Judge Suspended For Allegedly Aiding Immigrant Escape From ICE Wants Her Salary Reinstated

On Thursday, a Massachusetts district court judge who was indicted in April on charges she obstructed justice by allegedly helping an illegal immigrant escape from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) filed a motion to have her $181,000 annual salary reinstated.

Shelley Joseph, who faces up to 20 years in prison, according to The Boston Globe, was suspended without pay by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court after the federal indictment was handed down by a federal grand jury on April 25. The court stated, “This Order is based solely on the fact that a sitting judge has been indicted for alleged misconduct in the performance of her judicial duties. It in no way reflects any opinion on the merits of the pending criminal case. The Code of Judicial Conduct prohibits all judges from making ‘any statement that might reasonably be expected to affect the outcome or impair the fairness of a matter pending or impending in any Massachusetts court,” according to MassLive.

Federal prosecutors stated that in March 2018, ICE issued an immigration detainer against Jose Medina-Perez, an illegal immigrant who was already a fugitive from justice in a Pennsylvania drunk driving case. Newton, Massachusetts police arrested Medina-Perez on drug charges, prompting the ICE detainer. When a plainclothes ICE agent appeared at Newton District Court to apprehend Medina-Perez, according to federal prosecutors, Joseph ordered the agent to exit the courtroom and instructed that the courtroom recorder be turned off while she conversed with the defense attorney and an Assistant District Attorney regarding the detainer.

A transcript revealed Joseph inquiring, “ICE is gonna get him?” Prosecutors allege that following the conversation, Joseph ordered Medina-Perez released without bail, told Trial Court Officer Wesley MacGregor to take Medina-Perez to the downstairs lockup, all while the ICE agent was prevented from entering the courtroom. MacGregor allegedly permitted Medina-Perez to escape.

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Michigan police and lawmakers seek solutions as distracted driving deaths climb

When conversation turns to distracted driving, Michigan law enforcement officials say they are concerned and frustrated.

Take Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard, for instance. A former state lawmaker, Bouchard voiced his objections nearly a decade ago when a bill addressing distracted driving was winding its way through the process in Lansing.

Under the law, a motorist who is found to be texting while driving can be fined $100 for a first offense and $200 for repeat violations.

But the law’s language was too complicated and unenforceable, Bouchard said.

“It is not working — I doubt we have ever used it,” the sheriff said. “Nine years later, how many lives have been lost because a law was too specific to be enforced?”

That number is climbing, according to statistics from the Michigan State Police and a  traffic safety agency.

The state police reported 20,115 crashes in Michigan involving distracted driving in 2017, including 72 fatalities — the highest numbers ever recorded. Last year, the state had 77 deaths and 7,213 injuries resulting from distracted-driving crashes, according to data from the Transportation Improvement Association.

“It's difficult to say what impact distracted driving legislation has had," said Robert Stevenson, a retired Livonia police chief who is executive director of the Michigan Association of Police Chiefs.

“Our association is behind efforts to get appropriate tools to officers to address distracted driving,” he said.

State lawmakers are trying to address the issue.

State Sen. Ruth Johnson, R-Holly, has introduced a bill that would expand the state’s texting-while-driving law to ban drivers from using all portable electronic devices except for those that are "hands free.”

Repeat violators could have one point assessed on their driver’s license for a second violation and two points for each subsequent violation, in addition to a ticket.

Another distracted-driving related bill, sponsored by state Rep. Mari Manoogian, D-Birmingham, would ban any driver under the age of 18 from using a cell phone while driving. It is part of a package of driving-related bills currently in committee.

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More detectives needed to eradicate MS-13 - Nassau PBA chief

Nassau PBA President James McDermott was joined by other community leaders for a news conference Sunday morning. He says he's concerned there are not enough detectives in the gang unit to eradicate the problem of MS-13 gang violence, potentially putting officers' and residents' safety at risk. And he says it's all while the union has been working without a contract for a year and a half.

It comes after police uncovered on Friday the badly decomposed remains of a mutilated body that is believed to be linked to an MS-13 slaying. They believe it had been in Massapequa Preserve for over two years and was linked to an MS-13 gang war.

Another body linked to MS-13 had been found at the preserve back in January of 2017. That's where investigators found the remains of 18-year-old Julio Espantzay-Gonzalez. Five reputed MS-13 members have been charged in Espantzay-Gonzalez's death.

Police say that investigation led them to believe there was a second body at the preserve, and say they returned many times to search. They say the body found Friday was about 100 feet away from Espantzay-Gonzalez's remains.

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Bill Introduced to End Sanctuary Cities

U.S. Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) is continuing his longstanding effort to protect communities from violent criminals who are in the United States illegally.

Thursday, Senator Toomey re-introduced the Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act, which would put an end to dangerous sanctuary city policies that forbid local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities, even when they wish to do so.

“It is past time to put an end to dangerous sanctuary city policies,” said Senator Toomey. “These policies – like the ones in Philadelphia and San Francisco – make it harder to stop illegal immigration and keep dangerous criminals off the streets. Sanctuary cities extend a special protection to illegal immigrants even when federal immigration officials identity them as a threat to public safety. This is simply inexcusable, and I urge my colleagues to help pass this commonsense measure.”

Joining Senator Toomey in introducing the bill were Senators Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and John Kennedy (R-La.).

“Sanctuary cities keep criminal aliens on our streets, and we will no longer tolerate their willful defiance of our nation’s laws,” said Senator Cotton. “Public safety must come first. If you’re not following the law, you shouldn’t get taxpayer dollars, period.”

“Sanctuary cities like San Francisco, Seattle and New York happily accept federal money, but they are just as eager to ignore our nation’s immigration laws,” said Senator Kennedy. “These liberal cities actively impede federal immigration enforcement efforts, which only encourages more illegal immigration. I’m a proud co-sponsor of the Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act because it sends a clear message to these cities that if they choose to ignore the rule of law, they don’t deserve hard-earned taxpayer dollars.”

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Ohio senators introduce bill to help local law enforcement detect drugs more effectively

Ohio senators Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman continue their fight against drugs and helping officers on the front lines. 

The latest step is giving them the ability to detect and identify dangerous drugs. 

Cocaine, heroin, meth and fentanyl are all dangerous drugs, but fentanyl is considered the worst. 

"This is the one drug that when law enforcement comes into contact with, it makes you sick or can even kill you," said Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Greene.

"Physically, you can't tell the difference between what might be fentanyl and what might be cocaine or some other substance," said Youngstown police chief Robin Lees.

Greene and Lees are two of the people heralding the two senators introducing the Power Act. This act will build on the Interdict Act, which was signed into law by President Trump last year.

That provided drug screening devices at the U.S. border. Potentially getting them to local law enforcement around the country would be a big benefit to drug screening.

"They can test it quickly rather than taking the substance back to the lab and not being able to make the arrest right away," Brown said. 

A backlog for crime labs can lead to delays. The Power Act wants to get these handheld devices into the hands of local law enforcement agencies around the nation. This would help identify drugs quicker than they do now. 

"There is no reason for anybody to oppose it other than the dollar figure. The dollar figure now is only $20 million, which won't buy nearly as many of these devices as we need," Brown said.

However, it would be a start. The Power Act is supported by law enforcement organizations across the country. It needs to be approved by the House, Senate and President Trump.

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NY State Troopers’ PBA Against Driver’s Licenses for Illegal Aliens

ALBANY – The State Police PBA is against proposed “greenlight legislation” that would allow the issuance of driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants and hamper troopers’ abilities to access identifying information, the union said.

The proposal has the backing of Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson and other immigration and social conscience groups.

 “This is dangerous and extremist legislation,” said PBA President Thomas Mungeer. “It flies in the face of proponents of the bill who are touting this as a highway safety measure.”

The PBA said it is a public safety issue to have unlicensed drivers on the roads. “We will always encourage a higher level of safety for New York and will support initiatives to make it a safer and more secure place in which to live,” Mungeer said. “Furthermore, allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses using less stringent identification than the minimum security standards for state residents seeking a license is an insult.”

The union president said even more troubling in the proposed legislation is the caveat that would require troopers and law enforcement officers to obtain a subpoena to run plates or look up a driver’s license – “and if that weren’t troubling enough, the proposal also states that we must notify the individual before doing so.” 

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New York State Passes a Bill to Stop Evicting Tenants Who Call the Police for Help

When a property is the site of "too many" 911 calls, the city may fine the property owner or even seek to close the property.

To preempt city action, some landlords often evict or threaten to evict the tenants who called 911, refuse to renew their leases, or tell them to stop calling for help.

The State Legislature however recently passed a bill—unanimously in the Assembly and 58 to 1 in the Senate—to protect tenants from eviction based on their calls for help.

Cities often enact local laws called nuisance ordinances that label certain properties as “nuisances” based on the amount of 911 calls or emergency responses at that property, regardless of the reason for the call, the tenant’s role in the dispute, or whether the person was requesting medical assistance.

Nuisance ordinances harm landlords as well by forcing them into an impossible choice. They can either let tenants who have called for help stay in their homes and risk getting fined or having their property taken away. Or they can kick their tenants out.

If Governor Cuomo signs the legislation into law, New York will be the tenth state (plus the District of Columbia) to pass this type of bill.

Thin Blue Line Act introduced to assist with officer safety

US Senator Pat Toomey is pushing for tougher laws to go after those who harm police officers.

Since 2010, 1500 police officers have been killed in the line of duty across the US.  Senator Toomey believes his new bill could help prevent those tragedies from happening.

"I think that, in the tragic event that a police officer falls in the line of duty, we owe that officer justice."

Today, Toomey announcing the reintroduction of the 'Thin Blue Line Act'.  Right now, when a murder victim is a federal law enforcement officer or federal prosecutor, jurors must weigh that as an aggravating factor in favor of the death penalty. This bill would do the same for local law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and first responders.

"If you murder or target a police officer, you should expect the harshest possible penalty."

The bill previously passed the US House in 2017, but never got a vote in the Senate. At the time it received pushback from Civil Rights groups like the 'Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights,' who said the bill could "ultimately exacerbate existing tension between law enforcement and the communities they serve."

The Thin Blue Line Act bill is currently in the US Senate Judiciary Committee.

Federal POLICE Act Reintroduced in Congress

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - Representative Trey Hollingsworth (IN-09) introduced the Protecting Officers of the Law In Civilian Establishments (POLICE) Act to rectify a double standard in current federal law that requires law enforcement officers to disarm before entering the federal property.

"This week is National Police Week, a time to reflect on our brave law enforcement officers throughout the country who have given their lives to protect others," said Representative Trey Hollingsworth. "I'm honored to reintroduce the POLICE Act and offer additional protections to our policemen and women who dedicate their lives to keeping us safe."

Recent executive interpretation of federal law currently prohibits state and local law enforcement officers from carrying their agency-issued firearms onto the civilian federal property unless the officers are responding to incidents in progress or are specifically called to the location. This double standard means any officers who might need to visit federal facilities throughout the day would be required to disarm beforehand and would be unable to respond to incidents in their communities until they rearm. In 2017, Floyd County Sheriff Frank Loop contacted Representative Hollingsworth to share his frustration with how this federal law makes his officers vulnerable and unable to respond to an emergency.

Together, Sheriff Loop and Representative Hollingsworth wrote the POLICE Act to allow uniformed law enforcement officers to remain armed on certain civilian public access federal facilities. The POLICE Act ensures our publicly recognizable law enforcement officers are always ready to respond when necessary.

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Federal Back the Blue Act Introduced During Police Week

U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) has introduced the Back the Blue Act. 

The bill would increase penalties against criminals who intentionally target law enforcement officers and provide new tools for officers to protect themselves. 

“This legislation sends a strong message to the more than 900,000 law enforcement officers serving in our country that we support them and we will not tolerate any act of violence against them, period," said Cornyn.

Strengthens Laws to Protect Police Officers

• Creates a new federal crime for killing, attempting to kill, or conspiring to kill a federal judge, federal law enforcement officer, or federally funded public safety officer. The offender would be subject to the death penalty and a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years if death results; the offender would otherwise face a minimum sentence of 10 years.
• Creates a new federal crime for assaulting a federally funded law enforcement officer with escalating penalties, including mandatory minimums, based on the extent of any injury and the use of a dangerous weapon. However, no prosecution can be commenced absent certification by the Attorney General that prosecution is appropriate.
• Creates a new federal crime for interstate flight from justice to avoid prosecution for killing, attempting to kill, or conspiring to kill a federal judge, federal law enforcement officer, or federally funded public safety officer. The offender would be subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years for this offense.

Creates a Specific Aggravating Factor for Federal Death Penalty Prosecutions

• Clarifies that the murder or attempted murder of a law enforcement officer or first responder is a statutory aggravating favor for purposes of the federal death penalty.

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NJ Assemblyman Proposes School Safety Legislation In Cooperation With Law Enforcement

Assemblyman Bucco’s bill – A-5242 – was announced at a news conference Tuesday at the Morris County Office of Emergency Management in Parsippany, with Sheriff Gannon, Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp, Morris County Police Chiefs Association President, Butler Police Chief Ciro Chimento, and other law enforcement, education and mental health professional stakeholders present.

Recognizing the priority of keeping schools safe from violence and thwarting potential bloodshed in the pre-attack stage, the proposed legislation would mandate funding the necessary costs for scientifically-sound training for law enforcement, mental health professionals, teachers and other school staff and students to identify, assess and report behaviors that signal potential threats to school safety. The legislation would fund a pilot RSVP-3 program specifically in the counties of Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic and Union and first class cities of Newark and Jersey City – all part of a designated federal Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) zone.

“This effort here is a multidisciplinary approach to incidences of school violence,” Sheriff Gannon said. “We all know that our most vulnerable populations are in our schools,” he said. “They’re our children, they’re our grandchildren. They’re students. They’re paraprofessionals. They’re administrators and educators. They are people who keep the lights on in the schools and they’re all near and dear to our hearts.”

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Alaska lawmakers are trying to fight crime by toughening prison sentences

The legislation, House Bill 49, is under debate as the Legislature nears the end of its annual session. It would reverse many of the pieces of Senate Bill 91 – the 2016 legislation that many Alaskans blame for a spike in crime.

But the new bill comes with a big price tag, and not everyone agrees that it will drive crime rates back down – including Doug Elkins, a convicted felon who was released from prison last month.

In an interview at Partners for Progress, an Anchorage organization that helps released prisoners “re-enter” society, Elkins said he’s been cycling in and out of prison since the 1970s. He’s working on getting clean and went to a drug treatment program in prison, he said.

“For 20 months, I sat in jail not wanting to do nothing but get high. And then, once I got out that’s exactly what I did: I went and got high,” said Elkins, 62, in an interview. “Going to jail, all that’s going to do is remove you from the situation for a minute.”

A 20-month term, like the one Elkins said he served, costs Alaska $100,000, according to state figures that place the daily cost of a prison bed at $169.

Reducing imprisonment for nonviolent criminals was policymakers’ goal in 2016 when they passed SB 91, a major restructuring of Alaska’s criminal justice laws. The idea, supported by both in-state and out-of-state research, was that longer prison sentences aren’t shown to keep prisoners from committing more crimes once they get out.

So SB 91 reduced sentences for nonviolent crimes and budgeted some of the savings to boost drug treatment, as well as programs to help people transition from prison back to regular life. Almost immediately, the changes faced a backlash. Gov. Mike Dunleavy ran on undoing the legislation.

“To the criminals, and to the rapists and molesters who see our children as nothing more than opportunities, I say this to you: We will do everything in our power to stop you, apprehend you and put you in prison for a very long time,” Dunleavy said at his State of the State speech earlier this year, when he pledged to repeal and replace SB 91.

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NY Gov. Cuomo supports driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants

ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo said he would green-light granting driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, claiming it would improve road safety — even citing the well being of his three daughters to make the case.

“I have three young daughters, youngish, two graduated college, one going to her junior year of college. And they’re out there driving every day and I’m waiting up at night like most parents, waiting to hear the door close before I can go to sleep,” he said Friday in a WXXI radio interview.

“I’m worried about them. I want to make sure the people on the road have a driver’s license and took the test and are qualified.”

But Cuomo said the Legislature has to first pass the measure. If such a bill lands on his desk, the governor said he would sign it.

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LMPD's new traffic stop rules will endanger lives, FOP leader says

The head of the Louisville Metro Police union said Friday that the department's new traffic stop policies will endanger officers and keep them from catching criminals.

Nikolai Jilek, president of River City Lodge 616, said he was not consulted about the changes and called them  "knee-jerk" measures that will "impede our safety and our work."

Without mentioning Chief Steve Conrad by name, Jilek said the policies were written "by people who have never policed or who have forgotten" about how quickly situations change on the streets.

Jilek spoke to reporters in front of the police memorial in downtown's Jefferson Square, where he warned the policy changes could cost officers their lives.

Conrad said earlier Friday that officers will continue to make traffic stops in high crime areas but that they must be based on a “reasonable belief” that the motorist has, is or is about to commit a crime.

The changes, which go into effect Aug. 1, say removing motorists from cars, patting them down and handcuffing them should not be employed “as a matter of routine” and should only be done based on factors that include the motorist’s behavior, size and history of assaulting officers or fleeing.

Jilek objected to requiring that officers consider a subject's size, saying "just because someone is smaller doesn't mean they aren't dangerous."

He said another change — that "generally only two units should respond to a traffic stop" because "having too many officers on-scene can cause undo public concern" — also puts officers at risk.

He also said officers are less likely to find contraband if drivers and passengers are allowed to remain in their vehicles, possibly obscuring drugs or firearms.

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Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program Legislation

Sens. Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) recently introduced a measure designed to reauthorize the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program permanently.

S. 1231 is a federal grant program that helps state and local law enforcement agencies purchase lifesaving bulletproof vests for officers working in the field.

“Law enforcement officers in Colorado and across our nation are the foundation of safe communities, and it’s our responsibility to ensure they have the best possible equipment to protect themselves while serving in the line of duty,” Gardner said. “This bipartisan legislation will provide lifesaving vests for officers, and I’ll continue to fight for measures like these to support our men and women in uniform.”

Authorities said the fact remains across the country law enforcement agencies struggle to maintain necessary protective equipment for all of their officers, with vests being costly and lacking longevity.

The grant program has played a key role in ensuring the nation’s police officers are equipped with the latest protective technology to keep them safe. The program has awarded more than 13,000 jurisdictions a total of $467 million in matching federal funds for the purchase of more than 1.3 million vests.

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