Police State

Trial set for Tulsa police officer accused of robbing Hispanic drivers

"A nonjury trial has been scheduled for Aug. 7 for a police officer who is accused of robbing Hispanic drivers during traffic stops. The robbery counts involve allegations that Blades - while driving his patrol car, dressed in a Tulsa police uniform and with a gun in his holster - pulled over Hispanic drivers on traffic stops outside his assigned patrol beat, ordered them to hand over their wallets and took money from them before returning the wallets. He was arrested during a sting operation in August 2012 after he pulled over an undercover law enforcement agent and stole $600 in documented bills that were later found on Blades, according to an arrest report." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTrial set for Tulsa police officer accused of robbing Hispanic drivers

The Heartbreaking Story Of A Harmless Deadhead Sentenced To Die In Prison

"Timothy Tyler was 25 when he was sentenced to die in prison. Tyler, a Grateful Dead fan with no history of violence, got life without the possibility of parole for selling LSD to a police informant. He'd never gone to prison before. But a judge was forced to give him life because of two prior drug convictions — even though both those convictions resulted in probation. At 45, Tyler has been in prison for more than 20 years and will likely spend the rest of his life there. He got the same life sentence as rapist and kidnapper Ariel Castro because of federal mandatory minimum sententence guidelines." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Heartbreaking Story Of A Harmless Deadhead Sentenced To Die In Prison

Increasing use of costly military-style equipment by NH law enforcement questioned

"Concord is poised to accept $258,000 in federal funding to buy an armored vehicle that police say would provide protection during a terrorist attack, riot or shooting incident. In its grant application to DHS, the police department said New Hampshire's experience with terrorism 'slants primarily towards the domestic type,' and said 'the threat is real and here.' 'Groups such as the Sovereign Citizens, Free Staters and Occupy New Hampshire are active and present daily challenges,' the application stated. In addition to organized groups, it cited 'several homegrown clusters that are anti-government and pose problems for law enforcement agencies.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIncreasing use of costly military-style equipment by NH law enforcement questioned

Glenn Greenwald: Low-level NSA analysts can spy on Americans

"The NSA keeps trillions of telephone calls and emails in their databases which they can access anytime, he said. 'And what these programs are, are very simple screens, like the ones that supermarket clerks or shipping and receiving clerks use, where all an analyst has to do is enter an email address or an IP address, and it does two things. It searches that database and lets them listen to the calls or read the emails of everything that the NSA has stored, or look at the browsing histories or Google search terms that you’ve entered, and it also alerts them to any further activity that people connected to that email address or that IP address do in the future.'” Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: Low-level NSA analysts can spy on Americans

Activist Adam Kokesh ordered held without bond in D.C.

"A D.C. Superior Court judge has ordered a veteran and activist accused of openly carrying a shotgun in D.C.'s Freedom Plaza held without bond. During a preliminary hearing Monday, an attorney representing Adam Kokesh argued that the stunt -- filmed and posted on YouTube -- was nothing more than political theater. The judge disagreed, ordering that Kokesh be held until his next court appearance. 'I consider your client to be a very dangerous man,' the judge said. 'This is not a political statement.' Kokesh had been arrested and charged with drug-related offenses in Fairfax County, Va., earlier in July. He is expected back in a D.C. courtroom Aug. 13." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingActivist Adam Kokesh ordered held without bond in D.C.

Undercover Police Informant Plants Crack Cocaine in Smoke Shop; Business Owner Saved by Tape

"Who exactly is the victim when crack cocaine is found on someone’s person or property? Maybe the owner of that property? In Scotia, New York, local and county police decided they were suspicious of Donald Andrew’s smoke shop, one of many in Schenectady County but, according to Cory Doctorow at BoingBoing, apparently the only one owned by a black person. They sent an informant, someone facing jail time of their own, to, er, 'investigate.' Here’s what happened, via the local NBC affiliate,WNYT." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUndercover Police Informant Plants Crack Cocaine in Smoke Shop; Business Owner Saved by Tape

A Nation of Rules: The US Justice System

"Edward Lamar Young knew he should not be committing crimes of burglary, especially after he already had served time in Tennessee prison more than 15 years earlier for the same thing. He had promised to 'go straight' after his 1996 release and had done so until 2011, when he 'fell off the wagon' and stole some items from cars and a business warehouse. However, he sits in federal prison for 15 years and never was prosecuted for burglary. Why? He had some shotgun shells in his possession (he did not have a shotgun in which to use them) and according to federal law, a person with any criminal conviction cannot own either firearms or ammunition." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA Nation of Rules: The US Justice System

European Court Backs Journalist Harassed Over Speed Camera Criticism

"Ilze Nagla's prime-time Sunday television news program infuriated the Ministry of the Interior with coverage of the bungled photo enforcement procurement that became a national scandal. The government wanted details of the contract to operate 160 speed cameras to be kept secret. The deal was handed to the German firm Vitronic, which would take a 35 percent cut of the tickets. At 9:30pm on May 11, 2010, Nagla's home was ransacked by a plain-clothes police officer who pushed his way through her door. Two other officers joined in the search of her residence, taking her laptop, hard drives, memory cards and flash drives." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEuropean Court Backs Journalist Harassed Over Speed Camera Criticism

Shield Mutual: Adam Kokesh Legal Defense Fund Update

"As regular readers of the Shield Mutual blog know, Adam Kokesh is a customer of ours. We acted in his defense upon his instructions after his 18 May 2013 arrest, very briefly after his 8 June 2013 arrest and again recently after his 9 July 2013 arrest. Adam Kokesh is a valued customer of Shield Mutual. Here is a rundown of the legal defense fund we created, promoted and administered for Adam. Money is a sensitive topic and Shield Mutual is committed to operating with transparency and integrity." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingShield Mutual: Adam Kokesh Legal Defense Fund Update

Police blame ‘poor lighting’ after killing innocent grandfather, 72, while searching the wrong home

"Fort Worth, TX., police have blamed poor lighting after responding May 28 to a burglary alarm, searching the wrong home and shooting dead beloved husband Jerry Waller. The city of Fort Worth has had more than one incident involving misidentified homes this year, the second resulted in the wrong house being bulldozed. Mr. Waller’s home is across the street from the home the police should have been responding to. ‘We were disturbed by suggestions that the police may have felt threatened by a man in his own garage faced with unknown trespassers yielding flashlights,’ Waller’s daughter Angie told media the following day." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice blame ‘poor lighting’ after killing innocent grandfather, 72, while searching the wrong home