Police State

Watch What Happens When the Camera is Turned On Cops

"There are now over 50,000 SWAT raids annually in America — the types of raids that were designed for and then perfected in the streets of Fallujah and Kandahar. Without radical restraints on the state’s power to initiate and dispense lethal force through its law enforcement agencies, our rights to life, liberty, and property are and will continue to be severely threatened. Yet despite the fact that U.S. law enforcement eerily resembles East Germany’s Stasi with even greater technological tools to inflict terror, all it takes is a tiny little camera on a cop’s chest to drastically minimize abuse, arbitrary coercion, and makes cops act like the peace officers they are intended to be." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWatch What Happens When the Camera is Turned On Cops

Huntington continues arresting people who record police encounters

"Another Huntington police officer is accused of falsely arresting a person for recording his on-duty actions. In the complaint filed Aug. 22 in U.S. District Court, the Thomases allege Officer Brian Lucas arrested Xavier for watching him conduct a traffic stop at a convenience store last year and detained Martin for filming the arrest on his cell phone, which was deleted by another officer. The suit comes on the heels of a settlement reached earlier this month between the City and another resident who alleged three officers falsely arrested him for filming them perform a traffic stop at a housing project two years ago." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHuntington continues arresting people who record police encounters

Kentucky Supreme Court Chides Cops For Searching Litterbug Motorist

"Kentucky's highest court on Thursday admonished police officers that they cannot force motorists out of a vehicle and search them merely because they refuse to answer questions. They conducted a traffic stop in which Frazier produced his license and insurance when asked, but he balked when Deputy Moore asked him to identify his passengers and explain where they were going. 'Does it matter?' Frazier replied. Enraged, Deputy Moore ordered Frazier to exit the vehicle, and Deputy Boggs conducted a pat-down search over Frazier's objection. Boggs felt something 'suspicious' in the driver's front jeans pocket." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingKentucky Supreme Court Chides Cops For Searching Litterbug Motorist

Chicago Police Superintendent Says Cops Will Shoot Gun Carrying Citizens

"Chicago police superintendent Garry McCarthy is not happy about the new concealed carry laws in Illinois. And now he is predicting that police will shoot citizens who are lawfully carrying firearms. While every cop has a right to protect himself, this bold statement by McCarthy is obviously meant to intimidate gun owners who choose to exercise their rights. This threat that cops may mistakenly shoot a gun carrying citizen is just another attempt to fight the concealed carry laws that Illinois has long been deprived of. McCarthy would not say what specific training officers will undertake if any. However, he did admit that in the past his department has made mistakes in shooting unarmed civilians." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChicago Police Superintendent Says Cops Will Shoot Gun Carrying Citizens

Tennessee to roll out “No Refusal” blood-draw DUI checkpoints for Labor Day

"The new law now mandates blood be drawn from citizens in a variety of circumstances. No longer limited to vehicular assault cases, police are [now] required to take the blood of any DUI suspect who has ever had a DUI conviction in their life, according to WBIR. The other requirement is that blood be drawn from any suspect who has a person under the age of 16 in the car. The rest of the blood-draw cases are done upon seeking a readily available warrant. In light of these new powers, the latest fad in Tennessee law enforcement is setting up 'no refusal' checkpoints, having a judge or a judicial commissioner on call to churn out blood warrants on demand." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTennessee to roll out “No Refusal” blood-draw DUI checkpoints for Labor Day

Virginia State Trooper inattentively plows into skateboarder, beats hasty exit

"A video showing a Virginia State Trooper striking a skateboarder with his police cruiser was published to YouTube Wednesday. It is unclear, at this point, exactly when this incident happened and police didn’t give an exact date. Sergeant Molnar said that Virginia State Police 'are aware of this video as this incident occurred approximately nine months ago in the City of Richmond near the VCU campus.' 'I do not have any other details to provide to you,' said Sergeant Molnar. 'This is a personnel matter and state police does not have further comment on this matter.' CBS 6 did find out that the trooper is still employed with the state police." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVirginia State Trooper inattentively plows into skateboarder, beats hasty exit

The State, Not Manning, is the Criminal

"Manning is being punished for exposing government crimes, most famously U.S. troops shooting innocent civilians, including two Reuters journalists, in the Collateral Murder video. Manning’s disclosures also shed light on what McClatchy Newspapers called 'evidence that U.S. troops executed at least 10 Iraqi civilians, including a woman in her 70s and a 5-month-old infant, then called in an airstrike to destroy the evidence.' The outrage caused by exposure of this brutal war crime helped end the U.S. occupation of Iraq. The perpetrators should have been held accountable. They were not. Instead, the state engaged in a series of crimes against Private Manning." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe State, Not Manning, is the Criminal

From the Files of the Nineveh PD

"At some point within the last decade or so, American police adopted a modified version of the Assyrian model of law enforcement. This helps to explain why it is now considered permissible for a police officer to assault an uncooperative but non-violent pregnant woman. Rochester, New York Police Officer Lucas Krull was recently captured on videoassaulting a 21-year-old expectant mother. In an earlier incident, a young pregnant girl was kneed in the stomach by one of three Rochester Police Officers who were restraining her during an arrest. A pregnant mother and an elderly woman were collateral victims in yet another episode involving 'tumultuous' behavior." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrom the Files of the Nineveh PD

Police Groups Furiously Protest Eric Holder’s Marijuana Policy Announcement

"A broad coalition of law enforcement officers who have spent the past three decades waging an increasingly militarized drug war that has failed to reduce drug use doesn't want to give up the fight. Organizations that include sheriffs, narcotics officers and big-city police chiefs slammed Attorney General Eric Holder in a joint letter Friday, expressing 'extreme disappointment' at his announcement that the Department of Justice would allow Colorado and Washington to implement state laws that legalized recreational marijuana for adults. If there had been doubt about how meaningful Holder's move was, the fury reflected in the police response eliminates it." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice Groups Furiously Protest Eric Holder’s Marijuana Policy Announcement

Republican Mississippi sheriff indicted on 31 counts for abusing powers

"The charges against Sheriff Mike Byrd include 10 counts of embezzlement, and 10 counts of fraud, two counts of extortion and one count of perjury, among other charges. Authorities contend that Byrd, a Republican currently in his fourth term in office, has used his position to target personal and political opponents and fudge his record to boost his re-election prospects. Byrd is also accused of pressuring a detective in 2007 to deliver an arrest warrant in a murder case against a man the detective did not believe committed the crime, so that Byrd could say during his re-election campaign at the time that there were no unsolved murders in the county." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRepublican Mississippi sheriff indicted on 31 counts for abusing powers