Hartford, CT
Police & Fire
Hartford Police Union Backs Officers In Fatal Shooting, Calls For Mental Health Response Reform Hartford Police Union Backs Officers In Fatal Shooting, Calls For Mental Health Response Reform
Hartford Police Union Backs Officers In Fatal Shooting, Calls For Mental Health Response Reform After Hartford police officers shot and killed two men who police believe were suffering from severe mental health crises, the leader of the city's police union is standing firm behind the officers. He said the state must do more to care for individuals struggling with mental illness to avoid officers being put in positions where they must act. Hartford police shot 55-year-old Steven Jones on Blue Hills Avenue while he waved a large knife and continued approaching officers at 11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 27. Jones died of his wounds on Tuesday. A family member called 911, saying Jones was experienc…

SHARE

by Josh Lanier
Doylestown, PA
Police & Fire
‘Swatting’ Hoax Triggers Armed Police Response In Doylestown Neighborhood: Police ‘Swatting’ Hoax Triggers Armed Police Response In Doylestown Neighborhood: Police
‘Swatting’ Hoax Triggers Armed Police Response In Doylestown Neighborhood: Police A false emergency call triggered a major police response in an Eastern Pennsylvania neighborhood late Tuesday night, authorities said. Officers with the Central Bucks Regional Police Department rushed to the Clear Springs Court section of Doylestown Borough after receiving a high-priority report of a critical incident around 10:13 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3, according to the department. When officers arrived, they established a perimeter and activated emergency protocols while assessing the situation and communicating with the residents inside the targeted home, police said. Investigators la…

SHARE

by Jillian Pikora
Edison, NJ
Police & Fire
Woman Killed After Car Goes Airborne, Ends Up Underneath Truck: Edison PD Woman Killed After Car Goes Airborne, Ends Up Underneath Truck: Edison PD
Woman Killed After Car Goes Airborne, Ends Up Underneath Truck: Edison PD A 77-year-old Metuchen woman was killed in a car crash after colliding with a truck in Edison on Monday, March 2, authorities said. At 2:44 p.m., officers responded to New Durham Road and Talmadge Road after a 2016 Buick Enclave traveling eastbound left the roadway at a high rate of speed, became airborne, entered Talmadge Road and crashed into a flat bed tractor trailer, Edison police said. The Buick underneath the trailer, sustaining catastrophic damage, police said. The driver of the Buick, who has not been identified, was pronounced dead at 3:24 p.m., police said. The force of the coll…

SHARE

by Sam Barron
Fair Lawn-Glen Rock, NJ
Traffic
PHOTOS: Traffic Light Toppled In Crash At Busy Fair Lawn Intersection PHOTOS: Traffic Light Toppled In Crash At Busy Fair Lawn Intersection
Photos: Traffic Light Toppled In Crash At Busy Fair Lawn Intersection A two-vehicle crash toppled a traffic light and shut down part of a busy Fair Lawn roadway Monday morning, March 2, as reported by incident reporter Boyd A. Loving (click here for photos). The collision happened at the intersection of Broadway westbound and 26th Street in Fair Lawn, where the crash knocked down a traffic light and temporarily closed Broadway between 26th Street and Plaza Road. Ambulances transported two victims of the crash to separate local hospitals, Hackensack University Medical Center’s main campus and The Valley Hospital, according to Loving. Both heavily dam…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
Reading, PA
Police & Fire
Trying To ‘Kill The Spiders,’ Poconos Man Sets 4 Homes On Fire, Flees (UPDATE) Trying To ‘Kill The Spiders,’ Poconos Man Sets 4 Homes On Fire, Flees (UPDATE)
Trying To ‘Kill The Spiders,’ Poconos Man Sets 4 Homes On Fire, Flees (Update) A fire allegedly sparked to “kill the spiders” tore through four connected townhomes in the Poconos before the suspect fled nearly 100 miles to New York City, authorities said. The fire originated in the 600 block of Uncus Lane in Pocono Pines at 5:58 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 23, according to Pocono Mountain Regional Police. Officers arrived to find flames engulfing the townhome, which quickly spread to three additional connected units. A witness told officers the homeowner had been setting small fires inside the residence throughout the day and claimed he “needed to kill the spiders within th…

SHARE

by Jillian Pikora
Taneytown-Union Bridge, MD
Police & Fire
Family Escapes Through Window As Early-Morning Fire Rips Through Taneytown Home (VIDEO) Family Escapes Through Window As Early-Morning Fire Rips Through Taneytown Home (VIDEO)
Family Escapes Through Window As Early-Morning Fire Rips Through Taneytown Home (Video) A Maryland family is alive this morning because their smoke alarms did exactly what they were supposed to do. A fast-moving dwelling fire broke out at 2:18 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 26, at a single-family home on George Street in Taneytown, forcing residents to escape through a second-floor window, according to the Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal. Firefighters from the Taneytown Volunteer Fire Company were dispatched to 43 George Street in Carroll County after a resident discovered the fire, officials said. The fire in Carroll County. Taneytown VFC The blaze started in the fir…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Rahway, NJ
Police & Fire
One Dead, 3 Injured In Rahway 3-Alarm Fire: Authorities One Dead, 3 Injured In Rahway 3-Alarm Fire: Authorities
One Dead, 3 Injured In Rahway 3-Alarm Fire: Authorities One person was killed in a three-alarm blaze in Rahway on Tuesday, Feb. 24, authorities said. At 8:46 p.m., police and firefighters responded to 550 West Scott Ave. and found a heavy smoke condition and fire from the back of the residence and received a report of a missing occupant, the city said in a release. A second alarm was promptly tolled as firefighters found heavy fire conditions in the basement and first floor and rapidly deteriorating conditions throughout the home, authorities said. Firefighters battled the blaze and they continued to look for a missing occupant, calling a …

SHARE

by Sam Barron
Monsey, NY
Police & Fire
Fire Goes Up At Gas Station In Monsey: Report Fire Goes Up At Gas Station In Monsey: Report
Fire Goes Up At Gas Station In Monsey: Report A fire broke out overnight at an Exxon gas station in Rockland County, drawing a response from multiple emergency crews. The blaze started in a bathroom container room at the station located at Route 59 and Remsen Avenue in Monsey early Wednesday morning, Feb. 25, The Monsey Scoop reported.  The Monsey Fire Department responded along with Ramapo Police. Chaverim of Orange County was also at the scene, covering calls in the area while Chaverim of Rockland was participating in a fundraising campaign, according to the outlet. Crews were soon able to bring the flames under control and put…

SHARE

by Ben Crnic
Lancaster, PA
News
PHOTOS: Driver Trapped When Tractor-Trailer Flips During Blizzard On Lancaster Pike PHOTOS: Driver Trapped When Tractor-Trailer Flips During Blizzard On Lancaster Pike
Photos: Driver Trapped When Tractor-Trailer Flips During Blizzard On Lancaster Pike A tractor-trailer flipped onto its side as snow began covering the roads in Lancaster County on Sunday night, trapping the driver inside, fire officials said. Emergency crews were dispatched to the 1100 block of Lancaster Pike in Drumore Township just before 8 p.m. Sunday, as winter weather made travel dangerous, according to Quarryville Fire Company. Units arrived to find the tractor-trailer on its side with a utility pole and wires down, along with a fuel spill at the scene, officials said. Bystanders removed the trapped driver from the cab before first responders could begin extrication…

SHARE

by Jillian Pikora
Norwich, CT
Police & Fire
Armed, Drunk Man Kidnaps 2 Kids In Norwich, Surrenders After Lengthy Standoff: Police Armed, Drunk Man Kidnaps 2 Kids In Norwich, Surrenders After Lengthy Standoff: Police
Armed, Drunk Man Kidnaps 2 Kids In Norwich, Surrenders After Lengthy Standoff: Police Two young Connecticut children are safe after police say an armed and intoxicated man took them during a violent incident this weekend, authorities said.  Jonathan Driscoll, 26, allegedly assaulted a woman near Otis Street in Norwich Sunday evening around 6:20 p.m. before driving off with her two children, according to police. Authorities said Driscoll is related to one of the children. Officers responded after the woman was heard yelling for help. Police located Driscoll and found he was under the influence and acting "manic" while making threats about the children’s safety, authoriti…

SHARE

by Josh Lanier
Prince Frederick, MD
Police & Fire
Falling Tree During Winter Storm Kills Two On Sunderland Highway, Calvert Sheriff Says Falling Tree During Winter Storm Kills Two On Sunderland Highway, Calvert Sheriff Says
Falling Tree During Winter Storm Kills Two On Sunderland Highway, Calvert Sheriff Says A routine drive along Route 2 turned deadly in Maryland on Sunday afternoon when a tree suddenly fell into traffic. Two people were killed, and a third was critically injured after the tree crashed onto their northbound vehicle in Sunderland, according to the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies were called to North Solomons Island Road near Aspen Wood Drive at approximately 4:44 p.m. on Feb. 22 for reports of a serious crash. Investigators say the vehicle was struck by a falling tree that entered the roadway. Inside were three Southern Maryland residents. Michael Lee Simpson, 60, o…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Poughkeepsie, NY
Police & Fire
Officer Spots Fire, Helps Evacuate Residents From Poughkeepsie Home Officer Spots Fire, Helps Evacuate Residents From Poughkeepsie Home
Officer Spots Fire, Helps Evacuate Residents From Poughkeepsie Home A police officer on patrol spotted an active house fire in Dutchess County and rushed inside to help get residents out safely.  The fire broke out in Poughkeepsie just before 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 17, at 122 South Cherry St., according to the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department.  Police said the blaze had not yet been reported when the officer noticed it and immediately called for the fire department before entering the multi-family home to check for anyone inside.  Once inside, the officer found and evacuated multiple residents, the department said. The Poughkeepsi…

SHARE

by Ben Crnic