Police State

Cop’s Free Speech Rights Violated for Supporting Cannabis Law Reform

"While the higher ups are going to try and argue that their permission to lobby was only revoked due to a technical violation (supposedly because he didn’t get a business license for his address), it is clear that they are only punishing the sergeant because of his support for cannabis law reform. It isn’t just a coincidence that the department allowed Sgt. Wiegert to lobby for the St. Louis Tea Party for a few years and only had a problem with his lobbying activity once he started working for Show-Me Cannabis Regulation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCop’s Free Speech Rights Violated for Supporting Cannabis Law Reform

Phoenix officer calls 5-day suspension for tackling 15-year-old girl too harsh

"A Phoenix Police officer has been suspended after tackling a 15-year-old girl. The video, posted on YouTube, made national headlines two years ago. Monday, that officer appealed, saying his punishment is too harsh, fighting the 5-day suspension at a hearing. That hearing is closed to the public at his request, so we won't get to hear why he believes his punishment was too harsh." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPhoenix officer calls 5-day suspension for tackling 15-year-old girl too harsh

LA Times: Only An Incipient “Terrorist” Denounces State Murder

"Citing the most recent missive from the self-appointed Stasi at the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Los Angeles Times claims that there are 1,360 proto-terrorist groups -- sneeringly denounced as 'patriots,' 'constitutionalists,' and 'sovereign citizens' -- scattered throughout the Soyuz. 'These groups should be closely monitored, with resources adequate to the task, even if it means shifting some homeland security money from the hunt for foreign terrorists,' concludes the paper." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLA Times: Only An Incipient “Terrorist” Denounces State Murder

How Our Rulers Deal With Blown Tires When Drunk

"A drunk cop near Las Vegas drove several miles on a blown tire in 'a $50,000 unmarked SWAT vehicle,' rim sparking the while. Another motorist tried to alert Officer Sot; naturally, the cop ignored him. So the motorist called 911, reporting a drunk driver whose car was on fire. You can guess the outcome: 'Las Vegas police, which investigated the fire, determined nothing criminal had taken place and did not take an incident report, spokeswoman Laura Meltzer said.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow Our Rulers Deal With Blown Tires When Drunk

Former Santa Fe cop arrested for printing counterfeit $100 bills

"Former Santa Fe police officer Anthony Rivera and brother Dominic were arrested Sunday and charged with overseeing the production of fake $100 bills, created using $20′s that were stripped of their color using paint thinner. The two men, 44 and 34 respectively, were arrested along with 20-year-old Tyler Ament and accused of creating more than $1,200 in counterfeit currency. Police broke the case last week after Ament tried to use one of the bills at a gas station and a clerk turned him away. Ament returned to the gas station for cigarettes after buying jeans at a local Kohls and officers were waiting for him." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFormer Santa Fe cop arrested for printing counterfeit $100 bills

Unanimous juries for criminal convictions? Supreme Court declines case.

"Two states, Louisiana and Oregon, permit convictions on less-than-unanimous jury verdicts. In both states a defendant can be convicted by an 11-to-1 or 10-to-2 vote. All other states and the federal government require that jurors reach a verdict unanimously. The petitioning lawyers also charged that the system undercuts the reliability of jury verdicts. They note that Louisiana’s Jefferson Parish, where their case was tried, has the fourth highest rate of wrongful convictions in the country. Neighboring Orleans Parish has the highest rate." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUnanimous juries for criminal convictions? Supreme Court declines case.

Guilty Until Proven Innocent: Washington, D.C.’s Civil Forfeiture Racket

"Civil forfeiture is a national problem. Law enforcement agencies seize millions of dollars worth of property each year with little or no due process for owners. In all but six states property owners are considered guilty until proven innocent. State law typically allows law enforcement to keep most or all of the proceeds from forfeiture—an enormous incentive to police for profit. Most seizures are of cash—generally less than $100 and as little as $7—taken from thousands of people each year." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGuilty Until Proven Innocent: Washington, D.C.’s Civil Forfeiture Racket

Cruelty and Criminality Combine in the Vernal, Utah Police Department

"Vernal, Utah resident Ben Mahaffey had barely said goodbye to his wife of 58 years before the local police barged into the couple’s bedroom without invitation or permission. Just minutes after Mahaffey’s wife Barbara died of cancer, the police strode into the house claiming that they had a right to examine the couple’s medicine cabinet. But on at least thirty occasions in 2011, Vernal Police Detective Ben Marland Murray visited the home of Russell Wayne Smithey and Candy Jean Holmes to conduct 'pill checks'. The couple suspected that the officer was secretly stealing their medications, and eventually caught him doing so by way of a hidden camera." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCruelty and Criminality Combine in the Vernal, Utah Police Department

3 Chicago-suburb cops accused of robbing drug dealers, selling cocaine

"Three Chicago-area cops robbed drug dealers of their stash while executing search warrants, then turned around and sold the heroin, cocaine and marijuana, pocketing the cash, prosecutors said Thursday. Schaumburg police officers John Cichy, 30, Matthew Hudak, 29, and Terrance O’Brien, 47, 'did it all for the thrill' prosecutor Audriana Anderson told a court. Prosecutors say the men were caught on surveillance video and audio recordings robbing local dealers of drugs and cash as they executed search warrants on homes and cars." Continue reading →

Continue Reading3 Chicago-suburb cops accused of robbing drug dealers, selling cocaine

Woman injured in LAPD manhunt says cops won’t pay taxes on replacement truck

"The attorney for a woman who was mistakenly targeted by Los Angeles police during the manhunt for Christopher Dorner in February has accused the department of breaking its promise of a new truck for her. 'You tried to murder the woman, you put 102 bullet holes in her truck,' Glen Jonas told KNBC-TV on Monday. His client, 47-year-old Maggie Carranza, refused a police offer of a new Ford F-150 truck if she agreed to pay taxes on it, in part because it meant Carranza would have to pay an additional $10,000 in personal income taxes she cannot afford. He said the department’s offer also barred Carranza from selling the vehicle for a year." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWoman injured in LAPD manhunt says cops won’t pay taxes on replacement truck