DES MOINES (AP) — The parents of an Iowa man who drowned while in a Missouri state trooper’s custody have filed two lawsuits accusing the Missouri State Highway Patrol of negligence.
The parents of 20-year-old Brandon Ellingson allege in their lawsuit that the trooper who detained him violated his constitutional rights. They also allege that the patrol and the Morgan County, Missouri coroner conspired to hide the facts of the case and deflect blame away from Trooper Tony Piercy.
Ellingson, a Clive resident and student at Arizona State University, went into the water on May 31 as Piercy was transporting him on the Lake of the Ozarks. Ellingson had been detained on suspicion of boating while intoxicated.
A phone message left for the patrol on Saturday wasn’t immediately returned.
FAIRPORT- A Missouri man was injured in an accident just before 4 a.m. on Saturday in DeKalb County.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 1995 Chevy Camaro driven by Cody L. Hullinger, 25, Maysville, was westbound on Route E one mile west of Fairport.
The vehicle traveled off the north side of the road, struck and embankment, went airborne and overturned.
Hullinger was transported to Cameron Regional Medical Center.
NEW YORK (AP) — At least 400 people are killed by police in the United States every year, but even when those deaths prompt public outrage, grand juries almost always decide that the officer hasn’t committed a crime.
But there are exceptions.
Successful prosecutions generally involve officers who have lied about what they’ve done, used excessive force to inflict punishment, or instigated confrontations for personal reasons.
Federal and state prosecutors have won convictions in several states.
This year, several officers faced criminal charges in North and South Carolina over fatal shootings.
Experts say jurors are willing to give the benefit of the doubt to officers who use deadly force on the job.
But that sympathy goes away if there is evidence that officers are using violence for retribution.
Residents of Kansas City, Kan., and Wyandotte County stand to indicate their position on a proposal to lift a county ban on pit bulls during Thursday’s meeting of the Unified Government Commission.-Photo by Jim McLean
By Jim McLean
KHI News Service
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The Unified Government’s commission chambers were jam-packed on Thursday night.
It wasn’t a controversy over a multi-million bond issue that brought people out. It wasn’t even the final step in the approval process for the city’s “healthy campus” downtown redevelopment plan.
It was a proposed change in the way the city deals with feral cats, stray dogs and pit bulls.
“We can bond out literally $100 million for some long-term street improvement and it’s a two-minute vote up-and-down and no one is in the audience. But you start talking about a third dog and we’ll fill this room,” said Kansas City, Kan., Mayor Mark Holland.
Yes, you read that right, a “third dog.”
The commission voted Thursday night to allow Kansas City and other Wyandotte County residents to legally own three dogs. The previous limit was two. Residents also are allowed up to three cats.
Residents can apply for special permits and pay $300 to exceed those limits, but the commission must approve them. The UG’s legal staff recommended that permit decisions be handled administratively by the police department’s animal control unit. But the commission voted to retain that authority to ensure that decisions are made transparently and with adequate public input.
“I think the (current) process is working quite well,” said commissioner Jim Walters.
The commission also approved a “trap, neuter and release” ordinance aimed at controlling the population of feral cats roaming the city.
Some decisions deferred
City staff and interested parties spent months working at the committee level to craft a non-breed-specific vicious dog ordinance in part to replace the ban on pit bulls. But several commissioners and Holland had concerns about some of the proposed language.
“If someone is in my yard and I don’t want them there, I can’t beat them up or shoot them but my dog can attack them?” Holland said. “I have a problem with that language.”
The commission directed legal staff to rewrite parts of the ordinance and bring it back for consideration within 30 days. Commission members also asked staff to prepare an estimate of how much it will cost to enforce the new ordinance for consideration at their April budget session.
Commissioner Ann Brandau-Murguia said any change in the city’s animal control policy will require additional funding.
“Ordinances aren’t any good if we don’t appropriately fund the department to enforce those ordinances,” Brandau-Murguia said.
Pit bull ban maintained
Commission members were evenly split on the pit bull issue.
Commissioner Mike Kane said that when his daughter moved back to Wyandotte County after college she had to give up two pit bulls, which he described as loving, even-tempered pets.
“The pit bulls aren’t the problem, it’s the owners,” Kane said.
But others disagreed. Commissioner Gayle Townsend reminded members of the event that precipitated the ban, the mauling death of 71-year-old Jimmie Mae McConnell in 2006.
“For Mrs. McConnell there is no choice,” Townsend said.
Commissioner Jane Winkler Philbrook favored lifting the ban. She said the process of drafting the more comprehensive vicious dog ordinance had been a good one, with lots of public input.
“Believe me, there has been more cussing and discussing over this one thing,” Philbrook said.
Philbrook’s motion to lift the ban failed on a 4-4 vote.
Noting that members of McConnell’s family were in the audience along with members of her “church family,” Holland said the pit bull issue remains highly charged.
“That (McConnell’s death) is still fresh in the minds of many people,” he said. “There are a lot of people that are afraid of pit bulls, and I think we need to take that fear seriously.”
Brent Toellner, president of the KC Pet Project, understands that fear. But he says it’s misplaced.
“Banning breeds isn’t the solution,” Toellner said, noting that more than 100 cities across the country have recently repealed pit bull bans, including two in the Kansas City metropolitan area, Fairway and Spring Hill.
“Dogs of all breeds can be aggressive,” he said. “The most effective use of resources is to target aggressive dogs based on behavior and not on their appearance.”
Michelle Angell, the captain in charge of the police department’s animal control unit, said officers spend an inordinate amount of time investigating possible violations of the city’s pit bull ban. She said the average cost of responding to a complaint and determining the breed of a dog is about $1,000 per investigation.
Jim McLean is a reporter for Heartland Health Monitor, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.
WASHINGTON (AP) — New racial profiling guidelines being announced by the Obama administration would exempt agents from the Homeland Security Department who do border checks and screen passengers at airports.
But the guidelines would also restrict the ability of the FBI and other Justice Department law enforcement agencies to take into account ethnicity, national origin and other factors.
The guidelines, reported first by The Washington Post, are expected to be announced soon.
A U.S. official said Friday that the new guidelines exempt the Transportation Security Administration in entirety and also inspections at port of entry. The official was not authorized to discuss the guidelines by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The guidelines affect only federal law enforcement agents but have added symbolic resonance in the aftermath of the Ferguson, Missouri police shooting.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Mourners will gather to remember a Muslim teenager who was run down and killed in a crash that was being investigated as a possible hate crime.
Thirty-four-year-old Ahmed H. Aden, of Kansas City, was charged Friday with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the crash that killed 15-year-old Abdisamad Sheikh-Hussein at the at Somali Center of Kansas City. Funeral services for Abdisamad are set for 1 p.m. Saturday at the Islamic Society of Greater Kansas City.
A probable cause statement says Aden was driving the sport utility vehicle that hit the teen as the boy got into a car.
No attorney is listed for Aden in online court records.
MANHATTAN -Kansas Farm Bureau recognized members and friends at its 96th Annual Meeting this week.
Dale Rodman was honored with the Distinguished Service Award. Rodman is a former Secretary of Agriculture in Kansas. He served in this position beginning in 2011, following his appointment by Governor Sam Brownback. After leaving the secretary’s office, he retained his role as the elected chair of the Board of Directors of the Kansas Bioscience Authority.
The organization also recognized its Friends of Agriculture. This award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to Kansas Farm Bureau and agriculture or rural Kansas. They included:
Matt and Stephanie Symns of Doniphan County received the Natural Resources Award. This award goes to the farm family who exemplifies good land stewardship. The Symns operate a diversified crop and livestock farm. They raise 775 acres of corn, 725 acres of soybeans and 200 acres of hay. The rest of their farm land is used for grazing for their beef cattle. The Symn’s use a host of practices to preserve their natural resources. They have many acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), utilize rotational grazing and prescribed burning to maintain forage health. They apply variable-rate fertilizer by carefully monitoring their soil through grid testing and plant tissue sampling.
· Congressman Mike Pompeo from Sedgwick County. Pompeo works effectively for Kansas farmers as Congressman for the 4th Congressional District of Kansas.
· Bob Grant, state representative for the 2nd District, has served in this role for 21 years where he has worked on the agriculture and natural resources committee.
· Greg Akagi is the farm editor at WIBW and co-host of the “Morning Agriculture Roundup.” He is also a reporter for the Kansas Ag Network. He covers commodity markets and mainstream production agriculture in Kansas.
· Steve Sears from Reno County has been a fulltime faculty member at Hutchinson Community College since 1979. During this time, he has taught hundreds of students in the field of agronomy.
· William Prescott from Osage County has been a strong supporter of agriculture. He served as the 59th District House Representative where he was part of the agriculture and natural resources committee and vice-chair of the transportation committee. Prescott currently serves as special assistant to the Kansas Attorney General.
· Mary Mertz from Riley County is an active advocate for agriculture. She frequently writes letters to the editor and shares what’s happening on the farm. In 2011, she started “Feast of the Fields” as an event to bring urban residents to the farm.
· Rhonda McCurry from Sedgwick County serves as the executive director for the Agribusiness Council of Wichita as well as the Kansas Ag Aviation Association.
· Dan Yunk from Riley County served as Executive Director and CEO for Kansas Farm Bureau. He retired in 2013. Prior to joining KFB in 2002, he served the Manhattan community for 20 years as the superintendent and principal for the USD 383 public school system. Dan is still very active in the agriculture community and Farm Bureau.
Matt and Stephanie Symns of Doniphan County received the Natural Resources Award. This award goes to the farm family who exemplifies good land stewardship. The Symns operate a diversified crop and livestock farm. They raise 775 acres of corn, 725 acres of soybeans and 200 acres of hay. The rest of their farm land is used for grazing for their beef cattle. The Symn’s use a host of practices to preserve their natural resources. They have many acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), utilize rotational grazing and prescribed burning to maintain forage health. They apply variable-rate fertilizer by carefully monitoring their soil through grid testing and plant tissue sampling.
Michelle Hubert, Agency Manager for Farm Bureau Financial Services, received KFB’s Partnership Award Winner. This award recognizes someone from Farm Bureau Financial Services who has gone above and beyond for the state’s largest farm organization. Hubert has been with Farm Bureau for 24 years and does a tremendous job serving Kansas Farm Bureau and Farm Bureau Financial Services customers.
TOPEKA — The deadline for submitting public comment on the proposed changes in the waivers that define the state’s Medicaid-funded services for frail seniors, people with physical and developmental disabilities, and those who’ve suffered traumatic brain injury is Dec. 20.
Last month, the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services released information indicating a Dec. 10 deadline for comments.
The comment period was later extended to Dec. 20 to ensure compliance with a federal rule that requires a 30-day comment period.
KDADS hosted public hearings on the proposed changes Nov. 12, 13 and 14.
Early Thursday, the public comment form on the KDADS website indicated a Dec. 10 deadline. However, KDADS officials corrected the date on the website form Thursday afternoon.
“All of us the advocacy community know the deadline is Dec. 20,” said Sean Gatewood, interim director of the Kansas Health Consumer Coalition. “I’m not worried about us, I’m worried about the people who are going to be affected by this.”
Gatewood said the proposed changes have generated considerable concern among advocacy groups.
“There are a lot of us who’ll be filing public comment,” he said. “There is no doubt about that.”
Most of the concerns, he said, focus on potential reductions in services that help frail elders and people with disabilities live in community-based settings rather the nursing homes.
“There is the potential for significant disruption in how case management is performed in the state for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” said Matt Fletcher, a spokesperson for InterHab, the association that represents most of the state’s community-based programs for the developmentally disabled.
“That’s a huge issue for persons who rely upon their relationships with their case managers,” he said.
InterHab, Fletcher said, will be filing its concerns with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regional office in Kansas City, Mo.
Mitzi McFatrich, executive director with Kansas Advocates for Better Care, said her group will be commenting as well. KABC represents the interests of Kansas nursing home residents and their families.
“We’ll be citing several areas of concern, yes,” McFatrich said.
Though the waivers expire Dec. 31, the process allows CMS to grant temporary extensions.
Kansas’ waivers for the brain-injured and the developmentally disabled expired June 30 but were extended to Dec. 31.
Dave Ranney is a reporter for Heartland Health Monitor, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s newest space vehicle, Orion, accomplished its first test flight with precision and pizazz Friday, shooting more than 3,600 miles out from Earth for a hyperfast, hot return not seen since the Apollo moon shots.
For a space agency still feeling the loss of its shuttles, the four-hour voyage opened a new era of human space exploration, with Mars as the plum. It even brought some rocket engineers to tears.
“There’s your new spacecraft, America,” Mission Control’s Rob Navias said as the unmanned Orion capsule came in for a Pacific splashdown after two orbits of Earth.
NASA is counting on future Orions to carry astronauts out into the solar system, to Mars and beyond.
The next Orion flight, also unmanned, is four years off, and crewed flights at least seven years away given present budget constraints. But the Orion team — spread across the country and out in the ocean, is hoping Friday’s triumphant splashdown will pick up the momentum.
“We challenged our best and brightest to continue to lead in space,” lead flight director Mike Sarafin said with emotion as he signed off from Mission Control in Houston. “While this was an unmanned mission, we were all on board Orion.”
W. Michael Hawes, a former NASA official who now leads the Orion program for prime contractor Lockheed Martin Corp., choked up as he recalled the pre-shuttle days.
“We started with all the Apollo guys still there. So we’ve kind of now finally done something for the first time for our generation,” he said, pausing for composure. “It’s a good thing.”
Orion splashed down 270 miles off Mexico’s Baja peninsula, just a mile from the projected spot — “a bull’s-eye” according to NASA. Navy ships quickly moved in to transport the crew module 600 miles to San Diego, where it was expected Monday. From there, it will be loaded onto a truck and returned to Cape Canaveral just in time for Christmas.
Preliminary test reports were encouraging: Not only did the capsule arrive intact, all eight parachutes deployed and onboard computers withstood the intense radiation of the Van Allen belts surrounding Earth. What’s more, everything meant to jettison away did so as Orion soared into space.
“It’s hard to have a better day than today,” said a beaming Mark Geyer, NASA’s Orion program manager.
Sensors placed inside and out of the crew module will tell the full story: “Our big focus now is to get that data from those 1,200 sensors so they can pore over it in the next month or so,” Geyer said.
Most critical was the heat shield covering Orion’s bottom, the largest of its kind ever made. NASA wanted to be sure it would hold before committing to a human mission.
Orion reached a peak altitude of 3,604 miles, higher than any crew module since NASA’s final manned moon mission, Apollo 17, in 1972. That’s more than 14 times higher than the International Space Station.
The capsule came in over the Pacific at 20,000 mph and endured 4,000 degrees. In just 11 minutes, it slowed to 20 mph for splashdown. A crew would have endured as much as 8.2 Gs, or 8.2 times the force of Earth gravity, double the Gs of a returning Russian Soyuz capsule, according to NASA.
Earth shrank from view through Orion’s capsule window during its trip out into space, and stunning images were relayed back home. Having part of the window frame in the picture drove home the fact that this will be an astronaut’s view from inside, Geyer said.
“It’s different than a satellite taking a picture of the Earth … very moving,” he said.
More spectacular views came from Orion’s return, recorded by an unmanned drone flying over the recovery zone. Helicopters also provided images of the crew module bobbing in the water. Three of the five air bags deployed properly, enough to keep the capsule floating upright. All but two parachutes were lost at sea.
This inaugural run was intended to be brief — just two laps around Earth, shorter than even John Glenn’s orbital achievement in 1962.
The same capsule will be reused around 2017 for a launch abort test, followed by a second Orion heading to space in 2018 aboard the SLS megarocket NASA is developing.
“The sight of the Orion on top of the Space Launch System is going to take your breath away, even before it takes flight,” promised astronaut Rex Walheim.
Officials expect it will be 2021 before Orion carries people, but NASA Administrator Charles Bolden Jr. was already calling Friday’s test “Day One of the Mars era.”
Indeed, the team working the Mars Curiosity rover tweeted a quick congrats: “We’re one step closer to bootprints next to these rover tracks.”
Lockheed Martin, which handled the $370 million test flight for NASA using a Delta IV rocket, already has begun work on a second Orion and plans to build a whole fleet. An asteroid redirected to lunar orbit is intended for the first stop in the 2020s, followed by Mars in the 2030s. Monthslong journeys would include habitats as well as the four-person capsules, which are bigger than the old-style Apollo and considerably enhanced.
“Everybody wants to go to Mars,” Walheim noted, “and it’s important to go there to figure out what happened to Mars and establish our presence on another planet to become a multiplanetary species.”
The atmosphere surrounding Friday’s smooth sunrise launch — one day late because of wind and valve trouble — was a throwback to the shuttle-flying days, but considerably more upbeat than that last 2011 mission. Walheim was on board for that mission and welcomed all the excitement returning to Kennedy Space Center.
Chris Tarkenton, who traveled from Poquoson, Virginia, to watch from a nearby causeway, called the whole thing “awe inspiring.”
“It’s been a while since we’ve been able to launch something of this magnitude,” he said.
This Orion — serial number 001 — lacked seats, cockpit displays and life-support equipment, but brought along bundles of toys and memorabilia: bits of moon dust; the crew patch worn by Sally Ride, America’s first spacewoman; a Capt. James Kirk doll owned by “Star Trek” actor William Shatner.
Officials noted that in two days, it will be exactly 42 years since Apollo 17 launched.
“Here we are again now, the United States leading exploration out into the solar system,” Geyer told reporters.
Before the news conference ended, a rainbow appeared in the sky.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An attorney for four school districts suing Kansas over education funding says the state Supreme Court’s newest justice should remove himself from the case on appeal.
Attorney John Robb said Friday that Justice Caleb Stegall participated in two days of mediation over the lawsuit in 2013 and represented Republican Gov. Sam Brownback.
Stegall was sworn in as a justice Friday and declined to comment afterward. He is a former chief counsel for the governor.
Four school districts and the parents of more than 30 students filed the lawsuit in 2010. A three-judge Shawnee County District Court panel is considering whether the state is spending enough money on public schools to provide an adequate education for every child.
Attorneys expect an appeal to the Supreme Court regardless.
DES MOINES (AP) — The parents of an Iowa man who drowned while in a Missouri state trooper’s custody have filed two lawsuits accusing the Missouri State Highway Patrol of negligence.
