The Weekly Briefing 🇺🇸
Terrorist Attack on Power Grid
A Los Angeles Department of Water and Power-owned electrical substation near Boulder City, Nevada — a facility that transfers power from Hoover Dam to the Los Angeles Basin — was rammed by a vehicle early Saturday morning in what investigators are treating as a terrorism-related incident, according to ABC7. The suspect, identified as 23-year-old Dawson Maloney of Albany, New York, shot and killed himself after the crash. Investigators recovered multiple weapons, including a flamethrower, from his vehicle, and found explosive gas and books related to extremist ideologies — including right- and left-wing extremism, environmental extremism, white supremacy, and anti-government ideology — in his hotel room. Maloney had driven cross-country from Albany in the days prior and sent a message to his mother referring to himself as a “dead terrorist son,” stating he felt obligated to carry out the act; he was also found wearing soft body armor. ☠️ More here
Intruder Shot at Mar-a-Lago
A 21-year-old North Carolina man, Austin Tucker Martin, was shot and killed by Secret Service agents and Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputies early Sunday morning after breaching the perimeter of Mar-a-Lago armed with what appeared to be a shotgun and a fuel canister, according to the New York Times. Officers ordered Martin to drop the items; he set down the canister but raised the shotgun to a “shooting position,” at which point he was fatally shot. President Trump was not at the property at the time of the incident, which occurred around 1:30 a.m. Martin, a recent high school graduate from Cameron, N.C., had started a golf course illustration business in 2025 and was described by a cousin as coming from a family of “big Trump supporters.” His family had been posting on social media throughout the weekend that he was missing, unaware he had already been killed. Authorities have not yet determined where he obtained the weapon or established a clear motive. 🔗 More here
Badge, Bets, Betrayal
New Haven, Connecticut Police Chief Karl Jacobson was arrested Friday and charged with two counts of first-degree larceny after investigators say he embezzled up to $85,500 in public funds — the bulk of it drawn from a confidential informant fund — while placing approximately $4.46 million in online bets through DraftKings and FanDuel between January 2025 and January 2026, resulting in a net gambling loss of over $214,000, according to the New York Times. Jacobson, a 15-year department veteran who rose to chief in 2022, was placed on administrative leave by Mayor Justin Elicker in January after admitting to misusing city funds, but retired the same day; his resignation drew scrutiny from Connecticut’s Gaming Division, which subpoenaed records from multiple platforms. In a secretly recorded confrontation, Jacobson admitted to the theft and the gambling, asked colleagues to falsify records, and attributed the escalating behavior to addiction, saying he had previously struggled with alcohol and had “turned to gambling.” 🎰 More here
No Termination for Detroit Officers
Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison reversed his decision to fire two officers who coordinated with federal Border Patrol agents in violation of department policy, according to the Detroit Free Press. After the city’s police oversight board voted unanimously to suspend the officers without pay for 30 days, Bettison said he was satisfied with the board’s decision and would not pursue termination. The reversal came after one of the officers — a 27-year veteran sergeant — filed a federal lawsuit arguing that department policies restricting contact with federal immigration authorities violate federal law prohibiting local governments from limiting communication with immigration officials; the suit also contends the sergeant contacted Border Patrol not to enforce immigration law, but to verify the identity of a person who presented a fraudulent Michigan driver’s license. DHS and ICE publicly praised the officers on social media, with ICE calling them “American heroes,” while Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield’s office said she supports the chief’s decision and respects the oversight board’s authority on disciplinary matters. 🔗 More here
Vegas Police Build AI “Brain”
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is developing what it calls an “AI brain” — a real-time system designed to connect internal databases, crime trends, and suspect histories — and expects to be among the first law enforcement agencies in the country to deploy the technology, according to KSNV. Sheriff Kevin McMahill announced the plans during the department’s annual State of the Department address, saying the system will accelerate investigations, shorten internal affairs reviews, and help prevent crime before it occurs. 🧠 More here
London Police Use AI Monitoring
Scotland Yard has confirmed it is using artificial intelligence tools developed by Palantir to monitor Metropolitan Police officers’ behavior — analyzing sickness levels, absences, and overtime patterns to identify potential misconduct, according to The Guardian. The time-limited pilot draws on data from multiple internal databases, with the force stating there is evidence linking unusual patterns in those areas to failures in standards and culture; officials emphasized that human officers make all final determinations. The Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, sharply criticized the program as “automated suspicion,” warning that algorithmic tools risk misinterpreting heavy workloads or illness as indicators of wrongdoing and called for reliance on human judgment and fair processes instead. 🔗 More here
Historic Crime Drop Nationwide
Violent crime fell dramatically across the United States in 2025, with experts expecting it to be the sharpest single-year drop in homicides in recorded history, according to The Hill. Data from the Major Cities Chiefs Association — covering 67 agencies — shows homicides down 19.3%, robbery down 19.8%, and aggravated assault down 9.7% from 2024 to 2025; similar findings were reported by the Council on Criminal Justice across 40 large American cities. The decline marks the fourth consecutive year of falling crime following a record spike during the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts debate the cause, with some attributing the trend to pandemic-era federal funding that helped communities hire more police officers and support staff, while the Trump administration credits aggressive law enforcement, border security, and deportation of violent offenders. The FBI has not yet published its official 2025 crime statistics, but findings are expected to align with both reports. 📉 More here
Milwaukee Gun Violence
Milwaukee is experiencing a sharp rise in gun violence over the past several weeks that is alarming even those dedicated to stopping it, according to FOX6 News Milwaukee. Police responded to three separate shootings within minutes of each other early Saturday morning, leaving three dead and two injured, including 38-year-old Kelvin Bonds Jr. and his younger cousin, shot and killed near 6th and Vienna. Stephen Hopkins, a program manager with the city’s Department of Community Wellness and Safety, said the volume of firearms on the streets is unlike anything he has seen, adding that prevention advocates are now focused on unifying efforts across multiple organizations to address the crisis before it escalates further. 🔗 More here
Cold Weather Drives Transit Crime
New York City’s subway system has seen an 11% uptick in transit crime so far in 2026, which the NYPD is attributing to record cold temperatures driving more people into the transit system, according to CBS New York. Despite the increase, the department noted transit crime remains down 7.5% from two years ago, and that the spike amounts to roughly six index crimes per day across a system used by millions of riders daily. The surge drew public attention after two women and a teenager were randomly attacked in Brooklyn, with one pushed onto the subway tracks, prompting the department to add additional officers throughout the system in response. 🚃 More here
Indiana Officer Shot and Killed
Beech Grove, Indiana, police officer Brian Elliot was killed and a second officer was wounded in a shooting. It happened as officers were responding to a report of a domestic disturbance. Indiana State Police identified the suspect in the shooting as 47-year-old Kenneth Johnson. He was taken into custody by IMPD SWAT officers.
Drunk Driver Kills DC Officer
Newly obtained video shows the aftermath of a crash that killed Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Terry Bennett, a 32-year-old eight-year veteran who was struck and killed while assisting a motorist on I-695, according to NBC4 Washington. The driver, Jerrold Coates, had a blood alcohol content of 0.16 — twice the legal limit — and also had marijuana in his system at the time of the crash; surveillance footage shows him speeding and weaving through traffic moments before striking Bennett, who was thrown approximately 22 feet. In a jailhouse interview, Coates acknowledged drinking but said he didn’t believe he was impaired. He has been charged with second-degree murder while armed and is being held without bond pending trial. 🔗 More here
North Carolina Trooper Killed
A North Carolina Highway Patrol trooper was killed early Sunday morning after losing control of his patrol vehicle while on duty in Robeson County, according to WSOC-TV. Master Trooper Stein Davis, Jr., a member of the 141st Basic Patrol School, drove off the road and overturned in a swampy area; he was pronounced dead shortly after midnight. The crash remains under investigation, and officials said information on a memorial service is forthcoming. 💙🖤💙 More here