"Stopping motorists who have done nothing wrong to ask for their papers is perfectly legal, the Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled last week. The three-judge panel decided simple statistics overcame the constitutional challenge mounted by Johnny E. Monk, whose stop at a roadblock led to a four-year prison sentence because his papers were not in order." Continue reading →
"Over the past two decades, advocates have argued the main advantage of a speed camera is that the machines never lies. Most states codify this belief with a legal presumption that the automated citation is accurate and it is up to the defendant to prove otherwise. In Baltimore, Maryland last week a leading speed camera vendor made the unprecedented admission that the technology frequently lies, but obvious examples of false readings slipped through the process due to 'human error'." Continue reading →
"The family of the woman who died after being booted in the groin while being arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department has filed a lawsuit demanding footage of the fatal encounter be released. 'I go to sleep and I think of her and it is horrible because I know they really inflicted a lot of pain on my daughter,' Sandra Thomas said Monday, according to KABC-TV. Her daughter, Alesia Thomas, died of suffocation on July 22 after officers arrested her on child endangerment charges for leaving her two children at a police station." Continue reading →
"One major case being investigated is the shooting death of 45-year-old Brian Claunch, a mentally ill, double-amputee in a wheelchair, at the hands of a Houston police officer. Police Officer Matthew Marin shot and killed the one-armed and one-legged Claunch in September 2012 inside a group home for the mentally ill when responding to a dispatcher’s call that Claunch was suspected of disorderly conduct inside the home. The Houston PD claims that Claunch threatened Officer Marin and was waving an object at the time of the shooting. Marin reportedly told investigators he didn’t know the object in Claunch’s hand was a writing pen." Continue reading →
"The Second Circuit US Court of Appeals last week upheld the use of roadblocks designed to detain motorcyclists so they can be issued $85 tickets when wearing unapproved helmets. New York is one of only 19 states that currently require all riders to wear a DOT-approved helmet. In 2007, the New York State Police began using federal taxpayer grant money to target these motorcyclists for the express purpose of generating citations. Roadblocks for motorcycles would be set up with the stated objective 'to detect motorcycle safety violations and ensure proper registration and operator compliance with New York State's motorcycle license requirements.'" Continue reading →
"The Collinsville PD conducts dozens of identical stops each week, and roughly half of its operating budget comes from seizures of cash and property through civil asset forfeiture. Despite the fact that Reichert was fired twice after being put on the so-called Brady List (police officers whose documented dishonesty disqualifies them from testifying in court) he is in charge of instructing other Collinsville officers in the dark arts of manufacturing 'probable cause' for vehicle searches. This makes a certain cynical sense when it’s understood that the Collinsville PD is engaged in a cut-throat competition with road pirates in the employ of four other police agencies." Continue reading →
"Former Vernal police Officer Ben M. Murray allegedly looked up information about them, including medical history and other private data, in the state’s prescription drug database. He was able to learn when they filled prescriptions, for what drugs and in what quantities. Murray, wearing his police uniform and driving his police vehicle, then visited their home at least 30 times between January and July 2011 to conduct what he called a 'pill check.' Murray discussed their medical conditions and other personal business and required them to produce their medications so he could count the pills. During that process, he would distract them and pocket pills." Continue reading →
"A corporate media owned website in New York has posted the names and addresses of pistol permit holders in three counties in the state. Data for all permit categories, unrestricted carry, premises, business, employment, target and hunting, is included, but permit information is not available on an individual basis. The Journal News submitted Freedom of Information requests for the names and addresses of all pistol permit holders in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties. It used Google Maps to pinpoint specific locations and included the names and addresses of permit holders, without specifying a reason for invading the privacy of handgun owners." Continue reading →
"Theodora Ross, the former Dallas police senior corporal who ran the department's Crime Stoppers program, was sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison today for stealing at least $175,000 from the program. Beginning in 2005 and through early 2010, Ross would give bogus tip information to an accomplice, Malva Delley, who collected cash rewards from the bank. Delley would collect the proceeds of the bogus tips and would then 'divide the cash, per Ross’s instructions, and deliver Ross’s share of the illegally obtained money by either directly depositing cash into Ross’s Bank of America bank account or by giving cash directly to Ross.'" Continue reading →
"A former NYPD detective — whose BAC was more than three times the legal limit when he plowed into a Bronx grandmother with a cop car — was convicted of manslaughter yesterday. Former Detective Kevin Spellman, however, beat the rap on the most serious charges against him (aggravated vehicular homicide and first-degree vehicular manslaughter) in the death of 66-year-old Drane Nikac. Following the accident, Spellman refused a breathalyzer test, and his BAC wasn’t tested until five hours after he slammed into the Bronx grandmother while driving erratically in his NYPD-owned Chevy Impala." Continue reading →