In brief: Spokane COPS contributed to DVD on child safety

Spokane Community Oriented Policing Services, or C.O.P.S., helped produce a DVD called “Kids & Strangers (and Acquaintances)” to promote child safety.

The agency teamed up with the FBI, Los Angeles Police Department, Colorado Bureau of Investigation and others to make the not-for-profit DVD, which shows parents and children how to prevent abductions or molestations by acquaintances, strangers, online sex predators and registered sex offenders.

One segment of the DVD demonstrates “Grip, Dip and Spin,” a self-defense technique for kids.

The DVD costs $10 and is buy one, get one free. A portion of the proceeds supports Spokane C.O.P.S.

To order, visit www.kidsandstrangers.org/bogo and use the referral code COPS. They can also be purchased by mailing an order and check to Video Match Inc., 1112 Montana Ave., Ste. 518, Santa Monica, CA 90403.

Cache of bombs, weapons tied to killed fugitive

PUYALLUP, Wash. – Federal investigators discovered a buried cache of explosives and weapons in Puyallup, and said it could be tied to a fugitive and informant shot to death by bounty hunters two years ago.

The News Tribune of Tacoma reported that agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives recovered four improvised explosives, ammunition and guns on Friday, as well as blasting caps and a mortar round.

An ATF spokeswoman said the cache was connected to a man killed by bounty hunters two years ago. That matched the description of Roberto Pupo Roque, who was shot to death in Lakewood in 2008.

Roque had skipped out on a bail bond earlier that year, subsequently robbed the bail bond office, and was released after promising to act as a federal informant. Lakewood police concluded that the bounty hunters shot him in self-defense during a confrontation.

Beer drinkers got free gulps at Seahawks home games

SEATTLE – The Seattle Seahawks entered the playoffs with a losing record, but the team’s beer-drinking fans started off with a win.

The team said it investigated after a video posted on YouTube demonstrated that the large and small beers sold at Qwest Field contained the same amount of liquid – even though one was marked 20 ounces and cost $1.25 more than the one marked 16 ounces.

As it turned out, the team said, the smaller 16-ounce cups actually contained 20 ounces of beer. First and Goal, the organization that runs Qwest Field, said it will ask contractor Levy Restaurants to inquire with the cup vendor about how long fans have been getting an extra 4 ounces.

For Saturday’s game against the New Orleans Saints, the team sold all 20-ounce domestic brews at the 16-ounce price.

300 marijuana plants, 10 pounds of pot seized

VANCOUVER, Wash. – About 300 marijuana plants and 10 pounds of processed marijuana have been seized in raids on four Vancouver, Wash., homes, according to the Clark-Skamania Drug Task Force.

The Friday night raids were part of a larger investigation that began in Oregon, when search warrants were executed in late December.

Two men in their 20s were charged with manufacturing marijuana.

The drug task force said more arrests are expected.

Fire chief cited for crash while en route to blaze

SALEM – The fire chief of Marion County has been cited for a traffic violation after he crashed his speeding SUV into oncoming traffic on the way to a fire on New Year’s Eve.

Marion County Fire Chief Kevin Henson was cited for illegal operation of an emergency vehicle. According to a Marion County Sheriff’s Office investigation, Henson reached speeds of 62 mph in a department 2010 Chevrolet Tahoe.

Henson was seriously injured in the late-morning crash but is recovering.

Henson was driving with his lights and sirens on and was trying to pass a truck when the two vehicles collided and his vehicle rolled.

Grand jury clears officer in shooting of suspect

PORTLAND – A Multnomah County grand jury has cleared Portland police Officer Bradley Clark after he shot and wounded a suspect in December.

Clark and seven other officers found 34-year-old Marcus Lagozzino outside a Portland home. He had physically assaulted his parents, then armed himself with a machete and broke windows in the house.

The Multnomah County district attorney’s office said Lagozzino’s parents have filed a restraining order against him.

Officers fired a stun gun and beanbag rounds at Lagozzino, none of which had any effect.

Clark, a four-year veteran of the police bureau, then fired four rounds from an AR-15 rifle, striking Lagozzino at least three times.