NEWS OF THE DAY
1 Trooper killed: A suspect has been arrested in the fatal shooting of a Texas state trooper during a Thanksgiving traffic stop. The Texas Department of Public Safety identified the trooper as Damon Allen, 41. On Friday, capital murder charges were filed against Dabrett Black, 32, of Lindale. Allen was shot and killed Thursday afternoon during a traffic stop near Fairfield, about 90 miles south of Dallas, according to DPS. Hours after the shooting, the Waller County Sheriff ’s Office said the suspect’s vehicle was spotted in Hempstead, about 110 miles from the scene of the shooting. The Waller County Sheriff ’s Office said shots were fired, but did not indicate who opened fire. Black was apprehended a short time later. He was being treated for non-lifethreatening injuries.
2 Hijab removed: A Virginia teacher who was suspended after being accused of pulling off a student’s hijab will be returning to work next week. Fairfax County Schools Superintendent Scott Brabrand told parents in a letter that the teacher “made a mistake.” Brabrand said the teacher violated district policies but it doesn’t appear there was any intent to act maliciously or infringe on the student’s religious beliefs. He said the teacher was disciplined and will be back in the classroom after the Thanksgiving break. The student at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke tweeted that she was infuriated after the teacher pulled her hijab off and then said, “Oh, your hair is so pretty.” The teacher was not identified.
3 Officer misconduct: A police officer in western Kentucky is facing misconduct charges after allegedly agreeing not to arrest a woman if she would have sex with him. State Police have charged former Hopkinsville Police Officer Daniel Gray with two counts of first-degree official misconduct. Gray has resigned. A criminal complaint says Gray was supposed to arrest a woman for violating her probation. Instead, he took her to a hotel and had sex with her. The woman told police she had sex with Gray multiple times in exchange for not arresting her.
4 Maui crash: A murder charge against a woman accused of deliberately driving off a cliff in Hawaii and killing her identical twin sister should be dismissed because prosecutors misled the grand jury, a defense attorney said. Authorities described the 2016 crash as a hairpulling fight over the steering wheel. The sisters were seen arguing on the Hana Highway on the island of Maui before their SUV plunged 200 feet over a cliff. Anastasia Duval was in the passenger seat and was killed, and her sister Alexandria Duval was arrested. A judge later ordered Alexandria Duval released after finding no probable cause for a murder charge. She traveled to upstate New York and was arrested again months later in Albany after a grand jury indicted her. Birney Bervar, Alexandria Duval’s defense attorney, has filed a motion seeking to dismiss the charge, and a hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.
5 Las Vegas shooting: The top law officer in Las Vegas says the gunman who killed dozens of people at a concert last month fired more than 1,100 rounds. Sheriff Joe Lombardo issued the estimate on the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Stephen Paddock killed 58 people and injured hundreds more on Oct. 1 after he shattered windows of his suite at the Mandalay Bay resort and unleashed gunfire at the music festival below before killing himself.
6 Discrimination case: Five current and former Asian American police officers are suing the Los Angeles suburb of San Gabriel, alleging they were subjected to a hostile work environment and passed over for promotions. The officers claim their colleagues frequently mocked them by speaking in fake Asian accents and promoting racist stereotypes. The lawsuit says when there’s a car-crash Asian American officers are often told their “people” are bad drivers. A Vietnamese American officer said he was told dogs fear him because they think he will eat them. Another officer said he was passed over for a promotion after reporting a colleague used a racial epithet. City spokesman Jonathan Fu said officials are reviewing the suit. Sixty-two percent of the city’s 40,000 residents are Asian.
Chronicle News Services