Arizona DPS officer convicted in sexual-abuse case
SourceArizona DPS officer convicted in sexual-abuse case
Jul. 3, 2012 02:14 PM
Associated Press
FLAGSTAFF -- An Arizona Department of Public Safety officer has been convicted of sexual abusing a woman at a Flagstaff bar.
A Coconino County Superior Court jury on Monday found 43-year-old Robb Gary Evans guilty on one count of sexual abuse.
Evans was accused of walking up behind a woman last summer, placing his hand up under her skirt and touching her inappropriately.
The Arizona Daily Sun (http://bit.ly/P3w1U0) says Evans will remain out on bond until his Sept. 5 sentencing. He is eligible for probation but a judge could sentence him to between six months and 21/2 years in prison and make him register as a sex offender.
Evans is an 11-year DPS veteran who was placed on administrative leave after his arrest. He recently returned to light duty and non-investigative work.
Sadly this is the same junk logic that prosecutors have used for years to get false convictions.
A hair from a Negro was found on the rape victim. And the man accused of the rape is a Negro. And the prosecutor tells the jury that the illogical conclusion is that therefor the Negro who was arrested is the rapist.
Of course the reality is that 10 percent of the population is Negro and thus 10 percent of the population COULD be the rapist. But just because a man is a Negro, and the victim was raped by a Negro doesn't mean the man arrested IS the rapist.
Of course the prosecutor is more concerned with carving another notch on his gun then he is in getting justice and any conviction will make him happy. Unless he is a racist prosecutor. And in that case he is happy to railroad any Negro he can.
Weak DNA evidence could undermine justice, experts say
By Steve Mills, Chicago Tribune reporter
July 5, 2012
When Cook County prosecutors brought Cleveland Barrett to trial earlier this year for the predatory criminal sexual assault of a 9-year-old girl, they presented the jury hearing the case testimony from the alleged victim plus the kind of evidence that long has won convictions with its scientific certainty: DNA.
Indeed, Assistant State's Attorneys Krista Peterson and Jane Sack told jurors in closing arguments that the DNA obtained from the victim after the alleged incident in July 2010 was a match to Barrett's genetic profile and evidence that corroborated the victim's trial testimony.
"Who is the major profile in the DNA that's found?" Sack asked the jury, according to a transcript from the trial. "The defendant."
But this DNA was different. It was not from semen, as is often the case in rapes; instead it came from male cells found on the girl's lips. What's more, the uniqueness of the genetic link between the DNA and Barrett was not of the 1-in-several-billion sort that crime lab analysts often testify to in trials with DNA evidence. Instead, when Illinois State Police crime lab analyst Lisa Fallara explained the statistical probabilities, she testified the genetic profile from the cells matched 1 in 4 African-American males, 1 in 8 Hispanic males and 1 in 9 Caucasian males.
Fact is, the DNA profile from the cells on the victim's lips could have matched hundreds of thousands of men in the Chicago region.
The advent of forensic DNA analysis offered a precision that older and cruder — and, now, mostly discarded — forensic disciplines did not. But experts say cases such as Barrett's, which are emerging in Cook County and in some other jurisdictions across the nation, mark a troubling return to a kind of forensic science that allows imprecision to cloud the evidence as well as a judge's or a jury's ability to weigh it properly.
The broad and almost meaningless statistical probabilities offered at Barrett's mid-April trial were just the kind of probabilities offered for years when crime lab analysts testified about serology, the more crude forensic discipline that gave way to the more scientifically exacting DNA.
Observers of the justice system worry that this use of DNA, which holds a powerful allure for jurors, will lead to wrongful convictions.
"Juries are conditioned to think DNA is incredibly powerful and dispositive. But these cases are very different," said William Thompson, a professor in the Department of Criminology and the School of Law at the University of California at Irvine and an expert on DNA. "Juries can give this kind of evidence too much weight."
Edward Blake, one of the nation's leading DNA scientists who has worked on cases for both prosecutors and defense lawyers, was more blunt. He said that it is "preposterous" to use DNA evidence when it cannot be more precise and that judges should not allow it into courtrooms.
"It has almost no value at all as evidence," Blake said.
In the end, after spending more than a year in jail, Barrett was acquitted and set free. But other cases with similar DNA evidence are working their way through the courts, and attorneys at the Cook County public defender's office fear they will not be handled with skepticism.
Barrett's case, in fact, involved considerable back-and-forth testimony over the meaning of the DNA. At one point, Fallara testified that she could not determine whether the cells on the victim's lips came from saliva or skin or even a hair. She did acknowledge, though, that Barrett's DNA matched the DNA recovered from the victim's lips at only one of 11 locations on a chromosome – meaning she could not get enough information at the other 10 locations, a distinction that was drawn out by Assistant Public Defender Scott Kozicki in cross-examination.
Fallara even acknowledged in testimony that under a different reading of the data, Barrett could have been excluded as the source of the DNA recovered on the victim's lips.
"It's new. It's highly unusual. And it's very concerning," said Gregory O'Reilly, chief of the forensic science division for the Cook County public defender's office. "There's a terrific power in the phrase 'DNA match.' And there's a great risk that the jury will put great significance on this when it's not significant at all."
Crime lab officials and Cook County prosecutors say this kind of DNA evidence is being used more frequently in court as science and technology advance and police become more sophisticated and skilled in their efforts to find and recover DNA in smaller quantities, as well as in places that they were not able to in the past. One byproduct of those advances is that the genetic profiles they obtain are incomplete. That leads to statistical probabilities that are incredibly common, like those in the Barrett case, which critics say are misleading.
"When science advances and you're getting profiles that aren't complete, you're going to wind up with numbers that are not as probative as the numbers you're getting with full profiles," Fabio Valentini, chief of the state's attorney's criminal prosecutions bureau, said in an interview.
Cecilia Doyle, chief of the biochemistry section of the state police crime lab in Chicago, declined to discuss the Barrett case. But she said in an email that lab analysts, who are available to both prosecutors and defense attorneys, merely process the evidence and do not "decide whether the results or statistics are meaningful to the case. ... The laboratory analyst's job is to analyze the evidence and report the findings, whatever they may be.
"Sometimes the analysis only reveals limited information, but that could still be significant and useful in a case."
Valentini said trial prosecutors are trained to be aggressive advocates but not to go beyond what the evidence introduced shows. The office stood by Sack's statements in closing, with office spokeswoman Sally Daly saying they were "proper and consistent with the evidence presented during trial. That is not only our position, but obviously the position of the trial judge as well, as he overruled objections made at the time."
Valentini said prosecutors saw limited uses for DNA such as that in the Barrett case. He said they would not use it as the basis to bring charges against a suspect or to mount a prosecution without other significant evidence. They would use it, he said, to corroborate other evidence, as they did with the testimony of Barrett's alleged victim.
"It's really like any other evidence you have. It's part of the picture," Valentini said. "Is it sufficiently probative for us to identify a single suspect? No, it's not. But is it probative enough to corroborate other evidence we have? That's case by case. But, generally, the answer is yes."
But Sack, in her closing argument, also used a word defense attorneys say goes too far and prejudices defendants: "match."
O'Reilly said trial court judges need to be vigilant in weighing whether a jury should hear such DNA evidence or whether it should be kept out.
"It doesn't only run the risk of convicting an innocent person or letting bad science into the courtroom, but you're going to undermine the very power that's behind DNA in the public consciousness," O'Reilly said. "The meaning of 'match' will become so trivialized that you'll mix powerful science with junk science, powerful evidence with junk evidence. It's going to lead to a lot of confusion. Because this is DNA."
Barrett, 47, said he was just weeks from getting a degree as a chef when he was arrested and his life turned upside down. He said he still cannot believe that prosecutors used the DNA against him.
"The way they done me was really unfair," he said in a Rogers Park apartment filled with books. "That DNA didn't match me, and they knew it."
smmills@tribune.com
Problem Solver: Jail treatment upsets sister
Seeking brother's belongings, she received a rude reception
Jon Yates' "What's Your Problem?"
July 6, 2012
Megan Lewis wasn't particularly happy when her brother was arrested with drugs in March.
It marked his second drug-related arrest in less than a year. Although a plea bargain spared him from prison after the first arrest, there was no avoiding incarceration after the second arrest.
In early June, he was sentenced to six years, which meant a transfer from the Cook County Jail to Stateville Correctional Center, near Joliet.
Before he was transferred to the penitentiary June 8, he filled out a form designating Lewis to pick up his belongings from the Cook County Department of Corrections.
The form, which was delivered to Lewis several days later, instructed Lewis to call a specific phone number to set up a pickup date.
"If this clothing is not picked up within thirty (30) days of the date of this letter, it will be removed from storage and disposed of," the form said.
So Lewis began calling.
"From the get-go I was told the gentleman who was overseeing this department was unavailable," Lewis said.
In fact, every time she called, she was told the same thing.
"You can only go through that so many times before you think, does this guy even exist?" Lewis said. "It's frustrating at best."
On June 27, she called and asked to speak to a supervisor.
"This woman was so surly and downright rude," Lewis said. "She informed me the jail is understaffed and that the man who oversees the distribution of inmates' belongings has had to be with the inmates instead of working the clothing room. That seems understandable, but there was no offer of an alternative or a creative solution."
With the 30-day clock ticking and no resolution in sight, Lewis emailedWhat's Your Problem?
"While I recognize that this is not a huge issue for anyone other than myself, I do believe it is symptomatic of a system that is simply broken," she said.
Lewis said she does not dispute that her brother needs to be incarcerated. But Lewis said she felt the jail was punishing her for her brother's actions by making it difficult for her to pick up his belongings.
"We're not the criminals," she said. "I understand that when you break the law you give up certain rights and that's fair, but for those of us who are trying to clean up the aftermath, it would be nice if the system were a little more friendly."
Lewis said she was just trying to get her brother's belongings before they are destroyed.
"I just happen to be related to someone who has drug issues," she said. "I'm just trying to advocate on his behalf and get back what is rightfully his."
The Problem Solver called Frank Bilecki, a spokesman for the Cook County sheriff's office, and forwarded Lewis' email.
Within hours, both Bilecki and a superintendent from the jail called Lewis offering to help.
The superintendent said he would retrieve the brother's belongings himself, Lewis said.
"He couldn't have been nicer and was very apologetic," Lewis said.
Several hours after that, a squad car arrived outside Lewis' Oak Park home, and two deputies delivered her brother's belongings: his clothing, keys, a belt and 37 cents.
"As far as I'm concerned, there's resolution on this," she said. "But I do feel for families that don't have a computer, that don't have the research ability, that don't know who to reach out to."
Bilecki said his department acted immediately upon hearing Lewis' story.
"I said, 'She's gone through enough at this point, let's make sure we get it out to her,'" he said.
The spokesman said Lewis could not provide the names of individuals at the jail who were rude or unhelpful.
"We're looking internally to see if we can determine who she actually spoke to," Bilecki said. "We haven't been able to completely nail it down just yet, but we think we're close."
After hearing Lewis' complaints, Bilecki said an announcement was made at roll call for all three shifts at the jail.
"They were strongly reminded that the taxpayers of Cook County pay their salaries … and we should conduct ourselves in a professional way," he said. "And I think the message was heard loud and clear."
Lewis agrees. She said she called the jail again recently and was treated well.
"Quite a different experience," she said.
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Hey, what did you expect? He is a Mexican!!!
Agents stir outcry by detaining former Arizona Gov. Raul Castro, 96
Ex-governor had trace of medical radiation
by Daniel González - Jul. 4, 2012 11:11 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com
The wife and a friend of former Arizona Gov. Raul Castro are calling for changes in Border Patrol procedures after agents recently detained the frail 96-year-old in 100-degree heat for more than a half-hour.
Castro said he was traveling from his home in Nogales, Ariz., to celebrate his 96th birthday in Tucson when his vehicle triggered a radiation sensor at the Border Patrol checkpoint on Interstate 19 north of Tubac.
Castro said agents sent him to another inspection area and continued to question him outside his vehicle for 40 to 45 minutes even though he explained that he had undergone hospital testing on his pacemaker the previous day, likely triggering the sensor.
Castro has downplayed the June 12 incident, which occurred just before noon. His wife and driver, however, were appalled.
"It's traumatic, to say the least, for an old man," said Castro's wife, Patricia.
She said the Border Patrol officials need to use "more common sense" when they encounter elderly people who have undergone medical procedures.
Anne Doan, a family friend from Nogales who was driving Castro to the birthday luncheon in Tucson, wrote a letter to the Nogales International newspaper recounting the incident and blasting the Border Patrol for its treatment of Castro.
"I felt the agents had no regard for the governor's background or age or physical condition," Doan wrote. "I was embarrassed as I watched the governor being needlessly treated like a nuclear threat."
In the letter, Doan said that after Castro was sent to a secondary inspection, the former governor was told to stand under a tent. He was wearing a suit, and the temperature was 100 degrees, but agents refused Doan's request to let Castro remain in the air-conditioned car, she said. "The agents said (they) could not and that they had a fan under the tent," she wrote.
After being asked to sign documents, they let Castro leave, she said.
"I feel less safe knowing that time and money is being wasted by agents who must check a box or file a paper knowing full well that there is no threat," Doan wrote.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials confirmed in an e-mail that they stopped Castro on June 12 for "a possible trace of radiation." Policy requires agents to "identify and resolve all sources of radiation regardless of the circumstances," which officials did in this case, according to the statement. Conflicting with the account of Castro and his companions, officials say Castro was "delayed" only 10 minutes, from 11:42 a.m. to 11:52 a.m.
The Mexican-born Castro was governor of Arizona from 1974 to 1977. He was the state's first and only Hispanic governor. He and his wife retired to Nogales after he served as U.S. ambassador to Argentina. He also served as ambassador to Bolivia and El Salvador in the 1960s.
In an interview, Castro told The Republic that he was "not thrilled" by the way he was treated but did not file a complaint. He said that he understands Border Patrol agents are "there to do a job" but that they need a better system for dealing with elderly people. He said he was exposed to the sun during part of the questioning. "The sun was blazing on me," he said.
"Once I identified myself, who I was, and that I had been to the doctor, I was under medical care, I have a pacemaker on my heart, (I would have thought) that they would have been more considerate and said, 'Keep on going.' But that didn't happen," Castro said.
Alessandra Soler, executive director of the American Civil Liberties of Arizona, said Castro's experience with agents was not unique.
"This happens all the time in terms of these types of indiscriminate stops of individuals not suspected of any wrongdoing," Soler said.
She said agents should have used discretion instead of relying solely on technology to decide to detain Castro.
"I think most people would agree that subjecting a 96-year-old man to secondary screening does little to secure our borders and a man who had just informed them that he had undergone this medical procedure," she said.
Mom accused of giving child beer at Phoenix restaurant
by Haley Madden - Jul. 5, 2012 04:10 PM
The Arizona Republic-12 News Breaking News Team
A mother was arrested and charged with child abuse after she put beer in her child's cup at a restaurant, police said Thursday.
Phoenix police were called to Peter Piper Pizza near Ray Road and 48th Street around 7:15 p.m. Tuesday. Officers were told that Valerie Marie Topete, 36, had poured what was believed to be beer from a pitcher into her 2-year-old's cup, said James Holmes, a Phoenix police spokesman.
Police also were told that the child did drink from the cup and, at one point, Topete left the child alone at the table with alcohol in the cup, police said.
Police interviewed Topete about the claims and she explained that the 2-year-old "kept reaching" for the pitcher of beer, police said. The 36-year-old originally told officers her son did not drink any of the beer but later made comments indicating he may have, Holmes said.
The boy was taken to a hospital for precautionary measures, Holmes said.
The 2-year-old was released to his father. The boy's father and the boy's two siblings, ages 4 and 8, were all at the Peter Piper Pizza, Holmes said.
Topete was booked on one count of child abuse, police said.
O.C. judge censured for trying to help wife avoid fine
July 5, 2012 | 4:53 pm
An Orange County superior court judge has been rebuked by a state oversight committee for violating judicial ethics in trying to help his wife avoid paying late fees levied on an unpaid traffic citation.
In a decision released Thursday, the Commission on Judicial Performance issued a public censure of Judge Salvador Sarmiento for "improper conduct in seeking preferential treatment" for his wife.
The commission said that Sarmiento bypassed typical procedures by asking a subordinate -- a court commissioner -- to schedule a trial date for his wife after she received a November 2010 citation for failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk and ignored multiple notices from the court to deal with the ticket.
The judge's wife, who was not named in the report, owed a $300 civil assessment -- essentially a late fee -- and $25 in other fees, in addition to the bail amount of $284 for the citation.
The court would vacate the civil assessment if she appeared within 10 days of the notice sent to her on Feb. 7, 2011, and provided a good reason for not having paid on time. Sarmiento approached the commissioner three days later about setting a trial date for his wife.
The commission, in its decision, condemned Sarmiento for "serious judicial misconduct which severely damages the reputation of the judiciary."
"The public has a right to expect that justice will be dispensed with an even hand and without favoritism," the ruling said. "Judge Sarmiento's conduct makes it more difficult for judges throughout the state to maintain the trust and respect of the public."
The commission consists of three judges, two lawyers and six members of the public; one judge was recused in this case.
The commission chose to publicly censure Sarmiento, rather than remove him from his post. In reaching that decision, the commission cited a lack of previous misconduct during Sarmiento's lengthy tenure as a judge and a low likelihood that he would repeat the misconduct, since he has acknowledged his wrongdoing.
In fact, Sarmiento reported himself 18 months ago and has cooperated throughout the process, his attorney, Randall A. Miller, said in a statement Thursday. Miller described the process as "arduous and time consuming" for Sarmiento, and he said the process could have continued for another six months.
"The length of the process, in addition to the toll on his family and health, all played significant roles in the decision to commit to the resolution," Miller said. "He is satisfied with the conclusion, and very much looks forward to moving beyond this."
Sarmiento has been a superior court judge since 2003, and before that, had been a superior court commissioner since 1997. His wife has since paid the bail amount of the ticket and the civil assessment.
Again, Jesus, don't these pigs have any real criminals to hunt down?????
Alleged Long Beach hoarder in custody after 7-hour standoff
July 5, 2012 | 3:11 pm
A Long Beach man who allegedly shot at code enforcement inspectors and police officers was in custody Thursday afternoon after a seven-hour standoff with SWAT officers.
Code enforcement officers arrived at the home about 8 a.m. Thursday to serve an inspection warrant in response to hoarding complaints. When they arrived, he fired shots, police said, hitting one of the code officers in the head.
Police spokeswoman Nancy Pratt said injured inspector was taken in a patrol car to a hospital. His condition was not immediately known, but Pratt said he was expected to survive.
Neighbors said the man's home and yard were filled with junk and other items, and the man has received several notices from the city to clean up the property. Pratt confirmed the residence "had been a problem for code enforcement over the past few years."
Jill Lofton, 53, stood at the corner of Gaviota Avenue and Curry Street, not far from the standoff, and watched as authorities prepared to enter the home with a battering ram.
She said she had known the resident for 17 years.
"He looked like a homeless guy, but he really wasn't," she said. "If you got past that and you had started talking to him, you'd find out he was genuinely a nice guy."
"I think the city should have intervened in other ways, not just send code enforcement officers," Lofton said.
She said four years ago, city crews came to his house with dumpsters. They had chopped his tree down and had thrown out some of the furniture he had outside.
Another neighbor, 19-year-old Chris Miller, also described the man as nice and outgoing -- but unkempt.
The man's mother had recently died, Miller said, and the man "took it very hard."
Mexico to keep fighting drug cartels
New leader commits to partnership with U.S.
by William Booth - Jul. 6, 2012 12:00 AM
Washington Post
Peña Nieto said he would consider hosting U.S. military instructors on Mexican soil, but in a training capacity only, to help his soldiers and marines benefit from U.S. counterinsurgency tactics learned in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He also approves of the continuation of flights by U.S. surveillance drones over Mexico to gather intelligence on drug trafficking, but future missions would be run by Mexico with U.S. assistance and technology, he said.
"Without a doubt, I am committed to having an intense, close relationship of effective collaboration measured by results," Peña Nieto said in an interview that focused on Mexico's violent struggle with transnational crime organizations.
But he was clear that he did not endorse the two countries pursing the kind of joint armed counternarcotics operations carried out by U.S. forces in Colombia and Central America.
Mexican laws should be enforced by Mexicans, Peña Nieto said.
"It is just as if I asked you: 'Should our police operate on the other side of the border?' No. That would not be allowed by U.S. law. Our situation is the same," he said.
Peña Nieto is the projected winner of Sunday's presidential election, with final results due this weekend. His apparent victory restores to power the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which ran Mexico for more than 70 years before its ouster in 2000.
The president-elect was interviewed at the JW Marriott Hotel at the edge of Mexico City, where international companies have erected a canyon of glass corporate towers.
Peña Nieto has already faced wariness from U.S. lawmakers, who fear that he will pull back from the drug fight and return to the ways of his PRI forebears, notorious for accommodating drug smugglers to preserve public order.
He has aggressively pushed back against those allegations. But he said he would change the way success is measured in the drug war in Mexico.
Using what standard? he is asked.
"Homicides," Peña Nieto said.
After he assumes office in December, the new president will no longer judge success simply by the numbers of drug kingpins captured or killed, or the bricks of cocaine seized, he said -- metrics popular with America's Drug Enforcement Administration and Congress.
Mexico has had more than 60,000 drug-related killings since President Felipe Calderon took office in December 2006 and sent the army into the streets.
By setting Mexico's death toll as a primary measure of success, the president-elect sought to create a clear contrast with Calderon, who created a Most Wanted list and kept a running tally of kingpins he'd knocked off.
But drugs and drug lords have proved to be renewable resources in Mexico, and by making homicide reduction the center of his plan, Peña Nieto seems to be putting the fight back on Mexican terms, with the statistic that matters most to the Mexican public.
Peña Nieto repeated several times that the fight against crime needed to be "effective, with results."
"We should set measurable objectives over a determined period of time that are agreed by both governments," he said.
Last month, Peña Nieto announced that the former chief of the Colombian National Police, Gen. Oscar Naranjo, will become his top security adviser.
Naranjo is close to the U.S. military and law-enforcement agencies, and his appointment was seen as a signal that Peña Nieto would remain a solid partner.
In Colombia, Honduras, Guatemala and other parts of the region, American agents from the DEA and other agencies work side by side with local police and military to combat drug trafficking, gathering intelligence and staging strikes in U.S. helicopters. But Mexico has long resisted joint operations, and Peña Nieto said they would violate Mexican sovereignty.
"I think there should be an exchange of technology, of intelligence, but I insist there should be respect for the constitutions of both countries," he said.
While U.S. diplomats often highlight the $1.6 billion in drug-fighting aid provided to Mexico since 2008 -- the delivery of Black Hawk helicopters or the role retired FBI agents play as instructors at Mexican police academies -- the Mexican government prefers to play down the assistance.
Mexican military officers go north to the United States for training, but Mexico has never acknowledged any training taking place here.
"It could take place on either side (of the border)," Peña Nieto said. "It's not an issue of sovereignty."
Memories are long here of the 19th-century wars and U.S. military incursions that transferred huge swaths of Mexican territory into American hands. There are no U.S. military bases in Mexico, and American law-enforcement agents in the country are not allowed to carry weapons, even for personal protection.
Calderon has often criticized the United States as the world's most voracious drug consumer and complained that weapons smuggled south are stoking the violence.
Peña Nieto declined to blame U.S. guns.
"We're not trying to change the laws of the United States," he said. "I respect the laws of the United States as defined by the American people.
"But I am in favor of better gun-trafficking enforcement. Just as we've seen more control over the movement of migrants (across the border)."
To deal with Mexico's corrupt municipal police forces, Peña Nieto proposes to eliminate them outright.
Instead, he would create a single police force in each of Mexico's 31 states whose members would fight crime alongside an expanded force of federal police.
The military would be pulled back to the barracks and replaced by a new paramilitary-style national "gendarmerie" of 40,000 officers under civilian command.
"This is a plan that is still being developed," he said
Ill. man exonerated after 30 years in prison for murder
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) – A Chicago man who spent more than 30 years behind bars before DNA evidence helped overturn his conviction in the rape and killing of a 3-year-old girl was released from prison late Friday, just hours after prosecutors dropped the case against him.
Davis was released from the super-maximum security prison in Tamms in far southern Illinois around 7:30 p.m., said Illinois Department of Corrections spokeswoman Kayce Ataiyero. Champaign County State's Attorney Julia Rietz had decided earlier in the day not to pursue charges against him.
Judy Royal of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University, which represented Davis, said he was the longest-serving of the 42 people exonerated by DNA evidence in Illinois.
"Mr. Davis served 32 years in prison for a rape and murder he didn't commit," Royal said. "Tamms is a difficult place to do time. He's hoping to rebuild his life, with the support of his family."
It wasn't immediately known if Davis' family was at the prison when he walked out. Davis' father was traveling to Tamms on Friday afternoon and couldn't be reached for comment.
Reitz said that while she didn't doubt the results of the DNA tests, she decided not to retry Davis because of the difficulty in taking a 32-year-old case to trial — not because of those tests.
"After 30 years, witnesses are either deceased, missing or no longer credible to testify," said Rietz, who has been state's attorney in Champaign County since 2004. "Based on the age of the case and the current state of the evidence, we elected to dismiss."
She noted that Davis was twice convicted by juries. His first conviction was overturned because of a mistake made by a bailiff during jury deliberations.
Rietz said any further steps in the investigation of Briana's death will be up to police. Rantoul Police Chief Paul Farber did not return a call regarding the status of the investigation.
Davis was arrested shortly after Briana was found on Aug. 8, 1980, in a house on the street where she lived with her mother and stepfather in Rantoul.
According to trial testimony, Davis — who was 19 at the time — was visiting his father in Rantoul. He spent the day the girl died drinking at the home where she was eventually found with the two brothers who lived there. At some point the brothers left, leaving Davis there alone.
Briana's stepfather, Rand Spragg, said he left the girl playing in the family's front yard and last saw her sitting under a tree.
The family later searched for her. She was found in the brothers' home, naked and under bed clothes in a utility room. She died that night at a local hospital.
An acquaintance of Davis told police that Davis said he'd killed "a woman" at the home.
DNA testing wasn't available in 1980. But in 2004, Davis requested that evidence gathered at the scene of Briana's death be DNA tested.
According to the tests, blood and semen found at the scene weren't from Davis. That led to the March appellate court decision.
Friday's planned release caught Davis' attorneys off guard. Most were on vacation, expecting that he might be released next week.
Royal, who works closely with Davis' lead attorney, Jane Raley, didn't represent him. She wasn't sure what plans Davis had, but she said that after so many years he was fortunate that family members were still alive to greet him and help him acclimate to life outside prison.
"A lot of times when people are incarcerated for lengthy periods of time, family members die," Royal said. "That is one good thing, that he will have their support."
"I think it's difficult for him to know exactly what to do," she added, noting that the Center on Wrongful Convictions works with the people it helps free to aid in their adjustment. "I know that he's very intelligent and he has been assisting in the preparation of his appeal for years and giving some good suggestions in that regard."
Attempts to reach members of Briana's family were not successful.
The biodefender that cries wolf
By David Willman, Los Angeles Times
July 8, 2012
DENVER — As Chris Lindley drove to work that morning in August 2008, a call set his heart pounding.
The Democratic National Convention was being held in Denver, and Barack Obama was to accept his party's presidential nomination before a crowd of 80,000 people that night.
The phone call was from one of Lindley's colleagues at Colorado's emergency preparedness agency. The deadly bacterium that causes tularemia — long feared as a possible biological weapon — had been detected at the convention site.
Should they order an evacuation, the state officials wondered? Send inspectors in moon suits? Distribute antibiotics? Delay or move Obama's speech?
Another question loomed: Could they trust the source of the alert, a billion-dollar government system for detecting biological attacks known as BioWatch?
Six tense hours later, Lindley and his colleagues had reached a verdict: false alarm.
BioWatch had failed — again.
President George W. Bushannounced the system's deployment in his 2003 State of the Union address, saying it would "protect our people and our homeland." Since then, BioWatch air samplers have been installed inconspicuously at street level and atop buildings in cities across the country — ready, in theory, to detect pathogens that cause anthrax, tularemia, smallpox, plague and other deadly diseases.
But the system has not lived up to its billing. It has repeatedly cried wolf, producing dozens of false alarms in Los Angeles, Detroit, St. Louis, Phoenix, San Diego, the San Francisco Bay Area and elsewhere, a Los Angeles Times investigation found.
Worse, BioWatch cannot be counted on to detect a real attack, according to confidential government test results and computer modeling.
The false alarms have threatened to disrupt not only the 2008 Democratic convention, but also the 2004 and 2008 Super Bowls and the 2006 National League baseball playoffs. In 2005, a false alarm in Washington prompted officials to consider closing the National Mall.
In all, federal agencies documented 56 BioWatch false alarms — most of them never disclosed to the public — through 2008. More followed.
The ultimate verdict on BioWatch is that state and local health officials have shown no confidence in it. Not once have they ordered evacuations or distributed emergency medicines in response to a positive reading.
Federal officials have not established the cause of the false alarms, but scientists familiar with BioWatch say they appear to stem from its inability to distinguish between dangerous pathogens and closely related but nonlethal germs.
BioWatch has yet to face an actual biological attack. Field tests and computer modeling, however, suggest it would have difficulty detecting one.
In an attack by terrorists or a rogue state, disease organisms could well be widely dispersed, at concentrations too low to trigger BioWatch but high enough to infect thousands of people, according to scientists with knowledge of the test data who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Even in a massive release, air currents would scatter the germs in unpredictable ways. Huge numbers of air samplers would have to be deployed to reliably detect an attack in a given area, the scientists said.
Many who have worked with BioWatch — from the Army general who oversaw its initial deployment to state and local health officials who have seen its repeated failures up close — call it ill-conceived or unworkable.
"I can't find anyone in my peer group who believes in BioWatch," said Dr. Ned Calonge, chief medical officer for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment from 2002 to 2010.
"The only times it goes off, it's wrong. I just think it's a colossal waste of money. It's a stupid program."
Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the federal agency that would be chiefly responsible for rushing medications to the site of an attack, told White House aides at a meeting Nov. 21 that they would not do so unless a BioWatch warning was confirmed by follow-up sampling and analysis, several attendees said in interviews.
Those extra steps would undercut BioWatch's rationale: to enable swift treatment of those exposed.
Federal officials also have shelved long-standing plans to expand the system to the nation's airports for fear that false alarms could trigger evacuations of terminals, grounding of flights and needless panic.
Officials from the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees BioWatch, insist that the system's many alerts were not false alarms. Each time, BioWatch accurately detected some organism in the environment, even if it was not the result of an attack and posed no threat to the public, officials said.
At the same time, department officials have assured Congress that newer technology will make BioWatch more reliable and cheaper to operate.
The current samplers are vacuum-powered collection devices, about the size of an office printer, that pull air through filters that trap any airborne materials. In more than 30 cities each day, technicians collect the filters and deliver them to state or local health labs for genetic analysis. Lab personnel look for DNA matches with at least half a dozen targeted pathogens.
The new units would be automated labs in a box. Samples could be analyzed far more quickly and with no need for manual collection.
Buying and operating the new technology, known as Generation 3, would cost about $3.1 billion over the next five years, on top of the roughly $1 billion that BioWatch already has cost taxpayers. The Obama administration is weighing whether to award a multiyear contract.
Generation 3 "is imperative to saving thousands of lives," Dr. Alexander Garza, Homeland Security's chief medical officer, told a House subcommittee on March 29.
But field and lab tests of automated units have raised doubts about their effectiveness. A prototype installed in the New York subway system in 2007 and 2008 produced multiple false readings, according to interviews with scientists. Field tests last year in Chicago found that a second prototype could not operate independently for more than a week at a time.
Most worrisome, testing at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Washington state and at the Army's Dugway Proving Ground in Utah found that Generation 3 units could detect a biological agent only if exposed to extremely high concentrations: hundreds of thousands of organisms per cubic meter of air over a six-hour period.
Most of the pathogens targeted by BioWatch, scientists said, can cause sickness or death at much lower levels.
A confidential Homeland Security analysis prepared in January said these "failures were so significant" that the department had proposed thatNorthrop Grumman Corp., the leading competitor for the Generation 3 contract, make "major engineering modifications."
A spokesman for the department, Peter Boogaard, defended the performance of BioWatch. Responding to written questions, he said the department "takes all precautions necessary to minimize the occurrence of both false positive and false negative results."
"Rigorous testing and evaluation" will guide the department's decisions about whether to buy the Generation 3 technology, he said.
Representatives of Northrop Grumman said in interviews that some test results had prompted efforts to improve the automated units' sensitivity and overall performance.
"We had an issue that affected the consistency of the performance of the system," said Dave Tilles, the company's project director. "We resolved it. We fixed it.... We feel like we're ready for the next phase of the program."
In congressional testimony, officials responsible for BioWatch in both the Bush and Obama administrations have made only fleeting references to the system's documented failures.
"BioWatch, as you know, has been an enormous success story," Jay M. Cohen, a Homeland Security undersecretary, told a House subcommittee in 2007.
In June 2009, Homeland Security's then-chief medical officer, Dr. Jon Krohmer, told a House panel: "Without these detectors, the nation has no ability to detect biological attacks until individuals start to show clinical symptoms." Without BioWatch, "needless deaths" could result, he said.
Garza, the current chief medical officer, was asked during his March 29 testimony whether Generation 3 was on track. "My professional opinion is, it's right where it needs to be," he said.
After hearing such assurances, bipartisan majorities of Congress have unfailingly supported additional spending for BioWatch.
*
The problems inherent in what would become BioWatch appeared early.
In February 2002, scientists and technicians from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory deployed a prototype in and around Salt Lake City in preparation for the Winter Olympics. The scientists were aware that false alarms could "cause immense disruptions and panic" and were determined to prevent them, they later wrote in the lab's quarterly magazine.
Sixteen air samplers were positioned at Olympic venues, as well as in downtown Salt Lake City and at the airport. About 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 12, a sample from the airport's C concourse tested positive for anthrax.
Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt was at an Olympic figure skating competition when the state's public safety director, Bob Flowers, called with the news.
"He told me that they had a positive lead on anthrax at the airport," Leavitt recalled. "I asked if they'd retested it. He said they had — not just once, but four times. And each time it tested positive."
The Olympics marked the first major international gathering since the Sept. 11, 2001, airliner hijackings and the deadly anthrax mailings that fall.
"It didn't take a lot of imagination to say, 'This could be the real thing,'" Leavitt said.
But sealing off the airport would disrupt the Olympics. And "the federal government would have stopped transportation all over the country," as it had after Sept. 11, Leavitt said.
Leavitt ordered hazardous-materials crews to stand by at the airport, though without lights and sirens or conspicuous protective gear.
"He was ready to close the airport and call the National Guard," recalled Richard Meyer, then a federal scientist assisting with the detection technology at the Olympics.
After consulting Meyer and other officials, Leavitt decided to wait until a final round of testing was completed. By 9 p.m., when the results were negative, the governor decided not to order any further response.
"It was a false positive," Leavitt said. "But it was a live-fire exercise, I'll tell you that."
*
The implication — that BioWatch could deliver a highly disruptive false alarm — went unheeded.
After the Olympics, Meyer and others who had worked with the air samplers attended meetings at the Pentagon, where Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz was building a case for rapidly deploying the technology nationwide.
On Jan. 28, 2003, Bush unveiled BioWatch in his State of the Union address, calling it "the nation's first early-warning network of sensors to detect biological attack."
The next month, a group of science and technology advisors to the Defense Department, including Sidney Drell, the noted Stanford University physicist, expressed surprise that "no formal study has been undertaken" of the Salt Lake City incident. The cause of that false alarm has never been identified.
"It is not realistic to undertake a nationwide, blanket deployment of biosensors," the advisory panel, named the JASON group, concluded.
The warning was ignored in the rush to deploy BioWatch. Administration officials also disbanded a separate working group of prominent scientists with expertise in the pathogens.
That group, established by the Pentagon, had been working to determine how often certain germs appear in nature, members of the panel said in interviews. The answer would be key to avoiding false alarms. The idea was to establish a baseline to distinguish between the natural presence of disease organisms and an attack.
The failure to conduct that work has hobbled the system ever since, particularly in regard to tularemia, which has been involved in nearly all of BioWatch's false alarms.
The bacterium that causes tularemia, or rabbit fever, got its formal name, Francisella tularensis, after being found in squirrels in the early 20th century in Central California's Tulare County. About 200 naturally occurring infections in humans are reported every year in the U.S. The disease can be deadly but is readily curable when treated promptly with antibiotics.
Before BioWatch, scientists knew that the tularemia bacterium existed in soil and water. What the scientists who designed BioWatch did not know — because the fieldwork wasn't done — was that nature is rife with close cousins to it.
The false alarms for tularemia appear to have been triggered by those nonlethal cousins, according to scientists with knowledge of the system.
That BioWatch is sensitive enough to register repeated false alarms but not sensitive enough to reliably detect an attack may seem contradictory. But the two tasks involve different challenges.
Any detection system is likely to encounter naturally occurring organisms like the tularemia bacterium and its cousins. Those encounters have the potential to trigger alerts unless the system can distinguish between benign organisms and harmful ones.
Detecting an attack requires a system that is not only discriminating but also highly sensitive — to guarantee that it won't miss traces of deadly germs that might have been dispersed over a large area.
BioWatch is neither discriminating enough for the one task nor sensitive enough for the other.
The system's inherent flaws and the missing scientific work did not slow its deployment. After Bush's speech, the White House assigned Army Maj. Gen. Stephen Reeves, whose office was responsible for developing defenses against chemical and biological attacks, to get BioWatch up and running.
Over the previous year, Reeves had overseen placement of units similar to the BioWatch samplers throughout the Washington area, including the Pentagon, where several false alarms for anthrax and plague later occurred.
Based on that work and computer modeling of the technology's capabilities, Reeves did not see how BioWatch could reliably detect attacks smaller than, for example, a mass-volume spraying from a crop duster.
Nevertheless, the priority was to carry out Bush's directive, swiftly.
"In the senior-level discussions, the issue of efficacy really wasn't on the table," recalled Reeves, who has since retired from the Army. "It was get it done, tell the president we did good, tell the nation that they're protected.… I thought at the time this was good PR, to calm the nation down. But an effective system? Not a chance."
*
It wasn't long before there was a false alarm. Over a three-day period in October 2003, three BioWatch units detected the tularemia bacterium in Houston.
Public health officials were puzzled: The region's hospitals were not reporting anyone sick with the disease.
Dr. Mary desVignes-Kendrick, the city's health director, wanted to question hospital officials in detail to make sure early symptoms of tularemia were not being missed or masked by a flu outbreak. But to desVignes-Kendrick's dismay, Homeland Security officials told her not to tell the doctors and nurses what she was looking for.
"We were hampered by how much we could share on this quote-unquote secret initiative," she said.
After a week, it was clear that the BioWatch alarm was false.
In early 2004, on the eve of the Super Bowl in Houston, BioWatch once again signaled tularemia, desVignes-Kendrick said. The sample was from a location two blocks from Reliant Stadium, where the game was to be played Feb. 1.
DesVignes-Kendrick was skeptical but she and other officials again checked with hospitals before dismissing the warning as another false alarm. The football game was played without interruption.
Nonetheless, three weeks later, Charles E. McQueary, then Homeland Security's undersecretary for science and technology, told a House subcommittee that BioWatch was performing flawlessly.
"I am very pleased with the manner in which BioWatch has worked," he said. "We've had well over half a million samples that have been taken by those sensors. We have yet to have our first false alarm."
Asked in an interview about that statement, McQueary said his denial of any false alarm was based on his belief that the tularemia bacterium had been detected in Houston, albeit not from an attack.
"You can't tell the machine, 'I only want you to detect the one that comes from a terrorist,'" he said.
Whether the Houston alarms involved actual tularemia pathogen has never been determined, but researchers later reported the presence of benign relatives of the pathogen in the metropolitan area.
*
In late September 2005, nearly two years after the first cluster of false alarms in Houston, analysis of filters from BioWatch units on and near the National Mall in Washington indicated the presence of tularemia. Tens of thousands of people had visited the Mall that weekend for a book festival and a protest against the Iraq War. Anyone who had been infected would need antibiotics promptly.
For days, officials from the White House and Homeland Security and other federal agencies privately discussed whether to assume the signal was another false alarm and do nothing, or quarantine the Mall and urge those who had been there to get checked for tularemia.
As they waited for further tests, federal officials decided not to alert local healthcare providers to be on the lookout for symptoms, for fear of creating a panic. Homeland Security officials now say findings from lab analysis of the filters did not meet BioWatch standards for declaring an alert.
Six days after the first results, however, CDC scientists broke ranks and began alerting hospitals and clinics. That was little help to visitors who already had left town, however.
"There were 100 people on one conference call — scientists from all over, public health officials — trying to sort out what it meant," recalled Dr. Gregg Pane, director of Washington's health department at the time.
Discussing the incident soon thereafter, Jeffrey Stiefel, then chief BioWatch administrator for Homeland Security, said agency officials were keenly aware that false alarms could damage the system's credibility.
"If I tell a city that they've got a biological event, and it's not a biological event, you no longer trust that system, and the system is useless," Stiefel said on videotape at a biodefense seminar at the National Institutes of Health on Oct. 6, 2005. "It has to have a high reliability."
Ultimately, no one turned up sick with tularemia.
*
Homeland Security officials have said little publicly about the false positives. And, citing national security and the classification of information, they have insisted that their local counterparts remain mum as well.
Dr. Jonathan Fielding, Los Angeles County's public health director, whose department has presided over several BioWatch false positives, referred questions to Homeland Security officials.
Dr. Takashi Wada, health officer for the city of Pasadena from 2003 to 2010, was guarded in discussing the BioWatch false positive that occurred on his watch. Wada confirmed that the detection was made, in February 2007, but would not say where in the 23-square-mile city.
"We've been told not to discuss it," he said in an interview.
Dr. Karen Relucio, medical director for the San Mateo County Health Department, acknowledged there was a false positive there in 2008, but declined to elaborate. "I'm not sure it's OK for me to talk about that," said Relucio, who referred further questions to officials in Washington.
In Arizona, officials kept quiet when BioWatch air samplers detected the anthrax pathogen at Super Bowl XLII in February 2008.
Nothing had turned up when technicians checked the enclosed University of Phoenix Stadium before kickoff. But airborne material collected during the first half of the game tested positive for anthrax, said Lt. Col. Jack W. Beasley Jr., chief of the Arizona National Guard's weapons of mass destruction unit.
The Guard rushed some of the genetic material to the state's central BioWatch lab in Phoenix for further testing. Federal and state officials convened a 2 a.m. conference call, only to be told that it was another false alarm.
Although it never made the news, the incident "caused quite a stir," Beasley said.
The director of the state lab, Victor Waddell, said he had been instructed by Homeland Security officials not to discuss the test results. "That's considered national security," he said.
*
In the months before the 2008 Democratic National Convention, local, state and federal officials planned for a worst-case event in Denver, including a biological attack.
Shortly before 9 a.m. on Aug. 28, the convention's final day, that frightening scenario seemed to have come true. That's when Chris Lindley, of the Colorado health department, got the phone call from a colleague, saying BioWatch had detected the tularemia pathogen at the convention site.
Lindley, an epidemiologist who had led a team of Army preventive-medicine specialists in Iraq, had faced crises, but nothing like a bioterrorism attack. Within minutes, his boss, chief medical officer Ned Calonge, arrived.
Calonge had little faith in BioWatch. A couple of years earlier, the health department had been turned upside down responding to what turned out to be a false alarm for Brucella, a bacterium that primarily affects cattle, on Denver's western outskirts.
"The idea behind BioWatch — that you could put out these ambient air filters and they would provide you with the information to save people exposed to a biological attack — it's a concept that you could only put together in theory," Calonge said in an interview. "It's a poorly conceived strategy for doing early detection that is inherently going to pick up false positives."
Lindley and his team arranged a conference call with scores of officials, including representatives from Homeland Security, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Secret Service and the White House.
None of the BioWatch samplers operated by the state had registered a positive, and no unusual cases of infection appeared to have been diagnosed at area hospitals, Lindley said.
The alert had come from a Secret Service-installed sampler on the grounds of the arena where the convention was taking place. The unit was next to an area filled with satellite trucks broadcasting live news reports on the Democratic gathering.
Soon, thousands of conventioneers would be walking from the Pepsi Center to nearby Invesco Field to hear Obama's acceptance speech.
Had Lindley and Calonge been asked, they said in interviews, they wouldn't have put the BioWatch unit at this spot, where foot and vehicle traffic could stir up dust and contaminants that might set off a false alarm. As it turned out, a shade tree 12 yards from the sampler had attracted squirrels, potential carriers of tularemia.
The location near the media trailers posed another problem: how to conduct additional tests without setting off a panic.
EPA officials "said on the phone, 'We have a team standing by, ready to go,'" Lindley recalled. But the technicians would have to wear elaborate protective gear.
The sight of emergency responders in moon suits "would have derailed the convention," Calonge said.
On the other hand, sending personnel in street clothes would risk exposing them to the pathogen.
"This was the biggest decision we ever had to make," Lindley said.
When the conference call resumed, Lindley said the state would collect its own samples, without using conspicuous safety gear. "No one was willing to say, 'That's the right response, Colorado,'" Lindley recalled. "Everybody was frozen. We were on our own."
State workers discreetly gathered samples of soil, water and other items for immediate DNA analysis. No pathogen was found.
At 3 p.m., Lindley told participants in another national conference call that his agency was satisfied there was no threat. "I said: 'We are doing no more sampling. We are closing up this issue,'" Lindley recalled.
Lindley and Calonge, having staked their reputations on not believing BioWatch, were vindicated: Barack Obama gave his acceptance speech on schedule. No one turned up sick with tularemia. And, to their surprise, news of the false alarm never became public.
*
Officials responsible for BioWatch insist that the false alarms, which they refer to as "BioWatch actionable results," or BARs, have been beneficial.
Each incident "has provided local, state and federal government personnel an opportunity to exercise its preparedness plans and coordination activities," three senior Homeland Security BioWatch administrators told a House subcommittee in a statement in July 2008. "These real-world events have been a catalyst for collaboration."
Biologist David M. Engelthaler, who led responses to several BioWatch false positives while serving as Arizona's bioterrorism coordinator, is one of the many public health officials who see it differently.
"A Homeland Security or national security pipe dream," he said, "became our nightmare."
david.willman@latimes.com
In unison,the jail deputies responded "Not in the face"
L.A. County sheriff's official tells of jail brutality
By Robert Faturechi and Jack Leonard, Los Angeles Times
July 7, 2012
The Los Angeles County sheriff's captain who ran the Men's Central Jail fostered a culture of brutality by protecting dishonest deputies and permitting his underlings to use excessive force on inmates, his former lieutenant alleged in testimony Friday.
Capt. Daniel Cruz even joked at the department's annual Christmas party about hitting inmates, according to Michael Bornman, who is now a department captain. While toasting deputies at the party, Cruz allegedly asked a banquet hall-full of jailers: "What do I always tell you guys?"
In unison, Bornman said, the jail deputies — many of whom were laughing — responded "Not in the face."
"That's right," Cruz replied, according to Bornman. "Not in the face." Bornman said the slogan was an instruction to strike inmates on parts of the body where their blows wouldn't leave marks.
Bornman testified Friday before the county commission created to address allegations of brutality inside the sheriff's jails. He told the commission that as a result of Cruz's 2009 comments, he avoided the department's Christmas party the next year. At that party, violence broke out among deputies, including several who had allegedly formed a gang-like jailer clique.
"I could've predicted what happened there," Bornman said.
Bornman's testimony, along with that of another department captain, painted a picture of a dysfunctional department whose supervisors are reluctant to address deputies' misconduct and are sometimes antagonistic toward those who do.
Cruz did not return calls to his home for comment. Bornman is not the only sheriff's official to criticize Cruz's management. Cruz's former boss, now a retired commander, also blamed the captain for many of the lockup's woes. And last year, Cruz was relieved of duty as internal investigators probe his tenure at the helm of the downtown Los Angeles jail.
Bornman described multiple instances in which Cruz resisted cracking down on deputies' misconduct. In one case, he described a roomful of supervisors watching footage of deputies beating an inmate. The video showed one jailer casually leaning against a door frame, occasionally landing knee drops into the prisoner's torso.
Despite the clear excessive force by the deputies, Bornman said Cruz turned to the other jail supervisors and said "I see nothing wrong with that use of force."
In another instance, Bornman said, deputies got into a brawl with patrons at BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse in West Covina. In the ensuing investigation, it became obvious that some deputies weren't being honest about which of their colleagues were involved. When Bornman took that concern to Cruz, he said Cruz told him "Don't look too hard."
Bornman said Cruz's managing style, in part, led to dozens of force and misconduct cases not being properly investigated or processed.
Bornman and Capt. Patrick Maxwell, who also testified, said the department's problems went all the way to the top. Maxwell, who heads the sheriff's Norwalk station, said Paul Tanaka, currently the department's second in command, was disdainful of internal affairs investigators, who are responsible for probing misconduct. According to Maxwell, Tanaka said at a meeting: "Do you believe LAPD, they have 200 and some [internal affairs] investigators and we have 45. In my opinion, that's 44 too many."
Maxwell said Tanaka told supervisors at another meeting that they needed to "allow deputies to work in the gray area" — a comment the captain suggested could have been interpreted to mean deputies were allowed to violate policy or the law while policing.
Maxwell's testimony was bolstered by a 2007 memo written by another station captain who alleged that Tanka made a similar comment at another staff meeting. According to then-Capt. Steven Roller, Tanaka said deputies need to be aggressive with gang members and "function right on the edge of the line."
According to the memo, Tanaka threatened to take action against the captains who were most often seeking to discipline deputies.
Maxwell also recounted an instance in which he got a call from another sheriff's employee who was soliciting donations for Tanaka's mayoral campaign in the city of Gardena, informing Maxwell that captains were "expected" to give $250. Both Sheriff Lee Baca and Tanaka have collected tens of thousands of dollars from department employees in political contributions, a practice that critics say creates a conflict of interest.
Baca and Tanaka declined to comment, through sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore. Whitmore said neither has ever required employees to donate to their political campaigns. He also denied that Tanaka would ever encourage deputies to violate policy or the law, or target those who want to investigate misconduct. "The sheriff would never allow that," Whitmore said.
Five commanders assigned last year by Baca to reform the jails also testified. Two of them warned commissioners that those testifying may be presenting a biased picture.
"You are seeing one side. Unfortunately there's not a cross-examination," Cmdr. Christy Guyovich said.
robert.faturechi@latimes.com
jack.leonard@latimes.com
Into the mind of Douglas Coleman
Jul. 7, 2012 12:00 AM
The Republic | azcentral.com
The special agent in charge of the Phoenix DEA office talks about the war on drugs, Mexican cartels and legalization.
In the war on drugs, who's winning?
As long as there are people who choose to victimize society by breaking our laws, there will be law-enforcement officers to bring them to justice.
What is the biggest obstacle your agency faces?
A public perception being pushed by some people that illegal drugs and drug abuse are not as bad as everyone says. As someone who has spent every day of the last 23 years watching the devastation that drug abuse causes, believe me: Drug abuse, what it does to people and to our society is much worse than what is publicized.
[So the only people who know the truth about drugs are cops who have a vested interest in the drug war. The rest of us who think drugs should be legalized and the drug war should be ended are just stupid]
Mexican drug cartels have turned parts of that country into a killing ground. What's the risk it will spill into this country?
Mexico is in a battle to determine its future course. Efforts in the past six years under President Calderon have caused great instability amongst the cartels. This instability and battles for control between rival cartels are fueling the violence.
While drug trafficking is and always has been an extremely violent and dangerous activity, I see no evidence that what is happening in Mexico is going to spill into the United States on a widespread basis.
[That is a lie. Sure the drug violence in the USA isn't as bad as that in Mexico. But it is the cause of a large number of crimes. Legalize drugs in the USA and the violent crime rate would drop like a rock, just like it did when the re-legalized booze after realizing the Prohibition was a big mistake]
What drug worries you the most?
I'm concerned about all of them, and I find a fairly recent trend of rising prescription drug abuse by young people disturbing. This trend of abusing opiate-based prescription drugs is leading to increased levels of opiate addiction by kids, which leads to an increase in heroin addiction by young people.
If we don't get it under control, we are going to lose a lot of young people to heroin addiction and overdose.
What would help more: tougher sentences or greater treatment?
When people talk about drug trafficking and abuse, we have to stop talking about either/or solutions. It's a complex problem that requires a multifaceted approach. Incarceration by itself is not a panacea, nor is treatment/prevention without the potential consequences of going to prison. The three have to be used together in a multi-tiered approach that deals with the complexities of the issue. [Translation - Please stick your head and the sand and lets proceed full speed ahead with the drug war]
Some people say this country should learn from prohibition and legalize drugs. Would that work?
This is an apples and oranges comparison that legalizers frequently cite. Two different substances, with vastly different levels of social approval at very different times in our country's history.
[Again that is a big lie. Liquor is just another drug like marijuana that makes people feel good and many times makes people do dumb things they would not do when they are straight. The real question is why are we throwing people in prisons for committing the victimless crime of taking drugs or booze???]
As a father and an American, I have a hard time understanding how making more mind-altering, addictive and destructive substances socially acceptable by legalizing them helps make the United States a better and stronger country, and a better place for future generations. [Well dude drugs are already socially acceptable. Millions of people would not be using them if they weren't. The real question is why are we still jailing people for committing socially acceptable victimless crimes???]
What's on your summer reading list?
I enjoy books about people in leadership positions and the individual processes they use to reach critical decisions. I also enjoy biographies about people overcoming difficult circumstances to persevere and succeed. This summer, I want to read "Presidential Leadership: 15 Decisions That changed the Nation," by Nick Ragone.
But I do get annoyed when crooked jackbooted police thugs
that illegally stop me without the required "probable cause" or
"reasonable suspicion" call me names as they shake me down
for the crime of having long hair and looking like a homeless person.
I still remember back in Feb of 1997 when some jackbooted Phoenix Police
thugs broke into my home and one of pigs who was a racist Mexican
told me I was scum and I would never amount to anything compared to him.
That really p*ssed me off.
Here I am handcuffed in my backyard while
10 or 15 police criminals are trashing my home
and one of the police criminals, a racist Mexican
who doesn't like White people is calling me names.
I wonder what you pigs who routinely monitor these
web pages are going to say about my complaints.
Politicians find foul words now fair game
Does this trend reflect a coarsening culture or more media attention?
by Jennifer Peltz - Jul. 7, 2012 12:00 AM
Associated Press
NEW YORK - What the $?&! is going on with our politicians?
The mayors of New York and Philadelphia and the governor of New Jersey let loose with a few choice vulgarities over the past two weeks in otherwise G-rated public settings, including a town-hall meeting and a City Hall event.
And all three men knew full well the microphone was on.
While foul language has been uttered in politics before, the blue streak is making some wonder whether it reflects the coarsening effects of pop culture in this reality-TV era of "Jersey Shore" and "The Real Housewives," a decline in public discourse, a desire by politicians to come across as average Joes, or just a really hot summer.
First, there was famously blunt New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie branding a lawmaker "one arrogant S.O.B." at a town hall last month (and using some stronger epithets in discussing his passion for the music, though not the politics, of Bruce Springsteen in an interview published in the Atlantic this month.)
Then, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, apparently having trouble stomaching a slew of puns in his prepared remarks for Tuesday's contestant weigh-in at City Hall before the Fourth of July hot dog-eating contest, chuckled, "Who wrote this s---t?" to guffaws from the crowd.
Then it was Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter's turn on Thursday at a news conference at which he discussed a shooting a few blocks from the center of the city's July Fourth celebration. He said he wasn't going to let the city's image be harmed by "some little a--hole 16-year-old."
"My sense is: Because they want to appear to be in tune with popular culture, politicians feel free to express themselves in profane ways," said Rutgers University political scientist Ross K. Baker. And he finds that troubling: "I honestly do believe that, in aping the coarseness of popular culture, people in public life are really dragging us into a discourse of fang and claw."
President Harry S. Truman was criticized for his use of such salty language -- for his time -- as "hell" and "damn." And many Americans were shocked by Richard Nixon's liberal use of profanities on the Watergate tapes, which made "expletive deleted" a pop-culture catchphrase.
In more recent years, then-candidate George W. Bush was caught on what he didn't realize was a live microphone describing a reporter as a "major-league a--hole," and Vice President Dick Cheney hurled the F-word at Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy on the Senate floor.
In 2010, Vice President Joe Biden was heard using the F-word on live television in a whispered congratulation to President Barack Obama at the signing of his health care bill.
The seeming proliferation of political swearing reflects changes in both social norms and the media landscape, said Robert Thompson, director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University.
Offhand remarks that might once not have been reported now get captured on video and posted online.
"Politics has been nasty" for years, Thompson said. "The difference is we now have media that show this stuff."
Nutter, who has used vulgarities before in response to street violence, has described his language as an "honest, clear, direct response."
Christie has built his political career on his brash style. His warning to people to "get the hell off the beach" as Hurricane Irene approached last year appeared in big front-page headlines around the state.
As for the lawmaker who was the target of the Republican governor's salty remark last month, he's not complaining.
"He actually gave me national attention," Democratic state Sen. Paul Sarlo said. "The term is more of an insult to my mom, who is not politically involved."
Still, Sarlo saw the comment as unbecoming of a governor who has been mentioned as a possible vice-presidential contender.
And what of the average citizens politicians are trying to reach -- or, perhaps, emulate?
Kristina Klimovich, for one, doesn't like to hear them swear.
"I think there's always a line, and as a public servant there are certain standards they have to adhere to," said Klimovich, of New York.
But Lisa Garfield of Springfield, Mass., said, "It makes them more human."
"I'm 52 years old," she said, "and I don't know anyone who's never used a cuss word in their life."
The tax man cometh to police you on Obama health care law
Posted: Saturday, July 7, 2012 11:41 am
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court's decision to uphold most of President Barack Obama's health care law will come home to roost for most taxpayers in about 2½ years, when they'll have to start providing proof on their tax returns that they have health insurance.
That scenario puts the Internal Revenue Service at the center of the debate, renewing questions about whether the agency is capable of policing the health care decisions of millions of people in the United States while also collecting the taxes needed to run the federal government.
Under the law, the IRS will provide tax breaks and incentives to help pay for health insurance and impose penalties on some people who don't buy coverage and on some businesses that don't offer it to employees.
The changes will require new regulations, forms and publications, new computer programs and a big new outreach program to explain it all to taxpayers and tax professionals. Businesses that don't claim an exemption will have to prove they offer health insurance to employees.
The health care law "includes the largest set of tax law changes in more than 20 years," according to the Treasury inspector general who oversees the IRS. The agency will have to hire thousands of workers to manage it, requiring significant budget increases that already are being targeted by congressional Republicans determined to dismantle the president's signature initiative.
[Yea and you thought government health care was FREE!!!!]
"Knowing the complexity of the health law, there's no question that the IRS is going to struggle with this," said Rep. Charles Boustany Jr., R-La., chairman of the House Ways and Means oversight subcommittee. "The IRS wants more resources. Well, we need to start digging down into what are they doing with the resources and personnel."
Treasury spokeswoman Sabrina Siddiqui said, "The overwhelming majority of funds used by the agency to implement the Affordable Care Act go to administer the premium tax credits, which will be a tax cut averaging about $4,000 for more than 20 million middle-class people and families."
The Supreme Court, in its 5-4 ruling, upheld the mandate that most Americans get health insurance. The majority said Congress has the power to enforce the mandate under its taxing authority. The decision labeled the penalties a tax, noting that they will be collected by the IRS.
Those who don't get qualified health insurance will be required to pay the penalty — or tax — starting for the 2014 tax year, unless they are exempt because of low income, religious beliefs, or because they are members of American Indian tribes.
The penalty will be fully phased in by 2016, when it will be $695 for each uninsured adult or 2.5 percent of family income, whichever is greater, up to $12,500. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that 4 million people will pay the penalty that year.
The law, however, severely limits the ability of the IRS to collect the penalties. There are no civil or criminal penalties for refusing to pay it and the IRS cannot seize bank accounts or dock wages to collect it. No interest accumulates for unpaid penalties.
[I suspect Congress will pass laws later giving the government the right to seize your assets if you don't pay your "doctor welfare" tax, or perhaps the IRS already has that power as an administrative power]
So how can the IRS enforce the mandate? Scary letters and threats to withhold tax refunds.
The law allows the IRS to withhold tax refunds to collect the penalty, and most filers get refunds. This year, 77 percent of the 135 million individual income tax returns processed by the IRS qualified for a refund. The average refund: $2,707.
For those who don't qualify for a refund, a stern letter from the IRS can be effective, even if it doesn't come with the threat of civil or criminal penalties, said Elizabeth Maresca, a former IRS trial attorney who supervises the Tax & Consumer Litigation Clinic at the Fordham University law school.
"Most people pay because they're scared, and I don't think that's going to change," Maresca said.
The IRS has not yet issued procedures for taxpayers to prove they have insurance. But IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman, in a 2010 speech, said he envisioned a process similar to the one used by taxpayers to report interest or investment income.
Under this scenario, an insurance company would send the taxpayer and the IRS forms each year verifying that the taxpayer has qualified insurance. Taxpayers would file the forms with the IRS along with their returns, and the IRS would check them to make sure they match the information supplied by the insurance companies.
The IRS says it is well on its way to gearing up for the new law but has offered little information about its long-term budget and staffing needs, generating complaints from Republican lawmakers and concern from government watchdogs.
The IRS is expected to spend $881 million on the law from 2010 through 2013,
[which will be about $3 for every man, woman and child in the USA]
hiring more than 2,700 new workers and upgrading its computer systems.
But the IRS has not made public information about its spending plans in the following years, when the bulk of the health care law takes effect.
The lack of information makes it impossible to determine whether the IRS will have adequate workers to enforce the health care law, the Treasury inspector general for tax administration said in a report three weeks ago. The report, however, concluded that "appropriate plans had been developed to implement tax-related provisions" of the law.
In 2010, House Ways and Means Committee Republicans issued a report saying the IRS may need as many as 16,500 additional auditors, agents and other employees "to investigate and collect billions in new taxes from Americans."
That assessment has been widely cited by opponents of the law. The IRS disputes the jobs number but hasn't offered another one.
"That is a made-up number with no basis in fact," IRS spokesman Dean Patterson said in an email. "The 2012 budget calls for about 1,200 employees for the IRS to implement the (Affordable Care Act), and the vast majority of those employees are needed to build technology infrastructure to support payments like the new tax credits for individuals and small businesses."
Republicans on the House committee have accused the IRS of obscuring its cost of putting in place the health care law by absorbing it into in other parts of the agency's budget. They cite a June report by the Government Accountability Office that said the IRS has not always accurately identified spending related to the new health care law.
"The agency's repeated lack of transparency to Congress and its failure to provide accountability to the American taxpayers raises fundamental concerns about implementation authorities vested to the IRS," the top four Republicans on the Ways and Means Committee wrote in a June 27 letter to the IRS commissioner.
The committee chairman, Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., has scheduled a hearing on the tax implications of the Supreme Court's ruling for Tuesday.
As H. L. Mencken said:
San Jose bomb squad investigation turns up a typewriter
By Rick Hurd
rhurd@bayareanewsgroup.com
Posted: 07/07/2012 09:30:23 PM PDT
A suitcase that appeared suspiciously out of place -- enough for neighbors to inform authorities -- turned out to have something even more mysterious inside it.
A typewriter.
San Jose police bomb squad members made the determination about 3:25 p.m., San Jose police spokesman Jose Garcia said.
A dark-colored Samsonite suitcase was left on a bench in a shopping center at 1165 Lincoln Avenue about 12:40 p.m., Garcia said. Police evacuated neighboring businesses, including an outdoor farmers market, and closed off Lincoln Avenue between Willow Street and Meredith Avenue while the bomb squad investigated, Garcia said.
The bomb squad uncovered a typewriter inside the suitcase, and deemed it safe.
Police are still looking for the typewriter's owner, Garcia said, but they don't suspect any criminal activity in relation to the suitcase being left unattended.
Streets were reopened after the bomb squad's work was complete, Garcia said.
US official: DEA agents shot dead pilot of cocaine flight in Honduras earlier in week
By The Associated Press
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras - A U.S. official says that two U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents shot and killed the pilot of a suspected drug flight that crashed earlier in the week while being chased by government aircraft.
At the time, officials said they found cocaine on board the plane that went down in eastern Honduras. They said one pilot died in the July 3 incident, but did not say how.
DEA spokeswoman Dawn Dearden said Sunday that when police arrived at the scene they found the plane's two pilots.
She said one was arrested and the other was shot dead by two DEA agents after he ignored an order to surrender and made a threatening gesture.
It was the second time a DEA agent has killed someone in Honduras since the agency began deploying agents several years ago to accompany local law enforcement personnel on drug raids.
Wow! We have secret police in Scottsdale, just like they have in Russia, Red China and Nazi Germany!
Scottsdale silent on facility for police
by Peter Corbett - Jul. 8, 2012 08:01 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com
Scottsdale taxpayers have a new $1.87 million police building, but the city has refused to disclose where it's located.
The Scottsdale City Council last week approved the purchase of an office-warehouse building for the Scottsdale Police Department's Investigative Service Bureau from an entity listed only as JKD.
The council, without discussion, voted on the real-estate deal as part of its consent agenda that included 25 other items authorized in a single 7-0 vote.
Scottsdale police spokesman David Pubins said the city is keeping the building location secret to protect undercover officers who use the facility.
"Our attorney said this is privileged information," Pubins said. "We don't want to put lives in jeopardy."
Scottsdale's council routinely approves dozens of items on its consent agenda with little discussion, but the purchase agreement for the 17,827-square-foot police building was unusual in that the city rarely executes $2 million real-estate purchases.
In addition, the staff report to the council omitted the name of the seller and the location of the building.
Another Scottsdale real-estate deal led to a legal challenge in April 2011 that was later dropped.
In that deal, Scottsdale Healthcare paid $1.5 million to the city for four buildings totaling 20,578 square feet on a 1.7-acre downtown site.
The Arizona Republic filed a public-records request for the city to release detailed information on the police building, including the location and the seller's identity, plus the current location of the leased building in use by the Investigative Service Bureau.
Arizona's Public Records Law requires government agencies to make documents available to public inspection, with some exceptions.
Dan Barr, an attorney representing the First Amendment Coalition of Arizona, said using the new city building for undercover police work does not give Scottsdale an exemption from disclosing public records.
The sale will generate a public record in the Maricopa County Recorder's Office when it closes, he said.
The city released a March 26 appraisal on the 1-acre property, but the location was blacked out.
Based on that appraisal and property listings, it appears the building is in the Scottsdale Airpark northeast of Greenway-Hayden Loop and Scottsdale Road and that the seller is James K. Dobbs III.
The Airpark area is known for its high concentration of commercial buildings and is one of the Valley's largest employment centers.
Mayor Jim Lane did not return calls about the building purchase.
Councilwoman Linda Milhaven said she voted to buy the building based on the staff report and did not have any additional information about the property.
Councilwoman Lisa Borowsky said she does not know where the building is located but added that the city should disclose that information.
"I guess from their perspective, (police officials) are hesitant to give the location because they're worried about criminals finding out about it."
The appraisal said the police building, built in 1995, includes 5,576 square feet of second-floor offices in a total of 17,827 square feet.
The sale price of $1.87 million is $104.90 per square foot. The original asking price was $2.49 million.
The appraisal listed these comparable sales for Scottsdale office buildings:
A 32,404-square-foot office, built in 1999, that sold in December 2010 for $2.4 million, or $74.06 per square foot.
A 31,000-square-foot office, built in 1986, that sold in April 2011 for $3.8 million, or $123.86 per square foot.
Jim Keeley, a Scottsdale Airpark broker with Colliers International, said the city got a fair price on the building.
Office-warehouse buildings are selling for between $100 and $110 per square foot, he said.
Colliers International recently closed a deal near WestWorld on a 12,000-square-foot office warehouse that sold for $102 per square foot, Keeley said.
Cassidy Turley reported that it recently sold a 21,088-square-foot office-warehouse building in the Scottsdale Airpark for $2 million or $94.84 per square foot.
Scottsdale is currently leasing a 13,000-square-foot building for the Investigative Service Bureau at a cost of $430,000.
That lease expires in April 2013.
Scottsdale is buying the new building using funds from a federal program known as the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act or RICO.
The U.S. Department of Justice approved Scottsdale's expenditure.
Sadly many cellphone carriers will give this information to the cops without a search warrant.
Surveillance requests to cellphone carriers surge
Jul. 9, 2012 05:29 PM
Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- Law enforcement agencies in the U.S. made more than 1.3 million requests for consumers' cellphone records in 2011, an alarming surge over previous years that reflected the increasingly gray area between privacy and technology.
Cellphone carriers, responding to inquiries from a member of Congress, reported responding to as many as thousands of police requests daily for customers' locations, text messages and call details, frequently without warrants. Special legal teams operating round-the-clock have been set up to field requests, and some carriers hoping to recoup their costs have created detailed menus of what records can be provided -- and for what price.
The reports -- the first comprehensive review of the extent of law enforcement requests in the U.S. -- shed light on the difficulties cellphone carriers face in balancing consumer privacy and public safety. They also prompted civil libertarians to decry the lack of legal clarity about when and how carriers should hand over information about their customers.
At AT&T, a team of more than 100 workers handles the requests pouring in from local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. More than 250,000 such requests came in last year -- a more than two-fold increase over five years ago.
Sprint said it received about 500,000 subpoenas in 2011. Verizon and T-Mobile, two other major U.S. carriers, both reported annual increases in requests exceeding 12 percent. Cricket has seen a steady increase every year since 2007, and although the company once had a 10-person team handling inquiries, it has now outsourced that task to a company called Neustar.
Many of the requests cover a number of cellphone subscribers.
The costs have become so large that carriers have started charging law enforcement for the records they turn over. AT&T collected almost $8.3 million in 2011 in fees from police agencies, although the company said it believes that number falls far short of what it costs AT&T to accommodate the requests.
Police requesting data from U.S. Cellular are asked to pay $25 to locate a cellphone using GPS (the first three requests are free), $25 to retrieve a user's text messages and $50 for a "cell tower dump" -- a breakdown of all the cellphones that interacted with a given cellphone tower at a specific time.
"Cell phone records have clearly become central to many, many law enforcement investigations," said Chris Calabrese, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union. "The danger is that the standard is very unclear."
All the companies who responded to letters from Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said that under normal circumstances, only requests that came with a warrant attached were granted. T-Mobile said it had referred two inappropriate requests from law enforcement to the FBI, and rejected other requests where people had impersonated police officers. Others said they complied with subpoenas, which don't require sign-off from a judge.
But there's a major exception for emergencies, or "exigent circumstances." If a 911 call center believes there is an immediate threat to someone's life, it can bypass the need for a prosecutor or a judge to sign off on the request. All that's needed, in most circumstances, is a simple form.
"If a victim goes missing and they had a cell phone with GPS technology, would you, as a loved one, want us to have to wait for a subpoena or court order even though we know someone might be in dire straits?" said Chris Perkins, the police chief in Roanoke, Va.
Federal law, which has yet to fully adapt to today's high-tech, wireless society, has much to say about wiretaps and home searches but surprisingly little to say about cellphone records. The law is especially vague when it comes to GPS tracking, a relatively new issue triggered by the widespread adoption of smartphones that help users navigate from place to place.
Many states and local courts have been left to come up with their own requirements for when a warrant is required to track someone's location, leading to an array of conflicting policies that create a headache for those tracking suspects of victims across state lines.
In May, Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., asked the Justice Department how many requests for location information it had filed with cellphone carriers, and what legal standard applies when making such requests. The department said it didn't keep a running tally and couldn't offer numbers, but that in regular criminal investigations, a court order is used to compel carriers to provide the information.
"This information is critical to such investigations into a wide variety of offenses, including murder, bank robbery, gang activity, fraud, sexual exploitation of children and kidnapping," wrote Acting Assistant Attorney General Judith Appelbaum.
Franken said he was troubled by magnitude of the requests revealed Monday in Markey's reports, which were first reported by The New York Times. He said it's unacceptable that the Justice Department isn't tracking its own requests.
"The department has a lot of questions to answer, and it's clear we must do more to strike the right balance between the needs of law enforcement and privacy," Franken.
Those seeking clarification for what is in or out of bounds looked hopefully in January to the U.S. Supreme Court, which took up the GPS issue when it ruled that law enforcement cannot attach GPS tracking devices to someone's vehicle without a warrant. But the ruling was narrow and didn't deal specifically with cellphones already in someone's possession that happen to have GPS capabilities.
Bipartisan bills to address the issue were introduced in the House and Senate a year ago but never moved out of committees. The Digital Due Process Coalition, an assortment of groups including cellphone carriers and civil liberties advocates, wants the Electronic Communications Privacy Act amended to deal with it. That law was enacted in 1986, long before cellphones became a basic accessory.
"We don't know the standard that is used for the gathering, handling or disposal of information about innocent Americans," Markey said in an interview. "We need a Fourth Amendment for the 21st century. Technologies change."
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Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at twitter.com/joshledermanAP.
Police requesting Americans' cellphone data at staggering rate
By Matt Pearce
July 9, 2012, 3:39 p.m.
Police are monitoring Americans’ cellphone use at a staggering rate, according to new information released in a congressional inquiry.
In letters released by Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), cellphone companies described seeing a huge uptick in requests from law enforcement agencies, with 1.3 million federal, state and local requests for phone records in 2011 alone.
“We cannot allow privacy protections to be swept aside with the sweeping nature of these information requests, especially for innocent consumers,” Markey said in a statement Monday. “Law enforcement agencies are looking for a needle, but what are they doing with the haystack? We need to know how law enforcement differentiates between records of innocent people, and those that are subjects of investigation, as well as how it handles, administers, and disposes of this information.”
The data obtained by law enforcement in some requests included location information, text messages and “cell tower dumps” that include any calls made through a tower for a certain period of time. The carriers say the information is given away in response to warrants or emergencies where someone is in “imminent” danger.
“There is no comprehensive reporting of these information requests anywhere,” Markey’s office said in a statement. “This is the first ever accounting of this.”
According to a May 29 letter, AT&T said it responds to roughly 230 emergency requests a day for kidnappings, missing persons and attempted suicides and similar incidents, with 100 full-time workers responding to requests 24 hours a day.
AT&T said it had responded to 131,400 criminal subpoenas in 2011, up from 63,100 in 2007.
Verizon Wireless, in a less detailed response, gave a similar figure to AT&T for criminal subpoena requests in 2011. Such subpoenas grant law enforcement access to records similar to those that appear on a phone bill.
T-Mobile said it would not release data on how many requests it receives but said “the number of requests has risen dramatically in the last decade with an annual increase of approximately 12-16%.” The company also said it had received two inappropriate requests for information over the past three years and had referred the cases to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Sprint estimated it had received 500,000 subpoenas in 2011 -- the most of all the phone companies, although it is only the third-largest carrier -- but noted that the figure is not representative of how many people were getting caught up in police requests. “Each subpoena typically requested subscriber information on multiple subscribers,” the company said.
Sprint also asked that Congress clarify the law on the disclosure of location information, citing “contradictory” legal standards.
The growth of cellphone use, private computing and social-media use in recent years has greatly expanded the wealth of information available to law enforcement agencies in investigations, a development in which police investigative abilities have expanded faster than the public has been able to keep track of the extent to which it’s being watched.
Last week, Twitter made a similar announcement on its website regarding police surveillance requests, reporting that government requests for user data in the first six months of 2012 had already surpassed the number of requests in all of 2011.
The phone carriers are governed by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which limits subpoena requests to basic subscriber information and requires warrants or court orders to grant access to access the content of text messages. Wiretaps require court orders with probable cause.
The new information released by Markey provoked a slightly surprised response from communications experts and privacy advocates.
“The numbers don’t lie: location tracking is out of control,” Chris Calabrese, legislative counsel for the ACLU, noted in an analysis of the new data.
Over at the libertarian Cato Institute, Julian Sanchez spotted a discrepancy between the number of wiretaps reported by Sprint over the past five years -- 52,029 -- and the numbers that the government itself has been keeping, which only total 24,270. That suggests either Sprint’s data is wrong or that the government isn’t counting or disclosing all of its wiretaps.
“The disconnect between the official figures and what’s suggested by Sprint’s response is profound,” Sanchez wrote. “Congress has a responsibility to keep probing until we understand why.”
Jail captain denies protecting abusive, dishonest deputies
July 9, 2012 | 12:30 pm
A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department captain accused of protecting brutal and dishonest jail deputies has spoken out publicly for the first time, saying the allegations are untrue.
“I'm just shaking my head at some of these statements,” said Daniel Cruz, who was placed on leave last year as allegations of abuse inside Men’s Central Jail mounted. “I'm just sitting here waiting for my turn.”
During Cruz’s tenure, sheriff's brass expressed concerns in internal audits about inexperienced jailers and excessive force on inmates. Most notably, officials said an aggressive gang-like clique of deputies existed on the jail’s third floor. Some members of the clique brawled with fellow deputies at a department Christmas party in 2010.
On Friday, the allegations against Cruz grew with one of his former lieutenants, Michael Bornman, testifying before a county jails commission that Cruz resisted rooting out jailer misconduct and allowed force investigations to languish. Bornman, now a captain, recounted one instance in which Cruz joked at a department party about hitting inmates.
Speaking to The Times, Cruz said “a lot of that stuff can be easily proven to be untrue.” Cruz declined to discuss the specific allegations against him, citing the ongoing investigation of his tenure, but he accused his critics of wanting “to be in the limelight.”
Cruz said he has not been interviewed by department investigators, even though he’s been on leave since November. He said he might like to speak to the commission created by the county Board of Supervisors to examine allegations of abuse.
“I accept responsibility for anything I've done wrong,” Cruz said. “I should get commended for the things I have done right.”
His former lieutenant, Bornman, testified that in several instances, Cruz allowed misconduct to go unchecked. In one case, Bornman described a roomful of supervisors watching footage of deputies beating an inmate. The video showed one jailer casually leaning against a door frame, occasionally landing knee drops into the prisoner's torso. Despite the excessive force by the deputies, Bornman said, Cruz turned to the other jail supervisors and commented: “I see nothing wrong with that use of force.”
In another instance, Bornman said, deputies got into a brawl with patrons at BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse in West Covina. In the ensuing investigation, it became obvious that some deputies weren't being honest about which of their colleagues were involved. When Bornman took that concern to Cruz, he said Cruz told him, “Don't look too hard.”
Internal memos found Cruz’s jailers crafted narratives “dramatized to justify” force. Authorities concluded that some confrontations with inmates were triggered by deputies who thought inmates had acted disrespectfully to them -- showing “contempt of cop.” Other documents showed that the department had placed some of its least experienced deputies to guard its most dangerous inmates on the third floor of the Men's Central Jail, a practice that the memo linked to more frequent clashes on the floor than any other part of the jail.
Cruz said he’s looking forward to telling his side of the story, and getting back to work. “I'm a guy who's been working since he's 14…I'm a guy who likes to work.”
If you look at any local book of city laws you will be amazed
at the number of laws that flush the Arizona and US Constitution down
the toilet.
Police arrest documented gang member after disturbance at Mesa hotel
Posted: Monday, July 9, 2012 11:18 am
Tribune
A documented street gang member was arrested after Mesa police say the man caused a disturbance outside a Mesa motel and threatened officers late Saturday.
Chris Tobin-Cotrell was arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct, refusing to prove a truthful name when detained, aggravated assault on law enforcement, threatening and intimidating and participating or assisting in a criminal street gang in connection to the incident at Colonade Motel, 5440 E. Main St.
Shortly before 9 p.m., police responded to a report of a man causing a disturbance at the motel by banging on doors and making noise. After police arrived on the scene, Tobin-Cotrell was apprehended after he became aggressive, according to police.
As officers were placing Tobin-Cotrell inside the car, he tried to head butt one of the officers and tried to kick out a passenger window of the cruiser moments before officers put him in restraints and booked into jail.
On the other hand many American politicians probably don't think there is anything wrong with that. Those are the same politicians who want to have the death penalty for people that use drugs in America.
Iran confronts its alcohol problem
By Ramin Mostaghim, Los Angeles Times
July 7, 2012
TEHRAN — On most days, Mohsen can be found driving around the capital in his old Peugeot with a hired female relative, trying to pass himself off as a father shopping with his daughter.
But the errands he's running involve delivering homemade beer and wine or smuggled vodka and whiskey to customers across the city. He doesn't work nights; that's when the country's moral police set up checkpoints to catch bootleggers like him.
If arrested, the 59-year-old former high school teacher faces jail, thousands of dollars in fines and possibly lashings for flouting the Islamic Republic's blanket ban on drinking, which is prohibited under Islam. Meanwhile, his customer base continues to grow.
After years of being in public denial over the amount of illegal drinking in the country, officials in Iran are for the first time publicly addressing the issue of alcoholism and the health problems drinking can cause, exacerbated by sometimes dangerous homemade brews.
"We sometimes get reports from hospitals and doctors on the consumption of alcohol from neighborhoods in the south of Tehran; low-income and traditional walks of people live there, which is worrying," Deputy Health Minister Baqer Larijani said in May.
In his comments — the first time such a high-ranking government official had acknowledged widespread drinking in Iran — Larijani, whose brother is the country's powerful parliament speaker, said alcoholism now merits more attention than diabetes or heart disease.
And last month, at a ceremony marking the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Health Minister Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi announced, "We have prepared a road map to treat alcoholism and reduce the consumption of alcoholic beverages in the society."
But even as officials acknowledge the problem, the government continues to treat drinking as a sin and a crime.
Recently, two men in a northeastern province were given rare death sentences for drinking, as part of the country's three-strikes law. Each man had been convicted of drinking twice before.
Amnesty International urged Iranian authorities to drop the death sentences, saying, "Alcohol consumption cannot reasonably be classified as one of the 'most serious crimes,' the internationally agreed minimum standard for capital crimes."
"They are making examples out of a few to show they are serious about the infractions," said Mehdi Semati, author of "Media, Culture and Society in Iran: Living With Globalization and the Islamic State."
More than 200,000 people in Iran are estimated to be involved in bootlegging, and about $800 million is spent annually on smuggling. The country's leading economic newspaper this year quoted border police as saying that the amount of confiscated alcohol had risen 69% in the last year.
Iran has also long had a serious problem with opium and heroin addiction, with official statistics putting the number of addicts at 1.2 million, a number some call conservative. In Iran, drinking is commonly used as a method to try to break drug addiction.
The increase in alcohol use has political ramifications for the Islamic leadership, said Hosein Ghazian, a sociologist and visiting scholar at Syracuse University.
"If a lot of people use alcohol, it means the people are not as Islamic as the government says, so why should they tolerate an Islamic government?" Ghazian said.
The government's reluctance to openly discuss Iranians' drinking habits — even clerics avoid preaching on the topic in Friday sermons — stems from the belief or eagerness to pretend that Iran's forcefully imposed theocracy is prevailing and only a minority of people are not practicing Muslims.
"These are real social problems, these are not just ideological issues," Semati said. "In some ways it's an admission of the failure of the government … to regulate all aspects of social life, where young people and older people would be willing to live by the code of the state of the Islamic Republic."
In Iran, drinking has long been a deeply rooted part of Persian society, from the upper-class elite who hold discreet parties in their Tehran apartments to the blue-collar workers who drink the sometimes toxic homemade brews. The Islamic Revolution in 1979 attempted to squelch the custom, as part of a greater effort to erase the Persian culture in favor of an Islamic one, Semati said.
Part of the culture that thrived before the revolution celebrated the lifestyle of working-class machismo epitomized in popular action films.
Today, young people are increasingly turning to alcohol as an escape from their lives, which they feel are boxed in politically, socially and economically.
"Young people express that they can't go where they want to go and do what they want to do, and sometimes those things are mundane, like gathering in a park and listening to music," Semati said. "So when all those doors are closed, they will do what they can to create their own leisure time and live a life that is free of constraints by the government."
Mohammad Majidi, a doctor who works in several Tehran clinics, says that each day he sees half a dozen young patients who come in with fatty liver, hypertension and intestinal ailments. He treats and releases them, knowing they might soon return, and lists their illnesses as something other than alcohol-related, to protect them from possibly being branded as criminals.
"I only warn them, but I do not think they take my advice to stop drinking," Majidi said.
Alcohol's health toll in Iran is worsened because many people can't afford to buy what's smuggled in. A bottle of French wine can go for about $40, whereas a bottle of Iran-made alcohol sells for less than $6.
Many rely on what's made in people's basements or gardens in unsanitary conditions. While drinking or making the alcohol, people have suffered from alcohol poisoning, blindness or death. The alcohol content of the homemade liquor is often higher than normal, supplemented with drugs or contaminated.
When Shahin, a sociologist whose clients are often young people who binge-drink, talks to his patients, he stays away from religious precepts and instead speaks to them in terms of the dangers to mind and body.
"The religious education at home and at schools has obviously failed," said Shahin, who asked that his last name not be used.
In the absence of other forms of leisure and amusement, he said, "drinking alcoholic beverages is a way to vent your disappointment at the country's injustice, lack of jobs and decent life and future, and political disappointment."
Mostaghim is a special correspondent.
Of course if you are rich and can afford to spend mega bucks on lawyers you still have your Constitutional rights, but for the rest of they have been flushed down the toilet.
I am sure the pigs are paid to read these emails and web pages agree with that. You guys know that if you have a gun and a badge you are the law and that the Constitution is just a piece of toilet paper you wipe your *sses with.
Stop-and-Frisk May Soon Hit Judicial Roadblocks
By RUSS BUETTNER and WILLIAM GLABERSON
Published: July 10, 2012 30 Comments
New York City’s accelerating use of police stop-and-frisk tactics has brought a growing chorus of opponents who have been matched in intensity only by the officials who defend the policy. But recent rulings by federal and state courts have now cast judges as the most potent critics of the practice, raising sharp questions about whether the city has sidestepped the Constitution in the drive to keep crime rates low.
The inescapable conclusion is that the city will eventually have to redefine its stop-and-frisk policy, legal experts say, and that the changes — whether voluntary or forced — will fundamentally alter how the police interact with young minority men on the streets.
Some legal experts say the police could be pushed into reducing the numbers of street stops of New Yorkers by hundreds of thousands a year, and that the proportion of stop-and-frisk subjects who are black and Latino would be sharply reduced.
A settlement last year of a class-action case involving stop-and-frisk policies in Philadelphia laid out a model that, if followed in New York, could call for the courts to supervise an imposed system of police monitoring and accountability.
The courts have been energized to step in, some lawyers say, as the debate has intensified over police tactics that have brought legal challenges, academic analysis and news coverage. “The decisions show that the courts are suspicious of the current police practices,” said Michael C. Dorf, a constitutional law professor at Cornell.
Randolph M. McLaughlin, a law professor at Pace University, said the new judicial attention was a product of the numbers: More than 80 percent of those stopped in New York are black or Latino, and last year there were 686,000 stops, with this year’s numbers heading higher.
“People are starting to wonder: ‘What’s really going on here? Is this a racial policy?’ And judges read the newspaper too,” Professor McLaughlin said.
In May, a federal judge granted class-action status to a civil suit filed on behalf of people who were frisked on the streets and released. The judge, Shira A. Scheindlin, of Federal District Court in Manhattan, condemned what she called the city’s “deeply troubling apathy towards New Yorkers’ most fundamental constitutional rights.”
Separately, in recent weeks in two cases involving teenagers caught with guns, a midlevel state appeals court in Manhattan overturned weapons convictions. In those cases, too, there was a burst of judicial hostility toward police policies in minority neighborhoods.
In the first case, the majority opinion in the 3-to-2 decision from a panel of the court, the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court in Manhattan, said a “gradual erosion of this basic liberty can only tatter the constitutional fabric upon which this nation was built.”
The city says that the stop-and-frisk program, which dates to the 1990s, is concentrated in high-crime areas, and is not targeted at minorities. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg says it “saves lives” and the city has fought its critics in court. On Tuesday, the police commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly, would not speculate about whether court rulings might hurt the city’s efforts to curb crime. “I don’t know what the courts are going to do,” he said.
Mr. Kelly has taken steps that he said could reduce the number of stop-and-frisk encounters, including better training of officers. But both he and the mayor have suggested the judicial branch was out of step with most New Yorkers’ goal of keeping crime rates low.
The city has said it is pursuing appeals of all of the rulings. In an interview, Michael A. Cardozo, who as the city’s corporation counsel serves as its top lawyer, argued that the recent decisions were not part of any larger trend in the courts. He noted that the issue before the federal judge was merely whether the suit was appropriately a class action and that the state appeals rulings involved split courts analyzing the detailed facts of specific searches. “I don’t know that you can draw a conclusion that there’s some major change,” he said.
The decision to appeal the rulings is risky, lawyers say, because it could lead to appeals court rulings clearing the way for fuller judicial criticism. If the federal appeals court in New York were to approve Judge Scheindlin’s ruling or to simply decline to hear the city’s appeal, a trial is expected as soon as this fall.
David Rudovsky, the lead lawyer in a similar class-action case against Philadelphia that led to a settlement last year, said that the views that Judge Scheindlin expressed in May suggested that however the case comes to a conclusion, significant changes should be anticipated in New York’s stop-and-frisk policy.
“One would expect a fairly substantial change in the number of stops,” Mr. Rudovsky said. “And you would expect fewer stops of minority young men.”
[This article seems to have been partly mangled at this point. I suspect it was an error by somebody at the NY Times]
New York City’s accelerating use of police stop-and-frisk tactics has brought a growing chorus of opponents who have been matched in intensity only by the officials who defend the policy. But recent rulings by federal and state courts have now cast judges as the most potent critics of the practice, raising sharp questions about whether the city has sidestepped the Constitution in the drive to keep crime rates low.
The inescapable conclusion is that the city will eventually have to redefine its stop-and-frisk policy, legal experts say, and that the changes — whether voluntary or forced — will fundamentally alter how the police interact with young minority men on the streets.
Some legal experts say the police could be pushed into reducing the numbers of street stops of New Yorkers by hundreds of thousands a year, and that the proportion of stop-and-frisk subjects who are black and Latino would be sharply reduced.
A settlement last year of a class-action case involving stop-and-frisk policies in Philadelphia laid out a model that, if followed in New York, could call for the courts to supervise an imposed system of police monitoring and accountability.
The courts have been energized to step in, some lawyers say, as the debate has intensified over police tactics that have brought legal challenges, academic analysis and news coverage. “The decisions show that the courts are suspicious of the current police practices,” said Michael C. Dorf, a constitutional law professor at Cornell.
Randolph M. McLaughlin, a law professor at Pace University, said the new judicial attention was a product of the numbers: More than 80 percent of those stopped in New York are black or Latino, and last year there were 686,000 stops, with this year’s numbers heading higher.
“People are starting to wonder: ‘What’s really going on here? Is this a racial policy?’ And judges read the newspaper too,” Professor McLaughlin said.
In May, a federal judge granted class-action status to a civil suit filed on behalf of people who were frisked on the streets and released. The judge, Shira A. Scheindlin, of Federal District Court in Manhattan, condemned what she called the city’s “deeply troubling apathy towards New Yorkers’ most fundamental constitutional rights.”
Separately, in recent weeks in two cases involving teenagers caught with guns, a midlevel state appeals court in Manhattan overturned weapons convictions. In those cases, too, there was a burst of judicial hostility toward police policies in minority neighborhoods.
In the first case, the majority opinion in the 3-to-2 decision from a panel of the court, the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court in Manhattan, said a “gradual erosion of this basic liberty can only tatter the constitutional fabric upon which this nation was built.”
The city says that the stop-and-frisk program, which dates to the 1990s, is concentrated in high-crime areas, and is not targeted at minorities. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg says it “saves lives” and the city has fought its critics in court. On Tuesday, the police commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly, would not speculate about whether court rulings might hurt the city’s efforts to curb crime. “I don’t know what the courts are going to do,” he said.
Mr. Kelly has taken steps that he said could reduce the number of stop-and-frisk encounters, including better training of officers. But both he and the mayor have suggested the judicial branch was out of step with most New Yorkers’ goal of keeping crime rates low.
The city has said it is pursuing appeals of all of the rulings. In an interview, Michael A. Cardozo, who as the city’s corporation counsel serves as its top lawyer, argued that the recent decisions were not part of any larger trend in the courts. He noted that the issue before the federal judge was merely whether the suit was appropriately a class action and that the state appeals rulings involved split courts analyzing the detailed facts of specific searches. “I don’t know that you can draw a conclusion that there’s some major change,” he said.
The decision to appeal the rulings is risky, lawyers say, because it could lead to appeals court rulings clearing the way for fuller judicial criticism. If the federal appeals court in New York were to approve Judge Scheindlin’s ruling or to simply decline to hear the city’s appeal, a trial is expected as soon as this fall.
David Rudovsky, the lead lawyer in a similar class-action case against Philadelphia that led to a settlement last year, said that the views that Judge Scheindlin expressed in May suggested that however the case comes to a conclusion, significant changes should be anticipated in New York’s stop-and-frisk policy.
“One would expect a fairly substantial change in the number of stops,” Mr. Rudovsky said. “And you would expect fewer stops of minority young men.”
Critics of New York’s policies say the results — a small percentage of the stops produced an arrest — do not warrant the intrusion on lives and the lost respect for law enforcement by a generation of young men stopped on the city streets.
Darius Charney, a lawyer at the Center for Constitutional Rights, which is handling the New York class-action case, said the suit was seeking independent oversight of the New York Police Department. He said that even when stop-and-frisk numbers climbed sharply over the last decade, the city would not “even acknowledge it has a problem.”
In the two teenagers’ gun cases, the city is appealing to the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals. That could open the way for the state’s chief judge, Jonathan Lippman, who has forged numerous liberal rulings during his tenure, to help redefine complex legal precedents that set out stop-and-frisk rules.
“These two cases might create the perfect opportunity for the Court of Appeals” to wade into the controversy over police tactics, said Vincent Bonventre, an expert on the court who is a professor at Albany Law School.
Some experts on police practices said the Court of Appeals might consider it time to update its stop-and-frisk rulings.
Eugene J. O’Donnell, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, called one court precedent on the issue “laughably complex” in ways that can be confusing to officers who must make quick decisions in dangerous situations.
“How can you be legitimately following the law, when no one can explain what the law means?” he said.
In the interview, Mr. Cardozo, whose office is handling the stop-and-frisk appeals, noted that appeals courts regularly approve stop-and-frisk searches. But some lawyers said that tendency was what made the recent rulings against the city so notable.
Professor Bonventre said it seemed the majority in the Manhattan appeals court rulings was announcing what amounted to a new policy: “We are going to start looking at these stop-and-frisks a lot more closely.”
Alain Delaquérière and Wendy Ruderman contributed reporting.
What did you expect? How are you going to frame somebody is you allow them to defend themselves????
L.A. County law enforcers accused of withholding key evidence
By Jack Leonard, Los Angeles Times
July 11, 2012, 3:29 a.m.
Los Angeles County prosecutors and sheriff's officials have for years concealed complaints about law enforcement misconduct and other important evidence from defendants in criminal cases, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday by civil rights attorneys and legal scholars.
At a news conference announcing the suit, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California blasted the Sheriff's Department and district attorney's office for following policies he said played "fast and loose with evidence of innocence of those prosecuted."
The lawsuit cited several cases in which authorities allegedly failed to disclose information about misconduct complaints filed by inmates against deputies who were to be witnesses in criminal cases. Attorneys behind the lawsuit claimed that similar evidence might have been kept hidden in far more cases — possibly thousands — over the last decade.
"In Los Angeles County, we have a system of injustice for all criminal defendants," Mark Rosenbaum, chief counsel for the local ACLU, told reporters.
The Sheriff's Department and district attorney's office denied the allegations, saying the lawsuit mischaracterized how they decide what evidence is turned over.
"The lawsuit ... is a blatant attempt to mislead the public and the court," Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley said in a statement. "This office is confident that our ... policy complies with the highest constitutional and statutory standards."
In addition to filing a lawsuit, the ACLU submitted a state bar complaint against Cooley and called for a civil grand jury investigation as well as the appointment of an independent counsel to review cases that have resulted in convictions since the controversial policies were adopted.
The lawsuit's claims go to the heart of the legal duty that prosecutors have to ensure defendants receive a fair trial by disclosing information favorable to the defense.
The broad outline of the district attorney's policy about what should be disclosed dates to 2002 and has been hailed by some as a model. But others, including many defense attorneys, have criticized its approach.
Tuesday's lawsuit contends that the district attorney's office violates the rights of inmates by preventing prosecutors from disclosing information about law enforcement misconduct complaints and other evidence unless there is "clear and convincing evidence" that the information is true. That is a higher burden than the "preponderance of evidence" standard required for police departments to discipline or fire officers. Prosecutors in other counties, such as Ventura, do not require such a high standard, the ACLU said.
The suit also claims that the district attorney's office improperly withholds evidence that involves ongoing investigations and requires prosecutors to decide for themselves what evidence would probably affect the outcome of the defendant's case.
Harry Caldwell, a professor at Pepperdine School of Law, examined a copy of the district attorney's policy at the request of The Times and suggested that prosecutors should be advised to more often ask judges whether certain evidence needs to be disclosed.
"Let the judge, that neutral, independent, detached magistrate, make the determination," said Caldwell, a former Riverside and Santa Barbara county prosecutor who now represents inmates on death row.
The lawsuit also takes aim at the way the Sheriff's Department keeps track of inmate complaints against deputies.
The suit cited testimony earlier this year by a sheriff's lieutenant who acknowledged that the department does not keep inmate complaints in the personnel files of the deputies accused of misconduct, requiring officials to hand-search thousands of documents to find complaints against specific jailers.
Jonathan Goodwin was one of four inmates cited in the lawsuit who claim they were beaten by deputies but then falsely accused of being the aggressors and charged with assault. Goodwin's attorney sought evidence of complaints against the deputies involved in the incident but was told none existed, the lawsuit said. Only when she contacted the ACLU did she discover that one of the deputies had been the subject of several excessive force complaints by inmates.
Goodwin was acquitted of assaulting deputies in May, according to the suit.
"I am lucky to be here rather than in state prison, but I am sure that there are lots of other people who are not so lucky," he told reporters.
Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said the department has yet to review the lawsuit but disputed the claim that inmates are beaten and then falsely accused of assault. Assistant County Counsel Roger Granbo declined to discuss the lawsuit's claims but said the Sheriff's Department complied with a subpoena from a defense attorney earlier this year seeking inmate complaints against specific deputies.
"There has never been an attempt by anyone in the Sheriff's Department to hide anything from anybody, especially the court," Granbo said.
jack.leonard@latimes.com
L.A. County sheriff recalls 200 badges given to local politicians
Robert Faturechi and Jeff Gottlieb, Los Angeles Times
July 10, 2012, 7:22 p.m.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, which has faced criticism for handing out official-looking credentials to civilians with no law enforcement duties, is recalling an estimated 200 badges the department gave to local politicians, according to documents and interviews.
Sheriff Lee Baca's decision to recall the badges comes two weeks after the FBI arrested three city officials in Cudahy on bribery charges. In support of the charges, the U.S. attorney's office released a photo of a smiling young woman in a Cudahy nightclub, brandishing two handguns and wearing a councilman's badge on her chest.
One command-level sheriff's official briefed on the badge recall said the move was prompted by the revelation in Cudahy. Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore, however, said that the timing was a coincidence and that a 2007 state attorney general's warning prompted the call to return the badges.
Asked why it took more than four years for the Sheriff's Department to take action on the attorney general's legal opinion, Whitmore replied, "That's a good question."
The emergence of the Cudahy photo is the latest in a series of incidents in which official-looking credentials given to civilians by law enforcement agencies have come under scrutiny. Critics have long said badges and identification cards appeared to be rewards for political contributions and had the potential for abuse.
After a series of Times stories, California police chiefs and sheriffs were told by then-Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown in 2007 that handing out badges created the potential for civilians to falsely pose as law enforcement officers. The attorney general's opinion covers any badge "that would deceive an ordinary reasonable person into believing that it is authorized for use by a peace officer."
In the wake of the opinion, some agencies pledged to stop issuing the IDs and badges.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department recalled official-looking identification cards but continued giving badges to council members and city managers in cities that contracted for the department's police services.
At first glance, the badges closely resemble those deputies wear, with the same six-pointed star design. Instead of identifying the person as a "deputy sheriff," the badges read "City Official Los Angeles County."
Whitmore said the badges were given to city officials for use during emergencies so they could pass through sheriff's command posts. He estimated that about 200 badges will be recalled from about 40 cities.
Aside from the Cudahy case, Whitmore said he was not aware of any other incident in which a city official misused a badge. But civilian abuse of such credentials has been a problem in the past.
In the 1980s, the issue caught the attention of members of the county Board of Supervisors after they learned that "Hillside Strangler" Kenneth Bianchi had used a county emblem to pose as a police officer while luring his victims.
Prior to the attorney general's 2007 opinion, two political contributors to the Riverside County sheriff told The Times they displayed their honorary badges during encounters with law enforcement. One used it to gain access to a secure area of Bob Hope Airport in Burbank. The other showed it to police officers serving a search warrant at his business.
About the same time, a Compton man was arrested after allegedly flashing Redondo Beach police officers a badge issued to him by a state assemblyman.
The Times also reported that Baca gave official-looking identification cards to members of his Homeland Security Support Unit, a civilian group that was staffed by many of his political donors.
According to an internal policy memo, the practice of giving badges to city officials has been going on since 1986. In fact, the policy was reexamined in 2010 but allowed to continue despite the attorney general's warning on the matter three years earlier.
Whitmore said the photograph of the woman wearing Councilman Osvaldo Conde's badge at the El Potrero nightclub in Cudahy was "a vulgar display."
Three Cudahy officials were arrested June 22 as part of a federal investigation into allegations of corruption in the city's government. Conde, then-Mayor David Silva and Angel Perales, the former head of code enforcement, are accused of taking a total of $17,000 in bribes from the owner of a medical marijuana dispensary who wanted to open a store in the city.
In a transcript of a secretly recorded conversation, Perales is quoted talking about "a crooked deputy."
"Well, he just got transferred to Cudahy, but I knew all about him before … he came in," Perales tells an FBI informant.
The two men talk about paying off the deputy. "Money makes the monkey dance," Perales says.
Whitmore said department investigators looked into the allegation about a corrupt deputy and concluded that it was a "fabrication, it's not real."
robert.faturechi@latimes.com
jeff.gottlieb@latimes.com
But don't expect the government to do the right thing.
The cops will probably make these people prove their innocence.
Justice Dept., FBI to review use of forensic evidence in thousands of cases
By Spencer S. Hsu, Published: July 10
The Justice Department and the FBI have launched a review of thousands of criminal cases to determine whether any defendants were wrongly convicted or deserve a new trial because of flawed forensic evidence, officials said Tuesday.
The undertaking is the largest post-conviction review ever done by the FBI. It will include cases conducted by all FBI Laboratory hair and fiber examiners since at least 1985 and may reach earlier if records are available, people familiar with the process said. Such FBI examinations have taken place in federal and local cases across the country, often in violent crimes, such as rape, murder and robbery.
The review comes after The Washington Post reported in April that Justice Department officials had known for years that flawed forensic work might have led to the convictions of potentially innocent people but had not performed a thorough review of the cases. In addition, prosecutors did not notify defendants or their attorneys even in many cases they knew were troubled.
On Tuesday, the Justice Department announced that it will conduct the more expansive review.
“The Department and the FBI are in the process of identifying historical cases for review where a microscopic hair examination conducted by the FBI was among the evidence in a case that resulted in a conviction,” spokeswoman Nanda Chitre said in a statement. “We have dedicated considerable time and resources to addressing these issues, with the goal of reaching final determinations in the coming months.”
FBI spokeswoman Ann Todd deferred comment to the Justice Department.
In its April report, The Post identified two District men convicted largely on the testimony of FBI hair analysts who wrongly placed them at crime scenes. Santae A. Tribble, now 51, was convicted of killing a taxi driver in 1978, and Kirk L. Odom, now 49, was convicted of a sexual assault in 1981. Since the Post report, Tribble’s conviction was vacated, and on Tuesday, prosecutors moved to overturn Odom’s conviction and declare him innocent. The Justice Department had not previously reviewed their cases.
Chitre said the new review would include help from the Innocence Project, a New York-based advocacy group for people seeking exoneration through DNA testing. It also would include the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
Steven D. Benjamin, a Richmond lawyer who is incoming president of the association, called the review “an important collaboration” and a departure from one-sided government reviews that left defendants in the dark.
“Mistakes were made. What is important now is our working together to correct those mistakes,” Benjamin said, adding that his organization will “fully assist in finding and notifying all those who may have been affected.”
The review comes as the National Academy of Sciences is urging the White House and Congress to remove crime labs from police and prosecutors’ control, or at least to strengthen the science and standards underpinning the nation’s forensic science system.
The last time the FBI abandoned a forensic practice was in 2005, when it ended efforts to trace bullets to a specific manufacturer’s batch through analyzing their chemical composition after its methodology was scientifically debunked. The bureau released files in an estimated 2,500 bullet-lead cases only after “60 Minutes” and The Post reported the problem in 2007.
Michael R. Bromwich, a former Justice Department official who investigated the FBI Laboratory in the mid-1990s as inspector general and, more recently, the city of Houston’s crime lab, said the review is important as the nation’s crime labs come under scrutiny.
“These recent developments remind us of the profound questions about the validity of many forensic techniques that have been used over the course of many decades and underscore the need for continuing attention at every level to ensuring the scientific validity and accuracy of the forensic science that is used every day in our criminal justice system,” Bromwich said.
The Post reported in April that hair and fiber analysis was subjective and lacked grounding in solid research and that the FBI lab lacked protocols to ensure that agent testimony was scientifically accurate. But bureau managers kept their reviews limited to one agent, even as they learned that many examiners’ “matches” were often wrong and that numerous examiners overstated the significance of matches, using bogus statistics or exaggerated claims.
Details of how the new FBI review will be conducted remain unclear. The exact number of cases that will be reviewed is unknown. The FBI is starting with more than 10,000 cases referred to all hair and fiber examiners. From those, the focus will be on a smaller number of hair examinations that resulted in positive findings and a conviction.
It also is unclear whether the review will focus only on exaggerated testimony by FBI examiners or also on scientifically unfounded statements made by others trained by the FBI, or made by prosecutors. Also unclear is at what point government officials will notify defense attorneys or the Innocence Project.
In past reviews, the department kept results secret and gave findings only to prosecutors, who then determined whether to turn them over to the defense.
But don't count on Officer Korey Lankow being arrested and severally punished like us civilians would. The government has a double standard when cops commit crimes and they are rarely arrested for crimes they commit and when they are punished it usually is a token slap on the wrist.
Arizona K-9 left in hot patrol car is put to sleep, officials say
by JJ Hensley - Jul. 12, 2012 04:28 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com
The Arizona Department of Public Safety K-9 left in a patrol car for nearly an hour on Wednesday was put down early Thursday afternoon, according to the agency.
Lankow is on administrative leave.
Tucson police have launched an investigation into whether any criminal laws were violated when the dog was left behind on a day when temperatures exceeded 100 degrees, and DPS officers are conducting an internal inquiry into whether any policies were violated.
Lankow was said to be distraught after discovering his K-9 partner.
The incident unfolded at the DPS headquarters near Tucson about noon on Wednesday when an officer was transferring gear from one patrol car to another, said Officer Carrick Cook, a DPS spokesman. As the officer was moving his gear, a call went over the radio about a serious accident on Interstate 19 in Tucson, Cook said, and the officer responded. It wasn't until the officer was en route to the crash that he realized his K-9 partner, Jeg, was in the car, Cook said, and he immediately returned to the parking lot to tend to the animal.
The agency's last K-9 death came in 2007 when a dog ran into Interstate 10 during a pursuit and was struck and killed by a semi.
A DPS K-9 was left in a hot squad car for more than an hour Wednesday has been euthanized.
Jeg, a 6-year-old Belgian Malinois, was rushed to a veterinary hospital and was doing well overnight but took a turn for the worse early this morning, Officer Carrick Cook, a DPS spokesman said earlier in the day. Jeg’s condition was described as touch-and-go earlier Thursday and he was put down at 2:35 p.m.
Jeg had signs of organ damage and had been seen by a specialist to determine what additional treatment might help.
Jeg was left in a squad car by his handler who was switching vehicles at DPS headquarters, 6401 S. Tucson Blvd. The officer realized he left the dog in the first car while on his way to a crash and turned back around to retrieve him.
Lankow was with Jeg when Capt. Jenna Mitchell, the canine district commander, made the decision to euthanize.
Lankow came to DPS in October 2005 following a 22-year career with the United States Air Force, the state DPS said in a news release.
After his academy training, he was assigned to the Tucson Highway Patrol district for several years before being selected for the Border Crimes Unit.
Lankow became a K-9 officer in 2009. He remains in paid administrative leave while the police conduct a criminal investigation and the state DPS does an internal review.
Jeg was in the car for more than an hour before the officer returned about noon to get him out. The temperature at noon in Tucson Wednesday was 98 degrees.
Lankow cooled down the police dog with water and ice, officials have said. When paramedics arrived, they continued the cooling process using ice packs and water. They also gave the dog oxygen and took him to the animal hospital.
Overheated DPS dog's condition called 'touch-and-go'
A state Department of Public Safety K-9 left in a patrol car for more than an hour Wednesday afternoon has been “touch-and-go” throughout the day, officials said.
Jeg, a 6-year-old Belgian Malinois, was rushed to a veterinary hospital and was doing well overnight but took a turn for the worse early this morning, said Officer Carrick Cook, a DPS spokesman.
“He’s gone from bad to good, to bad to good,” Cook said.
Jeg has signs of organ damage and is being seen by a specialist to determine what additional treatment is necessary, Cook said.
“No matter what happens, this dog is not going back to duty,” Cook said. “It’s just a matter of can we save him? Can we get him into a quality of life that will suit him?”
Jeg was left in a squad car by his handler who was switching vehicles at DPS headquarters, 6401 S. Tucson Blvd. The officer realized he left the dog in the first car while on his way to a crash and turned back around to retrieve him.
The officer’s name has not yet been released.
“The reason being is since this incident happened that officer has been with the dog 100 percent of the time and is lying down with the dog in the kennel,” Cook said. “His wife is really hurt by this, his kids are hurt.”
The dog and officer have worked together for three years and are very close, Cook said. The officer even used his own money to install an air conditioning system in Jeg’s kennel, he said.
“I want to make sure people understand that this officer is emotionally ruined by this event,” Cook said. “He’s doing everything in his means to make sure this dog is comfortable. I think the bond between those two is what’s keeping him alive.”
DPS dog alive after an hour in hot squad car
Tucson police have opened a criminal investigation after a DPS K-9 was left in a hot squad car for more than an hour Wednesday.
The drug-sniffing canine - a 6-year-old male Belgian Malinois named Jeg - was rushed to a veterinary hospital by Tucson Fire Department paramedics.
"He is alive at this point," Officer Dave Hopkins, an Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman, said Wednesday night. "Time will tell ... each and every day," Hopkins said. The dog was in stable condition, he said.
"The first 36 hours is the most critical time. He is heavily sedated," another DPS spokesman, Officer Carrick R. Cook of Phoenix, said late Wednesday. Vets are doing everything they can for the dog, whose temperature was "extremely high" when he was found, he said.
DPS officials would not release the name of the officer who left the dog in the car. Hopkins said they first want to notify other DPS officers, the dog's trainer and breeder about the incident.
Cook said DPS officials spoke to their boss, Gov. Jan Brewer, before any information was released about the police dog's condition and the case.
"The officer is very distraught," Cook said. "He's been with DPS for 6 1/2 years," and worked with Jeg for three years.
The police dog was left unattended after his partner was switching from one patrol car to another at DPS headquarters, 6401 S. Tucson Blvd. The officer was immediately sent to a rollover crash on Interstate 19, but realized on the way that he had left Jeg in the first vehicle, Cook said.
The dog was in the car for more than an hour before the officer returned about noon to get him out, Hopkins said. The temperature at noon in Tucson was 98 degrees.
The officer cooled down the police dog with water and ice, Hopkins said. When paramedics arrived, they continued the cooling process using ice packs and water. They also gave the dog oxygen and took him to the animal hospital, said Capt. Barrett Baker, a Tucson Fire Department spokesman. He added that dogs pant to cool down - they do not sweat.
DPS asked Tucson police to conduct the criminal investigation, Cook said.
"We are in the early stages of the criminal investigation, and it is too early to tell what charges, if any, are appropriate," said Sgt. Maria Hawke, a Tucson Police Department spokeswoman. "It all depends what the investigation reveals."
In 2007, a Chandler police officer was charged with misdemeanor animal abuse after leaving his police dog in a patrol vehicle for nearly 13 hours in August, according to news reports. The dog, Bandit, a Belgian Malinois, died of excessive heat.
The Chandler officer was acquitted of the charge but was found in an internal departmental investigation to have acted negligently but not recklessly, according to news reports. The investigation also found that the officer showed conduct unbecoming an officer. He was suspended for two days without pay and was taken off the K-9 unit.
Hopkins said DPS will conduct an internal investigation to see whether the DPS officer followed departmental rules and procedures. He said the officer had not been placed on administrative leave. The department expects to release more information today, Hopkins said.
Man was doing yard work naked, cops say
Jul. 12, 2012 09:21 AM
Associated Press
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- A Knox County man wasn't properly dressed for yard work.
A sheriff's deputy said Lindsay Medd Stevens wasn't dressed at all, but was totally nude, cutting a tree in his yard when the deputy arrived.
WATE-TV quoted the officer's report, which said Stevens ran into his house Wednesday when he saw the deputy, who charged him with indecent exposure and booked him into the Knox County Detention Center.
Stevens' neighbors told deputies Stevens has been seen outside his house in the nude in the past.
Mesa police building evacuated, 4 taken to hospital after generator releases smoke
Posted: Thursday, July 12, 2012 1:37 pm | Updated: 3:04 pm, Thu Jul 12, 2012.
By Mike Sakal, Tribune
A Mesa Police building was closed while crews investigated a recently-installed generator that released smoke and caused the evacuation of the building and four people to be taken to the hospital on Thursday.
About 10:30 a.m., about 60 people were evacuated from the building on East 6th Place near University Drive and Center Street, according to the Mesa Fire Department.
An emergency generator was being tested at a communications building when employees reported the quickly spreading odor, according to Mesa Fire spokesman Capt. Forrest Smith. It is believed that the non-toxic fumes came from paint on the new generator’s mufflers, which released an odor when the generator was turned on.
However, air monitoring systems showed that no toxic vapors were released.
The four city employees who were hospitalized, told fire emergency crews they felt sick and were having difficulty breathing, Smith said.
Officials plan to contact the company that made the generator.
Operations inside the building are continuing, but it’s unknown when employees will be allowed back inside. Those in need of emergency services will not see any interruptions in the city’s public safety services.
Contact writer: (480) 898-6533 or msakal@evtrib.com
Man cleared in Stow beating sues LAPD and Beck for defamation
July 12, 2012 | 6:21 pm
A man arrested but then cleared in the beating of San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow outside Dodger Stadium last year has sued Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck and the department for defamation.
In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, Giovanni Ramirez contends that Beck's comments at a May 22, 2011, news conference did his reputation untold harm.
"With reckless disregard for the truth," the suit states, Beck called Ramirez the "primary aggressor" and "a thug," and when asked how sure he was that Ramirez was the culprit replied: "I wouldn't be standing here in front of you. I certainly wouldn't be booking him later on tonight."
When two other men were later arrested in connection with the attack on Stow, Beck would describe Ramirez's arrest as "regrettable."
Stow was brutally attacked in the Dodger Stadium parking lot after the home opener in March 2011 and left with brain damage. A paramedic and father of two, he continues to undergo intensive therapy.
Ramirez alleges he arrested amid pressure from the media and the public for the department to capture the attackers. His attorneys and family maintained he was innocent and never attended the baseball game, but police insisted he was the suspect. Though he was never charged, he was held on a parole violation for possession of a gun by a felon and sent back to prison for 10 months.
According to the lawsuit, Beck's actions were "false, defamatory, outrageous and published with willful or callous disregard for Ramirez's rights," and designed to injure his reputation. The suit alleges that as late as June 12, Beck insisted the LAPD had the right man.
Beck, however, was forced in July 2011 to admit his department arrested the wrong man after the elite Robbery Homicide Division took over the case and arrested Louie Sanchez and Marvin Norwood.
Ramirez's suit seeks unspecified damages for defamation.
Jesus, don't these pigs have any real criminals to hunt down???
Woman accused of chest-bumping Mesa police officer
by Patrick Ryan - Jul. 10, 2012 02:32 PM
The Arizona Republic-12 News Breaking News Team
A transient woman is accused of chest-bumping an officer after refusing to leave a Mesa bus stop on Monday, Mesa police said.
Anita Milsapp, 48, was seen sitting at a bus stop near Broadway Road and Country Club Drive at about 7:45 a.m. for an extended time without attempting to board any buses, police said.
An officer approached Milsapp to issue a citation for obstructing a public right-of-way when Milsapp struck the officer with her chest, according to police.
Police said the officer told Milsapp to sit down while she explained the citation before Milsapp stood again. Milsapp bumped the officer with her chest, pushing the officer backward into the street toward oncoming traffic, police said.
Milsapp was charged with two counts of aggravated assault on an officer, according to a court document.
Sadly all the superpowers, America, Russia and China seem to
treat freedom of speak the same way. None of them like it when
it challenges the official government position.
Russia's lower house OKs curbs on Internet, media and activists
By Khristina Narizhnaya, Los Angeles Times
July 14, 2012
MOSCOW — Russian lawmakers this week passed three measures to increase government control over the Internet, media and foreign-funded activist groups, despite widespread protests from Web professionals, journalists and human rights advocates.
A bill that criminalizes libel and imposes fines of up to $153,400 on violators, and a measure that requires nongovernmental organizations, or NGOs, that receive foreign funding to register as "foreign agents," were approved by the lower house of the parliament Friday, the last day of the legislative session.
On Wednesday, the lower house unanimously approved a bill that provides for a federal registry of websites that could face being shut down for carrying prohibited material.
The bills are the latest in what is seen as an attempt to crack down on resistance to the rule of President Vladimir Putin, dissent that became more pronounced with mass opposition rallies in December, when Putin was still prime minister.
The measures must still be approved by the upper house and signed by Putin, who in May began his third presidential term, but both moves are expected by the end of the month.
Lyudmila Alekseyeva, a Soviet-era dissident who heads the Moscow Helsinki Group, an influential rights group that receives grants from abroad, called the NGO bill "despicable" and said her group would stop accepting foreign funding.
"I am not a foreign agent. I protect our Russian citizens, their rights, from the Russian government and officials," Alekseyeva said. "They want to stop the activities of independent human rights organizations."
Critics of the bill had argued that its goal was to pressure already small and hard-pressed activist groups to reject contributions from overseas or lose credibility by acknowledging working with a foreign government. Russian officials had accused Western governments of trying to influence parliamentary elections in December by aiding election monitoring groups.
Journalists with leading Russian news organizations picketed outside the State Duma building Friday to protest the libel bill, holding signs that read "No to censorship" and "I'm against the libel law." Libel is often used as a way to shut down news organizations that express views at odds with the government, especially inRussia'soutlying regions.
Under the third bill, law enforcement authorities could shut down websites that exhibit child pornography or promote drug use and other harmful activities. Critics see potential for abuse.
Russian search engine Yandex, popular blog-hosting site LiveJournal and social networking service VKontakte condemned the bill. Wikipedia shut down its Russian site Tuesday and posted the warning, "Imagine a world without free knowledge."
"The bill invokes fear of censorship," said Anton Nossik, founder of Russian LiveJournal, whose media company owns Gazeta.ru, one of the leading online news sources in Russia.
The Internet has become an important platform for the opposition movement because the government controls most television and print media.
The bills follow other government moves to encumber its critics. A recently adopted law sharply increased fines for organizers of unsanctioned rallies and participants. A bill initiated by the ruling United Russia party this week and under consideration in the lower house would crack down on independent volunteers. It would require contracts and official approval for any donated resources or labor to any cause or event.
"They are afraid of any form of citizen action," said Ilya Ponomarev, an opposition deputy and member of the Just Russia party.
Devastating floods last weekend in southern Russia brought an unprecedented number of volunteers to the region, which only highlighted the failures of the government amid popular mistrust.
"The government is trying to scare civic society with all the power it has," said Sergei Buntman, deputy chief editor of Echo of Moscow radio station, which is often critical of the government.
"But look how many young people went to Krymsk to help," he said. "People are not sleeping. They are not looking for signals from the government. They are standing up for their rights."
If those are the only criminals the Mesa cops have to shake down we certainly don't need any more piggies in Mesa.
Mesa police force grows for first time since 2008
Posted: Friday, July 13, 2012 6:41 am
By Garin Groff, Tribune
Mesa is bolstering its police force for the first time since the recession forced the law enforcement agency to downsize in 2008.
Nineteen new officers will graduate from the Mesa Police Academy on Friday, the first new class since budget cuts caused the police department to halt its own training program in four years ago.
While the city has increased its budget to grow the department by just five officers, the change represents the first step in restoring some of the 83 positions that were cut in recent years.
Mesa has 760 sworn officers today but the budget to employ 782, said Cmdr. Mike Soelberg, who oversees training.
Nearly every position will now be filled with officers fresh out of the academy and transfers from other law enforcement agencies.
Mesa had the budget for 860 officers four years ago. That had dropped to as low as 777. The reductions came by eliminating positions as police left the force, not through layoffs.
Mesa expects to hire about 60 more officers in the next year to replace personnel who retire, resign or are terminated. That’s a significantly higher number of new officers to the department than in recent years because employees delayed retirement as the economy slumped.
Since 2009, Mesa has hired a relatively small number of police by hiring from other agencies or enrolling recruits in Phoenix’s academy.
The department is focusing on recruiting former military personnel because they have related training and understand a police force’s paramilitary culture, Soelberg said.
“They do well in the academy and they do well in the streets,” he said.
Also, the department is encouraging lateral transfers from other agencies. Those hires don’t have to go through the academy, so they can be on the street in about 22 weeks rather than about 9 months for new recruits.
The additional officers will help free up personnel for Mesa’s annual summer tactical enforcement initiative that targets high-crime areas, Sgt. Tony Landato said. The effort involves forming a roughly 20-person team from top performers in the patrol division, and having them zero on areas with high levels of nuisance calls, gunfire, gang activity or other crime.
The detail goes from mid-June to mid-August.
In Vast Effort, F.D.A. Spied on E-Mails of Its Own Scientists
By ERIC LICHTBLAU and SCOTT SHANE
Published: July 14, 2012
WASHINGTON — A wide-ranging surveillance operation by the Food and Drug Administration against a group of its own scientists used an enemies list of sorts as it secretly captured thousands of e-mails that the disgruntled scientists sent privately to members of Congress, lawyers, labor officials, journalists and even President Obama, previously undisclosed records show.
What began as a narrow investigation into the possible leaking of confidential agency information by five scientists quickly grew in mid-2010 into a much broader campaign to counter outside critics of the agency’s medical review process, according to the cache of more than 80,000 pages of computer documents generated by the surveillance effort.
Moving to quell what one memorandum called the “collaboration” of the F.D.A.’s opponents, the surveillance operation identified 21 agency employees, Congressional officials, outside medical researchers and journalists thought to be working together to put out negative and “defamatory” information about the agency.
F.D.A. officials defended the surveillance operation, saying that the computer monitoring was limited to the five scientists suspected of leaking confidential information about the safety and design of medical devices.
While they acknowledged that the surveillance tracked the communications that the scientists had with Congressional officials, journalists and others, they said it was never intended to impede those communications, but only to determine whether information was being improperly shared.
The agency, using so-called spy software designed to help employers monitor workers, captured screen images from the government laptops of the five scientists as they were being used at work or at home. The software tracked their keystrokes, intercepted their personal e-mails, copied the documents on their personal thumb drives and even followed their messages line by line as they were being drafted, the documents show.
The extraordinary surveillance effort grew out of a bitter dispute lasting years between the scientists and their bosses at the F.D.A. over the scientists’ claims that faulty review procedures at the agency had led to the approval of medical imaging devices for mammograms and colonoscopies that exposed patients to dangerous levels of radiation.
A confidential government review in May by the Office of Special Counsel, which deals with the grievances of government workers, found that the scientists’ medical claims were valid enough to warrant a full investigation into what it termed “a substantial and specific danger to public safety.”
The documents captured in the surveillance effort — including confidential letters to at least a half-dozen Congressional offices and oversight committees, drafts of legal filings and grievances, and personal e-mails — were posted on a public Web site, apparently by mistake, by a private document-handling contractor that works for the F.D.A. The New York Times reviewed the records and their day-by-day, sometimes hour-by-hour accounting of the scientists’ communications.
With the documents from the surveillance cataloged in 66 huge directories, many Congressional staff members regarded as sympathetic to the scientists each got their own files containing all their e-mails to or from the whistle-blowers. Drafts and final copies of letters the scientists sent to Mr. Obama about their safety concerns were also included.
Last year, the scientists found that a few dozen of their e-mails had been intercepted by the agency. They filed a lawsuit over the issue in September, after four of the scientists had been let go, and The Washington Post first disclosed the monitoring in January. But the wide scope of the F.D.A. surveillance operation, its broad range of targets across Washington, and the huge volume of computer information that it generated were not previously known, even to some of the targets.
F.D.A. officials said that in monitoring the communication of the five scientists, their e-mails “were collected without regard to the identity of the individuals with whom the user may have been corresponding.” While the F.D.A. memo described the Congressional officials and other “actors” as collaborating in the scientists’ effort to attract negative publicity, the F.D.A. said that those outside the agency were never targets of the surveillance operation, but were suspected of receiving confidential information.
While federal agencies have broad discretion to monitor their employees’ computer use, the F.D.A. program may have crossed legal lines by grabbing and analyzing confidential information that is specifically protected under the law, including attorney-client communications, whistle-blower complaints to Congress and workplace grievances filed with the government.
Other administration officials were so concerned to learn of the F.D.A. operation that the White House Office of Management and Budget sent a governmentwide memo last month emphasizing that while the internal monitoring of employee communications was allowed, it could not be used under the law to intimidate whistle-blowers. Any monitoring must be done in ways that “do not interfere with or chill employees’ use of appropriate channels to disclose wrongdoing,” the memo said.
Although some senior F.D.A. officials appear to have been made aware of aspects of the surveillance, which went on for months, the documents do not make clear who at the agency authorized the program or whether it is still in operation.
But Stephen Kohn, a lawyer who represents six scientists who are suing the agency, said he planned to go to federal court this month seeking an injunction to stop any surveillance that may be continuing against the two medical researchers among the group who are still employed there.
The scientists who have been let go say in a lawsuit that their treatment was retaliation for reporting their claims of mismanagement and safety abuses in the F.D.A.’s medical reviews.
Members of Congress from both parties were irate to learn that correspondence between the scientists and their own staff had been gathered and analyzed.
Representative Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat who has examined the agency’s medical review procedures, was listed as No. 14 on the surveillance operation’s list of targets — an “ancillary actor” in the efforts to put out negative information on the agency. (An aide to Mr. Van Hollen was No. 13.)
Mr. Van Hollen said on Friday after learning of his status on the list that “it is absolutely unacceptable for the F.D.A. to be spying on employees who reach out to members of Congress to expose abuses or wrongdoing in government agencies.”
Senator Charles E. Grassley, an Iowa Republican whose former staff member’s e-mails were cataloged in the surveillance database, said that “the F.D.A. is discouraging whistle-blowers.” He added that agency officials “have absolutely no business reading the private e-mails of their employees. They think they can be the Gestapo and do anything they want.”
While national security agencies have become more aggressive in monitoring employee communications, such tactics are unusual at domestic agencies that do not handle classified information.
Much of the material the F.D.A. was eager to protect centered on trade secrets submitted by drug and medical device manufacturers seeking approval for products. Particular issues were raised by a March 2010 article in The New York Times that examined the safety concerns about imaging devices and quoted two agency scientists who would come under surveillance, Dr. Robert C. Smith and Dr. Julian Nicholas.
Agency officials saw Dr. Smith as the ringleader, or “point man” as one memo from the agency put it, for the complaining scientists, and the surveillance documents included hundreds of e-mails that he wrote on ways to make their concerns heard. (Dr. Smith and the other scientists would not comment for this article because of their pending litigation.)
Lawyers for GE Healthcare charged that the 2010 article in The Times — written by Gardiner Harris, who would be placed first on the surveillance program’s list of “media outlet actors” — included proprietary information about their imaging devices that may have been improperly leaked by F.D.A. employees.
F.D.A. officials went to the inspector general at the Department of Health and Human Services to seek a criminal investigation into the possible leak, but they were turned down. The inspector general found that there was no evidence of a crime, noting that “matters of public safety” can legally be released to the news media.
Undeterred, agency officials began the electronic monitoring operation on their own.
The software used to track the F.D.A. scientists, sold by SpectorSoft of Vero Beach, Fla., costs as little as $99.95 for individual use, or $2,875 to place the program on 25 computers. It is marketed mainly to employers to monitor their workers and to parents to keep tabs on their children’s computer activities.
“Monitor everything they do,” says SpectorSoft’s Web site. “Catch them red-handed by receiving instant alerts when keywords or phrases are typed or are contained in an e-mail, chat, instant message or Web site.”
The F.D.A. program did all of that and more, as its operators analyzed the results from their early e-mail interceptions and used them to search for new “actors,” develop new keywords to search and map out future areas of concern.
The intercepted e-mails revealed, for instance, that a few of the scientists under surveillance were drafting a complaint in 2010 that they planned to take to the Office of Special Counsel. A short time later, before the complaint was filed, Dr. Smith and another complaining scientist were let go and a third was suspended.
In another case, the intercepted e-mails indicated that Paul T. Hardy, another of the dissident employees, had reapplied for an F.D.A. job “and is being considered for a position.” (He did not get it.)
F.D.A. officials were eager to track future media stories too. When they learned from Mr. Hardy’s e-mails that he was considering talking to PBS’s “Frontline” for a documentary, they ordered a search for anything else on the same topic.
While the surveillance was intended to protect trade secrets for companies like G.E., it may have done just the opposite. The data posted publicly by the F.D.A. contractor — and taken down late Friday after inquiries by The Times — includes hundreds of confidential documents on the design of imaging devices and other detailed, proprietary information.
The posting of the documents was discovered inadvertently by one of the researchers whose e-mails were monitored. The researcher did Google searches for scientists involved in the case to check for negative publicity that might hinder chances of finding work. Within a few minutes, the researcher stumbled upon the database.
“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” said the researcher, who did not want to be identified because of pending job applications. “I thought: ‘Oh my God, everything is out there. It’s all about us.’ It was just outrageous.”
Andy Lehren contributed reporting.
From this article it seems like the Feds have a secret database
of who they consider criminals. The secret part is what bothers me.
The database seems to be named "SAVE" for "Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements"
AP NewsBreak: Feds OK Fla. access to citizens list
By CHARLES BABINGTON | Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a victory for Republicans, the federal government has agreed to let Florida use a law enforcement database to challenge people's right to vote if they are suspected of not being U.S. citizens.
The agreement, made in a letter to Florida Gov. Rick Scott's administration that was obtained by The Associated Press, grants the state access to a list of resident noncitizens maintained by the Homeland Security Department. The Obama administration had denied Florida's request for months but relented after a judge ruled in the state's favor in a related voter-purge matter.
Voting rights groups, while acknowledging that noncitizens have no right to vote, have expressed alarm about using such data for a purpose not originally intended: purging voter lists of ineligible people. They also say voter purges less than four months before a presidential election might leave insufficient time to correct mistakes stemming from faulty data or other problems.
Democrats say that the government's concession is less troubling than some GOP-controlled states' push to require voters to show photo identification.
But Republicans count it as a victory nonetheless in their broad-based fight over voter eligibility, an issue that could play a big role in the White House race. That's especially true in pivotal states such as Florida, Colorado, Nevada and North Carolina.
Republican officials in several states say they are trying to combat voter fraud. Democrats, however, note that proven cases of voter fraud are rare. They accuse Republicans of cynical efforts to suppress voting by people in lower socio-economic groups who tend to vote Democratic.
The Homeland Security decision may affect places beyond Florida, because Colorado and other states have asked for similar access to the federal database.
After a judge recently ruled against federal efforts to stop Florida's aggressive voter-list review, Homeland Security agreed to work on details for how the state can access the federal SAVE database — Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements — to challenge registered voters suspected of being noncitizens.
Florida has agreed that it can challenge voters only if the state provides a "unique identifier," such as an "alien number," for each person in question. Alien numbers generally are assigned to foreigners living in the country legally, often with visas or other permits such as green cards.
Unless they become naturalized citizens, however, they cannot vote.
The agreement will prevent Florida from using only a name and birthdate to seek federal data about a suspected noncitizen on voter rolls.
The SAVE list is unlikely to catch illegal immigrants in any state who might have managed to register to vote because such people typically would not have an alien number.
Scott, whose administration had sued Homeland Security for access to the SAVE list, said the agreement "marks a significant victory for Florida and for the integrity of our election system."
"Access to the SAVE database will ensure that noncitizens do not vote in future Florida elections," Scott said in a statement Saturday.
In a letter Monday, the department told Florida it was ready to work out details for providing access to the SAVE list. The letter was signed by Alejandro Mayorkas, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
It follows a flurry of legal actions between Florida and the federal government. On June 11, the Justice Department said it would sue Scott's administration on grounds that the state's voter-purge efforts violated voting rights laws.
The same day, Scott announced a lawsuit against Homeland Security seeking access to the SAVE list. He said it could be a valuable tool in determining who is a citizen. Two weeks later, a U.S. judge blocked the federal attempts to stop Florida's voter review efforts; the Mayorkas letter soon followed.
A Homeland Security spokesman said Saturday the agency had no further comment.
Department officials told the Orlando Sentinel last month they had concerns about using the SAVE list for voter-review purposes. They said the list's information is incomplete and does not provide comprehensive data on all eligible voters, the newspaper reported.
Scott's administration hopes to restart a suspended voter registration purge that was hampered this year by faulty data and bad publicity. The review, using driver's license information, initially produced 180,000 voters' names considered worthy of checking. County election supervisors examined 2,625 people on the list. But more than 500 were soon found to be citizens, and the review was halted.
State records show that 86 noncitizens were removed from the voter rolls since April 11, and more than half of them had voted in previous elections.
Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner asked election officials Saturday to restart the review. He said it will "include a carefully calibrated matching process" between the state's driver and voter data "before any records are verified through SAVE."
But Florida Sen. Arthenia Joyner, a Tampa Democrat, said Scott and his team should not be purging voter lists so close to a big election.
"This is just another in the continuing saga of his efforts to suppress the vote, along with a lot of the other Republican governors," Joyner said. "They are all caught up in trying to keep this president from getting re-elected."
While some noncitizens who are legal residents may knowingly try to register and vote, others apparently do so unwittingly. After obtaining a driver's license, some assume they also can vote, officials say.
Access to the federal SAVE list may catch such ineligible voters in Florida. They presumably would have an alien number and be listed in state motor vehicle records.
Voter-rights groups expressed concerns about Florida's efforts.
"No matter what database Florida has access to, purging voters from the rolls using faulty criteria on the eve of an election could prevent thousands of eligible voters from exercising their rights," said Jonathan Brater, a lawyer with the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law. "Florida must use a more transparent and accurate process and must leave enough time for voters targeted for removal to be notified and correct errors," he said.
Some state governments have sought access to the federal database for years. Federal officials told Washington state in 2005 they saw no way to compare voters and the Homeland Security information.
Colorado has sought the federal data for a year. Colorado, which has a Democratic governor but a Republican secretary of state, Scott Gessler, has identified about 5,000 registered voters that it wants to check against the federal information.
Officials in the politically competitive states of Ohio, Michigan, New Mexico and Iowa — all led by GOP governors — are backing his efforts.
Gessler said 430 registered voters have acknowledged being ineligible, but an "unenforceable honor system does not build confidence in our elections."
Although Republican activists have repeatedly said fraud is so widespread that it has corrupted the political process and, possibly, cost the party election victories, about 120 people have been charged and 86 convicted as of last year.
In 2007, five years after the George W. Bush administration launched a crackdown on voter fraud, the Justice Department found virtually no evidence of organized efforts to influence federal elections with ineligible voters.
___
Associated Press writers Gary Fineout in Tallahassee, Fla., and Mike Baker in Olympia, Wash., contributed to this report.
Egyptians pelt Clinton motorcade with tomatoes
Reuters
By Arshad Mohammed and Marwa Awad
CAIRO (Reuters) - Protesters threw tomatoes and shoes at U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's motorcade on Sunday during her first visit to Egypt since the election of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi.
A tomato struck an Egyptian official in the face, and shoes and a water bottle landed near the armoured cars carrying Clinton's delegation in the port city of Alexandria.
A senior state department official said that neither Clinton nor her vehicle, which were around the corner from the incident, were struck by any of the projectiles.
Protesters chanted: "Monica, Monica", a reference to Former President Bill Clinton's extra-marital affair. Some chanted: "leave, Clinton", Egyptian security officials said.
It was not clear who the protesters were or what political affiliations they had. Protesters outside Clinton's hotel on Saturday night chanted anti-Islamist slogans, accusing the United States of backing the Muslim Brotherhood's rise to power.
The assault on her motorcade came on a day Clinton spoke at the newly re-opened U.S. consulate in Alexandria, addressing accusations the United States, which had long supported former President Hosni Mubarak, of backing one faction or another in Egypt following his ouster last year.
"I want to be clear that the United States is not in the business, in Egypt, of choosing winners and losers, even if we could, which of course we cannot," Clinton said.
Clinton also met the country's top general, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, on Sunday to discuss Egypt's turbulent democratic transition as the military wrestles for influence with the new president.
RIGHTS OF ALL
The meeting came a day after she met Mursi, whose powers were clipped by the military days before he took office.
Mursi fired back by reinstating the Islamist-dominated parliament that the army leadership had disbanded after a court declared it void, deepening the stand-off before the new leader even had time to form a government.
The result has been acute political uncertainty as the various power centres try to find a way to get along in a country that still has no permanent constitution, parliament or government more than a year after Mubarak's downfall.
In their hour-long meeting, Clinton and Tantawi discussed Egypt's political transition and the military's "ongoing dialogue with President Mursi," a U.S. official travelling with Clinton said in an email brief.
"Tantawi stressed that this is what Egyptians need most now - help getting the economy back on track," the official said.
Clinton "stressed the importance of protecting the rights of all Egyptians, including women and minorities".
The talks also touched on the increasingly lawless Sinai region and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Speaking after the meeting, Tantawi said the army respected the presidency but would not be deterred from its role of "protecting" Egypt.
"The armed forces and the army council respects legislative and executive authorities," he said in a speech to troops in the city of Ismailia. "The armed forces would not allow anyone to discourage it from its role in protecting Egypt and its people."
TIES STRAINED
Ties with the United States, which provides Egypt with an annual $1.3 billion in military aid, were strained this year when Egyptian judicial police raided the offices of several U.S.-backed non-governmental organisations on suspicion of illegal foreign funding and put several Americans on trial.
The spat ended when Egyptian authorities allowed the U.S. citizens and other foreign workers to leave the country.
During her speech, Clinton said: "When we talk about supporting democracy, we mean real democracy."
"To us real democracy means that every citizen has the right to live, work and worship as they choose, whether they are man or woman, Christian or Muslim."
"Real democracy means that no group or faction or leader can impose their will, their ideology, their religion, their desires on anyone else."
That was a message she is likely to have repeated in meetings on Sunday with women and Christians, both groups that fear their rights may be curtailed under a Muslim Brotherhood-dominated government.
"She wanted, in very, very clear terms, particularly with the Christian group this morning, to dispel that notion and to make clear that only Egyptians can choose their leaders, that we have not supported any candidate, any party, and we will not," a senior U.S. official told reporters.
(Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
The article says people are routinely stopped, fingerprinted and
I assume arrested if their prints match the prints found on any IEDs
that the American military has found in the past.
One questions for American Emperors Bush and Obama -
How is turning Iraq and Afghanistan into police states bringing
democracy to the people there???
Spy planes help detect roadside bombs in Afghanistan
By Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON – Images from spy planes and sensors that detect wires that trigger explosives have helped to mitigate the No. 1 threat to U.S. troops in Afghanistan — roadside bombs — over the past year.
The Pentagon has filled the skies over Afghanistan with high-tech sensors, and the effect has been measurable. From March through May, troops in vehicles found 64% of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) before they blew up, an 11 percentage-point increase over the previous quarter. Troops on foot patrol discovered 81%, a 4 percentage-point increase, according to the Pentagon's Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO).
The rate of discovery before bombs exploded hovered around 50% for years. The most important measure of progress: IEDs caused less than half of troop deaths for the first time in five years.
"We are, in terms of detection of all types of IEDs, vastly better than we were a year ago," Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told USA TODAY in an interview. He credited airborne surveillance with driving progress against IEDs.
Detectors on aircraft, first used in Iraq, have successfully assisted troops in locating wires attached to bombs, which allows them to be defused. Radar is trained on the Afghan-Pakistani border, giving commanders a view of bombmakers' escape and supply routes.
"Where we still have a problem… is in the use of Pakistani territory: safe haven, safe supply," Carter said. "But we've gotten better at interdicting those sources of supply with, for example, airborne radars to watch people as they come over the desert or over the mountains. Those have been introduced during the last year." He did not specify the aircraft or detection systems used. But the Pentagon has fielded new systems in the past three years aimed at finding command wires or ground that has been disturbed to hide IEDs. They include:
•Desert Owl. JIEDDO started deploying this ground-penetrating radar in 2009, according to the department's annual report released in 2010. It is deployed on a piloted aircraft, Army records show.
•Copperhead. This was developed at the same time as Desert Owl. Both systems "use unique radar for command wire detection, complemented by advanced image-processing algorithms," according to congressional testimony in 2008 by Lt. Gen. Thomas Metz, who led JIEDDO at the time. It is deployed on an unmanned drone.
The United States' technological edge appears to be overwhelming the Taliban's blunt force, says John Pike, executive director of Globalsecurity.org, a defense policy organzation. Cameras and sensors have become cheaper and faster, and computing ability has increased to sort through the growing amounts of data collected, Pike says.
"Everywhere we turn, we're producing sensors that are cheaper, faster, better," Pike says. "The enemy's stuck with that damn fertilizer bomb. It is an unequal contest. It is not a level playing field."
Nearly 90% of the IEDs are fashioned from homemade explosives, according to JIEDDO. A 110-pound bag of calcium ammonium nitrate, a common fertilizer produced in Pakistan, can produce 82 pounds of explosives, enough to destroy an armored truck or 10 smaller bombs targeting troops on foot. An IED, detonated with a wire, punctured the hull of a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) truck on July 8, killing six soldiers.
Biometric data - fingerprints and retinal scans, for example - have been collected from a growing number of Afghans, including those joining security forces or applying for benefits or licenses, Carter said.
"What that means is that, if you have a checkpoint and you start stopping people randomly, it's much easier to pick out the people who are malefactors," Carter said. "We take latent fingerprints off of IEDs and later associate them with the guy who made them."
Success hasn't been cheap. JIEDDO has spent more than $18 billion to counter the threat.
Sheriff Joe on Trial
Published: July 15, 2012 42 Comments
Five years after he started “crime suppression” sweeps that terrorized Latino neighborhoods across Maricopa County, Arizona, Sheriff Joe Arpaio is finally having to explain himself. Not to TV crews in Phoenix or to fawning hosts on Fox News, but before a federal judge.
The trial in Melendres v. Arpaio, a class-action civil-rights lawsuit, is scheduled to begin Thursday in Federal District Court in Phoenix. The plaintiffs, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, accuse the sheriff of waging an all-out, unlawful campaign of discrimination and harassment against Latinos and those who look like them.
They say the sheriff and his deputies — aided by ad hoc civilian “posses,” anonymous phone tipsters, even motorcycle gangs — made illegal stops, searches and arrests, staged wrongful neighborhood and workplace raids, and provoked widespread fear among citizens, legal residents and undocumented immigrants alike.
One plaintiff, Manuel de Jesus Ortega Melendres, is a Mexican citizen who had a valid visa when Sheriff Arpaio’s deputies arrested him in 2007. He said he was handcuffed and held for hours, not read his rights or allowed a phone call, or told why he had been arrested. Two other plaintiffs, Velia Meraz and Manuel Nieto, were accosted by deputies at gunpoint during a neighborhood sweep, for no explained reason. They are citizens.
The outrages to be presented to the court can be added to a long list of abuses going back years, on the streets of Maricopa and in the sheriff’s jails. As early as 2008, The East Valley Tribune of Mesa, a city outside Phoenix, published a series of articles examining the immigration raids as a law-enforcement disaster. While deputies scoured the county making baseless immigration arrests, they neglected other duties, racking up millions of dollars in overtime and showing up ever later to emergencies while the number of criminal arrests and prosecutions plummeted.
Despite those results, Sheriff Arpaio kept going. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano could have condemned his actions years ago and refused to work with him. But instead, he was allowed to continue the abuse, even as his squad of immigration enforcers deputized under the federal 287(g) program grew to 160, by far the country’s largest. The sheriff became a right-wing celebrity, courted by politicians eager to win the anti-immigrant vote. One of these was Mitt Romney, who accepted his endorsement for president in 2008.
This case is only the first of what is likely to be a string of civil rights challenges against immigration actions in Arizona. A civil lawsuit, brought by the Justice Department, accusing Sheriff Arpaio of systematic and widespread civil rights abuses, is moving through the courts.
Last month, the United States Supreme Court declined to overturn the section of Arizona’s immigration law that requires local officers to check the papers of suspected illegal immigrants. But it said the provision could be challenged on equal-protection grounds, if there is evidence of racial profiling in the way it is carried out. The trial this week does not deal with police conduct under that law, but it does suggest that racial profiling is a deep-seated problem, certainly in Maricopa County.
Sheriff Arpaio is facing the voters for a sixth term this fall. He has long insisted that he answers to no one but the county’s residents, who keep re-electing him. If voters won’t put an end to his abuses, the courts and the Constitution will have the final word.
DNA testing is the tool that has proven that. Currently around 300 people have been released from death row when DNA proved they didn't commit the crime they were convicted of and that they were innocent people framed by the police.
Myself I was framed by the Arizona Department of Public Safety,
not accidentally but intentionally and I discovered it by accident.
I was accused of selling LSD to some narcs at Papago Park in February.
Six months later I was arrested for sales of LSD in a state wide arrest.
I was not arrested with any drugs.
I lucked out and beat the charges.
I thought my arrest was a case of mistaken identity because I had
never sold LSD.
Ten years later by accident I found out that it wasn't a case of mistaken identity
but I was intentionally framed by the Arizona DPS because they
thought I was selling drugs.
The dark side of forensic science
By Editorial Board, Published: July 16
Federal prosecutors finally have confirmed that Mr. Odom was wrongfully convicted of a 1981 D.C. rape, for which he served 20 years in prison. Mr. Odom was sentenced at age 18; this nightmare has consumed more than half his life, and all because of errors in forensic techniques.
Worse still is that he isn’t alone. As The Post’s Spencer Hsu and others reported in a series of investigative articles this spring, similar errors have led to the convictions of two other men in the District: Santae A. Tribble, who served 28 years in prison, before a judge overturned his conviction in May, and Donald E. Gates, who served the same number of years for a 1981 Rock Creek rape and murder he didn’t commit.
These three cases should serve as a call to explore forensic errors that could have put more innocent men behind bars — or could do so in the future. In the wake of The Post’s reports, the Justice Department and the FBI announced last Tuesday the largest-ever post-conviction review, which will examine all cases after 1985 that relied on hair and fiber examinations. This is necessary and long overdue.
However, while the review’s results almost surely will uncover deficiencies in previous uses of forensic evidence, many flawed practices — including hair-sample analysis — are no longer in standard usage. Beyond finding and acknowledging errors of the past, a focus should be on taking every conceivable step to eliminate future wrongful convictions.
In terms of forensics, there’s still considerable work to do. As the National Academy of Sciences recommended in a 2009 report to Congress: “Research is needed to address issues of accuracy, reliability, and validity in the forensic science disciplines.” Although hair-sample analysis may be obsolete, uncertainty attaches to other techniques still in common use, such as firearm examination and fingerprint analysis. To that end, Sens. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) and John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.) each have proposed bills that would, among other things, promote more scientific research and develop uniform forensic standards. These reforms are critical steps that should have been enacted long ago, and they should be enacted without further delay.
U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. expressed his office’s sympathy with Mr. Odom: “Though we can never give him back the years that he lost,” he wrote, “we can give Mr. Odom back his unfairly tarnished reputation.” He’s right: No amount of recompense — financial or otherwise — could right the wrongs done to Mr. Odom, Mr. Tribble, Mr. Gates and however many others have been wrongfully convicted.
All the more reason to take every possible step to avoid similar mistakes in the future.
L.A. sues US Bank over blighted, abandoned homes
By Jessica Garrison and Angel Jennings, Los Angeles Times
July 16, 2012, 9:44 p.m.
For Mary Sanchez, the vacant, foreclosed home across from hers on Abner Street in El Sereno was an assault on the senses and her piece of mind.
Gang members and squatters used it as a stash house. The place stank of dead animals. Mice made constant incursions from across the way onto her property, prompting her to get cats to head them off. Weeds in the yard reached as high as her chest.
"It was embarrassing," she said. "When people would come over I would say 'look for the ugly house with all the stuff in the lawn. I live next to that.' "
On Monday, Los Angeles officials accused US Bank of illegally allowing the Abner Street home and many others to deteriorate into slums. The civil allegations found problems in the way US Bank handled 1,500 home foreclosures and cited more than 150 homes that had fallen into disrepair. The city is demanding that the bank clean up vacant properties and improve conditions for families living in others.
The lawsuit marks the second time the city has accused a major bank of being a slumlord, part of an aggressive attempt to deal with the urban decay caused by the housing crash.
Nearly a million California homes have been foreclosed on since the housing crisis began five years ago, displacing hundreds of thousands of homeowners and tenants and wreaking havoc on some neighborhoods. More than 362,000 California homes were in foreclosure or seriously delinquent as of March 31, and L.A. is one of several cities experimenting with ways to address the problems associated with such properties, including drug dealing and prostitution. A body was found in one vacant home in South L.A.
City officials say they want to hold banks that helped fuel the housing boom responsible for the blight that rippled through the city after those loans went bad. Large financial institutions such as Deutsche Bank, which the city has previously sued, and US Bank serve as trustees for pools of loans that were turned into securities and sold to investors.
Deutsche Bank and US Bank have argued that the blame for neglected, foreclosed homes lies not with them but with loan servicers, who are contracted to manage the properties. The loan servicers are firms — including many banks — that collect and monitor loan payments. Homeowners often send their monthly payments directly to those firms.
"Like the city attorney, we are troubled by properties that are not maintained, which have a corrosive impact on neighborhoods and communities," US Bank Senior Vice President Tom Joyce said in a statement. But he said loan servicers are "responsible for the upkeep of homes and properties and for interacting with homeowners and/or tenants."
Joyce added that US Bank has "made multiple requests of the city over the past couple of years to obtain detailed information on properties they considered to be in disrepair in order to immediately identify and work with the responsible servicer to address outstanding issues. Until very recently, the city has refused to provide us with that information."
But the city attorney's office says the bank, as the listed owner of the properties, bears ultimate responsibility to maintain the properties and be aware of problems.
The lawsuit follows an 18-month investigation by the city and accuses US Bank of fostering poor conditions in some neighborhoods that contribute to crime and blight. The bank was also responsible for illegally evicting some tenants and forcing others to live in dangerous conditions, according to the complaint.
The city is seeking an injunction and potentially millions of dollars in penalties and restitution from the Minneapolis-based financial institution, whose logo crowns the top of the West Coast's tallest building in downtown L.A.
"U.S. Bank National Assn. disregarded virtually every one of its legal duties and responsibilities as owner, resulting in the creation and maintenance of an alarming number of vacant nuisance properties," the complaint alleges. It also said the bank was "repeatedly advised" over the course of years to fix the problems, but "made no efforts … to comply with the law."
Last year's complaint targeted Deutsche Bank, the fourth largest bank in the world, for its actions related to more than 2,000 foreclosures in Los Angeles.
Among other problems, officials cited scores of alleged crimes committed at the properties, including possession of drugs for sale and assault with a deadly weapon. Deutsche too insists that the city has "sued the wrong party" and said the responsibility rests with loan servicers.
That suit is still in court.
Though blight and crime associated with foreclosures have been a problem for many cities, experts and city officials said Los Angeles' approach has not been adopted widely by other cities.
Stuart Gabriel, the director of the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate, said that the city was making an interesting legal argument and predicted that it would be "highly litigated and very contentious."
Other municipalities have tried equally creative measures to deal with problems from foreclosures.
Last month, San Bernardino County — along with the cities of Fontana and Ontario — announced a controversial plan to seize mortgages and restructure them for underwater homeowners using eminent domain.
Oakland has instituted a blight program that would require banks to register, inspect and maintain homes that are in foreclosure. Cleveland has been using a land bank program to tear down foreclosed homes.
Though the city has yet to collect any money it seeks from Deutsche, officials said that many properties the German bank is listed as owning have been cleaned up in recent months.
Neighbors of several US Bank properties said those have also been visited recently by workers.
Graffiti once covered a house at 4313 Crocker St. in South Los Angeles. And though the owners had lost the house to foreclosure, a lot of people roamed in and out, making the neighbors fear it was being used for prostitution and drug transactions.
But things changed about six months ago. The fence was replaced and a padlock added to keep the property closed to trespassers. Graffiti has also been painted over repeatedly.
And on Abner Street in El Sereno, a work crew showed up last Friday, according to neighbors. They did a massive clean-up — wearing protective overalls.
The city attorney's office invited neighbors who observe blighted conditions at other US Bank-owned properties to contact the city attorney's office at bankblight@lacity.org
jessica.garrison@latimes.com
angel.jennings@latimes.com
If you or I did this we would be in jail for grand theft auto, but when government crooks steal your car it's OK.
Where did city put your car and why?
Chicago relocates 17,000 cars for street work in past year, but finding out where can take time
[Relocating? Us normal folks would call it stealing!!!]
By Bridget Doyle, Chicago Tribune reporter
July 17, 2012
Margaret Schriver walked to her usual parking spot near her Uptown apartment on a recent morning, but her car was nowhere to be found. Frantically, she called the towing company listed on a nearby sign. Nothing. She tried Chicago police and the city's 311 information line, but both agencies had no information about her car. She figured then that thieves were to blame.
"I had to call my job and take the day off because I thought my car was stolen," Schriver said. "I got my insurance (company) involved and everything."
But a week later, police called her with good news: Her car had been found. The city had "relocated" it to a parking spot near Montrose Beach, a mile away, because People's Gas was doing work on her street.
Schriver's car was one of more than 17,000 vehicles relocated by the city last year. For many reasons, the city moves vehicles at any time of day, often with little or no notice, and afterward makes no attempt to contact the cars' owners. Instead the city relies on owners to check the city's website or call 311 to find out if their vehicles have been moved. But because of a lag in logging the cars, some owners complained that when they did call, the city couldn't find their vehicles right away.
City officials say relocating allows emergency work to be done at a minimum inconvenience to vehicle owners. But owners of some of the moved cars complain that the practice is fraught with confusion, adding a layer of complexity to the Byzantine neighborhood parking rules city dwellers already face.
"It was such a confusing process, and everyone I called kept redirecting me," Schriver said.
City ordinance requires at least 24 hours of notice for a temporary parking ban via signs for planned work, such as sewer updates, road resurfacing or tree trimming. But if there's an emergency, vehicles can be moved without notice, said Department of Streets and Sanitation spokeswoman Anne Sheahan. That might be for utility malfunctions, bad weather or police activity, for example.
When relocating cars, city tow truck drivers are told to move the vehicles to the "next available legal parking space," Sheahan said, but that can range anywhere from a few parking spaces to nearly a mile away.
When the vehicles are being moved, their new locations are supposed to be logged into a city database. The owners are supposed to be able to find out if their car has been moved by calling the city's 311 information line or checking the city's website, which is updated every 17 minutes, Sheahan said.
But many owners of relocated cars say that when they called 311, the agency did not know their cars had been moved. They then stopped checking, assuming that their cars had been stolen. Some, in fact, continued to believe that until the Tribune contacted them about their relocated vehicles, all of which were placed at some point on the relocation list.
Debbie Dynes' son told her the family's car was missing from the residential street in Old Town where he had parked it in late June.
"We called to make sure it wasn't towed or repossessed, so we assumed it was stolen," Dynes said.
The family filed a police report and called their insurance company. It wasn't until a week later, when the Tribune called, that Dynes found out the car had been moved half a mile away because a movie was being filmed on the street.
"I wish we'd known it was a possibility the city could have moved our car," said Dynes, who had to cancel her insurance claim and order a new IPASS transponder to replace the one she had canceled. "It's not common knowledge. And we wouldn't have to bother police or file unnecessary police reports."
Sheahan said one reason for delays in registering the vehicles may be that, in some instances, tow trucks need to move a number of vehicles at one time and might wait to register the vehicles until all of them have been moved. But city officials said all moved vehicles are logged.
When asked why the city can't notify residents via phone, email or mail that their car has been moved, both the Streets and Sanitation Department and the Department of Transportation said the city does not have access to drivers' phone numbers or email addresses, only their physical addresses. Both agencies also said that sending letters would be ineffective, as most residents would have found their cars by the time the letters arrived, and suggested instead that people continue calling 311.
"They wouldn't get the letter until three or four days after it was moved, at the earliest," said Department of Transportation spokesman Pete Scales. "The best way is to call 311 within a few hours."
Sheahan said the city sees relocation as a good alternative to towing and impounding because it creates less inconvenience for residents.
"We relocate ... when we need to access the street and a car needs to be moved," Sheahan said. "Our priority is to address the work that needs to be done, and we want to be fair to people who don't have notice."
Most of the vehicles relocated in Chicago in the past year were moved in the late summer and early fall months; were predominantly on the North Side; and were moved during the week, according to a Tribune analysis of city data.
West Rogers Park resident Rita Mikhail said her neighborhood is notorious for ruthless ticketing and towing, so she was pleased to learn that her car was moved and not ticketed or impounded.
"They don't cut you any slack in my neighborhood — I've gotten a ticket for being two inches over a driveway before," Mikhail said. "When I couldn't find my car, I assumed I had been towed and slapped with tickets. I couldn't believe it was neatly moved only a street away. I was overwhelmed with excitement."
Other Chicagoans whose cars were relocated agreed that a moved car is preferable to an impounded one. But some complained about the amount of time it took before their car's move was logged on the relocation list, saying that when they first checked, their car wasn't on it. Others complained that the city's 24-hour notice wasn't enough, given that many people don't drive every day and would not see the signs in time. Some doubted the city gave proper notice when work was planned.
Michelle Kamper said she's sure there weren't any signs posted on her East Lakeview street when she parked after work one day in June, because she has become well-versed in avoiding no-parking zones and spotting street restrictions in her two years as a city resident. But the next morning, her car was gone.
"I've never had my own parking space, so I'm very observant," Kamper said. "I'm trained to think like that. There were no signs when I parked on the street the night before."
Kamper said that when she first called 311 to see what had happened, she was told that a number of cars on her street had just been moved by the city, but hers wasn't in the system. She ran up and down nearby streets, looking for her car to no avail. An hour later and after another call to 311, Kamper learned that her car was moved a mile north to a lakefront spot on Recreation Drive.
"The fact that they just moved my car without notifying me is frustrating — it really threw me for a loop," Kamper said. "When they can't find your car in the system, what are you supposed to think other than it's stolen?"
The most common reason for relocating a car in the past year was for work by the Department of Transportation, including resurfacing, curb and gutter work, or painting.
Scales said the department aims to update its website in the future so residents can see where resurfacing and other projects are planned, but far-advance notice is not currently available. Scales said CDOT posts signs two to three days in advance and passes out fliers when projects are planned.
"We're working on it," Scales said. "We think 72 or 48 hours is a reasonable amount of time to notify."
Some cars that are moved are also ticketed, particularly if warning signs were posted ahead of time. Sheahan said city code doesn't allow ticketing when there's not notice at least 24 hours in advance.
But Binh Phung said her elderly, Vietnam-born father, whose car was moved and ticketed, insists no signs were posted near the senior housing facility where he has lived for years.
"His English isn't that great, but he knows when to park and when not to park in front of street signs. He's been parking on that street for many years," Phung said. "That morning, they gave him a ticket and towed his car to the next street. It was a difficult situation for us."
The signs for emergency work are often on white paper with handwritten black ink, unlike the neon street cleaning signs that bear an oversized letter, signifying the day of the week the cleaning is set to take place.
Albany Park resident Donna Few said she assumed the signs she parked in front of the night before would give her time to move her car before for work the next morning, similar to the street cleaning signs that give her until 9 a.m. to get out of the street sweeper's way. But because she didn't carefully read the hand-scrawled sign, Few's car was moved by 6:30 a.m. for tree trimming.
"The print on these signs is so small, and they look like they're printed on recycled newspaper," Few said.
Others said their car relocation was a minor inconvenience — and a small price to pay for living in a vibrant city.
Chance Finucane said it only took a few minutes to find his car after it was moved to a nearby Lincoln Park street because of planned road construction.
Still, he said he learned a valuable lesson.
"You have to monitor your car if it's parked on city streets," Finucane said. "A white sign could pop up at any time."
Tribune reporter Alex Richards contributed.
bdoyle@tribune.com
The cops didn't identify themselves as cops and were banging on an apartment door at 2 in the morning. When a guy who wasn't wanted by the police answered the door with a gun the cops murdered him.
As usual cops are blaming the innocent guy they murdered for his death.
While on paper you have the right to keep and bear arms, if you exercise this right and do nothing but accidentally scare a cop there is a good chance the police will murder you for exercising your right to keep and bear arms. And of course the police will justify the murder as they always do.
Lake County Shooting: Andrew Scott Killed By Deputy Richard Sylvester, 26-Year-Old Mistaken For Murder Suspect
By Carey Vanderborg
July 17, 2012 11:45 AM EDT
Lake County authorities are still looking into what went wrong on Sunday, July 15, when deputies were looking for attempted murder suspect, 31-year-old Jonathan Brown, at the Blueberry Hill apartment complex on Ryan Drive in Leesburg.
In an unfortunate turn of events, the investigation, which took place around 1:30 a.m. on Sunday, took a wrong turn when uniformed deputies banged on the door of apartment 114 at the apartment complex.
According to reports, apartment 114 is where Brown was believed to be located. Authorities say that prior to banging on the door Brown fled from deputies on a motorcycle, which they later found parked in front of Apartment 114. However, that was not the apartment in which Brown lived.
Instead they were met by Andrew Scott who reportedly came out with a gun. And while Deputies say they admit they knocked on the wrong apartment door, they also say they had no choice but to open fire when the 26-year-old Scott came out armed.
"Certainly, the police will be held accountable for this by way of a wrongful death suit," said WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer.
WFTV is reporting that in a statement released by the Sheriff's Office immediately following the incident, they claim that the deputies made it a point to identify themselves. But according to an email later received by the local news outlet from the Sheriff's Office, details are revealed that say deputies "didn't announce and identify themselves" and called it a "minor detail."
"They banged on the door. They didn't yell out, 'Lake County Sheriff!' They weren't being loud; vocal. The guy opened the door at 2 in the morning," a witness who did not want to be identified told WFTV.
In further developments, the Sheriff's office reportedly told WFTV's Kathi Belich that deputies didn't have to identify themselves at all. According to the report, a spokesman with the Sheriff's Office also told Belich that all deputies saw when the door opened was the muzzle of a gun, and they did what they had to protect themselves.
While people who knew the victim say that deputies are painting him in the wrong light, they go on to describe him as a gentle giant.
"I saw him six hours before (the shooting), and he was fine," said one of Scott's friends. "When I heard about it I thought it was a joke."
Reports indicate that while deputies may or may not have identified themselves, the deputy who fired the fatal shot, K-9 Deputy Richard Sylvester, was wearing a black utility vest with the word "sheriff" on the front.
K-9 Deputy Sylvester was also reportedly involved in another shooting which took place last week. The incident ended in the killing of Advanced Auto Parts employee Gilberto Rivera, behind his place of work in Eustis.
The Sheriff's Office told WFTV that Rivera had killed the auto shop clerk and wounded another employee.
K-9 Deputy Richard Sylvester has been placed on administrative leave while the investigation continues.
4th Maricopa County prosecutor faces ethics complaint
by Michael Kiefer - Jul. 17, 2012 09:39 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com
A Maricopa County prosecutor will face an ethics complaint because of his role in a 2010 federal racketeering suit filed by former County Attorney Andrew Thomas against judges and county officials.
On Tuesday, an attorney discipline committee of the Arizona Supreme Court filed an order against Deputy County Attorney Peter Spaw, stating that it had found probable cause to file an ethics complaint. Spaw is the fourth prosecutor in the office to face such a complaint related to the racketeering suit.
The allegations against Spaw will not be delineated until a formal complaint is filed within the next month by Independent Bar Counsel John Gleason and James Sudler, who handled the prosecution of ethics complaints against Thomas and his former deputies, Lisa Aubuchon and Rachel Alexander.
Thomas and Aubuchon were disbarred in April because of the racketeering suit and other prosecutions they initiated against judges and county supervisors and officials. Alexander was suspended from practicing law for six months and a day.
Spaw was Alexander's supervisor. After Thomas' departure from the office in 2010, Spaw was depicted in investigations as a critic of both the racketeering suit and of Aubuchon's and Alexander's abilities to bring the suit. According to records, Spaw once told Thomas that the racketeering suit should have been printed on toilet paper.
A year later, during the course of testimony against Thomas, Aubuchon and Alexander, Spaw's role in the racketeering suit came under scrutiny. Among other things, according to testimony, he helped draft an amended racketeering complaint and acted as Alexander's supervisor on the case.
The Maricopa County Attorney's Office declined comment on the committee's action.
And no I don't mean people with brown skin. Even though Sheriff Joe
probably thinks anybody with brown skin is a felon that he can deport
to Mexico. I mean real criminals like robbers, rapists, muggers and
murders. Not brown skin folks who wash our dishes, trim our trees,
build our homes and server us McBurgers.
Arpaio: Obama birth certificate issue needs further investigation
by JJ Hensley - Jul. 17, 2012 11:22 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com
When Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio scheduled a news conference to discuss the findings of his "birther" investigation just two days before a civil-rights case against his agency gets under way, it drew a knowing sigh from longtime observers.
Tuesday's event was not the first instance in which a well-timed Arpaio news conference has coincided with potentially negative news involving his office.
Arpaio's supporters say the timing of Tuesday's event, revealing results from the sheriff's volunteer investigation into the authenticity of President Barack Obama's birth certificate, was purely coincidental.
Whether or not it was a coincidence, the substance of his message Tuesday -- that Hawaiian officials' stonewalling about inconsistencies in Obama's birth certificate must mean it is forged -- will be at least somewhat obscured by the federal civil-rights trial beginning Thursday.
In that case, U.S. District Judge Murray Snow will determine whether Arpaio's agency has engaged in racial profiling.
"Sometimes, in such high-profile cases, you might want such publicity to influence potential jury pools, but that has no application for the upcoming trial because it's a bench trial and this is a no-nonsense judge," said David Don, a Phoenix civil-rights attorney. "I see this (birther announcement) as part of his political campaign, to put on a show and do some counterprogramming, give something for his supporters to get excited about because he probably anticipates some unfavorable news in this trial."
Tuesday was the second time in recent months that the sheriff has shared with the media what he considered positive news in advance of anticipated negative publicity.
In May, the federal government was preparing to file a separate civil-rights lawsuit against the Sheriff's Office that claimed the agency engaged in discriminatory policing and disregarded the needs of Latino citizens. Arpaio held a news conference the day before the lawsuit was filed at which he unveiled a plan to restore integrity and accountability to his agency.
Sheriff's officials said at the time that the document had been in the works for weeks leading up to its release and that they had no idea when the Justice Department would file a lawsuit.
Chad Willems, Arpaio's campaign manager, dismissed suggestions that Arpaio's news conferences were part of a strategy to deflect attention from other matters. He noted that it would be difficult for sheriff's officials to coordinate timing for a Justice Department lawsuit.
"We don't know when bad stories are going to come out. I think it's paranoia on the part of our detractors," Willems said. "People around Arizona support the sheriff for a variety of reasons, and they have for the last 19 years. We don't pick and choose dates and times based on anyone else's calendar or schedule of events."
If the revelations related to Obama's birth certificate were intended to deflect the spotlight from the upcoming civil-rights trial, it will likely be the last time Arpaio can employ that tactic: He revealed at the end of Tuesday's news conference that a governmental body with more authority, like Congress, would have to take up the investigation into the authenticity of the president's birth certificate.
"It's time for someone else to look into this situation," Arpaio said.
The information revealed by Arpaio and his team on Tuesday did little to resolve questions about Obama's birthplace that linger in the minds of the sheriff's supporters. Instead, the sheriff's lead volunteer investigator, Mike Zullo, took nearly an hour to lay out his case after he and a spokeswoman for
Arpaio admonished the media for ignoring information Zullo presented in March.
While Arpaio's investigators were in Hawaii for 10 days, they located a former local registrar who might have written coding on the copy of Obama's birth certificate posted on the White House website. The woman is now 95 years old.
After the team's return from Hawaii, a national leader in the so-called birther movement who has worked with the sheriff's volunteer investigators placed a call to the woman, pretending to be a news reporter. The woman, who Zullo referred to as "amazingly sharp," told the fake reporter that the numbers on Obama's birth certificate were inconsistent with the time and place of his birth.
Her information, other inconsistencies investigators said they discovered in documents posted on the White House website and the refusal of Hawaii officials to let Arpaio's investigators inspect the original birth certificate led the team to conclude the document is a fraud.
The team also discovered information that they said caused concern about Hawaii's lax standards for verifying where children are born or where their parents live.
When such media events are timed to coincide with a potential onslaught of negative news, there are generally three goals, said Jason Rose, a longtime Valley political consultant and Arpaio supporter: Mobilize fans, distract critics or take the wind out of your foes' sails.
"In this case, all three options are not the best options," Rose said. "The upcoming trial is an example: It's an opportunity for the sheriff to make up ground with people who could be determinative with the election. There's a bunch of people in the middle who want to know, 'Is this a coldhearted or a warmhearted human being?' I think it's an opportunity to say, 'These charges are not true, here's why and here's a more complete portrait of me as a husband, father and grandfather.'"
The impact will likely be negligible for Arpaio and his critics, observers say, citing the well-worn theory that most Maricopa County residents long ago made up their minds about the sheriff, just as many have about the president's citizenship.
But it could help the sheriff raise campaign money.
The Justice Department's decision in May to file a separate civil-rights lawsuit against the Sheriff's Office proved to be a boon for his campaign fund, and Arpaio's birther probe has resonated with Obama's critics nationwide -- including in Hawaii.
Richard Ferguson, a 71-year-old Honolulu resident, said he worked with Obama's grandmother when she was a bank administrator in Hawaii. He graduated from the same high school as the future president. Now a retiree, Ferguson has donated $50 to Arpaio's re-election campaign.
"I'm a person who deals with the facts, you know. It seems like Arpaio's trying to get at some of those facts," Ferguson said. "Arpaio's standing up for things that I think we should know about, which is probably predominantly the immigration issue. The other one (Obama probe) is just interesting. But Arpaio's under siege."
Reach the reporter at jj.hensley@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8464.
“Real” story behind Arpaio's birther news conference
We blew it, again.
All of us in the media. We completely missed the story. Again.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio along with the volunteer members of his posse and their partner from the conspiracy web site WorldNetDaily held another press conference Tuesday concerning their investigation into the birth certificate of President Barack Obama.
The posse relied heavily on its “expert,” Jerome Corsi, who once called Islam a “worthless, dangerous Satanic religion,” referred to Hillary Clinton as a “fat hog” and to her daughter as “Chubby Chelsea.”
The WND website also launched the swift-boat attacks on former presidential candidate John Kerry, published a six-part series of commentaries under the headline “Soy is making kids 'gay,' and said former President George W. Bush and the Council on Foreign Relations and who-knows-who-else were plotting to merge the United States, Canada and Mexico.
At Tuesday’s press conference Arpaio, his posse and their expert again announced that the birth certificate of President Barack Obama is a fake and – once again – the assembled news gathering professionals got the story wrong.
After all the presentations, the videos and the question-and-answer period after the press conference the headline to come out of the event is not: “Obama birth certificate a fake”
Or: “State and federal authorities involved in massive cover-up."
Or: "Every single birth certificate in Hawaii is suspect? (Say it ain't so, Don Ho.)"
Or: “Why is the entire world ignoring us!!!!???”
Each of them would reflect the impression left from Tuesday's press conference but wouldn't tell the REAL story. The only proper headline to accompany a sideshow like the one put on by Arpaio and his cronies on Tuesday would have to be:
“All Crimes in Maricopa County Solved!”
After all, if there were actual criminals perpetrating actual misdeeds within the sheriff’s jurisdiction would he have time to engage in another birther extravaganza?
No.
So, every crime must be solved. Every investigation must be completed. He must have NOTHING else to do.
And there must be no other potentially embarassing news event pending from which the sheriff would like to divert attention.
For instance, you don’t suppose the press conference Tuesday had anything to do with the fact that the class-action lawsuit against the sheriff (Melendres v. Arpaio) is set to go to trial later this week in Federal District Court?
Naaah.
Horne upbeat on political future despite FBI inquiry, GOP snub
by Craig Harris - Jul. 18, 2012 11:21 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com
The FBI has investigated whether he broke campaign-finance laws. A former high-ranking employee has accused him of engaging in a cover-up. And his own party snubbed him as a delegate for the coming Republican National Convention.
Yet, after months of controversy and bad news, Attorney General Tom Horne is unfazed.
Horne, who doesn't drink caffeine, sips a concoction of hot water, vanilla and artificial sweetener in his spacious corner office one recent afternoon. The state's top prosecutor appears relaxed and confident as he discusses his future, a course he said he intends to chart without fear of political or legal roadblocks.
The Harvard-educated 67-year-old dismissed out of hand allegations of wrongdoing and said he isn't concerned about the FBI inquiry into his activities. In fact, he expects to get re-elected in two years -- if he doesn't run for governor.
"I'm perfectly suited for the job: I have been an attorney for 30 years, and law enforcement has been a strong belief of mine," Horne said during a wide-ranging, two-hour interview with The Arizona Republic. "If I had to choose right now, I would run for re-election. There is obviously a lot of speculation about the governor's spot being open, and I haven't closed that door."
Horne was elected Arizona's top prosecutor nearly two years ago, but his rise to power began a decade ago when he went "all in" to get back into politics.
It was 2002, two years after his upset in a Republican Senate primary that resulted in his early departure from the Legislature. Horne decided to aim higher than another legislative run.
He decided to seek statewide office and ran an aggressive, polarizing campaign against fellow Republican and incumbent state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jaime Molera.
Horne spent more than $500,000 of his own money to win the race, campaign-finance records show. Most of it was used in the primary to help fund television ads criticizing Molera, a Mexican-American, for not enforcing the state's English-only law.
"Regardless of whether the race card was or wasn't used, when you get outspent 6-to-1, it's hard to win," Molera said. "He put a lot of money into the race, more than most people would for that position. I knew he wanted to get back into politics."
Horne said he didn't intend to spend that much money. But "once you get in the race, you don't want to lose it."
Humble beginnings
Horne, who built a political career on fighting illegal immigration, is himself an immigrant. He was born in Montreal in 1945 to Jewish parents who had emigrated from Poland because of concerns of a German invasion. Other Horne family members and friends died in the Holocaust.
Horne's family moved to New York City when he was 4, and he became a U.S. citizen at age 9. He was raised in Larchmont, an affluent suburb outside Manhattan, and he learned at a young age to play classical piano. Today he leads the Phoenix Baroque Ensemble, a group he formed in 1992 that still practices Sunday evenings in his Phoenix home.
The 6-foot-6 Horne also played basketball, but quit in high school to focus on his studies.
His grades were good enough to get him into Harvard University, and records from the Ivy League school show he graduated magna cum laude in 1967 with a bachelor's degree in government. Three years later, he obtained a law degree with honors.
During his time at Harvard, Horne ran into trouble operating T.C. Horne & Co., an investment firm he had founded. The organization had offices in New York City, Louisville, Ky., and Washington, D.C., but it went bankrupt in 1970, and a receiver was appointed.
"This was 1970, in the early days of computers, and I tried to be a pioneer and put the books on a computer and it didn't work out well, and then a market crash came," Horne said.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sanctioned Horne, alleging the firm "attempted to induce the purchase and sale of securities when it did not have the required net capital," and misrepresented its financial condition to customers.
Horne stipulated to an SEC finding that he and his firm "willfully aided and abetted" in violations of securities law. The SEC barred Horne from associating with brokers, dealers, investment advisers and investment companies. In a recent interview, he acknowledged the financial statements were inaccurate.
After his business failed and he had graduated with a law degree, Horne began working at a New York law firm. But he was lured to the desert, he said, after reading an article in Fortune magazine about Phoenix being a city of the future.
While interviewing for a job in Arizona, he said, some lawyers took him water skiing, and he was hooked. He still has a penchant for the sport, noting he and his family have skied on nine of 10 Arizona lakes on his speedy Magic powerboat.
He married in 1972, and he and his wife, Martha, quickly started a family. They had five children in six years, although one, Sarah, died at age 3.
Horne had a successful career as a construction law litigator. When he ran for political office, he said he took an 80 percent pay cut.
In 1976, the Hornes bought a Phoenix home -- where they still live -- in the Paradise Valley Unified School District. Two years after moving in, Horne began serving on the school board, running for the seat as a Democrat.
For the next 24 years, Horne helped run the district. For 10 of those years, he was board president, and during his tenure the district improved its test scores while trimming administrative costs.
Chief Deputy Attorney General Rick Bistrow, who served with Horne on the board, said Horne pushed for more rigorous studies and reduced electives. He added that Horne occasionally clashed with parents and teachers while pushing for education reforms.
"He would get attacked in the most vicious way at board meetings. But he would just sit there and smile and never lose his temper," said Bistrow, who eventually became Horne's law partner before joining him at the Attorney General's Office.
Political career
In 1996, while still on the school board, Horne changed his voter registration to Republican and was elected to the state House in the GOP-leaning district.
Horne said he switched parties because he believed Democrats weren't willing to rein in entitlement spending and had become soft on crime. But he also acknowledged that it would have been difficult to get elected in his district as a Democrat.
In the Legislature, Horne was considered a moderate Republican who pushed for education funding.
"He was a very sound legislator," said Don Isaacson, an influential lobbyist. "He was a man of his word and was accessible. I thought he was motivated to do the right thing."
Despite being named chairman of the House Academic Accountability Committee, and though he was not term-limited out of his House seat, he decided to run for the state Senate in 2000.
What he hadn't planned on was being upset in his GOP primary. Dean Martin, then a 26-year-old conservative upstart, narrowly defeated Horne. Martin would later become state treasurer.
"I didn't take him seriously," Horne said. "I was astonished. I lost because of overconfidence, and I have never been overconfident since."
Horne did not stay out of politics for long. In 2002, he bankrolled much of his campaign and knocked off Molera in the state superintendent primary. Then he edged out Gilbert Democrat Jay Blanchard in the general election.
Four years later, Horne had no primary opposition and was re-elected to a second term after spending just $800 of his own money. But during that race, Horne said, he and his wife barnstormed the state, logging 12,000 miles on their vehicle to convince voters he should stay in office.
Horne's eight years as Arizona's top educator produced mixed results in terms of academic standards and test scores, though changes to standardized testing and curriculum make direct comparisons difficult.
From 2008 to 2009, for example, the percentage of students passing Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards test rose. But the percentage of students passing the math portion of AIMS was two points lower than in 2005. And 71 percent of students passed the reading portion -- the same percentage that passed in 2005.
Horne said his greatest achievements as superintendent were getting the AIMS scholarship program approved for Arizona students to attend in-state universities, and eliminating bilingual education. His tenure also was notable for his battles in southern Arizona over immigration issues.
Horne pushed for -- and ultimately succeeded in -- banning ethnic studies in the Tucson Unified School District after a lengthy fight. He also stopped the practice of allowing students living in Mexico to cross the border to attend public school in the tiny Ajo Unified School District.
When he ran for attorney general in 2010, Horne was a strong advocate of Senate Bill 1070, Arizona's immigration-enforcement law.
Horne said being an immigrant has given him credibility in the debate.
"I'm not against immigration," Horne said. "On the contrary, I have worked very hard to teach English to students. I and many others are against illegal immigration."
Attorney general
Horne's bid to become attorney general was bruising and personally costly.
His challenger, former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, pounded Horne in the GOP primary over the SEC sanction against him as a young man. Thomas later faced a sanction of his own: disbarment for ethical lapses while he was county attorney.
Horne fought back, attacking Thomas and pumping roughly $300,000 of his own money into the race, which he narrowly won. Horne then invested another $45,000 of his own money into the general-election campaign against Democrat Felecia Rotellini, campaign-finance records show.
In total, Horne invested more than $800,000 of his own money for elected positions that paid less than $100,000 a year.
"I have put four kids through college, and I have a comfortable life," Horne said. "Beyond that, it's Monopoly money."
That final cash infusion into his campaign came a week before the election, around the time that an independent expenditure committee named Business Leaders for Arizona was heating up to attack Rotellini.
Kathleen Winn, an East Valley businesswoman, founded BLA. The organization raised $512,500 from Oct. 22-29, 2010, to run ads against Rotellini. Horne's brother-in-law contributed $115,000 to BLA.
Investigators are now trying to determine whether there was collusion between Winn's committee and Horne. It is illegal for a candidate to coordinate activities with an independent expenditure committee.
Horne said he never would have asked his brother-in-law for that kind of money, and was surprised to later find out that Winn had done so. He said Winn had become acquainted with his sister during his victory party after the GOP primary.
His narrow victory over Rotellini behind him, Horne hired Winn as director of community outreach and education for the Attorney General's Office. Winn is paid $98,134, the same as her predecessor.
Meg Hinchey, a longtime state criminal investigator who has filed a $10 million legal claim against Horne, passed on to the FBI in late September allegations of illegal campaign-finance activities involving the attorney general and Winn.
Don Dybus, an assistant attorney general and Horne supporter, also alleged earlier this year that Horne illegally collaborated with Winn's independent expenditure committee to raise campaign funds, that he promised a job to Winn, and that he helped funnel money to the committee from his brother-in-law.
But those close to Horne defend him, saying he's a man of integrity.
"I feel like I'm on another planet with all these attacks on him," said Sandy Slaton, a Scottsdale attorney and registered Democrat who credits Horne with encouraging her to attend law school. "He's the straightest arrow I have ever known."
Lillie Sly, a Democrat who worked for Horne at the state Department of Education, said her former boss had a reputation of treating all employees fairly.
Horne continues to deny the accusations against him, as he has all along. In April, he called Dybus a disgruntled employee who "conjured up" the claims of wrongdoing. In June, Horne labeled as absurd charges by Hinchey in a notice of claim -- a precursor to a lawsuit -- that Horne and his staff engaged in a cover-up and retaliated against her after she went to the FBI.
Horne said in his recent interview that he hopes Hinchey files suit.
"I would love it," Horne said. "Then I could depose her, and a lot of interesting things would come out."
Suzanne Dallimore, Hinchey's attorney, declined to say when the suit would be filed, but her client has until January to do so, she said. They too look forward to questioning Horne under oath, she added.
With all the ill winds swirling around Horne, the state GOP passed him up as a delegate for August's Republican National Convention -- despite the fact he was a delegate four years ago as state schools superintendent.
Horne insists his exclusion this year was merely an oversight, and that he was partly to blame by asking too late to get on the list.
"I have lots to do," he said.
Prosecutors now using DNA to frame people???
Prosecutors now using DNA to frame people???
Cops steal and destroy property of inmates????
Source
Border Patrol agents shake down Governor Castro.
BP agents shake down Governor Castro.
Mom accused of giving child beer at Phoenix restaurant
Don't these pigs have any real criminals to hunt down??? You know robbers, rapists and other real criminals that hurt people.
O.C. judge censured for trying to help wife avoid fine
They are NOT public servants, they are royal rulers.
Long Beach piggies arrest messy yard criminal.
Long Beach piggies arrest messy yard criminal.
6 more years of "drug wars" in Mexico????
6 more years of "drug wars" in Mexico????
MEXICO CITY - The president-elect of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto, said in an interview Thursday that he wants to expand his country's drug-war partnership with the United States but that he would not support the presence of armed American agents in Mexico.
Ill. man exonerated after 30 years in prison for murder
Remember the line that our government masters tell us that they would rather have 100 guilty people go free then have one innocent person go to prison. It's 100 percent bullsh*t. Innocent people are routinely framed and sent to prison for crimes they didn't commit.
An Illinois appeals court in March had ordered a new trial for 50-year-old Andre Davis after tests found that DNA taken from the scene of the 1980 killing of Brianna Stickle wasn't his. The girl was attacked in Rantoul, about 20 miles north of Champaign.
BioWatch a billion dollar Homeland Security boondoggle!!!
On the other hand if you are one of the high paid cops or government bureaucrats involved in this project you probably think it's a great idea because it pays you very well.
H. L. Mencken
Don't punch the inmates in the face when you beat them up
"What do I always tell you guys?"
Douglas Coleman - Stick your head in the sand and proceed full speed ahead with the drug war.
Douglas Coleman - Stick your head in the and and proceed full speed ahead with the drug war.
I don't think there are any winners or losers. Drug dealers break the law and we arrest them for preying on people's weaknesses. Using a war analogy puts a time frame on a situation that doesn't have one.
[I guess he doesn't want to admit that the government has been losing their war on drugs for the last 100 years.]
Politicians find foul words now fair game
I could care less when politicians curse.
If they would just stop stealing my money and micro-managing my life I would be happy.
The tax man cometh to police you on Obama health care law
Hmmm ... So now the IRS is going to make sure you contribute to the government's welfare program for doctors, which goes by the name of Obamacare.
San Jose bomb squad investigation turns up a typewriter
Cops almost always make mountains out of molehills. Of course that is a way of creating jobs for themselves.
"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary."
Source
DEA agents murder pilot of plane in Honduras
Source
Scottsdale Secret Police???
Scottsdale Secret Police???
Surveillance requests to cellphone carriers surge
Cops want to know who you call, where you are and what you texted.
Cops want to know who you call, where you are and what you texted.
Police requesting Americans' cellphone data at staggering rate
This story from the LA Times has a few things that
the previous story from the Arizona Republic didn't say.
Jail captain denies protecting abusive, dishonest deputies
Source
5th Amendment is null and void in Mesa???
"Chris Tobin-Cotrell was arrested [for] ... refusing to prove a truthful name" - so the 5th Amendment is null and void in Mesa???
Iran has the death penalty for drinking liquor!!!!
The death penalty for drinking??? Yes, in Iran.
Stop-and-Frisk May Soon Hit Judicial Roadblocks
For all practical purposes the Bill of Rights has been flushed down the toilet.
Cops hide evidence that would exonerate people???
Cops hide evidence that would allow people to prove their innocence?
L.A. County sheriff recalls 200 badges given to local politicians
Source
Justice Dept review use of forensic evidence in thousands of cases
If thousands of people were framed by the police
and govenrment lab technicians who lied or falsified
information the only right and just thing to do is release
the people NOW.
Will Officer Korey Lankow be punished for killing his police dog???
When us serfs make the mistake of leaving a dog in a hot car we are arrested and severally punished by the government.
Jeg, a 7-year-old Malinois, was left in a DPS patrol car near Tucson on Wednesday after his handler, identified as Officer Korey Lankow, was switching his gear from one patrol cruiser to the other and forgot about the dog as he scrambled to respond to a serious accident.
Tucson DPS K-9 Jeg put down
Source
On Thursday afternoon, the state identified Officer Korey Lankow as Jeg’s handler.
Cops bust nude man working on his yard
Don't these pigs have any real criminals to hunt down???
You know like robbers, rapists and burglers? People
who commit crimes that harm people, not some nut job
that wants to commit the victimless crime of working on
his lawn naked?
Mesa police building evacuated
Now we know where the Mesa 911 center is!!!
Now we know where the Mesa 911 center is!!!
LAPD sued for defamation
Pigs never make mistakes - Well that's what the pigs want us to believe!!!!
Homeless woman arrested for sitting at a bus stop too long???
Homeless woman arrested for sitting at a bus stop too long???
The
The American Russian police state!!!!American Russian police state!!!!
More piggies for Mesa!
Last week I noticed that the Mesa pigs were shaking down people for jaywalking at the light rail station on Sycamore & Main. I saw 3 cop cars that were used to shake down these people committing the victimless crime of jaywalking.
FDA illegally spies on whistle blowers???
Source
A secret Federal database of alleged criminals???
"SAVE" for "Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements"
A secret Federal database of alleged criminals???
Egyptians pelt Clinton motorcade with tomatoes
Hillary Clinton gets the welcome she deserves in Egypt!!
No Constitutional rights for the people in Afghanistan
Personally I am against both the war in Iraq and Afghanistan
but this is a cool use for drones.
Also it is a good example of how the America Empire has turned
Afghanistan and Iraq into police states.
NY Times thinks Sheriff Joe sucks???
NY Times thinks Sheriff Joe sucks???
The dark side of forensic science
We are told by the government that they would rather have 100 guilty people go free then have one innocent person do time in prison. But that is an absolute lie and innocent people are routinely thrown in prison for 10 or 20 years at a time.
LA using messy yard laws to steal homes from banks???
Source
Chicago steals lots of cars.
Chicago steals lots of cars.
Cops murder guy who answers the door at 2 am with a gun.
Cops murder guy who answers the door at 2 am with a gun.
4th Maricopa County prosecutor faces ethics complaint
Source
Arpaio: Obama birth certificate issue needs further investigation
Doesn't Sheriff Joe have any real criminals to hunt down????
“Real” story behind Arpaio's birther news conference
Source
Tom Horne - I'm not a crook!!!!
Tom Horne - I'm not a crook!!!! OK Tom Horne didn't say that Richard Nixon did. But I suspect it appliess to Tom Horne just as it did to Nixon.
Freedom Fighters 1 - TSA Thugs 0
Not Guilty - Man who stripped at airport to protest TSA thugs
Man who stripped to protest TSA before San Jose flight not guilty of indecent exposure
By Mark Gomez mgomez@mercurynews.com
Posted: 07/19/2012 05:45:15 AM PDT
A Portland, Ore. man who stripped naked before a flight to Silicon Valley to protest a TSA security screening at Portland International Airport was found not guilty Wednesday of a misdemeanor charge of indecent exposure.
A judge in Oregon ruled that John Brennan's act of removing his clothing on April 17 in protest of the security screening was an act of protest and protected speech.
Brennan, 50, was arrested April 17 on suspicion of indecent exposure and disorderly conduct after removing his clothes to prove that even though he had tested positive for nitrates on his clothing he wasn't carrying explosives.
Brennan was in line at 5:35 p.m. for an Alaska Airlines flight to San Jose when he got into his birthday suit "as a form of protest against TSA screeners who he felt were harassing him," according to a police incident report obtained by The (Portland) Oregonian newspaper.
However, Brennan previously told this newspaper he did not feel harassed by the TSA workers; instead, he was protesting the pat-down process.
"They are just doing their job and as a citizen of the U.S. I'm doing my job to protect my constitutional rights to privacy, " Brennan, a Pacific Grove native, said in a telephone interview with this newspaper. "The TSA had already violated my privacy by doing a pat-down and being pulled out of the line. It's stripping me of any dignity.
The indecent exposure ordinance states: "It is unlawful for any person to expose his or her genitalia while in a public place, if the public place is open or available to persons of the opposite sex." However, a prior Oregon Court of Appeals decision effectively limits the ordinance to prohibit only public nudity that is "not intended as a protected symbolic or communicative act."
Brennan said he had declined to walk through a new scanning device at the airport. So Transportation Security Administration workers patted him down, put on gloves and wiped his clothing to test for explosive. He said he tested positive for nitrates, which he knew was an explosive ingredient because of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
Brennan said the Oregon state Supreme Court has ruled that nudity is protected speech, and he disrobed with the idea that he was not breaking any laws. Brennan figured he'd be allowed to board his flight after proving he was not carrying a bomb.
"I know that public nudity is one of my forms of protest, " Brennan said in April. "And I carry that in my back pocket. That's how I have political speech. It gets people's attention."
Brennan said he was asked several times by screeners to not remove his clothes, and then to get dressed. When police arrived, he was again asked to get dressed.
Brennan said he refused.
"I stuck by my guns, " he said.
According to Brennan's social media sites, he provides clients "a broad base of technology skills and a high level of customer service to solve problems and increase independence."
Brennan said he has one major Silicon Valley client, but declined to name the company.
I said this before, but if you are a smart criminal you will either get a job as a cop are elected official. Those government employees can literally get away with murder.
Of course if you or me had deleted those email records we would have almost certainly been charged with a crime and forced to prove our innocence.
Babeu aide who deleted records won't be charged
by Lindsey Collom - Jul. 20, 2012 11:56 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com
Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu's director of communications will not be charged in a public-records tampering case.
A three-month investigation by the Pima County Attorney's Office concluded that although Tim Gaffney deleted thousands of e-mails that were sought as public records by The Arizona Republic and law-enforcement agencies, his intentions were unclear.
In a July 10 letter to Pinal County's top prosecutor, Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall said there was "conflicting evidence" as to whether Gaffney knew that the county's information-technology department had "duplicate backup" copies of his e-mails when he deleted them.
According to state law, a person commits the crime of tampering with a public record -- a Class 6 felony -- "if, with the intent to defraud or deceive, such person knowingly: destroys, mutilates, conceals, removes or otherwise impairs the availability of any public record."
LaWall said that insufficient evidence exists to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Gaffney "possessed the mens rea -- the intent to defraud or deceive -- which is a necessary and indispensable element of the crime of tampering or attempted tampering with a public record."
The Pinal County e-mail policy, posted on the county's public website, advises employees that their e-mails are presumed to be public records and that employees should save them.
"Once communications have been preserved as documents in the appropriate format, the documents shall be deleted from the electronic mail system," the policy states. It goes on to say that the "Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records Department does not recognize server backups as a public record."
LaWall's office began looking into whether Gaffney unlawfully deleted e-mails after Pinal County officials discovered missing computer files in early March while attempting to fill a records request by The Republic and attempting to preserve electronic records for two open investigations.
Citing a conflict of interest, the Pinal County Attorney's Office referred the case to LaWall.
Pinal County Manager Fritz Behring had been asked to preserve records and other evidence on behalf of a state solicitor general's investigation requested by the sheriff in response to allegations that he threatened a Mexican ex-boyfriend with deportation, a charge Babeu has vehemently denied.
In a Feb. 24 letter obtained by The Republic, state Assistant Attorney General Todd Lawson asked Behring to preserve for 90 days any e-mails, attachments, call logs, texts and multimedia.
At the same time, county officials were searching e-mails and other electronic records to comply with a request for information from the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which is investigating allegations of politicking by Babeu and his staff.
Both investigations are ongoing.
According to Behring's March 9 e-mail to state Solicitor General David Cole, members of the county's information-technology department were searching computers in the Sheriff's Office, gathering material to respond to a public-records request.
When IT staff conducted research before March 7, Behring's e-mail said, they found a computer file controlled by Gaffney that contained 7,220 documents, mostly e-mails. When they went back on March 7, that same file contained only 818 documents.
"When confronted with the possibility that relevant public records may have been deleted, Pinal County acted appropriately in calling for a third-party legal review of the matter," Behring said in a statement released Friday.
Gaffney has told The Republic that he deleted the e-mails only after being told they were backed up by the county as part of the 90-day litigation hold.
Tempe-based attorney Chuck Franklin, who represented Gaffney in the case, said he has known his client in a personal and professional capacity for many years and that it is not in Gaffney's character to do anything illegal.
"Tim spent hundreds of hours to gather documents to refute what's been thrown out there at him," Franklin said. "There wasn't even a scintilla of evidence that Tim had destroyed public records. Pinal County's system of archiving their e-mails is archaic, which is probably the best way to describe it. ...
"He's a wreck right now because of this."
In announcing the results of Pima County's investigation by press release Friday, Babeu said Behring orchestrated the inquiry to discredit the sheriff's staff.
"(Behring) has lost the trust of our office since he is more concerned about saving his job, and as a result, he has violated his professional oath and county policy by carrying out obvious political attacks for the Board of Supervisors," Babeu is quoted as saying in a press release.
"Tax dollars have been wasted at a time we can least afford it."
When I saw the headline I thought it was another case of a person being murdered by the cops for the crime of "being homeless", but I was wrong on that.
Sadly the 2nd Amendment has been flushed down the toilet and
many people no longer have the right to keep and bear arms.
Man fatally shoots homeless man in yard, police say
by Jackee Coe - Jul. 22, 2012 09:04 AM
The Republic | azcentral.com
A man accused of fatally shooting a transient man in his front yard was arrested on a weapons charge, Phoenix police said.
The 57-year-old transient man walked into the front yard of Donald Jackson Taylor, 48, on the 2600 block of North 31st Street and began yelling at him, said Sgt. Tommy Thompson, a Phoenix police spokesman.
The man, who has not been identified because next of kin has not been notified, had a history of threatening people in the area, Thompson said.
Taylor told police he fired at the man once after he refused to leave and continued to advance toward him, Thompson said. He was taken to a hospital where he died from his injuries, he added.
Taylor is a prohibited from possessing a firearm because of conviction about three decades ago in another state, Thompson said. He was booked into Maricopa County jail on a count of weapons misconduct.
Officer kills son after mistaking him for intruder, police say
Jul. 22, 2012 08:36 AM
Associated Press
OLD FORGE, N.Y. -- State troopers say a police officer in New York shot and killed his son, mistaking him for an intruder.
Troopers say Parry Police Department Officer Michael Leach called 911 to report the shooting early Saturday. He was staying at the Clark Beach Motel and shot someone he believed to be an intruder. But the man turned out to be his 37-year-old son, Matthew Leach, according to the Syracuse Post-Standard.
Troopers say Leach used his department-issued .45-caliber Glock handgun in the shooting. He was hospitalized after the shooting.
The investigation is continuing.
Man with ‘world’s biggest penis’ stopped at SFO security
Courtesy Jonah Falcon
A New York man known for his unusually large penis was patted down by airport security at San Francisco International last week after they questioned him about the bulge in his pants, he said.
Jonah Falcon, 41, who has been featured in several documentaries about the world’s biggest penises, was returning from a trip in San Francisco on July 9 when he was stopped at security by TSA agents who spotted something out of the ordinary hanging to the left in his pants, he said.
“They wanted to know if I had something in my pockets, and when I said no, they asked if I had some sort of growth,” he said.
When he replied that it was just his penis, they “checked the area around it” but didn’t frisk him too severely, he said. They also wiped his hands to check for explosive powder.
Falcon said the delay was mostly amusing to him and only delayed him for about 5 minutes. He said it was the first time his penis had caused a security concern.
“I”ve gone through the (airport scanner) before, and I wasn’t worried,” he said. “What was the worst that was going to happen — I was going to have to whip it out for them? I’m used to that. Sometimes when people ask me about it, if I’m feeling up to it, I’ll just show them.”
Falcon’s penis has been reported as 9.5 inches when flaccid and 13.5 inches when erect, according to Rolling Stone. He has been featured in documentaries on HBO and overseas and has appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He works as a video game journalist and as an actor with small roles in movies and television shows, according to his Internet Movie Database profile.
Falcon tweeted about the airport delay and the Huffington Post was the first to report on the incident.
A spokesman for the TSA at SFO was not immediately available for comment. Falcon said the agents were “professional” about the security check.
“It was probably harder on them than it was on me,” Falcon said.
In this case the prosecutors
are trying to railroad a guy when no evidence exists the he committed the murder
or even that a murder was committed.
Yes, I suspect there is a real good chance this crooked cop, or alleged crooked
cop is guilty of murder, but it's not fair to railroad a person when no evidence exists
that they committed a crime.
Drew Peterson heads to trial in third wife's death
By By DON BABWIN
CHICAGO (AP) — For a man whose fourth wife had just disappeared, Drew Peterson didn't sound the least bit worried. He seemed almost gleeful, suggesting that she had run off with another man and that all her threats of divorce coincided with her menstrual cycle.
Authorities investigating that disappearance back in 2007 soon started wondering if Peterson might have been involved with the earlier drowning death of his third wife. But that didn't faze him. He joked about a "Win a Date With Drew" contest and discussed appearing on a reality TV show about a Nevada brothel.
The crass swagger continued even after the former suburban Chicago police officer was arrested in the drowning, which had originally been ruled an accident. Peterson called a radio show — collect, from jail — to joke about a "Win a Conjugal Visit With Drew" game.
Five years after he became an object of national scorn, Peterson is about to go on trial on charges that he murdered Kathleen Savio in 2004. His fourth wife, Stacy, has never been found.
Observers say Peterson may benefit from the three years he's been behind bars and out of the public eye.
"He really was becoming one of the more hated individuals in America," said Joe Tacopina, a prominent defense attorney in New York. "Because he was in jail, he took himself off the front page, and that can only help him with a jury pool."
Peterson's attorney agreed.
"Nobody's going to deny that Drew's relatively goofy behavior rubbed people the wrong way," said Joel Brodsky, who explained Peterson's actions as both the byproduct of a sometimes grim job and his way of moving on after his wife left him.
"The fact that he hasn't been at that for a period of years certainly helps some of his past antics fade from memory."
The case, which begins Monday with jury selection, is sure to rekindle memories of the media frenzy that engulfed Peterson before his arrest, when he often joked with an army of news crews camped outside his house and even invited Geraldo Rivera into his kitchen.
Reporters from around the country and maybe from as far away as Japan will descend on a courthouse in Joliet to watch the latest chapter of a story that has already spawned a couple of books and a cable TV movie starring Rob Lowe as Peterson.
The frenetic coverage "absolutely has the possibility of reigniting," said Mark Geragos, a prominent California defense attorney who has been at the center of comparable firestorms, including when he represented Scott Peterson (no relation), a California man convicted of murdering his young wife and unborn child.
Prosecutors expect to tell a relatively simple story: Drew Peterson killed his ex-wife to keep her from making off with much of his money in a contentious divorce. Sometime around Feb. 29, 2004, according to the indictment, Peterson went to Savio's house and in the bathroom caused her "to inhale fluid," killing her.
But that simple story is complicated by what happened after Savio's body was discovered by a friend of Peterson's. Peterson had called the friend to the house to look for Savio, saying he was worried.
The investigation unfolded nothing like the ones jurors may have seen on television programs such as "CSI" and "Law & Order."
Detectives are expected to testify, as they did at a hearing in 2010, that nobody collected a single fingerprint or hair fiber at the house. They will likely acknowledge that Savio's relatives, who could have told investigators about the couple's ongoing battles, were never interviewed.
Jurors may also hear, as a judge did at the 2010 hearing, that Peterson was allowed to sit in on a police interview with Stacy Peterson as a "professional courtesy." This happened while officers were trying to confirm Peterson's whereabouts the weekend Savio died.
They may hear from another detective who has already testified that he was "disgusted" by the investigation, that he thought Stacy Peterson was "hiding something" and that he strongly suspected Savio's death was not an accident.
When it does come up, it will be prosecutors who ask about it.
"You have to bring out all your failures, all the flaws of the case, yourself," said Marcia Clark, the former Los Angeles deputy district attorney who led the unsuccessful prosecution of O.J. Simpson.
The two sides will also argue over something that is rarely an issue in a murder trial: Whether a murder was actually committed.
Because Savio's death was originally ruled an accidental drowning, prosecutors will present pathologists to explain that an examination of Savio's body after it was exhumed revealed she had been killed.
Brodsky said he has three pathologists ready to testify that Savio's death was, as originally determined, an accident.
The defense is bound to use the disputed findings to put forth its own theory about why Peterson was charged — "because of heat from law enforcement," Geragos said.
If there is any physical evidence linking Peterson to the crime, prosecutors have not said what it is. Instead, the case they present to the jury is expected to be largely, if not totally, circumstantial.
Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow, who famously said after Peterson's arrest in 2009 that Savio would speak "from the grave," is expected to call witnesses to testify about what Savio and Stacy Peterson told them.
Already, people have testified at a previous hearing that Savio described episodes in which Peterson held a knife to her throat and told her there was nothing she could do to protect herself from him.
Even without physical evidence, jurors can convict suspects on circumstantial cases. And they do so often.
"The jury is going to look at this like a web, and good circumstantial cases put the defendant in the middle of that web," said David Erickson, a former state appellate judge who teaches law at Chicago Kent College of Law.
The biggest question is whether Peterson will take the stand. Brodsky will not say. In many cases, attorneys reserve that decision until after prosecutors complete their evidence.
But Erickson suggested that Peterson might have to testify.
Good circumstantial cases "force defendants to take the stand," he said. "You are in the middle of that web, and you've got to come up with an alternate explanation of how you got there."
If the cops can't get a conviction without testing the person for drugs I suspect the evidence that caused the police to originally stop the person is rather flimsy and won't hold up in court.
Under Arizona law if you have any minute, microscopic but measurable trace of an illegal drug in your body you are considered guilty of DUI, even the drug isn't impairing your driving. And of course that almost assures a conviction in a trial.
Without the drug test the cops would need to show the persons driving was impaired, making getting a conviction much harder.
Of course that is not true for people who have marijuana prescriptions or recommendations as the law calls it. Prop 203 says the cops can't use a drug test against licensed pot smokers and the cops must prove the person was impaired by other means.
I suspect this is also a grab for money, but DUI busts are big revenue for the government. Most DUI busts start with a minimum fine of at least $1,000 and I think that has gone up to to $1,500.
Mesa to speed up growing number of drug DUI prosecutions
Posted: Monday, July 23, 2012 6:57 am | Updated: 6:56 pm, Fri Jul 20, 2012.
By Garin Groff, Tribune
Mesa prosecutors plan to ramp up the city’s crime lab processing to handle the skyrocketing numbers of drug DUI arrests, which have doubled since 2009.
The additional arrests have strained police resources, especially because drug cases take longer than alcohol tests for police and lab technicians to process. The city wants to ensure it can obtain results within the 1-year statute of limitations and to ensure suspects get a right to a speedy trail, City Prosecutor Jon Eliason said.
Prosecutors have dismissed some cases while evidence was waiting to be tested, only to reopen the case when results came back. The city wants to improve that, he said.
“Getting the drugs tested is the main hurdle,” Eliason said. “You get that done, and we can file the case in no time.”
Mesa had 1,358 drug DUI cases in 2011, and the numbers have grown 35 percent to 40 percent per year recently.
In response, Mesa will add 20 additional testing hours per month for the next six months with a $17,000 grant from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.
Drug-impaired driving is a national problem involving illegal substances and prescription medications, Eliason said. He pointed to the role prescription drugs played in the deaths of singer Whitney Houston and actor Keith Ledger as examples of how common drug abuse has become.
“People know you shouldn’t drink and drive — that message is out there,” Eliason said. “But maybe some people think it’s OK to take, say oxycodone, which can impair your ability to drive.”
Police have found more drivers impaired by marijuana after voters approved medical use of the substance in 2010. Patients who meet state qualifications for medical marijuana can grow it legally, and the substance will become more available when the first dispensaries open later this year.
“I think the marijuana is going to keep going up,” Eliason said. “I think the designer drugs and the bath salts, they’re really dangerous and I don’t think we’ve seen the tip of those yet.”
Eliason also attributed Mesa’s growing drug DUI arrests to the police department’s extensive training for drug impairment recognition. The agency’s officers are leaders nationally in making those kinds of arrests, he said.
While the grant for the crime lab is just for six months, Eliason said the city is considering ongoing efforts to improve processing times. Also, the grant will help prosecutors develop a multimedia presentation to explain the drug recognition exam process to jurors in court.
Contact writer: (480) 898-6548 or ggroff@evtrib.com
Officials: Off-duty state trooper charged with shooting woman to death
By Bridget Doyle and Peter Nickeas Tribune reporters
10:27 p.m. CDT, July 22, 2012
Charges have been filed against an off-duty Illinois State Police trooper suspected of shooting a woman to death, then turning the gun on himself in a domestic attack in Westchester early this morning, authorities said.
Brian Himber, 31, of the 4100 block of North Central Avenue on Chicago's Northwest Side, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder for fatally shooting 29-year-old Tracy Mays, age 29, according to a statement released by police Sunday night.
Police could not immediately say why two counts of murder were approved.
Himber remains in the custody of Westchester Police with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the statement.
Mays was fatally shot at a home in the 10900 block of Nelson Street in the west suburb and was declared dead a little after 1 a.m. at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
The medical examiner's office found following an autopsy that the victim died from multiple gunshot wounds in a homicide. Police did not release information on her hometown.
After shooting Mays, Himber tried to kill himself, police said. The man and woman had been attending a graduation party at the home, Westchester police said in a news release. Police were called to the home at 12:23 a.m., according to the release.
Himber was in critical condition at Loyola with at least one self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said.
The man involved in the apparently domestic-related shooting was an off-duty Illinois state trooper, state police spokeswoman Monique Bond said in an email. Himber, hired in 2004, has been relieved of his police powers, according to Bond.
The trooper is not believed to have used his service weapon in the shooting, authorities said.
Neighbors said the party was raucous but nothing unusual.
Kathy Syregelas, 32, said the family was celebrating the eighth-grade graduation of one of their children and threw a backyard party. The music was loud, but Syregelas said it appeared to be a normal summertime get-together.
"I heard kids screaming at one point late last night but didn't think anything of it," Syregelas said.
Tribune reporters Liam Ford and Rosemary R. Sobol contributed
chicagobreaking@tribune.com
A Spiteful New Policy at Guantánamo Bay
Published: July 22, 2012
The Obama administration’s latest overuse of executive authority at Guantánamo Bay is a decision not to let lawyers visit clients in detention under terms that have been in place since 2004. Because these meetings pose little risk and would send a message about America’s adherence to the rule of law, the administration looks as if it is imperiously punishing detainees for their temerity in bringing legal challenges to their detention and losing.
In one case, the administration is saying that the Yemeni national Yasin Qasem Muhammad Ismail no longer has the right to meet with his counsel, David Remes, because his plea to be released was “terminated.” The Justice Department will only let them meet, it said in an e-mail to Mr. Remes, if he signs a new memorandum giving the government what Mr. Remes calls “absolute authority over access to counsel.”
A military officer would decide each time whether lawyer and client could meet. Mr. Remes could not use classified information he developed for the client without permission. He could not share what he learned from his client with other lawyers of detainees, as he could previously. He could not use it to help defend his client against criminal charges if the government brings them. He could not advocate for him with human rights groups.
Mr. Remes refused to sign. He and colleagues filed a motion this month with the federal magistrate handling disputes about lawyer-client visits at Guantánamo Bay. They argue that while their client is detained, “he retains the right to pursue any available legal avenues to obtain his release” and without “a full and fair opportunity to meet with counsel in a confidential privileged setting,” his “right to challenge his detention” means nothing.
Four years after the Supreme Court ruled that “the privilege of habeas corpus entitles the prisoner to a meaningful opportunity to demonstrate that he is being held pursuant to ‘the erroneous application or interpretation’ of relevant law,” the government may be calculating that it can decide what “meaningful” means.
But if the wars where detainees were captured have been to defend American interests, surely the country has an interest in an unequivocal commitment to the rule of law, including full legal representation for detainees.
Peoria officer suspended for using slur disciplined 10 years ago
by Jane Lednovich - Jul. 23, 2012 09:38 PM
The Arizona Republic-12 News Breaking News Team
The Peoria police officer who was suspended for two weeks without pay for using a racial slur, had not been seriously disciplined during the past seven years, city records show.
But Sgt. Patrick Kief was disciplined twice a decade ago for verbal abuse.
Kief began his two-week suspension on July 7 after an internal investigation concluded he used a "racially derogatory term" to describe his frustration over the shoddy construction of a podium. The term is considered to be offensive to African-Americans.
Kief, who has been a police officer for 19 years, told a supervisor that he did not mean to harm anyone and had used the racial term growing up, according to the personnel files released Monday.
Kief was demoted from sergeant to officer. He had been promoted to sergeant in 2008.
Peoria City Manager Carl Swenson said in a statement that Kief's actions will not be tolerated.
Police Chief Roy Minter said Kief's conduct was against city policy, which states; "All employees shall conduct themselves in a professional and courteous manner and exhibit only that conduct which would exemplify the Peoria Police Department to both the community and other law enforcement organizations."
In 2002, Kief was suspended for a combined 10 hours for two separate incidents of verbal abuse. Once incident was acting out against fellow employee and the other was disrespecting individuals involved in a sexual assault case, the records show. He was reprimanded in 2001 for running over a stop sign.
Former Vallejo police captain arrested on DUI, hit-and-run charges
Vallejo Times Herald
Posted: 07/24/2012 07:22:08 AM PDT
Former Vallejo police captain and city councilman Tony Pearsall was arrested Sunday night on suspicion of driving under the influence and hit-and-run after he allegedly struck a parked car in a shopping center lot, police said Monday.
Police received a call about 9:16 p.m. after a witness reportedly saw a vehicle hitting a parked car in the Lucky's supermarket lot at Tuolumne and Redwood streets.
The witness apparently flagged down a police car temporarily parked in the lot and reported the incident, Sgt. Herman Robinson said.
Pearsall did not return phone calls or e-mails seeking comment, but his Vallejo attorney, Dan Russo, said his client was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol but was having an "adverse reaction to Ambien," a prescription medication used to treat insomnia.
For more on the story, see the Vallejo Times-Herald at http://www.timesheraldonline.com/news/ci_21144041
Ex-Vallejo captain arrested on DUI, hit-and-run charges
Times-Herald staff report/
Posted: 07/24/2012 01:00:54 AM PDT
Former Fighting Back Partnership chief Tony Pearsall was arrested Sunday night on suspicion of driving under the influence and hit-and-run after he allegedly struck a parked car in a shopping center lot, Interim Police Chief Joseph Kreins said Monday.
Pearsall, 66, is also a former Vallejo Police captain, former city councilman and is married to Councilwoman Stephanie Gomes.
Pearsall did not return phone calls or e-mails seeking comment, but his Vallejo attorney, Dan Russo, said his client was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol but was having an "adverse reaction to Ambien," a prescription medication used to treat insomnia.
"When it all comes out, it's one of those tragic accidents," Russo said.
Pearsall takes Ambien because of pain associated with recent surgeries, Russo said. "It's the only way he can sleep," he added.
Kreins said police received a call about 9:16 p.m. after a witness reportedly saw a vehicle hitting a parked car in the Lucky's supermarket lot at Tuolumne and Redwood streets.
The witness apparently flagged down a police car temporarily parked in the lot and reported the incident, Sgt. Herman Robinson said.
Witnesses gave officers a description of the vehicle and a license plate number which came back to a vehicle in the 200 block of El Camino Real, Robinson said.
Officers went to that location trying to find the car, Robinson said.
As the patrol car turned south on El Camino Real officers saw the suspect
vehicle approaching north on the same street, Robinson said.
The vehicle was driving on the wrong side of the street at a slow speed, Robinson said. Pearsall was the only person in the vehicle, he added.
Officers turned on the patrol car's siren to stop the car.
Kreins said Pearsall stopped nose-to-nose in front of the police car, while Robinson said he struck the police vehicle's bumper, causing minor damage.
Pearsall was reportedly taken out of the vehicle and detained after allegedly showing symptoms of being under the influence of either alcohol or prescription drugs, Robinson said.
Pearsall was taken to Kaiser Permanente Medical Center for a blood test and was cited and released at the hospital, police officials said.
The test results are not yet available, but Russo said he's confident the only drug in his system to show will be the Ambien.
Russo said Pearsall also takes "mild painkillers" due to his medical issues, and had had a "minuscule" amount of alcohol prior to driving, but "not enough to register on the blood test."
Apparently, Pearsall had taken a dose of Ambien with the intention of going to bed, but then had to go to the store to buy some medications for his wife, Russo said.
"He had forgotten he had taken the medication - that's one of the problems with this drug," he said.
"He was not consciously driving under the influence," Russo stressed.
In early June, Pearsall announced he had resigned from the Fighting Back Partnership executive director position after he had been placed on paid leave for about 90 days. He had worked for the community nonprofit since May 2008.
Fighting Back is a 22-year-old nonprofit originally formed as a community-based effort to combat drug and alcohol use. The organization was formed to create collaborations and partnerships with businesses, residents and government to improve neighborhoods and strengthen families, according to its website.
Pearsall served one term on the City Council, from 2003-2007, and worked in the Vallejo Police Department for more than 35 years.
Arpaio's words used against him at racial-profiling case
by JJ Hensley - Jul. 24, 2012 11:20 AM
The Republic | azcentral.com
Within minutes of Sheriff Joe Arpaio taking the witness stand in the racial-profiling case involving his office, attorneys for the plaintiffs began using the sheriff's own public statements, press releases and books to paint the five-term sheriff as a law-enforcement officer whose zeal on immigration enforcement is based on the requests of racist groups and rooted in discriminatory practices.
It was a tactic attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union telegraphed in court filings before the racial-profiling trial began last week -- to use the sheriff's statements to show the intent of Arpaio's immigration enforcement program, along with data and victims' anecdotes to show the impact.
Stanley Young, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, said the sheriff's immigration-enforcement plan was conceived in November 2005 after Arpaio received a letter from the Minutemen group asking why law enforcement agencies in Arizona refused to question day laborers about their immigration status.
Arpaio's response, according to his handwritten note in the margins of the Minutemen letter, was to have a meeting within the Sheriff's Office to decide how to respond.
Young then played a video clip from a 2007 news conference where Arpaio described the sheriff's immigration-enforcement efforts as a "pure program" designed to target illegal immigrants regardless of whether they had violated Arizona law.
"I'm not afraid to say that, you go after them and you lock them up," Arpaio said during the news conference.
The sheriff tried to clarify his stance on the witness stand Tuesday.
"Under the 287g agreement (with Immigration and Customs Enforcement) when we enforce the laws and stop someone for violating the laws, under that agreement we have the authority to enforce the federal immigration laws even though they were not connected with any state crime," Arpaio explained.
Young quickly moved through other statements Arpaio made through the years regarding immigration enforcement, some of which were contained in the sheriff's press releases and others from his 2008 autobiography.
But Arpaio, as he had done in countless depositions and sworn statements through the years, attempted to deflect responsibility for some of those statements on to his staff members and the co-author of his autobiography.
Arpaio also told the court at the start of Tuesday's proceedings that he had a touch of the flu. He cited suffering a similar illness during testimony last year in disciplinary hearings involving former County Attorney Andrew Thomas, when Arpaio failed to recall certain key meetings with the former prosecutor.
Arpaio's recollection on Tuesday was sound, but he refused to take credit for some of the statements attributed to him, and claimed others were taken out of context.
"I don't get involved in those operations," Arpaio said when asked about one of the sheriff's immigration sweeps. "I'm not there on the street patrolling and making arrests."
Earlier in the morning, the judge in the case, U.S. district Judge Murray Snow, directed questions at one of Arpaio's deputies who participated in a 2007 traffic stop.
Snow focused in on the background, training and experience of Deputy Louis DiPietro, who stopped a car in Cave Creek that had just picked up a group of day laborers, including Manuel de Jesus Ortega-Melendres. Ortega-Melendres is a named plaintiff in the lawsuit.
Of particular interest to Snow was a statement DiPietro made last week regarding his opinion that most day laborers are in the country illegally. Attorneys for the plaintiffs have long contended that the Sheriff's Office conflates being Hispanic and being a day laborer with being an undocumented immigrant.
DiPietro said he formed that opinion based on the stop he made in Cave Creek nearly five years ago.
"Is there any other basis other than that day on which you have now formed that opinion," Snow asked.
"The fact that that type of work doesn't require any type of, um, you don't have to show an ID, um, it would be easier, that type of work would be easier for, um, a person in this country illegally to, um, get because they wouldn't have the proper paperwork for other types of employment," DiPietro replied.
After a little more than an hour on the stand, DiPietro was excused and Arpaio took center stage.
The case alleges that the Sheriff's Office engaged in institutional discrimination against Latinos when it embarked on what has become the defining mission of Arpaio's 19-year tenure: immigration enforcement. His efforts have been met by accusations -- by citizens, activists and the U.S. Justice Department -- that his agency has engaged in racial profiling and treat Latinos differently than others.
With no jury in the case, Snow will decide whether the Sheriff's Office participated in widespread discrimination against Latino residents. The judge occasionally took moments to clarify testimony or ask questions from the bench during the trial's first day of hearings last week.
The lawsuit does not seek monetary damages. Instead, the plaintiffs want the kind of injunctive relief that the Sheriff's Office has resisted to date -- a declaration that spells out what deputies may or may not do when stopping potential suspects, and a court-appointed monitor to ensure the agency abides by those rules. The case is also distinct from a separate civil-rights lawsuit the Justice Department filed against the Sheriff's Office earlier this year, although the ruling in the ACLU's case will likely have a significant impact in that proceeding.
The trial is scheduled to end on Aug. 2.
Arrowhead Justice of the Peace Phillip Woolbright removed from office for ethics violations
by Sonu Munshi - Jul. 24, 2012 07:03 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com
A northwest Valley justice of the peace has been removed from office for ethics violations that brought disrepute to the judicial office.
Woolbright oversaw cases from Peoria, Sun City and parts of Glendale.
A state judicial panel this spring recommended removing and barring Woolbright from ever serving as a judicial officer, following an ethics investigation for dodging a court server and other misconduct.
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors will appoint a replacement until the Nov. 6 general election, county spokeswoman Cari Gerchick said.
Gerchick said that because the removal of a JP is rare, the county is still weighing the short-term appointment process.
The last sitting judge in Arizona to be removed was John Carpenter, an east Phoenix justice of the peace, in 2001.
Removal is uncommon because judges under scrutiny often resign, according to Jennifer Perkins, attorney for the Arizona Commission on Judicial Conduct. Such was the case when Judge Mike Nelson of Apache County Superior Court resigned in 2003 before the state Supreme Court ruled on his recommended removal.
Woolbright repeatedly appealed the disciplinary action against him.
The latest appeal was for the Supreme Court to reject the recommendation of a seven-member panel assembled by the Commission on Judicial Conduct.
The panel in May had ruled against Woolbright after two days of testimony.
Woolbright told The Arizona Republic on Tuesday that he didn't agree with the high court's decision not to hear his appeal but that he respected it.
"I needed an opportunity to prove I'm an outstanding judicial officer, and they wouldn't let me do that," Woolbright said.
He said he was the victim of political attacks by those who did not like some of his reform ideas, including lowering pensions and reducing salaries for JPs.
Woolbright's annual salary was $103,000. During the nearly one-year investigation, a pro tem judge has filled in at a cost of about $50,000. Woolbright continued to get paid, at times being reassigned or suspended.
The commission began investigating Woolbright after his then-estranged wife obtained an order of protection against him on suspicion of domestic violence.
Woolbright involved his court manager as he tried to avoid being served the court order and initially continued to hear cases involving such orders. The commission also said that Woolbright attempted to abuse his position as a judge by invoking it repeatedly as unsolicited information to law-enforcement authorities, which he denied, and that he sent threatening text messages to his now ex-wife.
Woolbright's attorney, Larry Cohen, had said the misconduct took place during the turmoil of a divorce and did not impact Woolbright's elected post. Cohen noted that a judge later removed Woolbright's children from inclusion in the protective order. Cohen also noted that Woolbright was a fairly inexperienced judge. He was a part-time preacher and businessman elected to the post in 2010.
But the hearing panel said the misconduct was not because of improper or insufficient training and was not limited to an isolated incident.
Woolbright, who still faces criminal charges for violating the order of protection, said he is happy about one outcome: His children are now able to live with him. He maintains his innocence in that case.
Woolbright said he plans to stay active in Arizona politics.
"In five years, who knows, I could be back in judicial office," Woolbright said.
Maricopa County Elections Director Karen Osborne said it's too late for a traditional election to replace Woolbright. Those interested must file as write-in candidates by Sept. 27. The person elected would immediately take office and serve through 2014, she said.
Crooked cop who deleted email records won't be charged
Come on did you really think a crooked cop who deleted emails for his boss would be charged with a crime?
Victim of crime arrested by Phoenix Police for defending himself
From the article it sounds like a justifiable shooting. But sadly the cops arrested the victim of the crime, not the criminal who was shot.
Officer kills son after mistaking him for intruder, police say
Source
Were they "gay" TSA thugs
Were they "gay" TSA thugs who wanted to check out a hot man???
Cop suspected of murdering his 4 wives to go on trial
Yes I hate crooked cops but this is a lousy case to try.
Mesa cops making lots of bogus arrests for "drug DUI"???
I suspect this means the Mesa police are arresting a lot of people for "drug DUI" when they don't have any evidence the persons driving is impaired.
Off-duty state trooper charged with shooting woman to death
Source
A Spiteful New Policy at Guantánamo Bay
Source
He always calls Black people that name???
Source
Vallejo police captain arrested on DUI, hit-and-run charges
Source
Sheriff Joe Arpaio's words used against him at racial-profiling case
Source
Arrowhead Justice of the Peace Phillip Woolbright removed from office for ethics violations
Source
Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Rebecca White Berch signed the order this week to immediately remove the Arrowhead judge. Phillip Woolbright will not be able to serve any judicial office or perform any judicial duties in Arizona for five years.
Sheriff Joe shovels the BS in court testimony!!!
Source
Updated: Arpaio shows none of trademark swagger
Posted: Tuesday, July 24, 2012 2:45 pm
Associated Press
PHOENIX (AP) — There were no TV cameras, no scrum of reporters, no protesters — and there was no swagger inside the courtroom when the typically brash Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio took the stand to face critics who say he and his deputies racially profile Hispanics.
Under questioning from lawyers representing a group Latinos who are suing him and his department, Arpaio spoke in a hush, offering that he was suffering from the flu.
He was asked: Why did you call illegal immigrants "dirty?"
The Maricopa County sheriff responded quietly, clearing his throat often, and saying the statement was taken out of context. He added that if a person were to cross the U.S.-Mexico border on foot over four days in the desert that person "could be dirty." [You honestly mean you are not a racist Joe?????]
"That's the context on how I used that word," he said.
The case represents the first time the sheriff's office has been accused of systematic racial profiling and will serve as a precursor to a similar yet broader civil rights lawsuit filed against Arpaio by the U.S. Justice Department.
Arpaio has long denied racial profiling allegations and said Tuesday, "We don't arrest people because of the color of their skin."
Letters in the sheriff's immigration file took center stage during his more than five hours of testimony — as did his previous statements, which critics say show prejudiced thinking on his part.
Lawyers in court asked Arpaio: What about your statement on a national TV news show saying you considered a 2007 comparison between your department and the Ku Klux Klan "an honor"?
Arpaio responded that he doesn't consider the comparison an honor, adding that he has no use for the KKK. [Either way Sheriff Joe is a liar]
The plaintiffs' attorneys also turned to Arpaio's famous practice of putting county jail inmates in pink underwear, using statements he made during a 2009 speech to an anti-illegal immigration group in Houston.
"I always have an official reason so I can win the lawsuits," Arpaio said, after stating the pink shorts are less likely to be smuggled out of jail and sold on the black market.
"And then I have my reasons," he went on. "And my reason is they hate pink. They do. They may like it in California, but they don't like it in Arizona."
He was asked whether he says one thing in court and does another when he leaves.
"This is in humor," Arpaio said. "I make sure we do things properly in case I get sued."
The group of Latinos who say they have been discriminated against say Arpaio launched some immigration sweeps based on emails and letters that don't allege crimes, but complain only that "dark-skinned people" are congregating in a given area or speaking Spanish.
During the sweeps, sheriff's deputies flood an area of a city — in some cases, heavily Latino areas — over several days to seek out traffic violators and arrest other offenders.
Illegal immigrants accounted for 57 percent of the 1,500 people arrested in the 20 sweeps conducted by Arpaio's office since January 2008, according to figures provided by the sheriff's department, which hasn't conducted any such patrols since October.
Arpaio was asked whether a white person was ever arrested on an immigration violation during the first two years of such sweeps, to which he replied, "I can't recall."
The plaintiffs aren't seeking money in the suit. They are seeking a declaration that Arpaio's office racially profiles Latinos and an order requiring policy changes.
If Arpaio loses the case, he won't face jail time or fines. If he wins, it would be likely to severely undercut the government's case against him.
The plaintiffs say deputies conducting Arpaio's sweeps pulled over Hispanics without probable cause, making the stops only to inquire about the immigration status of the people in the vehicles.
The sheriff maintained that people are stopped only if authorities have probable cause to believe they have committed crimes and that deputies later find many of the people stopped are illegal immigrants.
Plaintiff's lawyers say Arpaio endorsed calls for racial profiling with the sweeps by passing along the ambiguous and racially-charged complaint letters to aides who planned his immigration enforcement efforts and carried out at least three patrols after receiving the letters.
They also point out that Arpaio wrote thank-you notes to some who sent complaints.
Arpaio's attorneys denied that the letters and emails prompted the sheriff to launch the patrols with a discriminatory motive. His lawyers called the complaints racially insensitive and said aides to the sheriff — not Arpaio himself — decided where to conduct the patrols. They also said there was nothing wrong with the thank-you notes.
"He sends thank-you letters because he is an elected official," Tim Casey, the lawyer leading Arpaio's defense, said during opening arguments.
In an August 2008 letter, a woman wrote about a Sun City restaurant: "From the staff at the register to the staff back in the kitchen area, all I heard was Spanish — except when they haltingly spoke to a customer." The letter ended with a suggestion that the sheriff investigate.
Arpaio made a handwritten note in the margins saying, "letter thank you for info will look into it" and that the complaint should be sent to aide Brian Sands, who selects locations for sweeps, with a notation saying "for our operation." The sheriff's office launched a sweep two weeks later in Sun City.
Arpaio said in response to a question about the letter Tuesday that speaking Spanish is not a crime and that he sent the note to Sands for "him for whatever he wants to do with it."
Arpaio also said he generally passed along the letters that called for immigration enforcement in a particular area to his subordinates, but didn't do the planning for the sweeps.
"I just send this info to my subordinates so they could ask for it. I don't agree with every letter I receive," Arpaio said.
"We should never racially profile," Arpaio said. "It's immoral, illegal." [Of course Sheriff Joe probably had his fingers crossed and was thinking look MF I got a gun and a badge and I can do anything I want. FU ingrate!!!!]
It ain't about safety, it's about raising revenue with DUI arrests
SourceLetter: Many drugs hang around in system for long time
Posted: Wednesday, July 25, 2012 9:11 am
Letter to the Editor
Too bad the Tribune writer covering the growing drug DUI prosecutions made so little effort to be thorough.
What he fails to point out is that many drugs and medications including the ones mentioned in the article, marijuana and Oxycodone, remain in your body in an inactive state long beyond the time of use and long beyond any point of impairment.
It’s good for the prosecutor’s business to point a finger at drug abusers like Whitney Houston, but your neighbor who had a tooth pulled last week and took painkillers for a day or two is just as likely to be arrested in Mesa for DUI because the drug is still in his system. Our laws state that it is illegal to have certain drugs in your body and operate a vehicle, including marijuana which can remain for 30 days or more after use, long beyond any question of impairment.
So what the article really says is that the prosecutor knows this and the city is cashing in on lab tests to collect fines from people who are not impaired or a Whitney-like threat to our safety.
Perhaps what is needed is for the law to be changed, not more taxpayer-funded lab facilities.
To be fair and thorough, the writer might perhaps have interviewed a defense attorney to get the other side of the story.
Teri Cann
Mesa
Police, protesters clash as tensions roil Anaheim
As street melees erupt, council votes to seek federal probe of killings by officers.
By Ruben Vives, Nicole Santa Cruz and Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times
July 25, 2012, 4:02 a.m.
Simmering tensions in the wake of two deadly police shootings in Anaheim exploded into violence Tuesday night as protesters clashed with police outside City Hall even as officials voted to ask federal authorities to investigate the killings that have rocked the Orange County community.
Protesters hurled rocks, traffic cones and other objects at police clad in riot gear as officers chased people along sidewalks and streets throughout the evening and fired less-than-lethal projectiles into crowds after giving a dispersal order. Sirens wailed as officers formed skirmish lines and police from neighboring law enforcement agencies provided assistance.
Police said that at least five people were arrested on suspicion of assault and resisting arrest, and that a reporter from the Orange County Register was struck by a rock as angry crowds stood face to face with officers in tense standoffs. Fires were started in dumpsters, and at least one storefront had its windows broken as the skirmishes continued into the night.
The chaotic scene marked the fourth day of protests since officers shot two men to death over the weekend, outraging residents concerned about police conduct in Anaheim's heavily Latino core.
Joel Mathew Acevedo was shot and killed after he fired at an officer Sunday night. A day earlier, Manuel Angel Diaz was killed after running from police on Anaheim's east side. Five people have died in police shootings in the city this year.
On Tuesday, Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait called for both state and federal investigations, in addition to an ongoing probe by the Orange County district attorney's office. The FBI announced Tuesday it would review Diaz's shooting to see whether it warranted a civil rights investigation.
At the City Council meeting, people surrounded the council chamber to speak out about the accusations of police brutality. Many were turned away from the packed chamber.
The council voted to ask the U.S. attorney's office to launch a probe.
"To the people in the city that are troubled about what happened," Tait said at the meeting, "I'd like to tell you that I am committed to keeping the lines of communication open and to keep the process completely transparent."
Outside, crowds faced off against police at two locations. At South Anaheim Boulevard and West Midway Drive, more than a mile from City Hall, a hostile crowd shouted profanity at officers. Some rocks were thrown.
At Anaheim and Broadway near City Hall, protesters threw bricks, bottles and shoes at officers. One man in a blue jersey was tackled and carried away by police. Others lit firecrackers as people gathered by a gas station and chanted "Si se puede," or "Yes we can."
Shortly before 9 p.m., police at the intersection declared an unlawful assembly and ordered the crowds to disperse.
"If not," an officer shouted through a megaphone, "you will be arrested."
Minutes later, officers fired the projectiles into the crowd as people fled down the streets.
Earlier Tuesday, attorneys for Diaz's mother filed a civil-rights and wrongful-death lawsuit in federal court. The suit, which seeks $50 million in damages, alleges that her unarmed son was shot from behind and then, when he fell to his knees, was shot in the back of the head.
Responding to the litigation, the Anaheim Police Assn. provided the first explanation from the five-year officer who shot Diaz on Saturday afternoon.
According to the police union, officers saw "the documented gang member" who was holding a "concealed object in his front waistband with both hands." Diaz then took off running, only to pull the object from his waistband and turn toward the officers.
"Feeling that Diaz was drawing a weapon, the officer opened fire on Diaz to stop the threat," said Kerry Condon, the association's president.
Officers reported that Diaz tossed away items as he ran, but no gun has been recovered.
Diaz's mother called for residents to refrain from violent protest.
"This is wrong and needs to stop on both sides," Genevieve Huizar said as she sobbed and clutched photos of her son Tuesday afternoon near a memorial on the fence next to where Diaz died.
Latino activists have met with the mayor and encouraged the city to institute a civilian police review board.
"They've seen everything on TV— the dogs, the shootings and just a history of brutality," said Seferino Garcia, executive director of Solevar, an Anaheim community group. "Right now, the community is not going to stand idle. We have a job to do."
Anaheim resident Oscar Velazquez, 25, said Latinos are harassed by police and recounted recently being patted down while walking to his home, a few blocks from Disneyland.
"I've been stopped for no reason," he said. "You don't want your neighbors to see you out there like that."
ruben.vives@latimes.com
nicole.santacruz@latimes.com
richard.winton@latimes.com
Job files reveal 2 images of Peoria officer
Peoria lawman used slur but had honors
by D.S. Woodfill - Jul. 25, 2012 09:56 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com
Employee records of a Peoria police sergeant who came under fire for a racial slur he used in a meeting portray two conflicting images of the man.
One illustrates an employee plagued with disciplinary issues centering mostly on inappropriate comments or conduct. The other shows an officer who is generous with his time with numerous charities, has received numerous commendations and glowing employee reviews, and enjoys ample public support.
Patrick Kief, a 19-year department veteran, was demoted from sergeant to officer and suspended for two weeks for using a derogatory term during an April 11 briefing with his subordinates, department officials said Monday. The comment triggered an internal investigation, which concluded that he used the term after becoming frustrated over the shoddy construction of a podium.
The expression Kief used is widely offensive to African-Americans. Kief told a supervisor when questioned that he did not mean to offend anyone and had used the racial term growing up, records say.
Kief could not be reached for comment.
Kief's personnel file, which The Republic obtained after submitting a public-records request, shows it wasn't the first time Kief's conduct got him into trouble. Kief was suspended, reassigned and reprimanded numerous times over conduct, which department officials described in past documentation as "embarrassing," "loud and condescending," and "inappropriate and unprofessional."
His disciplinary actions coincide, however starkly, with a record that includes numerous commendations, positive employee-performance reviews and numerous thank-you letters from residents with whom he has dealt, including a crime suspect he once arrested.
Records say that during a February 2004 community event that Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio attended, a sheriff's employee overheard Kief tell a co-worker that someone should shoot the sheriff. He also called Arpaio a "jackass" at about the same time the sheriff and his associates were walking past Kief and his co-worker.
"Your conduct in this matter reflects a continued pattern of unsatisfactory behavior and performance that cannot and will not be accepted," said a letter of discipline dated Jan. 26, 2005, from then-Police Chief David Leonardo. "You have been previously counseled for your unsatisfactory interpersonal skills and your inability to control your comments in the past."
Kief got a two-day suspension for that incident.
Years earlier, Kief was admonished for two separate altercations with co-workers on police property, including one that turned physical. Details from the incidents are unclear because they were not included in the records request by The Republic. Peoria Police Chief Roy Minter Jr. said the department deletes disciplinary records after a certain number of years.
An employee review from 1995 said that, in the previous year, Kief was involved in a verbal altercation that almost turned into a physical confrontation with another employee in the department's briefing room.
He received verbal counseling for that incident.
Five years later, in February 2000,Kief was in trouble again for another altercation that apparently did turn physical in the department's administration building.
According to an employee review in the same year, Kief got a written reprimand and involuntary reassignment for that incident.
An incident in February 2002 involved Kief's treatment of a juvenile who was attempting to report a sex crime to police.
The disciplinary documents portray Kief as curt, dismissive and intimidating in his treatment of the victim and his mother after they arrived at the public lobby of the Police Department.
Then-Police Chief Leonardo told Kief in a letter that it appears that Kief "took it upon yourself to almost chastise the victim of a sexual-related crime."
Leonardo issued a single-day suspension for that incident and another one in 2002.
Minter said Wednesday that Kief's recent demotion and suspension over the racial slur was a fair punishment considering he is "almost a 20-year employee of the department who has almost 20 commendations."
"I realize that he's had some indiscretions since he's been with the department, but he's also done some very good things," Minter said. "So, I have to make sure that I balance those two things out."
Kief's commendations, a track record of positive employee reviews and numerous letters of thanks from residents over the years portray a very different officer than the one portrayed in Kief's disciplinary records.
Officials awarded Kief a certificate of commendation in 2007 for his help in rescuing a suicidal person who was threatening to jump from the Thunderbird Road overpass on Loop 101 that year.
Officials also officially recognized Kief for apprehending two "very dangerous and violent suspects" during an armed robbery at a Peoria home in February 2004. "(Y)our involvement had a direct impact on the success of this case," the certificate of commendation said.
Kief's employee-performance reviews are generally positive, with the exception of a few mistakes that supervisors pointed out, including one in which Kief missed two meetings with a city manager and another in which he damaged a department vehicle while he was exiting a parking structure.
A performance review in 2009 said, "Sergeant Kief has the ability to motivate people in a friendly manner. He is tough when he needs to be, but he usually obtains compliance in a non-threatening manner. He has a great sense of humor."
A 2006 evaluation praised Kief for his sensitive handling of an abuse victim, whom he interviewed at a local hospital.
"It was apparent that his attentiveness to them helped put them all at ease," a supervisor wrote.
He was also praised in a 2005 evaluation for his sensitive treatment of family members who had just discovered their loved one's body in the family pool. The victim had drowned.
"This was a great example of caring for the people we are here to assist," a supervisor wrote.
Kief also has a solid track record of volunteerism, records show. Kief has long been active in the department's efforts to raise money for the Special Olympics and has taken disadvantaged youths shopping for Christmas presents during the department's annual Shop With a Cop program. He also has worked with children as part of the state's anti-drug program known as Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or DARE, and has helped clean up trash from state parkland in north Peoria.
Republic reporters Sonu Munshi and Jane Lednovich contributed to this article.
Chandler to pay $100K settlement in fatal police chase
Posted: Wednesday, July 25, 2012 5:30 pm
By Garin Groff, Tribune
Chandler is preparing to pay a nearly $100,000 settlement to the family of an innocent man who was killed when a suspected bank robber crashed into his vehicle during a 2007 police pursuit.
The family of Alex Ahmad filed a $17 million wrongful death lawsuit in 2008 against three law enforcement agencies, claiming the chase was unnecessary and failed to follow pursuit policy. Ahmad family attorney Richard Treon had sought $2.5 million from Chandler for the death of the 24-year-old Mesa resident who was also a student at Arizona State University. But on Thursday, the Chandler City Council is expected to approve a settlement of $99,999.
Ahmad was killed Dec. 5, 2007, while driving his restored Toyota Supra on McKellips Road on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community when suspected bank robber Richard Schwartz swerved across the center line and slammed into Ahmad.
Schwartz, 25, was also instantly killed. He was believed to have robbed a bank in Tempe moments before the crash.
Tempe police called off the search after Schwartz’s driving became erratic and reached speeds of 80 mph, but Chandler police later began pursuit, Treon said when the suit was filed. He said the chase should have ended when the danger of it outweighed the need to apprehend the suspect.
The lawsuit argued police could have tracked the money with a transmitter embedded in the bags of money Schwartz got from the bank.
An investigator reconstructing the crash put Schwartz’s vehicle speed at 113 mph while Ahmad was going 20 mph.
Investigators said Schwartz was committing suicide by turning in front of the other vehicle, but Treon said he believed Schwartz was trying to turn onto a dirt road.
Treon argued at least 40 Valley residents were killed in police chases in the past 20 years. The lawsuit also sought $10 million from the state Department of Public Safety and $5 million from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.
Contact writer: (480) 898-6548 or ggroff@evtrib.com
Things sure have changed. It pretty much always has been illegal for the police to steal your mail and read it or secretly tap your phone and listing to your calls.
But now days the police routinely listen in or read to any and all communications that use the internet, such as email, instant messaging and of course skype.
Skype makes chats and user data more available to police
By Craig Timberg and Ellen Nakashima, Published: July 25
Skype, the online phone service long favored by political dissidents, criminals and others eager to communicate beyond the reach of governments, has expanded its cooperation with law enforcement authorities to make online chats and other user information available to police, said industry and government officials familiar with the changes.
Surveillance of the audio and video feeds remains impractical — even when courts issue warrants, say industry officials with direct knowledge of the matter. But that barrier could eventually vanish as Skype becomes one of the world’s most popular forms of telecommunication.
The changes have drawn quiet applause in law enforcement circles but hostility from many activists and analysts.
The changes to online chats, which are written messages conveyed almost instantaneously between users, result in part from technical upgrades to Skype that were instituted to address outages and other stability issues since Microsoft bought the company last year. Officials of the United States and other countries have long pushed to expand their access to newer forms of communications to resolve an issue that the FBI calls the “going dark” problem.
Microsoft has approached the issue with “tremendous sensitivity and a canny awareness of what the issues would be,” said an industry official familiar with Microsoft’s plans, who like several people interviewed for this story spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the issue publicly. The company has “a long track record of working successfully with law enforcement here and internationally,” he added.
The changes, which give the authorities access to addresses and credit card numbers, have drawn quiet applause in law enforcement circles but hostility from many activists and analysts.
Authorities had for years complained that Skype’s encryption and other features made tracking drug lords, pedophiles and terrorists more difficult. Jihadis recommended the service on online forums. Police listening to traditional wiretaps occasionally would hear wary suspects say to one another, “Hey, let’s talk on Skype.”
Hacker groups and privacy experts have been speculating for months that Skype had changed its architecture to make it easier for governments to monitor, and many blamed Microsoft, which has an elaborate operation for complying with legal government requests in countries around the world.
“The issue is, to what extent are our communications being purpose-built to make surveillance easy?” said Lauren Weinstein, co-founder of People for Internet Responsibility, a digital privacy group. “When you make it easy to do, law enforcement is going to want to use it more and more. If you build it, they will come.’’
Skype was slow to clarify the situation, issuing a statement recently that said, “As was true before the Microsoft acquisition, Skype cooperates with law enforcement agencies as is legally required and technically feasible.”
But changes allowing police surveillance of online chats had been made since late last year, a knowledgeable industry official said Wednesday.
In the United States, such requests require a court order, though in other nations rules vary. Skype has more than 600 million users, with some in nearly every nation in the world. Political dissidents relied on it extensively during the Arab Spring to communicate with journalists, human rights workers and each other, in part because of its reputation for security.
Skype’s resistance to government monitoring, part of the company ethos when European engineers founded it in 2003, resulted from both uncommonly strong encryption and a key technical feature: Skype calls connected computers directly rather than routing data through central servers, as many other Internet-based communication systems do. That makes it more difficult for law enforcement to intercept the call. The authorities long have been able to wiretap Skype calls to traditional phones.
The company created a law-enforcement compliance team not long after eBay bought the company in 2005, putting it squarely under the auspices of U.S. law. The company was later sold to private investors before Microsoft bought it in May 2011 for $8.5 billion.
The new ownership had at least an indirect role in the security changes. Skype has endured periodic outages, including a disastrous one in December 2010. Company officials concluded that a more robust system was needed if the company was going to reach its potential.
Industry officials said the resulting push for the creation of so-called “supernodes,” which routed some data through centralized servers, made greater cooperation with law enforcement authorities possible.
The access to personal information and online chats, which are kept in Skype’s systems for 30 days, remains short of what some law enforcement officials have requested.
The FBI, whose officials have complained to Congress about the “going dark” problem, issued a statement Wednesday night saying it couldn’t comment on a particular company or service but that surveillance of conversations “requires review and approval by a court. It is used only in national security matters and to combat the most serious crimes.”
Hackers in recent years have demonstrated that it was possible to penetrate Skype, but it’s not clear how often this happened. Microsoft won a patent in June 2011 for “legal intercept” of Skype and similar Internet-based voice and video systems. It is also possible, experts say, to monitor Skype chats as well as voice and video by hacking into a user’s computer, doing an end run around encryptions.
“If someone wants to compromise a Skype communication, all they have to do is hack the endpoint — the person’s computer or tablet or mobile phone, which is very easy to do,” said Tom Kellermann, vice president of cybersecurity for Trend Micro, a cloud security company.
Some industry officials, however, say Skype loses some competitive edge in the increasingly crowded world of Internet-based communications systems if users no longer see it as more private than rival services.
“This is just making Skype like every other communication service, no better, no worse,” said one industry official, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “Skype used to be very special because it really was locked up. Now it’s like Superman without his powers.”
Man who tweeted airport bomb 'joke' wins appeal
AFPAFP –
A Twitter user won his appeal against conviction Friday for sending a message that he was going to blow up an airport in northern England, which he said was a joke.
Paul Chambers tapped out his message on the social networking site in frustration after heavy snow at Robin Hood Airport in South Yorkshire in January 2010 threatened his plans to fly to Ireland.
He wrote to his 600 followers: "Robin Hood Airport is closed. You've got a week and a bit to get... (it) together, otherwise I'm blowing the airport sky high!"
A week later, Chambers, now 28, was arrested. In May that year, magistrates in Doncaster fined him £385 and ordered him to pay £600 costs for sending "a message of a menacing nature."
An initial appeal failed but on Friday, judges at the High Court in London ruled that the conviction should be quashed.
Chambers spoke of his relief at the decision in a case which has attracted support for him from celebrities including broadcaster Stephen Fry.
"I am relieved, vindicated -- it is ridiculous it ever got this far," he said.
"I want to thank everyone who has helped, including everyone on Twitter."
His lawyer John Cooper had previously told judges in the case it was obvious the tweet, sent by someone who had not disguised his identity, was a joke not related to terrorism.
Cooper added: "If that be the case, and I don't mean to be flippant, John Betjeman would be concerned when he said: 'Come, friendly bombs, and fall on Slough', or Shakespeare when he said: 'Let's kill all the lawyers.'"
Chambers's name was trending on Twitter in the wake of the ruling.
Report: Deputy shot horse to prevent suffering
by Kellie Mejdrich - Jul. 26, 2012 09:41 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com
A Maricopa County sheriff's deputy who shot a stallion in the Tonto National Forest said he felt compelled to because the animal was malnourished, staggering because of an injured leg and "would not survive long," according to a department report released Thursday.
The report's release followed a request by The Arizona Republic regarding the April 21 incident, in which a mounted patrolman from the Sheriff's Office shot a horse twice in the head with his department-issued rifle.
"I took no joy in euthanizing this feral horse, but I felt it was my duty and obligation to end, or prevent any future suffering the horse may endure," Deputy Clint Bradshaw wrote in a report dated June 7, the day sheriff's spokeswoman Lisa Allen told 12 News and The Republic the horse had been shot by a deputy.
Bradshaw said he was on patrol in the Lower Salt River area and on the lookout for an injured horse following an earlier report made by a citizen. The deputy eventually spotted a horse that fit the description.
"(The horse) only stayed up by sprawling his front legs wide apart," Bradshaw noted.
"The horse appeared skinny and underweight," the deputy continued in his memo. "The horse was unable to use the injured hind leg at all. Due to these facts I felt the horse was injured to a point where it would not survive long."
Handwritten notes on the report deemed the shooting to be within department policy. The addendum was dated June 16, the same day The Arizona Republic published an article online about the horse and a herd it belonged to that was beloved by the equestrian community in the Valley.
I suspect the last people that want to see serial murderer Dale Hausner executed are the prosecutors who sent him to death row. If he is executed they will not be paid the $100+ an hour fees they get for the next 10 to 20 years to continue to convince the courts that he should be executed.
If Dale Hausner is executed now, the prosecutors will stop receiving all the money the government is paying them to convince the courts to execute him.
I suspect the same might be true for the defense lawyers that the state of Arizona is also paying to keep Dale Hausner from being executed. On the other hand I suspect some of the defense lawyers that do pro bono work for free really do care about their clients.
In a letter by Dale Hausner to the court he says:
I also think that Dale Hausner and his partner in crime Samuel Dieteman are guilty of the crimes they were accused of. But despite that I don't think they should be murdered by the state of Arizona. I also suspect the cops violated their 4th and 5th Amendment Constitutional rights by illegally searching them and illegally questioning them.
Hausner insists he's sane in handwritten letter
by Michael Kiefer - Jul. 26, 2012 10:06 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com
In a handwritten letter received Thursday by The Arizona Republic, convicted "Serial Shooter" Dale Hausner insisted he is sane enough to be granted his request that he be executed without undergoing lengthy appeals.
"The State of AZ wanted me to get the death penalty before and during my trial. I was found guilty and given six death sentences," he wrote. "Now that I want to get executed, suddenly my mental state is in question. ... I am not insane, I am of sound mind. I simply wish to get the punishment handed down to me, but more quickly. I mean really, what's a guy got to do to get snuffed out?"
He punctuated the last sentence with a smiley face.
Before Hausner can be executed, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge must determine if he is competent to make the decision.
Assistant Arizona Attorney General Kent Cattani said Thursday that if there are no challenges from Hausner's attorney and Hausner doesn't change his mind, he could conceivably be executed before the end of the year.
"If there's no indication he's incompetent and this is what Hausner wants, we could file a motion for a warrant for execution," he said.
In 2009, Hausner was convicted and sentenced to death six times for murders committed in 2005 and 2006 when he, his older brother Jeff and their friend Samuel Dieteman criss-crossed metro Phoenix in Hausner's car, shooting at people and animals from the car windows.
His death sentences were upheld earlier this month by the Arizona Supreme Court in an automatic, mandatory appeal. All other appeals are optional. Since his conviction, Hausner has maintained he wants to forgo all further appeals and speed up his execution.
The Arizona Attorney General's Office has asked that Hausner be appointed an attorney and be afforded a hearing in Superior Court to determine if he is sincere about wanting to die and if he is competent to make the decision. Cattani said Thursday that the hearing may not be necessary if Hausner's attorney avows that Hausner is sane and wants to proceed.
But Hausner's appellate attorney, Tom Dennis, has asked that the option to appeal remain open until there is a court determination.
Dennis also asked in his motion that a trial attorney for Hausner be appointed for the Superior Court proceedings. Dennis declined to comment on Hausner's case.
A new attorney could ask that Hausner undergo a psychological evaluation.
How long it will take before Hausner is executed in Florence remains to be seen. He is the fifth death-row prisoner to waive his appeals in the last 20years, but he may be doing so earlier in the process than any of the others.
Robert Comer was convicted of murdering a Florida man camping near Apache Lake in 1987, and in 2000, after his appeals had worked their way through the courts, he decided he wanted to be done with them.
It wasn't until 2007 that the courts decided he was competent to make the decision and he was executed.
Arthur Ross was sentenced to death in 1991 for killing a Tucson real-estate agent a year earlier, but he was not executed until 1998.
Don Miller was sentenced to death in 1993 for killing a Tucson woman and was not executed until 2000. Both had volunteered for execution after initial voluntary appeals in state court.
The closest volunteer to Hausner's situation was John George Brewer, who was sentenced to death in 1988 for murdering his pregnant girlfriend.
His appeal was not accepted by the U.S. Supreme Court in October 1992.
2 NJ troopers charged in 100-mph escort
by Samantha Henry - Jul. 27, 2012 10:22 AM
Associated Press
TRENTON, N.J. -- Two state troopers who led a caravan of luxury cars at speeds topping 100 mph in March were charged Friday with records-tampering after an investigation found they taped up their plates to conceal their involvement in the improper escort, which jeopardized public safety and undermined trust in the state police, the attorney general said.
"No one is above the law," Attorney General Jeff Chiesa said.
[Well except for cops!!! Mark my words, I suspect in the end the charges will be dropped against all these cops, and any of them that are punished will at most get a very, very light slap on the wrist!]
Administrative charges also were brought against four other members of the state police in connection with a high-speed escort in 2010, and a fifth trooper for his handling of a ticket issued to the operator of a Lamborghini clocked at 116 mph, also in 2010.
Sgt. 1st Class Nadir Nassry and Trooper Joseph Ventrella sought to conceal their involvement in the March escort by using black electrical tape to alter their plates, the attorney general said.
Nassry also is accused of instructing other drivers in the caravan of high-performance vehicles to conceal or partly conceal their plates using tape or other means.
By hiding their plate numbers, the drivers were able to speed through tolls on the Garden State Parkway without paying, the attorney general said, creating what he described as a "mirage."
Chiesa said the taping of the troop cars showed "they intended to conceal their involvement in conduct that they knew was wrong."
The attorney general said the time limit had expired to issue any tickets to the motorists involved in any of the high-speed caravans.
New escort procedures are now in place, including "clear instructions on observing posted speed limits," Chiesa said.
Nassry, an assistant station commander and 25-year-veteran, on Thursday took full responsibility for the escort and submitted his retirement papers. He asked for leniency for Ventrella, whom he said was simply following orders and has been on the force only six years.
Nassry's attorney said he denied any criminal wrongdoing. An attorney for Ventrella could not be reached by phone Friday.
Both Nassry and Ventrella were charged with fourth-degree falsifying or tampering with records. Nassry also faces a second charge of third-degree tampering with public records.
Nassry had agreed to participate in the escort because of his friendship with Brandon Jacobs, a former member of the New York Giants, now with the San Francisco 49ers, who was part of the caravan, Nassry's attorney, Charles Sciarra, said Thursday.
Witnesses who emailed the state Turnipike Authority reported seeing the caravan, escorted by two state police vehicles, traveling down the parkway at speeds over 100 mph, weaving in traffic and forcing some motorists to speed up to get out of the way. Its participants included members of a New York driving club.
Nassry, 47, and Ventrella, 28, were suspended in April.
The investigation into the escorts also led to a major shake-up of state police brass, with the reassignment of 10 state police commanders.
Gov. Chris Christie at first called the incidents "dumb," and then later said they "would have graduated much beyond dumb if someone had gotten hurt."
L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca accepts some blame for jail problems
By Robert Faturechi, Los Angeles Times
July 27, 2012, 7:31 p.m.
Under tough questioning, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca and his top assistant Friday told a blue-ribbon panel investigating deputy abuse that they failed to uncover problems roiling the nation's largest jail system.
Baca, however, urged the commission to focus on solutions rather than dwelling on past shortcomings.
"We know we screwed up in the past," Baca told members of the county Citizens' Commission on Jail Violence. "I'm a guy that says let's go forward.... I just need this commission to understand the limits of digging up dirt that doesn't have any water going into it."
Baca's testimony marked the most extensive public questioning he has faced about his management style and knowledge of problems inside the lockups since it was revealed last year that federal authorities were investigating allegations of deputy abuse of inmates.
Sounding apologetic and testy at times, Baca complained that his underlings had kept him unaware of their concerns that deputies abused inmates and covered up misconduct.
When one commissioner sought answers about a spike in use-of-force incidents at the jail, Baca interrupted: "What good does it do to talk about it now?.... We can look at a lot of charts and say, 'Gee, if you saw this, why didn't you just go right into action?'
"I'm one person and I've got a department that's full of opportunities for mistakes," he said.
At another point, Commission Counsel Richard Drooyan asked Baca: "If you're to blame, how do we hold you accountable?"
"Don't elect me!" Baca retorted to cheers from a largely supportive audience of sheriff's officials.
Baca also bristled when asked whether he was holding his command staff accountable for the problems in the jail.
"This commission is a great commission, Mr. Drooyan," Baca responded. "But you're not going to tell me how to discipline my people."
Baca was preceded in his testimony by his top assistant, Undersheriff Paul Tanaka, whom some sheriff's supervisors have blamed for fostering a culture of aggressive policing. Tanaka, who has largely avoided public comment about his role in the department, also expressed frustration that he was kept in the dark about misconduct. He also said some of his critics lied about his influence on the rank-and-file deputies.
Like Baca, however, he accepted blame for some of the agency's problems.
"If I had done everything exactly as it should have been done … and I had been 100% diligent and looked into every possible aspect of our operation, we wouldn't be here today," Tanaka said.
Some of the commissioners expressed shock about Tanaka's claims of ignorance of the jail's problems, particularly on the allegations of excessive force.
"It seems to me everybody buried their head in the sand in regard to this issue," said Commissioner Dickran M. Tevrizian Jr. "It's very hard for a rational person to understand this."
The long-awaited hearing comes after months of testimony received by the commission, which was appointed by the Board of Supervisors to examine allegations of misconduct in the jails.
Over the last few months, the panel has heard from former and current sheriff's officials who have described a culture of violence in the jails.
In May, two retired sheriff's supervisors recounted instances of deputies beating prisoners, ignoring bosses, forming cliques and engaging in off-duty misconduct. A captain, Daniel Cruz, who oversaw Men's Central Jail, has also been blamed for turning a blind eye to deputy abuse, according to several witnesses.
One retired commander, Robert Olmsted, said he went to Baca with specific concerns about out-of-control deputies in the jail but was rebuffed.
On Friday, Baca attributed some of the problems at the jail to a personality clash between Olmsted and Cruz, who was his subordinate.
Drooyan pointed out that use-of-force incidents have dropped since public outrage over the jails grew and the sheriff instituted a task force to implement reforms. He asked the sheriff why he hadn't implemented those reforms sooner.
"I'm not through with this innovation process," Baca said. "When you start looking as deeply as I have, you're gonna see a lot of things."
robert.faturechi@latimes.com
Tempe police: Officer resigns after admitting to theft
by Maria Polletta - Jul. 28, 2012 06:44 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com
A Tempe police officer has resigned after more than seven years with the department after admitting to having stolen police property and cash, according to the Tempe Police Department.
Police supervisors had begun receiving reports of missing items -- including two police bicycles, an equipment case, and money -- in early July. On July 20, about $750 reportedly disappeared from a petty-cash lock box.
Smith had access to the areas where the property disappeared, and his swing-shift hours matched up with when the items went missing, Horn said.
On July 26, an undercover detective gave a purse with $142 in it to Smith, describing it as "found property." By the end of the workweek, Smith still hadn't impounded or processed the money, Horn said.
Tempe detectives found the stolen bikes and purse when they served search warrants at Smith's home, vehicles and work locker Saturday.
Following the arrest, Smith admitted to stealing the property and the roughly $1,000 in cash, saying he was under extreme financial hardship, according to Horn. He had reportedly given the bicycles to his children as gifts.
Police believe Smith acted alone.
Tempe cop arrested for stealing police property, petty cash
Posted: Saturday, July 28, 2012 5:45 pm
Tribune
A Tempe police officer has resigned after being arrested and admitting that he stole police property.
According to a news release, in a post-arrest interview, Smith admitted to the burglary of two Tempe Police bicycles, forcing entry to take $1,006 in cash, and stealing a police equipment case containing a GPS. Smith told police his actions stemmed from extreme financial hardship. He gave the bicycles to his children as gifts and said he threw away the GPS; the GPS unit is not operable as a stand-alone unit.
Beginning in early July, Tempe Police employees began reporting to supervisors that various items of police property were missing. As the investigation progressed, Smith began to develop as a strong investigative lead, according to the release. Access to secured areas of all police facilities is tracked to assure security, and Smith had access to the areas where the missing property was secured and his shifts coincided with the times of the thefts and burglaries, the release said.
On Thursday, July 26, an undercover detective turned over a purse containing $142 to Smith while he was on-duty, stating that it was found property. At the conclusion of Smith’s workweek Saturday morning, he had not taken any steps to impound or process the money or purse as found property, according to police.
Smith was taken into custody without incident Saturday morning near Dobson Road and Southern Avenue in Mesa. Tempe detectives served search warrants at his residence, on his vehicles and at his work place locker. The stolen Bike Unit police bicycles were recovered at Smith’s residence, as was the purse which was now missing the money, the release said.
Investigators believe Smith acted alone. There is no indication that any other employees were involved. The investigation is on-going.
“Trust is paramount – in every aspect of law enforcement employee behavior and actions,” Chief of Police Tom Ryff stated in the news release. “This instance of criminal conduct clearly does not reflect the professional standards and practices expected of -- and demonstrated by -- Tempe Police employees. There is no evidence that any other Tempe Police employees were involved in these crimes; unfortunately, the regrettable actions of a single employee can have the power to overshadow the honorable and daily good actions that often go unnoticed.”
Ryff added, “I want our community to know that all members of the Tempe Police Department remain committed to the highest standards of professionalism, accountability and oversight. In partnership with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, we will ensure that Aaron Smith is held accountable for his violation of the public’s trust.”
Veteran LAPD officer pleads guilty to stealing from luxury hotel
July 30, 2012 | 12:36 pm
A veteran Los Angeles police officer has pleaded guilty to felony theft and burglary charges after stealing from the luxury Laguna Beach resort where he also worked as a security guard, Orange County prosecutors said Monday.
In March, Laguna Beach police arrested Quinton after looking at surveillance footage from the Surf and Sand Resort, where the 21-year veteran of the LAPD worked a second job as a security guard.
As part of his hotel job, prosecutors said, Quinton had access to the resort's computerized lost-and-found system.
In October 2011, authorities said Quinton accessed that computer system and changed records that showed hotel staff had found $2,000 in a room, falsifying the report to say that a gold watch had been found instead. Quinton also changed the room number where the money was found and said the watch was returned to its owner.
Authorities also said Quinton stole $960 out of the resort's safe.
In December of the same year, authorities said Quinton covered a surveillance camera in the resort's security office with tape for several minutes as he stole $680 from a safe deposit box. A month later, he was accused of stealing $290 in bedding from a locked hotel storage room.
Quinton's attorney, Glenn Osajima, said his client wanted a quick resolution to the case because he "acknowledged ... that he made a bad mistake in judgement."
Deputy District Attorney Andrew Katz had asked that Quinton spend a year behind bars because he "abused a position of trust" at the hotel.
"As a policeman, he should be held to a higher standard than the average person because this is someone who assumably was hired specifically because he would bring to the job the integrity we expect police to have," he said.
Quinton was placed on paid administrative leave from the LAPD pending the outcome of the criminal case, but his status with the LAPD following Monday's sentencing was not immediately known.
Fla. man who lost hand charged with feeding gator
Jul. 29, 2012 09:52 AM
Associated Press
EVERGLADES CITY, Fla. -- A Florida airboat captain whose hand was bitten off by a 9-foot alligator faces charges of feeding of the animal.
Collier County Jail records show 63-year-old Wallace Weatherholt was charged Friday with unlawful feeding of an alligator and later posted $1,000 bond. His next court date is Aug. 22.
The arrest was first reported by the Fort Myers News-Press
(http://newspr.es/PVBBGP).
Weatherholt was attacked on June 12th as he was giving an Indiana family a tour of the Everglades. The family said Weatherholt hung a fish over the side of the boat and had his hand at the water's surface when the alligator attacked.
Wildlife officers tracked and euthanized the gator. Weatherholt's hand was found but could not be reattached.
A criminal investigation followed. Feeding alligators is a second-degree misdemeanor.
Seattle police reach reform agreement with US government
Laura L. Myers Reuters
3:23 p.m. CDT, July 27, 2012
SEATTLE (Reuters) - The Seattle Police Department reached an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department on Friday that will see the city avoid a federal civil rights lawsuit over complaints of excessive force by its police officers.
A Justice Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed that a consent decree had been negotiated for a plan to settle findings of systematic misconduct cited in a federal review of Seattle's police force late last year.
Officials from the Justice Department, the mayor's office and the city police department planned to hold a news conference at 3 p.m. local time to discuss an "agreement on Seattle Police Department reforms," the U.S. Attorney's Office in Seattle added in a brief statement.
Talks on a settlement had bogged down over the anticipated costs of implementing a Justice Department proposal, which a city memorandum estimated would run roughly $41 million for the first year alone.
The memorandum had described those expenses, including $18 million to develop and implement training programs and $11 million for new city positions, as "prohibitive."
Details of the final settlement, including its costs, were not immediately revealed.
The city had faced a July 31 deadline to reach agreement with the Justice Department or face a federal lawsuit accusing the police department of violating citizens' civil rights.
The settlement in Seattle follows voluntary police reform pacts in recent years with several other big cities, including Los Angeles, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. Several other large municipal police forces remain under federal review.
On Tuesday, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder placed the New Orleans Police Department, accused of widespread abuses, under the scrutiny of a federal monitor for at least four years.
The Justice Department concluded in a report presented in December that Seattle officers displayed a pattern of using excessive force between 2009 and April 2011.
The investigation was launched in response to a request by the American Civil Liberties Union that was sparked by a series of high-profile cases in which Seattle police used force against minorities.
(Reporting by Laura L. Myers; Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Paul Simao)
Seattle, federal officials agree to police reforms
CHRIS GRYGIEL | July 28, 2012 10:55 AM EST | AP
SEATTLE — Seattle officials have agreed to an independent monitor and court oversight of the city's police department as part of a deal with the Justice Department following a report that found officers routinely used excessive force.
City and federal negotiators were involved in tense talks over the scope of a deal for months, and Justice Department lawyers had threatened to sue the city if a deal was not reached by July 31.
"It's no secret there were a few bumps in the road to get here," Mayor Mike McGinn said of the agreement, which was announced Friday. "We do have a lot of work in front of us."
The Justice Department launched its civil rights investigation early last year after the fatal shooting of a homeless, Native American woodcarver and other incidents involving force used against minority suspects. In December, a DOJ report found officers were too quick to reach for weapons, such as flashlights and batons, even when arresting people for minor offenses.
The agreement was announced at City Hall by McGinn, Jenny Durkan, U.S. attorney for Seattle, and Thomas Perez, the Justice Department's chief civil rights enforcer.
The deal also calls for a special commission, appointed by the mayor, to concentrate on use of force issues.
Talks between Seattle officials and the Justice Department had been hung up after city officials initially balked at some federal proposals for reform.
The settlement, which must be approved by a federal judge, requires the Seattle Police Department to revise use of force policies and enhance training, reporting, investigation and supervision for situations involving use force. Police also would have to change policies and training concerning "bias-free" policing and stops, and create a Community Police Commission, which would be a civilian oversight body.
Court oversight would continue for five years, but the city could ask to end the scrutiny earlier if it has complied with the agreements for two years.
"This city is committed to eliminating bias," McGinn said.
Perez said the agreement could serve as a way to help reduce crime and increase public confidence in the city's police officers.
"We must continue to be well aware of the very raw feelings that many Seattle residents continue to have toward the Seattle Police Department," Perez said.
Surveillance cameras and police-cruiser videos had captured officers beating civilians, including stomping on a prone Latino man who was mistakenly thought to be a robbery suspect, and an officer kicking a non-resisting black youth in a convenience store.
The earlier Justice Department report found that force was used unconstitutionally one out of every five times an officer resorted to it. The department failed to adequately review the use of force and lacked policies and training related to the use of force, it said.
The American Civil Liberties Union and other community groups called for scrutiny of the department after a Seattle officer shot and killed the woodcarver, John T. Williams, in 2010.
Video from Officer Ian Birk's patrol car showed Williams crossing the street holding a piece of wood and a small knife, and Birk exiting the vehicle to pursue him. Off-camera, Birk quickly shouted three times for Williams to drop the knife then fired five shots. The knife was found folded at the scene, but Birk later maintained Williams had threatened him. Birk resigned from the force and was not charged. A review board found the shooting unjustified.
Seattle Councilman Tim Burgess, a former city police officer, said the agreement was a good one.
The fact that a federal judge and federal monitor will be involved was key, Burgess said. "That will provide the muscle behind the reforms that will be necessary," he said.
Doug Honig, spokesman for the ACLU of Washington, was also pleased.
"The city and the DOJ appear to have taken our concerns about excessive force, racially biased policing and flaws in the oversight system seriously," Honig said. "The implementation is what's going to matter."
Since the beginning of 2010, the Justice Department's civil rights division has previously reached settlements to reform police practices in New Orleans and in Warren, Ohio.
It has sued the Maricopa County, Ariz., sheriff's office and the East Haven, Conn., police department for a pattern and practice of discrimination against Latinos and Hispanics. It is also investigating the Newark, N.J., police department for a pattern and practice of excessive force and unconstitutional stops, searches, arrests and seizures, and discriminatory policing; the Miami, Fla., police department and the Portland, Ore., Police Bureau over patterns of excessive deadly force; and Missoula, Mont., police over handling of sexual assault cases.
____
Associated Press writers Gene Johnson in Seattle and Michael J. Sniffen in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.
Feds and Seattle police settle over excessive force allegations
By Terry Frieden, CNN
updated 8:56 PM EDT, Fri July 27, 2012
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Justice Department and Seattle announced a settlement Friday over long-simmering allegations of excessive force by police officers.
The agreement calls for a federal court-appointed monitor who will resolve disputes that might arise over the next several years, according to officials. The monitor will also be able to order changes in the reforms announced Friday, if necessary.
"This agreement represents a blueprint for reform," said Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez, the nation's chief civil rights official, who flew to Seattle to join city officials for the announcement.
A series of allegations by minority groups that police were quick to resort to force in several instances prompted the Justice Department to launch an investigation.
Some of the incidents were videotaped. Most prominent of the incidents was a case in which a wood-carver and member of "First Nations" was shot and killed by a policeman. Totem carver John T. Williams was walking down a street with a piece of wood and small knife when he was ordered to drop the weapon. When he failed to respond immediately, he was fatally shot.
That August 2010 incident prompted more than 30 organizations to demand a Justice Department investigation. Justice launched a probe that found in December 2011 that the Seattle police department had engaged in a "pattern or practice" of excessive force.
During bumpy negotiating sessions in which officials say Seattle officeholders argued over the agreement, the Justice Department set a July 31 deadline for a settlement, saying if they did not agree the federal government would sue the city. The last-minute deal Friday avoided that outcome.
The Seattle settlement comes just days after the Justice Department announced a much broader deal with the city of New Orleans to try to root out deep-seated corruption in its police department.
The Justice Department Civil Rights Division still has 15 other "pattern or practice" investigations of police departments pending. The largest is Puerto Rico. Most of the others deal with small cities. A suit against Maricopa County, Arizona, alleging discrimination against Latino suspects is currently being challenged in a federal court.
Secret Service won't pay Newport Beach for police at Obama event
By Mike Reicher, Los Angeles Times
July 30, 2012, 2:30 a.m.
A Secret Service official said Newport Beach city administrators are asking the wrong people to pay for police protection at presidential campaign events.
It's the service that is responsible for the candidates' security, not the campaigns, said Max Milien, an agency spokesman. Any cost concerns should be directed to the agency.
Newport Beach City Manager Dave Kiff billed the campaigns of President Obama and presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney for police security at their separate fundraisers this year in the city.
Now that the Romney campaign paid its bill, the city is left in the awkward position of trying to collect from Obama.
"We cannot reimburse any agencies," Milien said. "We make that clear from Day 1."
Milien explained that an advance team works with local law enforcement to plan road closures and other measures before a candidate's visit. If the local agency cannot afford to pay for extra security or overtime, the local officials should inform the Secret Service ahead of time, he said.
In that case, Milien said, the Secret Service would seek help from other law enforcement groups — county or state police, for example, who would not charge for the service.
"There is adequate time if an agency cannot assist us and is strapped for manpower," he said, adding that the Secret Service does not have the budget for that type of expense.
Kiff says the Police Department did raise the issue with the Secret Service before the president's visit.
"At that time, our staff was told that the Secret Service would not reimburse the city," Kiff wrote in an email, "and that we should check with the president's campaign or the DNC."
The Romney campaign paid its bill last week, about a month after the city sent its invoice. The Obama bill, on the other hand, was sent in May and has not been paid.
City spokeswoman Tara Finnigan said the city's billing system would be sending past-due notices.
About three weeks ago, the Democratic National Committee contacted the city and told officials to deal with the Secret Service.
The DNC and the Republican National Committee split their Newport Beach event proceeds with the respective campaigns.
"Any local law enforcement organization contacted by the Secret Service to assist in security should discuss matters related to costs and how to effectively manage those costs with the Secret Service," DNC spokeswoman Melanie Roussell wrote in an email Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Kiff would like the issue to go away.
"I am very tired of this story, but it will have legs again," Kiff wrote in an email to the City Council after the Orange County Register inquired about the Romney campaign's payment.
The city was "honored" to have the president in town, Kiff said, but he viewed the campaign fundraisers as private events.
"Had this been a 'business trip' — if the president came to Newport Beach to talk about one of his policies with our residents — the city would not have sent an invoice," he wrote in an email.
Newport Beach is in strong fiscal shape, with about $98 million in reserves.
The city's Finance Department recently emailed the Obama campaign a reminder about the bill instead of turning to the Secret Service, Finnigan said. City administrators did not return messages asking about their next steps.
Councilwoman Leslie Daigle, a Republican, said, "It's the city's intention to apply its usual policies and send the bill to collections."
Obama spoke at a private home in Corona del Mar in February, and Romney held his May fundraiser at the Balboa Bay Club. The $35,000 bill for Obama was more than three times as much as Romney's. Kiff said the difference was due to the added street closures and additional security requirements for the president.
Costa Mesa police did not bill the Romney campaign for an event this week because it did not require additional police personnel, city spokesman Bill Lobdell said.
mike.reicher@latimes.com
9 Arrests Made in Another Day of Anaheim Protests
Outrage after three officer-involved shootings in a single week.
KTLA News
July 30, 2012, 4:46 a.m.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (KTLA) -- The tension and anger continue to run high in Anaheim over a string of recent officer-involved shootings in the community.
A news conference is planned for 11 a.m. in downtown Los Angeles on Monday, following a ninth straight day of protests on Sunday.
Police arrested nine people in Anaheim in protests on Sunday, although the tension did not escalate as it had last week.
The demonstration stretched long into the afternoon, with more than 200 protesters chanting in front of the Anaheim Police Department and taking over a parking lot.
Many of the demonstrators came from outside Anaheim and were part of the Occupy movement.
They drew chalk outlines of bodies and wrote messages condemning the police.
At one point, the crowd began marching en masse on Harbor Boulevard, saying they were headed to Disneyland -- the site of a protest on Saturday.
But police in riot gear corralled the protesters, and many returned to police headquarters.
Eight protesters were arrested when, police said, they failed to disperse or they blocked traffic after authorities told them to get out of the street.
A woman was arrested on suspicion of assaulting an employee and customers at a nearby gas station.
"What you're seeing is the culmination of years of frustration," one protester told KTLA.
Hundreds gathered on Sunday night on Anna Drive in Anaheim where 25-year-old Manuel Diaz was killed -- the first shooting that sparked unrest.
"We're going to miss him," one person said at the gathering. "I know he's watching from heaven right now."
Soon after the protest began, demonstrators gathered on the sidewalk just yards from the front entrance of police headquarters.
The crowd chanted: "The whole system is guilty" and "Am I next?," touching on a sense of stewing ethnic and class divisions in the city.
Sunday's protests followed a demonstration held outside Disneyland on Saturday.
Demonstrators called for equality and an end to police brutality, vowing to keep their post outside of Disneyland every weekend until their message is heard.
"Disneyland is the financial power behind Anaheim," Diaz's aunt, Abigail Diaz, said.
She explained that the purpose behind the protest was to pressure the company to acknowledge the recent events.
Former prosecutor pays to settle wrongful prosecution claim
He was accused of trying to frame McHenry County state's attorney
By Robert McCoppin, Chicago Tribune reporter
10:48 p.m. CDT, July 29, 2012
In an extremely unusual move, a former special prosecutor has agreed to pay to settle a lawsuit claiming that he tried to frame the McHenry County state's attorney.
Former special prosecutor Henry C. "Skip" Tonigan III, previously a chief judge in McHenry and Lake counties, agreed to pay $157,500 to settle the suit by State's Attorney Louis Bianchi and others. Tonigan admitted no wrongdoing in the agreement, but he declined to comment further.
Bianchi, his administrative assistant Joyce Synek and state's attorney investigators Ronald Salgado and Michael McCleary filed the suit in federal court in January, claiming wrongful prosecution by Tonigan, former special prosecutor Thomas McQueen, Quest Consultants International Ltd. and its investigators.
Tonigan and McQueen prosecuted Bianchi and Synek on charges related to using county employees and computers to solicit and keep track of political fundraising. Winnebago Circuit Judge Joseph McGraw acquitted the defendants last year, saying the charges were significantly lacking in evidence and on legal grounds.
Bianchi was charged again, this time with fixing cases to favor connected defendants, and Salgado and McCleary were charged with misconduct related to the investigation. Tonigan withdrew from the prosecution, citing his caretaker role for his ill father, leaving the case to McQueen. McQueen also tried to leave the case, citing the threat of a lawsuit against him, but was not allowed to withdraw.
Ultimately, McGraw again acquitted Bianchi and threw out related charges against Salgado and McCleary.
Because prosecutors normally are protected from lawsuits by absolute immunity, Susana Ortiz, an attorney at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, called it "beyond rare" for a prosecutor to pay to settle such a suit.
Prosecutors typically have absolute immunity from liability for their actions unless they step outside their prosecutorial role and start investigating, as the plaintiffs allege, in which case they have qualified immunity, Ortiz said.
In this case, Bianchi attorney Terry Ekl charged that the special prosecutors fabricated evidence, concealed evidence that favored the defendants and presented false testimony to the grand jury as part of a "politically and financially motivated conspiracy."
The suit is pending against McQueen, a former federal prosecutor who is now a defense attorney, and Oak Brook-based Quest, which includes several former investigators for the FBI.
McQueen and Quest President Robert Scigalski have previously said they followed where the evidence took them in the case, but they declined to comment about the settlement.
About $100,000 of the settlement will go toward repaying McHenry County for $275,000 it paid Ekl in legal fees, with the proceeds coming from Tonigan or his insurance company, Ekl said.
After 23 years as a judge, Tonigan works for Kelleher & Buckley in Barrington as a mediator and arbitrator, and he has worked as an administrative hearing officer for municipalities on red-light tickets and other matters.
Darryl Goldberg, a private attorney defending murder suspect Drew Peterson, said he wasn't aware of any other case in which a prosecutor paid to settle a wrongful prosecution claim, but he speculated that Tonigan may have thought it was more cost-efficient to settle than risk a big payout.
rmccoppin@tribune.com
Of course that won't help the hundreds of thousands and perhaps millions of Iraqi citizens who have been murdered by the American Empire in our invasion of Iraq.
More than $200 million wasted on Iraq police training, audit says
July 30, 2012 | 11:56 am
The United States wasted more than $200 million on an Iraqi police-training program that has little backing on the ground, a new U.S. government audit released Monday found.
Training the Iraqi police was originally envisioned as the biggest single program run by the U.S. Department of State in the world, spanning five years and costing billions of dollars. But the program has been gutted as Iraqi officials show dimming interest. The U.S. slashed the number of advisors from 85 to 36 this month; it had once planned to have 350.
As Iraqi enthusiasm for the idea has flagged, the program has been downsized so much that the Baghdad Police College Annex -- built at an $108 million cost to help house the program -- will be closed. The U.S. also chipped in an additional $98 million to a Basra facility where training will be halted, making the money a “de facto waste,” the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction found.
Only seven police advisors used the $98 million facility at the height of the training program. Government auditors questioned why millions were poured into costly construction projects without a written commitment to the program from the Iraqi Interior Ministry.
The inspector general “acknowledges that gaining Iraqi commitment to the police training program has been exceeding difficult. And the security situation has been worse than expected,” the report says. But the need for Iraqis to be firmly behind the projects had been emphasized over and over.
In a letter, Assistant Secretary of State Carol Z. Perez disputed the idea that the funds had been wasted, saying Iraqis will still use the Baghdad Police College Annex for training, the Associated Press reported. The U.S. had been assured that Iraq was committed to a streamlined version of the program, she said.
The report notes that State Department officials said they were surprised by the Iraqi disinterest because they had repeatedly met with Iraqi officials before the program began in October to share their ideas and ask for input. But as the training began, Iraqi officials and police questioned whether it was useful, faulting it as poorly organized and lacking leadership.
Some Iraqi officers were told not to go to trainings at the Baghdad Police College Annex or the U.S. Embassy for political reasons, the report says, as Iraqi officials tried to avoid being seen as overly dependent on the Americans. The results are “lukewarm relations between the Americans and the Iraqis,” the report says, citing an Iraqi official.
“I do believe that some of this was unpredictable,” said Michael O’Hanlon, senior fellow in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution. As the U.S. scaled back its forces in a country trying to assert its own sovereignty, “the program began to stick out like a sore thumb.”
Iraqi officials flatly rejected more than a quarter of the meetings that police advisors requested and fewer than half happened. The report says Iraqi officials don’t want the sweeping training that the U.S. had envisioned but a much smaller program solely to hone technical and advanced policing skills.
The program has also been dogged by the worsening security in Baghdad. After American troops withdrew from Iraq in December, the advisors have had trouble traveling to meet with Iraqi police. Meetings at the Baghdad Police College were all but suspended between January and March as bomb attacks targeted Iraqi police. Security costs have chewed up a growing share of the budget.
Because the program was downsized but its funding kept flowing, the crimped initiative may be able to survive on the unspent money left over from past years, auditors say. The report recommends that the secretary of State account for all available funding and that Congress might want to push the department to assure lawmakers in writing that Iraqis want the program before more money is committed.
The U.S. government has spent roughly $8 billion to train, staff and equip Iraqi police since 2003, according to the report.
Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk also seems to be selectively picking and choosing which parts of the US Constitution she wants to enforce.
I suspect she will argue that the 10th Amendment forbids the Feds from stopping Arizona's enforcement our racist SB 1070 law while while at the same time forgetting that the same 10th Amendment forbids the Feds from interfering with Arizona's medical marijuana law which is Prop 203.
This is a full list of the drug war tyrants who are asking
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer to illegally and unconstitutionally
stop Arizona's medical medical program which is Prop 203:
Those other drug war tyrants are:
Brewer urged to halt medical-marijuana program
County attorneys say licensing will defy law
by Yvonne Wingett Sanchez - Jul. 30, 2012 10:59 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com
Thirteen Arizona county attorneys are urging Gov. Jan Brewer to halt the state's medical-marijuana program, saying state employees will be facilitating federal crimes when they issue licenses to pot dispensaries.
The lawyers signed onto a three-page July 24 letter authored by Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk, who requests that the governor prevent the state's issuance of licenses for medical-marijuana dispensaries because the state program is pre-empted by the federal Controlled Substances Act.
The latest round of correspondence over the controversial program comes as the state Department of Health Services prepares for an Aug. 7 lottery to select 99 out of 486 applicants to run medical-marijuana dispensaries throughout the state.
Under Arizona's law, there is no limit to the amount of marijuana a dispensary can grow. Patients can obtain up to 21/2 ounces of medical pot every two weeks.
About 29,500 people have permission to smoke, eat or otherwise ingest medical marijuana to ease their ailments.
The overwhelming majority of medical-marijuana users reported chronic pain as their medical condition; other ailments include muscle spasms, hepatitis C, cancer and seizures.
State health officials declined to comment on Polk's letter, which underscores their longtime concerns about the program.
In the past, state health officials have expressed concern they could be federally prosecuted for implementing the law.
In her letter, Polk pointed out that the federal government is seizing and closing medical-marijuana dispensaries in other states under the Controlled Substances Act.
Earlier this month, for example, Melinda Haag, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California, moved to shut down two locations of a dispensary with more than 100,000 medical-marijuana patients.
Polk wrote that she has been told Arizona's newly appointed U.S. Attorney John Leonardo "fully intends to prevent any dispensaries from operating in Arizona by seizing each and every one as it opens and commits violations" of the federal act.
"We believe it is bad public policy for one arm of the government to facilitate marijuana cultivation and use while another arm of the government is moving to close it down," wrote Polk. She added it is bad policy for the state to take steps to license a dispensary and require individuals to pay thousands for fees and obtain permits from local governments, "knowing full well that these business ventures will result in significant financial repercussions when the U.S. attorney shuts them down."
U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Bill Solomon told The Arizona Republic late Monday that Polk's representation of the U.S. attorney's position on medical marijuana is inaccurate.
He said the agency's position has not changed since February, when then-Acting U.S. Attorney Ann Scheel told Brewer the agency would follow Department of Justice policy on the issue and would focus efforts on significant drug traffickers, not people who use marijuana as treatment.
"Specifically, the Department of Justice is focusing its limited resources on significant drug traffickers, not seriously ill individuals and their caregivers who are in compliance with applicable state medical-marijuana statutes," Solomon wrote in a statement.
Brewer responded to the county attorneys Thursday, saying she understands -- and shares -- their concerns. While she remains "deeply concerned about potential abuses of the law," the conflicts between federal and state laws, and the risk of federal prosecution of state employees, she is bound to implement the program because voters approved it.
Brewer also maintains that while the Department of Justice has prosecuted a number of medical-marijuana operations in California and elsewhere, "the federal government's position remains unclear" regarding Arizona's program and state workers' participation in the law.
Brewer wrote that a federal court dismissed a state lawsuit on procedural grounds seeking to clarify the conflict between the state program and federal law.
She pointed out that Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Richard Gama in January, meanwhile, ordered the state to implement the lawful provisions of the medical-marijuana program.
Polk told The Republic she appreciated Brewer's "thoughtful response." However, she said, she disagrees with her regarding the interpretation of the Gama ruling.
Polk pointed out that the legal quandary put before Gama was not the issue of pre-emption, but whether state health officials exceeded the scope of their authority in expanding rules regarding dispensaries.
Halting the dispensary process would force a lawsuit that would require a court to consider the pre-emption argument, Polk said, and whether state employees are subject to criminal prosecution for facilitating violations of the federal law by implementing the medical-marijuana program.
She said all 17 states that have medical-marijuana laws are grappling with how to reconcile state and federal laws: "Every single program has had complications and glitches, and in two or three states the governors have refused to go forward because of the issues I'm raising."
Greenlee County Attorney Derek Rapier told The Republic he signed onto Polk's letter based on the pre-emption argument.
"Everyone agrees the feds' primary target will be the dispensaries themselves, but I cannot, in good conscience, tell my clients, which in this case are county employees, to violate laws," he said, referring to zoning officials who may be asked to permit dispensaries. "I just can't do it."
Arpaio isn't both tough, oblivious
Jul. 31, 2012 12:00 AM
The Republic | azcentral.com
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
Try fooling the public a half dozen times or more about who really runs the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, and shame on Joe Arpaio.
It is a theme repeated time and again. Top aides to Arpaio avow under oath that their bombastic boss has virtually no connection to day-to-day police operations within his department.
And, time and again, those assurances are underscored by the man himself, who has sworn under oath that he hasn't read his own Mexican-bashing quotations in his own autobiography.
All the bluster, all the chest-thumping hyperbole about doing things his way: None of it, they avow, is real. Really.
Arpaio and his aides now are straining to convince U.S. District Judge Murray Snow of the boss's oblivion. Snow is presiding over a non-jury bench trial to determine if the sheriff's office, under direction of America's most notorious illegal-immigrant hunter, Joe Arpaio, racially profiled Hispanics in his zealous pursuit of illegals.
Said Deputy Chief Brian Sands, under oath: "Oftentimes, he doesn't understand what the rank-and-file deputies are doing out there."
The claims of Sands and other deputies mirror testimony in earlier investigations involving top aides like former Chief Deputy David Hendershott, who used his police power to terrorize county officials like Torquemada used Inquisition-era waterboarding.
Through it all, Arpaio knew nothing. Heard no screams for mercy.
Apologists for Arpaio must come to terms with the person they so zealously defend. Either he is America's toughest sheriff, or America's most oblivious sheriff.
Arpaio's attorneys contend that Arpaio's hermetically sealed existence in his own office is intended to avoid micromanagement of professional police work.
"It serves as an insulation against desires and impulses that might not be in the best interest of the community," said attorney Tim Casey.
That runs exactly counter to Arpaio's assertions, repeated endlessly, that his notorious, wasteful "crime-suppression sweeps" through largely Hispanic neighborhoods were conducted precisely because he deemed them in the community's best interests. The very existence of the sweeps was a political statement.
Arpaio and his acolytes either lied to the public about the purpose of those sweeps, or they are lying to the judge now.
As 12 News reporter Joe Dana observed in his blog last week, Arpaio claimed before Judge Snow that he doesn't agree with Mexican-bashing quotes in his own autobiography. The ghost writer said it, he says.
That is evidence of either breathtaking ignorance or mendacity. Whichever, it constitutes unimpeachable evidence that Arpaio is working either the court or the public like a honky-tonk piano.
Fool us once ...
I sincerely doubt that the vial the the cops found in this woman's purse looked like a weapon. So they probably are looking for drugs just as much as they are looking for weapons.
Records: Woman caught with cocaine in Mesa court building
by Jim Walsh - Jul. 31, 2012 02:39 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com
A woman visiting Mesa Municipal Court was arrested Monday after security officers discovered a vial in her purse that contained what was later identified as cocaine, according to a court record.
Dawn Klene, 44, who was identified as a transient, was arrested by Mesa police on suspicion of possession of a narcotic.
The report said a security officer told police he had found a small vial containing white powder in Klene's purse during an X-ray. Anyone entering the courthouse is required to pass through a security inspection.
Klene told officers "she must have accidentally picked the vial up earlier and inadvertently put it in her purse,'' the report said. Klene said the substance wasn't hers, but she admitted it looked like cocaine.
A field test later identified the substance as cocaine, the report said.
Stamper Brown: The futility of gun control
Posted: Monday, July 30, 2012 9:03 pm
Guest commentary by Susan Stamper Brown
"A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." — The Second Amendment
Whether it is college campuses, Amish communities, or other gun-free zones, bloodthirsty maniacal men will find a way to quench their cravings. Therefore, gun control laws do not work -- because they are based on the erroneous assumption that criminals will obey the law. They don't and won't; hence leaving law-abiding citizens defenseless in the face of danger, as so happened that tragic July evening at the Aurora, Colorado movie theater where guns were not permitted, and a man who called himself "The Joker" went on a shooting rampage.
In addition to the need for self-defense, our Founders understood the bearing of arms was essential to protecting this country from tyrannical governments. Fresh on their minds was the revolutionary clash between the tax-happy British government and a population of armed and ragtag citizens with the dream of freedom burning in their souls.
Much to the dismay of gun law activists who claim the Second Amendment pertains solely to "militia" (military) service, and who predictably crawl out from underneath their rocks after every mass shooting, the 2008 Supreme Court Case, District of Columbia v. Heller, ruled the Second Amendment indeed secures an individual's right to possess firearms, regardless of military service. Nonetheless, these activists continue their march ever forward, in an endeavor to infringe upon that which "shall not be infringed."
It is really about perspective. Every life is precious. Each of the 12 lives snuffed out in that Colorado movie theatre is 12 lives too many representing untold numbers of family members whose lives are forever changed. No amount of gun control will bring them back, nor will it stop the next psychopath from taking his rage out on society. Zip. Zero. Zilch. If every last gun was shipped across our borders fast and furiously, murderers would still find a way to kill.
This conversation is not about gun control; it's about people control. Gotham City, er, Chicago, has one of the strictest gun laws in the country -- so severe, the laws were deemed as unconstitutional awhile back. But that didn't stop former Mayor Richard Daley and current Mayor Rahm Emanuel from attempting everything in their power to maneuver through the gray areas and around the red tape, God bless them. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, over Memorial Day weekend 12 people were killed by gunfire and 45 were shot and wounded. In the time it takes to play a major league soccer match (90 minutes), 13 people were shot. By mid-June, murder was up 35 percent from last year with 228 people killed. Statistically speaking, our troops are safer in Kabul, Afghanistan than in Chicago. Where was that story in the national news?
Less might be more when it comes to gun regulation. According to the Washington Times, violent crime peaked 25 years ago when just "a handful of states" had conceal-carry laws. To no coincidence, gun sales have increased over the past four years, and currently 41 states have differing versions of gun-carrying laws, yet violent crime has decreased according to the FBI in June. According to Pajamas Media, "States with the highest gun ownership have the lowest firearms homicide rates" and "States with the lowest firearms ownership average the highest firearm and non-firearm homicide rates."
Gun control activists have it all wrong because they make incredibly naive assumptions about human nature. Given the chance others were packing heat in theater number 9 at the Century 16 in Aurora, Colorado, the story may have ended much differently for the cold-blooded killer.
Copyright Susan Stamper Brown. Stamper Brown is an opinion page columnist, motivational speaker and military advocate who writes about politics, the military, the economy and culture. E-mail Susan at writestamper@gmail.com or her website at susanstamperbrown.com.
I am surprised that NRA spokesman Jacqueline Otto seems to think this was a victory, when it was a big loss. Of course many people call the NRA the largest gun control organization in the nation, despite the fact that the NRA claims to be pro-gun.
Gun ruling may become a model for the nation
By Sean O'Sullivan and Jesse Paul, The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal
WILMINGTON, Del. -- In a decision that may become a model for the nation, a federal judge here ruled that gun restrictions imposed by the Wilmington Housing Authority on its residents are constitutional.
The housing authority's policy of prohibiting residents from openly carrying firearms in "common areas" of public housing buildings is reasonable and does not unduly restrict residents' Second Amendment right to own and possess a gun, U.S. District Judge Leonard P. Stark wrote in a 42-page opinion.
"It is a good day for the residents of public housing," the housing authority's executive director, Frederick S. Purnell, said Tuesday, adding the policy is designed to protect the safety of tenants, not limit their rights.
The plaintiffs in the National Rifle Association-financed lawsuit, residents Charles Boone and a woman only identified as "Jane Doe," could not be reached for comment. But their lawyer, Francis X. Pileggi, said the federal suit originally was filed to overturn a blanket ban on gun ownership in this city's public housing, "and that was changed after we filed a lawsuit."
The NRA declined comment on the restrictions or Stark's ruling. NRA spokeswoman Jacqueline Otto said the important thing is that the right of residents of public housing to have a gun was upheld.
Pileggi said they have not decided whether to appeal.
According to the ruling, Boone testified that the ban on guns in common areas, such as halls and lounges, was "a reasonable policy."
"Yet again, a court has affirmed that the Second Amendment does not infringe on gun owners' rights when it comes to common-sense restrictions on the carrying of guns in public spaces," according to a statement from the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the housing authority.
At Park View Apartments -- where "Jane Doe" lives, according to court papers -- residents gathered in a ground-floor community room Tuesday were divided about the idea of their neighbors having guns in their units. But all seemed to support the ban on guns in common areas.
"I don't like the guns," said Jeanette Mayo, 75, one of a group of 10 senior citizens sitting around card tables. "A lot of these seniors, these old-timers, they aren't thinking right. Their minds are not functioning right."
Mayo said firearms have no place in her apartment building, noting many residents have grandchildren who visit and having guns around them could be dangerous.
"I don't believe in having guns in the common area, but if (people) want a gun in their apartment, then that's OK," said resident Beulah Goldsborough, 69.
Oliver Talbert, 74, a proud, card-carrying NRA member, agreed with Goldsborough. Talbert said he joined the NRA a year ago after one of his friends was killed in a home invasion.
"No guns? Of course not," Talbert said. "That's an infringement of my Second Amendment rights."
Some residents sitting on purple and gray plastic chairs in the community room said they had guns in their apartments but would not provide their names. They said they have the right to defend themselves if needed.
The original lawsuit was filed June 1, 2010. A few weeks later, a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling found that state and local governments couldn't impose blanket bans on gun ownership. Following that ruling, the housing authority dropped its blanket ban on firearms in September 2010 and instead adopted the restrictions on guns in common areas.
Residents who violate the policy face possible eviction.
But the plaintiffs, backed by the NRA, did not drop their lawsuit after the housing authority made changes, insisting that the new restrictions also were unconstitutional. The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the housing authority.
Stark handed down his ruling late last week, and judgment was entered in favor of the housing authority Monday.
Daniel Vice, senior attorney with the Brady Center, said the Stark opinion approving a public housing authority's power to put limits on gun possession is a first.
"So this ruling will set an important precedent for other housing authorities around the country," he said.
The housing authority's Purnell agreed: "A lot of people around the country were waiting for this ruling."
Since the Supreme Court rulings in 2010, Loyola Law School Professor Laurie L. Levenson said courts "have been looking for someone to take first step" on how to analyze and handle gun rights cases.
Now that Stark has taken that step, Levenson said his opinion is likely to be influential on other courts considering similar cases.
"This is a very important case," she said.
Purnell said it also was an expensive case, costing the housing authority nearly $500,000 to defend against the legal action.
Riots in Anaheim over police murders
Are the Anaheim piggies trying to prove they are more sadistic murderers then the Fullerton piggies who beat Kelly Thomas to death in the city just north of Anaheim???
Job files reveal 2 images of Peoria officer
If a racist cop who beats up Mexicans also
helps old ladies across the street does that
make him a good cop? This article and the
bureaucrats in the Peoria Police Department
seem to want us to believe that. Of course I
don't buy that line of BS.
Chandler to pay $100K settlement in fatal police chase
Source
Microsoft helps the police monitor your skype communications!!!
Microsoft helps the police monitor your skype communications!!!
Man who tweeted airport bomb 'joke' wins appeal
Source
Deputy Clint Bradshaw was the judge, jury and executioner!!!!
Source
The Death Penalty is a jobs program for overpaid prosecutors!!!!!
Death Penalty - It's a jobs program for well paid prosecutors.
"The State of AZ wanted me to get the death penalty before and during my trial. I was found guilty and given six death sentences," he wrote. "Now that I want to get executed, suddenly my mental state is in question. ... I am not insane, I am of sound mind. I simply wish to get the punishment handed down to me, but more quickly. I mean really, what's a guy got to do to get snuffed out?"
Personally I am against the death penalty. Too many innocent people have been executed, and many more innocent people will be executed by by bloodthirsty prosecutors who want to use the death penalty to convince voters that they are tough on crime.
2 NJ troopers charged in 100-mph escort
Source
Baca - My underlings kept me uninformed
L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca sounds a lot like Maricopa County Sheriff
Joe Arapio.
He wants to blame his underlings for any problems, but take credit for all the successes.
Tempe police: Officer resigns after admitting to theft
This is kind of odd, a cop actually being arrested for crimes he committed. Normally this doesn't happen. I bet he pissed off his bosses for something else!
Former patrol officer Aaron Smith was taken into custody Saturday morning near Dobson Road and Southern Avenue after a month-long internal investigation, according to Tempe Police spokesman Lt. Mike Horn. He faces charges of theft, burglary and tampering with physical evidence, Horn said.
Aaron Smith, a 7 ½ year employee of the department, was arrested by Tempe Police detectives Saturday morning on suspicion of theft, burglary, and tampering with physical evidence.
Veteran LAPD officer pleads guilty to stealing from luxury hotel
Veteran LAPD officer pleads guilty to stealing from luxury hotel
Orange County Superior Court Judge Robert R. Fitzgerald sentenced Jeffry Paul Quinton, 47, of Anaheim Hills, to 120 days in jail and three years of probation, and ordered him to pay restitution in exchange for the plea, the Orange County District Attorney's Office said. Quinton faced a maximum sentence of three years and eight months behind bars for the grand theft and commercial burglary charges.
Fla. man who lost hand charged with feeding gator
Don't these pigs have any real criminals to hunt down????
Seattle police reach reform agreement with US government
Seattle rulers say the cost of training cops to honor our Constitutional rights is prohibitive!!!
'[a Seattle city] memorandum had described those expenses, including $18 million to develop and implement training programs and $11 million for new city positions, as "prohibitive."'
I am certain that is one of the reasons the Founders created the Second Amendment. Sadly a huge number of our elected officials consider themselves royal rulers and consider us to be serfs they have a royal right to rule over.
Secret Service tells Newport Beach to take a hike!!!
Source
Anaheim police murders protested
Source
Chicago prosecutor pays to settle wrongful prosecution claim
Source
More than $200 million wasted on Iraq police training, audit says
I guess the good news is that even though the American Empire p*ssed away $200 million,
it wasn't p*ssed away training Iraqi pigs on how to violate the rights of Iraqi citizens.
Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk asks Brewer to halt medical-marijuana program
I am sure the reason the Founders created the Second Amendment is they knew there would always be government tyrants like Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk.
Graham County Attorney
Navajo County Attorney
Gila County Attorney
Pima County Attorney
Maricopa County Attorney
Greenlee County Attorney
Yavapai County Attorney
Cochise County Attorney
Santa Cruz County Attorney
Yuma County Attorney
Mohave County Attorney
Pinal County Attorney
Apache County Attorney
Sheriff Joe - Don't blame me, I'm not in charge???
Sadly Sheriff Joe is a typical politician who wants to take credit for anything good that happens when he is in office and wants to deny responsibility for anything bad that happens.
Court searches are for drugs and weapons
I suspect these searches when you enter government buildings are looking for illegal drugs just as much as they are looking for weapons.
Stamper Brown: The futility of gun control
Source
Delaware Judge flushes 2nd Amendment in public housing projects.
It sounds like U.S. District Judge Leonard P. Stark view on the 2nd Amendment is that you can have a gun, as long as you keep it locked in a safe and you never take it out.
NRA spokeswoman Jacqueline Otto said the important thing is that the right of residents of public housing to have a gun was upheld.
Source
Officer who pepper-sprayed UC Davis students leaves job
July 31, 2012 | 11:37 pm
The UC Davis police officer who pepper-sprayed students during a campus protest last fall no longer works for the university, the Sacramento Bee reported Tuesday.
The employment of Lt. John Pike, who was captured on cellphone video in the act of spraying peaceful demonstrators, “ended on July 31, 2012,” UC Davis spokesman Barry Shiller said.
Shiller would not comment on the circumstances of Pike’s departure, citing privacy restrictions governing the release of such information. Pike declined to comment to the newspaper, saying he wanted to consult an attorney before speaking. Pike had been on paid administrative leave.
His actions Nov. 18 sparked widespread outrage with the dissemination of a video showing him repeatedly spraying the chemical irritant into the faces of seated students. Pike and other campus police officers contended that the spray was the "most appropriate" tool on hand to deal with what they described as an unruly mob that encircled the officers and refused to disperse.
The handling of the student demonstration already led to the retirement of former UC Davis Police Chief Annette Spicuzza and to criticism of the university's president.
A task-force investigation concluded that Pike lacked proper cause to spray the students and broke police rules by using a large and high-pressure canister that is not supposed to be deployed any closer than six feet from the intended targets.
Which is the real Joe Arpaio?
SourceWhich is the real Joe Arpaio?
Joe Arpaio has released his first campaign ad of the season, entitled “It’s time you met the real Joe Arpaio.”
I so agree.
In the ad, there are scenes from back in the day (that would be the 1970s), when Arpaio was a DEA agent. And there are scenes of Joe the family man.
Missing are scenes of Arpaio’s 1992 press conference when he announced that he was running for sheriff, vowing to serve one term and professionalize the office by working to turn it into an appointive post.
"I will demand effectiveness in the Sheriff's Office, increase citizen involvement and serve one term and take the office out of politics,” he said at the time.
Twenty years later, he's still there and I thought for the longest time that we knew him.
These days, however, I’m not quite sure who the real sheriff is.
Is it the tough talker who refers to himself as “the sheriff” and has long left the impression that he’s running the show? Except, of course, when he’s not. (Think 432 uninvestigated sex abuse cases, think Dave Hendershott’s reign of terror.)
Or is he a figurehead, as suggested by last week’s testimony from one of his deputy chiefs?
“Often times he doesn't understand what the rank-and-file deputies are doing out there," Brian Sands, head of Arpaio’s human smuggling unit, told U.S. District Court Judge Murray Snow.
Which, I wonder, is the real Joe Arpaio in this, his 81st year?
And did he fulfill that long-ago pledge made to the people of Maricopa County?
Government welfare program for private prison companies
A government welfare program for private prison companies! And of course the Congressmen and Senators that pass these racist laws get bribes, opps, I mean campaign contributions from the companies that get the contracts.I wonder if Hitler's program to exterminate the Jews was also a welfare program for corporations in Nazi Germany?
Immigrants prove big business for prison companies
Aug. 2, 2012 09:50 AM
Associated Press
MIAMI -- The U.S. is locking up more illegal immigrants than ever, generating lucrative profits for the nation's largest prison companies, and an Associated Press review shows the businesses have spent tens of millions of dollars lobbying lawmakers and contributing to campaigns.
The cost to American taxpayers is on track to top $2 billion for this year, and the companies are expecting their biggest cut of that yet in the next few years thanks to government plans for new facilities to house the 400,000 immigrants detained annually.
After a decade of expansion, the sprawling, private system runs detention centers everywhere from a Denver suburb to an industrial area flanking Newark's airport, and is largely controlled by just three companies.
The growth is far from over, despite the sheer drop in illegal immigration in recent years.
In 2011, nearly half the beds in the nation's civil detention system were in private facilities with little federal oversight, up from just 10 percent a decade ago.
The companies also have raked in cash from subsidiaries that provide health care and transportation. And they are holding more immigrants convicted of federal crimes in their privately-run prisons.
The financial boom, which has helped save some of these companies from the brink of bankruptcy, has occurred even though federal officials acknowledge privatization isn't necessarily cheaper.
This seismic shift toward a privatized system happened quietly. While Congress' unsuccessful efforts to overhaul immigration laws drew headlines and sparked massive demonstrations, lawmakers' negotiations to boost detention dollars received far less attention.
The industry's giants -- Corrections Corporation of America, The GEO Group, and Management and Training Corp. -- have spent at least $45 million combined on campaign donations and lobbyists at the state and federal level in the last decade, the AP found.
CCA and GEO, who manage most private detention centers, insist they aren't trying to influence immigration policy to make more money, and their lobbying and campaign donations have been legal.
"As a matter of long-standing corporate policy, CCA does not lobby on issues that would determine the basis for an individual's detention or incarceration," CCA spokesman Steve Owen said in an email to the AP. The company has a website dedicated to debunking such allegations.
GEO, which was part of The Wackenhut Corp. security firm until 2003, and Management and Training Corp. declined repeated interview requests.
Advocates for immigrants are skeptical of claims that the lobbying is not meant to influence policy.
"That's a lot of money to listen quietly," said Peter Cervantes-Gautschi, who has helped lead a campaign to encourage large banks and mutual funds to divest from the prison companies.
The detention centers are located in cities and remote areas alike, often in low-slung buildings surrounded by chain-link fences and razor wire. U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents detain men, women and children suspected of violating civil immigration laws at these facilities. Most of those held at the 250 sites nationwide are illegal immigrants awaiting deportation, but some green card holders, asylum seekers and others are also there.
The total average nightly cost to taxpayers to detain an illegal immigrant, including health care and guards' salaries, is about $166, ICE confirmed only after the AP calculated that figure and presented it to the agency.
That's up from $80 in 2004. ICE said the $80 didn't include all of the same costs but declined to provide details.
Pedro Guzman is among those who have passed through the private detention centers. He was brought to the U.S. by his Guatemalan mother at age 8. He was working and living here legally under temporary protected status but was detained after missing an appearance for an asylum application his mother had filed for him. Officials ordered him deported.
Although he was married to a U.S. citizen, ICE considered him a flight risk and locked him up in 2009: first at a private detention facility run by CCA in Gainesville, Ga., and eventually at CCA's Stewart Detention Center, south of Atlanta. Guzman spent 19 months in Stewart until he was finally granted legal permanent residency.
"It's a millionaire's business, and they are living off profits from each one of the people who go through there every single night," said Guzman, now a cable installer in Durham, N.C. "It's our money that we earn as taxpayers every day that goes to finance this."
The federal government stepped up detentions of illegal immigrants in the 1990s, as the number of people crossing the border soared. In 1996, Congress passed a law requiring many more illegal immigrants be locked up. But it wasn't until 2005 -- as the corrections companies' lobbying efforts reached their zenith -- that ICE got a major boost. Between 2005 and 2007, the agency's budget jumped from $3.5 billion to $4.7 billion, adding more than $5 million for custody operations.
Dora Schriro, who in 2009 reviewed the nation's detention system at the request of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, said nearly every aspect had been outsourced.
"ICE was always relying on others for responsibilities that are fundamentally those of the government," said Schriro, now the New York City Correction Commissioner. "If you don't have the competency to know what is a fair price to ask and negotiate the most favorable rates for the best service, then the likelihood that you are going to overspend is greater."
Private companies argue they can save Americans money by running the centers more cheaply.
Pablo Paez, a spokesman for Boca Raton, Fla.-based GEO, said in an email his company supports public-private partnerships which "have been demonstrated to achieve significant cost savings for the taxpayers." He declined to answer specific questions.
But ICE Executive Associate Director for Enforcement and Removal Operations Gary Mead said the government has never studied whether privatizing immigrant detention saves money.
"They are not our most expensive, they are not our cheapest" facilities, he said. "At some point cost cannot be the only factor."
One fundamental difference between private detention facilities and their publicly-run counterparts is transparency. The private ones don't have to follow the same public records and access requirements.
President Barack Obama has asked for less detention money this year and encouraged the agency to look at alternatives to locking people up. He also ordered DHS to stop deporting young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally, which could reduce the number behind bars. Congress, however, can approve more detention spending than DHS requests.
Beyond civil detention centers, private companies are also making more money locking up non-citizens who commit federal crimes.
To deter illegal border crossers, federal prosecutors are increasingly charging immigrants with felonies for repeatedly entering the country without papers. That has led thousands of people convicted of illegal re-entry, as well as more serious federal offenses, to serve time in private prisons built just for them.
A decade ago, more than 3,300 criminal immigrants were sent to private prisons under two 10-year contracts the Federal Bureau of Prisons signed with CCA worth $760 million. Now, the agency is paying the private companies $5.1 billion to hold more than 23,000 criminal immigrants through 13 contracts of varying lengths.
CCA was on the verge of bankruptcy in 2000 due to lawsuits, management problems and dwindling contracts. Last year, the company reaped $162 million in net income. Federal contracts made up 43 percent of its total revenues, in part thanks to rising immigrant detention.
GEO, which cites the immigration agency as its largest client, saw its net income jump from $16.9 million to $78.6 million since 2000.
"Another factor driving growth ... for the private sector is in the area of immigration and illegal immigration specifically," Chief Financial Officer Brian Evans told investors in GEO's 2011 3rd quarter earnings call.
CCA warned in its 2011 annual earnings report that federal policy changes in "illegal immigration could affect the number of persons arrested, convicted, and sentenced, thereby potentially reducing demand for correctional facilities to house them."
Utah-based Management and Training is not publicly held, so it does not post earnings.
At just the federal level, these companies, their political action committees and their employees have spent more than $32 million on lobbying and on campaign contributions since 2000 -- with the national political parties getting the largest campaign contributions.
An AP review of Federal Election Commission data found the prison companies and their employees gave to key congressional leaders who control how much money goes to run the nation's detention centers and who influence how many contracts go to the private sector.
James Thurber, head of American University's Center for Congressional & Presidential Studies, said amid the heated national debate over immigration, the companies have been savvy not to donate heavily to those sponsoring legislation, which could spark backlash.
There are more discrete and more powerful ways to influence policy, Thurber said.
"Follow the money," he said. "If the money is being increased significantly for illegal immigration, then that is a shift in policy ... a significant shift."
The top beneficiaries of the campaign contributions include:
-- The Republican Party. Its national and congressional committees received around $450,000. Democrats received less than half that.
-- Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain. He received $71,000, mostly during his failed presidential bid against Obama, well after he dropped support for a bill that would have given illegal immigrants a path to citizenship and reduced detentions.
-- House Speaker John Boehner received $63,000.
--Kentucky U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers received about $59,000. Rogers chaired the first subcommittee on Homeland Security and heads the powerful House Appropriations Committee. He often criticizes ICE for not filling more detention beds.
-- Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. He received $58,500. The lawmaker from Tennessee, where CCA is headquartered, led the Senate at the height of the nation's immigrant detention build up from 2003 to 2007.
More than campaign contributions, though, the private prison companies spent most of their money each year on lobbying in Washington, peaking in 2005 when they spent $5 million.
In just 2011, CCA paid the Washington firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld $280,000 in part to "monitor immigration reform," federal reports show.
They also lobbied heavily against a bill that would force them to comply with the same open records requirements governing public facilities.
Owen, the CCA spokesman, said the company ramped up lobbying to acquaint new lawmakers with the industry.
"In recent years, federal elections have been very volatile, resulting in a lot of new faces in Washington," he said. "The result of that volatility means a lot of people at the federal level who may not be familiar with the work we do."
The prison companies' influence at the state level mirrors that in Washington, although the money is even harder to track since many states, such as Arizona and Illinois, where the companies have won lucrative detention contracts, don't require corporations to disclose what they pay lobbyists.
The AP reviewed campaign contribution data from the three companies' political action committees and their employees over the last decade, compiled by the National Institute on Money in State Politics. From 2003 to the first half of 2012, state candidates and political parties in the 50 states received more than $5.32 million.
In the 10 states where the companies' committees and employees contributed the most, the AP found they also spent at least $8 million more lobbying local officials in the last five years alone. It is impossible to know how much of this lobbying money was aimed only at immigrant-related contracts. But that money generally went to states along the border, such as Florida and Texas, which have high numbers of immigrants, as well as states such as Georgia and Louisiana, where large numbers of immigrants also are detained.
ICE has begun providing more oversight as part of the Obama administration's pledge to overhaul the nation's system for jailing immigration offenders. It recently scrapped plans for CCA to build a 1,500-bed immigrant detention center in a high-end Miami suburb following months of local protests.
But it remains committed to adding more private beds. Plans are on track to build or expand private immigration jails in Newark, N.J., in the suburbs of Chicago and along a lonely stretch of California's Mojave Desert.
The government's racist war on Mexicans is big business for private prisons.
Source
Average of 2,800 people held daily in Ariz. by ICE
by Bob Ortega - Aug. 2, 2012 10:55 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement holds a daily average of 2,824 immigration detainees at five facilities in Arizona, according to ICE spokeswoman Amber Cargile.
ICE directly runs only one of the five facilities: the Florence Detention Center, which has 717 beds for men and women. That center also houses ICE's primary intake operation, from which detainees are transferred to other facilities.
Under an agreement with Pinal County, ICE houses up to 625 males at the Pinal County Jail in Florence.
ICE also uses three facilities operated by the country's largest private-prison firm, Corrections Corp. of America: the Eloy Detention Center, with 1,500 beds; the Florence Correctional Center, with 1,824 beds (but most of which house federal inmates and inmates from Vermont); and the Central Arizona Detention Center, with 2,304 beds (most of which house other federal inmates), in Florence. Up to 600 of the beds at the Florence and Central Arizona centers are used by ICE under contract for immigration detainees.
The Eloy Detention Center has come under fire over eight alleged incidents of sexual abuse of immigrant detainees between 2007 and last year. That was the most of any immigrant-detention facility in the country, according to federal documents obtained by the ACLU under the Freedom of Information Act. Federal documents reported 185 incidents of sexual abuse at immigrant detention facilities during that time period. A CCA spokesman said the company has a "zero-tolerance" policy on sexual abuse.
In May, the Department of Justice announced long-delayed regulations meant to reduce sexual assaults in federal prisons; but the Department of Homeland Security was given a 12-month extension on complying with the 2003 Prison Rape Elimination Act, under which the regulations were issued.
Arizona CPS steals 27 children a day from their parents.
According to this article the government bureaucrats at CPS have stolen 5,000 kids from their parents in the last 6 months. That means the terrorists at CPS steal 10,000 kids a year from their parents. At that rate the folks at CPS steal 27 kids everyday from their parents.I suspect a large number of these kids were taken away from parents who were accused of the victimless crime of using marijuana or some other illegal drug.
Sure it must suck for the children and parents involved. But I am sure the folks at CPS love it, after all it is a jobs program for CPS workers.
Arizona child-welfare system stagnant
Data show more backlogged CPS cases, record number of children in foster care
by Mary K. Reinhart - Aug. 2, 2012 09:56 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com
Arizona's child-welfare system shows little sign of improvement, despite dozens of policy changes, new staff and nearly $1 million spent on consultants over the past two years.
New data released Thursday show growth in all the wrong areas -- hotline reports, backlogs of unfinished cases, the number of children in foster care and the length of time babies and toddlers spend in shelters.
During the six-month period ending March 31, state figures also show continuation of a troubling two-year trend, with foster parents closing their doors faster than new homes are opening.
"The trends and the backlogs remain very distressing," said Dana Wolfe Naimark, CEO of the Children's Action Alliance, a non-profit advocacy group. "The department is working on a range of initiatives, but at this point, the backlogs are so high that we know that some kids are in danger."
Nearly 5,000 children were removed from their homes and placed in foster care -- a new six-month record, according to the latest biannual report on state Child Protective Services -- and a total of 12,453 children were in the state's custody as of March 31, a 15 percent increase over March 2011.
A monthly report released in July shows the number of foster children has since grown even higher, to more than 13,000 kids as of May 31, also a new record.
During a briefing Thursday with child-welfare administrators, advocates, providers and a handful of state lawmakers, state officials introduced two recently hired administrators who filled new positions to revamp the child-abuse hotline and recruit staff, and they touted internal changes they say pose promise for the future.
Department of Economic Security Director Clarence Carter, who oversees CPS, stopped short of saying he will ask for additional staff and money in his budget request for fiscal 2014, due in September, but did not rule it out given the growing numbers and annual staff turnover that now tops 30 percent.
"We are developing our budget request in the context of those trends," Carter said.
In the meantime, CPS investigators continue to struggle with caseloads that top 100 children in some offices and a stubborn backlog of inactive or abandoned cases that remains at nearly 10,000.
A team of seasoned caseworkers and supervisors has been working on reducing the backlog, caused in part by the crush of new cases and workers quitting abruptly. But the new cases are stacking up almost as quickly as old ones are closed.
State law requires CPS to complete investigations with 45 days, but some cases opened last summer remain unfinished. The new data also show that, despite a mandate to investigate 100 percent of abuse and neglect reports, caseworkers were unable to respond to nearly 1,000 cases during the six-month period, including 841 in Maricopa County.
More than 20 percent of the cases that have received no CPS response include allegations of injury to a child, according to a random sample of the reports.
State officials are banking on several internal improvements to reduce case backlogs, ease worker caseloads and stem rampant turnover. The state has paid nearly $1 million to a Kansas City, Mo.-based consultant to recommend changes at the hotline and to investigations, ongoing case management and training.
A streamlined process for documenting investigations, tested this year in three CPS offices, can shorten the time it takes CPS workers to complete investigations to 40 days from the current average of six months or more. Early results are promising, and the practice has been expanded statewide.
Hiring is under way for a permanent unit to tackle case backlog and work on staff training and development. And two new administrators, hired this summer to oversee the hotline and staff recruitment, say they've already seen improvements in hotline wait times and hiring.
A third top staffer, who will lead an investigative unit targeting the most serious cases, has yet to be hired. The new unit was the centerpiece of reforms from a gubernatorial task force that met late last year in the wake of several high-profile child-abuse deaths.
Dr. Kathryn Coffman, division chief of the child-protection team at Phoenix Children's Hospital, said she's seeing more severe cases of child abuse and neglect over the past year. But she said hospital staff are more alert to the signs, so fewer cases are being missed.
"So many children who end up in the ICU or the morgue have been injured before, and somebody saw them and missed it," Coffman said. "That probably means more kids in foster care, but it's better than the graveyard."
CPS workers are doing the best they can under impossible circumstances, she said, but an ever-expanding foster-care system isn't the answer.
"Most people don't have babies intending to abuse them. What a lot of these young, inexperienced parents need is support," Coffman said. "There is absolutely no question that front-end prevention is the way to go."
Among the report's findings
CPS workers didn't make the required monthly visits to 20 percent of all foster homes and the children that live there, an increase of 100 percent over the previous period.
The average length of stay for children in shelters increased by nearly 60 percent, to about five and a half months. Shelters are intended as temporary placements for children until they can return to their parents, go with relatives or settle into a foster home.
The number of babies and small children in shelters and group homes continued to grow, to 45 youngsters as of March 31. The latest monthly report shows that number has grown even higher in the past two months, with 35 babies and children under 3 years old living in crisis shelters and 41 children ages 6 and younger living in group homes.
Five children with open CPS cases died from suspected abuse, compared with six children during the previous six-month period.
The state licensed 663 new family foster homes, but 679 foster families closed their doors during the same period.
Drug war victim uses tractor to crush 7 cop cars
I'm sure the American government feels the same way about Roger Pion. But the rest of us know he is a freedom fighter against the government's insane, illogical and unconstitutional war on drugs.
According to this article Roger Pion was unhappy about being arrested for the victimless crime of marijuana possession, so he got even with the cops by using his tractor to crush 7 of their police vehicles.
Remember, just because something is legal doesn't make it morally right. And just because something is illegal doesn't make it morally wrong.
August 3, 2012 8:37 AM
Roger Pion, Vt. man accused of crushing cop cars with farm tractor, due in court
(CBS/AP) NEWPORT, Vt. - Roger Pion, a Vermont man who authorities say was angry over an arrest and used his tractor to drive over seven police vehicles on Thursday, is expected in court today.
According to police, Pion, 34, was on a big farm tractor, angry about his arrest for resisting arrest and marijuana possession last month, when he was rolling across their vehicles - five marked cruisers, one unmarked car and a transport van.
Orleans County sheriff's deputies working inside their building on Thursday didn't know what was happening until a neighbor called 911. They didn't hear the ruckus outside because their air conditioners were humming.
When police ran outside, the tractor was already down the driveway and out onto the road. Police said they couldn't pursue the man because their cars were crushed.
"We had nothing to pursue him with," said Chief Deputy Philip Brooks.
Newport city police caught up with Pion a short distance away on Thursday afternoon.
Pion now faces numerous charges including several counts of felony unlawful mischief and one count of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. He is being held at the Northern State Correctional Center in Newport on $15,000 bail and is expected to appear in court Friday.
Sheriff Kirk Martin estimated damage to the vehicles at more than $300,000; state police put it at more than $250,000. But no one suffered injuries.
"Nobody was hurt. That's the thing everybody's got to cherish," said Martin.
Police: Farmer unhappy about arrest drives tractor over 7 sheriff's vehicles
8:43 PM, Aug 2, 2012
Written by Mike Donoghue Free Press Staff Writer
A farmer who was arrested last month expressed his displeasure Thursday afternoon in Newport by driving a heavy tractor over seven police vehicles owned by the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department, authorities said.
Roger Pion, 34, was jailed for lack of $15,000 bail at the Northern State Correctional Facility in Newport to await arraignment Friday morning on 11 charges.
Pion is facing seven counts of felony unlawful mischief and one misdemeanor count of unlawful mischief on suspicion of damaging the cars, State Police Detective Trooper Lyle Decker said.
Decker said Pion also is facing charges of leaving the scene of an accident, grossly negligent operation and aggravated assault on Newport City police on allegations of trying to back the tractor into a city cruiser after fleeing the original scene.
“It’s more than half our fleet. We have 11 cars,” Chief Deputy Sheriff Phil Brooks told the Burlington Free Press. He said the cruisers were in three rows.
He said all the vehicles were insured. Brooks estimated that the cruisers averaged about $40,000 fully equipped. He said at least one cruiser had a laptop in it. Other equipment, such as radar, were in the vehicles when the tractor ran them over.
“It’s pretty much the biggest tractor you can get,” Newport City Police Chief Seth DiSanto said.
“It was a massive tractor. It has four 6-foot tandem wheels on the back. It was red. It must be at least a 15-ton tractor,” Newport Express Publisher Ken Wells said shortly after the incident. The tractor had slightly smaller tandem tires on the front.
The tractor was owned by the suspect’s parents, Armand and Linda Pion of Newport, police said.
Brooks said five of the damaged vehicles were fully marked red, white and black cruisers, and two were unmarked, including a transport van. He said an eighth car, belonging to the department bookkeeper, was pushed out of the way by the tractor in an effort to get at the cruisers. It had minor damage.
The incident happened at about 12:40 p.m. on U.S. 5, also known as the Derby Road, near the new office for the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department. The department had moved from downtown into the former Passumpsic Savings Bank last year.
It was unclear why Pion might have taken out his wrath on the Sheriff’s Department when he was arrested by a neighboring agency. Newport police arrested Pion on July 3 on charges of resisting arrest and possession of marijuana, said DiSanto, a former Shelburne police officer in his first week as Newport chief.
Pion was issued a citation in those cases ordering him to appear in Superior Court next Tuesday, DiSanto said. Pion also was jailed that night at the request of the Vermont Probation and Parole Office.
Brooks said he and a couple deputies were inside their office Thursday when a 911 call came in — and a car horn started going off in one of the crushed cruisers.
Brooks said he ran to a nearby service station where another cruiser was being worked on and jumped in to pursue the tractor, but soon learned that Newport City police had stopped the tractor about two miles away.
Brooks said Pion was turned over to the Vermont State Police, which began conducting an independent investigation.
Brooks said a fencing company was hired Thursday to encircle the damaged cruisers, which were impounded as part of the investigation. He said a deputy would be guarding them overnight until an insurance adjuster could arrive.
Brooks said Thursday evening that the Lamoille, Chittenden and Windsor County sheriffs’ departments had loaned or were sending cruisers to help the Orleans department through the crisis. Other departments had made offers, and Brooks said the daily work loads were being studied Thursday night.
He said he expects his department, which normally transports prisoners to and from court, is likely to defer to state police Friday for this case.
Obama administration struggles to live up to its transparency promise, Post analysis shows
By James Ball, Friday, August 3, 8:25 AM
In its first year, the Obama administration vowed an increase in transparency across government, including through the Freedom of Information Act; the proactive release of documents; and the establishment of a new agency to declassify more than 370 million pages of archived material.
Three years later, new evidence suggests that administration officials have struggled to overturn the long-standing culture of secrecy in Washington. Some of these high-profile transparency measures have stalled, and by some measures the government is keeping more secrets than before.
Media organizations and individuals requesting information under FOIA last year were less likely to receive the material than in 2010 at 10 of the 15 Cabinet-level departments, according to an analysis of annual reports of government agencies by The Washington Post.
The federal government was more likely last year than in 2010 to use the act’s exemptions to refuse information. And the government overall had a bigger backlog of requests at the end of 2011 than at the start, due largely to 30,000 more pending requests to the Department of Homeland Security.
The FOIA went into effect in 1967 to provide public access to undisclosed, unclassified federal government information. The law requires the information to be released unless the government determines that it can be withheld under one of nine exemptions.
The Post’s analysis of the handling of FOIA requests comes as the administration and Congress are trying to exert new control over access to government information. A Senate committee last week approved tough legislation aimed at stopping leaks of classified information, and the administration has prosecuted six cases against government employees accused of misusing secret information.
The trends appear to run against the direction set out by the president in the earliest days of his government. On his first full day in office, Jan. 21, 2009, President Obama issued a presidential memo on freedom of information, telling agencies: “The Freedom of Information Act should be administered with a clear presumption: In the face of doubt, openness prevails.”
The early results seemed promising. In 2010, response rates to FOIA requests increased and the use of exemptions to refuse requests fell. Federal departments also reduced the backlog of pending requests.
Since then, the Post analysis shows, progress has stalled and, in the case of most departments, reversed in direction. The analysis showed that the number of requests denied in full due to exemptions rose more than 10 percent last year, to 25,636 from 22,834 the previous year.
Similarly, the pledge to declassify archived material has run into major delays. The National Declassification Center (NDC) was established by the president in December 2009 to review and declassify 371 million pages of material by December 2013.
In its latest progress report, issued last month, the center said that it had completed the review process for 51.1 million pages, less than 14 percent of the total. Of that number, 41.8 million pages were made available to researchers and the public.
The center’s director, Sheryl Senberger, acknowledged in an interview that it will have “issues” meeting the 2013 deadline. She blamed legal complexities and a lack of resources at some agencies.
“I don’t like to admit defeat, so I really absolutely must not say that we will not meet the deadline,” she said. “I would prefer to say that we’re going to show great progress, and we will absolutely accomplish certain steps in our progress. But if a person only associates accomplishment of the goal with all 372 million pages made available to the public — no. ”
Senberger said one reason for the delay is funding. Spending last year on declassification across the government, excluding intelligence agencies, was $52.8 million, according to the Information Security Oversight Office, the federal agency that oversees the classification system. That was less than 1 percent of the budget for classifying material, which rose 12 percent year-on-year to $11.36 billion.
Indeed, while the declassification effort appears certain to miss its deadline, the volume of material being classified jumped 20 percent last year. The oversight office cited better record-keeping as a reason for the increases of recent years.
Steven Aftergood, director of the Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists, said The Post analysis on FOIA shows that the administration “can be credited or blamed for agency performance only up to a certain point, and no further.”
“It’s all part of a larger picture that warrants attention,” he said. “The NDC piece of it is particularly noteworthy as they were assigned a job by the president, and it looks like they’re not going to complete it, which is a shocking development, or it ought to be.”
Others were more critical. Hina Shamsi, director of the National Security Project for the American Civil Liberties Union, said the administration has failed to live up to its promises to deliver transparent government.
“I think that in the first months President Obama and his administration took some very important and historic steps to provide transparency,” she said. “The reality is that governments generally have a tendency to secrecy, and after initially pledging a new era of transparency, the Obama administration has backtracked in critically important areas. . . . I think it has sent a message through government into the country that is quite disturbing about valuing secrecy in the national security context over transparency.”
Shamsi added: “We recognize that there are genuine instances in which secrecy is both legitimate and necessary. . . . But claims that are too broad in their sweep undermine the very system itself.”
Former Mexico PRI governor pleads guilty in drug-trafficking case
August 3, 2012 | 4:50 am
MEXICO CITY -- In one of the most high-profile drug prosecutions of a Mexican politician, a former state governor has pleaded guilty in a U.S. court to charges that he helped launder millions of dollars for cocaine traffickers.
The plea was entered Thursday by Mario Villanueva, former governor of Quintana Roo state, home to the posh resort town of Cancun.
Villanueva was extradited to the United States in 2010 and could face a sentence of up to 20 years.
Before a judge in U.S. federal court, he said he had participated in a conspiracy from 1993 to 2001 to conceal the origin of illicit drug money.
The original indictment said Villanueva "was paid between $400,000 and $500,000 in cash for each load of cocaine that [the Juarez cartel] brought into and shipped out of Quintana Roo," which added up to millions of dollars in the 1990s. "In return, [he] provided state and federal police and other resources to offload, transport, store and protect the cocaine shipments."
Villanueva's case involved the laundering of profits through money transfers administered by Consuelo Marquez, a Lehman Bros. investment representative who pleaded guilty to money laundering charges in 2005, the Reuters news agency reported.
As part of the plea agreement, other drug-trafficking charges were dropped. Villanueva served six years in a Mexican prison for money laundering before his extradition to the U.S.
Villanueva was a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, that held authoritarian control oo Mexico for seven decades, until it was ousted in 2000, and was often accused of working with drug traffickers. This year, the PRI will return to power with the election of Enrique Pena Nieto as president. He has said he will not make deals with traffickers.
Still, the Villanueva case reawakens the old ghosts of the PRI's past. In a statement, however, the PRI in Quintana Roo said Villanueva's confession was "regrettable" but that it would not have an effect on the party today because the case was so old. Villanueva served as governor from 1993 to 1999.
Former top aide to Todd Stroger charged in federal court
By Annie Sweeney and Hal Dardick Tribune reporters
9:47 p.m. CDT, August 2, 2012
A onetime top aide to former Cook County Board President Todd Stroger was arrested Thursday on charges he pocketed nearly $35,000 in payoffs in return for steering county contracts to several acquaintances willing to make the kickbacks.
The federal charges against Eugene Mullins, Stroger's childhood friend, come nearly two years after another high-ranking Stroger adviser was charged in Cook County in a similar scheme.
Mullins' attorney, Brunell Donald-Kyei, said that federal agents sought her client's cooperation when they confronted him Thursday morning. They brought up Stroger specifically, she said.
"Did you give any of that money to Todd?" Donald-Kyei said the agents asked Mullins in an apparent reference to the $34,700 in kickbacks he is accused of taking.
Donald-Kyei said Mullins was arrested after he declined to cooperate with authorities. He later pleaded not guilty in court to the charges.
When reached Thursday by telephone, Stroger brushed off the alleged question by the federal agents, instead expressing concern for his friend.
"I don't care about that part," said Stroger, who lost re-election in 2010 after a volatile term in office. "I don't believe that it's in Gene's character to take any money, but he'll get his day in court."
Stroger also said he was aware of an investigation but has not been contacted by the FBI.
"You're always worried when someone gets indicted," he said when asked about his concerns. "That doesn't mean you are guilty."
The four individuals who allegedly kicked back money to Mullins — including one executive producer to WVON radio's Cliff Kelley — were also charged in the 12-count indictment unsealed Thursday in federal court. Mullins allegedly steered contracts to two others as well, but both returned the checks after Mullins solicited kickbacks from them, authorities said. Neither was charged and could be key witnesses for the government.
According to the charges, Mullins intentionally steered contracts worth a little less than $25,000 to the six, knowing that they wouldn't need the approval of the Cook County Board at that level.
The contracts, worth a nearly combined $100,000, were intended to promote awareness for the 2010 U.S. census, assist residents affected by floods in 2008 and increase energy efficiency. Yet little or no work was done after the contracts were awarded, prosecutors charged.
"These contracts were not fraudulent," Donald-Kyei told reporters at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse. "He (Mullins) didn't get a dime."
Mullins, 48, who was Stroger's spokesman from March 2008 to November 2010, was arrested at the Richton Park Police Department, where he works part time, officials said.
A former veteran Chicago police officer, he was released on his own recognizance after pleading not guilty to four counts each of wire fraud and soliciting kickbacks.
The four individuals who were accused of kicking back money to Mullins in return for obtaining the contracts were charged with one count each of misprision of a felony for allegedly concealing the kickback scheme. They were identified as Michael L. Peery, 51, the WVON producer; Gary Render, 43; and Clifford Borner, 45, all of Chicago; and Kenneth Demos, 50, of Oak Park.
The indictment alleged that Mullins tried to conceal the scheme from investigators by advising the four in late 2010 and early 2011 to lie about how they got the contracts if questioned by authorities. He told Peery not to say anything about the cash payments and told Borner to claim ownership of an invoice submitted in support in his contract, prosecutors charged.
In October 2010, another former top Stroger aide, Carla Oglesby, was charged by Cook County prosecutors with stealing more than $300,000 in taxpayer funds by steering more than a dozen contracts to herself and others who did no work for the money.
In those charges, county prosecutors accused "Public Official C" — identified by the Tribune at the time as Mullins based on county and law-enforcement sources — of helping her to rig the contracts. Oglesby, who was Stroger's deputy chief of staff, was charged with felony theft, money laundering and official misconduct. She has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial at the Leighton Criminal Court Building.
In unsealing the indictment against Mullins on Thursday, federal prosecutors made clear that the charges against both former Stroger aides stem from the same joint federal and county investigation.
asweeney@tribune.com
hdardick@tribune.com
When when it comes to the draconian laws that jail people for the victimless crime of using medical marijuana we did that and got Prop 203 passed, which legalized medical marijuana.
Of course the police and prosecutors don't like Prop 203 because it cuts into the "drug war" which is really a jobs program for overpaid and under worked cops and prosecutors.
Of course the cops and prosecutors are hypocrites who are not following the same advice they give us. Instead of attempting to repeal Prop 203 thru the system so they can continue arresting people for the victimless crime of marijuana use they simply asked Arizona Governor Jan Brewer to declare Prop 203 null and void.
I am sure Jan Brewer would comply with their illegal request, but
she already had her hand slapped after filing a frivolous lawsuit
trying to stop Prop 203 in Federal court.
Here is a copy of the letter the sheriffs sent to Arizona Governor Jan Brewer.
Obama administration doesn't to live up to its transparency promise???
Sounds like President Obama is just as much of a police state thug as President Bush was.
Former Mexico PRI governor pleads guilty in drug-trafficking case
Lets face it when you have a governor of a Mexican state involved in smuggling drugs, it's time to admit the drug war is not winnable and legalize drugs.
Former Chicago cop charged in Cook County kickbacks crime
Source
Sheriffs and County Attorneys are hypocrites on Prop 203
When we complain to the cops and prosecutors that the laws are unfair, unjust and unconstitutional and demand that they stop enforcing them. They always give us the line that "the law is the law", and that we must obey it. That if we don't like the law we should use the system to change it.
www.azcentral.com/ic/pdf/arizona-sheriffs-letter-brewer.pdf
It was signed by:
Source
Yavapai County
Apache County
Yuma County
Graham County
La Paz County
Mohave County
Pima County
Cochise County
Gila County
Greenelee County
Maricopa County
Maricopa County
Navajo County
Pinal County
Arizona sheriffs ask Brewer to halt Ariz. medical-pot program
Mary K. Reinhart - Aug. 3, 2012 09:58 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com
Following in the footsteps of their top prosecutors, most of Arizona's county sheriffs are asking Gov. Jan Brewer to halt the state's medical-marijuana program.
Thirteen of the state's 15 sheriffs sent a letter to Brewer this week that's identical to the letter she received from 13 Arizona county attorneys days earlier.
Like the lawyers, the sheriffs argue that federal drug laws pre-empt Arizona's voter-approved medical-marijuana law and that state, county and local employees could risk prosecution if they implement it. Those signing the letter from Yavapai County Sheriff Scott Mascher, who is president of the Arizona Sheriffs Association, include Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu.
The letters come as the state Department of Health Services prepares for Tuesday's lottery to select 99 out of 486 applicants to run marijuana dispensaries throughout the state. The department will stream the lottery live online at www.livestream.com/azdhs.
The letter also claims Arizona's newly appointed U.S. attorney John Leonardo "fully intends to prevent any dispensaries from operating in Arizona by seizing each and every one as it opens and commits violations of the (Controlled Substances Act)."
The same claim was made by Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk in her July 24 letter to Brewer. A spokesman for Leonardo said the assertion by the county attorneys was inaccurate and that the U.S. Attorney's Office would -- as Department of Justice policy says -- focus on "significant drug traffickers, not seriously ill individuals and their caregivers who are in compliance with applicable state medical-marijuana statutes."
Brewer's office could not be reached for comment on the letter from the sheriffs. But in response to the similar letter from the county attorneys, the governor said that while she shares their concerns, she is required to implement the voter-approved law.
"Arizona voters ... cast ballots in sufficient numbers to enshrine this measure into Arizona law," Brewer wrote. "As such, I am duty-bound to implement (the act), and my agency will do so unless and until I am instructed otherwise by the courts or notified that state employees face imminent risk of prosecution due to their duties in administering this law."
Republic reporter Yvonne Wingett Sanchez contributed to this article.
Kyrsten Sinema wants to slap a 300% tax on medical marijuana
If you are against the drug war, you should vote against Kyrsten Sinema.According to these article Kyrsten Sinema wants to slap a 300 percent tax on medical marijuana.
Kyrstin Sinema wants to slap a 300% tax on medical marijuana
If you are against the drug war, you should vote against Kyrstin Sinema.According to these article Kyrstin Sinema wants to slap a 300 percent tax on medical marijuana.
Kyrsten Sinema's 300 percent tax on medical marijuana
This web page lists a whole bunch of articles about Kyrsten Sinema's outrageous 300 percent tax on medical marijuana.
Kyrstin Sinema's 300 percent tax on medical marijuana
This web page lists a whole bunch of articles about Kyrstin Sinema's outrageous 300 percent tax on medical marijuana.
How do you spell revenue? Those 15 mph school zone speed traps!!!
Source
Police stepping up patrols as East Valley students return to school this week
Posted: Sunday, August 5, 2012 8:00 am | Updated: 3:02 pm, Sun Aug 5, 2012.
By Garin Groff, Tribune
Drivers across the East Valley will begin seeing crosswalks full of children who are returning to school this week – along with extra police officers on the street to enforce traffic laws near campuses.
Police say they will step up patrols for two weeks to increase public awareness of safety during the school year.
Leadfoots need to be especially careful.
While police will cite drivers going 11 mph or more over the speed limit in many cases, the rules are different around schools, Mesa police Sgt. Sean Kelly said.
“There are certain posted limits that are absolute and the 15 mile per hour speed limit is one of them,” Kelly said. “In school zones, you’re not getting any tolerance.”
Mesa police said traffic enforcement is a priority all year, but that they boost their efforts significantly at the start of each school year. The additional enforcement will occur around schools in the Mesa Unified School District and the schools in the Gilbert Unified School District that are in the city.
Police will have a new tool to catch speeders when they increase patrols this week. Mesa has four new radar detectors on motorcycles that allow officers to detect speed as the officer is driving. Until now, all of Mesa’s radar detectors required an officer to be stationary while pointing a radar gun.
The city is testing the new devices and will consider buying more of them based on their performance.
School zones aren’t the only place drivers will find additional traffic enforcement starting this week.
Mesa police will work about 700 hours of overtime from now through Sept. 30 to target parts of the city with high levels of collisions and criminal activity.
Police have determined what areas to patrol by mapping the location of crash and crime reports. In places where both problems overlap, police will stage additional officers.
The idea is that police will find people with warrants or suspects committing crimes while doing routine traffic stops, Kelly said.
“People who commit crimes also do not follow civil traffic laws,” Kelly said.
Police have a $44,000 grant for the overtime, funded by the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.
The additional police work will help make up for some of the loss of manpower resulting from the recession’s effect on Mesa, Kelly said. The police department shrunk by about 80 positions because of budget cuts starting in 2008.
Contact writer: (480) 898-6548 or ggroff@evtrib.com
Surprise resident sues city over car crash with officer
Source
Surprise resident sues city over car crash with officer
by D.S. Woodfill - Aug. 5, 2012 09:07 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com
A Surprise resident is suing the city, claiming a police officer injured her in a minor vehicle collision last year.
Linda Vera McCormick claims Officer Jeff Thurman was driving his police cruiser negligently when he rear-ended her 2007 Kia Rio in July 2011 at Litchfield and Bell roads, according to a filing in Maricopa County Superior Court.
A notice of claim sent to the city prior to the lawsuit asked for more than $50,000 in compensation. McCormick claims she suffered neck and head injuries, has been to the hospital twice and continues to receive treatment. Her medical costs totaled about $10,000, records say. A repair appraisal showed that her vehicle incurred $755 in damage.
Court and city records say McCormick was preparing to turn right at a red light on Litchfield when Thurman rear-ended her vehicle. Thurman was admonished by supervisors after the city's Collision Review Board determined he could have avoided the accident.
Thurman has two written reprimands in his personnel file for prior minor collisions, according to city records. One was in 2006 when he struck a parked vehicle, causing minimal damage, and the other was in 2007 when he rear-ended an unmarked Maricopa County Sheriff's Office vehicle while merging onto a Loop 202 on-ramp in the southeast Valley.
McCormick's lawyer, William Black, would not comment.
City spokesman Ken Lynch said Surprise would have no comment.
Scottsdale closing 23-year-old Via Linda Jail
Lockup earned $370K for city, but facility's fate was sealed after 5 civilian jobs were cut
by Laurie Merrill - Aug. 5, 2012 09:22 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com
Scottsdale's Via Linda Jail will close Aug.19 after two decades, leaving the city with a single holding facility.
The closure of the 23-year-old jail comes despite $370,000 in income generated by a program that allowed out-of-jurisdiction inmates to pay $189 a night for their stay in the 14-bed jail.
More than 1,700 inmates sentenced in other cities were sent to the jail at 9065 E. Via Linda during a nine-month pilot program, said Scottsdale police Officer David Pubins, a spokesman.
Each stayed as many as two nights, the maximum allowed, and paid the fee upfront, said Scottsdale police Sgt. Mark Clark. The program was expected to generate about $500,000 a year, according to the budget.
But neither the revenue, nor pleas from the Scottsdale Fraternal Order of Police, were enough to keep the jail open.
Mandated to reduce Police Department costs, officials trimmed funding for an estimated five civilian jail positions, prompting the closure of the Via Linda Jail, said Clark.
"These are lean times," Clark said. "The department was asked to cut."
Shutting the jail is a "shortsighted" end to a revenue stream, according to the police union.
Instead of making money, the city will spend money to send Scottsdale offenders to county jails, Chet Anderson, a past police-union president, told the Scottsdale City Council recently.
"Now is absolutely not the time ... to trade a moneymaking jail facility for a massive expense paid for by taxpayers," he said.
The city budgeted $4.6 million to run both the Via Linda and downtown Scottsdale jails this year. It also expects to spend $2.3 million for booking and housing misdemeanor suspects in Maricopa County Sheriff's Office jails.
Scottsdale detention officers typically make three trips a day to the Fourth Avenue Jail in downtown Phoenix.
Despite a 25 percent increase in county jail fees, Scottsdale expects to pay $300,000 less this year than last, Clark said. The county July 1 began charging $236 per inmate for the first night and $86 a night thereafter. The city budgeted $2.6 million last year and $3.1 million the previous year.
The savings stem from a Scottsdale home-detention and electronic-monitoring program expanded in 2010. It saved an estimated $1.44 million in jail fees during its first nine months, Clark said.
Booking operations were consolidated at the downtown jail, 3700 N. 75th St., when the out-of-jurisdiction pilot program at the Via Linda jail began in March 2011, Clark said.
The city has deployed civilian-staffed vans to drive offenders to the downtown jail, but they are not always available, Clark said.
Sadly this is how cops attempt to make themselves look like heroes. They illegally stop and search 100 people and 1 or 2 of them are bound to have an illegal drug or some other contraband which they are arrested for. And then the cops brag they are making the streets safer by illegally searching and illegally arresting people for victimless drug war crimes.
If you ask me the cops first of all should obey the law and stop illegally searching people. Second the cops should be looking for real criminals like robbers, burglars and rapists, not people who commit victimless drug war crimes.
For Women in Street Stops, Deeper Humiliation
By WENDY RUDERMAN
Published: August 6, 2012
Shari Archibald’s black handbag sat at her feet on the sidewalk in front of her Bronx home on a recent summer night. The two male officers crouched over her leather bag and rooted around inside, elbow-deep. One officer fished out a tampon and then a sanitary napkin, crinkling the waxy orange wrapper between his fingers in search of drugs. Next he pulled out a tray of foil-covered pills, Ms. Archibald recalled.
“What’s this?” the officer said, examining the pill packaging stamped “drospirenone/ethinylestradiol.”
“Birth control,” Ms. Archibald remembered saying.
She took a breath and exhaled deeply, hoping the whoosh of air would cool her temper and contain her humiliation as the officers proceeded to pat her down.
The laws governing street stops are blind to gender. Male officers are permitted to frisk a woman if they reasonably suspect that she may be armed with a dangerous weapon that could be used to harm them. A frisk can escalate into a field search if officers feel a suspicious bulge while patting down the woman’s outer layer of clothing or the outline of her purse.
Last year, New York City police officers stopped 46,784 women, frisking nearly 16,000. Guns were found in 59 cases, according to an analysis of police statistics by The New York Times.
While the number of women stopped by officers in 2011 represented 6.9 percent of all police stops, the rate of guns found on both men and women was equally low, 0.12 percent and 0.13 percent, respectively. Civil rights leaders have argued that the low gun-recovery rates are a strong indication that the bulk of stop-and-frisk encounters are legally unjustified. (The number of police stops has dropped by more than 34 percent in recent months.)
When officers conduct stops upon shaky or baseless legal foundations, people of both sexes often say they felt violated. Yet stops of women by male officers can often involve an additional element of embarrassment and perhaps sexual intimidation, according to women who provided their accounts of being stopped by the police. And many incorrectly believe that the police, like Transportation Security Administration officers, are required to have female officers frisk women.
When conducting a frisk, police officers in New York are trained in the Patrol Guide to slide their hands over the external clothing, focusing on “the waistband, armpit, collar and groin areas.” Officers are taught that perpetrators have been known to tape knives or guns to the base of their necks or place weapons inside their underwear.
The training does not draw a distinction between male and female suspects, Police Inspector Kim Y. Royster said.
“Yes, it’s intrusive, but wherever a weapon can be concealed is where the officer is going to search,” Inspector Royster said. That search is not random; it is based on information provided to an officer, like a detailed description of an armed suspect, or actions that raise an officer’s reasonable suspicion that the woman may be armed, she added.
And although the police stops of women yielded very few guns, they did produce 3,993 arrests last year.
“Safety has no gender,” Inspector Royster said. “When you are talking about the safety of an officer, the first thing he or she is going to do is mitigate that threat.”
A search can extend to a woman’s purse, the inspector added, because it is considered a “lungeable area,” or a place where a person can easily conceal a weapon that can quickly be grabbed.
Ashanti Galloway, 24, a security guard and day care worker, said she recoiled when an officer recently fumbled through her bag and pulled out a pair of pink Victoria’s Secret underwear and her bra.
“He had my clothes in his hand; it was my panties and my bra,” Ms. Galloway said. “I was upset. I felt violated. Powerless.”
Ms. Galloway, who provided her full name and address but asked The Times to use Ashanti, her middle name, for this article, said she was not frisked on that occasion, though once, last summer, a male officer patted her down.
“A male officer should not have a right to touch me in any sort of manner, even if it’s on the outside of my clothing,” Ms. Galloway said. “We’re girls. They are men. And they are cops. It feels like a way for them to exert power over you.”
Crystal Pope, 22, said she and two female friends were frisked by male officers last year in Harlem Heights. The officers said they were looking for a rapist. It was an early spring evening at about 6:30 p.m. The three women sat talking on a bench near Ms. Pope’s home on 143rd Street when the officers pulled up and asked for identification, she said.
“They tapped around the waistline of my jeans,” Ms. Pope said. “They tapped the back pockets of my jeans, around my buttock. It was kind of disrespectful and degrading. It was uncalled-for. It made no sense. How are you going to stop three females when you are supposedly looking for a male rapist?”
Besides, Ms. Pope said, she thought male officers were required to summon a female colleague when conducting a frisk.
That belief, though incorrect, is shared by many women, said Andrea Ritchie, a civil rights lawyer and co-coordinator of Streetwise and Safe, a nonprofit organization that focuses on police practices that affect young lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people who are also members of ethnic minorities.
Each year, the organization conducts between 20 and 30 “know-your-rights” workshops at community centers around New York City. Inevitably, questions about gender and policing arise, Ms. Ritchie said.
“Every training we go to, we hear complaints about stop-and-frisk, and we hear women talk about sexual harassment,” Ms. Ritchie said. “They say, ‘Isn’t it right that a male officer can’t frisk you?’ ”
Ms. Ritchie said she believed the confusion spoke to the type of police stops unfolding daily on the streets, especially in cases where officers might have violated constitutional boundaries.
If a woman believes there is no legal basis for the frisk, Ms. Ritchie said, then she may feel that she is being groped simply for the officer’s sexual gratification. “That’s how women have described it to me,” Mrs. Ritchie added.
According to T.S.A. protocol, male security officers are not permitted to frisk passengers of the opposite sex during the airport-screening process. “Males pat down males, and females pat down females: that’s the policy,” said David Castelveter, a spokesman for the agency.
The agency offers options for passengers who express discomfort with the pat-down process. It allows them to undergo a pat-down in a private room, with a traveling companion as a witness. “You should neither be asked to — nor agree to — lift, remove or raise any articles of clothing to reveal a sensitive area of the body, such as the buttocks, groin or breasts,” T.S.A. policy says. “Bare or exposed skin should not be touched by the security officer.”
But in New York, Inspector Royster said, it is not only unsafe for male officers to wait for a female officer to arrive, but it is also often impractical. As of the end of 2011, more than 80 percent of officers on patrol were men. Of the more than 22,200 ranked officers, roughly 4,200 were women, according to the Police Department.
During training, officers take a course, “The Nobility of Policing,” which teaches them to be sensitive to issues surrounding gender, race and ethnicity, but that training does not specifically address stop-and-frisk for a weapon. It is only after a woman is arrested and brought to a police precinct that a female officer is summoned to conduct a “thorough search,” according to the Patrol Guide.
Ms. Archibald’s interaction with the police occurred shortly after she had left work. The two uniformed officers drove up in a squad car and stopped her as she fished inside her purse for keys to her house on Walton Avenue in Morris Heights, she said.
Ms. Archibald, a 21-year-old hairdresser, said the encounter was made worse by the number of people out on the street that night. “There were a lot of guys from the neighborhood outside,” she said, “and here is this officer squeezing one of my sanitary pads in front of everyone.”
One officer, she recalled, lifted up her long tank top and lightly brushed his hand over the elastic waist of her spandex leggings. They instructed her to pinch the shirt fabric between her breasts and yank at her bra.
“They asked me to snap my bra, to pull and shake it a bit, to see if anything fell out,” Ms. Archibald said.
Nothing did, she said. And they let her go.
Ray Rivera and Tom Torok contributed reporting.
Again I am sure that this is one of the reasons the Founders gave us the Second Amendment.
If the courts say that the government doesn't have to honor the 4th and 5th Amendments, do you really think the courts will say the government has to honor the 2nd Amendment?
Appeals court overturns ruling, says government wiretapping was OK
August 7, 2012 | 12:46 pm
A federal appeals court Tuesday threw out a lawsuit by lawyers for an Islamic group that charged the federal government had illegally wiretapped them.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said the government had legal immunity from the lawsuit filed by lawyers for Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, a now-defunct charity that federal agents said was a terrorist group.
The ruling overturns a 2010 decision by a San Francisco federal judge against the wiretapping program. That ruling awarded the group’s lawyers who had been wiretapped a total of $40,800 and required the government to pay Al-Haramain’s $2.5 million legal fees.
“This case effectively brings to an end the plaintiffs’ ongoing attempts to hold the executive branch responsible for intercepting telephone conversations without judicial authorization,” the 9th Circuit said.
The panel also affirmed a lower-court decision that FBI Director Robert Mueller could not be personally sued as a result of the surveillance.
In 2001, President George W. Bush authorized the government to monitor, without warrants, telephone calls and e-mails between Americans and possible foreign terrorists. Al-Haramain and its two lawyers sued, arguing that they had been wiretapped illegally.
Jon Eisenberg, who represented Al-Haramain’s lawyers, said the decision prevents citizens who have been wiretapped without a warrant from suing the government.
“There is no accountability,” Eisenberg said. “That is what is so distressful about this decision. It means that President Bush got away with it, and it means that President Obama will be able to get away with it and every president after him.”
The extent of government wiretapping “is a government secret, and the courts aren’t going to have anything to do with revealing those secrets,” Eisenberg said.
-- Maura Dolan in San Francisco
It's the laws making marijuana illegal that caused this murder.
Those laws cause marijuana to be sold at outrageous black market prices
from any where to $50 to $300+ an ounce.
Legalize pot and you will be able to buy a kilo of weed for what a head of lettuce costs now, and insane murders like this will stop.
Sadly this murder is being used by the Surprise police and the Arizona Republic to "demonize" marijuana and medical marijuana and blame it for the problems that were caused by the politicians that started the insane and unconstitutional "War on Drugs"
Marijuana and other illegal drugs do NOT cause crime.
The laws making marijuana and other drugs illegal cause
these drugs to be sold at super high black market prices
and those high black market prices cause crime.
If these drugs were legal and the prices were based on the
laws of supply and demand in a free market, instead of in
a black market anybody working at minimum wage could
afford these drugs and they would not be stealing to support
their drug habit.
Authorities: 2 face murder charges in fight over marijuana in Surprise
by D.S. Woodfill and Jane Lednovich - Aug. 7, 2012 08:15 PM
The Arizona Republic-12 News Breaking News Team
A home invasion that turned deadly over marijuana in Surprise could be a sign of things to come under the state's medical-marijuana law, police fear.
A man and a woman were arrested Monday on suspicion of murder after trying to use a fake prescription card to buy marijuana at a home near Greenway Road and Grand Avenue, resulting in a shooting and knife fight that killed a suspect and injured the homeowner, Maricopa County Superior Court documents show.
Records indicate, but do not specify, that the homeowner was a legal marijuana grower.
Surprise Police Chief Mike Frazier and police officials across the Valley said similar crimes could be committed at the state's now-legal dispensaries and grow houses.
"The concern of law enforcement all along has been that this had the potential to attract crime," Frazier said. "I can't speak to how common it will be. But this is probably not the last one."
Arizona health officials selected medical-marijuana dispensary applicants by lottery Tuesday. Under the law, 99 dispensaries around the state will get permission by the Department of Health Services to open for business.
More than 25,000 people were allowed to grow marijuana starting in 2010 as state officials fought the law and then figured out how to implement a plan for statewide dispensaries.
Now, those people living within a 25-mile radius must start winding down their operations. However, they will be allowed to continue to grow marijuana for medical use until their user IDs come up for renewal.
Jesse Gillen, 28, and Stephanie Conley, 29, were arrested about 1:30 a.m., Monday shortly after they were seen fleeing a house where a shooting and knife fight had been reported, according to court documents. A third suspect escaped when the pair were stopped.
Court records said Gillen, Conley and two unidentified men drove to the home of Martin Ridgeway sometime around 1 a.m. to buy marijuana from him.
Conley waited in the driver's seat of their car while Gillen and the two men went up to the house, police said. Ridgeway told police the men showed him one fake and one expired marijuana card. After refusing to sell marijuana to them, one of the men shot Ridgeway in the abdomen, authorities said. Ridgeway and the man then pulled out knives after the attacker's handgun jammed and stabbed each other multiple times, records said.
Ridgeway was airlifted to a hospital for emergency surgery and was listed in "stable" condition Tuesday afternoon, police said. The unidentified man was pronounced dead at the scene, they said. He was identified by Conley only as "Mike," records show.
Patrol officers located and arrested Gillen and Conley, but another man in the car escaped. Gillen and Conley were arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder, aggravated assault, first-degree burglary and armed robbery. Bail for each was set at $500,000.
Police across the Valley said if criminals know where medical marijuana is grown or dispensed, that home or facility will be a big target.
[I wonder why the cops don't say the same thing about banks? Bad guys know where the banks are and frequently rob them. As famous bank robber Willy Sutton said "That's where the money is at". Will the cops demand that banks be made illegal to stop bank robberies???]
"You're setting yourself up," Frazier said. "You put it out there that you essentially have drugs ... there are people in society that will try to take advantage of that."
Sgt. Trent Crump, a Phoenix police spokesman, predicted that his city will see similar crimes and said that those who grow or provide medical marijuana under the new law are well-advised to keep a low profile.
"The more you tell people, the more likely you are to be victimized," he said.
Mesa police Detective Steve Berry said police are not planning to step up security around areas providing medical marijuana.
Oddly the silly gun grabbing laws they want to pass would not
have prevented Jared Loughner from getting his guns.
Prior to his murder spree he was not a criminal and
in fact he legally purchased all the guns he used in
his Tucson murder spree at a Tucson Wal-Mart.
Tucson council backs federal gun measure
Goal is to keep firearms from 'dangerous people'
by Amy B Wang - Aug. 8, 2012 12:19 AM
The Republic | azcentral.com
Hours after Jared Loughner pleaded guilty to 19 counts of murder and attempted murder in the mass shooting on Jan. 8, 2011, the Tucson City Council unanimously voted to endorse a federal measure that would make it more difficult for "criminals and other dangerous people" to purchase a gun.
The vote followed testimony from several of the victims of last year's shooting near Tucson, many of whom had sat through Loughner's hearing earlier in the day.
At least eight of those who had been at the Safeway in January 2011 attended the meeting to speak as a group and urge city leaders to become some of the first in the state -- if not the country -- to advocate for stricter requirements on gun ownership.
"This whole community is well-suited to champion this cause," said Patricia Maisch, who was at the Safeway on the day of the shooting and is credited with helping to disarm Loughner as he tried to reload. "People say we are swimming upstream. At least we're swimming."
The Tucson resolution calls upon Congress to enact the Fix Gun Checks Act of 2012, which would ensure those who are prohibited from buying a gun are listed in a national instant criminal background-check database.
The measure would require a background check for every gun sale. It also specifically asks Gov. Jan Brewer to increase reporting of the state's prohibited gun purchasers to the background- check database.
In addition, the measure calls for President Barack Obama and GOP challenger Mitt Romney each to come up with a plan to reduce gun violence and prevent future mass shootings.
Pam Simon, a former outreach coordinator for then-U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, said that it was long overdue for national leaders to address gun violence. Giffords was wounded in the attack.
"As moments of silence have stretched into months of silence, we waited for our national leaders, hoping they would act," Simon said. "That silence eventually became deafening."
The Tucson council's decision comes in the wake of at least two major mass shootings that have taken place in the U.S. since the tragedy near Tucson. On July 20, a heavily armed shooter opened fire during a midnight showing of a new Batman movie in Colorado, killing 12 and injuring more than 50 others.
In yet another mass shooting that took place Aug. 5, a gunman killed six and wounded four others at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin.
"We shouldn't feel troubled when we want to go to Safeway to do some shopping or when you want to go see a movie or, God forbid, in one of his houses of worship," said Kenneth Dorushka, who attended the meeting with his wife, Carol. Both had attended Loughner's hearing earlier in the day.
The Tucson mayor and City Council voted on the measure at its regular meeting Tuesday evening, which drew about 150 people. The timing of the vote -- coinciding with Loughner's competency hearing that morning, as well as with another agenda item to consider proclaiming Tucson an "immigrant welcoming city" -- was unintentional, Tucson Councilwoman Karin Uhlich said.
"None of us could have anticipated what an emotional day this would be for the victims and survivors of the January 8 shootings and the wider community," Uhlich said. "But perhaps it is the right time to have this on our agenda."
Nevertheless, in anticipation of increased interest, the city moved the meeting from Tucson City Hall to the Tucson Convention Center.
Former Tucson councilwoman Molly McKasson was one of the dozens of people who showed up in support of the measure.
"How many people have been killed this year by a semi-automatic weapon?" said McKasson as she addressed the current council. "How many people have died and families have been completely broken apart by gun violence just this year?"
Roxanna Green, mother of 9-year-old Christina-Taylor Green, the youngest victim of the Tucson shooting, stood at the rostrum with other victims but did not speak. Green had not attended Loughner's hearing earlier in day but hugged several other victims after the council vote.
Several victims and council members spoke, but some of the simplest testimony seemed to affect the audience the most.
"I am Mavy Stoddard," one of the oldest victims of the Tucson shooting said slowly in a small voice. "My husband, Dorwan, was killed. He died in my arms, and I was shot."
As she spoke, several people in the room could be seen with tears in their eyes.
"We need you so badly to support us," Stoddard continued in her plea to the council. "You have a little more power than we have."
Arizona death-row inmate to be executed today for 1987 killings
Aug. 8, 2012 05:40 AM
Staff, wire reports
Barring action on a last-ditch appeal, Arizona death-row inmate Daniel Cook, 50, will be executed Wednesday at the state prison complex in Florence.
Though efforts to block Cook's death by lethal injection failed at the state level, an appeal is pending with the U.S. Supreme Court based on a claim of ineffective legal representation early in his appeals process.
The high court was expected to decide in the morning whether to take up the appeal.
Another appeal asked the state courts to block the execution by ruling that the state's lethal-injection law is unconstitutional.
That appeal was rejected earlier this week.
Last week, the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency also refused to recommend that the governor grant Cook a stay or a reprieve.
Cook was sentenced to die for the 1987 strangulation murders in Lake Havasu City of Carlos Cruz Ramos, 26, and Kevin Swaney, 16.
His death by lethal injection would be Arizona's fifth this year. The most executions Arizona has conducted in a year was seven in 1999.
It sounds a lot like the case where the Phoenix Police accused New York socialite
Carol A. Gotbaum
of
"strangling herself to death"
at Sky Harbor Airport, while she was handcuffed to a bench in a holding cell.
I suspect the Phoenix Police murdered Carol A. Gotbaum, like I suspect the Jonesboro Police murdered Chavis Carter.
Did cuffed man fatally shoot self in patrol car?
Aug. 7, 2012 05:06 PM
Associated Press
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Police in Arkansas are investigating whether a man fatally shot himself in the head as he sat in the back seat of a patrol car with his hands cuffed behind his back.
Chavis Carter, 21, died after Jonesboro police stopped a truck in which he was riding July 28 and learned he had an outstanding arrest warrant related to a drug charge. Carter was patted down twice, handcuffed and put into the back of the patrol car, according to a police report.
Officers a short time later saw Carter slumped over in the backseat and covered in blood, according to the report, which concluded he had managed to conceal a handgun with which he shot himself. He later died at a hospital, and the report listed his death as a suicide.
Jonesboro Police Chief Michael Yates said Tuesday it appeared Carter shot himself in the head, but his department still is investigating the incident, which the chief described as "very unusual."
"Specifically, how Carter suffered his apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound remains unexplained and investigation ... continues given the unusual nature of this event," the department said in a statement.
Yates said the department is working to reconstruct what happened, but are waiting on an autopsy report expected later this week.
Hundreds of people gathered in Jonesboro, about 130 miles northeast of Little Rock, on Monday for a candlelight vigil for Carter, and some questioned the circumstances surrounding the shooting. Some held signs asking "What really happened?" to Carter.
"Everyone wants justice," Jonesboro resident Gale Taylor told The Jonesboro Sun after the vigil. "The circumstances are unusual, but everyone wants the truth."
The NAACP also called for a thorough investigation into the death of Carter, who was black. The two other men who were in the truck with him and the two officers on the scene are white, according to police.
"The public relies upon police to serve and protect all citizens, no matter their race or ethnicity," the state conference and Craighead County branch of the NAACP said in a statement.
Personally I don't have a problem with this cop having consensual sex with teenagers. I think consensual sex between consenting people should always be legal.
Phoenix officer arrested for sex misconduct with teens
by Cassondra Strande and Chelsey Davis - Aug. 8, 2012 10:01 AM
The Arizona Republic-12 News Breaking News Team
A Phoenix police officer was arrested Tuesday night on suspicion of sexual misconduct with two teenage boys, authorities announced Wednesday.
The 14-year-old informed his parents about the incidents. The parents called police Tuesday afternoon and detectives immediately sought more information, Garcia said.
The investigation began Tuesday afternoon and concluded at 8:15 p.m. with the 13-year veteran's arrest. He immediately resigned to escape termination, Garcia said.
Wilson admitted his involvement and charges imply that the actions were consensual, though law enforcement does not support the illegal engagements Wilson participated in, Garcia said.
"I'm extremely disturbed and disgusted by this conduct," Garcia said.
The sexual encounters occurred at several private locations, including Wilson's home, Garcia said.
Detectives found that Wilson had met the boys through community engagements that were undefined, Garcia said.
Garcia said he wants the community to know this is a transparent investigation.
Officials encourage anyone with additional information on this event or if there are other victims, to contact police, Garcia said.
At the Chandler-Gilbert Community College wanna be cops have to take 139 hours of instruction on guns and fighting compared to a 44 hours of instruction on criminal law.
Check out these previous
articles
on the police.
More
articles
on the police.
Scottsdale city jail used to raise revenue???
The closure of the 23-year-old jail comes despite $370,000 in income generated by a program that allowed out-of-jurisdiction inmates to pay $189 a night for their stay in the 14-bed jail.
F*ck the 4th Amendment, it's been null and void for years.
F*ck the 4th Amendment, it's been null and void for years. Well at least that's how the cops behave!
Government not liable for illegally tapping your phone???
Appeals court says government not liable for damages when it illegally taps your phone.
Don't blame marijuana for this murder.
If pot was legal an ounce of weed wouldn't cost any more then a 99 cent hamburger at McDonald.
Tucson gun grabbers at work!!!!
From this article it sounds like the gun grabbing government
tyrants on the Tucson City Council are trying to use the plea
bargain accepted by Jared Loughner to take away our guns.
Blood thirsty Arizona Governor Jan Brewer to murder another prison inmate today???
Source
Jonesboro Police murdered Chavis Carter????
Cops says Chavis Carter shot himself while handcuffed in a squad car? Yea, sure!
If you ask me it sounds like the cops murdered this Black man and then used the "suicide" excuse to blamed the murder on him.
Phoenix Police Officer Christopher J. Wilson arrested for having gay sex with teenagers
More of the old "Do as I say, not as I do" from our government masters.
Officer Christopher J. Wilson, 43, was accused of 10 counts of sexual assault with a 14-year-old and a 17-year-old, Phoenix Police Chief Daniel Garcia said at a press conference.
The police are mostly trained on how to use physical force & violence
From this
article
it sounds like cops are trained mostly on how to use physical force & violence along with a little bit on laws.