US cop killers gun down 11 policemen

Two police officers have been gunned down in a shootout in a home in St. Petersburg, Florida, January 24, 2011.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/161819.html

At least eleven police officers have been shot dead in the United States in the past 24-hours alone marking a dramatic rise in US police fatalities.

In the US state of Florida, two police officers were shot dead and a third sustained injuries while on an attempt to detain a criminal in the city of St. Petersburg on Monday.

Police had been in hot pursuit of the gunman - named in an aggravated battery warrant - for weeks, CNN quoted police spokesman Chuck Harmon as saying.

The officers eventually managed to locate the felon inside a house and went there at about 7 a.m. local time (1200 GMT) in response to a call, he added.

A burst of gunfire erupted in the home's attic where the man had been hiding and two of the officers were shot dead. The villain's body was not discovered until one-third of the house was torn down by a backhoe.

Meanwhile on Sunday, four officers were shot in a Detroit police station after a man walked in and opened fire on the cops. The attacker, identified as Lamar Deshea Moore, was shot to death by the police while his motive remains unknown.

Earlier in the day, a police officer had been shot during a traffic stop in Indianapolis. He is in a critical condition in hospital.

Separately, two deputies were shot in Port Orchard, Washington, near Seattle and a third one was shot on Sunday night during a traffic stop in Lincoln City, Oregon.

Two police officers were also gunned down along with a suspect in northern Miami last week. The policemen were killed when authorities raided a home in search of violent criminals.

During recent years, the number of police fatalities in the Unites States has seen a dramatic increase.

In 2010 alone, 160 police officers lost their lives in the line of duty, marking a 37 percent increase from the 117 deaths last year.

Most of the killings were reported in the US states of Texas, California, Illinois and Florida.

Florida to get tough immigration law

Florida's Republican attorney general introduces
a new immigration law for the state that could go
beyond the controversial Arizona legislation.



Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=138362§ionid=3510203


Florida's attorney general has proposed harsher state immigration laws surpassing that of Arizona's controversial legislation.

"This legislation will provide new enforcement tools for protecting our citizens and will help our state fight the ongoing problems created by illegal immigration," Bill McCollum said as he introduced the bill.

McCollum, who is running for governor this year, introduced the legislation as the hot public debate over the state versus federal control of immigration regulations continues, AFP reported.

The law requires judges to consider violations of immigration laws while setting bail and raise the level of criminal charges.

The legislation also dictates longer prison terms for crimes committed by illegal immigrants.

"This law is fairly balanced to protect the rights of those who are here legally and illegally," McCollum added, calling it "a huge step for public safety."

Under McCollum's immigration law, the police can arrest someone based on “reasonable suspicion” that they are illegal immigrants.

A lack of proper identification will be sufficient cause for making arrest, according to McCollum.

"You are supposed to have papers to show that you are here legally and if you don't have them, you don't have a legal status to be here," he explained.

The new legislation would create stronger restrictions on hiring immigrants, requiring employers to use an electronic system to prove that they have checked the immigration status of their employees.

Immigration rights groups estimate that there are 11 million illegal immigrants in the US.