PORAC Updates

Lieutenant Joe Gliniewicz was shot and killed while investigating suspicious activity.

At approximately 8:00 am Lieutenant Gliniewicz radioed his dispatcher that he was stopping to investigate three suspicious males that he observed near Route 12 and Sayton Road, in Fox Lake. Shortly thereafter he radioed in a foot pursuit. When backup officers arrived they found Lieutenant Gliniewicz mortally wounded. Read More

Re: “Pension double-cross” [Opinion, Aug. 24]: In Orange County, we are used to hearing about villains. Disneyland brings to life good and evil; we are all too familiar with diabolical acts portrayed onscreen by mischief-makers with underhanded intentions. Had I not known the facts, I might have seen your portrayal of California Attorney General Kamala Harris as a similar villainous tale. “Sabotage” and “bias” and “dismaying,” oh my. Harris must be out for blood with her title and summary of the so-called “Voter Empowerment Act.”

Your editorial blasted Harris for her biased approach to the title and summary of the initiative brought forth by former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and former San Diego Councilman Carl DeMaio. With statements backed up by none other than Reed and DeMaio themselves, your paper lambasted Harris for kowtowing to unions with her words. However, the facts show otherwise. I read the initiative and the Harris title and summary. I absolutely believe that in 100 words the Attorney General analyzed an accurate summation of the initiative. And I’m not alone in those beliefs. Read More

In response to your editorial of Aug. 13, “Attorney general’s ambition raises some doubts,” I question the motivation behind the writing. I am proud to have spent decades doing the tough but rewarding job of protecting the streets of Santa Cruz County and now caring for those who have lost loved ones. I’ve been a police officer and now a deputy for more years of my life than I haven’t. My entire community matters to me, and I’m proud to do my part to keep our neighborhoods safe.

I began my career because I wanted to provide for my family and have confidence that, when the time comes, I will have a modest retirement I can count on after a long and satisfying career.

Today, two career politicians with a bone to pick want to take that from those of us in law enforcement, firefighting, teaching or any other area of professional public service. Read More

Trooper James Bava was killed in a single vehicle crash at the intersection of Highway FF and County Road 977, in Audrain County, shortly before 8:30 am.

He was initiating a traffic stop of a motorcycle when his patrol car crashed.

Trooper Bava had served with the Missouri State Highway Patrol for two years and was assigned to Troop F. He is survived by his parents, two brothers, and three sisters. Read More

Trooper Chad Wolf was killed when his motorcycle was struck by a vehicle.

Trooper Wolf was on motorcycle patrol and traveling northbound in the right lane of Dixie Highway and crossing over southbound I-75 when a vehicle towing an empty trailer traveling in the left lane quickly changed lanes in an attempt to access the I-75 entrance ramp. As the vehicle changed lanes, it struck Trooper Wolf’s motorcycle. Trooper Wolf was dragged for several miles on I-75 before the driver pulled over at a rest area. Read More

Deputy Sheriff Darren Goforth was shot and killed from ambush while pumping gas into his patrol car at a commercial gas station at the intersection of West and Telge Roads, in Cypress.

Deputy Goforth was on patrol and had completed an assignment at the scene of a vehicle collision. He went to a local gas station to fuel his patrol car. As Deputy Goforth stood next to his patrol car filling it with fuel, a male subject walked up behind him and fired multiple shots. After Deputy Goforth fell to the ground, the subject shot him several more times before fleeing the scene in a pickup truck. Read More

Police Officer Henry Nelson was shot and killed at approximately 3:00 pm while responding to a domestic disturbance call where three women had been stabbed by a male subject at a home on Anna Street in Sunset. When Officer Nelson arrived the subject opened fire and fatally wounded him.

The subject fled the scene and crashed his vehicle into a nearby gas station where he barricaded himself for several hours. He was apprehended after a SWAT team made entry into the gas station. Read More

K9 Kojack and K9 Dingo both succumbed to heat exhaustion when the air conditioner in a vehicle failed.

Both canines were at the Baltimore City Detention Center to assist with the movement of inmates from that facility, which is being permanently closed, to other Maryland Division of Correction facilities. They had been placed in the vehicle while their handlers tended to other duties. Read More

K9 Dingo and K9 Kojack both succumbed to heat exhaustion when the air conditioner in a vehicle failed.

Both canines were at the Baltimore City Detention Center to assist with the movement of inmates from that facility, which is being permanently closed, to other Maryland Division of Correction facilities. They had been placed in the vehicle while their handlers tended to other duties. Read More

Sergeant Peggy Vassallo was struck and killed by a vehicle while rendering aid to another driver after being involved in an accident shortly before 8:00 am.

Sergeant Vassallo, who was in full uniform, was en route to work when she was involved in a two vehicle crash at the intersection of Lindbergh Blvd and Old Jamestown Rd, in St. Louis County. The other driver was complaining of neck pain, prompting Sergeant Vassallo to contact dispatchers to request medical assistance. Read More

Deputy Sheriff Delton Daniels died as a result of injuries sustained in an automobile crash 11 days earlier. Deputy Daniels is the first law enforcement fatality from the State of South Carolina in 2015. Read More

PORAC continues to be the voice of law enforcement in the news media. There is no other organization that reporters turn to more often than PORAC when they are in need of a public safety perspective. Our outreach has been varied throughout the state, and we tackle issues covering a broad scope. In recent months, PORAC leadership and advocates have been published in papers from Ventura to Santa Cruz to Sacramento on issues ranging from pensions to endorsements to Proposition 47. Read More

The world of news media is fluid. How news is reported and shared is constantly changing, and the incidents in South Carolina and San Bernardino can be seen by millions within hours. Twitter and Facebook have created real-time news at a speed that was never thought possible. Reading the morning newspaper to rehash yesterday’s news is out, and following reporters on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Reddit is in. Read More