Police State

California dad ‘begged for his life’ as police beat him to death – witnesses

"A California father of four died Wednesday shortly after a group of police allegedly beat him with batons as he lay defenseless on the sidewalk. Cops, before confiscating witness' cameras, also reportedly unleashed a canine unit on him. Witnesses who had recorded the events on their cell phone cameras had the devices confiscated by officers, who claimed the footage was part of a police investigation that could yield evidence. Police have refused to comment, citing an ongoing investigation that could take years to complete, but relatives have demanded the cell phone footage be made public." Continue reading →

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Minnesota City Settles After Cop Uses Mace On Deaf Motorist

"A police officer who lashed out at a deaf driver with whom he had difficulty communicating cost St. Paul, Minnesota $93,450 on Wednesday. When Bahl failed to produce the license, Officer Bobrowski shoved him. Bahl leaned away, and the officer grabbed him by the wrist. Bahl took a pad of paper from the passenger's seat and wrote 'joint' to signify his wrist joint was in pain. Bobrowski blasted Bahl with Mace and yanked the man out of the car to be placed under arrest. Bahl was taken to Regions Hospital for treatment of his left eye which showed significant swelling from the attack." Continue reading →

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Building superintendent mistakes tomato plants for pot, and so did cops he called

"Experts don’t know how the cops could have confused the two. Cops eventually got hip to the difference and closed the investigation, leaving the tomatoes alone. The unidentified owner of the tomato stash won’t have to deal with the cops but he will have to deal with his super, who said he’d lock the door to the roof. 'No one’s supposed to be there anyway,' Delarosa said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBuilding superintendent mistakes tomato plants for pot, and so did cops he called

Why Cops Bust Down Doors of Medical Pot Growers, But Ignore Men Who Keep Naked Girls on Leashes

"Strange, isn’t it, that hunches and vague tips about potential marijuana growing (in a state that recently legalized the drug!) is motivation enough to send a SWAT team busting down a door? Compare that to recent reports that police in Cleveland, Ohio ignored years of tips and calls about strange things going on in the home of the three Cleveland men suspected of holding captive, brutally raping and beating three women for nearly a decade. Neighbors say they knew something was up and claim that they repeatedly called the cops. The police did not appear concerned; they certainly lacked the enthusiasm many law enforcement officers display regarding drugs." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhy Cops Bust Down Doors of Medical Pot Growers, But Ignore Men Who Keep Naked Girls on Leashes

Why No Construction Workers Memorial Day?

"A reader tells me that Peace Officers Memorial Day is held annually in the United States on May 15 in honor of federal, state and local officers killed or disabled in the line of duty. Then he wonders why no Construction Workers Memorial Day. He says: 'According to Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS), about 140-160 officers are killed in the line of duty each year,' but 'according to stats, each year in the US about 1,100 construction workers die on the job.' Here is an article with figures." Continue reading →

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The New Truth About the Cop Shot in Watertown: Friendly-Fire in a Getaway

"The way the nation met 33-year-old MBTA Transit Police officer Richard Donohue was — like much of the conflicting information from that night of mayhem in Watertown, Massachusetts — violent, fast, and scary: He was exchanging fire with the Tsarnaev brothers, the story went, and he took a gun shot to his right thigh from the Boston bombing suspects — an injury that would see Donohue lose all of his own blood, sever three blood vessels, send him into cardiac arrest, and almost die. Now comes a more complete picture, with more eyewitnesses telling a new story, that Donohue was probably shot by a fellow police officer." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe New Truth About the Cop Shot in Watertown: Friendly-Fire in a Getaway

Boston’s Top Cop Warns Against “Police State”

"Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis warned against creating a 'police state' in the aftermath of the marathon bombings during testimony in front of a congressional hearing today. 'We do not, and cannot, live in a protective enclosure because of the actions of extremists who seek to disrupt our way of life,' Davis told lawmakers, adding 'I do not endorse actions that move Boston and our nation into a police state mentality, with surveillance cameras attached to every light pole in the city.' However, he did call for more surveillance cameras as well as more undercover officers to increase security around big events." Continue reading →

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Federal Over-Criminalization Task Force Formed

"Ten House Judiciary Committee members joined together to pass a resolution to form the Over-Criminalization Task Force of 2013 to examine and make recommendations for paring down the federal criminal code, which has expanded rapidly in recent years. The Task Force will conduct hearings and investigations on over-criminalization issues within the Committee on the Judiciary’s jurisdiction, and has the opportunity to issue reports to the Committee on its findings and provide policy reform recommendations. This is the first review of the expansive federal criminal code since a Department of Justice review in the 1980s." Continue reading →

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Idaho Seizes Medical Marijuana Activists’ Kids

"There have been sporadic local marijuana legalization efforts in past years, and this year, medical marijuana supporters are in the midst of signature-gathering campaign to put an initiative on the ballot. That campaign is led by Compassionate Idaho, some of whose most stalwart and publicly visible members are Lindsey and Josh Rinehart and Sarah Caldwell. But with an incident that began while Caldwell and the Rineharts were away on a retreat, the trio are learning a harsh lesson in hardball pot politics. When they got back home, their kids were gone, and the police and child social services had them." Continue reading →

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Lead bullets for artists in Buenos Aires

"Since January this year, the building has been militarized by the city government, with numerous metropolitan police officers and unidentified security personnel circulating its facilities and with all the activities suspended. This is how those in charge of 'culture' in the city of Buenos Aires chose to solve a long-standing conflict. At night on Wednesday, an operation by the Metropolitan Police seriously escalated the level of violence of the conflict trying to evict forcefully the protesters who were carrying out a cultural camp at the square adjacent to the complex, causing at least three gunshot wounds." Continue reading →

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