Gangsters in Blue

Proponents of the drug war often suggest that if we decriminalize or legalize drugs then crime will increase.  Drug arrests in San Francisco have dropped sharply in the last two years but there has been little change in the rate of violent crime. The San Francisco Examiner reports:

A huge drop in narcotics arrests citywide does not seem to have affected the overall rate of violent crime in The City, which has some observers calling into question traditional police philosophy linking drug activity and violence.

Police statistics show a 25 percent drop in drug arrests this year over last, and a 6 percent decrease in overall violent crime. Drug arrests in 2010 were 39 percent off 2009 totals, while violent crime dropped 3 percent that year.

While the numbers remain open to interpretation, Sheriff Michael Hennessey said he believes police and prosecutors may have changed their drug enforcement priorities for the better.

 

 

De Facto Drug Decriminalization Does Not Lead to More Violent Crime in San Francisco 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.

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

By Steve Holman, Guest Writer

In the latest saga of the failed war on drugs, a young woman’s life has been thrown into chaos. Amanda, a mother of 2 who has already been forced to live with her ex due to the housing bubble and the recession is scheduled to be arraigned on April 10th for felony possession of ephedrine with intent to manufacture.

That’s legal speak for they believe she was trying to make meth. Never mind that she has never manufactured meth nor ever intended to. However, unfortunately for her, a box of Sudafed she had allegedly purchased was found at a meth lab the cops raided last month. She was never seen at the meth lab. The people actually cooking the meth have been taken into custody by police already. The lab has been raided, the drug manufacturers have been arrested, but somehow Amanda, a seemingly unrelated party, is being charged with a felony in connection to all of this.

This gross miscarriage of justice is attributed to a single box of Sudafed found in the meth lab, which authorities traced back as having been purchased by Amanda. Out of all the chemicals and other boxes of Sudafed found in the lab, one box led back to her. Ultimately, Amanda’s real crime was that of being a good neighbor. She thought nothing of it when a friend asked for some cold medicine during cold and flu season (and why would she?). She gave him some Sudafed, a decongestant, which can also be used in the manufacture of the drug known as methamphetamine or crystal meth.

She had no idea lending someone cold medicine would lead to the manufacture of meth. Even if she had, it’s hard to say who in all this mess has been harmed. While meth is certainly one of the more volatile drugs to manufacture, this again can be attributed to the Drug War itself – because it is illegal and people are forced to use unsafe methods to produce it, it is created, distributed, and sold under conditions that lack quality control and accountability. This is not to say that anyone should be smoking meth or that meth is an acceptable drug to abuse. This is not even to say that the manufacture of meth is acceptable.

However, it is quite clear that the Drug War has failed, and as it flounders and fails miserably, it drags countless innocent people into its violent, destructive mire. At its worst, innocent people pay with their lives in mistaken SWAT raids and overdose deaths from drugs that are dangerous because they are illegal. Others pay as Amanda has – being railroaded for helping a friend out, based on tenuous evidence and draconian laws.

Woman charged with felony for sharing cold medicine is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

March 15 is International Day Against Police Brutality. Cop Block is growing in size, and our support is ever increasing. Even so, there remains a great deal of ignorance with regard to the institution of police and its systemically brutal effects. Over and over again, those who are aware insist the militarization of police is absurd and dangerous. The use of tanks, grenade launchers, tasers, and constant surveillance has undoubtedly ensured the United States’ reputation as a police state.

Those who have been paying attention have noticed the militarization of police for years, but most people and news outlets in the mainstream have not been, and are not paying attention.

While the government has provided no statistics that crime has suddenly run rampant, or is imminently on the rise, police are increasingly armed with state-of-the-art weapons to use upon the populace. Indeed, even if “crime” were running rampant, it would likely be because everything has become a crime in this country – from throwing frisbees, to studying whales with inappropriate techniques, to selling raw milk. The laws are countless; 40,000 were passed in 2011 alone.

Having the wrong books on your bookshelf can get your business raided. Believing in what is perceived as bizarre ideology puts you on law enforcement watchlists. Americans are guilty until proven innocent; in almost all 50 states, it is a crime to resist unlawful arrest, and innocent victims must submit to illegal arrest under the penalty of law (more here).

The year has hardly begun, and already police in the Bronx have murdered a young boy for the heinous crime of marijuana possession (and in a city in which marijuana is allegedly decriminalized, no less).

An Orange County sheriff’s deputy shot and killed Sgt. Manuel Loggins Jr., who was sitting in his parked car with his two daughters, also for inexplicable reasons. Police in Culpepper, VA murdered a woman who rolled up her car window in response to an officer’s commands.

Of course, in each case, it does not appear charges have been filed against the murderers. Yet, Cop Block continues to receive naive and downright stupid comments such as the following -

 If you really believe that the present laws protect the police and you the citizen are having your rights violated, then you truely are nuts!  Police officers have a code of conduct and their job is to uphold the law. When they break this code/law, then they should be judged in a court if law!   — Sharon

Well, unfortunately for Sharon, wishful thinking does not reality make. The reality is that the laws do protect police. They have qualified immunity in civil suits. Resisting arrest charges literally allow police to make illegal arrests because innocent victims are not legally permitted to fight off unlawful restraint by a police officer. Assault on an officer and homicide of an officer are treated differently than normal assaults and homicides, meaning the law assumes the person and life of an officer is of more importance and value than that of everyone else. These are just a few examples of how the law most definitely protects police.

Certainly, one can hope police officers “have a code of conduct” and that they report on themselves, keep themselves accountable, charge their friends when they commit murder, and use their fancy tanks, tasers, and dangerous weapons only as needed (i.e. hope that they possess super-human abilities to behave like saints) – just like I can hope that I get a pet unicorn for Christmas this year. However, this is obviously unrealistic, and it is frightening that a grown woman can believe in such impractical and naive fairytales.

To everyone else – thank you for your support of Cop Block. Please think of the many victims of police brutality in America and around the world today. Your awareness is rational, compassionate, and important.

Join the forum discussion on this post

Today is International Day Against Police Brutality is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

“OBLIGATORY DISCLAIMER: THIS PROPOSAL IN NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM DENIGRATES OFFICERS OF OTHER RACES. ITS INTENT IN TO REPAIR BLACK MALE/BLACK POLICE RELATIONS AS A PRECURSOR TO REPARING BLACK MALE/POLICE RELATIONS PERIOD.”

Inner city America should have long ago hosted a different kind of civil rights march: brothers and badges dialoguing and then patrolling to reduce crime and quality of life issues.

This absence has two main reasons: racism and apathy.

Bias in city halls and chiefs offices insure such teamups will be rare. White officials still can’t quite see us as concerned citizens who’d take to the streets to uphold law and order like Caucasian peers.

The other charge of racism comes from Black men who feel ALL police are racist and ANY attempt to unite with them assists White supremacy. Brothers with this perspective can’t get around seeing law enforcement as THE enemy- period!

Apathy afflicts officer and citizen alike when it comes to inner city crime. Beaten down by entrenched negativism both feel there’s no hope in these zip codes… and thus no reason to try improving conditions.

They shrug their shoulders; hunker down and navigate a human wasteland growing worse by daily.

Brothers & Badges was a thought experiment I did to rid the Black male/police dynamic of burdensome historic baggage. Approaching it anew mean the following: Seeing high crime and no rapport as opportunities to unite the two critical elements, Black males and police, needed to solve the problem.

Brothers & Badges means at long last Black boys and men delete seeing ourselves as outcasts and decide to stride forth as Americans petitioning local government to join us as we secure neighborhoods; businesses; worship sites and other threatened infrastructure.

Bringing brothers and badges together denies thugs current cultural safe harbor in the Hood. Whom can we blame for not fighting to unite against America’s greatest domestic public safety threat taking place in our families and social networks?

This is a civil rights march that should have happened generations ago.

Submitted by NADRA ENZI “AKA CAPT BLACK,” who has promoted Black male/Black cop unity his entire life. He’s also the founder of Good Citizens Supporting Good Cops and various police appreciation efforts.

Also published at:

http://www.bookerrising.net/2012/01/nadra-enzi-op-ed-brothers-badges.html#disqus_thread

http://moveonup.ning.com/profiles/blogs/brothers-badges-together

Brothers & Badges Together! is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

A video allegedly depicting a very kind and wonderful cop has been circulating around the internet for a while now. I ignored it at first, but it keeps popping up – along with peoples’ maudlin and obsequious commentary about how touching and heart-warming this officer’s last act of kindness is, and how this surely is a stellar example of how police officers ought to be.

You may ask, what was this last act of kindness? Did the officer lay down his life for another? Did he save a child from drowning? Or perhaps he protected an individual from some kind of vile crime against the person, such as murder or rape?

No, no – none of that. Something far more glorious and admirable – he bought a kid $1 worth of cookies at McDonald’s. Daveon Tinsley purportedly asked Officer Jeremy Henwood for 10 cents to buy a cookie, and Officer Henwood in response bought the him 3 cookies. Subsequently, Henwood was gunned down and killed, allegedly in an unprovoked attack (more here).

The media frequently demonstrates their extreme bias when it comes to police; this is nothing new. When innocent people are murdered or beaten  by police for no reason, the media is quick to point out the victim was a criminal, was drinking, or was engaged in some other mild offense, as if to justify police actions. Funny how it works though – when police die in unfortunate circumstances, the media has no interest in digging up dirt on the dead officer, but instead rushes to point out any inane, worthless factoid that will “humanize” the officer. Yet, one cannot blame the media, when people demonstrate that this kind of nonsense is exactly what they prefer.

While it is lamentable when anyone dies in an unprovoked attack, a logical assessment of this situation leads one to the inevitable conclusion that many people in America are idiots. The first clause of the previous sentence is bolded because no matter how clear I make it, any time I show anything less than uncontrollable anguish at the news of an officer’s death, I am accused of the utmost depravity, and of cheering on their deaths. Nevertheless – buying someone a cookie would not be news in any other context for other people who die in tragic circumstances, but somehow, when a police officer dies, a non-negligible number of Americans start incoherently babbling about how fucking great it was that some man bought a kid some cookies. Americans get so excited about this that it actually is reported as news.

This is to say nothing of the fact that people like Henwood are basically gang members in nice uniforms. They spend their lives prowling the streets, extorting people of their hard-earned money based on stupid crimes like jaywalking, speeding, rolling stop signs, drinking on the beach, or smoking marijuana. This is a fact, because most people in jail/prison are not there for violent crimes or property crimes. They are there for drugs or other offenses which involved no victim. Thus, it is reasonable to conclude police spend most of their time on drug and victimless offenses, rather than on offenses involving personal or property crime.

Accordingly, police officers dedicate their lives to essentially terrorizing people. At the worst, they kill children in drug raids, chase down and beat innocent people,  kill harmless pets or abuse wildlife. At the very least, they drive around and make everyone they pass feel anxious. They have a dress code, and adhere to the Blue Code of Silence, which is a loyalty oath they make to each other. Really, the gang member analogy could not be more apt.

No one posts videos such as, “Crip member’s last act of kindness,” or “M13 leader shows last act of kindness by buying boy a sammich,” but for some reason, people wet themselves over Henwood’s last act of kindness – completely ignoring the fact he spent most of his days being an asshole to people.

This is surely reminiscent of the hysterical behavior exhibited by the mourning citizens of North Korea when Kim Jong Il passed, although on a milder level. Here, we have the same kind of bizarre hero-worship of a man who in all likelihood had the moral integrity of a local thug. Inexplicably, people’s reactions are of greatly exaggerated sorrow, followed by diarrhea-like outpours of lament. Are you one of the Americans who thought North Koreans were insane for putting on such histrionic displays of sadness when Kim Jong Il died? Better check the mirror; you might be an only-slightly-less-insane, only-slightly-less-ignorant version of them.

Heroism bar set remarkably low for police officers is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Politics is a form of violence. In a society where everyone has been brainwashed to worship democracy, this fact is intentionally disguised, but an objective assessment leads to this undeniable truth. The truth is Americans are just as base, violent, and oppressive as humanity has ever been. Democracy has not fixed this; it has only masked it with false language, artful systems, and an illusion of choice.

In democracy, theft by government is “taxation.” Murder by government overseas is “collateral damage” and murder by government domestically is “security.” Censorship,  arbitrary imprisonment, lack of due process, and vague laws further are justified by “security” concerns and are purportedly for the good of all, no matter the devastating consequences of such policies.  Murder and theft have not been mitigated, and violence is not on the decline because of civilization; they have simply been redesigned, repackaged, and resold by the most successful and brilliant PR campaign of all time.

Victims of such policies are placed in the odd situation of feeling helplessly tyrannized, while being told they voluntarily chose the particular circumstances they find themselves in, because they live in a democracy. Indeed, people are as violent, savage, and uncivilized as ever, but have managed to convince themselves they are evolved and actually value peace.

Thus, there is a reason people are told to avoid politics (and usually religion) in most social settings. No one says it is best to avoid discussion of music, food, exercise, or the arts. This is because at the very foundation of politics is the threat of violence. When people express an “opinion” on politics, it is not merely an opinion the way “I love Chagall’s use of colors” is an opinion. Two people arguing about Chopin will very rarely start to foam at the mouth in rage because whether you think Chopin’s style tends more toward melancholy, versus romance, there is no threat of violence implied in the discussion.

On the other hand, an “opinion” on politics is a declaration that you are willing to use theft, robbery, or violence (imprisonment) to force your opinion on the person you are speaking to. It is a decree that you are willing to send police with guns, or a SWAT team to someone’s house, in order to force your opinion down their throat, under the penalty of bodily injury. In its mildest form, it is an expression that you are willing to steal from someone (e.g. tickets, fines, taxes) in order to force your opinion upon them. When the falsely deified justification of democracy is removed, this is a translation of what people are really saying -

If political “opinions” were purely opinions, they’d look more like this -

The reason political debates get heated is because the practical effect of politics is reflected by Table 1, rather than Table 2. A discussion of politics is no more than two people screaming at each other about who is willing to use more violence in order to subjugate the other into compliance. Table 2 is a representation of pure opinions and the (relatively mild) implications thereof. Table 1 is a representation of how politics actually work. Behind every political opinion is the necessary assertion that you are willing to use some pretty egregious and violent tactics to force someone into submission. Despite many alleged strides in civilization, it appears people are all still pretty much cavemen – they are prone to beating their chests, rounding up posses, and using violence and fear to subdue dissent.

Sounds like a breed of people we are very familiar with here at Copblock – the police. Yet, unlike the police, most people, in their personal lives, do not demonstrate the behavior described in Table 1. Few people catch their children doing drugs, and believe it’s appropriate to beat them into submission, and lock them in the basement for years, as the police do. Few people see their friends or family making poor choices about their health or their lives and deem it proper to handcuff their loved ones, and lock them in a room to secure compliance, as the police do.

Arguably, people are capable of not behaving like violent lunatics, because most of the time, they do not engage in such tactics in their personal lives. Yet, it seems to be peoples’ vile self-righteousness, and sociopathy that leads them to believe it is acceptable for police to use such methods upon strangers, when it is never a path they would choose or accept for their loved ones.

“My kid shouldn’t be in jail for weed – but all those other kids out there – they are truly bad…. I can jaywalk/speed/roll stop signs safely, but everyone else is a goddamn idiot, of course…I, and people I know are capable of using drugs safely and in moderation, but everyone else is too dumb, and should be locked up for doing the same…” While these sentiments are embraced by most in society, they are most are prominently exemplified by politicians who have at times engaged in drug use or other illegal activity that could land them in prison. Instead, they are powerful, rich, or they are even Presidents. They can afford to have this hypocritical mentality, because it works for them. They are the lawmakers, and will usually indeed find a way to get away with actions that accord everyone else with severe punishment.

If you are not a politician however, you are not only a disgusting and violent human being for thinking this way, you are deluded. One of these days, the policies you support will come crashing down upon your own head, or that of your loved ones. And then it will be everyone else saying, “well I can drink, do drugs, and break laws responsibly, but that motherfucker [insert the name of your loved one here] deserved to go to jail/be shot by police because only the stupid ones get caught.” At the very least, you will be stolen from or robbed to fund programs, wars, or projects you find abhorrent and immoral.

Needless to say, if you support this type of political process, I believe you should rethink your ideology – if not for ethical reasons, at the very least for personal ones – unless you’re some kind of politician or government crony, you are not immune from some very tragic victimization.

Your Political Ideology is a Violent One is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

In the past couple of years, CopBlock has covered a wide range of stories involving police murder.  John Williams, a half-deaf, disabled, hobbling Native American man was basically executed in the streets of Seattle by on-duty officer Ian Birk. Birk was never criminally charged. Westpoint and Duke graduate Erik Scott was executed at Costco for no legitimate reasons when police were called to the scene. His killer of course was found to have been “justified” in the murder.

Trevon Cole, an unarmed father-to-be was shot and killed in his bathroom during a mistaken drug raid. Grandfather of 12, Eurie Stamps was similarly unarmed and killed during a botched drug raid. Former Marine Jose Guerena was shot multiple times by police during an alleged drug warrant entry by police. He lay dying for over an hour until he bled to death because police refused medical care. Allen Kephart was tasered to death for honking his car horn at police. Douglas Zerby was shot and killed for holding a garden hose spigot which police purportedly mistook for a gun.

The list goes on and on, but a girl can only maintain so many murder victims’ names in her head before going insane. At any rate, without exception, police involved in these murders were found to have acted reasonably or were determined to have been justified in their murder. Even before they were found to have behaved in a “justified manner,” they were not immediately arrested or charged (or ever arrested or charged).

On the other hand, in recent news, one Officer Dayle Long had the misfortune of murdering someone and actually not getting away with it. Long was drunk at a bar when a bystander ribbed him for not being good at playing darts. Long responded, “That’s why I’m a cop, I can do whatever I want to do.” Things got heated, and Long ended up shooting and killing a third man, Sam Vanettes, who was attempting to break up the fight. Surprisingly, Long was actually arrested and held on $1 million bail. This is a good thing. Barely, though (yay! A cop was actually treated like a normal person, for once!)

Long had one part right. Police pretty much can do what they please. They get away with murder with much more success than ordinary people. They certainly get away with more innocuous violations they engage in almost daily, such as driving while talking on cell phones (illegal in California, apparently except for the police), parking in red zones, parking in handicapped zones, speeding, jaywalking, etc.

The part Long failed to take into consideration is that the key to this distinction is the badge and the uniform. People don’t care about murder when it is committed by police in uniform. The response is usually, “well then [the victim] shouldn’t have disobeyed/talked back/drank alcohol/[insert petty violation here].” People most definitely don’t care when police in uniform break traffic laws, because of course police are just “doing their jobs” and “keeping people safe” by speeding, parking in fire lanes, and talking on their cell phones while driving. But when the uniform comes off, to a certain extent, they are viewed once again as regular old losers like the rest of us.

Regular old losers can’t jay walk, speed, or murder with impunity. You have to have a uniform and a badge to do that. Long’s mistake wasn’t murder; his mistake was committing murder out of uniform. And as a side note to all you regular old losers out there, regardless of uniform, never honk your car horn at a cop or challenge his dart skills – someone could end up dead.

Tip to all cops: if you feel like murdering someone, be sure to do it on duty and in uniform is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

TIPS FOR CANNABIS CONSUMERS AND DISTRIBUTORS

Anonymous tips by telephone are a real danger for cannabis users, and they have to be stopped.

The best way to stop anonymous tips is by calling in bogus or phoney anonymous tips, and often. But doing this is not danger-free, and can lead to your incarceration. The idea is to have the cops go on so many fruitless phoney tips calls that such calls will no longer be trusted, especially by judges issuing search warrants. Bogus tips resulting in call outs cost cops money and waste time. They can also be used in other ways, as you will see. So here are my tips for phoney drugs activity reporting:

1. Contact: ALWAYS USE A PAY TELEPHONE, and NEVER ALLOW YOUR IDENTITY TO BE REVEALED. Pay phones cannot be connected with any individual user, so it is difficult for cops to arrest you for false reporting. Never use a cell phone Do not use a computer. I would even say wipe the phone free of your fingerprints, or do not leave fingerprints at all. Cops even look for footprints if such can be found around phones in question.

2. Time: SPEND AS LITTLE TIME ON THE PHONE WITH THE COPS AS POSSIBLE, THEN LEAVE THE PHONE QUICKLY. Cops trace these calls, and they come very fast. Give out the information needed to be given, and then leave.

3. Content: Tell the cops that suspicious drug activity is going on at; (a) the house or business of a known PROHIBITIONIST or simply somebody you don’t like: DO NOT RAT OUT OTHER CONSUMERS OR DISTRIBUTORS, or (b) an outdoor grow op is being conducted at a REMOTE AND DIFFICULT TO ACCESS PLACE. Even neutral persons are okay to “bust”. Politicians are great! But all cannabis users are on the same side here, so know who the REAL enemy is and spare your brothers. But a bogus call concerning a prohibitionist will cause HIM to have his door kicked down. Sending cops to remote and difficult- to-access outdoor locales wastes their time and money. It will eventually exasperate judges issuing search warrants by casting “probable cause” into doubt in regards to anonymous tips.

4. Details: Always include a few details about the person or locale to be “busted”, to convince the cops that this is not just a prank call. Names work. License plates work. Locations work. Personal descriptions work. BUT DO NOT SPEND TOO MUCH TIME DOING THIS. Tell the cops you have to go, as you think you might have been overheard. Hang up and leave discreetly but quickly.

The more often and the more people who call in such phoney tips, the more difficult it will be to trace these reports to any one person, the more time and money will be wasted by the cops, and the less credibility such calls will have. One must be very careful, as this could get you jail time if you are caught. But it will be a great help to every cannabis user in your area. If enough of this is done, soon judges will not sign warrants based only on “anonymous tips.”

-James Bong

Dealing with Anonymous Drug Tip Lines is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Several folks from Keene, NH (FreeKeene.com) decided to pay the Keene Police a little visit on Friday, the day before Christmas Eve. Our, yes I was present as well, intention was to bring some Holiday cheer and a message to those at the Keene Police Station.

This holiday season I hope all those who are employed by tax dollars ask themselves one question, “If our job is so important why must the government force people to pay for it via taxation, whether they like the service being provided or not?” And if you come to the conclusion that individuals would pay you (voluntarily) to do what you do now, then quit your job and start your own business – without the government’s permission. Cause all I want for Christmas is a choice, something ALL police officers take from a person when they choose to work for Uncle Sam.

Enjoy the jingles.

Christmas Carols at the Local Police Station is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights