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 406 AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: MARCH 2017 It turns out that blowing stuff up is completely legal The key is not using illegal explosives and making sure you own whatever you’re blowing up H ere’sagoodques- tion for the legal eagles out there: is it legal to blow up a car with explosives? Depending on the circum- stances, the answer is yes. In New York State, sev- eral people blew up a car (a “junker”) that created an explosion so powerful it was felt 10 miles away. But the individuals did so without breaking any laws, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said. Multiple reports of a large, almost military-grade explo- sion brought sheriff’s depu- ties to the location. At that point they saw the charred remains of the blown up vehicle. It was apparently some kind of DIY “controlled demolition” that was suc- cessful as no one was injured and no property damaged, besides the blown up car, the sheriff’s office said. And here’s where it gets a little bit weird considering the whole homeland secu- rity thing. An investigation deter- mined that the folks who blew the car up used Tanne- rite, an exploding firearms target. Tannerite is a brand name for a patented binary explo- sive. The readily available pre- packaged product does not meet the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Fire- arms’ regulatory definition for “explosives.” Federal and state law does regulate the storage, manu- facturing and transportation of binary explosives, but to what degree is anyone’s guess. “The investigation is con- tinuing but at this point there does not appear to have been any laws broken,” the sheriff’s office told the Times Union. In Muskegon, Michigan law enforcement people are getting the “two hands” treatment. That’s where someone gives you something with his or her right hand while taking something away with the left. According to multiple reports, Muskegon police would receive salary in- creases but also reductions to retirement benefits as part of a five-year labor agreement currently being negotiated. The deal includes sal- ary increases averaging 3.4 percent per year for DPW workers and 2.9 percent per year for police officers. The pension changes would impact only person- nel hired before 2006 and the changes will reduce pensions for officers by thousands of dollars per year. This is likely to save the city more than $300,000 per year. Supporters of smaller pensions, or eliminating pensions for public em- ployees altogether, say the changes will increase the pension funding level from 91 percent to more than 105 percent. To help make up for the reduction in pension bene- fits, the city agreed to annual salary increases for police officers. Local officers will see 5 percent increases in pay in the first year and 2 percent for each of the following two years. Here are some other details of the proposed police officers’ contract: • When an officer’s em- ployment ends, unused sick days would be paid at 75 percent of salary rather than the current 50 percent. • Unused vacation days would be paid out annually at 100 percent of pay and could be received as cash or contributions to a health savings account. Currently, receiving the cash is not an option. Slowly but surely, pensions being reduced and replaced Badges Insignia Medals Awards Collar Insignia Nameplates Challenge Coins Pins Accessories Design your badge online /smithandwarren @SmithnWarren YOU EARNEDIT Contact@SmithWarren.com Ph: 914.948.4619 To learn more, visit your local Smith & Warren dealer or visit www.SmithWarren.com The Best Quality Badges, backed by the industries ONLY Full Lifetime Warranty