopped the car two blocks from the party and called his father while his two friends in the back seat called their parents. “All I could hear was screaming and crying and the boys saying that police had just shot and killed Jordan. I could hardly make sense of it all” said Odell Edwards. Then the phone went dead. At that point, police had swarmed the car and forced all of the boys out at gunpoint.
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At least 140 Afghan soldiers were killed after Taliban militants disguised as soldiers, drove onto a military base and opened fire on soldiers leaving Friday prayers. Around 130 of the victims were young recruits who had just graduated from military school. A national day of mourning followed as the calculated Taliban attack was the deadliest on an Afghan military base in the last 16 years.
Camp Shaheen, in northern Afghanistan, was considered one of the nation’s most secure bases in the now relatively peaceful city of Mazar-i-Sharif. Though the April 21st death toll was high, it could have been much higher. It began when two pickup trucks with at least eight Taliban fighters disguised as ANA soldiers passed through multiple checkpoints undetected with fake military identification cards used to obtain access.
An intelligence officer who survived the attack said the attackers were clean-shaven and had what they claimed to be a bloody and bandaged, wounded soldier in the backseat. The “soldier” acted like he was in pain and the disguised attackers claimed it was a medical emergency, insisting that they needed to be let into the base immediately to save the soldier.
As the trucks made it to the final checkpoint which was manned by three guards and no barricade-the guards radioed headquarters to find out if the army hospital was expecting the urgent case. The guards were instructed to let them through but to inform them that they must leave their cache of weapons at the gate. The insurgents refused to leave their weapons and a fierce fire fight with the guards ensued. The Taliban attackers shot all three guards, killing two while the third remains in a critical condition.
After the altercation at the last checkpoint, the attackers made their way into the mosque just as prayers had ended and people were making their way outside. Armed with a machine gun installed on the roof of one of their trucks, the attackers sprayed bullets into the crowd.
As explosions went off, terrified recruits began running for safety. Nearby, an attacker in disguise was calmly directing terrified recruits “to safety” by ushering them inside the dining hall. Trusting the familiar uniform, many young recruits poured in, minutes later, he blew himself up — killing more than 20.
Many recruits ran back into the mosque for safety but the attackers followed them in, mercilessly killing them. A survivor inside the mosque said that as he “played dead” among bodies of fallen recruits he heard a voice call out that “it was over” and “survivors stand up.” Slowly, several survivors rose only to be shot dead.
As deadly as this calculated was, if it wasn’t for the altercation at the final checkpoint, it is likely the casualties would have been far higher. It is believed that the intention of the attackers was to breach the mosque and open fire during final prayers — where 1,500 unarmed personnel would have been easy prey in one enclosed space.
Following the ongoing investigation and amid speculation of inside assistance in the attack, 8 ANA personnel have been arrested while more remain under investigation. Afghanistan’s defense minister and Army chief have also resigned.
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A major escalation of the tensions between the U.S. and North Korea has led to the US sending the Carl Vinson aircraft carrier and several warships toward the Korean Peninsula. The Carl Vinson and three guided-missile destroyers and cruisers to the peninsula were sent only days after North Korea launched its latest ballistic missile test. This missile reportedly flew only 37 miles.
North Korea has condemned the U.S. for bringing the aircraft carrier group and other nuclear-armed assets into the region, and threatened an assault on South Korea, Japan and U.S. bases. A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated that “We will hold the U.S. wholly accountable for the catastrophic consequences to be entailed by its outrageous actions. North Korea is ready to react to any mode of war desired by the U.S.”
U.S. intelligence officials believe North Korea is preparing its sixth nuclear weapons test, possibly as early as Saturday, April 15 which coincides with the 105th anniversary of the birth of the country’s founder, Kim Il-sung.
North Korean senior officials have accused the Trump administration of wanting to “annihilate” their country and blamed the escalating tension on the Korean Peninsula squarely on the U.S. and South Korea. Han Song Ryol, North Korea’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs stated in an interview that if North Korea felt they were going to be attacked they would use nuclear weapons.
Experts say the sixth nuclear test could come at any time and is part of the Kim Jong Un regime’s quest to build a nuclear-tipped missile capable of reaching the U.S. mainland. Most analysts believe North Korea is still at least several years away from that capacity, but Pyongyang already has weapons that pose a serious threat to U.S. allies South Korea and Japan, and U.S. troops based in those countries.
North Korea’s nuclear weapons development program has been a primary focus and a tense topic for years. Just last month North Korea successfully launched four ballistic missiles into the waters off northwest Japan. State media in Pyongyang said it was just a dry run of a nuclear attack against US military bases in Japan and experts say this exercise was defensive, not offensive.
A North Korea official stated Pyongyang intends to “relentlessly strengthen” the country’s nuclear weapons. Experts say North Korea’s goal in advancing their nuclear program and developing nuclear-tipped missiles that can reach the US is a deterrent for a US invasion.
Experts have debated whether North Korea possesses a nuclear warhead it can mount to a short or medium-range missile. North Korea claims that it has miniaturized a nuclear warhead and is capable of mounting it to a short, medium, or long-range missile – has never been independently verified. Kim said in his New Year’s address that the country had reached “the final stages” of that weapon’s development.
While analysts say it is unlikely that North Korea possesses an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching West Coast cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, or Seattle, they are well on their way to developing such a weapon.
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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, April 16th, 2017 was:
SEAN STOVER
Winner Of A $25.00 AmEx Gift Card
Each day, fans of 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:
4/10/17
Dana Dilaura
Pamela White Brearley
Jennifer Saavedra
Crystal Young
Kendra George
Brandy Marie Williams
Stephanie Beckwith
Kimberly Taylor Hall
Jennifer Vega
Althea Thomas
Paula Rousseau
Sarah Harrison
Kim Floyd
Darbie Brown
Lotorya Patrick
Chris Maxwell
Juanita Williams-Jones
Nikki Hunsaker
Adaria Johnson
Jade Good
Bea Patrick
Brittany Marie Thompson
Lisa J Wright
Angela Nicole
4/11/17
Kristina Harris
Priscilla Shimp
Bobbie J Rittenhouse
Megan Rhyne
Sherri Kidwell
Brandi Chaney
Cherilyn White
Rhonda Nicholson
Brandy Marie Williams
Ashley Stamey Phillips
Tara Lennox
Geri Rus
Kevin Cusack
Kimberly Snyder
Holly Cajigas
Steve Hardy
Susanne Killion
Brooke Scott
Valerie Kuehn
Kathi Taylor
4/12/17
Cheryl Hall
Kayla Clemons
Sheila Carvell
Jennifer Downing
Brittany Marie Thompson
Rebecca Fauteux
Kendra George
Lori Capobianco
Jakara Jackson
Kimberly Snyder
Amy Conyers
Isis Sample
Karen Jaras
Susan Clarke Jette
Kathleen Hickman
Mike Adamski
Chelcie Malow
Jennifer Ramlet
Karyn Koehler
Terri Llexxes
4/13/17
Tonya Velazquez
Kimberly Taylor Hall
Misty Shallcross
Justin Wilcox
Chelcie Malow
Samantha Brwn Ramos
Shelley LaClear
Sherri Kidwell
Deborah Farris
Mya Murphy
Margaret Primos
Isis Sample
Kayla Clemons
Erica Hansen
Allyson Becker
Christine Domingue
Misty Dawn Moores
Karen Jaras
Pamela White Brearley
Heather Marie Stacy
4/14/17
Amy Marie Wilkinson
Kimberly Taylor Hall
Priscilla Shimp
Jodi Stevens
Juanita Williams-Jones
Brandy Marie Williams
Cheryl Hall
Crystal Young
Brooke Scott
Jackie Poole
Shawna Poole
Sean Stover
Karen Bondehagen
Lori Capobianco
Stephanie Beckwith
Alisa Jones
Jennifer Ramlet
Rebecca Fauteux
Kathleen Hickman
Janice Cash
4/15/17
Brandy Marie Williams
Karen Jaras
Althea Thomas
Sarah Bellestri Shih
Allyson Becker
Tracy Shafer
Jennifer Lang
Karen Goodwin Delaney
Jonnalyn Gates
Amanda Saltsman
Myranda Medlin
Phyllis Hines
Kendra George
Jennifer Kinner
Samantha Brwn Ramos
Amy Chavis
Jessica Miller
Beth Cleveland
Nai Merri
Terri Llexxes
4/16/17
Alexandria Tinnon
Erica Hansen
Sherri Kidwell
Valerie Kuehn
Paula Rousseau
Amy Conyers
Shelby Lynn
Brandy Marie Williams
Belinda Haas
Jennifer Mason
Kaitlyn Rutherford
Allyson Becker
Anne Hanson
Kayla Clemons
Kimberly Taylor Hall
Phyllis Hines
Jackie Poole
Peggy Burdick Buchanan
Lena Perry
Jeanine Jones
Glenna Zanaglio
Tracy Shafer
Brandi Chaney
Michelle Hughes
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. 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!
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Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye was arrested on charges related to the bribery scandal that led to her impeachment. Park faces 13 charges in total, including bribery, abuse of power and the leaking of state secrets. She has not been formally indicted yet but prosecutors can detain her for up to 20 days before formally charging her.
Park was removed from office March 10th, stripping her of presidential immunity after South Korea’s Constitutional Court upheld a decision to impeach her for alleged corruption.
The scandal has dominated the headlines in South Korea since late last year and sparked mass protests, many calling for her impeachment. The controversy centered around Park’s friend and close adviser, Choi Soon-sil, who is alleged to have had significant and inappropriate influence over the former president. Choi is on trial for abuse of power and fraud.
Among other accusations, Park is accused of helping extort some $38 million from Samsung and a total of $70 million from South Korean companies for the private slush fund of her friend and confidant Choi Soon-sil. Park is also accused to leaking state secrets to Choi. Lee Jae-yong, the former head of Samsung is also being held in connection to the same corruption scandal. Lee is accused of approving the millions in bribes to Choi.
The former president continued to deny all wrongdoing during a 14-hour interrogation last week, leading prosecutors to ask for a warrant for her arrest. They said they were concerned Park would destroy evidence if she remained at large. The 65-year-old former president was taken to a detention center outside Seoul, the same detention center where Choi Soon-Sil and Lee Jae-yong, the de facto head of Samsung are both being held. If convicted, Park could face up to 10 years in prison.
Park becomes the third former president in South Korean history to face the possibility of a prison sentence. Two other former leaders, Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, were charged with improperly collecting millions from businesses while in office. Both were later pardoned after short jail stints.
Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office released a statement regarding the arrest. “The suspect abused the mighty power and position as President to take bribes from companies and infringed upon the freedom of corporate management and leaked important confidential official information.”
Park Geun-hye was the nation’s first female president and the daughter of the former president Park Chung-hee. Park’s mother was killed in 1974 in an assassination attempt that targeted her husband. Park was regarded as First Lady after her mother’s death. Park’s father, Chung-hee, was gunned down by his own intelligence chief in 1979. After her father’s killing, Park Geun-hye left the presidential Blue House and secluded herself from the public eye. She entered politics in the late 1990s — when public nostalgia for her father emerged after the country’s economy was hit hard by the Asian financial crisis.
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Three teenagers were killed in a deadly home invasion in Broken Arrow, a suburb of Tulsa, when the home-owners son, 23 year old Zach Peters shot them with an AR-15 rifle. The teens, who broke in through a back door, were later identified as 19-year-old Maxwell Cook, 17-year-old Jacob Redfearn and 16-year-old Jaykob Woodriff. All three were dressed in black and wearing masks and gloves. One of the alleged suspects was found to have a knife, while another was carrying brass knuckles.
No charges have been filed against Zach Peters and Wagoner County Sheriff’s Deputy Nick Mahoney said “Preliminary investigation looks like it’s self-defense,” but cautioned that the investigation was still ongoing. Oklahoma is one of 24 states which have laws also known as “stand your ground” laws-allowing citizens to shoot someone if they believe the person threatens their safety, according to the National Council of State Legislatures.
The getaway driver, Elizabeth Rodriguez, a 21 year old mother of three, has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of first-degree burglary. She has been jailed without bond since turning herself in. Oklahoma law allows a person to be charged with murder if they take part in a crime in which people are killed, even if the person does not take part in the slaying.
Rodriguez, who was in a relationship with Cook, one of the suspects killed, admits to planning the burglary and driving the teens to the home on two occasions that same day. The teens first broke into and stole items from a garage apartment earlier in the day but returned to gain entry into the main house. It does not appear that the residents and intruders knew each other but Rodriguez told authorities she knew the homeowner Zach Peters, had knowledge of the house and chose his house because she believed he had money.
The suspects kicked in a back door and encountered Peters, who shot all three after a brief exchange of words. Peters’ father was also in the house at the time but was not involved in the shooting. Rodriguez, who had been waiting in her car in the driveway, fled the scene when she heard shots fired. She turned herself in shortly after seeing a news report of the shooting on TV so the families of the deceased could be notified.
During a jailhouse interview with Inside Edition, Rodriguez said that she and the teens had committed several car-jacking and home invasions prior to the fatal home invasion in Broken Arrow. She stated that she waited in her car after hearing the shots and saw the youngest of the suspects killed, Jake Woodruff stumble to the driveway, and slide across the hood of her car before collapsing on the ground. She then sped out of the driveway, leaving him on the ground.
Immediately after the shooting, Peters barricaded himself in his bedroom and called 911. In the 911 call, Peters tells the operator that he shot two intruders and that another had gotten away. When asked, he tells the operator that the suspects were shot in the upper body and asks them to send help fast as one is badly wounded, though he can still hear one talking.
When police arrived, two of the suspects were found deceased in the kitchen and the third had succumbed to his wounds in the driveway. Police stated that Peters appeared to be in shock and repeatedly asked if the suspects were going to be ok.
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President Trump’s proposed budget has received criticism from Democratic and Republican lawmakers. The 2018 budget calls for an unprecedented $54 billion increase in military spending while slashing environmental, housing, diplomatic and educational programs. It also calls for a 31% cut to the Environmental Protection Agency and the elimination of 3,200 jobs. If approved, the EPA’s budget would become the smallest it’s been in 40 years.
The Environmental Protection Agency, the State Department and the Agriculture Department took the hardest hits. The State Department would see a 29% decrease in funding, eliminating climate-change prevention programs, reducing funding for U.N. peacekeeping, reducing funding for development banks and reducing most cultural-exchange programs.
The Agriculture Department would lose 4.7 billion (21%) of its funding, eliminating the $200 million McGovern-Dole International Food for Education program, eliminating the $500 million Water and Wastewater loan and grant program, reducing the budget for the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition assistance from $6.4 billion to $6.2 billion and cuts $95 million from the Rural Business and Cooperative Services program.
The budget proposes cutting 6.2 billion in funding (13%) for the Department of Housing and Urban Development-eliminating the $3 billion Community Development Block Grant program and eliminates the $35 million of funding for Section 4 Community Development and Affordable Housing. The cuts would also eliminate the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, the Choice Neighborhoods program and the Self-help Homeownership Opportunity Program.
The Department of Health and Human Services would lose 18% of its funding. The Education Department would see $9 billion (14%) cut from its funding, with a decrease of $3.7 billion in grants for teacher training, after-school and summer programs, and aid programs to first-generation and low-income students. While “school choice” programs would receive $1.4 billion more in funding, increasing the budget for charter schools and spending $1 billion to encourage districts to allow federal dollars meant for low-income students to follow those students to the public school of their choice.
The Department of Labor stands to lose 2.6 billion (21%) in funding which would eliminate the Senior Community Service Employment Program, which helps low-income seniors find work. The budget cuts would close poor-performing centers for Job Corps, a job-training program for disadvantaged youth and eliminate grants that help nonprofit groups and public agencies pay for safety and health training.
The proposal also eliminates funding for 19 agencies including the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports public radio and TV stations nationwide; the National Endowment for the Humanities; the National Endowment for the Arts; and the Legal Services Corporation, which funds free legal aid nationwide.
These cuts are not set in stone just yet but they do show where President Trump’s priorities are. Congress will still have to draft a formal budget and Trump’s proposed budget is expected to face fierce opposition in Congress. Congress completely by-passed President Obama’s budget proposal last year while drafting the formal budget.
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A federal grand jury has indicted nine high-ranking active and retired Navy members as part of an investigation into a bribery scandal known as “Fat Leonard.” The Justice Department says the nine have been charged with accepting luxurious dinners, trips, gifts and the service of sex workers as bribes in exchange for handing over classified military information to Singapore-based defense contractor Leonard Francis.
Twenty-seven people have been charged with crimes since the investigation became public in 2013, including the nine Navy officers indicted this month. Authorities say that the case is still unfolding and that more than 200 people — including 30 admirals — have come under scrutiny.
Known as “Fat Leonard” for his 6ft 3inch, 350-pound physique, Francis has pleaded guilty to bribing “scores” of Navy officials for over a decade with prostitutes, cash, hedonistic parties and other gifts. In exchange, according to federal prosecutors, the officials provided Francis with classified or inside information that enabled his firm, Glenn Marine Defense Asia, to gouge the Navy out of tens of millions of dollars. Leonard also plead guilty to padding invoices for services not rendered so that some of his navy contacts could pocket the money for themselves.
In June 2016, Robert Gilbeau became the first active-duty Navy admiral in modern history to be convicted of a felony. He is awaiting sentencing. In January, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander Gentry Debord was sentenced to 30 months in prison, ordered to pay a $15,000 fine and $37,000 in restitution to the U.S. Navy. Debord, 41, plead guilty in October 2016 to accepting bribes in the form of cash, luxury hotels and prostitutes from Leonard Glenn Francis. The fraud occurred from November 2007 to January 2013, while Debord was a supply officer aboard the U.S.S. Essex.
Others charged are current or former U.S. Navy officials, including Commander Bobby Pitts, Captain Daniel Dusek, Commander Michael Misiewicz, Lt. Commander Todd Malaki, Commander Jose Luis Sanchez, former NCIS Supervisory Special Agent John Beliveau II, Petty Officer First Class Daniel Layug and Paul Simpkins, a former DoD civilian employee who oversaw contracting in Singapore.
Dusek, Misiewicz, Malaki, Beliveau, Sanchez and Layug have also pleaded guilty in connection with the scheme. On Jan. 21, Layug was sentenced to 27 months in prison and a $15,000 fine; on Jan. 29, Malaki was sentenced to 40 months in prison and to pay $15,000 in restitution to the Navy and a $15,000 fine; on March 25, Dusek was sentenced to 46 months in prison and to pay $30,000 in restitution to the Navy and a $70,000 fine; on April 29, Misiewicz was sentenced to 78 months in prison and to pay a fine of $100,000 and to pay $95,000 in restitution to the Navy; and on Oct. 14, 2015, Beliveau was sentenced to serve 144 months in prison and ordered to pay $20 million in restitution to the Navy. Sanchez awaits sentencing. Pitts was charged in May 2016 and his case remains pending.
Military personnel found guilty of serious misconduct are usually demoted and forced to retire – and because pension values are based on rank, losing a star or a stripe leads to a partial reduction in their pension. Seven Navy officers who have pleaded guilty in the corruption and bribery scandal are reportedly still eligible for generous taxpayer-funded retirement benefits. Disgraced Navy admiral Robert Gilbeau has already begun collecting $10,000 a month.
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Many are outraged after a viral video showed an off-duty LAPD officer firing a gun near a group of kids after the officer grabbed a 13-year-old boy by his hoodie and restraining him. The incident took place near the officer’s home in Anaheim, California.
The cellphone video shows a man in plainclothes holding a boy against his will. The boy repeatedly says, “Let me go” but the man refuses. The man, who never identifies himself as an officer is surrounded by other children as he pulls the boy down the street over lawns. Eventually, the other kids come to the aid of the boy, pushing the officer over a row of hedges. The man, who still has hold of the boy is then seen drawing a pistol from his waistband before a gunshot rings out. No one was injured in the incident.
According to one of the youths, the group was walking home from school when the incident took place. The 13 year old says it quickly escalated and turned physical when the man tackled him and choked him. While the video does not show what happened prior, it starts with the boy being restrained and asking to be let go. He then says “why are you grabbing me, I just said not to talk to a girl like that! You called her a dumb c**t.” The man replies that she shouldn’t have been on his lawn.
Anaheim police say the officer had an ongoing dispute against children who were walking on his lawn. Both the 13-year-old boy and his 15-year-old brother were arrested. The off-duty officer, who has not been identified, was questioned by Anaheim police and released.
Overnight, around 300 protesters gathered near the officer’s home, before marching through Anaheim’s streets and blocking intersections. Some protesters shouted “hands up, don’t shoot” and “no justice, no peace.” Some demonstrators threw rocks and kicked police cars, while others broke windows or residences and cars, according to the LA Times.
There was also a small group of protestors who lingered around the officer’s home chanting “Don’t shoot the children.” The officer’s home and vehicle were vandalized before riot police arrived to protect the officer’s home. Twenty-four people were arrested on misdemeanor charges of failure to disperse.
The LAPD says the officer is on paid administrative leave while the department evaluates if his “use of deadly force complied with LAPD’s policies and procedures.” Anaheim police say they are reviewing other videos of the altercation to get a clearer picture of what happened.
Anaheim mayor Tom Tait and Police Chief Raul Quezada both said they were thankful no one was wounded when the officer fired a handgun into the ground. They also both said they are disturbed by video that shows an off-duty Los Angeles police officer firing his gun during a confrontation with a teenager.
Police Chief Quezada told reporters “As a father and as a police chief, I too am disturbed by what I saw on the videos that were posted on the Internet,” He said he hopes a criminal investigation into the matter, which involved several teens and an off-duty Los Angeles police officer who lives in Anaheim, will be completed within two weeks. No one has been formally charged in the incident.
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On February 9th, a federal appeals court in San Francisco unanimously upheld a suspension of President Trump’s executive order barring all refugees from entering the U.S. and restricting travel from seven Muslim-majority countries. In the unanimous decision, a three-judge panel on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled courts have the authority to review constitutional challenges to executive actions.
Last week, U.S. District Judge James Robart in Seattle issued a temporary restraining order halting the ban after Washington state and Minnesota sued. The ban temporarily suspended the nation’s refugee program. After the ban was put on hold, the State Department quickly said people from the seven countries — Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen — with valid visas could travel to the U.S. The decision led to tearful reunions at airports around the country.
Justice Department lawyers appealed to the 9th Circuit, arguing that the president has the constitutional power to restrict entry to the United States and that the courts cannot second-guess his determination that such a step was needed to prevent terrorism.
The panel declined to block a lower-court ruling that suspended the ban and allowed previously barred travelers to enter the U.S. The judges rejected the administration’s argument that courts did not have the authority to review the president’s immigration and national security decisions. They also said the administration failed to show that the order met constitutional requirements to provide notice or a hearing before restricting travel and presented no evidence that any foreigner from the seven countries cited by the travel ban had committed terrorism in the U.S.
This controversial court battle has just begun. Now, the lower court must debate the merits of the ban, and an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court seems likely. When that happens, it could put the decision in the hands of a divided court that has a vacancy. A potential 4-4 tie would leave the appeals court’s ruling in place.
The appeals court only sided with the administration on one issue: the argument that the lower court’s temporary restraining order could not be appealed. While under 9th Circuit precedent such orders are not typically reviewable, the panel ruled that due to the intense public interest at stake and the uncertainty of how long it would take to obtain a further ruling from the lower court, it was appropriate to consider the federal government’s appeal.
Trump’s nominee, Neil Gorsuch, could not be confirmed in time to take part in any consideration of the ban. President Trump responded to the ruling on Twitter, tweeting “SEE YOU IN COURT, THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION IS AT STAKE!” The ban was set to expire in 90 days, meaning it could run its course before the Supreme Court would review the issue.
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