I agree fully on all of the other cases. But with regards to Slager, it's hard for me to fathom why anyone would try in ANY way to excuse what he did! Bringing up excuses like "he stole a car" or owed child support and all of the other shit we've heard about Scott to attempt to justify what Slager did would make objective people question the other cases where the media narrative was proven wrong without desperately reaching for excuses of obvious criminal activity (such as shooting a fleeing suspect in the back 7 times). Correct me if I'm wrong, but cops aren't even allowed to do that when a fleeing suspect has just killed someone, are they?
My point is, we should choose our battles more wisely lest all of our battles become tainted - and subsequently dismissed. We need to accept that although a very small number of cops are bad cops, they nonetheless exist and deserve nobody's defense - least of all from those of us trying to get people to see when a truly innocent cop is being falsely accused. On Monday, July 11, 2016 at 8:29:42 PM UTC-4, KeithInTampa wrote: > > Hey Perp! > > For years, I was one who railed against Police misconduct; and nothing's > really changed....I still find it not only abhorrent; I'm outraged and I > resent the hypocrisy of "Bad Cops". I also am adamantly opposed to "only" > the Police investigating their own misconduct....Too many times we've seen > "Issues" swept under the rug and Bad Cops cleared of wrongdoing; after an > "Internal Investigation". > > By the same token, I believe that law enforcement in general has received > a bad rap the last few years, and just about each and every one of these > "Police Brutality Against Black Males" have proven to be false or > prevaricate. > > It's hard for me to fathom how Slager could have been justified in > shooting Scott; but already we've seen where the mainstream media's > narrative is not at all accurate; and I am now more than willing to see how > this plays out in Court. > > > On Mon, Jul 11, 2016 at 7:34 PM, 'Perplexed' via PoliticalForum < > [email protected] <javascript:>> wrote: > >> >> I think we have to be careful in trying to believe that there are no cops >> who use unnecessary force. Of course there are. I don't think it has >> anything to do with race, as I've seen power-tripping (young) cops mistreat >> white people too. In fact, I was once treated horribly by a power-tripping >> white rookie cop. Thankfully two seasoned veterans submitted an affidavit >> that I was complying with this out-of-control rookie, and he arrested me >> anyway. Charges were dismissed, but that didn't erase the night I spent in >> jail with crack addicts and prostitutes because of one huge asshole cop! >> >> Three decades in healthcare showed me there are fuck-ups in virtually >> every profession. Doctors who write themselves scripts and become addicts. >> Pharmacists who take stuff off the shelf and also become addicts. One >> pharmacist who made 2 fatal errors in a hospital. Another pharmacist who >> stole narcotics from a hospital, took them on the way home, and came within >> inches of hitting a state trooper on the way home as she was driving off >> the road into a ditch (that crazy bitch worked for me at the time - until I >> learned about this the next day!). Anesthesiologists who steal it from the >> poor patients undergoing surgery who are given a lower dose than claimed by >> the doctor (saw that one twice). Nurses who steal drugs out of patient med >> carts (saw that one far more than twice). Pharmacy techs who steal and sell >> on the street (turned one in for that). Cops who steal script blanks and >> sell the drugs they obtain from them to high school kids on the street >> (testified against one I once caught doing this). Respiratory therapists >> who suction the living shit out of a patient with leukemia and the >> inability to clot blood (thus causing them to be unable to breathe b/c of >> the massive amount of blood they've ignorantly caused by rough suctioning). >> Doctors who overdose patients on hypertension meds to the incredibly >> ridiculous extent that their heart is beating only 35-40 beats per minute >> when they pass out at the pharmacy. >> >> And don't get me started on the degree of fraud and corruption I've seen >> in the long-term care pharmacy industry. >> >> I've seen malpractice and even intentional criminal behavior on behalf of >> every single kind of professional in healthcare I've worked with, and I've >> worked with most of them at one time or another. And I rather doubt any >> other profession is different. There are bad apples in every bunch! And I >> think this guy had no business being a cop if he thinks it's ok under any >> circumstances to shoot someone in the back 7 times. He's a bad apple IMO. >> >> >> On Monday, July 11, 2016 at 6:50:09 PM UTC-4, Perplexed wrote: >> >>> >>> Even if Scott shot him with a Taser, and even if Scott stole a car...the >>> fact is that Slager shot him 7 times in the back as he was running, and no >>> police force in the country deems that reasonable force or justifiable >>> homicide, Keith. >>> >>> He's going down for this IMO. >>> >>> On Monday, July 11, 2016 at 5:07:38 PM UTC-4, KeithInTampa wrote: >>> >>>> Obviously, the initial media reports are incorrect. Scott somehow >>>> wrested control of the taser from Slager during the altercation and shot >>>> Slager: >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> This becomes obvious with the enhanced video, and I will make it easy >>>> for you: >>>> >>>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5em7GcDTg8U >>>> >>>> The taser guide wire is clearly visable from Slager's chest; as Scott >>>> runs after shooting Slager. (If you can, try to watch this on a full >>>> screen PC/laptop. It may be difficult to see if you are viewing from a >>>> cell phone. >>>> >>>> Other questions that you should ask yourself Plain Ol': >>>> >>>> Have you seen Officer Slager’s report? >>>> >>>> Have you heard the radio calls made by Officer Slager? >>>> >>>> Have you heard the radio traffic from the responding officers who were >>>> trying to aid an officer in a fight with a suspect? >>>> >>>> Have you heard from the passenger that was riding with Scott? >>>> >>>> Have you heard from the mysterious “car selling” neighbor (that Scott >>>> initially told Slager regarding the purchase of the vehicle) ? >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> On Mon, Jul 11, 2016 at 4:24 PM, plainolamerican <[email protected]> >>>> wrote: >>>> >>>>> ok ... not exactly. >>>>> >>>>> According to the incident report and city officials, Slager then >>>>> fired his Taser, hitting Scott.[20] >>>>> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Walter_Scott#cite_note-WaPo.Charged-21> >>>>> Scott >>>>> fled, and Slager drew his handgun, firing eight rounds at him from behind. >>>>> [7] >>>>> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Walter_Scott#cite_note-NYTimes.Charged-8> >>>>> The >>>>> coroner's report stated that Scott was struck a total of five times: >>>>> three >>>>> times in the back, once in the upper buttocks, and once on one of his >>>>> ears. >>>>> [21] >>>>> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Walter_Scott#cite_note-NYTimes.Federal-22> >>>>> Official >>>>> autopsy reports have not been released.[7] >>>>> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Walter_Scott#cite_note-NYTimes.Charged-8> >>>>> >>>>> Immediately following the shooting, Slager radioed a dispatcher, >>>>> stating, "Shots fired and the subject is down. He took my Taser."[20] >>>>> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Walter_Scott#cite_note-WaPo.Charged-21> >>>>> >>>>> When Slager fired his gun, Scott was approximately 15 to 20 feet (5 to >>>>> 6 m) away and fleeing.[7] >>>>> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Walter_Scott#cite_note-NYTimes.Charged-8> >>>>> In >>>>> the report of the shooting filed before the video surfaced, Slager said >>>>> he >>>>> had feared for his life because Scott had taken his Taser,[7] >>>>> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Walter_Scott#cite_note-NYTimes.Charged-8> >>>>> and >>>>> that he shot Scott because he "felt threatened".[22] >>>>> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Walter_Scott#cite_note-23> >>>>> >>>>> On Monday, July 11, 2016 at 3:01:40 PM UTC-5, KeithInTampa wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Well not exactly. It seems that Walter Scott shot Slager with a >>>>>> taser; twice; and then ran with him still holding the taser/cartridge >>>>>> with >>>>>> the taser guide-wires still in Slager's chest. This was after the two >>>>>> had >>>>>> been in a scuffle, where Scott was clearly on top of Slager; apparently >>>>>> winning. >>>>>> >>>>>> Not nearly as clean and neat as it was sold to the public. >>>>>> >>>>>> (Watch the videos in the links provided Plain Ol') >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> On Mon, Jul 11, 2016 at 3:21 PM, plainolamerican < >>>>>> [email protected]> wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>>> Michael Slager stopped Walter Scott >>>>>>> <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/09/us/former-south-carolina-officer-is-indicted-in-death-of-walter-scott.html?_r=1> >>>>>>> for >>>>>>> a busted taillight and then fatally shot him >>>>>>> --- >>>>>>> he shot the unarmed man 8 times in the back. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> On Monday, July 11, 2016 at 8:48:16 AM UTC-5, MJ wrote: >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> [ALL people ... actually] >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> September/October 2015 issue >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> *Police Shootings Won't Stop Unless We Also Stop Shaking Down Black >>>>>>>> People * >>>>>>>> *The dangers of turning police officers into revenue generators. * >>>>>>>> Jack Hitt >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> In April, several days after North Charleston, South Carolina, >>>>>>>> police officer Michael Slager stopped Walter Scott >>>>>>>> <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/09/us/former-south-carolina-officer-is-indicted-in-death-of-walter-scott.html?_r=1> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> for a busted taillight and then fatally shot him, the usual cable-news >>>>>>>> transmogrification of victim into superpredator ran into problems. The >>>>>>>> dash >>>>>>>> cam >>>>>>>> <http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2015/04/09/tsr-dash-cam-walter-scott-police-shooting.cnn> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> showed Scott being pulled over while traveling at a nerdy rate of >>>>>>>> speed, >>>>>>>> using his left turn signal to pull into a parking lot and having an >>>>>>>> amiable >>>>>>>> conversation with Slager until he realized he'd probably get popped >>>>>>>> for >>>>>>>> nonpayment of child support. At which point he bolted out of the car >>>>>>>> and >>>>>>>> hobbled off. Slager then shot him. Why didn't the cop just jog up and >>>>>>>> grab >>>>>>>> him? Calling what the obese 50-year-old Scott was doing "running" >>>>>>>> really >>>>>>>> stretches the bounds of literary license. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> But maybe the question to ask is: Why did Scott run? The answer >>>>>>>> came when the *New York Times* revealed >>>>>>>> <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/20/us/skip-child-support-go-to-jail-lose-job-repeat.html> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Scott to be a man of modest means trapped in an exhausting hamster >>>>>>>> wheel: >>>>>>>> He would get a low-paying job, make some child support payments, fall >>>>>>>> behind on them, get fined, miss a payment, get jailed for a few weeks, >>>>>>>> lose >>>>>>>> that job due to absence, and then start over at a lower-paying job. >>>>>>>> From >>>>>>>> all apparent evidence, he was a decent schlub trying to make things >>>>>>>> work in >>>>>>>> a system engineered to make his life miserable and recast his best >>>>>>>> efforts >>>>>>>> as criminal behavior. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Recently, two more deaths of African Americans that have blown up >>>>>>>> in the media follow a pattern similar to Scott's. Sandra Bland >>>>>>>> <http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/07/texas-waller-county-sandra-bland-racial-tensions> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> in Texas and Samuel DuBose >>>>>>>> <http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/07/video-shows-police-shooting-samuel-dubose> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> in Cincinnati were each stopped for minor traffic infractions (failing >>>>>>>> to >>>>>>>> use turn signal, missing front license plate), followed by immediate >>>>>>>> escalation by the officer into rage, and then an official story that >>>>>>>> is >>>>>>>> obviously contradicted >>>>>>>> <http://gawker.com/video-of-sam-duboses-death-drastically-different-from-t-1720896658> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> by the video (that the officer tried to "de-escalate" the tension with >>>>>>>> Bland; that the officer was dragged by DuBose's car). In both cases, >>>>>>>> the >>>>>>>> perpetrator of a minor traffic offense died. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> When incidents of police violence come to light, the usual defense >>>>>>>> is that we should not tarnish all the good cops just because of "a few >>>>>>>> bad >>>>>>>> apples." No one can argue with that. But what is usually implied in >>>>>>>> that >>>>>>>> phrase is that the "bad" officers' intentions are malevolentthat they >>>>>>>> are >>>>>>>> morally corrupt and racist. And that may be true, but they are also >>>>>>>> bad in >>>>>>>> the job-performance sense. These men are crummy cops, sometimes >>>>>>>> profoundly >>>>>>>> so. Slager had a record for gratuitously using his Taser. Timothy >>>>>>>> Leohmann, >>>>>>>> who leapt from his car and instantly killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice >>>>>>>> <http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cleveland-officer-shot-tamir-rice-within-seconds-of-pulling-up-in-patrol-car/>, >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> had been deemed "weepy" and unable to "emotionally function" by a >>>>>>>> supervisor at his previous PD job, who added: "I do not believe time, >>>>>>>> nor >>>>>>>> training, will be able to change or correct these deficiencies." >>>>>>>> Ferguson's >>>>>>>> Darren Wilson was also fired >>>>>>>> <http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/darren-wilsons-first-job-was-on-a-troubled-police-force-disbanded-by-authorities/2014/08/23/1ac796f0-2a45-11e4-8593-da634b334390_story.html> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> from his previous jobactually, the entire police force of Jennings, >>>>>>>> Missouri, was disbanded for being awful. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> When you ask why such "bad" cops are nevertheless armed and allowed >>>>>>>> to patrol the streets, one begins to see that lurking beneath this >>>>>>>> violence >>>>>>>> is a fiscal menace: police departments forced to assist city officials >>>>>>>> in >>>>>>>> raising revenue, in many cases funding their own salariesredirecting >>>>>>>> the >>>>>>>> very concept of keeping the peace into underwriting the budget. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> We saw a glimpse of this when the Justice Department released its >>>>>>>> report >>>>>>>> <http://www.motherjones.com/documents/2191006-doj-ferguson-report> >>>>>>>> on Ferguson in March. In his statement, then-Attorney General Eric >>>>>>>> Holder >>>>>>>> referenced a lady in town whose life sounded Walter Scott-like. She >>>>>>>> had >>>>>>>> received two parking tickets totaling $151. Her efforts to pay those >>>>>>>> fines >>>>>>>> fell so behind that she eventually paid out more than $500. At one >>>>>>>> point, >>>>>>>> she was jailed for nonpayment andeight years laterstill owes $541 in >>>>>>>> accrued fees. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> The judge largely responsible for the extraction of these fees from >>>>>>>> Ferguson's poor, Ronald J. Brockmeyer >>>>>>>> <http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/mar/06/ferguson-judge-owes-unpaid-taxes-ronald-brockmeyer>, >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> owed $172,646 in back taxes, a sum orders of magnitude greater than >>>>>>>> any >>>>>>>> late fine coming before his bench. Even as he was jailing black ladies >>>>>>>> for >>>>>>>> parking tickets, Brockmeyer was allegedly erasing citations for white >>>>>>>> Ferguson residents who happened to be his friends. After the report's >>>>>>>> publication, he resigned so that Ferguson could "begin its healing >>>>>>>> process." >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> But consider: In 2010, this collaboration between the Ferguson >>>>>>>> police and the courts generated $1.4 million in income for the city. >>>>>>>> This >>>>>>>> year, they will more than double that amount$3.1 millionproviding >>>>>>>> nearly >>>>>>>> a quarter of the city's $13 million budget, almost all of it extracted >>>>>>>> from >>>>>>>> its poorest African American citizens. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Evidence also suggests that this new form of raising >>>>>>>> revenuepoliciteering?goes far beyond Ferguson. Remember the recent >>>>>>>> Oklahoma case involving Robert Bates >>>>>>>> <http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/volunteer-tulsa-deputy-robert-bates-sold-company-went-back-to/article_7f23ccc3-4bcb-52a4-826d-c06103a42786.html>, >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> a 73-year-old millionaire insurance broker with scant law enforcement >>>>>>>> background who was allowed to go out on patrollikely because he had >>>>>>>> donated lots of money and equipment to the local sheriff's office? He >>>>>>>> killed an unarmed black suspect when he grabbed his gun instead of his >>>>>>>> Taser. In the days that followed, we learned that other deputies had >>>>>>>> long >>>>>>>> resented this guy's freelance incompetence. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> "Essentially, these small towns in urban areas have municipal >>>>>>>> infrastructure that can't be supported by the tax base, and so they >>>>>>>> ticket >>>>>>>> everything in sight to keep the town functioning," said William >>>>>>>> Maurer, a >>>>>>>> lawyer with the Institute for Justice who has been studying the sudden >>>>>>>> rise >>>>>>>> in "nontraffic-related fines." >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Take the St. Louis suburb of Pagedale, where, among other Norman >>>>>>>> Rockwell-worthy features deemed illegal, "you can't have a hedge more >>>>>>>> than >>>>>>>> three feet high," Maurer says. "You can't have a basketball hoop or a >>>>>>>> wading pool in front of a house. You can't have a dish antenna on the >>>>>>>> front >>>>>>>> of your house. You can't walk on the roadway if there is a sidewalk, >>>>>>>> and if >>>>>>>> there is not a sidewalk, they must walk on the left side of the >>>>>>>> roadway. >>>>>>>> They must walk on the right of the crosswalk. They can't conduct a >>>>>>>> barbecue >>>>>>>> in the front yard and can't have an alcoholic beverage within 150 feet >>>>>>>> of a >>>>>>>> barbecue. Kids cannot play in the street. They also have restrictions >>>>>>>> against pants being worn below the waist in public. Cars must be >>>>>>>> within 500 >>>>>>>> feet of a lamp or a source of illumination during nighttime hours. >>>>>>>> Blinds >>>>>>>> must be neatly hung in respectable appearance, properly maintained, >>>>>>>> and in >>>>>>>> a state of good repair." >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Where did this Kafkaesque laundry list come from? Maurer explains >>>>>>>> that in 2010, Missouri passed a law that capped the amount of city >>>>>>>> revenue >>>>>>>> that any agency could generate from traffic stops. The intent was to >>>>>>>> limit >>>>>>>> small-town speed traps, but the unintentional consequences are now >>>>>>>> clear: >>>>>>>> Pagedale saw a 495 percent increase in nontraffic-related arrests. "In >>>>>>>> Frontenac, the increase was 364 percent," Maurer says. "In Lakeshire, >>>>>>>> it >>>>>>>> was 209 percent." >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> This racket now has many variants. South Carolina hosts " >>>>>>>> Operation Rolling Thunder >>>>>>>> <http://ij.org/south-carolina-police-seized-nearly-100-000-in-crackdown-but-stopped-few-criminals>," >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> an annual dragnet in which 21 different law enforcement agencies swarm >>>>>>>> stretches of I-85 and I-26 in the name of catching drug dealers. In >>>>>>>> 2013, >>>>>>>> this law enforcement Bonnaroo netted 1,300 traffic citations and 300 >>>>>>>> speeding tickets. But after everyone had paid up, the operation >>>>>>>> boasted >>>>>>>> exactly one felony conviction. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> A different strategy in San Diego simply tacks on various fees to >>>>>>>> an existing fine. A 2012 *Union Tribune* investigation >>>>>>>> <http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?hl=en&biw&bih&q=cache:gLaPZ1TIbc0J:http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2012/aug/18/courts-how-your-35-speeding-ticket-becomes-a-235/%2BCourt+officials+say+that+San+Diego+County+law+enforcement+agencies+have+recently+been+issuing+fewer+tickets+than+in+the+past&gbv=2&&ct=clnk> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> revealed that while speeding is a simple $35 fine, other government >>>>>>>> agencies can tack on as many as 10 other surcharges, including: a >>>>>>>> state >>>>>>>> penalty assessment, $40; county penalty assessment, $36; court >>>>>>>> construction, $20; state surcharge, $8; DNA identification, $16; >>>>>>>> criminal >>>>>>>> conviction fee, $35; court operations, $40; emergency medical air >>>>>>>> transportation penalty, $4; and night court, $1. When it's all said >>>>>>>> and >>>>>>>> done, that $35 ticket comes to $235. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Another report >>>>>>>> <http://cdn.sandiegouniontrib.com/news/documents/2015/02/25/SDPD_traffic_stops_report.pdf> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> released earlier this year connects the dots: African Americans and >>>>>>>> Latinos >>>>>>>> make up less than a third of San Diego's population but represent 64.5 >>>>>>>> percent of those searched during a traffic stop. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> There is still no comprehensive study to determine just how many >>>>>>>> cities pay their bills by indenturing the poor, but it is probably no >>>>>>>> coincidence that when you examine the recent rash of police killings, >>>>>>>> you >>>>>>>> find that the offenses they were initially stopped for were >>>>>>>> preposterously >>>>>>>> minor. Bland's lane change signal, DuBose's missing plate. Walter >>>>>>>> Scott had >>>>>>>> that busted taillightwhich, we all later learned, is not even a crime >>>>>>>> in >>>>>>>> South Carolina. Eric Garner was selling loose cigarettes. When Darren >>>>>>>> Wilson was called to look into a robbery >>>>>>>> <http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2014/08/15/ferguson-police-releasing-name-of-officer-who-shot-michael-brown/>, >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> the reason he initially stopped Michael Brown was for walking in the >>>>>>>> streetin Ferguson, an illegal act according to Section 44-344 >>>>>>>> <https://www.municode.com/library/mo/ferguson/codes/code_of_ordinances?searchRequest=%7B%22searchText%22:%22manner%20of%20walking%20in%20roadway%22,%22pageNum%22:1,%22resultsPerPage%22:25,%22booleanSearch%22:false,%22stemming%22:true,%22fuzzy%22:false,%22synonym%22:false,%22contentTypes%22:%5B%22CODES%22%5D,%22productIds%22:%5B%5D%7D&nodeId=PTIICOOR_CH44TRMOVE_ARTVIIPE_S44-344MAWAALRO> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> of the local code. Between 2011 and 2013, 95 percent of the >>>>>>>> perpetrators of >>>>>>>> this atrocity were African American, meaning that "walking while >>>>>>>> black" is >>>>>>>> not a punch line. It is a crime. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> And not just a crime, but a crime that comes with fines that are >>>>>>>> strictly enforced. In 2014, Ferguson's bottom-line-driven police force >>>>>>>> issued 16,000 arrest warrants to three-fourths of the town's total >>>>>>>> population of 21,000. Stop and think about that for a moment: In >>>>>>>> Ferguson, >>>>>>>> 75 percent of all residents had active outstanding arrest warrants. >>>>>>>> Most of >>>>>>>> the entire city was a virtual plantation of indentured revenue >>>>>>>> producers. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Back in Pagedale, *St. Louis Post-Dispatch* reporter Jennifer Mann >>>>>>>> recently calculated >>>>>>>> <http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/municipalities-ticket-for-trees-and-toys-as-traffic-revenue-declines/article_42739be7-afd1-5f66-b325-e1f654ba9625.html> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> a 500 percent increase in petty fines over the last five years. >>>>>>>> "Pagedale >>>>>>>> handed out 2,255 citations for these types of offenses last year," >>>>>>>> Mann >>>>>>>> wrote, "or nearly two per household." >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> "Once the system is primed for maximizing revenuestarting with >>>>>>>> fines and fine enforcement," Holder said apropos Ferguson, "the city >>>>>>>> relies >>>>>>>> on the police force to serve, essentially, as a collection agency for >>>>>>>> the >>>>>>>> municipal court rather than a law enforcement entity." >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> In Alabama, a circuit court judge, Hub Harrington, wrote a >>>>>>>> blistering opinion >>>>>>>> <http://www.motherjones.com/documents/2191007-court-order-in-dana-burdette-v-town-of> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> three years ago asserting that the Shelby County Jail had become a >>>>>>>> kind of >>>>>>>> "debtors' prison" and that the court system had devolved into a >>>>>>>> "judicially >>>>>>>> sanctioned extortion racket." This pattern leads to a cruel paradox: >>>>>>>> One >>>>>>>> arm of the state is paying a large sum to lock up a person who can't >>>>>>>> pay a >>>>>>>> small sum owed to a different arm of the state. The result? Bigger >>>>>>>> state >>>>>>>> deficits. As the director of the Brennan Center's Justice Program put >>>>>>>> it, >>>>>>>> "Having taxpayers foot a bill of $4,000 to incarcerate a man who owes >>>>>>>> the >>>>>>>> state $745 or a woman who owes a predatory lender $425 and removing >>>>>>>> them >>>>>>>> from the job force makes sense in no reasonable world." >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> When the poor come to understand that they are likely to be >>>>>>>> detained and fined for comically absurd crimes, it can't be a surprise >>>>>>>> to >>>>>>>> the police that their officers are viewed with increasing distrust. In >>>>>>>> this >>>>>>>> environment, running away from a cop is not an act of suspicion; it's >>>>>>>> common sense. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Cops like to talk about "good police." They say, "That guy is good >>>>>>>> police"a top compliment, by which they mean cool under the pressure >>>>>>>> of the >>>>>>>> street and cunning at getting people to give up the details of a >>>>>>>> crime. >>>>>>>> Good police look bad when sharing the street with crummy police. But >>>>>>>> when >>>>>>>> budgetary whims replace peacekeeping as the central motivation of law >>>>>>>> enforcement, who is more likely to write up more tickets, the good cop >>>>>>>> or >>>>>>>> the crummy one? When the mission of the entire department shifts from >>>>>>>> "protect and serve" to "punish and profit," then just what constitutes >>>>>>>> good >>>>>>>> police? >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> <a hre >>>>>>>> >>>>>>> -- >> -- >> Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. >> For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum >> >> * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ >> * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. >> * Read the latest breaking news, and more. >> >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "PoliticalForum" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected] <javascript:>. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> > > -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PoliticalForum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
