Illinois Man Sentenced to 55 Years in Federal Prison for Killing Special Deputy U.S. Marshal Jacob Keltner

 

A federal judge in Rockford today sentenced an Illinois man to 55 years in federal prison for the killing of Special Deputy U.S. Marshal Jacob Keltner.

A jury earlier this year convicted FLOYD E. BROWN, 43, of Springfield, Ill., of second-degree murder of a federal officer, attempting to kill additional federal officers, assault of federal officers, and multiple firearm offenses.  U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly imposed the sentence after a hearing in federal court.

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Ashley T. Johnson, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, U.S. Marshals Service, McHenry County Sheriff’s Office, Rockford Police Department, Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office, Bloomington Police Department, Loves Park Police Department, Lincoln Police Department, Logan County Sheriff’s Office, and Illinois State Police.  The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Talia Bucci, Scott Paccagnini, and Ronald DeWald.

“Through the violent actions of Floyd Brown, the Keltner family lost a devoted son, husband and father, and the citizens of the Northern District of Illinois lost a dedicated public servant,” said U.S. Attorney Lausch.  “Special Deputy Keltner made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of our nation.  His bravery and dedication will not be forgotten.  We remain committed to prosecuting violence against federal law enforcement officers to the fullest extent of the law.”

“Special Deputy Keltner put his life on the line every day to protect and serve his community,” said FBI Acting SAC Johnson.  “Tragically, on March 7, 2019, he paid a terrible price for his dedication.  We will never stop working with our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners to remove violent offenders from our streets and safeguard those who care for our communities.”

Special Deputy Keltner was fatally wounded on March 7, 2019, when members of the U.S. Marshals Service Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force and other law enforcement officers attempted to execute a warrant for Brown’s arrest at a Rockford hotel.  Special Deputy Keltner served as a McHenry County Sheriff’s deputy and was a sworn member of the task force.  Brown was wanted on a residential burglary charge.   

When the officers attempted to gain access to Brown’s third-floor hotel room, he fired ten shots through the door and nearby walls, narrowly missing a Deputy U.S. Marshal and two Special Deputy U.S. Marshals.  Brown then jumped out of a window and fired a shot that fatally struck Special Deputy Keltner, who was covering the exterior of the hotel. 

Brown was arrested several hours later near Lincoln, Ill., after a high-speed pursuit.

Governor Hochul Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress Combating COVID-19 - AUGUST 29, 2022

 

Governor Encourages New Yorkers to Keep Using the Tools to Protect Against and Treat COVID-19: Vaccines, Boosters, Testing, and Treatment

19 Statewide Deaths Reported Yesterday

 Governor Kathy Hochul today updated New Yorkers on the state's progress combating COVID-19.  

"As we continue to prepare for any potential future surges, use the tools that help protect against and treat COVID-19," Governor Hochul said. "The vaccine and booster are the best tools we have to keep COVID-19 at bay. I encourage those who are not up to date on their vaccine and booster doses to get caught up immediately. Take a test if you feel unwell and if you do test positive, talk to your doctor about potential treatment." 

Today's data is summarized briefly below:   

• Cases Per 100k - 14.60  
• 7-Day Average Cases Per 100k - 21.34 
• Test Results Reported - 55,496 
• Total Positive - 2,854 
• Percent Positive - 4.56%**  
• 7-Day Average Percent Positive - 6.49%  
• Patient Hospitalization - 2,321 (-47)  
• Patients Newly Admitted - 379 
• Patients in ICU - 251 (+11)  
• Patients in ICU with Intubation - 95 (+3)  
• Total Discharges - 335,842 (+392)  
• New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 19 
• Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 57,584 

** Due to the test reporting policy change by the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and several other factors, the most reliable metric to measure virus impact on a community is the case per 100,000 data -- not percent positivity.

The Health Electronic Response Data System is a NYS DOH data source that collects confirmed daily death data as reported by hospitals, nursing homes and adult care facilities only.

Important Note: HERDS data collection from health care facilities is not currently required on weekends or holidays. The survey will resume today and the facility/death data will be displayed in tomorrow's report. The numbers below with an asterisk were reported on Friday, August 29. 

Important Note: Effective Monday, April 4, the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is no longer requiring testing facilities that use COVID-19 rapid antigen tests to report negative results. As a result, New York State's percent positive metric will be computed using only lab-reported PCR results. Positive antigen tests will still be reported to New York State and reporting of new daily cases and cases per 100k will continue to include both PCR and antigen tests. Due to this change and other factors, including changes in testing practices, the most reliable metric to measure virus impact on a community is the case per 100,000 data -- not percent positivity. 

• Total deaths reported to and compiled by the CDC - 73,614 

This daily COVID-19 provisional death certificate data reported by NYS DOH and NYC to the CDC includes those who died in any location, including hospitals, nursing homes, adult care facilities, at home, in hospice and other settings. 

Each New York City borough's 7-day average percentage of positive test results reported over the last three days is as follows **: 

Borough	Friday, August 26, 2022	Saturday, August   27, 2022	Sunday, August 28, 2022
Bronx	7.00%	6.96%	6.96%
Kings	4.69%	4.63%	3.89%
New York	5.21%	4.96%	4.98%
Queens	7.24%	7.19%	7.01%
Richmond	6.31%	6.15%	5.83%

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Congress - “#OustAOC”

Alexandria understands the importance of the upcoming midterm elections and growing our progressive power up and down the ballot. So for the last several months, our movement has invested time, energy, and fundraising power to help candidates like new-comer Summer Lee and Jamaal Bowman win their primaries. Not only that, Team AOC has invested organizing power across NYC in local elections.

But, while Alexandria was safe in her primary election, she’s now facing off with a MAGA Republican opponent in the general election this November.

So now, we need to make sure we do everything we can to reelect Alexandria and keep our progressive power rooted in NY-14. 

Last year, our Republican opponent raised $10 million against us. And, the entire Republican establishment and their corporate allies put the full weight of their propaganda machine into spreading lies about Alexandria.

Just last week, Alexandria’s opponent set up a massive #OustAOC sign on a highway overpass in Queens.

We need to be ready to fight back against their mailers, posters, commercials, and digital ads with deep organizing and truth telling, and that’s why we’re counting on you now.

Thank you for all you do for our movement.

In solidarity,

Team AOC

NYC Comptroller Lander, Public Advocate Williams, Council Member Rivera Recognize Improvements, Call Out Solitary Confinement Conditions Following Surprise Inspection of Rikers

 

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Council Member and Chair of the Criminal Justice Committee Carlina Rivera released the following statements after an unannounced visit to Rikers Island to survey the conditions of the corrections facility. The elected officials investigated the ongoing use of solitary confinement.

“Last week, my office released our new DOC dashboard to provide public transparency about what is happening in our jail system — but transparency requires going beyond the charts and graphs,” said Comptroller Brad Lander. “Despite the fact that the average cost for a night at Rikers is more than that of a five-star hotel, the conditions of people detained raise human rights alarm bells. Over the past year since my last visit, the Department of Correction has made real improvements in the intake process and in punitive segregation, where most of the detainees we spoke to were receiving 7 to 10 hours out of their cells, in compliance with State law. But we still observed a number of individuals in ‘involuntary protective custody’ in a form of solitary confinement that the UN has declared torture. I talked to one man who’s been in a small holding cell for 48 hours without a bed or a blanket awaiting transfer to a unit with mental health observation, because all of those units are full — since more than half the population at Rikers has some mental health needs. Perhaps most heartwrenching was a man who has been on Rikers awaiting trial for eight years, spending the majority of his detention in the infirmary. Despite record spending and increased scrutiny, the Department of Correction is still failing in its basic obligations to the human beings in our government’s custody.”

“Across years and administrations, Rikers is a crisis for people on both sides of the bars,” said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams. “On our unannounced inspection today we saw marked improvements from the most horrific conditions of a year ago. At the same time, when twelve people have lost their lives in custody already this year, the reform plans in place have not moved fast enough to confront deep systemic issues. Truly ending solitary confinement, decreasing the amount of time New Yorkers await trial on the island, and safe staffing must be prioritized as part of the work to address dangerous, damaging conditions.”

“In a year when the humanitarian crisis at Rikers Island has led to the loss of 12 lives, we cannot be complacent with administrative tweaks and must continue to push toward our goals of closing Rikers Island and ending solitary confinement,” said Carlina Rivera, Chair of the Council’s Committee on Criminal Justice. “While the Department of Correction has taken action to correct some of their outstanding operational issues, very serious concerns around health and safety continue to exist on Rikers Island including missed medical appointments, facility issues, an officer staffing crisis and a lack of action steps to decrease the population. I hope to see DOC make progress on providing secure closures for cell doors, ensuring everyone has access to their necessary medical treatment, and implementing more programs to ensure the health and safety of those incarcerated, DOC staff, and all impacted communities.”

Last week, Comptroller Lander released a public oversight and accountability dashboard to provide detailed, timely metrics to assess progress on addressing ongoing safety and operational issues at the Department of Correction (DOC), including staff absenteeism, rates of violence, and the rising incarcerated population that perpetuates the chaos of the City’s jail system.

In June, Public Advocate Williams and Council Member Rivera introduced Intro. 549, which prohibits the punitive practice of solitary confinement, closing loopholes previously used by the Department of Correction (DOC) to continue solitary in all but name– as the elected officials witnessed on their visit. The urgency of this issue has heightened as the DOC missed its required date of July 1st to implement its own reforms to punitive segregation, and as 12 people have lost their lives in DOC custody to date this year.