Alejandro Valderrabano Contreras, 31, was arrested and charged Friday with exceeding the speed limit by at least 15 mph and no more than 25 mph, having no South Carolina driver’s license and trafficking in cocaine 400 grams or more.

Officers stopped his 2003 Nissan Maxima around 8:20 p.m. for speeding in the Galivants Ferry area, reports Mrytle Beach Online.

Officer searched the vehicle and located a hidden compartment in the center console that contained 10 kilograms or 22 pounds of cocaine, reports the Charlotte Observer.

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Officers responded to the Wells Fargo at 21st Street and Colonial Avenue about 2:40 p.m. for a report of someone trying to pass a bad check, reports the Virginian-Pilot.

As officers approached the vehicle, the driver accellerated and struck one of the officers. A second officer shot and killed 22-year-old Joshua Johnson.

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Officers on the job before '66 knew that the right to remain silent was guaranteed by the Constitution, but no officer from that era ever thought it was his job to remind offenders of their rights. That changed with the arrest of Ernesto Miranda in March 1963 and the subsequent appeals of his conviction that resulted in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision Miranda v. Arizona.

Carroll Cooley was a fairly new detective working for the Phoenix Police Department back in 1963. He was assigned to investigate the violent assault and kidnapping of a young woman on her way home from work. Ernesto Miranda was a convicted criminal who was out of prison and on the streets of Phoenix. Tracking down leads on a car brought Cooley to the parolee's doorstep.

Miranda was linked to the crime and brought to the police department for an interview. During the interview, he admitted to the assault and kidnapping. Miranda was convicted of kidnapping, rape, and armed robbery. He was sentenced to prison. Case closed. At least that's what Cooley thought.

The Supreme Court

During the early and mid-1960s era of policing, arrests were made, confessions were obtained, and cases were prosecuted without giving a second thought to telling arrestees about their Fifth Amendment and Sixth Amendment rights. Officers were supposed to respect the rights of the accused; that fact was never in question. What did come into question was whether officers had a responsibility to tell suspects of their rights.

Miranda was literate, educated to the 8th grade, and volunteered his confessions knowing the consequences. Defense and appellate lawyers would argue to the contrary.

Miranda's arrest and conviction set forth a judicial process that lasted for more than three years. In 1966, Miranda v. Arizona was one of four cases that were brought before the U.S. Supreme Court dealing with custodial interrogations. All of the cases brought into question the rights of the accused and the responsibility of officers to advise the accused of their rights.

On June 13, 1966, the Court ruled that Miranda's confession could not be used against him because he was not advised of his right to remain silent, right to counsel, and what would happen if he talked. At Miranda's second trial, his confession was not used. But he was convicted a second time and sentenced to 20 to 30 years in prison.

Miranda was paroled in 1972, and he began selling autographed Miranda warning cards for $1.50. Arrested numerous times for driving violations, he eventually lost his license. He was also sent back to state prison for a parole violation, after he was arrested for possessing a gun. On Jan. 31, 1976, following his release from prison, Miranda was fatally stabbed during a bar fight in Phoenix.

Refining the Law

Of course the death of the man named Ernesto Miranda did not end his case's impact on law enforcement procedures. "Miranda Warnings" are ever changing in their application and interpretation just like every other aspect of a police officer's job.

Police implementation of Miranda warnings has changed over the years. When officers first got their marching orders to "read them their rights," they read the rights to everyone they questioned. Stop a man on the street to ask what he's doing, read him his rights. Everybody gets their rights read. That's the way it was in the mid '60s. Officers felt they were talking suspects out of a confession rather than trying to get one.

Thankfully, that's changed. Year after year, the application of Miranda rights has grown more refined. Miranda has now been defined to apply when two conditions are met. It must be a custodial interview and questions must be asked about the crime. Of course, "custody" is subject to judicial interpretation.

Miranda Today

In a recent case in Maricopa County, Ariz., a judge ruled in favor of a defendant whose attorney claimed that his Miranda rights were not read to him prior to a confession.

Detectives were investigating a teenager's claims that an adult touched her inappropriately. Like many other cases of this nature, a great deal of the case relied on the interviews of the victim and the accused. The detectives wanted to hear both sides of the story to see if a crime was committed. They did a non-custodial interview at the adult male's home. The interview did not result in an arrest, but it did result in the suspect's partial admission to the crime. After an interview with the victim, the detectives developed probable cause and arrested the suspect. Post-arrest, they read him his rights. He exercised his right to remain silent, requesting an attorney.

In a pre-trial hearing, the defense asserted that the detectives should have read the suspect his rights before the first interview; therefore the confession was not admissible. The prosecution argued the custody pretext was not met. The judge ruled for the defense. Without the confession, the case was never prosecuted.

This case is an excellent example of what officers face every day when weighing Miranda issues. If you get back to the basics of what the 1966 Miranda decision was all about, you'll remember that the defense claimed Ernesto Miranda was not educated enough to understand his rights, so the officers should have made sure he understood his rights before questioning. The recent Maricopa County case involves an accused with many years of college and there was no question as to his understanding of his rights.

Cases like the Maricopa County case have helped to refine the application of Miranda for officers. Miranda issues frustrate officers, but they adapt their processes to take into account new judicial interpretations that strengthen or weaken Miranda issues. Most officers take solace in the fact that they are only one part of the greater judicial process and, like the officers policing in the 1960s, they follow the rules and do their part to put criminals in prison.

The exact Miranda warnings were never defined by the Warren Court, but the concepts were clear. You have to tell accused persons of their right to remain silent before they are questioned in a custodial interview. You have to tell them what will happen if they choose to talk. The accused must be told that they can have an attorney with them during questioning to help protect their Fifth Amendment rights. They must be told that if they are indigent, they can have an attorney appointed for them free of charge. 

Mark Clark is a 27-year veteran police sergeant. He has served as public information officer, training officer, and as supervisor for various detective and patrol squads.

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Sgt. Dwayne Polk, 47, most recently assigned to the transportation unit, was in uniform driving his tan-colored Chevrolet Silverado around 3 a.m. at the intersection of West Little York and North Shepherd.

Andres Munos-Munos, 22, sped through the red light at the intersection in his white GMC pickup, crashing into the driver's side door of Polk's truck, said Houston Police Department spokesman John Cannon.

Read the full Houston Chronicle story.

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VIDEO: High-Speed Pursuit In N.C.

A high-speed vehicle pursuit through rural Burke County, N.C., earlier this month ended with a suspect being taken into custody on the hood of the lead pursuing cruiser.

The pursuit began after Morganton Police Department officers responded to a call about a suspicious car in the parking lot of the Christian Outreach Center on May 2.

Officers recognized the vehicle as being wanted from an earlier crime and initiated a traffic stop of the green sedan. The suspect's vehicle pulled over just long enough for officers to exit two units. An engine revving can be heard on patrol-car video, as the suspect takes off on Highway 70.

The suspects blow stop signs and reach speeds exceeding 80 mph before pulling to a stop near a market. Donelle Nicholas Cuthbertson jumps out of the vehicle's passenger-side door. A plainclothes officer can be seen taking Cuthbertson into custody.

Vehicles from other law enforcement agencies blocked off intersections to keep the road clear until the suspect could be apprehended, reports the Hickory Record.

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The call, which went to 911, started like any other call to the police dispatcher, with the operator asking, "What is your emergency?"

But when no one answered, the operator didn't hang up, instead staying on the line and listening to the pair, who police identified as Nathan Teklemariam and Carson Rinehart, both 20, as they talked about wanting to do drugs. It wasn't long before the conversation turned to breaking into a car.

"Get the bolt and give me the hammer just in case," one of the two voices on the phone said.

Read the full ABC News story.

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Officers shot and killed Tony Nim, 35, at about 7:30 a.m. Nim died at the scene, reports the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

The fatal confrontation escalated after Nim appeared incoherent and didn't respond to officers' commands. The commands were given in several languages. Nim pulled the knife, which was a foot long, from his backpack. At that point, three officers opened fire.

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Andrea Rebello, 21, died early Friday along with 30-year-old Dalton Smith, who had broken into the student's Uniondale home where she lived with several other students. Smith entered the home wearing a ski mask and took Rebello hostage. Two of the students escaped and called 911. Police arrived 10 minutes later.

Two Nassau County officers responded. One entered the house and confronted Smith, who held Rebello in a headlock, reports CBS New York. Smith pointed the gun at Rebello's head and repeatedly threatened to kill her. He then pointed the gun at the officer. The officer acted quickly because he believed his and Rebello's life were in danger, police sources told CBS New York.

The responding officers may not have been aware that Smith had hostages in the home, reports the New York Times.

The 42-year-old Nassau cop, a 12-year agency veteran and former NYPD officer, is said to be inconsolable over Rebello's death, reports the New York Post. "He blames himself and keeps replaying it in his mind," a police source told the Post. "He is torn up about the poor girl." The officer has been placed on medical leave.

Smith has a lengthy criminal history and had been wanted since April for absconding from parole. His criminal record includes armed robbery and automobile theft convictions, reports the Post.

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Deputy Tim Causey, a 25-year veteran, had been hospitalized since March, when he responded to a devastating fire at the Windsor Green community in Carolina Forest.

Deputy Causey developed acute respiratory failure shortly after the fire. Doctors as Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston diagnosed him with the H1N1 virus, a strain of the influenza virus often called swine flu, and put him into a medically induced coma, reports Myrtle Beach Online.

He is survived by a wife and two daughters.

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Officer Daryl Raetz, 29, was struck at about 3:30 a.m. while processing a DUI suspect with several other officers at 51st and Cambridge avenues. The driver fled the scene. Surprise Police detectives located the Expedition later Sunday.

Police arrested Jesus Cabrera Molina, 24, Sunday on drug-possession charges. Investigators are still trying to determine who was driving the vehicle that struck the officer, Sgt. Tommy Thompson told the Arizona Republic.

Raetz, a six-year veteran, leaves behind a wife and child. He served during the Iraq War as a medic.

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All four upgraded lights now feature Streamlight's new Ten-Tap programming that enables users to select among high/strobe/low (the factory default setting); high only; or low/high.

On high, the upgraded lights now feature a range of 70 to 260 lumens and run times of up to three hours; on low, run times range from 24 to 50 hours. On the strobe setting, the ProTac 2L runs for six hours, while the other three lights run for four hours.

The ProTac 1L and ProTac 2L use one or two 3-volt CR123A lithium batteries, respectively, which have a shelf life of 10 years. The ProTac 1AA and the ProTac 2AA are powered by one and two AA alkaline batteries, respectively; the use of a lithium battery will extend the run time of the ProTac 1AA.  

Each light features a C4 LED for extreme brightness. A multi-function, push-button tactical tail switch allows for one-handed operation of the lights' momentary, variable intensity, and strobe modes. 

Similar to other models in the ProTac series, these lights are thin and easy to carry, weighing between 2 and 3.4 ounces with batteries, and measuring between 3.43 and 6.14 inches.

With bodies fabricated from machined aircraft aluminum with an anodized finish, the lights also feature an anti-roll face cap and a glass lens that is O-ring sealed. All four lights are IPX7 rated for waterproof operation to one meter for 30 minutes, and are two-meter impact resistance tested.  Each includes a removable pocket clip and holster. The ProTac 1AA, ProTac 2AA, ProTac 1L, and ProTac 2L retail for $68, $70, $72, and $80 respectively.

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VIDEO: N.M. Trooper, Bystanders Save Girl

A New Mexico State Police trooper and several bystanders lifted an overturned vehicle and pulled an 8-year-old girl to safety at an accident scene.

Officer Steve Nunez responded to an accident along Interstate 40 on May 8 just east of Grants in western New Mexico. When he approached the overturned vehicle, Officer Nunez noticed that the girl was face down and unconscious. The vehicle was covering most of her body.

Four motorists passing by stopped to help Officer Nunez lift the vehicle and pull out the girl, who had not been wearing a seatbelt and was thrown from the vehicle, reports KRQE.

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The 5-year-old girl apparently is OK after she was shoved from the kidnapper's car close to the abduction site and found wandering near her apartment.

The mother, who was in cell-phone contact with the police during her pursuit, thought her daughter was still a prisoner, according to an Albuquerque Police Department spokesman.

Read the full KRQE story.

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VIDEO: Calif. Cops TASER Domestic Suspect In Home

Cotati (Calif.) Police officers entered the home of a military veteran after a neighbor called 911 Friday to report a domestic dispute. The veteran released his video of the episode that he says shows police improperly entered his home.

James Wood, 33, said he had a loud argument with his wife. Cotati PD officers arrived and eventually entered the home. The video shows an officer TASERing Wood, who drops to the floor while filming.

Wood told CBS News he just returned from military service in the Middle East and didn't give officers permission to enter his home.

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Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, wrote the note in marker while he hid in the boat from authorities. He wrote that brother Tamerlan, who died in a gunfight with police, was a martyr in paradise. He also wrote that he expected to join him there soon, reports CBS News.

The boat wall with the note was riddled with bullets.

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Jeffrey Demond Williams, 37, gave a brief, angry statement before the death penalty was carried out, saying, "You clown police ... Y'all are getting away with murder all the time. When I kill one or pop one, y'all want to kill me."

Williams fatally shot Houston Police Officer Troy Blando while the officer was handcuffing him on May 19, 1999. Williams shot the 39-year-old officer with a gun he had tucked in his shirt. He was stopped while driving a stolen Lexus, reports the Associated Press.

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The sheriff requested the FBI probe after he discovered that one of two cellphones seized from witnesses didn't have footage from the incident. Youngblood asked the FBI to determine what footage the phones contained and whether any footage was deleted, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Community members said they used cell phones to record video of deputies striking David Sal Silva with repeated blows to the head early Wednesday. The Silva family's attorney earlier told the Times that any missing footage "makes it look like a cover-up."

Sheriff Youngblood said he viewed footage that showed deputies striking Silva with batons, but it didn't conclusively show whether the strikes were delivered to Silva's head.

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Upon their arrival at the 1950s-era one-story bungalow on Wehner Lane, they contacted the informant, Helen Perez. She advised them that her brother, Albert Belmontez, was drunk and high on drugs. This was not atypical behavior on Belmontez's part, but this night the ensuing amount of destruction he'd caused was unusual. Perez had been kicked in the leg and their shared home had been torn up, but what sealed her decision to order her brother to leave was that he had thrown a large bottle with Nolan Ryan-like intensity at her as she stood in the street. Unfortunately, he didn't leave; he holed himself up inside their home. And she called the deputies.

Making Contact

The house was nestled among the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and the sun had retreated from view hours before. With curtains blocking the little ambient lighting that streamed in from outside the house, Brown and Keating were hard-pressed to get a glimpse of the disturbing party. Nonetheless, they attempted to call out to him.

Their efforts periodically triggered profanity-laced replies from the 27-year-old man, but little more. Forty minutes after the deputies' arrival, Belmontez turned off the interior lights.

The two deputies elected to try to contact the man by opening a window, a decision bolstered by the informant's assurance that Belmontez would not be near the window. Approaching an unlocked window to the right of the front door, Brown removed the screen and slowly pried the window open as Keating kept vigil to his right. Again, their calls to the suspect to come out were met with silence.

Suddenly, a hand shot through the curtains and seized Brown's uniform shirt. Belmontez yelled, "You're not going to open my window!"

Keating's reaction was fast; he struck the unseen arm with his flashlight. Brown struggled to release himself from the man's grasp, and his uniform shirt tore as he backed away from the window. Belmontez let out a string of profanities and closed the window, causing Keating's flashlight to smash through the glass. An upright shard dug into Keating's arm and wrist, severely lacerating both. Blood splashed about the window and both deputies backed away.

As the informant applied direct pressure to Keating's cuts, her brother came to the front door. Brown had anticipated correctly that the man was about to step out of the house and had drawn his PR24 baton from his Sam Browne seconds before. What he had not anticipated was that Belmontez would exit carrying a 12-inch-long kitchen knife by his right leg.

Coming Out

"He's got a knife!" Brown yelled to Keating, who stood a few feet off to his right. But Keating's injuries had left the deputy incapable of immediately addressing any threat, leaving Brown effectively on his own. Transitioning from his baton to his Beretta 92F, Brown yelled for Belmontez to freeze and drop the knife.

Instead, Belmontez raised the knife and charged at the officers with rapid steps. That the man had a wooden leg had already been made known to Brown. What he didn't expect was that the 250-pound man had long ago become accustomed to walking with it, and whatever degree his intoxication might have affected his coordination, it did not diminish his speed. The 15-foot buffer zone Brown had created in backing away from the location was rapidly diminishing as the knife-wielding man charged down the steps at him.

"I'm going to kill you!" Belmontez hissed.

Brown didn't need to be warned a second time. He'd received enough training from his department to understand the dangers posed by knife-wielding suspects and seen the images of eviscerated lawmen who'd failed to respect such threats in the past.

Brown had backed up as far as the fenced yard would allow. At the sight of Belmontez lunging toward him, Brown began squeezing off rounds from his Beretta. He fired a rapid volley, striking the man 10 times in the head, neck, torso, thigh, and back. Belmontez's body collapsed at Brown's feet.

Civil Unrest

Belmontez's neighbors began pouring into the street. And over the next hour, deputies from Brown's home station and three neighboring stations would be descending upon a scene of chaos as the neighborhood devolved into an impromptu act of civil unrest.

Retaining any semblance of order may have been problematic, but one thing was certain to Brown's mind. Wild horses couldn't pull him away from the suspect's side because he knew that the knife would disappear otherwise.

In the days that followed, American flags flying at half-staff became a familiar sight on the street where Belmontez had lived. Friends and neighbors of the family helped raise more than $1,000 to help with burial costs and pay for a private investigator and claims were filed against the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for negligence and excessive force.

Law enforcement critics often cite the ratio of misses to hits in officer-involved shootings as indicators of both a blood-thirsty nature and a paranoid response on the part of the officers. In this instance, the number of hits and the proximity in which they were fired were indicted by self-proclaimed judges who characterized Dep. Brown as a man who'd gunned down a one-legged man who "was probably trying only to balance his prosthesis."

"If an officer can shoot somebody 10 times like this, I don't think he has any business being on the street," said Robert W. Thompson, the family's attorney and director of the Inland Empire Victims' Rights Center. "To me, that's just outrageous."

For its part, the department was assertive in defending Brown's use of deadly force—at least to the news media.

"They shot him in self-defense," said Sgt. Gil Aguilar at the time. "It's an instantaneous type thing, a reaction ... to a deadly situation."

The deadliness of the situation was corroborated by several neighbors who heard the deputies telling Belmontez to put down the stainless steel kitchen knife, as they watched the events unfold from their respective homes.

This wasn't Belmontez's first brush with the law either. As a teenager, he had been convicted and had served more than a year for being an accessory to a drive-by shooting aimed at the San Dimas sheriff's substation. One neighbor complained that Belmontez had caused commotion in the neighborhood at least 10 times during the prior three months.

Settling the Case

Tactically the incident had been affected by the technology of the day. The shooting occurred just before commonly held communication devices and a wide array of less-lethal weaponry. Brown says that things might well have ended differently in this era; he certainly hopes so.

"I wished that we could have called the Special Enforcement Bureau, but that wasn't an option for different reasons," Brown reflects. He candidly assesses one tactic that he wishes he hadn't employed in the hopes that others will think twice before attempting a similar tack. "My mistake was I should not have opened that window," he says. "It was a complete unknown; he could have had an AK-47 in there."

As far as the shooting itself, Brown says that he is as comfortable with it as he possibly can be, even with its attendant lawsuit. His description of his emotional response to the threat is typically candid.

"Because of the fear-induced adrenaline I actually saw the bullet leave my gun," says Brown. "I saw it go up his left front orbital temple area. I thought, 'Thank goodness, that's not a bad shot.' It was my intended target because of all the training I'd been exposed to regarding knife threats, including videos and photos of situations where cops were confronted with knives and the wrong guy ended up going to the morgue. I wasn't going to be that guy. There was no way in hell that I wanted to get killed by a knife. I'd rather be shot by a gun. And that idea has little appeal to me, either."

But opportunistic lawyers saw prospective litigation in the fact that Brown had used a gun to kill a one-legged man with a knife. Determined to make good on it, they filed suit against the County. Whatever the merits of their case, they were perhaps gambling on what came to pass: A "let's get rid of it" mentality on the part of the County saw it settling with the family out of court to the tune of $750,000.

Brown wishes the County hadn't settled, particularly as he revisits the image of Belmontez's sister, Helen Perez, seated in the courtroom holding a Bible between her knees and deeply contemplative before rebutting the litigating attorney's insinuation that her brother had not exited the house holding the knife.

Talking About It

Dep. Michael Keating was medically retired because of the injuries to his hand and arm. In less than a decade, Brown would join him as a direct result of a separate shooting.

Since his retirement, Brown has become attuned to law enforcement officers and military servicemen who deal with PTSD. A continued source of concern for Brown is the silence that is imposed upon officers who have been involved in shootings. In this instance, as in hundreds of others, Brown was sequestered away from others, his weapon taken away, and he was told not to discuss the shooting with anyone in any context.

"You don't go through something like this without wanting and needing to talk about it," says Brown. "You want to share what you learned with others so that they can possibly prevent unnecessary situations and be better able to cope with those that do occur." For Brown, this one-size-fits-all litigation-driven policy exacerbates stresses already inherent to such situations.

Brown now hopes that by speaking more freely about his experiences, he can make a difference for others.

What Would You Do?

Put yourself in the shoes of Los Angeles County Sheriff's Dep. Walt Brown and Dep. Michael Keating. It's 1989 and you have been called to a domestic disturbance. Now ask yourself the following questions.

This shooting occurred at a time when deputies were still obligated to run back to their patrol units to request assistance when force options were more limited. Allowing for what is available today, how would you deal with a knife-wielding suspect when hemmed in a yard line by a fence? Do some situations require the same manner of response, irrespective of era?

Fears of evidence retrieval or destruction weighed heavily on Dep. Brown's mind in the seconds following the shooting. In the aftermath of a deadly force incident occurring in a "hostile" environment, what would your personal priorities be? What logistics might you call upon?

Brown openly regrets the decision to open the window. What other strategic or tactical options might you explore?

Cop critics love to Monday morning quarterback the number of rounds fired in an officer-involved shooting, and cited Brown's as excessive, despite the fact that the suspect was still able to fall at his feet. In light of a recent Missouri-based shooting where it took more than 70 hits to down a determined suspect, is there such a thing as an excessive number of rounds that can be fired? What are your criteria?

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VIDEO: Deputies Use Batons In Kern County

The Kern County (Calif.) Sheriff's Department is fending off accusations its deputies fatally beat a suspect with batons as he lay on the pavement, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Community members used cell phones to record video of deputies striking 33-year-old David Sal Silva with repeated blows to the head early Wednesday, they told media outlets.

A Silva family attorney told the Times that deputies confiscated the videos from residents who were detained for several hours until they gave up the video.

"It makes it look like a cover-up," attorney David Cohn told the Times. "What we're all concerned about is, 'Are these videos going to be altered? Are they going to be deleted?'"

Sheriff Donny Youngblood said he has brought in the Bakersfield Police Department to review the videos to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

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An estimated 20,000 people attended the 25th annual vigil, which honored 120 officers killed in the line of duty last year and another 201 fallen officers dating back to 1814. Customs Inspector John Stout was killed in the line of duty nearly 200 years ago while attempting to arrest notorious pirate Jean Lafitte during a slave auction.

"Whether an officer is killed one year ago or two centuries ago, he or she will always be remembered and honored at the National Law Enforcement Memorial," said Craig Floyd, chairman and CEO of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

Last year's total of 120 officers killed in the line of duty was a significant reduction from the 169 killed in 2011 and the lowest number since 1959. All of the speakers at this year's vigil praised this trend as a move in the right direction and focused on the need to further reduce line-of-duty deaths.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder led the candle-lighting ceremony and delivered the keynote. "Although no words and no ceremony can erase the pain we feel at each tragic and untimely loss, my hope is that the families, friends, and colleagues of these fallen heroes can find peace in the certain knowledge that they died doing what they loved. They helped to make this world a far better and safer place," Holder told the crowd.

Also speaking at the vigil was Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. "We come together among these silent stone walls, to pay our respects to these officers and to always remember their lives, their contributions, and the examples they set," she said.

One particularly poignant moment during the vigil was the speech by Madeline Neumann, president of the Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS). Neumann told how she became a "survivor" in 1989 at the age of 22 when her husband, Keith Neumann was killed in the line of duty. She told the family members of the fallen officers that they didn't choose to be "survivors" but they can choose to "survive."

The vigil, the centerpiece of National Police Week, concluded with the candle lighting ceremony. Thousands of officers and civilians in attendance held the candles high as a blue laser light pierced the sky above them, serving as a stark reminder of the thin blue line.

Special guests during the ceremony included representatives of the Boston-area agencies that investigated the Boston Marathon bombing and eliminated the threat. These special attendees included Director Robert Mueller of the FBI, Col. Timothy Alben of the Massachusetts State Police, Superintendent Willie Gross of the Boston Police Department, and Chief Ed Deveau of the Watertown Police Department.

The 25th annual Candlelight Vigil was presented by National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and Target Corp. To learn more about the names added to the wall this year, click here.

Related:

Police Week 2013: Candlelight Vigil (photos)

Obama Honors 2013 Top Cops

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NYPD Deputy Inspector Christopher McCormick said he never ordered Officer Pedro Serrano or other 40th Precinct officers to stop only blacks in the south Bronx area, reports NY1. McCormick is testifying for the city in the stop-and-frisk trial.

Officer Serrano, who testified in March, transferred out of the 40th Precinct after agreeing to testify in the trial.

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Officer Anthony Espada, who recounted his story on the Cleveland Division of Police's blog, said he doesn't feel like a hero for helping rescue Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight from Ariel Castro's house on May 6.

Officer Espada responded to a crowded scene, as Amanda Berry stood on the porch among a crowd of neighbors. She held a child while giving information to police dispatchers on a cell phone.

As the cruiser pulled up to the home, Berry approached Espada, who was sitting in the passenger seat. Berry pointed to the home, and Espada's partner asked her whether there were more people in the house. She answered, "Yes. Gina DeJesus and another girl."

The officers ran toward the home and went up the steps.

"I'm looking that way just waiting to see what's going to happen and it was Michelle," Officer Espada writes. "She popped out into the doorway and paused there for a second. Within moments she came charging at me. She jumped onto me. She's like, "You saved us! You saved us!" And I'm holding onto her so tight."

Officer Espada then describes his next find.

"Within a few seconds I see another girl come out of the bedroom," he wrote. "I just look at her. You can immediately tell who it is. I asked her, "What's your name?" She said, "My name is Georgina DeJesus." Very overwhelming. I mean it took everything to hold myself together."

The officer then radioed dispatch about his discovery, broadcasting "2Adam23, we found them! We found them!"

The emotion of the moment hasn't left Officer Espada, who continues to replay the moment in his mind.

"Everybody was in the right place," he wrote. "It couldn't have gotten any better than that, that day. I don't feel like a hero. I'm just glad I was there, you know, just making sure they were safe. I feel so happy for them. It is just unbelievable."

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Hysen Sherifi, 29, received the sentence from U.S. Attorney District Court Judge W. Earl Britt. His 23-year-old brother, Shkumbin Sherifi, and Nevine Aly Elshiekh, 48, were sentenced to 36 months and 42 months respectively for aiding the plot.

A jury found Sherifi guilty on Nov. 8 of planning an attack on a U.S. Marine Corps base in Quantico, Va. as part of a violent jihad. Sherifi was a member of a Raleigh, N.C., jihad group led by Daniel Patrick Boyd. Sherifi was charged with plotting to kill six witnesses who testified against him during his 2011 trial.

While awaiting sentencing after his October 2011 conviction, Sherifi plotted to kill three FBI agents and three government informants who testified at his terrorism trial. Sherifi sought to kill these individuals as revenge for his conviction; to prevent their testimony at co-conspirator Anes Subasic's upcoming trial; and to get a new trial for himself, according to the FBI.

Sherifi recruited his brother, Shkubmin Sherifi, and Nevine Elshiekh, a local school teacher. The Sherifis and Elshiekh then raised money to pay for the murders.

In January 2012, Elshiekh met with a government informant whom she believed to be the middleman for a hit man in order to discuss the murder plot and possible targets. Elshiekh then relayed that information to Sherifi during a jail visit. Sherifi specified that he wanted each target to be beheaded and photographed after the beheading.

At a second meeting, Elshiekh confirmed the identity of a government witness to be murdered and made a down payment. The conspirators then worked together to collect the remaining funds needed to pay for the first murder. After collecting the funds, the conspirators arranged another series of meetings with the witness to pay for the murder and get photographic confirmation of the first murder.

On Jan. 22, 2012, the conspirators were arrested shortly after Shkubmin Sherifi accepted pictures purporting to show a beheaded government witness. On Feb. 21, 2012, a nine-count indictment was filed charging Sherifi, Shkubmin Sherifi, and Elshiekh.

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"I heard a loud noise, like a door slamming," said retired Detective Glenn Estrada, describing the moment his partner was shot in the face. "I heard a scream, like a surprised scream."

Alleged crew ringleader Nelson Morales, 28, and Kevin Santos, 32, are on trial in Brooklyn Supreme Court for burglary and felony murder for their roles in the East New York shooting.

Read the full New York Post story.

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Preliminary data shows that 47 officers were killed in 2012, a 35-percent drop from the 72 killed in 2011. The data will be included in the Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA) report that's usually released in October. The report doesn't include officers killed in accidental deaths such as police vehicle accidents.

Of the 47 officers killed by suspects, 22 were killed in the South, eight were killed in the West, six were killed in the Northeast, five were killed in the Midwest, and six were killed in Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

The profile of the slain officers mirrored earlier years in that the bulk (43 of the 47) were firearm-related. Of these, handguns led the way with 30, followed by rifles (seven) and shotguns (three). Non-gun deaths came from vehicles, a knife, and personal weapons (hands, fists, or feet).

The leading circumstance of the deaths (12) came as officers investigated suspicious persons or situations. Eight died conducting traffic pursuits or stops. Five were killed in ambushes. Four deaths cam on disturbance calls and three fallen officers were transporting, handling, or maintaining custody of prisoners. Other circumstances included drug-related matters, investigative activities, robberies in progress, a burglary in progress, and handling a mentally ill person.

In a troubling revelation, only 20 of the slain officers (42 percent) were wearing body armor at the time of their deaths. Only six of the officers fired their service weapons.

Of the 47 victim officers, 42 have been cleared by arrest or exceptional means.

An additional 45 officers were accidentally killed in the line of duty in 2012, a drop from the 53 accidentally killed in 2011. Of those, 22 died due to automobile accidents, 10 were struck by vehicles, and six officers were in motorcycle accidents. Three of the officers were killed in aircraft accidents, two in accidental shootings, one from a fall, and one officer died as a result of an ATV accident.

Final statistics and complete details will be published by the FBI in the fall.

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Chief Pugel spoke to attendees in the "smoking tent" of the Cannabis Freedom March, where his audience lighted up and munched on cannabis snacks, reports the Seattle Times.

"What I ask specifically, if they want to see it work, don't embarrass police officers," Pugel said, reported Fox News. "Do not use in front of police officers."

On Nov. 6, Washington voters legalized marijuana for recreational use inside the privacy of a home. Users can be cited for public use. In December, Seattle Police leaders told officers to issue verbal warnings for public marijuana use.

The decision to legalize marijuana has put the state at odds with federal law that still designates marijuana an illegal drug. The California Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that cities and other local municipalities can ban pot dispensaries.

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Riders left six locations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia on Thursday and Friday. They rode several hundred miles and will begin arriving at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial at 2 p.m.

After arriving, each rider will pedal through the memorial's "Pathways of Remembrance" that flank the memorial walls. Once each rider has filed onto the memorial grounds, there will be a brief ceremony with remarks by the Police Unity Tour's board of directors and Craig W. Floyd, chairman and CEO of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

The Police Unity Tour raises funds for the memorial that honors fallen officers.

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The iM2435 fits in most overhead airline compartments and is available with an optional "mobile office" file kit that features a lid organizer and a customizable padded divider set that will accommodate a 15.6-inch laptop.  Also available as an optional accessory is the TSA-accepted PeliLock, which airport personnel, who all have special access keys, won't need to cut for security inspections.

With 1,576 cubic inches (.91 cubic feet) of storage space, the iM2435 features a unique top-loading design that gives easy access to its contents. Additionally, there are molded-in feet that give the case stability when it's upright and full. Standard features include stainless steel, ball-bearing, polyurethane wheels; an extra-long, telescoping metal handle; and recessed rubberized top grip. The case also features integrated padlock protectors to thwart cutting and theft.

The iM2435's HPX polymer construction helps it protect sensitive equipment. Strong press and pull latches ensure that the case stays secure. Additional features include a lid equipped with a polymer o-ring for a dust and waterproof seal, and an automatic pressure equalization Vortex valve that stops moisture from entering the case and prevents vacuum-lock so the case opens easily at any altitude.

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Meanwhile, a police squad car responding to the shooting scene fatally struck a motorcyclist in South Minneapolis.

The incident happened around 3:30 p.m. near Bryant Avenue South and West 27th Street, according to police scanner reports and a report from police.

Police spokeswoman Cyndi Barrington told the Associated Press that officers stopped the vehicle and the suspect fled and broke into a house. The homeowner alerted police, and a shootout ensued.

Read the full Pioneer Press story.

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One murder suspect was killed and another was wounded during the midday gunfire in a shopping center parking lot.

The high-speed chase began in Yucca Valley, where a person was shot to death in a failed carjacking attempt at about 11:40 a.m. CHP officers pursued a silver sedan down Highway 62 and onto Interstate 10. The vehicle exited in San Bernardino and turned onto Hospitality Lane and finally Carnegie Drive.

The suspects opened fire on officers and San Bernardino County Sheriff's deputies, reports the Press-Enterprise.

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Roy Limbaugh, 59, was convicted Thursday. Limbaugh had mocked Patrolman John Melto and said, "This conviction right now is void," during a 20-minute lecture to the judge.

Limbaugh, an unregistered sex offender, has a mental health history that includes a diagnosis of personality disorders, reports the Salem News.

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VIDEO: Deadly Miami Drug Shootout

Suspects involved in a drug trafficking operation opened fire on investigating Miami-Dade Police detectives in a deadly gunfight captured by the video surveillance cameras of a marijuana grow house.

The dramatic footage, which was played Thursday at a court hearing, shows the rapidly unfolding gunfight at the west Miami home. Plainclothes detectives had visited the home on July 31 for a "knock and talk" during their investigation.

After arriving, they began to question Luis Estevanell, 60. Estevanell's cohort, Gerardo Delgado, emerges from a parked BMW and opened fire at the officers while attempting to take cover behind a tree.

The officers returned fire striking Delgado several times as the suspect continued firing. Three rounds from Delgado struck John Saavedra, who can be seen falling outside the screen.

Estevanell has been charged with possession of cocaine, trafficking in marijuana, and second-degree felony murder. In Florida, anyone who commits a felony in which a death occurs can be held responsible for murder, reports the Miami Herald.

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Prosecutors have indicated they will pursue capital punishment for Byron Scherf, 54, in the death of Jayme Biendl, 34, in January 2011 at the Washington State Reformatory, reports the Daily Herald. Scherf strangled the officer in the sanctuary of the prison chapel.

Scherf, who was serving a life sentence for sex crimes from the 1990s, strangled Biendl with a microphone cord. He later confessed the crime to detectives.

During the trial, Scherf's attorneys argued their client didn't intend to kill Biendl and blacked out in the moments before her death. Scherf said he went looking for Biendl at her post because he was angry about something she had said to him, reports KOMO.

Following the slaying, the Washington Department of Corrections made several operational changes to improve officer safety.

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The officers will ride bicycles several hundred miles from the locations today and Friday and arrive in Washington D.C. on Sunday for National Police Week. Each rider raised more than $1,700 for the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund.

The officers will ride into the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial at approximately 2 p.m. to the cheers of thousands of family, friends, colleagues and supporters.

The riders' progress can be tracked via social media at Facebook.com/nleomf and @nleomf on Instagram and Twitter.

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After a call at 1 a.m. on May 2 that two motorists were arguing, responding officers located the SUV in the 1500 block of S. 76th St. and attempted to pull over the vehicle. The SUV sped away but then struck a fire hydrant and several trees before flipping and ejecting the driver near the intersection of Washington Street, reports WITI.

The initial pursuing officer rolled up to the scene and reported, "There's debris all over the road. This car is absolutely totaled." The agency released dash-cam footage showing the aftermath, reports WDJT.

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Clark County prosecutors on Wednesday announced their intention to seek capital punishment for Harris, 27, who was indicted last month on nearly a dozen charges in the case.

Prosecutors say Harris shot and killed reputed pimp Kenneth "Kenny Clutch" Cherry Jr. as the two were driving separate vehicles on the Strip early on the morning of Feb. 21.

The shooting caused Cherry to crash his car into a taxicab, which burst into flames, killing the driver, Michael Boldon, and his passenger, Sandra Sutton-Wasmund of Maple Valley, Wash.

Read the full Las Vegas Review-Journal story.

Related:

Suspect Indicted In Fiery Las Vegas Strip Deaths

Las Vegas Strip Shooting Suspect Faces Extradition from L.A.

Las Vegas Police Name Suspect In Deadly Shooting

Feud Involving Rapper Leads To Deadly Shooting, Crash

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The U.S. District Court on Wednesday unanimously awarded $2 million to each of Lejoy Grissom's four children and added $825,000.

Grissom, 27, was pulled over by a Culver City PD officer in a parking lot as a suspect in the robbery of a nearby electronics store. Four other officers responded to the scene along with a supervisor.

The officers drew their weapons and ordered Grissom out of his vehicle. Moments after he exited the vehicle, Officer Luis Martinez fired three rounds from a subgun that fatally struck Grissom.

Martinez testified that Grissom had his back to the officers and turned to reveal a shiny object, while the other officers testified that he was facing them and unarmed, reports the Los Angeles Times.

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