Gangsters in Blue

In 1993, I watched the Waco, “Standoff” live on the NBC Nightly News as a young man while eating meatloaf in front of the TV with my family. What exactly is a, “Standoff?” In my early years, I understood a standoff  as an incident which one party was wrong and the State comes in to correct or murder them.  I had a hard time comprehending why the military blazed in with tanks and burned a bunch of kids alive but understood that if the government takes such action, it must be justified. I also vaguely remember, “Ruby Ridge.”

My old man is a Navy Veteran. He served 4 years during the War In Vietnam.  He worked on the ship’s engines to insure plenty of Vietnamese were killed by artillery from the Destroyer he occupied.  He was just under ten when the last known US Civil War Veteran passed. He grew up in a time when government mandated reefer madness prevailed and The US Public Health Service was busy secretly infecting impoverished Black Americans with syphilis. We kept a flag flying on the front porch to show our unwavering support for our government, almost without question.

I’ve attempted to expose my father to the idea that just because this government is ours doesn’t mean it has our best interests in mind, to little avail. I believe he’s too conditioned to understand the idea of True Liberty.

I guess this is why I wasn’t overly surprised when he told me about a standoff a few blocks from his and my mother’s home in Janesville WI. He had told me that the previous evening they were walking the dog when the neighborhood erupted with screeching tires, sirens, and heavily armed men. He of course wasn’t able to walk up the street he’s lived near for almost 40 years because some twenty-something cop said he couldn’t.

We try not to talk about political issues due to our differences but I couldn’t help but notice that after 4 days with nothing in the paper he seemed concerned with what may have happened.  I suggested he call the PD but after a week he hadn’t so I stepped in.

I contacted JPD about the incident in Oct. 2011 on Forest Park Blvd. Robin picked up the phone and I posed my question. She didn’t object to glancing at the log and dismissed it as a potential gun call where no gun was found.  I persisted with questions and she stated that a twelve year old had been taking out the garbage around dusk and saw a person in a car with a gun. He ran back into his home and told his mom who called it in.

In WI concealed carry is legal. Open carry is also legal and it isn’t uncommon to see people on the side of  the State Highways standing around with their shotguns or rifles heading into the fields to hunt wild game.  People occasionally walk the grocery store isles with a sidearm on their hip and there usually aren’t problems.

I continued to question Robin at the PD despite her increasing reluctance to answer my questions.  What’s the big secret? She reiterated that no gun was found and nobody was arrested so it wasn’t a big deal. I asked if the gun, “Suspect” was pulled out at gunpoint or searched. She stated she didn’t know. I asked if the dispatch actually vetted this child personally, again, no apparent answer. She stated I wouldn’t be able to obtain the police reports because none exist. Just a brief dispatch log.

It turned out that the gun was actually a cell phone.  And the two alleged “gunmen” were 17 year old-ish boyfriend and girlfriend stopping by the house quick.  My Dad said the cops were yelling but he couldn’t hear exactly what was being said. I’m guessing this is an experience these young people will never forget. It may seem like a funny story in hindsight but on the other hand, I’ve never had multiple guns pointed at my torso.  I have been inadvertently swept by a live firearms and it really pisses me off.

Waukesha Standoff Society

On a regular basis the Waukesha Police play soldier in our neighborhoods. They call in the county tank and halt our outdoor activities by the sounds of cops yelling on a PA system.  I’ve done several videos of these standoff when I happen upon them. I don’t use a scanner but every month and a half or so I can usually find one by just cruising.

They bring the shields and AR’s but overwhelmingly just hang out and soak up the overtime. I don’t often see anything in the news other than the fact that one of these occurred.  It seems that if the police call these incidents, “Medicals” they can get away without scrutiny or further information.  I’ve taken video of three in the last year or so.

I don’t need to ask what precipitates a standoff. Pretty much anything in this area. Perhaps a neighbor hears an argument and you choose not to answer the door for the cops? Maybe you’ve had a few drinks and throw on your favorite Metallica CD. As we all know the police have no legal duty to, “Protect us.”  What if an, “Emotionally disturbed person who is potentially armed” is greeted by the mom or brother instead of a heavily fortified militarized sect of the police. Perhaps a well known,  friendly, willing,  neighbor would produce better results than flash bang grenades and sub-machine guns.

As is common,  in the video above, no gun, according to local YouTube friends, and no real threat by the female suspect. I’d love to tell you the whole story but it seems to be a secret.

It appears standoffs will be entrenched in Waukesha culture for the time being.

John Freeman – Milwaukee area Copblock

Wisconsin Standoff Society is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

New Kelly Thomas Murder Video

According to the article on The Huffington Post:

 The 33-minute video starts with Thomas being approached by Fullerton Police Department Officer Manuel Ramos, who engages him in conversation. By minute 15, Ramos has already donned latex gloves… “You see my fists?” Ramos asks Thomas. “They’re getting ready to fuck you up.”

It appears to me that this thug could have easily handcuffed Thomas while he was sitting on the curb. He chose to brutally murder him instead.

John Freeman, Copblock Contributer

This Is How You Beat A Man To Death is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

A Riverside, CA District Attorney has announced that police officer Enoch Clark has been charged with three felony counts of assault and one felony count of use of force causing great bodily injury for a routine traffic stop that resulted in permanent damage.

“On Feb. 21, 2012, Clark was on duty, working patrol in the city of Beaumont,” the district attorney said. “During his shift, Clark was involved in a possible driving under the influence investigation. While conducting that investigation, there was an altercation between the officer and a woman he was attempting to handcuff.

“Clark then pulled out a less-than-lethal device issued by his department called a JPX device. This device uses a ‘wafer’ of gun powder to propel a stream of pepper spray . . .  at a speed of more than 400 mph.”

“The minimum distance the device is to be utilized is about five feet with the optimum distance to be used being between six and 16 feet,” according to the
district attorney. “It was determined that Clark fired the JPX at the woman’s face from a distance of about 10 inches. Both of the victim’s eyes were severely injured and it is doubtful she will see again, according to medical reports.

The victim, Monique Hernandez is 30 year old. The incident occurred on February 21, in front of her own home. She apparently disputed with Clark during a routine sobriety check when he shot her.

Hernandez told the press that her deepest regret is that she will never again be able to see her 10-year-old daughter. “My daughter currently is not staying with me right now. She’s staying with my mom, because I can’t take care of her right now. I’ll probably imagine her looking like a 10-year-old all her life – that’s the worst part,” she told reporters on Tuesday.

“The force they used was excessive,” said Hernandez’ attorney. “She had no weapons. She posed no threat. Preliminarily, investigation shows both her eyes are affected. She’s totally blind in one eye.”

Clark has plead not guilty to all four felony counts. He returns to court on May 29th.

Police Officer Blinds a Mother with a JPX Device is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Extraction teams caused a lot of panic during this year’s May Day General Strike for the Occupy crowd. Oakland Police sent large groups of officers into crowds of demonstrators to make surgical arrests. As many presumed, this type of police action created more problems then it solved. One “surgical arrest” would lead to panic, causing officers to arrest more people.

At one point there were there was at least 5 arrests taking place simultaneously, initiated after Oakland Police tackled a woman on a bicycle.

Thank you to Jacob Crawford of Oakland Copwatch for the video.

clip.

Video: Oakland Police use Concussion Grenades & Extraction Teams on May Day 2012 is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

By DAVY VARA

Why is it that people always refer to the New York City Police Department as the best police department in the country?

The N.Y.P.D. is actually one of the most corrupt police forces in the U.S. The department has a long history of committing some of the most heinous crimes
against innocent citizens. Take, for instance, the 1999 execution of Amadou Diallo, a 23 year old Guinean immigrant who was shot at 41 times by N.Y.P.D. cops Sean Carroll, Richard Murphy, Edward McMellon, and Kenneth Boss. Diallo, who was unarmed and simply had his wallet in his hand, was hit 19 times. Just over one year later, a jury acquitted all of the cops.

Also, Abner Louima, a 30 year old Haitian immigrant, who suffered severe internal damage when N.Y.P.D. officer Justin Volpe sodomized him with a broomstick in Brooklyn’s 70th precint. Afterwards, Volpe proudly displayed the excrement and blood stained broomstick to his fellow officers as he bragged that he had just “broke a man”. Volpe then threatened to kill Louima and his family members if Louima told anyone. Justin Volpe was later convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Sean Bell, executed by N.Y.P.D. undercover cops on the morning of his wedding day, in Queens. Bell had just left a club with friends when he was confronted by a plain clothes N.Y.P.D. cop who didn’t identify himself. When Bell sped off, the cop fired 50 rounds at Bell’s vehicle, killing Bell and severely injuring his friends. And, even though neither Bell or any of his friends had a gun, the N.Y.P.D. smeared Bell’s character after the incident, and his friends were under investigation instead of the cops!

During last year’s annual West Indian American Day Parade, N.Y.P.D. officers used facebook to post extremely disturbing comments, violating the department’s policy barring officers from making “discourteous or disrespectful remarks” about race or ethnicity. The facebook group, which totalled 1,200 members, posted comments from N.Y.P.D. officers such as Dan Rodney who stated “I say have the parade one more year, and when they all gather, drop a bomb and wipe them all out.”

Other comments from N.Y.P.D. officers included calling people “animals’ and “savages”. The comments on facebook, included references to West Indian and
African-American neighborhoods, and were so offensive that some N.Y.P.D. officers themselves posted warnings to other officers advising them to be careful that Internal Affairs “rats” don’t take notice of the comments. However, many didn’t seem to care, and went on posting comments such as “Let them kill each other”.

In a recent New York Times editorial piece, a strong point is made of the need for a “strong, independent agency to investigate serious complaints about New York City’s police force.” After several corruption cases involving the N.Y.P.D., including seven narcotics officers convicted of planting drugs on people, three officers convicted of robbing a perfume warehouse, eight current N.Y.P.D. officers charged with smuggling guns into the state, and a federal lawsuit accusing the N.Y.P.D. of engaging in racially biased “stop and frisk” incidents, there is serious doubt that the department can do an effective job addressing misconduct and corruption without outside help.

The N.Y.P.D.’s Internal Affairs Bureau, which is responsible for investigating complaints of police misconduct, failed to uncover any of these problems. In fact, they were brought to light by a local district attorney, the F.B.I. and, in one case, a New Jersey police department.

Recently, N.Y.P.D. officers, gathered outside State Supreme Court in the Bronx, for the unsealing of indictments against 16 of their fellow officers, who were arraigned on charges of corruption, after a three-year investigation into the N.Y.P.D.’s fixing of traffic and parking tickets, which in all cost the City of New York, close to $ 2 Million dollars. Officer Jose Ramos, a member of the N.Y.P.D.’s 40th precint, and whose suspicious behavior led to the ticket fixing investigation in the first place, was accused of two dozen crimes, including attempted robbery, attempted grand larceny, transporting what he thought was heroin for drug dealers and revealing the identity of a confidential informant. Ramos is facing up to 50 years in prison.

The officers yelled “Down with the D.A.” and “N.Y.P.D. Commisioner Ray Kelly, is a hypocrite.” Inside, more than 100 off-duty N.Y.P.D. officers lined the courthouse hallways and stood outside the courtroom. The officers prevented members of the news media from filming their colleagues by blocking cameras, grabbing lenses and shoving television camera crews into walls.

The outpouring of angry officers and their behavior was in violation of N.Y.P.D. policy which states “Conduct which brings discredit to the department or conduct in violation of law is unacceptable and will result in disciplinary measures.” Perhaps the best of example of the N.Y.P.D.’s disgusting, unprofessional conduct, despite always being lauded as the best police department in the country, is how at one point, the crowd of at least 350 officers outside the courthouse began chanting “E.B.T.” at people lined up at a benefits center across the street, referring to electronic benefit transfer, the way welfare recipients receive their food stamps and/or cash benefits. A court official who came outside to attempt to calm down the crowd of officers, was insulted with profanities by the N.Y.P.D. cops. The indicted N.Y.P.D. officers came out of the courthouse pumping their fists, as the crowd of their fellow officers burst into cheers. Once the rowdy crowd of N.Y.P.D. cops had cleared, the street was littered with refuse.

Eugene J. O’Donnell, a professor of police studies at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice makes a very powerful and telling point, in referring to the N.Y.P.D. when he said “The Police Department is a very angry work force, and that is something that should concern people, because it translates into hostile interactions with people.”

I don’t know about you, but I find it disgusting and downright deplorable whenever I hear the N.Y.P.D. being referred to as “The best police force in the country”. Are you kidding me?

Davy V.

———————-

Editors note – check out this video created after the actions of some NYPD employees at the 2011 West Indian Day Parade:

NYPD: Badges of Dishonor, Corruption and Murder! is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Guest Post by Katie McCall

I must apologize… this story is a little old. But the victims are still suffering and it needs to be told.

Meet the Hendersons: Father, Jeffrey, is a big, intimidating individual but tenderly in love with his children. Mother, Erica, is a very nurturing mother. Together they have six children and lived together without incident in their Pasadena, California home.

Are they typical parents? No. They keep a kosher diet, they homeschool
and breastfeed and homebirth. They follow orthodox Jewish law. But is being “different” a reason to have your rights trampled?

In May 2010, the police were called by a disgruntled neighbor who reported having “heard” Jeffrey slap their oldest child. The police responded by demanding entry. Jeffrey and Erica
refused their requests and instead had the children come to the front window next to their door to show that they had not been harmed. Here you can see Jeffrey and Erica refusing entrance prior to deciding to parade their children’s well being in the window:

The Henderson’s refuse entrance to the police in Pasadena

Apparently, visually seeing the children was not enough for the Pasadena police. Without a warrant they barged into their residence as the family sang Jewish songs of worship. They beat Jeffrey to the point he needed to be hospitalized, removed the children and gave them to DCFS and locked both Jeffrey and Erica in a cage.

Surprise, surprise! The courts eventually found that the accusation that prompted the violence was unfounded and dropped all charges including an obstruction charge for not opening the door to their home.

But the damage control was already insurmountable. Erica spent two months in county jail where she suffered the pains of breast infection and was denied treatment. She was restricted from breastfeeding her two youngest children who had been placed in foster care as a seven month old, and two year old. She was not given access to a breast pump. Jeffrey was held for three months. Both Jeffrey and Erica lost their home and Jeffrey lost his job for being a no show while in jail. When they got out they found themselves penniless and homeless. They shared their story shortly after their release in this interview.

As if that isn’t ugly enough, here’s where it gets really ugly. Because DCFS decided that even though the Henderson’s were not prosecuted and were NOT convicted of any wrong doing by the court, they were somehow entitled to keep their children anyway. According to DCFS, the Henderson’s were abusive because they refused to open the door for police and therefor put their children at risk of being injured by the battering ram the police department used to gain (unlawful) entry to their home. Consider the absurdity that is the state – police are not punished for their violent, unjustified actions; instead, their victims are.

DCFS required them to show up for several visits per week when ordered which were, of course, scheduled in the middle of the work day. These visits needed to be complied with or DCFS would note their disinterest and lack of involvement in resuming custody of their children. And then there were all of the department mandated classes they were ordered to attend. All of this kept them from employment and finding a home. And then the most logical step of all… DCFS also required them to provide “proper” shelter for their
six children, which in their eyes was a lot more lush than they had originally provided their children. Yet still they are attempting to meet every requirement. Even going above and beyond the department’s requests… bending over backwards and jumping through fiery hoops while the department sits and watched, entertained.

So, here we are. It’s now almost one year later. Where are the Hendersons? Well, the children still live in foster care and adoption is being fought for by the couple who have been caring for the youngest child. Most of their children are being held separately, not being fed the kosher diet their family raised them with, not attending the religious observances that are so close to their heart. Basically, the Hendersons are still desperately trying to reunite, despite a million miles of bureaucratic red tape.

Jeffrey has filed a habeas corpus and has made it public for anyone to see and use in their own defenses. He is resisting the assertion that the United States government has rights over his family. Interestingly, the Henderson’s youngest – a seven month old boy — had not yet had his birth registered when he was kidnapped by federal agents. He has no birth certificate and no social security
card. How can the United States government have any kind of say so in his welfare? How do they even know whose baby they took?

Those who believe badges grant extra rights apparently don’t just work in the police force.

In California, the Police are in the Business of Kidnapping Children is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Police are so loved and respected in this country, that even when they are rapists and murderers, they are treated better than the average human being, and certainly better than the average criminal. Recently examples are illustrative.

Jose Guerena, a former Marine who was the victim of a mistaken drug raid, was the target of 120+ rounds shot by Pima County Sherriff’s SWAT team. He was left to bleed to death, while his wife begged for medical attention, and eventually died because police refused to let paramedics through. Such is how police treated a suspected drug violator. (More here).

Neli Latson was wrongfully suspected of being a suspicious character with a gun. When he refused to submit to wrongful arrest, he was beaten by police. While being beaten, he yelled that he had done nothing wrong, to which the police replied,  “You don’t have to – Welcome to Stafford County.” Neli reported a gun was held to his head, and the officer stated, “I will blow your head off, nigger.” (More here and here). Such is how police treated a person suspected of exercising their 2nd Amendment (alleged) rights.

Fred Skinner, aged  76 was eating when police mistakenly burst through his door with guns drawn, put him in handcuffs, and ransacked his house in search of drugs. Police did not even stop to apologize when they realized they had entered and extensively damaged the wrong house, although when the matter attracted substantial media attention, they finally agreed to pay to repair Mr. Skinner’s porch. (More here). Such is how police treat an innocent old man minding his own business.

John Williams was walking down the street in the opposite direction with a small, folded whittling knife when Officer Ian Birk of Seattle Police Department called out for him to stop. Being deaf in one ear, Mr. Williams did not hear, and did not stop. He was executed on the spot.  (More here). Such is how police treat a person who dares disobey orders, even unreasonable ones.

18-year-old Ramarley Graham, was shot to death in front of his grandmother and younger brother after he attempted to flush a bag of marijuana down the toilet. Police did not have a warrant to enter the home, and Mr. Graham was unarmed. (More here and here). Such is how police treat drug offenders – and in a city where pot is allegedly “decriminalized.”

Alan Kephart disobeyed officers’ orders in connection with a traffic matter, and instead gave officers the middle finger. He was tasered to death. (More here). Such is how police treat traffic violators who are rude to them.

Kelly Thomas, a schizophrenic homeless man, attracted the attention of Fullerton police, who were allegedly looking for a suspected car thief matching his description. One glance at his face after police were done with him tells pretty much the whole story. He eventually died from his injuries. Such is how police treat people potentially suspected of car theft.

On the other hand, police themselves seem to rarely face such harsh consequences for minor transgressions. Indeed, they often face no consequences at all, and when they are charged and imprisoned, they are treated with a great deal of dignity and respect.

Officer Art Perea faced no consequences in relation to his employment when the accusations of rape surfaced. He was permitted to resign on his own accord, and ultimately faced no charges after investigations, which took several months, cleared him of wrongdoing. (More here). Such is how police treat a potential rapist among their ranks – they have such faith in him, that they don’t even bother to take him off duty, or quarantine him from the public.

Officer Anthony Arevalos similarly was accused of sexual assault. Although he was finally duly punished, he was not fired and faced no repercussions after he was accused of sexual assault for the first time. (More here). Again, such is how police treat rapists among their ranks.

In another particularly heinous tale, Officer Stephanie Lazarus of the LAPD was found to have been a major suspect in the brutal murder of Sherri Rasmussen, which occurred in 1986. Saliva and broken fingernails collected at the scene of the crime had been preserved. A detective secretly followed Lazarus and was able to retrieve a sample of her saliva from a straw she threw away. When the time came to arrest Lazarus in 2009, she was at her desk at the LAPD headquarters. She was told to go attend to an issue about an inmate in the jail downstairs. When she removed her gun and passed through the security gate, she was uneventfully intercepted by detectives and taken into interrogation. (More here).

When innocent people are suspected of crimes, they are regularly beaten, tasered, have their doors kicked in, their homes ransacked, or have their pets shot. When ordinary people have committed minor crimes, they are often tasered or shot and killed. However, when police rape and murder, they are treated with surprisingly reasonable measures (or maybe not so surprising – after all, the police essentially police themselves).

Perea was not beaten or tasered when accused of rape; he wasn’t even fired. Arevalos didn’t have his door kicked in and his house ransacked. Lazarus who was a violent, psychopathic murderer was disarmed non-violently, and faced neither a hail of 120+ rounds of bullets, tasers, fists, nor boots. This is not to say that murder suspects should be beaten, or that potential rapists should be tasered – but perhaps the rest of us are human beings as well, and should be treated in a similarly reasonable manner.

Join the forum discussion on this post

Police who rape and murder are treated better than ordinary peons is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Here’s a story from a few days ago in Orlando, Florida.

An internal investigation by the Orlando PD decided that an officer used excessive force when he threw a 100-pound woman violently to the ground face first, smashing her front teeth out on the sidewalk.

Go figure.

It doesn’t take a doctor or an expert in restraint techniques to realize that his actions were far too extreme to deal with a petite woman who might have had a couple of drinks in her.

OPD say officer used excessive force: MyFoxORLANDO.com

I read this story and watched the video (above) and was horrified as always when we hear stories like this that have become all too commonplace, but it was the comments at the bottom of the page, nearly all left by cops, that really got my blood boiling. You can go read them for yourselves, but here are some priceless gems that I’d like to make sure none of you miss out on:

“Hey I have an idea…how about this POS female doesn’t fight with her POS boyfriend and act like a POS criminal and get assaultive with police when they show up to deal with her POS self?”
This guy must have missed the ‘Protect and Serve’ memo.

“Had it been a controled takedown, with an arrest afterwards…this wouldn’t be an issue.”
Hmm, another cop suggesting that you arrest your victim to avoid scrutiny. I’m sensing a pattern here.

“Ya know what…keep your hands off of my Officer`s, act like you have some sense and keep all of your teeth”
Exactly the education level I would expect from one of these jackasses.

“An arm bar technique often results in a busted mouth if the suspect does not hold their head up when landing.”
In order words, it’s our fault that we haven’t been trained in the proper procedures for taking a beating.

“We need a unit in every police department to be able to oversee the I.A. division. Who watches them and makes sure they are really upholding integrity?”
OK, so watchers to watch the watchers who watch other watchers. No, all you need is Copblockers to record you.

“Where I work if somebody gets hurt in a tussle with one of us…so be it”
In other words, “I need to strut my manliness to feel better about my anatomical shortcomings and low test scores.”

“I don’t care if the suspect weighs 65 pounds or 300 pounds, they CAN kill you or severely injury you.”
Right… it’s much better to bodyslam the shit out of them and bust all their teeth out to make sure they can’t be a threat to you. I see that now.

“Maybe if she didnt act stupid this would not have happened.”
Here’s an obviously proud activist for cop’s rights to bash people’s brains in. I think he has a website at ISniffGlueOnTheJob.com.

“Anyone can see that the officer was wrong, he shouldn’t have thrown her to the ground. He should have socked her in the gut.”
Especially if she was pregnant, huh genius?

Anyway, there are a lot more. I’ll stop now since I’m only halfway down page 2 and this thing could get pretty long if I let my irritation get the better of me and just keep typing.

Keep up the good fight!

- Blither

[Editor's note: I figured I'd add a rational cops comments as well, see pic below. Ademo]

Police One Comments Reveled is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

On the early morning of February 13th 2011, I dropped my manager and her significant other at their home after shooting pool at a local pool hall and visiting a Kroger for food. Earlier that day (which was Saturday February 12th) I worked a double at the restaurant known as D.B.A. Barbecue in Virginia Highlands, Atlanta, GA. My manager and I carpooled so I waited for her to close down the restaurant. From 1 a.m. until approximately 3:30 a.m. I was in Kennesaw, GA with her and her significant other at a bar called Cue’s (since I really enjoy shooting pool).When the bar closed and the ladies had enough to drink, I opted to drive them home.

Short on food and cigarettes around 3:30 a.m. the three of us stopped at Kroger. By 4 a.m. We were all at my manager’s house. After getting them home safely, I opted to drink a beer and talk with my manager about various things. This is where I was wrong and I have admitted that in a court of law. While finishing that beer, my manager asked me how much I had left from my double (she calculated and did my “cash out” aka handed me my tips at the end of the night earlier). I proceeded to count my money in front of her.

“$234 dollars.” I said.

“Nice!”she replied. “Not a bad day at all then (for working under 15 hours).”

At that point I said my goodbyes and went home. Keep in mind by most standards I was not drunk. Given the fact that I had drunken a beer, I find myself at fault in terms of legal limit of operating a motor vehicle but intoxication never happened, and I have a signed document by my manager who was present the entire time to verify the accuracy of my past and following statements.

At 4:43 a.m. on February 13th 2011, I left the residence on my manager and headed northbound on Highway 5 north/Canton Highway. Once I crossed over the highway 92 intersection, I negated to lower my speed from 40 mph to the 25 mph speed limit (leaving a 40 mph zone), a mistake that would cost me dearly. Immediately after passing the speed limit sign, a police officer by the name of W. Franco (badge number 1638) turned on his flashing police lights and initiated a traffic stop. Immediately I produced my driver’s license.

The officer was convinced I was drunk even though I protested. The police report would indict lies of stumbling and “strong odor” despite my lack of intoxication. Once I exited the vehicle, the officer padded me down and emptied my pockets on camera. This is a very important part to the story. Two other officers also arrived, R.L. Sinfelt (badge number 1768) and J. Steelman (badge number 1640) to partake in the traffic stop.

My tips, over $230 in cash, were removed from my pocket in front of police officer W. Franco’s squad car, as well as the other contents of my pockets; some contents were even forcefully removed before I was even placed into custody. Everything that happened to me from this point onward, including this, was on camera and at the time they knew it was on camera as were trying to create evidence of a DUI against me. I submitted to their field sobriety requests and negated the blood alcohol test because of the one beer I had at my manager’s residence. I will not negate my refusal to submit to the BAC test knowing the recent effect of a beer on an empty stomach.

I stood on one foot and never touched the ground with the raised foot while counting up to 2100 from “one-one thousand”. I walked the straight the straight line from foot to heal, as many trained law enforcement officers are trained to instruct when suspecting of a drunk driver. While a lot of this may be hearsay to the reader, what is most interesting to note, despite my passing of sobriety tests, is the fact that my tips were never returned to me and all of this was indeed on a police video recorder.

Based on my refusal and the smell of alcohol, I was placed under arrest. When my car was searched I indeed had 1.5 grams of marijuana in my possession. While that may paint a “bad picture”, I am again not negating my own guilt. I have been sentenced for my “crimes” and am currently being punished for my behavior. What also happened, however, by the arresting officers has gone unnoticed and without reprimand.

When I arrived at the Cherokee County Jail, I only had a crumbled up five dollar bill in my right pocket. I asked the transporting officer, E. B. Maddox (badge number 1769) where my tips were and he claimed to have no idea about any “missing money.” At that point I realized I had just been robbed by Woodstock Police Officers W. Fanco (1638), R.L. Sinfelt (1768), and J. Steelman (1640). Even if only one officer stole, the others negated to intervene when my cash (tips) was removed from my person and not returned to me to be inventoried at the jail. This is also handwritten on the jail copy and my copy of the intake cash record at the Cherokee County Jail at the time of my arrival.

I negated to publicly bring this matter up as of yet to see if my cash was perhaps held as evidence, which it was not. I then waited for the video of my arrest.
Eager to prove the misconduct that had occurred, earlier this year at a hearing that would be rescheduled for my February 28th sentencing, my arrest video was checked out by the prosecutors of Woodstock. In the same week of that initial date early in this year of 2012, I requested my copy of the arrest video in person. The video was “checked out” (by I’m guessing the District Attorney). After a week had gone by and I had heard nothing, I called the Woodstock Police Department directly. The lady I spoke with was “unable to find” my arrest video and would “have to look into it further because it was checked out and not returned.” Immediately sensing that I would never see that video, I contacted my lawyer’s office and spoke with his paralegal. She then called the Woodstock Police Department herself and was told “even the police chief can’t find it.”

Once I realized that I was stolen from and that the department and/or the arresting officers had covered it up, I was then told that my chances of “beating my case” were not good- in terms of proving I was not drunk and that at least one if not all three of the arresting officers had stolen from me on the night of my arrest. This is due to the fact, according my lawyer, that despite a missing video, “all it would take for you (me) to lose is for one of these three officers to take the stand and say I was drunk.” I was pretty much forced to plead guilty to the charges and true until this moment, the officer(s) that conducted the thievery have engaged in non-punishable misconduct and crime.

I was hoping to obtain my video as proof that beyond a reasonable doubt, as I have my manager with signed letter and willingness to testify as well as my copied sales data (also known as a check-out slip), that these officers stole from me and completely got away with it.

I now bring this to the public knowledge that the police are not above the law even though they operate more like a mafia and that they are above the law. And since the prosecution would not work with me, I will do my civil duty and create a paper trail of the true events that night. It’s not fair that I got a jail sentence (already served) and a fine sentence while the officers that stole my over $200 in cash got to get away with it skid free only to likely do it again to the next unsuspecting victim, regardless of guilt. I am presenting this today as a paper-trail of factual documentation, so help me God, and not to slander, nor lie, in an attempt to get anything in return. I am simply telling the God’s honest truth about the police that are sworn to uphold the law that instead broke it because they thought they had a drunken man that would not notice a few hundred dollars missing.

And if I am wrong, I’d love to see the video that proves it.

Is there any justice for when the police engage in misconduct or are they really free to act above the law? So far they have gotten away with stealing from a DUI suspect at the very least. What this God’s-honest truthful statement will do, I honestly don’t know, but the public needs to know to hide all their cash when being subject to a (Woodstock Police) traffic stop. I truly hope this does not fall on deaf ears and that the truth is heard. The police need to be held just as accountable, if not more, than the general public for breaking the law.

- Anonymous

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Woodstock Police Steal from DUI suspect (Georgia, USA) is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Do some critical thinking

The Chesterton Tribune reports that the Indiana House approved the “Right to Resist” bill by a vote of 74-24. The bill would protect residents of Indiana under the states self-defense law if they believe force is necessary to protect them from unlawful actions by a police officer.

However the bill does not give this privilege to someone who is committing a crime. That  change was made after police and prosecutor groups told lawmakers they worried the proposal as previously written would spark more violence toward officers. But stop and apply some critical thinking to that part of the bill and remember how many crimes there are on the books and how often people are accused of bullshit crimes during police encounters.

This kinda leaves it wide open to still let officers get away with illegal acts. All they have to do is charge with with the favorite “disorderly conduct” or “resisting arrest.” If this bill passes, would Pete Eyre then be allowed to have used force against the officers who drug him from the court for wearing a hat? He was never charged with any crimes, but with a law like this in place, I have reasonable suspicion to believe he would have been in order to say he was not justified in using force, even though I know Pete never would as he is an incredibly peaceful person as you can see in the video.

What about the bullshit crime of contempt of court, the crime Ademo was charged with when speaking his mind at the video arraignment of Pete after his arrest? Can’t resist if you’re committing a crime? Well you’re always committing a crime, whether you know it or not, the average person commits 3 felonies a day. I’ve probably committed 10 crimes just writing this article.

This is why I’m not too excited about this bill like most people are. It’s mostly posturing when you really break it down. I was excited at first, thinking freedom had scored a win in Indiana, then I saw the comments by State Rep. Ed Delaney

Rep. Ed DeLaney, D-Indianapolis, said the Supreme Court had drawn a “bright line” protecting police and that the public can contest illegal police actions in court or seek to have rogue officers disciplined.

“I believe this goes much too far and is capable of being misunderstood,” DeLaney said.

It’s all about protecting police, the State of Indiana doesn’t care about your rights against police. Just do a quick Google search on court cases where officers are accused of committing crimes and you will see how much advantage they have, mostly getting paid vacations or temp desk jobs. Ed is just regurgitating the same bullshit about suing cops in court, which never works.

Just check out this story from St. Louis, where out of 117 related police shootings in the last 5 years, all but 4 times the officers were cleared of any wrongdoing.  I could write forever on those types of instances, but instead just search “paid vacation” on our site and you will see what I am talking about.

One State Rep. who is also a former cop, is against this bill.

Democratic Rep. Linda Lawson of Hammond, a former police officer, told House members they shouldn’t back a measure that could lead to an “open season” by criminals against officers who are willing to sacrifice their lives to protect the public.

Open season? Fuck Linda Lawson, does she ever look at it from the opposite side? She’s worried about citizens being able to use force against cops if they think their actions are illegal? What about the motherfucking police having the right to use force on citizens they think are doing something illegal? Does that not declare “open season” on the people you claim to represent?

Does Linda really think people are that bad? That if given the right to use force against an officer illegally aggressing against them we would just start beating the shit out of police and murdering them at will? This is what cops do all the time.

This cop has the right to use force, up to lethal force, if he thinks someone is doing something illegal. Is this “open season” on citizens? The answer is yes. And since this is a change to the status quo, the cops predictibly are speaking out, using the only thing they have in their arsenal, fear.

“We believe people have the right to be secure in their homes,” said Hendricks County Sheriff Dave Galloway. “But the people who hear about this law are going to think it’s okay to kill a law enforcement officer. What you and I think is ‘reasonable’ isn’t the same as somebody high on meth. They’re going to shoot first, and ask questions later.”

AAAAAHHHHHH! DRUG USERS! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Maybe if you left peaceful people alone, like a lot of drug users are, you wouldn’t have to worry about them shooting you.

It’s that phrase, “if the person reasonably believes the force is necessary” that alarms bill opponents.

“That makes everybody a lawyer,” said Terre Haute Police Chief John Plasse.

And what is wrong with everyone being able to interpret the law? Why should only people with proper government permission be able to interpret this? Alot of cops are freaking out, what they forget, whether it be purposely or not, is that the courts routinely side with the badge. It’s the reason I am subdued in my excitement over this. How often do you even see a police do something clearly illegal, and the courts or their superiors  agree with the populace? How often does a court come out and actually say a policeman’s actions are illegal? Sure it happens, but not very often.

So why the outrage from police? Alot of them are crying out “You do not resist a police officer. Just do what we say and everything will be fine” Which asks the question, who is really the master and who is really the servant? If we can get in serious trouble for resisting demands from servants, are they really servants, are they really working for us?

They want you to believe that people are inherently evil, which is completely false. Just look at the background of mass murderers and you will see all the terrible things that happened to them in their childhood. If people are inherently evil, it would not take so many terrible things happening to them to turn them into horrible people?

We all know that if someone breaks into your home and brandishes a weapon you will not be tried for murder if you shoot back. But if it is a cop entering your home, whether they are doing it legally or not, why are they worried about resistance?

The Indiana Supreme Court said you have no right to resist, a ruling brought forth because a Evansville man told a cop he could not enter his house when he responded to a domestic dispute call and pushed the officer away from his door.

Even though I only believe this bill is nothing more than posturing and will not cause a huge upswing in murders of police officers, like the cops are claiming will happen, take a look at past judges ruling on the right to resist unlawful arrest and remember police officers have sworn to uphold the law (although we know it’s a joke)

“Citizens may resist unlawful arrest to the point of taking an arresting officer’s life if necessary.” Plummer v. State, 136 Ind. 306. This premise was upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States in the case: John Bad Elk v. U.S., 177 U.S. 529. The Court stated: “Where the officer is killed in the course of the disorder which naturally accompanies an attempted arrest that is resisted, the law looks with very different eyes upon the transaction, when the officer had the right to make the arrest, from what it does if the officer had no right. What may be murder in the first case might be nothing more than manslaughter in the other, or the facts might show that no offense had been committed.”

“An arrest made with a defective warrant, or one issued without affidavit, or one that fails to allege a crime is within jurisdiction, and one who is being arrested, may resist arrest and break away. lf the arresting officer is killed by one who is so resisting, the killing will be no more than an involuntary manslaughter.” Housh v. People, 75 111. 491; reaffirmed and quoted in State v. Leach, 7 Conn. 452; State v. Gleason, 32 Kan. 245; Ballard v. State, 43 Ohio 349; State v Rousseau, 241 P. 2d 447; State v. Spaulding, 34 Minn. 3621.

“When a person, being without fault, is in a place where he has a right to be, is violently assaulted, he may, without retreating, repel by force, and if, in the reasonable exercise of his right of self defense, his assailant is killed, he is justified.” Runyan v. State, 57 Ind. 80; Miller v. State, 74 Ind. 1.

“These principles apply as well to an officer attempting to make an arrest, who abuses his authority and transcends the bounds thereof by the use of unnecessary force and violence, as they do to a private individual who unlawfully uses such force and violence.” Jones v. State, 26 Tex. App. I; Beaverts v. State, 4 Tex. App. 1 75; Skidmore v. State, 43 Tex. 93, 903.

“An illegal arrest is an assault and battery. The person so attempted to be restrained of his liberty has the same right to use force in defending himself as he would in repelling any other assault and battery.” (State v. Robinson, 145 ME. 77, 72 ATL. 260).

“Each person has the right to resist an unlawful arrest. In such a case, the person attempting the arrest stands in the position of a wrongdoer and may be resisted by the use of force, as in self- defense.” (State v. Mobley, 240 N.C. 476, 83 S.E. 2d 100).

“One may come to the aid of another being unlawfully arrested, just as he may where one is being assaulted, molested, raped or kidnapped. Thus it is not an offense to liberate one from the unlawful custody of an officer, even though he may have submitted to such custody, without resistance.” (Adams v. State, 121 Ga. 16, 48 S.E. 910).

“Story affirmed the right of self-defense by persons held illegally. In his own writings, he had admitted that ‘a situation could arise in which the checks-and-balances principle ceased to work and the various branches of government concurred in a gross usurpation.’ There would be no usual remedy by changing the law or passing an amendment to the Constitution, should the oppressed party be a minority. Story concluded, ‘If there be any remedy at all … it is a remedy never provided for by human institutions.’ That was the ‘ultimate right of all human beings in extreme cases to resist oppression, and to apply force against ruinous injustice.’” (From Mutiny on the Amistad by Howard Jones, Oxford University Press, 1987, an account of the reading of the decision in the case by Justice Joseph Story of the Supreme Court.

As for grounds for arrest: “The carrying of arms in a quiet, peaceable, and orderly manner, concealed on or about the person, is not a breach of the peace. Nor does such an act of itself, lead to a breach of the peace.” (Wharton’s Criminal and Civil Procedure, 12th Ed., Vol.2: Judy v. Lashley, 5 W. Va. 628, 41 S.E. 197)

The bill will now go back before the Indiana Senate in an attempt to have both chambers agree on the same bill. While we wait, remember to keep your head up, remain peaceful, and for gods sake…..

STOP RESISTING!!!!

Right to resist police passes Indiana house, but before you get excited….. is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights