Latest news with #LEADS
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Teachers' conference gives Kansas educators a place to connect, collaborate
CRAWFORD COUNTY, Kans. — Kansas teachers are gathering in Crawford County this weekend for a grassroots movement meant to connect and empower K-12 educators. 'I'm so excited to be here,' said Derby Hills Elementary teacher, Susan Rogers. Rogers made the three-hour drive to Pittsburg to join more than 200 Kansas teachers for the annual Kansas LEADS conference. 'LEADS' stands for 'linking educators across districts.' This two-day event is designed for teachers by teachers. 'We need each other. I mean, this profession is challenging. It definitely has its challenges, and the biggest thing is, we can't do it alone, we need each other and so I think that's the mission of the Kansas LEADS team,' said Rogers. The conference gives educators from across the 'Sunflower State' a place to connect, collaborate, and create new pathways for professional growth. 'Education is a funny thing. Once you get inside the four walls of your classroom, you're there from 8:00 a.m. till 3:15 p.m.. You do your work and then it's time to go home or go to a couple of meetings and then head home. So, it can feel very isolating, even though we're all in it together,' said Geary County Schools Teacher, Jennifer Farr. Educators say the conference will help create an open dialog, providing a space where teachers are the experts — openly sharing ideas and strategies, and taking those back to the classroom. 'Every time we leave this conference, we have some real-world takeaways that we can implement the next day, we can bring it back to our classroom, and in the end, that's the goal. We want to enrich our students and enrich our teachers,' said Rogers. Through professional development and support, teachers are able to provide a better learning experience. 'Anytime that Kansas teachers can get together, it's going to help the gains of students. Anytime our students are making gains, then they're going to go out into our communities and they're going to go change those communities, and they're going to go to other states, and they're going to lead those states,' said Farr. The conference continues Saturday (4/26) at Frontenac High School, where teachers will participate in a variety of workshops, interactive sessions, and networking. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Chicago Tribune
12-04-2025
- Chicago Tribune
No Kane County deputies will be charged after fatal 2023 shooting of Aurora man following police chase
Nearly two years after the officer-involved shooting that left James Moriarty of Aurora dead and also killed police dog Hudson, Kane County State's Attorney Jamie Mosser announced Friday that no Kane County deputies will be charged in connection with the incident. The Kane County State's Attorney's Office on Friday also released available body camera and dash camera footage from the shooting, which is available on YouTube: On May 24, 2023, Moriarty, 38, allegedly carjacked a Honda Accord at a Jiffy Lube in Aurora around 1:57 p.m., according to past reporting. After deputies spotted the vehicle using license plate readers, police initiated a pursuit that ultimately ended when the car being driven by Moriarty was stopped at Randall Road and Fabyan Parkway on the border of Geneva and Batavia. Soon after, Moriarty exited from the backseat driver's side door, Mosser said, with his right hand to his side. She said that as he moved to the back of the car, 'a gun can be seen in his right hand pointing down on the video.' Moriarty did not comply with multiple commands to put his hands up or drop the apparent weapon in his hand after he exited the car, Mosser said. She said that the object in Moriarty's hand was later found to be an airsoft gun, but that the deputies involved would not have known that at the time. According to a press release from the Kane County State's Attorney's Office, Moriarty, while still holding the apparent weapon, went towards civilians and law enforcement. A deputy fired several shots, and the police dog, Hudson, was deployed on Moriarty, Mosser said. Deputies fired several more shots while Moriarty was upright, and a number more while he was on the ground. Both Moriarty and the police dog died during the shootout, according to past reporting. According to the press release from the Kane County State's Attorney's Office, Moriarty had seven encounters with Aurora police in the month leading up to his death and there were several warrants out for his arrest. There were also warnings in LEADS, the statewide Law Enforcement Agency Data System, that Moriarty should be considered armed and dangerous and that he resisted and obstructed law enforcement, Friday's release detailed. The decision not to pursue criminal charges against the involved officers comes after an investigation by the Kane County Major Crimes Task Force and a review by independent consultant Force Science, which reviews police use-of-force incidents, the release on Friday said. The involved officers were Kane County Sheriff's Sgt. Michael Widlarz, Deputy Eric Gustafson, Deputy Alan Garcia and Deputy Luke Weston with police dog Hudson. In total, 18 shots were fired in a span of seven seconds during the incident, Mosser said on Friday. Four of those were fired by Gustafson, one by Garcia and 13 by Widlarz, she said. Mosser confirmed Friday that one of those shots, fired by Garcia, unintentionally killed the police dog. Moriarty never fired the airsoft gun, she said. Moriarty's body had 17 gunshot wounds, Mosser said, per findings from the Kane County Coroner's Office, and the cause of his death was found to be multiple gunshot wounds. According to a toxicology report, there was cocaine present in Moriarty's system when he died, she noted. Mosser's office determined that none of the officers should be charged with using deadly force given the reasonable belief that the force was necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm to themselves or others. She noted that five of the 13 shots by Widlarz were fired while Moriarty was upright, while the last eight were fired after he was on the ground – she said whether the last round of shots was justified was 'not easy to determine,' and required consulting from Force Science – but they were ultimately ruled justifiable. Hain said it was a 'testament to their capabilities' that the officers were able to prevent any threats to civilian safety, given that the shooting happened in the afternoon on a Wednesday. The three officers who exerted deadly force – Gustafson, Garcia and Widlarz – have been cleared following the investigation, and Mosser's review is now considered closed. Weston had been at a training and thus was not in uniform that day, Mosser said, but he joined the pursuit because he had his police dog, Hudson, with him. Because he was at training, Mosser said there was 'no expectation' that Weston would have had his body camera on him at the time. Last September, the shooting generated further public attention after Hain made comments criticizing a lack of communication between Aurora police and his deputies, according to past reporting. He made the comments at a memorial for the police dog who was killed during the incident. Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin then held a press conference at which he defended the Aurora police and said that Hain turned the memorial into 'a platform' for himself. Mosser later released a statement saying she had been unaware of the comments Hain would make at the memorial. While the officers involved in the fatal shooting of Moriarty will not be charged, Mosser's investigation did find that Widlarz had violated state statute and the Kane County Sheriff's policy on body worn cameras. Widlarz had turned off the audio of his body camera after turning off the audio on his squad car's dash camera, Mosser said. He also did not turn his body camera's audio back on when he exited his car after the pursuit was over, she said. Finally, he had placed his body camera on his shoulder, rather than in the center of his chest. 'It is clear that it is not recording the public, but rather the sky,' Mosser said on Friday. Hain said that Widlarz's shorter stature impacted the way he had to affix his body camera, and that it typically points upward slightly. Mosser's office ultimately concluded, however, that there was not enough evidence to charge Widlarz with law enforcement misconduct because there was no evidence that Widlarz had turned off his camera or failed to turn it back on in order to 'obstruct the prosecution, defense or apprehension' of any person, she said on Friday. 'This failure during the entirety of this law enforcement encounter erodes public trust in his performance as a deputy here at the Kane County Sheriff's Office,' Mosser said about Widlarz, later calling the decision to turn off his audio 'inexcusable.' Widlarz declined to provide a statement for the investigation, Mosser said, and Hain said it was at the direction of Widlarz's legal representation. Mosser said they could not release information on whether Widlarz was still part of the department.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Yahoo
Ex-Rocky River officer charged with using databases to spy on students, others: ‘Absolute concern'
ROCKY RIVER, Ohio (WJW) – A former Rocky River police officer has been indicted by a Cuyahoga County grand jury on charges that he used police databases to conduct searches that had no legitimate law enforcement purpose. Between 2013 and 2023, Michael Bernhardt served as a school resource officer at Rocky River High School, where he was accused two years ago of having inappropriate relationships with female students. According to the indictment, Bernhardt is accused of using his access to two law enforcement databases to electronically spy on a wide range of people. 'Students at the high school, they were his two ex-wives and their families, including one of the new husbands. In his own family, his children, his parents. In addition, Rocky River police officers and also teachers at the school, mostly female teachers, as well as the school principal and assistant principal,' said Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Mary Grace Tokmenko, who serves in the economic crimes and public corruption unit. New measles cases in Ashtabula, Knox counties The 54-year-old Bernhardt is now facing 11 counts of the unauthorized use of the Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway, one count of the unauthorized use of the Law Enforcement Automated Database System (LEADS) and one count of possessing criminal tools. Prosecutors said the databases contain personal and confidential information, and that is why there are very strict rules on when police can use them. 'Anything from your social security number, your address, different cars that are registered to you. It also has your picture because every time you get your driver's license picture, it also feeds into those databases,' said Tokmenko. Investigators said while he was working at Rocky River High School, Bernhardt pursued 'obsessive and inappropriate relationships with students,' and many of his computer searches between 2013 and 2023 involved young girls. 'During that time period, he did have access to their information, he could have figured out where they live, what their birthdays were,' said Tokmenko. In 2023, Bernhardt was the focus of a separate investigation into his conduct with students, but an independent prosecutor found there was insufficient evidence to file charges. However, when Bernhardt left the police force in April,2024, he remained under a cloud of suspicion that ultimately led to this week's indictment. 'This happened as a result of an investigation conducted by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation after the Rocky River Police Department asked them to investigate reports of inappropriate relationships that Mike Bernhardt was alleged to have had with high school students in his role as a school resource officer,' Rocky River Police Chief George Lichman said. Local nurse indicted after patient went missing and later died: I-Team BCI agents are now asking anyone who may have additional information about Bernhardt or his conduct with students to contact state investigators at 855-BCI-OHIO or 855-224-6446. 'I think it's an absolute concern for all parents of students who were going through the school during this time period and they should talk to their kids and ask them if there were any issues there,' said Tokmenko. If convicted, Bernhardt could face up to one year in prison on each count. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Yahoo
U of I police arrest 18-year-old for sexually abusing woman
CHAMPAIGN-URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) — The University of Illinois Police Department made an arrest in connection to a recent sexual abuse case. On Saturday, March 1, a UIPD officer was dispatched to an off-campus apartment, near the intersection of East Chalmers and South First Streets, just before 2 a.m. An unknown suspect had followed a woman into her apartment building and 'sexually abused' her, UIPD said. She fought back against the suspect, and he fled the scene. UIPD reminds students of resources after 3 sexual assaults within a month UIPD detectives used technology like Flock License Plate Readers and the Law Enforcement Agencies Data System (LEADS) to find out more information about the suspect's vehicle. Then on Thursday, March 6, UIPD patrol officers stopped a vehicle matching the description of the suspect's vehicle. The driver gave officers a fake name, but was later identified as 18-year-old Pedro Nolasco-Martin of Champaign. He was placed under arrest for obstructing justice. Detectives interviewed Nolasco-Martin regarding the sexual abuse and 'obtained information' which implicated him, police said. The Champaign County State's Attorney charged him with one count of criminal sexual abuse, criminal sexual assault and burglary. He was arraigned on March 7, and released pending trial. WCIA has reached out to the University of Illinois to find out if Nolasco-Martin was a student at the university. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Yahoo
Decatur teenager accused of pointing stolen, loaded gun at friend during argument
DECATUR, Ill. (WCIA) — A Decatur teenager is facing gun charges after police said a game he was playing led to an argument with a friend. During that argument, the teen allegedly pulled out a loaded gun and pointed it at his friend. Macon County court records show that Nicholas Ellis, age 18, is charged with two felony counts: aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a stolen firearm, which are both Class 2 felonies. In addition, he is charged with a Class A misdemeanor count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Coroner ID's 47-year-old man killed in weekend Springfield shooting The charges stem from an incident on Feb. 24 that happened between Ellis and a teenage friend. In a sworn statement obtained by WCIA, a Decatur Police officer identified the teenager only by the initials LP. LP said Ellis was at his home and the two of them started arguing over the game they were playing. 'LP stated that he observed Nicholas to pull out a Derringer 2-round .22 magnum caliber which was located in Nicholas' right pants pocket,' the officer said. 'LP stated that Nicholas was waving the firearm in the air and then pointed the loaded firearm at LP's head.' The officer said LP punched Ellis in self-defense and a physical brawl started before Ellis put the gun back in his pocket and left. LP further told officers that some of the ammunition inside the gun had come from a box on his desk in his room. Officers found 28 .22 rounds in that box. Woman shot by 'masked male' in Decatur; police investigating Officers then went to Ellis' home, where he originally denied any allegations of presenting or possessing a gun inside his friend's home. When officers received a search warrant to Ellis' home, they found the Derringer .22 magnum with two rounds in the gun and five more in a bag; the officer who signed the sworn statement said they were the same type of rounds found in LP's home. 'During a mirandized interview, Nicholas admitted to the firearm being his as well as him purchasing ammo for that firearm,' the officer said. 'A search of the firearm through LEADS showed that the firearm was reported stolen out of Waterloo, Iowa. A check of Nicholas through LEADS showed that he does not posses a valid FOID or Conceal Carry Permit.' Police asking for help to ID suspects in Urbana murder investigation Ellis was arrested that night and was booked on the three counts he was later formally charged on. In addition, officers learned he was on pretrial release in another court case involving misdemeanor battery. Appearing in court the day after his arrest, Ellis was denied pretrial release in the new case against him and a preliminary hearing was scheduled for March 12. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
