BERKELEY, Calif. - A California police chief is once again under scrutiny, this time for using 10 officers - some on overtime - to search for his teenage son’s stolen iPhone.
Berkeley Police Chief Michael Meehan told the Oakland Tribune that no preferential treatment was given when officers, including three detectives and a sergeant who each logged two hours of overtime, searched for the phone that has a tracking device and was taken from a school locker in January. The phone was not found.
Meehan came under scrutiny two months ago after ordering a
sergeant to go to a reporter’s home to ask for changes to an online
story about a community meeting where people criticized the speed of a
police response to an elderly man’s beating death.
In the cellphone case, a police report was never written, and the officers’ search led them to parts of neighboring Oakland, unknown to that city’s police department.
Meehan told the Tribune on Wednesday that field supervisors decide how many officers to put on a case, and he’s confident it was handled properly.
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"2 deputies charged in gun scheme
SACRAMENTO - Two sheriff’s deputies have been charged in federal court with abusing an exemption in state law that lets peace officers buy weapons that are illegal for civilians to own. Ryan McGowan, 31, and Thomas Lu, 42, allegedly acted as straw buyers to purchase automatic pistols and rifles, which they then sold to unqualified buyers through a licensed dealer who also faces federal charges. The pair allegedly made thousands of dollars over four years (AP)."
"Students relieved at arrest in slayings
LOS ANGELES - A day after arrests were made in the slayings of two international graduate students near the University of Southern California, students on campus said they are relieved but the crime hasn’t changed their day-to-day behavior. Ming Qu and Ying Wu, both of China, were shot about a mile from campus last month. Police said Javier Bolden and Bryan Barnes were arrested Friday on suspicion of killing the two in an apparent robbery attempt (AP)."
"TB patient charged in Calif for not taking meds" Associated Press, May 17, 2012
SAN FRANCISCO - Authorities in California took the unusual step of charging and jailing a tuberculosis patient who they say refused to take medication to keep his disease from becoming contagious....
San Joaquin County has had more than 30 tuberculosis prosecutions since 1984, prosecutor Stephen Taylor said. It also has prosecuted a woman accused of knowingly giving syphilis to her sex partners....
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"Boy, 1, shot dead by cyclist in South LA" June 06, 2012
LOS ANGELES - A gunman on a bicycle shot a father as he cradled his 1-year-old boy in his arms on a South Los Angeles street, killing the infant, police said Tuesday.
The 24-year-old father was attacked Monday evening on a sidewalk in an area that has been plagued by gang violence, police said. The gunman appeared to be a 15- to 17-year-old boy in a hoodie sweatshirt, police said.
He rode past the father and fired several shots, police Captain Phillip Tingirides told KCAL-TV.
The child was shot in the stomach and died at a hospital following surgery. The father was struck in the shoulder and remained hospitalized in stable condition, police said.
Their names were not immediately released.
Police have not released a motive, though Tingirides said investigators were leaning heavily toward gang rivalry. The attacker was black and the father is Latino, authorities said.
A conflict between black and Latino gangs has led to more than a half-dozen killings in the area in the last year, police said.
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Also see: Calif. man, 101, killed by driver, 91
Commerce secretary takes medical leave after crashes
Why am I smelling a cover-up?
Trickery scam linked to Boston theft
