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! --- of course it doesn't ... but Keith will always side with cops against blacks and xians against muzzies. On Tuesday, July 12, 2016 at 11:50:45 AM UTC-5, Perplexed 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. 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. >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> -- >>>>>>> -- >>>>>>> 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. >>>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> -- >>>>> -- >>>>> 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. >>>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>> -- >>> 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. >>> >> >> -- -- 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.
