Search Incident to Arrest? Not for Cell Phones.

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Randall

You may have heard yesterday that the Florida Supreme Court ruled a police search of a cell phone incident to arrest violates a person’s right to privacy and is therefore illegal.  In Smallwood vs. State (No. SC-11-1130), justices decided 5-2 to eliminate the practice.

In reference to Smallwood vs State, Cedric Tyrone Smallwood was arrested by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for a convenience store robbery.  Ofc. Ike Brown looked in Smallwood’s cell phone in a search incident to Smallwood’s arrest. Seeing possibly incriminating photographs of Smallwood with a handgun and what looked like the stolen money, packaged as described by the victim clerk, JSO investigators applied for and received a search warrant for the contents of the cell phone.  The photographs obtained via the legal search warrant were shown at trial.

“OFC BROWN: I looked in the phone for two reasons. One, to see if it was the same one he had been calling me from, and to see if, in fact, did he have any pictures or anything that might be evidence to the crime.
PROSECUTOR: In your training and experience with…the Sheriff’s Office, is it unusual for a suspect, any suspect, to take photos or have videos of them that Continue reading →

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Counterfeit Money and the Patrol Officer

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Randall

I was lucky to have taken a class in Fraudulent Documents when I was a detective.  I found the entire subject riveting (really).  Back at my agency, I get requests to examine currency for the officers when they are on counterfeit calls.  I try to pass along some basics to the patrolmen, because there are a few shortcuts to identifying real money from fake.

Quick ground school on the Federal Reserve Note:  “Paper” currency is made from 75% cotton and 25% linen.  To be durable and hard to reproduce, U.S. currency is more cloth than traditional paper, which is made largely from wood cellulose.

The counterfeit pens you see used by stores have an iodine-based ink that reacts with the starch in cellulose-based paper to leave a black marking on a fake bill.  The iodine does not react with the cotton/linen blend of real bills, so the pen leaves an amber, yellow, or light brown swipe.  Because counterfeiters can coat regular paper with chemicals to block the Continue reading →

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Gov. Rick Scott Literally Shoots Down Police Drones

Posted on April 27, 2013 by Randall

Okay, not literally, but I get a kick out of when people misuse the word.  Anyway, Gov. Rick Scott signed into law this week legislation which will, in essence, keep law enforcement drones grounded by way of severe restrictions.

Effective 6/1/2013, the Florida Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act would prohibit law enforcement agencies from using an unmanned aerial vehicle (defined as a drone in the act) to gather evidence or other information, or from using evidence obtained or collected in violation of the act in any state court of law.

A drone is defined as a powered, aerial vehicle that:

1.  Does not carry a human operator;

2.  Uses aerodynamic forces to provide vehicle lift;

3.  Can fly autonomously or be piloted remotely;

4.  Can be expendable or recoverable, and;

5.  Can carry a lethal or nonlethal payload.

Exceptions to the FFUSA drone prohibition would be:

“(a) To counter a high risk of a terrorist attack by a specific individual or organization if the United States Secretary of Homeland Security determines that credible intelligence indicated that Continue reading →

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Polk Deputy Killed in Cruiser Crash

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Randall

Polk County Sheriff’s Office Master Deputy Joseph “Shane” Robbins was killed in a single vehicle cruiser crash this morning. Dep. Robbins was westbound on Bomber Road nearing U.S. 17, when his marked car went off the roadway on a curve.  The cause has yet to be determined and PCSO is asking for information from anyone who may have witnessed the crash.

Dep. Robbins, 40, was a 15 year sworn deputy with Polk County.  He had served as a Special Victims Unit detective and a Homicide detective.  He is survived by his wife and their five children.  Funeral arrangements will be announced by PCSO.  Thoughts and prayers for his family…

Randall

photo:  Polk County Sheriff’s Office

 

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NavElite Trekker H Wrist Worn Compass Review

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Randall

I remember a hostage rescue simulation, calendars past, that involved a rural house surrounded by very heavy woods.  I was an ATL then.  A sniper and I were tasked by the team leader with clandestinely scouting the location, staging the outer perimeter, and finding the best ingress to the target for the assault element.  We kind of got disorie…un-uhhh…lost.  Thankfully, it was just a training scenario.  NavElite currently produces a compass that I would certainly recommend to active guys in SWAT.

Wearing a wrist-mounted direction finder that has backlighting can be a huge advantage in tactical operations.  Yeah, you could fool around with a flashlight and hand held lensatic compass, but being able to get a heading at a glance while holding a rifle, or a shield and pistol, or while carrying equipment, is safer and much more efficient.

NavElite LLC is a Florida company that has brought the design savvy of two Special Operations soldiers to the world of navigational instruments.  The two soldiers, Caroll and Andy, found that there was a need for a wrist worn backlit magnetic compass, which did not exist in the marketplace.

At the time that Carroll and Andy were conducting “business” in Afghanistan, post 9/11, digital wristwatch Continue reading →

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Keep Your Heads Down

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Randall

The manhunt for the Boston Marathon bombers is underway.  An MIT officer is dead and an MBTA officer was seriously wounded.  This is one of several all out manhunts that have occurred already this year.  The Boston bombers had thrown explosives at the officers overnight.  I texted an old friend at MBTA Police and he said his guy was in pretty serious condition.  Thoughts and prayers to our brothers up North…

Update:  Second suspect in custody.  MBTA Ofc. Donohue critical, but now stable.

 

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Poor Judgment Leads to Police Sergeant’s Firing

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Randall

This is a sample of the target that Sgt. Ron King of the Port Canaveral, FL Police Department wanted to use as a “training aid” during an April 2nd department firearms training.  He was fired on Friday.  The text of his explanation, which was posted on YouTube, is below.  King’s version doesn’t quite jibe when you actually see the target.  Skittles and an Arizona Iced Tea?  With a crosshair reticle?  Come on…

Randall

 “Good Evening, my name is Ron King and I am the focus of some recent media attention based on lies, false information and political agendas.

“First, you’ll have to excuse me if I refer to my computer here for some of my notes. There are a lot of thoughts that I want to get out and its just way too many to try to memorize.

“I would like to start my statement by first apologizing to the family of Trayvon Martin for being used as a pawn in somebody’s political agenda. Additionally, I would like to apologize to my fellow law enforcement officers for any negative light that this has come from this incident.

“I remain a professional law enforcement officer and a professional fire arms instructor. I refuse to sit by while others use the Martin family and myself as a way to further their own political career agendas. The events that took place on April Second are as follows:

“I have been a law enforcement officer for over 25 years and Continue reading →

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Selecting FTOs

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Randall

I am an FTO sergeant on my squad.  Today was the selection process for new field training officers.  A letter of intent, resume, supervisors’ recommendations, and performance evaluations were previously submitted by the candidates.  Interviews were then conducted by a panel of command officers and supervisors.

The dozen candidates acquitted themselves well.  I was impressed with the applicants’ knowledge of our program, which is based upon the San Jose model.  During the interview, most articulated a strong desire to teach and explained the importance of adapting their style to the particular recruit’s learning needs.

This is a far cry from the attitudes of FTO’s a few decades ago.  Years back, a command officer on today’s board was one of the three FTO’s, of which I was a member, who were collectively known as “The Hammer, Anvil, and Sickle.”  The third member was my current partner-sergeant on the weekend shift.  We were given many of the department’s make-or-break training cases.

None of our little trio had any problem with canning a recruit to protect his or her life, our citizens, the other officers Continue reading →

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Surviving to Twenty-Five Part Two

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Randall

In the first part of Surviving to Twenty-Five, I yapped a bit about safety and diet and exercise.  Another part of long-term officer survival is in the work arena.  Over the years, I have collected a few tips for getting your career off to a good beginning.

If you just had those patches sewn on your uniform shirts, the best tactic for you on the job is to keep your eyes and ears open and your mouth closed, except to ask questions.  And, contrary to cliché, there is such a thing as a dumb question.  It’s the one you have already asked more than once.

Ours is a profession devoted to interpersonal communication, verbal and non-verbal. Command presence is a requirement.  Choosing the right words to convey orders to, or request information from, your customers can be difficult in the rookie years.  I have this suggestion for younger officers:  Don’t say things you wouldn’t say with the Chief of Police standing right next to you.  Simple, yes?

Now, when the fight is on, I’m certainly not going to gig a guy for using colorful language.  But if you are regularly dropping f-bombs on citizens Continue reading →

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Legendary Miami-Dade Medical Examiner Passes Away

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Randall

Dr. Joseph Davis, 88, died on March 19, 2013.  He was a giant in the field of forensic pathology.  In 1956, Dr. Davis and Dr. Stanley Durlacher opened the first Medical Examiner’s office in Metro-Dade County.  Shortly thereafter, Dr. Davis became the Chief Medical Examiner, a post which he held from 1957 to 1996 and again in 2000-2001.

Dr. Davis is credited with pioneering modern death investigation, strongly influencing public safety legislation, and training hundreds of medical examiners in the science worldwide.  Under Dr. Davis’ guidance, the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner Department crafted their lauded Police MedicoLegal Investigation of Death Course.  The 40 hour seminar, a.k.a. Homicide School, is attended by homicide investigators, prosecutors, and medical examiners from all over the globe.

I was fortunate to have attended Police MedicoLegal Investigation of Death in 2003. Current Miami-Dade Chief Medical Examiner Bruce Hyma, Davis’ protege, and his staff gave nothing but high praise for Dr. Davis’ breadth of knowledge and his ability to impart it.  Police MedicoLegal Investigation of Death is a course frequently seen on medical examiners’ résumés.

Dr. Davis, who is said to have personally performed over 10,000 autopsies in his career, played investigative roles in reviews of the deaths of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Elvis Presley.  During the 1980’s drug violence in Dade County, Davis’ office investigated over 600 homicides per year.  His office also handled the grim crashes of Eastern Airlines Flight 401, and later, ValuJet Flight 592 in the Everglades.

From humble beginnings in a formal funeral home in 1956, the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner Department now has an extensive campus aptly named the Dr. Joseph H. Davis Center for Forensic Pathology.

Dr. Davis passed away peacefully in Tallahassee, Florida.

Randall

photo:  Dignity Memorial
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SCCY CPX-2 Pistol Review

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Randall

One of my buddies loaned his Ruger LCR to a co-worker for off-duty carry.  The co-worker is a newer cop and she was short on funds after having a baby.  It got me thinking that not everyone in the squad room can afford an expensive back-up piece.  Introducing:  SCCY Industries.

SCCY Industries, LLC (pronounced “Sky”) makes handguns in Daytona Beach, Florida.  After handling their Generation 2 CPX-1 and CPX-2’s at SHOT Show, I was impressed with the design and quality control of their 9mm polymer pistols.  Fit and finish was above average, especially if you factored in the MSRP:  $319.00 for the CPX-1 and $299.00 for the CPX-2!  It elicited a “Wow!” and a “Hmmmm…” at the same time.

Since SCCY did not have a range booth at Media Day, I would have to find another way to road test one of their pistols.  After a few phone calls, I got one shipped to my local gun store.  When I opened the SCCY box, I was shocked.  Not only was the little 9mm pistol nestled in there, the CPX-2 came with two magazines, two finger extension mag bases, and two flat mag bases.  There was also a very nice spring loaded trigger lock and keys.

A little company history here—SCCY was started by Joe Roebuck, a 35-year tool and die maker and mechanical design engineer.  In 2003, Roebuck founded Continue reading →

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Surviving to Twenty-Five

Posted on March 31, 2013 by Randall

Several months ago, I crested the 25-year mark as a sworn police officer.  More recently, I turned 50.  I had some thoughts about surviving a law enforcement career for a quarter of a century that I would like to share.

I will get this one out of the way right off.  Continue your officer safety training and mindset throughout your whole career, regardless of your job description.  Everything else on which I will comment has no bearing if you do not live to fight another day.  Always be aware of your surroundings and think tactically on and off duty.  What would I do if X, Y, or Z happened right now?  Be ready to take active measures.  Wear your vest.  Always.

In addition, all police officers need to maintain their own best level of martial preparedness, whether it is in defensive tactics, intermediate weapons, or firearms.  Take responsibility for your own readiness.  If your agency does not provide what you feel is adequate training and practice, then get some for yourself.  It is your life.  You save it.

Okay, now you are in it for the long haul.  I have observed that a commitment to physical fitness over decades takes patience and self-discipline.  There is no easy road to Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Medical, Misc., Off Duty, Officer Safety | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

SCOTUS Rules K9 Sniff of Home is an Illegal Search

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Randall

Miami-Dade Police K9 Franky

In a move I think we all saw coming, the Supreme Court of the United States held that a K9 sniff to the exterior of a house constitutes a warrantless search and as such is a violation of the Fourth Amendment in Joelis Jardines v. State of Florida (SC08-2101).  As I had written in my earlier article, the interesting argument posed by the State of Florida in this case was that the sniff of the K9 dog detects only illegal substances, not the legal activities of an ordinary citizen.  It also does not “illuminate” the residence to public examination, as would a search of the residence.

SCOTUS addressed the State’s argument that “investigation by a forensic narcotics dog by definition cannot implicate any legitimate privacy interest.”  By way of analogy, they cited their review, last Term, of the GPS tracking case in United States vs. Antoine Jones (10-1259), which discussed Fourth Amendment rights in a public setting.

Unmoved by the State’s assertions, the Justices ruled 5-4 that, “The government’s use of trained police dogs to investigate the home and its immediate surroundings is a “search” within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment.  The judgment of the Supreme Court of Florida is therefore affirmed.”

Again, for those of us who have handled narcotics detector dogs, this ruling was not a surprise.  All the K9 drug schools I have attended reviewed case law and taught that this type of deployment is an illegal search.  How Miami-Dade did this and then found a state attorney to support and a  judge to sign a search warrant for the home is beyond me.

Okay, everybody, back to business…

Randall

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Kel-Tec KSG Bullpup Shotgun Review

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Randall

Finally!  I waited two whole years from SHOT Show 2011 to SHOT 2013 to fire a Kel-Tec KSG bullpup shotgun.  I really wanted to mount it on my shoulder to check out its maneuverability for room clearing.  I wanted to test its ergonomics and controls.  Mostly, I wanted to stack up with the boys and run a shoot house while wielding this particular shorty shotty.  Well, at least I did get to fire the doggone thing.

Cocoa, Florida’s Kel-Tec CNC debuted the KSG (Kel-Tec Shotgun) to the press two years ago.  Since then, the KSG’s have been a little hard to come by–much like the KT RFB, which the KSG mimics in shape and materials.

Out at the range, I got a short ground school from the Kel-Tec rep who said it was soooo cold he might have loaded his right thumb instead of a 2 3/4 shell about four reporters ago.  Hmmm, they are ’bout the same diameter…

With the dual bomb bays full of ordinance, I lined up for “Rolling Thunder.”  I had snapped the 12 ga. rounds into both 7 round tubular magazines.  Since I am used to stoking a Remington 870 from Continue reading →

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OIS

Posted on March 23, 2013 by Randall

I was the supervisor on scene when a gunfight broke out between the suspect and an officer at a wanted subject call two nights ago.  All the officers reacted appropriately and the incident eventually came to a successful conclusion.  I was proud of our troops and of the troops from the two assisting agencies that responded to help.

Following the volley of gunshots (and after ducking), I had been moving some of our guys around on the perimeter, adjusting fields of fire, when I asked one of the officers to take up a position further east.  He was proned out behind a tree with his AR.  As he went to get up, the effects of aging and his many, many years in the K9 Unit showed.  There was grunting and creaking.  I laughed a little and whispered that we were “getting too old for this shit.”  It later dawned on me how true that was.

Just shy of twenty years ago, I was the K9 handler on a scene and he was following me as my back-up on the track of a suspect who had just shot a police officer to death on that horrific call…  Wow.  Twenty Years Ago.  We are getting too old for this shit.

Randall

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