So I’m wondering how many people saw the commercial below last night and not only didn’tfind it farcical, satirical or horrifying, but were kind of okay with what they were seeing.
Maybe it’s my nutty libertarianism kicking in, but I actually initially thought it was some sort of PSA. Something like, “Do you part now, so it doesn’t have to get to this later.”
A quick roundup of recent stories on law enforcement officials and DWI laws…
Ten police officers in Westchester County, New York admit to local newspaper that they routinely let other officers off after catching them driving drunk off duty.
Off-duty, possibly drunk South Carolina officer pulled over after a chase demands “professional courtesy” she says is customarily granted to other officers. She was charged with reckless driving and disorderly conduct, but wasn’t arrested or given a breath test, and was allowed to go home.
Off-duty Massachusetts state police lieutenant crashes into pickup truck, causing the truck to flip several times. Officer admitted drinking earlier in the day and two open beer cans were found in his car. Other officers don’t administer field sobriety test for 2 1/2 hours, after allowing him to talk to his attorney. He was also never given breath or blood tests. He did get a $20 traffic ticket.
From last year, DWI charges dropped against Nevada DA who caused two crashes within six hours while in California, and tested over the legal limit after the second. He was allowed to plead to reckless driving.
Writing in Politico, Chris Preble of the (right-wing extremist!) Cato Institute and Heather Hurlburt of the National Security Network debunk the bipartisan Washington consensus that military spending should always be off-limits to budget freezes. For a proposal so outside the Beltway mainstream, their action plan sounds pretty reasonable:
But ultimately, because our national security rests on our economic health as well as on the strength of our military, a liberal and a libertarian can agree that the Pentagon should no longer get a pass. Congress must stop funding projects to satisfy parochial domestic interests. The Pentagon must stop buying weapons systems that are already outdated, unworkable or both. And the administration must carefully define our vital security interests, reshape our grand strategy to more equitably distribute the burdens of policing the globe and reduce the occasions when our military will be called on to fight.
This one will be tougher to pull off…
For nearly two decades, Republicans and Democrats in Washington have deployed the U.S. military as a police force of first resort. Now is the time for a change.
We might also change the odd policy of not including war spending when calculating the federal budget deficit.
Kudos to Mississippi State Rep. Bob Evans, who astute readers will also recognize is Cory Maye’s chief counsel.
Evans has introduced a bill (PDF) in the Mississippi legislature explicitly making it legal to videotape or record an on-duty police officer, firefighter, or conservation officer.
Two streets in my neighborhood that lie right next to one another. Photos were taken within seconds of one another. The street on the left is a main road. The street on the right is a service road. The service road is owned by the city, but for all practical purposes, it’s private. All of the parking spaces along the side are the property of the people who live in the houses that line the street. The street is one-way, and it’s only used by the people who own or rent those spaces. Anyone passing through obviously takes the main road. The city will eventually get around to plowing the main road. The city never plows the service road. Less than 24 hours after the blizzard, guess which road is clear, and which is suitable only for four-wheel drive vehicles?
MORE: Some of you seem to have missed the point of the post. I’m not criticizing the city for not getting to the main road. It’s only been a day, and we got the largest snowfall in the area’s recorded history. The point is that where people expect the city to send eventually plows, the road is still snowed. Where the city has no history of sending a plow, and isn’t likely to, residents grabbed shovels, and cleared the road in 24 hours.
Got my front door open. Did some shoveling. Took some pictures. Today we have a bright winter sun. It’s beautiful on the snow, if a bit blinding. Hoping to get to Old Town before the Super Bowl this evening to snap some more pics.
DEA agent accused of working with informant to frame innocent people is acquitted on all counts. Amazing how trustworthy these informants are when they’re being used against regular people, and how shady they become when they start accusing law enforcement of misconduct.
Puppycide in Colorado. I’ve made this point before, but how is that this “vicious” dog never bit or attacked a mailman, a deliver man, or a meter reader?
So I am quite literally snowed in right now. Front door won’t open. It’s been crazy. Photos and videos of puppy snow frolicking forthcoming.
In the meantime….
Actual sentence from an actual news story: “It’s designed for young girls ages 8 and older, but some say the mysterious product is a “dangerous spiritual game” that opens up anyone, particularly Christians, to attacks on their soul.”
Looks like the former DA Texas Gov. Rick Perry appointed to head up the state’s forensics panel is doing all he can to make sure the panel does nothing to help the state’s forensics system.
Here’s a good cop story: Bozeman, Montana cop buys food for man caught shoplifting school supplies for his kids.
I am shocked to learn that a new federal law enforcement agency charged with protecting the country has been bogged down by public choice conundrums, petty bureaucracy, and infighting. Who could have predicted this?
I’m not a lawyer, but I think there’s a legal term we use to describe what you’re doing if, while under federal investigation, you destroy any evidence of the possible crimes for which you’re being investigated.
Photos of buzkashi, Afghanistan’s crazy national sport, where the “ball” is a headless goat carcass.
Massive anti-gang raid in Riverside, California involved 650 local, federal, and state law enforcement personnel. Looks like they hit a number of innocent people, too. (Via Injustice Everywhere.)
Smelley’s case then got even stranger. At the preliminary hearing last February, Judge Headley actually ruled in Smelley’s favor. But under state law, Putnam County had an additional 10 days to amend its brief. Three days after his ruling, Headley mysteriously pulled himself from the case. Gambill thinks he knows why. “Several months ago, [the judge] asked the Putnam County prosecutor if he could have $5,000 from the forfeiture fund to buy some new AV equipment for his courtroom. He was turned down,” Gambill said. “Since then Judge Headley has had, well, I’ll just say he’s had a much different demeanor in forfeiture cases.” Gambill thinks that in his eagerness to question the county, Headley misstated state law during Smelley’s preliminary hearing, then took himself off the case once he realized his mistake.
Headley confirmed to me that he had made the AV equipment request. But he denied that the denial of his request for forfeiture funds had any bearing on his ruling. Maybe that’s true, and Gambill is wrong. But think about the impropriety of it all: A judge asked for $5,000 to upgrade his courtroom from a fund filled with money from defendants over whose cases he presides….
As for Anthony Smelley, he finally had his new hearing last Friday. But it could be another month or more to hear whether he’ll get his money back.
Freddie Peacock, 60, of Rochester, New York has become the 250th person exonerated by DNA testing. Peacock was convicted of rape in 1976 and paroled in 1982. He tried to remain on parole so he’d still have access to the courts to clear his name.
• There have been DNA exonerations in 33 states and the District of Columbia.
• The top three states for DNA exonerations are New York (with 25), Texas (with 40) and Illinois (with 29).
• 76% of the wrongful convictions involved eyewitness misidentification.
• 50% involved unvalidated or improper forensic science.
• 27% relied on a false confession, admission or guilty plea.
• 70% of the 250 people exonerated are people of color (60% are black; nearly 9% are Latino; 29% are white).
Dallas County, Texas alone has had 19 DNA exonerations, in part because it’s one of the only jurisdictions in the country with a district attorney who is actually seeking out false convictions. That’s a pretty good indication that the 250 figure would be higher if there were more DAs like him.
One other point: The subset of cases for which DNA testing is dispositive of guilt is pretty small. So it also seems safe to say that whatever flaws in the criminal justice system that allowed these wrongful convictions to happen are just as prevalent in the much larger set of cases where DNA isn’t a factor.
Fourth-grader reprimanded, nearly suspended for bringing two-inch Lego gun to school. Looks like they did at least manage to avoid calling the SWAT team.