Holdups beset Durham in week
Eleven robberies reported recently,
Matt Dees, Staff Writer, N&O, Nov 30, 2006
DURHAM - Durham police are investigating 11 armed robberies that happened in the past week.
Four robberies were reported Monday and Tuesday after seven occurred in the days around Thanksgiving.
One man was shot, and two people were pistol-whipped in two of the recent incidents.
Some of the Thanksgiving-time incidents ended with robbers firing shots at their victims, but no one was hurt, police said.
Police aren't sure whether some or all of the crimes are related. They are seeking any information about the following cases:
* At 12:47 a.m. Tuesday, in the 1900 block of Taylor Street, a man was driving with a woman when she told him to stop. A man approached with a gun, and the woman told the armed man to take the driver's money.
* At 9:35 p.m. Monday, at 1611 Duke University Road, three men entered an unlocked apartment and pistol-whipped another man before shooting him in the arm when he said he had no money.
* Just nine minutes earlier, at 2112 Broad St., a man was pistol-whipped and robbed of his wallet and cell phone as he sat on stairs near his apartment. The three men fled in a white sedan.
* At 7:17 p.m. Monday, also in the 1900 block of Taylor Street, two men in a car were stopped by three men standing in the road. Two of the three men pulled guns and stole a wallet and a necklace before firing seven shots in the car. No one was hurt.
* At 9:05 p.m. Friday at 901 Chalk Level Road, two men approached another man outside his apartment and asked whether he had any marijuana.
When the man said he did not, the two robbers pulled out two handguns and demanded his money.
One suspect forced his way into an apartment, which was occupied by several people, including four children. During the robbery, a 4-year-old boy sneaked into his bedroom, dressed himself in a Power Ranger costume and got a plastic sword.
He approached the armed suspect in an attempt to protect his family.
The robbers fled with money, credit cards and phones.
* At 6:49 p.m. Friday, at 1315 Morreene Road, a man armed with a rifle robbed two men sitting in a car. The robber fled in a white car driven by another person.
* At 10:15 p.m. Thursday, at 5906 Tattersall Drive, four men wearing masks told three victims to get on the ground and robbed them at gunpoint. They fled toward Fayetteville Road.
* At 9:28 the same night, at 5011 S. Alston Ave., four men demanded money from a man and a woman carrying a baby. One man pointed a gun at the woman and demanded her purse. When she refused, police said, another man tried to grab the baby. The four men fled in a dark four-door Mitsubishi. One shot was fired.
* At 10:25 p.m. Nov. 22, at 4230 Garrett Road, five men were robbed at gunpoint by five other men. One robber fired a shot. Two assailants fled in a black Nissan Altima; the other three fled on foot.
* At 9:22 p.m. Nov. 22, at 2816 Ross Road, three men with bandannas over their faces robbed two men at gunpoint and fired shots as the victims fled.
* At 9:05 p.m. Nov. 22, three masked men demanded money from a man at 1719 Cornwallis Road. The victim ran back in the apartment. Two shots were fired.
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Press group: Police violated photographer's rights
BY BRIANNE DOPART : The Herald-Sun, Nov 30, 2006
DURHAM -- Lawyers for the North Carolina Press Association say Durham police officers violated Durham-based photographer Julian Harrison's rights to work as a journalist when they confiscated his equipment and took him into custody at the scene of a Nov. 3 officer-involved shooting.
Amanda Martin, general counsel for the NCPA, said the fact the incident was not the only time officers had attempted to bar Harrison from working was "offensive to the First Amendment." The incident occurred when Harrison was videotaping the scene of the Nov. 3 shooting. City Councilman Eugene Brown has asked for a report on the incident to be presented to the City Council at its next meeting, Monday.
Brown, contacted Thursday, said he is withholding comment on the incident for now, since the investigation has not been completed.
Harrison, a freelance photographer whose work occasionally appears in The Herald-Sun, was standing outside a police crime scene tape when an officer identified as Capt. Dowdy -- who police spokeswoman Kammie Michael later said was not present at the department's "media training" session days earlier -- pushed Harrison onto the hood of a civilian's car and arrested him for "disorderly conduct."
Magistrate Eric Van Vleet refused to charge Harrison and released him in less than an hour, saying he had done nothing wrong.
While the police department does have a right to take control of a crime scene when the integrity of an investigation or the safety of individuals becomes an issue, NCPA counsel Martin said officers do not have a right to intimidate members of the media or to prevent them from "trying to do their jobs."
"Journalists have no more or less rights than the public at large," Martin said, "And the public at large has the right to be on public property."
Last week, Harrison said he and his attorney, Fred Battaglia, would be seeking both internal and external investigations into the arrest, which Harrison described as a physical attack.
Police Chief Steve Chalmers said Thursday the department is conducting its own independent internal investigation and working on a report about the incident for the City Council. He added his department would comply with whatever investigations are mandated, but said Harrison and his lawyer have failed to file an official complaint.
Martin said an external investigation conducted by the State Bureau of Investigation may be in the cards for the Durham Police Department, which has had several issues with Harrison in the past. The NCPA represented Harrison in the aftermath of one of those episodes, Martin said.
Chalmers, who declined to discuss the case because the internal investigation has not been completed, said he could not recall the previous incidents involving Harrison and asked that he be alerted to any prior clashes between Harrison and his officers.
Members of the media have no reason to fear arrest when working in their capacity as journalists, said Chalmers. He added that the department does not need to reassess its relationship with the media because the incident involving Harrison was an isolated one.
In the month since The Herald-Sun broke the news of Harrison's arrest, the incident has been posted and discussed on numerous national Web sites, including the conservative site Townhall.com and another site -- morebadcopnews.com
http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-794474.html