Chicago Homicides Rise as Illegal Gun Seizures Fall: While the number of gun seizures in Chicago so far this year have dropped compared to the same period in 2015, twice as many homicides have occurred. Don Babwin of the AP reports that as of the end of February, Chicago's police department seized at least 110 fewer illegal guns than in the same period last year, and recorded 95 homicides and over 400 shootings, far surpassing last year's totals. Moreover, the high levels of scrutiny towards the city's police department has led to a dramatic drop in the number of street stops and resulted in an overall less aggressive police force.
Police Officer Shooting Deaths on the Rise in 2016: Of the 14 total line-of-duty deaths of law enforcement officers recorded in the first two months of 2016, 11 officers were killed by a firearm used against them, while only one of 15 officers' deaths by this time last year were firearm-related. Andrea Noble of the Washington Times reports that the 11-to-one comparison of 2016 and 2015 in the number of officers fatally shot in the first two months of the year yields a 1000% increase and "implies greater willingness on the part of offenders to go after the cops." Police associations around the country believe that anti-police rhetoric and the "deliberate campaign to terrorize our nation's law enforcement officers" is having serious consequences. The National Fraternal Order of Police is reigniting its campaign to expand federal hate crime laws to apply to targeted attacks on police officers.
CO Death Penalty Bill Dies in Committee: A Colorado bill that would have allowed a second jury to "retry" the aggravation and penalty phases of a death penalty case if the first jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict was postponed indefinitely Monday with a 6-3 vote. Lance Hernandez of the Denver Channel reports that House Bill 16-1233 was created after James Holmes, who was found guilty on multiple counts of first degree murder for gunning down several people in a movie theater in 2012, skirted the death penalty at his trial because of a single holdout on the jury. Colorado's death penalty process is unique in that jurors "can substitute their own individual, reasoned moral judgement for any factual or legal findings they previously found," making it a subjective process that one person "shouldn't be allowed to hang up." The issue could still end up before voters.
Police Officer Shooting Deaths on the Rise in 2016: Of the 14 total line-of-duty deaths of law enforcement officers recorded in the first two months of 2016, 11 officers were killed by a firearm used against them, while only one of 15 officers' deaths by this time last year were firearm-related. Andrea Noble of the Washington Times reports that the 11-to-one comparison of 2016 and 2015 in the number of officers fatally shot in the first two months of the year yields a 1000% increase and "implies greater willingness on the part of offenders to go after the cops." Police associations around the country believe that anti-police rhetoric and the "deliberate campaign to terrorize our nation's law enforcement officers" is having serious consequences. The National Fraternal Order of Police is reigniting its campaign to expand federal hate crime laws to apply to targeted attacks on police officers.
CO Death Penalty Bill Dies in Committee: A Colorado bill that would have allowed a second jury to "retry" the aggravation and penalty phases of a death penalty case if the first jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict was postponed indefinitely Monday with a 6-3 vote. Lance Hernandez of the Denver Channel reports that House Bill 16-1233 was created after James Holmes, who was found guilty on multiple counts of first degree murder for gunning down several people in a movie theater in 2012, skirted the death penalty at his trial because of a single holdout on the jury. Colorado's death penalty process is unique in that jurors "can substitute their own individual, reasoned moral judgement for any factual or legal findings they previously found," making it a subjective process that one person "shouldn't be allowed to hang up." The issue could still end up before voters.
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