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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Friday, April 20, 2007 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Badlands NP Ranger Assaulted During Arrest Ranger Vincent Littlewhiteman came upon a Honda parked in front of a cattle gate just east of Chamberlain Pass while on patrol on April 17th. Because the Honda was blocking the gate and because it was parked in an area with a history of fossil poaching activities, Littlewhiteman approached the car to contact the driver, C.T., 24, of Lead, South Dakota. The driver's side window was down and Littlewhiteman smelled a strong odor of marijuana issuing from the Honda. He had C.T. step out of the car and asked him if he had any weapons or narcotics. C.T. said no to the former but offered no answer to the latter. C.T. told Littlewhiteman that he was only a park ranger and that he had no authority; he then lunged at Littlewhiteman, grabbing his shirt pocket in an attempt to retrieve his driver's license inside. Littlewhiteman told him he was under arrest and a struggle ensued. When the ranger drew his taser, C.T. told him to go ahead and use it because he'd been tasered before and that it didn't work on him. When C.T. made a move toward the Honda in what appeared to be an effort to obtain a weapon, Littlewhiteman discharged the taser. C.T. turned around and pulled the taser's barbs from his back, then stumbled and fell to the ground. Littlewhiteman attempted to arrest him, but C.T. resumed fighting. Littlewhiteman then drew out his baton and snapped it open, at which point C.T. submitted to being handcuffed and arrested. During the search incident to arrest, Littlewhiteman recovered about 22 grams of suspected marijuana. C.T. was taken to the county jail. Neither man was injured in the confrontation. C.T. remains in federal custody and felony assault charges are being brought against him by the U.S. Attorney's Office. C.T. is a multi-state offender and has a history of drug arrests. [Mark Gorman, Chief Ranger] Mojave NP Man Injured In Accidental Shooting On April 7th, rangers received a 911 hang-up call from the Hole in the Wall campground, requesting an ambulance. As rangers and EMS personnel were responding, a campground host called and reported that a man had suffered a broken leg and that he was being taken by a private vehicle to meet the ambulance. When contact was made, medics determined that the man - J.M., 22 - had been shot in the leg. Ranger Wayne Dingman followed the ambulance to the hospital. Through interviews with J.M. and his friends, Dingman determined that J.M. had been out hiking, that he'd had a.22 caliber semi-automatic pistol with him, and that he'd been shooting at targets with the gun and other weapons. After returning to his vehicle, J.M. attempted to unload the .22. When a round failed to eject and the slide fell forward, the weapon discharged, hitting J.M. in the leg above his knee. He underwent surgery at the hospital to remove the bullet. J.M., who was scheduled to attend a local police academy in May, was cited for possession of a loaded weapon and illegal target shooting. [Kirk Gebicke, Supervisory Park Ranger] OTHER NEWS The following stories can be read on either the InsideNPS web site (if you are within the National Park Service) or at the InsideNPS public ‘news digest' site (if you are outside of the NPS). The web sites appear below: Padre Island NS - On Wednesday, April 18th, park staff celebrated the life of Marina Giggleman along with more than 250 family members and friends. Director's Office - An update on recent developments in advancing President Bush's National Park Centennial Initiative. Legislative and Congressional Affairs - This week's update on past and upcoming hearings and the status of legislation pertinent to the National Park Service. C&O Canal NHP - Brian Carlstrom has been selected as the park's new chief of the Division of Resources Management. Director's Office - Two job announcements have been posted - one for the chief of policy for the NPS, the other for an associate to the director. To see the above articles, go to InsideNPS ( HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/" http://inside.nps.gov/) or NPS Digest ( HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/). For NPS incident reporting standards, go to HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363 * * * * * Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov, 570-426-2430). --- ### --- |