Animal Farm

POLICING FOR PROFIT: Feds try to take innocent elderly couple’s Mom-and-Pop motel

"Because their property was worth one million dollars and carried no mortgage, and because a handful of drug crimes had taken place on the property over 20 years (which represent less than .05 percent of the 125,000 rooms the Caswells rented over that period of time), the federal government is trying to take the Caswell's property through civil forfeiture, sell the land and keep the money. Under a process known as 'equitable sharing,' the federal government would keep 20 percent of what they net and the local police department would pocket 80 percent." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPOLICING FOR PROFIT: Feds try to take innocent elderly couple’s Mom-and-Pop motel

Never Forget: Leniency is for the Powerful

"Former Idaho State Senator John McGee served 39 days in jail after pleading guilty to a single charge of disturbing the peace. McGee had been accused of repeatedly making obscene propositions to a female employee in his office at the state Capitol. Idaho prisons are filled with common citizens who committed non-violent offenses that injured nobody but themselves. As a member of the political class, McGee committed serious offenses against persons and property and suffered the mildest possible consequences." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNever Forget: Leniency is for the Powerful

Oakland police chief filtered out Occupy e-mail

"People who've e-mailed Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan over the past year about Occupy Oakland probably didn't get much of a response. That's because he used a spam filter to dismiss messages sent to him with 'Occupy Oakland' in the subject line, according to a federal court filing Monday. Same goes for the phrases 'stop the excessive police force,' 'respect the press pass' or 'police brutality.' Because of those filters, Jordan missed e-mails from other city officials and a federal court monitor, who oversees the department's compliance with court-ordered reforms stemming from a police abuse scandal." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOakland police chief filtered out Occupy e-mail

Cop Tasers 10-Year-Old Boy After Refusing To Clean His Patrol Car

"A ten-year-old boy was tasered by a police officer with 50,000 volts of electricity on a school playground after refusing to clean the officer's car. The officer responded to the boy's sarcastic remark by saying, 'Let me show you what happens to people who do not listen to the police.' He then tasered the boy, who weighs less than 100 pounds, in the chest causing him to black out. When the boy came to, instead of calling for emergency medical assistance, he took the boy to the principal's office. The boy, was left with scars resembling cigarette burns and has since been suffering from PTSD, often waking up in the middle of the night grabbing his chest." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCop Tasers 10-Year-Old Boy After Refusing To Clean His Patrol Car

Cherokee County teen shot by police sniper, parents speak out

"Lisa and Nick Messina said their son was killed at the hands of the officers they called for help. According to his parents, Andrew Messina had a bad day at school and the pressure was so overwhelming, he grabbed a gun and threatened to kill himself. Lisa Messina called the cops in desperation, hoping an officer would come talk to him. But what arrived was an army of deputies, an armored tank and a sniper. Andrew Messina had begged negotiators several times to speak with his father. 'They brought an army to take out a 16-year-old boy. To kill a 16-year-old boy,' Nick Messina said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCherokee County teen shot by police sniper, parents speak out

Police Shoot From Helicopter, Kill Two

"It is astonishing when police officers disregard the most serious rule governing their conduct–the use of deadly force. Even if the police were 100 percent certain the vehicle had a trunk full of marijuana and cocaine and that the vehicle was highly likely to elude capture by the police on the ground, that would not justify the use of deadly force. The story reminds me of one of the early scenes in the movie Black Hawk Down, where Delta snipers disable the engine of a vehicle from an Army helicopter in order to capture one of the occupants. This may be another example of military tactics spilling over to the civilian world of policing." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice Shoot From Helicopter, Kill Two

Diabetic Cleburne Teen Hit With Taser After Crash

"The 19-year-old driver was in a hypoglycemic state. He’s diabetic. His blood sugar was dangerously low. 'Step out of the vehicle, sir. Provide me with your driver’s license and insurance,' the officer can be heard saying. 'Step out of the vehicle. Or I will tase you!' 23-seconds later he does, firing at the teenager once in the car and once on the ground. Emergency crews arrive. The officer finds out what was wrong. 'I didn’t know he was freakin’ diabetic!' the officer said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDiabetic Cleburne Teen Hit With Taser After Crash

Protesters banned from tax title auction; 1 man arrested for using video camera

"During a public auction of town-owned properties on Thursday, only registered bidders were allowed to attend, the media and other members of the public were banned, and a New Hampshire man was arrested. One of the four properties that was auctioned was seized for non-payment of taxes from Bondsville call firefighter Joseph 'Jay' Noone, who had approximately a half-dozen supporters at the duplex during the open house held before the auction. Noone, who was evicted from the property last year, owed approximately $35,000 in back taxes and legal fees. The auction netted $90,000 in revenues for the town." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingProtesters banned from tax title auction; 1 man arrested for using video camera

Police Arrest 60-Year-Old Woman Speaking At City Council Meeting

"A Riverside woman is facing misdemeanor charges following her arrest for speaking too long at a Riverside City Council meeting, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reported. The incident unfolded after Wright exceeded her allotted three minutes to speak at the lectern while commenting on a sludge hauling contract. Wright, 60, was initially handcuffed by two officers while she was on her knees. Wright can be heard yelling in pain as officers tried to bring her to her feet. 'Can you see my wrists? You’re pulling and jerking on my wrists!' she said. 'I cannot get up without putting my hands down!' Wright was later led out of the building." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice Arrest 60-Year-Old Woman Speaking At City Council Meeting

Bernard von NotHaus: ‘Rosa Parks’ of the Dollar

"He was convicted more than a year and a half ago of 'counterfeiting,' because he issued silver coins, which he called 'Liberty dollars,' and sold them at a price much lower than they would command in United States currency [today]. The case throws into sharp relief an astonishing irony — that a man who issued money that has sharply appreciated in value is facing the rest of his life in prison while the officials who issue the official Federal Reserve Notes, the value of which has in four years plunged in half, to less than a 1,750th of an ounce of gold, are walking around free." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBernard von NotHaus: ‘Rosa Parks’ of the Dollar