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Boston officer John

CANTON, Mass. (AP) — John O’Keefe’ s title was Boston police officer, but to those who loved him, he was Johnny, J-J or affectionately, the Godfather. His girlfriend once called him “the patron saint of Canton.” That girlfriend, Karen Read, is now on trial, accused of killing O’Keefe in a case that has attracted national attention and called into question the integrity of a wide swath of Massachusetts' law enforcement community and even some of O'Keefe's friends. Born and raised in suburban Braintree, O’Keefe graduated from Northeastern University and earned a master’s in criminal justice from the University of Massachusetts. He was 46 at the time of his death, and had been a Boston police officer for 16 years. For much of that time, O’Keefe also had been raising his niece and nephew in Canton after his sister and her husband died just months apart. He also lost his best friend, fellow Boston Officer Pat Rogers, to suicide. Rogers’ girlfriend was pregnant at the time, an

Court revives lawsuit over Detroit

A judge was wrong to dismiss the lawsuit in favor of Southfield paramedics before the parties could conduct interviews and gather other evidence, a process known as discovery, the court said in a 3-0 opinion Thursday. Timesha Beauchamp, who had cerebral palsy, was struggling to breathe when her family called 911 in August 2020. The medical crew tried to resuscitate her but ultimately called a doctor, who declared the 20-year-old dead without going to the home. Beauchamp was never taken to a hospital. Later that day, a funeral home unzipped the body bag and found Beauchamp had her eyes open. She was rushed to a hospital but died two months later. Beauchamp's family accused the medical crew of gross negligence. Oakland County Judge Nanci Grant dismissed the lawsuit, saying the Southfield employees had governmental immunity. An attorney for the medical crew, Kali Henderson, acknowledged that it “sounds really bad” to say there's no liability for the paramedics and emergency m

Hundreds of Rainbow Family members

The agency issued the order Wednesday to the more than 500 members of the Rainbow Family, known as the “largest non-organization of non-members in the world." The group doesn't have and hasn't applied for a special use permit required for any event with 75 or more people, the agency said. If they refuse to leave their camp, located about 5 miles north of Antelope Lake Recreation Area, within 48 hours of the order, they could face up to $5,000 in fines or up to six months in jail.

In fight against blight

DETROIT (AP) — William Shaw has a message for other business owners advertising their services on illegally posted signs in Detroit: “Don't put them up. They will come after you and your company, and they will make you pay for it.” As part of court-ordered community service for posting hundreds of signs promoting his suburban Detroit plumbing company, Shaw is required to remove similar placards in the city. “They’re not going to back down," Shaw said of Detroit blight enforcement officials as he yanked signs Friday morning from utility and other poles on the city's northwest side. Many Detroit street corners and city neighborhoods are plastered with signs offering things like lawn services, event rentals, cash for homes — and even inexpensive health care.

MPD chief has salary cut

his is the start of a new weekly series bringing readers public safety information from around the Mid-South including updates on prominent court cases and details from inside law enforcement agencies. This column is being offered free for the first few weeks before it becomes available to subscribers only. If you'd like to subscribe now, you can do so by clicking here. As the City of Memphis worked to pass its budget for the upcoming fiscal year, Memphis Police Department interim Chief Cerelyn "C.J." Davis took about a 12% cut to her salary. As the city passed its budget, including Davis' pay cut, one of Memphis' own lieutenant colonels was on the West Coast to speak with Spokane, Washington residents about becoming their next chief of police. With one police officer possibly moving to lead a department in another state, the Bluff City has also attracted the outgoing police chief from Cape Girardeau, Missouri to lead the Memphis International Airport's pol

Russia warns it can take unspecified

Russia's defense minister ordered officials to prepare a “response” to U.S. drone flights over the Black Sea, the ministry said Friday, in an apparent warning that Moscow may take forceful action to ward off the American reconnaissance aircraft. The Russian Defense Ministry noted a recent “increased intensity” of U.S. drones over the Black Sea, saying they “conduct intelligence and targeting for precision weapons supplied to the Ukrainian military by Western countries for strikes on Russian facilities.” “It shows an increased involvement of the U.S. and other NATO countries in the conflict in Ukraine on the side of the Kyiv regime,” the ministry said in a statement.

Las Vegas escort dies after man

The 30-year-old woman died several days after the June 12 incident inside the Palms Casino Resort, sources said. On Friday afternoon, Jason Kendall, 35, turned himself in to police at Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Headquarters where officers booked him on charges of open murder, sexual assault and battery by strangulation to commit sexual assault, a source with knowledge of the investigation said. Las Vegas Metro police initially responded to the call at the hotel for an assault or battery, records said. The woman later died at the hospital. Her cause and manner of death were not immediately available Friday, however, police suspect Kendall strangled the woman during a sex assault. While Metro police issue press releases for every homicide, the department does not release ones for delayed deaths.