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(NEW YORK) — James Anthony “Tony” Sisk was a lifelong law enforcement officer.

He had reached the rank of captain with the Culpeper County, Virginia, Sheriff’s Department.

Before that, he had worked in several different local departments starting in 1994, according to a department Facebook post

Sisk was a native of the area, graduating from Culpeper High School and a lifelong friend of current Culpeper County Sheriff Scott Jenkins, who Sisk went to work for after Jenkins was elected sheriff.

The father of two was respected by his co-workers, and in 2019 he was honored with a lifetime achievement award from the Culpeper Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Task Force for his work in support of crime victims.

On Oct. 1, Sisk died of COVID-19 after being admitted to the hospital, the Facebook post said.

He was 50 years old.

“Tony’s death leaves a hole in our hearts and in our community that cannot be filled,” Sheriff Jenkins said. “His ready smile and warm embrace were well known to all. Knowing that Tony is resting with God helps a little to ease the tremendous pain of losing this outstanding human being. Rest In Peace, brother.”

COVID-19 has claimed the lives of almost 500 law enforcement officers, between 2020 and 2021, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page, a database that tracks line of duty officer deaths.

That represents 62% of all law enforcement line of duty deaths in 2020 alone, according to the statistics.

“It’s taken a definite toll,” Fayette County, Ohio, Sheriff Vernon P. Stanforth told ABC News. “Anytime there’s a line of duty death there, it impacts the entire agency and the entire law enforcement community.”

Standforth is president of the National Sheriffs’ Association.

Those fallen officers will be honored by Attorney General Merrick Garland during a candlelight vigil on Thursday night, according to the National Law Enforcement Museum.

Patrick Yoes, president of the National Fraternal Order of Police, one of the biggest police unions in the country called COVID-19 not only a public health crisis, but a public safety crisis.

“The National Fraternal Order of Police knew at the beginning of the pandemic that law enforcement officers on the front lines combating this pandemic would be increasingly vulnerable to contracting the virus,” Yoes said. “As we had feared, the virus has claimed the lives of many, and now includes a growing number of law enforcement officers.”

It is not known if Sisk ever got vaccinated.

The Fraternal Order of Police maintains that getting vaccinated for COVID-19 is a personal decision, as does Sheriff Standforth.

He said he believes the vaccine will become like wearing a bulletproof vest. At first, Standforth said, officers were apprehensive about wearing a vest, but as time went on, more and more started wearing them.

“We will eventually, just like the past, we will eventually get to the place, where we will say, OK, I can’t make the argument any longer I’ve got it, I’m going to take the vaccine to protect myself and my family,” the sheriff said. “I think that’s just cyclical and it’ll happen in due time.”

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(NEW YORK) — The American Automobile Association (AAA) is warning drivers nationwide not to over-rely on advanced safety systems in cars, like automatic braking and lane assist systems, during inclement weather.

New research from the organization found that heavy rain affects safety features from functioning properly, which can result in performance issues.

During AAA experiments, vehicles equipped with automatic emergency braking, that traveled at 35 mph, collided with a stopped vehicle one third of the time.

“Often these systems are tested in somewhat perfect conditions,” Greg Brannon, AAA’s director of automotive engineering and industry relations, told ABC News. “But the reality is drivers don’t drive in perfect conditions.”

In the experiment, AAA simulated rain and other environmental conditions, such as bugs and dirt, to measure impact on the performance of various advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).

To simulate rainfall, AAA engineers designed a system using a reservoir to hold water atop the cargo area of the test vehicle. The system was connected to a nozzle positioned above the windshield, so the spray pattern covered the entire windshield.

“We created a device that allowed the windshield to experience basically what it would in a rainstorm,” Brannon said.

AAA also found that cars with lane keeping assistance departed their lanes 69% of the time.

“It’s pretty, pretty substantial and surprising findings for something that is on a lot of cars today,” Brannon said.

The tests were conducted with five different vehicles, including the 2020 Buick Enclave Avenir with automatic emergency braking and lane keep assist, a 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe with forward collision avoidance assist and lane keeping assist, a 2020 Toyota RAV4 with pre-collision system and lane tracing assist, and a 2020 Volkswagen Tiguan3 with front assist and lane assist.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), “Driver assistance technologies hold the potential to reduce traffic crashes and save thousands of lives each year.”

The agency said more than 36,000 people died in motor vehicle crashes in 2019 — many of which were tied to human error.

Brannon said consumers should use advanced safety systems, but not in the place of engaged driving. “The most dangerous thing that a consumer can do is to over-rely on the systems.”

“AAA’s advice to consumers that have advanced safety systems in their car really is the same regardless of what that system is, and that’s to drive the car like the system is not there,” Brannon said. “Select a car that has the most advanced safety systems available, because they all hold a lot of potential to reduce injury and save lives, and that’s a good thing.”

Brannon said drivers should never use cruise control during inclement weather, and he advised motorists to slow down.

“Really understand the environment that you’re operating in and then make sure that you are fully engaged in that task of driving,” Brannon said.

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(NEW YORK) — A New York City police officer is in custody after she allegedly shot two women, killing one, at a home in Brooklyn.

The officer, who was off-duty at the time, is believed to have shot both women — one of whom she was dating — when they returned to the home where the officer’s girlfriend lived.

Police said the off-duty officer shot a 24-year-old woman in her chest, “possibly more than one time,” at the Bensonhurt home. The victim, identified as Jamie Liang, was taken to Maimonides Medical Center and was pronounced dead, police said.

The other woman, a 23-year-old, who was in the romantic relationship with the officer, was shot in the torso and is expected to survive, police said.

The suspect, 31, is a police officer in the 72nd District, which encompasses the Park Slope and Sunset Park areas of Brooklyn.

The officer had worked for the NYPD for 5 1/2 years. Police said she was at a local hospital for evaluation.

“We believe it is domestic in nature. We believe all three parties knew each other,” Assistant Chief Michael Kemper, commanding officer of Patrol Borough Brooklyn South, said at a press conference Wednesday evening.

“We believe they had an intimate relationship,” he said of the officer and the 23-year-old woman.

The officer remained at the scene and told police she had shot the two women, according to police.

Police said they were still investigating, but recovered a gun on the scene and “there’s a very good chance it is her service weapon,” Kemper said.

“The whole incident is horrible, but these cops performed great, just heroically, and this is what NYPD cops come upon every single day,” Kemper said. “Is this an incident they would want to come upon? No. But unfortunately throughout their careers they come upon this.”

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(PLAISTOW, N.H.) — A driver experiencing a medical emergency crashed a school bus carrying six children into the woods in New Hampshire Tuesday, according to the Plaistow Police Department.

The accident took place at 3:43 p.m. local time. None of the children were hospitalized and the driver, who was taken to the hospital, was stable Tuesday evening, police said.

Two mothers — Stephanie Geary and Gina Lynch — were present at the scene of the crash and were able to help the children off the bus.

In an interview on Wednesday, Geary told ABC News that she and Lynch were driving toward Timberlane Regional School when she noticed the bus coming in the opposite direction in her lane.

“I noticed something right away was off because I’m like why would a bus be in my lane coming at me very fast,” Geary said.

Geary swerved her car to the left, allowing the bas to pass on her right, before it hit a guardrail and crashed down an embankment. Geary and Lynch rushed to the scene to help the children.

Geary and Lynch pried open the back door of the bus in order to evacuate the children, according to Boston ABC affiliate WCVB.

“We were scared. We didn’t know what we were going to see. All we heard were screaming kids and my heart went into my throat,” Lynch said.

The area surrounding the crash site was closed off by the police for approximately an hour.

“You got to do what you got to do. When Mama Bear kicks in, Mama Bear kicks in,” Lynch told WCVB.

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(STOCKTON, Calif.) — The family of a Black man who was shot seven times in Stockton, California, last week is pushing for justice in what is now being investigated as a potential hate crime.

Bobby Gayle, 45, a cement mason and father of five was seriously injured in the unprovoked attack last Friday, according to his family. His brother, Marlon Gayle, said Bobby had just finished a construction job at a restaurant when the shooting occurred.

“This big truck came by and almost hit them. So my brother says, ‘Hey, slow down,'” Marlon Gayle told ABC News. “According to my brother and the guy who was with him, his friend, the guy gets out of the truck, the white guy, and he has a gun, and he starts saying the n-word over and over again and started shooting my brother.”

Bobby Gayle was shot seven times, including in the face. His family said that he is in stable condition and that no major arteries were hit.

Right after the shooting, he left his brother a voicemail saying that he had been shot and asking him to pray.

“It was a miracle. God answers prayer and we’re just so thankful,” Marlon Gayle said. “He’s just so happy to be alive, and blessed to be with his family and his children.”

The Stockton Police Department described the shooter as a white male in his 30s, wearing a dark-colored jacket and jeans. Police have described his vehicle as a late-model Chevrolet Silverado extended cab truck with after-model, chrome-colored wheels. There’s a $10,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

While detectives are in the early stages of the investigation, they said the shooting is being probed as a potential hate crime. The Stockton Police Department said it has had an average of eight hate crime cases a year over the last five years.

“His heart is not right, the hatred that’s inside of him,” Marlon Gayle said. “Yes, it was a hate crime and that person needs Jesus, that person needs prayer, that person needs to be brought to justice.”

“Our family, we never expected something like this to happen. We love people. We’re people that serve in the community, and we love people from all backgrounds,” he added. “We believe in forgiveness, but that person, he definitely needs to be taken off the streets. He’s dangerous.”

Gayle said that the police department has been very helpful.

“I really believe that they’re doing everything that they can to try to find this guy,” he said.

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(NEW YORK) — Actor William Shatner was overcome with emotion after his “unbelievable” 10-minute trip to space on Blue Origin’s New Shepard.

“Everybody in the world needs to do this,” Shatner told Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos after he touched down in Texas Wednesday.

“To see the blue color rip by — now you’re staring into blackness,” Shatner said, who, at the age of 90, is now the oldest person ever to go to space. “It was so moving. This experience has been something unbelievable.”

“What you have given me is the most profound experience,” the “Star Trek” star said to Bezos.

“I am so filled with emotion. It was extraordinary,” he said. “I hope I never recover from this. I hope that I can maintain what I feel now. I don’t want to lose it. It’s so — so much larger than me and life.”

Shatner also told Bezos, “It would be so important for everybody to have that experience through one means or another. I mean maybe you can put it on 3D and wear the goggles.”

Shatner joined Audrey Powers, Blue Origin’s vice president of mission and flight operations and a former NASA flight controller and engineer; Chris Boshuizen, the co-founder of satellite company Planet Labs and a former space mission architect for NASA; and Glen de Vries, the co-founder of Medidata Solutions, a life science company.

This was Blue Origin’s second crewed mission to space.

 

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(FORT HOOD, Texas) — A Fort Hood soldier assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division was found dead Saturday behind his barracks over the weekend, according to military officials.

Officials have not released the victim’s ID or the cause of death.

“More details will be released once all next of kin have been notified. The incident is under investigation,” Fort Hood officials said in a press release.

Fort Hood officials did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

There have been multiple incidents at the Texas base this year.

Last week, there were concerns for Pfc. Jennifer Sewell, who was believed to be missing after she failed to report for duty on Oct. 7. Fort Hood officials said in an update Sunday that “Sewell’s family confirmed she is safe and with extended family.” She returned to the base Monday.

Fort Hood is the same Army base where Vanessa Guillen was murdered in April 2020, in a case that engrossed the nation.

Guillen, 20, was bludgeoned to death with a hammer in an arms room on April 22, 2020, authorities said. She was missing for months until some of her remains were found buried along the Leon River in June 2020.

Her suspected killer was fellow soldier Spc. Aaron Robinson, who took his own life when confronted by police after her remains were discovered, authorities said at the time.

Her death cast a harsh spotlight on the base and its culture, particularly for its handling of sexual assault and harassment, as she told her family that she had been harassed at the base. A long-awaited U.S. Army investigation released in April determined she had been sexually harassed by a supervisor, but the incidents of harassment were not related to her murder.

In December 2020, the Army announced 14 senior leaders and enlisted personnel at Fort Hood were fired or suspended following an independent panel’s review of the command climate and culture at the base.

Last week, the base unveiled the People First Center, a training center for support and resources for victims of sexual assault or those experiencing suicidal thoughts.

 

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(VAN HORN, Texas) — Actor William Shatner and his three crewmates on Blue Origin’s New Shepard have returned to earth after an 11-minute trip to space.

Shatner, 90, is the oldest person ever to go to space.

The “Star Trek” star joined Audrey Powers, Blue Origin’s vice president of mission and flight operations and a former NASA flight controller and engineer; Chris Boshuizen, the co-founder of satellite company Planet Labs and a former space mission architect for NASA; and Glen de Vries, the co-founder of Medidata Solutions, a life science company.

This was Blue Origin’s second crewed mission to space.

Latest headlines:
-‘I am so filled with emotion,’ Shatner says
-Capsule touches down safely
-Capsule separates from booster
-Shatner soars to space in historic launch

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.

Oct 13, 11:32 am
Bezos pins Shatner and crew

“Welcome to a very small club,” Bezos told the four new astronauts as he fastened pins on their suits.

“Oops, this one is bent,” Bezos said as he tried to pin one on Shatner. “So am I,” Shatner joked back.

ABC News’ Ayushi Agarwal

Oct 13, 11:25 am
‘I am so filled with emotion,’ Shatner says

Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin’s founder, joined friends and family as they greeted the astronauts who exited the capsule one by one.

Bezos sprayed bottles of champagne to celebrate the safe and historic launch.

“Everybody in the world needs to do this,” Shatner, who was overcome with emotion, told Bezos.

“It was so moving. This experience has been something unbelievable,” he said. “The blue down there, the black up there.”

“You have done something,” Shatner said to Bezos. “What you have given me is the most profound experience. I am so filled with emotion.”

“I hope that I can maintain what I feel now,” he said. “I don’t want to lose it.”

“I am overwhelmed,” he said. As for the camaraderie with the crew, the actor said, “It’s like being in battle together.”

Oct 13, 11:02 am
Capsule touches down safely

The newest astronauts touched down safely at about 11 a.m. ET.

This was the second crewed flight for Blue Origin.

Oct 13, 10:59 am
Booster returns to earth ahead of capsule

The booster touched back down on Earth after launching Shatner and crew to space.

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(VAN HORN, Texas) — Actor William Shatner and his three crewmates on Blue Origin’s New Shepard are just hours away from their suborbital space flight.

The eleven-minute mission for Jeff Bezos’ spaceflight company was initially set for Tuesday but was delayed one day due to forecasted winds in West Texas.

Shatner is joining Audrey Powers, Blue Origin’s vice president of mission and flight operations and a former NASA flight controller and engineer; Chris Boshuizen, the co-founder of satellite company Planet Labs and a former space mission architect for NASA; and Glen de Vries, the co-founder of Medidata Solutions, a life science company.

The launch is expected around 10:30 a.m. ET and will be streamed on ABC News Live.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Oct 13, 9:58 am
Bezos chauffeurs astronauts to launch tower

The countdown clock was paused for approximately 30 minutes as Blue Origin teams assessed launch conditions on the ground, but the astronauts are en route to the launch pad.
PHOTO: In this still image taken from a Blue Origin video, the New Shepard rocket sits on the launch pad prior to lift off on Oct. 13, 2021, from the West Texas region, 25 miles, north of Van Horn.
Jose Romero/Blue Origin/AFP via Getty ImagesJose Romero/Blue Origin/AFP via Getty Images
In this still image taken from a Blue Origin video, the New Shepard rocket sits on the lau…

Blue Origin’s Jeff Bezos, who went to space himself in July, chauffeured the four astronauts to the launch tower as workers cheered.

Oct 13, 9:16 am
NASA wishes Shatner ‘all the best’ on his flight to space

NASA sent a good luck tweet to William Shatner Wednesday morning ahead of the actor’s trip to the edge of space.

Oct 13, 9:10 am
Astronauts will experience 3 to 4 minutes of weightlessness

During the 11-minute flight, the astronauts will experience about three to four minutes of weightlessness.

They’ll also travel above the Karman Line, the internationally recognized boundary separating Earth’s atmosphere from space.

Oct 13, 7:31 am
Shatner set to become the oldest person to go to space

Star Trek star William Shatner, 90, is poised to become the oldest person ever to go to space.

He’ll beat the record set by 82-year-old Wally Funk during July’s inaugural New Shepard launch.

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(CHAPEL HILL, N.C.) — The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill canceled classes and declared Tuesday a “Wellness Day” as officials investigate two suicide-related incidents from over the weekend.

“We are in the middle of a mental health crisis, both on our campus and across our nation, and we are aware that college-aged students carry an increased risk of suicide,” Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz said in a statement to students Sunday evening. “This crisis has directly impacted members of our community — especially with the passing of two students on campus in the past month.”

He encouraged students to “rest and check in with each other, adding: “Reach out to a friend, a classmate or colleague and ask them, ‘Honestly, how are you doing?'”

The UNC Police Department reported a suicide at the Forest Theater on Sept. 4, according to UNC Police’s online crime log.

Campus police responded to a suicide Saturday morning at the Hinton James Residence Hall and to another call on Sunday at 3:35 a.m. for an attempted suicide at the Granville Towers South on campus, according to the log’s data.

UNC Media Relations told ABC News the incidents are under investigation.

Leaders of the UNC student government had called for the school to pause instruction on Monday as well as Tuesday.

“The leaders of the Undergraduate and Graduate and Professional Student Governments are mourning the tragic loss of life that occurred on Carolina’s campus this weekend. We share the pain of our peers who are now navigating both the grief of losing a friend and simultaneously completing a rigorous curriculum during an already stressful semester,” students said in a statement.

Some students said they wished the university was doing even more.

“I think they are trying, but it kind of seems like a bare minimum response to me,” sophomore Annalise Zola said to ABC Durham station WTVD. “I think the response was a little delayed in that they could be funding CAPS [Counseling and Psychological Services] better and doing more to support our students.”

Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among people 15 to 34 years old, according to National Institute of Mental Health data.

Guskiewicz said UNC is working to create a special support network for students and staff this week, and that the campus will convene a mental health summit later this month. Students who live on campus also have been encouraged to reach out to Carolina Housing staff for support.

He also announced the upcoming launch of a campus-wide campaign to support mental health awareness called the Heels Care Network, a reporting mechanism where people can share information about someone else who may need help.

If you or a loved one are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.

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