Today's Globe featured a story on the tremendous pull that police and fire unions have on city government. Roderick Fraser Jr. heads the fire department, but Local 718 Ed Kelly has his own ideas for the direction of the fire department. Mayor Menino's disputes with the fire department, particularly over the issue of drug testing after the Tai Ho Restaurant fire, which killed firefighters Paul Cahill and Warren Payne, are notorious. It still isn't clear......

--A 25-year-old man was shot to death while sitting in his car early this morning in Allston. An image of the shot-out window and info on WBZ indicates that whoever killed him walked to the rear passenger window and fired. [WBZ] --The alleged child rapist who escaped from police in New Bedford was sighted at a YMCA. [WBZ] --In Brighton early this morning, a 22-year-old fell off a second-story porch. His injuries were not life-threatening......

--Police Commissioner Ed Davis is considering testing BPD officers for steroid use because of fears of potential 'roid rage. [Boston Globe] --In Fitchburg last night, a man speeding away from the law in his car drove into an SUV, injuring a mother and her daughter. Luckily, their injuries were minor. [WCVB] All charges alleged until proven under law.......

--Some none-too-bright teens robbed a pizza delivery guy of his pie yesterday in Dorchester. After scoring their pizza, they took off, and the BPD had the easiest time ever finding them. For starters, they left footprints in the snow, and they dropped pizza crusts in their building. [BPD News] --A heroic mother in Dorchester contacted police after suspecting her 15-year-old was hiding a loaded weapon in her home. Police searching the home came up with......

-- A man was shot to death waiting for his food at a Jamaican restaurant in Dorchester last night. Police have not identified the 24 year-old victim, the eighth Boston homicide and the fourth in three nights. His death punctuates an spree of violence in Dorchester unprecedented in recent memory. [Boston Herald] -- The Dorchester killing prompted a swift reaction from Boston Police. A massive warrant sweep netted 67 alleged criminals, several firearms and a......

--A BPD officer allegedly held up the Best of Boston gas station in Roslindale. You read that right. A BPD officer held up a gas station yesterday afternoon. The officer, 44-year-old Michael T. Jones, wasn't in uniform, nor was he driving his cruiser, but he used his police gun in the robbery. Police Commish Ed Davis, who has dealt with headache after headache in this job, called it "reprehensible," and that's an understatement. Jones has......

Police commissioner Ed Davis has a lot to handle now that an internal audit shows drug evidence has either gone missing or has been tampered with in almost 1,000 cases. WBZ serves up some scary details about events at the BPD warehouse in Hyde Park. Whoever's been messing with the drugs worked hard to cover it up: "In 90 cases involving evidence like pills or tablets, someone removed the drugs and replaced them with aspirin......

--Just because you're a Harvard student doesn't mean you're smart. The Crimson reports that a junior was arrested for "hitting and kicking a police officer and breaking the window of a patrol car." What could have irritated him so much? His friends said that he was "intoxicated at the time." That's an understatement. --Anarchist wannabes have been torching a few American flags in Western Mass, police say. On Friday night, a large flag hanging in......

--An officer with the Boston Police Department was caught abusing his girlfriend in Baltimore, and now the BPD says it can't fire him. According to O'Ryan Johnson, Batlimore gave the officer, Lt. David Murphy, "probation before judgment," so he got 18 months probation. Commish Ed Davis says that since Murphy wasn't convicted, Murphy can't be punished. --As of this time, the BPD believes that the two fatal shootings in Dorchester and Roxbury on Friday were......

--The BPD arrested two people in the South End for Unlawful Possession of a Firearm. The gun wouldn't have been discovered if it hadn't accidentally gone off in the bathroom. The Herald reported that the woman who was arrested was the mother of Dontel Jeffers, the child who died at the hands of his foster mother, who was recently sentenced for the crime. Laurel Sweet writes, "Crystal Claiborn [Jeffers' mother] claimed that while aiming the......

--A woman who was pregnant with twins was shot in the back last night in Mattapan. Police are saying the 22-year-old was shot through her apartment window. The woman is now in stable condition. The Herald adds that Police Commissioner Ed Davis went to the scene and that It was unclear last night whether the woman was targeted by someone she knew or whether she was a victim of a bizarre act of random violence.......

--Twenty-five enterprising members of the BPD found a way to make over $200,000 last year. 121 police officers make more money than Commish Ed Davis. This information goes to show how much money goes into the police details, and how much it would save if the state went with Governor Deval Patrick's plan to use flagmen instead of details at construction sites. --WBZ' I-Team found that Massachusetts State Troopers caused "nearly 500 crashes in their......

--The BPD is starting yet another crime-stopping program that is sure to raise eyebrows. In this case, police will search bedrooms of teenagers suspected of having guns without a warrant. Regarding the alarming "without a warrant" part, the BPD plans to ask the parent for permission first. The rationale for this is that some parents may know their kids have guns, but they don't know what to do about it. Commish Ed Davis and DA......

--Police Commissioner Edward Davis has reacted to the information that corruption in the Boston Police Department might have extended beyond former officer Roberto Pulido and his sketchy crew. He even put a video on YouTube declaring that he will investigate the allegations. He said, "I will continue to press for the strictest sanctions against police corruption so that the excellent police work that I see every day from our officers will not be tarnished."......

--It seemed as if the World Series put a cork in local gun incidents or the media (Bostonist included) was too busy with the Sox to notice. Now the cork is out of the bottle. The 45-year-old owner of Stalex Pizza in Dorchester was shot in the head this morning when he tried to go after an 18-year-old who robbed his shop. The man is in critical condition. The BPD announced that officers moved fast......

--Six drag racers got busted for sneaky-driving on Washington Street in Roslindale early Sunday morning. Jessica M. Smith of the Roslindale Transcript reports that the racers set up lookouts. Five Honda Civics were towed as well. Did Honda Civics strike you as worthy of 2 Fast 2 Furious? --Mayor Menino and Commish Ed Davis have announced that they want colleges to crack down on students who act up during the World Series. Menino said that......

Bostonist presents a public service announcement … Mayor Tom Menino and Police Commissioner Ed Davis held a press conference today to let the city know that the party police would be out in force for Game 7 in the ALCS. Whether the Red Sox win or lose (and they're gonna win, right?), the BPD will be ready. But, if you didn't get a ticket and you're planning on swarming upon Fenway Park, The Boston Police......

A 15-year-old boy allegedly shot Boston Bengals Pop Warner football coach Myron Stovell in the leg yesterday afternoon. Stovell was at Washington Park in Roxbury to lead a team practice. Why? A witness told the Globe that the teenager and Stovell got in a fight over something Stovell may have done to the kid's dog: "'He hit the kid's dog, that's why they did it to him. He hit their dog, and they came onto......

--Suffolk District Attorney Dan Conley and police commissioner Ed Davis were able to be in the same room this weekend despite their ongoing public spat. But someone has BPD detectives have been distributing flyers around Government Center denouncing Conley's actions. The flyer pulls no punches and even likens Conley to a feudal lord: "Dan Conley is a politician who only wants to flex his political might over the serfs beneath him." Can everyone involved in......

--In the middle of a card game at an old folks' home in Jamaica Plain, someone let loose pepper spray, and three residents went to the hospital. That must have been a high-stakes game of pokeno! Police questioned one 66-year-old man, Robert Kane, because he had pepper spray in the past, but he denied it. One resident referred to "troublemakers" in the home and suggested that some people in the home were beefing. Aren't they......

--The Commish Ed Davis - DA Dan Conley back-and-forth continues. Davis put out a three-page letter explaining why the State Police shouldn't be working on MBTA or transit-related homicides. The State Police doesn't appear to give a crap whether they are working on those homicides or not. But the transit police chief has taken Conley's side and said they would like state police on those cases. Of course, the time it took Conley to develop......

The turf wars aren't limited to Boston. The Globe reported on an internal fight within the Gloucester PD that should make you feel a little better about the BPD's petty tiffs. A lieutenant for the GPD accused police chief John Beaudette of "running into him stomach-first during a recent confrontation over the deployment of officers." We looked at the Globe's picture of Lieutenant Jerris Cook, along with ones the Gloucester Times took of chief Beaudette.......

What, the mayor leaves town and stuff goes nuts? Ever since Commish Ed Davis shook up his staff without Suffolk DA Dan Conley's consultation, the DA's office and the BPD haven't been the best of pals. Now, those relations are even frostier because Conley decided that the State Police - not the BPD - will be in charge of investigating any MBTA homicides. Conley says he's doing this to even everyone's workload. The BPD has......

--Follow-Up: The three people who were shot on Dubois Street on Saturday night may have been in the crossfire of a gang shoot-out. One of the victims was Joyce Gomes, a 68-year-old woman who was sitting on her porch. Gomes got hit in the leg. Wounded grandmas, white female tourists, and State Houses make Commish Ed Davis sit up and take notice. Expect another sweep of the Dubois Street area soon. The Globe has a......

--Remember that little incident on the Common in which two people were found shot near the McDonald's on Sunday night? Well, it left a bullethole in a State House window that was near governor Deval Patrick's suite. A spokeswoman for the governor said that he was "deeply disturbed" and "particularly upset," which seems to us to be code for "royally pissed off." Patrick likes to keep his stuff nice - not to mention safe. Five......

Some things just don't fit on the Blotter, especially when they involve potential mistakes on the part of the BPD. Here's our semi-regular attempt to follow up or tell you about the incidents that are making Police Commish Ed Davis sweat. --When officers go to police academy, are they trained on what to do if one of your loved ones is arrested? Because a BPD officer has a serious problem on her hands. Over last......

--The BPD announced that it is increasing foot patrols by adding 54 officers to the street beat. Commish Ed Davis held a conference yesterday at Codman Square. Right now, 18 beat officers total cover downtown, Grove Hall, and Bowdoin-Geneva. Here is a full list of where the new beat officers will patrol: Eagle Hill (A-7/ East Boston), two teams in Codman Square (B-3 Mattapan/Dorchester), Morton Ave and Blue Hill Avenue (B-3 Mattapan/Dorchester), Egleston Square (E-13/......

Three people were shot yesterday afternoon in Dorchester on Morse Street. One of them was shot in the chest, and the other two have "non-life-threatening" injuries. Police commissioner Ed Davis referred to a "gang motivation" behind the shooting and that the incident might be tied to guns that the police seized on Wednesday night. The Herald interviewed people in the neighborhood who were more specific, and they said it had something to do with a......

--Why toss a bucket of paint on a richie's fur coat when you can stop furs at the source? In Hinsdale on Monday, someone set about 400 to 500 mink who were destined to become pricey furs free from a farm. That's a lot of mink to let loose! The owner of Berkshire Furs is naturally blaming the "antifur people." No one's been caught yet, and the owner said the animals wouldn't be able to......

The feud between DA Dan Conley and BPD chief Ed Davis continues, at least according to the Herald. The fact that Davis wasn't around when Conley announced on Wednesday that he would arrest Angela Vasquez, who is accused of murdering her own children, set off Michele McPhee's alarm bells. McPhee talked to Mayor Menino and councilor Stephen Murphy, who said, "This is petty politics at its worst to have the DA not communicate an arrest......