QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Unlike a lot of countries, we’ve got a pretty complex system.We vote a lot.”
President Barack Obama, on the release of a bipartisan panel’s advice for decreasing the amount of time voters wait at polls Article,this page
Slain officer ‘knew risks’ say peers
OAKLAND, Calif. - A veteran San Francisco Bay Area transit police sergeant who was fatally shot by another officer during a search knew the dangers of the profession and once remarked that it was fortunate that no agency officers had been killed on the job, colleagues said Wednesday.
Bay Area Rapid Transit police Sgt. Tom Smith also was described as a respected, sincere, passionate and sometimes opinionated person who always looked out for others.
“Tom knew that law enforcement was incredibly dangerous,” transit Police Lt. Lance Haight said. “I do remember him once commenting that [the transit force] had never had an officer die in the line of duty and how fortunate that had never taken place.”
The force’s chief, Kenton Rainey said the department was in shock over Tuesday’s death of Smith, a 23-year veteran and the first department officer killed in the line of duty in its 42-year history.
Authorities were trying to determine whether an officer’s weapon discharged accidentally, or if Smith was mistaken for someone else, Alameda County sheriff’s Sgt. J.D. Nelson said.
Texas snubs diplomats, executes killer
HUNTSVILLE, Texas - A Mexican man was executed Wednesday night in Texas for killing a Houston police officer 20 years ago, despite pleas and diplomatic pressure from the Mexican government and the U.S. State Department to halt the punishment.
Edgar Tamayo, 46, made no final statement and was pronounced dead at 9:32 p.m. CST, 17 minutes after he received a lethal injection of pentobarbital for the January 1994 fatal shooting of Guy Gaddis, 24.
The Supreme Court rejected at least two appeals Wednesday, including the argument that Tamayo’s conviction and death sentence were tainted because he did not receive notice that he could request legal help from the Mexican Consulate after his arrest.
Records show the consulate became involved or aware of the case just as his trial was to begin.
Attorneys also argued unsuccessfully that Tamayo was mentally impaired, making him ineligible for execution, and that the state’s clemency procedures were unfair.
Secretary of State John Kerry asked Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott to delay Tamayo’s punishment, saying it “could impact the way American citizens are treated in other countries.” But Abbott’s office and the Harris County district attorney opposed any delays.
Hits on side focus of new car-seat rules
Reacting to a directive from Congress, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Wednesday that it would propose changes to a federal vehicle-safety standard that would require new child car seats to be safer in side-impact crashes.
The new rule would apply to car seats sold in the United States that are designed for children weighing up to 40 pounds.
The current standard addresses only how well car seats must protect children in front crashes.
The announcement was made by David Friedman, acting administrator of the safety agency, at the SAE International Government/Industry Meeting at the Washington Auto Show.
The agency estimates that the regulation will save five lives and prevent 64 injuries each year. The proposed rule will be published in The Federal Register, and members of the public and manufacturers will be able to submit comments for 90 days.
Under the proposed rule, car-seat manufacturers would have to show that child safety seats can keep a child’s head from hitting the door when the car is struck in the side, and reduce the crash forces transmitted to the head and chest.
Collegiate rapes epidemic, report finds
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama shone a light Wednesday on a college sexual-assault epidemic that is often shrouded in secrecy, with victims fearing stigma, police poorly trained to investigate and universities reluctant to disclose the violence.
A White House report highlights a prevalence of rape on college campuses, with 1 in 5 female students assaulted while only about 1 in 8 reports it.
Obama, who has overseen a military that has grappled with its own crisis of sexual assaults, spoke out against the crime as “an affront on our basic decency and humanity.” He then signed a memorandum creating a task force to respond to campus rapes.
Front Section, Pages 4 on 01/23/2014