10 American Police Beat: January 2018 NATIONWIDE What’s up in law enforcement across the U.S.A. Good Catch In Jacksonville, Florida, police say they have stopped a man from carrying out a planned mass shooting at a Florida Islamic center. Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams recently told media outlets that police arrested 69-year-old Bernardino Gawala Bolatete after he tried to buy a silencer for a firearm from an undercover officer. Police began investigating Bolatete after receiving a tip that Bolatete was planning a mass shooting at the Islamic Center of Northeast Florida. Police set up a sting during which Bolatete talked about his plans to kill innocent people at their place of worship. Gun Laws Out After Sandy Hook, many were shocked after calls for common sense gun control were not only ignored and dismissed, but that regulations concerning access to firearms were actually loosened or done away with. Those folks might have a serious case of deja vu as Congress looks ready to pass a law making unlicensed concealed carry the law of the land. In 38 states, gun owners must currently get permits to carry concealed weapons in public, with a range of different requirements. In the remaining 12 states no permits are required at all. But thanks to the gun lobby it looks like concealed carry reciprocity will override any state or local laws on guns. Playing Favorites Did your agency sign up for 287G or pledge to do ICE’s job for free recently? Then you go to the head of the line as far as the DOJ hiring handouts. The Justice Department announced recently that it will award more than $98 million to local police departments and will give preferential treatment to 80% of the recipients because they’re working for federal immigration officials. The community- policing grants will dole out $98,495,397 to 179 local law enforcement agencies, which will hire 802 officers as part of the Justice Department’s Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) hiring program. That works out to about $550,000 per agency, but it looks like the current DOJ is big on playing favorites – so good luck with that. Stolen Weapons If we can’t have any reasonable restrictions on the ownership of firearms (such as keeping them out of the hands of wife-beaters, terrorists and lowlifes of every stripe), can we at least crack down on gun theft? Hundreds of thousands of firearms stolen from the homes and vehicles of legal owners are flowing each year according to the ATF. Frequently those guns wind up in dangerous hands. An investigation by The Trace and NBC News identified more than 23,000 stolen firearms recovered by police between 2010 and 2016. 1. They keep saying “You’re dumber than Stan Laurel!” 2. He or she says stuff like “Do you kiss your mother with that mouth? 3. Go-to comeback line: “You’re probably just another afternoon farmer.” 4. You said something about their Facebook profile pic and the old bag says, “Don’t be such a fussbucket!” 5. Constantly telling you how much tougher Americans were in “aught-7” (1907) 6. Warning other posters not to “mollycoddle the ninnyhammers.” 7. Always going on about how they never play any Jimmy Dorsey records at Outback Steakhouse. 8. Says Jennifer Lawrence is unattractive and she can’t hold a candle to Vivian Leigh. 9. Still pissed off the Red Sox sold Babe Ruth and turned him into a hitter. (Guy was an ace pitcher!) 10. Instead of replying to comment, gets really confused and sends you the long list of medica- tion allergies meant for the doctor. T he Top 10 American Police Beat is under new ownership and has a brand new look. Hit us up on Facebook and let us know what you think. Signs that the person you’re arguing with on the internet is over 70 I n Florida recently, six police officers were forced to fatal- ly shoot a 71-year-old man who was creating quite the disturbance. The man was armed, fir- ing wildly into the evening air and shouting racial slurs at his neighbors. Lakeland police officials told reporters that cops on the scene made repeated attempts to get Jerry Jack Roach to come out of his home. During a phone conver- sation with negotiators, Roach told police he was coming out and officers would have to kill him. The report says Roach stepped outside with a shotgun and ignored commands to drop the weapon as he advanced on officers. Six cops fired almost in unison and stopped the threat, killing the suspect. All of the officers are on paid administrative leave pending an investigation. An independent review of the shooting will also be conducted by the state at- torney’s office. Roach was a convicted felon and was theoretically banned from buying or possessing fire- arms. But as is usually the case, he got one anyway. Old folks and violent crime ★ ★