Pennsylvania Senate Votes to Ban Abortions in Down Syndrome Cases

By Steve Bittenbender |

The Center Square

HARRISBURG, PA–The Pennsylvania Senate on Wednesday voted, 27-22, to advance legislation that would ban abortions in cases where a fetus has been diagnosed with Down syndrome in spite of a promised veto from Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf.

Caused by the presence of an extra chromosome, Down syndrome causes intellectual disabilities and delayed physical development. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly 6,000 babies are born with some type of the condition each year.

“It just seems to me that the genesis of the bill is just about a fundamental right to be born,” said state Sen. Judy Ward, R-Hollidaysburg, when the legislation, House Bill 321, was considered Monday by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. “And that’s what I see as just a fundamental right.”

Pennsylvania state Sen. Judy Ward speaks Sept. 11, 2019, during a hearing of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee. Image courtesy of the Pennsylvania Senate

While Republicans wholeheartedly supported the measure, Democrats, such as state Sen. Judy Schwank, D-Reading, opposed the bill as an attempt to restrict women’s rights.

“I don’t think legislators, government period, has a role to play in the relationship between a mother and a doctor and her family or whoever else she wishes to consult with,” Schwank told state Rep. Kate Klunk, R-Hanover, the bill’s sponsor, during Monday’s hearing. “I just find this really troubling.”

Klunk added that her bill does grant exceptions for pregnancies created through acts of rape or incest and for instances when the pregnancy puts a mother’s health at risk.

The bill faces opposition from reproductive rights groups, such as Planned Parenthood. Another group, the Women’s Law Project, said in a tweet that the bill targets families dealing with complicated pregnancies and deprives people of their constitutional rights.

“The bill’s supporters pretend it is designed to protect people with disabilities, but in reality it merely seeks to force doctors to police patients’ reasons for exercising their constitutional right to abortion if such a decision is considered in the wake of a prenatal diagnosis,” the Women’s Law Project said Monday in a statement on its website. “It is simply more political interference into the exam room.”

Anti-abortion advocates hailed the bill, saying women are often urged to terminate such pregnancies.

“[The legislation] sends a compassionate message to Pennsylvania communities that no human being should be targeted for death by abortion because of a disability,” Michael Geer, president of the Pennsylvania Family Institute, said in a statement.

Wolf spokesman J.J. Abbott reiterated the governor\’s veto promise shortly after the vote Wednesday evening, noting that Wolf \”has said repeatedly, he will veto any bill, including House Bill 321, that seeks to limit health care choices for women and politicize difficult moments for vulnerable families.\”

posted here with permission

The Center Square

Active-Shooter Drills in Schools May Do More Harm Than Good, Says Rutgers–Camden Nursing Scholar

CAMDEN CITY, NJ (Nov. 22, 2019)–– Active-shooter drills in schools expose students to frighteningly realistic scenarios with masked intruders and loud gunfire sounds. They also may be doing more harm than good, says a Rutgers University–Camden nursing scholar who urges school and law enforcement officials alike to include school nurses in their plans to prepare for violent situations.

Robin Cogan

, a lecturer in the

Rutgers School of Nursing‒Camden

and lead author of an article published in Current Trauma Reports, says school nurses are ideally positioned to work with other medical professionals, law enforcement, and government officials who are committed to public health approaches to prevent mass shootings.

In the article, titled “School Nurses Share Their Voices, Trauma, and Solutions by Sounding the Alarm on Gun Violence,” Cogan and her co-authors say school nurses know of the acute need for evidence-supported, school-based mental health services. Based on those metrics, active-shooter drills may not be achieving their desired outcomes.

Since World War I, schools have been holding safety drills, fire drills, and natural disaster drills, but Cogan says today’s active-shooter drills can expose students and staff to frighteningly realistic scenarios.

Cogan says there is no evidence to show that the drills are effective in preparing students, teachers, and administrators to deal with gun violence in schools.

“While the incidence of school shootings is rare, now more than 95 percent of schools across the country have active-shooter drills,” says Cogan, who also works as a school nurse in Camden. “We do not prepare our students for fire drills by making them walk through smoke and debris-filled hallways.”

Cogan worries about the impact that the drills have on the psychological development of young children, and the effect the drills have on school nurses.

In the article, the authors share concerns from school nurses who have participated in active-shooter drills. One nurse reports that her heart sank the day she was in her office when she heard the sounds of gunshots from the school’s loudspeaker. She did not know if it was an unannounced lockdown drill or if there was an active shooter in the building. Instinctively, she locked her office door, closed the blinds, and hid in a corner. After she found out it was just a drill and the gunfire sounds were from an app used by the person running the drill, she did not understand the need to endure the fear and concern for herself and everyone in the building.

“Our brains cannot always differentiate when an incident is real or just a drill,” says Cogan, who adds that there is no evidence that even some of the most recognized programs – including Alert Lockdown Inform Counter Evacuate (ALICE), which uses a run, hide, fight options framework – are effective in preventing injuries.

Among the problems Cogan sees with the programs are that they are not evidence-based and do not consider the students’ ages and developmental stages, if they have special health care needs, or if they have learning challenges.

“These are reactive measures and are not taking into consideration the need for preventative programs to create a culture of kindness, acceptance, and safety in schools,” says Cogan. “Money is being spent on hardening schools instead of softening them.”

Cogan and her co-authors suggest a better approach to preventing violence: a multistrategy, multidisciplinary approach that takes into consideration student and faculty development, and mental and emotional health. They authors say investing in a nurse workforce in the school “would transform fear into courage and anticipation into action by implementing student-focused strategies rooted in prevention.”

The Rutgers–Camden educator says that an emergency preparedness program such as Stop the Bleed, a national awareness program launched by the White House in 2015, may be effective in saving lives. The program encourages bystanders to be trained to help stop bleeding victims in an emergency before medical professionals arrive.

The Sandy Hook Promise organization offers programs that encourage relationship building, which Cogan says could help to prevent violence. She says initiatives that focus on safe gun storage to keep guns out of the hands of students and offering gun locks to families on Back to School Night activities could also be effective.

Cogan’s own family experience motivates her to work to prevent gun violence. In 1949, her father was 12 years old when he hid in a closet in his family’s Camden home while a deranged neighbor went on a shooting rampage, killing Cogan’s grandmother, grandfather, and great-grandmother, and 10 other people in the city. Nearly 70 years later, Cogan’s 17-year-old niece hid in a Parkland, Fla., high school closet with her teacher and other students in 2018, when a gunman opened fire at the school. Fourteen students and three teachers died, and 17 students were injured.

“My decision to use my position as a school nurse to fight against gun violence came from a promise I made to my sister and niece in the aftermath of the Parkland shootings,” says Cogan. “Prevention of firearm violence belongs in the health care arena and requires funding for research as any public health issue has been afforded.”

The article, “School Nurses Share Their Voices, Trauma, and Solutions by Sounding the Alarm on Gun Violence,” is co-authored by

Donna Nickitas

, dean of the Rutgers School of Nursing–Camden, Donna Mazyck of the National Association of School Nurses, and Sunny Hallowell of Villanova University

FORMER MILLVILLE POLICE OFFICER PLEADS GUILTY TO FELONY CHARGES

TRENTON

– Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced that a former Millville police officer pleaded guilty today to felony charges related to two separate incidents in which he used excessive force against women during arrests.

Joseph Dixon, 28, of Millville, N.J., pleaded guilty today to an accusation charging him with two counts of third-degree aggravated assault before Superior Court Judge Robert Malestein in Cumberland County. Under the plea agreement, the state will recommend that Dixon be sentenced to 364 days in the county jail and a term of probation. Dixon will be permanently barred from law enforcement and other public employment in New Jersey. He recently resigned from the Millville Police Department. Dixon is scheduled to be sentenced on January 17, 2020.

Deputy Attorney General Brian Uzdavinis took the guilty plea for the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA), which conducted a comprehensive investigation of Dixon’s use of force record while employed as a police officer in Millville.

In pleading guilty, Dixon admitted that he purposely, knowingly, or recklessly with extreme indifference to the value of human life attempted to cause or caused significant bodily injury to two women by using excessive force when arresting them during separate incidents in 2018. One of the women suffered seven broken ribs.

“These guilty pleas reflect our resolve to ensure that law enforcement officers are held accountable if they use violent force against civilians without justification,” said Attorney General Grewal. “When officers use force that has no reasonable relationship to any resistance or threat they face, as Dixon did, they not only injure and traumatize those involved, they do a tremendous disservice to all of their fellow officers who uphold the highest law enforcement standards and work hard to secure the trust of the communities they serve.”

“One of the missions of the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability is to investigate alleged crimes and civil rights violations by law enforcement officers,” said OPIA Director Thomas Eicher. “Nobody is above the law, and if we have sufficient proof that an officer has committed a crime, we will prosecute that officer as we would any other individual. This former officer will rightly carry a felony record for the rest of his life.”

The incidents that led to the charges against Dixon occurred in early 2018. One incident occurred on Feb. 25, 2018, when Dixon arrested a woman for driving while intoxicated on West Main Street in Millville. When the woman repeatedly asked to call her husband and twice turned to face Dixon as he tried to handcuff her, Dixon grabbed the woman around the neck, flipped her over his extended leg, and threw her to the ground. He then dropped on top of her to handcuff her. Afterward, Dixon ignored the woman’s repeated pleas that he had broken her ribs, that she could not breathe, and that she needed to go to the hospital. Instead, Dixon told her that if she could talk, she could breathe, and he drove her to the police station for breath testing and processing. Dixon failed to note that the woman complained of broken ribs in his investigative report, and he indicated in his use-of-force report that no injuries occurred. In fact, the woman suffered seven broken ribs, one of which had to be removed.

A month later, on March 24, 2018, Dixon responded to a shoplifting call involving a juvenile male at a local supermarket. During the call, the shoplifter’s mother became argumentative because she could not produce the identification requested for officers to release her child to her custody. Dixon told her that she was under arrest. When the woman backed away from Dixon, he grabbed her upper body with both arms, flipped her over, and slammed her down on the floor. He then dropped on top of her and used pepper spray on her while handcuffing her, despite the immediate presence of dozens of people of varying ages, many of whom reacted to the spray. Dixon took the woman to the police station for processing, but relatives called for an ambulance and she was taken to the hospital as soon as she arrived at the police station. The woman suffered a bruised hip and burning eyes from the pepper spray.

The Attorney General’s Office would like to thank the Prosecutor Jennifer Webb McRae and the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office for its assistance in the investigation.

Attorney General Grewal created the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability in September 2018 to combat official misconduct and strengthen public confidence in government institutions and law enforcement. OPIA has a toll-free Tipline 1-844-OPIA-TIPS for the public to report official misconduct and crimes involving government employees.

The AG’s Office has an Anti-Corruption Reward Program that offers a reward of up to $25,000 for tips leading to a conviction for a crime involving public corruption. Information is posted at:

http://nj.gov/oag/corruption/reward.html

Defense Attorney: Andrew Butchko, Esq., Helmer, Conley & Kasselman, P.A., Somers Point, N.J.

FBI Investigating Pennsylvania Gov. Wolf over Pipeline Permits

By Dave Lemery |

The Center Square

The administration of Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is under investigation by federal authorities over the process that led to the issuing of permits for the Mariner East pipeline project, The Associated Press is reporting.

Gloucester City News blog files

According to the AP

, citing three sources with knowledge of the FBI’s investigation, the corruption probe is looking into whether Wolf, a second-term Democrat, or anyone in his administration used political pressure to override the concerns of the state’s environmental agency and get the permits issued.

The FBI is also looking into whether Wolf or anyone in his administration received anything in return for getting the pipeline approved, the AP reported.

The pipeline in question transports natural gas in liquid across the state. Some environmentalists and a number of Democratic lawmakers, including state Sen. Andy Dinniman, have argued that the companies behind the pipeline have done shoddy work, polluting waterways and damaging home values in the areas where the pipelines travel through, and that the permits should not have been issued.

Wolf has thus far opted not to comment on the news of the investigation.

“From the very beginning and many times along the way, we have raised serious questions about the permitting process of the Mariner East pipeline project,” Dinniman said in a statement in response to word of the FBI probe. “I hope that this development sheds a bright light on those questions and more.”

While national Democrats, including U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren,

have come out strongly against hydraulic fracturing

, or “fracking,” in their presidential campaigns, Wolf has instead banked on the practice as a source of revenue for the state. Given Pennsylvania’s status as one of the top natural-gas producing states, Wolf has repeatedly proposed the introduction of a severance tax on natural gas production.

After years of budget negotiations with the Republican-controlled Legislature failed to produce an agreement on a severance tax – which would sit on top of the existing impact fee that produces

hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue

for the state each year – Wolf

this year proposed

a package of infrastructure projects under the “Restore Pennsylvania” umbrella. The projects would be funded by issuing $4.5 billion in bonds and then paying off those bonds with the proceeds of a severance tax.

published here with permission

The Center Square

Senator Booker\’s Marijuana Provisions Pass House Judiciary Committee

<div class=\”entry-body\”>






2017 Booker bill provided framework for MORE Act









WASHINGTON, D.C. –

Three key


marijuana provisions designed to reverse decades of failed drug policy and first introduced by


U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) passed the House Judiciary
<a class=\”asset-img-link\” href=\”https://www.gloucestercitynews.net/.a/6a00d8341bf7d953ef0240a4edabd2200b-popup\” onclick=\”window.open( this.href, \’_blank\’, \’width=640,height=480,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0\’ ); return false\” style=\”float: left;\”>
<img alt=\”Election\” class=\”asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d8341bf7d953ef0240a4edabd2200b img-responsive\” src=\”https://www.gloucestercitynews.net/.a/6a00d8341bf7d953ef0240a4edabd2200b-350wi\” style=\”width: 350px; margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px;\” title=\”Election\”/>
</a>
Committee today: record expungement, reinvestment in the communities most harmed by the War on Drugs, and removing marijuana from the list of deportable offenses.




Booker’s

<a data-reader-unique-id=\”14\” data-saferedirecturl=\”https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.booker.senate.gov/?p%3Dpress_release%26id%3D638&source=gmail&ust=1574379911540000&usg=AFQjCNGJRwNjcjWOsD7PhTRs8-Q0gLNZiw\” href=\”https://www.booker.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=638\”>
Marijuana Justice Act
</a>

, originally introduced in 2017, was the first congressional bill to incorporate record expungement and community reinvestment with marijuana legalization. This legislation along with a
<a data-reader-unique-id=\”15\” data-saferedirecturl=\”https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.booker.senate.gov/?p%3Dpress_release%26id%3D949&source=gmail&ust=1574379911540000&usg=AFQjCNGeywg7yfYb9qo-dN3oU-M0NIUOYQ\” href=\”https://www.booker.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=949\”>
Booker provision
</a>
to remove marijuana from list of deportable offenses provided the framework for the

Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2019

(MORE) passed by the House today.




“This is a significant tipping point. The Committee passage of this bill is an important step towards reversing decades of failed drug policy that has disproportionately impacted communities of color and low-income individuals. These draconian laws have sacrificed critical resources, violated our values, destroyed families and communities, and failed to make us safer,”

Senator Booker said. “

This legislation continues us down the path towards justice and I’m excited to see momentum growing around the movement to fix our nation’s broken drug laws.”





Background on Booker’s leadership on issues of marijuana and criminal justice:





Booker has seen the effects of our broken marijuana laws first-hand, dating back to his time as a tenant lawyer, City Council member, and Mayor of Newark, where he created the city’s first office of prisoner re-entry to help formerly incarcerated individuals reintegrate into their communities. He is the author of the landmark
<a data-reader-unique-id=\”25\” data-saferedirecturl=\”https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.booker.senate.gov/?p%3Dpress_release%26id%3D638&source=gmail&ust=1574379911540000&usg=AFQjCNGJRwNjcjWOsD7PhTRs8-Q0gLNZiw\” href=\”https://www.booker.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=638\”>
Marijuana Justice Act
</a>
, which would end the federal prohibition on marijuana, automatically expunge the records of those convicted of federal marijuana use and possession crimes, and reinvest resources into the communities most impacted by the failed War on Drugs through a community fund. Since
<a data-reader-unique-id=\”26\” data-saferedirecturl=\”https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.forbes.com/sites/janetwburns/2017/08/01/marijuana-justice-act-would-end-weed-prohibition-throughout-the-land/%2370de8b4e68c0&source=gmail&ust=1574379911540000&usg=AFQjCNFVC_FpL2eRfSYo8o8CzWY7ou3OWQ\” href=\”https://www.forbes.com/sites/janetwburns/2017/08/01/marijuana-justice-act-would-end-weed-prohibition-throughout-the-land/#70de8b4e68c0\”>
introducing the bill in 2017
</a>
, Booker has garnered support from Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Michael Bennet (D-CO), and Ed Markey (D-MA).




In the Senate, Booker was an outspoken
<a data-reader-unique-id=\”29\” data-saferedirecturl=\”https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.booker.senate.gov/?p%3Dpress_release%26id%3D608&source=gmail&ust=1574379911540000&usg=AFQjCNEVZGNDbOO64zv7AoYxMpQgkIlzXQ\” href=\”https://www.booker.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=608\”>
critic of former Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ effort to revive the failed War on Drugs
</a>
. More recently, he pressed Attorney General William Barr on his stance on marijuana legalization and the rescission of the Cole memo, winning a
<a data-reader-unique-id=\”30\” data-saferedirecturl=\”https://www.google.com/url?q=https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/425466-barr-i-wouldnt-go-after-businesses-relying-on-obama-era-marijuana-policy&source=gmail&ust=1574379911540000&usg=AFQjCNGzyUUCS1Lgmx18SN_ylUjHfs3x1A\” href=\”https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/425466-barr-i-wouldnt-go-after-businesses-relying-on-obama-era-marijuana-policy\”>
commitment
</a>
from Barr to leave states alone that have legalized marijuana.




In addition to the Marijuana Justice Act, Booker is the co-author of the
<a data-reader-unique-id=\”33\” data-saferedirecturl=\”https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/medical-marijuana-bill-aims-to-fight-jeff-sessions-renewed-war-on-drugs-194046/&source=gmail&ust=1574379911540000&usg=AFQjCNGP4_jeW154TTjMWKbP4S_mjK-7TA\” href=\”https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/medical-marijuana-bill-aims-to-fight-jeff-sessions-renewed-war-on-drugs-194046/\”>
bipartisan CARERS Act
</a>
, which would allow patients to access medical marijuana in states where it’s legal without fear of federal prosecution, and the
<a data-reader-unique-id=\”34\” data-saferedirecturl=\”https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.booker.senate.gov/?p%3Dpress_release%26id%3D573&source=gmail&ust=1574379911540000&usg=AFQjCNEhz7LTWPnp2MS-5avnpgU-6FCGDg\” href=\”https://www.booker.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=573\”>
bipartisan REDEEM Act
</a>
, which would allow nonviolent drug offenders to petition a court to seal and expunge their drug offenses, while automatically sealing, and in some cases

<a href=\”https://www.kanialaw.com/tulsa-attorneys/criminal-defense/expungement-oklahoma-criminal-records\”>
expunging criminal records
</a>

, the nonviolent records of juveniles. These reforms would reduce a major barrier that formerly incarcerated individuals face when attempting to rejoin society. He is also a co-sponsor of the
<a data-reader-unique-id=\”35\” data-saferedirecturl=\”https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.booker.senate.gov/?p%3Dpress_release%26id%3D888&source=gmail&ust=1574379911540000&usg=AFQjCNEH29la8rembeFYblUStyvai3KYNQ\” href=\”https://www.booker.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=888\”>
Fair Chance Act
</a>
, which prohibits the federal government and federal contractors from asking about the criminal history of a job applicant prior to a conditional offer of employment. Earlier this year, the Fair Chance Act
<a data-reader-unique-id=\”36\” data-saferedirecturl=\”https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.booker.senate.gov/?p%3Dpress_release%26id%3D896&source=gmail&ust=1574379911540000&usg=AFQjCNETSQiLnlVwrMUCMOSTdRENFp5AHg\” href=\”https://www.booker.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=896\”>
passed
</a>
out of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and the House Oversight and Government and Reform Committee. In June, Booker
<a data-reader-unique-id=\”37\” data-saferedirecturl=\”https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.booker.senate.gov/?p%3Dpress_release%26id%3D949&source=gmail&ust=1574379911540000&usg=AFQjCNGeywg7yfYb9qo-dN3oU-M0NIUOYQ\” href=\”https://www.booker.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=949\”>
introduced
</a>
legislation to remove marijuana from list of deportable offenses.


</div>

Senator Booker\’s Marijuana Provisions Pass House Judiciary Committee

Camden County Prosecutor Concludes Use of Force by Police was Accidental in Camden City Shooting

CAMDEN CITY, NJ (Nov. 21, 2019)–The Camden County Prosecutor’s Office (“CCPO”) has completed its investigation into the use of force by an Investigator of the Camden

County Sheriff’s Department and has concluded that the use of force was accidental and not criminal. The CCPO determined that it is not necessary to present this matter to the Grand Jury because there were no material facts in dispute regarding the lawfulness of the use of force. The investigation was conducted in accordance with the Attorney General’s Independent Prosecutor Directive (July 28, 2015, Supplemental Law Enforcement Directive Regarding Uniform Statewide Procedures and Best Practices for Conducting Police Use of Force Investigations) (“Directive”). Pursuant to the Directive, the Attorney General’s Office conducted an independent review of the use of force and agreed with the CCPO’s determination that there were no material facts in dispute and that the actions of the Investigator in this case that led to the accidental discharge were justified. The Attorney General’s Office concurred with the CCPO’s conclusion to forego presentation of this matter to the Grand Jury.

The incident occurred on August 22, 2018, within a residence located on 2

Street, in the City of Camden. The Investigator accidentally discharged his department-issued handgun, while clearing a residence during the execution of a narcotics, no-knock, search warrant, resulting in a graze wound to the arm of a seventeen-year-old male. Upon entering the basement apartment, the Investigator encountered a male resident in the hallway. That resident refused to comply with the Investigator’s commands to get onto the ground and to stop moving toward the investigator and his team behind him. As a result, the Investigator unholstered his weapon to use the flashlight attached to the frame of his weapon, directly in front of the trigger guard. As the Investigator tried to flick the flashlight and momentarily distract the resident, he accidentally hit the trigger instead. The resident was not injured. However, his seventeen-year-old friend was behind him in the hallway, and his arm was grazed.

Personnel from the CCPO responded and conducted an investigation. Statements were taken from the Investigator, the resident, and the other officers present. During the course of the investigation, the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office complied with all portions of the Attorney General’s Law Enforcement Directive regarding uniform statewide procedures and best practices for conducting police use-of-force investigations. The investigation revealed that the discharge was accidental and that the Investigator’s actions were not criminal. Accordingly, no criminal charges are being filed against the Investigator with regard to this incident.

Following the investigation, the CCPO charged the resident with multiple counts of Possession of a Weapon, Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance, Distribution/Intent to Distribute a Controlled Dangerous Substance and Distribution/Intent to Distribute a Controlled Dangerous Substance within 500 feet of a Park.

All persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

The undisputed facts indicate the Investigator’s conduct was justifiable under the law, and taking all of the facts into account, all of the evidence supports the conclusion that the discharge was accidental. Accordingly, our investigation and review of all information failed to disclose sufficient evidence to prove an allegation of criminal conduct against the Investigator. This statement was prepared and disseminated to the public in accordance with §8 of the Directive.

Released Thursday, November 21, 2019

Delaware Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police arrest Harrington man for Unlawful Weapons Possession

DOVER (Nov. 19, 2019) – A DNREC Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police investigation ended on Nov. 17 with the arrest of a Harrington man for multiple charges of illegal possession of

firearms and ammunition.

Charles M. Bright Jr., 58, was charged with three total counts of possession, purchase, ownership, or control of a firearm or ammunition by a person prohibited. Bright was arraigned at Justice of the Peace Court 7 in Dover and released on his own recognizance, pending a future court appearance.

Upon completion of the investigation, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers approached the suspect while he was deer hunting and in possession of a .50-caliber CVA muzzleloader. In addition to the muzzleloader confiscated at the scene, a Ten Point crossbow, 20-gauge Remington shotgun, and numerous rounds of shotgun ammunition were seized from Bright’s residence.

Delaware law prohibits a person from owning or possessing any type of deadly weapon whose criminal history includes prior felony convictions; misdemeanor convictions associated with violent crimes, drug convictions, or mental conditions as defined under the law; or court-issued protection from abuse orders. Deadly weapons consist of all types of firearms, as well as ammunition and any type of bow to include compound, recurve, or crossbow.

Hacktivist Sentenced, Man Took Down Government Websites

For a few days in 2017, visitors to the websites for the city of Akron, Ohio, and its police department received error messages instead of the municipal webpages. A hacker had overwhelmed the sites with traffic.

City officials spent about four days in a game of whack-a-mole with the hacker, restoring the sites only to have them attacked again. In this type of attack, known as distributed denial of service (DDoS), bots or other computers overwhelm a single website with traffic until the site shuts down from lack of bandwidth. In addition to denying the public access to the websites, other city services were limited by the outage. After the initial four-day attack, hacking attempts directed at local and state government continued off and on for months.

The city quickly notified the FBI, which opened an investigation.

“When you have a persistent attacker going after a single site, the organizations have to spend a lot of time and effort handling it. There are also often effects on other systems besides the website,” said the special agent who investigated the case out of the FBI’s Cleveland Field Office.

This hacker was a “hacktivist” who liked to brag about his work, helping investigators quickly find him. James Robinson, then 32, posted screenshots of the sites he’d taken down and of the tools he had used. When questioned by investigators, Robinson admitted to these attacks and to several previous DDOS attacks on more prominent websites, such as the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, and the Department of the Treasury.

Robinson told investigators he had grudges against the city’s police department. He was also involved in a hacking group and participated in hacks directed by that group.

“He was very vocal about what he was doing. He wanted to bring attention to his opinions,” the agent said of the hacktivist.

With the availability of “stressor” sites online that will cheaply conduct a DDOS attack on your behalf, Robinson didn’t require any special technical skills to take down these sites. He was adept at using these tools.

“When you have a persistent attacker going after a single site, the organizations have to spend a lot of time and effort handling it.”

Special agent, FBI Cleveland

Robinson pleaded guilty to damaging protected computers and was sentenced in October to six years in prison.

The FBI case agent stressed the importance of organizations protecting their websites and other online infrastructure as much as possible. Quickly notifying authorities of an intrusion or attack is also critical.

“The Internet is based on trust, and it’s like a network of roads. When you’re driving, you trust other drivers will stop at stop signs. Occasionally, a driver doesn’t stop, and someone gets hurt,” the agent said. “When someone acts maliciously on the Internet, bad things happen, and there are real-world impacts. That’s why we have to pursue these types of cases.”

Resources

Akron Man Sentenced to Six Years in Prison for Launching Denial of Service Attacks That Shut Down Websites for the City of Akron and the Akron Police Department

source Department of Justice

Miguel Angel Villegas Wanted for Shooting at Tuckerton Cop Arrested in NY

TUCKERTON NJ (Nov. 22, 2019)—Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that Miguel Angel Villegas, 29, (photo) of New Haven, Connecticut was taken in to custody at Penn Station in New York, NY shortly after 8pm this evening by the United States Marshals Service and the New York City Police Department. “A

massive manhunt began earlier today after Villegas exchanged gunfire with a Tuckerton Borough Police Officer earlier this mo

rning in Tuckerton,” Prosecutor Billhimer said. Villegas was taken into custody this evening without incident.

At approximately 10:22 a.m. this morning, a Tuckerton Borough Police Officer exchanged gunfire with Villegas after the vehicle he was a passenger in fled a lawful motor vehicle stop near the intersection of Route 9 and North Green Street and caused a subsequent collision with another vehicle. The Officer was not injured in the exchange of gunfire. Villegas fled on foot and a massive manhunt ensued ending in New York City this evening.

“Villegas will be charged with Attempted Murder, Kidnapping, Unlawful Possession of a Weapon, and Possession of a Handgun for an Unlawful Purpose,” Prosecutor Billhimer stated. “It is my understanding that Villegas is wanted out of Connecticut. We will be seeking extradition from New York to bring him back here to Ocean County to face these charges,” Prosecutor Billhimer added.

“I’d like to thank the collaborative efforts of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, United States Marshals Service, New York City Police Department, Tuckerton Borough Police Department, Little Egg Harbor Police Department, New Jersey State Police, New Jersey State Police Regional Operations Intelligence Center, New Jersey State Police Aviation Unit, New Jersey Transit Police, Ocean County Regional SWAT, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office K-9, New Haven Police (Connecticut), Port Authority Police, Tuckerton Fire Department and Tuckerton Public Works Department. This was truly a team effort. The public can rest easy tonight knowing the men & women of law enforcement worked through the day into tonight to bring Villegas into custody peacefully,” Prosecutor Billhimer added.

“Even though Villegas is in custody, this remain an ongoing investigation. More details will be released as they become available,” Prosecutor Billhimer concluded.