LA County sheriff’s deputy kills unarmed man he feared was reaching for gun, deputy says

LOS ANGELES — Authorities say a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy has fatally shot an unarmed man he feared was reaching for a gun.

Police: Fake officer with flashing red light arrested after stopping mayor of Shreveport, La.

SHREVEPORT, La. — Police say a man impersonating an officer with a flashing red light in his car has been arrested after he pulled over the wrong driver — the mayor of Shreveport, La.

FBI issues warning for police depts to look out for explosive materials after NYC raids

NEW YORK — Counterterrorism officials are warning police departments around the country to be on the lookout for evidence of homemade bombs following raids on several New York City apartments in a hunt for explosives and possible links to al-Qaida operatives.

Former Orange County assistant sheriff gets 27 months in federal prison for tax evasion, fraud

SANTA ANA, Calif. — A former Orange County assistant sheriff has been sentenced to 27 months in federal prison for tax evasion and mail fraud.

Albuquerque deals with fallout from volunteer officer who arrested prostitutes

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A volunteer officer who went undercover to nab suspected prostitutes has put the Albuquerque Police Department on the defensive about its practices and raised questions about the cases he helped prosecute.

Federal, local agents raid New York City residences as part of terrorism investigation

WASHINGTON — FBI agents and police on a terrorism task force raided residences in New York City before dawn Monday after a visit from a person believed to be linked to al-Qaida.

Police say killing at Yale University is not random act, no one else in danger on campus

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Police are hunting for the killer who stuffed a body believed to be that of a Yale University graduate student behind a wall in the high-security laboratory building where she worked.

FBI: Murder, violent crime dropped in 2008; property crimes also fall

WASHINGTON — Murder and manslaughter dropped almost 4 percent last year, as reported crime overall fell around the country, according to new data released Monday by the FBI.

Kurdish policeman’s family killed in Iraq’s north as Kurdish-Arab tensions build

BAGHDAD — Gunmen killed a Kurdish policeman’s wife and three young children with execution-style shots to the head Sunday as they slept in their home in the northern city of Kirkuk, where tension is building between Arabs and Kurds over land and oil.

Gunmen kill Kurdish policeman’s sleeping family in northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk

BAGHDAD — Gunmen broke into the home of a Kurdish policeman in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk early Sunday, killing his wife and three children execution-style with shots to the head as they slept, authorities said.

AP ENTERPRISE: Questions emerge about company promising to bring inmates to small Montana town

BILLINGS, Mont. — The Two Rivers Detention Center was promoted as the largest economic development project in decades in the small town of Hardin when the jail was built two years ago. But it has been vacant ever since.

5 US troops among 50 killed in spate of Afghan violence; 20 civilians killed by roadside bombs

KABUL — About 50 civilians, security forces and militants were killed in a wave of violence around Afghanistan, including a bomb that left 14 Afghan travelers dead in one of the country’s most dangerous regions. Five American soldiers died in two attacks using roadside bombs.

3 US troops among 50 killed in spate of Afghan violence; 20 civilians killed by roadside bombs

KABUL — About 50 civilians, security forces and militants were killed in violence around Afghanistan, including a bomb that left 14 Afghan travelers dead in one of the country’s most dangerous regions. Another roadside bomb killed three American soldiers in the east.

Suicide bombings, slayings and clashes kill 7 in Russia’s volatile North Caucasus region

GROZNY, Russia — Militant attacks and gunbattles across Russia’s violence-plagued North Caucasus left seven people dead Saturday, including the second suicide bomber to strike in less than 24 hours, law enforcement and emergency officials said.

2 US troops among 50 killed in spate of Afghan violence; 20 civilians killed by roadside bombs

KABUL — Nearly 50 Afghan civilians, security forces and militants were killed in a spate of attacks around the war-torn country, including an overnight military raid targeting insurgents in the increasingly violent north, officials said Saturday. A roadside bomb killed two U.S. troops in the east.

48 civilians, security forces, insurgents killed in rash of attacks in war-torn Afghanistan

KABUL — Some 48 Afghan civilians, security forces and militants were killed in a spate of attacks around the war-torn country, including an overnight military raid targeting insurgents in the increasingly violent north, officials said Saturday.

45 civilians, security forces, insurgents killed in rash of attacks in war-torn Afghanistan

KABUL — Forty-five Afghan civilians, security forces and militants were killed in a spate of attacks around the war-torn country, including an overnight military raid targeting insurgents in the increasingly violent north, officials said Saturday.

Lawsuits: Philadelphia police robbed bodegas during phony drug raids, destroyed merchandise

PHILADELPHIA — City police officers working for an elite anti-drug unit regularly robbed and harassed bodega owners during sham raids, civil-rights lawyers charge in several federal lawsuits against the officers and the city.

Milwaukee County DA charges suspected serial killer in deaths of 5 more women

MILWAUKEE — A suspected serial killer has been charged in the slayings of five more women in Milwaukee. Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm said Thursday that he filed the additional charges against Walter E. Ellis, who now faces five counts of first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of first-degree murder — the equivalent charge that was state law when the deaths occurred.

Man wrongfully convicted in homicide accuses police in federal lawsuit of coercing witnesses

MILWAUKEE — A man who served 13 years in prison before his homicide conviction was overturned sued the city of Milwaukee and its police department Thursday, the same day authorities filed new charges against a man whose DNA they say was found on the victim.

Attorneys for man granted new trial in runaway’s slaying say he plans to sue Milwaukee police

MILWAUKEE — A man whose homicide conviction was overturned after he served 13 years for the slaying of a teenage runaway will sue Milwaukee police, his attorney said Thursday, days after authorities said DNA linked another man to the crime.

Thai national police chief steps down after forced transfer to inactive post

BANGKOK — Thailand’s national police chief resigned Wednesday after being transferred to an inactive post in the wake of an official recommendation that he be prosecuted for his role in a deadly crackdown against anti-government protesters last year.

Facing drug, embezzlement and other charges, police chief in Vt. resigns

VERGENNES, Vt. — Officials in Vergennes say the city’s police chief — who’s facing drug, embezzlement and other charges — has resigned.

Blagojevich: Words on FBI tape were taken out of context but prison is still a worry

CHICAGO — Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich said Tuesday that statements he made on secret FBI wiretap tapes were taken out of context by prosecutors and that he might try to call senators and a top White House official as witnesses at his racketeering and fraud trial to back his version of events.

Kenya replaces tainted police chief after abuse allegations by UN, rights groups

NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya replaced its police chief on Tuesday months after human rights groups complained that some his officers killed and raped during the violent aftermath of the disputed December 2007 elections, but activists said more reforms are needed to restore confidence in a notoriously predatory police force.

Roadside bomb in northern Iraqi Shiite town kills police chief, 4 others

BAGHDAD — A roadside bomb killed the head of an anti-terrorism police unit and four of his bodyguards Tuesday in a northern Iraqi town that is home to a large Shiite population, a police official said.

Point man in Mexico’s offensive against drug gangs announces resignation in Cabinet shakeup

MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Felipe Calderon has accepted the resignation of the attorney general who was leading the battle against drug cartels, making the biggest shake-up yet in his offensive against organized crime.

Police identify 3 killed in street race crash in central Florida; no word yet who was driving

HOLLY HILL, Fla. — Three people killed in an apparent street racing crash in central Florida have been identified.

Official: Blast kills 3 police, wounds 2 in Russia’s troubled Ingushetia province

NAZRAN, Russia — A roadside bomb blast ripped through a police car in Russia’s violence-plagued southern Ingushetia province on Friday, killing three officers and wounding two others, authorities said.

Bomb outside restaurant kills policeman, wounds 12 in southern Thailand

PATTANI, Thailand — A bomb believed to have been planted by Islamic insurgents exploded Friday outside a restaurant in southern Thailand where security forces were eating breakfast, killing a policeman and wounding 12 other people.