One council member told about a cop who held the hand of a youth, 15, dying of gunshot wounds, so "he would not die alone." A report on this didn't mention if the cop was the shooter.
A few more `bad apples'- "Since 1992, 30 of New Orleans' 1,500 police officers have been arrested. In just the last year, four have been charged with murder, including an officer who allegedly ordered the execution of a woman who accused him of misconduct....critics say it will take years to uncover all of the department's skeletons." - News item.
`Just don't let me hear no Spanish'-That Texas judge who told a mother she was dooming her daughter to life as a housemaid by speaking Spanish to her at home has apologized to housemaids. "We entrust our personal possessions and our families' welfare to these hard-working people and I hold them in the highest esteem," he advised.
Another fine judge - In Salinas, California, Armando Martinez, a worker in a doughnut shop, was shot and paralyzed in a holdup. His boss dragged him outside so he could say he didn't work there. Reportedly he was concerned he'd have to foot the medical bills. A judge reduced the charges against the boss, fined him $1,000, and said, "I'm sure it was a frightening experience for you."
Nothing's perfect - Allen Wilhelm spent five days without food in the holding cell of the Spotsylvania, Virginia, courthouse after being sentenced to two days for driving with a suspended license. The bailiff apparently took a long Labor Day weekend.
Inspector Clouseau - The Washington Park, Illinois, chief of police was suspended for two weeks for issuing police IDs to three ringers to join his East St. Louis soft- ball team in a police tournament. Apparently, a keen-eyed TV viewer spotted one of the ringers as Bryan Cox, a Miami Dolphins linebacker.
Land of Opportunity- About the boat that sank, leaving one person dead, in that failed sea provocation against Cuba by right-wing exiles. The boat had not been inspected since 1986.
The owner had paid the captain and mate to bring it to Miami for major repairs. Flotilla organizers said they paid $2,000 to hire the boat. The captain asserted he got nothing and the mate conceded he took $500 - but only for fuel.
Half-witted is just right - In a poll, 90 percent of executives agreed a good sense of humor is key to advancement. But, one exec cautioned, "A sense of humor must be appropriate for the professional setting of an office."
Thought for the week - "...of more than 2,000 complaints of excessive force filed by members of the public against the police from 1966 through 1990, only 2 percent were sustained.... When will the Los Angeles political establishment stop pointing to Mark Fuhrman as if he sprang out of a vacuum or just dropped from Mars?" - Author Joe Domanick.