CHICAGO - An off-duty Chicago police officer dressed up as a clown for a South Side fundraiser shot and killed a teen who held him at gunpoint tonight after the event, authorities said. The officer, who is assigned to the Near North police district, was in his clown outfit for a fundraiser for a day-care business. The event, attended by a ...

Note to Readers: Readers should be aware that Elizabeth Smart’s testimony contains graphic depictions of sexual abuse. Elizabeth Smart on Monday gave an unflinching account of herself as a 14-year-old girl who, after being kidnapped and raped, quickly arrived at a decision that ensured her survival. Now 23, Elizabeth testified that within hours of being abducted from her bed on June ...

SACRAMENTO - In what police say is an extremely rare and disturbing case, a Sacramento woman was arrested this morning for allegedly killing her 6-week-old daughter in March by placing her in a microwave oven. Ka Yang, 29, was arrested at her Sacramento home this morning and charged with homicide after a three-month investigation into what caused unusual burns on the ...

A police officer in Independence, Mo., who thought he was killing an alligator on the loose, discovered he had shot a life-size concrete lawn ornament. The police department ended up apologizing to Rick Sheridan, the cement gator's owner, WDAF-TV, Kansas City, reported. Sheridan said he heard gunfire as he worked in his garage last weekend and went out to investigate, discovering ...

PHOENIX — After nearly three weeks on the run, an escaped state prison inmate and his fiancee who were targets of an intense nationwide manhunt were captured Thursday at an Arizona campground after an alert forest ranger spotted the suspicious couple, along with their stolen vehicle hidden in the trees. John McCluskey, 45, and Casslyn Welch, 44, who also is the ...

YUKON, OK — A retired Yukon firefighter was shot and killed by a Piedmont police officer after forcing his way into the officer's home in Yukon. Police say 47-year-old Devin Nemecek was killed Tuesday by officer Jack Neumann Yukon police spokeswoman Klare Ly said Neumann returned home to find Nemecek banging on a door. Ly said Nemecek forced his way into ...

FAIRFAX, VA - A woman was slashed and cut in a Fairfax County shopping mall Monday evening in what may be the latest of a series of similar incidents, Fairfax County police said. The woman, whose wound was not considered life-threatening, was cut about 5:30 p.m. in a store that caters to young women in the Fair Oaks Mall, said police ...

WARRINGTON, PA - The caller was un-rushed and exceedingly polite, even thanking the police dispatcher as he reported that he had beaten his wife and their 7-year-old son to death with a baseball bat in their home in a handsome neighborhood in Warrington. When police arrived at 167 Redstone Dr. late Friday night, they found a typewritten note on the front ...

CHICAGO - Tondonlia Brown and her two young children escaped a Christmas morning fire, only to return to their South Side apartment and find burglars had stolen their gifts and much of what they owned. Just as the holiday was looking grim, Chicago Police Officer Michael Lawrence stepped in with toys and a gift card. He'd responded to the burglary call, ...

MALIBU, CA - Rick Springfield, the man best known for “Jessie’s Girl,” was reportedly arrested for drunken driving earlier this month in California. Celebrity gossip website TMZ reported Monday that Springfield, who drove a 1963 Corvette on Pacific Coast Highway, yelled to an arresting deputy, “If you tow my car I will f**king kill you and your family.” The point was ...

SAN ANTONIO, TX - Four San Antonio SWAT officers executing a narcotics search warrant at an East Side home were wounded in a hail of assault rifle fire Thursday afternoon. One was in critical condition and underwent surgery late in the day, Brooke Army Medical Center spokesman Dewey Mitchell said. He said another was in serious but stable condition. Both were ...

Update 4/5/2011: EDGEWATER, CO - Two police officers from Edgewater were pinned down behind a brick wall for about 30 minutes early this morning, bullets whizzing past them from an unknown location. A SWAT team intervened and 11 people are in custody. "We believe we have the shooter," Edgewater police spokesman Steve Davis said. Davis said it all started around the ...

ASHBY, MA - A plainclothes state trooper shot and killed a man who allegedly drove his car at him yesterday in Ashby, a small town in north central Massachusetts. Authorities said a member of the State Police gang unit discharged his weapon, killing Roger Reyes Padilla, 21, of Fitchburg, on Pine Road around 1:15 p.m. The trooper, whose name was not ...

WASHINGTON -- Forget the Decepticons. The Transformers Monday took on D.C. Police. In a filming area for "Transformers 3" near the National Mall Monday afternoon, a police SUV responding to an emergency with lights and sirens blaring entered an intersection at Third Street and Maryland Avenue in Southwest. The SUV collided with a yellow Chevy Camaro, known to "Transformers" fans as ...

NEW YORK - A reputed Bloods member was shot to death by an undercover cop Thursday when a drug sting in the Bronx led to a life-or-death gun fight, police said. Nelson (Boss) Reeves, 17, had arranged to sell the undercover cop $20 of crack at an apartment building in Crotona around 11:20 a.m., police said. But once they got inside ...

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - A Washington State Patrol manager arriving at the Olympia headquarters for a meeting noticed a book on the seat of a parked car about "how to beat the lie detector." The Patrol said Criminal Records Manager Heather Anderson called the Human Resources division last Wednesday and was told a job candidate was in the process of taking ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A Rhode Island police officer was indicted Friday on charges that he kicked a handcuffed woman in the head after removing her from a slot parlor for disorderly conduct, authorities said. Edward Krawetz, 40, has been suspended without pay from the Lincoln Police Department and also faces administrative charges, said Lincoln police Capt. Raymond Bousquet. [widget:news__all_discussion] Krawetz was ...

LOS ANGELES -- A daylong siege that began with a domestic violence call ended when a man suspected of shooting and critically wounding a police officer was found dead in his home. Officers found the man's body in a second-floor hallway at about 7:30 p.m. Monday with a rifle nearby, nearly 18 hours after Officer Steven Jenkins was shot and the ...

INDIAN ROCKS BEACH — Kelly Rothwell made a career change when she enrolled in the police academy last year. The 34-year-old was an enthusiastic recruit, excited about her new calling. She hadn't missed a day at the academy — until Monday. Now authorities are worried she may be in danger. Rothwell hasn't been seen since Saturday, and hasn't returned dozens of ...

NEW YORK - A man whom cops shot 23 times for allegedly firing at them walked out of court a free man Wednesday after a grand jury found him innocent. Angel Alvarez, 24, had been behind bars on gun charges since a wild Harlem shootout that left one man dead last summer. "It feels real good," said Alvarez, surrounded by cheering ...