Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 4032 AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: JANUARY 2017 W hile conser- vative com- mentators and many working in or around law enforce- ment support and subscribe to the notion of a “war on cops,” it’s important to keep in mind that the vast major- ity of Americans actually support police. And that’s very comfort- ing to Bremerton, Washing- ton Police Officer Spencer Berntsen. Bernsten was attacked by a suspect after his Taser failed and might have been seri- ously wounded if it wasn’t for the guys who jumped into action. Kelly Bounds was one of them. He’s a good egg. “It’s about helping others in a time of need, wheth- er it’s opening a door for somebody or pushing that wheelchair across the street,” Bounds told KOMO News. “If we can help each other, it’s the most important thing that life can give is helping one another.” Officer Berntsen was re- sponding to 911 call of a man who smashed a window at a local fast food restau- rant. “I went up there to contact him and he was not listening to my verbal commands and not compliant,” Berntsen told reporters. Berntsen said the man was extremely agitated and aggressive. “He got on the ground, then got up and that’s when I tried to deploy the Taser,” Berntsen said. “He literally blew cigarette smoke in my face and said, ‘Let’s go.’” When the suspect realized the Taser failed he attacked the officer. “What I saw was some- body who was just viciously attacking somebody,” said Bounds. During a time when all anyone seems to want to talk about is division, this is the kind of story that provides a glimmer of hope. The bravery shown by Bounds and the other Good Samaritans isn’t something Berntsen is taking lightly. “I’m very fortunate that I’m OK and that I got to go home that day,” Bern- tsen said. Berntsen tracked Bounds down recently to thank him. “This could have gone in a very different direction,” said Bremerton Police Chief Steve Strachan. “This is a dangerous job at the end of the day and people say, ‘Well, why are officers so touchy? Why are officers so extremely careful when they encounter some- body?’ This is why – because there are people who are willing to violently attack a police officer.” Thankfully there are many others that are willing to stand up and jump in when a cop needs help. Cop thankful for the help I n Arkansas, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office says it is moving forward with new policies after a year of turmoil. Sheriff Meyer Gilbert, who came into office last April, says he’s made the necessary changes and that those changes now have the office running more smoothly. The policies of former Sheriff Kelly Cradduck led to a slew of complaints and demands for reform from area lawmakers and offi- cials. The complaints about those policies included po- lice chases through neigh- borhoods at dangerous speeds and a botched drug bust in a Walmart parking lot. “Sheriff Gilbert was con- cerned about it, he was aware of some of the issues and he immediately pledged to take care of some of the concerns that we had,” Rogers Mayor Greg Hines said. Gilbert’s first step was to re-establish communica- tions with other agencies. It was unclear how commu- nications with neighboring agencies suffered under the previous management. “We have excellent re- lationships with all of our agencies. We’ve totally re- built those relationships, and I think they’re moving forward wonderfully,” Gil- bert said. Gilbert also said there was precious little in the way of supervision, and he’s got that straightened out too. “We’ve put into place pursuit policies, we’ve put into place conduct policies that instruct our deputies on how to act and how to gov- ern themselves,” the Sheriff said. Sheriff Gilbert said the changes were necessary be- cause previous policies put the public, which his team is supposed to protect and serve, at risk. That’s good news for con- cerned residents. “Any operation that’s run by police, the citizens should be safe in every way,” Rog- ers resident Jacki Power said. One thing that helps keep the public and law enforce- ment safe is supervision – something that critics say was sorely lacking under the previous sheriff. “They have been strictly supervised by the supervi- sor on duty, and done in the way that they should be done and carried out with- out any kind of reckless en- dangerment to the public,” the Sheriff said. Most importantly, Sheriff Gilbert is mending ties with the community. “We get thank you letters, we get phone calls, emails and Facebook posts and we appreciate those – the pub- lic really lets us know that they appreciate us,” Gilbert said. Gilbert says he plans to work closely with Sheriff- Elect Shawn Holloway who takes the oath in January to keep the department on the right track. “We’ve been through a lot, the employees have been through a lot,” he said. “We’re just thankful there’s not going to be any big changes in the command staff and the way the Sher- iff’s Department is operated. It should be a seamless tran- sition for our employees and our citizens.” Sheriff Gilbert will remain a part of the Sheriff’s Office after Sheriff-Elect Shawn Holloway takes the oath in January but it’s unclear what the position will be. Sheriff rights ship, rebuilds relationships with other agencies Y a did good, kid. In Ohio re- cently, university of- ficials said Ohio State University Public Safety Officer Alan Horujko radioed dis- patch at 9:52 AM that a man had driven his car into a crowd of pedestrians. Just a few seconds later, the officer radi- oed dispatch saying there was a man with a knife attempting to slash people. One minute after that he called in “shots fired” and said that one person was down after he “engaged the suspect.” Thanks to Horujko’s hero- ism he was able to prevent Abdul Razak Ali Artan from striking or stabbing any more students. Ohio State University Public Safety Director Mon- ica Moll praised Horujko’s performance. Horujko joined the Ohio State University Police in January 2015 after graduat- ing from the school in 2012, according to his LinkedIn profile. Eleven people were in- jured in the attack. Ohio State University Public Safety Officer Alan Horujko Young cop had cool head, stopped threat Real support is more than just buying a t-shirt