Latest news with #policeOfficer
CTV News
01-08-2025
- CTV News
‘Looking over us': Calgary police reflect on Rick Sonnenberg, 30 years of HAWCS
This July marks three decades of the Calgary Police Service's HAWCS air support unit, largely brought about through the vision and effort of the sister of a young police officer who was killed in the line of duty. (Image by Damien Wood / CTV Calgary)
Forbes
07-07-2025
- Forbes
Texas Border Patrol Shooting: 2 Officers Injured, Gunman Killed
A local police officer was shot in the knee Monday morning during an active shooter incident near the entrance to a Border Patrol sector annex in McAllen, Texas, Department of Homeland Security officials reported. A US Border Patrol patch on a border agent's uniform in McAllen, Texas. AFP via Getty Images Border patrol agents and local police were shot at and returned fire, killing the gunman. A second officer and a Border Patrol employee were also hurt, according to DHS. This is a developing story and will be updated. Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We're launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day's headlines. Text 'Alerts' to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here :
The Guardian
24-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
US Capitol rioter ordered to pay damages for assaulting cop who later died by suicide
A federal jury on Monday awarded $500,000 to the widow and estate of a police officer who killed himself nine days after he helped defend the US Capitol from the mob that attacked on January 6, 2021, including a man who scuffled with the officer during the uprising. The eight-member jury ordered that the man, 69-year-old chiropractor David Walls-Kaufman, to pay $380,000 in punitive damages and $60,000 in compensatory damages to Erin Smith for assaulting her husband, Washington DC metropolitan police officer Jeffrey Smith, inside the Capitol. They awarded an additional $60,000 to compensate Jeffrey Smith's estate for his pain and suffering. The judge presiding over the civil trial dismissed Erin Smith's wrongful-death claim against Walls-Kaufman before jurors began deliberating last week. Federal judge Ana Reyes said no reasonable juror could conclude that Walls-Kaufman's actions were capable of causing a traumatic brain injury leading to Smith's death. Walls-Kaufman, who lived a few blocks from the Capitol, denied assaulting Smith. He says any injuries that the officer suffered on the day of the Capitol attack occurred when another attacker threw a pole that struck Smith around his head. On Friday, the jury sided with Erin Smith and held Walls-Kaufman liable for assaulting her 35-year-old husband – an encounter captured on the officer's body camera. 'Erin is grateful to receive some measure of justice,' said one of her attorneys, David P Weber. Walls-Kaufman said the outcome of the trial is 'absolutely ridiculous'. 'No crime happened. I never struck the officer. I never intended to strike the officer,' he said. 'I'm just stunned.' After the jury left the courtroom, Reyes encouraged the parties to confer and discuss a possible settlement to avoid the time and expense of an appeal – and for the sake of 'finality'. 'You guys settle,' the judge said, 'you can move on with your lives.' Walls-Kaufman's attorney, Hughie Hunt, described the jury's award as 'shocking'. 'We're talking about a three-second event,' he told the judge. 'It's not shocking, Mr Hunt,' Reyes replied. 'A lot of things can happen in three seconds.' Jeffrey Smith was driving to work for the first time after the Capitol attack when he shot and killed himself with his service weapon. His family said he had no history of mental health problems before the January 6 attack. Erin Smith claims Walls-Kaufman struck her husband in the head with his own police baton, giving him a concussion and causing psychological and physical trauma that led to his suicide. The police department medically evaluated Smith and cleared him to return to full duty before he killed himself. In 2022, the DC police and firefighters' retirement and relief board determined that Smith was injured in the line of duty and the injury was the 'sole and direct cause of his death', according to the lawsuit. Walls-Kaufman served a 60-day prison sentence after pleading guilty to a Capitol riot-related misdemeanor in January 2023. But Donald Trump pardoned him in January. On the first day of his second presidency, which began in January, Trump pardoned, commuted prison sentences or ordered the dismissal of cases for all of the nearly 1,600 people charged in the Capitol attack. More than 100 law-enforcement officers were injured during the riot. Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick collapsed and died a day after engaging with the rioters. A medical examiner later determined he suffered a stroke and died of natural causes. Howard Liebengood, a Capitol police officer who responded to the riot, also died by suicide after the attack. Erin Smith has applied for the National Law Enforcement Memorial to add her husband's name as a line-of-duty death. Weber said they're hoping for a decision soon.
Reuters
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Portugal police dismantle armed far-right group, arrest six
LISBON, June 17 (Reuters) - Portuguese police have arrested six people suspected of belonging to a far-right group seeking to create an illegal armed militia, and seized firearms and explosives, police said on Tuesday, adding that those arrested faced terrorism charges. The arrests follow several incidents over the past few months involving other far-right and neo-Nazi groups in Portugal, where the anti-immigration party Chega last month became the second-largest parliamentary force, raising concerns about hate speech. Those arrested, including a senior police officer according to Publico newspaper, are believed to belong to the otherwise little-known Lusitanian Armillary Movement, whose name alludes to one of Portugal's national symbols, the armillary sphere. They are facing charges of being part of a terrorist group, incitement of hatred and violence, and possession of banned weapons, police said in a statement. Among the weapons seized were automatic firearms, some made with 3D printers, edged weapons as well as ammunition. Police said the group sought to establish itself as a political movement backed by an armed militia. The investigation started after authorities detected online activity that they said displayed strong signs of radical nationalist extremism with calls for violence against immigrants and refugees. The European Union has said hate speech is on the rise in Portugal, where four decades of fascist dictatorship ended in a 1974 revolution, and the far right is gaining support after Chega became the main opposition in parliament in last month's election. A week ago, a group of neo-Nazis attacked several actors outside a Lisbon theatre during Portugal Day celebrations, prompting the government, criticised by left-wing parties for what they see as failure to take action against far-right groups, to condemn the violence and promise an investigation. In April, far-right groups provoked clashes in downtown Lisbon, marring celebrations of the 51st anniversary of the Carnation Revolution, which ended the dictatorship.
Daily Mail
16-06-2025
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Tasmania Police officer shot dead in near Ulverstone
A Tasmanian Police officer has been shot dead near Ulverstone in the state's north-west. The male police officer was at a rural property when he was shot. Tasmania Police said there is 'no ongoing threat to the wider community'.
