By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Friday in New York City, the widow of murdered Police Officer Jason Rivera delivered a eulogy during his funeral service at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, telling mourners the system “continues to fail us.”
Dominique Luzuriaga spoke out of grief, and strength. It was clear she was not alone in her thoughts.
While the city was mourning the 22-year-old Rivera and his murdered partner, Wilbert Mora, 27, outrage was being expressed over the release on bond of a 16-year-old suspect in a separate case in which a police officer was wounded. The teen is described by Fox News as “an up-and-coming rapper.”
The teenage suspect allegedly fired a gun during an incident Jan. 18, wounding himself and the police officer.
Reacting to the teen’s release, Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch stated, “If anybody wants to know why we have a crisis of violence in this city, or why we’re about to bury two hero police officers, look no further than this disgraceful bail release.”
Lashawn McNeil, 47, was fatally wounded by a third officer in last Friday’s fatal gun battle. The gun McNeil used was reported stolen in Maryland about five years ago.
Newly-sworn Mayor Eric Adams and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg have, as noted by AmmoLand News, “declared a crisis of guns is plaguing” the city.
But is the problem really with guns? A criminal justice expert at the Manhattan Institute identified as Heather Mac Donald doesn’t think so.
“We have a crisis of family breakdown and a crisis of law enforcement, not a crisis of guns,” Mac Donald told Fox News.
Out in Seattle, the Police Blotter is carrying a report about a shooting incident in which officers “found a man with a gunshot wound to the hip” who also was carrying a handgun and “a waist pack containing narcotics.” By no great surprise, police discovered the shooting victim was a convicted felon, unable to legally possess a firearm.
In a separate case reported on Twitter, police responding to a domestic violence call in the city ended up not only arresting a DV suspect, but also seizing two handguns and arresting a companion of the suspect for a weapons violation.
Eight years ago, the Seattle-based and billionaire-backed Alliance for Gun Responsibility pushed through a citizen initiative mandating background checks on every gun transaction. Obviously the law failed again in these cases, as it has in other cases since the law took effect.
But another case in Seattle clearly illustrates what is plaguing communities across the landscape. A man identified as Timothy Andrew Clemans is charged with attempted kidnapping, and it is hardly his first brush with the law. According to the King County Prosecutor’s Office, Clemans has been convicted of felony harassment and third-degree assault (2020), fourth-degree assault (2019 and 2016), violation of a no-contact order (2018) and harassment (2016).
Days ago, he allegedly called 911, threatening to take hostages at knifepoint, and shortly afterward showed up at a Target store in West Seattle, where he allegedly picked up a kitchen knife and began telling customers in the store they were hostages. For the next six hours, he spoke with hostage negotiators before being taken into custody by a SWAT team.
This incident occurred about a week after Clemans was arrested by Seattle police on another beef, and the prosecutor’s office wanted him held on $10,000 bail. Instead, a judge released him on personal recognizance.
His arraignment is scheduled Feb. 9 at the King County Courthouse.
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