Police State

Police Chief Indicted in Federal Court For Helping Meth Traffickers

"Normangee's police chief has been indicted on federal charges for allegedly aiding drug traffickers. According to investigators, Chief Jody Navarro is accused of using a law enforcement computer system to aid meth traffickers. A criminal complaint filed against the 40-year-old in May 2013 alleged Navarro ran a background check on a name supplied to him by a suspected meth dealer. On August 27th undercover agents with the Department of Public Safety raided suspected meth dealer 25-year-old Josh Troy Thomas' home in the 200 block of Church Street. Navarro was on duty and was arrested as he pulled up to the scene." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice Chief Indicted in Federal Court For Helping Meth Traffickers

Officer named in lawsuit for knocking teen off mini-bike when off-duty

"A St. Paul Park teen’s family alleges that an off-duty St. Paul police officer who lives in the city intentionally knocked the teen off his mini bike and verbally assaulted him. A civil suit has been filed against officer Ronald Himes by Jessica Heroux on behalf of her son Mica Franke, 16, who was involved in a May altercation with Himes and was left scraped, bruised and with a handprint on his chest. Franke told police Himes ran out into the road, hit him in the chest and knocked him off the mini bike. Franke said Himes then stood over him and proceeded to yell at him, the police report said. The lawsuit claims Franke was not given a warning and he was subjected to a 'profanity-laced tirade' from Himes." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOfficer named in lawsuit for knocking teen off mini-bike when off-duty

Deaf man claims police laughed at him, denied interpreter during arrest

"A deaf Oregon man has filed a lawsuit claiming that police violated his civil rights when they laughed at his request for a sign language interpreter during his arrest. According to the site, Updike used sign language to ask officers what he’d done to result in his arrest, and he also tried to speak the words, 'What did I do?' The suit claims officers pushed him roughly into a patrol car and laughed at him. An interpreter was assigned when Updike appeared again two days after his arrest. He was released from jail, and all charges were dropped against Updike eight days after his arrest." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDeaf man claims police laughed at him, denied interpreter during arrest

Police officer researched romantic rivals using criminal justice databases

"A former Tucson police officer who pleaded guilty to computer tampering for using criminal justice databases to check up on romantic rivals has been sentenced to probation. Pima County prosecutors say Andrea Middleton was given three months of probation Friday. She pleaded guilty to two counts of computer tampering last month. Middleton resigned in June from the police department, where she had worked for seven years." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice officer researched romantic rivals using criminal justice databases

Barrett Brown Faces 105 Years in Jail

"Encountering Barrett Brown's story in passing, it is tempting to group him with other Anonymous associates who have popped up in the news for cutting pleas and changing sides. Brown's case, however, is a thing apart. Although he knew some of those involved in high-profile 'hacktivism,' he is no hacker. His situation is closer to the runaway prosecution that destroyed Aaron Swartz, the programmer-activist who committed suicide in the face of criminal charges similar to those now being leveled at Brown. But unlike Swartz, who illegally downloaded a large cache of academic articles, Brown never broke into a server; he never even leaked a document." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBarrett Brown Faces 105 Years in Jail

Ex-cops get new trial in post-Katrina bridge shootings

"A federal judge tossed the convictions of five ex-New Orleans police officers accused of shooting an unarmed family and firing on others as they tried to flee the flooded city. District Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt issued a 129-page ruling that cited a lengthy list of 'egregious and inflammatory' comments made online by at least three Justice Department officials. One of the top federal prosecutors in the case questioned how the officers were issued badges in a comment posted on a newspaper website just minutes before jury selection began, according to the ruling. Prosecutors are forbidden under Justice Department policies from making public statements that could influence the outcome of a case." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEx-cops get new trial in post-Katrina bridge shootings

Cop fired 12 shots, hit unarmed man 10 times, Charlotte police say

"Jonathon Ferrell, a 24-year-old North Carolina man, suffered a severe late-night car crash. His car slipped into a ravine. He had to kick his way out the back windshield. He managed to get out of the car and go to a nearby home, where he knocked on the door repeatedly for help. When police arrived, he approached them -- and one shot him repeatedly, killing him on the spot. Now the officer is charged with manslaughter. Police say he had no cause to shoot Ferrell." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCop fired 12 shots, hit unarmed man 10 times, Charlotte police say

“You Know How to Leave”: Scenes from a Police Riot in Idaho Falls

"The initial police contact – to investigate a noise complaint, recall – occurred at around 10:49 PM. Within about twenty minutes, the air was thick with shouting and screaming, and a fleet of about a dozen police cars had converged on the address. Lund’s attack on Dindo left the living room floor filled with shattered furniture. So in the interests of preserving the 'peace,' Lund and his costumed buddies assaulted two unresisting men, committed felonious battery on a 79-year-old woman and a pregnant mother, destroyed property, terrorized a completely innocent next-door neighbor, and disrupted an entire city block. The Madrigals were able to post unedited video of most of the episode on-line." Continue reading →

Continue Reading“You Know How to Leave”: Scenes from a Police Riot in Idaho Falls

SF Police shut down chess games on Market Street

"For more than 30 years, chess games have been a staple in the Mid-Market neighborhood. But earlier this month, the San Francisco Police Department confiscated the playing equipment, chairs and tables where dozens of people, mostly homeless, would gather every day to play between Fifth and Sixth streets. 'It’s turned into a big public nuisance,' said Capt. Michael Redmond. Redmond said the players’ property will eventually be released back to them and he hopes to help work out a plan for chess in the future — but that may involve convincing a business to pay for a permit so games can be played on the sidewalk." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSF Police shut down chess games on Market Street

Why is California Jailing Landscapers? Don’t Cops Have Better Things to Do?!

"California suffers from one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation and the state is under court order to release 10,000 inmates, yet state agents are jailing people who manage to find home-improvement work. After placing ads on Craigslist, California State License Board investigators go undercover posing as homeowners, when landscapers, painters, and other contractors show up, the agents give them the 'To Catch a Predator' treatment. CSLB recently announced that agents from the Statewide Investigative Fraud Team had completed operation 'California Blitz.' SWIFTers busted 79 perps for contracting without a license; they face $5,000 in fines and up to six months in jail." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhy is California Jailing Landscapers? Don’t Cops Have Better Things to Do?!