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Dean Scoville

Associate Editor

Former associate editor of Police Magazine and a retired patrol supervisor and investigator with the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, Sgt. Dean Scoville has received multiple awards for government service. He was the author of Shots Fired, Police Magazine's monthly column examining officer-involved shootings as experienced by the officers themselves.

Articlesby Dean ScovilleDecember 1, 2005

Shots Fired: Melbourne, Florida 01/11/2004

It was a damned cold night for central Florida. Officer Keith Cowart wasn’t getting any argument from Smokey Stapleter or Gary Markowski on that score. His fellow Melbourne, Fla., police officers had congregated with him for a windshield conference and coffee. Stapleter rubbed his arms to get his blood circulating.

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Articlesby Dean ScovilleNovember 1, 2005

How to Cope with Looters

The looters hit the gun stores in New Orleans first, loading up with rifles and ammunition to better fend for the crimes to follow. Then they descended upon other stores. Before long, they moved from the business districts to nearby residences. And what Hurricane Katrina hadn’t ravaged or left destroyed, they did.

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Articlesby Dean ScovilleNovember 1, 2005

Shots Fired: Los Angeles County 01/14/1987

It's one of the maxims of working patrol: No matter what day of the week, no matter what time of night, things can go to hell in a heartbeat. It didn't take long for Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Michael Claus to learn how true this saying can be.

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Articlesby Dean ScovilleOctober 1, 2005

Working with Dogs

Whether chasing a fleeing suspect or searching for a missing person, the K-9 handler and his assisting officers have a lot of influence on the success or failure of a canine search. What can a street cop do to hedge his bets when it comes to a successful canine search? We asked a few K-9 vets.

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Articlesby Dean ScovilleOctober 1, 2005

Shots Fired: Valparaiso, Indiana 07/15/2002

At the sight of the silver patrol car with the bumble bee stripe, the children came running. They came running not with the usual curiosity of kids asking for perfunctory activations of lights and siren, but to tell Officer Todd Kobitz of the Valparaiso (Ind.) Police Department about the man who had harassed them.

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Articlesby Dean ScovilleSeptember 1, 2005

Shots Fired: Grand Prairie, Texas 01/04/2005

Possessing a rough-hewn face and a rawboned build, Richard Johnson, 31, of Grand Prairie, Texas, was already wanted for a series of aggravated robberies in Ft. Worth by the time he took up a gun and fired a couple of shots at his mother. She escaped unharmed. But then Johnson turned things up a notch, stabbing himself in the stomach and setting fire to the converted mobile home they shared.

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Articlesby Dean ScovilleAugust 1, 2005

Shots Fired: Long Beach, Mississippi 05/06/1998

Ron Redding needed a rest. The duties of a lieutenant and SWAT officer with the Gulfport (Miss.) Police Department had drained him.

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Articlesby Dean ScovilleJuly 1, 2005

Watch What You Eat

While not generally regarded as one of the more obvious dangers of the job, an officer’s lunch break is not without its liabilities.

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Articlesby Dean ScovilleJuly 1, 2005

Shots Fired: Sauk Rapids, Minnesota 01/09/1985

When Derek Brinkman was born in January 1985, his father, Doug Brinkman, couldn’t believe his good fortune. He passed out cigars and received many slaps on the back.

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Articlesby Dean ScovilleJune 2, 2005

Shots Fired: Pueblo, Colorado 12/23/2004

It was two days before Christmas 2004, and Sgt. Randy Wills of the Pueblo (Colo.) Police Department was a case study in sleep deprivation. It had been a busy holiday season with very little peace on earth and even less good will toward men. Wills needed rest.

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