The New Police Leader

Alamo Defenders • A Look at Chicago’s Murder Rate • Security’s Cutting EdgeAlamo Defenders • A Look at Chicago’s Murder Rate • Security’s Cutting Edge

Law Enforcement, Technology and Privacy


Front Cover

1

Inside Cover

1THE NEW POLICE LEADER MAGAZINE

Inside Cover

THE NEW POLICE

LEADERMAGAZINE ISSUE #2, 2013 Alamo Defenders • A Look At Chicago’s Murder Rate • Security’s Cutting Edge

Alamo Defenders • A Look At Chicago’s Murder Rate • Security’s Cutting Edge

Law Enforcement, Technology And

Privacy

Law Enforcement, Technology And

Privacy

COVER STORY: Law Enforcement, Technology And Privacy by Diandra Ritchie p. 2

A Look at Chicago’s Murder Rate by Diandra Ritchie p. 10

Alamo Defenders by Randy Lankford p. 18

Security’s Cutting Edge by Randy Lankford p. 26

The New Police Leader Magazine is a law enforcement magazine which is free to all police chiefs in Texas as well as other law enforcement offices and officials across the state

The New Police Leader Magazine is owned and published by Milton Brown, as a professional trade magazine focusing on topics relating to law enforcement and is distributed state-wide in Texas The magazine is solely owned and does not support any association or political group

The New Police Leader Magazine does not assume responsibility for statements of fact or opinion made by it’s contributors Articles that appear in the publication do not offer endorsement of products or services from the magazine or it’s employees The entire content of the New Police Leader Magazine is copyrighted by the publisher or held as indicated and may not be reproduced in any manner, either whole or in part, without written permission

The New Police Leader Magazine is released quarterly state-wide in Texas Advertising rates are available upon request

The New Police Leader Magazine mailing address:P O Box 140072Austin, Texas 78714

Phone: 210-375-5565 Fax: 210-375-5565www thenewpoliceleader org

For PR and advertising inquiries, please call 210-375-5565 Owner/Publisher, please call 512-909-1945 Sales, please call 512-363-5409

©2013 All rights reserved Reproductions of any form are strictly prohibited

Editor In Chief/Creative Director Todd M Fichter

Contributing Writers Diandra Ritchie Randy Lankford

Supervisor of Magazine Marketing Milton Brown

Administrative Staff Ricardo Villarreal, Jr Robert W

Graphic Design and Production Fishead Design Studio www fisheadproductions com

2 3THE NEW POLICE LEADER MAGAZINE

Video surveillance is becoming increasingly popular

with law enforcement agencies, especially after the

great success the FBI had in apprehending the two

Boston Marathon suspects using security cameras

of businesses, and law enforcement cameras placed

in the area. They also used cell phone footage from

bystanders for gathering evidence. This partnering

of public and private surveillance seems inevitable,

especially when it comes to solving crimes. Video

cameras, and cameras generally, are playing a

larger role in our society. Citizens, businesses and

governments use them for protection. Most people

have camera and video camera capabilities on their cell

phone. With the increase of social media like Facebook,

Twitter and Instagram, more people are documenting

their lives with photos and videos.


by Diandra Ritchie


And sometimes this private documenting can facilitate the solving of a crime This is one of the reasons law enforcement agencies have been pushing for a greater network of cameras placed in their cities – they won’t need to ask business owners for their recordings, or reach out to the public to see if anyone saw or recorded any potential evidence Given the tough economic times, many cities are not in a position tow expend the money required, however Philadelphia’s police commissioner, Charles Ramsey, invites the alliance of private surveil-lance by businesses and public surveillance by the police department He has asked business owners with cameras to register with the police department for the mutual use of each other’s video Given the expense of adding surveillance technology, it seems wasteful to put up another camera where there may already be one in use by a business

Some large cities like New York have increased their use of video surveillance using grants from the Depart-ment of Homeland Security New York has about 3,000 closed circuit cameras in use San Francisco has cameras installed in high crime rate areas and reviews the footage when crimes have been committed Houston is working to expand its network of 450 cameras using both public and private surveillance As of 2011, Chicago had access to about 10,000 public and private security cameras according to an American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois study But the Homeland Security News Wire reported on May 8, 2013 that Chicago now has over 22,000

cameras, and Mayor Emanuel is working to increase that number London and its boroughs have a system of about 91,000 closed circuit cameras according to Big Brother Watch, a civil liber-ties group Other cities like Los Angeles have opted against the increase in surveillance, in large part due to costs Budgets remain tight and good technology is not cheap

Law enforcement is expanding beyond just mere video surveillance Last year the NYPD unveiled a terrorist pre-vention program called the Domain Awareness System that was built in partnership with Microsoft The pro-gram mines data from multiple public sources and puts the information together in an easy-to-read way The various sources include cameras placed in the city (mostly lower and midtown Manhattan), license plate readers, portable radiation detectors, the Department’s police records, other law enforcement databases, and 911 calls All of this data is public, and is not additional surveillance Facial recognition is not currently used by the program Police stations have large monitors which display an alert panel, generated by incoming 911 calls Cameras within 500 feet of the location called about are pulled up on screens for officers to view The video feed shows footage from 30 seconds prior to the call, not


live feed The footage can be rewound several minutes When the program launched, Mayor Michael Bloomberg described it as a “one stop shop for law enforcement ” Although originally designed for use in the counterter-rorism unit, the program will soon be available for use by most of the NYPD’s 34,000 officers in their patrol cars The city also plans to try to sell the program to other police departments and law enforcement agencies, as well as companies that do sporting events The city will collect 30% of the profits

Tension between citizens’ right to privacy and govern-ment surveillance remains a constant point of conten-tion The Washington Post took a poll after the Boston Marathon bombings 588 people were polled: 48% felt the government would go too far investigating terrorism incidents, and infringe citizens’ right to privacy, while 41% felt the government would not go far enough If this is any indication, we are almost evenly divided on the issue in our communities Mayor Bloomberg in a WOR Radio interview in March discussed other technological advancements like the use of drones by police (drones are currently used by the federal government at the bor-ders), and the development and eventual use of facial recognition technology “We’re going to have more vis-ibility and less privacy It’s not a question of whether it is good or bad, I just don’t see how you can stop that ”

Surveillance has been a part of our daily lives for years now Stores have cameras and some even alert their customers that dressing rooms are being watched by security officers Cameras are in ATM machines, on the exteriors of apartment buildings, and in the lobbies of our work buildings Most people in cities are likely being observed much more than they realize This increased observation has decreased crime, as well as increased the solving of crimes What we do on the street, at a park, at the bus stop or any other public place is open to scrutiny A citizen’s right to privacy is minimized in public places The expectation of privacy is greater in private places like our homes rather than public areas

Even students have a decreased right of privacy at school San Diego’s police chief announced in December 2012

that the police department was going to have access to live streaming video from about 70 school campuses across the city by mid-2013 The video feeds would be accessible from patrol car laptops The cameras will be watching both the interior and exterior portions of the campuses, including offices, lunchrooms and hallways This measure came in response to the Connecticut elementary school shooting tragedy A western Penn-sylvania school district also decided to start sending images from its 130 cameras to their local police depart-ment The police will also be able to access digital floor prints of each of the schools The Bridgeport, Connect-icut police also unveiled a plan to stream security video from schools live to patrol cars The project has yet to be funded, but additionally, officers would be able to lock or unlock doors remotely

The right to privacy is even further diminished when it comes to travel and immigration Due to heightened security measures, we are open to even further scrutiny at airports and border crossings In addition to surveil-lance, interrogation plays a large part of law enforcement’s quest to keep our country safe The Department of Homeland Security is currently testing a new lie detector device called the Embodied Avatar, and is currently being used in Nogales, Arizona at border crossings Tim Dees describes the Embodied Avatar in his article, “The Next Generation of Lie Detectors”:

“It all but takes over the job of interrogator by having the subject stand in front of a computer monitor integrated with a microphone and two cameras The first is a high definition vis-ible light camera that adjusts to the subject’s height, and the other is a near-infrared camera that records pupil dilation and gaze direction


4

Except for a brief moment when the subject touches a fingerprint scanner, there is no phys-ical connection between the device and the subject

As a disembodied face on a computer display asks questions of the subject, the cameras look for microexpressions, stiffness associated with attempts to ‘freeze’ and inhibit changes, pupil size changes and deviations of gaze angles The microphones record changes in voice pitch and inflection

The computerized interrogator asks questions about the truthfulness of information already furnished by the subject — name, addresses, work history, citizenship, criminal offenses, etc If the machine senses a lie, the subject is referred to a human investigator If not, they are allowed to go on their way ”

The Embodied Avatar touts a 94% accuracy rate, which came from a study done in Poland using 37 European Union border guards Some were asked to present fal-sified documents, and the avatar detected every liar The combination of vocal and eye analysis increases the machine’s accuracy Assuming two false positives,

the machine had a 94% accuracy rate in the study, while the human interrogators did not catch even one of the guards with the falsified documents Although law enforcement has been using lie detecting machines for almost 100 years, the accuracy rate has never reached the level of the Embodied Avatar Polygraph results are not even admissible as evidence in all states Immi-gration and Customs Enforcement and TSA want to employ more of the devices, but costs remain an issue This device is still experimental, but given its accuracy, it seems only a matter of time before we will be seeing these lie detecting kiosks at airports

One fact remains clear: surveillance is here to stay With the increase of surveillance comes a decrease in indi-vidual privacy, but greater societal safety Governments, local and federal, will continue to keep an eye on its citi-zens, as well as those who are trying to enter the country, in the name of public welfare Sometimes in order to gain something, we have to give up something In today’s world, we sacrifice some of our individual privacy so that we might gain greater safety from potential threats, both domestic and foreign n

Embodied Avatar images courtesy of Joyce P. Chan/The University of Arizona


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The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting

stunned this nation and brought gun control

front and center in the political and social

arenas. This tragedy left 28 dead and was

one of several mass shootings that occurred in the United

States in 2012. With President Obama working to enact

further gun

controls,

including

the banning

of assault

weapons and

high-capacity

ammuni-

tion maga-

zines, Second

Amendment

advocates see

this as diluting

their consti-

tutional right

to bear arms. However, in our society no right is without

limitation. The answer is neither unlimited gun ownership,

nor an outright firearms ban. A compromise is necessary,

and seems to be the President’s goal thus far.

In a recent interview with The New Republic, Obama

made clear that guns used for hunting and sportsmanship

are not the targets of the proposed gun control laws. How-

ever, “the reality of guns in urban areas are very different

from the realities of guns in rural areas,” Obama points

out. At a White House event last month, the President said

his proposed laws are geared toward the “irresponsible,

law-breaking few.” The New England Journal of Medicine

published a survey earlier this year that showed that the

majority of Americans support stricter handgun measures.

Some of

those mea-

sures include

restricting

gun owner-

ship for those

under 21,

and denying

ownership

privileges for

10 years to

individuals

who have

committed

domestic

violence, or two or more drug or alcohol-related crimes.

This debate has also forced us to take a look at mental

illness in our society. Even the NRA has proposed creating

a national database to track people with a mental illness

in order to limit their ability to purchase guns. However,

focusing on the mentally ill does not directly address the

gun violence of our society. It certainly speaks to mass

shootings, but not to gang-related gun crimes or armed

robberies, for example. There is no easy solution. Stricter

A LOOK AT CHICAGO: THE CITY WITH THE NATION’S STRICTEST GUN LAWS

AND HIGHEST MURDER RATE.

byDiandra Ritchie


gun laws do not necessarily equal fewer gun-related

crimes, and the banning of handguns does not neces-

sarily translate into fewer murders. Chicago is the perfect

example of this incongruity.

Illinois is known for having some of the strictest gun

control laws in the country. As of writing this, it is the only

state that completely prohibits the carrying of concealed

weapons in public. A federal appeals court struck down

this law last year as unconstitutional and gave the state 180

days to write a law that legalizes concealed carry. Illinois

Attorney General Lisa Madigan has filed a petition asking

the appeals court to re-review this ruling, and is seeking

to maintain the prohibition. Chicago has sought to main-

tain even tougher gun control laws as compared to other

Illinois cities. For 28 years, the city had an outright ban on

handguns which the U.S. Supreme Court overturned in

2010, holding that under the Second Amendment citizens

have the right to possess handguns in their homes. The

city responded by enacting alternative methods to limiting

who can have guns, passing one of the nation’s toughest

handgun ordinances. Some of the limitations include:

prohibiting people who have been convicted of a violent

crime from owning a gun; residents can only register one

handgun per month; residents cannot have more than one

gun in operating order at any time; and the police depart-

ment must maintain a registry of every registered handgun

owner in the city. One restriction in the ordinance was

struck down by the federal district court as being unjust -

anyone who had been convicted of a misdemeanor could

not own a handgun. The wording of the ordinance was

then changed to restrict the issuing of a gun license for

five years to those who had been convicted of a violent

misdemeanor. Last month, Mayor Rahm Emanuel asked

the City Council to increase the penalties for those who do

not register their guns, or report lost or stolen guns. The

fine would go up from $1,000 to $5,000 with the poten-

tial for jail time. In addition, the penalty for possessing an

unregistered gun would increase from 20-90 days in jail to

90-180 days. The theory is that the increase in penalties

will have more preventive effects. According to Emanuel

in a Chicago Tribune article, “sensible, smart, targeted

gun laws keep guns out of the hands of gangbangers and

drug dealers,” and this is “key to a strategy of reducing

violence.”

The effect of the proposed laws and their alleged preven-

tive potential remains to be seen. But looking back his-

torically, strict gun laws have not reduced Chicago’s gun

violence. The city currently has the highest murder rate

of any city in the United States. While large cities like Los

Angeles and New York City have seen a decrease in mur-

ders, Chicago has bucked this trend. Although Chicago’s

murder rate is almost half what it was in the 1990s, and

overall crime rates have continued to decrease, the homi-

cide rate is cause for alarm. According to NBC Chicago,

the total number of murders in Chicago for 2012 was 506.

Within the first six days of 2013 there were 12 murders.

On January 26, alone, there were at least five murders.

Mayor Emanuel admits that in order for these strict laws

to be the most effective, it is necessary to have the support

at the state and federal level. There continues to be resis-

tance, however, to the restrictive laws Emanuel seeks to

enforce. Illinois law is much more permissive, as is federal

law, when it comes to individual gun ownership. The more

permissive laws make it possible for guns to be obtained

and then brought into the city. Gun stores are outlawed

in Chicago, and so currently, individuals can just go to

the suburbs and legally purchase a gun. Chicago Police

Superintendent McCarthy has said that Cook County is

the primary source of guns found in Chicago. If Illinois

and neighboring states, for example, enacted stricter gun

laws, this could lead to a decrease in the amount of guns

coming into Chicago.


According to a Chicago Sun-Times article, the top ten

sources of gun purchase occur in the surrounding suburbs

of Chicago. Most of the guns that have been recovered in

connection with crimes committed in Chicago were origi-

nally bought in Illinois. More specifically, most guns were

bought in Cook County, where Chicago is the county seat.

Cook is the second most populous county in the U.S., and

includes several Chicago suburbs. The University of Chi-

cago Crime Lab (“U of C Crime Lab”) researchers con-

ducted a study last year, requested by the Chicago Police

Department. From January 2008 to March 2012, Chicago

police recovered 1,375 guns. The researchers determined

that Cook County was the source of 45% of those guns.

Broken down by state, 58% were purchased in Illinois,

about 19% were purchased in Indiana, 3% in Wisconsin,

and less than 2% from Mississippi. Study researchers

concluded that most of these guns were most likely bought

by straw purchasers – individuals with no criminal record

who buy guns for felons or those people with criminal

records who could not otherwise legally purchase a gun.

Executive Director of the U of C Crime Lab, Roseanna

Ander, said the study’s findings suggest a key strategy to

keeping guns off the street is for law enforcement agencies

to target the local gun stores most likely to sell firearms to

straw purchasers. Mark Jones, a retired supervisor for the

U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explo-

sives, acknowledges that “firearms dealers are so well

protected it makes it really hard to prosecute them.” He

explains that it is difficult to show a dealer “knowingly and

willfully” sold a gun to a straw purchaser, which is the stan-

dard of law for prosecution. However, Ander maintains

that “having the dealers know people are paying attention

again and are willing to act could have an impact.”

Gun store owners claim they take all precautions to make

sure their buyers are legitimate. Larry Pelcher, owner of a

gun shop in south suburban Lansing, said he doubts any

local gun stores are breaking the law. “[We] go out of our

way to ensure the person buying the firearm is legitimate

and is not a straw buyer,” Pelcher said. He also doesn’t

think straw purchasers are the main reason guns are get-

ting into criminals’ hands in Chicago. Stolen guns are

a large part of the problem. They are often stolen from

legitimate buyers who have purchased them for protection,

according to Pelcher. A gang member from the South Side

in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times admitted that

the guns used by his gang are largely stolen guns. Since

they cannot afford to buy new guns, they resort to stealing

guns from gun stores or from freight trains sitting in rail

yards on the South Side. Straw purchasers are common

too. Wealthy drug dealers can afford to pay for those guns,

which have been significantly marked up, usually $100 or

more above retail value. Police Superintendent McCarthy

has proposed a law that would require Illinois gun owners

to file a report with police if their gun is stolen, transferred

or lost. Chicago already has this type of law in place.

Cook County Board President Preckwinkle is currently

seeking to introduce a similar law that would apply to

Cook County. The Board is set to vote in February of this

year. This would be an important step in keeping track of

firearms since most firearms used in Chicago are bought

in Cook County. In theory, a law requiring the reporting

of transferred firearms would be a way of combatting

the problem of straw purchasers who buys guns for other

people.

FOX Chicago reported

last month that Mayor

Emanuel and Police

Superintendent

McCarthy plan to mod-

ernize the Chicago Alter-

native Policing Strategy

Program, also known as

the CAPS Program, in

an effort to combat the

problem of gun violence

and help deter crime.

The community policing

program is almost twenty

years old and strongly

encourages cooperation

between residents and

the police. The program started off with good intentions

but became too bureaucratic according to Emanuel. The

aim now is to take the bureaucracy out of police work and


allow law enforcement officers to more effectively tailor

the program to their community’s needs. “Previously,

community policing programs were managed from head-

quarters, which just doesn’t make sense,” said McCarthy.

“The needs in each community we serve are unique so

we cannot apply a cookie cutter approach to community

outreach and services.” District commanders are in charge

of their own programs now because they are more familiar

with what their community needs are. Each district will

be assigned a CAPS sergeant and two police officers, and

enforcement strategies will be tailored to individual neigh-

borhoods. The crime rates vary across the city with certain

neighborhoods being home to the majority of homicides,

e.g. Englewood, Austin, and Woodlawn. Unfortunately,

due to budget issues, no additional funds will be given to

the CAPS program in 2013.

The CAPS program cannot work until the community

feels safe enough to cooperate, however. According to

DNAinfo, of the 506 murders last year, only about 25% of

those have been solved. The clearance rate of murders in

Chicago is the lowest it has been in over 20 years. Police

Supt. McCarthy says there is a lack of cooperation from

the community because “people have a fear, and rightfully

so. They don’t feel protected when they come forward…

People don’t trust the police.” The Associated Press reports

that almost 80% of murders in Chicago are gang-related,

according to police. This is largely why citizens are reluc-

tant to step forward: they fear retaliation from the gangs. A

police audit in 2011 identified 59 gangs and 625 factions,

with most being on the South and West sides. In addition,

the pervasive “no-snitch” code of the street keeps people

from coming forward with information. In an interview

with DNAinfo, McCarthy discusses the difficulty of solving

crimes when both victims and witnesses do not cooperate.

“To make cases prosecutable we need cooperative wit-

nesses…There are a lot of people who are not going to

cooperate. That’s why we have to take on the no-snitch

issue.” McCarthy is trying to enlist celebrities like Derrick

Rose, Common and Denzel Washington to help redefine

what “snitch” means, and encourage people to come for-

ward with information. A snitch is a criminal who turns on

his fellow criminals, not innocent eyewitnesses or victims

reporting information about a shooting. The campaign has

yet to be launched.

Chicago Police Union President Michael Shields blames

the understaffing of police and the limited resources

available to the City’s detective division for the lack of

solved murders. Shields stated the City is down over 300

detectives, and with such limited manpower and so many

homicides, there is little time for actual investigating.

Chicago, like much of the nation, has faced budget con-

straints over the past few years. Three police stations have

closed and there has been some downsizing. McCarthy

maintains the closing of police stations will not hinder

the ability of police to fight crime, because police patrols

will increase after the closures. However, in a USA Today

article, Patrick Camden of the Fraternal Order of Police

(the union representing police officers) stated that in the

past two years the number of Chicago police officers has

decreased by about 1,000. Including supervisors, there

are now between 11,000 and 12,000 officers. The U.S.

Census Bureau estimated the Chicago population to be

over 2.7 million in 2011. Recently, the Chicago Sun-Times


performed its own analysis using city data to determine

whether the number of police officers on the beat had

increased, as Mayor Emanuel promised when he took office

last year. They found that there are currently less beat offi-

cers in patrol districts than before Emanuel took office.

Police departments across the nation are working hard to

do more with less. In October, the Chicago Police Depart-

ment announced it is adopting technology that will detect

and locate gunshots in two 1.5-square-mile areas on the

South and West Sides. This will allow for speedier police

response, and better forensic and crime analysis. Police

Supt. McCarthy is also working on developing a new

approach to crime solving, consulting with criminologists

and others knowledgeable in the field. David Kennedy,

one of the researchers consulting with McCarthy, wrote

an article for The Daily Beast in September that details

the new strategies. There are two main prongs to the new

approach: (1) focus on “hot” people rather than neighbor-

hoods, and (2) repair the relationship between the commu-

nity and the police.

Traditionally, police officers have focused on the bad

neighborhoods of the city, rather than the individuals

who are perpetuating most of the crime. Given that the

majority of homicides are gang-related, the focus must be

redirected to the gang members themselves, rather than

the neighborhoods they inhabit. Focusing on the neigh-

borhoods is not effective because most people that live

there are not in gangs. Police are working to identify the

individuals and their networks who are overwhelmingly

responsible for most of the city’s violence. All shooting and

homicide victims are tracked and linked to their applicable

gang and gang faction. Additionally, information is kept

on gangs and factions within neighborhoods, what areas

they mostly operate in, who their enemies are, members,

alliances, etc. By identifying the problem people and their

social networks, the police can redirect their focus and

resources to the core of the problem. The prior approach

of focusing on the neighborhood often times resulted in

everyone getting treated like a criminal. This only works

to heighten the mistrust communities have towards law

enforcement.

The second strategy involves law enforcement establishing

legitimacy within the community. If the community

does not believe that the police operate in a fair and just

manner, they will never cooperate with them. Kennedy

explains by use of an example. If X’s brother has been

shot, and X knows that Y did it, X can either call the

police, or find a gun and go shoot Y himself. The status

quo is dominated by people taking the law into their own

hands because of their fear and mistrust of law enforce-

ment. If the police can legitimate themselves within the

community, then cooperation and community policing

can become more of a reality. The police will likely have

more success solving murders when the community works

with them rather than against them. The Chicago Vio-

lence Reduction Strategy, or VRS, has been employed in

some of the city’s worst and most violent neighborhoods,

and is an extension of McCarthy’s effort to establish

legitimacy within the communities. VRS, supported by

the MacArthur Foundation, sends teams of law enforce-

ment, community figures, and social service workers into

the communities to meet with residents and gang fac-

tions. They work to educate the community on measures

law enforcement are taking with violent gangs, speak out

against violence, and offer gang members help with getting

out of the gang life. A study of this program has shown

almost a 40% reduction in homicide rates where VRS has

been employed. Kennedy acknowledges that the program

is new, and only time will tell if it is truly effective, but it

appears to be thus far. More importantly, “the good news

is that if it works in Chicago, it can work anywhere.” n

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There are few places more sacred to

Texans than The Alamo. The cradle

of Texas independence is the most

popular tourist destination in the state

and, to many Lone Star residents, the

adobe embodiment of bravery and

self-sacrifice. The idea that some com-

batants inside the mission tried to

escape the 1836 battle, however, flies in

the face of the legend that every one of

the defenders fought to the death.

But the burial site of two Texas Rangers, R.A. Gillespie

and Samuel Walker, suggests not all The Alamo defenders

lost their lives inside the walls.

Gillespie, namesake of Texas’ Gillespie County, joined

John Coffee Hays’ Texas Rangers in1843 rising to the

rank of first lieutenant in 1845 when he formed the San

Antonio Mounted Rangers as part of Hays’ Battalion of

Texas Mounted Rangers. Fighting in the Mexican-Amer-

ican War, Gillespie was the first Ranger to breach the fort

at the Independence Hill summit at the Battle of Mon-

terrey. The Blount County, Tennessee native was wounded

during the assault on Bishop’s Palace and died the next

day, September 23, 1846.

Walker, also a member of Hays’ Texas Rangers, was killed

October 9, 1847 by a shot fired from a balcony in Tlax-

cala while leading his troops in the Battle of Huamantla.

Born in Toaping Castle, Maryland, he is best known as the

co-inventor, along with Samuel Colt, of the Walker Colt

revolver. Walker’s design included modifying the then-

popular five-shot Colt Paterson revolver to hold six rounds.

Walker was also a survivor of the 1843 Black Bean Inci-

dent in which 17 Texas soldiers were chosen by lottery and

executed in Coahuila. He was recognized for his contribu-

Alamo Defenders by Randy Lankford


tions to Texas with the naming of a county in his honor.

In 1856, as part of the Battle of San Jacinto celebration,

the bodies of both Texas Ranger Hall of Fame members

and close friends were exhumed and buried with honors in

San Antonio, at what was then called Powder House Hill.

Now known as The Old San Antonio City Cemetery,

Powder House Hill, approximately two miles east of The

Alamo, earned its nickname when Santa Anna positioned

his artillery battalion there during the battle. The 103-acre

historic cemetery district today contains 131 cemeteries

and is listed in the National Register.

Eight-year-old August Beisenbach, playing along what

was then called The Alameda, saw workmen preparing

the burial site for Gillespie and Walker. In 1906 Beisen-

bach had become the city clerk of San Antonio, when

he recalled what he had seen in the San Antonio Daily

Express.

“. . . he witnessed the exhuming of bodies or

remains consisting of bones and fragments of

bones, of victims of the siege of The Alamo

that had been interred near the place where the

bodies had been burned and originally buried,

and saw their transfers from that place to the old

cemetery on Powder House Hill . . . ” reported

the newspaper on July 6.

The report does not say how many bodies the remains rep-

resent, how they came to be so far from the mission or how

they were identified, other than being burned, as Alamo

defenders. The remains represent no more than a handful

of Texians who escaped the “throat cutting” promised

when Santa Anna ordered his band to play El Deguello,

signaling no quarter would be given to those inside the

mission, on the morning of March 6, 1836.

Fifty years after witnessing the burial, Beisenbach reported

the remains had been placed midway between the monu-

ments of Gillespie and Walker. A tribute at the “Lost

Burial Place of The Alamo Defenders” was erected on the

site in 2004 by the Alamo Defenders Descendants Associa-

tion. n

786 Transportationwww.786transportation.com

832-620-9097

A Leap of Faith Transportation

FT. Worth

903-527-4924

Bar V Energy, LLC830-570-2755

POTEET, TEXAS

20 21

Chris W. DahlOWneR

Caan Construction Services

713-539-5943Houston

Capital truck Sales

225-806-4388Gonzales, tX

Capitan eneRGy575-706-4348

Chango’s Tree Service

Free Estimates(512) 264-1535

Residential • Commercial • Emergency 24 Hour ResponseInsured for your protection

•Trimming• Tree Removal• Tree Sales & Service

• Landscaping• Lot Clearing

• Stump Grinder

Chuck’s oilfield Services979-535-8296

Caldwell, texas

Comanche Express Services

512-771-2692Austin, Texas

Davila Backhoe Service806-265-7792 Friona, TX

lloyd Hoermannalamo Concrete

512-964-8134

512-386-8690 • www.austinconstructors1.com

BAM Electrical Service

432-349-9860ODESSA, TX

BMW Trucking512-626-7642

Austin, Texas

409-771-5581Hitchcock, texas

Bluewater a/C & Refrigeration

C.G. trucking

713-594-3869

C&n Transport512-251-2037

Pfluggerville, TX

ABP TRANSPORTATION, LLCPampa, Texas

Vans • Belly Dumps • Flats

(806) 665-9524

Dhesi Enterprises, LTD.604-501-3934

903-527-3865WWW.eaGlemHSContRaCtinG.Com

281-804-7467Columbus, texas

eddie alleye.e.alley trucking

espinoza & Sons Grading915-328-0855

el Paso, Texas

J.R. Utilities excavation

512-844-1726 • Manor, Texas


Chris W. DahlOWneR

22 23

aRGUiJo & SonS tRUCkinG

830-281-6432pleaSanton, tX

Cactus Tools

361-362-4265Beeville, TX

www.tweinc.com

Geotechnical Engineering

Environmental Consulting

Construction Materials Testing

Deep Foundations Testing

(888) 887-9932

Cowboy & Dillian

& J enterprises

210-279-7655 or 405-283-0698

Pleasanton, Texas


SoliSTrucking956-235-3073

laredo, TexaS

979-220-2086Snook, Texas

24 25

Worldwide (713) 944-1622universalweather.com

Top-O-Texas Oilfield Services, LTD.

806-662-4725

Robledo’s paving Co.

806-231-0778amaRillo, teXaS

TSO Transportation713-409-1136

713-209-2500www.svtn.com

24 25

TSO Transportation713-409-1136

STENNETT FARMS

SINCE 1921

806-842-3205LUbbOCK, TExAS

SINCE 1921

806-842-3205LUbbOCK, TExAS

TEX-STAREXCAVATION

512-917-9713

TEX-STAREXCAVATION

512-917-9713

www.tritontransport.com604-530-5124


Identity theft is usually associated with individuals,

people who have had their credit cards or personal

finances hijacked. But it also affects businesses. Mil-

lions of dollars in both material and productivity are lost

every year through unauthorized access and employee

fraud. And almost all of it, according to the

founders of Facekey Biometric Security Sys-

tems, is preventable.

Based in San Antonio, Facekey

provides advanced access-control

services to businesses through

recognition of a variety of

biometric patterns. What

was once the stuff of

secret agent thrillers;

electronic facial rec-

ognition, real-time

retina scans and

digital fingerprint

identification is

being adopted

in numerous

industries as the

gold standard

for safe-

guarding facili-

ties, products

and informa-

tion.

The funda-

mental flaw

with current electronic

access-control technology,

explains Annette Starkweather,

Facekey’s COO, is that it identifies a magnetic strip, not

the person using it. “Biometrics is about knowing who

someone is, who it really is. Not who some card says it is.”

Facekey has developed pattern-

recognition software and

hardware to scan finger-

prints and facial patterns

businesses then use to

create customized secu-

rity protocols that allow

only specified employees

access to restricted areas

or sensitive data within a

business.

“The swipe cards most

businesses use for access

control today are no more

effective than a lock and

key,” says Facekey Presi-

dent Yevgeny Levitov. “For

less than $100 you can buy

a piece of equipment that

can duplicate any swipe card.

You don’t even have to have the

card. You can scan a card inside

someone’s wallet while you’re sit-

ting next to them on the bus. Just

because someone has a building or

computer access card, doesn’t mean

they’re authorized to use it.”

In addition to controlling unauthorized access,

Facekey’s biometric recognition equipment also

reduces employee fraud. “Buddy punching is where one

Security’s Cutting EdgePattern Recognition Controls Accessby Randy Lankford


employee will swipe his identification card to start the

clock on his workday and then swipe his buddy’s card as

well. As far as the system knows, both employees are at

work and on the clock,” Levitov says. “With our tech-

nology, you have to scan your finger so, obviously, you’re

really there. You can’t scan your buddy’s finger for him.”

Even if your buddy is so anxious to clock some extra hours

that he’s willing to cut off his finger for you to scan, it

won’t work. Facekey’s equipment can tell the difference

between a living finger and a severed one. A photograph

won’t fool the equipment either. Facekey’s pattern recogni-

tion software can even identify faces in the dark and retina

patterns behind sunglasses.

“Business managers like this technology for the same

reason unscrupulous employees don’t,” says Starkweather.

“It eliminates the ability to cheat the system.”

Schools are another location where Starkweather says the

Facekey technology is effective. “Clearly, we can identify

whether a person is authorized to enter a school or not.

But as school security becomes a bigger issue I think you’re

going to see it move in the direction of airport security.

You don’t wait until someone’s standing in the airplane

door before you decide if they’re authorized to enter. I

think you’ll see school perimeters expand where authoriza-

tion to enter a campus will be determined at a distance.”

“We can lock and unlock an entire facility with the push

of one button now,” says Levitov. “But there are other

applications being discussed right now. We have features

targeted at different areas of security, banking for example.

Right now, you have to have two keys or two PINs to open

a vault or a safety deposit box. Using our technology, you

have to have two fingers, or two faces.”

And it’s not just buildings Facekey can protect. Con-

struction and drilling sites, like those dotting the Eagle

Ford Shale fields of south Texas, present unique security

demands.

“Bulldozers and other heavy equipment can’t be put away

at night in an oilfield,” says Starkeweather. “Anyone who

knows how to start a Caterpillar can start any Caterpillar.

But, if one of our security scanners is connected to the

ignition of that Caterpillar, you can control who starts

it. If your fingerprint isn’t in the database, that piece of

machinery isn’t going to start no matter how you try.” n

Torres Tire & Wheels 214-565-9309 422 S. Second Ave. Dallas, Texas

800-387-9376Burlington ontario, Canada

transrite transportation Service l.t.D

tony kacer Farms979-240-3051

Baycity, texas

texas Contract Spooling325-201-3597

Snyder, Texas

Sweat Construction545-748-1238

Stewart tank Co & Oilfield Supply, Inc.“The Solutions Company”

254-672-5102www.stewarttankcoinc.com

Smith Construction Bonding of texas

[email protected]

Rameriz Masonary210-473-1264San Antonio, Texas


806-665-2905 • Pamp a, Texas

a C K E R F a R M S

830 -626 -6825NEW BRAUNFELS, TEXAS

780-464-6500Edmonton AB, Canada

www.boychuk.net

BuildingPlastic Inc.

901-744-6414Memphis, tN

Broken Spoke Cattle Co.

979-277-2016 • Bellville, Texas

Broken Spoke Cattle Co.


Calleja transportation

281-309-0072 HOUStON

A Children’s book of tragedy turned into

peace and hope for the future.

Purchase on Amazon or go to

www.rebeccacrownover.com to learn more.


Transport heavy equipment and wide loads anywhere in the Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma

281-703-8195MOnT BeLvieU, TX

5830 SHIRLEY LANE • HUMBLE TXTEL: 281-227-3331


FREIGHTFORWARDERSINC.

5830 SHIRLEY LANE • HUMBLE TXTEL: 281-227-3331

WWW.FREIGHTFORWARDERSINC.COM

(903) 792-1197 Texarkana, Texas

www.jacksonpipeandsteel.com

32 33

580-225-6314

32 33

Craft Wireline Services, Inc.

(432) 943-5150Main Office

(432) 943-5822Monahans, texas

Freepoint & Backoff SpecialistLogging & Perforating

JJ DOUBLE JCUSTOM LAND CLEARING & CONSTRUCTION

• Hydro-Ax Mulching• Tractor Work

• Dirt Work• Hauling Services

(936) [email protected]

211-450-5214Prosper, Texas

806-759-7222LaMesa, TX

34 35

eY Trucking LLC504-481-6894

new orleans

409-423-0454

www.gannservice.com

Gann Service is a multi-line service merchandiser of convenience

store merchandise.

432-557-6754midland, texas

anaya Construction

ER TruckingServices972-642-3704

Gene Burdentrucking

580-225-1142

512-398-3211/512-995-0498lockhart, texas

Gordon Hart & Family

713-314-7105Houston, texas

Grande Used Restaurant equipment.

H&G trucking713-298-9395

Houston, TX

H&G trucking713-298-9395

L.D. Hanna Dairy LLC.

817-558-5806Godley, Texas

Harcon Services, Inc.808-554-9301

Austin, Texas

Harcon Services, Inc.808-554-9301

Austin, Texas

Herman Freeman Trucking214-356-8705

Hoffman construction

830-889-3614fredericksburg, tX

James R. Hold Trucking, LLC281-785-7535

Hockley, Texas

James R. Hold Trucking, LLC281-785-7535

34 35

east Texas Termite & Pest

east Texas Termite & Pest

903-561-1889903-561-1889(806) 763-3192

2501 Baylor St.Lubbock, Texas

J.a.S. trucking432-333-1527

odessa,tX

James ShineGrey Rock the Corp.

972-664-0664

581-584-9143Broken Bow, oklahoma

Jimmie tuckertrucking, inc.

JMPEnergy Services

936-232-0812

Xcellent Service281-345-0695

940-781-9952www.wichitatank.com

Miguel A. Vega832-814-0209

Rivas Clean-Up Co.713-302-2391Houston, TX

36 37

Powell Drilling ServiceS, inc.903-665-3613JefferSon, TexaS

At Pioneer Freight, we are

committed to providing

logistics solutions that are

tailored to your specific

supply chain process.

www.pioneerfrt.com713-860-0300

Southwest Acid

Services, LLC.Acidizing & Pressure Pumping

620-629-5772Liberal, KS

36 37

Powell Drilling ServiceS, inc.903-665-3613JefferSon, TexaS

• Premium Air Ride Equipment

• Satellite Tracking Of Shipments

• Double Drops – Tandems & Tri-Axles

• Multi Axle Equipment

• Trombone – Flat Decks

• Step Decks & Double Drops

306-374-1739 • www.titantransport.comSASkATOOn, SASkATCheWAn

Southwest Acid

Services, LLC.Acidizing & Pressure Pumping

620-629-5772Liberal, KS

Santa Barbara Freight Corp.

Santa Barbara Freight Corp.

805-540-1857Atascadero, CA

chop-n -Haul, llc.575-760-2623

fiona, Texas979-637-0263 • EL CAMPO, TX

38 39

Dr Swab Service, llcTrucking company

580-243-9967

Grande Postal Forwarding

Houston, texas

Rick Adams • PresidentKevin Peranton • Vice President William Clayton • Vice President

281-392-5199

38 39

MArtinez Moving

Insured & Bonded for Your Protection!Relevel & Skirting • Transport & Set Up

(936) 346-7538 or (936) 402-6009Dayton, Texas

POWeR BLASTinG361-244-7449

ROBSTOWn, TX

R&b Logging, Inc.870-356-2722

Glenwood Ark

40 41

hDhOMeRO DeLeOn

CLeAn-UP SeRviCe281-392-9027

Jonezy Hot-Shot Service

432-296-8055ODESSSA, TExAS

K.S. Livestock

806-236-9544

Lejay LuehlfingExcavating830-822-2995

Lone Star Excavating & Concrete

Construction Inc.979-732-2019

MERCURY TRANSPORTATION, INCU.S. Customs Bonded Carrier & Hazardous Material Certified

Heavy Haul • Specialized Equipment • 7 Day-24 Hour Dispatch

(281) 458-4340Houston, Texas

www.mercurytransportation.com

Joel Smith Trucking

Joel Smith Trucking

575-799-6160

40 41

pete olguin truckingolguin enterprises

361-576-0121Victoria, texas

210-221-7094Bulverde, texas

JSS Consulting

361-877-8060Benavides, texas

Juan Carrillo

970-218-4903anton, texas

kellie Stanley

Rife’s Backhoe Service

580-651-2723Beaver, OK

Over 18 Years Experience

Richard Pennington

361-516-0699

281-550-8438Houston, texas

koming Up managment llC.

John & Tracy Attaway903-276-3158

936-522-7090Huntsville, texas

John R. nelson

817-455-9628Crawley, texas

lo trucking

nivaldo Banda & Family

42 43

Hometrust Mortage

713-369-4000HOUSTON, Texas

Lone Star Drywall And Framing LLC.

POTER, TX

Lynn’s Heavy Hauling, LLC913-393-3863 • Olathe, KS

Marilyn's Home Cleaning903-879-4401

Fairfield, TX

RI RV PARK3/4 Mile North of I20, Exit 349 • 80’ Pull Thrus

(254) 631-4255 or (254) 631-60081424 W. Loop 254 • Ranger, Texas

mickie Service Co., inc713-682-7454

Houston, tX

Tommy Reese Grading & hauling

940-733-3000

R.C. TRUCkINg

214-317-7503

SEAgOvILLE, TExAS

Melton’s Wrecker Service24 hour “Toe” Service

(940) 766-2232Wichita Falls, Texas

Mendez Trucking281-733-4400

Houston, Texas

Mesquite Mud & Air Drilling

[email protected]

254-562-7816 www.mexianurseryandtreefarm.com

979-541-6721Humble, texas

molina trucking Service RBC TRanspoRT432-263-4838Big Springs, texas

806-665-0530www.panhandleperforators.com

PalomIno TransPorT

PalomIno TransPorT

602-882-9683HOUStON, tExaS

Mustang Hot sHot432-528-0403

979-541-6721Humble, texas

your Company’s ad Could be Seen Here!For advertising inquiries in the New Police Leader magazine please call, 210-375-5565.

www.thenewpoliceleader.org

42 43

Hyperworks940-632-7199

Wichita Falls, TX

RECS Inc.972-347-2841

RECS Inc.972-347-2841

Prosper, Texas

KOKOMO Energy Inc.

Bridgeport, TX

1-940-683-1102

44

Inside Back Cover

“Del iver ing Peace of Mind”

915) 532-5211 • El Pasowww.premiercouriersep.com

Excellence and precision every time. Any Job.806-435-5501

www.Ruddwelding.comPerryton, TX

44

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