Yearly Archives: 2013

Delcambre officer accused of altering pain med prescriptions

"A Delcambre police officer has been arrested after being accused of altering his pain medication prescriptions. Police Chief James Broussard asked Louisiana State Police to investigate, and state police detectives discovered Raleigh Cheramie, 38, altered his prescriptions seven times between March 2013 and August 2013, according to Trooper Stephen Hammons. 'He would alter them so he could receive more than the prescribed number of pills,' he said." Continue reading →

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Poor Training Of Narcotics Officers Contributes To Culture Of Ignorance

"Examples of training courses advertised by the CNOA include inflammatory titles such as 'The Eradication of Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in Los Angeles' or 'Initial Contacts with Persons Claiming Protections Under California’s Medical Marijuana Laws and Statues.' Through the author’s own words, his article shows the institutional bias of the CNOA as an entity, and the author as an individual. It is this language that points to the perception that the narcotics officers are more interested in deliberately undermining the intent of the Compassionate Use Act by lumping all use as criminal in nature. This leads to subverting the law instead of fairly enforcing it." Continue reading →

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CDC: Painkillers Kill Four Times More than Cocaine and Heroin Combined

"A powerful report spanning 10 years from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has revealed that painkillers are actually responsible for a whopping four times as many deaths as both heroin and cocaine combined. While the previous report documented in 2011 found that 12 million were actually on prescription painkillers purely for the high it gives, the new CDC papers found that there was a massive 415% rise in the overall rate of fatal painkiller overdoses from 1999 to 2010. We’re talking about a higher fatality rate than those who are dosing up on heroin and cocaine." Continue reading →

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Man killed by half-ton of marijuana

"A man carrying 500 kilos of pot in his car lost his life when the illegal merchandise in the back of the vehicle slammed into him during an auto accident. The victim was traveling from the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul to Sao Paulo this past Saturday when he refused to stop at a Federal Highway Patrol roadblock. A chase ensued over a three mile stretch of road, which ended with a fatal crash against a tree after the man lost control of his car. The impact resulted in the man being crushed against the steering wheel by the bricks of marijuana he was transporting." Continue reading →

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Reports: Speeding Not A Cause Of Child Accidents

"In 72 percent of the accidents, investigators believed the child's failure to look properly was at least in part to blame. Another 31 percent involved reckless behavior on the part of the child, including playing in the road in 11 percent of incidents. On the part of the driver, 8 percent failed to look properly, and another 8 percent could not see the child because of a parked car or other obstruction. In 3 percent of cases the driver was reckless, and in less than 1 percent of cases was 'traveling too fast for conditions' (which is not necessarily exceeding the posted speed limit). All together, in 71 percent of the incidents, the driver was not found to be at fault." Continue reading →

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French Study Investigates Danger Of Speed Limit Fixation

"In jurisdictions with automated speed enforcement, cruise control can save drivers from receiving a nasty surprise in the mail. A study released July 30 from the Vinci Autoroutes Foundation concluded that this reliance on cruise control can actually make driving more dangerous. These findings are consistent with those of the late Paul Smith, founder of the Safe Speed road safety campaign, who calculated that each time a driver looked down to check his speedometer in a 200 yard speed camera zone -- each glance takes about 1.1 seconds -- he loses 13 percent of the time available to observe the road for hazards. The UK Department for Transport lists driver inattention as the cause of 25% of accidents." Continue reading →

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Ohio Supreme Court Takes Up Photo Enforcement Kangaroo Courts

"Toledo, Columbus and Dayton have joined Redflex Traffic Systems of Australia in petitioning the justices to overturn a Court of Appeals decision from June that found Toledo's administrative review process unconstitutional. The ruling has city officials worried about the potential for losing millions if the court decides Toledo deprived vehicle owners of their due process rights by usurping jurisdiction in setting up administrative panels that offer the accused less of a chance to win their appeal. Redflex in its court briefs claims a loss in the case could cost cities $100 million. Optotraffic, a competing camera vendor, predicted 'copy-cat lawsuits' would be filed in every jurisdiction." Continue reading →

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Maryland: Court Upholds Traffic Stop Over Third Brake Light

"Police in Maryland can stop and interrogate a driver if he is driving a car with a burned out third brake light. The Court of Special Appeals ruled earlier this month that allowing the car to continue with only two functional brake lights would pose a safety hazard to the public. The detective said he smelled marijuana and ordered both of its occupants out of the car. As he started looking inside the car, he spotted a handgun that belonged to Smith. Maryland does not allow citizens to carry a firearm except in rare circumstances. Smith appealed the firearms possession conviction, arguing the initial stop was invalid because state law only requires a vehicle to have two functioning brake lights." Continue reading →

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California: Two More Cities Chose To End Red Light Camera Use

"Though Redflex made $361,200 from operating the cameras in El Cajon, the city ended up losing $62,000 after ticket revenue was split with state and county governments. Money was not an issue in South Gate which also terminated its contract earlier this month. Officials predicted the program would make $75,763 in profit for the South Gate and $336,319 for Redflex out of the $5 million worth of tickets issued. After ten years, the city council decided to end the program based on public input. Cities have also recently been spooked by the Redflex bribery scandal in Chicago, Illinois that has already cut the Australian firm's profit in half." Continue reading →

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