11-27-02

A suspected thief, weighed down with more than 50 pounds of stolen cameras and CDs, among other items, drowned as he attempted to evade police by swimming across the Arkansas River, officials said.

The man, identified as Edward McBride, 37, was carrying a duffel bag weighing 50 pounds that contained stolen items and was found Friday with stolen goods also stuffed in his pockets, said Tulsa police spokesman Lucky Lamons.

He was being pursued by Tulsa police who suspected him of robbing a Tulsa home when he jumped into the muddy Arkansas River.

"He got about 40 yards out and yelled for help," Lamons said. "The officers took off their shirts, shoes and belts and jumped into the river. By the time they reached him, he had gone under."

Lamons said rescue workers retrieved McBride's body about an hour later from about 8 feet to 10 feet of water along with the duffel bag containing stolen goods.

Skunk Assists Police by Spraying Suspect in the Face

LEWISTON, Maine - Police who were chasing a man after a traffic stop got an unlikely assist from a skunk, who sprayed the suspect in the face.

Kenneth Rideout, 32, was nailed after he ran into the woods Tuesday night. He was wanted for violating release conditions stemming from a domestic assault.

The skunk didn't stop Rideout but it slowed him down enough that police officers were able to catch up with him.

"It was powerful enough to pretty much incapacitate him," said police Lt. Tom Avery.

Officer Eric Syphers arrested the smelly suspect. The squad car reeked by the time the prisoner arrived at the police station.

"Sometimes we get help from where we don't expect it," Avery said. "We're calling this skunk Officer Pepe LePew."

WTC Furry Heroes

This Thanksgiving, we again give thanks to all those that participated in the rescue and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center Towers September 11, 2001.

Hundreds of the workers, though, we may have forgotten—so Cuff ‘N Stuff would like to say “Thanks” to a few…

"They go underneath into void spaces anywhere we can get the dogs in. The site is very difficult agility for the dogs. They're crawling on their bellies and squeezing through things. It's incredible to watch." - Sharon Gattas, Riverside Urban Search and Rescue

A rescue dog is transported out of the debris of the World Trade Center.
(Photo: Sep 15, 2001, US Navy / Preston Keres)

Let sleeping dogs lie (and dog-handlers, too); they certainly deserve it.
(Photo: Sep 18, 2001, Reuters)

One-year-old "Porkchop" gets some kind reassurance from partner Erick Robertson of Oakhurst, California. SAR dogs, especially those trained to find living people, feel increased stress and depression as time passes with no survivors found.

It has become a common morale-booster for rescuers to stage mock "finds", so that the dogs can feel successful. (Photo: Sep 19, 2001, AP / Suzanne Plunkett)

The defendant was questioned regarding a murder, and he provided two written statements, one of which identified two suspects. Subsequently, the defendant was named by one of the suspects as being involved in the murder.

In a later discussion with a detective, the defendant gave an account of the murder that was somewhat inconsistent with the version he had given in one of his written statements. When the detective pressed him to clear up the inconsistencies, he was not able to do so convincingly and the officer placed the defendant under arrest for capital murder.

Several weeks later, and after a capital murder arrest warrant had been obtained for the defendant and executed, the detective went to the jail to interrogate him. Shortly after their conversation began, the defendant told him the name of the attorney who was representing him and asked what the detective thought of her.

The defendant also asked if he could call his attorney, and although the detective readily agreed that he could, the defendant never asked to use the phone that was in the interview room.

A third statement was given by the defendant. He later moved to suppress it as having been obtained in violation of his Sixth Amendment right to counsel. The trial judge denied the motion, concluding that the defendant knew of his right to counsel, and that he waived it.

Holding: The Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to counsel in all criminal prosecutions. This right attaches at the “formal initiation of adversary judicial proceedings.”

An indictment, preliminary hearing, formal charge, or arraignment initiates adversary judicial proceedings. Once the right to counsel attaches and a defendant has formed an attorney-client relationship with an attorney for representation in a pending criminal case, the defendant may not unilaterally waive his Sixth Amendment right to counsel.

In such cases, police officers who wish to interrogate a defendant must initiate the interrogation only through notice to the defendant’s lawyer. “Absent permission from defense counsel, officers cannot approach the defendant and solicit his waiver.”

The State did not claim that the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel had not attached when he was questioned by the detective prior to giving the third statement. A lawyer had been appointed to represent the accused two weeks earlier, something that happens only after a person has been charged with a crime.

While the attorney-client relationship between the appointed lawyer and the defendant was not entirely clear, he did refer to “his” lawyer in his conversation with the detective. The State failed to establish that there was no attorney-client relationship, which it was bound to do once the appointment was made.

The detective was prohibited from questioning the defendant without first notifying his lawyer, even though the defendant was given Miranda warnings and waived his rights. The trial judge should have granted the defendant’s suppression motion and excluded the statement from evidence.

COMMENT: Because the Sixth Amendment right to counsel attaches “automatically” after the initiation of adversary judicial proceedings, it is easy to violate the right inadvertently. A waiver by the defendant may not suffice, especially if he already is represented by an attorney. Even asking a defendant whether he would like to talk about an incident may go too far if he has been formally charged, and eavesdropping or surreptitious interrogation also violates the defendant’s right. After the initiation of adversary judicial proceedings, it is the defendant’s lawyer – not the accused – who must be approached first. Cloer v. State, No. 04-01-00297 (Tex. App. – San Antonio, 7-17-02).

Things You Should Never to Say to a Police Officer

1. I can’t reach my license unless you hold my beer.
2. Sorry, Officer, I didn’t realize my radar detector wasn’t plugged in.
3. Aren’t you the guy from the Village People?
4. Hey, you must have been doing about 125 mph to keep up with me. Good job.
5. Are you Andy or Barney?
6. I thought you had to be in relatively good physical condition to be a police officer.
7. You’re not going to check the trunk are you?
8. I pay your salary.
9. Do you know why you pulled me over? Okay, just so one of us does.
10. Gee, Officer, that is terrific! The last officer only gave me a warning, too!
11. I was trying to keep up with traffic. Yes, I know there were no other cars around. That’s how far ahead of me they were.
12. When the officer says, “Gee, Sir, your eyes look red, have you been drinking?” The citizen probably shouldn’t respond with, “Gee, Officer, your eyes look glazed, have you been eating donuts?”
    

    

Cyber Space - How to Spot an Email Hoax

Note whether the text was actually written by the person who sent it to you. If not, be skeptical.

Look for the telltale phrase, 'Forward this to everyone you know.'

Look for statements like 'This is not a hoax' or 'This is not an urban legend.' They usually mean the opposite of what they say.

Look for overly emphatic language, the frequent use of UPPERCASE LETTERS and multiple exclamation points!!!!!!!

If the message seems geared more to persuade than to inform, be suspicious. Hoaxers are out to push emotional buttons.

If the message purports to give you extremely important information that you've never heard of before or seen elsewhere in legitimate venues, be suspicious.

Read carefully and think critically about what the message says, looking for logical inconsistencies, violations of common sense and obviously false claims.

Look for subtle or not-so-subtle jokes, indications that the author is pulling your leg.

Check for references to outside sources. Hoaxes will not typically name any, nor link to Websites with corroborating information.

Senator Richard Neuberger once said the experience of contracting cancer changed him. “A change came over me which I believe irreversible. Questions of prestige, of political success, of financial status, became all at once unimportant. In their stead has come a new appreciation of things I once took for granted—eating lunch with a friend, scratching Muffet’s ears and listening for his purr, the company of my wife, reading a book or magazine in the quiet cone of my bed lamp at night, raiding the refrigerator for a glass of orange juice or a slice of coffee cake. For the first time I think I am actually savoring life. I shudder when I remember all the occasions that I spoiled for myself—even when I was in the best of health—by false pride, synthetic values, and fancied slights.”

There are 138 passages of Scripture that deal with thanksgiving.

If in his gifts and benefits God were more sparing and close-handed, we should learn to be thankful…The greater God’s gifts, the less they are regarded.” - Martin Luther

The person who has stopped being thankful has fallen asleep in life.” - Robert Louis Stevenson

“How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child.” Shakespeare

The words “Thank” and “Think” come from the same root, reminding us that thanksgiving comes from thinking about our blessings.

The staff of Cuff ‘N Stuff wish you and yours a happy and safe Thanksgiving.