Published: October 29, 2009 04:30 pm      

Charles Oliver: It couldn't happen here?

Michael Brian Morrison plays Leatherface, a villain from the movie “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” in a haunted house in Baltimore, Md. He said he noticed one group going through the house was a little rowdy, but he did his job and jumped out waving a chain saw, which had the chain removed, at them. That’s when Eric Michael Janik pulled a gun on him. Janik then told Morrison he was a cop and tried to shake his hand. In fact, he was a sergeant with the Baltimore city police department. After Janik and his family went to their car, a county police officer approached him. His report said that Janik and a female passenger in the car displayed their badges and Janik denied pulling his handgun. But when the county officer told him that several witnesses had seen him, he admitted pulling the gun. The report said the officer noticed a strong smell of alcohol and Janik’s speech was slurred but he was not given a breathalyzer test. Janik has been charged with first- and second-degree assault and reckless endangerment.

---

British officials report that thousands of patients have had to wait six months or more for medical treatment or tests because of problems with a National Health Service computer system. Government guidelines say no one should have to wait more than 18 weeks for treatment after being referred by a general practitioner, but some 14,000 patients at one NHS trust in London may have been waiting longer than that.

---

Meanwhile, the National Health Service has spent almost $2.5 million over the past three years on private health care for its own workers to allow them to opt out of the long waiting lists at the clinics and hospitals where they work. The NHS defends the practice, saying it’s important to get doctors and nurses and paramedics back to work quickly, which they couldn’t do if they were forced to wait their turn.

---

The Internal Revenue Service says there may be problems with more than 100,000 claims for the first-time homebuyer tax credit. The credit was passed as part of the economic stimulus bill in February and is credited with generating 350,000 homes sales that wouldn’t have occurred otherwise. But government officials say that many of the claims may be unjustified or even fraudulent.

---

Ronald Green admitted that the Internal Revenue Service has two liens against him for $120,000 in tax debt and fees he allegedly owes. Green is a Houston, Texas, City Council member and candidate for city comptroller. He acknowledged the liens after his opponent in the comptroller’s race found the public records documenting them.

---

In 2008, an internal affairs investigation by the Lithonia Police Department found that officer Steven Turner exposed himself during a traffic stop and lied about it. Turner wasn’t charged and was allowed to resign. Guess what? He got another job as a cop, at Carver Bible College. And he has been accused of exposing himself to three women while on patrol. This time he was charged with false imprisonment, public indecency and distributing obscene material.

---

In Michigan, the school board fired Melvindale High School assistant football coach Denny Howard after it was revealed he distributed fliers to players attributing racist remarks to Wyandotte High School football coach Ron Adams. Adams has denied making the remarks and school officials have apologized to him. Team members attended a school board meeting and threatened to boycott an upcoming state playoff game if the board fired head coach Phil Howard, Denny’s brother. School board members announced they would hold off deciding Phil Howard’s fate until after the season is over.

---

Officials at St. John’s Girls National School in Ireland have asked parents to send a roll of toilet paper to school with their children. They say cuts in government funding have forced them to cut non-educational spending.