NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Monday, July 7, 2008

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INCIDENTS

Gateway NRA

USPP Officers Disperse Gang Gathering At Canarsie Pier

Around 8:30 p.m. on June 21st, a large group began to form at Canarsie Pier, similar to a recent staging of gang members from the Bloods and Crips on that pier. Large numbers of people walked in from Rockaway Parkway and the local housing projects, quickly growing to a crowd of approximately 600 and drawing a Park Police response. Lieutenant Greg Norman was IC for the incident. A New York City Police Department (NYPD) task force commander arrived at the pier and advised Norman that they were allegedly gathering for a memorial service for a recently killed gang member. The NYPD special gang unit that monitors gang-related Internet sites and activities had not detected this event. An NYPD Level 1 mobilization was ordered and police units from several boroughs responded to the pier. Six NYPD horse-mounted officers used their horses to break up the unruly crowd. City task force units were deployed onto Rockaway Parkway to monitor the group that had been driven from Canarsie Pier. Approximately 40 NYPD patrol and horse-mounted officers with helmets and batons assisted Park Police in moving the crowd out of the park. All on-duty Park Police officers from the Jamaica Bay Unit and Staten Island Unit responded to safely move the crowd, clear vehicles, and secure the park area. Gang activity in New York City and in nearby national park areas has become more prevalent. Park Police officers in the New York Field Office have become more vigilant in detecting and responding to gang activity. [Major Bruce Cunningham, National Law Enforcement Specialist, WASO]

Yosemite NP

Couple Sentenced For Multi-State Check Fraud Road Trip

Between July 17 and 20, 2006, Texas residents C.H. and L.H. passed 16 personal checks from their joint account totaling over $3,500 at various facilities operated by the park's concessioner, Delaware North Corporation Parks and Resorts at Yosemite (DNC). A few weeks later, DNC notified the park of the bad checks, which had all been returned because the account had been closed by the bank months earlier. Criminal complaints were eventually filed; when C.H. and L.H. did not respond to summonses, arrest warrants were issued in July of 2007 by the U.S. magistrate in Yosemite. C.H. and L.H. were arrested in Texas by U.S. marshals early that fall. The federal court in Texas ordered L.H. detained because of her extensive criminal history, and she was transported by the marshals to Fresno, California, for further court proceedings. C.H. was released after his initial court appearance in Texas with an order to appear before the magistrate in Yosemite. His case was eventually combined with L.H.'s in Fresno. The investigation revealed that the couple had also passed other checks from the same account at Crater Lake, Umpqua National Forest, Craters of the Moon, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and many other businesses in California, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming and Texas. There were 48 fraudulent checks passed totaling over $8,000. In April of 2008, C.H. and L.H. pled guilty in Fresno under the terms of plea agreements to one misdemeanor count each of theft (18 USC 661). On June 27th, L.H. was sentenced to 12 months in prison followed by 12 months supervised release. C.H. was sentenced to 4 months home/electronic confinement followed by 12 months probation. They were also ordered to pay restitution to all the victims. Rangers and special agents in Yosemite, Yellowstone and Grand Teton contributed to the investigation. [Dan Horner, Special Agent]

Mammoth Cave NP

One Killed, Three Injured In Single-Vehicle Accident

Ranger Matt Roland was on patrol on the evening of June 28th when he came upon an accident on the Brownsville Road. D.C., 32, of Jamestown, Tennessee, was driving east when he fell asleep and his vehicle went off the road and hit a tree. He and his brother, B.C., 18, were taken by ambulance to a hospital in Bowling Green. A second passenger, T.C., 19, of Monterey, Tennessee, was trapped in the car and had to be extricated by the Edmonson County Jaws of Life rescue unit. He was flown to Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, where he remains in critical condition. The third passenger, R.H., 41, of Byrdstown, Tennessee, was pronounced dead at the scene. The accident investigation is continuing. Agencies providing assistance included Edmonson County EMS and its Jaws of Life rescue unit, the Chalybeate Volunteer Fire Department, the Edmonson County Sheriff's Office and the Kentucky State Police. Roland is the investigating ranger. [Brad McDougal, Supervisory Park Ranger]

Mount Rainier NP

Injured Climber Rescued From Kautz Glacier

A climber fell approximately 25 feet into a crevasse at around 11,300 feet on the Kautz Glacier while descending Mount Rainier on the afternoon of Tuesday, July 1st. The injured climber, M.B., was rescued from the crevasse by his four teammates. M.B. had injured ribs and visible lacerations to his head and face but was conscious and in stable condition. A doctor who was a member of the team quickly determined that M.B. could not continue the descent without assistance due to his known and potential injuries. Two members of the party climbed down in search of help, leaving the doctor, another teammate, and M.B. at the scene. They found guides from Alpine Ascents International (AAI), a concessioner guide service, camped about a thousand feet below the location of the incident. Several AAI guides responded to the request for assistance and contacted the park. A plan was put in place for two AAI guides to travel to the accident scene that evening to assess the injured climber's condition and bring with them materials for an overnight stay on the mountain. Based on their assessment, David Gottlieb, the IC for the operation, determined that an airlift would be the desired method for evacuation the following morning. Within an hour of takeoff early on Wednesday morning, the crew of a Chinook helicopter from Fort Lewis, Washington, had successfully extracted the injured climber from the glacier. M.B. was transported to Madigan Hospital for further medical evaluation. He was released just a few hours later. [Monica Magari, Project Supervisor, Climbing Division]

Lava Beds NM

Rangers Assist In Aftermath Of Extreme Wind Event

On the evening of the June 28th, four rangers responded to a request for emergency assistance from the nearby Tulelake Police Department. The town was hit by an extreme localized wind event that caused severe damage to buildings and town infrastructure. The strong winds caused trees to fall onto houses and power lines throughout the town. Due to the magnitude of the damage, emergency responders in the town were temporarily overwhelmed. In addition to rangers, law enforcement units responded from the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office, the California Highway Patrol, and the Merrill (Oregon) Police Department. Fire and EMS personnel from the Tulelake Fire Department, Basin Ambulance, Mount Shasta Fire Department and Modoc National Forest also responded. Tulelake is a farming community with a population of about 1,000 located 15 miles north of the monument near the Oregon border. There were no injuries related to the incident. [Garrett Sarcinella, Park Ranger]

OTHER NEWS

Other stories can be read on InsideNPS at one or the other of these two sites:

NPS readers - HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index

Non-NPS readers - HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/

Please note that both publications carry a combined NIFC/NPS fire report. That is generally posted around 8 a.m. Eastern.

Among the stories in today's edition are the following:

Mount Rushmore NP - Independence Day celebrations at the park included the swearing in of 1400 Junior Rangers, the honoring of America's last living World War I veteran, and a fireworks display with more than 10,000 shells and pyrotechnics.

Grand Canyon NP - A mass memorial service in honor of those killed during last week's aero-medical mid-air collision over Flagstaff, Arizona, will be held Tuesday, July 8th, in Flagstaff.

Office of Professional Responsibility - Two selections have been announced for the Office of Professional Responsibility under the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services. Russ Roy has been named its full-time special agent in charge, and Glen Anderson has been brought in as a special agent.

Albright Training Center - The NPS Fundamentals Training Program celebrated another milestone last month when the 2500th student attended the Fundamentals II course at Albright Training Center.

Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs - This week's update on past and upcoming hearings and the status of legislation pertinent to the National Park Service

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Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found at the following web site:

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 support of the Office of the Chief Information Officer and Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov).

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