AUTHORITY SONG

This Is Indeed A Police State

2011-05-30T19:40:00.000-07:00

Man Says NYPD Maced And Tasered Him For Double Parking

2011-03-21T17:03:00.000-07:00

Another day, another black eye for the NYPD's 81st Precinct in Bed-Stuy. The latest bad news for the quata-happy precinct comes from a lawsuit being filed by a 26-year-old security officer named Jonathan Zimmerman who last April got in an altercation with an officer that left him with an inch-long taser spur lodged in his back.

The trouble occurred when police wrote Zimmerman a ticket for double parking while he was sitting in his car with a lady friend outside her home. After he and his companion tried to argue the ticket with the police, things got rough. According to the police "cops ordered Zimmerman to move his car but he instead talked back and had to be restrained." According to Zimmerman the officer grabbed the keys from the ignition and "maced him while he was still strapped in his seat belt." After that Zimmerman felt something "very, very painful," was shocked, pulled out of his car and Tasered two more times (a doctor later had to removed one of the taser prongs from his back). Somehow three total taserings and a splash of mace for double parking doesn't quite sound right to us.

A Civilian Complaint Review Board investigation has yet to yield any results so now Zimmerman is suing the city and the two officers in question. Charges for resisting arrest and disorderly conduct against Zimmerman, by the way, were all dropped.

Good thing this happened before the city got the NYPD those fancy new X26 Tasers.

John Tyner

2010-11-24T21:27:00.000-08:00

Salon Article on John Tyner

TSA Takes and Detains Child

2010-11-22T09:05:00.000-08:00

READ IT HERE! OR HERE:

iReport —
As I sit and write this post, 24 hours after this event took place, my hands still shake… with rage and with terror.
I woke up this morning to my husband’s alarm clock, sat straight up in bed and thought “Where’s Jackson?” with fear paralyzing me.
My worst nightmare took place yesterday. Worse than events that have taken place and that I have survived in my short 28 years of living. Worse than my wildest of dreams could conjure.
My son was taken from me.
Taken.
My son was taken from me by the TSA agents at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson airport yesterday.
He was taken away from me and OUT OF MY SIGHT because his pacifier clip went off when I carried him through the metal detector.
According to the Transportation Security Administration website, “We will not ask you to do anything that will separate you from your child or children.”
Bullshit TSA.
You took my son. MY SON.
Here’s what took place… minute by terrifying minute…
I had Jackson in his stroller, his diaper bag, and a duffle bag which contained my mac book as I entered security. I placed all of these items on the conveyor belt to go through the metal detector. Jackson was in my arms, and in the midst of getting all of our gear on the conveyor belt, my mistake was neglecting to take off my son’s pacifier clip that hangs from his shirt, which is metal.
The instant I walked through the metal detector with Jackson in my arms, we beeped. I knew exactly why.
I told the TSA agent, who asked me to back up and walk through again, “It’s my son’s pacifier clip, can I put it on the conveyor belt?”
“Ma’am turn around and come back please,” I was told.
Of course Jackson’s clip went off again. Both Jackson and I were then escorted to a 6 ft tall plastic holding box because I was forced to wait for a female TSA agent to search me.
At this point in time, all of my belongings were sitting at the opposite end of the conveyor belt, thereby backing up every other passengers belongings because I was not there to gather mine.
A woman out of the kindness of her heart (and if you are out there somewhere reading this, THANK YOU) saw me just standing and waiting in my 6 ft plastic box and gathered my belongings for me. She waited with my stroller, my diaper bag, my duffle bag and my mac book. This woman motioned to me that everything (including my flip flops) was all together and then she left.
She must be a mother.
She understood.
I was so grateful.
4 female TSA agents stood at the end of 2 conveyor belts, gloves on their hands, none of them searching anyone, none of them doing anything but watching luggage pass through the conveyor belts.
It was at this point in time that I realized my flight was leaving in less than 45 minutes. I had not even been searched yet. I began to panic.
Through the 6 holes in the plastic box that contained Jackson and I, I began asking for help. I waved to all 4 female TSA agents, each of them looked at me and then looked away. Then I started speaking through the 6 holes, and said, “Can someone please search me? My flight leaves in less than 45 minutes.”
Each of the 4 women answered me using the same exact phrase…
“Ma’am you need to wait. I don’t care about your departure time.”
Eventually one of the four female TSA agents opened the door and let Jackson and I out of our plastic containment box. We were escorted to a chair that was opposite from where my belongings were. I asked if I could bring my belongings over or take a seat closer to where they were. I was told no and to take my seat.
At this point in time, my heart began to race, thinking we would miss our flight and I would be stuck in the Atlanta airport with Jackson for who knows how long until there was another flight to Baltimore.
The female TSA agent stood in front of me while I sat with Jackson and she continued to watch luggage come through the conveyor belt.
“Ma’am, can someone please just search me so we can be on our way? We are going to miss our flight,” I said.
The female agent then called an older gentleman, also a TSA agent over. The male TSA agent stood in front of me and said “I’m going to have to pat down your son.”
With Jackson still sitting in my lap (he was being so good despite all of this chaos) I said ok and continued to hold on to my son, expecting the male TSA agent to start touching Jackson.
He then told me, “I’m going to have to pick him up to inspect him.”
I rolled my eyes and sternly told him “It’s his pacifier clip that went off, can’t you just run that back through the belt and let us go. We are going to miss our flight.”
The female TSA agent, who had been standing there the entire time said to me, “You need to adjust your attitude and do as you are told.”
The male TSA agent repeated, “I’m going to have to pick him up to inspect him.”
I handed him my son.
I handed him my son and he walked away with my child.
My eyes welled up with tears, I stood up from my chair and I asked the female TSA agent, “Where is he going? Where is he taking my child? Why is he leaving?”
Jackson, while being whisked away looked at the male TSA agent awkwardly and repeated “no no no no.”
I started crying.
The female TSA agent did not answer me.
Panic set in. My hands began to shake. My body was sweating. My breath was short and my heart was racing.
They had taken my child and not told me.
Jackson was out of my eye sight.
I could not see my son.
Now sobbing, I repeated my questions to the female TSA agent.
She told me “Ma’am, we’re trying to be nice to you. We don’t know which one of you went off in the metal detector. Stay here so I can search you.”
“But my son… where is my son?” I asked over and over again.
The female TSA agent called a second female TSA agent over as she began to search me. Apparently the second female TSA agent could hear me protesting and asking for my son.
“Ma’am you need to calm down or I’m going to have to involve the authorities,” she told me.
Now I was pissed.
Horrified. Terrified. Enraged.
“You fucking get the authorities,” I told the female TSA agent while the other continued to wand me and forced me to unbutton my jeans because the button beeped when she went over my abdomen with her wand.
“You get the goddamn authorities right the fuck now and tell them to GIVE ME MY SON,” I said.
I began to black out. I knew I was having a full on panic attack. I feared passing out.
I was told to take my seat again, after being searched, but I was not allowed to collect my belongings.
My cell phone was within reach and I grabbed it without being seen by the TSA agents.
I called my husband. I do not remember what I told him on the phone in terms of Jackson and what took place.
I do recall asking him to calm me down because I could not breathe. As a father, he couldn’t. I imagine any father would do the same. Paul had questions, tons of questions. Questions that I was not capable of answering because I literally was losing my breath and on the verge of blacking out.
I hung up and called my mother.
“Jackson’s gone,” I remember telling her. I do not remember what she said in return, but she instantly could tell I was having a panic attack. She began breathing with me on the phone in an attempt to calm me down.
She told me, “Nic, you’re going to have to stop crying. You need to be strong for Jackson. He’s going to be that much more scared if he sees mommy so upset. In through your nose… out through your mouth…” I think she may have counted, or had me count, I don’t know.
Jackson was still gone.
My guess is that all of this took place within a period of 10 minutes or less.
It felt like hours… days even.
My son was gone.
Sobbing and seated, I watched both female TSA agents walk away from me and go back to monitoring luggage come through the conveyor belt.
Finally the male TSA agent who took Jackson brought him back.
Jackson was in my sight and immediately started yelling, “Mommy!”
I was hysterical.
Running to my son and grabbing him from the male TSA agent’s arms, I sobbed and yelled obscenities at every single TSA agent who stood guard at the end of the conveyor belts.
One of them asked me if I wanted to speak to a supervisor.
Through tears I told him (or her, I don’t remember) that I had a flight I was about to miss.
With Jackson in my arms, I gathered our belongings, through him in the stroller and ran to the elevator that took us down to the tram to take us to our concourse where our plane waited.
B-25.
Sobbing as we traveled down the elevator, then during the tram ride, and up the next elevator to our concourse, I began running to our gate. I approached two female Delta agents at the desk of gate B-25.
“How much time do I have before this flight leaves?” I asked, knowing I needed to get to a bathroom due to my panic attack.
Looking at me concerned, I was told I had 5 minutes.
I ran to the bathroom. I placed Jackson on the diaper changing station with his juice and then I hit the floor. I could not see. I had no peripheral vision.
Channeling my mother, thinking of my phone call with her, I began to calm down.
I had an emergency Xanax in my jeans pocket. I always carry an emergency Xanax in my pocket. The result of severe anxiety.
I took the pill, but it did very little. I was so traumatized that it would’ve taken probably 4 Xanax to get my blood pressure back down to a normal level.
Splashing my face with cold water, then grabbing Jackson, I ran back to gate B-25.
Both female Delta agents looked at me and asked how they could help. I told them that my ticket had me at an aisle seat and if I could switch to a window (Jackson LOVES the window).
They told me that if I didn’t mind sitting at the back of the plane, they could give me an entire row to myself.
I started crying again. I told them a shortened version of what had just taken place and how grateful I was for their kindness.
One of the female Delta agents walked me down the jetway, helping me with the stroller and getting it a gate-claim ticket.
I hugged her. I thanked her. I got on the plane.
I had my son and we were on the plane.
I called my mother again, telling her briefly that I was on and to please call Paul. I didn’t remember that I had spoken to Paul earlier, and thought he did not know any of what had taken place.
Mom said she would call Paul and tell him everything. She reminded me that I had my son and we were on our way home.
Both Jackson and I slept during the flight. I held him so close that when he woke up, his head was drenched in sweat.
Our nightmare ended once the plane landed in Baltimore. Jackson and I exited, walked out of the concourse and Jackson demanded to get out of the stroller.
He ran to his daddy.
We were home.
**********
I’m unsure how to end this post. I do not know what my story will lead to (if anything) but I needed to do more than file a complaint or write a letter. My hope is that this post of mine will be read by mothers and fathers, passed along to parents traveling with their children… most of all, my hope is that NO PARENT HAS THEIR CHILD TAKEN FROM THEM.
TSA TOOK MY SON IN ATLANTA HARTSFIELD-JACKSON AIRPORT.
THIS SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN TO ANY PARENT. EVER.

Connecticut Police Attack Immigrants, Hispanics

2010-11-07T09:47:00.000-08:00

CLICK HERE TO READ THE STORY

Denver Police On The Attack Again!

2010-08-22T08:24:00.000-07:00

DENVER POLICE ATTACK! READ HERE BY CLICKING

Cop Block. ORG

2010-04-04T16:59:00.001-07:00

Cop Block. ORG

No Flirting!

2009-10-23T15:29:00.000-07:00

In 1983, New York's high court struck down as unconstitutional a 1960s-era provision that made it illegal to cruise—that is, to hit on someone in a public place. And yet in the 26 years since, on thousands of occasions, the New York Police Department has continued to enforce the defunct law, historically used to target gay people.

The defendant in the 1983 case was a gay man arrested for striking up a conversation with a plainclothes police officer and asking him back to his house for sex. The court threw out the anti-cruising law, reasoning that the state couldn't criminalize an act anticipatory to sodomy when sodomy itself was constitutionally protected. (Two years earlier, the same court had found the state's anti-sodomy law unconstitutional.)

Whatever one may think of cruising and whether it should be prohibited, the court's ruling should have killed off the statute. Instead, in the 26 years of this law's odd posthumous career, district attorneys brought 4,750 prosecutions and judges convicted 2,550 defendants. For violating an imaginary law, these defendants paid a decidedly non-imaginary $70,000 in bail and $190,000 in court fees and fines. In the last 10 years, NYPD officers also issued 9,693 citations, forcing citizens to pay $71,000 in fees. The criminal records of these victims have never been expunged and the fees and fines have not been refunded.
http://bbs.freetalklive.com/index.php?topic=31056.0

http://www.slate.com/id/2233014/

Dead Law WalkingWhy are New York cops arresting gay people on charges ruled unconstitutional 26 years ago?
By Daniel RedmanPosted Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009, at 1:52 PM ET
In 1983, New York's high court struck down as unconstitutional a 1960s-era provision that made it illegal to cruise—that is, to hit on someone in a public place. And yet in the 26 years since, on thousands of occasions, the New York Police Department has continued to enforce the defunct law, historically used to target gay people.
The defendant in the 1983 case was a gay man arrested for striking up a conversation with a plainclothes police officer and asking him back to his house for sex. The court threw out the anti-cruising law, reasoning that the state couldn't criminalize an act anticipatory to sodomy when sodomy itself was constitutionally protected. (Two years earlier, the same court had found the state's anti-sodomy law unconstitutional.)
Whatever one may think of cruising and whether it should be prohibited, the court's ruling should have killed off the statute. Instead, in the 26 years of this law's odd posthumous career, district attorneys brought 4,750 prosecutions and judges convicted 2,550 defendants. For violating an imaginary law, these defendants paid a decidedly non-imaginary $70,000 in bail and $190,000 in court fees and fines. In the last 10 years, NYPD officers also issued 9,693 citations, forcing citizens to pay $71,000 in fees. The criminal records of these victims have never been expunged and the fees and fines have not been refunded.
In 2001, a gay man who refused to plead guilty got his case dismissed, but he did not win a broader remedy. Police arrested the man for telling a plainclothes officer in the Bronx's Van Cortlandt Park that he was there "to meet guys." When his attorney Michael Spiegel discovered that the anti-cruising law was invalid, he brought it to the court's attention. Four months later, the case was dismissed. Spiegel and the client considered a civil rights lawsuit, but the city offered a settlement that the client accepted. Despite the settlement, the case should have still put the cops, prosecutors, and the courts on notice. In 2003, Gay City News' Duncan Osborne wrote a story headlined "Gay man in 2001 arrested on soliciting law thrown out in 1983." Yet the NYPD continued to arrest and issue summonses, and district attorneys continued to prosecute.
In March 2008, civil rights lawyers brought a class action in federal court on behalf of the thousands of people unconstitutionally arrested, cited, and prosecuted under the defunct anti-cruising law. In May, Judge Shira Scheindlin ordered the City of New York to send letters to the police, district attorneys, and trial judges to remind them that the anti-cruising law was void and should no longer be enforced. NYPD brass sent out a bulletin to officers stating that in each officer's personal copy of the penal code, the law should be "stricken by drawing a line through it in black ink." (After 26 years, the law was still on the books because the legislature had never repealed it.)
Apparently, the NYPD ran out of black ink. From the day that the bulletin went out until now, 85 additional summonses for cruising have been issued.* Celeste Koeleveld, of the New York City Law Department, says that the NYPD has taken "many proactive steps to address the issuance of any summonses" under unconstitutional laws. [ADDENDUM: In a statement made available on the record only after publication, the city's law department also said: "The City's policy is, and always has been, not to enforce unconstitutional statutes. No system in a City as large as New York—where hundreds of thousands of criminal court summonses are issued each year— is going to function flawlessly, but the City is not arresting people or collecting fines under these statutes. Moreover, the City continues to take strong measures to address any ongoing enforcement issues."] But the most recent summons for violating the anti-cruising law was issued in September 2009—nearly a year and a half after the NYPD's bulletin went out. "It is truly shocking that after 26 years and multiple court orders, they just can't stop doing it," said McGregor Smyth, a lawyer at the Bronx Defenders who is counsel for the plaintiffs in the class action. The NYPD did not respond to several requests for comment.
How did this miscarriage of justice, involving thousands, evade notice all this time? One possible answer lies in the combination of intimidation and minimum deprivation of rights, at least in the short-run, which enforcement has entailed. People who were issued citations may have feared being exposed as gay or as out of line with the norms of sexual propriety. Many of these people paid the ticket, pled guilty by doing so, and—without a judge or defense lawyer to raise a question—tried to leave the whole thing behind them. Also, as the judge in the class action acknowledged, many of them probably pled guilty or accepted plea bargains without even knowing that the anti-cruising statute had been ruled unconstitutional.
In some cases, the citations may have had long-term and more serious consequences than simply paying a fine. More than 6,900 bench warrants were issued between 1983 and 2008 for people arrested or issued a citation who missed their court dates or failed to pay the fine after pleading guilty. A pending warrant can lead to a denial of citizenship for an immigrant, disqualification for public housing, or the loss of a job opportunity if an employer conducts a criminal background check. And when a charge for cruising is tacked on to another charge, as happened in half of the prosecutions, it can easily create additional pressure to plead guilty, says professor Erin Murphy of U.C.-Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law. [ADDENDUM: The city's Law Department said after publication that to its knowlege, all warrants have been expunged.]
The anti-cruising law isn't the only unconstitutional statute wielded against New Yorkers. A law banning loitering in public transportation facilities was struck down in 1988—and then enforced against more than 500 people over the next decade. A law that criminalized begging has been enforced more than 7,000 times after being thrown out by a federal appeals court on free speech grounds. These statutes plus the anti-cruising provision—all the subject of pending federal lawsuits—have racked up more than 20,000 arrests and citations that had absolutely no legal basis. That's 20,000 too many. The courts buried these laws long ago, and it's time for the NYPD to let them rest in peace.

Correction, Oct. 22, 2009: The original sentence misstated the number of additional summonses as being in the hundreds. (Return to the corrected sentence.)

Man Arrested For Making Coffee In His Home, Naked

2009-10-23T14:47:00.000-07:00

Man Charged After Making Coffee Naked
FOX 5 Exclusive

Updated: Wednesday, 21 Oct 2009, 7:41 PM EDT
Published : Tuesday, 20 Oct 2009, 12:10 AM EDT

* Will Thomas

Will
Thomas

By WILL THOMAS/myfoxdc

SPRINGFIELD, Va. - A Springfield, Virginia man is facing an indecent exposure charge after a passerby spotted the man naked in his kitchen and reported it to police.

Eric Williamson, 29, is a commercial diver who grew up in Hawaii and rents home with several co-workers. Williamson told FOX 5's Will Thomas his roommates were not home and he walked into the kitchen to make coffee about 5:30 a.m. Monday.

"Yes, I wasn't wearing any clothes but I was alone, in my own home and just got out of bed. It was dark and I had no idea anyone was outside looking in at me," Williamson said.

* FOR AN UPDATE ON THIS STORY, FOLLOW THIS LINK

The complaint came from an unidentified woman who was walking with a 7-year-old boy. A Fairfax County Police spokesman said officers arrested Williamson for indecent exposure because they believe he wanted to be seen naked by the public.

Officer Bud Walker said officers also consulted the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office and they were given the green light to proceed with the charge.

Williamson, who is father of a 5-year old girl, said he feels like the victim.

"I am a loving dad. Any of my friends and anyone knows that and there is not a chance on this planet I would ever, ever, ever do anything like that to a kid," he said.

Williamson is meeting with a lawyer to fight the charge and may attempt to seek damages from Fairfax County Police. If convicted on the misdemeanor charge, he would face up to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine.

Police: Others May Have Seen Naked Man
Man charged after he claims he made coffee in nude

Updated: Thursday, 22 Oct 2009, 7:50 AM EDT
Published : Wednesday, 21 Oct 2009, 7:31 PM EDT

* Will Thomas

Will
Thomas

By WILL THOMAS/myfoxdc

SPRINGFILED, Va. - A debate continues in Northern Virginia that is bringing the issue of civil liberties to the national stage. A 29-year-old Springfield man says he was making coffee in the nude was arrested after a neighbor saw him, and on Wednesday police were back out in his neighborhood looking for others who might have seen him.

Eric Williamson, 29, is a commercial diver who grew up in Hawaii and rents home with several co-workers. Williamson told FOX 5's Will Thomas his roommates were not home and he walked into the kitchen to make coffee about 8:30 a.m. Monday.

"Yes, I wasn't wearing any clothes but I was alone, in my own home and just got out of bed. It was dark and I had no idea anyone was outside looking in at me," Williamson said.

But at about 8:30 a.m. on Monday morning, a neighbor walking her son to school says he deliberately exposed himself-- not once, but twice. First, she says it happened as he was standing in the glass doorway in the kitchen, and then again at a front window.

"We've heard there may have been other people who had a similar incident," said Mary Ann Jennings, a Fairfax County Police spokesperson.

* CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE ORIGINAL STORY FROM FOX 5

The complaint came from an unidentified woman who was walking with a 7-year-old boy. A Fairfax County Police spokesperson said officers arrested Williamson for indecent exposure because they believe he wanted to be seen naked by the public.

On Wednesday, investigators told FOX 5 they have reason to believe there may have been another incident in which someone saw Williamson naked in front of his window. They're asking anyone who may have seen Williamson in the nude through his windows to come forward, even if it was at a different time.

Police are especially concerned because the house is located across the street from a bus stop for school children. So on Wednesday, officers canvassed the neighborhood with fliers, asking anyone who may have been subject to an exposure to come forward.

The department spokesperson says in a rare move, they're releasing more information about the case.

"Because this was being spun into a national story, and the idea you can't be naked in your own house-- we wanted to come forward and say in this case our officers believed there was probable cause the law had been violated," said Jennings.

Eric has since moved out of the rental house he shared with several diving buddies. And, by phone on Wednesday, the father of a 5-year-old girl maintained his innocence, as he did Monday in an exclusive interview with FOX 5.

"I'm a loving dad-- any of my friends would tell you that," Williamson said. "There is not a chance on this planet I would ever, ever do anything like that to a kid."

Police wouldn't release the incident report or the name of the mother who filed the complaint. FOX 5 has learned she is a respected member of the community, and just happens to be the wife of a Fairfax County Police officer.

FOX 5 also spoke with some of Williamson's roommates, and they said they believed Eric was drunk on Monday morning when they were all leaving for work around 5 a.m. The alleged exposure happened around 8:30 a.m. Williamson, however, says he was drinking on Sunday night, but was not drunk on Monday morning.

Woman Given Traffic Ticket For Not Speaking English

2009-10-23T14:31:00.000-07:00

Dallas police chief: Dozens of tickets issued for not speaking English

04:09 PM CDT on Friday, October 23, 2009

By SCOTT GOLDSTEIN / The Dallas Morning News
sgoldstein@dallasnews.com

Editor's note: Comments have been disabled on this story.

Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle said this afternoon that his officers have written at least 39 citations to people over the past three years for not speaking English.

Apologizing publicly to the city's Spanish-speaking community, the chief said all officers and supervisors involved will be investigated for dereliction of duty. All pending citations will be dismissed, and people who paid fines will be reimbursed.
Video
Dallas officer tickets mom for not speaking English
October 23rd, 2009
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"I was stunned that this would happen," Kunkle said at a news conference.

The police chief added: "In my world, you would never tell someone not to speak Spanish."

The bogus citations – there is no law requiring Dallas residents to speak English – came to light after it was revealed that a rookie officer, Gary Bromley, had issued a citation on Oct. 2 to Ernestina Mondragon for being a non-English-speaking driver.

Bromley had stopped the 48-year-old woman for making an improper U-turn in the 500 block of Easton Road, near East Northwest Highway, according to the citation.

Police officials at first dismissed Bromley's action as the foolish error of an inexperienced cop.

"That's a charge that does not exist here in the city of Dallas," said Sgt. Warren Mitchell, a department spokesman.

"Although we believe it was a sincere mistake ... there's no excuse for it."

He said that charge and a charge of failure to present a driver's license were dropped.
Also Online

Crime blog: Read the citation

In all, about Dallas police write about 400,000 citations a year, department officials said.

Bromley, 33, is a trainee officer in the Northeast Patrol division. His trainer on the date the ticket was issued was Senior Cpl. Daniel Larkin, 53, said Deputy Chief Tom Lawrence, Northeast Patrol commander.

Under the Dallas City Code, taxi drivers must be able to communicate in English. Mitchell said there is also a federal statute that says commercial drivers must speak English, but it would not have applied in this case.

Mondragon's daughter Brenda Mondragon said her mother was rushing to take her younger sister to school that day and did not see the "no U-turn" sign. Records show Ernestina Mondragon has a driver's license, but her daughter said she had forgotten it. She said her mother, a native Spanish speaker, speaks limited English.

"She was very mad; she was very upset," Mondragon said of her mother's reaction. "We ended up taking her to the [emergency room] because she was nervous; she was just stressing over the ticket."

HIATUS

2009-03-04T21:32:00.001-08:00

THIS WEBSITE AND ITS BLOGGERS ARE GOING INTO HIATUS FOR A WHILE ....MORE TO COME

IAN FREEMAN

2008-11-16T20:29:00.000-08:00

Ian Freeman of Freetalklive.com was sentenced to 93 days for having a couch (which is still there and not even his) on his property and not sitting fast enough for a judge in Keene, New Hampshire. Check it out at:

http://93days.com/

http://georgedonnelly.com/

Tits

2008-10-29T20:26:00.000-07:00

Topless Protesters on South Beach

Well, they drew lots of onlookers.

By Natalie O'Neill

Published on September 03, 2008 at 8:31am

A couple of Saturdays ago, Donna Newman was walking the Miami Beach shoreline when she noticed a pretty ponytailed gal in a tight bikini and waved at her.

Courtesy of Go Topless Miami

"Free yourself, lady!" the tan, middle-age Newman hollered into a microphone.

On cue, a troupe of topless female protesters behind her added, "Free your breasts! Free your mind!"

As the young woman reached to untie her suit, a T-shirted boyfriend grabbed her hand.

This is just the attitude Newman hopes to fix. She is a member of a cult called the Raelians, which follows a French prophet and former racecar driver who preaches that scientists from another planet created human life. (Riptide gives him creativity points.) The group boasts about 80,000 members in more than 150 countries.

In June 2007, the Raelians founded a group called GoTopless.org — a nude advocacy group. Newman, who's the regional president, describes the injustice this way: Men in Miami can go shirtless on the street but women can't. "Men have two breasts just like we do," she says. "Some have bigger ones than me."

So, on the anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment (women's right to vote), she led her group onto the beach around noon on a sunny day. There was a fiery Venezuelan, a masseuse, a flower-child-type, and a few lucky men. At its peak, the march — or shall we say the frolic? — drew about 50 onlookers.

One of the activists held a photo of a tubby, pale gentleman going shirtless in public. Underneath his man-boobs, it read, "Allowed?" Others wore sets of butterfly wings and explained to passersby "a woman's constitutional right to be bare-chested."

On Miami Beach, topless sunbathing is socially acceptable but not technically legal. "We basically look the other way," says city public information officer Nanette Rodriguez.

Says Miami Internet personality Glenn61, who was at the demonstration: "Tits on SoBe are like squirrels in the park: fun to look at but no big deal."

Artist Taunts City Code Enforcers

2008-10-29T19:59:00.000-07:00

Coconut Grove Artist Taunts City Code Enforcers

Having part of his brains blown out won't stop this war vet.

By Tim Elfrink

Published on October 22, 2008 at 9:10am

Eugene "Jobie" Steppe is an artist, but not the kind who wears a beret and paints watercolors by the river. He's the sort who makes a mural reading "Miami City Hall Nazi Party" and then parks it on Pan American Drive right under the mayor's nose for two months.

Whitney Roux

Eugene "Jobie" Steppe's art.
Whitney Roux

More of Eugene "Jobie" Steppe's art.

The small, wiry 65-year-old calls himself a "redneck from Fort Pierce" who was brain-damaged in Vietnam in 1963. "Part of my brains were blown out," he clarifies. "I don't remember it, but that's what they tell me." A knife in a leather sheath dangles from the belt of his khaki shorts.

So Riptide was unsurprised recently when Jobie — as he likes to be called — said he wouldn't back down from city code enforcers who last week began fining him $250 a day for running an illegal art gallery out of his home. "Last time they came by, I said, 'You better call the police before you come again, because I'll fucking beat your ass,'" he says.

Early this year, he began displaying his colorful mosaics made of cracked, glazed tiles in driftwood frames in front of his home and studio on shady Gifford Lane in Coconut Grove. Code enforcers cited him in June after neighbors complained. They noted some of the murals said "Art by Jobie" and that a website of the same name offered similar pieces for sale at prices up to $395.

After he failed to pay the fine or remove the murals, the case was sent to the city's code enforcement board. Things became so heated at a September 10 meeting that cops escorted Jobie from city hall. "The fines are going to continue," code enforcement director Mariano Loret de Mola said, "until he moves everything from the area in front of his home."

Jobie asserts the city is infringing on his First Amendment rights, and says a recent federal court decision allows him to sell art on the public easement in front of his house. But Riptide points out that a half-dozen tabletops with tile murals are on his front lawn.

"Those are just patio furniture," he says, smiling.

City Leeches

Free-weekly scum-suckers: Tim Elfrink's October 23 story "The Art of War" needs a retraction. Yes, I sustained brain damage in 1963 in the Army, but not in Vietnam, and I'm not Rambo at the age of 66. I'm going to kick the City of Miami's f**kin' ass in a court of law because my art is on an easement, and the cowards placed code violations on my home.

There is a difference between an easement and private property. The art galleries in the Grove thought I would put them out of business, so they complained to code enforcement; my neighbors enjoy the art. There aren't six patio tables in my front yard; there are three, and they've been there for years.

Elfrink got my personality and mood correct. They linger from a sordid past; I'm now civilized, practicing art for therapy to compensate for the injury suffered while serving in the Army. Then along comes a bunch of cowardly, prejudiced transplants who do not understand our constitutional freedoms and behave like a pack of dogs attacking easy prey. They are parasitic, blood-sucking leeches.

Eugene J. Steppe

Coconut Grove

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2008-10-23/news/coconut-grove-artist-taunts-city-code-enforcers

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2008-10-30/news/letters-from-the-issue-of-october-30-2008

GOVERNMENT INDOCTRINATION CENTER SCARES STUDENTS WITH THE DEADLY AIDS VIRUS

2008-10-23T20:24:00.000-07:00

HIV scare puts Mo. school in uncertain territory

By CHERYL WITTENAUER, Associated Press Writer Cheryl Wittenauer, Associated Press Writer – 54 mins ago

NORMANDY, Mo. – Students at a suburban St. Louis high school headed to the gymnasium for HIV testing this week after an infected person told health officials as many as 50 teenagers might have been exposed to the virus that causes AIDS.

Officials refused to give details on who the person was or how the students at Normandy High School might have been exposed, but the district is consulting with national AIDS organizations as it tries to minimize the fallout and prevent the infection — and misinformation — from spreading.

"There's potential for stigma for all students regardless of whether they're positive or negative," Normandy School District spokesman Doug Hochstedler said Thursday. "The board wants to be sure all children are fully educated."

A teacher in a neighboring district singled out a girl who dates someone at Normandy High and instructed her to get tested, Hochstedler said. A competing school's football team initially balked at playing Normandy's 8-0 team.

Jasmine Lane, a 16-year-old sophomore, said her boyfriend from a neighboring high school broke up with her on learning of the news — after she bought them tickets to homecoming.

"I cried so hard," she said.

Hochstedler said that as far as he knows, no other district has had to handle a similar situation. Students at the school of 1,300 are being tested voluntarily, and the district is getting advice on the best ways to support kids in crisis.

Sophomore Tevin Baldwin said that many of his classmates in this working-class city of about 5,000 residents want to transfer out of the district, which encompasses other towns.

"Nobody knows what's going on," he said. The district declined to respond to his assertion.

Marcus Holman, a 14-year-old freshman, said he never imagined HIV would become such a widespread threat at school.

"I'm just trying to pass, get to the next grade, safely," he said.

Normandy Superintendent Stanton Lawrence agreed that students remain focused on learning, despite concerns and distraction. There's no hysteria or panic, and school is running routinely, he said.

"They recognize this situation is what it is, and doesn't mean school is over," he said. "Their concern is heightened, but we have to face it and do the responsible thing."

The St. Louis County Health Department said last week that a positive HIV test raised concern that students at Normandy might have been exposed. The department is not saying whether the infected person was a student or connected with the school, only that the person indicated as many as 50 students may have been exposed.

The Health Department also will not say how any exposure might have occurred. Health Department spokesman Craig LeFebvre has said the possibilities include sexual activity, intravenous drug use, piercings and tattoos.

Hochstedler said the district doesn't know the person's identity, or even whether he or she is a student.

"We do know there was some potential exposure between that person and students," he said. "We don't know the individual or the route of transmission."

The district learned Oct. 9 of the potential exposure and within a business day worked out with the Health Department how to release the information and handle testing, he said.

"They took a very proactive stance," he said. "There's no precedent for this."

Students are being tested at six stations in the high school gymnasium, one class at a time. Only representatives from the Health Department are with the students, who are offered educational materials and a chance to ask questions before they are given an opportunity to be tested with a mouth swab, Hochstedler said. They may decline.

They exit through a separate door, and no one in the school would know who did or did not get tested.

"It's entirely up to the student," he said. "There's a lot of stigma associated with this."

The district will never know whether or how many of its students tested positive, he said.

"Once they're tested," he said, "it's an issue between the department and the child and his family."

So far, the district has met twice with parents and begun to ask ministers in the community to stress the importance of responsible behavior, Lawrence said.

Students in grades four through 12 already take classes that discuss the consequences of risky behavior, including HIV, he said.

YOU REALLY DON'T OWN YOUR HOME

2008-10-23T20:17:00.000-07:00

Face-off over converted garage could land woman, 83, in jail

Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times

Camargo's troubles began when a code enforcement officer spotted a light shining from her garage, a violation, and firmly fixed garage doors.

La Quinta, Calif., resident says the space was a bedroom when she bought the house 30 years ago, but the city says it's her responsibility to undo the illegal conversion.

By David Kelly, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
October 18, 2008

Ageda Camargo was sitting in her shady frontyard, wondering aloud if jail is as bad as it sounds.

"I'm thinking of writing Martha Stewart to ask what it's like," said the soft-spoken 83-year-old. "Do they put you in a cell? I wouldn't want to be in a cell."

These weren't idle worries.

Camargo, a grandmother of six, has run afoul of La Quinta's code enforcement in a big way, big enough to put her behind bars.

The city near Palm Springs insists that one of her three bedrooms is really an illegally converted garage. She insists it's just a bedroom.

"What right do they have to call this a garage?" she asked, walking around the room with its cabinets, sink, bathroom and refrigerator. "I never called it a garage. How do they know it's not a bedroom? If this is a garage, then they owe me a bedroom."

For 18 months now, code enforcement officials have been after Camargo to turn the bedroom back into a garage. Insisting that her home is her castle, she has ignored more than a dozen warnings.

Her resistance crumbled last week when a local judge ordered her to comply or face possible jail time.

"It's traumatic. It's like tearing my house down," she said. "I bought this place 30 years ago, and it was always a bedroom. And now they are trying to shove this down my throat."

City building and safety director Tom Hartung said that an illegally converted garage poses health and safety risks but that going to court is a last resort.

"To say we should not enforce the ordinances based on the demographics of the owner of the property is unrealistic," he said. "We can't do that."

Hartung said that in his 25-year career, he's seen only one person jailed over a violation.

"I think we are very fair," he said. "I don't think you will find a more reasonable department."

Camargo grew up on a family farm in nearby Thermal. In 1977, she moved to Avenida Montezuma in La Quinta, attracted by the isolation and soaring views of the nearby Santa Rosa Mountains.

"I was crazy about those mountains," she said, relaxing under a vine-covered pergola in her frontyard. "There were no neighbors then, nothing but sand dunes. I loved it."

Her troubles began when a code enforcement officer spotted a light shining from her garage into the street, a code violation. He noticed her trash cans in front of the house (another violation) and weeds poking through the concrete (yet another one).

But what really caught his eye were the garage doors. They were firmly fixed in the driveway and didn't open. Windows lined one side wall of the attached structure.

"He began yelling orders at me and said he wanted to bring in inspectors," Camargo said. "He wanted to come in, and I said, 'No way am I going to let you in. Are you telling me this isn't America anymore?' "

Undeterred, code enforcement sent letter after letter warning that continued defiance could mean a fine or jail. The department gave her repeated extensions to undo the conversion. Still she didn't budge.

"I know rules are rules, but this is harassment," said Mike Head, Camargo's son. "She has undergone three surgeries in the last two years. She had breast cancer. She had brain surgery, which took her a year to recover from, and I still think she's a little dingy from that."

On a recent morning, in thick glasses and a long floral dress, she seemed more anxious than "dingy."

"I never had a garage," said Camargo, who parks in the driveway. "I don't need one or want one."

Nevertheless, the city finally took the gloves off. Code enforcement showed up recently with three inspectors, two police officers and a search warrant.

Jarrod Head, Camargo's 29-year-old grandson, who lives with her, was sleeping in the disputed bedroom when they arrived.

"They pushed right in," he said. "I said, 'What's this about?' but they were busy taking pictures. When I asked why they were taking pictures, the police asked me for my ID. I asked why they needed my ID, and they put me in handcuffs."

Camargo was indignant.

"I didn't like to see my grandson handcuffed," she said. "The inspector went into the bedroom and said, 'I can tell this has been added on.' They gave me two weeks to put it into compliance."

Mark Moran, a member of the Riverside County Advisory Council on Aging, called the situation "elder abuse." He filed a complaint with Adult Protective Services, which has opened a case.

"You would think Ageda Camargo was hiding Osama bin Laden in the house, given the way they have come after her," he said.

City prosecutor Noam Duzman denies that La Quinta is targeting the elderly woman. He said that the city has "bent over backward" to resolve the dispute but that Camargo has not been forthcoming and refuses to abide by the law.

"She believes that since she bought the house this way, it isn't her responsibility," Duzman said. "The county and city code says if you build or convert something, you need a permit. I get the feeling she felt if she stuck it out long enough we'd drop this -- but we won't because it's a public safety issue."

Last week Camargo was in court. The judge ordered her to pay a $3,000 fine, which she said she couldn't afford. She asked for the other option -- 30 days in jail.

"She insisted on jail time instead," Duzman said. "I went on record in front of the judge to say that the city did not recommend this."

The estimated cost of fixing the problem is $10,000. Camargo said she lives on Social Security and income from a reverse mortgage.

If the work is done by Jan. 12, the fine and threat of jail will be dropped.

"I don't think she should go to jail. She is an elderly woman," the prosecutor said. "I do believe, however, that she should be subject to the law just like everyone else."

david.kelly@latimes.com

Exploding Duct Taped Sausages

2008-09-25T16:45:00.000-07:00

Remember....The HOT DOGS caused the bomb scare :?

Hot dogs outside Philly ballpark cause bomb scare

9 hours, 14 minutes ago

PHILADELPHIA (AP)—After a bomb scare at the Philadelphia Phillies’ ballpark, authorities pointed the finger at a fuzzy green suspect—The Phillie Phanatic.

Hours before the Phillies-Atlanta Braves’ game on Wednesday night, a film crew shot a commercial of the mascot shooting heavily wrapped hot dogs from a launcher.

But someone inadvertently left three of the duct taped hot dogs outside the ballpark, sparking security fears. Stadium employees were evacuated and the bomb squad was called in.

Only after the packages were blown up did authorities realize they’d just exploded some sausages.

“We saw something that looked suspicious,” said Michael Stiles, Phillies senior vice president, administration and operations. “We did the right thing. It turned out to be nothing. We could have gone over and picked it up and thrown it in the trash and been done with it. But if we had been wrong, somebody might have lost an arm.”

After the detonation, the game went on as scheduled.

“I’d rather them blow up some hot dogs or some ketchup and mustard and relish than have it be a real bomb,” reliever Chad Durbin said. “Better safe than sorry.”

CITED FOR HOLDING A SIGN

2008-09-04T20:43:00.000-07:00

John McCain Kicks Librarian Out of Town Hall Event

It was Sen. John McCain's staff who asked security at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts to remove people holding protest signs at the venue -- not U.S. Secret Service agents, who were not involved in Carol Kreck's ouster from the galleria.

A video of the incident circulating widely on the Internet shows a DCPA security guard saying that he was told by the Secret Service to remove Kreck, who was holding a paper sign that said "McCain = Bush."

But Thursday, after two days of being vilified by bloggers, letter writers and others, the Secret Service emphatically denied involvement.

"Contrary to some recent reporting, the Secret Service had no involvement in Ms. Kreck being removed from the area," said Malcolm D. Wiley Sr., spokesman for the Secret Service. "It was not done at our request or suggestion. Any assertion to the contrary is inaccurate and inconsistent with our established policies and procedures."

McCain staff asked for protester's ouster
"He was simply trying to uphold the policy."
By Felisa Cardona
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 07/11/2008 06:28:35 AM MDT

It was Sen. John McCain's staff who asked security at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts to remove people holding protest signs at the venue — not U.S. Secret Service agents, who were not involved in Carol Kreck's ouster from the galleria.

A video of the incident circulating widely on the Internet shows a DCPA security guard saying that he was told by the Secret Service to remove Kreck, who was holding a paper sign that said "McCain = Bush."

But Thursday, after two days of being vilified by bloggers, letter writers and others, the Secret Service emphatically denied involvement.

"Contrary to some recent reporting, the Secret Service had no involvement in Ms. Kreck being removed from the area," said Malcolm D. Wiley Sr., spokesman for the Secret Service. "It was not done at our request or suggestion. Any assertion to the contrary is inaccurate and inconsistent with our established policies and procedures."

That prompted the DCPA to re-examine the reasons its guard sought to have Kreck removed.

"A representative of Senator John McCain's staff respectfully asked that the venue for its July 7 Town Hall Meeting, The Denver Center for the Performing Arts, not allow persons to display signage within the Arts Complex," DCPA officials said in a statement.

DCPA spokeswoman Suzanne Blandon said the guard who told Kreck to leave was "simply mistaken" in identifying the Secret Service as the agency that wanted her to leave. Blandon said the guard did not intend to use the Secret Service as leverage and did not mean to mislead anyone.

"He is not a trained speaker in any way," she said. "It was the height of the moment, a situation not typical of that complex. He was simply trying to uphold the policy as he understood it to be."

A previous federal appeals court decision determined that the galleria area where Kreck was standing is not necessarily a public spot and that protests can be curtailed there.

Kreck, a 60-year-old librarian and former Denver Post reporter, was cited for trespassing by Denver police at the Monday event.

Carol Kreck's recent response:
....Where is the statement from McCain's staff in this story? And why did it take the Secret Service two days to claim they had nothing to do with my ouster?

Also, the part about the security guard had me smiling. The DCPA's Suzanne Blandon seems to be saying that because he is not "a trained speaker," and because it was "the height of the moment," the words "Secret Service" just popped out of his mouth. Huh.

The Secret Service claims what happened in the courtyard would be "inconsistent with our established policies and procedures." But the Secret Service has been hit several times with lawsuits alleging violations of First Amendment rights when citizens expressed opposition to administration policies. Locally, Denver attorney David Lane is suing them for a violation of Steven Howards' First and Fourth Amendment rights. Howards approached Dick Cheney in a Beaver Creek mall and told the vice president his policies in the Middle East were reprehensible. He was arrested; charges were dropped.

(As the New York Times reported, that issue devolved into "Secret Service agents -- under oath in court depositions -- accusing one another of unethical and perhaps even illegal conduct in the handling of Mr. Howards's arrest and the official accounting of it.")

Many of you have been inquiring about the status of legal proceedings. Colorado ACLU has deputized two attorneys to handle my case: criminal defense lawyer Pete Hedeen will take care of the trespassing charge. I will not pay a fine, I will not accept diversion. That leaves two options: dropped charges, or going to trial. After that is resolved, David Lane will proceed civilly.

Carol Kreck is a librarian and former Denver Post reporter who lives in Colorado.

SEIZED TO SERVE ON JURY

2008-08-30T20:15:00.000-07:00

EUGENE, Ore. -- No one really likes showing up for jury duty. On Wednesday, enough people were no-shows at the Lane County Courthouse that judges couldn't seat enough jurors to fill all the juries they had no.

So Lane County Sheriff's deputies hit Pearl Street to fill the seats.

Judge Mary Ann Bearden ordered them to pick random people off the streets.

The only requirements: they had to be U.S. citizens with no felony convictions.

Sgt. Doug Osborne said the potential jurors were nice about their surprise summons but not entirely convinced it was real.

"I said, really you're not on camera, they're looking around to see if they're on camera and it was a joke," he said.

It might seem like a joke, but it is state law.

It is seldom used, but Oregon Revised Statute 1.235 (4) reads: If there is an immediate need for additional jurors, a judge of the circuit court for the county may direct the clerk of court, sheriff or other officer to summon a sufficient number of eligible persons to meet that need. Those persons shall be summoned as directed by the judge.

The deputies found 12 people. Five were seated on juries that day.
Court officials say this is a rare event, that's happened only twice in the last 25 years.

Acting court administrator Liz Rambo says it was due to a smaller than normal jury pool, a higher percentage of no-shows and three criminal trials starting Wednesday--a combination of events that will likely not happen again.

People who do not show up for jury duty and who have not submitted the form explaining why they cannot be there can face contempt of court charges.

Rambo says that is rarely, if ever, enforced.

http://www.kval.com/news/27679194.html

IT'S THE LAW, YOU KNOW! MAN WILL LOSE HOME OVER $50 FINE

2008-08-30T19:51:00.000-07:00

City stands firm in foreclosure case

Man’s lawyers want judge to set action aside or drop fine to $50

By RAQUEL RUTLEDGE
rrutledge@journalsentinel.com

Posted: Aug. 29, 2008

The City of Milwaukee is digging in its heels in its attempt to foreclose on the home of a man who failed to pay a fine for parking an unlicensed van in his parents’ driveway.

The city filed a response Thursday asking the judge to deny the request from Peter Tubic and his attorney to set aside the foreclosure or reduce his fine to the original $50.

"Giving special treatment out of sympathy to one property owner or waiving the statutory requirements of one property owner because his case was reported by the media, when there are dozens of others whose homes may have been foreclosed upon after personal difficulties, would destroy the integrity" of the foreclosure process, attorneys for the city wrote in their motion.

Tubic's case drew national attention after Public Investigator wrote about the story Aug. 3.

The city foreclosed on Tubic's $245,000 home on the southwest side in July after trying for years to collect the fine, which escalated to more than $2,600 and resulted in a tax lien.

Tubic admits to ignoring the many notices he received seeking payment but says he was emotionally unfit to deal with the situation.

The Social Security Administration has deemed Tubic mentally and physically disabled since 2001. He has a host of physical diseases and a personality disorder that limits his cognitive functioning, according to documents from the administration.

Tubic's attorney, Mike Gonring of Quarles & Brady, which is handling Tubic's case pro bono, said Tubic isn't looking for special treatment because the media covered his case.

"He has legitimate reasons," Gonring said. "This isn't a case of someone who didn't pay his mortgage. . . . He had a car without tags in his driveway. It's not like every other case."

Mayor Tom Barrett, who vowed to step in to ensure Tubic doesn't lose his home, did not return phone calls seeking comment on the issue Thursday.

A hearing is scheduled for Sept. 11. If the city retains ownership of the house, Tubic can remain there as a renter until the house is sold. After that, the new homeowners can decide if they want to continue renting out the house. Tubic can file a petition with the city to collect whatever money remains from the sale of the house after the city takes its cut.

Warrant Issued Against Woman For Overgrown Grass

2008-08-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

The thing is, that, well you do owe them the money...they say you need to pay, they have the guns, you don't so.....COUGH UP PEON!

Warrant Issued Against Woman For Overgrown Grass

WCAU-TV
updated 12:16 p.m. ET, Fri., Aug. 29, 2008

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Pa. - Some people in Lansdale are afraid they could be arrested and hauled off to jail because their grass and weeds are too tall.

"I just don't want to be arrested. I've got a clean record; I want to keep it clean. This is just ridiculous, over grass," Anita Felix, a Lansdale resident, said.

There is a warrant for Felix's arrest and the crime is excess vegetation.

"We're just speechless that the borough can be so aggressive about this when there's properties in this town a lot worse than ours," Felix said.

The family had been out of town for a week and were cited for tall grass. Felix said they've been mowing and paid the $304 fine but the citations kept showing up and then a warrant.

"I don't know what to do? I don't have any money to continue paying the fines. I don't have money for a lawyer right now," she said.

Lansdale's borough manager said last month they're simply trying to get people to take care of their properties.

Dolores Adams said that's fine, but the enforcement is over the top.

"It's hardworking people trying to keep up with everything and they're worried about the lawn growing a couple of inches. What are they? Nuts?" Adams said.

The borough's crackdown seems to be getting more people to mow their lawns.

But Felix said she feels she's being harassed into paying fines she knows she doesn't owe.

NBC10 tried contacting Lansdale's borough manager and the head of code enforcement to ask them why they're issuing arrest warrants for something as simple as overgrown lawns but they both are away on vacation.

http://www.nbc10.com/news/17333294/detail.html

ARRESTED FOR NOT PAYING LIBRARY FINE!

2008-08-30T19:11:00.000-07:00

Wis. woman arrested, booked over library fines
Woman says she ignored library's calls and letters, didn't appear in court

NBC News Channel

GRAFTON, Wis. - A Grafton woman has been arrested and booked for failing to pay her library fines. Heidi Dalibor, 20, told the News Graphic in Cedarburg she ignored the library's calls and letters as well as a notice to appear in court.

Still, she was surprised when officers with a warrant knocked on her door, cuffed her and took her to the police station to be fingerprinted and photographed.

Police Capt. Joe Gabrish saied officers follow the same procedure with every warrant.

Library director John Hanson said a couple of dozen people are cited each year for failure to return materials or pay fines.

The incident cost Dalibor about $30 for the overdue paperbacks "White Oleander" and "Angels and Demons" and her mother nearly $172 to get her out of custody.

COPS RELEASED NOT "CLEARED"---USA TODAY MISLEADS

2008-08-13T18:04:00.000-07:00

N.O. cops cleared in post-Katrina fatal bridge shooting

Updated 54m ago

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A judge threw out murder and attempted murder charges Wednesday against seven New Orleans police officers accused of gunning down two men on a bridge in the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

In quashing the indictments, District Judge Raymond Bigelow agreed with defense arguments that prosecutors violated state law by divulging secret grand jury testimony to a police officer who was a witness in the case.

"The violation is clear," Bigelow said in making the ruling.

Survivors of the Sept. 4, 2005, shootings have said the officers fired at unarmed people crossing the Danziger Bridge to get food at a grocery store. Ronald Madison, a 40-year-old mentally disabled man, and James Brissette, 19, were shot and killed by police; four other people were wounded.

The officers acknowledged shooting at people on the bridge, but said they did so only after taking fire.

Katrina struck on Aug. 29, 2005. In its aftermath, levees broke, flooding 80% of New Orleans. Chaos gripped the city, and looting was reported in some areas. Rescuers said they thought gunfire was directed at them.

Later investigation revealed at least some of the shooting was by residents trapped by floodwater trying to attract the attention of rescue parties.

Survivors of the shooting said in civil suits that they were unarmed and ambushed by the officers, who jumped out of the back of a rental truck and started shooting.

Police officials have acknowledged the officers shot people from both sides of the bridge, but said they were shot at first.

Sgt. Kenneth Bowen, Sgt. Robert Gisevius Jr., Officer Anthony Villavaso II and former Officer Robert Faulcon Jr. each faced first-degree murder and attempted murder charges in the case. Bigelow also threw out attempted first-degree murder charges against Officer Mike Hunter Jr. and Officer Robert Barrios and attempted second-degree murder charges against Officer Ignatius Hills.

Faulcon resigned from the police force; the other officers were assigned to desk duty after their indictment.

Bigelow also said Wednesday that prosecutors had wrongly instructed the grand jury, and that grand jury testimony by three of the officers was used against them improperly.

"It bordered on deliberate misuse of the law," Bigelow said. He gave the district attorney's office until Sept. 18 to decide if it would appeal.

Assistant District Attorney Robert White said his office would analyze the rulings and consider appealing. The office could also convene another grand jury to consider new charges against the officers.

"The ruling was not a total surprise," White said.

The officers sat quietly on one side of the court room and did not visibly react to Bigelow's ruling.

"We are very pleased for all the officers," said Bruce Whittaker, the attorney for Hills. "Now these men can get back to doing the work they love."

Madison's brother said the family hoped the Justice Department would investigate the matter. Keva Landrum-Johnson, the interim district attorney, asked U.S. Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey to have his civil rights division investigate case, according to a letter dated Aug. 8 that the family provided reporters.

"Our family today still feels that the ruling just proves again that the justice system here in New Orleans is still flawed," said Dr. Romell Madison.

A message left after hours seeking comment on the letter wasn't immediately returned by Justice Department staff in Washington.

U.S. Attorney Jim Letten in New Orleans said he hadn't been formally notified of Bigelow's ruling and wouldn't comment on it. Letten said he has told the Madison family that his office would not intervene while the district attorney's office had an "active case ongoing."

Bigelow ordered bracelets used to track the officers' whereabouts removed but did not remove the bail each paid until the district attorney decides what to do.

Police spokesman Bob Young said the officers would return to regular jobs quickly, but he was not sure where they would be placed.

Members of the group Safe Streets, Strong Communities attended the hearing and demonstrated outside the courthouse after the ruling.

"The Danziger case is yet another example of a police department in crisis and a criminal justice system unwilling to keep them in check," said Norris Henderson, co-director of the group.

The case was the latest in a series of high-profile, emotional criminal prosecutions tied to Katrina that have fizzled.

Last year a grand jury refused to charge a doctor and two nurses in connection with the deaths of four patients at a New Orleans hospital after the storm. A jury also returned a not-guilty verdict against the operators of a St. Bernard Parish nursing home where more than 30 residents died in the storm's flooding.

POLICE WORK IS HARD AND DANGEROUS BUT IS THIS VIOLENCE BY POLI CE NECESSARY?

2008-08-12T15:20:00.000-07:00

Police no doubt have to deal with subjects who are aggressive and many down right dangerous. This arrestee ripped off a pharmacy. The cops say he tried to bite them. Many subjects have AIDS. If I were a cop and a subject were biting me, I would most definitely attack the subject in self-defense. However is this self-defense? I am not sure

Video link: http://video.ap.org/v/Default.aspx?partner=en-ap&g=43f0d230-5553-4cd1-80ea-4b9aaa06f385&t=s60&p=enapus_enapus&
Posted on Tue, Aug. 12, 2008

Fla. police officer filmed beating suspect resigns

A police officer has quit and two others were fired Tuesday after a patrol car dashboard camera caught them punching and kicking a handcuffed suspect.

West Palm Beach police released the video Monday, showing what happened to Pablo Gilberto Valenzuela, 42, on May 26. He suffered a broken jaw and bruised eyes, authorities said.

Kurt Graham, a rookie officer still on probation, resigned July 22.

City spokesman Chase Scott said the two other officers, Louis Schwartz and Jason Zangara, were dismissed Tuesday after an internal investigation.

He said the police department has "a zero tolerance policy for use of excessive force."

It was not immediately clear whether the officers planned to oppose their termination. A telephone message left at the Police Benevolent Association of Palm Beach County, which would represent the officers, wasn't immediately returned Tuesday.

A telephone call to an L. Schwartz in West Palm Beach rang unanswered. No telephone listings could immediately be found for Zangara or Graham.

According to the city, Schwartz attempted to arrest Valenzuela for robbing a pharmacy of about 1,000 Oxycontin pills.

The officer was involved in an unrelated traffic stop in the pharmacy parking lot when a clerk ran out of the store and said they'd been robbed, he said.

He said Schwartz caught the masked suspect behind the store, where Valenzuela attempted to pepper-spray him.

Schwartz drew his gun and ordered Valenzuela to the ground.

The video shows Graham arrive and put a knee into Valenzuela's back as he was being handcuffed. The video then shows Graham punch and kick Valenzuela in the face. Schwartz is also seen on the video kicking Valenzuela.

Zangara, the third officer, then lifted a handcuffed Valenzuela to his feet. As the suspect pulls away from the officer, Zangara can be seen punching him several times in the face until the man collapsed.

Valenzuela was arrested on charges of robbery, assault and battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest.

Graham and Schwartz insist they only kicked Valenzuela because the man was trying to bite Graham's leg. Zangara said he punched Valenzuela after he tried to spit on him.

Schwartz and Zangara had been on administrative leave since around the time of the incident.

Information from: The Palm Beach Post, http://www.pbpost.com

DNA Test Frees Convicted Ohio Rapist After 18 Years in Prison

2008-08-11T20:45:00.000-07:00

DNA Test Frees Convicted Ohio Rapist After 18 Years in Prison

Monday, August 11, 2008

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A judge freed a man Monday who had spent nearly 18 years in prison on a charge of raping a 10-year-old girl after a lab re-examining cases across Ohio showed that his DNA profile didn't match evidence from the crime scene.

Robert McClendon, 52, was released by Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Charles Schneider, who cited the DNA test.

"You know, you go through times where you feel it might not happen, but you never, ever give up hope," McClendon said after his release. "You don't ever use the word, 'never happen.' It's not healthy."

Jennifer Bergeron, a lawyer with the Ohio Innocence Project, said she expects prosecutors to formally drop charges against McClendon within the next two weeks.

"To be in prison for 18 years for something you didn't do and then know you are going to walk out of court a free man, that's a lot to take in in one day," Bergeron said.

Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said he didn't think the case would go to a new trial.

McClendon planned to go to the home of a relative in Columbus on Monday to celebrate his release at a dinner with about 50 supporters, friends and relatives, said Mark Godsey, faculty director of the Innocence Project.

McClendon said he eventually wants to get a good job, maybe start a business and, if he's needed, speak publicly about DNA testing.

"This is not just about me," he said. "I believe that there are others in prison like me, and then there are others in prison who are guilty. You've got to give it a chance to work."

McClendon, who denied raping the girl, was convicted in 1991 and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. He was denied parole in 2007.

DNA Diagnostics Center, a lab north of Cincinnati, agreed to conduct tests on McClendon and other inmates for free as a public service after The Columbus Dispatch published a series in January featuring 30 inmates whose applications for new DNA testing had been stalled.

The newspaper's investigation also found flaws in the state's DNA testing system: Police and courts routinely discard evidence after trials, and prosecutors and judges often dismiss inmate applications for DNA testing without a stated reason.

In McClendon's case, authorities had long since lost or thrown away swabs from the victim's medical exam — typically the best evidence for testing rape cases — but agreed to provide the lab with the girl's underwear.

Using new technology unavailable at the time of the crime, the lab found faint traces of semen that didn't match McClendon's DNA profile, the Innocence Project announced last month.

Prosecutors said McClendon took a 10-year-old relative from her backyard, blindfolded her, drove her to a house and raped her. The victim reported the rape the next day and was taken to a hospital.

McClendon was convicted largely on the victim's testimony, Bergeron said. There was no physical evidence to tie him to the crime, she said. He was previously convicted in the 1970s of attempted corruption of a minor for having sex with a 15-year-old girl when he was 19.

INFORMANT ON DRUG WAR KILLED

2008-07-29T18:24:00.000-07:00

Informer's death in Tallahassee brings speculation to Clearwater

By Will Van Sant, Times Staff Writer
In print: Monday, May 12, 2008

Rachel Hoffman, a graduate of Clearwater's Countryside High School who was killed last week while posing as a drug buyer for the Tallahassee Police Department, will be buried Tuesday.

Hoffman's family said Sunday that a service will be held 11 a.m. at Temple Ahavat Shalom, 1575 Curlew Road in Palm Harbor. She'll then be laid to rest at nearby Curlew Hills cemetery, 1750 Curlew Road.

"I'm heartbroken," said her father, Irv Hoffman, 58. "We're just trying to make it through the next few days."

Details of how the 23-year-old with a degree in psychology from Florida State University agreed to become an undercover informer, only to be killed in a rural area near Tallahassee, remained elusive.

Tallahassee police have been reluctant to provide information, according to the Hoffman family and the young woman's attorney, Johnny Devine. A department spokesman declined comment Sunday.

Hoffman was in a drug diversion program stemming from a 2007 arrest for felony marijuana possession. Tallahassee police have said she was recently arrested again and faced charges of possession of ecstasy with intent to sell, maintaining a drug house and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Devine believes Hoffman, who was fearful of going to jail, was coerced into becoming an informer, then was recklessly sent into a dangerous situation without adequate police oversight.

"They knew she had an attorney," Devine said. "And they never contacted me."

Wednesday, she was supposed to buy 1,500 pills of ecstasy, 2 ounces of cocaine or crack cocaine and a gun from Andrea J. Green and Deneilo Bradshaw, who were arrested Thursday in Orlando in connection with Hoffman's death.

Police have said Hoffman didn't follow protocols and left officer supervision to go with the men.

Today, Tallahassee police were to release more details on the new charges Hoffman faced. They've kept mum about the manner of her death.

But Devine said he knows his client was shot, and he wonders whether it was with the same gun police sent her to buy.

"They knew they would be armed," Devine said. "It is inexcusable that police, knowing what they did, would send her into that situation."

LAND OF THE FREE? HOME OF THE HARASSED

2008-07-26T19:35:00.000-07:00

Fliers Complain About X-Rated Security Screenings
TSA Agents Forced Woman To Remove Nipple Rings, Pulled Pants Off Disabled Man

When travelers go to the airport, they know what kind of security to expect: luggage searches, metal detectors and shoe inspections.

It's all part of our post 9-11 reality enforced by the Transportation Security Adminstration. But as CBS 2 Investigator Pam Zekman reports, thousands of travelers have complained that some of these screenings can become abusive and even x-rated.

For arguing with a TSA agent, Robin Kassner wound up being slammed to the floor. She's filed a lawsuit.

"I kept begging them over and over again get off of me ... and they wouldn't stop," Kassner said.

And it wasn't enough for another woman to show TSA agents nipple rings that set off a metal detector. The agents forced her to take them out.

Mandi Hamlin said, "I had to get pliers and pull it apart."

In Chicago, people like Robert Perry are subjected to exhaustive security checks. He was patted down, his wheel chair was examined and his hands were swabbed, all in public view in a see-through room at the security checkpoint. Perry, 71, is not alone

"It's humiliation," Perry said.

Perry was also taken to a see-through room by a TSA agent when his artificial knee set off the metal detector.

"He yelled at me to get the belt off. 'I told you to get the belt off.' So I took the belt off. He ran his hands down over and pulled the pants down, they went down around my ankle," Perry said.

At that point, Perry was standing in his underwear in public view. He asked to see a supervisor. That made things worse.

"She was yelling 'I have power, I have power, I have power," Perry said. The power to stop him from flying to Florida with his wife that day to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.

"It makes you feel like you have no rights," Perry said.

Perry said he always alerts TSA agents about his metal knee and wonders why they can't just check his leg.

"If somebody told me that I would save the people on the airplane by taking my pants off out in public out there, I wouldn't mind doing it, but this was not necessary," Perry said.

TSA officials said that when the metal detectors go off, their agents must resolve what caused the alarm. But experts have said it's important to use common sense when balancing security and customer service.

Carlos Villarreal, former director of security for the Sears Tower, said proper training is crucial. "When you're wanding somebody and you can identify which part of the body set of the alarm, that should be sufficient to clear a person," Villarreal said.

But all too often, it's not enough for 16-year old Michael Angone. She frequently flies as a member of the Chicago Children's Choir.

"I've had to completely take my pants off and show them like my entire leg," Angone said.

As a baby, Angone was diagnosed with cancer. Her parents, both Chicago police officers, had to have her leg amputated. She said she always warns TSA security agents that her prosthetic leg will set off the metal detector, but many insist on doing an embarrassing full body pat-down.

"I feel like I'm being felt up in public," Angone said.

Her father Bob Angone wanted to know, "What's the reason for all the feeling up, you know the groping at the back of the neck, the chest, underneath the bra, all the groping on her body, her buttocks?"

CBS 2 News asked the TSA those questions, but got no answers.

"The key word here is reasonable, and they have gone off the track. They are not reasonable," Bob Angone said.

The TSA declined to comment on the Angone and Perry cases, but the agency has announced that soon, passengers who set off an alarm that cannot be resolved will have a choice: Agree to a physical pat-down or what some believe is an even worse invasion of privacy.

This fall, O'Hare International Airport will get its first advanced digital x-ray machine. It allows TSA agents to see through clothes and discover any hidden weapons. Critics have likened it to a virtual strip search.

A spokesman said that out of 2 billion passengers screened nationwide since 9-11, there have been only 110,000 abuse complaints.

As for the nipple ring case, TSA did change its procedures regarding body piercings.

CHEERING DUO, CHILDREN OF SLAVISH FATHER, GET ARRESTED

2008-06-18T15:57:00.000-07:00

The sad part about this story isn't really the arrest; it's the father of the duo that was arrest for cheering. He actually stated that he is sure no one would have said a peep if the government had simply made their orders clearer: how nice--$625, attend counseling, drug testing and perform community service.

Cheering at Fort Mill graduation leads to arrests
11:20 AM EDT on Tuesday, June 10, 2008
By ANN SHERIDAN / WCNC
E-mail Ann: ASheridan@WCNC.com

Two arrested at graduation

ROCK HILL, S.C. -- Most people get choked up and excited at graduation. But one family’s excitement landed them in jail. Arrested and handcuffed for cheering.

More than 500 Fort Mill High School Students graduated Saturday at Winthrop Coliseum. The audience and the graduates were told in advance that cheering during the ceremony was forbidden. They were even warned that if they did make noise, they’d be removed from the coliseum by the Rock Hill Police.

But one family says they had no idea just how far the police would go. “I think this was one time for my son to go out of his box. And it was the wrong time to do it,” said the father who asked not to be identified.

Two of his children were arrested and handcuffed by police for cheering when their sibling’s name was called.

“There was no profanity,” said the dad. “And they were both put in handcuffs,” he said.

The siblings were also slapped with a criminal charge. Four other people at the Fort Mill High Graduation were also arrested. Another man was arrested at the York Comprehensive High School commencement for cheering as well.

The father of the Fort Mill High student thinks the punishment doesn’t fit the crime. He wishes the principal had been more specific. “All he had to do is say ‘Folks, don’t yell for an individual. If you do, you’ll be prosecuted’. And if he would’ve said that, no one would have said anything,” he said.

The father would like the city to look into the matter. The siblings can enter a program for first time offenders. But they will have to pay $625, attend counseling, drug testing and perform community service.

"I'VE NEVER BOTHERED ANYBODY..."

2008-06-06T15:32:00.000-07:00

Woman Arrested for Not Watering Lawn
July 6th, 2007 @ 10:00pm

Sam Penrod Reporting

A widow and grandma spent the morning in jail, arrested for refusing to give a policeman her name when he tried writing her a ticket for failing to water her yard. The woman hasn't watered her lawn in more than a year, and the condition of her yard violates an Orem zoning ordinance.

Tonight, the woman says she is traumatized and shocked that she was hauled to jail, just because she says she can't afford to water her lawn.

Betty Perry says, "I never thought they would ever do anything like that to a person that is 70 years old. I've never bothered anybody, I've never hurt anybody."

She says the policeman who brought her home tonight was very courteous, even held open the door for her. But there were no gentlemen there when she was taken from her home this morning and booked into jail.

When Betty Perry heard a knock at her door and saw a police officer standing outside, she never imagined she would end up in jail. That's what happened, though, when the officer tried enforcing Orem's nuisance ordinance against neglected yards.

"I didn't want to tell him anything until I talked to a lawyer or my son. I wanted to see what he'd tell me to do. I've never had any experience before with the law, ever in my life," she said.

As the enforcement officer started writing her a ticket, she tried going back in her house. That's when the officer tried to handcuff her for refusing to give her name and resisting the ticket. She tripped on the steps, scraping up her nose and elbows, leaving blood on her door, her porch and her clothes. Perry was handcuffed, fingerprinted and put in a jail cell, where she sat for more than an hour.

"I laid down in there. I never seen the inside of a jail before. I didn't know how it looked, I was really scared," she says.

When police brass learned what happened, she was immediately released.

Orem police spokesman Lt. Doug Edwards said, "Every officer in his career has situations they find themselves getting into, at the end of it they scratch their head and say, ‘gosh, how did this happen?' Today, I think, was one of those days. Clearly there were some other options available."

After being arrested, Perry is now scared of the police. She says, "Don't ever say no when the police tell you do to something. You better do what they tell you no matter what, even if you don't have anybody to help you. You've got to do what they tell you or they will hurt you."

The officer was sent home for the day and placed on paid administrative leave. Police are not pressing any charges against Betty Perry for either neglecting her yard or resisting the ticket.

EVERY 15 MINUTES GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS THREATEN OUR CHILDREN

2008-06-02T18:34:00.000-07:00

This is an example of government schools' sick and twisted attempt to convert the prisoners or students into obedient little robots for the state. Drunk driving is bad but sick demented "educators" playing enablers for the police is even worse.

OCEANSIDE – It was an elaborate hoax, but 36 students at El Camino High pulled it off with potentially life-saving consequences.

The result was a soberingly realistic dramatization about the dangers of drinking and driving, delivered with surprising professionalism.

Many juniors and seniors were driven to tears – a few to near hysterics – May 26 when a uniformed police officer arrived in several classrooms to notify them that a fellow student had been killed in a drunken-driving accident.

The officer read a brief eulogy, placed a rose on the deceased student's seat, then left the class members to process their thoughts and emotions for the next hour.

The program, titled “Every 15 Minutes,” was designed by Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Its title refers to the frequency in which a person somewhere in the country dies in an alcohol-related traffic accident.

About 10 a.m., students were called to the athletic stadium, where they learned that their classmates had not died. There, a group of seniors, police officers and firefighters staged a startlingly realistic alcohol-induced fatal car crash. The students who had purportedly died portrayed ghostly apparitions encircling the scene.

TRULY!? WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL?!

2008-05-27T19:30:00.000-07:00

Associated Press

PARIS -- Yannick Noah is perplexed by "all that fuss" surrounding the arrest of his basketball player son, who was charged with marijuana possession and having an open container of alcohol.

Noah

Chicago Bulls forward Joakim Noah was arrested Sunday in Gainesville, Fla., after an officer spotted him on a sidewalk holding a plastic cup. Police said that during a search at the station officers found marijuana in his pocket.

"I don't understand all that fuss for just drinking a beer on the street," Yannick Noah said Tuesday at the French Open.

The elder Noah won the title at Roland Garros in 1983. He created a sensation a few years before when he told a magazine writer he smoked marijuana.

Joakim Noah was released after signing a notice to appear before a judge -- standard procedure for such offenses. He could face up to six months in jail and a $500 fine for the marijuana charge.

"I talk to him every day on the phone," said Yannick Noah, who was at Roland Garros on Tuesday for the dedication of a walkway named after him. "He'll soon come over to France to see me."

Joakim Noah led Florida to consecutive NCAA titles before being picked ninth by the Bulls in the NBA draft last year.

WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO BLOW IT (UP)!

2008-05-25T18:30:00.000-07:00

MIAMI - The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida's Greater Miami Chapter settled a federal lawsuit with the City of Miami and Broward Sheriff's Office (BSO) on behalf of Emily Vogel and Hermann Vogel (Emily's father). Emily Vogel, a Miami photographer, was subjected to an unlawful detention and illegal search and seizure of her car and personal property by the Miami Police Department and Broward Sheriff's Office prior to the start of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) summit held in downtown Miami in November, 2003. The ACLU was able to vindicate the Vogels' constitutional rights by taking the City of Miami and BSO to court and having them indemnify the Vogels for their damages.

"I hope the City of Miami and BSO will focus on re-training its officers on arrest and search procedures to prevent this from happening again - it is important that the Miami Police and BSO recognize their lack of regard for constitutional rights," said Rosalind Matos, ACLU of Florida South Florida Staff Counsel. "Law enforcement has the dual responsibility to keep the peace and order, and protect the constitutional rights of those exercising their First Amendment rights by participating in the events. It is clear that law enforcement in Miami accomplished the first and neglected the second.

"We are pleased that this case has been settled," Matos added, "but we still have four outstanding cases stemming from the conduct of police officers during the FTAA-related demonstrations."

At the time, Ms. Vogel was a photography student at Florida International University (FIU) and was not part of the FTAA demonstration. She drove to downtown Miami to photograph an anti-tobacco rally that was taking place there, which she did for her photography class at the university. Without probable cause and without a warrant, officers employed by the City of Miami and BSO drilled holes into the Vogels' car, which was lawfully parked on a City street, and detonated explosives causing the destruction of the car and damage of her personal property-including boxes of film negatives-inside the car. The warrantless search, seizure, damage, and destruction of the Vogels' property and Ms. Vogel's detention was without any legal justification, and in violation of the Vogels' constitutional rights.

Neither the Vogels' car nor its contents posed any threat to persons or property in the area. Even though no bomb, contraband or any illegal substance or material was ever found in the Vogels' car, police officers provided her no assistance after the incident and left her stranded in downtown Miami for eight hours because the police would not allow tow trucks to enter the area.

The $17,000 settlement in the Vogels' case settles all claims for damages and constitutional violations against the City of Miami and BSO defendants. This settlement was reached after U.S. District Judge Altonaga denied motions for summary judgment filed by the Miami Police and BSO.

Lead counsel for the ACLU in Vogel v. City of Miami et al are Rosalind Matos, ACLU of Florida Staff Counsel and Ray Taseff, Esq., ACLU cooperating attorney. The case was filed in February 2007 in the United States District Court, Southern District of Florida. Other FTAA-related ACLU cases include: Carl Kesser & Martha Kesser v. City of Miami et al (settled); Owaki v. City of Miami, et al (settled); Delgado v. Miami-Dade County; Lorne Battiste, et al v. Broward County Sheriff Ken Jenne et al; David Lippman v. City of Miami et al; and Amnesty International USA v. Louis Battle and Thomas Cannon.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida is freedom's watchdog, working daily in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend individual rights and personal freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. For additional information, visit our Web site at: www.aclufl.org.

NO PARTICULAR PLACE TO GO

2008-05-16T19:55:00.001-07:00

Man Accused Of Providing Illegal Taxi Service

78-Year-Old Says He Was Just Being Kind

POSTED: 7:43 am EDT May 9, 2008

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- A man who said he thought he was just helping a woman in need is accused of running an illegal taxi service.Miami-Dade County's Consumer Services Department has slapped Rosco O'Neil with $2,000 worth of fines, but O'Neil claims he is falsely accused."I ain't running nothing illegal," O’Neil said.

The 78-year-old said he was walking into a Winn-Dixie to get some groceries when he was approached by a woman who said she needed a ride."She asked me, 'Do I do a service?'" O'Neil said. "I told her no. She said, 'I need help getting home.'"O'Neil told the woman if she was still there when he finished his shopping, he would give her a ride. She was, so he did.As it turned out, the woman was an undercover employee with the consumer services department targeting people providing illegal taxi services."She said the reason she targeted him (is because) she saw him sitting in his car for a few minutes," said Ellen Novodeletsky, O'Neil's attorney.After O'Neil dropped off the woman, police surrounded him, issued him two citations and impounded his minivan. On top of the fees, it cost O'Neil an additional $400 to retrieve his minivan from the impound lot.There are no prior complaints that O'Neil was providing illegal transportation for a fee."It's not entrapment because she didn't expect him to provide her transportation," said Sonya Perez, a spokeswoman for the consumer services department.O'Neil claims he was just being kind and providing a ride to a lady in need."There's all kinds of possibilities, but the fact of this particular case, what our enforcement officers witnessed -- because we had several on the scene, plus a Miami-Dade police officer -- and all the information came back the same, that this was a business transaction," Perez said.O'Neil said he never even discussed money until the woman insisted upon it."She asked me, 'How much you charging?'" O'Neil said. "I said, 'Anything you give me.' She said, 'No, I need a price.'"

NYPD ATTACK TIBETAN PEACEFUL PROTESTORS

2008-05-10T15:59:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiSrXPl1Jzw

DRUGS ARE BAD FOR YOU

2008-05-08T18:33:00.000-07:00

The pills? Pain relief. The arrest? That hurt.

By Anthony Cormier
Published Friday, May 2, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.

SARASOTA — When the police stopped him one night in Sarasota, Villis Sanders told officers that the small blue pills in his car were Aleve, an over-the-counter medicine for his aching wisdom teeth.

A patrolman used a drug kit to verify what the pills were.

The test said the tablets were amphetamines, Sanders was jailed and his car was impounded.

But it turns out that the test was wrong. Prosecutors took the pills to a laboratory before Sanders' trial and found out that they were Aleve, after all.

The miscue raises questions about the reliability of police drug kits and how the results of a roadside test can land an innocent person in jail.

Agencies throughout the country use similar kits to identify drugs, and the tests are often the only way for an officer to figure out whether someone is carrying a bag of headache powder or a bag of cocaine.

Experts say that "false positives" are rare, but when the police department tested additional pills -- including an Aleve tablet provided by the Herald-Tribune -- the results were the same: Aleve shows up as amphetamines.

No one knows why the test keeps getting it wrong.

The manufacturer said that officers might not have been properly trained, or that Aleve might contain a compound similar to one found in amphetamines.

Officials from Bayer Health Care, which makes Aleve, did not immediately respond to questions.

And Sarasota police officials questioned both the kits and the compounds in Aleve -- but say that they did everything they could to figure out what Sanders was carrying that night.

Sanders was pulled over in late March for a broken tag light.

His license had been suspended because of unpaid traffic tickets, and he spent 22 hours in jail.

About a month after the arrest, prosecutors dropped the drug charge and the city paid back more than $1,000 in towing and impound fees.

"I feel bad for the guy, I really do," said Capt. Bill Spitler, the head of the department's patrol division. "No one should be arrested for something they did not do."

Sanders says no one called to tell him the charges were dropped, nor did they explain what happened or apologize.

He found out when he went to the courthouse and a clerk told him the drug charge had been dropped.

His arrest is not the first time that a law enforcement agency jailed a man after a false positive test result.

In Manatee County last year, a man was arrested on drug charges after deputies found white powder in his car.

The powder, they said, was cocaine. He said it was caffeine powder. When the substance went to a lab, the suspect turned out to be right.

"It is rare, but it happens," said Mike Healy, a forensic chemist with the Manatee County Sheriff's Office. "You don't see it a lot, but that is why these are presumptive tests. It's enough to have someone arrested, but it is not enough to take to court."

The manufacturer of the kits, Morris-Kopec Forensics, no longer makes the tests, said company president Wayne Morris. His business partner left the state and Morris said he decided to stop making the product.

But the issue, he said, is not with his product, but rather with the officers or the pills.

Morris said that there might be an ingredient in Aleve that is similar to the compounds in amphetamines, or that the officers were not trained to recognize the difference between a street drug and one available at the corner pharmacy.

"That's why they call them 'presumptive tests,'" he said. "It just means that this is an indication that what they found could be a controlled substance."

In this case, both of the tablets found in Sanders' car were blue and oblong, and each was stamped with the word "Aleve."

MAN ARRESTED FOR TURNING WITHOUT SIGNALING

2008-05-07T15:06:00.000-07:00

Man arrested for turning without signaling

04:00 PM CDT on Tuesday, May 6, 2008

By JONATHAN BETZ / WFAA-TV

Jonathan Betz reports
05/06/08

MELISSA, Tx -- Mark Robinson was driving through downtown Melissa last week when he was pulled over for failing the use his turn signal.

But instead of getting a ticket, the officer took the 24-year-old to jail.

He was booked, strip searched, and sat for 3 hours with criminals. “People talking about using drugs and shooting heroin. They asked me what I was in there for and I said a turn signal violation,” said Robinson.

There aren't any warrants out for Robinson. In fact he says he's never been in jail. But he does admit to challenging the officer's questions during the stop.

“It’s just unacceptable to me to have my son thrown in jail for such a minor offense,” said Mark Robinson, the father.

His father thinks the officer assumed he had drugs because of his age, which he didn't.

“I think if they had stopped me in the same circumstances, I would have never gone to jail, or probably get a ticket,” said the father.

In fact News 8 contacted various cities in Collin County, many of which have not made a single arrest this year for not using a turning signal. Even the police chief in Melissa acknowledges he's never seen this happen in his own city. “In the 6 years I've been the police chief, this is the first time,” said Chief Duane Smith, Melissa PD.

But he stands behind his officer, saying state law gives him the power to arrest someone for many crimes, no matter how minor.

“I can't discuss the specifics of the case. The officer was in his right to arrest the person, which he did,” said Chief Smith.

Still, he tells News 8 this afternoon he will review department policy and may make changes.

For Mark Robinson, what he most wants is an apology, he says, for a trip he never should have been forced to make.

BACK IN BLACK

2008-05-01T15:30:00.000-07:00

Police Forces Dressing In Black To "Instill Fear" In Citizens
Psychological influence of uniforms cited by authorities

Steve Watson
Infowars.net
Monday, April 28, 2008

Recent news that police in Massachusetts are to switch to black, military-style uniforms in an effort to appear more authoritative and aggressive highlights a more general move to militarize police in America and affect a "post 9/11" psychology of fear.

Last week an AP report headlined Massachusetts Police Get Black Uniforms to Instill Sense of 'Fear' detailed the move:

Sgt. John Delaney told a city council hearing Wednesday that the stark uniforms send a message to criminals that officers are serious about making arrests.

Delaney said a sense of "fear" has been missing for the past few years.

In recent years police in cities all over America have been increasingly seen in all black attire.

The introduction of black police uniforms has an ominous precedent. In 1932 Hitler's propaganda chief Heinrich Himmler famously introduced black uniforms for SS police, tailored to project authority and foster fear and respect. The choice of color was not by chance.

It is believed that the Nazis took the idea from the "blackshirts" in Italy years before the creation of the SS.

A 2001 FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin has summarized research on police uniforms and noted the psychological influence they have:

Research has suggested that clothing has a powerful impact on how people perceive each other. The police officer's uniform has a profound psychological impact on others, and even slight alterations to the style of the uniform may change how citizens perceive them.

The studies cited found that black uniforms elicit emotions of anger, hostility, dominance, and aggression:

Applying the results of these studies in color to the police uniform suggests that darker police uniforms may send negative subconscious signals to citizens. A dark police uniform may subconsciously encourage citizens to perceive officers as aggressive, evil, or corrupt and send a negative message to the community.

Even more interesting are further findings that suggest both police officers and citizens are more likely to engage each other violently when the authorities come dressed in black:

The experiment with the colored jerseys also suggests that police officers in dark uniforms subconsciously may act more aggressively; therefore, departments should consider modifying police uniform colors.

The police uniform also may influence the safety level of the officer who wears it. Dark colored uniforms may elicit subconscious negative feelings from citizens, who may perceive the officer as aggressive, and subsequently, encourage them to consider violent action when confronted by the police.

Research has also shown that police uniforms with a lighter half have been ranked by citizens as "good, honest, helpful, and competent, the lighter colored sheriff's uniform rated noticeably higher for warmth and friendliness".

It is telling that police have ditched these in favor of the all black approach.

The same black uniform tactics have been adopted by police forces in the UK, who have ditched traditional uniforms in favor of black roll-necks and black combat trousers.

MPs have spoken out against the move, with David Jones, Conservative MP for Clwyd West describing the uniforms as "sinister".

"I think that the connotations of black shirts are obvious to anybody. They've got a kind of fascist, militaristic appearance." Jones commented at the time.

When the role of the police in a supposedly free country is to admittedly appear dangerous and to instill fear, in tandem with enhanced powers and more draconian practices, history tells us that something is most definitely not right.

THE POLICE, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND THE LOONY BIN

2008-05-01T15:23:00.000-07:00

this from www.miaminewtimes.com

Mother-in-Law from Hell

A boorish mom, insensitive cops, and a deaf couple add up to nasty controversy.

By Natalie O'Neill

Published: May 1, 2008

Just before dinner on a Sunday evening in January 2007, there was a knock at the door of Cynthia Cuevas's small red townhouse on West Eighth Street. But the nine-months-pregnant 21-year-old didn't open it. She had seen police lights flashing outside and was frightened. So she pushed on the door to keep it shut until, suddenly, eight officers burst in. Some had guns, perhaps Tasers, drawn, she recalls.

One of them grabbed Cynthia by the arms and pinned her against the wall. Another questioned her husband Erik Phillips about her mental health and state of mind.

Cynthia couldn't hear any of it. She's deaf. Though she has no history of mental illness and zero Florida criminal record, she would be forced to spend eight nights in the hospital against her will. "I was crying and screaming because I was afraid," she says. "I needed an interpreter, but they didn't seem to care."

Cynthia and Erik recently sued the City of Hialeah and Palmetto General Hospital, where she was held. They contend police were abusive and then improperly kept her from her baby Orien after his birth — mostly because they were ignorant about the disability. The dispute not only tells the story of a dysfunctional family but also raises serious questions about how law enforcement is trained to treat the hearing impaired.

"There's nothing more Twilight Zone than being taken to a mental institution when you're sane and not being able to communicate," says her lawyer, Matthew Dietz. "This is beyond hell."

Cynthia Cuevas was born in Ciudad Reynosa, Mexico, and has been hearing impaired since she was two weeks old. She went to a day school program for the deaf at Memorial High School in McAllen, Texas — on the border near Brownsville. After graduation, she met Erik online at DeafChat.com. Soon she asked him to be her boyfriend, and he flew to Texas from Florida for a visit. They were married on the morning of Valentine's Day 2006.

The couple's hell began with an argument over laundry. On the evening of January 21, 2007, Cynthia and Erik, who is also hearing impaired, got into a spat with Erik's mom, Ana Phillips, a strong-willed 58-year-old. According to their complaint, Ana "attempted to control every aspect of their lives" — such as dictating when they should wash their clothes. When Cynthia became pregnant, Ana even insisted the birth would be by cesarean section.

But that night, Cynthia says, she stood up to Ana. By phone, she said she wanted to rest and would do house chores later. And she was clear about wanting a natural childbirth.

Frustrated, Ana drove to their home and pounded on the door. Cynthia wouldn't let her in, the couple says, so she called Hialeah Police. Officers arrived around 7:30 p.m. and spoke mostly with Ana, who warned them Cynthia was a threat to herself and her unborn baby. (She later claimed Cynthia had hit Erik with a broom and was "acting erratically.")

An incident report signed by Ofcr. Bryan Gonzalez makes no reference to Cynthia's claim that police forced their way in and pushed her against the wall. It asserts the cops found Cynthia "crying and hiding behind the door." Gonzalez also made note that the "victim states she doesn't care about herself or the well-being of the baby" and that she was "refusing help."

During the next 45 minutes, the officers attempted to communicate with Cynthia by pantomiming, since they didn't know American Sign Language. And they tried to speak to her through Erik, who has limited hearing. But the police mistook anger over the recent blowout with her mother-in-law for psychiatric instability, Cynthia says.

After less than an hour, the officers sent her to Palmetto General Hospital by ambulance. She was taken in for a mental health evaluation under the terms of Florida's Baker Act, which allows hospitals to hold individuals who show signs of mental illness, self-neglect, or the potential to harm themselves and others.

There Ana took control, telling personnel Cynthia had gone berserk. Though a security guard with some ability to sign was called in, Cynthia says she understood only bits of what was happening.

Two days later, doctors gave Cynthia pitocin, a drug to induce pregnancy, and recommended a cesarean section. Fearing the baby would be hurt if they objected, the couple went along with the operation. "Cynthia is not an activist," says Dietz. "She's very naive and trusting." On January 23 at 7:19 p.m., Cynthia gave birth to Orien Alan Phillips, an eight-pound five-ounce baby boy.

The next morning, Palmetto psychologist Miguel Flores put a halt to her enforced stay. He found Cynthia "showed no signs of agitation or aggressive behavior," but prescribed Lexapro, a medication for depression. She was discharged four days later.

Things only got worse. On the way home from the hospital, the couple stopped by Ana's home on West 36th Street. But when they tried to leave, Cynthia contends, Ana blocked her from the baby and announced she would care for him.

Frantic and upset, the couple left without their newborn son. "I couldn't get into a tug of war," Cynthia explains.

Over the next two days, they pleaded with Ana to return Orien. Then on January 30, Ana warned that if they kept protesting, she'd call the police, according to the lawsuit. "This is a mother-in-law from hell situation," Dietz says.

Late that night, Ana called 911 and reported Cynthia wanted to take her own life. Officers again rushed to the townhouse on West Eighth Street. This time, they didn't push through the door. But after talking to Erik, they determined the young mother believed she "wasted her time giving birth, therefore she wanted to kill herself," according to the police report.

Both Erik and Cynthia deny saying that. They acknowledge she was sad without her baby but say she never thought about suicide.

And so once again, police held her under the Baker Act. This time she was taken to Citrus Health Network on West 20th Avenue in Hialeah and placed in a room alone. "I would bang on the door and sign, 'I want to go home,'" she says. There was nobody to sign back.

A day later, she was moved to Jackson Memorial Hospital and given a translator. Soon she was discharged with no medication.

On February 6, a letter addressed to Erik arrived at their townhouse. It appeared to be written by his lover. "I don't want to get you in trouble with your 'crazy wife' as you call her, lol," it read. "I will remember your wet fat kisses all over my body."

Erik and Cynthia believe it was an attempt by Ana to separate them. "She wanted me to marry someone rich," Erik explains.

On February 8, the couple filed an emergency motion with the Miami-Dade family court division to have their child returned immediately. They were granted custody 12 days later.

In late December 2007, they sued Hialeah and Palmetto. The claim: Both the city and the hospital failed to provide her an effective means to communicate. They seek damages for mental distress, humiliation, physical pain, and violation of their constitutional rights.

The young couple has since moved to Sullivan City, Texas, three hours south of Corpus Christi. Three months ago, they had a second baby. They don't speak to Ana much anymore.

Ana contends she's not overbearing and that Cynthia voluntarily left the baby with her on the way home from the hospital. Asked why parents who agreed to give up their newborn would file an immediate motion for custody, she said, "Okay, listen. Uh, I don't — Cynthia seems to have a lot of problems from childhood. Maybe she was jealous because Erik was very close to me." She also denied writing the letter.

Hialeah City Attorney Bill Grodnick said he would not comment on the facts of Cynthia's complaint, though he concluded that "based on preliminary assessment, we feel the case has no merit."

Paul H. Field, who represents Palmetto Hospital, faxed New Times a statement that said, "Mrs. Cuevas's admission was not scheduled, which meant that the hospital was not able to have an interpreter standing by."

Both Hialeah and Palmetto have previously settled Americans with Disabilities Act claims for discriminating against the hearing impaired. In 2004, a deaf man named Cesar Muñoz sued the city, claiming police officers cuffed and threw him to the ground for not responding. Hialeah paid Muñoz $10,000. Palmetto, too, settled a 1997 case for having no written policy for procedures with the deaf. Details of that case were unavailable.

"Erik and Cynthia have been stepped on their entire lives," says Dietz. "You see a case like this and you wonder how it got to this."

Cynthia adds simply: "The whole thing was bad communication."

YOU VILL EMPTY YOUR POKETS! YOU SVINE!

2008-04-24T16:59:00.000-07:00

Holocaust survivor arrested at PBIA for refusing to empty pocket

Elena P. Reichman

By Jerome Burdi |South Florida Sun-Sentinel

12:05 AM EDT, April 18, 2008

A 74-year-old grandmother spent the night in jail after she refused security officers' efforts to check her at Palm Beach International Airport and then shoved a deputy, authorities said Thursday.

Elena Reichman, a Holocaust survivor who lives west of Boca Raton, is charged with felony battery on a law enforcement officer. She was released from jail after posting a $3,000 bond at 5 a.m. Thursday. It was her first arrest, state records show.

Reichman's daughter, Davira Bareli, said her mother is diabetic and accused security officers and the deputy of acting irrationally with her mother.

Reichman was in the airport to catch a flight to New York for Passover when she set off the metal detector at about 1 p.m. Wednesday, Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office spokesman Paul Miller said.

Transportation Security Administration workers told her they would have to do a secondary screening, which includes using a metal detector wand, TSA spokeswoman Sari Koshetz said.

"She refused to remove the items from her pockets," Koshetz said.

Officials took her to a private area away from other passengers and called Palm Beach County Sheriff's Deputy Margaret Picerno.

"She started screaming and being abusive," Miller said. Reichman told security officers the detector was set off by a pin with money she wore inside her clothing, officials said.

"She didn't want to take anything out of her pockets," Koshetz said. "When we asked her again to remove anything she became belligerent."

When Picerno, a 17-year veteran with the Sheriff's Office, tried to calm Reichman down, it got worse, Miller said: "She started screaming and grabbed the arms of the deputy and shoved her."

Reichman was arrested.

"The public needs to realize that anyone can pose a threat," Koshetz said.

Bareli, of Woodmere, N.Y., is one of the three daughters Reichman was going to visit. She said her mother grew up in Romania, and is a well-mannered European woman who dotes on her nine grandchildren. "The woman [deputy] pushed my mother and said my mother pushed her," Bareli said.

Max Rothman, chief executive officer of the Alliance on Aging in Miami, said law enforcement should be gentle with the elderly population.

"The potential and the risk of health- or mental health-related issues is a little larger so I think you have to have a great deal of sensitivity to determine what the problem might be," Rothman said.

Reichman, a widow, spent Thursday getting her luggage and the medications she left at the airport to try to make it to New York by sundown today. Bareli described her mother as a strong woman who spent four years with her parents, six siblings and about 500 other people in a forced-labor camp in a Romanian castle during World War II.

Staff Researcher Barbara Hijek contributed to this report.

Andrew Meyer

2008-03-20T16:31:00.000-07:00

Sunday, December 2, 2007

Don't Tase Me = Voting Rights, Civil Liberties, Truth in Media, and Peace on Earth

This blog is intended to be an archive of the truth.

The truth (and when I say the truth I mean the Truth, the Whole Truth, and nothing but The Truth) is rarely if ever found on television.

Praise be to God the Truth is on the internet.

A problem for many? The internet lives in a million different places, addresses, forums, and links.

I intend to collect every news report, video, and truthful opinion piece I find that rarely gets reported on in the mainstream media.

A lot of my material will come from Digg.com, or as I call it, The Real News.

But hopefully, a lot of it will come from you. I have received thousands of e-mails in the time since my arrest, and hopefully I can put my notoriety to good use. You the people have demanded information, and you the people have also provided information. I have learned from your e-mails, and hopefully the truth will continue to out.

My e-mail is AndrewWilliamMeyer@gmail.com, and I will always post relevant, truthful material.

The time for important issues to surface is now.

God bless our world, and God bless you, the rarest of birds, the intelligent reader.

DON'T TASE ME BRO'! REVISTED

2008-03-20T16:21:00.000-07:00

This video was posted by Honeybun523 on youtube.com who wrote the following:

As the person who filmed this event. I would like to say that although Andrew may appear to be a conspiracy theorist, he still was accosted by the police after Senator Kerry said he wanted to hear the question. If Accent Speakers Bureau had allowed all those standing in line to ask questions, this never would have happened. Unless of course the police would have stepped in anyway. I DO NOT KNOW ANDREW MEYER PERSONALLY. I DID NOT EDIT THIS FILM (the camera battery was low and stopped filming)

ANDREW MEYER & POLICE BRUTALITY AT UF

2008-03-18T19:04:00.000-07:00

OPEN YOUR DOORS AND GIVE US YOUR GUNS!

2008-03-16T12:41:00.000-07:00

THIS FROM http://www.cardenchronicles.com/

Saturday, March 15, 2008

"May I Search Your Home?- It is Completely Voluntary"

It is early evening. You have just pulled perfectly cooked "Nathan's Hot-Dogs" off the grill. There is the usual pre-dinner rush in the kitchen as the meal is being brought to the table. The kids are washing their hands. You usually keep the TV off during dinner, but tonight is an exception. There is a baseball game on and your team is doing well this season. You decide to grab a beer from the fridge. You smell the apple pie your wife has put into the oven for desert. Your dog is sitting patiently beside the table, knowing that sooner or later one of the kids will drop something from their plate-or hoping that you might give in and let him have that last bite of your second hot-dog.

You look around you. Baseball, hot-dogs, your family with you, your dog at your side, the smell of apple-pie in the kitchen- there is nothing that can ruin this All-American, Norman Rockwell moment- Except the three rapid knocks at the door that jolt you back to reality.

You get an uncomfortable feeling in your gut. The knocking was loud- with a purpose, not the way salesmen knock, or the way the next-door neighbor kid knocks, when she comes over to tell you about the latest reason she is selling candy for school or that her mother would like to borrow an egg. No, this knock was confident and definitely had a purpose.

You reach the door. Outside you hear a voice, but it is mixed with static. You realize the voice is coming from a two-way radio. You peer out the peep hole and see two men dressed in blue and the badge of your local police department. The uncomfortable feeling in your gut grows. What could be wrong, you wonder. Has their been an accident? Has someone died?

You open the door. "Can I help you officers," you ask with a hint of concern in your voice.

Both officers smile. One of them takes a slight step forward. "Good evening," he says. "We are here in your neighborhood as part of the "Safe Homes Initiative." We would like to know if we can come inside and perform a quick walk through of your house as part of "Safe Homes." We would just like to help you out by verifying that you don't have any guns that are not locked up in the house and help you check to make sure that your kids haven't accidently picked up a handgun in the park and hidden it from you. I am sure you are concerned about your kids safety and making sure you home is safe. You won't mind if we come in and take a quick look around? We are checking all the homes in the neighborhood. And this is completely voluntary."

You stand there staring at both officers, unsure of what to do next. Both officers are smiling, but you notice their hands are resting on their service pistols.

The second officer reaches into his shirt pocket and pulls out his note pad. "Can I get your name please," he asks. "just for my paperwork of course."

So now what? Do you let the police in to do a "voluntary" search of your home? Do you refuse, and then wonder if you have made some "list?"

Think this can never happen here? It starts, in the District of Columbia, March 24, 2008. To me, this sounds like something from a 1930's Gestapo playbook.

District of Columbia police will be asking parents/guardians for permission to conduct "voluntary" searches of their homes and children's bedrooms to search for firearms and drugs. Supposedly the search will only be for illegal firearms and drugs. However, I am sure that these searches will lead to prosecution for other matters, based on what they see in plain sight, even though some amnesty is supposed to be involved for the voluntary search. If a found gun has been used in a crime- prosecution will follow.

I have huge concerns about this program. Will people be too intimidated by the police to not allow them into the house? What happens if people refuse? Will the cops just say, "Thanks, have a great day" or will the next question be "Do you have something to hide?"

DC already has the strictest gun control laws in the nation, and NOW they need to go door to door to perform warrantless searches.

Boston and Philadelphia-- Guess what guys, You are next…. (Boston program starts this month, Philadelphia is still working on their program).

FREE SPEECH DISRUPTED?

2008-03-08T17:15:00.000-08:00

Mr. Andrew Meyer appeared at UF and wanted to ask Senator John Kerry some questions. This apparently upset the police and possible the folks of Kerry. It is clear from the video that the young man prefaced his questions with some words, asked two questions and was, in a scene remeniscent of Cuba, whisked away by the police. Kerry summoned the young man to speak [see the video click here] (there are some allegations that the young man had butted ahead of some others who wanted to speak).

There is another video taken showing a different angle

TURN THAT CAMERA OFF!!

2008-03-08T17:09:00.000-08:00

Man Tasered For Filming Warrantless Police Search

A man from Portland Oregon is suing police for unlawful seizure with excessive force after officers fired a Taser and bean bag rounds at him when he refused to stop filming a warrantless search of his neighbour's property last year.

According to a report in The Oregonian, Frank Waterhouse claims that on May 27, 2006 he was brutally assaulted by police when officers followed a sniffer dog onto the property in pursuit of a fleeing suspect.

Waterhouse says that the dog keyed on a car, prompting officers to break out a window which upset residents who maintain that no one ran onto the property. It was at that point that an angry resident grabbed a video camera and started to film the police search.

The Oregonian report states:

When one woman was told to stop recording, she gave the video camera to Waterhouse. He walked to the edge of the property, climbed up a dirt embankment and continued to record. At one point, he yelled to his friend, "Yes, I got it all on film. They had no right to come on this property."

He says in the suit that police immediately came after him, and yelled at him "put it down." Officers moved towards him, and he said, "Don't come after me." Waterhouse said seconds later he was shot with a bean bag gun and a Taser and fell to the ground."

RAPED BY POLICE: STARK COUNTY RAPE SEARCH-VICTIM ASSAULTED BY POLICE, 'CRIMINAL TRESPASS ON A PUBLIC SIDEWALK', AND THE POLICE STATE

2008-03-08T17:07:00.000-08:00

Stark County Strip Searches
Victoria Hardy

[Victoria Hardy (blog) is the drummer for the pop duo 3 Feet Up. She lives in North Carolina with her husband, who is also the other half of the duo and they have released 2 CDs since 2005: 3 feet up CDs. 3 Feet Up was featured in the Living Room Live Series on the CBS Early Show in July of 2006.]

By Victoria Hardy
February 04, 2008
It seems we are sliding further and further into the rabbit hole and if the days of gentle and compassionate law enforcement ever truly existed, well, they are surely gone now. It´s no secret that our police departments are becoming militarized and it appears that in certain areas of the country the idea "to serve and protect" has gone the way of the dinosaurs. I ran across a disturbing video and I will issue a warning now that it is very difficult to watch. WKYC

It all began in Stark County, Ohio when Hope Steffey was assaulted by a cousin and another cousin called 911 for assistance. When the officer arrived, Ms. Steffey accidentally handed over her deceased sister´s license, which she kept for sentimental reasons. She immediately noticed the mistake and gave the officer her own identification and asked for her sister´s to be returned. The officer refused to return her sister´s license. The officer ran a check on Ms. Steffey´s license and found no infractions, but continued to treat her as though she were the perpetrator of the crime, instead of the victim.

Ms. Steffey states she begged for the return of her sister´s license until Officer Gurlea lost his patience and shouted, "shut up about your dead sister." When Ms. Steffey pointed at the officer´s pocket, which held her sister´s id, and said, "she was here, she was someone", Officer Gurlea threw her face down on the hood of his patrol car, chipping one of her teeth. And according to documents filed by Hope and Greg Steffey with the United States District Court in Cleveland, Officer Gurlea then threw Steffey to the ground. Although Ms. Steffey´s cousin repeatedly reminded the officer that Steffey was the victim and had been knocked unconscious in the previous assault, Officer Gurlea handcuffed Steffey and put her into the back of his patrol car, refusing her medical care.

Hope Steffey was then taken to the county jail and forcibly strip-searched by 6 to 7 male and female deputies, despite Stark County´s own policy which states that a strip search must be conducted by a same sex officer. She was left in a cell for 6 hours with no clothing or even a blanket and eventually wrapped herself in toilet tissue for warmth and modesty. She was not allowed a phone call or medical attention and when she was later taken to booking, she was given only a small weighted vest to cover her nudity. She was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Salem News

Stark County Sheriff Tim Swanson states the reason Steffey´s clothes were taken from her and she was left naked and exposed in a cell, was for her own safety. Sheriff Swanson maintains that his deputies are not guilty of any wrongdoing and that they have a job to protect prisoners in their custody. Canton Rep

Attorneys for Ms. Steffey do not believe that the sheriff´s office has handed over all of the footage from the night of the arrest and the dashboard camera was not turned on during most of the incident. In a second installment from WKYC, mounted video cameras in the jail show an officer filming Ms. Steffey´s arrest, but lawyers claim they have yet to receive the footage. WKYC

Interestingly enough, Ms. Steffey´s is not the first lawsuit filed in Stark County for illegal strip search. On May 18, 2007, three girls aged 14,15 and 16 arrived at the Multi-County Juvenile Attention Center for an arraignment following charges of "criminal trespass on a public sidewalk". Instead of going before a judge the girls were informed by a court worker that the case would be over if they agreed to 20 hours of community service, to attend school regularly and take a 15 minute tour of the Attention Center. Unbeknownst to the girl´s parents, who waited downstairs for the tour to be over, the girls were taken upstairs and strip-searched while guards made disparaging remarks. There was no reason for the strip search as the girls were not under arrest or about to be confined and they had been through a metal detector and searched upon entering the building. Sheriff Swanson confirms that an investigation is underway, but states no conclusions have been reached.Canton Rep

I understand that occasionally strip searches may be necessary, but Hope Steffey was the victim, not a violent criminal and had yet to be charged with any crime. The charges against Ms. Steffey were disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Is acting disorderly after an assault a reason to be strip-searched? Couldn´t the very act of "disorderly conduct" after being knocked unconscious be a clue that Ms. Steffey may have needed medical assistance? And as the victim of an assault isn´t it reasonable that Ms. Steffey may resist arrest? She was the victim of the crime, not the perpetrator and I am sure she was mightily confused as to why she was being taken to jail. And what of her rights as a citizen of this country not to be violated and humiliated for a minor offense?

Ms. Steffey stated that she felt "raped, without penetration" and really, how else could she feel after being handcuffed, held down and having her clothes forcibly removed by both men and women? Rape, after all, is not a sexual act; it is an act of power, force and humiliation. She was not charged with a violent crime and yet her rights, her dignity and her clothing were stripped from her with total disregard to the fact that she was the victim and a human being. Is this how police officers in Stark County are being trained to treat victims and minor offenders?

The footage of Ms. Steffey´s violation is difficult to watch, but at least some footage has surfaced. Attorneys for the three teenage girls believe that the surveillance footage at the Attention Center has been concealed or destroyed. Stark County Family Court Judge David E. Stucki was handling arraignments at the Attention Center the day the minor girls were allegedly strip-searched and although he will not publicly discuss this case, he says he often handles low-level offenses informally. The tour through the Attention Center is designed to scare kids straight, but Judge Stucki says he does not know specifically what occurs during the "tours". Attorneys for the girls are seeking to discover if other children have been strip-searched on an Attention Center tour.

Sheriff responds to strip-search video
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Repository staff report

CANTON Stark County Sheriff Tim Swanson issued a statement Friday related to a woman's 2006 arrest and a videotape showing her being stripped naked at the Stark County Jail by male and female deputies.

The arrest of Hope Steffey of Salem was featured in a Channel 3 news report Thursday night.
Steffey has a pending federal lawsuit against Swanson's department, saying she was assaulted by deputies, denied medical help and was the victim of excessive force during her arrest on Oct. 20-21, 2006.

The complaint is pending in U.S. District Court before Judge David D. Dowd Jr.

Swanson's statement said his office investigated an incident involving Steffey. She was charged and later convicted in Alliance Municipal Court of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, he said.

"We have answered all inquiries by the attorneys and we are prepared to proceed in a court of law, NOT IN THE MEDIA," Swanson said in a statement.

He declined to comment further, citing the pending allegations.

Steffey's attorneys, David B. Malik of Chesterland and Dennis J. Nierman of Cleveland, could not be reached Friday for comment.

Channel 3's report prompted numerous calls Friday to the Stark County commissioners' office. Commissioner Todd Bosley declined to comment.

According to Steffey's lawsuit originally filed in October and since amended:

Steffey, 47, was assaulted by a cousin on Oct. 20, 2006, on Weimer Drive SE, prompting a 911 call. A sheriff's deputy arrived and Steffey mistakenly gave the deputy her deceased sister's driver's license, not her own. The deputy refused to hand it back when she noticed the mistake and she pleaded for its return, the lawsuit said.

The deputy did not get medical help for Steffey's assault wounds and instead assaulted Steffey, the lawsuit said. The deputy slammed her into his cruiser, cracking one of her teeth, and later slammed her into the ground, causing cuts and bruises, the lawsuit said.

Later at the jail, Steffey said she was asked, "Have you thought about harming yourself?" She responded, "Now or ever?"

She said she was immediately stripped by male and female guards without ever being asked to voluntarily remove her clothing.

"The force used by these defendants was unreasonable and excessive. The force used was designed to inflict pain and to punish," the lawsuit said.

She was later left in a cell naked for six hours. "In order to keep warm and regain her dignity, Hope wrapped herself in toilet paper to keep (the unnamed guards) or anyone else from seeing her naked. This situation was designed to humiliate, inflict emotional pain and to punish."

Steffey was given a suspended jail term for her convictions.

DENIALS

In a written response to the lawsuit, Swanson and his deputies deny wrongdoing and maintain the arresting deputy, Richard T. Gurlea Jr., and others at the jail are allowed to use reasonable force to make an arrest and protect prisoners in their custody.

The department does not deny that Steffey was stripped of her clothes and left naked in a cell for six hours.

The defense has asked a judge to dismiss the claims.

Dowd has set a status conference for May.

TOTALITARIANISM AT REAGAN INTERNATIONAL

2008-03-08T16:36:00.000-08:00

Observe the attack at 4:21PM

PICK UP THAT CAKE!

2008-03-08T16:34:00.000-08:00

POLICE STOP DANGEROUS SKATEBOARDER

2008-03-08T16:32:00.000-08:00

A veteran Baltimore police officer was suspended after a video appeared on YouTube showing him manhandling a 14-year-old skateboarder.

The video, which was reportedly shot during the summer and just recently appeared on YouTube, begins with Officer Salvatore Rivieri approaching a group of teens on skateboards.

"You're not allowed to ride your skateboards here," Rivieri tells two teenage skateboarders.

"We were just rolling by. ... I didn't hear him because I had my iPod on," said Eric Bush, the teen who bore the brunt of Rivieri's wrath.

Don't Say 'Dude'

On the video, Bush is seen referring to Rivieri as "dude," and the officer responds with force, shoving Bush to the ground.

"I was scared. I didn't know if he was going to punch me," said Bush.

He wasn't scared speechless though, as Bush continued to refer to Rivieri as "dude."

"I didn't do anything dude," Bush says again on the video, this time inciting a rant from Rivieri.

"Obviously your parents don't put your foot in your butt quite enough, because you don't understand the meaning of the word respect. You better learn how to speak. I'm not 'man,' I'm not 'dude.' I am Officer Rivieri!" he shouts.

Reactions

"I was very upset," Bush's mother, Peggy Miller, said of watching the video.

Although skateboarding in the area wasn't allowed, she says the officer was out of line. "If I were to go to my job and I were to get upset with someone who called me dude three times and tackled [them], I'd be terminated immediately."

The Baltimore Police Department partially agreed. Rivieri, who has no complaints on his record, was suspended with pay.

"We don't know what happened before the video clip. We don't know what happened after. But there are obviously some things to be concerned about there," said Sterling Clifford, a spokesman for the Baltimore police.

Was Rivieri's Complaint Fair?

ABC News showed the video to Harris Stratyner, a psychologist who deals with confrontation.

"You watch the video and you say, 'Gee that kid was disrespectful.' And then you see the police officer and you forget all about the kid calling him dude, because his actions were so outrageous," Stratyner said.

As for his actions, Bush says this could have all been avoided. "I would have left if he had been nice to me, but he just kept on going and yelling at me."

TICKET TERROR

2008-03-08T16:26:00.000-08:00

This is why I became a libertarian for life. I am sorry because it’s a bit of a long read. Please bare with me.

Back when I was 19 years old I got a simple traffic ticket. They charged me about $90 more or less. I paid the money, saw it get taken from my account, and thought all was good.

Fast forward 2 years.

I was 20 years old (2 months before my 21st). We had a nice college party at my house, but being the responsible guy I am I decided to stop drinking and go to sleep early so that I could make it to my breakfast shift job. At about 6am I got up and dove to work.

I guess I must have been speeding because I got pulled over. The cop came and took my info then went back to his squad car. I sat in my car for a good 20 minutes. I thought something was wrong because of the huge length of time it took the cop to write my ticket. Before I knew it a second cop car pulled up. That’s when I knew something was wrong.

The officer and his backup then pulled guns on me. They made me get out of the car, put cuffs on me, and put me in the back of the cop car. I had no idea what was going on, but I complied none the less.

When I finally got to the police station they told me why I was being arrested. Apparently it was for “not paying a previous traffic ticket”. The only parking ticket I had ever had in my life was the one from 2 years ago. I knew for a FACT that I had paid it. The officers didn’t care.

When I got to the station I was harassed by the police. They made me blow into the DUI machine and I blew a 0.03. That’s well under the legal limit but because I was 20 years old they started threatening me with a DUI charge to go on top of my “warrant”. The officer in charge of booking me threatened to put me in the “black gangbanger unit”, where they “LOVE whiteboys like you”. Yes, he really did threaten me with rape.

I was nice and I complied with them so they threw me into the “low risk unit”. I spent 4 days in jail. I was a very poor college student and I didn’t have enough money to try and get my roommates to bail me out. Thus I had to stay the full amount of time in jail. It ended up being about 4 days.

I finally went before the judge on my last day. I was dressed in jail house orange jumpsuits and full shackles and handcuffs. I spend 3 hours sitting there before the judge called me.

This is exactly what the judge said verbatim: “hmmmm ok. So it looks like you were arrested because of a warrant for not paying your fine from 2000. Hmmmm. Ok it looks like here you actually did pay that fine in full……. Ok you are free to go!”

Bam I’m free. Sort of. I have to go back to jail and get my personal property back. (they “lost” my $100 jacket and gave me no compensation for it). I took a cab back to my house and then tried to find out where my car was. Turns out I got arrested early on a Friday and got released late on a Monday, thus my car was in the government impound and I had to pay about $500 to get it released back to me.

THANK GOD ITS ALL OVER (or so I thought) Fast forward 5 days

About the same time that I got home from Jail I found a nice envelope addressed for me, telling me to be in court for a DUI offence. “What the hell? I thought my case had been thrown out by the judge?” NOPE guess not. This is a totally new charge.

I had a public defender because I was dirt poor. I called her 3 times but she never returned my phone call. I finally went to court for this “DUI” charge. Even though my public defender never once talked to me, I guess she actually did her job because she went and talked to the judge in private. When they were done the judge said “OK your DUI charge is completely dismissed. We are only going to charge you with a minor traffic offense”

THANK GOD ITS ALL OVER (or so I thought) Fast forward 3 months

When I got arrested the arresting officer had confiscated my driver’s license. I asked for it back when I was released from jail and again when I was before the judge, but they both told me they did not have it and that I had to get it back on my own accord. So I went to the DMV to get another copy (after all you cant do anything in this country without a Government ID).

When I got to the DMV and asked for a second copy of my drivers license they told me “sorry, we cant do that. Your license has been suspended for DUI” …. Uh…. What? No I’m sorry, I have no DUI. I have court documents to prove it!!! I then ran back to the courts and got all the paperwork I could find proving that my DUI charge was thrown out of court. I was found 100% INNOCENT on that charge and I had paperwork to prove it!

Guess what? I didn’t matter.

In CA the DMV and the courts are totally separate. The DMV has a policy to immediately suspend the license of anyone who is ACCUSED of an alcohol related offense. The outcome of the case has no baring on what they do. The accusation is all that matters. “if alcohol related = suspend for 1 year”

So there I am. 20 years old with a rent check and a tuition bill to pay. I used to have 2 jobs to help me pay for college. I had a job at a hotel at 5am in the morning but I lost that job because I didn’t show up for 4 days and they never gave me phone privileges to inform them. My other night job was more understanding and they let me stay.

Ok now I had a big choice to make.

1) Break the law. I will drive my car ILLEGALLY, and go to work every night so that I can make enough money to pay my rent and my college tuition. I will go to school every day and graduate.

2) Obey the law. I quite my job. I fail to pay my tuition and drop out of school. I try to find a job within walking distance (only ting available is min wage). Chances are I give up on school forever and try to make ends meet. No way I can afford to live in my same house. I will have to find a much more low cost home.

This was no choice at all. I drove with no license and no insurance for over a year. Yes I broke the law. Did I have a choice? What would you do?

TICKET TASER

2008-03-08T16:16:00.000-08:00

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