Police State

Then They Came For the Prosecutors….

"Prosecutors in New Jersey have a long history of abuse, playing by their own rules, and (of course) always getting away with their dishonest actions, since the courts for the most part have covered for the worst of the bunch. However, it seems that the state's prosecutors have been a bit too successful in their relentless pursuit of gun owners, as an appeals court in New Jersey has ruled that retired prosecutors are 'not entitled the same concealed carry permits afforded retired law enforcement officers.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThen They Came For the Prosecutors….

Police Intervention Always Makes Things Worse — Continued

"Last April, a Brooklyn landlady named Karen Brim was mopping the floors in her apartment building when three police officers suddenly materialized in pursuit of several local teenagers. The officers claimed that the teens were trespassers. Brim said that they were guests and were welcome on her property. The police, however, were not. The officers responded by throwing the 42-year-old woman to the floor, shattering her leg. She was taken to a local hospital where she was shackled to a bed and held under armed guard for seventeen days. Brim, who was the victim, was charged with five offenses." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice Intervention Always Makes Things Worse — Continued

How the System Treats a Good Cop

"As a New York City Police Officer assigned to the 81st Precinct, Adrian Schoolcraft became disillusioned when supervisors talked about manipulating crime statistics and carrying out illegal arrests. Schoolcraft blew the whistle – and immediately paid a steep price. A police strike force raided Schoolcraft’s apartment and forcibly confined him to a mental ward at Jamaica Hospital under the care of Dr. Isak Isakov, supposedly to prevent him from harming himself. He was held there for six days. An internal investigation validated nearly all of Schoolcraft’s claims – yet nobody has ever been punished for his abduction and false imprisonment." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow the System Treats a Good Cop

Anti-marijuana New York assemblyman busted for weed possession

"A Republican lawmaker in New York who has a record of voting against medical marijuana legalization has been arrested and charged with possession of marijuana. State police said that a suspicious odor was noticed in Assemblyman Steve Katz’s vehicle when they pulled him over for driving around 80 mph in a 75 mph zone at around 10 a.m. Thursday morning. Katz was given an appearance ticket for having less than 25 grams and is scheduled to appear in Coeymans Town Court on March 8. He also faces charges for speeding." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAnti-marijuana New York assemblyman busted for weed possession

New York police running criminal checks on domestic abuse victims

"New York City police have been ordered to run criminal background checks on domestic abuse victims, The New York Post reported on Friday. According to a March 5 memo obtained by the newspaper, Chief of Detectives Phil Pulaski has directed detectives to run background checks on both the accuser and the alleged perpetrator in domestic violence cases. If victims are found to have outstanding warrants, police are ordered to arrest them. The new policy is already drawing criticism from victims’ advocates." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew York police running criminal checks on domestic abuse victims

Federal Judge Finds National Security Letters Unconstitutional, Bans Them

"Ultra-secret national security letters that come with a gag order on the recipient are an unconstitutional impingement on free speech, a federal judge in California ruled in a decision released Friday. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston ordered the government to stop issuing so-called NSLs across the board, in a stunning defeat for the Obama administration’s surveillance practices. She also ordered the government to cease enforcing the gag provision in any other cases. However, she stayed her order for 90 days to give the government a chance to appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFederal Judge Finds National Security Letters Unconstitutional, Bans Them

Private surveillance companies flock to Arizona’s annual Border Security Expo

"The Expo began on Tuesday and concludes today. About 185 companies are showcasing everything from gates to guns, drones to portable toilets. A stall offering self-heating meals was next to a table of firearms. Two themes emerged from a day at the Expo: equipment and technology used by the US military is increasingly becoming available to domestic entities. And software is now easy to use and more powerful. Physical Security Information Management (PSIM) software potentially gives officials huge surveillance powers whether in a desert or a metropolis." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPrivate surveillance companies flock to Arizona’s annual Border Security Expo

88-year-old peaceful activist wins surveillance database fight

"Three appeal court judges have ruled that police violated the human rights of an 88-year-old peaceful campaigner when they secretly labelled him a 'domestic extremist' and recorded his political activities. John Catt, who has no criminal record, was shocked when he discovered police had clandestinely kept a detailed note of his presence on more than 55 demonstrations over a four-year period. On Thursday, he won his legal action to have the records deleted from a secret database of so-called domestic extremists. Details of the surveillance were revealed by the Guardian in 2010." Continue reading →

Continue Reading88-year-old peaceful activist wins surveillance database fight

Police gun down 83-year-old woman in her backyard responding to 911 call she dialed

"A police officer shot and killed an 83-year-old woman in her own backyard. Delma Towler dialed 911 to report a burglary but when police arrived, one officer killed her outside her home in Altavista, Va. Towler had never fired her gun before that night. She fired a warning shot out the window to scare the burglar off. Then she started walking through her backyard toward her sister's house. She grasped the gun for protection from the reported intruder — not the police, her family maintains. The two responding officers claim that they shot Towler after she refused to put her weapon down. The woman reportedly did not have her glasses on or hearing aid in at the time." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice gun down 83-year-old woman in her backyard responding to 911 call she dialed

Special Forces axe their plan to infiltrate Utah after locals complain about exercise ‘imposing martial law’

"The U.S. Army chose a quiet community in central Utah as the training ground for Special Forces soldiers needing to develop Jason Bourne-like skills and to learn how to build a resistance movement by infiltrating the town leadership. With the deeply religious culture present in Manti, Utah and the desert landscape of the area, residents were deemed ideal candidates by the Defense Department to role play with soldiers in the 10th Special Forces as part of a two week training exercise in July on unconventional warfare tactics. Now that sequestration is in full effect, the Utah mission was called on Thursday to the relief of residents." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSpecial Forces axe their plan to infiltrate Utah after locals complain about exercise ‘imposing martial law’