Archive for February, 2009

It is common knowledge that a suspect, armed with an edged weapon and within twenty-one feet of a police officer presents a deadly threat. Why? Because the “average” man can run that twenty-one feet in about one-point-five seconds; the same one-point-five seconds it will take that police officer to recognize danger, draw and point his weapon, and then pull the trigger. Even if the officer manages to get the shot off, and even if it hits the suspect; even if it instantly disables the suspect, the blade is going to be so close to the officer that the suspect’s momentum may continue forward with enough force for the edged weapon to end up injuring the officer anyway.

The information contained in the above paragraph has long been accepted in police and court circles. “If a man has a knife and is within twenty-one feet, he presents a deadly threat and the use of deadly force against him is justified.” Here is the question then: How far away does that suspect, armed with an edged weapon, have to be before he’s not a deadly threat? A gentleman named Magliato shot a “bad guy” who was armed with a baseball bat and standing thirty-two feet away. The courts convicted Magliato claiming that at a distance of thirty-two feet, the suspect with the baseball bat could not present deadly force against Magliato; perhaps they were wrong.

(more…)

By Barry Sherman

Would it surprise you to know that Michigan has 1,287 fewer police officers today than it did in September 2001? This is ironic when you think Michigan has four border crossings into Canada and the government has put an emphasis on “Homeland Security” issues since the 9/11 attacks. But the issue of the decrease in police officers on the streets of Michigan’s communities goes far beyond Homeland Security.

This country, Michigan included, went on an incarceration boom to respond to the rising violent crime rate of the 1980s and early 90s. In 1975 the prison population of this country was 240,593. This population has increased to over 2,000,000 today. The reasons for this increase include minimum and mandatory sentences, truth-in-sentencing laws, habitual offender laws, sentencing guideline changes, tightening up early parole and charging juveniles as adults. Taking these violent and habitual offenders off the street has seriously affected our crime rate. In September of this year, the Bureau of Justice Statistics released the results of the National Crime Victimization Survey for 2004. The results confirm this major reduction in crime. Violent crime against persons age 12 or older was down 57% from 1993 to 2004. Property crime during this same period was also impacted with household burglary rate falling 49%; car theft 54%; and the theft rate 49%.

(more…)

By: Ed Jacques, LEJ Editor

Duane Haggerty was initially employed by Sanilac County as a full time police officer in 1958. He left and returned to employment with the County several times and was working full time when, on April 23, 1979, he injured his back in a work-related accident. He returned to work a jail coordinator but again injured his back. Haggerty last worked as an active employee on March 24, 1979 and has received worker’s compensation benefits since March 1979.

In 2003, Sanilac hired a new County Executive who promptly ordered an audit of its benefit program and participants. They discovered that Duane Haggerty was receiving medical benefits from the County but had not received income or W-2 forms since 1979 and has not received a clothing allowance, holiday pay, Christmas bonus or longevity pay since March 1979. He was not paid his pension contributions or his accrued vacation time and was never given an official notice of termination of employment. The County immediately fired off a letter notifying Mr. Haggerty that his health insurance would be canceled immediately.

(more…)