Whether Proposition 19 passes or not, it is a fact that Kookfornia’s medical marijuana law has for all practical purposes legalized pot for recreational use. The Obama administration gave carte blanche for Kookfornia’s pot heads to toke up and have a ball when it announced that the DEA was not going to interfere with the ‘medical’ use of marijuana.
OK, so they decided not to mess with people who were allegedly growing or using pot for medicinal purposes. However, they could have busted the doctors who were abusing the law by prescribing pot for ingrown toenails, hangovers, and dozens of other made-up phony ailments that had no relationship to cancer, AIDS or glaucoma, the ailments marijuana was supposed to be used for. But then that would have wiped out over half of Kookfornia’s doctors.
If Proposition 19 passes, and there is a good chance it will, are the feds really going to enforce the federal Controlled Substances Act as promised by Attorney General Holder? I’ll believe it when I see it. And even if they go ahead and enforce the marijuana sections of the CSA, the relatively small number of DEA agents won’t be able to make a dent in the illegal use and possession of pot.
FEDS OPPOSE CALIFORNIA POT LEGALIZATION PROPOSAL
Attorney General: u.s. Will Enforce Marijuana Laws Even if Voters Legalize the Drug
CBS News
October 15, 2010
(AP) Attorney General Eric Holder says the federal government will enforce its marijuana laws in California even if voters next month make the state the first in the nation to legalize the drug.
The Justice Department strongly opposes California's Proposition 19 and remains firmly committed to enforcing the federal Controlled Substances Act in all states, Holder wrote in a letter to former chiefs of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter, dated Wednesday.
"We will vigorously enforce the CSA against those individuals and organizations that possess, manufacture or distribute marijuana for recreational use, even if such activities are permitted under state law," Holder wrote.
The attorney general also said that legalizing recreational marijuana in California would be a "significant impediment" to the government's joint efforts with state and local law enforcement to target drug traffickers, who often distribute marijuana alongside cocaine and other drugs.
He said the ballot measure's passage would "significantly undermine" efforts to keep California communities safe.
If Proposition 19 passes in November, California would become the first U.S. state to legalize and regulate recreational pot use. Adults could possess up to one ounce of the drug and grow small gardens on private property. Local governments would decide whether to allow and tax sales of the drug.
Under federal law, marijuana is still strictly illegal. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the federal government has the right to enforce its ban regardless of state law.
The ex-Drug Enforcement Administration chiefs sent a letter to Holder in August calling on the Obama administration to sue California if Prop 19 passes. They said legalizing pot presented the same threat to federal authority as Arizona's recent immigration law.
Some legal scholars and policy analysts have questioned how much the Justice Department could really do on the ground to halt a state-sanctioned recreational pot trade.
Nearly all arrests for marijuana crimes are made at the state level. Of more than 847,000 marijuana-related arrests in 2008, for example, just over 6,300 suspects were booked by federal law enforcement, or fewer than 1 percent.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Saturday, October 16, 2010
POLICE WORK IS COSTLY, BUT PROFITABLE FOR LAWYERS
As you can see, NY is not the only city making big payouts by settling lawsuits based on alleged police misconduct. I suspect that some of the lawsuits filed against the police would not have succeeded had they ever gone to trial. While the taxpayers are on the hook, the liars – oops, I mean lawyers – are raking in the money.
I have no problem with making big payouts to those who have been wrongfully convicted. Nor do I have a problem with those who have been victimized in one way or another as the result of deliberate police misconduct. But most of these lawsuits are not about wrongful convictions or deliberate police misconduct. I would call them ROBBERY BY LAWSUIT.
NY: $1 BILLION IN POLICE SETTLEMENTS IN LAST DECADE
Taxpayers foot the bill — New York officials say the payments cost less than insurance would, and officers don't usually bear personal responsibility
By Colleen Long and Jennifer Peltz
The Associated Press
October 14, 2010
NEW YORK — The fiancee and friends of an unarmed man killed in a 50-bullet police shooting on his wedding day said they wanted justice. The legal system gave them money — more than $7 million.
The city did what it has done time and time again: pay.
Nearly $1 billion has been paid over the past decade to resolve claims against the nation's largest police department, according to an investigation by The Associated Press. Some smaller departments also shell out tens of millions a year in payouts, but New York's spending on police claims dwarfs that of any other U.S. city.
Taxpayers foot the bill — New York officials say the payments cost less than insurance would, and officers themselves don't usually bear personal responsibility.
The $964 million in payouts covers everything from brutality cases to patrol-car wrecks to stationhouse accidents, and it includes settlements and trial awards. Some police officers have been sued again and again — including one officer at least seven times on excessive force and brutality claims. Some law firms have made it their primary business to sue the city.
City lawyers call the payouts a hard-fought cost of policing a metropolis of 8.3 million people — a price officials work to minimize through officer training and discipline. And the city has prevailed in thousands of cases, including some deadly shootings.
"We're not pushovers," said Fay Leoussis, one of the city's chief lawyers.
But the city is literally paying for police mistakes without learning from them, critics say. In cases like the 50-bullet shooting, the city pays even when officers are acquitted of criminal charges and don't admit wrongdoing.
"Right now it's open season against the city. Just file a lawsuit, and you're going to get money," said City Council member Peter Vallone, who has sponsored a bill he hopes will make it impossible to pay out dubious claims. "Everyone makes out — except the taxpayer."
Lawsuits against police are inevitable, some experts say — police interact with millions of citizens a year, confronting criminal suspects and the mentally ill, as well as the angry, opportunistic and litigious. A 2005 federal Bureau of Justice Statistics survey found that 90 percent of people say officers act properly, but other studies estimate about 30,000 lawsuits are filed against them a year.
To some who have sued and won, payouts don't amount to true compensation.
"You can sue New York City, but it's not really justifying what happened," says Charles Shepherd, who spent about 14 years in prison on a murder conviction that hinged on the testimony of a witness who eventually admitted she'd lied; another man later confessed to the crime.
Shepherd settled in 2005 for $370,000 from the city and $1.65 million from the state.
"The city feels they can give you X amount of money" to make up for injustice, said Shepherd, 45, now a counselor for children with HIV. "It's not fair whatsoever."
Comparing cities' payouts is complicated because of differences in record-keeping, the time frames of data available and the fact that the 35,000-officer NYPD is more than twice as big as any other U.S. police department.
But some rough comparisons can be made, using recent data several cities provided to the AP.
Chicago, with about a third of New York's population, paid out an average of $39.1 million a year over the past six fiscal years; New York paid $96.4 million a year on average from 1999 to 2008, the most recent years available.
Chicago's figures include a nearly $21 million payment in 2008 to a driver paralyzed when police slammed into his car while chasing someone else.
In Los Angeles, with less than half New York's population, police paid an average of nearly $21.4 million a year in the past seven fiscal years.
Philadelphia, with less than a fifth of New York's population, spent only about one-tenth as much as New York in payouts, averaging $9.2 million a year on payouts from 2005 to 2009. Philadelphia police track "problem" officers but through internal investigations, not lawsuits.
New York's data don't detail the nature of the police cases. But research into just some of the biggest payouts shows car accidents alone cost more than $30 million in those 10 years. Some multimillion-dollar settlements have gone to officers themselves for on-the-job injuries.
More than $23 million was spent to compensate for police bullets or brutality, millions more to settle claims of unjustified arrests and wrongful convictions.
Some officers are sued multiple times: In the past three years, one Brooklyn precinct sergeant has been sued at least seven times on excessive force and brutality claims, costing the city at least $188,250. A narcotics detective was the target of at least six suits that spurred $103,000 in payouts. The city has paid $171,500 to settle four suits against one plainclothes detective; another case against him is pending.
The city did not admit wrongdoing. Two of the officers are still on the force; one retired. None was charged criminally or disciplined, though the sergeant was later monitored for use of force.
Most departments don't do much, if anything, with information from lawsuits; to them, if no wrongdoing is admitted, why bother tracking the cases?
But some experts believe mining the cases could lead to fewer suits.
"Even if (officials) tracked the information just to decrease liability, isn't that a good idea?" said Cynthia Conti-Cook of Stoll, Glickman and Bellina, a Brooklyn firm that has sued officers.
Last year, Vallone proposed tracking the city's settlements to ensure it pays out only when liable and learns from the cases it does pay. The NYPD assigned a committee to look at the more costly payouts for evidence of perjury, corruption and other wrongdoing.
City lawyers say they do weigh claims with an eye on potential costs.
"Even though the facts may all be pointing to a justification of what you did, and no liability, if it's going to a jury, then it's always a question," Leoussis said of the city law department. "You can't afford to take that kind of risk."
The nearly $7.2 million settlement in the Sean Bell case was the city's largest settlement ever in a fatal police shooting.
Three officers opened fire on a car carrying the unarmed Bell, 23, and two friends. The officers said they thought the men were armed, and the men had ignored orders to stop. Bell died in a hail of 50 bullets around the corner from a Queens topless bar where he had just had a bachelor party.
The officers were acquitted of manslaughter in the 2006 shooting in state court; federal prosecutors declined to charge them with civil rights crimes.
The shooting led to police reforms ranging from added firearms training to rule changes for undercover work. The officers still face disciplinary proceedings that could cost them their jobs.
Bell's friend Joseph Guzman, shot 17 times, ended up with $3 million. But, he said, "nobody wins in this."
I have no problem with making big payouts to those who have been wrongfully convicted. Nor do I have a problem with those who have been victimized in one way or another as the result of deliberate police misconduct. But most of these lawsuits are not about wrongful convictions or deliberate police misconduct. I would call them ROBBERY BY LAWSUIT.
NY: $1 BILLION IN POLICE SETTLEMENTS IN LAST DECADE
Taxpayers foot the bill — New York officials say the payments cost less than insurance would, and officers don't usually bear personal responsibility
By Colleen Long and Jennifer Peltz
The Associated Press
October 14, 2010
NEW YORK — The fiancee and friends of an unarmed man killed in a 50-bullet police shooting on his wedding day said they wanted justice. The legal system gave them money — more than $7 million.
The city did what it has done time and time again: pay.
Nearly $1 billion has been paid over the past decade to resolve claims against the nation's largest police department, according to an investigation by The Associated Press. Some smaller departments also shell out tens of millions a year in payouts, but New York's spending on police claims dwarfs that of any other U.S. city.
Taxpayers foot the bill — New York officials say the payments cost less than insurance would, and officers themselves don't usually bear personal responsibility.
The $964 million in payouts covers everything from brutality cases to patrol-car wrecks to stationhouse accidents, and it includes settlements and trial awards. Some police officers have been sued again and again — including one officer at least seven times on excessive force and brutality claims. Some law firms have made it their primary business to sue the city.
City lawyers call the payouts a hard-fought cost of policing a metropolis of 8.3 million people — a price officials work to minimize through officer training and discipline. And the city has prevailed in thousands of cases, including some deadly shootings.
"We're not pushovers," said Fay Leoussis, one of the city's chief lawyers.
But the city is literally paying for police mistakes without learning from them, critics say. In cases like the 50-bullet shooting, the city pays even when officers are acquitted of criminal charges and don't admit wrongdoing.
"Right now it's open season against the city. Just file a lawsuit, and you're going to get money," said City Council member Peter Vallone, who has sponsored a bill he hopes will make it impossible to pay out dubious claims. "Everyone makes out — except the taxpayer."
Lawsuits against police are inevitable, some experts say — police interact with millions of citizens a year, confronting criminal suspects and the mentally ill, as well as the angry, opportunistic and litigious. A 2005 federal Bureau of Justice Statistics survey found that 90 percent of people say officers act properly, but other studies estimate about 30,000 lawsuits are filed against them a year.
To some who have sued and won, payouts don't amount to true compensation.
"You can sue New York City, but it's not really justifying what happened," says Charles Shepherd, who spent about 14 years in prison on a murder conviction that hinged on the testimony of a witness who eventually admitted she'd lied; another man later confessed to the crime.
Shepherd settled in 2005 for $370,000 from the city and $1.65 million from the state.
"The city feels they can give you X amount of money" to make up for injustice, said Shepherd, 45, now a counselor for children with HIV. "It's not fair whatsoever."
Comparing cities' payouts is complicated because of differences in record-keeping, the time frames of data available and the fact that the 35,000-officer NYPD is more than twice as big as any other U.S. police department.
But some rough comparisons can be made, using recent data several cities provided to the AP.
Chicago, with about a third of New York's population, paid out an average of $39.1 million a year over the past six fiscal years; New York paid $96.4 million a year on average from 1999 to 2008, the most recent years available.
Chicago's figures include a nearly $21 million payment in 2008 to a driver paralyzed when police slammed into his car while chasing someone else.
In Los Angeles, with less than half New York's population, police paid an average of nearly $21.4 million a year in the past seven fiscal years.
Philadelphia, with less than a fifth of New York's population, spent only about one-tenth as much as New York in payouts, averaging $9.2 million a year on payouts from 2005 to 2009. Philadelphia police track "problem" officers but through internal investigations, not lawsuits.
New York's data don't detail the nature of the police cases. But research into just some of the biggest payouts shows car accidents alone cost more than $30 million in those 10 years. Some multimillion-dollar settlements have gone to officers themselves for on-the-job injuries.
More than $23 million was spent to compensate for police bullets or brutality, millions more to settle claims of unjustified arrests and wrongful convictions.
Some officers are sued multiple times: In the past three years, one Brooklyn precinct sergeant has been sued at least seven times on excessive force and brutality claims, costing the city at least $188,250. A narcotics detective was the target of at least six suits that spurred $103,000 in payouts. The city has paid $171,500 to settle four suits against one plainclothes detective; another case against him is pending.
The city did not admit wrongdoing. Two of the officers are still on the force; one retired. None was charged criminally or disciplined, though the sergeant was later monitored for use of force.
Most departments don't do much, if anything, with information from lawsuits; to them, if no wrongdoing is admitted, why bother tracking the cases?
But some experts believe mining the cases could lead to fewer suits.
"Even if (officials) tracked the information just to decrease liability, isn't that a good idea?" said Cynthia Conti-Cook of Stoll, Glickman and Bellina, a Brooklyn firm that has sued officers.
Last year, Vallone proposed tracking the city's settlements to ensure it pays out only when liable and learns from the cases it does pay. The NYPD assigned a committee to look at the more costly payouts for evidence of perjury, corruption and other wrongdoing.
City lawyers say they do weigh claims with an eye on potential costs.
"Even though the facts may all be pointing to a justification of what you did, and no liability, if it's going to a jury, then it's always a question," Leoussis said of the city law department. "You can't afford to take that kind of risk."
The nearly $7.2 million settlement in the Sean Bell case was the city's largest settlement ever in a fatal police shooting.
Three officers opened fire on a car carrying the unarmed Bell, 23, and two friends. The officers said they thought the men were armed, and the men had ignored orders to stop. Bell died in a hail of 50 bullets around the corner from a Queens topless bar where he had just had a bachelor party.
The officers were acquitted of manslaughter in the 2006 shooting in state court; federal prosecutors declined to charge them with civil rights crimes.
The shooting led to police reforms ranging from added firearms training to rule changes for undercover work. The officers still face disciplinary proceedings that could cost them their jobs.
Bell's friend Joseph Guzman, shot 17 times, ended up with $3 million. But, he said, "nobody wins in this."
ANOTHER LAWSUIT AGAINST THE POLICE IS LIKELY
Street Pizza, I like that. It’s better than Road Kill. I thoroughly agree with Bob’s ‘harsh’ remarks about this ‘baby criminal’ buying the farm. Since the cops were chasing their beloved son, we should expect the grief stricken parents to file a lawsuit against the police.
BABY CRIMINAL TRANSFORMS INTO STREET PIZZA
By Bob Walsh
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
October 14, 2010
A 17-year old criminal in San Diego found out yesterday that running from the cops is not always a good idea, even though it worked for him many times before.
The as-yet unnamed teenager had a history of running from the cops after committing crimes. He was trying to evade officers at about 1:30 a.m. on Coronado Avenue when he went off an I-5 overpass. He landed in the second lane of the freeway and was turned into a street pizza by a hit-and-run driver. It is not yet known if the landing killed him or the car did.
It’s kind of harsh I know, but personally I don’t give a rat’s ass if a chronic criminal who got his rocks off running from the cops got smeared. You just know that someone like that was going to turn out to be a major headache for honest society. I hope the cops don’t look too hard for that driver. He was probably an unlicensed uninsured drunk illegal alien anyway.
BABY CRIMINAL TRANSFORMS INTO STREET PIZZA
By Bob Walsh
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
October 14, 2010
A 17-year old criminal in San Diego found out yesterday that running from the cops is not always a good idea, even though it worked for him many times before.
The as-yet unnamed teenager had a history of running from the cops after committing crimes. He was trying to evade officers at about 1:30 a.m. on Coronado Avenue when he went off an I-5 overpass. He landed in the second lane of the freeway and was turned into a street pizza by a hit-and-run driver. It is not yet known if the landing killed him or the car did.
It’s kind of harsh I know, but personally I don’t give a rat’s ass if a chronic criminal who got his rocks off running from the cops got smeared. You just know that someone like that was going to turn out to be a major headache for honest society. I hope the cops don’t look too hard for that driver. He was probably an unlicensed uninsured drunk illegal alien anyway.
THE MEDIA MOGUL LIBERALS LOVE TO HATE IS A STRONG SUPPORTER OF ISRAEL
Fox owner Murdoch has always been a strong supporter of Israel and that has to be one of the reasons why liberals hate him so much.
ACCEPTING ADL AWARD, MURDOCH DECRIES ‘ONGOING WAR AGAINST JEWS’
Media magnate accuses Leftists of spurring anti-Semitism under the guise of legitimate criticism of Israel
By Natasha Mozgovaya
Haaretz Daily
October 14, 2010
Media mogul K. Robert Murdoch on Thursday decried the "ongoing war against the Jews" and demanded an end to efforts to isolate Israel.
Accepting an award from the Anti-Defamation League for his support of Israel, Murdoch described the phenomenon of delegitimizing Israel as a "soft war" which he said has now entered a "new phase."
"This is the soft war that seeks to isolate Israel by delegitimizing it," Murdoch told attendees at the New York dinner where he was bestowed the ADL International Leadership Award. "The battle ground is everywhere – the media, multinational organizations, NGOs. In this war, the aim is to make Israel a pariah."
Murdoch told participants at the dinner that signs were abounding of rising anti-Semitism, particularly from elements on the Left under the guise of legitimate criticism of Israel.
"When Americans think of anti-Semitism, we tend to think of the vulgar caricatures and attacks of the first part of the 20th century," Murdoch said. "Now it seems that the most virulent strains come from the left. Often this new anti-Semitism dresses itself up as legitimate disagreement with Israel."
He urged the Obama administration to continue its support of Israel and warned against distancing itself from Jerusalem in order to gain credibility in the Muslim world.
"Some believe that if America wants to gain credibility in the Muslim world and advance the cause of peace, Washington needs to put some distance between itself and Israel," he said. "My view is the opposite. Far from making peace more possible, we are making hostilities more certain."
ACCEPTING ADL AWARD, MURDOCH DECRIES ‘ONGOING WAR AGAINST JEWS’
Media magnate accuses Leftists of spurring anti-Semitism under the guise of legitimate criticism of Israel
By Natasha Mozgovaya
Haaretz Daily
October 14, 2010
Media mogul K. Robert Murdoch on Thursday decried the "ongoing war against the Jews" and demanded an end to efforts to isolate Israel.
Accepting an award from the Anti-Defamation League for his support of Israel, Murdoch described the phenomenon of delegitimizing Israel as a "soft war" which he said has now entered a "new phase."
"This is the soft war that seeks to isolate Israel by delegitimizing it," Murdoch told attendees at the New York dinner where he was bestowed the ADL International Leadership Award. "The battle ground is everywhere – the media, multinational organizations, NGOs. In this war, the aim is to make Israel a pariah."
Murdoch told participants at the dinner that signs were abounding of rising anti-Semitism, particularly from elements on the Left under the guise of legitimate criticism of Israel.
"When Americans think of anti-Semitism, we tend to think of the vulgar caricatures and attacks of the first part of the 20th century," Murdoch said. "Now it seems that the most virulent strains come from the left. Often this new anti-Semitism dresses itself up as legitimate disagreement with Israel."
He urged the Obama administration to continue its support of Israel and warned against distancing itself from Jerusalem in order to gain credibility in the Muslim world.
"Some believe that if America wants to gain credibility in the Muslim world and advance the cause of peace, Washington needs to put some distance between itself and Israel," he said. "My view is the opposite. Far from making peace more possible, we are making hostilities more certain."
Friday, October 15, 2010
WEALTHY PARENTS WHO SHOULD NOT HAVE ANY KIDS
The magnitude of this alcohol-consuming teenage party is hard to fathom. 600 underage kids getting smashed and the parents weren’t aware? And what kind of parents would agree to leave a bunch of partying teenagers to them selves? Trash – trash is what they are, wealthy trash! People like that should not be allowed to have any kids. I hope a judge will throw the book at them. And I hope the parents of the four kids who had to be hospitalized sue the shit out of the Shlomo and Jeannie Rasabi!
SON HELD DRUNKEN PARTY FOR 600 FRIENDS AFTER BANISHING PARENTS TO BEDROOM OF THEIR MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR MANSION
Mail Online
October 14, 2010
A millionaire couple who let their son banish them to their bedroom while he held a party at their upmarket Florida estate were shocked when police knocked on the door to tell them there were 600 teenagers getting drunk downstairs.
Officers arrived at the $7.5 million home of construction tycoon Shlomo Rasabi and his wife Jeannie, in Boca Raton, to find 'numerous' youngsters passed out on the front lawn and others throwing up in the street - four of them so drunk that they had to be taken to hospital by ambulance.
According to the police report, an 'abundant amount of alcoholic beverages' were on hand, despite the guests being below the legal drinking age of 21, and loud music was blaring.
Yet Mr Rasabi, 59, protested to officers who arrested him in his bedroom, saying: 'I didn't even know all these kids were here...it was never supposed to get this big.'
His wife Jeannie, who according to her Facebook page is originally from Bristol, also claimed ignorance, admitting that they knew there was a party but not that the guest list was so big. She also denied they had supplied the drink.
'I allowed some of these kids from my son's school to come over for a homecoming party.
'I was in my room the whole time because my son wanted me to stay there for the evening so he could have the party. Everyone brought their alcohol into the house,' Mrs Rasabi told officers.
The party had begun as a celebration for their son's friends from the posh American Heritage School, where fees are $27,000 dollars a year.
Guests arrived in four chartered buses, which were still parked outside when police arrived at the house in The Sanctuary, an upmarket gated community of multimillion dollar homes, following a call by worried security staff.
Police found around 100 teenagers drinking outside the house. Five were throwing up and four girls were lying unconscious on the lawn.
'There were approximately 500 minors inside the residence all who appeared under the age of 21 with the majority of them holding alcoholic beverages in their hands,' noted the report by officer Richard Guberman of Boca Raton police department.
It continued: 'The resident did not provide any precautionary measures for people underage, for example, giving people who were under the age of 21 wristbands or stamps so they were not allowed to drink alcohol. The resident did hire security, but they were unlicensed personnel.'
Officer Guberman also noted: 'I then walked up to the front door of the residence and was able to speak with the 17-year-old and 16-year-old who live at the residence.
'Both told me that their parents were in the bedroom. I asked Shlomo why he allowed all these minors into his residence with alcohol.
'Shlomo responded by saying "I didn't even know all these kids were here, they all brought alcohol into the house. My wife and I planned a party for homecoming for American Heritage School in which all the kids had a party at our house. It was never supposed to get this big, I was in my room the whole time.".'
The couple were arrested, taken to Boca Raton police station and charged with allowing minors alcohol at an open house party.
SON HELD DRUNKEN PARTY FOR 600 FRIENDS AFTER BANISHING PARENTS TO BEDROOM OF THEIR MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR MANSION
Mail Online
October 14, 2010
A millionaire couple who let their son banish them to their bedroom while he held a party at their upmarket Florida estate were shocked when police knocked on the door to tell them there were 600 teenagers getting drunk downstairs.
Officers arrived at the $7.5 million home of construction tycoon Shlomo Rasabi and his wife Jeannie, in Boca Raton, to find 'numerous' youngsters passed out on the front lawn and others throwing up in the street - four of them so drunk that they had to be taken to hospital by ambulance.
According to the police report, an 'abundant amount of alcoholic beverages' were on hand, despite the guests being below the legal drinking age of 21, and loud music was blaring.
Yet Mr Rasabi, 59, protested to officers who arrested him in his bedroom, saying: 'I didn't even know all these kids were here...it was never supposed to get this big.'
His wife Jeannie, who according to her Facebook page is originally from Bristol, also claimed ignorance, admitting that they knew there was a party but not that the guest list was so big. She also denied they had supplied the drink.
'I allowed some of these kids from my son's school to come over for a homecoming party.
'I was in my room the whole time because my son wanted me to stay there for the evening so he could have the party. Everyone brought their alcohol into the house,' Mrs Rasabi told officers.
The party had begun as a celebration for their son's friends from the posh American Heritage School, where fees are $27,000 dollars a year.
Guests arrived in four chartered buses, which were still parked outside when police arrived at the house in The Sanctuary, an upmarket gated community of multimillion dollar homes, following a call by worried security staff.
Police found around 100 teenagers drinking outside the house. Five were throwing up and four girls were lying unconscious on the lawn.
'There were approximately 500 minors inside the residence all who appeared under the age of 21 with the majority of them holding alcoholic beverages in their hands,' noted the report by officer Richard Guberman of Boca Raton police department.
It continued: 'The resident did not provide any precautionary measures for people underage, for example, giving people who were under the age of 21 wristbands or stamps so they were not allowed to drink alcohol. The resident did hire security, but they were unlicensed personnel.'
Officer Guberman also noted: 'I then walked up to the front door of the residence and was able to speak with the 17-year-old and 16-year-old who live at the residence.
'Both told me that their parents were in the bedroom. I asked Shlomo why he allowed all these minors into his residence with alcohol.
'Shlomo responded by saying "I didn't even know all these kids were here, they all brought alcohol into the house. My wife and I planned a party for homecoming for American Heritage School in which all the kids had a party at our house. It was never supposed to get this big, I was in my room the whole time.".'
The couple were arrested, taken to Boca Raton police station and charged with allowing minors alcohol at an open house party.
FERRARI GTO CAN'T SHAKE A MOPED
An elderly man on a Moped, looking about 100 years old, pulls up next to a doctor at a street light. The old man looks over at the sleek shiny car and asks, 'What kind of car ya got there, sonny ?'
The doctor replies, 'A Ferrari GTO. It cost half a million dollars ! '
'That's a lot of money,' says the old man. 'Why does it cost so much?'
'Because this car can do up to 320 miles an hour!' states the doctor proudly.
The Moped driver asks, 'Mind if I take a look inside?'
'No problem,' replies the doctor.
So the old man pokes his head in the window and looks around. Then, sitting back on his Moped, the old man says, 'That's a pretty nice car, all right... but I'll stick with my Moped!'
Just then the light changes, So the doctor decides to show The old man just what his car can do. He floors it, and within 30 seconds The speedometer reads 160 mph.
Suddenly, he notices a dot in his rear view mirror. I seems to be getting closer! He slows down to see what it could be And suddenly WHOOOOSSSHHH ! Something whips by him going much faster !
'What on earth could be going faster than my Ferrari ?' the doctor asks himself. He presses harder on the accelerator And takes the Ferrari up to 250 mph. Then, up ahead of him, He sees that it's the old man on the Moped!
Amazed that the Moped could pass his Ferrari, he gives it more gas And passes the Moped at 275 mph And he's feeling pretty good until he looks in his mirror and sees the old man gaining on him AGAIN!
Astounded by the speed of this old guy, He floors the gas pedal and takes the Ferrari all the way up to 320 mph. Not ten seconds later, he sees the Moped bearing down on him again! The Ferrari is flat out, And there's nothing he can do!
Suddenly, the Moped plows Into the back of his Ferrari, demolishing the rear end. The doctor stops and jumps out and unbelievably the old man is still alive. He runs up to the banged-up old guy and says, 'I'm a doctor.... Is there anything I can do for you?'
The old man whispers, 'Unhook my suspenders from your side view mirror!'.
(Thanks to Glenda Stroud, a very nice lady, for forwarding this bit of humor to me.)
The doctor replies, 'A Ferrari GTO. It cost half a million dollars ! '
'That's a lot of money,' says the old man. 'Why does it cost so much?'
'Because this car can do up to 320 miles an hour!' states the doctor proudly.
The Moped driver asks, 'Mind if I take a look inside?'
'No problem,' replies the doctor.
So the old man pokes his head in the window and looks around. Then, sitting back on his Moped, the old man says, 'That's a pretty nice car, all right... but I'll stick with my Moped!'
Just then the light changes, So the doctor decides to show The old man just what his car can do. He floors it, and within 30 seconds The speedometer reads 160 mph.
Suddenly, he notices a dot in his rear view mirror. I seems to be getting closer! He slows down to see what it could be And suddenly WHOOOOSSSHHH ! Something whips by him going much faster !
'What on earth could be going faster than my Ferrari ?' the doctor asks himself. He presses harder on the accelerator And takes the Ferrari up to 250 mph. Then, up ahead of him, He sees that it's the old man on the Moped!
Amazed that the Moped could pass his Ferrari, he gives it more gas And passes the Moped at 275 mph And he's feeling pretty good until he looks in his mirror and sees the old man gaining on him AGAIN!
Astounded by the speed of this old guy, He floors the gas pedal and takes the Ferrari all the way up to 320 mph. Not ten seconds later, he sees the Moped bearing down on him again! The Ferrari is flat out, And there's nothing he can do!
Suddenly, the Moped plows Into the back of his Ferrari, demolishing the rear end. The doctor stops and jumps out and unbelievably the old man is still alive. He runs up to the banged-up old guy and says, 'I'm a doctor.... Is there anything I can do for you?'
The old man whispers, 'Unhook my suspenders from your side view mirror!'.
(Thanks to Glenda Stroud, a very nice lady, for forwarding this bit of humor to me.)
Thursday, October 14, 2010
THE TRUE STORY BEHIND THE FOUNDING OF SWAT
Every police officer wants to be in an elite SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) unit. Movies and TV shows have been made featuring SWAT units. Former LAPD chief Daryl Gates has been credited with assuming the leading role in the formation of SWAT. That is not true. An LAPD sergeant came up with the concept and formed America’s first police SWAT team.
John G. Nelson, the real founder of SWAT, was a dear friend of mine. He told me the true story behind the founding of SWAT.
After the Watts riots, John personally approached legendary Chief Bill Parker with his proposal for a SWAT unit. John had served in a USMC elite Force Recon unit during WWII and based the SWAT concept on the Recon units, believing that a small squad of highly trained police officers armed with special weapons would be more effective in a riotous situation than a massive police response.
Chief Parker liked the proposal and presented it to his command staff. He asked for a volunteer to form the SWAT unit. Fearing the chance of a career-damaging political backlash, no one on his command staff was willing to volunteer, including Daryl Gates. Parker then told John to go ahead and form the SWAT unit himself, which he did. Later Gates embellished his resume by taking credit for assuming the leading role in the formation of SWAT.
Unfortunately, John’s police career was cut short when he was forced to retire after he fell seriously ill with multiple sclerosis. John had served LAPD as a narcotics officer, as a training officer and as an administrative aide to Bill Parker. He is the author of several books on police procedures.
Actually, John never intended to make a career out of law enforcement. He graduated with a degree in English and was an aspiring author. He joined LAPD only to accumulate materials for the books he wanted to write and he planned to stay with the police department only three to four years at most. But once he became a cop he fell in love with police work. It almost broke his heart when he was forced to retire.
John did not let his multiple sclerosis get the better of him. He enjoyed sailing and remained active in that sport as long as he was physically able to do so. He gave guest lectures at the University of Oklahoma and at the college where I taught. He would drive himself all the way from Capistrano Beach, where he lived, to Oklahoma and to my place in Houston even though it was very difficult and he could only drive for three or four hours a day.
John Nelson, ‘The Father of SWAT’, was truly an amazing and courageous man. I really miss my dear departed friend.
John G. Nelson, the real founder of SWAT, was a dear friend of mine. He told me the true story behind the founding of SWAT.
After the Watts riots, John personally approached legendary Chief Bill Parker with his proposal for a SWAT unit. John had served in a USMC elite Force Recon unit during WWII and based the SWAT concept on the Recon units, believing that a small squad of highly trained police officers armed with special weapons would be more effective in a riotous situation than a massive police response.
Chief Parker liked the proposal and presented it to his command staff. He asked for a volunteer to form the SWAT unit. Fearing the chance of a career-damaging political backlash, no one on his command staff was willing to volunteer, including Daryl Gates. Parker then told John to go ahead and form the SWAT unit himself, which he did. Later Gates embellished his resume by taking credit for assuming the leading role in the formation of SWAT.
Unfortunately, John’s police career was cut short when he was forced to retire after he fell seriously ill with multiple sclerosis. John had served LAPD as a narcotics officer, as a training officer and as an administrative aide to Bill Parker. He is the author of several books on police procedures.
Actually, John never intended to make a career out of law enforcement. He graduated with a degree in English and was an aspiring author. He joined LAPD only to accumulate materials for the books he wanted to write and he planned to stay with the police department only three to four years at most. But once he became a cop he fell in love with police work. It almost broke his heart when he was forced to retire.
John did not let his multiple sclerosis get the better of him. He enjoyed sailing and remained active in that sport as long as he was physically able to do so. He gave guest lectures at the University of Oklahoma and at the college where I taught. He would drive himself all the way from Capistrano Beach, where he lived, to Oklahoma and to my place in Houston even though it was very difficult and he could only drive for three or four hours a day.
John Nelson, ‘The Father of SWAT’, was truly an amazing and courageous man. I really miss my dear departed friend.
ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER IS EXCORIATED FOR BEING BLUNT
Israel’s left, the French, Spaniards and other Europeans have excoriated Avigdor Lieberman for insulting the French and Spanish foreign ministers by telling the truth instead of practicing the phony niceties of foreign diplomacy. Too bad there aren’t more diplomats like him!
ISRAELI FM TO EUROPE: MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS
By Ryan Jones
Israel Today
October 11, 2010
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman hosted his Spanish and French counterparts on Sunday, and expressed to his guests deep disappointment with Europe’s double standards toward Israel.
Lieberman is known to not hold his tongue when he has a problem with the international community, but polls in Israel consistently show that he genuinely speaks for a majority of Israelis.
And he did not hold back in the least when he told French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos that Europe needs to mind its own business, and stop pressuring Israel to meet dangerous conditions for a phony peace.
"I don’t expect you to solve the problems of the world, but I certainly expect that before you come here to teach us how to solve conflicts, you will deal with the problems in Europe and solve those conflicts," said Lieberman.
The Israeli explained that while Europe thinks it knows best what Israel must do for peace and security, in its own backyard the Cyprus, Serbia-Kosovo and Caucasus conflicts continue to rage. Succeed in ending those conflict, said Lieberman, and "we will listen to your advice."
Lieberman suggested that European involvement in the Israeli-Arab conflict is less about brokering peace, and more about securing perceived European interests.
"In 1938, the European community decided to appease Hitler instead of supporting Czechoslovakia and sacrificed them [sic] without gaining anything," Lieberman said. "We will not be the Czechoslovakia of 2010. We will ensure the security of Israel."
And it’s not only Europe that is guilty of this, Lieberman noted. He said it appears as if the entire international community is trying to make up for its peace failures everywhere else by forcing an imprudent deal down Israel’s throat.
"What about the struggle in Somalia, North Korea, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Sudan?" he asked. "Instead of talking now with the Arab League about the future of a referendum in Sudan, or discussing the explosive situation in Iraq in 2012, the international community is applying great pressure on Israel."
The worst part, said Lieberman, is that the international community knows exactly where these ill-fated peace efforts are heading - toward increased violence and eventually another Arab Muslim invasion of Israel. Historically, international efforts to broker peace in the Middle East by pressuring Israel to surrender land have only resulted in the rise of Muslim extremists like Hamas and an increase in violence.
ISRAELI FM TO EUROPE: MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS
By Ryan Jones
Israel Today
October 11, 2010
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman hosted his Spanish and French counterparts on Sunday, and expressed to his guests deep disappointment with Europe’s double standards toward Israel.
Lieberman is known to not hold his tongue when he has a problem with the international community, but polls in Israel consistently show that he genuinely speaks for a majority of Israelis.
And he did not hold back in the least when he told French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos that Europe needs to mind its own business, and stop pressuring Israel to meet dangerous conditions for a phony peace.
"I don’t expect you to solve the problems of the world, but I certainly expect that before you come here to teach us how to solve conflicts, you will deal with the problems in Europe and solve those conflicts," said Lieberman.
The Israeli explained that while Europe thinks it knows best what Israel must do for peace and security, in its own backyard the Cyprus, Serbia-Kosovo and Caucasus conflicts continue to rage. Succeed in ending those conflict, said Lieberman, and "we will listen to your advice."
Lieberman suggested that European involvement in the Israeli-Arab conflict is less about brokering peace, and more about securing perceived European interests.
"In 1938, the European community decided to appease Hitler instead of supporting Czechoslovakia and sacrificed them [sic] without gaining anything," Lieberman said. "We will not be the Czechoslovakia of 2010. We will ensure the security of Israel."
And it’s not only Europe that is guilty of this, Lieberman noted. He said it appears as if the entire international community is trying to make up for its peace failures everywhere else by forcing an imprudent deal down Israel’s throat.
"What about the struggle in Somalia, North Korea, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Sudan?" he asked. "Instead of talking now with the Arab League about the future of a referendum in Sudan, or discussing the explosive situation in Iraq in 2012, the international community is applying great pressure on Israel."
The worst part, said Lieberman, is that the international community knows exactly where these ill-fated peace efforts are heading - toward increased violence and eventually another Arab Muslim invasion of Israel. Historically, international efforts to broker peace in the Middle East by pressuring Israel to surrender land have only resulted in the rise of Muslim extremists like Hamas and an increase in violence.
THINKING WITH HIS DICK INSTEAD OF WITH HIS BRAINS
Time after time, cops get into trouble for thinking with their dicks instead of their brains. This jerk got demoted previously for thinking with his dick. Now he’s at it again. Apparently some never learn.
CALIF. COP’S GIRLFRIEND MAY HAVE DRIVEN, WRECKED CRUISER
The deputy police chief was demoted to lieutenant after a sexual harassment investigation in the past
By Sean Maher and Harry Harris
Oakland Tribune
October 12, 2010
OAKLAND — A former deputy police chief demoted to lieutenant after a sexual harassment investigation is on administrative leave while the department probes allegations he allowed his girlfriend to drive a police vehicle that was involved in a wreck in Napa County, police and other sources confirmed Monday.
Police sources confirmed that Lt. Jeff Loman is under investigation by the Internal Affairs Division for possible policy violations. Authorities identified the woman driving the car as Priscilla Yambao, a civilian employee of the department.
The internal probe began last week after the California Highway Patrol notified Oakland police they were investigating a collision involving an unmarked Oakland police car driven by Yambao and another car about 4:30 p.m. Oct. 7 on Bucks Canyon Road in unincorporated Napa County.
The CHP said Monday that a black Ford Crown Victoria driven by Yambao crossed a double line and collided head-on with a Honda. The Honda driver was hospitalized with minor injuries. Yambao was also injured but sought her own medical aid, the CHP said. Neither driver had been drinking and the crash is still under investigation, the CHP said.
No one else was in either of the vehicles.
Loman, who sources said was off duty when the accident happened, was placed on administrative leave Friday. It was not known Monday if Yambao is under internal investigation.
Loman's current assignment is patrol division watch commander in East Oakland. Watch commanders are usually not allowed to take police vehicles home with them either at night or on their days off, but Loman apparently had, police officials said.
Loman's attorney, Alison Berry Wilkinson, acknowledged Monday that Loman was being investigated and that she is awaiting full details of what happened. "It is hoped that the department will conduct a full, fair and complete investigation because things are not always as they seem when allegations are initially made," she said.
Loman was demoted in May 2009 after he was investigated for allegations of sexual harassment, divulging confidential information and untruthfulness. It was never confirmed which allegations were sustained by internal investigators. Usually, if one instance of untruthfulness is found, the officer is fired.
That investigation resulted from a complaint filed in November 2008 by a female sergeant, who later was promoted to lieutenant. She had said she'd become uncomfortable when Loman discussed meeting her for dinner to talk about a possible promotion.
Loman was believed to be the highest-ranking officer in department history to be demoted because of a disciplinary matter.
Before becoming a deputy chief in early 2008, Loman had been a captain commanding the Criminal Investigation Division. He had been a canine handler as an officer and, as a sergeant, a homicide investigator.
CALIF. COP’S GIRLFRIEND MAY HAVE DRIVEN, WRECKED CRUISER
The deputy police chief was demoted to lieutenant after a sexual harassment investigation in the past
By Sean Maher and Harry Harris
Oakland Tribune
October 12, 2010
OAKLAND — A former deputy police chief demoted to lieutenant after a sexual harassment investigation is on administrative leave while the department probes allegations he allowed his girlfriend to drive a police vehicle that was involved in a wreck in Napa County, police and other sources confirmed Monday.
Police sources confirmed that Lt. Jeff Loman is under investigation by the Internal Affairs Division for possible policy violations. Authorities identified the woman driving the car as Priscilla Yambao, a civilian employee of the department.
The internal probe began last week after the California Highway Patrol notified Oakland police they were investigating a collision involving an unmarked Oakland police car driven by Yambao and another car about 4:30 p.m. Oct. 7 on Bucks Canyon Road in unincorporated Napa County.
The CHP said Monday that a black Ford Crown Victoria driven by Yambao crossed a double line and collided head-on with a Honda. The Honda driver was hospitalized with minor injuries. Yambao was also injured but sought her own medical aid, the CHP said. Neither driver had been drinking and the crash is still under investigation, the CHP said.
No one else was in either of the vehicles.
Loman, who sources said was off duty when the accident happened, was placed on administrative leave Friday. It was not known Monday if Yambao is under internal investigation.
Loman's current assignment is patrol division watch commander in East Oakland. Watch commanders are usually not allowed to take police vehicles home with them either at night or on their days off, but Loman apparently had, police officials said.
Loman's attorney, Alison Berry Wilkinson, acknowledged Monday that Loman was being investigated and that she is awaiting full details of what happened. "It is hoped that the department will conduct a full, fair and complete investigation because things are not always as they seem when allegations are initially made," she said.
Loman was demoted in May 2009 after he was investigated for allegations of sexual harassment, divulging confidential information and untruthfulness. It was never confirmed which allegations were sustained by internal investigators. Usually, if one instance of untruthfulness is found, the officer is fired.
That investigation resulted from a complaint filed in November 2008 by a female sergeant, who later was promoted to lieutenant. She had said she'd become uncomfortable when Loman discussed meeting her for dinner to talk about a possible promotion.
Loman was believed to be the highest-ranking officer in department history to be demoted because of a disciplinary matter.
Before becoming a deputy chief in early 2008, Loman had been a captain commanding the Criminal Investigation Division. He had been a canine handler as an officer and, as a sergeant, a homicide investigator.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
DON'T SMOKE DOPE NEXT TO A CONTAINER OF GUNPOWDER
That’s why drug users are referred to as DOPERS.
METH, BLOWTORCH, GUNPOWDER – A BAD MIX
By Henry K. Lee
San Francisco Chronicle
October 5, 2010
Some might say that smoking meth with a blowtorch near a container of gunpowder is ill-advised. Some will try anyway.
John Blanchard, 65, is among them, San Mateo County sheriff's deputies say.
Deputies called to a fire Friday afternoon in a storage yard in the unincorporated community of Princeton near the Half Moon Bay Airport found Blanchard standing outside a camper that he had parked there illegally, sheriff's Lt. Ray Lunny said.
Investigators determined that the fire on the 200 block of Yale Avenue had been started by a defective propane blowtorch that Blanchard had been using to smoke methamphetamine, Lunny said.
Blanchard left the blowtorch on a dryer, causing a nearby container of gunpowder to explode, said Steve Wagstaffe, chief deputy district attorney.
Besides the blowtorch, deputies found a loaded rifle, ammunition, a container of black powder and an unopened safe containing more than 300 feet of detonation cord, Lunny said.
Blanchard, who has a previous drug conviction, pleaded not guilty Monday to drugs and weapons violations. He is being held on $30,000 bail.
METH, BLOWTORCH, GUNPOWDER – A BAD MIX
By Henry K. Lee
San Francisco Chronicle
October 5, 2010
Some might say that smoking meth with a blowtorch near a container of gunpowder is ill-advised. Some will try anyway.
John Blanchard, 65, is among them, San Mateo County sheriff's deputies say.
Deputies called to a fire Friday afternoon in a storage yard in the unincorporated community of Princeton near the Half Moon Bay Airport found Blanchard standing outside a camper that he had parked there illegally, sheriff's Lt. Ray Lunny said.
Investigators determined that the fire on the 200 block of Yale Avenue had been started by a defective propane blowtorch that Blanchard had been using to smoke methamphetamine, Lunny said.
Blanchard left the blowtorch on a dryer, causing a nearby container of gunpowder to explode, said Steve Wagstaffe, chief deputy district attorney.
Besides the blowtorch, deputies found a loaded rifle, ammunition, a container of black powder and an unopened safe containing more than 300 feet of detonation cord, Lunny said.
Blanchard, who has a previous drug conviction, pleaded not guilty Monday to drugs and weapons violations. He is being held on $30,000 bail.
IF ALL ELSE FAILS, PLAY THE RACE CARD
Another sore loser’s lawsuit. ‘El Cochino’, a Dallas Morning News reader, wrote this after reading Scott Goldstein’s report: Can anyone explain to me how white males, the only unprotected class, manage to succeed regardless of legalized discrimination (affirmative action)? Perhaps they refuse to be victims and still overcome. Then you see people within protected classes raising hell whenever they don't get their way. It's a topsy turvy world.
DALLAS POLICE LIEUTENANT, WIDOW OF OFFICER SLAIN IN 2009 DRUG RAID, FILES DISCRIMINATION SUIT AGAINST CITY
By Scott Goldstein
The Dallas Morning News
October 12, 2010
A Dallas police lieutenant says she was denied a promotion in the wake of her officer husband's slaying because she is a black woman, according to a lawsuit filed against the city.
Lt. Regina Smith said City Manager Mary Suhm denied her a promotion to deputy chief in May 2009 – four months after Dallas police Senior Cpl. Norman Smith was fatally shot in the line of duty – because it was too early in the grief process to promote her, according to the lawsuit filed earlier this month.
Smith said then-Chief David Kunkle promised her in front of then-Assistant Chief Charlie Cato that he would promote her at a later date. Later that year, Smith was transferred from her post as Kunkle's administrative lieutenant to the Southeast Patrol Division.
The new position "would have been in line with being promoted by Chief Kunkle to the position of deputy chief at the southeast division, as promised," the lawsuit said.
But early this year, Kunkle promoted Tammy Ellzey, who is white, to deputy chief and assigned her as commander at Southeast Patrol. Smith said in the lawsuit that Kunkle then reversed himself and said he had not promised her a promotion.
Smith was transferred to Southwest Patrol after she filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She said that transfer was retaliation for her complaint, according to the lawsuit.
The Dallas County lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, including compensation for lost wages, mental anguish, and pain and suffering.
Kunkle, who retired in May, did not return a call seeking comment. A city spokesman said officials had not seen the lawsuit and therefore could not comment.
During his nearly six years as chief, Kunkle promoted at least a dozen women and minority police officers to key positions on his command staff. Among them was the top deputy for most of his term, current Police Chief David Brown, who is black, and current First Assistant Chief Cato, who is Hispanic.
The Southeast Patrol commander prior to Ellzey was a black woman, as is the commander of the South Central Patrol Division. Kunkle promoted both.
Norman Smith, 43, and fellow Dallas police Gang Unit members were serving a warrant at a crime-ridden apartment complex when Smith was shot on Jan. 6, 2009.
DALLAS POLICE LIEUTENANT, WIDOW OF OFFICER SLAIN IN 2009 DRUG RAID, FILES DISCRIMINATION SUIT AGAINST CITY
By Scott Goldstein
The Dallas Morning News
October 12, 2010
A Dallas police lieutenant says she was denied a promotion in the wake of her officer husband's slaying because she is a black woman, according to a lawsuit filed against the city.
Lt. Regina Smith said City Manager Mary Suhm denied her a promotion to deputy chief in May 2009 – four months after Dallas police Senior Cpl. Norman Smith was fatally shot in the line of duty – because it was too early in the grief process to promote her, according to the lawsuit filed earlier this month.
Smith said then-Chief David Kunkle promised her in front of then-Assistant Chief Charlie Cato that he would promote her at a later date. Later that year, Smith was transferred from her post as Kunkle's administrative lieutenant to the Southeast Patrol Division.
The new position "would have been in line with being promoted by Chief Kunkle to the position of deputy chief at the southeast division, as promised," the lawsuit said.
But early this year, Kunkle promoted Tammy Ellzey, who is white, to deputy chief and assigned her as commander at Southeast Patrol. Smith said in the lawsuit that Kunkle then reversed himself and said he had not promised her a promotion.
Smith was transferred to Southwest Patrol after she filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She said that transfer was retaliation for her complaint, according to the lawsuit.
The Dallas County lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, including compensation for lost wages, mental anguish, and pain and suffering.
Kunkle, who retired in May, did not return a call seeking comment. A city spokesman said officials had not seen the lawsuit and therefore could not comment.
During his nearly six years as chief, Kunkle promoted at least a dozen women and minority police officers to key positions on his command staff. Among them was the top deputy for most of his term, current Police Chief David Brown, who is black, and current First Assistant Chief Cato, who is Hispanic.
The Southeast Patrol commander prior to Ellzey was a black woman, as is the commander of the South Central Patrol Division. Kunkle promoted both.
Norman Smith, 43, and fellow Dallas police Gang Unit members were serving a warrant at a crime-ridden apartment complex when Smith was shot on Jan. 6, 2009.
THE FOOLS ARE BEGINNING TO REGAIN THEIR SENSES
What burns me up is that people who, like myself, have been critical of Obama are branded as racists. Let’s hope that Sarah Palin will not be the Republican candidate in November 2012, so that voters will be able to exercise the good sense of dumping Obama onto the ash heap of history.
FRESH BLOW TO BARACK OBAMA AS FOUR IN TEN AMERICANS SAY THEY WOULD NOT VOTE FOR HIM
By David Gardner
Mail Online
October 12, 2010
Hope has turned to disenchantment for almost half of Americans who said they had supported Barack Obama in the presidential election.
More than four in ten one-time Obama backers now admit they are either less supportive or have turned totally against the president, according to a new poll released today.
With just three weeks to go before the U.S. mid-term elections, the findings have alarmed Democrats who face an uphill battle to cling onto control on Capitol Hill.
The president’s popularity was crucial to his party’s dominance in 2008.
Now Washington analysts claim the growing backlash against Mr. Obama could doom the Democrats to defeat next month.
In the Bloomberg National Poll, fewer than half of likely voters approved of the president’s job performance and most said his policies have harmed, rather than helped the U.S. economy.
The erosion of support was most noticeable in two groups that were key to his election triumph - women and independents.
More than six in ten of the former supporters who have changed their minds were women and 53 per cent were independents.
Many Americans are bitter over the nation’s slide back into economic malaise after hundreds of billions of pounds worth of taxpayer money was used to prop up big Wall Street banks and financial institutions.
‘He’s made compromises that have hurt the middle class,’ said survey participant Alan Graham, a 55-year-old Kentucky surgeon who supported Mr. Obama in the last election but is now on the fence.
The poll shows that almost two-thirds of Americans now think the country is on the wrong track and unemployment is the top concern for about half of the electorate.
The growing budget deficit is the second most pressing issue, cited by 27 per cent of respondents.
Despite discontent over his effectiveness, Mr. Obama is still liked by voters.
Those with a positive view of the president rose to 53 per cent from 49 per cent in a July poll.
But he is still outshone by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is viewed favorably by 64 per cent and First Lady Michelle Obama, who boasts a popularity rating of 62 per cent.
In a hypothetical match-up with one of the Republican Party’s most prominent figures, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, Mr. Obama won hands-down by 51 per cent to 35 per cent.
Two-thirds favored keeping tax cuts implemented by George Bush for all Americans, rather than supporting the administration’s plan to breaks for the rich.
On Mr. Obama’s main foreign policy initiative, six out of ten voters say Afghanistan is now a lost cause, up from 55 per cent in July.
‘It’s worst than a dead end, and he doesn’t seem to recognize that,’ asset manager Nick Ruffin, 66, told Bloomberg.
FRESH BLOW TO BARACK OBAMA AS FOUR IN TEN AMERICANS SAY THEY WOULD NOT VOTE FOR HIM
By David Gardner
Mail Online
October 12, 2010
Hope has turned to disenchantment for almost half of Americans who said they had supported Barack Obama in the presidential election.
More than four in ten one-time Obama backers now admit they are either less supportive or have turned totally against the president, according to a new poll released today.
With just three weeks to go before the U.S. mid-term elections, the findings have alarmed Democrats who face an uphill battle to cling onto control on Capitol Hill.
The president’s popularity was crucial to his party’s dominance in 2008.
Now Washington analysts claim the growing backlash against Mr. Obama could doom the Democrats to defeat next month.
In the Bloomberg National Poll, fewer than half of likely voters approved of the president’s job performance and most said his policies have harmed, rather than helped the U.S. economy.
The erosion of support was most noticeable in two groups that were key to his election triumph - women and independents.
More than six in ten of the former supporters who have changed their minds were women and 53 per cent were independents.
Many Americans are bitter over the nation’s slide back into economic malaise after hundreds of billions of pounds worth of taxpayer money was used to prop up big Wall Street banks and financial institutions.
‘He’s made compromises that have hurt the middle class,’ said survey participant Alan Graham, a 55-year-old Kentucky surgeon who supported Mr. Obama in the last election but is now on the fence.
The poll shows that almost two-thirds of Americans now think the country is on the wrong track and unemployment is the top concern for about half of the electorate.
The growing budget deficit is the second most pressing issue, cited by 27 per cent of respondents.
Despite discontent over his effectiveness, Mr. Obama is still liked by voters.
Those with a positive view of the president rose to 53 per cent from 49 per cent in a July poll.
But he is still outshone by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is viewed favorably by 64 per cent and First Lady Michelle Obama, who boasts a popularity rating of 62 per cent.
In a hypothetical match-up with one of the Republican Party’s most prominent figures, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, Mr. Obama won hands-down by 51 per cent to 35 per cent.
Two-thirds favored keeping tax cuts implemented by George Bush for all Americans, rather than supporting the administration’s plan to breaks for the rich.
On Mr. Obama’s main foreign policy initiative, six out of ten voters say Afghanistan is now a lost cause, up from 55 per cent in July.
‘It’s worst than a dead end, and he doesn’t seem to recognize that,’ asset manager Nick Ruffin, 66, told Bloomberg.
'YOU WANT TO DRAW PENISES, DRAW THEM IN YOUR OWN MEMO BOOK'
Fun and games at NYPD. I’ve excerpted only the first part of a long Village Voice article which shows how protective of their careers a bunch of paranoid NYPD supervisors and managers are when they manipulate crime statistics, pressure officers to meet quotas, order officers to reduce the classification of crimes in their reports and bear down on in-house horseplay.
THE NYPD TAPES: INSIDE BED-STUY’S 81ST PRECINCT
By Graham Rayman
The Village Voice
May 4, 2010
Two years ago, a police officer in a Brooklyn precinct became gravely concerned about how the public was being served. To document his concerns, he began carrying around a digital sound recorder, secretly recording his colleagues and superiors.
He recorded precinct roll calls. He recorded his precinct commander and other supervisors. He recorded street encounters. He recorded small talk and stationhouse banter. In all, he surreptitiously collected hundreds of hours of cops talking about their jobs.
Made without the knowledge or approval of the NYPD, the tapes—made between June 1, 2008, and October 31, 2009, in the 81st Precinct in Bedford-Stuyvesant and obtained exclusively by the Voice—provide an unprecedented portrait of what it's like to work as a cop in this city.
They reveal that precinct bosses threaten street cops if they don't make their quotas of arrests and stop-and-frisks, but also tell them not to take certain robbery reports in order to manipulate crime statistics. The tapes also refer to command officers calling crime victims directly to intimidate them about their complaints.
As a result, the tapes show, the rank-and-file NYPD street cop experiences enormous pressure in a strange catch-22: He or she is expected to maintain high "activity"—including stop-and-frisks—but, paradoxically, to record fewer actual crimes.
This pressure was accompanied by paranoia—from the precinct commander to the lieutenants to the sergeants to the line officers—of violating any of the seemingly endless bureaucratic rules and regulations that would bring in outside supervision.
The tapes also reveal the locker-room environment at the precinct. On a recording made in September, the subject being discussed at roll call is stationhouse graffiti (done by the cops themselves) and something called "cocking the memo book," a practical joke in which officers draw penises in each other's daily notebooks.
"As far as the defacing of department property—all right, the shit on the side of the building . . . and on people's lockers, and drawing penises in people's memo books, and whatever else is going on—just knock it off, all right?" a Sergeant A. can be heard saying. "If the wrong person sees this stuff coming in here, then IAB [the Internal Affairs Bureau] is going to be all over this place, all right? . . . You want to draw penises, draw them in your own memo book. . . And don't actually draw on the wall." He then adds that just before an inspection, a supervisor had to walk around the stationhouse and paint over all the graffiti.
THE NYPD TAPES: INSIDE BED-STUY’S 81ST PRECINCT
By Graham Rayman
The Village Voice
May 4, 2010
Two years ago, a police officer in a Brooklyn precinct became gravely concerned about how the public was being served. To document his concerns, he began carrying around a digital sound recorder, secretly recording his colleagues and superiors.
He recorded precinct roll calls. He recorded his precinct commander and other supervisors. He recorded street encounters. He recorded small talk and stationhouse banter. In all, he surreptitiously collected hundreds of hours of cops talking about their jobs.
Made without the knowledge or approval of the NYPD, the tapes—made between June 1, 2008, and October 31, 2009, in the 81st Precinct in Bedford-Stuyvesant and obtained exclusively by the Voice—provide an unprecedented portrait of what it's like to work as a cop in this city.
They reveal that precinct bosses threaten street cops if they don't make their quotas of arrests and stop-and-frisks, but also tell them not to take certain robbery reports in order to manipulate crime statistics. The tapes also refer to command officers calling crime victims directly to intimidate them about their complaints.
As a result, the tapes show, the rank-and-file NYPD street cop experiences enormous pressure in a strange catch-22: He or she is expected to maintain high "activity"—including stop-and-frisks—but, paradoxically, to record fewer actual crimes.
This pressure was accompanied by paranoia—from the precinct commander to the lieutenants to the sergeants to the line officers—of violating any of the seemingly endless bureaucratic rules and regulations that would bring in outside supervision.
The tapes also reveal the locker-room environment at the precinct. On a recording made in September, the subject being discussed at roll call is stationhouse graffiti (done by the cops themselves) and something called "cocking the memo book," a practical joke in which officers draw penises in each other's daily notebooks.
"As far as the defacing of department property—all right, the shit on the side of the building . . . and on people's lockers, and drawing penises in people's memo books, and whatever else is going on—just knock it off, all right?" a Sergeant A. can be heard saying. "If the wrong person sees this stuff coming in here, then IAB [the Internal Affairs Bureau] is going to be all over this place, all right? . . . You want to draw penises, draw them in your own memo book. . . And don't actually draw on the wall." He then adds that just before an inspection, a supervisor had to walk around the stationhouse and paint over all the graffiti.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
MODERN TECHNOLOGY WORKS WELL FOR CONVICTS: But cell phone reception needs to be better
An inmate’s mother even called a prison warden to complain about the poor cell phone reception her son was experiencing.
CELL PHONES KEEP FLOODING STATE PRISONS
Associated Press
October 10, 2010
AUSTIN, Texas — Despite highly publicized crackdowns, cell phones continue to be smuggled to prison inmates in large numbers in Texas and nationwide, according to a published report.
Those phones have been implicated in a number of crimes inside the prisons and outside, including homicides.
In Texas, the number of cell phone seizures continue to suggest only modest success in keeping the devices out of inmates' hands, the Austin American-Statesman reported in Sunday's editions.
Texas officials estimated that more than 800 cell phones have been confiscated inside state prisons, compared to more than 900 during the same period last year and more than 1,000 the year before.
The number of illegal cell phones found in Texas prisons is down, said John Moriarty, the prison system inspector general, "but the threat is there. As long as the market is there, inmates will be looking for a way to get (cell phones) in."
Before Texas began the crackdowns about two years ago, a condemned killer on Texas death row managed to use a cell phone to make a chilling call to Houston state Sen. John Whitmire, chairman of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee.
"I still remember his words, his voice," Whitmire told the newspaper. "It scared the hell out of me. Still does."
About that time, an East Texas prison warden received a call from the mother of an inmate who complained about the poor cell phone reception her son had. A little before then, clogged sewer lines at a maximum-security prison near Houston were found to have been caused by smuggled cell phones flushed down cell toilets to avoid detection during a surprise inspection.
In South Carolina, authorities say the shooting of a prison guard at his home seven months ago was a hit ordered from an inmate's cell phone. Capt. Robert Johnson was shot six times in the chest and stomach.
A New Jersey inmate serving time for shooting at two police officers used a smuggled phone in 2005 to order a fatal attack on his girlfriend, who had given authorities information leading to his arrest. Two years after that, a drug dealer in Baltimore's city jail used a cell phone to successfully plan the killing of a witness who had identified him as the gunman in a previous killing.
U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady, both Texas Republicans, introduced companion bills that would allow states to petition the FCC for permission to jam calls. The Senate passed its version, but the House version has languished, and supporters don't expect it to move forward soon.
The proliferation of the devices in the hands of inmates poses a grave security risk to prison officials. In Texas and other states, prison officials have appealed to Congress to allow them to amend federal communications law so they can jam cell phone signals within their walls. Opposition from cell phone companies have stymied those appeals.
"By its nature, (jamming technology) is designed to ruthlessly cut off service," Christopher Guttman-McCabe of the wireless phone industry group CTIA said at a recent Federal Communications Commission workshop in Washington, D.C. "What happens when there is an event and public safety gets deployed ... and is in some way negatively impacted by the jammer?"
Terry Bittner, director of security products for ITT Corp., told the American-Statesman, "We just don't believe that that type of technology can be controlled precisely enough. I personally think that we're headed down a dangerous path, looking at jamming for that type of application."
The stymied efforts frustrate Whitmire.
"Texas ought to jam cell phones in our prisons and dare the federal government to do something about it," the Houston Democrat said. "There's a public safety danger here that needs to be addressed — and quickly."
CELL PHONES KEEP FLOODING STATE PRISONS
Associated Press
October 10, 2010
AUSTIN, Texas — Despite highly publicized crackdowns, cell phones continue to be smuggled to prison inmates in large numbers in Texas and nationwide, according to a published report.
Those phones have been implicated in a number of crimes inside the prisons and outside, including homicides.
In Texas, the number of cell phone seizures continue to suggest only modest success in keeping the devices out of inmates' hands, the Austin American-Statesman reported in Sunday's editions.
Texas officials estimated that more than 800 cell phones have been confiscated inside state prisons, compared to more than 900 during the same period last year and more than 1,000 the year before.
The number of illegal cell phones found in Texas prisons is down, said John Moriarty, the prison system inspector general, "but the threat is there. As long as the market is there, inmates will be looking for a way to get (cell phones) in."
Before Texas began the crackdowns about two years ago, a condemned killer on Texas death row managed to use a cell phone to make a chilling call to Houston state Sen. John Whitmire, chairman of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee.
"I still remember his words, his voice," Whitmire told the newspaper. "It scared the hell out of me. Still does."
About that time, an East Texas prison warden received a call from the mother of an inmate who complained about the poor cell phone reception her son had. A little before then, clogged sewer lines at a maximum-security prison near Houston were found to have been caused by smuggled cell phones flushed down cell toilets to avoid detection during a surprise inspection.
In South Carolina, authorities say the shooting of a prison guard at his home seven months ago was a hit ordered from an inmate's cell phone. Capt. Robert Johnson was shot six times in the chest and stomach.
A New Jersey inmate serving time for shooting at two police officers used a smuggled phone in 2005 to order a fatal attack on his girlfriend, who had given authorities information leading to his arrest. Two years after that, a drug dealer in Baltimore's city jail used a cell phone to successfully plan the killing of a witness who had identified him as the gunman in a previous killing.
U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady, both Texas Republicans, introduced companion bills that would allow states to petition the FCC for permission to jam calls. The Senate passed its version, but the House version has languished, and supporters don't expect it to move forward soon.
The proliferation of the devices in the hands of inmates poses a grave security risk to prison officials. In Texas and other states, prison officials have appealed to Congress to allow them to amend federal communications law so they can jam cell phone signals within their walls. Opposition from cell phone companies have stymied those appeals.
"By its nature, (jamming technology) is designed to ruthlessly cut off service," Christopher Guttman-McCabe of the wireless phone industry group CTIA said at a recent Federal Communications Commission workshop in Washington, D.C. "What happens when there is an event and public safety gets deployed ... and is in some way negatively impacted by the jammer?"
Terry Bittner, director of security products for ITT Corp., told the American-Statesman, "We just don't believe that that type of technology can be controlled precisely enough. I personally think that we're headed down a dangerous path, looking at jamming for that type of application."
The stymied efforts frustrate Whitmire.
"Texas ought to jam cell phones in our prisons and dare the federal government to do something about it," the Houston Democrat said. "There's a public safety danger here that needs to be addressed — and quickly."
A 17-YEAR TEACHING CAREER COMES TO A SCREECHING END
I am sure there are a lot of other teachers who occasionally feel like doing this themselves.
TEACHER REMOVED FROM CLASSROOM ON A STRETCHER AFTER THROWING CHAIRS AND TABLES WIHILE PUPILS TAUNT HIM
Mail Online
October 11, 2010
A teacher has been suspended from a high school after hurling tables and chairs around the classroom following taunts from pupils.
Donald Wood was teaching an 11th grade algebra class at McGavock High School in Nashville when he began swearing at pupils as one of his students recorded his actions on a mobile phone.
He then paced across the classroom, overturning two tables, before picking up a metal rubbish bin and slamming it into the ground.
Alarmed pupils get out of their seats and flee the classroom as he grabbed a chair and hurled it at a window, shattering the glass.
The video started with Mr. Wood telling a group of laughing students to 'shut up'.
When they carried on laughing, he waved his arms around and said: 'If you can be absolutely quiet... if you can shut your mouth... you can shut your mouth and you can listen in absolute silence... do you know why? Cause I have the absolute...'
When one of the teenagers shouted 'power', he replied: 'I've got it, and I know it. And guess who else knows it?'
He then knocked over the two tables, before shouting: 'Do you know who started the fire? Do you know who started the fire in this school? No... me!'
Students can be heard laughing at the start of the footage, but they began to flee the classroom after realizing Mr. Wood had lost his temper.
One pupil, Joshua Jenkins, told News Channel 5: 'He picked up a chair and threw it on the ground - not at a student, but towards a student, but it was close - and that's when I got up and started walking away.
'Once everybody started running out he picked up a chair and threw it out the window and it shattered.'
Witnesses described Mr. Wood - who has taught in Nashville schools for 17 years - as being handcuffed by school security officers when they arrived at his classroom.
He was then removed from the school on a stretcher and taken by ambulance to a hospital.
Principal Robbin Wall said he had not experienced anything like it in his 32 years in education.
He said: 'He was very agitated, very scattered and he didn't make any sense.
'A chair had been thrown through the window, broke the glass and everything - and being honest, we are very fortunate that none of our students were injured or hurt.'
Mr. Wall sent an automated message to parents at the school to inform them of what had happened.
Part of the phone call said: 'We had an incident in the school this morning, a teacher had a nervous breakdown in class.'
Parents of some pupils withdrew their children for the rest of the day.
Metro Schools officials said Mr. Wood had been placed on administrative leave pending further investigation.
TEACHER REMOVED FROM CLASSROOM ON A STRETCHER AFTER THROWING CHAIRS AND TABLES WIHILE PUPILS TAUNT HIM
Mail Online
October 11, 2010
A teacher has been suspended from a high school after hurling tables and chairs around the classroom following taunts from pupils.
Donald Wood was teaching an 11th grade algebra class at McGavock High School in Nashville when he began swearing at pupils as one of his students recorded his actions on a mobile phone.
He then paced across the classroom, overturning two tables, before picking up a metal rubbish bin and slamming it into the ground.
Alarmed pupils get out of their seats and flee the classroom as he grabbed a chair and hurled it at a window, shattering the glass.
The video started with Mr. Wood telling a group of laughing students to 'shut up'.
When they carried on laughing, he waved his arms around and said: 'If you can be absolutely quiet... if you can shut your mouth... you can shut your mouth and you can listen in absolute silence... do you know why? Cause I have the absolute...'
When one of the teenagers shouted 'power', he replied: 'I've got it, and I know it. And guess who else knows it?'
He then knocked over the two tables, before shouting: 'Do you know who started the fire? Do you know who started the fire in this school? No... me!'
Students can be heard laughing at the start of the footage, but they began to flee the classroom after realizing Mr. Wood had lost his temper.
One pupil, Joshua Jenkins, told News Channel 5: 'He picked up a chair and threw it on the ground - not at a student, but towards a student, but it was close - and that's when I got up and started walking away.
'Once everybody started running out he picked up a chair and threw it out the window and it shattered.'
Witnesses described Mr. Wood - who has taught in Nashville schools for 17 years - as being handcuffed by school security officers when they arrived at his classroom.
He was then removed from the school on a stretcher and taken by ambulance to a hospital.
Principal Robbin Wall said he had not experienced anything like it in his 32 years in education.
He said: 'He was very agitated, very scattered and he didn't make any sense.
'A chair had been thrown through the window, broke the glass and everything - and being honest, we are very fortunate that none of our students were injured or hurt.'
Mr. Wall sent an automated message to parents at the school to inform them of what had happened.
Part of the phone call said: 'We had an incident in the school this morning, a teacher had a nervous breakdown in class.'
Parents of some pupils withdrew their children for the rest of the day.
Metro Schools officials said Mr. Wood had been placed on administrative leave pending further investigation.
HIGHER OIL PRICES ON THE HORIZON
With the strong opposition of environmentalists, drilling for oil within the United States seems to be a very remote possibility. Thus we will become ever more dependent on the Arabs for our energy needs. And that means higher prices.
A PIPELINE PROBLEM IN ALASKA?
By Daniel Stone
Newsweek
October 9, 2010
The trans-Alaska Pipeline is the largest conduit of domestic oil, a funnel for crude from the North Slope’s Prudhoe Bay to the Port of Valdez. But the Prudhoe wells are drying up—and the prospect of replacing them appears ever more grim. Despite the capacity to carry 2 million barrels a day, the pipeline’s current flow is less than 700,000 gallons and falling at least 6 percent a year. Now its operators have commissioned a study to see how low the supply can get before crude freezes in transit. The most common estimate is about 500,000 barrels, a figure that ConocoPhillips recently predicted would be reached by 2015.
The simple fix is more oil. But the search for new wells has slowed since 2007, when Sarah Palin approved a steep tax on oil production. BP cut its local development budget by 30 percent; Shell drilled five exploratory wells on the North Slope this past summer (compared with 22 last year); and for the first time since Alaskan statehood, ConocoPhillips canceled all such drilling. In search of a sweeter deal, the industry has threatened more divestment. That may mean trouble for Alaska’s economy and wallets nationwide. Oil, after all, is cheaper out of Alaska’s tap than an overseas tanker.
A PIPELINE PROBLEM IN ALASKA?
By Daniel Stone
Newsweek
October 9, 2010
The trans-Alaska Pipeline is the largest conduit of domestic oil, a funnel for crude from the North Slope’s Prudhoe Bay to the Port of Valdez. But the Prudhoe wells are drying up—and the prospect of replacing them appears ever more grim. Despite the capacity to carry 2 million barrels a day, the pipeline’s current flow is less than 700,000 gallons and falling at least 6 percent a year. Now its operators have commissioned a study to see how low the supply can get before crude freezes in transit. The most common estimate is about 500,000 barrels, a figure that ConocoPhillips recently predicted would be reached by 2015.
The simple fix is more oil. But the search for new wells has slowed since 2007, when Sarah Palin approved a steep tax on oil production. BP cut its local development budget by 30 percent; Shell drilled five exploratory wells on the North Slope this past summer (compared with 22 last year); and for the first time since Alaskan statehood, ConocoPhillips canceled all such drilling. In search of a sweeter deal, the industry has threatened more divestment. That may mean trouble for Alaska’s economy and wallets nationwide. Oil, after all, is cheaper out of Alaska’s tap than an overseas tanker.
Monday, October 11, 2010
ARE WOMEN REALLY SUITABLE FOR POLICE PATROL WORK? (2)
I also posted this piece on PACOVILLA Corrections blog. It generated over 40 responses, with many of them accusing me of being either ignorant, bigoted or hateful, and better yet, all of the above. Many of the comments were obviously the result of knee-jerk reactions. It was obvious that those who piled on me the hardest did not understand or never bothered to understand what I had written.
Bob Walsh tried to explain what I wrote, but to no avail. The piling on continued. Here is what Bob wrote:
__Hey people, please remember that the original post deals with female patrol officers, primarily riding solo at night and a study (not cited) that indicates they may be significantly less willing to make stops late at night solo than their male counterparts. That’s all. It is also a fact that most women have less upper body strength than most men and, in a toe to toe slugout, may not do as well as most men. He did not adovcate that women shouldn’t be cops, or that women shouldn’t be patrol officers. He merely pointed out some potential problems. EVERY system has problems. (I admit I am surprised the CHP let a husand and wife ride together, for just that reason.)
That pretty well sums up my post. As far as the reluctance to make nighttime stops, that came out of a study made in California back sometime during the 1970s. Because that study was conducted over 30 years ago, I am unable to cite it.
UPDATE 10-17-10
My critics kept piling it on. To date there have been well over 50 comments. Bob Walsh, God bless him, got so fed up with the lack of critical thinking that he made this comment yesterday:
__There are times when the rubber meets the road and the strength is very very handy. Not often, but it happens. At the institution we have response close at hand. On night patrol, in the boonies, there are places where you can get help in 15 minutes if you are lucky. Its not so much that physical strength makes a good patrol officer, but lack of physical strength can make an ineffective patrol officer, at least at certain times and in certain circumstances. If a lone female might not be able to handle the fisicality, and she KNOWS or even merely fears that she can’t, that might make her inadequately aggressive as a patrol officer, she might let stuff slide that maybe she shouldn’t. That fact might make her a less effective patrol officer even if she is NEVER involved in a one-on-one dustup. That is the whole point of the original post.
Bob Walsh tried to explain what I wrote, but to no avail. The piling on continued. Here is what Bob wrote:
__Hey people, please remember that the original post deals with female patrol officers, primarily riding solo at night and a study (not cited) that indicates they may be significantly less willing to make stops late at night solo than their male counterparts. That’s all. It is also a fact that most women have less upper body strength than most men and, in a toe to toe slugout, may not do as well as most men. He did not adovcate that women shouldn’t be cops, or that women shouldn’t be patrol officers. He merely pointed out some potential problems. EVERY system has problems. (I admit I am surprised the CHP let a husand and wife ride together, for just that reason.)
That pretty well sums up my post. As far as the reluctance to make nighttime stops, that came out of a study made in California back sometime during the 1970s. Because that study was conducted over 30 years ago, I am unable to cite it.
UPDATE 10-17-10
My critics kept piling it on. To date there have been well over 50 comments. Bob Walsh, God bless him, got so fed up with the lack of critical thinking that he made this comment yesterday:
__There are times when the rubber meets the road and the strength is very very handy. Not often, but it happens. At the institution we have response close at hand. On night patrol, in the boonies, there are places where you can get help in 15 minutes if you are lucky. Its not so much that physical strength makes a good patrol officer, but lack of physical strength can make an ineffective patrol officer, at least at certain times and in certain circumstances. If a lone female might not be able to handle the fisicality, and she KNOWS or even merely fears that she can’t, that might make her inadequately aggressive as a patrol officer, she might let stuff slide that maybe she shouldn’t. That fact might make her a less effective patrol officer even if she is NEVER involved in a one-on-one dustup. That is the whole point of the original post.
POISONED POLICE PR STATS
I have long believed that police agencies would be far better off if they did not release their crime statistics to the public. More often than not, those releases turn out to be poisoned police PR stats.
Law Enforcement agencies depend on public support to help them get adequate funding. A favorite PR tactic is to release crime statistics showing what a wonderful job your local police are doing. That lends itself to ‘cooking the books’ by manipulating those statistics in a favorable light. Not too long ago, the Houston Police Department got caught manipulating their crime statistics in order to ‘reduce’ the city’s murder rate by classifying several homicides - in which the victims were shot multiple times - as suicides.
And when it comes to the annual national crime statistics released by the FBI, even those are suspect. Why? Because the FBI compiles those statistics from the crime reports submitted to it by local police agencies. Thus the annual FBI reports will not be accurate if those local statistics were manipulated to show a decrease in crime.
My good friend Jay Wall, a civic-minded businessman, has invested a good amount of time and his own money in a crusade to get the Houston Police Department to adopt the CompStat program. What is the CompStat program you ask. Here is a brief description from the Free Dictionary:
__CompStat originated in the New York City Police Department in 1994, under leadership of Police Commissioner William Bratton and his Deputy Commissioner Jack Maple. It is a multilayered dynamic approach to crime reduction, quality of life improvement and personnel and resource management. CompStat employs Geographic Information Systems and was intended to map crime and identify problems. In weekly meetings, ranking NYPD executives meet with local precinct commanders from one of the eight patrol boroughs in New York City to discuss the problems. They devise strategies and tactics to solve problems, reduce crime, and ultimately improve quality of life in their assigned area. The system is also in use in other major metropolitan cities including Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, Maryland. Baltimore actually calls their system Citistat.
HPD, Houston’s former mayor and the current mayor have been adamant in refusing to adopt a program devised by New Yorkers despite the fact that CompStat has been adopted by several major cities and touted as an extremely successful crime fighting tool. But now it seems that CompStat may not be all it's cracked up to be - at least not at NYPD. CompStat is really a good program that NYPD has turned on its head and there is no reason to believe that Los Angeles and other cities haven’t done likewise.
Yesterday's PoliceOne.com ran a long Associated Press story on whistleblower Adrian Schoolcraft, a former NYPD cop. Here is an excerpt concerning the vaunted CompStat program:
Eight years ago, when Schoolcraft joined the NYPD, it was enjoying a decade-long decline in serious crime that made it the envy of departments across the country. Murders, rapes, robberies, assaults, burglaries, larcenies and auto thefts together had fallen more than 60 percent since 1993, a trend that continues today.
Part of the formula for success has been CompStat — a program to squash spikes in crimes, petty and otherwise, before they get out of control. Patterns are tracked by computer. Patrols are deployed based on where and when criminals are most active. Precinct commanders are judged mercilessly on the results at CompStat meetings at police headquarters.
Critics say the strict accountability has created the temptation to record felonies as misdemeanors — or sometimes not to record them at all. In recent years, a handful of commanders have been demoted or transferred amid allegations of cooking the books.
"The years of crime going down has put incredible pressure on everyone in the NYPD," said criminologist Eli Silverman. "The police department is fighting its own success."
The NYPD stands by its numbers, saying the instances of manipulating stats are minute in a city where more than 2,000 serious crimes are reported each week. A special unit regularly audits the figures to protect accuracy.
But officers insist the fudging exists. Silverman and a fellow researcher at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, John Eterno, recently published a study based on 491 surveys of former NYPD captains that said they felt pressure to downgrade crimes, put off reports, anything to keep the stats down.
Silverman believes CompStat is a good idea turned on its head.
"You need accountability, and you need timely intelligence," he said. "But now it's become all about the numbers. You just have to produce. Numbers are the bottom line — where it should be good policing."
Law Enforcement agencies depend on public support to help them get adequate funding. A favorite PR tactic is to release crime statistics showing what a wonderful job your local police are doing. That lends itself to ‘cooking the books’ by manipulating those statistics in a favorable light. Not too long ago, the Houston Police Department got caught manipulating their crime statistics in order to ‘reduce’ the city’s murder rate by classifying several homicides - in which the victims were shot multiple times - as suicides.
And when it comes to the annual national crime statistics released by the FBI, even those are suspect. Why? Because the FBI compiles those statistics from the crime reports submitted to it by local police agencies. Thus the annual FBI reports will not be accurate if those local statistics were manipulated to show a decrease in crime.
My good friend Jay Wall, a civic-minded businessman, has invested a good amount of time and his own money in a crusade to get the Houston Police Department to adopt the CompStat program. What is the CompStat program you ask. Here is a brief description from the Free Dictionary:
__CompStat originated in the New York City Police Department in 1994, under leadership of Police Commissioner William Bratton and his Deputy Commissioner Jack Maple. It is a multilayered dynamic approach to crime reduction, quality of life improvement and personnel and resource management. CompStat employs Geographic Information Systems and was intended to map crime and identify problems. In weekly meetings, ranking NYPD executives meet with local precinct commanders from one of the eight patrol boroughs in New York City to discuss the problems. They devise strategies and tactics to solve problems, reduce crime, and ultimately improve quality of life in their assigned area. The system is also in use in other major metropolitan cities including Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, Maryland. Baltimore actually calls their system Citistat.
HPD, Houston’s former mayor and the current mayor have been adamant in refusing to adopt a program devised by New Yorkers despite the fact that CompStat has been adopted by several major cities and touted as an extremely successful crime fighting tool. But now it seems that CompStat may not be all it's cracked up to be - at least not at NYPD. CompStat is really a good program that NYPD has turned on its head and there is no reason to believe that Los Angeles and other cities haven’t done likewise.
Yesterday's PoliceOne.com ran a long Associated Press story on whistleblower Adrian Schoolcraft, a former NYPD cop. Here is an excerpt concerning the vaunted CompStat program:
Eight years ago, when Schoolcraft joined the NYPD, it was enjoying a decade-long decline in serious crime that made it the envy of departments across the country. Murders, rapes, robberies, assaults, burglaries, larcenies and auto thefts together had fallen more than 60 percent since 1993, a trend that continues today.
Part of the formula for success has been CompStat — a program to squash spikes in crimes, petty and otherwise, before they get out of control. Patterns are tracked by computer. Patrols are deployed based on where and when criminals are most active. Precinct commanders are judged mercilessly on the results at CompStat meetings at police headquarters.
Critics say the strict accountability has created the temptation to record felonies as misdemeanors — or sometimes not to record them at all. In recent years, a handful of commanders have been demoted or transferred amid allegations of cooking the books.
"The years of crime going down has put incredible pressure on everyone in the NYPD," said criminologist Eli Silverman. "The police department is fighting its own success."
The NYPD stands by its numbers, saying the instances of manipulating stats are minute in a city where more than 2,000 serious crimes are reported each week. A special unit regularly audits the figures to protect accuracy.
But officers insist the fudging exists. Silverman and a fellow researcher at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, John Eterno, recently published a study based on 491 surveys of former NYPD captains that said they felt pressure to downgrade crimes, put off reports, anything to keep the stats down.
Silverman believes CompStat is a good idea turned on its head.
"You need accountability, and you need timely intelligence," he said. "But now it's become all about the numbers. You just have to produce. Numbers are the bottom line — where it should be good policing."
Sunday, October 10, 2010
ARE WOMEN REALLY SUITABLE FOR POLICE PATROL WORK?
I hardly expect to win any friends or influence any people by what I am about to say. I’ve spent most of my adult life around police officers and I’ve come to believe that deep down in their hearts many male cops have asked themselves the politically incorrect question: Are women really suitable for police patrol work?
Is the question a reflection of ignorant, bigoted and hateful male chauvinism? No, not at all! It’s a reflection of the desire for officer survival.
Chase, the new NBC show, stars Kelli Giddish as an ass-kicking female U.S. Marshal. I don’t watch it because it reminds me of the 1997 movie G.I. Jane which starred Demi Moore as a female who successfully completed the U.S. Navy Seals training program. What do Chase and G.I. Jane have in common? Both are fantasies about beautiful broads who are the physical equals of the toughest of men. When some 70 percent of the trainees drop out of the extremely physical demanding Seal training program, there ain’t no woman going to become a navy seal.
This brings me to question the suitability of women as police patrol officers. I know that there are thousands of women working as patrol officers throughout the U.S. and most of them are doing a fine job. But the problem is that when it comes to physical confrontations with lawbreakers most women are not physically capable of controlling a bad situation. The most glaring example of this is the Rodney King case. King was originally stopped by a couple of California Highway Patrol officers, one of the partners being a woman. Because she lacked the upper body strength to help take down a combative King, she and her partner (who happened to be her husband) had to call on LAPD for help and things really went downhill from there.
Studies have also shown that policewomen are much more reluctant to make a nighttime traffic stop of a suspicious vehicle than are their male counterparts. That’s why you will find few women driving a patrol car by themselves during the nighttime. They are partnered up with a male officer and, to be honest about it, they are there for the female officer’s protection.
Because women officers will not always be able to sweet-talk some thug into coming along peacefully during an arrest, I question their suitability to serve as patrol officers. Please note that I did not say women are unsuitable for police work. Many women officers are outstanding criminal investigators. Because they lack the brawn doesn’t mean they don’t have the brains. What I question is the ability of women to do some ass-kicking when that becomes absolutely necessary. Tasering doesn’t always work and women officers cannot just shoot an unruly subject because they don’t have the physical capability of controlling him.
Say what? Oh shit, I’ve just been advised that some feminists and lesbians have put a fatwa out on me.
EDITOR’S NOTE: While I only questioned the suitability of women officers on police patrols, Centurion sent me this e-mail about women correctional officers:
.....female officers, to my knowledge....(there may in fact be one or two exceptions out of literally hundreds of thousands of cell extractions done over the past 20 years) were NEVER assigned to the shield, baton, or cuffing positions on extraction teams back before we used OC and other munitions. When it came time for brute force...it was always the guys...(usually the bigger guys)...who carried the load. Lots of them were injured. Lots of them had their careers shortened, while the females stayed in the office.
Is the question a reflection of ignorant, bigoted and hateful male chauvinism? No, not at all! It’s a reflection of the desire for officer survival.
Chase, the new NBC show, stars Kelli Giddish as an ass-kicking female U.S. Marshal. I don’t watch it because it reminds me of the 1997 movie G.I. Jane which starred Demi Moore as a female who successfully completed the U.S. Navy Seals training program. What do Chase and G.I. Jane have in common? Both are fantasies about beautiful broads who are the physical equals of the toughest of men. When some 70 percent of the trainees drop out of the extremely physical demanding Seal training program, there ain’t no woman going to become a navy seal.
This brings me to question the suitability of women as police patrol officers. I know that there are thousands of women working as patrol officers throughout the U.S. and most of them are doing a fine job. But the problem is that when it comes to physical confrontations with lawbreakers most women are not physically capable of controlling a bad situation. The most glaring example of this is the Rodney King case. King was originally stopped by a couple of California Highway Patrol officers, one of the partners being a woman. Because she lacked the upper body strength to help take down a combative King, she and her partner (who happened to be her husband) had to call on LAPD for help and things really went downhill from there.
Studies have also shown that policewomen are much more reluctant to make a nighttime traffic stop of a suspicious vehicle than are their male counterparts. That’s why you will find few women driving a patrol car by themselves during the nighttime. They are partnered up with a male officer and, to be honest about it, they are there for the female officer’s protection.
Because women officers will not always be able to sweet-talk some thug into coming along peacefully during an arrest, I question their suitability to serve as patrol officers. Please note that I did not say women are unsuitable for police work. Many women officers are outstanding criminal investigators. Because they lack the brawn doesn’t mean they don’t have the brains. What I question is the ability of women to do some ass-kicking when that becomes absolutely necessary. Tasering doesn’t always work and women officers cannot just shoot an unruly subject because they don’t have the physical capability of controlling him.
Say what? Oh shit, I’ve just been advised that some feminists and lesbians have put a fatwa out on me.
EDITOR’S NOTE: While I only questioned the suitability of women officers on police patrols, Centurion sent me this e-mail about women correctional officers:
.....female officers, to my knowledge....(there may in fact be one or two exceptions out of literally hundreds of thousands of cell extractions done over the past 20 years) were NEVER assigned to the shield, baton, or cuffing positions on extraction teams back before we used OC and other munitions. When it came time for brute force...it was always the guys...(usually the bigger guys)...who carried the load. Lots of them were injured. Lots of them had their careers shortened, while the females stayed in the office.
Saturday, October 09, 2010
A TYPICAL DAY IN MONTERREY
Until Mexico’s socioeconomic chasm between the 'haves' and 'haves not' is bridged, it will continue to be plagued by deadly gang warfare, corruption, kidnappings and by the killings of office holders, judges, police officials and news reporters. And, unfortunately, many innocent bystanders will be killed in the crossfire.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
By Borderland Beat Reporter Gerardo
Borderland Beat
October 8, 2010
A reader forwarded the following anonymous e-mail from a resident of Monterrey to the Borderland Beat Wednesday night at 7:00 PM, coincidently, at the moment that the tragedy at the Plaza Morelos unfolded:
Wednesday was a typical day in Monterrey. At 5:00 AM two men were murdered outside of a "table dance" nightclub by unknown gunmen.
At 12:15 PM military authorities arrested an important Monterrey Zeta lieutenant, 22 year old "subcomandante" José Raymundo López Arellano alias "El Ruso", in the suburb of Guadalupe. In December, 2009, "El Ruso" was arrested and jailed in Escobedo, another Monterrey suburb, and soon after was rescued by a force of gunmen that stormed the Escobedo jail.
Late Wednesday night and into Thursday morning, a violent pursuit of armed criminals by Army troops occurred that zigzagged from Guadalupe through much of central Monterrey. Shots were fired along the route at various locations but there were no reports of injuries or deaths. The gunmen escaped after several Army vehicles involved in the pursuit were heavily damaged.
To whom it may concern:
__We, the citizens of the city of Monterrey, Mexico, are tired of the violence created by the drug cartels and the organized crime. We don’t know where or who to ask for help since our governor and president have failed to protect us.
__We have been living in fear since February this year and until now we have no answer on how to stop this. The drug cartels and the organized crime have taken our peaceful city along with its citizens prisoners; they have kidnapped men, women and children.
__We never asked for this nor support any group or organization that is in connection with them. We never thought that something like this could happen to us and now here we are living a nightmare, our worse nightmare.
__Today we are asking for your help. We know that you have the power to communicate and inform people about our real situation. We as good Mexican citizens are imploring for your valuable help. Please, inform the rest of the world about our current situation and let people know that we are pleading for clemency.
__If there is an organization out there that can help us to find a solution, we are in the best position to accept the help. We don’t trust our government since our government has failed protecting us and there are no warranties for our lives.
After holding the customary security meeting with federal and state authorities that serves the purpose of political damage control for murders that cause a public uproar, the youthful, handsome, inexperienced and largely ineffective Governor of Nuevo Leon, Rodrigo Medina, issued a statement condemning the violent incident at the Plaza Morelos.
"We condemn this cowardly murder ... of innocent people that have nothing to do with this fight against organized crime," he said.
Medina noted that law enforcement forces will unite in order to maintain increased security in the city and prevent similar situations.
"We will take advantage of the close cooperation we have between both federal and local authorities in order to deliver our best efforts to prevent such incidents in the future," said Medina.
He added that there will be no rest in the fight against organized crime, which requires the efforts and participation of everyone.
Governor Medina also sent his condolences to the family and friends of the now deceased student of Visual Arts at the UANL, Lucila Qunitanilla.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
By Borderland Beat Reporter Gerardo
Borderland Beat
October 8, 2010
A reader forwarded the following anonymous e-mail from a resident of Monterrey to the Borderland Beat Wednesday night at 7:00 PM, coincidently, at the moment that the tragedy at the Plaza Morelos unfolded:
Wednesday was a typical day in Monterrey. At 5:00 AM two men were murdered outside of a "table dance" nightclub by unknown gunmen.
At 12:15 PM military authorities arrested an important Monterrey Zeta lieutenant, 22 year old "subcomandante" José Raymundo López Arellano alias "El Ruso", in the suburb of Guadalupe. In December, 2009, "El Ruso" was arrested and jailed in Escobedo, another Monterrey suburb, and soon after was rescued by a force of gunmen that stormed the Escobedo jail.
Late Wednesday night and into Thursday morning, a violent pursuit of armed criminals by Army troops occurred that zigzagged from Guadalupe through much of central Monterrey. Shots were fired along the route at various locations but there were no reports of injuries or deaths. The gunmen escaped after several Army vehicles involved in the pursuit were heavily damaged.
To whom it may concern:
__We, the citizens of the city of Monterrey, Mexico, are tired of the violence created by the drug cartels and the organized crime. We don’t know where or who to ask for help since our governor and president have failed to protect us.
__We have been living in fear since February this year and until now we have no answer on how to stop this. The drug cartels and the organized crime have taken our peaceful city along with its citizens prisoners; they have kidnapped men, women and children.
__We never asked for this nor support any group or organization that is in connection with them. We never thought that something like this could happen to us and now here we are living a nightmare, our worse nightmare.
__Today we are asking for your help. We know that you have the power to communicate and inform people about our real situation. We as good Mexican citizens are imploring for your valuable help. Please, inform the rest of the world about our current situation and let people know that we are pleading for clemency.
__If there is an organization out there that can help us to find a solution, we are in the best position to accept the help. We don’t trust our government since our government has failed protecting us and there are no warranties for our lives.
After holding the customary security meeting with federal and state authorities that serves the purpose of political damage control for murders that cause a public uproar, the youthful, handsome, inexperienced and largely ineffective Governor of Nuevo Leon, Rodrigo Medina, issued a statement condemning the violent incident at the Plaza Morelos.
"We condemn this cowardly murder ... of innocent people that have nothing to do with this fight against organized crime," he said.
Medina noted that law enforcement forces will unite in order to maintain increased security in the city and prevent similar situations.
"We will take advantage of the close cooperation we have between both federal and local authorities in order to deliver our best efforts to prevent such incidents in the future," said Medina.
He added that there will be no rest in the fight against organized crime, which requires the efforts and participation of everyone.
Governor Medina also sent his condolences to the family and friends of the now deceased student of Visual Arts at the UANL, Lucila Qunitanilla.
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