Crime Scene

Crime Scene Recommends: The First 48

Police-reporters' lives aren't completely consumed by our jobs. We often find time for police-related television shows, too.

Which brings us to tonight's inaugural installment of Crime Scene Recommends, where we share our favorite pieces of cop-pop-culture with you.

The First 48 is everything about reality crime TV that Cops is not.

The series follows homicide detectives in the first two days of a murder investigation, the idea being that a cop's best chance to solve a case happens within the first 48 hours after the crime. The show's cameras get behind-the-yellow-tape access to crime scenes and interview rooms, allowing viewers a voyeuristic peek inside the cops' and perps' heads.

The First 48 tracks murder investigations in places like Dallas, Kansas City, Las Vegas and Philadelphia.

Skip those, and set your TiVo for the show's Miami episodes. Coming up in the next few weeks: The stabbing death of an airline executive in Overtown, and the murder of a homeless man at the hands of an MS-13 gang member.

The show airs at weird times on A&E, so check local listings for the next broadcast. The link above to the show's website lets you read profiles of the Miami homicide unit, look up episode synopses and play detective in a crack-the-case game.

And if this glowing recommendation isn't enough proof, here is Category 305's take on what it calls "the best Miami documentary ever."    (Photo credit: aetv.com)

Officers, watch your toes

South Florida drivers prove time and time again that no police traffic stop is ever routine.

Take these prime examples, both from today:

- A lieutenant with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spotted someone smack into a Southwest Miami-Dade mailbox.

The conservation officer called for police backup and approached the guy's car. The suspect jumped out of his car and into the driver's seat of the lieutenant's state-owned SUV.

The lieutenant suffered some injuries trying to stop the guy, who drove away but was arrested after a short manhunt that forced the lockdown of Princeton Christian School Wednesday afternoon. Police found the lieutenant's Ford Explorer, too - at the bottom of a canal (CBS 4 photo at left). 

-Officers in Miami-Dade Police's Doral District stopped a white Honda Pilot at the Mall of the Americas after reports of suspicious driving. Police ran the license plate and determined it had been stolen.

Officers got the man out of the car and were handcuffing him, but no one bothered to put the Honda into park. It was still in gear and rolled over an officer's foot.

The officer was treated at a local hospital, and detectives were questioning the suspect about his possible connection to several recent robberies.

Go to school, stay in school

That's the message Miami-Dade Schools Police hope to spread Tuesday during a truancy sweep.

The goal is to prevent truancy among middle and high school students. Police and educators say truancy is a gateway problem that often leads to more serious crimes.

Police will set up a mobile command center at Miami Southridge Senior High, 19355 SW 114th Ave.,  from 8 a.m. to noon during Tuesday's sweep.

Baby saved from drowning

A passerby at the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo found an unattended 2-year-old floating in a swimming pool earlier this weekend.

Local rescuers helped provide CPR until a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue helicopter arrived to fly the baby girl to Miami Children's Hospital, where she is recovering from the trauma.

For South Florida paramedics, it's a sight all too common. Drownings are the No. 1 cause of death in children under 5, and Miami-Dade County has more pediatric near-drownings than anywhere else in the country, according to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Lt. Eddy Ballester.

As part of this year's April Pools Day campaign to raise drowning awareness, the fire department is going to schools throughout the county to help teach kids about staying safe near water. Here are some of the tips. 

The most important tip of all, Ballester says, is to make sure an adult is supervising kids in water.

"There is no substitute for supervision," he said.

Beware the bees

Like your list of worries wasn't long enough, authorities want you to add this: killer bees.

Actually, they're Africanized honey bees, nicknamed killer bees because they are more aggressive and more likely to swarm. I couldn't find any reports of them actually killing anyone in Florida. But you don't want to make them mad.

So here is some advice culled from the state agriculture department and the Broward Sheriff's Office:

-- If allergic to bees, keep a bee sting kit around.

-- Don't try removing a nest on your own. Call a pest control company.

-- Check empty spaces regularly to make sure a hive hasn't started in one.

-- Don't jump in the water. You will have to come up for air, and the bees might still be there.

-- If confronted by swarming bees RUN AWAY REALLY FAST IN A STRAIGHT LINE!

If you want the full versions, feel free to check them out at state ag dept and BSO.

Occupation: Porn actor

It's hard not to laugh at Ron Jeremy, America's best-known male adult-film star who gained celeb status as porn's "everyman" before slipping into relative obscurity. A recent recurring spot on MTV's Surreal Life reality show has given Jeremy a minor comeback.

What's not so funny: Jeremy may have violated a Miami woman at last weekend's Exxxotica festivities at the Miami Beach Convention Center.

According to a Miami Beach Police incident report filed Monday, a woman is claiming Jeremy reached into her blouse and signed his name on her breast without her permission. Police are investigating it as a possible simple battery, but it appears no charges have been filed.

The victim's husband, who was with her at the time, snapped some photos of the incident, the police report notes.

The report describes Jeremy as tan with a heavy build, long brown hair and a goatee. Written in the box for occupation: Porn actor. 

We'll check back with Miami Beach PD on Wednesday to see if they have any additional information to release.