National Roundup

Maine
Collins’ husband: Ricin threat ­mentioned Kavanaugh vote
BANGOR, Maine (AP) — A threatening letter sent to the home of Republican Sen. Susan Collins that claimed to contain deadly ricin specifically mentioned her vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, her husband said.

Thomas Daffron, who opened the letter Monday, said the writer claimed the letter was tainted with ricin residue.

Collins, who was in Washington at the time, told WABI-TV that she learned of the letter in photos sent from her husband. Daffron and the couple’s Labrador retriever, Pepper, were both quarantined for a time.

They were allowed to stay in the home, joined by Collins, after preliminary tests showed there was no public threat.

Collins and her staff have been subjected to threats over her decision to back Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court.

“I will not live in fear. I will not be intimidated. I’m going to continue to do what I think is right for the people of the state whom I work very hard for, and for our nation,” she said.

Daffron said that the letter was addressed to him but that it contained vitriol directed at his wife. He put the letter in a plastic envelope and dialed 911 after he saw the word “ricin,” he said.

An investigation continues. Bangor police, U.S. Capitol police and the FBI declined to provide any updates, saying they can’t comment on active investigations.

Florida
2 ex-officers get prison for framing black teenager
MIAMI (AP) — Two former police officers in Florida will serve a year in federal prison for framing a black teenager for burglaries he did not commit.

Court records show ex-Biscayne Park officers Charlie Dayoub and Raul Fernandez were sentenced Tuesday by a Miami federal judge. They admitted to being part of a scheme to frame the 16-year-old so the police chief could claim a perfect rate of solving burglaries in the small city.

The judge insisted on prison for the pair despite plea deals calling for house arrest.

Former chief Raimundo Atesiano faces up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to a more serious civil rights conspiracy charge. Another officer will be sentenced Thursday on a similar conspiracy count.

The burglary charges against the teenager were eventually dropped.


Pennsylvania
Ditka, Penn State child abuse case prosecutor, dies
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Laura Ditka, the lead prosecutor in the child abuse case involving officials at Penn State, has died. She was 55.

The Allegheny County district attorney’s office tweeted Tuesday that Ditka died unexpectedly. No cause of death was given.

The DA’s office called her “an extraordinary public servant and person and a loving mom.”

Ditka led the prosecution of President Graham Spanier and other university officials charged with mishandling complaints about assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky. Spanier was convicted of misdemeanor child endangerment. Two other officials pleaded guilty.

Ditka was a deputy attorney general who’d spent 25 years in the Allegheny County DA’s office, where she established the office’s child abuse unit.

Gov. Tom Wolf ordered flags at the Capitol Complex and public buildings in Allegheny County lowered to half-staff.

Illinois
Video shows cop shooting unarmed black autistic teen
CHICAGO (AP) — Surveillance video released by a civilian oversight agency shows an off-duty Chicago police officer shooting and wounding an unarmed autistic black teenager in an incident the police department initially described as an armed confrontation.

The grainy video released Tuesday by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability shows Sgt. Khalil Muhammad shooting 18-year-old Ricardo Hayes around 5 a.m. on Aug. 13, 2017.
Hayes can be seen running along the sidewalk then stopping. Mohammed pulls up alongside, with parked cars between them, and gets out. Hayes takes a few steps toward him and Mohammed shoots the teen in the arm and chest. Hayes turns and runs, despite his wounds.

A lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union says Hayes’ caretaker had called police to say he had wandered away from home and that he is autistic.

“As a black teenager with disabilities, Ricky was at a heightened risk for police violence,” Karen Sheley of the ACLU of Illinois said in a statement. “Thankfully, he survived — but he should never have been shot.” Hayes, now 19, survived his injuries.

At the time, police officials described the incident as an armed confrontation, mirroring statements by police after the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald in November 2014. Jason Van Dyke was convicted earlier this month of second-degree murder and aggravated battery in the killing. Despite video evidence to the contrary, Van Dyke and other officers on the scene claimed McDonald was acting aggressively before the shooting.

The sergeant’s call to 911 after he shot Hayes was among the audio files released.

“The guy, like, he was about to pull a gun. Walked up to the car, and I had to shoot,” Muhammad told a Chicago Fire Department dispatcher.

Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson later said Hayes had no weapon.

“The video shows both that there was no justification for the officer to shoot him and that initial stories told by CPD officials about the shooting — that the ‘encounter escalated’ — were false,” Sheley said.

In a statement, COPA said it delayed releasing the video and related material because of concerns about the legality of releasing of information related to wards of the state.

Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Tuesday that Muhammad is on administrative leave pending the outcome of the COPA investigation.

Florida
Police find stolen doughnut van, share treats with homeless
CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — It was a lucky day for some Florida police officers who recovered a stolen van filled with Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

Clearwater police posted a photo on Facebook of a group of officers standing in front of the van holding boxes of the tasty treats.

The Tampa Bay Times reports the van was reported stolen Tuesday morning in Lake City, which is 193 miles (310 kilometers) north of Clearwater. The van, loaded with doughnuts, was spotted in Clearwater on Tuesday afternoon.

The Facebook posting says the store manager donated the cargo to the officers. They saved some doughnuts to eat and handed out the rest to the area’s homeless.

Authorities are still looking for the van thief.