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Police Procedure, Safety Tips
20 Survival Tips for Real and Fictional Officers
Cops absorb lots of information during the months they spend in the training academy. Then, when they finally do hit the streets they're required to ride with a field training officer for a few months, a time when the FTO crams even more important stuff into their brains, all while responding to crimes and complaints in real time.
Over and over again, academy trainers and field training officers drill information and practical skills into the minds of recruits. Over and over and over again. And then again.
And, among all the laws, facts, figures, running, pushups, sit-ups, shooting drills, defensive tactics, and on-the-job training, a common theme emerges—officer survival.
Here are a few tips to help keep officers safe
1. Remember these three words. You will survive! Never give up no matter how many times you've been shot, stabbed, or battered.
2. Carry a good weapon. You can't win a gun fight if your weapon won't fire.
3. Carry plenty of ammunition. There's no such thing as having too many bullets.
4. Treat every situation as a potential ambush. This includes during meals, at movies, ball games, and church, etc. You never know when or where it could happen. This is why cops don't like to sit with their backs to a door. Please don't ask them to do so.
5. Practice your shooting skills in every possible situation—at night, lying down, with your weak hand, etc.
6, Wear your seat belt.
7. Wear your body armor.
8. Always expect the unexpected.
9. Suspect everyone until you're absolutely sure they're okay and pose no threat to you.
10. Trust no one until trust is earned. Even then, be cautious.
11. Everyone is a potential threat until it's proven they're not. Remember, bad people can have attractive faces and warm smiles and say nice things. But all that can change in the blink of an eye.
12. Know when to retreat.
13. Stay in shape! Eat healthy. Exercise.
14. Train, train, and train.
15. Take advantage of specialized training classes and workshops outside of the department police academy. For example, the blackbelt trainers at your local gym just might be police academy or military instructors who could address your concerns and weaknesses, and/or enhance your strengths. For example, some of the specialized training I've taught include standing, prone, and ground combat, knife and stick fighting, defending against the sudden attack, and personal and executive bodyguard training.
16. Use common sense and remember your training, because your family needs you safely at home at the end of your shift.
17. Family first. Job second.
18. Make no judgements based on a person's lifestyle, personality, politics, race, or religion. Treat everyone fairly and equally, from the homeless drug addict to the crooked Wall Street embezzler. However, remain on alert and cautious at all times.
19. Talk to people. Get to know them. Let them get to know you. After all, it's often a bit tougher to hurt an officer they know and trust.
20. Find a release for your stress. Bike/exercise. Vacation. Talk to someone. Read. Write. Spiritual guidance. Hobbies.
Seek help the moment you notice a change/decrease in your work performance, increase in anxiety, excess use of alcohol and/or you consider drug use, change in sleep habits, you experience suicidal thoughts, or other drastic changes in your normal behavior.
January 18, 2020 /0 Comments/by Lee Lofland
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I'm Just Saying, Police Procedure
"Hanging Out" With Kat Bungler
Bad guys are often portrayed on TV, and in film, as super intelligent geniuses who're one step away from ruling the world. They're savvy and wealthy with a gang of bodyguards and accomplices who are always miles ahead of the law enforcement officers who can never quite seem figure out their next move.
TV crooks are unstoppable until the hero of the story overcomes all obstacles preventing them catching the super bad guys, including fending off advances from the most attractive spies the underworld bosses can send their way. TV heroes, those who've managed to make it to the final scenes, dodge bombs and machine-gun fire, and they face hitmen who're the best martial artists in the world, with the exception of that lone good guy who just happens to know one more secret move than the top bad guy learned during his training.
It's an action-packed adventure from day one throughout the case until the protagonist finally slaps a gold-plated set of handcuffs around the wrists of their adversaries.
Well, that's all fine and dandy, but in the real world things are a tad bit different. For example, a "professional" crook I once encountered truly who considered himself to be as sharp as one of the TV-type mastermind criminals. He thought he was invincible and couldn't be caught.
I was still working patrol at the time when my path crossed with … let's, for the sake of this article, call him Kat Bungler. I was on my monthlong graveyard shift rotation—midnight to 8 a.m.—and the moon and sun were in the process of changing their own shifts, when dispatch called to report an alarm at a local convenience store. This was not out of the ordinary since many employees of various businesses—stores, banks, etc.—often forget to disable alarms before entering their places of business for the first time of the day.
You, Again?
During the occurrence of these daily and annoying faux pas, what should be moments of urgency very quickly disappear. After dozens of "wolf-crying" incidents at the same places, time and time again, cops have a tendency to roll their eyes and sigh when they hear the calls come in. Still, they have to respond even if all they'll do is speak with an embarrassed store clerk or bank manager to learn that another "oops" had occurred. After all, you never know when one of those alarm calls is the real thing.
One particular day, though, in the very early morning hours around 5:30 a.m., a dispatcher announced an alarm call. This time she added two very important words to her message—"In-Progress." She went on to say the caller said the suspect was still inside the business, a convenience store.
No eye-rolling this time. On went the blue lights and a mad race to the store hoping to catch the crook in the act of crookery.
When I and another officers arrived we, of course, surrounded the place. The clerk who'd reported the crime came running toward my car and through an excited mix of jumbled words she managed to tell me the guy was still inside. Well, that's all I could make of what she said. I asked to take a seat in my patrol car, then a couple of us approached the front doors. As always we had no idea what to expect? Would he start shooting? No one knew. It was a tense situation.
I called to the man, ordering him to come out, and to my surprise he immediately replied with a lot of yelling and shouts for help. So, with guns drawn and aimed forward, we pulled open the door and took a quick peek inside.
It was all I could do to contain a bout of laughter, because what I'd seen was a large squirming man hanging upside down with the upper portion of his body poking down through the ceiling. His lower half, from his waist down up was semi-concealed above, among a tangle of broken drywall, crumpled light fixtures, knots and loops of colored electrical wiring, and dented ductwork. And the guys was practically in tears.
This genius-level mastermind of the criminal world had used a dumpster and a stack of pallets to climb to the roof and used used an ax to chop hole in the surface. Then he tried to climb down into the store. But he lost his footing and slipped, which caused him to fall and tumble through the the buildings mechanics. Then, just as he was about to exit the ceiling headfirst, his feet caught on a series of electrical conduits. He was stuck in that position and remained there for a few hours while struggling to free himself. He couldn't go up and he couldn't come down.
When the clerk stepped inside to open up for the day and saw the guy dangling from the ceiling, she screamed. Simultaneously, she told us, the man began to yell and beg and whimper. She left him hanging and ran next door to call the police.
With the assistance of firefighters we pulled the dizzy Kat Bungler to safety, handcuffed him, and then transported him to the hospital for a checkup to make certain he was fit for jail.
Bungler, of course, was found guilty of B&E and destruction of property. His defense was that he climbed on top of the building as part of his daily exercise routine where he unexpectedly fell into a previously-chopped hole. The judge didn't buy his story.
Later, Mr. Bungler found an attorney to represent him in a lawsuit against the store, claiming they were at fault for his injuries and that the clerk failed to call EMS when he was clearly in pain and was suffering from severe injuries at the time she entered the store. He called us a witnesses in his behalf. Yeah, that went over well. Sure it did.
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Police Procedure
How to Arrest a Naked Man
I've never been one to back down from a challenge. Actually, I've rarely shunned any sort of obstacle, including wading into a group of angry armed men to arrest one of their group.
I like other officers, have tackled the biggest and the baddest, the meanest and the ugliest, and I, like many of my peers, received plenty of bumps, bruises, cuts, scrapes, and other injuries as a result of arresting those behemoths.
It's all part of the job. It's what cops do.
But there was one guy who caused me to stop dead in my tracks to rethink what I was getting into when or IF (and this was a big IF for a few seconds) I attempted to handcuff him.
The offender, a quite large man who weighed somewhere in the neighborhood of three-fifty and towered above me at height of … oh six-six, or so.
He was a real badass.
Built like a bodybuilder and as tough as the soles of a circus sideshow fire-walker's feet.
He was mean, nasty, and he hated cops.
He was this guy … well, at the time this is how he appeared to me.
Still, his massive size, bloodthirsty demeanor, and bulging muscles weren't an issue. I'd tackled men, and women, who were bigger, and nastier.
The fact that he'd backed himself into a corner and was begging me, using both hands to motion for me to come closer, was slightly intimidating. But not the sole act that slowed my approach.
Drool dribbled down his chin. His eyes had that look of "I've bitten the heads off of live cobras and giant scorpions."
Still not enough to stop me.
He growled, like a crazed and rabid beast.
Nope. Still had to go to jail.
He flipped over a large piece of furniture like it was no more than child's toy.
No, not enough to make me back down.
Actually, none of these aggressive acts of strength, defiance, and animalistic behavior were what stopped me in my tracks.
The thing that held my feet to the floor was the fact that this mountain of a man, the crazy killer of his brother, was totally and completely naked, and he'd covered his shaved body in cooking oil. He was as slick as eel snot, and his skin glistened like the top of a freshly buttered dinner roll.
My first thought, I kid you not, was, "Where and what do I grab?"
Typically, cops have the luxury of grasping and holding on to clothing when tussling with unruly suspects. Clothing is also a welcome barrier between the officer and the offender. There is no touching of nude body parts. No accidental brushes against things no one one other than an intimidate partner should ever "brush."
And Heaven forbid a tussle end up on the floor with you and the suspect scuffling like two angry pit bulls. Because, well, when a man's trying to escape he'll do anything and everything to get away—he wiggles and writhes and jiggles and twists and shimmies and squirms. And it is this frantic series of movements that sometimes causes his upper body to wind up at the officer's knees and, obviously, the lower half of his torso "ends up" squarely at the poor cop's face. Neither a front or rear-facing suspect in this situation are a good thing, especially when the waggling and squirming guy is wearing his sweaty, stinky, and often extremely hairy birthday suit.
But back to my suspect. There he was, a huge, slimy, angry man who, while frothing at the mouth and for some ungodly reason, wanted to engage me in some sort of bizarre battle.
Well, I had two options … let him go or bring him in. And, since cops don't let criminals go, it was on!
I lit into that guy like there was no tomorrow. I grabbed and pulled and pushed and tugged and tried to hold on to an arm and/or a hand long enough to snap a cuff in place. But I simply could not maintain a form grasp. His flesh squirted from my hands like a greased pig at a county fair. Unfortunately, my uniform was easy to grab and pull, meaning I was on the receiving end of more than I was able to dish out and he was doling out real pain.
Therefore, after a few punches to my head and being slammed to the floor and against the walls, I'd had enough. Besides, I despise bleeding. So I did what any desperate person would do in this situation—I grabbed his one appendage (and its accomplices) the one body part that sat there mindlessly, without fingers or toes or other useful purpose at the time, and I pulled hard, really hard. Picture a landscaper whose trying with all his might to uproot a stubborn garden weed.
Needless to say, the big ox surrendered immediately. So I cuffed him, covered him with a blanket I kept in the trunk of my car, and hauled his big, nasty self to jail.
Then I went home to take a long, hot, cleansing shower and put on a fresh uniform. And I washed my hands for a really long time.
In fact, I have an extremely compelling urge to wash my hands right now.
January 9, 2020 /1 Comment/by Lee Lofland
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Tater Jenkins Done Killed Uncle Billy Buck Robinson: The Crime Scene
"Tater" Jenkins done killed Uncle Billy Buck Robinson. Quick, call the law afor'in' that son-of-a-biscuit-eatin' coward gets clean away!"
And so it goes. Aunt Ruthie Mae runs next door to use Lula Belle's rotary phone to call the police, a department of four men and women of varies sizes, from rail thin to chair-crushing fat—who, after one last bite, drop their newspapers and circular, creme-filled morning breakfast food and trot out to their cars to make the treacherous drive up Banjo Mountain. But not before stopping by the drive-through at Percy's Pork Skin Palace to grab a sack lunch for the long trip. Along the way, they pass by Billy's goats, Carl's cows, several mangy dogs, and a cross-eyed bear who was in the midst of overturning Miss Ethel Turner's outhouse.
The determined officers motored across Falling Car Creek and the Killzemall River by using makeshift bridges, a handcrafted series of large logs that stretched across the waters. Then, after stopping for lunch and seven breaks behind assorted species of trees (NOT an easy task for the two female officers), the patrol officers finally reached their destination, a grouping of six obviously homemade clapboard-sided, rusty-tin-roofed houses nestled along the hillside, seven miles from the nearest sunshine. Curb appeal was limited to crooked eaves, sagging beams, and lopsided stone chimneys that blew and belched smoke the color of tar paper. Several red-headed children ran to and fro, playing some sort of game that involved a single crooked stick. Their dirt-smeared faces and arms were spattered with summer freckles.
A three-legged mutt slowly lifted its head when the police cars pulled to a stop, dragging clouds of white dust in their wakes. The dog, uninterested in the action, lowered its head and resumed its nap.
Mr. Onion Parson, a man with a single tooth that sat slightly askew in a mouth as dark as a cavern, called out, "Over here, Five-Oh!"
"One Tooth" shooed a few chickens from their new perches atop the forehead of one very blue and very cold Uncle Billy Buck Robinson. "He's right here, and he's deader'n a doornail," said Onion. "He done chopped Billy Buck in the haid with my best ax."
Later, the lead officer would include in her official report, a description of that remarkable tooth as "shaped exactly like the state of Delaware." She noted that a bystander saw Tater flee the scene on the back of a mule named Homer. However, the officer omitted all references to the chickens, an unfortunate decision that would come back to haunt her when a savvy defense attorney pointed out to the jury that the presence of chicken prints on the forehead of the deceased raised the possibility of "murder by rooster" and not by an ax-wielding Tater.
"After all," the attorney said to the judge, "a very aggressive rooster named Killer was known to violently attack the hands that fed him. Heads, too." Another point omitted from the officer's report. The jury agreed with the defense attorney and "Tater" Jenkins walked away from the trial a free man. The rooster, however, was sentenced to serve as Sunday dinner. The hens, obviously brainwashed by their leader, were not charged, citing Stockholm Syndrome as their defense.
Preserving a Crime Scene
So, what really happens once patrol officers arrive on scene? Well, for starters, much of the above could be sort of true. I recall meeting several people during my career who could've been members of these fine families. However, here's how it really happens …
First on the Crime Scene
Uniformed officers are normally the first police officers on the scene. It's up to these front-line cops to take charge, calm the chaos, and make things safe for citizens in the area, EMS and firefighters, and for the arriving investigators, medical examiner, etc.
Sometimes, crime scenes are large and complicated; therefore, it may be necessary to set up a command post—a central location for coordinating police activities.
Many police departments use some sort of mobile command centers, such as converted motor homes and travel trailers. Some patrol supervisors drive vehicles designed to quickly transform into a fully functional command post.
A command post could be, however, anything and anywhere—a local store, store parking lot, an officer's patrol car, and so on.
The Two Types of Perimeters
the first is an overall periphery for the purpose of containing suspects within a specific area.
an area to preserve the crime scene and the evidence within.
Crime scenes may be as small as a single room, or they can be as large as several city blocks, or more. There are no set boundaries. Investigators on the scene make this determination, as needed.
It's best to establish a large boundary at first to ensure that all evidence is protected from outside interference/contamination/disturbance. You can always reduce the size of the permitter, but enlarging it after the fact is mostly a waste of time because there's a risk of evidence being disturbed by bystanders, news media, EMS, firefighters, other officers, etc.
Do not rush into a crime scene without first taking everything in. Take a moment to assess the area. Are there any dangers, including hidden ones, such as gas leaks, poisonous chemicals, A KILLER WITH A GUN?
Absolutely do not allow anyone inside the scene unless they're a vital part of the investigation team. This includes members of the police department, including command staff. Of course, if a chief insists, well, make certain to document her entry and exit times.
Do not allow anyone to leave the area until you've interviewed them. Treat every single person as a possible witness. Sometimes people don't realize they've seen an important detail until they've been questioned by police.
Crime Scene Investigation Facts:
Carey A. Body just murdered his longtime girlfriend, Ida Kissedanyman, and fled on foot through an alley, over a fence, and into the rear parking lot of Beulah Bell's Hog Jowl Emporium. Body, sweating heavily and breathing like a huffing locomotive traveling a 72% steep uphill grade, ditched the murder weapon inside a fat rusted dumpster that was stuffed to the brim with discarded hocks, pinto beans, and hunks of Crisco-drentched fried cornbread.
Therefore, even though the dumpster was four blocks away from the actual scene of the crime, the dumpster is now considered a crime scene. Why? Because evidence of a crime is located there. And, yes, detectives and/or CSI's must paw through the garbage, by hand, searching for evidence.
More crime scene investigation facts …
Patrol officers often assist investigators/detectives with the recovery and collection of evidence.
Not all crime scene investigators are sworn police officers. Many police departments employ specially trained civilian crime scene investigators/technicians. Non-sworn crime scene investigators do not:
(As seen on TV)
arrest criminals
interrogate or question suspects
carry weapons
participate in, or conduct autopsies
engage in foot or vehicle pursuits
handcuff criminal suspects (What goes on during their free time is of no concern to us. Unless, of course, you're writing a scene involving hot, steamy … you know).
All police officers are trained to properly collect and preserve evidence. After all, sometimes detectives are unavailable. Therefore, in those instances, uniformed officers assume the duty of investigating the crime.
The police are in charge of crime scenes. Coroners and medical examiners are in charge of the bodies of murder victims.
NOTE: Not all medical examiners and coroners show up at crime scenes. In those instances, EMS or a local funeral home typically transport the bodies to the morgue where the M.E. will have a look as soon as possible. Detectives, in these instances, are in charge of the body and sometimes travel in the ambulance to the morgue to preserve chain of evidence/custody.
Releasing information to the media—hold your cards close to your chest until you have an idea of what information can be released to the public. Remember, what you say will be on the evening news! I know this one all too well…unfortunately.
*As always, rules, policies, and procedures vary from area to area and agency to agency. If 100% accuracy is your goal then you make a quick phone call to the public information officer (POI) at your local police department. This is often the officer you see providing official updates on your evening news.
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An Officer's Perception: Sound Before Sight, Motion Before Color, and Color Before Shape
"Perception is key. How did the officer perceive the encounter? Did she fear for her life or the life of others?"
Before we delve into the topic of perception, please allow me to set the stage by using an experience from my past. I apologize in advance for rehashing the tale, but its use here perfectly illustrates the information below.
Many of you have heard me speak about the deadly shootout I was in back in the 90's. Others have read the story here on this blog. In both I tell of the involuntary engagement of a "slow motion switch," and the switching-off of all sounds.
The shooting seemed to occur in slow motion while in a vacuum where sounds were not permitted to enter.
FYI – Pictured above is the robber's car. I fired the round that penetrated the side and rear glass of the car. At the time, the robber had already begun shooting but the only part of his body I could see was his head. That view was through both panes of glass. My round struck the side of his head. He immediately went down, but almost immediately returned to his feet and resumed shooting.
The large hole in the side of the car just above the wheel well was fired by a rookie officer who was fresh off his field training program. The round was fired from a shotgun. The "slug" was later found in the rear compartment, inside a duffle bag filled with clothing.
To learn more about slugs and what happens when they strike an object, including a human, please click to watch the video below.
Sights, Sounds, and Auditory Exclusion
FYI – Pictured above: A police car destroyed by gunfire. That's me in the foreground, with the porn star/cop mustache and my sweaty hair pulled behind my ears. A state agent who'd responded to assist stands behind me near the shoulder of the highway. The suspect's vehicle is pictured in the distance, directly to my rear. My partner's unmarked vehicle is seen parked on the opposite side of the median, top right. He'd been in court when he learned of the shooting and had arrived on-scene at the conclusion of the incident.
It was an extremely hot August day and I'd worn a suit. I was preparing to go to court when the call came in, a 10-90—robbery in progress. Mere moments prior to the news reporter taking this photo, I'd killed a man.
FROM MY EARLIER ARTICLE:
"The sound of his gunshot activated my brain's slow-motion function. Time nearly stopped. It was surreal, like I actually had time to look around before reacting to the gunshot. I saw my partners yelling, their mouths opening and closing slowly. Lazy puffs of blue-black smoke drifted upward from their gun barrels. I saw a dog barking to my right—its head lifting with each yap, and droplets of spittle dotted the air around its face."
During the exchange of gunfire, I saw the mouths of partners moving and I saw a dog barking, but I did not hear either. The reason I didn't—auditory exclusion.
Auditory exclusion, like it's first cousin, tunnel vision, can and does often occur during moments of intense stress, such as life-threatening situations including shootouts or potential shootouts. Actually, guns don't have to enter the picture for these stress-induced phenomena to occur. However, that's the focus of this article so that's the path we'll travel today.
Stress can interfere with our physiological ability to receive and act on information
In very simple terms, stress can interfere with our physiological ability to receive and act on information received by the brain. Basically, we're wired to survive and we do so by fighting or fleeing and sometimes freezing in place/not reacting during dangerous situations.
Typically, when faced with danger our bodies automatically increase the release of adrenaline and cortisol, which produces an uptick in heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate, pupil size, perspiration, and muscle tension. Blood flow to the brain, heart, and large muscles is accordingly increased. However, fine motor skills that require hand/eye coordination begin to deteriorate. This decrease in the functionality of fine motor skills allows the continuation of the more effective (at the time) gross motor skills that help when running or fighting.
One way our bodies react to intense stress is to induce inattentional blindness, a phenomenon that reaches across all senses, including vision (tunnel vision) and sound (auditory exclusion). In short, the brain processes only what the person/officer is focused on, such as a potentially deadly threat. In my case, it was a bank robber who was firing a gun at me and I know that auditory shutdown is a very real thing during high-stress situations. Again, this is from my own personal experience.
NOTABLE POINTS REGARDING PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES TO STRESS
Optical affinity can occur—increased ability to see things at 20 feet and beyond while closer objects may seem blurry, if seen at all. The same is true for near shutdown of periphreal vision. The latter is due to vasoconstriction of the blood vessels on the periphery of the retina (tunnel vision).
Perceptions are often distorted, such as the ability to correctly perceive a danger.
Sounds are processed by the brain faster than what we see. Touch is the next fastest, and smells reach the brain the quickest.
Motion is recognized faster than than color, and shape is slowest of all sights processed. Yellow is the fastest color we can identify. Darker colors being the slowest.
Furtive movement – done in a quiet and secret way to avoid being noticed (Webster's).
During stressful encounters, such as those involving deadly force, furtive movements (see above definition) are sometimes perceived incorrectly, such as the movement of hands holding a dark object whose shape somewhat resembles a firearm. but understandably so when factoring in physiological phenomena such as auditory exclusion and tunnel vision.
I See Colors. Or Do I?
Remember, darker colors are identified at a slower rate than bright colors, acute vision at closer distances is greatly decreased, sounds have all but ceased to exist, adrenaline and heart rate are higher, officers are trained to fight not flee from danger, and officers are trained to react to threats. And all of this occurs in a the blink of an eye. There is no time to sit down, discuss, plan, and map out the premium response. This is wholeheartedly in contrast to the armchair cop experts who chime in after the fact with the uninformed, misinformed, social-media-educated, and inexperienced "cop's are too quick to shoot"comments.
Our minds, during stressful situations, see what they expect to see. We expect a man suddenly pulling a dark object from his pocket after repeatedly telling him to not put his hands in his pocket, all while knowing he matches the description of a guy who'd just shot and killed four people, well, our minds are telling us he's going for a gun.
If the object he brings from his pocket is dark, such as a cellphone, a vaping pen that looks like a gun barrel, especially when held like a gun and pointed at officers, a BB gun that's nearly identical to the officer's duty weapon, or even a bare hand that comes up and out of pocket rapidly, and the movement is in contrast to the officer's direction and expectations, and it all occurs within a split second, well …
Remember, sound is perceived before sight, motion is perceived before color, and color is perceived before shape. These differences can and do greatly affect how an officer perceives and processes what's unfolding in real time. And, those perceptions will definitely affect and/or control the officer's response(s).
I can say from experience that during a potentially life-threatening situation, barking dogs, screaming officers, sirens, and gunshots are sometimes the loudest sounds you'll ever NOT hear.
After an intense shootout with an armed bank robber, I shot and killed the man (68 rounds were exchanged—I fired 5). That's him above as emergency medical personnel treat him.
Even today, at this moment seated here at my desk, I can hear the deafening quiet of that morning. And I still view parts of the scene in slow motion.
Click here to read about the shootout.
By the way, not once during the entire shootout did I or the other officers smell the odor of cordite lingering in the air. Why not? Because the stuff hasn't been around since the end of World War II. So please, please, please stop writing it into your stories.
January 3, 2020 /by Lee Lofland
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It's Christmas, So Let's Pull a Fat Guy Through a Car Window
It was on a cold Christmas night, several years ago, when my wife Denene decided that she'd like to ride along with me during my shift so we could at least spend a part of the evening together. It would be her first and last first-hand experience of what I did for a living.
I was the officer in charge of operations, the OIC, that night so it wasn't as if I'd be responding to calls, meaning I thought the danger level for her would be extremely low. And I was right, the evening shift was fairly quiet with a few of the typical pushing and shoving drunks, a couple of thefts, a drunk driver or two, a peeping Tom, a disorderly customer at a convenience store, etc. Nothing major.
I took Denene on a tour of parts of the city she'd never seen, and to a few she had but only during the daytime. Believe me, some typically normal neighborhoods totally transform once the sun is down and all the "creepies" come out to play. It's the time when neon lights replace sunshine, and when alleyways come alive with feral animals and people who pay for quickie sex behind dented dumpsters overflowing with restaurant waste and wet, slimy butcher shop cardboard and paper.
These are the streets and neighborhoods where wispy tendrils of sewer steam rise from storm drains to twist and writhe their way toward the night sky, floating and undulating until they melt into nothingness. Potholes are deep and overturned garbage cans pour out their innards for all to see. Front yards are bare dirt and sofas and used kitchen chairs sit on front porches featuring leaning posts and broken railings. At the curb laying at either side of the streets are empty beer cans and bottles and used needles and condoms mixed with dry, crispy fall leaves.
In the area sometimes called "The Bottom, prostitutes display their wares in barely-there outfits while local businessmen, average Joes and sometimes Janes, and a few city officials cruise along the dark streets comparing the "merchandise."
Winos and drug addicts are on their aimless and zombie-like marches, stumbling along cold concrete walks and streets until they finally decide upon a random landing spot in a storefront entrance where they smoke, drink rotgut liquor, or shoot poison into their arms or legs. Then they'll sleep awhile before setting off on another mindless quest for the next high.
Drug runners, the low-level, bottom of the drug-selling chain, sellers of crack, meth, heroin, and weed, are at nearly every corner in the "hot" neighborhoods. Many times they damage the corner street lamps by throwing rocks at the bulbs, or by shooting them out, so they can operate under the cover of darkness.
Runners stand alone or in small groups of three or so with each holding only a small amount of dope so not much will be lost should a cop bust them. Users cruise the areas in their cars, driving slowly. When the runner spots a customer he approaches the vehicle. The driver hands over cash ($20 for a single crack rock) and the runner offers the drug. Sometimes he keeps the foil or plastic-wrapped rock in his mouth so he could easily swallow it in case the "customer" is a cop. He'll spit the wrapped rock into his hand to exchange for the cash.
When the runners sell out they head back to the dealers to "re-up." The process repeats hour after hour, night after night after night. The runners are always at ready to take off should an officer approach. It's a cat and mouse game that's played again and again—we get out of our cars and they run. We chase. They drop the dope and an occasional gun. We pick up the stuff and maybe catch the guy or maybe not.
So after seeing enough of the rot of the city, I drove to areas where officers were on the scenes of various calls/complaints, making sure all was well. Then the radio crackled with an "officer needs assistance" call. She'd stopped a car for drunk driving and the driver refused to get out of his vehicle. She'd struggled with him a bit, through the car window, but had no luck. In fact, he'd spit at her and attempted to bite her. He'd struck her arms with his fist and tried to punch her face.
So off I went to see the trouble for myself. Other officers were on the way to assist. When Denene and I arrived two officers were at the driver's window grabbing at the man and striking at his arms with batons. A third officer was standing at the passenger window preparing to break the glass. I told Denene I'd be right back (the equivalent to "Hold my beer") and stepped out of my car.
Since I'd trained each of the on-scene" officers in defensive tactics during their time at the academy, and the fact that I owned my own gym and martial arts school, and because I the ranking officer on the scene, well, they'd assumed that I'd handle this situation. So they parted to allow me access to the driver.
I politely informed the wild and drunken and very large man that he had two options. One, remove his seat belt and get out of the car on his on. Two, I'd cause him intense pain while removing him from the car, through the window. When he spit at me it was my conclusion that he'd opted for choice number two.
A few seconds later, after inflicting quite a bit of pain (I knew this because he was squealing and squawking like a wounded animal), I pulled his fat rear end through the seatbelt and through the window (with his helpful assistance since he wanted the pain to stop sooner than asap), pulled him to the ground, spun him around and over using a wrist-turn-out. I then cuffed his hands behind his back.
I told the female officer who'd initially stopped the car to place my handcuffs in the box outside my office door when she'd cleared from processing the man. I then turned and walked back to my car where I nonchalantly asked Denene if she'd like to grab a cup of coffee. Only a minute or two had passed since I first stepped out of my unmarked Caprice.
She said, "How can you be so calm after such a violent event? And how in the world did you get that big man to fit through that window and all so quickly?"
I, like every officer out there, didn't think twice about it. It's what we/they do, those sorts of things—pulling grown men through car windows and the like. It's part of the job, like editing is to a writer.
Yes, it was Christmas and we were together. But she never again rode with me.
She eventually stopped listening the police scanner we had at the house. She switched it off one night, for the final time, after hearing me tell other officers that "I'd go in first."
Yeah, she's much happier since writing about this stuff is a WHOLE lot safer …
Aikido uses the attacker's own force against him.
A wrist turnout applies intense pressure to the joint in the wrist, forcing the suspect off balance.
Proper grasp to begin the wrist turnout (Kotegaeshi Nage) technique. To complete the technique the officer maintains his grasp, rotates the suspect's hand up and to the rear in a counter-clockwise motion while simultaneously stepping back with his (the officer) left leg. The suspect ends up on the floor on his back (see picture below). Any resistance inflcts excrutiating pain in the wrist, elbow, and shoulder.
Combative suspects are normally forced the ground for handcuffing. From this position, a quick turn of the suspect's wrist and arm will force him to roll over on his stomach. Any resistance causes extreme pain and could severely injure the controlled wrist, elbow, and shoulder.
To effectively control the wrist, the elbow must be stationary. From this position, the suspect is easily handcuffed.
This wrist lock can cause intense pain in the wrist, the elbow, and the shoulder. Forward and downward pressure forces the suspect to the ground.
December 25, 2019 /by Lee Lofland
https://i0.wp.com/www.leelofland.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/DT-Aikido-copy.jpg?fit=385%2C321&ssl=1 321 385 Lee Lofland https://www.leelofland.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/the-graveyard-shift-1.png Lee Lofland2019-12-25 09:55:562019-12-25 16:29:01It's Christmas, So Let's Pull a Fat Guy Through a Car Window
Police Academy Training, Police Procedure
Shooting For Survival: Are Your Heroes Properly Trained?
Ready on the left? Ready on the right? Ready on the firing line. Commence firing!
Those words, or something similar, are heard by officers all over the country as they attend their annual mandated firearms qualification. Yes, at least once or twice each year all officers receive word to report to the range to qualify with their duty weapons.
Many officers, for the first time since the last mandatory qualification, pull out their handy-dandy gun cleaning kits to spruce up their sidearms. Then, with pistols all clean, shiny, and properly oiled, a few begin to feel a bit of anxiety creeping up. Suppose I don't qualify? What happens if my scores aren't high enough? You know, my eyesight is a bit weaker since last year. What if I miss the entire target? Will I lose my job?
Well, those are worries that should never arise because officers should be required, or at least encouraged to shoot more often. Practice by repetition is the key to firearms proficiency. Budget woes should never affect or stand in the way of an officer's ability to defend himself/herself.
However, ammunition and training time are often one of the first things to go when funds grow tight. But that's the way it is and that's the way it'll probably remain. So cops deal with what they have, which sometimes isn't much.
Firearms In-Service Training
Some departments do little more than have their officers line up on the range, wait for the command to fire, and then blast away at stationary paper targets, hoping they'll punch enough holes in them so they can pass the minimum qualification requirements. Then they call it quits until the next year. Short, sweet, and cheap. But is that enough to survive in today's increasingly dangerous world? No, it's not.
How Many and What Kind of Attacks?
Each year the FBI collects data regarding the number of law enforcement officers who were assaulted during that particular 12-month period. For example, In 2018, from the 546,247 officers working for a total of 11,788 law enforcement agencies across the U.S., a whopping 58,866 officers were assaulted while performing their duties. To break it down a bit further, that's 10.8 officers assaulted per 100 sworn officers.
Attacks With Injuries Received
24.7 percent of the officers who received injuries in 2018 were attacked with hands, fists, or feet (personal weapons).
8.4 percent of the officers were attacked by persons wielding knives or other edged weapons.
6.1 percent of officers were attacked with firearms.
16.0 percent of the attacks on officers who were carried out by subjects using weapons other than those listed above.
In the years from 2009-2018, 9,857 were injured by edged weapons, 439,719 by personal weapons, and 80,692 were injured by suspects who used "other" dangerous weapons to carry out attacks. During the same time period 21,954 officers were injured by firearms.
Many of the over 21,000 officers who were victims of firearm attacks were killed during shootouts with armed suspects, NOT in gun battles with stationary paper targets.
Now, I'm not saying those officers weren't properly trained. Nor am I suggesting they didn't respond appropriately to the threats to their lives. Not at all. Sometimes you do everything right and the worst still happens. What I am offering is that there are numerous techniques and tactics that could and should be taught to each and every officer. Things that could help them in the field.
Classroom time is great, and necessary, and goodness knows there's a mountain of wonderful books and research material available.
Police Procedure and Investigation, A Guide for Writers, is a how-to, behind the scenes book designed especially for writers. The book can be found in public schools and university libraries all across the world, on the shelves and desks of thousands of writers, including many top, bestselling authors, on the nightstands of fans of police TV shows and people who're interested in learning about police officers and procedures, in police departments, police academies, and more.
Book "learnin'" is great, however, it's a must to incorporate hands-on exercises into police training whenever possible. This is also why the Writers' Police Academy came into being—so that writers can experience the same training as what's offered to and required of police officers and investigators.
International bestselling author Tami Hoag, Writers' Police Academy 2016.
As I stated earlier, officers learn some skills best through repetition, and it's the "over and over again" training that helps officers learn to react almost instinctively to various threats and situations. Then, when/if those events present themselves, officers will revert to their training and react appropriately.
Therefore, it is an absolute must that officers spend at least some time training under "threat" situations. After all, suspects on the street are simply not going to stand perfectly still with their hands hanging at their sides so that officers can squeeze off 50 or 60 rounds at them. So why should officers train as if they're going to someday face a one-dimensional faceless paper bank robber?
Believe me, facing a live person who's shooting at you is far different than shooting at an ink-blotted paper rectangle. Everything changes when a human suspect pulls the trigger, sending a bullet toward your head. Your brain has to suddenly shift from "it's only a paper target (paper-man, or flat-man, syndrome)" to HOLY S**T HE'S TRYING TO KILL ME! mode.
Sure, some practicing with stationary targets is necessary. That's how cops learn the basics. But what else could they do to better prepare themselves for the real bad guys?
Karin Slaughter, Writers' Police Academy 2015 – Firearms Simulator Training
1. Shoot in low light situations. Not all firefights are going to happen at noon. In fact, many, if not most shooting situations occur at night. So why practice all shooting in the bright sunshine? And practice shooting while holding a flashlight!
2. Tactical reloading. Spend lots of time practicing reloading while under fire (pretend of course). When performing reloading drills, officers should practice discarding/dropping the empty magazine. You do not want your hands full, trying to reload while bullets zip by your head. However, when/if possible, shooters should place the empty magazine where it's easily accessible for future reloading, if necessary.
3. Practice shooting while using various objects as cover. The practice will then come naturally when in the field. Always use cover!
4. Officers should always face their target (never turn their backs on the shooter!). However, some departments have the officers first shoot from closer ranges (5 or 7 yards), and then when they're finished at that distance they turn around and casually walk back to the next firing point. NO! They should back up to the next point. This instills the habit of always facing their aggressor.
5. Strong and weak hand shooting. Always, always, always practice shooting with either hand. The possibility of entering into a firefight with an injured strong hand is always a possibility. If it does, officers certainly want to be able to at least hold, point, and shoot their firearms with some degree of accuracy.
6. Practice shooting at moving targets. Bad guys do not stand still. Neither do cops when they're in a firefight. So why always practice shooting at stationary objects? I cannot stress this point enough.
7. Spend time on firearms training simulators. Simulators are great tools for preparing officers for real-life scenarios. They're also great for pointing out weaknesses in stressful situations. I'd rather correct my errors in a classroom, not after I've caught a couple of rounds to my torso.
Firearms simulations training, Writers' Police Academy 2010.
International bestselling author Lee Child and, to his left, world-renowned forensic anthropologist Elizabeth Murray—firearms simulator training, Writers' Police Academy 2012. Th shooter to Lee's right is Dr. Murray's sister.
Finally, and this is to the officers out there, practice, practice, practice. Repetition, repetition, repetition! What you do during training is what you'll do on the street. I guarantee it. So even if your department doesn't offer extra time on the range, you do what it takes to find somewhere to practice shooting. Your life may soon depend on your ability to use your weapon effectively.
Be safe! Your lives matter to a lot of people.
December 14, 2019 /2 Comments/by Lee Lofland
https://i1.wp.com/www.leelofland.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/20161208_092022-copy.jpg?fit=465%2C349&ssl=1 349 465 Lee Lofland https://www.leelofland.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/the-graveyard-shift-1.png Lee Lofland2019-12-14 14:27:532019-12-14 14:32:57Shooting For Survival: Are Your Heroes Properly Trained?
A Cry for Help: A Drug Addict's Armed Standoff … At My Front Door
"I'm going to kill both of you, and then I'm going to blow my brains out, right here!"
Philadelphia had the ball and were one score away from winning the game against Washington. It wasn't that I was a big fan of either team but I'd watched the game from the opening kickoff, therefore I had a good deal of time invested in watching and I wanted to see it through.
"Sit. Down!"
There it was again. That voice. One of our kids must've had their tv volume turned to high. If it continued I'd have to speak to whichever teen culprit was hard at work damaging their young eardrums.
It was somewhere just shy of halftime when I'd kicked off my shoes, popped a bowl of popcorn, and poured myself into the couch. Denene occupied the end of the sofa on the opposite side of the container, and occasionally our hands met at mid-bowl.
I'd been working on a particularly pesky case and my day had been long and it felt as if I'd walked a million steps and had questioned as many suspects and witnesses. Therefore, a night in front of the TV with my wonderful wife, with no thoughts of murder, guns, and wacked-out suspects, had been a most welcome thought. Until, that is, I once again heard the voice, the one I hadn't been positively sure I heard the first two times.
"Sit your ass down so I can get this over with."
Now I was certain that "the voice" was coming from someone on the outside of our home and not from a blaring television speaker. And, before I could get to the window to see who it was that felt to yell and scream and disrupt the entire neighborhood during Monday night football, and why they were doing so, the living room curtains came alive with winking and flashing blue lights.
This, in MY neighborhood. My quiet and peaceful southern quintessential neighborhood with large, gnarly and stately oak trees , a lazy river that ambled and snaked its way behind the homes on our side of the street, a small country-style church with an A-frame tin roof and tall steeple, and residents who took the time to stop whatever they were doing to smile and wave at passersby. It, by golly, was a neighborhood where baker Jason "Honey, the cow done gone and laid an egg in your molasses patch" Smith would feel right at home.
"Put down the gun! Put it down now!"
I parted the curtains and peered outside. Our normally quiet street was littered with several marked patrol cars parked at various angles. Their strobes flickered and fluttered, with side-mounted spotlight beams stretching from each car until they all came together at the front porch of our across-the-street neighbors, an elderly couple who spent a great deal of their days there rocking and sipping iced tea from Mason jars that most likely once held vegetables from the meticulously maintained garden in their backyard.
I stepped out onto our front porch to have a better view of the goings-on. Yes, I, too, had become a member of the the looky-loo club, the folks who worm and squirm their bodies into position for a peek at whatever action that attracted the men and women who maintain absolute control of the "blue lights." But I had to see. The force pulled my attention to the action. Besides, it was kind of nice watching the events unfold without being a part of it. Had I been involved I would have been the ranking officer and charge of the scene would have fallen to me. So I watched, standing in the cool fall air, wearing shorts, a t-shirt, and no shoes.
Uniformed officers positioned themselves, as they should, behind their vehicles. Youngsters, the entire lot of them. One, a young rookie who's haircut had the still-fresh buzz-cut look of an academy recruit, held a position at the rear of his car. A female officer who stood no taller than five-feet when wearing a pair of Bates tactical boots, had one foot inside an open car door with the other planted on the pavement behind an angled front tire. She used the space where the door met the car as a prop for her weapon. The expression on her face was a serious one.
Other officers were scattered about, willy-nilly, with one using an in-car microphone to bark out orders to the armed man who, at that point, paced the porch like a caged circus lion. His white-haired mother sobbed while his frail father rambled on about not having any money to give, especially to supply a drug habit.
"Put down the gun!"
The standoff went on for a while,—too long, actually—before I decided to stick my nose in it. I'd arrested the across-my-street gunman a couple of times in the past, mostly for minor crimes to support his drug habit. I knew him and he knew me. It was a start and that's a place where we often begin … a start.
I walked across our front lawn (shoeless) and then out onto the street where a couple of the officers recognized me. I'd taught them officer survival and defensive tactics during their time at the training academy. I asked one of them to use their radio to let the others know I was there and planned to contact the subject. In other words, DO NOT SHOOT THE OLD GUY FROM ACROSS THE STREET.
I began my move by first calling out to the gunman from a position that was away from his parents. He turned to face me, with the gun, a .357 revolver, down at his side. I took a step out into the light so he could see me, and what a sight that must've been—t-shirt, running shorts, no shoes, and…that's when I realized I had not grabbed a weapon when I left the house. I was unarmed. What a D.U.M.B.A.S.S. thing to do. And here I was, the veteran who taught officer survival tactics to other officers. This stupid move was more like officer suicide. Absolutely in sharp contrast to all rules, regulations, training, and above all … common sense.
I started talking to the young man. "Donnie (not his real name), how can I help you tonight?"
"Nobody can help me this time, Detective." Good, he recognized me.
"I don't know about that, Donnie. Tell me what's bugging you and we'll go from there."
I moved a bit closer to the porch. Twenty feet to go. His face was peppered with beads of perspiration, in spite of the chilly night air, and his eyes were wide, wet, glossy, and rimmed in red. He constantly licked at his lips, and used his non gun hand to pick and scratch and rub the opposite arm.
"It's going to stop tonight. I'm tired of it! Everything. All of it." he yelled." Tears leaked from his eyes and eased down his cheeks until they fell one by one to the concrete floor.
A few more steps. Five feet to the porch deck. Another six or so to where he stood. I tried not to look directly at the gun.
"If you're tired of it (I was sort of certain he meant the drug addiction) let's sit down and talk about it. I may have the answers you need. I think I can help."
His finger slid into the trigger guard. His shoulders trembled. The slow trickle of tears had morphed into rivers. He glanced toward the street and then back toward his parents. I had to move, so I walked toward him. "Donnie, let's talk. But first I'll need the gun."
The silence was deafening. The only sounds I remember were the faint clicking of the light mechanisms on the patrol cars as they controlled the flashes spins, and whirls, and that of my heart as it thumped against the inner wall of my chest.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Whir, spins, blink, wink.
Thump, thump, thump.
I held out my hand as I walked (faster now).
He took a step back, but stopped and slowly began to raise the hand holding the handgun.
There was no turning back at this point, so I continued my forward march.
Donnie raised his hand and turned the gun backward, handing me the butt end. It was over and I felt myself exhale. Officers ran to the porch to escort Donnie's parents inside. EMS personnel followed them into the house where they tended to the distraught couple.
I remained outside where Donnie and I sat on a porch swing. We talked for quite a while before patrol officers handcuffed him and then led him to one of their cars.
A magistrate committed Donnie to a temporary stay in a psych unit where he was evaluated and released after a few days. He was charged for the incident at his parents' house but the same magistrate saw no reason to hold him in jail, so Donnie was released on a PR bond.
Two weeks later I was working a controlled drug buy and heard a call come across my radio about an unconscious man lying among the leaves in the wooded area next to a trailer park. I was nearby so drove over to see if I could help out. It was Donnie, and he was not breathing and he had no pulse. I started CPR and, to my surprise, he came to after only a few minutes (seemed like hours to me). EMS arrived and whisked Donnie off to the hospital. Doctors told me he'd overdosed but would be fine in a few days.
I stopped in to see Donnie one afternoon and sat beside his bed for an hour or so. We chatted between bouts of his crying and forgiveness-begging. I wished him well and told him to call when he was released and I'd see to it that he received help for his addiction. As I headed to the door a couple of nurses playfully teased us about the "sexy" lip-lock Donnie and shared during the CPR. He laughed and I took his good spirits as a sign of better days to come.
Two weeks later another radio call came in about a possible overdose. This one was at Donnie's apartment. I flipped on my blue lights and siren headed over. When I arrived on-scene, the lack of urgency on the part of the officers and EMS workers told me all I needed to know.
After a chat with the EMS folks and M.E., I got back in my car and drove to the house across the street from ours. The walk from the street to the front door was an extremely long one, and when the door opened and the faces of Donnie's parents appeared, well … you know.
December 12, 2019 /1 Comment/by Lee Lofland
https://i0.wp.com/www.leelofland.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/file0001204643247.jpg?fit=620%2C496&ssl=1 496 620 Lee Lofland https://www.leelofland.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/the-graveyard-shift-1.png Lee Lofland2019-12-12 09:04:242019-12-12 16:42:40A Cry for Help: A Drug Addict's Armed Standoff ... At My Front Door
The Day Bugs Bunny Helped Me Crack a Case
Radio transmission – Theft from jewelry store. Items taken – two diamond rings with value exceeding $10,000.
Subsequent Traffic Stop
Weather – Sunny. 84 degrees.
Probable Cause for stop – Vehicle matched description provided by jewelry store owner. Plates – out of state. Unknown numbers/lettering.
Weapon(s) involved – Taurus .380 recovered from beneath driver's seat. Fully loaded with spare magazine in small cloth bag. No weapons used in connection with the crime.
My partner and I were pros at playing good cop/bad cop. In fact, we were the go-to guys for eliciting confessions. But these two, the man and woman suspected of taking two expensive diamond rings from a local jewelry store, were also pros. In their line of work—stealing and con games—they were some of the best in the business and their racket was an old one. They'd pretend to shop for engagement rings. She tried on several, asking to see first one then another and then back to this one and then the other and so on and so on until the clerk has an assortment of sparkly bling scattered about the glass countertop like a spattering of snowflakes on a frozen lake surface, much like the winter wonderland appearance of our backyard this morning.
Their goal, of course, was to confuse the clerk so that they could pocket a few gems and then make their getaway after not seeing the "perfect" ring, bracelet, or necklace. It worked. When the frustrated clerk/owner returned the collection of items to their respective spots in the cases, she noticed two valuable rings were missing. So were the two "customers."
The responding uniformed officers asked for a description of the pair of thieves, but the owner simply couldn't offer any solid details. They'd so thoroughly confused her that all she could remember was that one was male and the other was female. She was able to recall their race and that both wore nice clothing … she thought.
However, she wasn't sure if it was the man wore a blue shirt or if it was the woman whose top was blue. She was confident the man had on khaki pants, though. No doubt about that detail. She was also certain about the description of the getaway car—it was a dark colored vehicle with out of state plates. Not sure which state, just not the familiar blue lettering on white background of Virginia plates.
For the record, the actual color of the man's shirt was green; the woman had selected a red and white striped top as her shirt du jour. Both were wearing blue jeans at the time of the traffic stop, a stop that took place within 30 minutes of the theft. There was no other clothing inside their car. The owner's descriptions were not even close and, unfortunately, the store's surveillance cameras were switched off. "Oh, we don't bother with that thing," she later told me. "Far too much trouble."
Surprisingly, the store owner was correct about the license plate.
Perfectly Legal Little White Lies
Questioning the two suspects was going nowhere. We had them in separate rooms and we alternated between the two, trying every trick in the book, including telling perfectly legal little white lies. You left fingerprints. The clerk ID'd you. Witnesses saw you. Yada, yada, yada. But we were spinning our wheels because they'd readily admitted to being in the store.
They simply weren't talking.
They said they'd looked at and tried on rings. However, they didn't like what they saw and left. But they didn't take anything. It was their word against the store owner's and we had no evidence. They'd allowed us to search both them and their car and we found nothing but the gun, which was illegal—he was a convicted felon and the gun was concealed.
We tried every legal card up our sleeves, but no dice. We had nothing.
Frazier v. Cupp is the case that permits police to tell little white lies during interrogations.
So, with the pair remaining as silent as Mr. Bean during one of his comedy sketches, I took a walk around the hallways, trying to think of some sort of angle to help garner a confession.
As I passed by the door to the dispatchers' room one of them called out with a cheery "Good morning," so I stepped inside. I noticed a small stack of new videos (VHS tapes at the time) beside her terminal. The top one was a collection of Looney Tunes cartoons with Bugs Bunny's image plastered on the front. He held a carrot in one hand and his rabbit lips were split into his typical buck-toothy grin. The video was a gift for her child's birthday.
I had an idea and asked to borrow the tape for a few minutes.
After a quick stop in my office for a bit of artistic trickery, I returned to the interview room where the female suspect sat waiting. When I opened the door and stepped inside she smiled and asked if she could leave.
I took a seat in the chair across from her and returned her smile. Then I slid the tape across the tabletop. "We have a video," I said. What I didn't say was that I'd removed the Bugs label and replaced it with one I'd handwritten in my office before returning to the interview room. The new label simply read "Tape – June 6, 1994." (June 6 was the current date, and Tape…well, it was a tape, right?).
"When I show this tape to a judge…well, you know what's going to happen, right?" I said.
Tears quickly formed in the corners of her eyes. Then she looked down toward her feet and nodded. "I know," she said. "Yeah, we did it. He took them, though. Not me. You saw that on the tape, right?"
Suddenly she wouldn't shut up, telling me they'd dropped the rings out of the car window when they saw me pull out behind them. I sent a patrol officer to the approximate location where he found both rings. She also confessed to other thefts in other cities. The gun, too, was stolen. They'd broken into a home and found it while searching for valuables. The necklace she wore that day was stolen, as was the watch on her boyfriend's wrist.
When I entered the room with her boyfriend/partner in crime, with the tape in hand, my first words to him were, "What's up, Doc?"
An hour later we had signed confessions from both suspects.
And that's how Bugs Bunny helped me solve the Case of the Missing Jewelry.
And, well…
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Recipe for Death: A 4×4 Truck and an Angry, Drunk Boyfriend
Like all patrol officers and police detectives, I've seen a lot of horror. The real-life kind, though. Not the kind that sprouted from an idea that once lived in a dark, dank corner of Stephen King's twisted mind.
Sadly, quite a bit of the terrifying gruesomeness stemmed from domestic violence, and some of the acts were far beyond the comprehension of the typical human being. The brutality discovered during many investigations were both heartbreaking and stomach-turning.
For example, one night we received a call to be on the lookout for a pickup truck with oversized tires, the kind used for off-roading. The caller said the the driver was a white male with short hair. She went on to say that he appeared to be heavily intoxicated and that had physically assaulted and abducted a white female from the parking lot of an area nightclub.
Witnesses at the scene told us that the man was known to be armed with a handgun and his truck was equipped with a gun rack mounted behind the seat and was clearly visible through the rear window. The rack contained both a rifle and shotgun. He was an avid hunter and an equally avid drinker.
Just minutes after dispatch received the initial call, they received another about the same incident. This caller, though, shed more light on the situation. The abducted woman was the girlfriend of the man who'd taken her and he'd returned home after a day of deer hunting and liquor drinking to find her gone. They surmised that he'd noticed her favorite party outfit was missing along with her "dancing shoes" and then, in a rage, set out to search for her. This would not be the first time this had happened.
A few miles from their home, the angry drunk, with a pistol tucked into the waistband of his faded Levi's, indeed found his girlfriend on the dance floor of a local club, cheek-to-cheek and belly-to-belly with a city slicker from out of town.
After promptly decking the rosy-cheeked man who wore a crisp button-up shirt, creased khaki pants, and brown leather shoes, the boyfriend pulled the woman from the parquet floor and dragged her out into the parking lot where he punched her a few times before ripping her polkadot mini dress from her body. She'd worn nothing but her birthday suit beneath.
He pulled her across the rocky lot and then shoved her inside the cab of his truck. Witnesses said he'd caught her long blonde hair in the door when he slammed it shut and, as he tore from the parking lot spraying cars and bystanders with stones and bits of fine gravel dust, they saw her hair fluttering and waving in the breeze.
Every cop in the area was watching for the truck. Officers checked the homes of the couple and those of their families and friends. They searched the man's hunt club, and other night clubs in the city. They drove down dirt roads and along side roads and country roads. In the city they made passes through alleyways behind shopping centers and malls and grocery stores. Beside railroad tracks and in city parks and cemeteries.
Then we received the call we didn't want to receive. A young couple were traveling along a country road a few miles from the city when they saw something in the road. At first they thought someone had perhaps struck a deer. Could've been anything, though. Maybe an old mattress, a garbage bag, or even a hippopotamus for all they knew. After all, "seeing things" was a possibility since the purpose of their super-slow drive in the countryside was to smoke weed, enjoy a bit of acid, and listen to good music.
When they drew closer they realized what they'd suspected to be a deer, or a hippo, was actually the bloody body of a nude woman. They guessed her age as somewhere around 22 or 23. She was dead, of course. Her entire body was one single hunk of road rash.
We finally located the man sitting in his truck parked at the edge of river. The place was a favorite of teens and young adults. They went there to drink, swim, smoke dope, and party. The spot was in the middle of nowhere. So far out, actually, that when you reached the middle of nowhere you took a left and traveled 10 additional miles to get to this place.
The boyfriend confessed to the abduction. He also said that he and his girlfriend had argued. He told us that he'd held a gun to her head, but it was just to scare her. He also said he'd ordered her to perform sex acts on him while he drove. When she refused he hit her repeatedly with the barrel of the pistol. Then, suddenly, she managed to open the truck door and jumped out. At the time he guessed that he'd been driving at a speed of approximately 70-80.
The man said he saw her body, in his side mirror, as she tumbled along the pavement. He stopped and backed up to check on her, but decided not to get out of the truck, thinking there was nothing he could do for at that point. So he left her there, like a chunk of roadkill.
I'd previously arrested this same man for domestic violence—threatening his family with a shotgun and later pointing that same firearm at me. The woman, his wife at the time, was not the blonde who'd leapt to her death from his truck. This was a different woman—his former wife—who he'd beaten more times than I can remember. And each time, she took him back and refused to testify against him in court. It was only after he'd fired the shotgun in the direction of their children that she'd decided she'd had enough and left him for good. Still, the judge merely ordered a fine, no jail time, and he was back at it again with other women. I guess shooting up his house and threatening people with a loaded firearm, and pointing that loaded firearm at police officers, well, I guess that was simply not a big deal to the judge.
This last time, though, he was charged with manslaughter for the death of his girlfriend.
Finally, the man would get what he deserved; however, the judge, the same as before, found the man guilty as charged but let him go with time served. He'd been in jail for only a few months prior to his release.
December 7, 2019 /4 Comments/by Lee Lofland
https://i1.wp.com/www.leelofland.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/file0001526268459-copy.jpg?fit=485%2C246&ssl=1 246 485 Lee Lofland https://www.leelofland.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/the-graveyard-shift-1.png Lee Lofland2019-12-07 12:18:342019-12-07 12:18:34Recipe for Death: A 4x4 Truck and an Angry, Drunk Boyfriend


For the adventurous or merely curious, Allen Shi's more than $1 million baby is a must visit. Shi hired chef Jian Li directly from Sichuan to prepare his province's traditional yet exacting cuisine, in a contemporary atmosphere defined by a theatrical open kitchen, pulsing bar, and impressively refined dining room. The food is a triumph of color, flavor, and texture. Bang bang chicken brings ribbons of moist chilled breast glistening in fragrant Sichuan-seasoned chili oil. Crisped pork belly soup is a medley of translucent broth and seasonal emerald greens. Steamed lamb brings a loosely bound "loaf" of minced shank meat spiked with powerfully floral spice. Even the kung pao chicken is revelatory, with its tongue-numbing peppercorns and a thin but dark sauce. Shi opened the excellent YiPing in San Ramon and Sichuan Fortune House in Pleasant Hill, but China Lounge is a world-class venture. Lunch and dinner daily.


the other day anders and i woke up and decided to go on a date day! we realised we've been here in new york for over a week now and haven't had a day just us two since we arrived. so we got ready and made our way to the met museum where we spent the morning wandering through and admiring everything. we moved from the ancient egyptian tombs, the temple of dendur to medieval, european sculpture and decorative arts before ending our first visit with modern and contemporary art where some of my favourite artists' work resides. it was so special to see pieces from jackson pollock, picasso, joan miro and modigliani. the met was incredible! going to museums is one of my favourite things to do when travelling... i love to soak up the culture and history. before you leave the met, i highly recommend wandering through the gift shop! whenever i visit any museum i always buy prints and postcards as souvenirs and frame them when i get home.
after the met we ordered an uber back to soho because we had to return a few things there. balthazar restaurant and bakery were just around the corner from where we were. by this point it was 3 in the afternoon and as we walked into balthazar i was pleasantly surprised to see it was still buzzing! i immediately fell in love with the old french bistro charm. there was a big vase of cherry blossoms which are in season at the moment. lucky for us lunch was still being served and we were sat in a cosy booth near the window straight away. i was craving steak frites which is what i ordered, anders got a delicious lamb and caramelised onion sandwich and we shared a creme brulee for dessert. it was exactly what we needed after a big day. i was a little worried balthazar would be a brutal tourist zone but there were loads of new york characters wining and dining there. everywhere we sit and spend time in new york, people watching is so much fun.


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Home » Blog News
Pierluigi Panza defends the values of literature
Lorenzo Morandotti Posted On 22 May 2017
What evaluation criteria orient themselves in "large magnum" of literature?
Here's what you think Pierluigi Panza, sworn Prize "City of Como" authoritative cultural and signature "Corriere della Sera". Panza considers worthy of attention the works that are not of pure entertainment, because he remains convinced that literature can and should be a tool to read the world in which we live.
Pierluigi Panza writer, journalist and university professor of Aesthetics and Art History. And 'the author and editor of numerous scientific publications including Leon Battista Alberti: philosophy and theory of art (1993) and Piranesi architect (1999). He has published several novels including The cross and the Sphinx. wicked life Giovanni Battista Piranesi, finalist at the Premio Campiello 2009 and The inventor of forgetfulness finalist "City of Como" in 2014.
So it presents on its website: "A professional journalist since 1995, Working with Corriere della Sera, where I deal with culture. Since the early nineties I carry out educational activities as Professor Adjunct at the Polytechnic and the University of Milan. I wrote essays and acts of university and scientific conference, exhibition catalogs, and I participated in trade journals kept in the most accredited libraries in the world I am author of 18 books, including four novels, an award-winning (Premio Campiello, catholic, Rieti, Cavallini), published by the major Italian publishing houses. Some have been translated abroad. I am the founder and editor of the online blog "Done artfully" on contemporary artistic aesthetic themes for the portal of the "Corriere della Sera". I carry out academic activities: Professor of "Aesthetics "at the Politecnico di Milano; Professor of "Theory and Techniques of Communication Journalism" at the University of Milan; Professor of the "Master of Communication" at IULM; Member of the Evaluation Committee of the University of Italian Switzerland. I founded a university magazine, "Ananke", the timing of preservation of culture. I made other "Points of view. Metropolis", a television program in competition for young film-makers on aesthetics Urban".
Let's return to the judging criteria that parterre of the prestigious Breeders "City of Como" must put in. "Keep in mind – Panza says – that only in Italy 45% according to recent statistics of the population it claims to read at least one year lioro. So strong are very few readers, the 10-12% of the total. If we talk about books then let us realize that this is a fairly marginal phenomenon. Someone like Giulio Ferroni it even defines a 'posthumous experience'. Without being so radical, we must consider the book something that keeps your place in society, but that is no longer total experience as it was for example in the nineteenth. Today the book is to contend with very powerful means of communication, I think about the digital reality and fiction on TV. That said, the sense that literature today is to provide a symbolic transfiguration of the world. This is why I personally in my assessments in fiction and nonfiction try to avoid what could be called the "aesthetic populism", that is, a kind of strange fascination for what is more easily digested by the public. The literature must remain an intellectual elevation process for all, we must refuse to accept uncritically the market and its logic of spreading. The meaning prince of this artistic experience itself as a critical activity towards the world and transfigure. Caution, This does not mean falling into the opposite, ie the typical lack of communication of certain experiments and avanguardie.I books should always be able to communicate, They must be written in language that conveys emotions which in turn are harbingers of an intellectual elevation. So notice to literature aimed at the trivial disclosure or to the mere pastime".
Panza is also a art critic and recently we have read on "Courier service" its matches at the Venice Biennale.
This paradigm of evaluation is also valid in the field of art, in your opinion? "Even art is a critical activity for the world by creating objects that convey emotion. But in art it has to do with a much more invasive financial power. The literature supports the purchase of copies, is an industry with lower turnover, which gives the player the illusion of being freer. In art no, It moves with the large distortions of finance, where very powerful collectors, for example those Arab, Chinese or Russian, They can significantly affect the consent". It completed the Turin Book Fair. What is your judgment Panza of opposition to the fledgling fair "Time of books" the Rho? "At publishing houses it has called for a major effort to participate in both events. At least for this year, Milan did not win his battle. Also because he imitated too much the Turin Motor Show, in a place like the fair, outward from cities, which it implied an allure that books virtually not know how to express. I guess we should orient to events such as "fuorisalone" Salone del Mobile, which they are also a social phenomenon for many young, a system that catalyzes downtown considerable public. But I think in the long Milan, city with great economic potential and services, can get the better of Turin".
Lorenzo Morandotti
Awards Ceremony VI edition - 12 October 2019 Villa Olmo
LauraG 21 June 2019
Interview with Pierluigi Panza swore the City of Como Prize
Cevasco: "An award that gives value to the merit"
Presentation to the Library Ubik (Como):

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Current: Page 3
Declaration: Suspension of netting in the Foyle area and catch and release angling on River Finn
Loughs Agency has issued a declaration suspending netting in the River Foyle, Lough Foyle and seaward of Lough Foyle and restricting angling in the River Finn to catch and release only. The restrictions have been put in place to protect the Atlantic Salmon. The number of salmon which have…
THE FOYLE AREA (CONTROL OF OYSTER FISHING) REGULATIONS 2008
SUSPENSION OF OYSTER FISHING IN THE FOYLE AREA I, Sharon McMahon, Designated Officer of the Loughs Agency, Foyle Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission, hereby certify that The Commission is satisfied that it is necessary and expedient for the conservation and protection of native oysters (Ostrea edulis) to declare fishing…
Monsters of the Deep
Especially for Halloween, the Whale Workshop has arrived at Loughs Agency from Devon for the Monsters of the Deep event. Life size and life like marine mammals and other creatures form part of the exhibition which looks at some of the local species we can find around our coast.
Something Fishy going on at the Seagate Real World Science Conference
Our Loughs Agency Education Team delivered several workshops today at the Seagate Real World Science Conference. Year 10 pupils from a range of post primary schools across the local area, attended the conference to receive hands-on experience of a whole host of STEM-related careers. Loughs Agency workshops included an…
Statement from Loughs Agency Regarding Lough Foyle Oyster Fishery
Loughs Agency investigations into illegal, pre-season, fishing activities for native oysters in Lough Foyle, have resulted in the seizure of a significant quantity of oysters. Bags of illegally fished oysters were seized on Monday 8th October, the day before the Lough Foyle Native Oyster Fishery was scheduled to open. The…
Illegal Net Seized on the Foyle
Last week, Fishery Officers from Loughs Agency seized an illegal net from the River Foyle in which an adult female Atlantic Salmon had been captured. The salmon was a 5kg (11lbs) female fish and was carrying a significant number of eggs. Atlantic Salmon are at present undergoing changes…
Foyle Ambassadors Graduate
This week 32 young people graduated on the Loughs Agency 'Foyle Ambassador' Programme. The aim of the Foyle Ambassadors programme is to discover the social, economic and environmental importance of the River Foyle, from source to sea, while at the same time providing young people with opportunities to engage and…
Suspension of Oyster Fishing in the Foyle area
DECLARATION THE FOYLE AREA (CONTROL OF OYSTER FISHING) REGULATIONS 2008 SUSPENSION OF OYSTER FISHING IN THE FOYLE AREA I, Sharon McMahon, Designated Officer of the Loughs Agency, Foyle Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission, hereby certify that The Commission is satisfied that it is necessary and expedient for…
Northern Ireland mens team win the XVIII Commonwealth Fly Fishing Championships
Loughs Agency are delighted to announce the results of the XVIII Commonwealth Fly-Fishing Championships 2018, which took place in Omagh, Northern Ireland. This competition was organised by the Trout Angling Federation of Ireland and supported by Fermanagh & Omagh District Council, DAERA Inland Fisheries and Loughs Agency.
2018 COMMONWEALTH FLY FISHING CHAMPIONSHIPS TAKE PLACE IN THE FOYLE CATCHMENT
Loughs Agency are pleased to announce that Northern Ireland is hosting the XVIII Commonwealth Fly-Fishing Championships 2018. The competition has been organised by the Trout Anglers Federation of Ireland is supported by Fermanagh & Omagh District Council, Loughs Agency and DAERA Inland Fisheries. The visiting teams represent England (men and…
5 Illegal Nets Seized in the Foyle Area
Over the last week Loughs Agency Fishery Officers have seized 5 nets which were illegally operating across the Foyle Area. Two of these nets were discovered with adult Atlantic salmon illegally caught in them. The illegal nets were seized across a range of rivers in the Foyle Area, highlighting the…
Foyle Maritime Festival
Loughs Agency are delighted to be a strategic partner with Derry City and Strabane District Council for the Foyle Maritime Festival. Loughs Agency along with our delivery partners are offering the public a wide range of activities and spectacles on the water from Canoeing to Yoga on Stand-Up Paddleboards. …
Now recruiting for Foyle Ambassadors
The Foyle Ambassador programme is a FREE summer scheme aimed at 14-17 year olds from the Foyle area who are interested in the natural environment. The programme will run for 6 weeks starting 23rd July through to the end of August. There will be two groups of…
Minister Kyne opens nature trail at Loughs Agency
Loughs Agency were delighted to welcome Sean Kyne TD to Loughs Agency recently. Mr Kyne is the Minister of State for the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment who are a joint sponsor of Loughs Agency. During his visit to the Agency, Minister Kyne learned about the Loughs Agency…
25/05/18 Pollution Update
On Wednesday 23rd May, Loughs Agency received a call about a pollution incident on the Owenreagh River near Dromore, Co Tyrone. Loughs Agency staff have located the source and the discharge has now been stopped. Loughs Agency have deployed aeration equipment in order to re-oxygenate water. Where the Camowen River…
Ongoing pollution incident on the Owenreagh and Drumragh Rivers
On Wednesday 23rd May, Loughs Agency received a call about a pollution incident on the Owenreagh River near Dromore, Co Tyrone. Agency staff located the source and are investigating the incident. Statutory samples…
Lough Foyle Oyster Fishery Licence Applications
Interested parties are invited to apply for a licence to fish the 2018/2019 Native Oyster fishery. Applicants will be required to submit a completed application form and supporting documentation to the address listed below. All applications must be delivered in person by the applicant. Application forms are available for download…
The Dennett, Faughan and Roe Rivers open to angling this Sunday
This Sunday marks the opening of three excellent game fishing rivers in the Foyle system. The Dennett, Faughan and Roe. The Dennett The Dennett is a medium sized spate river, running off the Sperrin mountains, dropping through Donemana and then swinging west through woodland and pasture to…
Final reminder to complete your 2017 season catch return
This is a final reminder to anglers to log their fishing effort, catches and releases in the Foyle and Carlingford areas for the 2017 season. Last year 7,432 licences were purchased and to date only 10% of anglers have made a catch return. Catch returns are a condition of purchasing…
23rd April 2018: Update on the recapture of rainbow trout from August 2017 floods
In recent weeks the Agency has been undertaking netting and electrofishing operations in order to remove escaped rainbow trout from the Foyle river system at a number of targeted locations. There has been a noticeable decline in the numbers of rainbow trout recaptured over this period. As…


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Husain (Persian: حُسین, romanized: Ḥusaīn, lit. 'handsome'; Persian pronunciation: [hsi:n]), born Ḥusaīn Shāh Chak (Persian: حُسین شاہ چَک, Kashmiri: حُسین شاہ ژَھک) was the second Chak Sultan. He succeeded his brother Ghazi Shah Chak after Ghazi abdicated the throne in Husain's favour in 1563. Husain was the 30th Sultan of Kashmir and ruled Kashmir until 1570.

He served as a general under his father Kaji Shah and then under his elder brother Ghazi Shah. Husain gradually increased his power throughout the Valley and extended his realm in the hill states of Jammu, Kishtwar and Rajauri. He adopted policies that were politically, culturally and economically beneficial. Ruling through a centralised system, he made his cabinet of ministers follow strict rules. To establish peace in his Sultanate, he constituted peaceful relationships with foreign authorities. He held co-operative and contributive talks with his subjects. Husain is regarded as the foremost monarch of the Chak dynasty.

Historiography
The majority of the sources are found in Tarikh i Kashmir IV (History of Kashmir), completed in 1620-21 by Haidar Malik Chadurah, a medieval author and an administrator of Kashmir. Information regarding the Chak rulers including Husain are found in Mughal books like Akbarnama, Ain i Akbari and Tuzk i Jahangiri. Other works include Tarikh i Kashmir I, completed in 1579 by Sayyid Ali while Tarikh i Kashmir II was written in 1590 by an unknown author. Tarikh i Kashmir III was completed during the times of Jahangir. It presents a contemporary version of the rest of the books. Baharistan i Shahi ("Spring Orchard of the Royalty"), the finest of Medieval Kashmiri literature on the Sultanate, was written in 1614 as a Persian chronicle of medieval Kashmir. Other histories of Kashmir such as Tarikh i Hassan, Waqiat i Kashmir and Tazkira Mashaikhin i Kashmir are eighteenth and nineteenth century abridgements of the above works.

Coinage
Nasiru'd-Din Muhammad Husain Padshah Ghazi was engraved on a coin with 6.03g weight and dimensions 15 x 16 mm. This coin has a bold style that is unusual in the coinage series of the Kashmir Sultanate.

Family tree

References

Year of birth missing
1571 deaths
History of Kashmir

Sultans of Kashmir

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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D'Assolo è il secondo album da solista di Dodi Battaglia pubblicato nel 2003.

Il disco
Esso è composto da 10 brani tutti strumentali, eseguiti esclusivamente alla chitarra, usata con la sua cassa anche come strumento a percussione. Raccoglie del materiale composto in parte da Dodi parecchio tempo prima, ma che non aveva ancora trovato un'applicazione. Fu Roby Facchinetti ad incoraggiare Dodi ad utilizzare il materiale per un album strumentale.
Nel maggio 2012 D'Assolo viene ristampato con l'aggiunta di un nuovo brano, 4.3.2012, dedicato a Lucio Dalla, amico e collega di Dodi, scomparso a inizio marzo, e registrato nei primi giorni di marzo in concomitanza con i funerali di Dalla.

Tracce della prima versione (2003)
 Primavera a New York (Battaglia) - 3'41"
 Corazón (Battaglia) - 3'04"
 Treno per il mare (Battaglia) - 4'06"
 La neve ad aprile (Battaglia) - 3'25"
 Annalisa (Battaglia) - 3'02"
 Nordinfesta (Battaglia-Zitello) - 3'05"
 Romantica (Battaglia) - 3'39"
 Per Tre (Battaglia) - 3'36"
 1º giugno (Battaglia) - 3'33"
 D'Assolo (Battaglia) - 3'16"

Tracce della ristampa del 2012
 4.3.2012 (Battaglia) - 4'07"
 Primavera a New York (Battaglia) - 3'41"
 Corazón (Battaglia) - 3'04"
 Treno per il mare (Battaglia) - 4'06"
 La neve ad aprile (Battaglia) - 3'25"
 Annalisa (Battaglia) - 3'02"
 Nordinfesta (Battaglia-Zitello) - 3'05"
 Romantica (Battaglia) - 3'39"
 Per Tre (Battaglia) - 3'36"
 1º giugno (Battaglia) - 3'33
D'Assolo (Battaglia) - 3'16"

Formazione
Dodi Battaglia-chitarra acustica

Franco Mussida-chitarra acustica (in Nordinfesta)

Maurizio Solieri-chitarra acustica (in Nordinfesta)

Collegamenti esterni


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PLAYLIST: February 2012
By Andrew Everard 2012-02-08T13:28:45Z
Disc of the month
Super 8: fine film-making and superb sound
Super 8 | Blu-ray | *****
Given Hollywood's current enthusiasm for low-risk productions, it should be no surprise that so many recent films are either remakes, sequels or, at best, thinly veiled attempts to kick-start the latest toy franchise.
'Confess, kid – you're supposed to look like an adolescent Spielberg, right?'
Super 8 is rather different, but no less of A Sure Thing, thanks in no small measure to the reassuring familiarity of its premise. Set in a sleepy Ohio town in 1979, it's both an endearing tale of teenage rites of passage and a blockbuster sci-fi.
As such it's instantly recognisable as a paean to Spielberg classics such as Close Encounters, The Goonies (written, but not directed by the man himself) and, of course, E.T..
The result is a film that may seem derivative, but which is also one you instinctively want to like: it just feels, looks and seems 'right' straight from the outset.
It's not merely the film's familiarity that helps propel its success; it's also the quality of its principle protagonists. Star Trek director J.J.Abrams both wrote the script and directed the action, while Spielberg himself held down production duties – as ringing an endorsement of Abrams' intentions as you can imagine. Its child actors deliver some stunning performances, too, most notably Elle Fanning, who excels as the film's primary love-interest.
But more than its creative accomplishments – and we can't reveal too much more about the film's premise for fear of giving the game away – Super 8 earns its place in our affections because it's so phenomenally polished.
In Blu-ray form, it represents film-making of the very highest calibre, its slick, technically accomplished production values, beautifully composed cinematography and sensational picture transfer combining to create a viewing experience to luxuriate in.
And then… and then, there's the way it sounds. And Super 8 sounds simply stupendous, utterly extraordinary, world-class: indeed, it may well be the best Blu-ray soundtrack we've ever heard.
That's some statement, but then this disc's Dolby TrueHD 7.1 soundtrack is some achievement. It exemplifies every core facet of quality sound design, from the expertly crafted subtleties and wonderfully precise steering of its off-camera ambient effects, to the gut-shaking, sofa-shuddering and utterly visceral thrills of its most dynamic sequences.
One glance at the film's cast and crew list on imdb.com helps to explain why. Super 8's soundtrack includes contributions from David Acord, Ben Burtt, Gary Rydstrom and Matthew Wood, some of Skywalker Sound's most acclaimed and successful sound editors and designers.
It's no wonder it sounds so wonderful – and so it should be no surprise that Super 8 has become an instant testing favourite around these parts. It's a great film, and an utterly essential Blu-ray buy.
Amy Winehouse I Lioness: Hidden Treasures | ***
While the predictability of this rake around a dead woman's effects is a gift to the cynical, there's undeniable merit to plenty of the 12 songs (or rather, in the case of half of them, sketches of songs) here.
'Hidden Treasures' is overstating the case somewhat, but as a not-strictly-necessary reminder of what an effortlessly evocative singer and arch, economical lyricist Amy WInehouse could be, Lioness gets the job done – even if it confirms only what everyone already knew.
There are too many glib 'standards' here (although Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? may be one of her very best vocal performances) and not enough Mark Ronson productions, but there's little overt filler.
The sound runs towards the warm, analogue-y soul palette that was so much a part of Back To Black's charm; your set-up will need to stage, focus and time with efficiency.
Texture and timbre is all-important, and it goes without saying that if your system can't deliver the midrange with all the detail and subtlety intact then there's no point in buying Lioness: Hidden Treasures in the first place.
The Roots | Undun | ****
Few hip-hop acts have anything like The Roots' longevity, and very few can match their fierce intellect or determination.
Undun, the tenth album in a 19-year career, is undoubtedly The Roots' most sombre – but it's probably their most unified, and among their most inventive (few are the notionally hip-hop acts who would dare (or even think) to close an album with a concise four-part orchestral suite that's built on a Sufjan Stevens piece).
The album is a life-story told in reverse, a study of fate and free will in the most grindingly mundane of circumstances.
As a concept, it's painstakingly crafted and generally well realised, while musically the beats are deep, the rapping crisp and the sound is beautifully even.
Your system will need exemplary low-end control and solidity, space and variation in the midrange, and total authority over treble frequencies if Undun isn't going to sound dense and unduly aggressive. But in the right hands this is a warm and forceful recording. It's also as thoughtful and ambitious a set of songs as we've heard in a good while.
Standard meal or Go Large? It was the same problem every time...
Drive | Blu-ray | ****
Nicolas Winding Refn's artfully stylish thriller evokes the late '60s with its script and cinematography. The tale of a stuntman turned getaway driver, it's not the rip-roaring test disc you'd expect, but it's entertaining all the same.
'Im sure I had the budget for The Queen II in my bag when I left the house...'
The Debt | Blu-ray | ****
Sporting a solid cast – Sam Worthington, Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson and Ciaran Hinds – and a meaty premise, this thriller is almost derailed by its lumpen finale. But for the most part, this is intelligent, classy and well-crafted
The Skin I Live In | Blu-ray | ****
Pedro Almodovar is not renowned for slasher flicks, but this creepy, unsettling and at times plain gruesome horror movie is every bit as macabre as anything David Cronenberg could conjure. Bold surround mixing heightens the tension
Another Monday morning, and the M25 was going nowhere fast...
Need for speed: The Run | XBOX360/PS3/Wii/3DS | **
Much too short, with variable game-play and a fatuous plotline, Need For Speed: The Run is partially redeemed by the way the Frostbite 2 engine makes it look. Lustrous, beautifully lit and sumptuously textured, it's a treat for your TV if nothing else.
Infinity Blade II | iOS | ****
Epic's landmark iOS game has have a sequel, and it's bigger, bolder and much more beautiful, especially on an iPad 2. Graphically gorgeous portable games are no longer rare, though, and some of the hack-and-slash slog has lost its novelty.
'It's going to be -5C tonight: you'll catch yer death dressed like that...'
Grand Theft Auto III | iOS, Android | *****
GTA III's 10 years old; to mark the occasion it's now available on tablet and smartphone for £2.99. It's the game you know and love, but with prettier graphics and surprisingly effective touchscreen controls. And that means it's brilliant.
As well as all that, this month we've mainly been listening to, watching and playing with...
1. Spotify has added apps. Head to Previews on the Spotify site to try it. We Are Hunted's app is ace.
2. Gem Club do a fine line in breathy melancholia. Debut Breakers is short and sweet, if not too cheery
3 Listen to influential artists new and old talking music on the Red Bull Music Academy site
4 Emeli Sande made quite an entrance this year. Her acoustic tracks make us tingle every time
5 Naim Edge is a new venture for cutting-edge bands. HD audio tracks come as standard.
We update our Spotify playlist every month: click here to listen. Send playlist suggestions to whfedsteam@haymarket.com