Cop on leave for shooting girl, 12, with beanbag gun

Story is from Portland, Ore., where the officers were trying to arrest the girl, 12, who'd been barred from the public transit system for allegedly stealing a purse.

The girl had struck Dauchy in the face when he tried to take her into custody on a TriMet exclusion violation.Humphreys, police say, repeatedly warned the girl to stop resisting or he'd shoot his beanbag gun, and fired one shot, striking her in the thigh at close range.

Their police commissioner has put the officer on paid leave while the department investigates, though the chief just wanted to put him on a desk job.

911 doesn't care if your parents take your Xbox

Near Chicago, a 15-year-old reportedly called police to ask whether his parents could legally take away his Xbox as punishment. The police, always helpful, sent officers to explain that, yes, they could.

Was it OK to Taser 10-year-old?

Just a quick update to the story about an Arkansas police officer who reportedly Tasered a 10-year-old girl. His department says they're going to have an outside agency investigate. The officer, for his part, says he got permission from the girl's mother to use the Taser. (Papa, meanwhile, is furious.) The whole thing apparently started because the kid didn't want to take a shower before bed.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, sly!

Fired cop sues over "urination incident"

In Wisconsin Dells, a former police officer is suing the city, saying he was fired without cause. Two National Guardsmen alleged that he had forced them to "lick the contents of a small puddle and eat a bit of a plant near it to prove that the two had not urinated in an alley," the Portage Daily Register reports.

The former cop says they did that on their own. The two Guardsmen couldn't comment, under terms of a settlement with the city.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, JUNGLE JIM!

Topeka cops save woman from fire

Way to go, Cpl. Chris Sturgeon and Officer Trenton Ginn!

Apply now for Lee's Summit's Citizens Police Academy

Lee's Summit PD is now accepting applications for its Citizens Police Academy, which starts March 2. It'll run for 10 weeks and will meet from 7 to 10 p.m. on Tuesday nights. It's free, but you have to be a Lee's Summit resident or business owner, can't have a felony in your record and must be 18 or older. The deadline is January 29. You can pick up an application during the regular work week at police headquarters. More information is available here.

(On a personal note? I did KCPD's citizens academy this fall, and it was a blast. I don't have any experience with Lee's Summit's, but I recommend doing something like this. You get a new appreciation for police work.)

Ark. cop Tasers 10-year-old girl

IN THE BACK.

Steelers QB helps KCPD buy new K9

Ben Roethlisberger's foundation is giving a grant -- I don't know how much yet -- to help KCPD buy a new K9 to replace a dog that's retiring because of arthritis.

Report: More states have fewer troopers

Missouri and Kansas are among several states that employ fewer state troopers today than they did 10 years ago, USA Today reports. Smaller state budgets are a big reason, the paper says.

UPDATED: The numbers are a little fuzzier when you look at them more closely, at least for Missouri and Kansas. Missouri has 1061 officers -- which is actually a little more than it did in 1999, the patrol says. It really depends on what time of year the comparison is being made. Let's say the patrol goes through a few months where it loses several people to retirement, etc. -- but then an academy class graduates and several new troopers are on the road.

I also spoke with KHP. They didn't have an exact 10-year comparison, but a 1997 annual report showed the patrol with 383 officers, compared to 479 today.

Wyandotte County settles police lawsuit

The Unified Government has agreed to pay $499,000 to settle a lawsuit filed over alleged police misconduct at a teen's birthday party in 2005. (The government and the officers, though, do not admit wrongdoing and is framing the settlement strictly as a cost-saving measure.) Joe Lambe had a report about the case over the weekend:

The lawsuit alleged that five police officers entered the home without a warrant, hit adults and juveniles with fists and flashlights, sprayed occupants with pepper spray and used racial and sexual slurs.

Plaintiff lawyer Arthur Benson said police violated his clients’ rights. All those at the party were black, and all the police officers were white.

“It’s highly unlikely they would have acted that way if the guests had been white,” Benson said.

The plaintiffs originally faced criminal charges in the case, but they were later dropped.

Playing cards used to publicize cold cases

The New York Times has a feature about putting unsolved murders on playing cards distributed to prisons and jails. The idea is that inmates, who typically play a lot of cards, might see a victim's face, remember an important detail and contact the authorities. KCPD and the local Crime Commission copied the program locally a few years ago, with financial help from local businesses. It's been successful elsewhere, but they got a meager response in Kansas City -- a few phone calls, none of them particularly helpful. At this point, a commission spokesman said, they're not planning on doing another run of playing cards. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained ...

Police sic dog on homeowner (instead of degenerate invader with frilly panties)

Naturally, the mauled homeowner is very displeased by all of this.

“The main thing that gets me about all of this is that there’s a pervert running around in my neighborhood, and I want this guy caught,” he said.

Hat Tip: Thanks again, cripjak!

| Sara Shepherd

Use of stun gun on mentally disturbed man may fuel second lawsuit

The widow of a decorated NYC police lieutenant who committed suicide is planning to sue the city over his death. He ordered the use of a stun gun on a naked, out-of-control, emotionally disturbed man, who then fell to his death from a fire escape.

“They ripped his heart out,” Susan Pigott said of her husband, Michael. “He was treated so unfairly.”

| Sara Shepherd

How NOT to run a prostitution sting

In Pennsylvania, an appeals court has ruled against the state police saying they severely botched a prostitution sting. How? Well, they were contacted by a man who said he'd been repeatedly approached for sex while trying to get a massage. Do they send a trained officer back into the business, undercover? Nope, they send the same guy -- only this time, they give him money to pay for the sex, which he goes ahead and has. They did this FOUR TIMES. In fact, the man enjoys what one judge called "a smorgasbord of sexual activity." Also, the police paid HIM $180 for his time.

S.C. cop shoots gun from suspect's hand

Just as the suspect was pointing the gun at another officer -- it's usually the sort of shooting you only see on TV. The Lone Ranger couldn't make that shot.

Report: Mo. police academies see big jump in enrollment

Statewide, Missouri had 1,355 academy graduates become licensed police officers -- which represents a 46 percent increase since 2004, the Post-Dispatch reports. Whether they all get hired is an open question. A lot of departments have been forced to freeze hiring. Earlier this year, KCPD got money for about 30 recruits, thanks to a federal grant, but there's nothing on the horizon after that.

Look out, Dog!

At the Citizens Police Academy, we went to KCPD's shooting range. On TV, the officers always shoot at an abstract outline of a person. Kansas City police, though, have targets with photographs of "bad guys" on them. (Or actors posing as bad guys. Please don't interpret this as the police wanting to shoot people -- anything but.)

I saw three versions of the paper targets last night, and one is a dead ringer for Dog The Bounty Hunter. (Though to be clear -- it was NOT a picture of Dog.) One of the other target models looked like Dave Chappelle's Tyrone Biggums character, if he worked out.

UPDATE: Dallas cop tickets driver for not speaking English

The other day, we linked to a story about a young Dallas cop who ticketed a motorist for not speaking English. (That person had already performed an illegal U-turn.) That city has a rule requiring cabbies to speak the world's greatest language, but that doesn't apply to your average driver. The police tore up the ticket and said it was a rare, unfortunate mistake, now please pass the bygones.

Except it's a little less rare than what we originally thought. The Dallas Mroning News. Since 2007, 38 people there have gotten tickets for not speaking English while behind the wheel. Most got their tickets kicked. A few, though, ended up paying fines.

You have the right to remain sexy

In Pewaukee, Wis., a sergeant has been demoted and suspended after she allegedly tried to date a man being investigated for possible drug crimes. While she was off-duty, the sergeant reportedly had an on-duty colleague look up the man's phone number. Cellphone records show that a few calls were made from her phone to his number, police state. The sergeant -- who's been made a patrol officer -- denies the accusation and says she tried calling the guy strictly because of a noise complaint.

Baltimore cop pointed gun at haunted house character, police say

In Baltimore, an off-duty police officer is accused of pointing his service weapon at a haunted-house character who "chased" him out of the show. (The guy was dressed as Leatherface and a chain saw without a chain -- he's one of the guys who tries to get "one last scare.")

He said Janik's group, which went through Sunday a little after 10 p.m. and included a female city police officer and the sergeant's 9-year-old daughter, were rowdy. He said the sergeant held his screaming daughter close to scary characters and that when it came time to give chase, "I went after the adults" because the girl was crying.

A Baltimore County police report says Morrison approached Janik while he revved the gas-powered saw and when he got three to four feet from him, "Janik pointed a black handgun as his chest."

Morrison said he put his hands in the air and the police report says Janik stated, "It's o.k. I'm a cop."

Awards for Shawnee police who saved suicidal teen

On Tuesday, The Sons of the American Revolution will present awards to four Shawnee policemen -- Officers John Nahrebeski, Rob Stotts and Matt Hashagen, and Sgt. Sam Larson -- for saving a teenager who tried to jump off the Lind Road bridge back on Oct. 8. Congratulations!

Members of London's elite firearms unit to patrol streets

Members of Metropolitan Police's C019 will be used for the first time to patrol gun crime hot spots to deter gang members from carrying guns.

Some people, however, are upset that the officers will be armed with Heckler & Koch MP5 and Glock semi-automatic pistols.

| Bob Cronkleton

UPDATE: Congress expands hate-crime law

The Senate has passed a bill that expands the federal hate-crime law to cover sexual orientation. The measure was actually part of a larger defense bill. (The House approved this earlier.) President Obama is expected to sign the bill, too.

Job cuts possible for KCK police?

KCK police could be forced to fire 16 officers unless Fraternal Order members vote to sacrifice the 4 percent raise they have coming, Dawn Bormann reports. The decision is scheduled for tomorrow. The Unified Government is dealing with a $12 million budget shortfall.

Great news! Feds want to give lasers to local cops

The National Institute of Justice is funding the development of thermal lasers -- devices that shoot infrared light at people, causing them to feel a "significant jolt of pain" without leaving a mark. The goal is to develop handheld versions, which could be used for crowd control by local police.