Police officer 'dragged into the woods to be killed by three men' saved when his K-9 chases after him and sends the attackers running

A police officer who was dragged into the woods by three attackers was saved thanks to his trusty dog.

Deputy Todd Frazier of Long Beach, Mississippi, a K-9 officer, pulled over last Monday night to check on a car when he noticed that the man in the front seat appeared to be passed out and the lights were off.

That is when two men appeared nearby and distracted him as the driver got out and ambushed him. All three men dragged Frazier into the nearby woods.

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Attacked: Deputy Todd Frazier (above) of Long Beach, Mississippi, pulled over last Monday night to check on a car with the driver passed out in the front seat and was suddenly dragged off into the woods to be killed

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Saved: He was able to unlock the backdoor of his squad car from his keychain and release his K-9 Lucas (above), who bit at least one man and scared them off

'They told him they were going to slit his throat, and they were dragging him toward the woods,' Chief Deputy Don Bass said according to The Clarion-Ledger.

He said the men then planned on dumping the body after killing him.

When asked if the incident might have something to do with recent gangs stating they would attack any police officers they encountered on sight, Bass said: 'At this point in time I don't care.'

Regardless of their motivation, the men were quickly foiled when Frazier managed to unlock the back doors of his squad car using a pop mechanism that he activated on his key chain.

That sent Lucas, Frazier's police dog, running after his owner and the men.

The dog bit at least one of the attackers before they ran off, jumping into the Town Car Frazier first stopped to inspect and speeding away from the scene.

Frazier suffered a two-and-a-half-inch cut to his forehead from what a doctor believes was a box cutter and multiple other bodily injuries. 

He was taken to a local hospital and released.

Via: Daily Mail UK

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California Sen. Ronald S. Calderon, brother charged in FBI probe

State Sen. Ronald S. Calderon (D-Montebello) faces charges of bribery, fraud, money laundering and related offenses.(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press / January 6, 2014)

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• But the appointment at the Bellagio hotel took an immediate unexpected turn for the Southern California lawmaker, according to court records. The businessmen Calderon expected to meet were actually FBI agents with an unsettling message: He was under investigation for public corruption, and he could either cooperate with authorities or face the consequences.

Calderon (D-Montebello) initially agreed to wear a wire in an effort to implicate other politicians, authorities said. That arrangement eventually fell apart, and on Friday prosecutors announced a sweeping indictment against Calderon charging him with bribery, fraud, money laundering and related offenses. Calderon's brother, Thomas, a former member of the California Assembly, is also charged with money laundering.

The charges stem from a scheme in which Ronald Calderon allegedly solicited and accepted nearly $100,000 in cash bribes, as well as gourmet meals and golf outings, in exchange for his influence as a lawmaker. His actions, prosecutors say, helped facilitate a half-billion-dollar healthcare fraud — one of the largest such scams in the state's history.

The mastermind of the healthcare fraud was Michael Drobot, who had owned Pacific Hospital in Long Beach. Drobot has admitted to bribing Calderon to use his influence to keep a state law on the books that allowed Drobot to pass on inflated expenses from spinal surgeries to workers' compensation insurers. The surgeries were performed on patients referred by doctors and chiropractors who were paid illegal kickbacks financed by the inflated billings, authorities allege.

Via: LA Times

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California: Long Beach says it has achieved total pension reform

The city of Long Beach is announcing that it has achieved pension changes for all city employees after reaching a tentative agreement that asks four of the city’s bargaining units to increase the amount employees pay into their retirements.

The contracts represent the final piece of nearly three years of negotiations with nine unions that sought to lower pension costs as the city struggled financially.

Since 2007, the city has eliminated 786 positions and slashed $134 million from its general fund.

“Long Beach has become a smaller, more nimble organization…but we needed to address an issue of inequality in the city organization and compensate our remaining employees fairly,” Mayor Bob Foster said in a press release Monday.

Aside from the few dozen employees who received a raise in 2009, most of the 800 workers covered by the new contracts had not received raises since 2008. Foster said the new contracts help bring the employees’ pension contributions and salaries in line with other workers.

Employees covered under the new contracts will now contribute 8% of their salary into CalPERS, an increase from the 2% they previously paid. As part of the deal, they will also receive a 5% raise this month, followed by a 4% increase next year.

After more than a decade of painful cuts, city officials said they expect a healthier economy and improving budget situation to offset some of the resulting costs. Long Beach recently projected a surplus of $3.5 million for the 2014 fiscal year, its first in 10 years.

The contracts cover about 14% of the city’s workforce, including engineers, lifeguards, management, and confidential employees who assist in contract negotiations between the city and other employees.

The city struck pension deals with the city’s police and firefighters in 2011, and approved new contracts with the city’s largest union, the International Assn. of Machinists, in January.

In those deals, the retirement age and formula to calculate pension payouts for most existing employees remain unchanged – most continue to receive 2.5% of their salary as pension for each year on the job and are eligible to retire at 55.

However, new employees will receive 2% for each year, and would have to wait until age 62 to retire.

All together, the city expects its new contracts to save them $250 million across all funds, and $130 million in the general fund, over 10 years.

Via: Los Angeles Times

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