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State’s First Openly Gay Deputy Sheriff Found Dead at His Desk in Apparent Suicide

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By Fox News. Philadelphia’s first openly gay Deputy Sheriff committed suicide at his desk from an apparent gunshot wound on Friday, just before the city’s weekend of pride celebrations were set to begin.

Dante Austin, 27, was found dead at his desk at the Philadelphia Sheriff’s office. An official cause of death is awaiting confirmation from the local Medical Examiner’s office.

Austin was an Army veteran who also served as the department’s first LGBTQ community liaison and was known as a “fierce advocate.” He was set to be promoted to the position of sergeant next month, according to CBS Philly.

Sheriff Jewell Williams reflected on Austin’s service with the Philadelphia Police Department, which he joined in 2013, and called his death “a tragedy for the Sheriff’s Office, Deputy Austin’s family and the local LGBTQ community.” (Read more from “State’s First Openly Gay Deputy Sheriff Found Dead at His Desk in Apparent Suicide” HERE)

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Texas Police Chief’s Body Found After Being Knocked Overboard by Large Wave

By Fox News. he Coast Guard-led search for a missing Texas police chief has ended with the recovery Sunday of his body.

Kemah Police Chief Chris Reed, a paratrooper when he served in the Army, was reported missing after being knocked off his fishing boat Friday into Galveston Bay by the wake of a passing large vessel.

At 7:54 a.m. Sunday a body matching the description of the chief was recovered from the water by a Galveston County Marine Unit boat crew near mile marker 32 on the west end of the Houston Ship Channel, the City of Kemah said. . .

Reed, 50, was out on his boat with his wife.

Local media reported that he wasn’t wearing a life jacket. (Read more from “Texas Police Chief’s Body Found After Being Knocked Overboard by Large Wave” HERE)

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Judge Rules Colorado Sheriffs Can’t Sue Over State Gun Laws

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Photo Credit: APA federal judge ruled Wednesday that Colorado sheriffs suing the state over new firearm restrictions don’t have standing to proceed with the case as a group, but the legal battle is far from over.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Marcia Krieger in Denver doesn’t stop the lawsuit because 21 other plaintiffs who are suing do have standing. The court will still consider whether universal background checks and a ban on ammunition magazines that hold more than 15 rounds are constitutional, the judge said.

“At this juncture, the court is not even considering whether the challenged portions of the laws are constitutional,” Krieger said.

Sheriffs in most of Colorado’s 64 counties filed the lawsuit in May, saying the new regulations violate the Second Amendment. The sheriffs are elected and represent rural, gun-friendly parts of the state.

In her ruling, Krieger said sheriffs can still choose to join the suit in an individual capacity, and they’ll have 14 days to make that decision. But they cannot, as a group, sue the state in their official capacities.

Read more from this story HERE.

Sheriff Gunned Down in his Cruiser as He Ate Lunch Raped his Killer Says Suspect’s Family

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

A sheriff who was murdered earlier this year was allegedly shot dead by a male gunman that he raped as a teenager.

Eugene Crum, 59, was shot dead in his police cruiser as he sat eating lunch in April, three months after taking up his post in Mingo County, Virginia.

Tennis Maynard, 37, is suspected of killing the sheriff. However his family have claimed that the shooting was motivated by the fact that Maynard was raped by Crum when he was a teenager.

Court documents also revealed that another rape allegation was brought against the late sheriff.

It is alleged that Crum raped a 19-year-old woman in 2002 in the back of a police cruiser while two officers sat in the front, turning up the radio to cover up the attack.

Read more from this story HERE.

Sheriff Strips Federal Forest Service of State Law Enforcement Powers (+video)

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Photo Credit: Kaibab National Forest

Photo Credit: Kaibab National Forest

The El Dorado County Sheriff says he’s not happy with the U.S. Forest Service, so he’s stripping them of their authority by keeping them from enforcing state law within the county.

Sheriff John D’Agostini is taking the unusual step of pulling the police powers from the federal agency because he says he has received “numerous, numerous complaints.”

In a letter obtained by CBS13, the sheriff informs the federal agency that its officers will no longer be able to enforce California state law anywhere in his county.

“I take the service that we provide to the citizens of El Dorado County and the visitors to El Dorado County very seriously, and the style and manner of service we provide,” D’Agostini said. “The U.S. Forest Service, after many attempts and given many opportunities, has failed to meet that standard.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Constitutional Sheriff of the Year Awarded for Encouraging Citizens to Arm Themselves

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Photo Credit: WND

The cop who told the citizens of Milwaukee to arm themselves against violent criminals has now been crowned the “Constitutional Sheriff of the Year.”

Wisconsin’s Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. received the award Friday at the annual convention of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, or CSPOA, in St. Charles, Mo.

Clarke became national news in January when he released a Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office public service announcement inviting citizens to join him in the fight against crime by learning to defend themselves from it.

“Simply calling 911 and waiting is no longer your best option,” the PSA states. “You can beg for mercy from a violent criminal, hide under the bed or you can fight back. But are you prepared? Consider taking a certified safety course in handling a firearm so you can defend yourself until we get there. You have a duty to protect yourself and your family. We’re partners now. Can I count on you?”

Members of the CSPOA were so impressed with Clarke’s PSA, and his defense under blistering scrutiny since releasing it, not even a tornado could stop them from giving him the award.

Read more from this story HERE.

‘We’re Not Going to Tolerate It’: Colo. Sheriffs Unite to Block ‘Unenforceable’ Gun Control Legislation

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Photo Credit: APIn the wake of the tragedy in Aurora, Colorado passed some of the strictest gun control measures in the country.

But in recent months, an overwhelming 55 of the state’s 62 county sheriffs have joined a lawsuit aiming to block the measures.

“These bills do absolutely nothing to make Colorado a safer place to live, to work, to play or to raise a family,” Weld County Sheriff John Cooke explained at a recent press conference. “Instead these misguided, unconstitutional bills will have the opposite effect because they greatly restrict the right of decent, law-abiding citizens to defend themselves, their families and their homes.”

Sheriff Terry Maketa of El Paso County is one of the opposing sheriffs, and he explained on TheBlaze TV Wednesday how the public was “duped” into supporting overly vague legislation banning high-capacity magazines and requiring background checks.

Maketa says they believe the laws are unenforceable, but also violate the Second and Fourteenth Amendments.

Read more from this story HERE.

Colorado Sheriffs Sue the State Over New Gun Control Laws

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Photo Credit: George FreyA consortium of plaintiffs led by 54 of Colorado’s 62 elected county sheriffs filed a lawsuit in federal court against the state Friday in an effort to overturn two new gun control bills that are set to go into effect on July 1.

The plaintiffs have in their sights one law that effectively bans all firearm magazines, and one that requires a background check for every gun transfer when the gun will be in the possession of someone other than the owner for more than 72 hours.

“On one hand, I’m proud to be part of this historic case,” said Weld County Sheriff John Cooke, who spoke on behalf of 18 sheriffs who attended a press conference announcing the suit.

“But on the other hand, it saddens me that we have to be here at all,” he added. “It should never have gotten to this point in the first place.”

El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa said the laws are not only unconstitutional, but also confusing and unenforceable.

Read more from this story HERE.

Texas Democrat Proposes Legislation that Would Remove Sheriffs Who Refuse to Enforce Gun Control

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Hundreds of sheriffs across the country have banded together and vowed not to enforce any new state or federal gun control legislation because they feel such laws would be in violation of the U.S. Constitution — the document they took an oath to uphold.

Glenn Beck recently hosted a number of these sheriffs on TheBlaze TV to discuss proposed gun legislation and why they are taking a stand.

Now, at least one lawmaker in Texas, state Rep. Yvonne Davis (D-Dallas), is proposing legislation that would remove any sheriff or law enforcement officer who refuses to enforce state or federal law. Keep in mind, sheriffs are elected by the people, not appointed by bureaucrats. In other words, the proposed bill would remove elected officials from office unless they enforce laws they feel violate the Constitution.

If found “guilty,” a court shall remove the person from office and disqualify them from public office for a period of 10 years.

Read more from this story HERE.

Colorado Sheriff Says He Won’t Enforce the State’s New Gun-Control Measures

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Photo Credit: Brennan Linsley

A Colorado sheriff says he won’t enforce two aggressive gun-control measures waiting to be signed into law by Gov. John Hickenlooper.

Weld County Sheriff John Cooke told The Greeley Tribune that Democratic lawmakers are scrambling after recent mass shootings, and the bills are “feel-good, knee-jerk reactions that are unenforceable.”

One bill expands background checks on firearm purchases, and the other limits ammunition magazines to 15 rounds. The 15-round magazine limit would make Colorado the first state outside the East Coast to ratchet back gun rights after last year’s shootings in Aurora, Colo., and Newtown, Conn.

Colorado’s gun-control debates have been closely watched because of the state’s gun-loving frontier heritage and painful history of mass shootings, most recently last summer’s movie theater shooting that killed 12.

The sheriff said he “won’t bother enforcing” the laws because it would be impossible for officers to keep track of how the requirements are being met by gun owners – and he and other sheriffs are considering suing the state to block the measures if they are signed into law.

Read more from this story HERE.

Video: These Four Sheriff’s Are Taking A Bold Stand Against Gun Control – ‘An Unarmed Public Is A Tyrant’s Playground’

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Photo Credit: The Blaze TVFour sheriffs from across the country joined Glenn Beck on TheBlaze TV Wednesday to discuss the current push for more gun control legislation in the United States. Beck called them the “bravest sheriffs in all of America” for standing up for the Second Amendment and refusing to even consider disarming Americans, even under pressure.

“You have a right to own the firearms of your choice,” Beck said. “That right shall not be infringed. It’s not about hunting, it’s not about target practice, it’s not even about rape or home defense. It is about an armed public being necessary to keep people free. An unarmed public is a tyrant’s playground.”

Beck argued it is important to become educated but also to know who is on the side of the American people when it comes to the Second Amendment. He also encouraged viewers to contact their county sheriff to find out where he or she stands on the Second Amendment.

Joining Beck were Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, who garnered national attention for asking residents to arm themselves and get firearms training in case they ever found themselves in a dangerous situation in which the police may not arrive in time. Also in Beck’s Dallas studio were Sheriff Glenn Palmer of Grant County, Oregon, Sheriff Steve Cox of Livingston County, Missouri and Sheriff Tim Mueller from Linn County, Oregon.

The four sheriffs represent 484 other sheriffs who have banded together and vowed to keep the oath they took to uphold the U.S. Constitution.

Read more from this story HERE.