Houston Deputy Shot Dead While Pumping Gas!

Deputy fatally shot from behind at Houston gas station
The Associated Press
Aug 29th 2015

HOUSTON (AP) — A sheriff's deputy in uniform was shot and killed Friday night while filling up his patrol car at a suburban Houston gas station, according to authorities.

Deputy Darren Goforth, 47, was pumping gas into his vehicle about 8:30 p.m. Friday when a man approached him from behind and fired multiple shots, Harris County Sheriff's Office spokesman Ryan Sullivan told The Associated Press. Once the deputy fell to the ground, the suspect fired more shots.

"In my 45 years in law enforcement, I can't recall another incident so cold-blooded and cowardly." RON HICKMAN, HARRIS COUNTY SHERIFF

Police described the suspect as a dark-complexioned male who is believed to be between 20 and 25 years old, and stands about 5-foot-10 to 6-feet tall. He was wearing a white T-shirt and red shorts and driving a red or maroon pickup-style truck with an extended cab. Police said an intensive search for the suspect remained ongoing Saturday morning.
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Iraq Veteran Ex-Employee Sues Home Depot

If you know anything about Home Deport you know about Home Depot Foundation and how much they care about veterans, plus they also committed to hiring 55,000 veterans. They have a long history in the veterans community.

Army veteran sues Home Depot, alleging disability discrimination
West Virginia Record
Carol Ostrow
Aug. 28, 2015

WINFIELD—An Army veteran from Putnam County is suing Home Depot, alleging employment law infringement.

Christopher J. Scalf of Hurricane filed a lawsuit Aug. 20 in Putnam Circuit Court against Home Depot U.S.A. Inc., alleging disability discrimination and breach of contract in 2013.

The suit states Scalf was hired June 14, 2013 by Home Depot for the second time and he noted on his application that he was a disabled veteran, having served in the U.S. Army in Operation Iraqi Freedom in Baghdad.

According to the complaint, Scalf sustained multiple injuries including traumatic brain injury during his deployment, was subsequently diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and consequently suffers from periodic migraines and PTSD episodes. He alleges when he developed a migraine June 16, he was sent home rather than given a reasonable accommodation at work, and was then terminated June 24, on the pretext of his (June 17) absence.
read more here

So how does something like this happen? There has to be more to the story than what was just reported.

What Do We Do When Responders Need Us?

When They Need Us
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
August 29, 2014

I have never had "good timing" showing up either too early or too late. Best way to explain that one is that I moved to Florida in 2004 right before Hurricanes Charley, Francis and Jeanne hit Central Florida in just six weeks.

When we were talking to the Realestate Agent about what we were looking for, one of the conditions was "no hurricanes" but the moving truck was long gone and the boxes had been trashed. The day after Charlie hit, we were down Home Depot buying plywood and stain. We drove down the street and our neighbors were making fun of the fact "we didn't have a hurricane in over 30 years but you guys buy plywood the day after" laughing at the stupid New Englanders.

When Francis was predicted to hit, they were standing in line to buy plywood. We were buying nails. When Jeanne was predicted to hit, they were using broken fences to cover their windows. We were buying more nails.

We're now facing Erika downgraded to tropical storm but no one knows for sure what will happen.

We're prepared to wait out the storm this time, just as we have been for every year after 2004 from June to November. While I don't spend too much time remembering that horrible year every season has been flashes of worrying it could happen again. It could have been worse if there were not emergency responders, firefighters, police officers and members of the National Guard willingly leaving their own families for the sake of the rest of us.

Hurricanes come with warnings while they are miles away and meteorologist have a general idea of where it will hit, when it will come and how strong the storm will be. If they aren't talking, we're not worrying.

It would be great if every traumatic event came with warnings and someone able to predict them so that folks could prepare ahead of time. Imagine how many people were able to get away from Hurricane Katrina because they were warned, able to leave and took the warnings seriously. We don't think about them because what happened in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama 10 years ago today.

The tropical depression that became Hurricane Katrina formed over the Bahamas on August 23, 2005, and meteorologists were soon able to warn people in the Gulf Coast states that a major storm was on its way. By August 28, evacuations were underway across the region.

Average folks face traumatic events all the time. Sometimes they come from natural events offering some type of warning. Other times they come from accidents with no warning at all. They come from crimes committed by other humans. They come from people we know and all too often from people we trust.

Everyone is susceptible to events but there are others topping off the regular traumas to willingly putting themselves into them everyday for the sake of others.

Firefighters rush to accidents, run into burning buildings and face off with massive wildfires. Not just one time but all the time. When they are not thinking about what they have to do faced with danger, they know any moment can send them into a life-threatening event. We don't want to talk about what they see or have to go through to save lives.

OKANOGAN, Wash. — The three U.S. Forest Service firefighters killed in a wildfire near Twisp last week died as a result of smoke inhalation and thermal injuries, or burns to the body, the Okanogan County Coroner’s Office said Friday.

The manner of death was listed as an accident.

From left, fallen U.S. Forest Service firefighters Richard Wheeler, 31, Andrew Zajac, 26, and Tom Zbyszewski, 20.

The three firefighters — Andrew Zajac, 26, Richard Wheeler, 31, and Tom Zbyszewski, 20 — were killed on Aug. 19 near Twisp.

Officials said the three died when their truck crashed down a 40-foot embankment as they tried to escape the fast-growing wildfire and flames consumed their vehicle. All three lived in north-central Washington.
Four others were injured.

All we care about is if they show up when we need them to. As for what happens to them afterwards, we expect them to be able to just get over it to be ready for the next time. We don't talk about them battling PTSD or thinking of ending their own lives. Emergency responders and firefighters are usually well regarded because we're always glad to see them especially when we're in trouble.

Police officers are different. We're glad to see them when we need them but hate to see them in a rearview mirror or when we were doing something wrong. They show up even though it seems more and more of them are hated. It is always stunning to think they still show up for work no matter how badly they are treated by some members of the public. Frankly most of us know there are a lot more good cops risking their lives for us than the few reported by the masses because they are suspected of doing something wrong.

We don't want to think about what their jobs do to them as long as they stay away from us when we don't need them but come when do. We don't want to think about Police Officers and PTSD or the fact that some go from risking their lives to not being able to fight for themselves anymore.

Members of the National Guard show up when we need them at home and deployed into combat operations on the other side of the world if asked to. Most of them are members of fire departments and police departments and a good number of them are also military veterans.

Yep, you know where this going.

We don't talk about them either. Sure we give them passing thoughts of reading reports pretending we understand all of what they face but we don't. Most don't even have a clue what their reality is or what it is like for their families. Oh, ya, that's something else we don't want to talk about. The families they come home to after they risked their lives for us.

The truth is, we want them there when we need them but no one seems to be there when they need us. As all of these folks get ready for yet another massive storm heading for Florida, think about all of them and then do a bit more than wonder what you can do for them and then DO IT! The predictions of their storms have been seen for generations but few took the warnings seriously enough to act.

Veteran's Unlawful-Search Suit Tossed in D.C.

Under the law is a requirement to report anyone who is a threat to themselves or others. That depends on how serious the observer thinks the situation is. Is there a need to act instantaneously? Most of the time, it is, because hindsight could end up coming too late to save a life. Veterans don't call the Suicide Hotline for fun. They call it out of desperation.

After tracking reports around the country, the fact is, when police officers are called, they usually end with officers having to explain why a call for help left a veteran in jail or dead.

In this case, the mental health worker did the right thing and so did the officers, for the most part, because the veteran is still alive and was taken to get the help he needed.

Veteran's Unlawful-Search Suit Tossed in D.C.
Courthouse News
By ROSE BOUBOUSHIAN
August 27, 2015

(CN) - A veteran has no claims against Washington, D.C., police for searching his home, taking a grenade and several guns, leaving the door open, and letting his fish die, a federal judge ruled.Matthew Corrigan, a former D.C. resident and an Army reservist, phoned the National Suicide Hotline - though he believed he was calling the military's emotional-support hotline - on the night of Feb. 2, 2010, because "he was depressed and had not slept for several days," according to court records.

In response to questioning, Corrigan told a hotline employee that he was a veteran and owned firearms, but did not indicate that he planned to harm anyone or kill himself, he claims. Corrigan turned off his phone, took prescribed sleeping pills and fell asleep, according to his lawsuit.

Unbeknownst to Corrigan, the employee called 911 and reported an attempted suicide. Metropolitan police officers were sent to Corrigan's apartment around 11 p.m., where they reported a strong odor of natural gas, so they had the service cut off.

The reservist says he awoke at about 4 a.m. on Feb. 3, hearing his name being called over a bullhorn, and saw about eight cops in the back yard and 20 in the front, lit up by floodlights.

When he came outside at about 4:50 a.m. and locked his apartment, he refused to give the key to an officer, who said he did not "have time to play this constitutional bullshit. We're going to break down your door. You're going to have to pay for a new door," according to Corrigan's deposition testimony.

Officers then entered and reportedly found a military smoke grenade and whistler device. Corrigan claims police took him to a Veterans Affairs hospital, where he admitted himself for three days because weapons being pointed at him triggered "PTSD hyper-vigilance."

"Under the community caretaking, exigent circumstances, and emergency aid doctrines, Lt. Glover's orders to the [Emergency Response Team] and [Explosive Ordnance Division] Unit to enter without a warrant and search the plaintiff's apartment for people, threats, and hazardous materials were objectively reasonable and, therefore, did not violate the plaintiff's Fourth Amendment rights," Howell wrote.
read more here

Chicago White Sox Honor Fallen Soldier's Family

Soldier killed in Afghanistan honored at Sox game
Chicago Sun Times
WRITTEN BY MAUDLYNE IHEJIRIKA
POSTED: 08/28/2015,

When the White Sox invited Pam Toppen to attend Friday night’s game with her family, she was grateful for the invitation in honor of her late son, 19-year-old U.S. Army PFC Aaron Toppen.

Relatives of Aaron Toppen were given a framed White Sox jersey at Friday's game. They are (left to right): Aaron Toppen's brother-in-law Jerry Gralewski; his sister Amanda, holding 6-month-old Aubrey; his uncle Jack Winter, holding the jersey; his mother, Pam Toppen; and his sister, Amy Toppen. His niece Taylor is seated. Aaron Toppen died last year in Afghanistan.
Maudlyne Ihejirika/Sun-Times

But she said she never expected the plush suite behind home plate, or the surprise presentation during the Sox vs. Mariners game at Cellular Field — when the family was called out on the field to receive a standing ovation from the crowd, and a framed Sox jersey in honor of Aaron, a baseball fanatic.

“It was just unbelievable,” she said, teary-eyed, after the family came off the field in the second-inning.

“When the crowd gave him a standing ovation, and the Sox gave us his jersey, the tears started flowing,” she added. “Our mission in life is to pay it forward, to help others. We could be mad about what happened, but that’s not who we want to be. And that won’t bring Aaron back.”

Toppen, 55, of southwest suburban Mokena, lost her son last June 9, when he was killed in Afghanistan — along with four American Special Operations Forces members and one Afghani soldier — in the deadliest instance of friendly fire since that war began in 2001.

An Air Force B-1 bomber airstrike mistakenly killed Toppen and the others during a battle with insurgent forces in southern Afghanistan. An Army investigation blamed poor communications.
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VA Medication for PTSD Veteran Sent to "Coo Coo Lane"

VA's use of ‘Coo-Coo Lane’ address still painful for Omaha veteran who has suffered from PTSD
Livewell Nebraska
By Steve Liewer / World-Herald staff writer
August 23, 2015

Florido said he is glad to learn that he wasn’t being targeted, but it will be hard to trust the VA again. He is still stinging from a separate incident seven years ago in which the VA falsely told him he was HIV positive, then waited 30 days to call back and correct the error.

Gabriel Florido opened a package from the U.S. government and discovered an insult.

The decorated Vietnam veteran — who has been treated for post-traumatic stress at the VA for decades — felt humiliated last summer when he realized someone at the Department of Veterans Affairs had altered his address and had mailed his medications to “Coo-Coo Lane.”

“I don’t understand it. I’m hurt, depressed,” said Florido, 64. “I don’t know how long I was a joke for them.”

Florido interprets the fake address as a gibe at his mental health issues. He contacted VA officials repeatedly to complain, but no one has ever apologized or explained to him why it happened.

Last week, in response to inquiries from The World-Herald, the VA finally responded. Officials said the mistake occurred at the Central Iowa VA Health Care System while a new employee was being trained to use the agency’s database.

“It was very unfortunate,” said Kristi Catrenich, a spokeswoman for the Central Iowa VA, “but neither intentional nor malicious.”

Tom Brown, president of the Nebraska Council of the Vietnam Veterans of America, was stunned to hear the story.

“Life is tough enough. He doesn’t need that kind of aggravation,” Brown said.
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Tomah VA Medical Center Closing Inpatient Psychiatric Unit

Tomah VA Shutting Psych Unit, Offering Top Dollar for Psychiatrists
La Crosse Tribune
by Chris Hubbuch
Aug 28, 2015

In an effort to recruit psychiatrists, Tomah has increased the starting salary to $240,000, the maximum allowed for a staff physician under the VA's pay scale.

Citing staff shortages, the beleaguered Tomah VA Medical Center is closing its inpatient psychiatric unit, halting psychiatric admissions to a residential treatment center and permanently curtailing urgent care hours.

The hospital stopped admitting new psych patients Wednesday and will temporarily close the 11-bed unit next week, the VA announced Wednesday.

There were two patients in the unit, Tomah VA spokesman Matthew Gowan said. Both would likely be discharged before the Sept. 4 closure, as inpatient stays typically last only a couple of days. Veterans requiring psychiatric treatment will be transferred to VA facilities in Madison andMilwaukee, or to non-VA hospitals if necessary.

The VA will also suspend psychiatric admissions to its Community Living Center, a residential long-term care facility, until more staff are added.

Gowan stressed that the nursing home would continue accepting veterans with non-psychiatric needs.

In a news release, Interim Director John Rohrer said the moves were necessary to ensure the "safe, high-quality care" that veterans deserve and that the unit would not reopen until "we have the necessary psychiatric staff to do so safely."
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Veteran's PTSD Service Dog Murdered in Back Yard

Glendale war veteran's service dog poisoned 
AZ Family
By Jason Volentine
August 28, 2015

It would be a tough loss for anyone, but Darvin was much more than a pet. Long is a Marine and former police officer. He served in Desert Storm and has severe post-traumatic stress disorder. Darvin was Long's service dog – his balance.

GLENDALE, AZ (KPHO/KTVK) - A Valley war veteran's service dog was killed and he believes it was poisoned by someone throwing tainted food over his backyard wall. Julian Long rushed his little dog, Darvin, to an animal hospital on Wednesday.

The dog was having seizures and trouble breathing. Less than two hours later, Darvin had to be put down. "I've never been married, I don't have any kids, and he was my child," Long said.

"On my good days he was there, on my bad days he was there, and he [would do] anything from cuddling to going to get a toy to bring it to me and play to try to divert my attention away from things that I'm dealing with in life." read more here

Police and PTSD "We're Still Human"

Arizona police officers helping combat stigma of PTSD
AZ Central
Jim Walsh, The Republic
August 28, 2015

A Phoenix task force recently released a series of recommendations to help police officers get the help they need early on. That came after former Officer Craig Tiger committed suicide in November 2014. Tiger was fired by then-Police Chief Daniel V. Garcia a year earlier, after his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence.

The flashpoint was a simple “hot tone,” the kind police hear all the time.

It brought back two incidents that haunt Brian Romney, the kind that a counselor and a psychologist say damages the middle brain, leaving a permanent mark.

In 2012, as a Gilbert police officer, Romney found himself in the bloody aftermath of a quadruple murder-suicide at the hands of J.T. Ready. There was nothing police could do to save Ready’s girlfriend and three of her relatives, including a baby, from his rampage.

Two years later, Romney was splashed with blood while handcuffing a bank-robbery suspect who had been shot to death by another officer. Although Romney never pulled the trigger, “I played an active part in taking a man’s life,” he said.

The hot tone, a high-pitched noise broadcast on police radio systems to signal an emergency, triggered a reaction two weeks later. Romney started hyperventilating.

“I got in my car. I drove to the Police Department. I said, ‘Something is happening to me. I need help. I need to see a psychologist,’ ” Romney said. “The culture in a police department is to suck it up and go on to the next call. It’s hard for officers to admit they need help, because there is a stigma. They don’t want to be perceived as a weak link.”

“People expect the uniform to make calls like that bounce off, but they don’t. We’re still human.” Brian Romney

Romney took off his uniform. He never wore it again. It was the end of a 12-year career.
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Code 9 Officer Needs Assistance - The Documentary from Dangerous Curves Productions on Vimeo.

Doesn't Ben Carson Know Killing the VA Means Killing Veterans Too?

There is so much pure bullshit going on with folks wanting veterans to vote for them but none of them have ever thought how they can deserve votes from the veterans community.

While it is reprehensible for the Jiffy John's (Senator John McCain and Rep. John Boehner) to admit they want to end the VA, it is even worse they stopped being ashamed of it.

More than two decades ago, House Speaker John Boehner said, he floated an idea that was controversial: Why not privatize the Department of Veterans Affairs?
The idea was soundly rejected by veterans’ organizations.
Now, in the midst of a sweeping scandal over allegations that government officials falsified reports on how long veterans were waiting for medical treatment, Boehner said yesterday that the idea still has merit.
“I still like the idea, and especially now,” he said.

John McCain stopped being ashamed back in 2008.

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 21 2008 (IPS) - If John McCain is elected the next U.S. president, wounded veterans could be in for a world of hurt.
On the campaign trail, the Republican’s presumptive nominee has talked of a new mission for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and argued that veterans with non-combat medical problems should be given vouchers to receive care at private, for-profit hospitals – in other words, an end to the kind of universal health care the government has guaranteed veterans for generations.
“We need to relieve the burden on the VA from routine health care,” McCain told the National Forum on Disability Issues last month. “If you have a routine health care need, take it wherever you want, whatever doctor or health care provider and get the treatment you need, while we at the VA focus our attention, our care, our love, on these grievous wounds of war.”

Apparently Carson has been following McCain and Boehner's attempt to kill the VA instead of fixing it. Ben Carson suggests doing away with Department of Veterans Affairs. Ben Carson has a simple plan for fixing the Department of Veterans Affairs -- get rid of it.

Instead of the current system that provides treatment for veterans at government-run hospitals, Carson suggested that they should have a health savings account that would pay for treatment at any medical facility.

“I think what’s happening with the veterans is a gift from God to show us what happens when you take layers and layers of bureaucracy and place them between the patients and the health care provider,” the Fox News contributor said Saturday. “And if we can’t get it right, with the relatively small number of veterans, how in the world with are you going to do it with the entire population?”
"We need seriousness here" is what he said but just proved he isn't. If he had a clue he'd know that Congress has jurisdiction over the VA since 1946 when the first House Veterans Affairs Committee was seated.

The Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives was authorized by enactment of Public Law 601, 79th Congress, which was entitled "Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946."

Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
(1) Veterans' measures generally.
(2) Cemeteries of the United States in which veterans of any war or conflict are or may be buried, whether in the United States or abroad, except cemeteries administered by the Secretary of the Interior.
(3) Compensation, vocational rehabilitation, and education of veterans.
(4) Life insurance issued by the Government on account of service in the Armed Forces.
(5) Pensions of all the wars of the United States, general and special.
(6) Readjustment of servicemembers to civil life.
(7) Servicemembers' civil relief.
(8) Veterans' hospitals, medical care, and treatment of veterans.

Either they are evil or inept. After all these years they have not fixed the problems veterans have suffered from for decades. Did they have any ideas how to fix it for real or just ideas on how to come up with money to give to their backers while pretending to? If evil, then that would mean they just didn't care how many veterans had to pay the price between the time they started to kill the VA and when they ended up killing veterans as well!