Texas man allegedly sent cops, including air support, on search for non-existent daughter: report

A Texas man sent 28 police units on a wild goose chase on Wednesday after reporting his non-existent as missing, sending police on a bogus search for hours, authorities said.

John Jerald Ratcliff, 43, faces a misdemeanor charge of filing a false police report. He allegedly went door-to-door at a Fort Worth apartment complex, asking residents if they had seen his 3-year-old daughter, The Dallas Morning News reported.

Residents alerted police around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday of a suspicious person, as he allegedly pretended to look for his missing child, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.

Police then dispatched 28 units, including air support to search for Ratcliff’s daughter, WBAP News Talk reported.

Then after hours of searching, around 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, a neighbor notified police that Ratcliff did not have any children, according to The Star-Telegram.

"He should have come clean way earlier," Fort Worth police spokesman Buddy Calzada told the paper. "We wasted so much time on this, so many resources when we had other high-priority calls we needed to attend to."

Calzada said Ratcliff admitted “he was lying to us the whole time,” WBAT Radio reported.

Calzada said he “doesn’t know” and “doesn’t want” to speculate about why Ratcliff allegedly made the false claim, the report said.

'She seemed to be enjoying it': Cop accused of raping 13-year-old in car's backseat claims encounter was consensual

According to the Daily Mail, Naude had picked up the girl from her house while her mother was out after he had initially been called to the scene for a domestic incident. After he had her in his vehicle, he then reportedly drove the teen to a quiet country lane and forced himself on her in the back seat of his car, even taking videos of the assault.

The court heard that the 30-year-old — originally from South Africa and who served in Afghanistan as a machine gunner with the Royal Irish Regiment — joined the police in April 2017 after getting discharged from the Army "to gain the keys to a sweetshop". Naude denied the allegations, stating he signed up with the force as "he wanted to help people" and "make a difference".

Naude worked as a Cheshire Police officer (Source: Google Maps)

He went on to meet the 13-year-old victim while on the job in October 2017. His supervisor is said to have warned him that the girl had been "flirty", but Naude ignored him and looked her up on Facebook. The jury was told that three days later, after the pair had exchanged sexual images and messages, he took her out in his car and raped her.

However, Naude claimed the sex was consensual. "I had one hand free and was using that to take photos and videos as we were making out," he said. "She seemed to be enjoying it. She had her arms around me and she told me she loved me. She said 'I have to go' before her mum wonders where she is."

Naude also revealed to the jury that he had asked the girl to 'call him daddy' because "it was a turn on" and because it got him "excited". 

After the meeting, he dropped her near her home and then sent her a selfie to ask if she had a "good time". But a police investigation was launched after the teenager reported the incident to her family, and soon, detectives found that the 30-year-old was guilty of a long line of offenses.

The trail is taking place at the Liverpool Crown Court (Source: Google Maps)

It was discovered that Naude had targeted underage girls by posing as a 15-year-old boy called Jake Green on Facebook. After making contact, he would persuade his victims to undress and perform sexual acts on camera before then sending images and videos of himself performing lewd acts.

The prosecution, in their statement, alleged that the 30-year-old was a "committed pedophile" who is "obsessed" with taking the virginity of teenage girls and had been regularly targeting such girls on the internet.

So far, he pleaded guilty to 31 offenses relating to grooming young girls by exchanging sexual messages and images with a fake profile.

The Mail reported that these included two counts of engaging in sexual communication with a child, 14 counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, one count of taking indecent photos of a child, four counts of making indecent photos of a child, six counts of causing a child to watch a sexual act, two counts of misconduct in a public office and one count of possessing indecent photos of a child.

But he still denied child rape and sexual assault, claiming it was consensual, as well as four charges of attempting to arrange the commission of a child sex offense and one charge of arranging a child sex offense stemming from five complainants aged 12 and 15. He told the jury that making the arrangements was just a part of his "fantasy" and that he never intended on meeting them.

Virginia man followed woman across three states in fake police car, authorities say

Authorities in Virginia say a man has been arrested and accused of impersonating a police officer after he allegedly followed a female driver through parts of Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia over the weekend.

Jerry Lentz Saintvil, 28, is also charged with presenting a false ID to law enforcement to avoid arrest and driving on a suspended license. He was being held in lieu of bond in Fauquier County, Va.

The Fauquier County Sheriff's Office said the woman called them Saturday afternoon to report that she was being followed by a car that had flashing blue lights and was marked "police." The woman added that the driver of the car was weaving through traffic to keep up with her.

A deputy pulled Saintvil over in Warrenton, Va. He claimed the car had been used to film a music video and that he was driving home; however, authorities say he gave false identification to the deputy and made conflicting statements.

Authorities identified the car as a 2010 Chevrolet Impala with the word "police" written on the doors and trunk. It also had a North Carolina license plate that read "FILM CAR." They said they contacted the car's registered owner, who did not cooperate with them.

The sheriff's office said investigators had found several imitation law enforcement items in the vehicle, including a tactical vest, a police-duty belt with a handcuff case, an airsoft gun and portable radios.

Investigators told Fox 5 DC that Saintvil has been accused of impersonating a police officer before. Details were not immediately available.

Heroes Police help 85-yr-old wheelchair-bound veteran left shivering in front of steps

When NYPD officers spotted an 85-year-old man shivering outside the front steps of his Manhattan home in the middle of January, they immediately pulled over.

The elderly man told officers Vitaliy Zelikov and Georin Duran that a staff member for a medical transportation service carried him down the stairs when they picked him up for a doctor's appointment earlier in the day. But he had to take a taxi home by himself.

He asked the cab driver for help, but the man said, "That's not my job," and drove off.

"Once we knew he needed to get inside the house, you know, that was the only way we could get him up," Zelikov told Fox News. "We could carry him up safely, so we did."

The 85-year-old told the cops he was a Navy veteran who served during the Korean War. He reminisced about the "olden days" when he volunteered for the NYPD in the early 1980s.

"He was an absolute gentleman. A really nice guy. He lived in the community his whole life," Zelikov said. "The small talk really put a smile on his face."

Zelikov and Duran, who are both veterans themeselves, thanked the man for his service. They stayed with him for about 20 minutes to make sure he was safe and no longer in need of assistance.

NYPD Lt. Vitaliy Zelikov (left) and Officer Georin Duran (right) pose with an 85-year-old man who says he was a Navy veteran.  (Facebook/NYPD)

"He was happy to have us there to help him up the stairs. But he really enjoyed the company as well -- as did we," Zelikov said.

Duran says their newfound friendship won't end there.

"I visited him yesterday," Duran told Fox News. "We'll definitely be seeing him."

In fact, the officers made arrangements to visit the man again on Wednesday. They've reached out to several companies that are going to take measurements of the man's building to estimate how much it would cost to build a wheelchair ramp or lift.

"If we can reach our goal, then we're going to build that ramp for him," Duran said, adding that he plans to create a fundraising page on GoFundMe when he has a better estimate of the cost. "We want to find some way to assist him in and out of his home with more ease."

Photos of the officers carrying the man received thousands of likes and hundreds of comments after they were posted to the NYPD's Facebook page on Saturday.

"Heroes helping heroes! The best of the best!" one Facebook user commented. 

"Great job NYPD, above and beyond the call of duty," another wrote.

But the officers said they were just doing their jobs.

"I wouldn’t call us heroes. That’s why we’re there -- to help people out no matter how minor," Zelikov said. "We saw somebody in need and we had to help him out."

Duran agreed, "It’s always good to see the police department shown in a positive way and sends a message that this is our primary purpose amongst many purposes. This is what we do to help the community -- to help the public."

Ex-cop Michael Slager sentenced to prison for killing of unarmed black man

A white former South Carolina officer was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Thursday for fatally shooting an unarmed black motorist in the back in 2015, wrapping up a case that became a rallying cry for the Black Lives Matter movement.

Attorneys for ex-North Charleston Officer Michael Slager said he shot 50-year-old Walter Scott in self-defense after the two fought and Scott reached for Slager's stun gun. They said race didn't play any role in the shooting and that Slager never had any "racial animus" toward minorities.

Still, Slager pleaded guilty in federal court to violating Scott's civil rights. As part of the plea agreement reached in May, prosecutors dropped state murder charges. A year ago, a state judge declared a mistrial when jurors deadlocked.

"This is a tragedy that shouldn't have happened," U.S. District Judge David Norton said.

A bystander recorded the shooting on a cellphone, and it was shared around the world, setting off protests across the U.S. as demonstrators said it was another egregious example of police officers' mistreating African-Americans.




Scott's family testified before the sentence and said they had forgiven Slager.

"I'm not angry at you, Michael. Michael, I forgive you, and Michael, I do pray for you now and for your family, because we've gone through a traumatic time," he said.

The shooting angered local African-Americans who complained for years that North Charleston police harassed blacks, pulling them over or questioning them unnecessarily as they cracked down on crime. The Scott family successfully pleaded for calm, asking everyone to let the justice system run its course.

Two months after the shooting, a young white man killed nine black church members in a racially motivated attacked during a Bible study in Charleston. The family members of the church shooting victims struck a similar forgiveness tone after that attack.

Before the sentenced was handed down, the judge had to decide whether the shooting amounted to second-degree murder or manslaughter. Norton found that it was murder.

The bystander's video started after the struggle between Slager and Scott and showed Scott running away and the officer firing eight times. Scott was hit in the back five times.

After the shooting, Slager picked up his stun gun and placed it next to Scott. Slager contends he was securing the weapon. Prosecutors think he put it there to bolster his self-defense story.

An emotional Slager told the Scott family that he was grateful for their forgiveness.

"This tragic event that occurred in seconds has changed the lives of everyone involved," he said. "With my actions that day, Walter Scott is no longer with his family, and I am responsible for that."

The judge also found that Slager, 36, obstructed justice when he made statements to state police after the shooting.

A pre-sentencing report for Slager found that he committed manslaughter and recommended 10 to nearly 13 years in prison. But the judge was not bound by that decision.

If Slager had faced another state trial and been convicted of murder, he could have been sentenced to anywhere from 30 years to life in prison.

Convictions in police officer shootings are uncommon in the U.S. and prison time is even rarer.

South Carolina has been aggressive in charging white officers who shoot unarmed black people. Four have pleaded guilty in state or federal court in the past six years. But only Slager and former state trooper Sean Groubert, who shot a man as he tried to get his wallet during a seat belt violation check, will have been sent to prison. Groubert was sentenced to five years behind bars.

Suspect Who Ambushed and Killed Two Cops Captured and Identified

Authorities in Iowa have captured the suspected gunman in the ambush-style attacks early Wednesday morning that claimed the lives of two police officers who were sitting in their patrol cars.

Officers arrested 46-year-old Scott Michael Greene without incident in Dallas County, west of Des Moines, police said. The Iowa State Patrol and Dallas County Sheriff's Dept. took part in the arrest.

Greene was spotted alone on foot on a roadway at the time of his arrest. Police said he surrendered to a state Department of Natural Resources officer without incident.

Martin was single. Beminio was married with children.Greene is suspected in the shooting deaths of Urbandale officer Justin Martin, with the force since 2015, and Sgt. Anthony "Tony" Beminio, who joined the department in Des Moines in 2005.

The shootings appeared to be the latest cases of police officers being targeted for assassination in a year that has seen 113 police officers killed in the line of duty, including 50 by gunfire, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.

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Gov. Branstad, @IALtGov have been briefed by @IowaDPS on early morning attack on 2 police officers - http://bit.ly/2fcbSMF  #iagov

12:15 PM - 2 Nov 2016

Governor’s Office releases statement on early morning shootings involving 2 police officers

Today, Ben Hammes, Communications Director for Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds released the following statement in regards to the early morning shootings involving 2 police officers:  

governor.iowa.gov

 
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Officers first responded to a report of shots fired at 1:06 a.m. and found an Urbandale Police Dept. officer who had been shot. Authorities from several agencies raced to the area after that shooting, and about 20 minutes later discovered that a Des Moines officer had been shot in a patrol car at an intersection. The shootings happened less than 2 miles apart and both took place along main streets that cut through residential areas.