DEA head Michele M. Leonhart, who courageously exposed medical marijuana as a hoax, comes under fire for the misconduct of some agents in a far-away foreign country
Michele M. Leonhart was appointed DEA Administrator in 2010, after having acted in that capacity for three years. Michele, the first woman to hold the top spot in a federal law enforcement agency, has done an outstanding job, both as Acting Administrator and for the past five years as the official head of the DEA.
On June 21, 2011, Michele infuriated the pro-pot crowd and liberals by refusing to reclassify marijuana andfor exposing medical marijuana as a hoax. The federal government ruled that marijuana has no accepted medical use and should remain classified as a highly dangerous drug like heroin.
In a letter to organizations petitioning for a reclassification of marijuana, Michele Leonhart declared that marijuana "has a high potential for abuse," "has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States" and "lacks accepted safety for use under medical supervision." The letter and 37 pages of supporting documents were published in the Federal Register.
Instead of being scorched for her positions on marijuana and medical pot, Leonhart deserves to be commended for having the courage to stand up against a rising tide of pro-pot sentiment.
But now it appears to be payback time. A senior administration official tells CBS News Senior White House Correspondent Bill Plante that Michele will be stepping down soon. It’s obvious that she will be forced out of office for the misconduct of some DEA agents stationed in a foreign country.
The DEA misconduct came to light when the Justice Department investigated the 2012 conduct of President Obama’s advance Secret Service security detail. Prior to Obama’s arrival in Cartagena, Columbia, quite a few of the Secret Service agents cavorted around and partied with local prostitutes. The misconduct became public when Dania Suarez, one of the hookers, went to the police to complain that Arthur Huntington, one of the agents, had refused to pay her for her services.
Subsequent investigations of that Secret Service scandal forced Director Mark Sullivan to retire in 2013. The investigations also uncovered the DEA misconduct.
As for the DEA scandal, CBS DC reports:
Leonhart came under fire after an internal report said government money was used to pay prostitutes at a farewell party for a high-ranking DEA official in Colombia.
DEA agents also rented undercover apartments in Colombia and used them for parties with prostitutes, the DEA said in an internal report.
Excerpts of the report were released last week by the oversight panel, which is investigating questionable behavior highlighted in a March report by the Justice Department’s inspector general that examined sexual harassment and misconduct allegations from 2009 to 2012.
The Justice Department report recounts allegations that DEA agents attended sex parties with prostitutes, funded by local drug cartels, in a foreign county. The report does not identify the country where the alleged sex parties occurred, but the DEA report identified it as Colombia.
Leonhart was scorched earlier this month by a Congressional oversight committee because none of the scandalous agents had been fired. One would expect the Democrats to jump all over her, which they did, but so did the Republicans. When Leonhart said that federal civil service regulations made it hard to fire agents, that she could not intervene in any disciplinary process, and in some cases cannot even revoke an agent’s security clearance, the Republicans pounced.
Rep. Trey Gowdy, a South Carolina Republican, said it was “stunning” that no one had been fired and asked, “What would it take to get fired at the DEA?” Then he demanded to know,, “What the hell do you get to do?”
Rep. Mark Walker, aNorth Carolina Republican, charged that “From what we’ve heard, this reflects a ‘spring break frat party’ mentality for the last 15 years at the DEA.”
Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said Leonhart deserves much of the blame for a “cultural problem” at the DEA and concluded the hearing by saying, “You get called before this committee and say ‘Oh, it’s terrible, it’s awful.’ But you personally have been responsible for this for more than a decade and you didn’t do anything about it.”
Chaffetz told The Associated Press that Leonhart has ignored problems at the DEA for more than 10 years. “It’s time for her to go. I don’t have confidence in her, nor does the majority of the committee.”
Chaffetz, a Reagan convert to the Republican Party, has never spent one minute in a cop’s shoes. He has never faced the daily stress and occasional moments of sheer terror faced by law enforcement officers. Unlike the DEA agents in Columbia, Chaffetz, Gowdy, Walker and the other committee members have never been stationed thousands of miles away from home and family facing danger at every turn.
The ‘frat party’ culture they are complaining about is quite common throughout the law enforcement profession. Policing is still mostly a man’s job, and boys will be boys! The stress and occasional terror leads to a lot of drinking and debauchery. During my forty years of association with law enforcement – both as a cop and criminal justice professor – I have attended many parties which I will not describe so as not to embarrass myself and my fellow party goers. But that’s how many cops blow off steam.
The DEA agents stationed in Columbia and other far-away drug producing countries not only face danger on a daily basis, but they are also pretty well isolated from others. And when they’re working undercover, they are not going to play the roles of Boy Scouts.
As for the DEA misconduct, paying prostitutes with government money at a farewell party for a high-ranking officer is certainly not kosher. Renting undercover apartments for parties with prostitutes is not kosher either, unless those parties were part and parcel of an undercover operation. But attending sex parties that were paid for by the very people the agents are trying to bring down is strictly verboten. That should be a firing offense!
Even if the parties were part of a legitimate undercover operation, having sex with a drug cartel hooker could compromise a whole investigation. There’s always that inevitable pillow talk and there is no way of predicting what a drunken agent might tell his bedmate.
On April 10, in one of his last acts as Attorney General, Eric Holder issued the following warning to all Justice Department employees:
"The solicitation of prostitution threatens the core mission of the Department, not simply because it invites extortion, blackmail, and leaks of sensitive or classified information, but also because it undermines the Department's efforts to eradicate the scourge of human trafficking. I want to reiterate to all Department personnel, including attorneys and law enforcement officers, that they are prohibited from soliciting, procuring, or accepting commercial sex at all times, including while off duty or on personal leave."
Yeah, right Eric, lots of luck with that one. Let’s see now, you’ve been Attorney General for more than six years and it took you this long to learn that Justice Department employees have been cavorting with prostitutes.
There are about 5,000 agents in the DEA, with many of them stationed in the dangerous drug producing countries of Asia and Latin America. I do not for one second believe that Michele condones any misconduct within her agency. With 5,000 agents there is bound to be misconduct by some of them. And information about some misconduct never rises all the way to the top. So, should Michele be held accountable for the conduct of each and every member of the DEA? Not in my book!
The members of Congress who want Leonhart ousted are nothing more than political hacks who will cut your throat to get one more vote. I strongly suspect that whoever replaces Michele as DEA Administrator will be an Obama administration ass-kisser who is likely to please the pro-pot crowd and the liberals.
Although Leonhart has not submitted her resignation yet, it seems obvious that due to the unjust Congressional committee criticism, she will step down soon. The announcement of her resignation is merely being held up until President Obama and new Attorney General Loretta Lynch have decided on her successor.
So we say, fare thee well dear Michele! You have been both a foot-soldier and a commander in the war on drugs. You have done an outstanding job during your entire drug enforcement career. You can hold your head far higher than any of your shameless critics, both within and outside of the government. Those of us who are opposed to the liberalization and legalization of illicit drugs love you and will miss you.
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
DEADLY NEVADA PRISON BRAWL STOKES MYSTERY ABOUT GUARDS, GUNS
By Ken Ritter
Associated Press
April 27, 2015
LAS VEGAS -- This much is certain: Two handcuffed inmates at one of Nevada's toughest prisons brawled in a hallway, and one ended up dead from several shotgun blasts. The other was declared guilty of murder, even though he never touched a gun.
Prison officials acknowledged the death in November with only a short statement, and for months they never mentioned that a weapon was involved or that it had been fired by a trainee guard. Since then, the mystery of the shooting near the showers in a segregation unit at High Desert State Prison has only deepened.
Now attorneys for both inmates are accusing prison guards of instigating the fight to set up a gladiator-style contest and then trying to cover it up by blaming the surviving prisoner.
Prison officials have been slow to release essential details, and they recently withdrew the murder allegation after disclosing the trainee's involvement.
The many lingering questions have drawn in elected officials, too, with the attorney general reviewing an investigation and the governor promising to help get to the bottom of the incident.
"The shooting itself is highly disturbing," Alexis Plunkett, attorney for the surviving inmate, Andrew Arevalo, told The Associated Press. "But it's really over the top that (prison officials) immediately filed a murder charge against Andrew, who was absolutely the victim in every possible way."
It all started Nov. 12 deep inside the largest of Nevada's 22 prison facilities, which houses about a quarter of the state's 12,700 inmates.
Arevalo, 24, and Carlos Manuel Perez Jr., 28, were both released into the hall and soon were on the floor, kicking at each other with their hands cuffed behind their backs.
A Nov. 13 report by the trainee guard describes how he warned the men to stop fighting, fired one blank, issued more warnings and then fired three live rounds down the hall. At that point, he said, he stopped to reload.
"They continued kicking each other even though they were bleeding," the guard wrote.
Perez died of gunshot wounds to the head, neck, chest and arms. Arevalo suffered similar wounds but survived.
Guards have a history of using gunfire to control the 4,200 inmates at the prison about 45 miles outside Las Vegas.
Records show guards fired 215 shots in a five-year span, including 60 rounds in 2011, the latest year for which figures are available. That was nearly twice the total of 124 shots fired by guards during the same period at all the state's other prisons combined.
The practice continues. State prisons chief Greg Cox reported that several inmates were injured by a guard firing a shotgun to break up a fight Tuesday at Ely State Prison, the state's maximum-security facility. Most injuries were minor, Cox said.
Attorney Cal Potter, representing Perez's family in the wrongful-death lawsuit, alleges the High Desert trainee, another guard and a supervising lieutenant created a "gladiator-like scenario" before the shooting. He says they released Arevalo and Perez together into the shower hallway, where prisoners are supposed to walk alone.
By the end of January, prison administrators held a hearing and declared Arevalo responsible for murder, assault and battery. He was sentenced to 18 months in the isolation cell known as "the hole," according to prison disciplinary forms provided to the AP. The prison administrative process is separate from criminal courts.
Last week, months after Arevalo was put in isolation, prison officials withdrew the murder and assault allegations after objections from his lawyer and repeated questions from the AP.
"A review of the entire incident will result in some of the charges being reduced," prison Warden Dwight Neven wrote in an April 17 memo to Arevalo's lawyer. It said the hearing officer's Jan. 26 disciplinary decision was based on "some evidence," including the trainee's report. The memo did not say whether — or what — other evidence was considered.
"New information regarding the facts surrounding the charges" led to the reversal, the corrections department said Thursday in a statement.
Prison records provided by Plunkett show Arevalo's term in isolation was reduced from 18 months to 120 days. The battery charge is still pending.
Plunkett said she believes her client was blamed for Perez's death in a botched effort by prison officials to cover up the killing. She maintains that Arevalo did not kill Perez and only fought to defend himself.
Prison officials "never intended to make this shooting public," Plunkett said. "Andrew never had a gun in his hands. He was handcuffed."
Prisons officials have said little, citing the ongoing investigation.
The first news release, issued on Nov. 13, reported only that Perez had died. The 78-word announcement made no mention of a shooting or of Arevalo.
Prison officials did not publicly disclose that Perez had been fatally shot by a guard until March 25 — more than four months after the slaying and three weeks after a coroner declared the death a homicide caused by gunshot wounds.
In a March 27 interview, Brian Connett, the state's deputy prisons chief, said evidence gathered by state police, the coroner and Las Vegas police crime-scene investigators had been turned over to Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt.
A Laxalt spokeswoman, Patty Cafferata, has said the matter is being reviewed.
The three guards have remained on paid leave. Neither the Nevada Department of Corrections nor the attorney general has made their names public.
While filing the federal lawsuit, Potter called for an investigation by Gov. Brian Sandoval, who sits with Laxalt on the three-member Board of State Prison Commissioners.
The governor told the AP on April 17 — the same day Arevalo's murder charge was withdrawn — that he planned to get more information from his state prisons chief.
"Of course I'm concerned with what's going on within the walls of the prison," Sandoval said, "and I intend to get more details to see exactly what is going on and what the explanation is."
Associated Press
April 27, 2015
LAS VEGAS -- This much is certain: Two handcuffed inmates at one of Nevada's toughest prisons brawled in a hallway, and one ended up dead from several shotgun blasts. The other was declared guilty of murder, even though he never touched a gun.
Prison officials acknowledged the death in November with only a short statement, and for months they never mentioned that a weapon was involved or that it had been fired by a trainee guard. Since then, the mystery of the shooting near the showers in a segregation unit at High Desert State Prison has only deepened.
Now attorneys for both inmates are accusing prison guards of instigating the fight to set up a gladiator-style contest and then trying to cover it up by blaming the surviving prisoner.
Prison officials have been slow to release essential details, and they recently withdrew the murder allegation after disclosing the trainee's involvement.
The many lingering questions have drawn in elected officials, too, with the attorney general reviewing an investigation and the governor promising to help get to the bottom of the incident.
"The shooting itself is highly disturbing," Alexis Plunkett, attorney for the surviving inmate, Andrew Arevalo, told The Associated Press. "But it's really over the top that (prison officials) immediately filed a murder charge against Andrew, who was absolutely the victim in every possible way."
It all started Nov. 12 deep inside the largest of Nevada's 22 prison facilities, which houses about a quarter of the state's 12,700 inmates.
Arevalo, 24, and Carlos Manuel Perez Jr., 28, were both released into the hall and soon were on the floor, kicking at each other with their hands cuffed behind their backs.
A Nov. 13 report by the trainee guard describes how he warned the men to stop fighting, fired one blank, issued more warnings and then fired three live rounds down the hall. At that point, he said, he stopped to reload.
"They continued kicking each other even though they were bleeding," the guard wrote.
Perez died of gunshot wounds to the head, neck, chest and arms. Arevalo suffered similar wounds but survived.
Guards have a history of using gunfire to control the 4,200 inmates at the prison about 45 miles outside Las Vegas.
Records show guards fired 215 shots in a five-year span, including 60 rounds in 2011, the latest year for which figures are available. That was nearly twice the total of 124 shots fired by guards during the same period at all the state's other prisons combined.
The practice continues. State prisons chief Greg Cox reported that several inmates were injured by a guard firing a shotgun to break up a fight Tuesday at Ely State Prison, the state's maximum-security facility. Most injuries were minor, Cox said.
Attorney Cal Potter, representing Perez's family in the wrongful-death lawsuit, alleges the High Desert trainee, another guard and a supervising lieutenant created a "gladiator-like scenario" before the shooting. He says they released Arevalo and Perez together into the shower hallway, where prisoners are supposed to walk alone.
By the end of January, prison administrators held a hearing and declared Arevalo responsible for murder, assault and battery. He was sentenced to 18 months in the isolation cell known as "the hole," according to prison disciplinary forms provided to the AP. The prison administrative process is separate from criminal courts.
Last week, months after Arevalo was put in isolation, prison officials withdrew the murder and assault allegations after objections from his lawyer and repeated questions from the AP.
"A review of the entire incident will result in some of the charges being reduced," prison Warden Dwight Neven wrote in an April 17 memo to Arevalo's lawyer. It said the hearing officer's Jan. 26 disciplinary decision was based on "some evidence," including the trainee's report. The memo did not say whether — or what — other evidence was considered.
"New information regarding the facts surrounding the charges" led to the reversal, the corrections department said Thursday in a statement.
Prison records provided by Plunkett show Arevalo's term in isolation was reduced from 18 months to 120 days. The battery charge is still pending.
Plunkett said she believes her client was blamed for Perez's death in a botched effort by prison officials to cover up the killing. She maintains that Arevalo did not kill Perez and only fought to defend himself.
Prison officials "never intended to make this shooting public," Plunkett said. "Andrew never had a gun in his hands. He was handcuffed."
Prisons officials have said little, citing the ongoing investigation.
The first news release, issued on Nov. 13, reported only that Perez had died. The 78-word announcement made no mention of a shooting or of Arevalo.
Prison officials did not publicly disclose that Perez had been fatally shot by a guard until March 25 — more than four months after the slaying and three weeks after a coroner declared the death a homicide caused by gunshot wounds.
In a March 27 interview, Brian Connett, the state's deputy prisons chief, said evidence gathered by state police, the coroner and Las Vegas police crime-scene investigators had been turned over to Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt.
A Laxalt spokeswoman, Patty Cafferata, has said the matter is being reviewed.
The three guards have remained on paid leave. Neither the Nevada Department of Corrections nor the attorney general has made their names public.
While filing the federal lawsuit, Potter called for an investigation by Gov. Brian Sandoval, who sits with Laxalt on the three-member Board of State Prison Commissioners.
The governor told the AP on April 17 — the same day Arevalo's murder charge was withdrawn — that he planned to get more information from his state prisons chief.
"Of course I'm concerned with what's going on within the walls of the prison," Sandoval said, "and I intend to get more details to see exactly what is going on and what the explanation is."
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
IS MORE AND BETTER POLICE TRAINING THE ANSWER?
What good is more and better police training when no one is training blacks to obey police orders?
Ever since the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri last August, there has been a steady stream of news about the use of excessive force by the police, usually by white cops against black men. Turn on the evening TV news and you’re likely to see a video clip of cops kicking the shit out of someone or shooting at a fleeing man.
The latest incidents include:
A South Carolina white cop shooting a fleeing black man in the back
A horse thief being repeatedly beaten and kicked by sheriff’s deputies in the desert od San Bernardino County, California as the horse kooks down at the melee, probably wondering what’s going on.
A73-year-old Tulsa, Oklahoma reserve officer shot a fleeing man in the back. He says he confused his firearm with his Taser and only meant to tase the man.
An Arizona cop drove his police car onto a sidewalk and ran down an armed robber carrying a high powered rifle.
Baltimore, Maryland cops arrested a man who died because his spine had been severed. His spine may have been severed between the time he was taken into custody and when he arrived at a hospital.
Academics and other armchair experts say the solution to the problem of excessive and deadly force is more police training and better training in people skills. What do these experts think the police have been doing since the Vietnam protests and the civil rights movement?
It’s true that when I became a Galveston cop in the late ‘40s there was no training in most police departments. I was told to buy a uniform and gun, given a badge, and ordered to walk a beat or patrol in a cop car. I learned my job from veteran officers, some of them good cops and some of them piss-poor. If someone came to the cop shop to complain about police brutality, they often had the shit beaten out of them as they were thrown out of the door.
By the time I became a California cop in the mid ‘50s, formal training had become quite common and police applicants were required to undergo psychological evaluations. Those evaluations may have weeded out some ass kickers, but I suspect they also eliminated some potentially good cops. And the police academies at that time did not put a lot of emphasis on good police-community relations.
All that changed with the Vietnam War protests and the civil rights movement. Since then police agencies have been emphasizing good police-community relations and better people skills in both their pre-service and in-service training programs. And many agencies have adopted the use of community-oriented policing in an effort to eliminate the minority community’s mistrust of the cops.
I have always maintained that policing is much more about dealing with people than it is about solving crimes and disputes, arresting crooks, proper use of firearms and restraining devices, etc. Dealing with people during a highly emotional and/or adversarial situation makes policing the hardest job in our society.
In 1829 the father of modern policing, Sir Robert Peel, put forth the principle that “No quality is more indispensable to a policeman than a perfect command of temper.” While there have been several shooting incidents where officers claimed to have confused their firearm with their stun gun, could that 73-year-old Tulsa reserve officer have lost his temper and deliberately drawn his pistol instead of his Taser? But there can be no doubt that horse in the desert was being entertained by some angry San Bernardino who had completely lost it.
Many incidents of excessive or deadly force by the police would not have happened had a cop not lost his temper, and that includes good cops as well as bad cops. The experts keep calling for more and better training, but how do you train someone not to losing temper in a highly charged situation? Anger management programs may work in domestic disputes, but will they work in police encounters?
There is another problem even the experts seem to overlook. What good is more and better police training when no one is training blacks to obey police orders? No one is training black men not to flee from or become combative during a police stop.
No amount of more and better training is going to keep cops from losing their tempers. No amount of training is going to prevent cops from fearing for their lives. Anger management programs may reduce the loss of temper, but will not prevent it. And all the police training available to cops will not change the behavior of black men.
There are more than 800,000 state and local “sworn” police officers with general arrest powers in the United States. I am not about to throw out that horseshit about 99 percent, 95 percent, or even 90 percent of all those officers being good cops. However, I do believe that 85 percent are good cops trying to do their best in a hard and thankless job.
Sunday, I watched CBS Face the Nation from my hospital bed. Host Bob Schieffer said that after a break he would be back with some personal thoughts about the police. Here is what he said.
Don’t Overlook The Good Cops
By Bob Schieffer
CBS Face the Nation
April 19, 2015
I have always said the great thing about being a reporter is the adventure, getting to talk to the people who make the news, seeing things with your own eyes that other people see only through eyes and lens of others.
And I have always said, the best training to be a reporter are or anything else is to work the police beat, because every story you cover is the worst moment in someone's life.
If you can learn to get the right information under those circumstances, you won't be fazed by the high and mighty and certainly not by on-the-make politicians and spin doctors, which is why I want to add a paragraph or two to the rash of stories lately about cops gone wrong.
This is not about them. This is about all the cops you don't read about. They deal much of the time with the dregs of our society, the schemers, murderers, those who prey on the weak. And most of the time, the police deal with them humanely and as they should.
What we overlook is just how difficult that can be sometimes. It's not easy to remain passive when a child beater looks you in the eye and tells you, you have to understand the kid was keeping him awake. It takes a lot of professional training and strong character not to respond in anger. I know, because I spent my early years listening to some of these awful people. Sometimes, I wanted to hit them myself.
I didn't. But it helped me understand how hard it is to do a cop's job right. As hard as it is, the great majority the cops still do just that.
Bob Schieffer, a native Texan, has been a member of the hated mainstream media since 1969, but I have always found him to be reasonable in his assessment of controversial issues. I think every good cop in this country should take the time to send Bob a thank you note for the fine commentary he made in their behalf. It’s a shame that few, if any, will do so!
Ever since the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri last August, there has been a steady stream of news about the use of excessive force by the police, usually by white cops against black men. Turn on the evening TV news and you’re likely to see a video clip of cops kicking the shit out of someone or shooting at a fleeing man.
The latest incidents include:
A South Carolina white cop shooting a fleeing black man in the back
A horse thief being repeatedly beaten and kicked by sheriff’s deputies in the desert od San Bernardino County, California as the horse kooks down at the melee, probably wondering what’s going on.
A73-year-old Tulsa, Oklahoma reserve officer shot a fleeing man in the back. He says he confused his firearm with his Taser and only meant to tase the man.
An Arizona cop drove his police car onto a sidewalk and ran down an armed robber carrying a high powered rifle.
Baltimore, Maryland cops arrested a man who died because his spine had been severed. His spine may have been severed between the time he was taken into custody and when he arrived at a hospital.
Academics and other armchair experts say the solution to the problem of excessive and deadly force is more police training and better training in people skills. What do these experts think the police have been doing since the Vietnam protests and the civil rights movement?
It’s true that when I became a Galveston cop in the late ‘40s there was no training in most police departments. I was told to buy a uniform and gun, given a badge, and ordered to walk a beat or patrol in a cop car. I learned my job from veteran officers, some of them good cops and some of them piss-poor. If someone came to the cop shop to complain about police brutality, they often had the shit beaten out of them as they were thrown out of the door.
By the time I became a California cop in the mid ‘50s, formal training had become quite common and police applicants were required to undergo psychological evaluations. Those evaluations may have weeded out some ass kickers, but I suspect they also eliminated some potentially good cops. And the police academies at that time did not put a lot of emphasis on good police-community relations.
All that changed with the Vietnam War protests and the civil rights movement. Since then police agencies have been emphasizing good police-community relations and better people skills in both their pre-service and in-service training programs. And many agencies have adopted the use of community-oriented policing in an effort to eliminate the minority community’s mistrust of the cops.
I have always maintained that policing is much more about dealing with people than it is about solving crimes and disputes, arresting crooks, proper use of firearms and restraining devices, etc. Dealing with people during a highly emotional and/or adversarial situation makes policing the hardest job in our society.
In 1829 the father of modern policing, Sir Robert Peel, put forth the principle that “No quality is more indispensable to a policeman than a perfect command of temper.” While there have been several shooting incidents where officers claimed to have confused their firearm with their stun gun, could that 73-year-old Tulsa reserve officer have lost his temper and deliberately drawn his pistol instead of his Taser? But there can be no doubt that horse in the desert was being entertained by some angry San Bernardino who had completely lost it.
Many incidents of excessive or deadly force by the police would not have happened had a cop not lost his temper, and that includes good cops as well as bad cops. The experts keep calling for more and better training, but how do you train someone not to losing temper in a highly charged situation? Anger management programs may work in domestic disputes, but will they work in police encounters?
There is another problem even the experts seem to overlook. What good is more and better police training when no one is training blacks to obey police orders? No one is training black men not to flee from or become combative during a police stop.
No amount of more and better training is going to keep cops from losing their tempers. No amount of training is going to prevent cops from fearing for their lives. Anger management programs may reduce the loss of temper, but will not prevent it. And all the police training available to cops will not change the behavior of black men.
There are more than 800,000 state and local “sworn” police officers with general arrest powers in the United States. I am not about to throw out that horseshit about 99 percent, 95 percent, or even 90 percent of all those officers being good cops. However, I do believe that 85 percent are good cops trying to do their best in a hard and thankless job.
Sunday, I watched CBS Face the Nation from my hospital bed. Host Bob Schieffer said that after a break he would be back with some personal thoughts about the police. Here is what he said.
Don’t Overlook The Good Cops
By Bob Schieffer
CBS Face the Nation
April 19, 2015
I have always said the great thing about being a reporter is the adventure, getting to talk to the people who make the news, seeing things with your own eyes that other people see only through eyes and lens of others.
And I have always said, the best training to be a reporter are or anything else is to work the police beat, because every story you cover is the worst moment in someone's life.
If you can learn to get the right information under those circumstances, you won't be fazed by the high and mighty and certainly not by on-the-make politicians and spin doctors, which is why I want to add a paragraph or two to the rash of stories lately about cops gone wrong.
This is not about them. This is about all the cops you don't read about. They deal much of the time with the dregs of our society, the schemers, murderers, those who prey on the weak. And most of the time, the police deal with them humanely and as they should.
What we overlook is just how difficult that can be sometimes. It's not easy to remain passive when a child beater looks you in the eye and tells you, you have to understand the kid was keeping him awake. It takes a lot of professional training and strong character not to respond in anger. I know, because I spent my early years listening to some of these awful people. Sometimes, I wanted to hit them myself.
I didn't. But it helped me understand how hard it is to do a cop's job right. As hard as it is, the great majority the cops still do just that.
Bob Schieffer, a native Texan, has been a member of the hated mainstream media since 1969, but I have always found him to be reasonable in his assessment of controversial issues. I think every good cop in this country should take the time to send Bob a thank you note for the fine commentary he made in their behalf. It’s a shame that few, if any, will do so!
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
CAPITAL LIFE: ALTERNATIVE TO THE DEATH PENALTY
A living-death of imprisonment for life in absolute isolation without any of the privileges afforded the general prison population and no possibility of parole
As most of you know, I am a diehard supporter and proponent of the death penalty. With support for the death penalty in decline, I hereby offer an alternative that should be acceptable to my fellow hardcore proponents of the ultimate punishment. It is a special category of a life in prison sentence.
I’ve coined my proposal for a special category of life imprisonment as Capital Life.
Capital Life would be Imprisonment for life in absolute isolation without any of the privileges afforded the general prison population and no possibility of parole. No visitors, no mail, no TV or radio, no special meals for Thanksgiving or Christmas, no one-hour exercise period outside the cell.
Of course I realize Capital Life would never come to pass. Civil libertarians will oppose Capital Life with the same fervor they oppose Capital Punishment. The courts would rule that Capital Life violates the Constitution’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.
I agree that it’s cruel and unusual punishment. So what! The murders Capital Lifers committed were also cruel and unusual punishment and their victims did not have the benefit of trial by jury. And I also realize that Capital Lifers would have a high rate of suicide. So what! Good riddance of the vermin!
Absolute isolation for life without possibility of parole is the only alternative to the death penalty that I would accept. Come to think of it, a Capital Life sentence of living-death would be a far better punishment than the death penalty.
As most of you know, I am a diehard supporter and proponent of the death penalty. With support for the death penalty in decline, I hereby offer an alternative that should be acceptable to my fellow hardcore proponents of the ultimate punishment. It is a special category of a life in prison sentence.
I’ve coined my proposal for a special category of life imprisonment as Capital Life.
Capital Life would be Imprisonment for life in absolute isolation without any of the privileges afforded the general prison population and no possibility of parole. No visitors, no mail, no TV or radio, no special meals for Thanksgiving or Christmas, no one-hour exercise period outside the cell.
Of course I realize Capital Life would never come to pass. Civil libertarians will oppose Capital Life with the same fervor they oppose Capital Punishment. The courts would rule that Capital Life violates the Constitution’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.
I agree that it’s cruel and unusual punishment. So what! The murders Capital Lifers committed were also cruel and unusual punishment and their victims did not have the benefit of trial by jury. And I also realize that Capital Lifers would have a high rate of suicide. So what! Good riddance of the vermin!
Absolute isolation for life without possibility of parole is the only alternative to the death penalty that I would accept. Come to think of it, a Capital Life sentence of living-death would be a far better punishment than the death penalty.
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
HOUSTIN’S 2009 OFFICER OF THE YEAR NOW A LOS ZETAS COCAINE TRAFFICKER
Houston police officer Noe Juarez got busted by the Feds for trafficking cocaine since 2012 for the Los Zetas drug cartel
The Feds announced April 8 that Houston police officer Noe Juarez has been indicted for “conspiracy to distribute five kilos or more of cocaine” and “conspiracy to possess firearms in connection with a drug trafficking offense.” The indictment came out of New Orleans and Juarez was busted April 7 at Houston’s police headquarters. He has been relieved of duty with pay pending the outcome of the investigation.
Juarez was honored as Houston’s Officer of the Year for 2009. According to the Feds, he began dealing cocaine for Mexico’s notorious Los Zetas drug cartel in 2012.
Perhaps Houston should take another look at what they pay their cops. When an Officer of the Year moonlights by dealing cocaine, “Houston, we have a problem.”
The Feds announced April 8 that Houston police officer Noe Juarez has been indicted for “conspiracy to distribute five kilos or more of cocaine” and “conspiracy to possess firearms in connection with a drug trafficking offense.” The indictment came out of New Orleans and Juarez was busted April 7 at Houston’s police headquarters. He has been relieved of duty with pay pending the outcome of the investigation.
Juarez was honored as Houston’s Officer of the Year for 2009. According to the Feds, he began dealing cocaine for Mexico’s notorious Los Zetas drug cartel in 2012.
Perhaps Houston should take another look at what they pay their cops. When an Officer of the Year moonlights by dealing cocaine, “Houston, we have a problem.”
ROBERT KENNEDY JR. BACKS OFF ‘HOLOCAUST’ IN VACCINE DEBATE
By Judy Lin
Associated Press
April 14, 2015
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Robert Kennedy Jr. on Monday apologized for describing the number of children injured by vaccines as "a holocaust" during a film screening last week.
The nephew of President John F. Kennedy and son of former U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy used the term last week at a screening in Sacramento of the film "Trace Amounts." The movie links autism to a vaccine preservative, even though the medical community says such claims have been scientifically disproved.
Kennedy said he was struggling for a way to convey the effects of autism on children and their families.
"I want to apologize to all whom I offended by my use of the word holocaust to describe the autism epidemic," Kennedy said in a statement. "I employed the term during an impromptu speech as I struggled to find an expression to convey the catastrophic tragedy of autism which has now destroyed the lives of over 20 million children and shattered their families."
He said he will use other words to describe the autism crisis in the future.
Kennedy opposes a California bill that would limit vaccination waivers for schoolchildren. It has generated such an acidic debate that some opponents have compared the proposal's author online to Adolf Hitler.
State Sen. Richard Pan, a Democratic pediatrician from Sacramento, said he was under added security in response to his bill. The proposal will be heard Wednesday in a Senate education committee.
Thursday marks Holocaust Remembrance Day.
"The word holocaust should never be used as a flippant throwaway line to make a point in a debate," said Assemblyman Marc Levine, vice chair of the Legislative Jewish Caucus, during a Holocaust remembrance event on Monday in the California Assembly.
EDITOR’S NOTE: As someone who lost both sets of grandparents to the Holocaust, I am sensitive to any trivializing of the word “Holocaust.” While the number of Autism victims is enormous and the disease is indeed catastrophic, there is no way that it can compare to the Holocaust where six million Jews were slaughtered systematically.
As for Kennedy, I do not think he meant to trivialize the Holocaust. His faux pax is just an example of someone putting his mouth in motion before putting his brain in gear. Apology accepted.
Associated Press
April 14, 2015
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Robert Kennedy Jr. on Monday apologized for describing the number of children injured by vaccines as "a holocaust" during a film screening last week.
The nephew of President John F. Kennedy and son of former U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy used the term last week at a screening in Sacramento of the film "Trace Amounts." The movie links autism to a vaccine preservative, even though the medical community says such claims have been scientifically disproved.
Kennedy said he was struggling for a way to convey the effects of autism on children and their families.
"I want to apologize to all whom I offended by my use of the word holocaust to describe the autism epidemic," Kennedy said in a statement. "I employed the term during an impromptu speech as I struggled to find an expression to convey the catastrophic tragedy of autism which has now destroyed the lives of over 20 million children and shattered their families."
He said he will use other words to describe the autism crisis in the future.
Kennedy opposes a California bill that would limit vaccination waivers for schoolchildren. It has generated such an acidic debate that some opponents have compared the proposal's author online to Adolf Hitler.
State Sen. Richard Pan, a Democratic pediatrician from Sacramento, said he was under added security in response to his bill. The proposal will be heard Wednesday in a Senate education committee.
Thursday marks Holocaust Remembrance Day.
"The word holocaust should never be used as a flippant throwaway line to make a point in a debate," said Assemblyman Marc Levine, vice chair of the Legislative Jewish Caucus, during a Holocaust remembrance event on Monday in the California Assembly.
EDITOR’S NOTE: As someone who lost both sets of grandparents to the Holocaust, I am sensitive to any trivializing of the word “Holocaust.” While the number of Autism victims is enormous and the disease is indeed catastrophic, there is no way that it can compare to the Holocaust where six million Jews were slaughtered systematically.
As for Kennedy, I do not think he meant to trivialize the Holocaust. His faux pax is just an example of someone putting his mouth in motion before putting his brain in gear. Apology accepted.
DOING COMMUNITY SERVICE
The Unconventional Gazette
April 14, 2015
One day a Washington, D.C. florist went to a neighboring barber for a haircut. After the cut, he asked about his bill, and the barber replied, 'I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week.' The florist was pleased and left the shop. When the barber went to open his shop the next morning, there was a 'thank you' card and a dozen roses waiting for him at his door.
Later, a cop comes in for a haircut, and when he tries to pay his bill, the barber again replied, 'I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week.' The cop was happy and left the shop. The next morning when the barber went to open up, there was a 'thank you' card and a dozen donuts waiting for him at his door.
Then a Congressman came in for a haircut, and when he went to pay his bill, the barber again replied, 'I cannot accept money from you. I'm doing community service this week.' The Congressman was very happy and left the shop. The next morning, when the barber went to open up, there were a dozen Congressmen lined up waiting for a free haircut.
April 14, 2015
One day a Washington, D.C. florist went to a neighboring barber for a haircut. After the cut, he asked about his bill, and the barber replied, 'I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week.' The florist was pleased and left the shop. When the barber went to open his shop the next morning, there was a 'thank you' card and a dozen roses waiting for him at his door.
Later, a cop comes in for a haircut, and when he tries to pay his bill, the barber again replied, 'I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week.' The cop was happy and left the shop. The next morning when the barber went to open up, there was a 'thank you' card and a dozen donuts waiting for him at his door.
Then a Congressman came in for a haircut, and when he went to pay his bill, the barber again replied, 'I cannot accept money from you. I'm doing community service this week.' The Congressman was very happy and left the shop. The next morning, when the barber went to open up, there were a dozen Congressmen lined up waiting for a free haircut.
Monday, April 13, 2015
REMOVE LETOURNEAU FROM SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY
Mary Kay Letourneau still has to register as a sex offender because she had sex with a 13-year old student; even though she served 7-1/2 years in prison, bore him two daughters, and has been married to him for 10 years
In 1996, Mary Kay Letourneau, a 34-year-old married Seattle teacher and mother of four, got busted for having sex with a 13-year old student. She was put on probation and ordered not to have any contact the boy, Vili Fualaau. She was sent to prison after getting caught with him again. She gave birth to their love-child while in prison. She served 7-1/2 years. Mary Kay, now 53, and Vili, now 31, have been married for 10 years and are the parents of two teen-age daughters. Alas, Mary Kay is still required to register as a sex offender.
The story of Letourneau’s affair with Vili Fualaau was sensationalized by the media in a frenzy not often seen. That was in 1996, this is now. Hardly a day goes by now without some female teacher getting busted somewhere for having sex with one or more of her students. Most of these teachers, like Mary Kay, are married with children. Unlike with Mary Kay, their ‘victims’ are not 13, but rather 15-17. The teacher-student sex affairs are so frequent that in most cases they receive only local news coverage.
Friday night I watched an ABC-TV Barbara Walters special. During the hour-long program, Walters not only interviewed Mary Kay Letourneau Fualaau and her husband Vili Fualaau, but she was also able to talk to their daughters. On their 10th anniversary, the couple appear to happily married and their teen-age daughters appear to be happy and well adjusted. Given all that, why in the hell is Mary Kay still required to register as a sex offender?
The sex offender registration laws are primarily designed to protect children from sexual predators and women from rapists. Weenie wavers are also included. So are boys who get caught diddling underage girls. I cannot understand why in the world a man would have to be placed on a sex offender registry because he had a consensual sexual relationship with his underage sweetheart when he was 16. What threat does he pose to anyone?
Mary Kay has been punished with a prison term for her misdeed. She has been married to her victim for 10 years and they have been raising two well-adjusted teenagers. Under these circumstances, if there is any logical reason for her to have to register as a sex offender, I’ll eat my beloved John Deere cap.
Mary Kay plans to apply for removal from the sex offender registration list. While I strongly disapprove of her affair with a 13-year-old boy, considering that she was punished with a prison term and has now been happily married for 10 years, I firmly believe that justice demands she be removed from the sex offender registry.
In 1996, Mary Kay Letourneau, a 34-year-old married Seattle teacher and mother of four, got busted for having sex with a 13-year old student. She was put on probation and ordered not to have any contact the boy, Vili Fualaau. She was sent to prison after getting caught with him again. She gave birth to their love-child while in prison. She served 7-1/2 years. Mary Kay, now 53, and Vili, now 31, have been married for 10 years and are the parents of two teen-age daughters. Alas, Mary Kay is still required to register as a sex offender.
The story of Letourneau’s affair with Vili Fualaau was sensationalized by the media in a frenzy not often seen. That was in 1996, this is now. Hardly a day goes by now without some female teacher getting busted somewhere for having sex with one or more of her students. Most of these teachers, like Mary Kay, are married with children. Unlike with Mary Kay, their ‘victims’ are not 13, but rather 15-17. The teacher-student sex affairs are so frequent that in most cases they receive only local news coverage.
Friday night I watched an ABC-TV Barbara Walters special. During the hour-long program, Walters not only interviewed Mary Kay Letourneau Fualaau and her husband Vili Fualaau, but she was also able to talk to their daughters. On their 10th anniversary, the couple appear to happily married and their teen-age daughters appear to be happy and well adjusted. Given all that, why in the hell is Mary Kay still required to register as a sex offender?
The sex offender registration laws are primarily designed to protect children from sexual predators and women from rapists. Weenie wavers are also included. So are boys who get caught diddling underage girls. I cannot understand why in the world a man would have to be placed on a sex offender registry because he had a consensual sexual relationship with his underage sweetheart when he was 16. What threat does he pose to anyone?
Mary Kay has been punished with a prison term for her misdeed. She has been married to her victim for 10 years and they have been raising two well-adjusted teenagers. Under these circumstances, if there is any logical reason for her to have to register as a sex offender, I’ll eat my beloved John Deere cap.
Mary Kay plans to apply for removal from the sex offender registration list. While I strongly disapprove of her affair with a 13-year-old boy, considering that she was punished with a prison term and has now been happily married for 10 years, I firmly believe that justice demands she be removed from the sex offender registry.
Sunday, April 12, 2015
EXCLUSIVE: WALTER SCOTT ATTACKED OFFICER SLAGER
A new look at the cellphone camera video clearly shows Officer Slager being attacked by Walter Scott
By Ima Schmuck
The Unconventional Gazette
April 12, 2015
In an exclusive interview, NY police officer Sean Murphy declared that North Charleston, S.C. police officer Mike Slager did not murder Walter Scott.
Murphy, executive director of Peace Officers Are Right (POAR) said a new look at the cellphone camera video clearly shows Officer Slager being attacked by Walter Scott.
“When you run that video tape backwards,” Murphy said, “it clearly shows Scott charging at Slager as the officer fired his weapon in an obvious act of self-defense.”
Murphy condemned the authorities and the public for rushing to judgement upon viewing the video tape being run only in one direction. “When you reverse that tape,” he said, “you get an entirely different perspective.”
He also blasted the media for doing its “usual hatchet job” on the police and criticized Fox News for being “just like the rest of them” in crucifying Officer Slager.
POAR is a nationwide organization of rank-and-file cops. Murphy claims that more than 70,000 cops are members of POAR. “Our members demand that murder charges against Office Slager be dropped immediately,” he said.
Concerning the video tape, Murphy said “It all depends on how you look at it, and we see the shooting of Mr. Scott as a justifiable act of self-defense. When you see somebody running backwards straight at you as fast as Mr. Scott did, that will scare the shit out of anyone.”
By Ima Schmuck
The Unconventional Gazette
April 12, 2015
In an exclusive interview, NY police officer Sean Murphy declared that North Charleston, S.C. police officer Mike Slager did not murder Walter Scott.
Murphy, executive director of Peace Officers Are Right (POAR) said a new look at the cellphone camera video clearly shows Officer Slager being attacked by Walter Scott.
“When you run that video tape backwards,” Murphy said, “it clearly shows Scott charging at Slager as the officer fired his weapon in an obvious act of self-defense.”
Murphy condemned the authorities and the public for rushing to judgement upon viewing the video tape being run only in one direction. “When you reverse that tape,” he said, “you get an entirely different perspective.”
He also blasted the media for doing its “usual hatchet job” on the police and criticized Fox News for being “just like the rest of them” in crucifying Officer Slager.
POAR is a nationwide organization of rank-and-file cops. Murphy claims that more than 70,000 cops are members of POAR. “Our members demand that murder charges against Office Slager be dropped immediately,” he said.
Concerning the video tape, Murphy said “It all depends on how you look at it, and we see the shooting of Mr. Scott as a justifiable act of self-defense. When you see somebody running backwards straight at you as fast as Mr. Scott did, that will scare the shit out of anyone.”
WORKPLACE SAFETY IS IMPORTANT
By Bob Walsh
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
April 11, 2015
There was a very serious on-the-job accident in south Stockton yesterday afternoon. About 1:30 two men entered an electrical box without proper authority in an apparent attempt to help themselves to copper wire there.
It seems that they were not entirely clear on the concept however and one of them was turned into a crispy critter while stripping the insulation off of a live wire.
The as-yet unidentified dead guy’s colleague beat feet without hanging around to fill out an accident report, which I think was very rude and probably violated a bunch of OSHA regulations. Some people just don’t appreciate proper procedure.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Workplace safety, crispy critter, accident report, OSHA. Bob has outdone himself with this one. I love it!
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
April 11, 2015
There was a very serious on-the-job accident in south Stockton yesterday afternoon. About 1:30 two men entered an electrical box without proper authority in an apparent attempt to help themselves to copper wire there.
It seems that they were not entirely clear on the concept however and one of them was turned into a crispy critter while stripping the insulation off of a live wire.
The as-yet unidentified dead guy’s colleague beat feet without hanging around to fill out an accident report, which I think was very rude and probably violated a bunch of OSHA regulations. Some people just don’t appreciate proper procedure.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Workplace safety, crispy critter, accident report, OSHA. Bob has outdone himself with this one. I love it!
Saturday, April 11, 2015
POLICE UNDER SURVEILLANCE
Learning to work under watchful eye of camera phones
By Jeff Stone
International Business Times
April 9, 2015
Police officers are increasingly under the microscope. Almost literally. Now that the nightly news regularly features incidents where officers are being criticized for excessive force, even responsible members of the force are finding that having a camera thrust in their face is now just part of the job.
A white police officer was charged with murder this week in South Carolina after fatally shooting an unarmed black man running away from him. The death of Walter Scott was caught on video by a bystander, leading to a media frenzy. South Carolina lawmakers urged the public to remember that the officer who killed Scott is simply one bad apple among a state of good police officers, though police officials say the constant negative attention has an effect on even the most responsible police officials.
“It causes hesitation, and hesitation is a cause of risk,” said Rich Roberts, spokesman for the International Union of Police Associations. Roberts said it’s difficult for officers who are being filmed not to second-guess their actions, even if they’re in an unsafe situation. “I’m not sure being on the camera is exactly the problem, but with most people I talked to the problem is how people will interpret the images that are captured are on them.”
The news media, he said, needs to edit video clips to fit within certain time windows: If CNN only has 15 seconds to show a clip of a New York City detective berating a foreign-born Uber driver, for instance, the audience wouldn’t know what led up to that incident.
Courts consistently have ruled that it’s legal for citizens to film police without an officer’s consent, just as long as the person filming doesn’t interfere with the situation. Police, to put it mildly, don’t like being recorded by witnesses. YouTube is littered with footage of officers going ballistic on people watching events unfold from yards away.
All of which helps explain why the law enforcement community, for the most part, has greeted the advent of police body cameras with such enthusiasm. Police have complained that bystander cameras can present a safety risk -- though the IUPA’s Roberts said he couldn’t recall any instances where they interfered with the situation -- and body cameras promise to show events from an officer’s perspective.
“They realize their potential audience is now the entire world,” said Jay Stanley, senior policy analyst with the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech, Privacy and Technology Project. “Police who have nothing to hide have already long since recognized they’re likely to be filmed any time anything dramatic goes down in public. I think that any problems police have with cameras originate in their own minds.”
At the heart of the matter is a stark difference in ideology. Police critics say cameras are necessary to expose and curb abuses of power. The law enforcement community says cameras will lead to fewer lawsuits and false complaints.
“I just think agencies accept that people are filming everyone anyway,” said Lindsay Miller, senior research associate at the Police Executive Research Forum and an author of one of the only studies on how cameras are used. An unrelated study found that police body cameras lead to a more than 50 percent reduction in use-of-force complaints.
“A lot of the things that have been happening recently are really good opportunities to find some reforms and move agencies into a better place,” Miller said. “I think police welcome that.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: The problem with camera phone videos is not that they uncover police misconduct, but that they rarely if ever show any good police work.
By Jeff Stone
International Business Times
April 9, 2015
Police officers are increasingly under the microscope. Almost literally. Now that the nightly news regularly features incidents where officers are being criticized for excessive force, even responsible members of the force are finding that having a camera thrust in their face is now just part of the job.
A white police officer was charged with murder this week in South Carolina after fatally shooting an unarmed black man running away from him. The death of Walter Scott was caught on video by a bystander, leading to a media frenzy. South Carolina lawmakers urged the public to remember that the officer who killed Scott is simply one bad apple among a state of good police officers, though police officials say the constant negative attention has an effect on even the most responsible police officials.
“It causes hesitation, and hesitation is a cause of risk,” said Rich Roberts, spokesman for the International Union of Police Associations. Roberts said it’s difficult for officers who are being filmed not to second-guess their actions, even if they’re in an unsafe situation. “I’m not sure being on the camera is exactly the problem, but with most people I talked to the problem is how people will interpret the images that are captured are on them.”
The news media, he said, needs to edit video clips to fit within certain time windows: If CNN only has 15 seconds to show a clip of a New York City detective berating a foreign-born Uber driver, for instance, the audience wouldn’t know what led up to that incident.
Courts consistently have ruled that it’s legal for citizens to film police without an officer’s consent, just as long as the person filming doesn’t interfere with the situation. Police, to put it mildly, don’t like being recorded by witnesses. YouTube is littered with footage of officers going ballistic on people watching events unfold from yards away.
All of which helps explain why the law enforcement community, for the most part, has greeted the advent of police body cameras with such enthusiasm. Police have complained that bystander cameras can present a safety risk -- though the IUPA’s Roberts said he couldn’t recall any instances where they interfered with the situation -- and body cameras promise to show events from an officer’s perspective.
“They realize their potential audience is now the entire world,” said Jay Stanley, senior policy analyst with the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech, Privacy and Technology Project. “Police who have nothing to hide have already long since recognized they’re likely to be filmed any time anything dramatic goes down in public. I think that any problems police have with cameras originate in their own minds.”
At the heart of the matter is a stark difference in ideology. Police critics say cameras are necessary to expose and curb abuses of power. The law enforcement community says cameras will lead to fewer lawsuits and false complaints.
“I just think agencies accept that people are filming everyone anyway,” said Lindsay Miller, senior research associate at the Police Executive Research Forum and an author of one of the only studies on how cameras are used. An unrelated study found that police body cameras lead to a more than 50 percent reduction in use-of-force complaints.
“A lot of the things that have been happening recently are really good opportunities to find some reforms and move agencies into a better place,” Miller said. “I think police welcome that.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: The problem with camera phone videos is not that they uncover police misconduct, but that they rarely if ever show any good police work.
L.A. HAS CLOSED OVER 500 POT SHOPS SINCE JULY 2013
Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer said over 500 medical marijuana dispensaries have been shut down over 20 months, some close to schools and day care centers
By Asher Klein
NBC Los Angeles
April 9, 2015
Los Angeles law enforcement has closed hundreds of shops illegally selling medical marijuana in under two years, according to City Attorney Mike Feuer.
Feuer announced Thursday that that the city has closed 503 shops since July 2013, nearly half of them in the Los Angeles Police Department's Valley Bureau.
"Many were close to schools, child care centers and other sensitive sites. Others were disrupting the quality of life in our neighborhoods," Feuer said in a press release.
In 2013, LA voters allowed medical marijuana to be sold at a set number of shops. But many shops that weren't approved under the law have sprung up anyway, along with a farmer's market that Feuer's office cracked down on as well.
Feuer said "several hundred" medical marijuana shops remain open around the city and urged the public to report any illegal medical marijuana shops to atty.medicalmarijuana@lacity.org.
EDITOR’S NOTE: They should shut down all the pot shops. Medical marijuana is a hoax. Where are the feds? Medical pot is a violation of federal law. Jim Beam and Jack Daniel’s work just as well, and they’re legal. So does Four Roses, and it’s cheaper.
By Asher Klein
NBC Los Angeles
April 9, 2015
Los Angeles law enforcement has closed hundreds of shops illegally selling medical marijuana in under two years, according to City Attorney Mike Feuer.
Feuer announced Thursday that that the city has closed 503 shops since July 2013, nearly half of them in the Los Angeles Police Department's Valley Bureau.
"Many were close to schools, child care centers and other sensitive sites. Others were disrupting the quality of life in our neighborhoods," Feuer said in a press release.
In 2013, LA voters allowed medical marijuana to be sold at a set number of shops. But many shops that weren't approved under the law have sprung up anyway, along with a farmer's market that Feuer's office cracked down on as well.
Feuer said "several hundred" medical marijuana shops remain open around the city and urged the public to report any illegal medical marijuana shops to atty.medicalmarijuana@lacity.org.
EDITOR’S NOTE: They should shut down all the pot shops. Medical marijuana is a hoax. Where are the feds? Medical pot is a violation of federal law. Jim Beam and Jack Daniel’s work just as well, and they’re legal. So does Four Roses, and it’s cheaper.
Friday, April 10, 2015
BUSTED FOR VOWING ‘I DO’ 10 TIMES
NY woman married 10 different men without bothering to get a single divorce
It has just come to light that a New York woman was busted last November for marrying 10 different men in 11 years without bothering to get a single divorce.
Liana Barrientos, 39, a native of the Dominican Republic, may have broken the record for serial brides. Six of her 10 wedding ceremonies were held within a span of six months. Her latest marriage, which occurred in March 2010, was to a man named Salle Keita.
From the April 9 New York Daily News:
A Bronx detective uncovered nine previous marriage licenses for Barrientos, including a half-dozen issued in the span of six busy months, the court documents filed last November charged.
The first license was dated Nov. 5, 1999, to husband Mohamed Gerbril, and the last on Aug. 3, 2002, to groom Kakhaber Khorbaladze — her sixth marriage that year.
Liana was scheduled to appear in Bronx Supreme Court today to be arraigned on two charges of filing a false instrument. She faces a maximum term of four years in prison on each count.
No motive was given for the bogus marriages. But looking at the names of her ‘husbands,’ I suspect that they were part of a citizenship scam.
It has just come to light that a New York woman was busted last November for marrying 10 different men in 11 years without bothering to get a single divorce.
Liana Barrientos, 39, a native of the Dominican Republic, may have broken the record for serial brides. Six of her 10 wedding ceremonies were held within a span of six months. Her latest marriage, which occurred in March 2010, was to a man named Salle Keita.
From the April 9 New York Daily News:
A Bronx detective uncovered nine previous marriage licenses for Barrientos, including a half-dozen issued in the span of six busy months, the court documents filed last November charged.
The first license was dated Nov. 5, 1999, to husband Mohamed Gerbril, and the last on Aug. 3, 2002, to groom Kakhaber Khorbaladze — her sixth marriage that year.
Liana was scheduled to appear in Bronx Supreme Court today to be arraigned on two charges of filing a false instrument. She faces a maximum term of four years in prison on each count.
No motive was given for the bogus marriages. But looking at the names of her ‘husbands,’ I suspect that they were part of a citizenship scam.
INSTANT MURDER CHARGE AND FIRING
A South Carolina cop who shot a fleeing man multiple times in the back is charged with murder and fired several hours after a video of the shooting surfaced
By Bob Walsh
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
April 8, 2015
Michael Thomas Slager is a North Charleston, S.C. police officer. He is white. He made a traffic stop of a man who happened to be black. The situation went sideways and it ended up with the motorist, Walter Lammer Scott, 50, dead and Slager facing a flat-out murder charge for his actions.
A video of the shooting (but not the lead-in to the shooting) surfaced yesterday. It showed Scott running away from Slager. Scott’s hands were pretty obviously empty. Slager shot Scott five times in the back as he was running away. It also shows Slager picking up something on the ground, carrying it over to Scott’s body and dropping it on the ground. The speculation is that this object was the Taser.
Within hours of the video being released Slager was arrested for murder.
Slager stated that Scott tried to grab his Taser and he felt threatened. Slager’s lawyer dropped him after he made that statement. The state is handling the investigation at the request of the local authorities. The FBI has invited themselves in.
I am inclined to say that Officer Slager is in very deep doodoo on this one.
The officer’s wife is eight months pregnant. The city has agreed to continue her medical insurance until after the baby is born. The laws in S.C. must be very much different than those in CA as they fired Officer Slager in less than one day.
EDITOR’S COMMENT: I viewed the dash-cam video. There was no physical altercation. After making a traffic stop, Slager walks up to Scott’s car. After a couple of moments, Slager walks back to his cop car and Scott bails out of his car and beat feet. There was a gap between then and the start of the smartphone video which appears to show Scott getting up – probably after having been tased - with Slager standing next to him, then running away again. That’s when the officer opened fire.
SCOTUS long ago ruled that the police do not have the right to shoot a fleeing suspect unless he poses an imminent threat to the officer or if his escape would put the public at serious risk. The video taken by a witness clearly shows the officer violating that SCOTUS ruling.
Slager’s mother said what her son did was so out of character that she could not understand it.
I believe that Slager’s actions were out of character. Accordingly, it is important to ascertain why he shot Scott. Did the victim piss him off? Or was Slager pissed-off for some reason before he started his shift, thereby taking his anger out on the fleeing man? If so, why didn’t Slager's supervisor observe a change in his usual mood when he came to work? It doesn’t take a psychiatrist to see that someone is in a foul mood.
A cop who shows up for work pissed-off is a dangerous cop!
By Bob Walsh
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
April 8, 2015
Michael Thomas Slager is a North Charleston, S.C. police officer. He is white. He made a traffic stop of a man who happened to be black. The situation went sideways and it ended up with the motorist, Walter Lammer Scott, 50, dead and Slager facing a flat-out murder charge for his actions.
A video of the shooting (but not the lead-in to the shooting) surfaced yesterday. It showed Scott running away from Slager. Scott’s hands were pretty obviously empty. Slager shot Scott five times in the back as he was running away. It also shows Slager picking up something on the ground, carrying it over to Scott’s body and dropping it on the ground. The speculation is that this object was the Taser.
Within hours of the video being released Slager was arrested for murder.
Slager stated that Scott tried to grab his Taser and he felt threatened. Slager’s lawyer dropped him after he made that statement. The state is handling the investigation at the request of the local authorities. The FBI has invited themselves in.
I am inclined to say that Officer Slager is in very deep doodoo on this one.
The officer’s wife is eight months pregnant. The city has agreed to continue her medical insurance until after the baby is born. The laws in S.C. must be very much different than those in CA as they fired Officer Slager in less than one day.
EDITOR’S COMMENT: I viewed the dash-cam video. There was no physical altercation. After making a traffic stop, Slager walks up to Scott’s car. After a couple of moments, Slager walks back to his cop car and Scott bails out of his car and beat feet. There was a gap between then and the start of the smartphone video which appears to show Scott getting up – probably after having been tased - with Slager standing next to him, then running away again. That’s when the officer opened fire.
SCOTUS long ago ruled that the police do not have the right to shoot a fleeing suspect unless he poses an imminent threat to the officer or if his escape would put the public at serious risk. The video taken by a witness clearly shows the officer violating that SCOTUS ruling.
Slager’s mother said what her son did was so out of character that she could not understand it.
I believe that Slager’s actions were out of character. Accordingly, it is important to ascertain why he shot Scott. Did the victim piss him off? Or was Slager pissed-off for some reason before he started his shift, thereby taking his anger out on the fleeing man? If so, why didn’t Slager's supervisor observe a change in his usual mood when he came to work? It doesn’t take a psychiatrist to see that someone is in a foul mood.
A cop who shows up for work pissed-off is a dangerous cop!
Thursday, April 09, 2015
Wednesday, April 08, 2015
WHAT DOES THE WORD ‘FIGHT’ REALLY MEAN?
Social crusaders like to say they “fight” for change, justice, equality, peace, etc., but moist, if not all, have never fought an enemy that is shooting at them, dropping mortar rounds on them and planting IEDs in their path
By Lee Lawrence
Ideological zealots, social crusaders, left-wing radicals, political activists – call them what you will – all love to use the word “fight.” They like to say “fight for change, fight for justice, fight for equality, fight for peace, fight for transparency, fight for ______” – you fill in the blank. The reality is none of them have any concept whatsoever what it truly means to “fight.”
Most, if not all, have never fought for anything in their life, neither metaphorically nor actually, having never been in any semblance of a physical confrontation or even anything resembling a struggle. Nor have they had to “fight” for an education, a place to live, their next meal, their next paycheck, most of them being pampered, wealthy, highly-educated intellectual elitists who, maybe once, had to “fight” for a parking spot near their next class on campus.
They have certainly never fought for their country or their freedom, never worn a uniform of any kind, never carried a weapon and been willing to give their life or take another’s for a cause greater than their own. During the Vietnam War those social crusaders fled to Canada and Sweden or cursed and spit on the soldiers coming back home. They are thankless and ungrateful, depending on others to fight in their place for the very rights they exercise regularly to promote their chosen cause and to condemn those who disagree.
They have never stood a post in some frozen, god-forsaken place in the middle of the night, crawling with others wanting to kill them, merely because they exist, and fought to stay awake because the lives of thirty or more of their brethren depend on them being ready to fight in the blink of any eye. They’ve never fought to fall asleep at night, wondering if the next rocket or mortar round was going to come through the roof of their tent and land on their cot. They have never walked along a path fearing that their next step will set off an IED. Nor have they gazed out into a crowd and wondered which one is wearing a suicide vest, which one is going to blow themselves and all of us into tiny, unrecognizable pieces?
Nor have they found themselves on the wet, cold, muddy ground beneath another human being, who is many times bigger and stronger than they, bent on taking their weapon and killing them with it, merely because as police officers they represent authority and stand between them and doing what they will. No, they have never experienced that terror, or anything like it.
The truth is, when confronted with a deadly threat, when the wolf’s hot breath is on their face, be it a homicidal-suicidal active shooter who sees them merely as a convenient target and their next victim, or someone willing to take their life for the change in their pocket or those Air Jordan shoes on their feet, they will, most likely, expect the very ones they despise and reject to fight for them, to take the bullet meant for them instead. They will, almost invariably, cry out to the God they also deny and reject to save them. They will be the sheep, and at that moment, will pray for the intervention of a sheep dog.
John Moynihan, a Boston police officer, was shot point-blank in the face on March 27. Shot without provocation, he never had a chance to draw his weapon. Although he is recovering, his life will never be the same.
Moynihan has dedicated his life to service, as have many others, he being an Army Ranger who survived a combat tour of duty in Iraq, only to come home and be critically wounded in an unprovoked attack by a convicted felon, free out on the streets, with a history of violence and weapon violations. Moynihan was also named Police Officer of the Year for his role in the fire fight with Tamerlan Tsarnaev, one of the Boston bombing terror suspects. Now, he fights again, this time for his life.
Officer John Moynihan happens to be white and Angelo West, who shot Moynihan, happens to be black. I mention this only because had it been reversed with Moynihan shooting West, our President, our Attorney General and the Reverend Al Sharpton would be calling for the officer’s career and his freedom. And yes, some of the above described zealots would join in and call for his very life – and all this before any of the facts are even known, readily passing judgment based on lies and speculations. Barrack, Eric, Al – where are you now??
So, the next time you or someone you know throws the word “fight” out there, take a moment to reflect on what it really means.
__________
Lee Lawrence is a sergeant with the Houston Police Department. Lee is also a U.S. Army Ranger. He took two military leaves of absence from HPD to fight with his Reserve Unit, first in Iraq, and later in Afghanistan.
By Lee Lawrence
Ideological zealots, social crusaders, left-wing radicals, political activists – call them what you will – all love to use the word “fight.” They like to say “fight for change, fight for justice, fight for equality, fight for peace, fight for transparency, fight for ______” – you fill in the blank. The reality is none of them have any concept whatsoever what it truly means to “fight.”
Most, if not all, have never fought for anything in their life, neither metaphorically nor actually, having never been in any semblance of a physical confrontation or even anything resembling a struggle. Nor have they had to “fight” for an education, a place to live, their next meal, their next paycheck, most of them being pampered, wealthy, highly-educated intellectual elitists who, maybe once, had to “fight” for a parking spot near their next class on campus.
They have certainly never fought for their country or their freedom, never worn a uniform of any kind, never carried a weapon and been willing to give their life or take another’s for a cause greater than their own. During the Vietnam War those social crusaders fled to Canada and Sweden or cursed and spit on the soldiers coming back home. They are thankless and ungrateful, depending on others to fight in their place for the very rights they exercise regularly to promote their chosen cause and to condemn those who disagree.
They have never stood a post in some frozen, god-forsaken place in the middle of the night, crawling with others wanting to kill them, merely because they exist, and fought to stay awake because the lives of thirty or more of their brethren depend on them being ready to fight in the blink of any eye. They’ve never fought to fall asleep at night, wondering if the next rocket or mortar round was going to come through the roof of their tent and land on their cot. They have never walked along a path fearing that their next step will set off an IED. Nor have they gazed out into a crowd and wondered which one is wearing a suicide vest, which one is going to blow themselves and all of us into tiny, unrecognizable pieces?
Nor have they found themselves on the wet, cold, muddy ground beneath another human being, who is many times bigger and stronger than they, bent on taking their weapon and killing them with it, merely because as police officers they represent authority and stand between them and doing what they will. No, they have never experienced that terror, or anything like it.
The truth is, when confronted with a deadly threat, when the wolf’s hot breath is on their face, be it a homicidal-suicidal active shooter who sees them merely as a convenient target and their next victim, or someone willing to take their life for the change in their pocket or those Air Jordan shoes on their feet, they will, most likely, expect the very ones they despise and reject to fight for them, to take the bullet meant for them instead. They will, almost invariably, cry out to the God they also deny and reject to save them. They will be the sheep, and at that moment, will pray for the intervention of a sheep dog.
John Moynihan, a Boston police officer, was shot point-blank in the face on March 27. Shot without provocation, he never had a chance to draw his weapon. Although he is recovering, his life will never be the same.
Moynihan has dedicated his life to service, as have many others, he being an Army Ranger who survived a combat tour of duty in Iraq, only to come home and be critically wounded in an unprovoked attack by a convicted felon, free out on the streets, with a history of violence and weapon violations. Moynihan was also named Police Officer of the Year for his role in the fire fight with Tamerlan Tsarnaev, one of the Boston bombing terror suspects. Now, he fights again, this time for his life.
Officer John Moynihan happens to be white and Angelo West, who shot Moynihan, happens to be black. I mention this only because had it been reversed with Moynihan shooting West, our President, our Attorney General and the Reverend Al Sharpton would be calling for the officer’s career and his freedom. And yes, some of the above described zealots would join in and call for his very life – and all this before any of the facts are even known, readily passing judgment based on lies and speculations. Barrack, Eric, Al – where are you now??
So, the next time you or someone you know throws the word “fight” out there, take a moment to reflect on what it really means.
__________
Lee Lawrence is a sergeant with the Houston Police Department. Lee is also a U.S. Army Ranger. He took two military leaves of absence from HPD to fight with his Reserve Unit, first in Iraq, and later in Afghanistan.
Tuesday, April 07, 2015
CAUGHT UP IN THE MOMENT
Brain fart or deliberate lie
By Bob Walsh
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
April 6, 2015
Michael Berlo, 31, is a cop in Cleveland, Ohio. He is now on trial for two counts of voluntary manslaughter related to an on-duty incident. The situation is somewhat murky.
Berlo was one of the officers involved in the stopping of a car carrying Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams in November of 2012. A total of 13 officers fired a total of 146 shots into the car, resulting in the death of both occupants. He is the only one being charged. He fired 49 of those rounds.
The incident started with a police chase in which the car refused to stop. As they blew past a Cleveland P D Headquarters their car backfired leading both cops and civilian bystanders to believe the occupants of the car were armed and shooting. Neither was in fact the case.
The chase eventually involved 104 cops, 60 plus police vehicles and speeds of over 100 mph. It ran more than 20 minutes. The bad guys made a turn in the school parking lot and tried to continue to flee, striking a cop car in the process, which legitimately qualifies as ADW on a peace officer. The shooting then started. Both occupants were hit at least 20 times.
Brelo, however, MIGHT have overdone it. He apparently jumped onto the hood of the car and emptied his gun through the windshield beginning at least 4 second after everybody else stopped shooting. His lawyer is maintaining that the situation was not fully stabilized until Brelo reached into the car and pulled the keys.
Brelo’s foot prints are on the hood of the car and at least one cop has testified that the above description is how it went down. Brelo now asserts he doesn’t remember being up on the hood of the car even though at least one officer has testified that Brelo spoke about if for several days afterwards. He now does not denied it happened that way, he says he doesn’t remember it happening that way.
Eric Holder says the Cleveland P D has a pattern and practice of using excessive force. (Gee, what a surprise that is.)
Brelo could get 25 years if found guilty. The city has already paid out $3 million to the families of the dead people.
EDITOR’S COMMENT: Keystone Cops!
What else can you call a chase by 104 cops in more than 60 cop cars with hundreds of shots fired but a Keystone Cop event.
I don’t like to be an armchair critic where cops are concerned, but this case leaves me flabbergasted. In a highly charged situation like this, the shooting frenzy is explained by one cop opening fire and, like lemmings following their leader, other officer open up with a fusillade of gunfire.
As for Officer Michael Berlo, where did he ever learn police tactics? It could not have been on this planet. Jumping on the hood of the suspect’s car is just plain lunacy. Emptying his gun through the windshield four seconds after all the other cops had stopped firing made this Keystone cop a candidate for murder charges. He more than just ‘overdone’ it.
Latest news reports say that other officers are refusing to cooperate with prosecutors. By trying to protect Berlo under these circumstances, his fellow officers will be seen like the dipshit he is.
I’d say Berlo is both a brain fart and a liar!
By Bob Walsh
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
April 6, 2015
Michael Berlo, 31, is a cop in Cleveland, Ohio. He is now on trial for two counts of voluntary manslaughter related to an on-duty incident. The situation is somewhat murky.
Berlo was one of the officers involved in the stopping of a car carrying Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams in November of 2012. A total of 13 officers fired a total of 146 shots into the car, resulting in the death of both occupants. He is the only one being charged. He fired 49 of those rounds.
The incident started with a police chase in which the car refused to stop. As they blew past a Cleveland P D Headquarters their car backfired leading both cops and civilian bystanders to believe the occupants of the car were armed and shooting. Neither was in fact the case.
The chase eventually involved 104 cops, 60 plus police vehicles and speeds of over 100 mph. It ran more than 20 minutes. The bad guys made a turn in the school parking lot and tried to continue to flee, striking a cop car in the process, which legitimately qualifies as ADW on a peace officer. The shooting then started. Both occupants were hit at least 20 times.
Brelo, however, MIGHT have overdone it. He apparently jumped onto the hood of the car and emptied his gun through the windshield beginning at least 4 second after everybody else stopped shooting. His lawyer is maintaining that the situation was not fully stabilized until Brelo reached into the car and pulled the keys.
Brelo’s foot prints are on the hood of the car and at least one cop has testified that the above description is how it went down. Brelo now asserts he doesn’t remember being up on the hood of the car even though at least one officer has testified that Brelo spoke about if for several days afterwards. He now does not denied it happened that way, he says he doesn’t remember it happening that way.
Eric Holder says the Cleveland P D has a pattern and practice of using excessive force. (Gee, what a surprise that is.)
Brelo could get 25 years if found guilty. The city has already paid out $3 million to the families of the dead people.
EDITOR’S COMMENT: Keystone Cops!
What else can you call a chase by 104 cops in more than 60 cop cars with hundreds of shots fired but a Keystone Cop event.
I don’t like to be an armchair critic where cops are concerned, but this case leaves me flabbergasted. In a highly charged situation like this, the shooting frenzy is explained by one cop opening fire and, like lemmings following their leader, other officer open up with a fusillade of gunfire.
As for Officer Michael Berlo, where did he ever learn police tactics? It could not have been on this planet. Jumping on the hood of the suspect’s car is just plain lunacy. Emptying his gun through the windshield four seconds after all the other cops had stopped firing made this Keystone cop a candidate for murder charges. He more than just ‘overdone’ it.
Latest news reports say that other officers are refusing to cooperate with prosecutors. By trying to protect Berlo under these circumstances, his fellow officers will be seen like the dipshit he is.
I’d say Berlo is both a brain fart and a liar!
POLICE AGENCIES TESTING BULLET SHELL CASINGS FASTER IN TEAM EFFORT TO NAB ACTIVE SHOOTERS
The National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, or NIBIN helps investigators link cartridge casings found at different crime scenes using a national database
By Sadie Gurman
Associated Press
April 6, 2015
DENVER -- Detectives in Denver were on the hunt for an increasingly brazen shooter.
A burglar fired through a woman's dining room window when she threatened to call police. Ten minutes later and a mile away, someone broke into another home and shot a Bernese Mountain Dog.
Officers scooped up the spent shell casings and wondered where he would strike next.
Their break came when a witness said he was fired upon in a street fight two days later. Police gathered six more casings that were quickly entered into a national ballistics database and matched all three crimes. The evidence helped put Anthony Dennis in jail and keep him there.
In many U.S. police departments, that evidence might have been shelved in an overworked crime lab, where analysts would only run it through the database to prepare a case for trial.
But authorities in Denver are leading a national trend to put ballistics evidence into the hands of investigators much more quickly — before leads dry up and suspects disappear.
"Police are beginning to understand that if you don't quickly respond and address gun violence it can spread over space, and it can escalate much like a measles outbreak," said Daniel Webster, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research, which is studying whether these efforts create sustained reductions in gun violence.
Matched shell casings have helped lead to at least 35 arrests in more than 50 shootings in the two years since Denver began operating its Crime Gun Intelligence Center. At least 13 other suspects were charged with federal gun crimes, and five more had their parole revoked, according to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The goal is to stop "active shooters," people who "have already proven they have no qualms about pulling the trigger multiple times," said Jeff Russell, supervisory special agent in the Denver ATF office. "The urgency is there to stop that person before they commit the next shooting."
In Denver, Chicago, Milwaukee, New Orleans and other cities, shell casings are now loaded into the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network within days of a crime. A machine takes images of the unique, microscopic markings at the base of each casing. Computer software then produces potential matches, and detectives and ATF agents study the linked cases for other similarities, such as suspect or vehicle descriptions.
"You've got to be timely," said Greggory LaBerge, who directs the Denver Police crime lab. "If even a week or two goes by, you may lose the advantage of having those connections."
Russell and LaBerge agreed to move two ATF investigators into Denver's crime lab to enter recovered shells into the database, using $150,000 in ATF equipment. Baltimore, Seattle, Los Angeles and other cities are now developing similar programs.
Agencies using the national database have entered nearly 2.4 million cartridge cases recovered from crime scenes, producing more than 67,000 "hits" as of February.
But there are as many as 400 million guns in circulation in the United States, and by law, the federal database was constrained from the start to include only ballistics evidence that comes from crimes. By law, test-fired shells of newly manufactured guns cannot be entered before they are sold.
Still, with every new entry of a shell left behind by a criminal, the database becomes more robust. And when officers gather shell casings from shooting scenes as often as they can, they increase the likelihood of finding matches that provide clues to a shooter's identity.
"It's like the computer you have at home. If you feed it a little, it will do a little work for you. If you don't feed it at all, it's not going to do any work for you," said Pete Gagliardi, a former ATF agent who is now senior vice president of Forensic Technology Inc., a private company that studies ballistics evidence.
Unlike with DNA or fingerprints that link people to crimes, this system catalogues the distinct characteristics of a firearm, not the person who used it. And the software only suggests potential hits, leaving it to analysts to verify any matches.
Denver's early results are mixed, but promising, said Webster. The homicide rate dropped for at least five months in places where police made arrests as a result of the program, he said, although he wouldn't provide details, since the study hasn't been published.
Even so, it can take some convincing to put crime lab ballistics machines at the service of detectives, said George Lauder, a resident agent in charge of the ATF in Milwaukee. But soon after that city started using the technology in the immediate aftermath of shootings, investigators discovered a pattern of armed robberies based on their locations and times, he said.
"We've been successful in homicides where we've been able to identify a lead within 45 minutes," said Lauder's partner, Alex Kopeck. "In the past, it could have taken us months and sometimes never to identify these leads."
New Orleans authorities credit ballistics analysis by their Multi-Agency Gang Unit for helping them solve a 2013 gang-related shooting at a Mother's Day parade that wounded 19 people, said Phillip Durham, special agent in charge of the New Orleans ATF office.
"Our murder rate is the lowest it has been in 30 years," he said. "Most of the credit is going to the MAG Unit. We're targeting the shooters."
EDITOR'S NOTE: This looks very good, but some previous ballistic work has been deemed as junk science after many years of acceptance by the courts. Will the same fate befall shell casing comparisons?
By Sadie Gurman
Associated Press
April 6, 2015
DENVER -- Detectives in Denver were on the hunt for an increasingly brazen shooter.
A burglar fired through a woman's dining room window when she threatened to call police. Ten minutes later and a mile away, someone broke into another home and shot a Bernese Mountain Dog.
Officers scooped up the spent shell casings and wondered where he would strike next.
Their break came when a witness said he was fired upon in a street fight two days later. Police gathered six more casings that were quickly entered into a national ballistics database and matched all three crimes. The evidence helped put Anthony Dennis in jail and keep him there.
In many U.S. police departments, that evidence might have been shelved in an overworked crime lab, where analysts would only run it through the database to prepare a case for trial.
But authorities in Denver are leading a national trend to put ballistics evidence into the hands of investigators much more quickly — before leads dry up and suspects disappear.
"Police are beginning to understand that if you don't quickly respond and address gun violence it can spread over space, and it can escalate much like a measles outbreak," said Daniel Webster, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research, which is studying whether these efforts create sustained reductions in gun violence.
Matched shell casings have helped lead to at least 35 arrests in more than 50 shootings in the two years since Denver began operating its Crime Gun Intelligence Center. At least 13 other suspects were charged with federal gun crimes, and five more had their parole revoked, according to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The goal is to stop "active shooters," people who "have already proven they have no qualms about pulling the trigger multiple times," said Jeff Russell, supervisory special agent in the Denver ATF office. "The urgency is there to stop that person before they commit the next shooting."
In Denver, Chicago, Milwaukee, New Orleans and other cities, shell casings are now loaded into the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network within days of a crime. A machine takes images of the unique, microscopic markings at the base of each casing. Computer software then produces potential matches, and detectives and ATF agents study the linked cases for other similarities, such as suspect or vehicle descriptions.
"You've got to be timely," said Greggory LaBerge, who directs the Denver Police crime lab. "If even a week or two goes by, you may lose the advantage of having those connections."
Russell and LaBerge agreed to move two ATF investigators into Denver's crime lab to enter recovered shells into the database, using $150,000 in ATF equipment. Baltimore, Seattle, Los Angeles and other cities are now developing similar programs.
Agencies using the national database have entered nearly 2.4 million cartridge cases recovered from crime scenes, producing more than 67,000 "hits" as of February.
But there are as many as 400 million guns in circulation in the United States, and by law, the federal database was constrained from the start to include only ballistics evidence that comes from crimes. By law, test-fired shells of newly manufactured guns cannot be entered before they are sold.
Still, with every new entry of a shell left behind by a criminal, the database becomes more robust. And when officers gather shell casings from shooting scenes as often as they can, they increase the likelihood of finding matches that provide clues to a shooter's identity.
"It's like the computer you have at home. If you feed it a little, it will do a little work for you. If you don't feed it at all, it's not going to do any work for you," said Pete Gagliardi, a former ATF agent who is now senior vice president of Forensic Technology Inc., a private company that studies ballistics evidence.
Unlike with DNA or fingerprints that link people to crimes, this system catalogues the distinct characteristics of a firearm, not the person who used it. And the software only suggests potential hits, leaving it to analysts to verify any matches.
Denver's early results are mixed, but promising, said Webster. The homicide rate dropped for at least five months in places where police made arrests as a result of the program, he said, although he wouldn't provide details, since the study hasn't been published.
Even so, it can take some convincing to put crime lab ballistics machines at the service of detectives, said George Lauder, a resident agent in charge of the ATF in Milwaukee. But soon after that city started using the technology in the immediate aftermath of shootings, investigators discovered a pattern of armed robberies based on their locations and times, he said.
"We've been successful in homicides where we've been able to identify a lead within 45 minutes," said Lauder's partner, Alex Kopeck. "In the past, it could have taken us months and sometimes never to identify these leads."
New Orleans authorities credit ballistics analysis by their Multi-Agency Gang Unit for helping them solve a 2013 gang-related shooting at a Mother's Day parade that wounded 19 people, said Phillip Durham, special agent in charge of the New Orleans ATF office.
"Our murder rate is the lowest it has been in 30 years," he said. "Most of the credit is going to the MAG Unit. We're targeting the shooters."
EDITOR'S NOTE: This looks very good, but some previous ballistic work has been deemed as junk science after many years of acceptance by the courts. Will the same fate befall shell casing comparisons?
Monday, April 06, 2015
CAR THIEF OR NUT?
Patton State Hospital inmates who escaped by stealing cars from the hospital parking lot were returned as nuts, but not by me!
In today’s PACOVILLA Corrections blog Spotlight, Bob Walsh had an interesting post about the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation getting ready to give “nutters” a free pass for misbehavior, such as assaulting a correctional officer. No more doing time in the ‘hole’ or other disciplinary measures. It will be counseling from now on.
This begs the question: What do we mean by “mentally ill?” Some would have us believe that the mentally ill do not know right from wrong. Horseshit!
Back when I was a cop, there wasn’t a month that went by without one or more inmates – Oops, I think I’m supposed to say patients – escaping from Patton State Hospital. They simply left through a hospital door, leisurely walked over to the parking lot, and stole a hospital staff member’s or visitor’s car.
When the cops caught these escapees, they were taken directly back to Patton, unless they committed another crime after their escape. Not by me!
It took me only a couple of minutes to determine that they knew they were breaking the law by stealing a car. Being the asshole that I was, I took them directly to the San Bernardino County Jail and booked them for car theft. Of the five escapees I caught, everyone was prosecuted and convicted for car theft. And instead of being returned to Patton as patients, they were imprisoned.
There is a big difference between the “mentally ill” and out-and-out psychopaths. I don’t think I have to be a psychiatrist to know the difference. To treat all of the mentally ill in prison as if they were psychopaths is a travesty. It will give many inmates a free pass to assault correctional officers and to commit other serious violations. Counseling? What a Joke!
Do you want to know who is really mentally ill? It’s U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Karlton whose ruling forced CDCR to institute its new free pass policy.
In today’s PACOVILLA Corrections blog Spotlight, Bob Walsh had an interesting post about the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation getting ready to give “nutters” a free pass for misbehavior, such as assaulting a correctional officer. No more doing time in the ‘hole’ or other disciplinary measures. It will be counseling from now on.
This begs the question: What do we mean by “mentally ill?” Some would have us believe that the mentally ill do not know right from wrong. Horseshit!
Back when I was a cop, there wasn’t a month that went by without one or more inmates – Oops, I think I’m supposed to say patients – escaping from Patton State Hospital. They simply left through a hospital door, leisurely walked over to the parking lot, and stole a hospital staff member’s or visitor’s car.
When the cops caught these escapees, they were taken directly back to Patton, unless they committed another crime after their escape. Not by me!
It took me only a couple of minutes to determine that they knew they were breaking the law by stealing a car. Being the asshole that I was, I took them directly to the San Bernardino County Jail and booked them for car theft. Of the five escapees I caught, everyone was prosecuted and convicted for car theft. And instead of being returned to Patton as patients, they were imprisoned.
There is a big difference between the “mentally ill” and out-and-out psychopaths. I don’t think I have to be a psychiatrist to know the difference. To treat all of the mentally ill in prison as if they were psychopaths is a travesty. It will give many inmates a free pass to assault correctional officers and to commit other serious violations. Counseling? What a Joke!
Do you want to know who is really mentally ill? It’s U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Karlton whose ruling forced CDCR to institute its new free pass policy.
IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHO IS GORING THE OX
At a final-four postgame press conference, a Kentucky player directed a racial slur at a Wisconsin player
Even if you are not a basketball fan, unless you live under a rock, by now you know that Wisconsin trounced undefeated and heavily favored Kentucky in college basketball’s final-four playoff game on Saturday.
The Kentucky players were so pissed–off at the end of the game that they stormed off the court without shaking hands with the winning team. But the best was yet to come during a postgame press conference.
With several Kentucky players lined up at a table, a reporter asked a question about Wisconsin’s star white player Frank Kaminsky. Andrew Harrison, who is black and whose microphone was hot, was heard saying, “Fuck that nigger.”
That remark started a shitstorm of comments on social media, with most defending Harrison. And most sports reporters gave the racial slur a pass, saying that when blacks use the ‘N’ word, it does not have the same meaning as when whites use it.
Harrison made several apologies, including one to Kaminsky who believes the apology was sincere.
Just imagine what the reaction would have been if Kaminsky had directed that remark at Harrison. First of all, he would not have been allowed to play in the championship game against Duke. There would have been boisterous protest demonstrations on the Wisconsin campus. Then he would be expelled from the university with a blast from the university’s president. And he would have been so poisoned that no NBA team would ever pick him up.
The moral of this story is that it all depends on who is goring the ox. Harrison got a pass, whereas Kaminsky would have been dead meat.
Even if you are not a basketball fan, unless you live under a rock, by now you know that Wisconsin trounced undefeated and heavily favored Kentucky in college basketball’s final-four playoff game on Saturday.
The Kentucky players were so pissed–off at the end of the game that they stormed off the court without shaking hands with the winning team. But the best was yet to come during a postgame press conference.
With several Kentucky players lined up at a table, a reporter asked a question about Wisconsin’s star white player Frank Kaminsky. Andrew Harrison, who is black and whose microphone was hot, was heard saying, “Fuck that nigger.”
That remark started a shitstorm of comments on social media, with most defending Harrison. And most sports reporters gave the racial slur a pass, saying that when blacks use the ‘N’ word, it does not have the same meaning as when whites use it.
Harrison made several apologies, including one to Kaminsky who believes the apology was sincere.
Just imagine what the reaction would have been if Kaminsky had directed that remark at Harrison. First of all, he would not have been allowed to play in the championship game against Duke. There would have been boisterous protest demonstrations on the Wisconsin campus. Then he would be expelled from the university with a blast from the university’s president. And he would have been so poisoned that no NBA team would ever pick him up.
The moral of this story is that it all depends on who is goring the ox. Harrison got a pass, whereas Kaminsky would have been dead meat.
Sunday, April 05, 2015
PUT PETE ROSE IN BASEBALL’S HALL OF FAME!
Banned from baseball for life in 1989 for betting on games, one of the greatest baseball players of all times deserves a place in Baseball’s Hall of Fame
On this Easter Sunday, when Christians are celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, it is way past time for the resurrection of Peter ….. former baseball great Pete Rose that is.
Pete Rose was without question one of the greatest players ever to put on a baseball uniform. And he achieved his many records without resorting to the use of steroids.
From Wikipedia:
Rose, a switch hitter, is the all-time Major League leader in hits (4,256), games played (3,562), at-bats (14,053), singles (3,215), and outs (10,328). He won three World Series rings, three batting titles, one Most Valuable Player Award, two Gold Gloves, the Rookie of the Year Award, and also made 17 All-Star appearances at an unequaled five different positions.
In 1989, Rose was banned from baseball for life because he gambled on baseball games. Rose admitted he bet on games, but he adamantly denied that he ever bet on games involving his own team. There has never been one shred of evidence that Rose ever bet on a game in which he played.
Baseball’s longtime Commissioner Bud Selig rejected numerous requests by Rose and others to lift that lifetime ban. To this day, Selig insists that Rose must never be reinstated.
Now baseball has a new commissioner. Rob Manfred has received a formal reinstatement request from Rose. Last month he told reporters that he would speak with Rose. “I'm prepared to deal with that request on its merits,” Manfred said.
The new commissioner has also said that Rose could still be elected to the Hall of Fame without being reinstated because the Hall is not operated by MLB.
It has been my opinion for many years that Pete Rose deserves to be in Baseball’s Hall of Fame. His many records cannot be erased by his sins. Even though Rose has been a premier asshole on many occasions, being an asshole should not disqualify him from membership in the Hall. As for betting on games, a one or two year suspension would have been an adequate punishment. A lifetime ban was way out of line.
On this Easter Sunday, when Christians are celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, it is way past time for the resurrection of Peter ….. former baseball great Pete Rose that is.
Pete Rose was without question one of the greatest players ever to put on a baseball uniform. And he achieved his many records without resorting to the use of steroids.
From Wikipedia:
Rose, a switch hitter, is the all-time Major League leader in hits (4,256), games played (3,562), at-bats (14,053), singles (3,215), and outs (10,328). He won three World Series rings, three batting titles, one Most Valuable Player Award, two Gold Gloves, the Rookie of the Year Award, and also made 17 All-Star appearances at an unequaled five different positions.
In 1989, Rose was banned from baseball for life because he gambled on baseball games. Rose admitted he bet on games, but he adamantly denied that he ever bet on games involving his own team. There has never been one shred of evidence that Rose ever bet on a game in which he played.
Baseball’s longtime Commissioner Bud Selig rejected numerous requests by Rose and others to lift that lifetime ban. To this day, Selig insists that Rose must never be reinstated.
Now baseball has a new commissioner. Rob Manfred has received a formal reinstatement request from Rose. Last month he told reporters that he would speak with Rose. “I'm prepared to deal with that request on its merits,” Manfred said.
The new commissioner has also said that Rose could still be elected to the Hall of Fame without being reinstated because the Hall is not operated by MLB.
It has been my opinion for many years that Pete Rose deserves to be in Baseball’s Hall of Fame. His many records cannot be erased by his sins. Even though Rose has been a premier asshole on many occasions, being an asshole should not disqualify him from membership in the Hall. As for betting on games, a one or two year suspension would have been an adequate punishment. A lifetime ban was way out of line.
Saturday, April 04, 2015
CALIFORNIA TAX DOLLARS AT WORK
By Bob Walsh
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
April 3, 2015
A federal judge has just ordered CDCr to spend a buttload of money for sexual reassignment surgery for one of the guests of the state
U. S. District Court Judge Jon Tigar has ordered that Jeffrey Bryan Norsworthy, 51, be given surgery to make him into Michelle Lael Norsworthy.
The department is actually contemplating appealing the ruling. I am not sure why they are bothering, it will only cost us about $100,000. Maybe they think the precedent is dangerous. You never know, it is barely possible that there are enough people high up in the department that think this is a stretch to make a point.
Convicted of murder, Norsworthy has been in prison since 1987.
I’ve seen Jeff’s mug shot and I don’t think changing him to Michelle will help.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The appeal will cost more than the operation. The 9th Circuit will probably uphold the District Court Ruling. And if CDCR wants to take the appeal to SCOTUS, that court will probably refuse to accept the case.
Those appeals are lengthy and costly. Maybe CDCR thinks that, because it will take years for the appeal to run its course, Norsworthy will croak before it’s rejected by SCOTUS.
Judge Tigar’s ruling is outrageous! The state should never be burdened with the sex change operation of a convict. Let his family, the ACLU and the human rights groups pay for that operation – not the taxpayers! What’s next – nose jobs and boob jobs? How about penile implants?
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
April 3, 2015
A federal judge has just ordered CDCr to spend a buttload of money for sexual reassignment surgery for one of the guests of the state
U. S. District Court Judge Jon Tigar has ordered that Jeffrey Bryan Norsworthy, 51, be given surgery to make him into Michelle Lael Norsworthy.
The department is actually contemplating appealing the ruling. I am not sure why they are bothering, it will only cost us about $100,000. Maybe they think the precedent is dangerous. You never know, it is barely possible that there are enough people high up in the department that think this is a stretch to make a point.
Convicted of murder, Norsworthy has been in prison since 1987.
I’ve seen Jeff’s mug shot and I don’t think changing him to Michelle will help.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The appeal will cost more than the operation. The 9th Circuit will probably uphold the District Court Ruling. And if CDCR wants to take the appeal to SCOTUS, that court will probably refuse to accept the case.
Those appeals are lengthy and costly. Maybe CDCR thinks that, because it will take years for the appeal to run its course, Norsworthy will croak before it’s rejected by SCOTUS.
Judge Tigar’s ruling is outrageous! The state should never be burdened with the sex change operation of a convict. Let his family, the ACLU and the human rights groups pay for that operation – not the taxpayers! What’s next – nose jobs and boob jobs? How about penile implants?
SERIOUSLY STUPID ROAD-RAGE INCIDENT
By Bob Walsh
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
April 3, 2015
In the realm of seriously stupid, wacked-out and pointless this one is up for the record books.
Two days ago Denise Berry, 36, and her 12-year old son were driving along in their Mercedes in Hawthorne, CA. minding their own business. The boy pointed at, and laughed at, a man in a nearby Cadillac who had his feet hanging out of the car. That apparently really pissed off somebody in the Caddy. They started after her.
Ms. Berry stopped her car right next to a marked Hawthorne P D cruiser. She reported to the officer that a car was following. At that moment the Caddy pulled up and a man in the car opened fire, killing the woman and wounding her son. The officer returned fire, killing the shooter from the Caddy. The shooter has been identified as Robert Washington, 38. Two other men in the Caddy were arrested.
How messed up do you have to be to either not see the police car right there, or not care that the police car is right there?
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
April 3, 2015
In the realm of seriously stupid, wacked-out and pointless this one is up for the record books.
Two days ago Denise Berry, 36, and her 12-year old son were driving along in their Mercedes in Hawthorne, CA. minding their own business. The boy pointed at, and laughed at, a man in a nearby Cadillac who had his feet hanging out of the car. That apparently really pissed off somebody in the Caddy. They started after her.
Ms. Berry stopped her car right next to a marked Hawthorne P D cruiser. She reported to the officer that a car was following. At that moment the Caddy pulled up and a man in the car opened fire, killing the woman and wounding her son. The officer returned fire, killing the shooter from the Caddy. The shooter has been identified as Robert Washington, 38. Two other men in the Caddy were arrested.
How messed up do you have to be to either not see the police car right there, or not care that the police car is right there?
Friday, April 03, 2015
ANTI-VIOLENCE PROGRAM WORKERS ARRESTED FOR MULTIPLE MURDERS
By Bob Walsh
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
April 3, 2015
Two men who were employed in San Francisco’s anti-violence program were arrested for a double homicide at a parking lot near Amazon Playground.
Davante Robinson and Gregory Morton III were charged with the March 9 deaths of Kenyatta Butler Jr., 18, of San Leandro and Donzel Gaines, 19, of S.F. The cops believe that the two anti-violence program workers committed the murders on behalf of a street gang.
The program is called Interrupt, Predict and Organize. The program is supposedly intended to give work experience to at-risk youth. The two men had been working for about six months with the Parks and Rec Department doing maintenance in city parks.
Trent Rhoer, the executive director of the agency that oversees the funding of the program, has said, “We feel that, so far, it has been a successful diversion in keeping people off the streets.”
I can think of at least four people Interrupt, Predict and Organize has been successful with by keeping them off the streets - the two dead guys and the two now locked up guys.
The two suspects are being held pending a $5 million bond.
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
April 3, 2015
Two men who were employed in San Francisco’s anti-violence program were arrested for a double homicide at a parking lot near Amazon Playground.
Davante Robinson and Gregory Morton III were charged with the March 9 deaths of Kenyatta Butler Jr., 18, of San Leandro and Donzel Gaines, 19, of S.F. The cops believe that the two anti-violence program workers committed the murders on behalf of a street gang.
The program is called Interrupt, Predict and Organize. The program is supposedly intended to give work experience to at-risk youth. The two men had been working for about six months with the Parks and Rec Department doing maintenance in city parks.
Trent Rhoer, the executive director of the agency that oversees the funding of the program, has said, “We feel that, so far, it has been a successful diversion in keeping people off the streets.”
I can think of at least four people Interrupt, Predict and Organize has been successful with by keeping them off the streets - the two dead guys and the two now locked up guys.
The two suspects are being held pending a $5 million bond.
IT’’S NOT THIEVES THAT ARE STUPID
Stupid is leaving purses, wallets, cellphones, GPS and car registration/insurance cards in a parked car
Here are some examples of the consequences experienced by stupid theft victims:
1. LONG-TERM PARKING:
Some people left their car in the long-term parking at San Jose while away, and someone broke into the car. Using the information on the car's registration in the glove compartment, they drove the car to the people's home in Pebble Beach and robbed it. So I guess if we are going to leave the car in long-term parking, we should NOT leave the registration/insurance cards in it, nor your remote garage door opener. This gives us something to think about with all our new electronic technology.
Even leaving a purse and other valuables in a car momentarily while the driver picks up a child from a day care facility or a six-pack from a convenience store is an invitation for thievery.
2. GPS:
Someone had their car broken into while they were at a football game. Their car was parked on the green which was adjacent to the football stadium and specially allotted to football fans. Things stolen from the car included a garage door remote control, some money and a GPS which had been prominently mounted on the dashboard. When the victims got home, they found that their house had been ransacked and just about everything worth anything had been stolen. The thieves had used the GPS to guide them to the house. They then used the garage remote control to open the garage door and gain entry to the house. The thieves knew the owners were at the football game, they knew what time the game was scheduled to finish and so they knew how much time they had to clean out the house. It would appear that they had brought a truck to empty the house of its contents. Something to consider if you have a GPS - don't put your home address in it... Put a nearby address (like a store or gas station) so you can still find your way home if you need to, but no one else would know where you live if your GPS were stolen.
3. CELLPHONES:
I never thought of this....... This lady has now changed her habit of how she lists her names on her cell phone after her handbag was stolen. Her handbag, which contained her cell phone, credit card, wallet, etc., was stolen. Twenty minutes later when she called her hubby, from a pay phone telling him what had happened, hubby says, "I received your text asking about our Pin number and I've replied a little while ago." When they rushed down to the bank, the bank staff told them all the money was already withdrawn. The thief had actually used the stolen cell phone to text "hubby" in the contact list and got hold of the pin number. Within 20 minutes he had withdrawn all the money from their bank account.
Some Cellphone Dos and Don’ts:
a. Do not disclose the relationship between you and the people in your contact list. Avoid using names like Home, Honey, Hubby, Sweetheart, Dad, Mom, etc....
b. And very importantly, when sensitive info is being asked through texts, CONFIRM by calling back.
c. Also, when you're being texted by friends or family to meet them somewhere, be sure to call back to confirm that the message came from them. If you don't reach them, be very careful about going places to meet "family and friends" who text you.
4. PURSE IN THE GROCERY CART:
A lady went grocery-shopping at a local mall and left her purse sitting in the children's seat of the cart while she reached something off a shelf... wait till you read the WHOLE story! Her wallet was stolen, and she reported it to the store personnel. After returning home, she received a phone call from the Mall Security to say that they had her wallet and that although there was no money in it, it did still hold her personal papers. She immediately went to pick up her wallet, only to be told by Mall Security that they had not called her. By the time she returned home again, her house had been broken into and burglarized. The thieves knew that by calling and saying they were Mall Security, they could lure her out of her house long enough for them to burglarize it.
Here are some examples of the consequences experienced by stupid theft victims:
1. LONG-TERM PARKING:
Some people left their car in the long-term parking at San Jose while away, and someone broke into the car. Using the information on the car's registration in the glove compartment, they drove the car to the people's home in Pebble Beach and robbed it. So I guess if we are going to leave the car in long-term parking, we should NOT leave the registration/insurance cards in it, nor your remote garage door opener. This gives us something to think about with all our new electronic technology.
Even leaving a purse and other valuables in a car momentarily while the driver picks up a child from a day care facility or a six-pack from a convenience store is an invitation for thievery.
2. GPS:
Someone had their car broken into while they were at a football game. Their car was parked on the green which was adjacent to the football stadium and specially allotted to football fans. Things stolen from the car included a garage door remote control, some money and a GPS which had been prominently mounted on the dashboard. When the victims got home, they found that their house had been ransacked and just about everything worth anything had been stolen. The thieves had used the GPS to guide them to the house. They then used the garage remote control to open the garage door and gain entry to the house. The thieves knew the owners were at the football game, they knew what time the game was scheduled to finish and so they knew how much time they had to clean out the house. It would appear that they had brought a truck to empty the house of its contents. Something to consider if you have a GPS - don't put your home address in it... Put a nearby address (like a store or gas station) so you can still find your way home if you need to, but no one else would know where you live if your GPS were stolen.
3. CELLPHONES:
I never thought of this....... This lady has now changed her habit of how she lists her names on her cell phone after her handbag was stolen. Her handbag, which contained her cell phone, credit card, wallet, etc., was stolen. Twenty minutes later when she called her hubby, from a pay phone telling him what had happened, hubby says, "I received your text asking about our Pin number and I've replied a little while ago." When they rushed down to the bank, the bank staff told them all the money was already withdrawn. The thief had actually used the stolen cell phone to text "hubby" in the contact list and got hold of the pin number. Within 20 minutes he had withdrawn all the money from their bank account.
Some Cellphone Dos and Don’ts:
a. Do not disclose the relationship between you and the people in your contact list. Avoid using names like Home, Honey, Hubby, Sweetheart, Dad, Mom, etc....
b. And very importantly, when sensitive info is being asked through texts, CONFIRM by calling back.
c. Also, when you're being texted by friends or family to meet them somewhere, be sure to call back to confirm that the message came from them. If you don't reach them, be very careful about going places to meet "family and friends" who text you.
4. PURSE IN THE GROCERY CART:
A lady went grocery-shopping at a local mall and left her purse sitting in the children's seat of the cart while she reached something off a shelf... wait till you read the WHOLE story! Her wallet was stolen, and she reported it to the store personnel. After returning home, she received a phone call from the Mall Security to say that they had her wallet and that although there was no money in it, it did still hold her personal papers. She immediately went to pick up her wallet, only to be told by Mall Security that they had not called her. By the time she returned home again, her house had been broken into and burglarized. The thieves knew that by calling and saying they were Mall Security, they could lure her out of her house long enough for them to burglarize it.
POLITICAL CORRECTNESS RUN RAMPANT
By Bob Walsh
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
April 2, 2015
A group of hard-core liberal idiot teachers are pressing CalSTRS, the California state teachers pension fund, to divest from a profitable investment because the company makes guns that are illegal to sell in the formerly great state of California.
Cerberus Capital Management is a private equity firm. They own the Freedom Group, which owns Bushmaster. A Bushmaster rifle was used in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, and that investment really pisses off the liberals. They are holding a teach-in with video presentation (after all, what is a teach-in without visual aids) at the CalSTRS building and at the Cerberus office in Brentwood today.
So far CalSTRS has expressed sympathy, but pointed out they can not force Cerberus to sell the gun maker and can not at this time unload its investment in Cerberus.
EDITOR’S NOTE: If CalSTRS has invested in Boeing and Lockheed Martin, will the protesters demand that CalSTRS divest these two companies because their fighter jets are bombing civilians in Iraq and Syria? Boeing makes the F/A 18 and Lockheed Martin makes the F 16.
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
April 2, 2015
A group of hard-core liberal idiot teachers are pressing CalSTRS, the California state teachers pension fund, to divest from a profitable investment because the company makes guns that are illegal to sell in the formerly great state of California.
Cerberus Capital Management is a private equity firm. They own the Freedom Group, which owns Bushmaster. A Bushmaster rifle was used in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, and that investment really pisses off the liberals. They are holding a teach-in with video presentation (after all, what is a teach-in without visual aids) at the CalSTRS building and at the Cerberus office in Brentwood today.
So far CalSTRS has expressed sympathy, but pointed out they can not force Cerberus to sell the gun maker and can not at this time unload its investment in Cerberus.
EDITOR’S NOTE: If CalSTRS has invested in Boeing and Lockheed Martin, will the protesters demand that CalSTRS divest these two companies because their fighter jets are bombing civilians in Iraq and Syria? Boeing makes the F/A 18 and Lockheed Martin makes the F 16.
Thursday, April 02, 2015
NO MORE ROOM ON SAN QUENTIN’S DEATH ROW
It’s essentially full, governor warns
By Jenn Gidman
Newser
March 31, 2015
California Gov. Jerry Brown has submitted his $113 billion budget proposal, and in it he notes that, on average, 20 new felons are expected to show up per year on death row in San Quentin State Prison, the Los Angeles Times reports.
One problem: There's no more room. With executions at a standstill for almost 10 years and each of the 715 death-row vacancies more or less accounted for, Brown is asking for $3.2 million out of the budget to expand the facility by opening up almost 100 more cells that have been recently vacated by lower-level criminals in the prison's South Block.
Although the 20 women on California's death row are housed in a separate maximum-security facility, 708 of the 731 men waiting for their day of reckoning are housed at San Quentin; the other 23 are currently in other California prisons for court dates, jailed in other states, or in medical facilities, the Times notes.
No one's been put to death in California since Clarence Ray Allen in 2006, when the state halted all executions. Sentenced convicts keep filtering in, though, as the state hashes out its capital punishment issues in the courts.
A 2010 planned execution was blocked by both state and federal courts due to lethal injection concerns, and a federal judge ruled in 2014 that California's death penalty was "unconstitutional," often leaving inmates languishing for decades, CNN has noted; the CDCR says the average time spent on Cali's death row is 17.5 years.
The money Brown's seeking would go toward staffing, security, and revamping South Block facilities, such as making showers shackle-friendly, the Times notes. "Until the litigation is resolved, this cost-effective proposal allows [the state corrections department] to safely house condemned inmates going forward," a corrections department spokesman said last week, per the Times. (A Japanese death row inmate was set free after 48 years.)
EDITOR’S NOTE: According to the Los Angeles Times, since the last execution in 2006, forty-nine inmates have died of natural causes, cancer, drug overdose, suicide or other causes, including two last month. Teofilo Medina Jr., 70, who murdered three store clerks for petty cash during a robbery spree in 1984, died of cancer March 22. Leon Cooper, 54, convicted of the 1998 rape and murder of his stepdaughter, died March 18 at a Marin County hospital. Officials have not said what caused his death.
By Jenn Gidman
Newser
March 31, 2015
California Gov. Jerry Brown has submitted his $113 billion budget proposal, and in it he notes that, on average, 20 new felons are expected to show up per year on death row in San Quentin State Prison, the Los Angeles Times reports.
One problem: There's no more room. With executions at a standstill for almost 10 years and each of the 715 death-row vacancies more or less accounted for, Brown is asking for $3.2 million out of the budget to expand the facility by opening up almost 100 more cells that have been recently vacated by lower-level criminals in the prison's South Block.
Although the 20 women on California's death row are housed in a separate maximum-security facility, 708 of the 731 men waiting for their day of reckoning are housed at San Quentin; the other 23 are currently in other California prisons for court dates, jailed in other states, or in medical facilities, the Times notes.
No one's been put to death in California since Clarence Ray Allen in 2006, when the state halted all executions. Sentenced convicts keep filtering in, though, as the state hashes out its capital punishment issues in the courts.
A 2010 planned execution was blocked by both state and federal courts due to lethal injection concerns, and a federal judge ruled in 2014 that California's death penalty was "unconstitutional," often leaving inmates languishing for decades, CNN has noted; the CDCR says the average time spent on Cali's death row is 17.5 years.
The money Brown's seeking would go toward staffing, security, and revamping South Block facilities, such as making showers shackle-friendly, the Times notes. "Until the litigation is resolved, this cost-effective proposal allows [the state corrections department] to safely house condemned inmates going forward," a corrections department spokesman said last week, per the Times. (A Japanese death row inmate was set free after 48 years.)
EDITOR’S NOTE: According to the Los Angeles Times, since the last execution in 2006, forty-nine inmates have died of natural causes, cancer, drug overdose, suicide or other causes, including two last month. Teofilo Medina Jr., 70, who murdered three store clerks for petty cash during a robbery spree in 1984, died of cancer March 22. Leon Cooper, 54, convicted of the 1998 rape and murder of his stepdaughter, died March 18 at a Marin County hospital. Officials have not said what caused his death.
DEALING WITH CALIFORNIA’S PRISON OVERCROWDING
A parole board panel has approved Chowchilla school bus kidnapper James Schoenfeld for parole
In 1976, James Schoenfeld, now 63, his brother and another man kidnapped a busload of Chowchilla schoolchildren and their bus driver, and buried them alive.
On Wednesday, at the California Men’s colony in San Luis Obispo, a two member panel of the parole board approved Schoenfeld for parole. It was his 20th parole hearing.
Richard Schoenfeld, his younger brother, was paroled in 2012. Fred Woods, the third kidnapper, is scheduled for a parole hearing this fall.
In 1976, James Schoenfeld, now 63, his brother and another man kidnapped a busload of Chowchilla schoolchildren and their bus driver, and buried them alive.
On Wednesday, at the California Men’s colony in San Luis Obispo, a two member panel of the parole board approved Schoenfeld for parole. It was his 20th parole hearing.
Richard Schoenfeld, his younger brother, was paroled in 2012. Fred Woods, the third kidnapper, is scheduled for a parole hearing this fall.
COMPREHENSIVE STUDY: TEEN DISTRACTED DRIVING
By Jerry Reynolds
CAR PRO
April 2, 2015
The most comprehensive research ever conducted into crash videos of teen drivers has found significant evidence that distracted driving is likely much more serious a problem than previously known, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. The unprecedented video analysis finds that distraction was a factor in nearly 6 out of 10 moderate-to-severe teen crashes, which is four times as many as official estimates based on police reports.
Researchers analyzed the six seconds leading up to a crash in nearly 1,700 videos of teen drivers taken from in-vehicle event recorders. The results showed that distraction was a factor in 58 percent of all crashes studied, including 89 percent of road-departure crashes and 76 percent of rear-end crashes. NHTSA previously has estimated that distraction is a factor in only 14 percent of all teen driver crashes.
"Access to crash videos has allowed us to better understand the moments leading up to a vehicle impact in a way that was previously impossible," said Peter Kissinger, President and CEO of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. "The in-depth analysis provides indisputable evidence that teen drivers are distracted in a much greater percentage of crashes than we previously realized."
The most common forms of distraction leading up to a crash by a teen driver included:
* Interacting with one or more passengers: 15 percent of crashes
* Cell phone use: 12 percent of crashes
* Looking at something in the vehicle: 10 percent of crashes
* Looking at something outside the vehicle: 9 percent of crashes
* Singing/moving to music: 8 percent of crashes
* Grooming: 6 percent of crashes
* Reaching for an object: 6 percent of crashes
"It is troubling that passengers and cell phones were the most common forms of distraction given that these factors can increase crash risks for teen drivers," said AAA CEO Bob Darbelnet. "The situation is made worse by the fact that young drivers have spent less time behind the wheel and cannot draw upon their previous experience to manage unsafe conditions."
Researchers found that drivers manipulating their cell phone (includes calling, texting or other uses), had their eyes off the road for an average of 4.1 out of the final six seconds leading up to a crash. The researchers also measured reaction times in rear-end crashes and found that teen drivers using a cell phone failed to react more than half of the time before the impact, meaning they crashed without braking or steering.
"This study shows how important it is for states to review their graduated driver licensing and distracted driving laws to ensure they provide as much protection as possible for teens," continued Darbelnet. "AAA recommends that state laws prohibit cell phone use by teen drivers and restrict passengers to one non-family member for the first six months of driving."
Graduated driver licensing (GDL) laws allow new drivers to gain practical experience in a relatively safe environment by restricting their exposure to risky situations. Thirty-three states have laws that prevent cell phone use for teens and 18 states have passenger restrictions meeting AAA's recommendations.
Parents play a critical role in preventing distracted driving. AAA recommends that parents teach teens about the dangers of cell phone use and restrict passengers during the learning-to-drive process. Before parents begin practice driving with teens, they should create a parent-teen driving agreement that includes strict ground rules related to distraction. AAA offers a comprehensive driver education program, where teens can learn specifically how using a cell phone affects driving abilities and increases their crash risk. For more information, visitTeenDriving.AAA.com.
Teens have the highest crash rate of any group in the United States. About 963,000 drivers age 16-19 were involved in police-reported crashes in 2013, which is the most recent year of available data. These crashes resulted in 383,000 injuries and 2,865 deaths.
CAR PRO
April 2, 2015
The most comprehensive research ever conducted into crash videos of teen drivers has found significant evidence that distracted driving is likely much more serious a problem than previously known, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. The unprecedented video analysis finds that distraction was a factor in nearly 6 out of 10 moderate-to-severe teen crashes, which is four times as many as official estimates based on police reports.
Researchers analyzed the six seconds leading up to a crash in nearly 1,700 videos of teen drivers taken from in-vehicle event recorders. The results showed that distraction was a factor in 58 percent of all crashes studied, including 89 percent of road-departure crashes and 76 percent of rear-end crashes. NHTSA previously has estimated that distraction is a factor in only 14 percent of all teen driver crashes.
"Access to crash videos has allowed us to better understand the moments leading up to a vehicle impact in a way that was previously impossible," said Peter Kissinger, President and CEO of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. "The in-depth analysis provides indisputable evidence that teen drivers are distracted in a much greater percentage of crashes than we previously realized."
The most common forms of distraction leading up to a crash by a teen driver included:
* Interacting with one or more passengers: 15 percent of crashes
* Cell phone use: 12 percent of crashes
* Looking at something in the vehicle: 10 percent of crashes
* Looking at something outside the vehicle: 9 percent of crashes
* Singing/moving to music: 8 percent of crashes
* Grooming: 6 percent of crashes
* Reaching for an object: 6 percent of crashes
"It is troubling that passengers and cell phones were the most common forms of distraction given that these factors can increase crash risks for teen drivers," said AAA CEO Bob Darbelnet. "The situation is made worse by the fact that young drivers have spent less time behind the wheel and cannot draw upon their previous experience to manage unsafe conditions."
Researchers found that drivers manipulating their cell phone (includes calling, texting or other uses), had their eyes off the road for an average of 4.1 out of the final six seconds leading up to a crash. The researchers also measured reaction times in rear-end crashes and found that teen drivers using a cell phone failed to react more than half of the time before the impact, meaning they crashed without braking or steering.
"This study shows how important it is for states to review their graduated driver licensing and distracted driving laws to ensure they provide as much protection as possible for teens," continued Darbelnet. "AAA recommends that state laws prohibit cell phone use by teen drivers and restrict passengers to one non-family member for the first six months of driving."
Graduated driver licensing (GDL) laws allow new drivers to gain practical experience in a relatively safe environment by restricting their exposure to risky situations. Thirty-three states have laws that prevent cell phone use for teens and 18 states have passenger restrictions meeting AAA's recommendations.
Parents play a critical role in preventing distracted driving. AAA recommends that parents teach teens about the dangers of cell phone use and restrict passengers during the learning-to-drive process. Before parents begin practice driving with teens, they should create a parent-teen driving agreement that includes strict ground rules related to distraction. AAA offers a comprehensive driver education program, where teens can learn specifically how using a cell phone affects driving abilities and increases their crash risk. For more information, visitTeenDriving.AAA.com.
Teens have the highest crash rate of any group in the United States. About 963,000 drivers age 16-19 were involved in police-reported crashes in 2013, which is the most recent year of available data. These crashes resulted in 383,000 injuries and 2,865 deaths.
ANOTHER HOV LANE SCAMMER BUSTED
A Washington State Patrol trooper says it’s by far the best carpool scam he’s seen, but it didn’t work
By Jerry Reynolds
CAR PRO
April 2, 2015
As KOMO-TV put it, “Troopers don’t always stop people in the HOV lanes, but when they do, they prefer ‘dos’ passengers.”
A motorcycle trooper parked along Interstate 5 near Tacoma on Monday afternoon spotted a driver and a rather unusual “passenger” pass by him in the carpool lane. When the trooper stopped the car, he discovered the “passenger” was a cardboard cutout of the actor who portrays “The Most Interesting Man in the World” in Dos Equis beer ads.
The driver’s response? “He’s my best friend.”
The Most Interesting Man was not confiscated, but the driver was told not to use him again.
Channeling the cardboard cutout, the State Patrol tweeted: “I don’t always violate the HOV lane law … but when I do, I get a $124 ticket.”
By Jerry Reynolds
CAR PRO
April 2, 2015
As KOMO-TV put it, “Troopers don’t always stop people in the HOV lanes, but when they do, they prefer ‘dos’ passengers.”
A motorcycle trooper parked along Interstate 5 near Tacoma on Monday afternoon spotted a driver and a rather unusual “passenger” pass by him in the carpool lane. When the trooper stopped the car, he discovered the “passenger” was a cardboard cutout of the actor who portrays “The Most Interesting Man in the World” in Dos Equis beer ads.
The driver’s response? “He’s my best friend.”
The Most Interesting Man was not confiscated, but the driver was told not to use him again.
Channeling the cardboard cutout, the State Patrol tweeted: “I don’t always violate the HOV lane law … but when I do, I get a $124 ticket.”
Wednesday, April 01, 2015
PALCOHOL: NO MORE NEED FOR PRUNO
Because jail and prison inmates cannot purchase any booze at the commissary, they have been brewing their own. Once powdered alcohol will be smuggled into prisons, there will be no need for inmates to brew pruno
For the uninitiated, pruno is a concoction of oranges or apples, fruit cocktail, sugar, ketchup and bread, the ingredients needed to make prison wine aka pruno. You can browse the internet and find numerous recipes for prison prunp. The most popular one seems to be one by Jarvis Masters who is currently roosting om California’s death row. Andy Kryza, Associate Senior Editor of Food & Drink, has published this recipe for pruno:
Step 1: First, take as many oranges as you can get from the mess hall... about 6-10 will do. If you still need to stuff them in a pillowcase to beat on your cellmate, don't worry -- they can be bruised. Peel 'em and toss 'em in a giant Ziploc bag.
Step 2: Next, take a gigantic can of fruit cocktail (two, if you can smuggle them) and dump it, juice and all, into the bag. Save a couple grapes to eat though. They're delicious.
Step 3: Next, you're gonna need some sugar to help the fermentation process. Squirrel away about 60 cubes, then about 4tbsp of ketchup, just for a little acidity in the mix. That's about four packets.
Step 4: Yeast is what makes this crap turn into alcohol, so toss whatever bread you can in there so the yeast'll get the juices boozin'. Don't overdo it: a piece or two should suffice.
Step 5: Since your pillowcase is now devoid of oranges, you're gonna need to use your fists to pound the mixture into a pulp. Be sure to seal your bag first, though, or else your cell's gonna look like you took a shotgun to a garbage can you found outside a Jamba Juice.
Step 6: Put the bag somewhere warm and safe -- maybe the toilet, maybe a sink, maybe a bucket you smuggled in -- and pour warm water over it to help the fermentation. Then either cover it or wrap it in a towel. Each day, repeat the process of pouring warm water over the bag. Do this for 5-7 days.
Step 6.5: Oh shit! Yeah, so there's gonna be some gas as this turns into booze. Make sure to leave the bag open a tiny crack or else your Ziploc bag's gonna turn into a tropical time-bomb, which is what got you here in the first place.
Step 7: After about a week, strain the nasty fruit goop. If you can't find a strainer, just shank the bag a bunch of times and... voila! DIY strainer.
The Evil Results: Bada-bing! It looks like Tang. It smells like rotten fruit and booze. So what does the fruit of our cell-block labor taste like?
Imagine brushing your teeth, slamming a glass of grapefruit juice, throwing it all up, then drinking it again, and you're close to the flavor profile of this concoction. Maybe add earwax and a little glue. But hey, it's booze. And it beats the hell out of spending a week in solitary with just water and spork-related fever dreams.
Now why do you suppose I posted Kryza’s recipe? I did it to show that it takes a number of ingredients and about a week to make pruno, and there is always the chance that correctional officers searching for contraband will discover the fermenting concoction. No need to worry anymore. A new product has come along that will eliminate the need for pruno. It’s called Palcohol and it will be easy to smuggle into jails and prisons.
Palcohol, which has been approved by the FDA, is powdered alcohol which when added to water or another beverage, produces vodka, rum, etc. The makers of Palcohol plan to start selling their product this spring and their website describes it as a convenient and lightweight way to make adult beverages more available to everyone from campers to travelers. Oops, they forgot to mention jail and prison inmates.
Each packet of Palcohol weighs about an ounce and, when mixed with five ounces of liquid, the alcohol content is equal to a standard mixed drink. The makers say people won’t snort the product because that would be painful.
The states of Alaska, Delaware, Louisiana, South Carolina and Vermont have already banned the use of powdered alcohol and legislation to outlaw it is pending in other states.
‘txlt44’ gave me a heads-up on Palcohol and wrote:” Just think about this stuff in being smuggled in the correctional facilities. No more Apple-Jack fermenting in the crapper.” [Apple-Jack is the term for pruno in Texas prisons and instead of oranges, it’s made with apples.]
Fear that Palcohol will fall into the hands of teenagers is the main reason why some states have banned powdered alcohol and why legislators in other states have introduced bills to outlaw it. Little or no thought has been given to the smuggling of Palcohol into our penal institutions.
‘txlt44’ is spot on. Once powdered alcohol hits the market, it will find its way into our jails and prisons. In the states that have banned it, Palcohol will find its way into the black market one way or another. It can be ordered on the internet. The same as with meth, it will be produced in clandestine labs. And like with cellphones and drugs, it will be smuggled to inmates by visitors and corrupt correctional officers. Then there will be no need for inmates to brew any pruno .
For the uninitiated, pruno is a concoction of oranges or apples, fruit cocktail, sugar, ketchup and bread, the ingredients needed to make prison wine aka pruno. You can browse the internet and find numerous recipes for prison prunp. The most popular one seems to be one by Jarvis Masters who is currently roosting om California’s death row. Andy Kryza, Associate Senior Editor of Food & Drink, has published this recipe for pruno:
Step 1: First, take as many oranges as you can get from the mess hall... about 6-10 will do. If you still need to stuff them in a pillowcase to beat on your cellmate, don't worry -- they can be bruised. Peel 'em and toss 'em in a giant Ziploc bag.
Step 2: Next, take a gigantic can of fruit cocktail (two, if you can smuggle them) and dump it, juice and all, into the bag. Save a couple grapes to eat though. They're delicious.
Step 3: Next, you're gonna need some sugar to help the fermentation process. Squirrel away about 60 cubes, then about 4tbsp of ketchup, just for a little acidity in the mix. That's about four packets.
Step 4: Yeast is what makes this crap turn into alcohol, so toss whatever bread you can in there so the yeast'll get the juices boozin'. Don't overdo it: a piece or two should suffice.
Step 5: Since your pillowcase is now devoid of oranges, you're gonna need to use your fists to pound the mixture into a pulp. Be sure to seal your bag first, though, or else your cell's gonna look like you took a shotgun to a garbage can you found outside a Jamba Juice.
Step 6: Put the bag somewhere warm and safe -- maybe the toilet, maybe a sink, maybe a bucket you smuggled in -- and pour warm water over it to help the fermentation. Then either cover it or wrap it in a towel. Each day, repeat the process of pouring warm water over the bag. Do this for 5-7 days.
Step 6.5: Oh shit! Yeah, so there's gonna be some gas as this turns into booze. Make sure to leave the bag open a tiny crack or else your Ziploc bag's gonna turn into a tropical time-bomb, which is what got you here in the first place.
Step 7: After about a week, strain the nasty fruit goop. If you can't find a strainer, just shank the bag a bunch of times and... voila! DIY strainer.
The Evil Results: Bada-bing! It looks like Tang. It smells like rotten fruit and booze. So what does the fruit of our cell-block labor taste like?
Imagine brushing your teeth, slamming a glass of grapefruit juice, throwing it all up, then drinking it again, and you're close to the flavor profile of this concoction. Maybe add earwax and a little glue. But hey, it's booze. And it beats the hell out of spending a week in solitary with just water and spork-related fever dreams.
Now why do you suppose I posted Kryza’s recipe? I did it to show that it takes a number of ingredients and about a week to make pruno, and there is always the chance that correctional officers searching for contraband will discover the fermenting concoction. No need to worry anymore. A new product has come along that will eliminate the need for pruno. It’s called Palcohol and it will be easy to smuggle into jails and prisons.
Palcohol, which has been approved by the FDA, is powdered alcohol which when added to water or another beverage, produces vodka, rum, etc. The makers of Palcohol plan to start selling their product this spring and their website describes it as a convenient and lightweight way to make adult beverages more available to everyone from campers to travelers. Oops, they forgot to mention jail and prison inmates.
Each packet of Palcohol weighs about an ounce and, when mixed with five ounces of liquid, the alcohol content is equal to a standard mixed drink. The makers say people won’t snort the product because that would be painful.
The states of Alaska, Delaware, Louisiana, South Carolina and Vermont have already banned the use of powdered alcohol and legislation to outlaw it is pending in other states.
‘txlt44’ gave me a heads-up on Palcohol and wrote:” Just think about this stuff in being smuggled in the correctional facilities. No more Apple-Jack fermenting in the crapper.” [Apple-Jack is the term for pruno in Texas prisons and instead of oranges, it’s made with apples.]
Fear that Palcohol will fall into the hands of teenagers is the main reason why some states have banned powdered alcohol and why legislators in other states have introduced bills to outlaw it. Little or no thought has been given to the smuggling of Palcohol into our penal institutions.
‘txlt44’ is spot on. Once powdered alcohol hits the market, it will find its way into our jails and prisons. In the states that have banned it, Palcohol will find its way into the black market one way or another. It can be ordered on the internet. The same as with meth, it will be produced in clandestine labs. And like with cellphones and drugs, it will be smuggled to inmates by visitors and corrupt correctional officers. Then there will be no need for inmates to brew any pruno .
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