Sunday, April 27, 2008

Riot squad cop commits suicide in Narita Airport toilet

NARITA -- A Chiba Prefectural Police officer fatally shot himself with his service revolver in a toilet at Narita Airport, police said.

Nobuyuki Matsui, a 25-year-old riot squad police officer stationed at Narita, was found dead by an assistant police inspector just before 1 p.m. Friday after he had shot himself in the head.

Matsui did not leave a suicide note.

Police are continuing to investigate the details behind the policeman's death.

拳銃自殺:成田空港巡査がトイレで死亡

 25日午後0時55分ごろ、成田国際空港内の警備拠点、十余三(とよみ)事務所のトイレで、千葉県警成田国際空港警備隊第5空港機動隊の松井伸幸巡査(25)が拳銃で頭を撃って死亡しているのを上司の男性警部補(33)が発見した。県警監察官室と成田空港署は、松井巡査が自殺を図ったとみて調べている。遺書は見つかっていない。

 調べでは、松井巡査は同日午前8時半に普段通り出勤し、勤務していた。午後0時47分ごろ、上司に「トイレに行く」と言い残し、事務所に隣接するトイレに向かった。5分以上たっても戻らないため上司が見に行くと、個室内で、貸与された拳銃で右こめかみを撃って倒れていた。弾倉には全5発のうち4発が残っていた。

 松井巡査は今月1日付で栃木県警から出向し、同隊に配属された。最近の勤務態度に異状はなかったという。同警備隊の岡田英男隊長は「残念であり誠に遺憾。今後このようなことのないように努めたい」とコメントした。【寺田剛、駒木智一】

Mainichi Newspaper

April 26, 2008

Cop faces charges for letting off teen bully to cover up own misdeeds

ODAWARA, Kanagawa -- A police officer faces charges for failing to arrest a teenager he knew had bullied another kid into giving him a game console because the officer did not want it known that he sold the toy on, police said.

Police said documents accusing the 29-year-old policeman with harboring a criminal would be sent to the Yokohama District Public Prosecutors Office.

The police officer admits to the allegations.

"I didn't want anybody to know what I'd done, so I kept it quiet. The bully told me he had no money and I figured he might do something worse to get cash, so I sold the game console for him," the officer said.

Police said that while serving in a police box in February last year, a now 16-year-old boy the officer had known for some time brought a video game console and games to the officer, who sold the equipment to a secondhand outlet. About three hours later, somebody filed a complaint at the police box that a bully had forcibly taken a video game console and software from them.

The officer realized what had happened and asked the first youth if he was responsible. Despite admitting that he was, the officer did not arrest him. Instead, he went to the secondhand store and bought back the game with his own money, but never returned the console to the original owner.

The incident was exposed after the first youth was arrested in a separate case in November last year, and during the course of investigation told police about what the officer had done.

犯人隠避:神奈川・小田原署の巡査を送検

 恐喝行為を認めた顔見知りの無職少年(16)を逮捕しなかったとして、神奈川県警は25日、小田原署地域課の男性巡査(29)を犯人隠避容疑などで横浜地検へ書類送検した。巡査は、少年が脅し取った携帯ゲーム機とは知らない段階で、少年から頼まれて勤務中に中古店へ売却しており、「後ろめたくて誰にも言えなかった。『お金がない』と言うので、別の悪さをすると思い売ってしまった」と供述しているという。

 県警監察官室の調べでは、巡査は相模原南署の交番勤務だった07年2月、当時中学3年の少年が持ち込んだゲーム機とソフト1本を交番近くの中古店で売却。ところが約3時間後、交番に「ゲーム機を脅し取られた」との届け出があり、少年を問いただしたところ、恐喝を認めたという。

 ところが、巡査は発覚を恐れ、自費でゲーム機を買い戻したものの、被害者には返却しなかった。少年は同11月に別件で逮捕され、以前の恐喝について供述し、発覚した。【池田知広】

Mainichi Newspaper

April 26, 2008

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Police officer with Imperial Guard Headquarters faces theft charges

ABIKO, Chiba -- A police officer belonging to the Imperial Guard Headquarters faces charges for stealing money left at an automatic teller machine (ATM) here, it emerged Thursday.

Local police have sent an investigation report to prosecutors, accusing the 49-year-old sergeant of theft. He resigned at the end of last month after being slapped with a 10 percent wage cut over a six-month period on disciplinary grounds. His name was not immediately disclosed.

In early October, the sergeant stole tens of thousands of yen left at a bank ATM in Abiko, local police said.

皇宮警察警官:ATMの置き忘れ現金持ち去る…書類送検

 銀行の現金自動受払機(ATM)に置き忘れてあった現金を持ち去ったとして、千葉県警我孫子署が3月下旬、皇宮警察本部の男性巡査部長(49)を窃盗容疑で千葉地検松戸支部へ書類送検していたことが24日、分かった。

 調べでは、巡査部長は昨年10月上旬、同県我孫子市内の銀行のATMで、前の利用者が置き忘れた現金数万円を持ち去った疑い。銀行から被害届を受けた同署が、防犯カメラの映像をもとに巡査部長を割り出した。

 皇宮警察本部は巡査部長を減給6カ月(10分の1)の懲戒処分とし、巡査部長は今年3月末に依願退職した。

 同本部警務課は「このようなことがないよう再発防止を徹底したい」と話している。

【寺田剛】

Mainichi Newspaper

April 24th, 2008

Man detained at police station sets fire to futon

GIFU -- A man being detained at a police station here used a lighter he had been hiding to set fire to tissue paper last month, partially burning a futon, prefectural police said.

Local police have recently sent an investigation report to prosecutors, accusing him of damaging property. He had been detained at the detention facility of Gifu Minami Police Station after he was repeatedly arrested for theft and traffic violations.

The inspection division of Gifu Prefectural Police is poised to take steps to prevent a recurrence. "What shouldn't have happened has happened. We'll improve our body checks on detainees in an effort to prevent a recurrence," an official said.

At around 10:15 p.m. on March 1, the 44-year-old man used a cigarette lighter he was hiding to set fire to tissue paper in his detention cell, investigators said. The fire spread to a futon, partially burning it.

In-house regulations ban detainees from bringing cigarette lighters into detention facilities in the prefecture. He was subsequently transferred to Gifu Detention Center.

ボヤ騒ぎ:拘置の男ライター持ち込み 岐阜南署の留置場

 窃盗などの罪で起訴された後、岐阜県警岐阜南署の留置場で拘置されていた男(44)が、留置場にライターを持ち込み、ボヤ騒ぎを起こしていたことが23日分かった。

 県警監察課によると、男は昨年7月から、窃盗や道交法違反の容疑などで何度も逮捕され、起訴後も同署の留置場に拘置されていた。男は3月1日午後10時15分ごろ、ひそかに留置場の独房に持ち込んだライターでティシュペーパーに火をつけ、敷布団の一部を焦がした。男は同5日に岐阜拘置所に移送された。同課などは今月14日、器物損壊容疑で男を岐阜地検に書類送検した。

 留置場へのライターの持ち込みは、同県が定めた留置に関する訓令に違反している。同課は入手経路を調べるとともに「あってはならないことが起こった。今後は容疑者の身体検査を徹底するなどして再発防止に努めたい」と説明している。【山田尚弘】

Mainichi Newspaper

April 24, 2008

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

BRIEFLY: Junior high girls abuse officers

04/15/2008
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

KASUKABE, Saitama Prefecture--Three 14-year-old girls were arrested here after they allegedly assaulted a pair of police officers who had admonished them for riding double on their bicycles.

The melee erupted when a police sergeant, 44, stopped two junior high school girls on a bike around 5:10 p.m. Saturday. One of the girls shoved the officer and said, "The cops can't do anything." Her friend then kicked him in the leg, police said.

A second officer was preparing to take the juveniles to a police station when another pair of girls, also riding double, rode up. One of the new arrivals cursed the policeman and spit in his face. The alleged assailant was also arrested.(IHT/Asahi: April 15,2008)

Cops failed to report missing girl's emergency call

Yamanashi Prefectural Police officials who received an emergency call from missing Tokyo teen Kanako Ishida failed to report the plea to their superiors even though they suspected something amiss, police said.

Metropolitan Police Department officials became aware on April 6 that 19-year-old Ishida was in trouble and had called the police emergency number, but had been unable to confirm whether she was in Yamanashi Prefecture at the time she begged for help.

"We thought there may have been some other response we could have taken," a Yamanashi Prefectural Police force official sad.

A top-ranking Yamanashi Prefectural Police official has slammed the handling of the case.

"From the second they learned her name, the operators should have reported the incident to their superiors," the officer said on condition of anonymity.

Yamanashi Prefectural Police officials said Ishida called the emergency line at about midday on April 6, the last day when any sign of her has been confirmed. Her phone call involved only heavy breathing and was cut off after about 20 seconds.

On several occasions, officials at the police emergency control center called back to the phone she used to make the call, finally getting through after several minutes. An operator asked Ishida where she was, but the teen was in a state of extreme agitation and did not specify what trouble she was facing.

The emergency control center has a staff of four. Up until the morning of April 7, officials made several dozen calls to Ishida's mobile phone, but were unable to connect to it. The officials could not make out the details of the case and had no idea which department should handle it, so did not report it to their superiors. All four officials went off duty at 8:30 a.m. on April 7.

Ishida called her mother shortly after noon on April 6, begging for help, so her father called the police in Tokyo.

Investigators obtained Ishida's mobile phone records and determined she had made the call from within Yamanashi Prefecture. On the afternoon of April 7, the MPD contacted Yamanashi Prefectural Police, alerting them to the case for the first time.

Unemployed Tokyo man Naoki Shiono, 26, has been arrested for the illegal confinement of Ishida, who he met through an online matchmaking site. Shiono was the last person confirmed to have met Ishida and he is suspected of knowing something that may lead to her whereabouts.

女性監禁:110番上司に報告せず 山梨県警通信指令室

東京都江戸川区の石田佳奈子さん(19)が男に監禁され行方不明になっている事件で、石田さんが今月6日に携帯電話で110番したものの、通報を受けた山梨県警通信指令室の担当者が不審に思いながら上司へ報告していなかったことが15日、分かった。警視庁は6日に事件を認知したが、石田さんが同県内にいることをすぐに把握できなかったとみられ、県警地域課は「別の対応があったかもしれない」として検証する考えを示した。 

 同課によると、石田さんからの通報は6日正午ごろ。「はあ、はあ」という息づかいが聞こえ、約20秒で切れた。指令室が数回かけ直して十数分後につながり、現在地などを尋ねたが、石田さんは非常に興奮した状態で、名前は聞き取れたものの、助けを求める具体的な言葉はなかったという。

 指令室には4人おり、翌日午前7時ごろまでの間に数十回、石田さんの携帯電話へかけたが、つながらなかった。4人は「事案の概要がつかめず、担当課がどこになるか分からなかった」との理由で上司に報告せず、同8時半に交代した。

 石田さんは6日正午すぎ、母親に携帯電話で「助けて」などと連絡したため、父親が警視庁小松川署へ通報。同庁は石田さんの携帯電話の通話履歴を照会して、山梨県内から110番していたことを確認した。県警は7日午後、警視庁から連絡を受けて初めて事態を把握したといい、ある県警幹部は「名前が聞き取れた段階で上に報告すべきだった」と不手際を認めている。【藤野基文、曹美河】

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Cops collar knife-wielding teen planning random murder

TOKONAME, Aichi -- A teenager who went outside armed with a knife, telling an acquaintance he was going to kill someone at random, was arrested after police found him with the weapon at a train station, law enforcers said.

The 19-year-old, whose name has been withheld because he is a minor, was arrested on suspicion of violating the Firearms and Swords Control Law.

"I hate old people and I was feeling irritated, so I left home thinking I was going to kill someone. I brought the knife from home," police quoted the teen as saying.

Police said a man contacted Tokoname Police Station at about 2:10 p.m. on Wednesday, telling them an acquaintance had gone out of the house with a knife saying he was going to kill someone at random.

Law enforcers dispatched a search team of 50, and officers found a man matching the description of the suspect on a platform at Nishinokuchi Station on the Meitetsu Tokoname Line. When they questioned him, they found a knife in his jacket with an 18-centimeter blade, and immediately arrested him.

After receiving the report from the acquaintance, police ordered an elementary and junior high school in the area to shut their gates, and dispatched police officers to keep watch. They also dispatched several police cars and warned residents to be on the alert.

銃刀法違反:「人殺す」と包丁持参、少年逮捕 愛知・常滑

 9日午後2時10分ごろ、男性の声で「(知人が)誰でもいいから殺すと、包丁を持って家を出ていった」と愛知県警常滑署に通報があった。同署が緊急配備し、50人態勢で周辺を捜索した結果、約30分後に同県常滑市住吉町4の名鉄常滑線西之口駅ホームで通報内容に似た服装の男を発見した。職務質問したところ、ジャンパーの内ポケットに刃渡り約18センチの包丁を持っていたため、銃刀法違反容疑で現行犯逮捕した。

 調べでは、逮捕されたのは常滑市内の無職の少年(19)で、警察官が「包丁を捨てろ」と言うと抵抗せず素直に応じた。取り調べに対し「年寄りが嫌いで、むしゃくしゃしたので殺したいと思って家を出た。包丁は家から持ってきた」などと供述しているという。

 常滑署は通報を受けた後、近くの小中学校に連絡して校門を閉めさせ、警察官を配備した。さらに付近一帯をパトカーで巡回し、住民に注意を呼び掛けた。【飯田和樹】

Mainichi Newspaper

April 10, 2008

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Briefly: police told to disclose informants

04/01/2008
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

SENDAI--The district court here Monday ordered police to disclose names and information related to funds earmarked for rewarding informants in fiscal 1999.

Presiding Judge Yoshiko Hatanaka ruled that most of the expenditures were fictional.

It is the first time a court has ordered disclosure of names of informants.

A citizen ombudsman's group filed the lawsuit on grounds that police have not said how the funds were used.

In June 2005, then Miyagi Governor Shiro Asano clashed with the prefectural police and suspended the budget for rewarding informants, contending that it could not confirm whether the police used the funds appropriately.(IHT/Asahi: April 1,2008)