Stupid people of the week

Driver accused of attempting to mow down cop during street takeover strolls free hours later on $3K bond

Gotta love where intentionally running over a cop gets a $3,000 bond. Thanks to people like Renee Good, cops will be extra hesitant now to shoot such a person threatening their lives. Cops would rather just die than defend themselves.

A North Carolina woman accused of striking a police officer with her car during a street takeover was released on $3,000 bond just hours after her arrest, a decision law enforcement leaders say sends a troubling message.

Tanaezah Michelle Austin, 25, faces a felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon on a government official in the early Sunday morning incident in northwest Charlotte.

According to an arrest affidavit, officers responded around 3:25 a.m. to reports of vehicles doing donuts in a commercial parking lot. When officers attempted to break up what police described as a street takeover, one officer approached a black Kia Optima that was attempting to leave.

The affidavit states the driver initially stopped as the officer walked in front of the vehicle. But as he moved toward the driver’s side, the driver “began to accelerate rapidly” and struck him, causing him to roll over the hood.

Police say the officer was in full uniform and giving verbal commands to stop before he was hit and was standing directly in front of the vehicle where he “could be clearly seen by the driver.”

The officer was transported to a hospital and treated for minor injuries.

Viral posts show the altercation, with some asking, “What is happening in Charlotte?”

Court records show Austin was arrested March 2 and released later that day after posting a $3,000 secured bond. A probable cause hearing is scheduled for March 24.

The bond amount has sparked outrage among law enforcement leaders.

“These are among the worst of the worst incidents that we have to deal with in Charlotte,” said Dan Redford, president of the Charlotte Fraternal Order of Police. “To see a $3,000 bond for an offender, regardless of whether she has a criminal history or not, when the intent to flee was clearly there, is pathetic.”

Redford said the suspect fled and was later located by officers. He added that decisions like this can lower officer morale.

“It’s very frustrating,” Redford said. “There are laws on the books that are supposed to protect law enforcement officers from these heinous attacks. When officers see this treated like just another incident, it makes them question whether they’re truly supported, especially by members of the criminal justice system.”

Randy Sutton, a retired police lieutenant and founder of The Wounded Blue, an organization that advocates for injured law enforcement officers, said the bond decision reflects broader systemic concerns.

“When I hear about someone being released on a $3,000 bond for running over a police officer on video, it boggles my mind,” Sutton said. “In reality, that means she may have only had to put up about $300. She ran over a cop, and she walked out.”

Sutton described street takeovers as “mob situations” that can quickly turn deadly.

“This wasn’t an accident,” he said. “She saw him, he was communicating with her and then she just gunned the car toward him. This could have been a fatal encounter.”

He added that using a vehicle to strike an officer constitutes deadly force.

“If you try to run over a police officer, they have every justification to use deadly force to protect themselves,” Sutton said.

U.S. Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C., also criticized the bond decision.

“Running over a police officer is of the highest level of evil,” Harris said in a statement. “It’s also a complete slap in the face for our brave law enforcement to see these kinds of criminals allowed right back on the streets. When is Charlotte going to end the crime cycle? When are magistrates going to keep bad guys behind bars? Enough is enough!”

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley also weighed in, blaming what he described as soft-on-crime policies in Charlotte and across the state.

Whatley said those policies threaten law enforcement officers and public safety, arguing that criminals belong behind bars and pledging to continue backing law enforcement.

The Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office declined to comment on the case, citing North Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct that prohibit prosecutors from making out-of-court statements on pending cases.

Court records show Austin previously faced misdemeanor marijuana and paraphernalia charges in 2025. Those charges were later dismissed.

Source; Fox News

School Files Police Report After Sex Offender Running For City Council Holds Presser Mere Feet Away

An elementary school in California filed a police report after City Council candidate and registered sex offender Rene Campos held a Feb. 27 press conference mere feet away from the school.

Campos held the press conference at St. John’s Cathedral in Fresno, which is across the street from Big Picture Educational Academy, a K-8 public charter school, according to The Fresno Bee. Campos, 41, served two years of formal probation after he was accused of possessing child sexual abuse material and pleaded no contest to the 2018 misdemeanor charge, the Fresno Bee reported.

At the press conference, Campos told reporters that his proximity to the school would only violate the law during school hours.

“I would say, during operational hours, absolutely,” Campos said. “I believe they are closed right now. I don’t see anyone.”

Campos told reporters to meet him at the press conference at 3:30 p.m., while he arrived at 3:45 p.m., The Fresno Bee reported. The school is open Monday to Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., according to its Facebook page.

The school’s Executive Director Stephanie Hilton and its Superintendent Diana Gonzalez issued a joint statement reacting to Campos’ press conference, saying the school was “fully operational” at the time of the event.

“Our school was fully operational, with students visibly entering and exiting the building. To hold a campaign event under these circumstances was deeply troubling.”

“The legal restrictions that may be placed on registered sex offenders–particularly those in proximity to schools–exist for one reason: to protect children. Those legal restrictions are not suggestions. They are not obstacles to be rationalized away with political messaging or reframed as symbols of forgiveness,” their joint statement read in part.

Hilton and Gonzalez also reiterated that the school was not associated with the event, and Campos was neither invited nor welcomed.

Campos said he chose the church as the location for the press conference because it represents rehabilitation and forgiveness, according to the Fresno Bee. Allegedly, neither the Diocese of Fresno nor St. John’s Cathedral obtained prior notice about the press conference, and they accused Campos of using both the church and the nearby charter school as “props in his theater of politics,” according to a statement cited by the outlet.

Campos, who launched a bid to represent California’s District 7, previously told ABC30 his campaign is focused on safety.

“I know what it means to face consequences,” he previously told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“I also know what it takes to rebuild. When a 15-year-old believes his life is over because of a mistake, that is more than a headline — it’s a test of whether our system balances accountability with prevention and long-term safety,” Campos said.

“Protecting children means enforcing consequences, reducing repeat harm, and building policies that prevent more damage in the first place. Public safety must be about outcomes, not outrage,” he said.

Campos organized the press conference in response to other councilmembers’ plan to block him from serving on the council, according to The Fresno Bee.

Source; Daily Caller

Bodycam video shows Springfield Township officer thrown from semi during violent confrontation; suspect later shot in Akron

Newly released body camera video shows the moment a Springfield Township police officer was thrown from a semi-truck while trying to stop a man who authorities say later rammed cruisers and was shot by police in Akron.

Springfield Township Police Chief Jack Simone said the incident began around 6 p.m. Saturday at an IHOP on South Arlington Road, where Jeffrey Latson, driving a white semi cab without a trailer, was allegedly arguing with a waitress he was in a relationship with. A customer called 911 to report a man “screaming and yelling profanities” inside the restaurant.

Simone said Latson had driven from Tennessee after receiving a phone call from the employee and that the argument continued inside the business.

When officers arrived, Latson got into the semi and drove behind a nearby Walmart, authorities said. An officer working security blocked the truck, concerned about Latson’s behavior and not wanting the semi back on the road.

Police said Latson refused commands to turn off the vehicle and get out. Two officers stepped onto the truck’s running boards in an attempt to remove him. Investigators say Latson then put the truck in drive.

Body camera footage captures officers shouting, “Stop the truck,” and “You’re going to get shot,” before one officer jumps off safely and another is thrown to the ground. The injured officer suffered two broken bones in his leg.

“It’s infuriating to see the disregard for our police officers,” Simone told 3News.

Officers pursued the semi onto Interstate 77 but ended the chase in Akron due to safety concerns for other drivers, Simone said.

Akron police later located the truck in a parking lot on East Market Street. Authorities say Latson rammed multiple police cruisers and several civilian vehicles. Two Akron officers then fired their weapons, striking Latson. The Summit County Sheriff’s Office, which also assisted with the pursuit, said one of its deputies also fired his weapon.

Latson was taken to a hospital with injuries believed to be non-life-threatening.

“This incident is a reminder of the dangers that these officers face every day out there in the field,” Simone said.

Latson faces several charges in Springfield Township, including aggravated menacing and assault on a law enforcement officer.

Source; WKYC

New Boston woman charged with wire fraud and money laundering in child modeling fraud case

New Boston woman charged with wire fraud and money laundering in child modeling fraud case.

By the numbers:
Chanice Marie Coyne, 46, was in court on Thursday under accusations of scamming a family out of $4.6 million in a child modeling scheme. In a federal indictment, there was a partial list of wire transfers ranging from $40,000 to $160,000.

Coyne said in court that the money was for advance fees associated with modeling events across the country for the victims’ young daughter. But authorities say the girl never participated in a single modeling event.

The $4.6 million was obtained fraudulently, according to the indictment, and was largely used by Coyne for her own benefit, including significant expenditures by her for online gambling activity. Coyne now faces seven counts of wire fraud. She also faces five counts of money laundering.

“For each count, it’s up to a potential of 20 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $250 thousand dollars of twice the gross financial gain or loss.”

The backstory:
Coyne is a photographer by trade, as she was the subject of a FOX 2 story in 2024 when she allegedly took a family’s money and backed out of a Christmas photo shoot claiming Santa Claus had Mpox But as it turned out, Santa was perfectly fine.

That money was refunded by Coyne after FOX 2 contacted her.

Source; Fox 2 Detroit

Category: Crime, Police, Stupid Criminals