Military Police Woman, Girlfriend Record Last Shift; Say Army is Leaving Them Broken

Sergeant Jeanette Bautista, a military policewoman at Fort Carson, Colorado, filmed her last day on duty with her long-time friend, who is also a sergeant.

During the interview, the two admitted that they’ve never deployed in the five years they’ve been MPs, and have known each other since they first processed to go to basic training.

After a while, the camera panned over to show base operations at the front gate, revealing camera locations and gate security procedures.

During the interview, Bautista and her buddy expressed their desire to get out, doing a little dance while they talked about being done with the service.

The video was posted in late November, and it is unknown if the two have separated from the military yet.  (Popular Military, December 18, 2018)
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The video has been removed from SGT Bautista's YouTube Channel, but can still be viewed on Popular Military.

Consider OPSEC before posting to social media. Anything posted on social media can be copied and cross-posted to other sites.

Judge Rules Cops, Schools Had No Duty to Shield Students in Parkland Shooting

A federal judge on Monday ruled that Broward County schools and the sheriff’s office were not legally obligated to protect and shield students in the shooting that occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., last February, according to a report in the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

The outlet reports that U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom tossed out a lawsuit brought by 15 students who survived the school shooting that argued the sheriff’s office and the Broward school district had a legal duty to protect them during the massacre.

Bloom, however, reportedly ruled that the defendants were not constitutionally obligated to protect students who were not in custody.

“The claim arises from the actions of [shooter Nikolas] Cruz, a third party, and not a state actor,” she wrote in the ruling last week. “Thus, the critical question the Court analyzes is whether defendants had a constitutional duty to protect plaintiffs from the actions of Cruz.”

“As previously stated, for such a duty to exist on the part of defendants, plaintiffs would have to be considered to be in custody,” she continued.

Scot Peterson, one of the defendants in the case, was the only armed deputy stationed at the high school on the day the gunman, Nikolas Cruz, arrived at the school with an assault rifle and killed 17 people.

Peterson resigned from his job at the Broward County Sheriff's Office shortly after the shooting in February after being the target of backlash for not intervening during the mass shooting.

“His arbitrary and conscience-shocking actions and inactions directly and predictably caused children to die, get injured, and get traumatized,” the lawsuit had claimed of Peterson.

The students argued in the lawsuit that the defendants’ “either have a policy that allows killers to walk through a school killing people without being stopped. Alternatively, they have such inadequate training that the individuals tasked with carrying out the policies ... lack the basic fundamental understandings of what those policies are such that they are incapable of carrying them out.”

The ruling comes a week after Broward Circuit Judge Patti Englander Henning rejected Peterson's argument that he had "no legal duty" to intervene during the school shooting, saying that he had an “obligation to act reasonably” during the incident instead.  (The Hill, December 18, 2018)
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This ruling should come as no surprise. The courts have repeatedly ruled that the police have no duty to protect individuals in their communities from harm. Certainly there are men and women in law enforcement that do put themselves at great risk in the defense of others, but the law does not require them to do so, and they may legally choose to standby and do nothing - as we saw in Parkland.

Combine this with "gun free school zones" ensuring the teachers, parents, and other law abiding visitors to schools will be unarmed, and we create an environment where children can be attacked with impunity by any violent criminal.

Operating in Hostile and Non-Permissive Environments:

A Survival and Resource Guide for Those Who Go in Harm’s Way

 

Military personnel deployed to a combat area, their supporting contractors overseas, government civilian employees overseas, non-government organizations (NGOs), journalists working on international stories, businesses attempting to establish a foothold in developing countries, and individual travelers to remote areas of the world can all find themselves in hostile and non-permissive environments. This guide covers a broad range of subjects that are intended to aid individuals, living and working in dangerous areas, in being safer in their daily lives and in being better able to protect themselves and survive in case of an emergency, disaster, or hostile action.



Facebook Hack Included Search History and Location Data of Millions

Facebook said Friday that an attack on its computer systems that was announced two weeks ago had affected 30 million users, and the personal information that was exposed was far more intimate than originally thought, adding to Facebook’s challenges as it investigates what was probably the most substantial breach of its network in the company’s 14-year history.

Detailed information was stolen from the Facebook profiles of about 14 million of the 30 million users. The data was as specific as the last 15 people or things they had searched for on Facebook and the last 10 physical locations they had “checked into.”

Other personal details were also exposed, like gender, religious affiliation, telephone number, email addresses and the types of computing devices used to reach Facebook.  (New York Times, October 12, 2018)
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Regardless of your privacy settings, consider anything that you post to social media to be PUBLIC!. Remember that whatever you post may one day be read by your grandmother, your priest, your local Sheriff, or published on the front page of the New York Times.

If you have a concern with something being seen (and perhaps republished) in a public venue, don't post it to social media.

 

Operating in Hostile and Non-Permissive Environments:
A Survival and Resource Guide for Those Who Go in Harm’s Way

 

Military personnel deployed to a combat area, their supporting contractors overseas, government civilian employees overseas, non-government organizations (NGOs), journalists working on international stories, businesses attempting to establish a foothold in developing countries, and individual travelers to remote areas of the world can all find themselves in hostile and non-permissive environments. This guide covers a broad range of subjects that are intended to aid individuals, living and working in dangerous areas, in being safer in their daily lives and in being better able to protect themselves and survive in case of an emergency, disaster, or hostile action.

Trump Says He'll Review Murder Case Against ex-Army Green Beret

President Donald Trump said Sunday's that he will be "reviewing" the case of a former U.S. Army Green Beret being charged with murder, raising questions about the possibility he could jeopardize the ongoing military legal proceedings. Trump tweeted that "at the request of many" he will examine allegations that Mathew Golsteyn hunted down and killed a suspected bomb-maker in Afghanistan. The president tweeted that Golsteyn is a "U.S. Military hero" who could face the death penalty "from our own government."

Any review or intervention by Trump could constitute unlawful command influence and could threaten the case against the former Green Beret.

In a statement Sunday, Army Col. Rob Manning, a Pentagon spokesman, said that "the allegations against Major Matt Golsteyn are a law enforcement matter. The Department of Defense will respect the integrity of this process and provide updates when appropriate."

Trump and other senior military and administration leaders have issued statements about military criminal cases in the past, triggering legal appeals and other complications as the courts work to insure impartial proceedings. The president, however, does have broad authority to pardon criminal defendants. (KOMO 4 News, December 16, 2018)
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Operating in Hostile and Non-Permissive Environments:

A Survival and Resource Guide for Those Who Go in Harm’s Way

 

Military personnel deployed to a combat area, their supporting contractors overseas, government civilian employees overseas, non-government organizations (NGOs), journalists working on international stories, businesses attempting to establish a foothold in developing countries, and individual travelers to remote areas of the world can all find themselves in hostile and non-permissive environments. This guide covers a broad range of subjects that are intended to aid individuals, living and working in dangerous areas, in being safer in their daily lives and in being better able to protect themselves and survive in case of an emergency, disaster, or hostile action.

 

Man Shot by Police at Portland Starbucks Pointed Fake Gun at Officers

Ryan Joseph Beisley, wounded by Portland police at the Starbucks at the Hollywood [OR] Fred Meyer on Friday (Decmber 7, 2018) night, was carrying a fake black handgun that he appears to have pointed at officers, according to a preliminary police investigation.

The replica firearm was found near where Beisley was lying before he was placed on a gurney and into an ambulance, police spokesman Sgt. Chris Burley said.

Beisley, 34, escaped Dec. 1 from a Seattle residential re-entry center and was wanted on a federal fugitive warrant, according to federal prison records.

On Jan. 20, 2015, Beisley was sentenced to five years and 10 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to three bank robberies and two attempted bank robberies that occurred between Nov. 16 and Nov. 26, 2013. He also was ordered to pay more than $10,000 in restitution.

At the time he was sentenced, a federal judge recommended that he serve his time at the prison in Sheridan to allow contact with family members for support and that he participate in a residential drug and alcohol treatment program and a prison rehabilitation program. (Oregon Live, December 10, 2018)
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There is little chance that responding police officers can tell the difference between a real gun and a toy when responding to this type of a scene. This YouTube video shows why police sometimes shoot even unarmed citizens when responding to calls.

 

Surveillance: How China Plans to Track and Rate Everything Its Citizens Do

Imagine living in a society where every action you make in your day-to-day life is monitored, quantified and scored by the government using a massive surveillance network.

Now, imagine that score is used to determine everything from your career choices to whether or not you're allowed to travel outside the country. This kind of dystopian fantasy is common in science fiction, but in China, the Chinese Communist Party is working to make it a reality.

China aims to have the system fully implemented by 2020. It will no doubt be a massive undertaking to keep track of China's more than 1.3 billion people, but the country already has a head start thanks to its massive surveillance system. In addition to 200 million cameras, China has implemented facial recognition technology in an effort to recognize criminals on the street. (Circa, December 3, 2018)
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Many would consider the surveillance system of the Chinese Communist Party to be oppressive, an abuse of human rights. And while China may be a few steps ahead of other countries in the constant surveillance of its citizens, China is not alone in this surveillance state mentality.

Operating in Hostile and Non-Permissive Environments:

A Survival and Resource Guide for Those Who Go in Harm’s Way

Black Man Killed by Police in Alabama Was Shot From Behind, Autopsy Shows

A black man killed by the police in an Alabama mall in November was shot three times from behind, according to a forensic examination commissioned by the man’s family.

The finding, announced in a news conference on Monday, was seen by the man’s family and lawyers as evidence he was running away and posed no threat to the officer who shot him. The forensic examination indicated Mr. Bradford was shot in his back, the back of his head and the back of his neck.

“All of these shots were potentially kill shots,” said Ben Crump, the Bradford family’s lawyer.

Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford Jr., 21, was fatally shot in the middle of a panicked crowd at the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover, Ala., on Nov. 22, as officers responded to reports of gunshots on Thanksgiving night.

Witnesses said Mr. Bradford, who was legally carrying a handgun, was directing shoppers to safety. (New York Times, December 4, 2018)
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Court Upholds Appeal For Maurice Clemmons' Alleged Getaway Driver (Darcus Dewayne Allen)

LAKEWOOD, WA — Darcus Dewayne Allen will not face aggravated murder charges for his role as getaway driver when in late November 2009 Maurice Clemmons murdered four Lakewood police officers at the Forza coffee shop in Tacoma (now called BlueSteele Coffee). The Washington Supreme Court on Thursday said retrying Allen for aggravated murder, since he was already acquitted by jury on those specific charges, would be tantamount to double jeopardy.

Allen was previously convicted on four counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to 420 years in prison. An appeal hearing, however, overturned the ruling based on prosecutorial misconduct; a retrial for the first-degree murder charges was set at that time and Pierce County prosecutors tried to lobby for the aggravated murder charges again, which, if convicted, would have condemned Allen to a mandatory life sentence with no chance for parole.

Allen has reportedly pleaded not guilty to his role in transporting Clemmons to the Forza coffee shop on the morning of Nov. 29, 2009, where Clemmons shot and killed Lakewood police Sgt. Mark Renninger and officers Tina Griswold, Ronald Owens, and Gregory Richards, who prior to his death struggled with Clemmons and shot him in the back.

Despite the Washington Supreme Court's 8-0 ruling in Allen's favor regarding the aggravated murder charges, his retrial for the first-degree murder charges could still see him spend the rest of his life in prison. Allen's next court dates are scheduled for February 2019.  (Patch, December 13, 2018)
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Nationwide E-mail Bomb Threats

Authorities say bomb threats sent Thursday to dozens of schools, government buildings and other locations across the U.S. appear to be a hoax. Law enforcement agencies across the country dismissed the threats, which they said were meant to cause disruption and compel recipients into sending money and are not considered credible.

Some of the emails had the subject line: "Think Twice." The sender claimed to have had an associate plant a small bomb in the recipient's building and that the only way to stop him from setting it off was by making an online payment of $20,000 in Bitcoin. (KOMO 4 News, December 13, 2018)
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Operating in Hostile and Non-Permissive Environments:

A Survival and Resource Guide for Those Who Go in Harm’s Way

 

Military personnel deployed to a combat area, their supporting contractors overseas, government civilian employees overseas, non-government organizations (NGOs), journalists working on international stories, businesses attempting to establish a foothold in developing countries, and individual travelers to remote areas of the world can all find themselves in hostile and non-permissive environments. This guide covers a broad range of subjects that are intended to aid individuals, living and working in dangerous areas, in being safer in their daily lives and in being better able to protect themselves and survive in case of an emergency, disaster, or hostile action.

 

Judge Won't Drop Suit Against Deputy in Parkland School Shooting

A judge has rejected a deputy's claim that he had no duty to confront the gunman during the school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

Refusing to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a parent of a victim, Broward Circuit Judge Patti Englander Henning found after a hearing Wednesday that ex-deputy Scot Peterson did have a duty to protect those inside school where 17 people died and 17 were wounded on Feb. 14. Video and other evidence shows Peterson, the only armed officer at the school, remained outside while shots rang out.

Peterson attorney Michael Piper said he understands that people might be offended or outraged at his client's defense, but he argued that as a matter of law, the deputy had no duty to confront the shooter.

"There is no legal duty that can be found," Piper said. "At its very worst, Scot Peterson is accused of being a coward. That does not equate to bad faith."  (Police One, December 12, 2018)
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Warren v. District of Columbia (1981) is an oft-quoted District of Columbia Court of Appeals case that held that the police do not owe a specific duty to provide police services to citizens based on the public duty doctrine.

The Supreme Court ruled in Castle Rock v. Gonzales (2005) that the police did not have a constitutional duty to protect a person from harm.

There are several similar cases that hold the same, the police have no duty to protect individual citizens from harm.

We may not like the fact that Deputy Peterson chose to standby and do nothing while 17 people were being killed in the high school he at, but court ruling seem to be on his side.

Operating in Hostile and Non-Permissive Environments:

A Survival and Resource Guide for Those Who Go in Harm’s Way

 

Is Amazon Echo is Recording You 24/7?

A New Hampshire judge has ordered Amazon to turn over two days of Amazon Echo recordings in a double murder case.

Prosecutors believe that recordings from an Amazon Echo in a Farmington home where two women were murdered in January 2017 may yield further clues to their killer. Although police seized the Echo when they secured the crime scene, any recordings are stored on Amazon servers.

The order granting the search warrant said that there is “probable cause to believe” that the Echo picked up “audio recordings capturing the attack” and “any events that preceded or succeeded the attack.”

Amazon is also directed to turn over any “information identifying any cellular devices that were linked to the smart speaker during that time period,” the order said.  (TechCrunch, November 14, 2018)
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White Supremacists Attack DJ at Lynnwood, WA Bar

According to witnesses, a group of about 15 to 20 alleged white supremacists used racial slurs and assaulted a black DJ at the Rec Room Bar and Grill in Lynnwood at 12:40 a.m. Saturday morning.

All suspects are ages 20 to 40.

When deputies arrived, multiple cars with alleged white supremacists were fleeing the scene. A County Sergeant pulled over one car with six people inside and arrested them. Lynnwood units also pulled over a vehicle with two people, who were also taken into custody.

Eight people were arrested for malicious harassment, assault and malicious mischief. One was arrested for driving under the influence. (KOMO 4 News, December 8, 2018)

The DEA and ICE Are Hiding Surveillance Cameras in Streetlights

The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have hidden an undisclosed number of covert surveillance cameras inside streetlights around the country, federal contracting documents reveal.

According to government procurement data, the DEA has paid a Houston, Texas company called Cowboy Streetlight Concealments LLC roughly $22,000 since June 2018 for “video recording and reproducing equipment.” ICE paid out about $28,000 to Cowboy Streetlight Concealments over the same period of time. (QZ, November 9, 2018)
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Attaching surveillance cameras to utility poles is nothing new. Here is an example of the same type of camera attached to a utility pole in Tacoma in 2008 as part of surveillance of political activists.

CDT Guide to VPNs

Trust is a critical component to a thriving digital ecosystems. We trust banks to keep financial information secure; we trust search engines to get us the information we want and map apps to show us the most efficient route. Ironically, virtual private networks, or VPNs, are often a tool for users who lack trust in the practices of other online entities. However, providers of commercial VPN services must still foster trust that they adequately obscure their users’ digital footprints and safeguard their data.

CDT has provided an excellent guide to VPNs.

Operating in Hostile and Non-Permissive Environments:
A Survival and Resource Guide for Those Who Go in Harm’s Way

 

PlusPrivacy

PlusPrivacy provides you with a unified dashboard for protecting yourself from a variety of threats to your privacy. It will enable you to control the privacy settings in your social network accounts, hide your email identity, block ads, trackers and malware and prevent unwanted apps and browser extensions from tracking you and collecting your private data. PlusPrivacy is open source and you can use it anonymously.

In the future PlusPrivacy will also help you to tightly control who has access to your data and ensure that your privacy is protected to the full extent of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

* An interesting app, worth further investigation.

Operating in Hostile and Non-Permissive Environments:
A Survival and Resource Guide for Those Who Go in Harm’s Way

Sgt. Ron Helus Fatally Shot in the Heart by a California Highway Patrolman

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — A sheriff's deputy who died in a mass shooting at a California bar was shot five times by a gunman who massacred 11 others, but the officer was killed by friendly fire, authorities said Friday.

Sgt. Ron Helus was fatally shot in the heart by a California Highway Patrolman who had joined him in the chaotic gun battle at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks on Nov. 7, Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub said. (KOMO 4 News, December 7, 2018)
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In trying to save others from an active shooter, Sgt. Helus was killed by a fellow officer. This tragic loss underlines the chaos of that gun fight and the risks that police officers take on a daily basis.

R.I.P. Sgt, Helus.

DNA Technology Can Create Unbelievable Suspect Sketches

Here’s why this should scare you.

Unique technology can now take a DNA sample left at a crime scene and turn it into a composite sketch.

Law enforcement agencies say it's helped them make major breakthroughs in cases old and new. But critics claim the technology is based on thin science and could end up ensnaring innocent people.

DNA sketches are the result of something called phenotyping, essentially painting a picture of what people look like based on a DNA sample obtained by police. Genes determine how we look, so sequencing developed from DNA samples can be used to try to predict someone’s eye, hair and skin color in a sketch. Facial features and face shape are also included, but they’re much harder to forecast.

For many law enforcement agencies, the pictures they're using come from a Virginia company called Parabon Nanolabs. Its team is creating sketches using a system called "Snapshot." A video featured on Parabon's website details the process, saying, "As the program sifts through billions of pieces of genetic information, it slowly begins to build a suspect’s appearance. We run it through the Snapshot algorithms and produce predictions about that person."

Records show that since 2011, the Department of Defense has poured more than $1 million into Parabon to develop Snapshot. Now, agencies across the country are paying as much as $4,000 for sketches the company says can generate leads and narrow suspect lists. It's widely used with police departments large and small from across the country requesting and then raving about the DNA sketches obtained for their cases.

The wide use of this technology concerns Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst with the American Civil Liberties Union who first wrote about DNA phenotype sketching back in 2016, before it really took off.

Stanley fears the sketches could detour or harm investigations, reinforce racial bias, or be used to establish probable cause against innocent people, ensnaring them in criminal investigations. And while he says he understands the desire of law enforcement and the families of victims to close cases, he says this type of sketching shouldn't be used for any serious purpose. Stanley called it science fiction.  (Circa, November 29, 2018)
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Using this undeveloped and non-reviewed technology in law enforcement investigations is a serious concern. It is likely to lead to mis-identification and can be used to establish probable cause where none exists. Mistakes happen; we have just see how a Woman Spent Months in Jail Because Cops Thought Cotton Candy Was Meth. How long will a person spend in jail when they are mis-identified because of a DNA sketch?

Operating in Hostile and Non-Permissive Environments:
A Survival and Resource Guide for Those Who Go in Harm’s Way

 

 

Who wants to be a police officer?

Across the country, interest in becoming a police officer is down dramatically. In Nashville, Tennessee, job applications dropped from 4,700 in 2010 to 1,900 last year. In Seattle, Washington, applications have declined by nearly 50 percent, in a department where the starting salary is $79,000. Even the FBI saw a sharp drop, from 21,000 applications per year to 13,000 last year, before a new marketing campaign brought an upswing.

And retaining officers once they've joined is getting harder too. In a Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) survey of nearly 400 police departments about voluntary resignations, 29 percent of those who left their police job voluntarily had been on the force less than a year, and another 40 percent had been on the job less than five years.

"There's an increased potential for officers to be criminally liable for making a good faith mistake," said Terry Sult, the Hampton, Virginia, police chief. "We're seeing a lot more media coverage of officers being prosecuted, and that weighs heavily on a lot of officers' hearts. ... That's a stressor on whether I want to stay in this position or not."

The videos of police misconduct, or fatal shootings, have damaged the perception of American police officers, but not irrevocably, said Antoinette Archer, director of human relations for the Richmond, Virginia, police. For many people, "they're taken aback by the brutality, not by the profession," Archer said. "If we can be inclusive" of women and people of color, "those individuals who can see a part of their fabric in the department will come forward. ... If the environment is not inclusive, you're going to lose them."

But whatever the reason for officers leaving, the process of replacing them has gotten tougher. Nearly 66 percent of the nearly 400 police departments surveyed said their number of applicants had decreased. Hiring in a healthy economy is one problem, police officials said, because private industry can offer better salaries.

Still, pay isn't the main reason many pass policing by, Deputy Seattle Chief Marc Garth Green said. "Number one is validation," Green said. "The validation that they're putting their life on the line. There's no respect for that," and he blamed the news media for undermining respect for police authority.  (Stars & Stripes, December 4, 2018)
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In July 2018 we saw that Seattle Cops Flee the Force in 'Mass Exodus' Because of Politics. And in August 2018, Lacey, WA Police Department is a ‘Mess,’ Union Says.

When officers can't expect and don't receive support from department leadership you cannot expect them to stay with their departments. And when officers are unsatisfied with their work environments - ranging for internal politics to outright hostile workplaces - this attitude will be reflected in the community, greatly limiting applications to work within those departments.

Most men and women in law enforcement are no-doubt decent people who really care about their communities, but if we are going to keep good men and women in law enforcement we need to ensure that they are supported by their departments and by their communities as a whole.

 

Operating in Hostile and Non-Permissive Environments:
A Survival and Resource Guide for Those Who Go in Harm’s Way

 

Dallas Police Officer Indicted for Murder for Shooting Man in His Own Home

A white former Dallas police officer was indicted on murder charges Friday, nearly three months after she fatally shot an unarmed black neighbor whose apartment she said she entered by mistake, believing it to be her own.

Amber Guyger told fellow officers that she opened fire when Botham Jean appeared in the darkness.
After finishing her shift, Guyger told investigators , she returned home in uniform and parked on the fourth floor of her apartment complex's garage, rather than the third floor, where her unit was located, according to an affidavit prepared by the Texas Rangers.

She said she got to what she thought was her apartment — Jean's was directly above hers — and found the door ajar. She opened it to find a figure standing in the darkness. She said she pulled her gun and fired twice after the person ignored her commands. (The Olympian, November 30, 2018)
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It's important to realize that, in Texas, you can't use force on others for a simple act of trespassing. To shoot in Texas, you must fear for your safety when someone is breaking in or attempting to break in to your home, occupied vehicle, or workplace.

 

Operating in Hostile and Non-Permissive Environments:

A Survival and Resource Guide for Those Who Go in Harm’s Way

 

Military personnel deployed to a combat area, their supporting contractors overseas, government civilian employees overseas, non-government organizations (NGOs), journalists working on international stories, businesses attempting to establish a foothold in developing countries, and individual travelers to remote areas of the world can all find themselves in hostile and non-permissive environments. This guide covers a broad range of subjects that are intended to aid individuals, living and working in dangerous areas, in being safer in their daily lives and in being better able to protect themselves and survive in case of an emergency, disaster, or hostile action.

Tacoma Has An Unusually Low Number of Hate-Crime Reports

Statistics say Tacoma has a relatively small number of hate crimes. In 2017, the record shows only eight crimes were motivated by bias against a race or ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity, according to newly released FBI figures.

That makes five straight years in single digits. This year Tacoma is on pace to have even fewer incidents, according to Results253, the city’s online database.

While these offenses seem to have plateaued in Tacoma, they zoomed to new heights in Washington’s two other largest cities. Seattle reported 232 incidents in 2017, up from 118 a year earlier. Spokane logged 28 incidents last year, more than triple the 8 it saw in 2016.

Hate crimes are historically underreported, often because victims grow accustomed to abusive treatment, fear a backlash or don’t trust authorities. You can bet Tacoma is no exception.

Nor are its suburban neighbors, though statistically they appear to be hate-free utopias. Over the last three years, a total of zero hate crimes were reported to the FBI by Bonney Lake, Buckley, Eatonville, Edgewood, Fircrest, Gig Harbor, Sumner and University Place. Eight communities, with a combined population topping 100,000.

FBI statistics don’t tell the whole story. Hate crimes are not devouring Seattle, and they’re not detouring around Tacoma. But in 2018, this much should be clear: None of us lives in Pleasantville. (Tacoma News Tribune, November 27, 2018)
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So, is Tacoma reporting only single digit hate crimes for five straight years because of fear of backlash, or lack of trust in local authorities? That doesn't seem to be a good answer, since Seattle and Spokane are seeing significant increases in hate crime reporting.

Sure, there may be some hate crimes in Tacoma that go unreported, but when a statistic is consistent over five years it is likely that the statistic is accurate (or Tacoma has a completely different way of defining hate crimes than does Seattle and Spokane). But then we have to account for the complete lack of hate crimes reported in cities around Tacoma (i.e. Bonney Lake, Buckley, Eatonville, Edgewood, Fircrest, Gig Harbor, Sumner and University Place).

Might it be that the anomaly in data is not Tacoma and the surrounding area with its low hate crime reporting, but Seattle with its exceptionally high number of hate crimes?

Operating in Hostile and Non-Permissive Environments:
A Survival and Resource Guide for Those Who Go in Harm’s Way

 

Military personnel deployed to a combat area, their supporting contractors overseas, government civilian employees overseas, non-government organizations (NGOs), journalists working on international stories, businesses attempting to establish a foothold in developing countries, and individual travelers to remote areas of the world can all find themselves in hostile and non-permissive environments. This guide covers a broad range of subjects that are intended to aid individuals, living and working in dangerous areas, in being safer in their daily lives and in being better able to protect themselves and survive in case of an emergency, disaster, or hostile action.

Seattle Mayor and City Attorney Want to Vacate 208 Misdemeanor Arrest Warrants

Mayor Jenny Durkan, during a news conference Tuesday, said the move would address racial and social inequities as well as let law enforcement place a heavier focus on more serious offenses.

The city is asking Seattle Municipal Court judges to quash many warrants involving prostitution, driving with a suspended license in the third-degree, minor in possession of alcohol, graffiti and other low-level crimes.

“Think about where you were five, and 20 years ago? Some of these warrants, people literally don’t know they were issued,” Durkan said.

Durkan said more than 40 percent of the 208 defendants are people of color. While 101 of the defendants are white, 73 are African-American, according to the city.

Many of the cases, Durkan said, were for driving with a suspended license.

“They were issued for, literally, crimes of poverty,” Durkan said.

The warrants were filed between February 1996 and July 2013.

“The warrants will go away,” Holmes said during the news conference. “They will no longer, if someone is pulled over, pop up as an outstanding warrant; that then subjects someone to an arrest.”

This is the second time Mayor Durkan has sought to have cases vacated from Seattle Municipal Court. Earlier this year the city asked the court to toss out all convictions and dismiss charges for all misdemeanor marijuana possession cases filed before 2010 – the court agreed to.  (KOMO 4 News, November 28, 2018)
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Getting rid of old warrants for old, minor offenses is a good idea. Not only does this benefit the individual who missed a court date years ago, but it relieves the police from having to deal with old warrants which have sat in the system for years - allowing the police to focus on current and actual crimes (not administrative and procedural errors, such as missing a court date).

Operating in Hostile and Non-Permissive Environments:

A Survival and Resource Guide for Those Who Go in Harm’s Way

 

Military personnel deployed to a combat area, their supporting contractors overseas, government civilian employees overseas, non-government organizations (NGOs), journalists working on international stories, businesses attempting to establish a foothold in developing countries, and individual travelers to remote areas of the world can all find themselves in hostile and non-permissive environments. This guide covers a broad range of subjects that are intended to aid individuals, living and working in dangerous areas, in being safer in their daily lives and in being better able to protect themselves and survive in case of an emergency, disaster, or hostile action.

Portland Mayor Pushes Forward Plan To Use Unarmed Police Officers

The mayor of Portland has plans to start a pilot program where non-sworn officers will not carry weapons and be used on non-emergency calls. The non-sworn officers are called Public Safety Support Specialists and will be utilized on property crimes and break-ins, according to Wheeler.

Proponents of hiring the Public Safety Support Specialists said they could build more trust with citizens. "When you bring your gun and a badge into a situation, it can make some people uneasy," says Sam Sachs, a former Portland park ranger, according to the Williamette Week. "If you're not wearing a gun, it kind of changes things."

The mayor cut the city’s mounted police from the budget so he could fund the Public Safety Support Specialists, which could be hired in January, according to the Williamette Week (November 29, 2018).
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Unarmed police is not an idea unique to Portland. The United Kingdom, Norway, Ireland, Iceland, New Zealand, and twelve of 16 Pacific island nations do not allow most police officers to carry firearms.

Would this concept work in the United States? Will having unarmed police officers build more trust with the community, or just put these officers at increased risk?
 

Operating in Hostile and Non-Permissive Environments:
A Survival and Resource Guide for Those Who Go in Harm’s Way

 

Military personnel deployed to a combat area, their supporting contractors overseas, government civilian employees overseas, non-government organizations (NGOs), journalists working on international stories, businesses attempting to establish a foothold in developing countries, and individual travelers to remote areas of the world can all find themselves in hostile and non-permissive environments. This guide covers a broad range of subjects that are intended to aid individuals, living and working in dangerous areas, in being safer in their daily lives and in being better able to protect themselves and survive in case of an emergency, disaster, or hostile action.



Portland - FBI Meet To Discuss Withdrawal From Terrorism Task Force

Portland could be the next major city to withdraw its police from a key partnership with federal law enforcement agencies that investigate terrorism and domestic extremism.

Mayor Ted Wheeler held talks with the FBI in November 2018 to discuss how to handle the city’s withdrawal from the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), public records released by the mayor’s office show.

Records show that Renn Cannon, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Portland division, arranged to meet with the mayor and his staff Nov. 8, to discuss the fate of the JTTF.

In addition to federal law enforcement agencies, the local terrorism task force includes representatives from the Oregon State Police, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office and the Port of Portland Police Department.

Opposition to the JTTF runs deep in Portland. Mayor Tom Potter, a former Portland police chief, voted to remove the city’s officers from the task force in 2005 out of concern that it lacked adequate civilian oversight. The city rejoined under Mayor Sam Adams in 2010 on an “as-needed basis” after the FBI announced it had arrested a teenager for plotting to bomb Pioneer Courthouse Square. The council then voted to fully rejoin in 2015. (Oregon Public Broadcasting, November 28, 2018)
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The JTTF works to combat domestic terrorism and violent extremism, and I believe overall does good work while respecting the civil rights and liberties of American citizens. However, past patterns false arrests and detentions, attacks on homes and friendships, and attempting to impede members of political organizations from peacefully assembling and demonstrating anywhere, at any time, cause many to question the overall value of anti-terrorism officers within law enforcement agencies.


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Operating in Hostile and Non-Permissive Environments:

A Survival and Resource Guide for Those Who Go in Harm’s Way

 

Military personnel deployed to a combat area, their supporting contractors overseas, government civilian employees overseas, non-government organizations (NGOs), journalists working on international stories, businesses attempting to establish a foothold in developing countries, and individual travelers to remote areas of the world can all find themselves in hostile and non-permissive environments. This guide covers a broad range of subjects that are intended to aid individuals, living and working in dangerous areas, in being safer in their daily lives and in being better able to protect themselves and survive in case of an emergency, disaster, or hostile action.

 

Marriott Data Breach

The data stolen from the Marriott hotel empire in a massive breach is so rich and specific it could be used for espionage, identity theft, reputational attacks and even home burglaries, security experts say.

Hackers stole data on as many as 500 million guests of former Starwood chain properties over four years including credit card and passport numbers, birthdates, phone numbers and hotel arrival and departure dates.

It is one of the biggest data breaches on record. By comparison, last year's Equifax hack affected more than 145 million people. A Target breach in 2013 affected more than 41 million payment card accounts and exposed contact information for more than 60 million customers. (KOMO 4 News)
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The stolen information included:

• name
• address
• phone number
• email address
• passport number
• account information
• date of birth
• gender
• arrival and departure information

Some records also included encrypted payment card information, but Marriott could not rule out the possibility that the encryption keys had also been stolen.





If you travel overseas, you should read this book:

Federal Air Marshals Accused of More Than 200 Gun Mishaps

When a passenger found a federal air marshal's loaded service weapon in the bathroom during a trans-Atlantic flight last year, the blunder became headline news. It sparked public outrage, prompted an investigation and led to calls for reform.

But the misplaced gun debacle was hardly an isolated incident, according to documents recently obtained by CNN.

The Transportation Security Administration's Office of Inspection has documented more than 200 cases of air marshals allegedly misusing firearms or misbehaving with guns between roughly 2005 and 2017, according to records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

In 19 of the cases, air marshals allegedly fired their weapons accidentally. For example, the documents state that in 2017 an agent based in Charlotte, North Carolina, "unintentionally discharged a personally owned firearm resulting in a gunshot wound to his right foot."

A 2013 case described an air marshal mistakenly firing his weapon inside a hotel room and damaging a television in an adjoining room.

More than 70 of the incidents relate to lost, misplaced or stolen weapons. At least three of those cases involved air marshals forgetting their firearms in airplane bathrooms. Two others involved weapons misplaced in airports.

At least 13 of the cases involved alcohol, including a 2012 case in which an armed air marshal allegedly flew on a plane while drunk and another in 2014 in which an agent was accused of being intoxicated during a firearms training session.

John Mueller, a political science professor at Ohio State University who has assessed the efficiencies of various forms of aviation security, argues that the costs of air marshals outweigh their benefits. He recommends training and arming more pilots to resist hijackers and adding secondary cockpit barriers.

Referring to air marshals, Mueller said, "They deliver about 5 cents or maybe 10 cents of benefit for every dollar that's spent on them. There are much less expensive security measures, which could replace them and save lots of money." (CNN, November 19, 2018)
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OK, in any group of people there are going to be mistakes and errors over time. When that group of people (i.e. Federal Air Marshals) all carry guns some of those mistakes and errors will involve guns.

Between 2005 and 2017 there were 200+ "gun mishaps" reported involving Federal Air Marshals - or around 17 incidents per year. If you work for an agency where people carry guns, how many reported "gun mishaps" does your agency have per year? Are 17 errors with firearms per year just the cost of doing business?

What do you think?

 

Operating in Hostile and Non-Permissive Environments:

A Survival and Resource Guide for Those Who Go in Harm’s Way

 

Military personnel deployed to a combat area, their supporting contractors overseas, government civilian employees overseas, non-government organizations (NGOs), journalists working on international stories, businesses attempting to establish a foothold in developing countries, and individual travelers to remote areas of the world can all find themselves in hostile and non-permissive environments. This guide covers a broad range of subjects that are intended to aid individuals, living and working in dangerous areas, in being safer in their daily lives and in being better able to protect themselves and survive in case of an emergency, disaster, or hostile action.

 

 

669 Prohibited Washington Gun Buyers Attempted Purchases Since 2017

According to KING 5 News, November 30, 2018:  A report from the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs found 669 people who are not allowed to buy a gun tried to since 2017.

There were 3,248 denied firearm applications between July 2017 and July 2018. Six hundred sixty-nine were referred to law enforcement. The law does not require law enforcement agencies to investigate.

The report by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) says it notified law enforcement about 264 people who made multiple attempts to purchase handguns through licensed firearms dealers, 103 background checks that failed after the buyer had received the gun, 192 people who had protection orders against them that barred them from owning guns, and 255 people with felony convictions.

The report says 12 cases that were referred to prosecutors were charged, and 13 cases were not charged.

In most cases, prohibited purchasers fail to receive the firearm, because they do not pass the background check. However, applying for the purchase of a firearm is itself illegal for felons, people who have protective orders against them, those convicted of domestic violence, and the mentally ill who have been involuntarily committed.

The WASPC report also noted instances where firearms purchasers were “…incorrectly being denied transactions” because of paper work errors and mistakes – although it couldn’t determine how often this occurs.
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According to the FBI, there were 491,011 background checks conducted in Washington state (Jan 1 - Oct 31, 2018) and 579,678 background checks conducted in 2017.

So, of approximately half-a-million background checks, only 669 denials were of a nature to be referred to law enforcement for investigation, and only 12 referred to prosecutors were charged.

Even taking the worst case scenario that all 3,248 denied firearms purchase applications posed a threat to the community (and it is not really reasonable to believe that this is the case), only about one-half of one-percent of total firearms purchases were denied.  Criminals do not get their guns by purchasing them at the local gun store.

As we have recently seen, a UC Davis study examining the first ten years after California adopted universal background checks shows that those checks did not reduce homicides.

Operating in Hostile and Non-Permissive Environments:

A Survival and Resource Guide for Those Who Go in Harm’s Way

 

Veteran’s Suicide Prompts Seminar for Deploying JBLM Airmen

A military mom is trying to make a difference after her son killed himself after returning from deployment in Iraq.

“You could see he was sad, you could see he was struggling,” said Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Saudi McVea. Her son, Bryce McVea, killed himself last year. McVea said her 26-year-old son was never the same after returning from a deployment to Iraq in 2011. He suffered a concussion and burns from an IED explosion.

When her son came home, he was more distant and had trouble sleeping. McVea said she now believes those were warning signs and wished she had sought help.

As part of their upcoming drill weekend, 300 service members from the 446th Airlift Wing will hear a presentation on resiliency from retired New York firefighter Tim Brown. The 446th Airlift Wing deploys overseas next month. McVea hopes after talking about resiliency they’ll be better prepared to handle the stress that comes with the job.

Those who need someone to talk to about suicide can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 24-hours a day at 1-800-273-TALK.  (KING 5 News, November 29, 2018)
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JBLM Service Members (and civilian employees) are not getting the help they need for mental health related issues, as we saw in a recent report:   Army Punishes JBLM Soldiers Who Need Help.

The Suicide Prevention Lifeline can help, but there is too often a large number of people in line and very long waits in order to connect with anyone, as can be see with 71 people in line on August 19, 2018, and 85 people in line on September 11, 2018.

 

 

While there is, of course, a need to maintain order and discipline within the armed forces, personnel suffering a service / workplace related mental health issue need to be afforded treatment and counseling, not just thrown out of service.