#Missouri Highway Patrol

[woc-f4t]

Did the police cover up a murder?

2010 marked a time of great tragedy for one family. It was the year that Dominick Wilson, a young bi-racial man, was found hanging in a park, the tool used for this tragedy was his own jacket. At first glance, it could easily appear to have been a suicide. However, when looking deeper into the case, there are many red flags that still need to be answered. Who was Dominick Wilson? Dominick was a…

[stevebattle]

ROBI the Robot – Missouri State Highway Patrol (1985). "ROBI the Robot joined the Patrol in 1985. This battery-powered robot was used as a safety education tool."

[mariacallous]

Earlier this week, the California Highway Patrol sent an Amber Alert push notification to phones in the Los Angeles area about a 14-year-old girl that authorities believed had been abducted. But instead of conveying vital information that could help locate the victim within the notification itself, the law enforcement agency linked to a post from its official X account, a practice it adopted six years ago. But this time, many people reported they could not view the alert because they hit a screen that prevents users from seeing any content on X until they sign in to their account.

The California Highway Patrol told WIRED it was aware of the issue and had reached out to X for more information. “We’re looking into it,” Sergeant Dan Keane said. X did not respond to a request for comment.

Amber Alerts are issued by local law enforcement agencies to help locate children who are believed to have been abducted and are at risk of dying or serious injury. In California, the California Highway Patrol’s Emergency Notification and Tactical Alert Center is tasked with issuing the alerts. The law enforcement agency told WIRED it has used X (formerly Twitter) to push out the notifications since 2018 without any problems, at least until this incident.

On other social platforms, including Reddit, Threads, and Bluesky, local California residents vented their frustrations about being unable to receive the details of an emergency happening in their community. “This should be illegal and everyone should be upset about this. If that alert was for my child and tons of people couldn’t see it because they don’t have a stupid X account, I would be beyond infuriated,” one person wrote on Reddit. “Why the fuck should a social media platform benefit from people wanting to be good citizens and informed about missing kids?” another asked on Threads.

Some users reported they didn’t need to log in to see the California Highway Patrol’s X post, which was sent via a URL created using the Bitly link shortener service. It’s unclear what percentage of people who received the push notification were able to view the information about the missing girl and what percentage hit X’s log-in gate. Overall, only 21 percent of US adults say they ever use X, according to the Pew Research Center, not all of whom may have the app installed on their phones.

After Elon Musk took over Twitter more than two years ago, the billionaire rapidly laid off the majority of the social media site’s existing employees and instituted sweeping changes to its moderation and verification policies. The shifts spurred concerns that Twitter would become less reliable for emergency communications. The incident this week in California suggests at least some of these fears were founded.

“Requiring a login creates accessibility challenges and raises concerns about digital equity. Everyone should be able to access life-critical information, regardless of whether they use a specific platform,” says Amanda Lee Hughes, a professor of computer science at Brigham Young University who has studied digital emergency communications tools.

People in Missouri reported encountering a similar issue in July 2023, when the Missouri Highway Patrol sent out an Amber Alert push notification with a link to an X post. Local residents similarly spoke out about how they could not see the alert unless they logged on to the platform. “It was quite a change” from how the alerts used to work, says Missouri Highway Patrol lieutenant Eric Brown, who works in the public information and education department.

But the incident ultimately didn’t prompt the Missouri Highway Patrol to abandon X as its go-to platform for Amber Alert push notifications. According to Brown, when X verified the law enforcement agency's account as an official government entity, the log-in issue problem went away, and the public could once again access its posts.

Several of the California Highway Patrol’s official X accounts have the same verification badge as the Missouri Highway Patrol, including the one devoted specifically to disseminating active alerts statewide. However, not all of the California agency’s accounts appear to be verified, including what looks like the official channel for the CHP’s Southern Division, which includes Los Angeles county.

When it was known as Twitter, X was widely viewed as an essential part of global disaster and emergency communications infrastructure. Government officials and agencies around the world relied on the service as a way to broadcast information about hurricanes, mass shootings, and other crises. Before Musk took over the platform in 2022, anyone could view public tweets in their browser regardless of whether they had an account on the site or had installed Twitter’s mobile app. (In 2015, the company reported that more than 500 million people visited Twitter’s site per month without logging in.)

In June 2023, reports that X had started locking content behind a log-in screen began popping up online. At the time, Musk called the move a “temporary emergency measure” that was put in place because X was “getting data pillaged so much it was degrading the service.” It’s unclear exactly what Musk was referring to, but that same month he expressed concerns about AI companies like OpenAI allegedly scraping Twitter posts without prior authorization.

It now looks like the decision to turn X into a more closed platform stuck. According to tests conducted this week, X has continued to limit what people without accounts can see. WIRED looked at several of its staff reporters’ X accounts without logging in, for example, and was only able to view a sampling of their popular posts rather than a comprehensive chronological feed. It does appear that accounts run by government entities are not restricted in this way; all of the posts shared by the California Highway Patrol’s alerts account can be viewed without logging in.

Aside from allowing anyone to view content shared on the platform, another way Twitter previously helped emergency communicators was by giving them free access to its API, which Musk later revoked. That allowed organizations like the US National Tsunami Warning Center to send automatic alerts about potentially deadly natural disasters. Researchers and first responders could also use the API to monitor activity across Twitter and “extract key insights, such as identifying risk hot spots or combating misinformation,” says Hughes. “The platform’s role has shifted as policies and public usage evolve, so its effectiveness today may look quite different.”

Despite these drawbacks, X still remains an important platform for relaying information during emergency situations. In October, several government information officers emergency told PRWeek they planned to continue posting updates on X despite its diminished usefulness, because they had amassed large followings on the site and their priority ultimately remains ensuring that accurate information reaches as many people as possible. But the incident in California this week highlights how government agencies can run into problems when third-party services once considered reliable later change their policies in an unpredictable ways.

[kick-a-long]

this is some VERY wild shit.

So this guy is a real dude... "A missing person's bulletin published by the Missouri State Highway Patrol (i would have tried to reach a little higher up to find this guy?) said that Timmerman, whose first name was listed as Pete, had been last seen in Budapest. The bulletin said the date of his last contact had been June 2, 2024, and that he was 29 years old when he went missing." He was on a "Christian spiritual trip" in Lebanon and walked into Syria where Assad threw him in jail where his only complaint was not getting to choose when to go to the bathroom. he had a cell phone apparently (???)

idk. can you imagine getting busted out of jail by the surprise revolution of country with the second longest dictatorship gov in recent history? and can you imagine busting open a jail cell during your country's revolution and a random white loon from america is in there like, "hi. would you like to hear the good word?"

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Steph Whiteside at NewsNation:

(NewsNation) — A bill introduced in the Missouri Senate would give residents a $1,000 payout for reporting migrants who entered the country illegally. The proposal is one of at least seven bills introduced in the state’s legislature to focus on immigration, all sponsored by Republican legislators. Sen.-elect David Gregory proposed the legislation, which would create an online portal for people to make reports to the State Highway Patrol and be eligible for the payout. Senate Bill 72 would also develop a “Missouri Illegal Alien Certified Bounty Hunter Program,” which would certify people to be bounty hunters for the specific purpose of finding and detaining immigrants without proper documents. Anyone licensed as a bail bond agent would be eligible to apply for the program.

Anyone detained in Missouri without proper documents, having knowingly entered the state, would be guilty of “trespass by an illegal alien.” That would mean they could not receive any public benefit, vote in any election, get a permit or license to drive or ever become a legal resident of the state. The plan comes as there are legal questions over what roles states play in addressing immigration, an area typically handled by the federal government.

Missouri State Sen.-elect David Gregory (R) proposes an utterly fascistic garbage bill SB72 that would give residents a $1,000 bounty reward for reporting people suspected of being an undocumented immigrant.

[offender42085]

Post 0584

MIchael Keith Humphrey, Missouri inmate 1264642, born 1984, incarceration intake in 2022 at age 38, sentenced to life with parole

Murder

In January 2023, the man convicted of helping kill a prominent snake breeder in Montgomery County sought for a new trial.

Attorneys for Michael Humphrey filed his appeal on Jan. 26 in the state's Eastern District Court of Appeals. The appeal says Judge Jason Lamb should not have allowed a key witness to testify about what a co-defendant in the murder case of Ben Renick told him about who did it.

A jury convicted Humphrey in October 2021 of first-degree murder and armed criminal action for killing Ben Renick at his farm in 2017. Prosecutors changed his charge to second-degree murder and recommended a life sentence with parole in exchange for his testimony against Renick's wife, Lynlee Renick.

Lynlee Renick was convicted in December 2021 of second-degree murder and armed criminal action. She was sentenced to the jury's recommendation of 16 years in prison.

Special public defender Kevin Schriener said in his only point that Brandon Blackwell should not have been allowed to testify at Humphrey's trial. Blackwell told Missouri State Highway Patrol investigators that Lynlee Renick told him about the shooting when they started dating after Ben's death. Blackwell claimed Lynlee recruited Humphrey to help her get a gun and kill Ben as the couple struggled with their marriage.

Schriener said courts can't allow statements made about a defendant's possible participation in a crime after the fact without that person being present when made.

"Mr. Blackwell’s testimony that Ms. Renick had told him everything that she and Mr. Humphrey did was inadmissible hearsay as it was not in furtherance of the conspiracy and there is no evidence that Mr. Humphrey was present when Ms. Renick made it to Mr. Blackwell and acquiesced in its making," Schriener said. "Even without trial counsel objecting to this testimony, the trial court should have recognized its inadmissible nature and taken action to correct it."

Humphrey's attorneys did not object to Blackwell's testimony at trial, nor did they file a motion for a new trial. Appellate judges will need to find that Lamb committed plain error in allowing Blackwell to testify, which attorney Jennifer Bukowsky said is a higher bar than if the issue had been raised at trial.

Blackwell was in the Boone County Jail at the time of his 2020 interview with the patrol on accusations he violated a protection order Lynlee Renick had against him. A judge had ordered no bond for him, but lowered it following his talk with investigators. Those criminal charges were dropped following Lynlee Renick's sentencing. Lynlee Renick sued Blackwell for defamation in 2022.

Blackwell did not testify in Lynlee Renick's trial. Her attorneys said Blackwell invoked his Fifth Amendment rights during depositions before the case.

Last reviewed October 2024

3u

[tieflingkisser]

Calls For a Migrant Labor Strike Grow on Social Media

Since the xenophobia-fueled presidential re-election of Donald Trump, calls have been growing on social media for a pro-immigrant labor strike beginning on January 11, days before Trump is to take office. The emerging movement’s goal is to highlight the social, cultural, and economic importance of immigrants in the United States. The Trump campaign’s racist rhetoric — targeted at Latin Americans and Caribbean Islanders — is an urgent threat driving the need to speak out against his proposed immigration policies — such as the plan to conduct mass deportations. Led by members of the Mexican and Chicano communities (the largest Latino population in the U.S.), the hope is to motivate many other communities to participate in sending a message to the Trump White House. Proposals by the authors of Project 2025 and members of Trump’s team such as Stephen Miller and Tom Homan specifically seek to target immigrants from Latin America and the Caribbean, as their hateful Latinophobia suggests. This has left many in various immigrant communities living in fear and uncertainty about their futures.

[...]

Many in Trump’s orbit have suggested that incarcerating migrants is the larger motivating factor behind mass deportations. Considering that the U.S. must have repatriation agreements in place with countries before sending migrants back, the absence of such arrangements with countries like Venezuela and Cuba means that migrants could be held in detention facilities indefinitely until those agreements come to fruition. Immigrants held in detention centers are often forced to work for next to no pay, enriching private for-profit actors in the process.

[...]

Exacerbating tensions for migrants is a proposal by a Missouri state lawmaker that seeks to put bounties on immigrants and reward residents for finding and detaining immigrants who would presumably then be handed over to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Recently elected Missouri Senator David Gregory’s proposed bill would offer $1,000 bounties to residents who turn migrants over to the state highway patrol.

[...]

Family separations are another major issue driving fear among mixed-status families where many are U.S. citizens married to non-citizens. In this situation, Trump’s pick for border czar, Tom Homan, told 60 Minutes that the solution is to deport entire families including citizens and native-born children of immigrants in violation of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. 

[beardedmrbean]

Missouri State Highway Patrol officials have identified human remains found by a hunter on Tuesday as a missing teen from Iowa.

The Mercer County Sheriff’s Office and the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control were investigating the discovery of human remains on Tuesday afternoon and have identified the body as Sebastian Tyrese Husted of Centerville, officials said in a news release.

Husted disappeared in January 2018, his sister, Iesha Husted, told the Register that year. He was 19 at the time.

Husted’s remains were discovered by a turkey hunter on a private property in northeast Mercer County in Missouri.

[accessible-tumbling]

ID 1: (triangle warning sign) Public safety message

"Do not approach the male. Please call nine one one."

ID 2: (triangle warning sign) Public safety message

"Please disregard the previous message. Accident"

ID 3: A facebook post from Missouri State Highway Patrol which reads

This was meant to be a test message, (caps) there was no alert (end caps). There is a screenshot of an Emergency Alert

"(caps) gotham city mo purple/green 1978 doge 3700gt mo ukidme (end caps) http://www.bit.ly/MoAlerts"

End ID

some emergency alert operator just gave me a three minute taste of being an indie horror game protagonist jesus fuckin christ

[masr356]

Californians Say X Blocked Them From Viewing Amber Alert About Missing 14-Year-Old | masr356.com

People in Missouri reported experiencing a similar problem in July 2023, when the Missouri Highway Patrol sent An Amber Alert push notification with a link to X's post. Locals similarly spoke of not being able to see the alert unless they were logged into the platform. “It was a big change” from the way alerts worked, says Eric Brown, a Missouri State Highway Patrol lieutenant who works in the…

[third-new]

Californians say X blocked them from seeing Amber's announcement about the 14-year-old's disappearance

People in Missouri reported experiencing similar problems in July 2023, when the Missouri Highway Patrol send another Amber Alert push notification with a link to X post. Locals were similarly vocal about not being able to see the alert unless they logged into the platform. “It's a pretty big change” from how the warnings worked, said Lt. Eric Brown of the Missouri Highway Patrol, who works in…

[newtras]

Californians say X blocked them from seeing Amber's announcement about the 14-year-old's disappearance

People in Missouri reported experiencing similar problems in July 2023, when the Missouri Highway Patrol send another Amber Alert push notification with a link to X post. Locals were similarly vocal about not being able to see the alert unless they logged into the platform. “It's a pretty big change” from how the warnings worked, said Lt. Eric Brown of the Missouri Highway Patrol, who works in…

[newbizz]

Californians say X blocked them from seeing Amber's announcement about the 14-year-old's disappearance

People in Missouri reported experiencing similar problems in July 2023, when the Missouri Highway Patrol send another Amber Alert push notification with a link to X post. Locals were similarly vocal about not being able to see the alert unless they logged into the platform. “It's a pretty big change” from how the warnings worked, said Lt. Eric Brown of the Missouri Highway Patrol, who works in…

[satrthere]

Californians say X blocked them from seeing Amber's announcement about the 14-year-old's disappearance

People in Missouri reported experiencing similar problems in July 2023, when the Missouri Highway Patrol send another Amber Alert push notification with a link to X post. Locals were similarly vocal about not being able to see the alert unless they logged into the platform. “It's a pretty big change” from how the warnings worked, said Lt. Eric Brown of the Missouri Highway Patrol, who works in…

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Kallie Cox at KCUR:

After Texas Gov. Greg Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in 2021, the governors of Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska answered his call to tackle crime and illegal immigration along the state’s border with Mexico. Their efforts are failing, critics say.

Hundreds of National Guardsmen have spent the past three years rotating through a deployment in Texas. They’ve traded Midwestern green grass, highways and sprawling crop fields for dusty roads, a dry riverbed and close-ups of concertina wire thousands of miles away from their families. Baking for hours in the withering heat, the troops from Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska share a mission under the banner of Operation Lone Star: Intercept immigrants arriving illegally and drugs crossing the U.S. border from Mexico. “Political theater” is how immigration and border relations researcher Tony Payan describes the operation. He regularly travels both sides of the border interviewing activists, migrants and experts about immigration.

Unlawful migration has become a political flashpoint since Donald Trump began campaigning on the issue and arguing for a border wall in 2015. It continues to be a key element of GOP campaigns. According to a July poll from Gallup, about 55% of Americans support a decrease in immigration to the U.S. Payan, director of the Center for the U.S. and Mexico at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, said the troops tasked with maintaining these border patrols have become increasingly stressed as long stretches of inactivity and heat take their toll. The Republican governors of Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska, along with Republican governors from other states, said the troops would be intercepting human smugglers and massive shipments of fentanyl. There were predictions of mass arrests, drug busts and the apprehension of suspects on the terrorist watchlist.

[...]

‘Every state is a border state’

In March 2021, Abbott launched Operation Lone Star by sending the Texas National Guard and Texas Department of Public Safety to patrol sections of the border between legal entry points. Since then, 14 additional states — many of which sit thousands of miles from the Mexico border – have sent resources to support the Texas operation. Abbott called on other states across the country to participate because, as the governors of Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska have all argued in separate press releases: “Every state is a border state.” Since 2021, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska have together sent 519 National Guard service members and 143 state troopers and other law enforcement personnel to the border, according to information published by the states. The combined cost is approximately $7.1 million.

“As Governor, I have a responsibility to protect the safety and well-being of Iowans and protecting them at home starts with protecting the border,” Reynolds said in a 2023 statement. Pillen echoed her sentiments after a visit to the border in 2024. “Our federal government continues to ignore our border crisis,” he said. “The highest calling of government is public safety. We, as governors, must stand together to stop the constant influx of illegal drugs, weapons, and human trafficking.” While Operation Lone Star targets the areas at the border between legal ports of entry, the Department of Homeland Security notes: “More than 90% of interdicted fentanyl is stopped at ports of entry where cartels attempt to smuggle it primarily in vehicles driven by U.S. citizens.”

Midwestern states that do not touch a single mile of Mexico have spent millions propping up Operation Lone Star as part of Texas’s war on undocumented immigrants.