Eleanor is a beautiful 8-year-old mixed-breed! She came to VHS from an out-of-state hoarding case. She has a wonderfully sweet disposition, loves everything, and is pottytrained. She appears to be perfectly fine with other dogs and with cats. Her adoption fee is $110 and includes her spay, microchip, vaccines, and more! Apply online at www.vhslifesaver.org/adopt!
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Mystique is a gorgeous female tortoiseshell cat. She is medium-haired… just a little bit of fluff to her. She came in with her kittens, all named for X-Men characters, who will also be up for adoption soon. Mystique’s adoption fee is $40 which includes her spay, microchip, vaccines, and more. Apply online at www.vhslifesaver.org/adopt!
Nonviolent protesters who were arrested during weekend protests in Indianapolis that turned violent will not be charged, Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears announced in a press release Monday.
Mears said his office declined to file charges against nonviolent protesters who were arrested on Friday and Saturday in downtown Indianapolis. The arrests were reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Charges were declined in 41 arrests from Friday and Saturday.
“We will not file criminal charges against those who came downtown to stand against injustice and make their voices heard through peaceful demonstrations,†Mears stated. “For us, the unfortunate choices by a few will not dilute the critical message carried by the majority.â€
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Separately, Mears said allegations that individuals illegally entered businesses and removed items resulted in 14 people charged with Level 5 felony burglary.
Mears’ statement said allegations of improper conduct or procedural violations by members of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department should be directed to the Citizens’ Police Complaint Office at (317) 327-3440 or cpco@indy.gov.
Click here to read more about the aftermath of weekend protests in Indianapolis.
The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) today announced that 292 additional Hoosiers have been diagnosed with COVID-19 through testing at ISDH, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and private laboratories. That brings to 34,830 the total number of Indiana residents known to have the novel coronavirus following corrections to the previous day’s total.
Intensive care unit and ventilator capacity remain steady. As of today, nearly 41 percent of ICU beds and nearly 84 percent of ventilators are available.
A total of 1,976 Hoosiers are confirmed to have died from COVID-19, an increase of 9 over the previous day. This includes one previously probable case that was later lab-confirmed. Another 166 probable deaths have been reported based on clinical diagnoses in patients for whom no positive test is on record, following a correction to the previous day’s total. Deaths are reported based on when data are received by ISDH and occurred over multiple days.   Â
  To date, 265,896 tests have been reported to ISDH, up from 261,546 on Sunday.Â
 Hoosiers who have symptoms of COVID-19 and those who have been exposed and need a test to return to work are encouraged to visit a state-sponsored testing site for free testing. Individuals without symptoms who are at high risk because they are over age 65, have diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure or another underlying condition, as well as those who are pregnant, live with a high-risk individual or are a member of a minority population that is at greater risk for severe illness, also are encouraged to get tested.
To find testing locations, visit www.coronavirus.in.gov and click on the COVID-19 testing information link. More than 200 locations are available around the state.
The version of the Minneapolis Police Department’s policy manual that is available on-line, however, does permit the use of neck restraints that can render suspects unconscious, and the protocol for their use appears not to have been updated for more than eight years.
Live updates on George Floyd’s death and protests around the country.
Minneapolis police data shows that in the bulk of use-of-force cases involving neck restraints when an individual lost consciousness, the restraint was used after a suspect fled on foot or tensed up as they were being taken into custody. Almost half of the people who lost consciousness were injured, according to the reports, which do not spell out the severity of those injuries.
Five of the cases involved assaults on officers, while several others involved domestic abuse or domestic assault cases. In most cases, there was no apparent underlying violent offense.
he Minneapolis Police Department did not immediately provide comment on the data, and did not respond to a request to confirm that the dates in parentheses refer to when the manual and its sections were updated.
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Ed Obayashi, an attorney and the deputy sheriff in Plumas County, California, is a national use-of-force expert who trains and advises California police agencies. He said police departments across the country have been moving away from the neck restraint option for many years because of its “inherent life-threatening potential” and because officers often misinterpret resistance by a suspect, who may simply be struggling to breathe.
“It’s common sense,” Obayashi said. “Any time you cut off someone’s airway or block blood flow to the brain, it can lead to serious injury or death as we have seen in so many of these tragedies. By using this tactic, it’s a self-fulfilling tragedy.”
“The [Minneapolis] policy doesn’t appear to reflect what California and other law enforcement agencies using best practices recognize, which is if officers don’t use extreme caution with this force option, the likelihood of serious injury or death rises significantly,” Obayashi said.
“This seems to be a routine practice by the Minneapolis Police Department,” said Obayashi. “As a cop, the tone is there, ‘Use it when you think it’s appropriate.'”
Shawn Williams, an assistant professor and professional peace officer coordinator at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, worked at the Minneapolis Police Department for more than 10 years and oversaw training his last two years there, including the use of unconscious neck restraints. He said he understands why other departments do not use the maneuver.
Obayashi said it’s notable that the Minneapolis Police Department policy on neck restraints appears to be dated and said that rather than discouraging or generally prohibiting the tactic, its policy language is consistent with a permissive stance.
“The [Minneapolis] policy doesn’t appear to reflect what California and other law enforcement agencies using best practices recognize, which is if officers don’t use extreme caution with this force option, the likelihood of serious injury or death rises significantly,” Obayashi said.
“This seems to be a routine practice by the Minneapolis Police Department,” said Obayashi. “As a cop, the tone is there, ‘Use it when you think it’s appropriate.'”
Shawn Williams, an assistant professor and professional peace officer coordinator at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, worked at the Minneapolis Police Department for more than 10 years and oversaw training his last two years there, including the use of unconscious neck restraints. He said he understands why other departments do not use the maneuver.
“In many cases,” he said, “the justification was that the suspect tensed up, which I read to mean resisted arrest or fled on foot without any indication that the suspect was armed or dangerous. You have a combination of a large number of incidents involving the use of neck restraints on individuals who were not engaged in violent criminal activity and appeared to have been restrained because they appeared to be resisting arrest.”
Despite a turbulent past, the LAPD was one of the first police agencies to address deadly or excessive force incidents that grew out of using chokeholds. In 1982, at the request of then-Chief Daryl F. Gates, the department banned the bar-arm chokeholds and limited upper-body controls, then commonplace, after a federal lawsuit. Sixteen people — including a dozen African-American men — died from various forms of upper-body controls over a seven-year period leading up to the decision.
The Los Angeles Police Commission followed up the bar-arm ban weeks later by restricting the carotid chokehold, designed to immobilize a suspect by blocking the neck artery and, by extension, the flow of blood to the brain. The department still allows officers to use a carotid restraint but limits those situations to immediate danger to life.
(Washington, D.C.) – The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today released its 2019 Congressional Ratings, highlighting the voting records of all 535 voting members of Congress during the first session of the 116th Congress. The report, which CCAGW has issued since 1989, identifies members whose voting records helped protect taxpayer dollars, as well as those who consistently voted against their interests.
CCAGW 2019 Congressional Ratings Facts:
CCAGW rates members on a 0 to 100 percent scale. Members are placed in the following categories:
CCAGW President Tom Schatz said in a statement:
“We applaud the Taxpayer Heroes for their votes to cut wasteful spending and defend the interests of taxpayers. In this unprecedented time in American history, the actions of these members are an encouraging sign, and their constituents should congratulate them. It is promising to see the number of Taxpayer Super Heroes continue to grow each year. However, there are still far too many lawmakers who supported expanding the federal bureaucratic state at taxpayer expense in 2019. Hopefully, these reckless spenders will change their porkish ways in 2020 and vote to eliminate the extensive waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement that still plagues the Washington swamp, since now more than ever the government should be spending the taxpayers’ money effectively and efficiently.â€
The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, the nation’s largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.
After spending more than 41 years of processing and examining all types of illegal controlled substances, Indiana State Police Forensic Scientist Bill Bowles is retiring from the Indiana State Police Laboratory Division.
Bowles is a native of Berea, KY, and a 1967 graduate of Berea Foundation High School. He later attended Berea College where he received a bachelor’s degree, majoring in chemistry. Bowles joined the Indiana State Police Laboratory Division on April 9, 1979. Prior to joining the Indiana State Police, Bowles was a forensic chemist for the Kentucky State Police Eastern Regional Crime Laboratory.
“The high regard that our laboratory system enjoys in the forensic science and criminal justice communities is due to the dedication and long-standing professionalism that our scientists, like Bill, have demonstrated over the years. We have been so very fortunate to have Bill within our organization for these 41 years and during this time he has set the standard for others to emulate going forward. He has been a valued member of our system,†said Major Steve Holland, Commander of the Indiana State Police Laboratory Division.
Bowles was the very first person hired to work in the Evansville Regional Laboratory. Since the lab was still being built when Bowles was hired, he worked out of the Indianapolis lab until January 1980. The Evansville Regional Laboratory opened and started to receive evidence in March 1980.
The Indiana State Police appreciates Bowles’ dedication and service during these last 41 years and we hope he enjoys his well-deserved retirement.
AGENDA
VANDERBURGH COUNTY COUNCIL
JUNE 3, 2020 10:00 A.M. Ballroom BCÂ at the Old National Events Plaza
1. Request to fill vacancy for Small Claims Secretary 10001370-137180
(B) Auditor
(C) Prosecutor
(D) Drug and Alcohol Deferral Services
1. Request to fill vacancy for Counselor I 10001380-138113
(E) Legal Aid
1. Request to fill vacancy for PT Receptionist 10001460-199000
10) OLD BUSINESS: None
13) PUBLIC COMMENT
14) REMINDER NEXT MEETING DATE/TIME:
(A) Personnel and Finance next meeting June 24, 2020 @ TBD
(B) County Council next meeting July 1, 2020 @ TBD
15) ADJOURNMENT
Red denotes Personnel and Finance meeting
Blue denotes County Council meeting
