Category Archives: Law_enforcement

Terence Crutcher — it’s complicated

Posted on by
Reply

Terence Crutcher was shot to death by an Oklahoma police officer last week.

Terence Crutcher:

  • a protective order from 12 years ago (c. 2004) that was dismissed
  • imprisoned on a drug charge in 2007
  • a “couple of financial things” — no date given
  • no violent criminal history, no warrants
  • unarmed when shot

Tulsa Police Officer Betty Shelby:

  • illegal drug use (marijuana) about 1992, when she was 18
  • temporary restraining order for damaging a boyfriend’s car during a breakup in 1993
  • 2002 protective order for harassment

The Hannitys of the world say that Crutcher has “a long criminal history,” which seems to be stretching the truth a bit.

The anti-Shelby voices say she had “multiple restraining orders” — but her run-ins with the law seem to pre-date Crutcher’s by quite a bit.

So it seems to me that partisans of both sides are trying to smear the other.

Source: Sean Hannity rebuffed after trying to smear Terence Crutcher

Director of the Missouri State Public Defender System Appoints the State’s Governor As Defense Counsel

Posted on by
1
Governor Jay Nixon (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Governor Jay Nixon (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Missouri  Governor Jay Nixon has consistently and repeatedly vetoed and cut funding for the state’s public defender system, forcing it into such a state of financial disrepair that it currently ranks second to last in the entire country.

So Michael Barrett, the director of the Missouri State Public Defender System, invoked Section 600.042.5 of the Missouri Revised Statutes and appointed Governor Jay Nixon as defense counsel:

[T]o ensure that poor people who face incarceration are afforded competent counsel in their defense, I hereby appoint you, Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon, Bar No. 29603, to enter your appearance as counsel of record in the attached case.

Source: After Repeated Budget Cuts, Pissed-Off Public Defender Appoints State Governor As Defense Counsel

Hat tip: MrMild

If you’re driving in Oklahoma, leave your prepaid cards at home

Posted on by
1

If the Oklahoma Highway Patrol stops you, they can now swipe your prepaid card and take all your money on the spot.

The gizmo they’re using is called an ERAD or Electronic Recovery and Access to Data machine.

Is there a cause for worry here? Not really. According to Oklahoma Highway Patrol Lt. John Vincent,  “If you can prove that you have a legitimate reason to have that money, it will be given back to you.”

Source: OHP Uses New Device To Seize Money During Traffic Stops

Hat tip to: Lowering the Bar

Idiot Police Commissioner Bratton does it again: decries ‘epidemic’ of citizens recording arrests

Posted on by
Reply

The whole point of recording the police is to prevent the LEE (law enforcement establishment) from spinning police misconduct as the fault of the victim.

Some police encounters involve civilians breaking the law, attacking police, or resisting arrest. Biteme has no sympathy for them.

But some encounters involve law enforcement officers shooting unarmed civilians, stopping them because of their race, or beating people who are already in handcuffs.

I say: record them all. Then we’ll bust the bad guys, reward the good guys and stop the coverups.

As for the police having the elbow room to safely do their job, the Bitemaster proposed last year that we make it illegal for citizens to come within 25 feet of the cops they’re recording.

It’s a law that Bratton has so far declined to support.

Source: NYPD’s Bratton decries ‘epidemic’ of citizens recording arrests

Court: Musical Preference Doesn’t Prove Gang Membership

Posted on by
Reply

Evidently “Los Tigres del Norte” is a band, not a terrorist organization.

In 2010, a court in the state of Washington convicted Anthony DeLeon of three counts of first degree assault. Because the crimes were committed while the defendant was armed with a firearm and with an intent to benefit a criminal street gang, DeLeon was sentenced to 1,002 months in jail.

The evidence of DeLeon’s gang involvement included a song by Los Tigres del Norte that he had on his cell phone.

The Supreme Court of the State of Washington has now weighed in on the case:

Los  Tigres  Del  Norte  have  sold  32  million  albums.  They  have  won  five  Latin  Grammy  awards,  and  they  have  performed  in  front  of  U.S.  troops  serving  abroad.  There  is  no  support  in  the  record  for  the  contention  that  enjoying  their  music  is  evidence  of  gang  involvement.  While  this  may  not  be  the  primary  issue  in  this  case,  we  felt  that  it was  nonetheless  important  to  take  this  opportunity  to  remind  courts  to  exercise  far  more  caution  when  drawing  conclusions  from  a defendant’s  musical  preferences.

Source: Court: Musical Preference Doesn’t Prove Gang Membership

NB: The Bitemaster actually owns a Los Tigres CD and he’s most certainly not a gang member, with the possible exception of the Internet Gang of Blowhards.

Schneiderman gives Goldman Sachs sweetheart deal

Posted on by
1

Yesterday, state and federal officials announced a $5.1 billion settlement with Goldman Sachs, resolving accusations that the bank behaved irresponsibly in the lead-up to the 2008 financial crisis. But, the New York Times reports, the deal’s fine print reveals that number may ultimately be much lower.

“They appear to have grossly inflated the settlement amount for P.R. purposes to mislead the public, while in the fine print, enabling Goldman Sachs to pay 50 to 75 percent less,” Better Markets founder Dennis Kelleher told the Times.

Source: Creative Accounting Could Shave As Much As $1 Billion Off Goldman’s $5 Billion Settlement for Creative Accounting