Revised Morning Report
Today's edition of the Morning
Report has been revised to add the information on heightened security
included under Operational Notes.
INCIDENTS
Grand Teton National Park (WY)
Armed Confrontation
A ranger stopped on Highway 89 on March 2nd to assist a motorist who
apparently slid off the roadway and become stuck in the snow. An open
beer can was seen next to the 23-year-old male driver. The ranger asked
him repeatedly to get out of the car for a field sobriety test. He also
told him to put on his gloves and hat, but the driver declined to do so.
When he finally got out, the ranger asked him if he had any weapons with
him; the driver replied that there was a shotgun behind his seat. The
driver then began to complain about the cold weather. The ranger asked
again if he had any other weapons, simultaneously noting a slight bulge
and heavy hang to the driver's jacket. The driver became increasingly
fidgety and reached up to unzip his jacket. The ranger told him not to
do so several times, then drew his pepper spray. The driver then ran
into the highway, approaching passing vehicles. The ranger dropped his
pepper spray, drew his sidearm, and moved to a cover position while
continuing to command the driver to desist. A second ranger arrived
moments later, and the driver was arrested with only minor resistance. A
loaded Walther P22 was removed from the breast pocket of his coat. It's
believed that he refused to put his gloves on in order to permit better
access to his weapon. Several charges are pending.
[Submitted by
Colin Campbell, Chief Ranger]
Cuyahoga Valley National Park (OH)
Rangers Testify in Homicide Prosecution
On Wednesday, March 5th, rangers Lois Neff and Beverly Haywood
testified at a murder trial in the Summit County court in Akron, Ohio.
The trial had been dubbed "The Ninja Motorcycle Murder" because the
person who committed the murder drove up to the victim's vehicle at a
gas station in the busy Chapel Hill Mall area on a Saturday morning,
and, while seated on a colorful "Ninja style" sport motorcycle, shot the
victim once in the head through the driver's side window before speeding
away. The murder, subsequent investigation and trial achieved local
notoriety and received tremendous media coverage. Defendant
J.Z.'s connection to the murder was unknown to police for over a year
after the incident, but an ex-wife working with police finally helped to
crack the case. The murder was the apparent result of a lover's triangle
among J.Z., the victim, who was a former Israeli paratrooper, and the
wife of a locally prominent restaurateur. The victim had had a ten-year
relationship and had fathered a child with the married woman, the mother
of seven. Neff became involved when J.Z.'s car was found parked near
the Everett Covered Bridge one night several weeks before the murder,
with an empty pistol case lying in the front seat. She contacted J.Z.
as he approached from a wooded area and was told he was waiting to
clandestinely meet his married girlfriend but had no gun with him. Neff
documented the contact. A week later, a mushroom collector found a .32
caliber pistol in the woods near where J.Z. had been and turned it in
to Haywood, who sent it to the state lab for latent print processing.
Prosecutors argued that J.Z. and the girlfriend had attempted to lure
the victim to the park and that the "hit" had originally been planned to
take place the night that Neff contacted J.Z. During the trial,
prosecutors relied heavily on cell phone records showing
minute-by-minute contact between J.Z. and his girlfriend around the
time he was contacted in the park and later at the time of the shooting.
On Tuesday, March 11th, a jury found J.Z. guilty of aggravated
murder. He faces life in prison and will be sentenced this week. The
girlfriend's criminal involvement in the incident, if any, is currently
under investigation by local authorities.
[Submitted by Dale Silvis,
South District Ranger]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
National Interagency Fire Center
NIFC Situation Report - Sunday, March 16, 2003
Preparedness Level 2
A total of 74 new fires were reported to NIFC from Friday through Sunday. Three new large fires were reported in Oklahoma, two of which were contained. Very high fire indices were reported in Arizona.
Resource commitments to the Columbia Response and Newcastle Incidents remain the same as previously reported.
National Resource Commitments
| Day |
3/5 |
3/9 |
3/10 |
3/11 |
3/12 |
3/13 |
3/16 |
| Crews |
149 |
160 |
173 |
139 |
181 |
181 |
161 |
| Engines |
6 |
2 |
13 |
22 |
50 |
52 |
9 |
| Helicopters |
36 |
36 |
1 |
5 |
5 |
8 |
1 |
| Air Tankers |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Overhead |
2,438 |
2,601 |
2,758 |
2,620 |
2,747 |
2,728 |
2,605 |
National Team Commitments
| State |
Type Team |
Team IC |
Incident/Fire |
Acres |
Percent Contain |
Est Full Contain |
| TX |
T1 |
Lohrey |
Columbia Response |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
| TX |
T1 |
Oltrogge |
" |
" |
" |
" |
| TX |
T1 |
McCombs |
" |
" |
" |
" |
| TX |
T1 |
Ferguson |
" |
" |
" |
" |
| TX |
T2 |
Hildreth |
" |
" |
" |
" |
| NV |
T1 |
Corley |
Newcastle Incident |
" |
" |
" |
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Servicewide News
Threat Level Raised to Orange
Last night, the national threat level was raised from "Elevated" to "High" (Level Orange). Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge issued the following statement:
" The Department of Homeland Security in consultation with the Homeland Security Council, has made the decision to raise the national threat level from an Elevated to High risk of terrorist attack or Level Orange. The Intelligence Community believes that terrorists will attempt multiple attacks against U.S. and Coalition targets worldwide in the event of a U.S led military campaign against Saddam Hussein. A large volume of reporting across a range of sources, some of which are highly reliable, indicates that Al-Qaida probably would attempt to launch terrorist attacks against U.S. interests claiming they were defending Muslims or the Iraqi people rather than Saddam Hussein's regime.
"While the March 1 arrest of senior Al Qaida operative, Khalid Shaykh Muhammad (KSM) has put the Al-Qaida senior leadership on the defensive and will be debilitating in the long term -- the Intelligence Community believes that KSMs capture will not necessarily affect operations that are ready or nearly ready for execution. There are many recent indications that Al-Qaidas planning includes the use of chemical, biological, and/or radiological materials.
"Intelligence reporting also indicates that while Al-Qaida and those sympathetic to their cause are a principal threat, Iraqi state agents, Iraqi surrogate groups, other regional extremist organizations, and ad hoc groups or disgruntled individuals not connected to existing organizations or state agencies, may use this time period to conduct terrorist attacks against the U.S., or our interests abroad.
"In recent months, there have been reports of suspicious activity in and around military facilities, ports, waterways, general infrastructure (bridges, dams, power generating facilities), and targets that are considered symbolic to U.S. power and influence. The discovery of ricin production in London raises the concern of the Intelligence Community that extremists are planning to follow through on longstanding threats of poison plots against U.S, British and Israeli interests and possibly other targets in Europe.
"The Department of Homeland Security, in conjunction with numerous departments of the federal government has begun implementing increased protective measures under a comprehensive national plan to protect the Homeland: Operation Liberty Shield.
Operation Liberty Shield will increase security at our borders, strengthen transportation sector protections, enhance security at our critical infrastructure, increase public health preparedness and make sure all federal response assets can be deployed quickly.
"Tonight, I have spoken to the nations Governors and asked them to deploy the National Guard or additional police forces to improve security at critical locations throughout their states. Other state, local and private sector leaders are also being contacted to engage their support to increase the nations security.
"These heightened security measures will help deter terrorism and increase protection of America and Americans. In the meantime, as on the other occasions when the national threat level has been increased, we encourage members of the public to continue their daily work, family and leisure activities with a heightened awareness."
For details on Operation Liberty Shield, click on "More Information" below.
More Information...
Director/Deputy Directors
Memo Issued on LE Ranger Field Training and Evaluation Program
On March 4th, Deputy Director Murphy issued a memorandum to regional directors entitled "Law Enforcement Park Ranger Field Training and Evaluation Program (FTEP)." The full text follows:
The recruitment, development, and retention of highly trained law enforcement professionals is a fundamental goal of the National Park Service (NPS). To this end, the Service will enhance it's law enforcement program by developing and maintaining a Field Training and Evaluation Program (FTEP) to support the mission of the NPS.
This program will be a continuation of the basic law enforcement training received at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC). It will serve as a means to determine whether or not commissioned employees will be able to apply the basic skills and knowledge acquired at FLETC to actual field situations. The standards of proficiency established in the FTEP are meant to ensure that each commissioned employee completing the training will have received the necessary instruction and guidance under field conditions to meet the basic competencies of the protection ranger profession. As of October 1, 2003, successful completion of the FTEP shall be a mandatory requirement for those employees graduating from the National Park Ranger Integrated Training Program.
Oversight of the FTEP will be delegated to the Associate Director for Resource and Visitor Protection (AD-RVP). The Superintendent, FLETC will be responsible for administering the program. The parameters of training and evaluation will be determined by the Superintendent, FLETC. These parameters shall be carefully scrutinized on a continuous basis to ensure that they are up to date and provide for standardization in both training and evaluation. For the program to be successful, it is essential that each region assists and cooperates with the AD-RVP in the implementation phase. It is my expectation that each region will provide training sites, personnel and other support as requested.
The administration of the NPS is now committed to the tenets of this program, and gives full support to the FTEP concepts, which is absolutely necessary for the successful achievement of the Service's resource and visitor protection mission.
Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found on the left side of the front page of InsideNPS. All reports should be submitted via email to Bill Halainen at Delaware Water Gap NRA, with a copy to your regional office and a copy to Dennis Burnett in Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO.
Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.