Philly Police Nab Rapist-Murderer

Donte Johnson was arrested by Philadelphia Police yesterday. (click here for full story in on Philly.com)Johnson is the waste of space who is accused of raping and murdering Sabina
Rose O'Donnell, 20, of Philadelphia. O'Donnell was riding her bike
home from a friends house when she was stalked, raped, and murdered by pure evil.

Which brings me to my point of this blog posting. My wife asked me
what I thought about this case last night. In an effort to reconcile
this aweful crime with her sense, she asked what I thought. "Who does
such a thing? Why did he he have to kill her?"
I didn't have a good answer for her other than this: Evil exists.
Donte Johnson is an evil person. Good people don't do evil things
like rape and murder people.


Needless to say, I'm sure I'll have to read or hear about how Johnson's family can't believe what has happened and how he was always a good kid. Or perhaps about how troubled his childhood was, as if there is any excuse whatsoever for brutally raping and killing a girl who was innocently riding her bike home. What punishment is appropriate for an evil murderer like Donte Johnson? I have a few ideas....

My thoughts and condolences to the family of Sabina O'Donnell.

Top Ten List...Continued

5.  Listening.  Not just listening but interpreting and deciphering too.  Ever try to have a conversation with a drunk Norwegian with a broken jaw?

4.  Parenting.  Long before becoming a parent, I feel like I've honed my skills at work.  Sometimes while dealing with children, but usually with adults.

3.  Staying dry.  The old adage on the job is that "a good cop never gets cold, wet or hungry."  There is truth there.  Without ever using an umbrella, most cops are masters at avoiding getting wet, no matter how hard it might be raining.  There are secrets...but I can't tell.

2.  Laughing.  Cops joke about everything.  It keeps us going.

1.  Eating quickly.  My wife tells me all the time how bad it is to eat fast, but I always do.  If speed eating were an Olympic Event, the team would be made up of cops. 

Top Ten Skills of a Good Cop That Have Little or Nothing to Do With Police Work

10.  Being able to drink a coffee while performing just about any other task, without spilling the coffee.  (I know, you're probably thinking, "big deal, everyone drinks coffee."  The other day I drank a coffee while riding my bicycle through a crowd of people.  It was good coffee too.)

9.  Typing.

8.  Being able to listen to the Phillies game, the police radio, and your babbling partner simultaneously, without missing anything.

7.  Giving directions.   Contrary to popular belief, cops don't always automatically know how to get to from one random destination to another.   However, we pretend that we do.  Side note - if your destination is outside of the jurisdiction of the cop that is giving you directions, travel at your own risk.  I once had a gentleman stop me and ask me how to get from West Chester to Memphis, Tennessee.  He was puzzled when I paused and asked him if he was serious.

6.  Writing in the dark. 

Ah, a cliffhanger.  Come back later for the top 5.

Second Time's a Charm for Killer Joran van der Sloot

Ok, I know it's not a local case, but I will comment anyway...

First off, my condolences to the family of Stephany Flores Ramirez, the beatiful Peruvian 21 year old that seems to have been Joran van der Sloot's second (at least) murder victim.  van der Sloot, for anyone who doesn't remember, is the Dutch national who was arrested twice, but released for "lack of evidence" in the 2005 disappearance / killing of Natalee Halloway, and American vacationing in Aruba.  It looks as though, like most criminals, van der Sloot was at it again.  If any good comes from this case, it the Peruvians will convict van der Sloot and keep him locked up in an awful place for a few lifetimes.  It's a shame though that Peru's death penalty is reserved for "crimes committed in exceptional circumstances", murder alone not being an exceptional circumstance.

More coverge here on cnn.com.    Let's not forget the victims of both horrible crimes, and their families.

Medical Marijuana Munchies

Food For Thought: Interesting news story on medical marijuana in near by New Jersey.

I've hear a bunch of news coverage on the medical marijuana issue in New Jersey recently.  The link above does a good job comparing two states' medical marijuana laws and how they work in the real world.  It also makes me think about the many arguments in favor of legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana.

Quick Funny Story

Great story happened today. 

So, I'm just pulling into the police station, with about 10 minutes to go on my shift.  Its about 90 degrees and humid, and I've been sweating all day long.  I just stopped at Rita's water ice and treated myself to a Wild Black Cherry Gelati with vanilla custard. It looks delicious.

Another officer calls out with a foot pursuit.  He's just stopped a stolen vehicle, and the driver fled from the vehicle on foot.  I sigh, because I imagine my Gelati slowly melting while I'm called to assist the other officer.  Dutifully, yet reluctantly, I carefully place my Gelati on the ground next to the door of the station, and I pedal as expeditiously as I can toward the call for assistance.  After about two minutes,  two women flagged me down in front of their house and told me that "he ran that-a-way!" pointing to their back yard.  It wasn't until I was in the yard that one of them warned me about their pit bull dog.  (side note - he was friendly)  After about 10 minutes of searching, another officer and I found the suspect hiding in a back yard a few blocks from where he ran.   He was actually hiding in a storage shed that was no less than 177 degrees.

So we get the guy locked up and on his way to the police station.  Turns out he is a young kid, 14 or 15 years old.  As I'm walking back to my bike that I ditched where the two helpful women were, one tells me that she saw the kid running toward her house, and she recognized him from the neighborhood.  She asked him what the heck he was doing.  The juvenile's response, "Can I just have a cigarette?  The cops are chasing me!" 


When I got back to the station, I was delighted to see that my Wild Black Cherry Gelati was only partially melted.  I enjoyed it before leaving for the day. 

Help Wanted: Positove Role Models Needed

Must be of sound moral character.  Education a plus, but not required.  Must be willing to travel.  Must like children.  Few, if any arrests preferred.  Must be legally employed.  Must actually be willing to spend time with your children.  Patience required.  Sense of humor a plus.  Pay is low.