Allan Lengel, editor of ticklethewire.com, is a veteran journalist who has covered law enforcement at major publications including the Washington Post and the Detroit News. He also served as an intern under the late investigative columnist Jack Anderson and was an adjunct journalism professor at the University of Maryland.
If Dead Kids Doesn’t Do It, What Will?
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com It’s nauseating to say the least to see how spineless our Washington lawmakers are, how fearful they are when it comes to standing up to the NRA and the people who insist that universal background checks are too intrusive and assault weapons are necessary to own. The Newtown shootings should have…
Shouldn’t We Do More to Avoid Mass Deaths By Crazed Gunmen?
By Allan Lengel For Deadline Detroit During my visits to Israel, the idea of security was never far off. At the train station, at the bus stop, I went through a metal detector. An armed guard checked through packages and asked if I was carrying a gun. After Sept. 11, 2001, I thought the U.S….
Law Enforcement Needs to Take On Mental Illness If It Wants to Reduce the Chances of More Mass Shootings
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com WASHINGTON — Looking at the mass shootings in the U.S. in recent years, from Tucson to Aurora, Colo. from Columbine to Oak Creek, Wisc., two things become apparent: The gunmen all had easy access to guns and they all had severe psychological problems. I won’t address the issue of the guns. Not…
Penn State Cover Up is Lesson for Institutions Including Fed Law Enforcement
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com There’s a lesson to be learned from the Jerry Sandusky-Penn State child sexual abuse scandal for institutions, including federal law enforcement agencies. The main lesson is that institutions aren’t more important than people. We’ve seen this play out so many times before. Institutions protecting their image, avoiding disgrace. We’ve seen it…
The John Edwards Case Just Didn’t Feel Right
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Some federal cases are too complicated for jurors. Some may be borderline illegal. And some may end up being a waste of taxpayer money. The trial against ex-presidential hopeful John Edwards was probably all of the above. A jury on Thursday acquitted him on one count and deadlocked on five others…