Chicago Police Commander Shot to Death

On Tuesday, February 13 Chicago Police Department Commander Paul Bauer, 53, was shot dead at the Thompson Center while pursuing a suspect. The suspect shot Bauer, a 31 year old veteran of the Chicago Police Department, after a struggle between the two broke out. Bauer was in the area after attending an “active shooter” training. The suspect was apprehended and was identified as a 44 year old male, a four time felon, and a former prisoner who was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 1998. Bauer’s death is the first Chicago officer killed in the line of duty since 2011 and the highest ranking officer to be killed in decades.

“Commander Bauer stood for the highest ideals of our police department and our city  to serve and protect the people of Chicago.” Rahm Emanuel, Chicago Mayor, said.

The Chicago Police Memorial Foundation also released a statement regarding Bauer’s death, “The idea that Paul would act so unselfishly and would sacrifice his own safety for the safety of the people of Chicago and his fellow officers comes as no surprise to those of us who knew him.”

Plane Crash in Russia Leaves 71 Dead

On Sunday, February 11th, a plane leaving Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport crashed, killing all 65 passengers and the 6 crew members aboard the plane. The plane was a Saratov Airlines jet and was in route to the city of Orsk in the Ural Mountains. More than 1,400 body parts and hundreds of plane parts were recovered at the scene of the crash. The Russian Interstate Aviation Committee believes that faulty instruments on the plane had given the pilots faulty data leading to the pilots misreading the data and causing the plane crash. At the time of the crash, the pilot had over 5,000 logged hours and the plane was around 7 years old.

According to the in-flight recorder that was recovered from the crash, the plane had problems about two and a half minutes after the plane took off and reached an altitude of 4,265 feet. The instruments were believed to display different speed sensors than that of the plane’s actual speed. It was believed that the sensores were iced over and the pilot is believed to have rejected a de-icing treatment prior to the flight, something that is optional for flight crews.

Ahmad Rahimi Sentenced to Life In Prison

On Tuesday, Ahmad Rahimi, the man responsible for the September 17, 2016 bombings in New Jersey and Chelsea was sentenced to life imprisonment. Rahimi was responsible for setting off two bombs in two states in 2016, including a pressure cooker bomb and a bag filled with other explosives. During Rahimi’s attack, nobody was killed, but thirty people were injured in the explosions. During the trial, Rahimi failed to show remorse for his victims.

“You sound like most people and yet your actions are totally at odds with your voice. We saw videos. It’s really hard to square the way you appear in court to that other behavior.” US District Judge Richard M. Berman of Manhattan said, viewing Rahimi as a reasonable man. Judge Berman also said that Rahimi deserved multiple life sentences for his crimes.

One of Rahimi’s victims, Pauline Nelson, now suffers from muscle spasms in her back as a result of Rahimi’s crime.

“You never apologised to anyone in the courtroom. You have no remorse for what you did.” Nelson said.