Latest news with #JohnsonCountySheriff'sOffice
Newsweek
06-07-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Officer Shot During Attack on Texas ICE Detention Facility
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. City of Alvarado Police said that an officer was shot in the neck and is receiving treatment after responding to an attack on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Prairieland, Texas, on Friday evening. Newsweek reached out by email to the City of Alvarado Police Department and outside of normal business hours on Sunday morning. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) declined to comment. Why It Matters The Trump administration has highlighted attacks and violence against federal personnel and buildings as it ramps up its mass deportation operations. Protests against mass deportation operations have, at times, turned violent, such as during the Los Angeles anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protests in June. In response, President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard and U.S. Marines to the city, which local elected officials objected with. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday that the department is monitoring attacks on detention facilities in Prairieland and Portland, Oregon. "The Department has zero tolerance for assaults on federal officers or property and will bring the full weight of the law against those responsible," he wrote. Johnson County Sheriff's Office and City of Alvarado Police Department officers on the scene outside the Prairieland Detention Facility on Friday evening. Johnson County Sheriff's Office and City of Alvarado Police Department officers on the scene outside the Prairieland Detention Facility on Friday evening. Johnson County Sheriff's Office Facebook What To Know City of Alvarado police responded on Friday night to the Prairieland Detention Center at around 10:56 p.m. CT, finding a "suspicious person" who appeared to be carrying a firearm, according to a post on Facebook. The first officer to respond to the scene engaged the suspect, at which point multiple others opened fire on him. The officer was struck in the neck by "at least one bullet," according to the department's statement. The officer was treated at Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth and released as of Saturday evening. The other suspects attempted to flee the scene, but Alvarado police, Johnson County sheriffs, and neighboring agencies arrested several of them. The sheriff's office stated that "the motives of the suspects are unclear." "Alvarado Police Department would like to thank the local agencies, the Sheriff's office, the Texas Rangers, and the Federal law enforcement agencies that continue to provide assistance," the department said. Names of the suspects have not been released, and CBS News reported that authorities arrested eight people, some of whom wore body armor, citing a federal law enforcement source. The same source said that over a dozen masked individuals dressed in black had arrived at the detention facility and vandalized vehicles and security cameras in the parking lot. They also launched fireworks, which the source speculated may have been done to draw out law enforcement. Incident at the Portland Detention Facility Blanche's reference to an attack in Portland likely refers to the clash between protesters and law enforcement on July 4, which occurred outside of the Portland Detention Facility. Protesters had gathered in opposition to Trump's policies and to the passage of the "One Big Beautiful Bill," which the president signed on Friday, and which will supercharge his deportation operations by handing ICE a budget comparable to that of some national militaries. Tensions escalated between protesters and federal officers, leading to clashes, according to local outlet KOIN 6. Newsweek reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and Portland police by email on Sunday for clarity about Blanche's comments. What People Are Saying Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote on X: "We are closely monitoring the attacks on DHS detention facilities in Prairieland, TX, and Portland, OR, and are coordinating with the USAOs and our law enforcement partners. The Department has zero tolerance for assaults on federal officers or property and will bring the full weight of the law against those responsible." DHS Secretary Kristi Noem earlier this week wrote on X: "Our heroic ICE law enforcement officers are facing a nearly 700% increase in assaults against them. If you obstruct or assault our law enforcement, this administration will hunt you down and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law." What Happens Next? ICE and DHS will continue to carry out Trump's deportation efforts, and Department of Justice (DOJ) will look to prosecute those who engage in violent protests against federal agents carrying out their orders.
Daily Mirror
18-06-2025
- General
- Daily Mirror
Plane crash horror as pilot loses control and smashes into airport
Two people were hurt in a plane crash at New Century Airport in Johnson County, Kansas, on Monday. Authorities said the plane crash-landed on the roof of a hangar Two people were hospitalised Monday afternoon following a plane crash at New Century Airport in Johnson County, Kansas, US. The crash occurred just before 1.30pm local time when a light twin-engine aircraft with two occupants crash-landed on the roof of a hangar. According to the Johnson County Sheriff's Office, both individuals suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were transported to a local hospital. 'The good news is that both individuals sustained only minor injuries,' said Bryan Johnson, executive director of the Johnson County Airport Commission. 'They were able to exit the aircraft on their own and climb down a fire ladder to paramedics.' Responding agencies included the sheriff's office, Kansas Highway Patrol, Fire District #1, and MED-ACT. Preliminary reports from the highway patrol indicate that a mechanical failure caused the aircraft's left engine to malfunction, leading the 73-year-old male pilot to lose control. 'Witnesses described hearing a loud boom when the plane struck the building,' Johnson said. 'We're incredibly relieved no one was seriously hurt.' Everyone inside the hangar, which Johnson noted is less than three years old, was safely evacuated and no injuries were reported on the ground. An investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing. Earlier this week, an Air India flight travelling from Hong Kong to Delhi was forced to make a U-turn after the pilot reported a suspected technical issue mid-air. Flight AI315, operated by a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, left Hong Kong for Delhi before quickly returning to its origin as a precautionary measure, reports the Hindustan Times. It comes just days after an Air India plane bound for London Gatwick crashed and killed all but one of the 242 passengers onboard. The flight, which departed Ahmadabad Airport in Gujarat, India, came down moments after taking off on Thursday afternoon. Air India was already battling an "exceptionally poor" reputation before the horror incident, believed to have claimed the lives of 169 Indian nationals, 52 Brits, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian passenger. The only survivor, British national Vishwashkumar Ramesh, told local news that he saw the aircraft crew and passengers die around him but managed to flee when the plane suddenly split in two and threw him out with only minor injuries. Mr Ramesh, who was in seat 11A on the Boeing 787 flight, later said "has no idea how he survived" one of India's deadliest aviation disasters.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas police 'abused' license plate data for immigration search, Illinois police say
A Texas law enforcement agency reportedly used license plate data shared by a Chicago-area police department in locating a woman for immigration enforcement purposes, despite Illinois state law prohibiting such use. The Johnson County Sheriff's Office allegedly used data from Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) — also referred to as Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) — through Flock Safety, a private company. The "National Lookup" feature is used by law enforcement agencies "for purposes of immigration enforcement." The Illinois Secretary of State's Office notified the Mount Prospect Police Department that it was among multiple other law enforcement agencies whose data was used by the Texas department. "The use of ALPR data collected by Mount Prospect Flock Safety cameras for this purpose does not align with the Mount Prospect Police Department's values and is a clear violation of Illinois state law," the Chicago department stated in a press release. A site called 404 Media shows the Johnson County Sheriff's Office requested data from 83,000 of Flock Safety's cameras, including those in Mount Prospect. Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias is requesting an investigation into the incident by the attorney general, The Independent reports. He says he is also making an audit system to prevent similar uses of ALPR data in the future. A 2023 Illinois law prohibits the sharing of license plate data to track undocumented immigrants or people seeking abortions. A total of 262 immigrant-related searches were made between mid-January and April in Mount Prospect alone, Giannoulias said. Deputy Secretary of State Scott Burnham warned that such violations could lead to the loss of state funding. Giannoulias says he requested that Flock Safety block access to 62 out-of-state agencies seeking data related to abortion or immigration. The ALPR company also created a program to flag access requests with the terms "abortion" and "immigration" and deny the requests. Finally, law enforcement agencies will be required to respect the secretary of state's audits with the goal of noting trends in certain requests, Burnham explained. "I am tremendously upset that some law enforcement agencies who agreed to follow Illinois law, in order to gain access to our ALPR data, conducted illegal searches violating the trust of our community," Chief of Police Michael Eterno said. "As disappointed as I am with these other agencies, I want to emphasize that no member of the Mount Prospect Police Department shared ALPR data in violation of the law. I realize that this misuse of Mount Prospect's ALPR data violates the trust of our community, and we as a department will continue to work to enhance the Flock ALPR software and ensure this abuse does not occur in the future." Following the incident with the Johnson County Sheriff's Office, the Mount Prospect Police Department said it has made, or plans to make, several changes to prevent similar incidents in the future, including opted out of the Flock Safety "National Lookup" feature cancelled any data sharing agreement with law enforcement agencies who violated Illinois state law revoked access to Mount Prospect's ALPR data for all law enforcement agencies outside of Illinois will be updating its ALPR policy to include regular audits of the searches being conducted by internal and external users As of Friday morning, the Johnson County Sheriff's Office had not issued a public statement about the incident. The name of the individual who was the focus of the search has not been disclosed to the public. Flock Safety has released a statement amid what it calls "a misunderstanding." The ALPR company indicated contact with the Johnson County Sheriff's Office regarding the incident in Illinois, seeking to correct "misreporting" that the program was used "to target people seeking reproductive healthcare." The Sheriff allegedly told Flock Safety that this "is unequivocally false." "According to the Sheriff's office, a local family called and said their relative had self-administered an abortion, and then she ran away," Flock Safety said. "Her family feared she was hurt, and asked the deputy to search for her to the best of their abilities. Law enforcement performed a nationwide search in Flock, the broadest search possible within the system, to try to locate her quickly. Luckily, she was found safe and healthy in Dallas a couple of days later." The woman faces no charges and was never under criminal investigation, the ALPR company added, saying that Texas police were looking for her as a missing person rather than as a crime suspect. "We're grateful for the opportunity to work with Illinois officials to clarify what happened, correct misconceptions, and implement lasting improvements that uphold the trust of both law enforcement agencies and the residents they serve." — The Independent contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas police use of license plate data under investigation in Illinois
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Local law enforcement ask public for help locating missing man
Local law enforcement is seeking help in finding a missing man. Christopher Richard Jennings, nicknamed Casey, was last seen on May 22 on the Benton Street bridge in Iowa City, according to an Iowa City news release sent out on Sunday, May 27.. Jennings is about 6-foot-2 and approximately 160 pounds. He has blue eyes and greyish-brown hair. He was clean-shaven the last time he was seen. Jennings was last seen wearing a black jacket, red and white plaid shirt, blue jeans and a black baseball hat under a black University of Iowa Tigerhawk beanie. He was carrying a green and brown satchel bag over his shoulder at the time. Jennings is known to frequently fish near the Riverfront Crossings area of Iowa City," according to law enforcement. More: Free 'Be an Instrument for Change' concert marks 10 years of reentry support in Johnson County Anyone with information on Jennings is being asked to contact the Johnson County Joint Emergency Communications Center at (319) 356-6800. A Johnson County Sheriff's Office spokesperson said on Tuesday, May 27, that there is no update on the case. Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@ or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01. This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Police asking for help finding missing Iowa City man
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Local law enforcement ask public for help locating missing man
Local law enforcement is seeking help in finding a missing man. Christopher Richard Jennings, nicknamed Casey, was last seen on May 22 on the Benton Street bridge in Iowa City, according to an Iowa City news release sent out on Sunday, May 27.. Jennings is about 6-foot-2 and approximately 160 pounds. He has blue eyes and greyish-brown hair. He was clean-shaven the last time he was seen. Jennings was last seen wearing a black jacket, red and white plaid shirt, blue jeans and a black baseball hat under a black University of Iowa Tigerhawk beanie. He was carrying a green and brown satchel bag over his shoulder at the time. Jennings is known to frequently fish near the Riverfront Crossings area of Iowa City," according to law enforcement. More: Free 'Be an Instrument for Change' concert marks 10 years of reentry support in Johnson County Anyone with information on Jennings is being asked to contact the Johnson County Joint Emergency Communications Center at (319) 356-6800. A Johnson County Sheriff's Office spokesperson said on Tuesday, May 27, that there is no update on the case. Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@ or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01. This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Police asking for help finding missing Iowa City man
