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 4022 AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: MARCH 2016 Social media is a powerful tool for law enforcement. But it’s also a work in prog- ress. In California’s El Dorado County, someone recently told police that they had witnessed a kidnapping. “Obviously, our first con- cern is for any victims in our county,” Jim Byers, a lieutenant with the El Do- rado County Sheriff’s Office, said. About 24 hours later, the sheriff’s department posted a picture of the suspect’s pickup and license plate on their Facebook page. “We were trying to iden- tify the female victim in this case,” Lt. Byers said. The post went viral. The easiest way to tell how many people saw the post was that Ryan Gatica, the owner of the truck, found out he was a suspect in a kidnap- ping. He says the “kidnapping” was just him picking up his daughter after school because it was raining and he didn’t want to her to get wet. In the meantime, online vigilantes grew frustrated with law enforcement’s seem- ing inability to crack the case and many said they were go- ing to take matters into their own hands. One poster said he was go- ing to shoot Gatica’s pickup truck. FOX 40 News spoke with the terrified father about the ordeal. “I really just want to be able to go back to being a normal citizen and father,” he said. “This has been hard enough on me and my family. It has been humiliating and scary. We are ready to move for- ward from this as a family.” The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office says they posted the picture because they thought it was an urgent matter. “We strongly discourage anybody taking any personal action on their own, or even making those threats, which in themselves could be a crime,” Lt. Byers warned. When calling the public for backup – mistakes are likely When people see the kidnapping alerts on their smart- phones they tend to get pretty worked up. T wo Maryland sher- iff’s deputies were recently shot and killed in a shootout with a gunman, according to authorities. The incident began in a crowded restaurant, accord- ing to the Harford County Sheriff’s Office. “Today is a sad day for the Harford County Sheriff’s Office and citizens of Har- ford County,” Sheriff Jeff Gahler said. Both deputies that were killed were responding to a call at a crowded Pane- ra franchise in Abingdon, Maryland. The gunfire erupted around 11:45 AM. After the deputies ap- proached the shooter, the suspect shot one of the of- ficers and fled the scene on foot. Additional deputies onsite exchanged gunfire with the suspect and fatally wounded him. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Both of the deputies died at the hospital as a result of their injuries. Deputy Patrick Dailey was a 30-year veteran of the force, assigned to the court service division, and Deputy Mark Logsdon was a 16-year veteran assigned to the com- munity services division. Sheriff Gahler said that one of the two cops killed was a 30-year veteran and the other a 16-year veteran. The suspect has been identified as 67-year-old David Evans. Evans had two outstanding warrants. One of those warrants was from Florida for assaulting a police officer. An investigator walks beneath a police tape line at the scene of the shooting at a shopping center in Abingdon, Maryland. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) Two deputies killed register your agency now at www.nationalcops.org the traumas of law enforcement Remaining Training Locations: (Please check website for registration deadline dates.) April 4-6, 2016 - Clackamas, Oregon (Portland Area) April 11-13, 2016 - Bettendorf, Iowa (Quad Cities Area) April 25-27, 2016 - Cincinnati, Ohio These trainings are presented FREE of charge! Presents