PoliceOne investigates claim of MS-13 “Kill an Officer Day”

September 21, 2005 11:19 AM •

Alert found unsubstantiated

Recently an e-mail indicating that the MS-13 gang has declared Oct. 30 an annual “Kill a Law Enforcement Officer Day” began circulating nationwide. After receiving several copies of the alert from across the country, Police1 staff began investigating the claim.

We found that the warning that cops will be specifically targeted on this day - an allegation that originated in Newport News, Va. - has not been substantiated.

In an interview with Police1, Lt. David Graham, who is in charge of intelligence with the Organized Crime Unit of Newport News PD, said the informant cited in the e-mail was “re-interviewed by the Newport News Gang Unit and the information was not found credible in this case.”

The alert began spreading across the country after an officer posted information on the alleged “Kill a Cop Day” threat to a Virginia Gang Investigators Association e-mail list.

“Information that comes across the list server is neither validated nor sanctioned by the Virginia Gang Investigators board,” Lt. Graham said. “It is up to the users to verify this information before disseminating.”

We share these findings in the interest of accuracy and in preventing unwarranted hyper-vigilance on Oct. 30. HOWEVER, PLEASE NOTE: This is not to say that you should ever let your guard down, regardless of the day.

“Law enforcement officers who deal with MS-13 [members] should always consider them a threat,” Lt. Graham cautions.

Gangs

Scott Buhrmaster

Scott Buhrmaster is the CEO of Calibre Press, one of the leading law enforcement training and information providers in the industry. Scott’s 30-year tenure began in 1989 when he originally signed on with Calibre where he was involved in the creation and marketing of the organization’s popular training courses and award-winning textbooks, videos and online publications.

In 1999, Scott launched The Buhrmaster Group, an organization focused on helping law enforcement training companies develop, market and expand their training efforts. Among his clients was Police1.com, which he signed on with full time as their vice president of training and editorial. During that period, Scott was named to the National Advisory Board of the Force Science Institute, at the time a newly developing organization which was also among his list of clients. Following a seven-year tenure at Police1, Scott signed on with Force Science full-time, initially serving as their vice president of operations and most recently serving as their COO.

Scott has been a long-time contributor to Police1 and has written extensively for other publications and Web sites in the law enforcement market. Additionally, he helped launch two of the most popular e-newsletters in the industry; the Street Survival Newsline and Force Science News. While at Police1, Scott served as the publisher of Police Marksman magazine and a contributing editor for Law Officer magazine.