Officer Quickfire Recap: Third Week of September

Sept. 20, 2013
Here are some of the news stories you may have missed that ran on our site during the week.

It can be hard to keep up with all of the news that occurs on daily basis.

Because of this, the Officer.com staff presents the "Quickfire Weekly Recap."

Here are some of the stories you may have missed that ran on our site this week:

Weekend (Sept. 13-15)

A Detroit police officer died while participating in a police motorcycle training seminar in Flint, Mich. on Saturday.

Officer Rodney Wayne Jones was taking part in the seminar at the Bikes on the Bricks event when he suddenly stopped his department motorcycle and collapsed to the ground.

Two NYPD police officers missed after shooting at a man acting erratically Saturday night, wounding two bystanders.

Officials said the officers opened fire after man made movements suggesting he had a weapon. The man -- who turned out to be unarmed -- was eventually brought down by a stun gun.

A Lake County, Calif. Sheriff's deputy is being lauded for some cool thinking under pressure following an investigation into an incident that occurred on May 15.

The report, which concluded Friday, found that Deputy Lyle Thomas' actions may have saved the life of a man who repeatedly fired pellet guns at him.

Monday (Sept. 16)

Thirteen people, including the gunman, were killed during a shooting rampage at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C.

Officials said Aaron Alexis used his security pass to get into a building before spraying bullets in the hallways and firing from a balcony on workers in an atrium below.

Police are increasing encountering suspects armed with pellet guns and officers are left without knowing what to expect.

The pellet guns can look very similar to the real thing, making it difficult for law enforcement officers to determine what type of weapon is in a suspect's hand.

A Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C. police officer was charged with shooting and killing an unarmed man who had apparently been in a car crash.

Officer Randall Kerrick faces the voluntary manslaughter charge after officials say the investigation into Saturday's death of Jonathan A. Ferrell showed the shooting was excessive.

A federal judge ruled that a private prison company was contempt of court for understaffing an Idaho prison in violation of a legal settlement.

U.S. District Judge David Carter said that Corrections Corporation of America had ample reason to make sure it was meeting the staffing requirements at the Idaho Correctional Center.

Tuesday (Sept. 17)

A gunman in Austria killed three police officers and a paramedic before barricading himself in a farm building.

SWAT teams blocked off the area around the farm in Melk after the incident occurred in the nearby town of Annaberg. They found the body of the man charred in the basement of the building early Wednesday morning.

An Orange Beach, Ala. police officer was killed in a two-vehicle wreck while driving home in an unmarked cruiser.

Investigator Michael Dale Stockwell was traveling through an intersection when the crash occurred and was pronounced dead on the scene.

The U.S. Park Police helicopter pilot who responded to the deadly shooting rampage at the Washington Navy Yard compared the scene to a "hot zone.

Sgt. Ken Burchell told reporters that he was too focused on his rescue mission to worry that he and his crew may have been targets for the gunman.

A federal judge threw out convictions against five former New Orleans police officers in the deadly shooting on a bridge in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt ordered a new trial for the officers, ruling that the case had was tainted by "grotesque prosecutorial misconduct."

Wednesday (Sept. 18)

A 14-year-old Georgia girl abducted in a home invasion robbery was found alive and two suspects were in custody following a search by several law enforcement agencies.

Clayton County Police Chief Gregory Porter said that Ayvani Hope Perez was found in a nearby community after she was taken from her suburban Atlanta home early Tuesday.

The remains of six people were found in two cars at the bottom of a western Oklahoma lake decades after they went missing.

Custer County Sheriff Bruce Peoples said that the vehicles recovered from Foss may solve cold cases from the late 1950s and 1970.

A federal report on excessive force among U.S. border agents recommended improvements to training and the tracking of allegations by the Department of Homeland Security.

The investigation was requested last year by members of Congress in the case of a man who died after being shocked several times with a stun gun at San Diego's San Ysidro border crossing in May 2010.

Detroit's Police Chief James Craig unveiled shorter shifts for police officers to boost morale among the rank-and-file.

They had been working 12-hour shifts for more than a year as the department sought to reduce overtime costs, but officials said the long shifts were tough on officers.

Thursday (Sept. 19)

Officials in Gilberton, Pa. said they intend to fire a police chief suspended after he posted online videos of himself shooting automatic weapons and going on profanity-laced tirades.

Council members made the decision during a meeting on the future of Chief Mark Kessler, the only full-time employee of the town's police department.

The head of the Department of Justice announced that it is expanding a major change in federal drug sentencing policy to cover pending drug cases.

Attorney General Eric Holder said certain low-level, nonviolent drug offenders no longer will be charged with offenses that impose severe mandatory minimum sentences.

Thirteen people were shot at a park on Chicago's southwest side in what police said was likely a gang-related shooting.

Among the victims of the shooting that occurred shortly after 10 p.m. at Cornell Square Park was a 3-year-old boy who was in critical condition after being wounded in the cheek.

Friday (Sept. 20)

An Indianapolis police officer was fatally shot while responding to a domestic disturbance call.

Officer Rod Bradway was fired on when he entered an apartment building in after hearing screams of help from a woman. The officer succumbed to his injuries at the hospital while the suspected gunman was killed by another officer.

A Philadelphia police officer is recalling the shooting that severely wounded him and took the life of a fellow officer five years ago.

Officer Rick Bowes was shot by Daniel Giddings on Sept. 23, 2008, shortly after Officer Patrick McDonald was fatally wounded a block away.

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