After crimes, local business moves in to help restore people’s homes
As a longtime police detective, Virgil Hutchinson has spent countless hours investigating crime scenes. While his current police work keeps him confined to his desk for most of the day, Hutchinson spends even more time at crime scenes handling his second job: trauma scene cleanup.
“You wouldn’t believe the scenes we go through. I mean the scenes that happen,” Hutchinson said as his eyes widened to recount the memories. “It’s tough on the family so you need someone that could first of all know how to deal with stressful situations like this.”
Hutchinson is very cautious when speaking about his experiences cleaning up crime scenes because he said privacy is the most important thing he can provide to the people he helps. A 23-year veteran of the Syracuse Police Department, he often sounds like a psychologist when speaking of the effects a crime scene can have on victims’ families.
He remembers a time when he responded to a family who had just experienced a violent crime in the home. The family wanted Hutchinson to clean up the blood.
“That’s where we came in,” said Hutchinson, CEO of B-D Trauma Scene Clean, Inc. “We disposed of everything the right way and gave them their privacy.”
Inspiration for the name of Hutchinson’s business comes from his father’s nickname, B-D. The name has special meaning to Hutchinson, whose father died of lung disease. The idea to start a company came through his police work before he became a detective.
“I would often hear people say, ‘so when do you come back and clean this place up?’” Hutchinson said. “And so I did some research.”
Hutchinson was the first tenant to house his business in the South Side Innovation Center. He said he chose the space on South Salina Street because of his concern for the city in which he was raised.
Cleaning crime scenes is something that Hutchinson takes seriously and personally. That’s one reason he is hesitant to divulge too many details of his experiences.
“We don’t come to the house with this big van that says, ‘We clean crime scenes’ or anything of that sort,” Hutchinson said. “There’s psychological effects that go with that.”
Hutchinson said the sight of some crime scenes is sometimes hard to grasp and often takes a toll on him mentally. For that reason, he said finding people to employ is often difficult. He said he must be very selective and can tell within a few minutes during an interview whether a person has the stomach for the job.
Crime scene cleaning is just one of the jobs he and his employees provide. Some other features of B-D Trauma Scene Clean are biohazard cleaning, floor care, restoration after mold damage, and selling supplies to other companies.
Hutchinson remembers when he and his crew had to restore a house because water damage led to mold spreading throughout the whole property.
“We gutted the whole thing,” Hutchinson said. “We disinfected, sterilized and placed antimicrobial agents in the house.”
Whatever the situation, Hutchinson and his employees must dispose of materials “the right way,” he said.
“It needs to be autoclaved,” Hutchinson said, which means disposing of any remnants through a machine rather than in a large trash bin. Otherwise, he said, there is a risk of mold, hepatitis, or pathogens traveling through the air and infecting people.
“You really have to want to feel good about helping people, and that’s a lot of where my background in police work comes in,” Hutchinson said. “It’s that good feeling you get at the end of the day.”
Showing posts with label American Bio Recovery Association. Show all posts
Showing posts with label American Bio Recovery Association. Show all posts
Friday, July 30, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Murder-Suicide on the rise nationwide
In less than a week there has been a rise in cases of murder suicide. Nationwide there's reports of murder suicides, where the people had either made an attempt to kill their family then themselves, or successfully committed the act.
What drives a person to want to kill themselves and their family?
Is it the stress from the plummeted economy?
Whatever the case may be, in the pass four-days this has been the case. In Michigan alone there's been three cases involving people that killed their family and then themselves. The most recent killing involved a South Lyon mother who gave her 13- year-old daughter prescription drugs, killing the child and then the mother tried to kill herself. The mother survived and is in critical condition at a local hospital.
Questions surfaced whether the mother was stressed about caring for the girl because the teenager suffered from mental disabilities and health problems. Police say on two recent occasions the teen became violent, by assaulted her mother.
Michigan
In another Michigan story, a mother shot her 14 year-old daughter in the back, then turned the gun on herself. In this case the mother didn't survive, but the child did.
Texas
In Texas, a mayor of a Dallas suburb killed her teen daughter before turning the gun on herself, according to the county medical examiner. Police found the bodies of Jayne Peters, 55, and her 19-year-old daughter Corrine at their home after being sent to investigate the Coppell mayor's absence from a council meeting. Police found notes throughout the house, none of the notes explained what led to the shootings – only instructions about the care of the family pets. Two dogs were also found in the house.
California
In California, a horrific scene was discovered when a co-worker of a man went to his house only to find that the man had shot his wife and 3 year-old son. The child hid himself inside a trash dumpster for 12 hours until police discovered him there. The police found the boy bleeding from 3 gunshot wounds to his shoulder, stomach and chest. His parents were found dead on lawn chairs outside the Anaheim home, and his uninjured 5-year-old brother was hiding elsewhere in the house. The older boy told police he could hear his baby brother "screaming and hollering," but didn't know where he was.
A friend said the family had financial problems. Police are continuing to investigate. "It's very difficult to determine a motive for killing your own kids," the police spokesman said. In another case, a 58-year-old woman and 81-year-old man were found dead in a San Rafael hotel Saturday afternoon in an apparent murder-suicide.
Chicago
A man identified as Eugene Robertson, 27, walked into a Old Navy store and shot and killed, Tranesha Palms in her 20s. According to reports from the Chicago Tribune, the couple lived together in an apartment in the 10200 block of South Walden Parkway in the Beverly neighborhood on the South Side.
A police said that the two arrived at the store at the same time, the gunman followed his girlfriend through a State Street door that led to the restricted area for employees. Once inside, the shooting happened quickly, with no signs of a prolonged fight or struggle.
Connecticut
A man and a women were shot to death in a car late Sunday morning in what police believe is a murder-suicide. The shooting happened in the Rite Aid parking lot on Hazard Avenue. When police arrived they found the two slumped over in the car, both people suffering from bullet wounds.The pair was rushed to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield by ambulance, and later died. The couple drove in separate cars and met in the parking lot. Police are still investigating to find out what led to the killing.
Georgia
Matthew Justice, 37, his wife Amy, 36, two children ages 14 and 11 years-old were discovered shot. The man apparently shot his family and turned the gun on himself. The 14-year-old male was transported to Southeast Alabama Medical Center in Dothan where he remains in critical condition, the 11 year-old female who was also taken to the same medical center, got treated and released.
A shooting in Augusta, Georgia left one dead and one injured.
What drives a person to want to kill themselves and their family?
Is it the stress from the plummeted economy?
Whatever the case may be, in the pass four-days this has been the case. In Michigan alone there's been three cases involving people that killed their family and then themselves. The most recent killing involved a South Lyon mother who gave her 13- year-old daughter prescription drugs, killing the child and then the mother tried to kill herself. The mother survived and is in critical condition at a local hospital.
Questions surfaced whether the mother was stressed about caring for the girl because the teenager suffered from mental disabilities and health problems. Police say on two recent occasions the teen became violent, by assaulted her mother.
Michigan
In another Michigan story, a mother shot her 14 year-old daughter in the back, then turned the gun on herself. In this case the mother didn't survive, but the child did.
Texas
In Texas, a mayor of a Dallas suburb killed her teen daughter before turning the gun on herself, according to the county medical examiner. Police found the bodies of Jayne Peters, 55, and her 19-year-old daughter Corrine at their home after being sent to investigate the Coppell mayor's absence from a council meeting. Police found notes throughout the house, none of the notes explained what led to the shootings – only instructions about the care of the family pets. Two dogs were also found in the house.
California
In California, a horrific scene was discovered when a co-worker of a man went to his house only to find that the man had shot his wife and 3 year-old son. The child hid himself inside a trash dumpster for 12 hours until police discovered him there. The police found the boy bleeding from 3 gunshot wounds to his shoulder, stomach and chest. His parents were found dead on lawn chairs outside the Anaheim home, and his uninjured 5-year-old brother was hiding elsewhere in the house. The older boy told police he could hear his baby brother "screaming and hollering," but didn't know where he was.
A friend said the family had financial problems. Police are continuing to investigate. "It's very difficult to determine a motive for killing your own kids," the police spokesman said. In another case, a 58-year-old woman and 81-year-old man were found dead in a San Rafael hotel Saturday afternoon in an apparent murder-suicide.
Chicago
A man identified as Eugene Robertson, 27, walked into a Old Navy store and shot and killed, Tranesha Palms in her 20s. According to reports from the Chicago Tribune, the couple lived together in an apartment in the 10200 block of South Walden Parkway in the Beverly neighborhood on the South Side.
A police said that the two arrived at the store at the same time, the gunman followed his girlfriend through a State Street door that led to the restricted area for employees. Once inside, the shooting happened quickly, with no signs of a prolonged fight or struggle.
Connecticut
A man and a women were shot to death in a car late Sunday morning in what police believe is a murder-suicide. The shooting happened in the Rite Aid parking lot on Hazard Avenue. When police arrived they found the two slumped over in the car, both people suffering from bullet wounds.The pair was rushed to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield by ambulance, and later died. The couple drove in separate cars and met in the parking lot. Police are still investigating to find out what led to the killing.
Georgia
Matthew Justice, 37, his wife Amy, 36, two children ages 14 and 11 years-old were discovered shot. The man apparently shot his family and turned the gun on himself. The 14-year-old male was transported to Southeast Alabama Medical Center in Dothan where he remains in critical condition, the 11 year-old female who was also taken to the same medical center, got treated and released.
A shooting in Augusta, Georgia left one dead and one injured.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
This job is murder
NYPD solved 59% of 2009 slayings
By REUVEN BLAU and BRAD HAMILTON
What are the chances of getting away with murder in New York City?
About 41 percent.
The NYPD solved 59 percent of homicides last year -- down 8 percentage points from the year before, and about 5 points less than the national average in 2008, according to data obtained under a Freedom of Information request.
The "clearance rate" -- cases where arrests are made -- plummeted despite detectives having to investigate a near-record low 471 slayings, police records show.
"All the cases on TV are solved with evidence," said Vernon Geberth, a famed detective and former commander of the Bronx homicide task force. "People start to think we can solve all these crimes."
The data came out during an alarming uptick in murders. There were 139 homicides so far this year as of April 18, a 27 percent jump over the 109 killings in the same period last year.
In 2009, cops solved 75 percent of rapes, 42 percent of robberies, 18 percent of burglaries and 25 percent of grand larcenies -- all higher than the national average the year before. About 54 percent of felony assaults were cleared; the national average in 2008 was 55 percent.
The easiest crime to get away with was car theft -- just 9 percent were solved in the city and only 12 percent nationally. And auto thieves are not slowing down. They swiped 2,869 vehicles in the Big Apple this year, up from 2,852 over the same period in 2009.
The NYPD closely guards its performance figures, unlike crime stats, which cops are required to turn over to the FBI.
For years, the department voluntarily gave the feds its clearance rates, but Police Commissioner Ray Kelly ended the practice in 2002, claiming that computer problems got in the way -- though detectives still get the information, police spokesman Paul Browne said.
"Clearance rates for the NYPD have been consistent over the years, and usually higher than the national average," said Browne, pointing out the department's 67 percent murder clearance rate in 2008 was 3 percentage points higher than the national figure. "I expect the actual clearance rate for 2009 murders will improve as arrests in 2010 for 2009 murders are made and recorded."
Veteran detectives say they're working harder than ever to crack cases but are hampered by dwindling ranks and a bigger workload. They now must handle misdemeanor cases that once went to beat cops.
Investigators say the diminished clearance rates could be a result of them taking longer to solve cases, which are increasingly dependent on high-tech evidence like DNA that takes time to collect and analyze.
By REUVEN BLAU and BRAD HAMILTON
What are the chances of getting away with murder in New York City?
About 41 percent.
The NYPD solved 59 percent of homicides last year -- down 8 percentage points from the year before, and about 5 points less than the national average in 2008, according to data obtained under a Freedom of Information request.
The "clearance rate" -- cases where arrests are made -- plummeted despite detectives having to investigate a near-record low 471 slayings, police records show.
"All the cases on TV are solved with evidence," said Vernon Geberth, a famed detective and former commander of the Bronx homicide task force. "People start to think we can solve all these crimes."
The data came out during an alarming uptick in murders. There were 139 homicides so far this year as of April 18, a 27 percent jump over the 109 killings in the same period last year.
In 2009, cops solved 75 percent of rapes, 42 percent of robberies, 18 percent of burglaries and 25 percent of grand larcenies -- all higher than the national average the year before. About 54 percent of felony assaults were cleared; the national average in 2008 was 55 percent.
The easiest crime to get away with was car theft -- just 9 percent were solved in the city and only 12 percent nationally. And auto thieves are not slowing down. They swiped 2,869 vehicles in the Big Apple this year, up from 2,852 over the same period in 2009.
The NYPD closely guards its performance figures, unlike crime stats, which cops are required to turn over to the FBI.
For years, the department voluntarily gave the feds its clearance rates, but Police Commissioner Ray Kelly ended the practice in 2002, claiming that computer problems got in the way -- though detectives still get the information, police spokesman Paul Browne said.
"Clearance rates for the NYPD have been consistent over the years, and usually higher than the national average," said Browne, pointing out the department's 67 percent murder clearance rate in 2008 was 3 percentage points higher than the national figure. "I expect the actual clearance rate for 2009 murders will improve as arrests in 2010 for 2009 murders are made and recorded."
Veteran detectives say they're working harder than ever to crack cases but are hampered by dwindling ranks and a bigger workload. They now must handle misdemeanor cases that once went to beat cops.
Investigators say the diminished clearance rates could be a result of them taking longer to solve cases, which are increasingly dependent on high-tech evidence like DNA that takes time to collect and analyze.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Hiring A Pro For A Crime/Biohazard Cleanup
Unbeknownst to most, crime scenes, biohazard scenes or death scene in general should not be cleaned by property owners/management companies where crime or death scenes have occured. In addition, police and municipal workers do not clean crime/death scenes in the private sector.
The term crime scene technically refers to any area where a crime has taken place. Having a crime committed on your property can be traumatic and psychologically damaging. If this occurs in a property you own or rent, you may be surprised to know that the onus of cleanup belongs to you. Cleaning up after a crime yourself can make the trauma much worse, as well as physically dangerous to future residents of the home. In order to be assured a safe, clean property going forward, it is always recommended to leave the cleanup to the pros.
A lot of people don't really understand what constitutes a crime scene until they themselves step into one. Whenever such an event occurs, the police, ambulance services or fire departments are called first. Emergency services do the most important work in these situations, but one aspect of the job they do not handle: the cleanup. So crime scene cleanup professionals are the second call you should always make after a crime has taken place.
Psychological Trauma
It's true that the owner of a residence is actually responsible for its cleanup. Still, no one should ever be forced to do so. The trauma of performing such a cleanup can be devastating, and the impact of engaging in such an act can scar a person for life. The best crime scene cleanup crews are given special sensitivity training, so they can tactfully interact with a bereaved family while not falling apart at the same time.
Biohazard Dangers
Federal regulations assert that all body fluids are considered biohazards. As such, only a person trained in removing biohazard materials should clean a crime scene contaminated by bodily matter. This isn't merely an overly cautious suggestion; blood and tissue are truly dangerous substances that can easily lead to infection. Often, a small splatter or stain on a wall or floor only indicates that what lies beneath is a much larger pool of human detritus. Only someone equipped with the tools (such as biohazard suits, nonporous gloves, and breathing apparatus) and training should attempt to clean up this kind of mess. Sometimes, a crime scene that even appears relatively clean can hide an invisible mess of bacteria and other dangerous pathogens. Only someone with the proper apparatus to completely disinfect the domicile should be called in to clean it up.
Disposing of Waste
Anyone transporting biohazard or human remains requires special permits and equipment to do so. In addition to transporting issues, crime scene cleaners have to pay a medical disposal company to dispose of human waste by burning it in a special incinerator. The medical waste companies generally charge by the pound and will only burn a minimum amount of waste. Therefore, crime scene cleanup companies will often store biohazard waste until they have enough to dispose of. Here in NY City it is illedale to dispose and any material that contains blood or body fluids into the City Sanitation stream. Mattresses, chairs, linens, ect. can only be disposed by a company that has a permit to dispose of these items as regulated waste or red bag waste. Any management company that has there employee perform this work without the proper training, medical followup and disposal is at risk of receiving fines from OSHA, DEC, and Sanitation.
There are many good reasons not to attempt a crime scene cleanup on your own. Crime scene cleanup organizations regulate and set certain standards for the industry. So, if a crime has been committed on your property, the best thing you can do is to contact these institutions for a recommendation.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
The Clean Team
As bio-recovery experts, this Ulster County couple spends their days decontaminating crime scenes
By: Nina Flanagan
Ever wonder who cleans up crime scenes, traffic accidents, or decomposing bodies discovered days or weeks after death? How about houses piled floor-to-ceiling with garbage? Although breezily depicted in the recent film Sunshine Cleaning, this work is no walk in the (Hollywood) park. It requires the fortitude of an EMS worker and the tact of a funeral director. Fortunately, West Saugerties resident Raquel Steinlage-Pallak and her husband/partner-in-crime-cleanup, Ian, have experience being both.
Beginning in high school as a volunteer for the Miami-Dade Crime Scene Unit, Raquel’s journey into this enigmatic world took several turns. She was a mortician, funeral director, and a death investigator; she also graduated with a degree in social work/criminal justice. “It’s difficult dealing with relatives of people who die suddenly or violently,” she says. “They want answers right away, and contrary to popular TV shows, results for some tests can take months.”
While in Florida, she became aware of several crime-scene cleaning companies, and it seemed a viable career option. When she realized that no one was offering bio-recovery (as the process is called) in Ulster County, she began thinking about starting her own company. “Many people thought it was ghoulish,” she remembers. “But from our perspective, it’s a service.” She and Ian decided to move forward, and created Ulster Biorecovery, LLC in 2008.
“You can’t just call a housecleaning service to clean up crime scenes,” states Raquel. Unfortunately, it turns out you probably can, but shouldn’t — due to federal, state, and local guidelines for handling medical waste. As a homeowner, landlord, or employer, you’re responsible for any pathogens left behind which can cause sickness months or even years later.
“Upon arrival, it’s critical to establish when the incident occurred, other hazards at the site, items of sentimental or financial value that need to be salvaged, and the presence of free roaming pets that may have spread contamination,” Raquel summarizes. After suiting up in protective gear, the couple documents the scene with photos, sketches, and video. A staging area for equipment is set up just beyond the area to be cleaned. Work progresses from the most contaminated area to the least. Vomit in a police car takes a couple of hours to clean; a decomposed body can take up to two weeks or more to disinfect and deodorize; the process often entails almost complete inside demolition, right down to the wall studs and trusses.
Raquel recalls their first job was a “trash” house, which was occupied by a family. It was filled with garbage and had no working bathroom, which she says is often more psychologically upsetting than an actual crime scene. Ian agrees: “You’d never think in a million years that parents could treat their own kids that way.” Yet, they have to remain neutral. “You’re not there to judge a situation, you’re there to do your job and clean it up,” he explains. Other jobs have included a fire in a house where an elderly woman had hoarded everything (including trash) and owned about 50 feral cats. Garbage was literally piled up to the ceiling. Ian says a “viscerally shocking” job involved the suicide of a young man, who shot himself in the shower. A decomposed body in the Bronx wasn’t discovered for two weeks. “This man lived in this boarding house for 10 years and died in his room. The landlord couldn’t even remember his first name.” Raquel shakes her head. “That’s what we encounter.”
The work is both emotionally and physically demanding. Donning Tyvek coveralls, gloves, boots, and respirators slows them down. Special equipment — ozone generators (for big stinks), ultra low volume foggers (to dispense disinfectants in tiny particles), and an automatic pressure washer — is used to tackle tough jobs. There’s some low-tech stuff, too. “Our handy-dandy blood detector, like on CSI, is just hydrogen peroxide that bubbles on contact with blood,” laughs Raquel. Paper towels and shovels are often used to clean up large amounts of blood.
Raquel has some advice for those considering bio-recovery as a career. “Have a passion for it because it’s a lot of work. The key is to restore the environment and make it safe. And remember, you’re also emotionally restoring it, too.”
Friday, March 26, 2010
Spike in killings and shootings around the city has New Yorkers worried
BY Jonathan Lemire
DAILY NEWS POLICE BUREAU
Murders are up sharply in the city this year, with startling increases in gunplay across the five boroughs, a Daily News study of NYPD statistics shows.
The citywide murder rate has increased 22.8% in the first 11 weeks of the year over the same period in 2009, from 79 homicides to 97 as of Sunday, the most recent day for which statistics are available.
Shootings in general are also up citywide, with 293 people hit by bullets this year, a 16.3% change from the total of 252 recorded by March 21 last year.
Coming after a year in which New York saw the fewest number of homicides on record, the spike in crime rattled residents trying to go about their lives.
"There's always new problems," said Shirley Mercedes, 15, who lives in the South Bronx's gang-riddled 40th precinct, where the crime rise has been steepest.
Seventeen people have been shot in the precinct this year, compared with five over the same period last year.
"[It] is getting worse," Shirley said. "I shouldn't be used to it, but it's where I live."
There were 466 slayings in New York in 2009, the lowest year-end total since the NYPD started its tracking method in 1963.
"The NYPD is fighting its own success," said Paul Browne, the Police Department's top spokesman.
Browne pointed out that this year's murder rate is still 14% lower than 2008 and 39% lower than the murder rate in 2001.
The dramatic 2009 drop came despite harder economic times and a smaller police force stretched thin by counter-terrorism operations.
That big success is losing some ground, the statistics show.
Murders in Manhattan have risen from 9 to 16, a 77.8% increase, and they are up 28.6% in Queens, from 14 to 18.
Brooklyn and the Bronx have also suffered an increase in the murder rate - both at about 15%. Only Staten Island has seen another decrease in the homicide rate.
The overall city crime rate, comprised of seven major felonies, dropped 2% in the first three months of the year. And even among the increases, the raw numbers are still very low.
Some neighborhoods feel under siege.
"It's like war [and] it's getting worse every day," said Joel Araujo, 19, who works at a clothing store in Port Morris, Bronx.
In tree-lined Queens Village, murders have gone from 1 to 5 through Sunday - and the medical examiner confirmed a sixth yesterday - while shootings in the neighborhood have increased from 2 to 9, a 450% jump.
The 88th Precinct in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, has already had six shootings this year, after having none in the first months of 2009.
Police officials have long credited the dramatic recent drop in crime to Operation Impact, which floods felony-prone areas with uniformed rookies.
Proposed budget cuts could further imperil its effectiveness by reducing NYPD manpower, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly has warned.
Browne partially attributed the increase in murders to a rise in arson deaths, from zero to six, and in homicides among family members, from 12 to 14.
DAILY NEWS POLICE BUREAU
Murders are up sharply in the city this year, with startling increases in gunplay across the five boroughs, a Daily News study of NYPD statistics shows.
The citywide murder rate has increased 22.8% in the first 11 weeks of the year over the same period in 2009, from 79 homicides to 97 as of Sunday, the most recent day for which statistics are available.
Shootings in general are also up citywide, with 293 people hit by bullets this year, a 16.3% change from the total of 252 recorded by March 21 last year.
Coming after a year in which New York saw the fewest number of homicides on record, the spike in crime rattled residents trying to go about their lives.
"There's always new problems," said Shirley Mercedes, 15, who lives in the South Bronx's gang-riddled 40th precinct, where the crime rise has been steepest.
Seventeen people have been shot in the precinct this year, compared with five over the same period last year.
"[It] is getting worse," Shirley said. "I shouldn't be used to it, but it's where I live."
There were 466 slayings in New York in 2009, the lowest year-end total since the NYPD started its tracking method in 1963.
"The NYPD is fighting its own success," said Paul Browne, the Police Department's top spokesman.
Browne pointed out that this year's murder rate is still 14% lower than 2008 and 39% lower than the murder rate in 2001.
The dramatic 2009 drop came despite harder economic times and a smaller police force stretched thin by counter-terrorism operations.
That big success is losing some ground, the statistics show.
Murders in Manhattan have risen from 9 to 16, a 77.8% increase, and they are up 28.6% in Queens, from 14 to 18.
Brooklyn and the Bronx have also suffered an increase in the murder rate - both at about 15%. Only Staten Island has seen another decrease in the homicide rate.
The overall city crime rate, comprised of seven major felonies, dropped 2% in the first three months of the year. And even among the increases, the raw numbers are still very low.
Some neighborhoods feel under siege.
"It's like war [and] it's getting worse every day," said Joel Araujo, 19, who works at a clothing store in Port Morris, Bronx.
In tree-lined Queens Village, murders have gone from 1 to 5 through Sunday - and the medical examiner confirmed a sixth yesterday - while shootings in the neighborhood have increased from 2 to 9, a 450% jump.
The 88th Precinct in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, has already had six shootings this year, after having none in the first months of 2009.
Police officials have long credited the dramatic recent drop in crime to Operation Impact, which floods felony-prone areas with uniformed rookies.
Proposed budget cuts could further imperil its effectiveness by reducing NYPD manpower, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly has warned.
Browne partially attributed the increase in murders to a rise in arson deaths, from zero to six, and in homicides among family members, from 12 to 14.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Woman Sues NYPD For Leaving Crime Scene A Bloody Mess - New York Post
It is bad enough when a man is murdered in your backyard - but it is worse when the city leaves you to mop up the mess, the New York Post reported Sunday.
That was the lament of three Queens, N.Y., women suing the city for failing to clean up a crime scene or keep a promise to advise them on how to safely scrub bodily fluids from their driveways and walkways.
Grace Scott, 56, was in her home with a friend when shots rang out Nov. 28, 2008.
Police told Scott and her family to stay inside as they investigated the murder of Sheldon Francis, 31.
Authorities said at the time that they would go back to talk to the homeowners about the cleanup.
No one ever did.
"I don't know how to clean up blood," said Scott, shuddering at the memory of being unable to remove the stains. "It was embedded."
Scott tried using peroxide and bleach before finally paying $4,000 to replace the concrete.
The NYPD, which is being sued for $120,000, said it does not clean up crime scenes.
That was the lament of three Queens, N.Y., women suing the city for failing to clean up a crime scene or keep a promise to advise them on how to safely scrub bodily fluids from their driveways and walkways.
Grace Scott, 56, was in her home with a friend when shots rang out Nov. 28, 2008.
Police told Scott and her family to stay inside as they investigated the murder of Sheldon Francis, 31.
Authorities said at the time that they would go back to talk to the homeowners about the cleanup.
No one ever did.
"I don't know how to clean up blood," said Scott, shuddering at the memory of being unable to remove the stains. "It was embedded."
Scott tried using peroxide and bleach before finally paying $4,000 to replace the concrete.
The NYPD, which is being sued for $120,000, said it does not clean up crime scenes.
Qns. murder-scene lawsuit is a bloody mess
By KATHIANNE BONIELLO
It's bad enough when a man is murdered in your backyard. It's worse when the city leaves you to mop up the mess.
That's the lament of three Queens women suing the city for failing to clean up a crime scene or keeping a promise to advise them on how to safely scrub their driveways and walkways of bodily fluids.
Grace Scott, 56, was sitting in her St. Albans home with a friend when the shots rang out on Nov. 28, 2008.
Police told Scott and her family to stay inside as they investigated the murder of Sheldon Francis, 31.
Authorities at the time said they would go back to talk to the homeowners about the cleanup. No one ever did.
"I don't know how to clean up blood," said Scott, who shudders at the memory of being unable to remove the stains. "It was embedded."
Scott tried peroxiding and bleaching before finally paying $4,000 to replace the concrete.
The NYPD, which is being sued for $120,000, said it does not clean up crime scenes.
It's bad enough when a man is murdered in your backyard. It's worse when the city leaves you to mop up the mess.
That's the lament of three Queens women suing the city for failing to clean up a crime scene or keeping a promise to advise them on how to safely scrub their driveways and walkways of bodily fluids.
Grace Scott, 56, was sitting in her St. Albans home with a friend when the shots rang out on Nov. 28, 2008.
Police told Scott and her family to stay inside as they investigated the murder of Sheldon Francis, 31.
Authorities at the time said they would go back to talk to the homeowners about the cleanup. No one ever did.
"I don't know how to clean up blood," said Scott, who shudders at the memory of being unable to remove the stains. "It was embedded."
Scott tried peroxiding and bleaching before finally paying $4,000 to replace the concrete.
The NYPD, which is being sued for $120,000, said it does not clean up crime scenes.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
After 3 Suspected Suicides, Cornell Reaches Out
By TRIP GABRIEL
ITHACA, N.Y. — All weekend, Cornell University’s residential advisers knocked on dorm rooms to inquire how students were coping.
On Monday and Tuesday, the start of a stressful exam week before spring break, professors interrupted classes to tell students they cared for them not just academically, but personally. Both days, the university president, Dr. David J. Skorton, took out a full-page ad in the campus paper, The Cornell Daily Sun, saying: “Your well-being is the foundation on which your success is built. If you learn anything at Cornell, please learn to ask for help.”
The university is on high alert about the mental health of its students after the apparent suicides of three of them in less than a month in the deep gorges rending the campus. The deaths, two on successive days last week, have cast a pall over the university and revived talk of Cornell’s reputation — unsupported, say officials — as a high-stress “suicide school.”
“I think everybody’s kind of shaken. I know I am,” said Nicole Wagner, a 19-year-old freshman from Newport Beach, Calif. “I wanted to go home.”
She was crossing the Thurston Avenue Bridge, which was strewn with red carnations and affixed with fresh stickers for a suicide prevention telephone line.
On Thursday, the body of a sophomore engineering student, William Sinclair, of Chevy Chase, Md., was recovered from the rugged gorge more than 70 feet below the bridge, where the fierce waters of Fall Creek sluice through a narrow corridor. The body of Bradley Ginsburg, a freshman from Boca Raton, Fla., was found in the same vicinity on Feb. 17.
Then on Friday, Matthew Zika, a junior engineering student from Lafayette, Ind., died when he dropped from a suspension foot bridge a short distance downstream, according to the university. Rescue workers have yet to recover his body in the rain-swollen creek.
The Ithaca Police Department is investigating both of last week’s deaths, but the university is responding as if they were suicides. Besides aggressive mental health outreach, Cornell has stationed guards on the bridges through the end of the week.
“While we know that our gorges are beautiful features of our campus, they can be scary places at times like this,” Susan Murphy, the vice president for student and academic services, said in a video message posted on a new Web site,caringcommunity.cornell.edu.
As disturbing as the recent deaths are, they are just the latest of 10 by enrolled students this academic year, including deaths from illness, accident and no fewer than six ruled as suicides by the county medical examiner or still under investigation, according to campus officials.
Last Thursday, e-mail blasts went out to 35,000 students and faculty and staff members acknowledging Mr. Sinclair’s death, followed by a message to parents and one from the college president.
“Unbelievably, shockingly, we had to do the same thing the next day,” said Thomas Bruce, the vice president for communications.
Despite the half-dozen known or suspected suicides this year, Timothy Marchell, a clinical psychologist in Cornell’s campus health services whose specialties include suicide, said that, historically, Cornell suicides have not been higher than what national statistics predict for a university population of 20,000 students: about two per year.
Between 2000 and 2005, there were 10 confirmed suicides, Dr. Marchell said, and from the beginning of 2006 through the beginning of this academic year, there were none.
Dr. Marchell said he was “well acquainted with the perception of Cornell as a suicide school,” having grown up in Ithaca and graduated from Cornell. But it is an urban legend, he said, largely fueled by the fact that suicides there are often shockingly public.
“When someone dies by suicide in a gorge, it’s a very visible public act,” he said.
Cornell’s mental health outreach in recent years, which has attracted national attention, is intended to bring students who are at risk, and who might not seek help, into counseling. Custodians are trained to look for signs of emotional trouble when cleaning out dorms; therapists hold open-door hours at 10 campus locations; and a faculty handbook advises professors about how to spot students’ distress in its many contemporary forms, from disturbing artwork to clothes that disguise self-mutilation.
Despite these efforts, Dr. Skorton said in an interview, “We are not getting the job done,” adding that suicide among young people is a national health crisis and is not specific to one campus. Administrators at Cornell have been “very intensively reassessing” existing programs in recent weeks, he said.
Around campus, students and staff wondered whether some combination of familiar stresses — the long upstate New York winter, classroom demands of an Ivy League university — and new factors, like the evaporation of internships and jobs for graduates during a bleak recession, had provoked the recent deaths.
Dr. Marchell cautioned that it is almost impossible to link broad causes to suicide rates, that “the psychology of suicide can be very individual.”
He and others, however, are concerned that students’ deaths may lower barriers for others who are contemplating it. “We have to be thinking about the potential influence on the collective psychology,” he said.
Mr. Zika, the most recent to die, was remembered by friends not as lonely and stressed-out, but as quick to laugh and a caring friend — he drove for hours during the recent winter break from New York to Indiana visiting friends, recalled Deirdre Mulligan, one of those he dropped in on.
Mr. Zika, who had been a star baseball player in high school, played Ultimate Frisbee with Cornell friends, wrote poetry on his Facebook page and had a tattoo with a lyric from the rock band Incubus: “If the wind blew me in the right direction, would I even care? I would.”
Nicole Huynh, a freshman who began dating Mr. Zika last semester, said in an e-mail message: “During this current semester, some who knew him more than others could see he was having a rough time. He’d talk, but it wasn’t as much. He slept more than usual. Didn’t feel motivated about some things. Tried distancing himself, little by little.”
She does not think the stress of studies pushed him to the edge, but rather troubles he carried from early in life. She suspected he was having suicidal thoughts, and both she and Ms. Mulligan said close friends had urged him to seek counseling, but they did not know if he did. The university declined to comment, citing privacy laws.
Ms. Huynh said she and Mr. Zika agreed to suspend their relationship a few weeks ago as he pushed her away.
“Many people listened and cared a lot about him,” Ms. Huynh said. “But no matter how great his support system was, his mind was set, and he was going to do whatever he wanted to do.”
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
An insight into crime scenes clean up services
Crime scene cleanup companies also clean unattended deaths, damaged environments due to tear gas, and other crime and distress scenes. The larger crime scenes that involve mass murder scenes, terrorist attacks and anthrax and other biochemical damage is also taken care by these companies. Crime Scene Cleanup services may also include bird and rodent infested areas. The cleaners in this case require special experience and equipment than a typical cleaning company’s experience and equipment.
Typically, crime scene cleanups start taking place only after the coroner’s office and other government bodies releases the “scene” back to the owner or some other responsible person concerned with it. The cleaning task can not begin till the police investigation is completely finished on the contaminated scene.
In most cases crime scene cleanup is a small business activity. Mostly, small cleaning services like carpet cleaning or water damage companies add services for Crime Scene Cleanup for diversifying their activities. The prominent and recognized organizations in this field of cleaning consist of the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration Certification (IICRC) and the American Bio-recovery Association (ABRA).
Earlier crime scene cleanup was a loathsome job but today it has become a lucrative business. Crime scene cleanup companies can charge anywhere between $100 to $600 per hour depending on the “level of trauma” and the quantity of hazardous material that the cleaners have to deal with and dispose of.
While a crime clean up service is ultimately a business like any other, advertising and marketing your services can be tricky. In a job that involves tragic death; most companies avoid mainstream methods of advertisement. Some choose the standard phone-book route while many others advertise on the side of their vans. Most of these companies largely depend on discreet options like passing out their business cards at service-industry gatherings, police stations and funeral homes.
An important requirement for success in this industry involves being considerate towards the sensitive nature of the work. There are certain crime scene clean-up companies that provide a grief counselor to the families at no cost while others offer discount to needy people. There are many countries where this type of service is funded by government or by religious organizations.
While some people call this emerging field a social trend of commercializing death, others call it plain capitalism. But for many others it still remains an essential service, a godsend. The fact is that whether you like it or loathe it but if you ever end up with blood and brains splashed all over your bedroom walls, you will definitely be relieved that there is someone you can call to clean it up.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Trauma Cleaning: Without Standards, The Pain Can Keep Coming
by Kent Berg
As an instructor in crime and trauma-scene recovery and a board member of the American Bio-Recovery Association, I am often approached by attorneys, the public and insurance adjusters to evaluate the service they or their clients received from other crime-scene cleanup companies.
For the most part, these are just routine questions from people who want to make sure that the service they received was within the normal parameters of good practice. But a few times each month I receive calls that just cause my stomach to knot up and my blood to boil.
With the bio-recovery industry in its 14th year, it is mind-boggling to find individuals who still decide that they are going to start-up a new company and declare themselves “experts” in crime and trauma scene cleanup without any research or training.
It is even more outrageous to find that, although they know almost nothing about the science, chemistry, biology or laws of our industry, they are charging fees that are often four or five times the industry average.
The majority of those operating in the industry today are honest, ethical professionals. It’s the few bad apples in the bio-recovery barrel, so to speak, that amplify the problems tainting our industry.
Example 1: The Hit-and-Run Guys
A husband argues with his wife in their kitchen. As she prepares supper, he grabs a shotgun and, standing in the doorway between the kitchen and dining room, blows his head off.
It is still daylight when the police arrive. In order to see better, they open the brain-splattered dining room drapes. Splatter is on the dining room and kitchen walls, but since the body fell onto the vinyl tile floor of the kitchen, the largest amount of blood pooled there.
The family asks the police about scene cleanup, and is directed to a local company. The company tells the family that payment will have to be made in cash prior to starting the job, and that the family will not be allowed inside of the house while the cleaning process takes place.
The family agrees and stays with relatives until they get the call that the job is complete and they can return. The company is long gone, and upon cursory inspection, the rooms look contaminant-free.
It is now night and, in an effort to keep neighbors from seeing into the dining room, the wife pulls the drapes closed. To the horror of the family, the drapes had apparently never been checked and still have blood and brain matter clinging to the material.
The kitchen floor appears to be clean but, when the wife walks across the floor, bright red blood spurts up between the tiles, making little puddles and polka-dotting her shoes.
If this isn’t enough to re-traumatize the family, the wife goes to remove the now-cold pot of chili from the stove and promptly throws up when she sees a 3-inch piece of her husband’s skull nestled neatly atop the pot.
The family contacted the attorney general for their state, who then called me to review the family’s statements prior to a decision on prosecution.
Example 2: The Little-Extra-on-the-Side Guys
A man who lived alone died in his bed of natural causes, but wasn’t found for several weeks. When the authorities were finally called, the decomposition could be smelled from the street.
When a crime-scene-cleanup company was called in, the man’s relatives were told that the odor had permeated everything in the house with disease. Their recommendation was that everything in the house should be removed and destroyed.
The family, already nauseated from the smell, relied on the “professional opinion” of the technicians and agreed to let them remove everything from the good silver and china to the appliances.
In short, every piece of furniture, appliance, electronic component and fixture was removed because they were declared “not salvageable.”
The relatives were then presented with a bill for approximately $40,000! If this wasn’t obscene enough, a few weeks later the family found many of the home’s contents that were supposedly “not salvageable” being sold at a local flea market.
Example 3: The Cutting-Down-on-Overhead Guys
It is standard practice for crime and trauma-scene cleanup companies to dispose of human-blood-contaminated items that can’t be salvaged. They do this by red-bagging and boxing these items and sending them to a medical waste processing facility. This includes dismantling recliners, mattresses, and other large items to fit in these containers.
In this case, a company responded to a gunshot suicide in an apartment. The victim had sat in his favorite recliner and put a pistol in his mouth. The subsequent wound bled profusely until there was no more blood for the heart to pump. This resulted in the complete saturation of the recliner.
In an apparent effort to save on labor and disposal fees, the crew decided that they would dispose of the recliner by wrapping it in plastic, putting it in the back of their truck and then dumping it in the woods of a neighboring county.
All seemed to go well until a few days later, when hunters found the chair and called police. Thinking that they had stumbled upon evidence of a homicide, the police launched a full-scale investigation that lasted for weeks and logged many detective hours before they were actually able to review the crime scene photos of every police department in the surrounding counties.
When the mystery was finally attributed to this particular crime-scene-cleanup company, not only were they slapped with fines for littering, they were saddled with reimbursing the cost of the investigation. Every law enforcement agency that heard about this dropped the company like a hot potato, and the subsequent media attention tarnished the reputation of crime-scene-cleanup companies everywhere.
I would like to emphasize the fact that these complaints are not clients disappointed with a poorly painted wall or an out-of-true vanity top. These are abuses by unscrupulous companies that are subjecting their clients to financial greed, improper disinfection, and re-traumatizing that no one should have to endure.
Could training and certification eliminate these types of abuse? Perhaps a good portion of them, but in the end, it is the honesty and character of the companies themselves that should be monitored. I believe the way to do that is to pursue standards, as well as meeting with our state legislators to create specific regulations for our industry.
As an instructor in crime and trauma-scene recovery and a board member of the American Bio-Recovery Association, I am often approached by attorneys, the public and insurance adjusters to evaluate the service they or their clients received from other crime-scene cleanup companies.
For the most part, these are just routine questions from people who want to make sure that the service they received was within the normal parameters of good practice. But a few times each month I receive calls that just cause my stomach to knot up and my blood to boil.
With the bio-recovery industry in its 14th year, it is mind-boggling to find individuals who still decide that they are going to start-up a new company and declare themselves “experts” in crime and trauma scene cleanup without any research or training.
It is even more outrageous to find that, although they know almost nothing about the science, chemistry, biology or laws of our industry, they are charging fees that are often four or five times the industry average.
The majority of those operating in the industry today are honest, ethical professionals. It’s the few bad apples in the bio-recovery barrel, so to speak, that amplify the problems tainting our industry.
Example 1: The Hit-and-Run Guys
A husband argues with his wife in their kitchen. As she prepares supper, he grabs a shotgun and, standing in the doorway between the kitchen and dining room, blows his head off.
It is still daylight when the police arrive. In order to see better, they open the brain-splattered dining room drapes. Splatter is on the dining room and kitchen walls, but since the body fell onto the vinyl tile floor of the kitchen, the largest amount of blood pooled there.
The family asks the police about scene cleanup, and is directed to a local company. The company tells the family that payment will have to be made in cash prior to starting the job, and that the family will not be allowed inside of the house while the cleaning process takes place.
The family agrees and stays with relatives until they get the call that the job is complete and they can return. The company is long gone, and upon cursory inspection, the rooms look contaminant-free.
It is now night and, in an effort to keep neighbors from seeing into the dining room, the wife pulls the drapes closed. To the horror of the family, the drapes had apparently never been checked and still have blood and brain matter clinging to the material.
The kitchen floor appears to be clean but, when the wife walks across the floor, bright red blood spurts up between the tiles, making little puddles and polka-dotting her shoes.
If this isn’t enough to re-traumatize the family, the wife goes to remove the now-cold pot of chili from the stove and promptly throws up when she sees a 3-inch piece of her husband’s skull nestled neatly atop the pot.
The family contacted the attorney general for their state, who then called me to review the family’s statements prior to a decision on prosecution.
Example 2: The Little-Extra-on-the-Side Guys
A man who lived alone died in his bed of natural causes, but wasn’t found for several weeks. When the authorities were finally called, the decomposition could be smelled from the street.
When a crime-scene-cleanup company was called in, the man’s relatives were told that the odor had permeated everything in the house with disease. Their recommendation was that everything in the house should be removed and destroyed.
The family, already nauseated from the smell, relied on the “professional opinion” of the technicians and agreed to let them remove everything from the good silver and china to the appliances.
In short, every piece of furniture, appliance, electronic component and fixture was removed because they were declared “not salvageable.”
The relatives were then presented with a bill for approximately $40,000! If this wasn’t obscene enough, a few weeks later the family found many of the home’s contents that were supposedly “not salvageable” being sold at a local flea market.
Example 3: The Cutting-Down-on-Overhead Guys
It is standard practice for crime and trauma-scene cleanup companies to dispose of human-blood-contaminated items that can’t be salvaged. They do this by red-bagging and boxing these items and sending them to a medical waste processing facility. This includes dismantling recliners, mattresses, and other large items to fit in these containers.
In this case, a company responded to a gunshot suicide in an apartment. The victim had sat in his favorite recliner and put a pistol in his mouth. The subsequent wound bled profusely until there was no more blood for the heart to pump. This resulted in the complete saturation of the recliner.
In an apparent effort to save on labor and disposal fees, the crew decided that they would dispose of the recliner by wrapping it in plastic, putting it in the back of their truck and then dumping it in the woods of a neighboring county.
All seemed to go well until a few days later, when hunters found the chair and called police. Thinking that they had stumbled upon evidence of a homicide, the police launched a full-scale investigation that lasted for weeks and logged many detective hours before they were actually able to review the crime scene photos of every police department in the surrounding counties.
When the mystery was finally attributed to this particular crime-scene-cleanup company, not only were they slapped with fines for littering, they were saddled with reimbursing the cost of the investigation. Every law enforcement agency that heard about this dropped the company like a hot potato, and the subsequent media attention tarnished the reputation of crime-scene-cleanup companies everywhere.
I would like to emphasize the fact that these complaints are not clients disappointed with a poorly painted wall or an out-of-true vanity top. These are abuses by unscrupulous companies that are subjecting their clients to financial greed, improper disinfection, and re-traumatizing that no one should have to endure.
Could training and certification eliminate these types of abuse? Perhaps a good portion of them, but in the end, it is the honesty and character of the companies themselves that should be monitored. I believe the way to do that is to pursue standards, as well as meeting with our state legislators to create specific regulations for our industry.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Someone's got to do it
By Zohra Mohamed
It's rated online as the most mentally disturbing and among the 10 worst jobs in the world. But that did not deter former graphic designer Warren Roberts from giving up his IT job to become a crime scene cleaner.
The 26-year-old credits his bizarre choice to years of fascination with crime scenes, and decided to take the plunge after contacting a company in New York. Following intense correspondence and training, he started his own company in Johannesburg last year, Alpha Crime Scene Cleaning, which operates 24 hours a day.
Complete with the masks, chemicals and comprehensive safety gear such as gloves and overalls, Roberts spent months on his own, mopping up crime scenes before expanding to include three full-time "technicians".
Warren Roberts and employee Penny Rostron
With SA crime rates among the highest in the world, Roberts explains that it is a lucrative, if gruesome job, and not a career of choice for the average Joe. "The technicians must be psychologically prepared to brave blood, decomposition and the loose remains of human bodies once the police have left the scene. They all have to undergo regular psychological evaluation and ongoing training - even if they have come from a military or police background."
Roberts says it is the law in most countries to have a crime scene professionally cleaned because of health risks, but there is no law in SA as to who is responsible for cleaning a scene. "There's a great difference between a scene looking clean and being truly clean. Our clients can rest assured the unseen risks have been taken care of."
His company is often called out by emergency or police services and referred to the people concerned, who are liable for the cleaning costs. These range from R900 to R1 600/ hour, depending on the crime and the nature of clean-up. Roberts is usually called out about 12 times a month, but says the recession has resulted in an increase in the demand for his services, partly as a result of increased suicides.
Despite the shocking nature of the job and the risks of contracting deadly viruses during the cleaning up of a crime scene, there is competition. However, most other companies operate with only an individual, while his company is manned by three experienced technicians.
"We are constantly updated with the risks of BPB (blood-borne pathogens) and HIV and have a good understanding of the risks as well as the precautions we have to take to avoid contamination. The police are not responsible for the cleaning and we always have access to a counsellor for staff and the families we deal with to help them cope with the situation."
He admits that despite all the training, the emotional impact is a constant challenge that is difficult to come to terms with.
"It can become very depressing and for this reason we have a close support network within the company as well as regular sessions with a psychologist. If there are the slightest signs that someone is becoming too emotionally affected they are taken off, given a break and receive support from everyone in the team."
On a lighter note, I ask Roberts if he is single because women are put off by his profession and fear he knows exactly how to get rid of them if things go wrong. He laughs and replies: "I'd like to believe it's more my 24 hours on call that is a factor."
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Appeals panel agrees that failure to read document doesn't null contract
KEITH ARNOLD, Daily Reporter Staff Writer
A Franklin County appellate panel was unable to conclude that the Franklin County Municipal Court's determination in a breach of contract suit between a specialty home-cleaning service and the next of kin of a Grove City man who died in his home was against the manifest weight of the evidence in a recent decision.
"Upon our review of the record, we find no error in the trial court's determination that an enforceable contract existed between the parties," 10th District Court of Appeals Judge Patrick McGrath wrote for the 3-0 court.
The appellate court's holding overruled Nancy Buffington's claim that the trial court was mistaken to find that the contract between her and the cleaning service was enforceable and, therefore, obligated the woman to utilize the company's services per the agreed terms.
Buffington's father died in his home on Nov. 10, 2005, case summary provided. The man's body was discovered one-and-a-half to two days after his death. Approximately one week later, the personal belongings were removed from the home and it was listed for sale.
On Jan. 14, 2006, Buffington contracted for the services of Aftermath Inc., which provides biological remediation and cleanup services. According to the contract, the woman agreed to pay for cleanup services concerning an unattended death in the Grove City home.
Aftermath's complaint alleged that after the firm rendered services, appellant refused to pay the amount due under the contract. After a trial to the bench, the trial court concluded that a valid written contract existed between the parties and that the company was entitled to payment for the services rendered in accordance with the contract. The court awarded damages in the amount of $6,189.36 to Aftermath.
The panel noted Buffington signed both a site cleanup agreement and a fee agreement for non-insurance-related jobs. Additionally, the court rejected the woman's claim there existed no evidence that she understood or agreed to biological remediation of her father's home.
"... As noted by the trial court, appellant's stated failure to read the documents prior to signing them is of no consequence as it is well-established that the failure to read the terms of a contract is not a valid defense to enforcement of the contract," as in Haller v. Borror Corp. (1990), 50 Ohio St.3d 10, 14.
"Further, appellant's argument that she was 'mistaken' equally fails because 'relief for a unilateral mistake of material fact will not be provided where such mistake is the result of the negligence of the party seeking relief,'" as in Hikmet v. Turkoglu, 10th Dist. No. 08AP-1021, 2009-Ohio-6477, and Marshall v. Beach (2001), 143 Ohio App.3d 432, 437.
Fellow 10th District Judge Susan Brown and John Connor joined McGrath to form the majority.
The case is cited as Aftermath Inc. v. Buffington, 2010-Ohio-19.
Date Published: January 19, 2010
A Franklin County appellate panel was unable to conclude that the Franklin County Municipal Court's determination in a breach of contract suit between a specialty home-cleaning service and the next of kin of a Grove City man who died in his home was against the manifest weight of the evidence in a recent decision.
"Upon our review of the record, we find no error in the trial court's determination that an enforceable contract existed between the parties," 10th District Court of Appeals Judge Patrick McGrath wrote for the 3-0 court.
The appellate court's holding overruled Nancy Buffington's claim that the trial court was mistaken to find that the contract between her and the cleaning service was enforceable and, therefore, obligated the woman to utilize the company's services per the agreed terms.
Buffington's father died in his home on Nov. 10, 2005, case summary provided. The man's body was discovered one-and-a-half to two days after his death. Approximately one week later, the personal belongings were removed from the home and it was listed for sale.
On Jan. 14, 2006, Buffington contracted for the services of Aftermath Inc., which provides biological remediation and cleanup services. According to the contract, the woman agreed to pay for cleanup services concerning an unattended death in the Grove City home.
Aftermath's complaint alleged that after the firm rendered services, appellant refused to pay the amount due under the contract. After a trial to the bench, the trial court concluded that a valid written contract existed between the parties and that the company was entitled to payment for the services rendered in accordance with the contract. The court awarded damages in the amount of $6,189.36 to Aftermath.
The panel noted Buffington signed both a site cleanup agreement and a fee agreement for non-insurance-related jobs. Additionally, the court rejected the woman's claim there existed no evidence that she understood or agreed to biological remediation of her father's home.
"... As noted by the trial court, appellant's stated failure to read the documents prior to signing them is of no consequence as it is well-established that the failure to read the terms of a contract is not a valid defense to enforcement of the contract," as in Haller v. Borror Corp. (1990), 50 Ohio St.3d 10, 14.
"Further, appellant's argument that she was 'mistaken' equally fails because 'relief for a unilateral mistake of material fact will not be provided where such mistake is the result of the negligence of the party seeking relief,'" as in Hikmet v. Turkoglu, 10th Dist. No. 08AP-1021, 2009-Ohio-6477, and Marshall v. Beach (2001), 143 Ohio App.3d 432, 437.
Fellow 10th District Judge Susan Brown and John Connor joined McGrath to form the majority.
The case is cited as Aftermath Inc. v. Buffington, 2010-Ohio-19.
Date Published: January 19, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Haiti Relief Mission - Update 01-18-2010
A team of twenty from H.E.A.R.T. 9/11 will be responding to take part in the relief effort in earthquake-ravaged Haiti on Wednesday, January 20, 2010. They will land in Santo Domingo and use that as a jumping off point to Haiti. Our members will join in the herculean task of helping that devastated country. They have medical supplies and expertise that are so badly needed in this decimated area.
We have received a tremendous response from our members to our request for participation in a relief mission. The first deployment will see a team of twenty volunteers from H.E.A.R.T. 9/11 evaluate the situation and, if need be, more relief missions will be planned.
Our thanks go out to all and we ask for your continued support and prayers. H.E.A.R.T. 9/11 will be able to help those in need because we have received tremendous support and funding from the benevolence of Jefferies & Company (Jefferies is an independent, full-service securities and investment banking firm serving companies and their investors globally. Check out this article from their website at: Jefferies - Haiti Relief News Story). We thank them as well.
Hopefully, there will be updates from wherever the team is and we ask that you will go to our website at: www.HEART911.org
The owner of Bio-Recovery Corporation, Ron Gospodarski will be amongest this group of twenty police, firefighter and paramedics. We wish them Godspeed in there endeavors.
We have received a tremendous response from our members to our request for participation in a relief mission. The first deployment will see a team of twenty volunteers from H.E.A.R.T. 9/11 evaluate the situation and, if need be, more relief missions will be planned.
Our thanks go out to all and we ask for your continued support and prayers. H.E.A.R.T. 9/11 will be able to help those in need because we have received tremendous support and funding from the benevolence of Jefferies & Company (Jefferies is an independent, full-service securities and investment banking firm serving companies and their investors globally. Check out this article from their website at: Jefferies - Haiti Relief News Story). We thank them as well.
Hopefully, there will be updates from wherever the team is and we ask that you will go to our website at: www.HEART911.org
The owner of Bio-Recovery Corporation, Ron Gospodarski will be amongest this group of twenty police, firefighter and paramedics. We wish them Godspeed in there endeavors.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
US Army suicides hit grim record for 2009
WASHINGTON — Suicides in the US Army rose to a new record in 2009, with 160 soldiers taking their lives, the military said Friday, calling it a "painful year."
Army leaders had warned that the suicide rate was on track to surpass last year's toll of 140, but said the causes of the spike remain unclear.
"There's no question that 2009 was a painful year for the army when it came to suicides," said Colonel Christopher Philbrick, deputy director of an army suicide prevention task force.
Ten suspected cases of suicide in December for active-duty soldiers brought the total number for last year to 160, the Pentagon said in a statement.
The army has come under severe strain from years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, with officers citing repeated deployments and the stress of combat as fuelling an increase in depression and marital problems.
But the grim toll of suicides was not necessarily triggered by repeated combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to the military's own research.
The causes appeared to vary from base to base and about one-third of the soldiers who committed suicide had not yet deployed to combat missions in Afghanistan or Iraq, officials say.
Top military leaders, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, have appealed to officers to ensure soldiers who need psychological help do not face ridicule or risk to their careers.
The army has adopted a range of initiatives to try to contain the problem, hiring hundreds of mental health specialists and launching an elaborate scientific research project to try to understand the trend.
Officials have also expressed concern about suicides among veterans and among military spouses and family members.
Admiral Mullen's wife, Deborah Mullen, told a conference this week that more needed to be done to monitor suicides of spouses and members of military families, something the Pentagon does not track precisely.
Often the spouses of service members are reluctant to seek help as they fear it could damage their loved one's career prospects, she said.
Army leaders had warned that the suicide rate was on track to surpass last year's toll of 140, but said the causes of the spike remain unclear.
"There's no question that 2009 was a painful year for the army when it came to suicides," said Colonel Christopher Philbrick, deputy director of an army suicide prevention task force.
Ten suspected cases of suicide in December for active-duty soldiers brought the total number for last year to 160, the Pentagon said in a statement.
The army has come under severe strain from years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, with officers citing repeated deployments and the stress of combat as fuelling an increase in depression and marital problems.
But the grim toll of suicides was not necessarily triggered by repeated combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to the military's own research.
The causes appeared to vary from base to base and about one-third of the soldiers who committed suicide had not yet deployed to combat missions in Afghanistan or Iraq, officials say.
Top military leaders, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, have appealed to officers to ensure soldiers who need psychological help do not face ridicule or risk to their careers.
The army has adopted a range of initiatives to try to contain the problem, hiring hundreds of mental health specialists and launching an elaborate scientific research project to try to understand the trend.
Officials have also expressed concern about suicides among veterans and among military spouses and family members.
Admiral Mullen's wife, Deborah Mullen, told a conference this week that more needed to be done to monitor suicides of spouses and members of military families, something the Pentagon does not track precisely.
Often the spouses of service members are reluctant to seek help as they fear it could damage their loved one's career prospects, she said.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Teen Suicide Risk Factors: Parents Are Too Often Clueless
By Nancy Shute
Suicide is the third leading cause of death among teenagers, and it's a tragedy that can be prevented. Given that almost 15 percent of high school students say they've seriously considered suicide in the past year, parents and friends need to know how to recognize when a teenager is in trouble and how to help.
Parents can be clueless when it comes to recognizing suicide risk factors, or at least more clueless than teens. In a new survey of teenagers and parents in Chicago and in the Kansas City, Kan., area, which appears online in Pediatrics, both parents and teenagers said that teen suicide was a problem, but not in their community. Alas, teen suicide is a universal problem; no area is immune.
The teenagers correctly said that drug and alcohol use was a big risk factor for suicide, with some even noting that drinking and drug use could be a form of self-medication or self-harm. By contrast, many of the parents shrugged off substance abuse as acceptable adolescent behavior. As one parent told the researchers: "Some parents smoke pot with their kids or allow their kids to drink."
Both teenagers and parents said that guns should be kept away from a suicidal teen. But since parents said they didn't think they could determine when a teenager was suicidal, parents should routinely lock up firearms, the researchers suggest. That makes sense. Firearms are used in 43.1 percent of teen suicides, according to 2006 data, while suffocation or hanging accounts for 44.9 percent.
The good news: Both parents and teenagers in this small survey (66 teenagers and 30 parents) said they'd like more help learning how to know when someone is at risk of committing suicide and what to do. Schools and pediatricians should be able to help, but we can all become better educated through reliable resources on the Web. These authoritative sites list typical signs of suicide risk, and they also provide questions a parent or a friend can ask a teenager to find out if he is considering killing himself. Here are good places to start:
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry lists signs and symptoms of suicidal thinking, such as saying things like "I won't be a problem for you much longer."
The American Academy of Pediatrics urges parents to ask the child directly about suicide. "Getting the word out in the open may help your teenager think someone has heard his cries for help."
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides free advice to someone considering suicide, as well as to friends and relatives, at 800-273-TALK.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness's teenage suicide page makes the point that talking with someone about suicide will not "give them the idea." "Bringing up the question of suicide and discussing it without showing shock or disapproval is one of the most helpful things you can do," the NAMI site says. "This openness shows that you are taking the individual seriously and responding to the severity of his or her distress."
Suicide is the third leading cause of death among teenagers, and it's a tragedy that can be prevented. Given that almost 15 percent of high school students say they've seriously considered suicide in the past year, parents and friends need to know how to recognize when a teenager is in trouble and how to help.
Parents can be clueless when it comes to recognizing suicide risk factors, or at least more clueless than teens. In a new survey of teenagers and parents in Chicago and in the Kansas City, Kan., area, which appears online in Pediatrics, both parents and teenagers said that teen suicide was a problem, but not in their community. Alas, teen suicide is a universal problem; no area is immune.
The teenagers correctly said that drug and alcohol use was a big risk factor for suicide, with some even noting that drinking and drug use could be a form of self-medication or self-harm. By contrast, many of the parents shrugged off substance abuse as acceptable adolescent behavior. As one parent told the researchers: "Some parents smoke pot with their kids or allow their kids to drink."
Both teenagers and parents said that guns should be kept away from a suicidal teen. But since parents said they didn't think they could determine when a teenager was suicidal, parents should routinely lock up firearms, the researchers suggest. That makes sense. Firearms are used in 43.1 percent of teen suicides, according to 2006 data, while suffocation or hanging accounts for 44.9 percent.
The good news: Both parents and teenagers in this small survey (66 teenagers and 30 parents) said they'd like more help learning how to know when someone is at risk of committing suicide and what to do. Schools and pediatricians should be able to help, but we can all become better educated through reliable resources on the Web. These authoritative sites list typical signs of suicide risk, and they also provide questions a parent or a friend can ask a teenager to find out if he is considering killing himself. Here are good places to start:
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry lists signs and symptoms of suicidal thinking, such as saying things like "I won't be a problem for you much longer."
The American Academy of Pediatrics urges parents to ask the child directly about suicide. "Getting the word out in the open may help your teenager think someone has heard his cries for help."
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides free advice to someone considering suicide, as well as to friends and relatives, at 800-273-TALK.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness's teenage suicide page makes the point that talking with someone about suicide will not "give them the idea." "Bringing up the question of suicide and discussing it without showing shock or disapproval is one of the most helpful things you can do," the NAMI site says. "This openness shows that you are taking the individual seriously and responding to the severity of his or her distress."
Friday, January 1, 2010
Teen depression and suicide risk linked to late bedtimes and chronic sleep deprivation
A report from the Jan. 1, 2010 issue of the journal Sleep found a surprising link between the typically late bedtimes of teenagers and teen depression and suicide.
Parent-set bedtimes affect teen's mental state
Adolescents with parent-set bedtimes after midnight had a 24% increased incidence of depression and a 20% increase in suicidal thoughts compared to teens with a bedtime before 10 pm.
Most of the teens in the study reported adhering to the bedtimes their parents set for them, showing that it's up to parents to give appropriate guidelines for avoiding sleep deprivation.
Length of Sleep Matters for Adolescents
The length of sleep matters, too, according to the researchers. Teenagers who reported getting less than five hours of sleep a night had a 71% higher risk of depression and a 48% higher risk of suicidal thoughts than adolescents who got 8 hours or more of sleep.
The AASM (The American Academy of Sleep Medicine) recommends nine or more hours of sleep a night for adolescents.
The study was conducted by James E. Gangwisch, PhD, assistant professor at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, N.Y and colleagues and looked at over 15,000 teenagers' sleep habits and mental states. The teens in the study ranged from 12-17 years old.
Other studies indicate more benefits from increased teen sleep.
In previous studies, shorter sleep durations in children and teens have been linked to higher rates of obesity, school performance and general social well-being. And adolescents who don't get enough sleep due to insomnia are far more likely to develop mental health problems, including substance abuse.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
How Suicide Cleanup is Taken Up
Suicide cleanup is a part of the broad based service of Crime Scene Cleanup which involves crime and trauma decontamination and restoring it to its previous state. It is a a niche market in the cleaning industry and involves cleaning the biologically contaminated scene of ones death like suicide, homicide or accidental death. or a scene of a methamphetamine lab.
Broadly speaking, crime scene cleanup and suicide cleanup is almost same but there are few exeptions to this rule. Suicide cleanup requires some extra physical effort and psychological sensitivity that the technicians should be able to handle.
Following are some examples illustrating this. A suicide generally involves close range of weapon to body and so in-depth decontamination and thorough cleaning is required. The cleaners also have to handle family members who might be present at the scene searching for answers that why their beloved person decided to end his/her life. The technicians need to remove all traces of any evidence of a suicide so that no remains are present for family members and friends that might remind them of the tragedy.
Restoring of a suicide scene also means clean and restore sentimental items that mean the lot to the family of the deceased and requires additional time and effort.
On a visual inspection of any suicide scene you will generally find a lot of blood and bodily fluids, but invisible to the eye, a great amount of biohazard contamination is also bound to be there. The suicide cleanup technicians have to search thoroughly in all areas, even those that can not be seen or accessed easily and remove all traces of them from the scene. Most suicide cleanup services have their staff trained in not only dealing up with decontaminating and cleaning up issues but also about dealing with family and friends with sensitivity and compassion. Since most of such companies work in association with leading insurance companies so they can even help you to bill the insurance company directly thus saving you all the hassles.
A suicide cleanup consists of the following steps.
Firstly the scene should be evaluated. Next all contaminates should be located and decontaminated. A thorough search should me made again to decontaminate any traces of contaminates that might have been left out. All types of bio hazardous agents should be properly disposed of. Any microscopic remains should be treated with chemicals and the environment should be treated for odors. Last but not the least all tools and equipments should be disinfected. But before you attempt to clean a suicide scene on your own it is always better to consult a trained professional first.
Broadly speaking, crime scene cleanup and suicide cleanup is almost same but there are few exeptions to this rule. Suicide cleanup requires some extra physical effort and psychological sensitivity that the technicians should be able to handle.
Following are some examples illustrating this. A suicide generally involves close range of weapon to body and so in-depth decontamination and thorough cleaning is required. The cleaners also have to handle family members who might be present at the scene searching for answers that why their beloved person decided to end his/her life. The technicians need to remove all traces of any evidence of a suicide so that no remains are present for family members and friends that might remind them of the tragedy.
Restoring of a suicide scene also means clean and restore sentimental items that mean the lot to the family of the deceased and requires additional time and effort.
On a visual inspection of any suicide scene you will generally find a lot of blood and bodily fluids, but invisible to the eye, a great amount of biohazard contamination is also bound to be there. The suicide cleanup technicians have to search thoroughly in all areas, even those that can not be seen or accessed easily and remove all traces of them from the scene. Most suicide cleanup services have their staff trained in not only dealing up with decontaminating and cleaning up issues but also about dealing with family and friends with sensitivity and compassion. Since most of such companies work in association with leading insurance companies so they can even help you to bill the insurance company directly thus saving you all the hassles.
A suicide cleanup consists of the following steps.
Firstly the scene should be evaluated. Next all contaminates should be located and decontaminated. A thorough search should me made again to decontaminate any traces of contaminates that might have been left out. All types of bio hazardous agents should be properly disposed of. Any microscopic remains should be treated with chemicals and the environment should be treated for odors. Last but not the least all tools and equipments should be disinfected. But before you attempt to clean a suicide scene on your own it is always better to consult a trained professional first.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Cleaning Up Gory Scenes
Urbanite
Cleaning up gory scenes
15 m ago By V.L. Hendrickson
Ron Gospodarski and his team handle real-life CSI-like crime scenes. (Michael Kirby)
A mail-room worker jumped from the top of a staircase, dying instantly in the lobby. Another man was discovered six weeks after his natural death – on the toilet. A third man was decapitated by a flying blade in a downtown factory.
After these tragedies, someone has to clean up the harrowing aftermath.
Companies that specialize in this kind of clean-up save inexperienced workers — not to mention friends and families of the deceased— from having to do this difficult work themselves, said Dale Cillian, president of the American Bio-Recovery Association, or ABRA.
“If someone has to clean up after a homicide or suicide, they can be traumatized a second time, and it may be worse than the initial shock,” he said. Unsafe toxins also require removal by an experienced professional.
Clean-up guy
Ron Gospodarski has been cleaning up these scenes in New York for more than a decade. During his 23 years as a paramedic, he saw every imaginable kind of gruesome accident and death. When he realized New York lacked a company that specialized in such clean-ups, he founded Bio-Recovery Corp. in 1998, after earning certifications from ABRA and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Bio-Recovery, based in Long Island City, employs about 12 people on an on-call basis (Gospodarski runs day-to-day operations with another full-time employee). All of his workers have experience in law enforcement or emergency services. “They’ve seen it all, and that’s half the battle,” Gospodarski said.
The work
Gospodarski and his team get calls for “decomps – naturally occurring deaths, suicides and crime scenes, though those are the least of jobs,” he said.
“Sometimes we go out there, mop up a puddle of blood and go. Other jobs involve taking out walls and floors.”
Calls come in at any time and from as far away as Albany. When he is called to a scene, Gospodarski surveys it and decides how to approach the job. He doesn’t wear his respirator when evaluating — the smell helps him access the severity of the job.
After accessing the situation, the team pulls on disposable suits that protect them from possible pathogens. They start with the “gross decomposition,” said Gospodarski. In some cases, blood will have seeped into the floors or other surfaces.
The team makes every effort to remove all traces of the incident. They use some industrial-strength products, but mostly rely on household cleaners, such as Mr. Clean and Formula 49.
The pay
A typical job costs the client between $2,500-$3,000. A member of the Bio-Recovery team earns $25 per hour to start.
Business is not always steady, Gospodarski said, but there are patterns. The holiday season is particularly busy. Suicides increase, but a lot of elderly people also die during this season. “They get depressed and lonely and they just sort of die,” Gospodarski said.
Gospodarski is quick to point out that New York is the safest large city in the world, with the homicide rate down drastically in recent years. Most of the jobs he is called in on are accidents and natural deaths
Often Bio-Recovery will go days and weeks without stopping, followed by no work at all. “When you watch the news and it’s busy, we’re going to be busy. If it’s quiet, we are quiet.”
Cleaning up gory scenes
15 m ago By V.L. Hendrickson
Ron Gospodarski and his team handle real-life CSI-like crime scenes. (Michael Kirby)
A mail-room worker jumped from the top of a staircase, dying instantly in the lobby. Another man was discovered six weeks after his natural death – on the toilet. A third man was decapitated by a flying blade in a downtown factory.
After these tragedies, someone has to clean up the harrowing aftermath.
Companies that specialize in this kind of clean-up save inexperienced workers — not to mention friends and families of the deceased— from having to do this difficult work themselves, said Dale Cillian, president of the American Bio-Recovery Association, or ABRA.
“If someone has to clean up after a homicide or suicide, they can be traumatized a second time, and it may be worse than the initial shock,” he said. Unsafe toxins also require removal by an experienced professional.
Clean-up guy
Ron Gospodarski has been cleaning up these scenes in New York for more than a decade. During his 23 years as a paramedic, he saw every imaginable kind of gruesome accident and death. When he realized New York lacked a company that specialized in such clean-ups, he founded Bio-Recovery Corp. in 1998, after earning certifications from ABRA and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Bio-Recovery, based in Long Island City, employs about 12 people on an on-call basis (Gospodarski runs day-to-day operations with another full-time employee). All of his workers have experience in law enforcement or emergency services. “They’ve seen it all, and that’s half the battle,” Gospodarski said.
The work
Gospodarski and his team get calls for “decomps – naturally occurring deaths, suicides and crime scenes, though those are the least of jobs,” he said.
“Sometimes we go out there, mop up a puddle of blood and go. Other jobs involve taking out walls and floors.”
Calls come in at any time and from as far away as Albany. When he is called to a scene, Gospodarski surveys it and decides how to approach the job. He doesn’t wear his respirator when evaluating — the smell helps him access the severity of the job.
After accessing the situation, the team pulls on disposable suits that protect them from possible pathogens. They start with the “gross decomposition,” said Gospodarski. In some cases, blood will have seeped into the floors or other surfaces.
The team makes every effort to remove all traces of the incident. They use some industrial-strength products, but mostly rely on household cleaners, such as Mr. Clean and Formula 49.
The pay
A typical job costs the client between $2,500-$3,000. A member of the Bio-Recovery team earns $25 per hour to start.
Business is not always steady, Gospodarski said, but there are patterns. The holiday season is particularly busy. Suicides increase, but a lot of elderly people also die during this season. “They get depressed and lonely and they just sort of die,” Gospodarski said.
Gospodarski is quick to point out that New York is the safest large city in the world, with the homicide rate down drastically in recent years. Most of the jobs he is called in on are accidents and natural deaths
Often Bio-Recovery will go days and weeks without stopping, followed by no work at all. “When you watch the news and it’s busy, we’re going to be busy. If it’s quiet, we are quiet.”
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