Police State

Yes, Gun Control is Racist

"In testimony offered as part of a class-action federal lawsuit, state senator Eric Adams, a former NYPD officer, testified that during a July 2010 meeting, Commissioner Kelly 'Stated that he targeted and focused on that group because he wanted to instill fear in them that every time that they left their homes they could be stopped by police.' When Adams pointed out that this is against the law, Kelly reportedly replied 'How else are we going to get rid of guns?' Over the past ten years, more than 5 million people have been subjected to warrantless street detention and searches, roughly 90 percent of them young Black or Latino men." Continue reading →

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The ATF Wants ‘Massive’ Online Database to Find Out Who Your Friends Are

"The ATF doesn’t just want a huge database to reveal everything about you with a few keywords. It wants one that can find out who you know. And it won’t even try to friend you on Facebook first. According to a recent solicitation from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the bureau is looking to buy a 'massive online data repository system' for its Office of Strategic Intelligence and Information (OSII). The system is intended to operate for at least five years, and be able to process automated searches of individuals, and 'find connection points between two or more individuals' by linking together 'structured and unstructured data.'" Continue reading →

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Disabled Grandfather Charged With Terrorism After School Complaint

"A disabled grandfather from Centerville is behind bars facing terrorism charges. We talked with 52-year old Brian Davis from the Appanoose County Jail where he is charged with felony threat of terrorism. He says he was making small talk with his physical therapist, complaining about what he considers to be lax security at his granddaughter’s school, when the therapist claimed Davis made a threatening comment about going into the school and opening fire. Davis, who has no criminal record and says he doesn’t even own a gun, says this is all a big misunderstanding. But police say they won’t take any chances when it comes to children’s safety." Continue reading →

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Veteran’s Guns Confiscated After Forced ‘Psychiatric Evaluation’

"On February 5, Schmecker’s hospital primary care doctor called and heard a message on Schmecker’s answer machine that 'sounded peculiar,' prompting him to contact the local police and urge them to visit Schmecker to perform a 'wellness check'. 'The police came to my home, and, without any justification whatsoever, hauled me away for a psychiatric evaluation at a local hospital. I submitted to their forceful insistence under duress and fear of arrest or worse. I wasn’t arrested, no crime was committed nor any threats were made to myself or others,' Schmecker told Survive and Thrive’s George Hemminger. 'They confiscated my guns and pistol permit.'" Continue reading →

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The Crime of “Vice Enforcement”

"On March 22, Officer Ronald DePellegrin of Homestead, Pennsylvania allowed a prostitute to undress him and begin to perform a sexual act before he informed her that he was an undercover vice officer. DePellegrin had contacted the prostitute through an online advertisement. The two agreed to meet at a house to conduct the transaction. Before they began, DePellegrin assured her that he was not a cop. All of these details were included in DePellegrin’s official report. The woman’s attorney points out that 'the police in this particular instance are engaging in the exact type of criminal activity that they’re saying that they’re trying to protect the community from.'" Continue reading →

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Fifteen Benefits of the War on Drugs

"With American drug use levels essentially the same as — and levels of drug-related violence either the same as or lower than — those in countries like the Netherlands with liberal drug laws, public support for the War on Drugs appears to be faltering. This was most recently evidenced in the victory of major drug decriminalization initiatives in Colorado and Washington. Some misguided commentators go so far as to say the Drug War is 'a failure.' Here, to set the record straight, are fifteen ways in which it is a resounding success." Continue reading →

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US Supreme Court Expands Use of Drug Dogs During Traffic Stops

"America's highest court on Tuesday made it easier for police to use drug dogs to perform warrantless searches during traffic stops. Harris was not actually carrying any drugs that Aldo was trained to detect. Instead, he had several ingredients for methamphetamine: pseudoephedrine pills, matches, hydrochloric acid, antifreeze and iodine crystals. At trial, Harris argued the sniffs were bogus because the dog twice alerted on a truck containing no drugs. He pointed out Aldo was certified as a trained drug dog, but the certification had expired. Prosecutors countered it was 'residual odor' that triggered the alert." Continue reading →

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Massachusetts inspector general finds sloppy drug handling throughout closed state lab

"State investigators have found at least a half-dozen drug samples scattered about the state lab in Jamaica Plain, documents show, raising questions about the integrity of all testing where indicted state chemist Annie Dookhan worked. Investigators found a plastic bag containing 'a white rock substance' and test tubes 'containing unknown substances' in one supervisor’s ­office. They found pills taped to a lab bench cabinet and old samples, including marijuana submitted in 1996. The findings, in a confidential report by the attorney ­general, add fuel to defense lawyers’ arguments that virtually all drug tests done there since 2003 are suspect." Continue reading →

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A First-time Offender, Father To Three, Sells Pain Pills To A Friend, Gets 25 Years In Prison.

"You've got a 46-year-old employed father caught selling four bottles of prescription pain pills. Twenty-five years minimum! It costs Florida roughly $19,000 to incarcerate an inmate for a year. So I ask you, dear reader, is keeping non-violent first-time drug offender John Horner locked behind bars in a jumpsuit really the best use of $475,000? For the same price, you could pay a year's tuition for 75 students at Florida State University. Is it accurate to call a system that demands the 25-year prison term mad? Well. Prosecutors offered to shave years off his sentence if he became an informant himself and successfully helped send five others to prison on 25 year terms." Continue reading →

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The GOP’s Drug-Testing Dragnet

"The annual Drug & Alcohol Testing Industry Association (DATIA) conference, held in 2012 in San Antonio, Texas, looks like any other industry gathering. The 600 or so attendees sip their complimentary Starbucks coffee, munch on small plates of muffins and fresh fruit, and backslap old acquaintances as they file into a sprawling Marriott hotel conference hall. They will hear a keynote address by Robert DuPont, who served as drug policy director under Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Nothing odd about any of this until you consider that the main subject of the conference is urine." Continue reading →

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