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Newsletter for December 2004 Inside this issue: Police Briefing Shows Reality of Rape “While tactics have to change with technology, strategy is as old as dirt.” Louis Awerbuck Police Briefing Shows Reality of Rape One of our friends in the law enforcement business sent a copy of a real briefing about an attempted rape in his jurisdiction (we’ve changed the address and name): CENTRAL: Attempt Rape XX04-23330 On November 24, 2004 at approximately 1910 hours, an unknown male black (S1) entered the unsecured rear yard area at [house number] E. [street number] Street and punched [victim name changed to V1] two times hitting her in the face and knocking her to the ground. S1 physically dragged V1 across the rear yard and out onto the driveway/parking area where he forcefully removed V1’s pants and underwear while trying to position himself behind her. V1 was able to crawl underneath a parked vehicle and was yelling for help. S1 fled the area on foot in an unknown direction. V1's family heard the commotion outside and came to assist her. A canine track was conducted which met with negative results. ONLY DESCRIPTION IS A LARGE BLACK MALE. NEIGHBORHOOD CHECK NEGATIVE. This report is interesting and educational for several reasons:
Congratulations to the defender who did everything right in defeating a savage attack! Too bad our friend and his fellow officers could not catch this slime ball. Unfortunately, he will probably attack again. Please help us get the word out to as many females as you can. If you want to schedule Rape Escape classes for your group, check out the certified instructor nearest you. Or if you are interested in becoming a Rape Escape instructor, stay tuned to the Women’s Self-Defense Institute page at www.rapeescape.com for upcoming course schedule information.
Think M&M in a Gunfight
“In an unscientific review of shooting incidents involving police officers, I have noted that when an officer is confronted at close distance by an armed suspect and the officer turns to run, the attacker shoots him. Obviously, for the police instinct needs to be overcome with discipline and training. “You need, as Clint Smith of Thunder Ranch fame is fond of saying, to ‘M&M’. Minimize yourself as a target and maximize the distance from the threat. You minimize yourself as a target by getting behind cover, and you maximize the distance by opening ground between you and the threat.” Chris Pollack Pistons-Pacers Fight Has Implications for Staff, Fans, Players The recent fight between players from the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers and the fans is already having interesting implications for staff, fans and players. Although the players blame the fans for starting it and the fans blame the players for overreacting, everybody is asking, “Where was security?” Some initial findings of the incident show that the fan who threw the beer was sitting in a seat for which he did not have a ticket. It has been announced that he was a season ticket holder, but evidently had managed to move to a seat closer to the floor. Another season ticket holder may face criminal charges for throwing a chair during the melee. It has been rumored that the arena’s security procedure had security personnel moving to the arena exits during the last two minutes of the game instead of manning areas around the floor and the player’s tunnel. “This is not just an NBA issue,” says Gary Stevenson. “Every sport needs to look hard at the relationship between its fans and its players. This was a horrific thing, but it does give every league an opportunity to start with a black canvas and really address that issue, along with security and fan behavior concerns.” Look for the following changes at upcoming sporting events:
Ugly sports incidents nothing new The Associated Press Nov. 19, 2004 — One of the worst brawls in U.S. sports history took place near the end of the Indiana Pacers-Detroit Pistons game. Fans and players threw punches; spectators tossed a chair, beer, ice and popcorn. Four players — Ron Artest, Jermaine O'Neal, Stephen Jackson and Ben Wallace — were suspended indefinitely by the NBA for a fracas commissioner David Stern called "shocking, repulsive and inexcusable." Sept. 13, 2004 — Texas Rangers pitcher Frank Francisco threw a chair that hit a woman in the stands and broke her nose. April 19, 2003 — An Oakland Athletics fan threw a cell phone at Texas Rangers outfielder Carl Everett. April 15, 2003 — A man came out of the stands and grabbed umpire Laz Diaz around the legs during a game between the Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals. Sept. 19, 2002 — A father and son burst onto the field at Chicago's Comiskey Park and slammed Kansas City Royals first-base coach Tom Gamboa to the ground, punching and kicking him. Dec. 16, 2001 — Bottles thrown by Cleveland Browns fans hit players on both teams and other people in the stands. Most of the hundreds of bottles were plastic but many were filled with beer. March 29, 2001 — Tie Domi of the Toronto Maple Leafs wrestled with a fan in the penalty box in Philadelphia after Domi twice poured water on taunting spectators. The fan lunged against the glass and threw a punch at Domi that didn't connect. A glass panel separating the two collapsed, and the fan was pulled into the box by Domi. May 16, 2000 — A fight involving Los Angeles Dodgers players and Chicago Cubs fans at Wrigley Field began when a spectator grabbed the hat of Dodgers backup catcher Chad Kreuter in the bullpen. Kreuter went into the stands and several Dodgers followed, trading punches with fans. Suspensions for 16 players and three coaches totaled 76 games. Seven of the suspensions were overturned on appeal. Nov. 24, 1999 — Oakland Raiders were pelted with snowballs, some spiked with batteries, at Denver's Mile High Stadium. Charles Woodson allegedly threw a snowball that struck a female fan in the face, and Lincoln Kennedy went after a fan who hit him in the face with a snowball. Oct. 3, 1999 — A metal object thrown from the stands at Mile High Stadium in Denver hit Broncos cornerback Dale Carter in the cheek, causing blurred vision and a bruise. Sept. 24, 1999 — A fan attacked Houston right fielder Bill Spiers in Milwaukee. Spiers ended up with a welt under his left eye, a bloody nose and whiplash. Dec. 23, 1995 — Fans at Giants Stadium hurled dozens of snowballs at the Chargers' sideline, interrupting a game between San Diego and New York. One snowball knocked San Diego equipment manager Sid Brooks unconscious. Sept. 28, 1995 — Cubs reliever Randy Myers was charged by a spectator who ran out of the stands at Wrigley Field. Myers saw the man coming, dropped his glove and knocked him down with his forearm. Feb. 6, 1995 — Vernon Maxwell entered the stands and punched a fan who heckled him during a game at Portland. He was suspended 10 games without pay and fined $20,000. He later settled out of court with the fan. Aug. 27, 1986 — California Angels first baseman Wally Joyner was hit in the arm by a knife thrown from the upper deck at Yankee Stadium but was unhurt. Dec. 23, 1979 — Boston Bruins forward Stan Jonathan was hit in the face by an object thrown by a fan, and right wing Terry O'Reilly was harassed by a stick-wielding fan at the end of a 4-3 victory at the New York Rangers. Several Boston players, including O'Reilly and Mike Milbury, went into the stands to fight with spectators. Milbury removed a shoe from a fan and beat him with it. July 12, 1979 — A radio DJ blew up disco records in the outfield at Comiskey Park, and a riot nearly ensued at "Disco Demolition Night" against the Detroit Tigers. Some of the 50,000 fans got into the park for 98 cents if they brought a record. They tossed them on the field, threw beers, cherry bombs and started fires. Game 2 of the doubleheader was called off. April 25, 1976 — Chicago center fielder Rick Monday took an American flag from two fans who tried to set it on fire in the outfield at Dodger Stadium during the fourth inning of the Cubs' 5-4, 10-inning loss to Los Angeles. June 4, 1974— Nickel Beer Night in Cleveland drew 25,134 fans but turned into a forfeit victory for the Texas Rangers. Players rushed off the field to escape flying beer bottles and drunken fans before the forfeit was called in the last of the ninth inning. April 2, 1969 — Toronto's Pat Quinn knocked out Boston Bruins great Bobby Orr with a vicious check during an NHL playoff game. A brawl broke out on the ice and in the stands, with Quinn leaving Boston Garden under a heavy police escort. Sept. 10, 1961 — Cleveland center fielder Jimmy Piersall was attacked by two fans who ran out of the right-field stands onto the field at Yankee Stadium during the seventh inning of the second game of a doubleheader. Piersall punched and kicked them before teammates and police came to his aid. Sept. 16, 1940 — After an argument at Ebbets Field, which resulted in a suspension for Dodgers manager Leo Durocher, a fan punched umpire George Magerkurth. Oct. 9, 1934 — After the Cardinals' Joe Medwick slid hard into Mickey Owen at third base for a triple during World Series Game 7 at Detroit, fans threw tomatoes at Medwick when he took his position in left field for the bottom of the inning. July 11, 1886 — Umpire George Bradley was hit by a beer mug during mayhem in the sixth inning of the second game of a doubleheader at Cincinnati. Hunters' Shootout: Was It Just Over a Tree Stand? An argument over a deer hunter's tree stand in Wisconsin erupted into a string of shootings which left six people dead and three others wounded. One 36-year-old man is apparently responsible for all of the shootings but it is uncertain as to how the confrontation over a deer stand escalated. Two hunters returning to their cabin during the opening weekend noticed a man in one of their tree stands. A confrontation and shooting followed – although it is unclear exactly what transpired. Both of the men were wounded and one radioed to a cabin of fellow hunters a quarter mile away. A total of six people who responded to the confrontation were killed. Three others were wounded. Early reports are that the hunters only had one gun among the hunters’ group and that the suspect was “chasing after them and killing them”. Some of the victims, which included a father and son, a teenage boy, and a woman, were shot more than once. Authorities found two bodies near each other and the others scattered over 100 yards. The suspect was arrested by a ranger after recognizing the deer license on his back given to police by a victim. Reasonable people would say, “All of this mayhem is over a deer tree stand?” That would be the reasonable response. However, fights, stabbings, strangulation, shootings and other murderous acts are committed over similar such trivial situations all the time – “he looked at me too long”, “he took my spot”, “he disrespected me”, etc., etc. We’ve talked about it in last month’s newsletter as well…the initial conflict escalates into a confrontation that continues to a full blown form of combat. You’re probably dealing with someone who is unreasonable, unstable and --more often than not -- on some sort of intoxicant. And don't think you can't play a part in this equation. You might find that your ego is continuing to escalate the situation to a point where you cannot back down – and he is not backing down. Trouble lies ahead in the most surprising of places. Do you have a plan for dealing with mounting escalation? Cyber Detective Fights Serial Criminals Computer scientists at DePaul University in Chicago have developed an artificial intelligence system that uses pattern-recognition software to find serial criminals in widely separated areas. The system, which was developed with input from Chicago Police detectives, takes various elements of crimes like type of weapon used, getaway vehicle, suspect description and the kind of crime and builds a profile. A neural network program then seeks out similar profiles or profiles with similar elements looking for matches. This kind of program could be used by law enforcement agencies throughout the country to catch serial criminals who have moved on to another jurisdiction. Computer System Seeks to Forecast Crime Along a similar vein, a team from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh is using statistical analysis to spot broad crime trends and predict when and where crime is likely to occur. This will allow agencies to intelligently shift resources during high crime times and to high crime areas. Using a huge database of six million crimes recorded over the last 10 years in Pittsburgh and Rochester, the computer system has predictably forecasted that there is an increase in crime immediately preceding the Christmas holidays. But the program has also revealed some interesting subtleties such as a spate of minor crimes like vandalism and trespassing in one area can be a predictable pre-indicator of more serious crimes to follow. This program can be seen as a more sophisticated upgrade to the old “put cops on dots” philosophy of tracking high crime areas and then putting your officers on those areas. Bait Car Nabs Thieves on Way Home from Anti-Crime Rally In Palm Beach County, a high-tech bait car designed to catch car thieves captured a group of juveniles who stole the car to get home from an anti-crime really sponsored by the police. “It was four juveniles, the youngest was nine years old,” said Detective Thomas Hagan of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Offfice. “They were doing burnouts in our bait car when we caught them. And they still had the handout information that we gave to kids [at the rally].” Modern Warriors Shoot Isosceles “If we need to rapidly fire an undetermined number of shots to a tight area, then we need a proven shooting technique for controlling the recoil of a service handgun. A well-documented method exists for achieving this objective: The modern Isosceles stance. The fastest and most accurate shooters in the world – Rob Leatham, Todd Jarrett and Jerry Barnhart – all use some variation of this stance, as do virtually all of the IPSC grandmasters. “The modern Isosceles is also the favorite stance of the hardcore warriors in DevGroup (SEAL Team 6) and U..S. Detachment Delta (Delta Force). “The modern Isosceles manages recoil instead of trying to out-muscle it. The support hand provides approximately two-thirds of the pressure in the two-handed grip, allowing the trigger finger to move without antagonistic muscle tension. The arms are at their natural extension and the body acts as a natural-action stance that provides the appropriate balance of mobility and stability.” Andy Stanford Shotgun vs. Carbine: Which is Your Best Self-Defense Choice? “Most encounters will probably occur at relatively short distances and involve homes, stores, streets or vehicles in some manner. Your adversary must be close enough for you to perceive him as a potentially deadly threat before the law permits you to respond with deadly force. This is something that seldom happens at extended distances, with deranged sniper incidents being a rare occurrence. The short ranges that such encounters take place in, combined with the need to identify your adversary as representing a legitimate threat to your life at that exact moment, require that you are able to quickly respond with accurate fire. “It is my opinion that law enforcement professionals and others interested in self-defense should possess the tools and skills necessary to quickly incapacitate adversaries at distances out to about 50 yards. “Granted, the tactical shotgun holds an edge on the tactical carbine at distances out to about 20 yards when dealing with multiple adversaries, but it does not possess the carbine’s ability to be deployed at longer ranges or in situations where precision shot placement is required. Furthermore, the shotgun is slow to reload and its ammunition is both heavy and bulky. Shotgun buckshot and slugs can be stopped by soft body armor, whereas a .223 or .30-caliber carbine projectile can be expected to easily defeat the same. In an urban/suburban environment, the carbine is the weapon of choice.” Steve Moses Forced to Kneel Increases Chances of Homicide “Most of the time, if you are threatened, you figure, ‘Well, he probably just wants _____.’ Fill in the blank and being very unwilling to use lethal force, you don’t resist, you go along. The problem is when you begin getting indicators as to the bad guy’s full intentions such as being herded into a walk-in freezer or in a worst-case scenario, being told to kneel down in a bathroom stall. Becoming part of the ‘freezer herd’ dramatically increases the odds of being killed, and kneeling down almost surely means you are going to die! At that point, of course, you do whatever you have to do to stay alive.” Walt Rauch Camera Phones and Identity Thefts Linked Craig Lanquist got a call from his credit card company concerning some transactions made on his debit card. The company needed to confirm he was in Spain. “I said, ‘No, I’m not in Spain, I’m in Rockford, Illinois.” Lanquist fell victim to an old twist to steal your card number with a new technology – the cell phone with an integral camera. It’s no secret that thieves get shoppers’ card numbers in a number of ways; looking over your shoulder, having a confederate use binoculars at the ATM, or by getting a copy of the carbons from a paper transaction. The thieves then watch you punch in your PIN code and it’s off to the races for them. Now the Better Business Bureau says cell phone cameras are being used to snap photos of unsuspecting shopper’s cards. To protect yourself from identity thieves this shopping season, follow these guidelines:
Go here if you want to access the newsletter archives.
Have a safe and sound holiday season.
Brad Parker, Defend University
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