Police News Roundup (Evening Edition)
Before getting into it, Base10's sincerest condolences go out to the families of the civilian contractors killed and mutilated in Fallujah. Base10 believes that those responsible will have to answer to their maker for their actions. Base10 also suspects that this will happen in a surprisingly short time.

In a sad follow-up to last week's item about a newborn found dead and abandoned on Staten Island, NY1 reports the Medical Examiner has determined that the infant was smothered to death. In happier news, in Brooklyn a newborn was found alive after being abandoned at a church.

In a story that may have some legs, NY1 also report that the video of a 22 year-old who committed suicide in a Bronx Housing Project (er, Development) was found on a website devoted to violence and porn. The catch here is that self-inflicted gunshot was captured on video by a police surveillance system and only the NYPD had access to the tape. The worst thing about it was that apparently the family of the victim first saw the video on the internet. Also in Newsday, and the Daily News.

In the NYT, an item describes a court fight over the NYPD's presumtive delegation of law enforcment powers to pprivate security guards paid by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, a private entity. The issue raises rather important legal issues, and is a good example of how 9/11 has changed our outlook--even among New Yorkers. Had this issue come up before the attacks, even conservatives would have been outraged by the Police giving authority to private parties to stop and even search persons on public streets. The legal issues are intriguing, since the security personnel are operating under the auspices of the PD, presumably 4th Amendment restrictions apply. This may come back to haunt us if the security guards actually seize evidence from a would-be terrorist. In today's world however, this story is just a footnote.

In other news, the NYPD is training its officers in unconventional warfare in anticipation of the Republican National Convention in August.

And in the "no humorous description could come close" department, a Brooklyn man was arrested at Police Plaza Wednesday after applying for a pistol license claiming he was a an employee of the National Security Agency and assigned as a bodyguard for National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. (Note to Ms. Rice: Base10 has committed the spelling of your first name to memory). It turns out he does no such thing, and was arrested after being called in to pick up his license. The issue worrying authorities was that he listed Ms. Rice's private phone line at the White House on his application. Base10 will not even attempt to make a wry comment, since humor pales against the actual level of stupidity involved in the incident.
- posted by Base10 @ 7:35 PM