Top stories this week: Officers shot in Baton Rouge; man says photo shows spirit

Officers shot in Baton Rouge, Pokemon players arrested in parks

DETROIT – Another busy week came and went in Metro Detroit. Here's a look at some of the week's top headlines from ClickOnDetroit.com.

Many upset as cemetery welcomes 'Pokemon GO' Players

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Family members of those resting in a Westland cemetery are unhappy about the cemetery’s signs reading "Welcome Pokemon GO Players."

"Pokemon GO" is a game played on smartphones in which players roam about different locations, capturing virtual characters that can be see on the user's screen.

Several people said dozens of players were walking around  Cadillac Memorial Gardens West Cemetery playing the game while ignoring their loved ones' graves.

"Usually we come here and there are one or two cars. There must have been 40 or 50 cars and a steady stream coming in and out," Robert Gladstone said.

You can read the full story here.


Multiple police officers shot in Baton Rouge

Authorities say three law enforcement officers have been killed and three have been injured in a shooting in Louisiana.

A sheriff's spokesman in Baton Rouge also said that one suspect is dead and two others are believed to be at large.

Officers and deputies from the Baton Rouge Police Department and East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office were involved in the Sunday morning shooting that took place less than 1 mile from police headquarters.

Police received a call of "suspicious person walking down Airline Highway with an assault rifle," a source said.  When police arrived, the man opened fire.

More than seven officers are hospitalized, some in critical condition, the source added.

"There is still an active scene. They are investigating. Right now we are trying to get our arms around everything. It's just been one thing after another," Kip Holden, the mayor-president of East Baton Rouge Parish, said.

You can read more about the shooting here.


Some say photo shows man's spirit after fatal crash

A "chilling" image shot at the scene of a fatal accident has been shared more than 15,000 times on Facebook.

The photo posted by Saul Vazquez shows the scene of the accident where a motorcyclist died in a crash.

Hovering above the group of people, a cloudy figure, which looks like the outline of a man, is seen in the air.

“Zoom in and pay attention to the shadow just off the top of the state trooper hat. All I say is I hope everyone involved is okay!!” Vazquez wrote in the Facebook post.

See the original post and photo here.


Disney intern fired over alligator tweet gets job back

A Walt Disney World intern is back on the job after she was briefly fired for tweeting a photo of a sign telling employees how to respond to questions about alligators in the theme park's waters.

The Orlando Sentinel reported that Shannon Sullivan was fired this week after posting the photo on Twitter. It told employees that if guests ask whether alligators live in the park's waters, they should reply, "Not that we know of." It added, "Please do not say that we have seen them before."

Sullivan told her bosses that that was misleading. She posted the photo and was fired.

Read the full story here.


Judge in Charles Pugh's sex crime case recuses herself

Former Detroit City Council President Charles Pugh was back in a Detroit courtroom Tuesday, where a judge recused herself from the case because of a previous professional relationship the two had.

Judge Shannon Holmes said she had worked with Pugh in a prior place of employment and also knew the victim's family.

Holmes said she felt that it would not impede her ability to be fair, but that she didn't want to give the appearance of a bias.

The case was moved to Judge Deborah Langston, who kept Pugh's bail at $500,000. His next court hearing is Aug. 5.

Pugh, 44, was arrested in June at his home in New York.  The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office has charged him with criminal sexual conduct in a case from 2003.

You can see ClickOnDetroit's full coverage of the story here.


5 ticketed for playing 'Pokemon Go'

Five people were ticketed in St. Clair Shores on Saturday for playing "Pokemon Go" after midnight in a city park.

In a Facebook post, Megan Moehlig said police issued her and four others a $150 citation for violating hours at Wahby Park, which is located on Jefferson Avenue between 9 and 10 Mile roads.

"It’s a misdemeanor and I have a professional job, so I don’t need that on my record for sitting at a park bench at night,” Moehlig told Local 4.

Police said they have been having problems with trespassers playing "Pokemon Go" overnight.

On any given night, police said dozens of kids gather at the park to play the game. The park closes from dusk until dawn.

Read the full story here.


Army vet dies after breaking up fight in Detroit

There’s no quick way to describe what 81-year-old veteran Robert Ybarra meant to his family and his Southwest Detroit neighborhood.

“Loving. He loved everyone,” said Ybarra’s daughter, Tanya Hensley. "He was one of those neighborhood dads that people could count on. If you needed groceries, he'd take you. He'd buy them."

Ybarra lost his eye in an Army training exercise in Germany in the early 60s. He returned to the U.S. with a bride, and they moved to Detroit in 1968.

On the day he arrived in the city, the Tigers were winning the World Series in St. Louis.

"People on Jefferson were jumping up and down-- even on his (taxi) cab-- and he was worried another riot was breaking out like the year before," said his son, Richard Ybarra. "The cab driver said, 'No, the Tigers won the Series.'"

You can read the full story here.


Melania Trump's speechwriter admits to copying Michelle Obama

A speechwriter for Donald Trump's company said Wednesday she made a mistake and apologized for using passages from a 2008 Michelle Obama address, Trump's wife, Melania Trump, delivered at the Republican Party's national convention.

Meredith McIver said she offered to resign but Donald Trump refused to accept her resignation.

In a statement issued by the campaign, McIver said that Melania Trump had told her that she admired Michelle Obama and had read passages from Obama's speech as an example of things she liked.

McIver said she wrote down the passages and later included them in the speech.

"I did not check Mrs. Obama's speeches. This was my mistake, and I feel terrible for the chaos I have caused Melania and the Trumps, as well as to Mrs. Obama. No harm was meant."

Read much more about Donald Trump at the RNC here.


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