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 40AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: JULY 2016 33 Phone scammers call police, and cops call ‘em back T his actually hap- pened recently in Wisconsin. A cop gets a call from a scammer claiming to be from the IRS. The guy hangs up and the cop calls back. Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt received this message on his personal cell phone: “Hello, this call is officially a final notice from the Inter- nal Revenue Service. The reason for this call is to inform you the IRS is filing lawsuit against you. To get more information about this case file please call immediately on our department number (605) 291-6542. Thank you.” Schmidt called the num- ber back and a woman an- swered. “Internal Revenue Ser- vice,” she said. When the sheriff asked if there was a way to verify that the call was going to the IRS, the woman responded, “It is not our job to verify who we are.” Then she hung up. Schmidt called back. Here’s the transcript. Scammer: “Thank you for calling the Internal Revenue Service, how may I help you?” Sheriff: “I am the sheriff in Dodge County, Wisconsin, and I had a complaint about this number and I am trying to confirm that this is in fact the IRS. Is there a way that you can confirm this for me?” Scammer: “No sir, this is not the IRS. This is a scam.” Sheriff: “This is a scam?” Scammer: “Yes.” Sheriff: “OK, can you tell me where you are from? Where you are located?” Scammer: “In Afghani- stan.” Sheriff: “In Afghanistan?” Scammer: “Yes.” Sheriff: “Can you tell me your name?” Scammer: “Malma Dahli (Spelling uncertain).” Sheriff: “Why are you scam- ming our citizens?” Scammer: “This is our job, sir.” Sheriff: “You’re stealing money from people.” Scammer: “Yes.” Sheriff: “And why are you doing that?” The scammer then hung up. The Sheriff’s Office is now urging people to hang up on anyone claiming to be from the IRS or from a “law enforcement agency” saying they can kill the warrant for $250. If someone’s asking you for money on the phone, it’s a scam. That’s also true for many of the organizations that spend about 98 cents out of every dollar raised on something other than the cause. Generally speaking, auto theft is not the kind of thing that makes the news. But it’s a different story when the stolen vehicle belongs to a sheriff’s office. And when the stolen vehicle was allegedly the result of an inside job – that’s a story. Back when the locked St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office squad car was re- ported stolen a year back, the Sheriff, Ross Litman, said the theft was the work of a brazen criminal trying to show off by stealing a police vehicle. But after a months-long internal investigation, it looks increasingly like the vehicle was stolen by some- one working for the Sheriff’s Dept. Now officials tell the Duluth News Tribune that a former St. Louis County’s emergency services man- ager and a top official in the sheriff’s office allegedly took the car from a University of Wisconsin-Superior parking lot, drove it to Duluth and then abandoned it. That was the conclusion of a nearly year-long probe. Investigators have also linked the squad car incident with a pattern of harassment experienced by the alleged thief’s immediate supervisor in the sheriff’s office. Needless to say, this a case no one wants – especially the local prosecutors who have declined to press any charges. The alleged thief has since retired. Investigators say they think the employee stole the car to make his boss look bad. After spending several weeks poring over hundreds of pages of evidence, St. Louis County Attorney’s Of- fice criminal division head Gary Bjorklund said the case was a loser. “I went over it, it took some time, and I talked with investigators from both the sheriff’s office and the BCA and the bottom line is that there was just not enough evidence to prove the crimi- nal charge,” Bjorklund told the News Tribune. Case of the stolen cruiser likely to stay cold for eternity Participants in this year’s Police Unity Tour stop pedaling long enough to pose for a picture in New York City. The group raised over $2 million to benefit the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and the National Law Enforcement Museum. • Removes weight of duty belt off hips and lower back • Enables you to perform at maximum standards • Helps keep shirt tucked in during physical activity • No need to adjust duty belt when exiting vehicle • No need to hold duty belt when engaging in foot pursuits No more back pain The Back Defender is the only concealed belt suspension system approved for police duty WWW"ACK$EFENSE3YSTEMSCOM   (or)