Hey Perp, Slager had been shot by Scott with his own taser; and was running away from Slager with the taser guide-wires still attached to Slager's chest.....(The Guide-Wires are approximately 35' in length for law enforcement models)
I openly admit that this is potentially a stretch, but this was never revealed; despite the fact that Slager's own report states exactly that. Once we saw the enhanced video, it is clear that Slager's story was absolutely true and correct. That Scott and Slager had in fact engaged in a tussle; with Scott on top of Slager, and somehow manged to wrest control of Slager's taser. My point, is that I am willing to hear and see the results of a trial before I condemn Slager. On Tue, Jul 12, 2016 at 12:50 PM, 'Perplexed' via PoliticalForum < [email protected]> wrote: > > How can a reasonable person believe that someone running away from a cop > poses a "significant physical danger" to that cop? > > It doesn't compute! > > On Tuesday, July 12, 2016 at 12:28:02 PM UTC-4, KeithInTampa wrote: >> >> Your little cut and paste article answers your own question within the >> first sentence: >> >> "A seminal 1985 Supreme Court case, *Tennessee vs. Garner*, held that >> the police may not shoot at a fleeing person unless* the officer >> reasonably believes that the individual poses a significant physical danger >> to the officer"* >> >> (Emphasis Added) >> >> On Tue, Jul 12, 2016 at 12:11 PM, plainolamerican <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >>> there's seldom an excuse for shooting an unarmed suspect in the back. >>> >>> A seminal 1985 Supreme Court case, Tennessee vs. Garner, held that the >>> police may not shoot at a fleeing person unless the officer reasonably >>> believes that the individual poses a significant physical danger to the >>> officer or others in the community. That means officers are expected to >>> take other, less-deadly action during a foot or car pursuit unless the >>> person being chased is seen as an immediate safety risk. >>> >>> In other words, a police officer who fires at a fleeing man who a moment >>> earlier murdered a convenience store clerk may have reasonable grounds to >>> argue that the shooting was justified. But if that same robber never fired >>> his own weapon, the officer would likely have a much harder argument. >>> >>> “You don’t shoot fleeing felons. You apprehend them unless there are >>> exigent circumstances — emergencies — that require urgent police action to >>> safeguard the community as a whole,” said Greg Gilbertson, a police >>> practices expert and criminal justice professor at Centralia College in >>> Washington state. >>> >>> Gilbertson said he thought the video of the shooting of Walter Scott in >>> North Charleston, South Carolina, was “insane” given what he said was the >>> apparent lack of justification. >>> >>> Though the legal standard has been established, courts continue to hear >>> cases involving use of force against fleeing felons under a variety of >>> circumstances. Just last year, the Supreme Court sided with police officers >>> who were sued over a high-speed, two-state chase in Arkansas that ended >>> with the deaths of the fleeing driver and his passenger. >>> >>> *In cases where police officers are not supposed to use deadly force >>> against a fleeing person, what should they do?* >>> >>> Each case involving a suspect who flees the police, whether in a car or >>> on foot, poses a balancing test for an officer, said Chuck Drago, a police >>> practices expert and former Oviedo, Florida, police chief. >>> >>> “Am I creating more of a danger by chasing this person than if I let >>> this person stay at large?” Drago said. “Especially in a vehicle pursuit, >>> is it worth risking everyone on the road to catch this guy?” >>> >>> In a pursuit on foot, the more reasonable option might be to call for >>> backup, including perhaps with a police dog, so that other officers can set >>> up a perimeter and trap the suspect, Drago said. >>> >>> In the South Carolina case, the former lawyer for the North Charleston >>> officer, Michael Slager, said Monday that Slager felt threatened and had >>> fired because Scott was trying to grab his stun gun — an older model that >>> would have had to have been manually reloaded. But if the stun gun was on >>> the ground at the time Scott fled, Drago said, then “there is no longer a >>> threat. The threat is gone.” >>> >>> There’s also no indication on the video that after the physical >>> encounter between the men, where the officer has said he believed Scott had >>> tried to get ahold of his stun gun, that he shouts any instructions. >>> >>> On Tuesday, July 12, 2016 at 10:57:12 AM UTC-5, KeithInTampa wrote: >>>> >>>> Maybe not if the guy just jacked you up with 50,000 watts and is now >>>> running away with the guide wires still attached to your chest..... >>>> >>>> On Tue, Jul 12, 2016 at 11:52 AM, plainolamerican <[email protected] >>>> > wrote: >>>> >>>>> Have you heard >>>>> --- >>>>> that shooting an unarmed man in the back is the act of a coward? >>>>> >>>>> On Monday, July 11, 2016 at 4:07:38 PM UTC-5, 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? >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/07/police-shootings-traffic-stops-excessive-fines >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> -- >>>>>>>>> -- >>>>>>>>> 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. 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