Police State - Official Thread

[Soul Crusher]

[Agnostic007]

By Claudia Grisales | Wednesday, May 25, 2011, 01:15 PM

Austin police and city officials this morning awarded Cpl. Javier Bustos, who wounded an armed man following a September police pursuit, the medal of valor, a departmental recognition used to honor courage displayed while on the duty.

On Sept. 25, Bustos shot Pat Allen Faith in the shoulder when Faith raised his gun at other drivers in Southeast Austin following a high-speed chase with police, officials have said. Faith then shot and killed himself, police said.

“What was displayed that day was true bravery,” Police Chief Art Acevedo said before presenting the award to Bustos with Mayor Lee Leffingwell at his side. “Cpl. Bustos did what we trained him to do.”

The award comes days after former Travis County Sheriff Margo Frasier, in her first review as the newly installed police monitor, criticized certain actions of officers and raised concerns about a series of communication failures among 911 operators connected to the September incident.

Acevedo has said his department continues to review the events of that night, while Sgt. Wayne Vincent, president of the Austin police union, has described Frasier’s comments as unreasonable “second-guessing.”

In her memo, Frasier agreed that Bustos appropriately used deadly force.

On Wednesday, Bustos expressed gratitude for the honor, following a standing ovation from dozens of fellow officers, family and friends who attended the event at a police training center in Southeast Austin.

“If I could take this medal and break it into little pieces, I would give it to the people involved that night” along with those who trained me, Bustos said upon receiving the award. “Those officers involved that night, those are my heroes.”

Note: This story has been edited to correctly attribute a quote to Sgt. Wayne Vincent, president of the Austin police union.

[Soul Crusher]

The point of my thread here is no to say there are not individual acts of bravery, heroism, etc, its to show that in general as a society we are becoming more of a police state as a whole.   

And we are.   There is no denying that by any rational person. 

[Agnostic007]

The point of my thread here is no to say there are not individual acts of bravery, heroism, etc, its to show that in general as a society we are becoming more of a police state as a whole.   

And we are.   There is no denying that by any rational person. 

If that is the point of your thread, you've failed miserably 

[Soul Crusher]

If that is the point of your thread, you've failed miserably 

I really don't think you are the best person to make that assessment.     

[Agnostic007]

I really don't think you are the best person to make that assessment.     

you may have a point

[Agnostic007]

I don't know if you are familiar with Alex Jones or not but he is a local here. Met him a few times, nice enough guy in person. I used to listen to his radio show just because I knew him and he would often talk about local law enforcement. I would listen to him on many occassions talking about an incident that I had intimate knowledge of, and he would be putting a ridiculous police state spin on it. It was funny at the time because it was so ridiculous. One example was a situation where we were looking for a  couple guys who had committed an aggravated robbery of an individual and fled the scene in a vehicle. Cops located the car and a pursuit took place ending with the guys bailing out and running into the neighborhood where Alex happened to be living. A perimiter was established, and the police helicopter was up so we called for their assistance. The copter showed up, flew around the area we eventually located the guys on top of a shed in a backyard.

That Sunday Alex did 2 hrs on how black helicopters were spying on him because of what he does.

I say I used to find him funny. Now not so much because there are a lot of people out there just gullible enough to start believing half the things he says.           

[Soul Crusher]

I dont listen to AJ. 

I only know what I deal with on a day to day basis.   

[Agnostic007]

I dont listen to AJ. 

I only know what I deal with on a day to day basis.   

Give me an example of what you dealt with yesterday 

[Soul Crusher]

Give me an example of what you dealt with yesterday 

Yesterday - lets see - County Cop stationed at the exit on to Bronx River PKWY backing up traffic at rush hour checking seat belts causing chaos. 

Traffic madness backed up for a while.  i dont blame the cop himself cause heis following directions, but seriously?   Seatbelt check during rush hour at an already over used traffic area?   

GMAFB.   

   

[Agnostic007]

Yesterday - lets see - County Cop stationed at the exit on to Bronx River PKWY backing up traffic at rush hour checking seat belts causing chaos. 

Traffic madness backed up for a while.  i dont blame the cop himself cause heis following directions, but seriously?   Seatbelt check during rush hour at an already over used traffic area?   

GMAFB.   

   

How did you determing he was checking seatbealts? Just curious

[Soul Crusher]

How did you determing he was checking seatbealts? Just curious

Asked him.   

[Dos Equis]

I don't know if you are familiar with Alex Jones or not but he is a local here. Met him a few times, nice enough guy in person. I used to listen to his radio show just because I knew him and he would often talk about local law enforcement. I would listen to him on many occassions talking about an incident that I had intimate knowledge of, and he would be putting a ridiculous police state spin on it. It was funny at the time because it was so ridiculous. One example was a situation where we were looking for a  couple guys who had committed an aggravated robbery of an individual and fled the scene in a vehicle. Cops located the car and a pursuit took place ending with the guys bailing out and running into the neighborhood where Alex happened to be living. A perimiter was established, and the police helicopter was up so we called for their assistance. The copter showed up, flew around the area we eventually located the guys on top of a shed in a backyard.

That Sunday Alex did 2 hrs on how black helicopters were spying on him because of what he does.

I say I used to find him funny. Now not so much because there are a lot of people out there just gullible enough to start believing half the things he says.           

He's a nut.  You are correct that there are a number of gullible people out there who believe what this nut says. 

[Agnostic007]

He's a nut.  You are correct that there are a number of gullible people out there who believe what this nut says. 

It's funny but people like Alex Jones, and many anti police folks like your ACLU and NAACP etc etc share something in common..

When they speak, they paint all cops with a broad brush. They will generalize and say how the cops brutalize the minorities, or the cops are nazi thugs in blue uniforms etc etc. But I notice that every once in awhile they let it slip that every cop they KNOW,or meet is cool, or a good cop. Kind of like a lot of bigots. They hate all blacks except Jim, and Joe and Bob and ...who are different than the other blacks... No, the fact is, you have an inaccurate preconception of blacks, or cops and you keep meeting good ones but can't get your mind around the realization that maybe it's not that you are just sooo lucky to meet the good ones, but that most of them are good, and you are simply wrong about them.

I hear it all the time. We have a local activist who is friends with half the force, but he can't help saying "APD is racist against blacks".. If you ask him, will what about officer Smith? "Oh no, he isn't" what about Officer Townes?" Oh, he's a good cop.."Well what about..." so on and so forth till you've named half the force. Ask them specifically who is racist and he doesn't have an answer, just that the police are...

Anyhoo, I've noticed that little gem over the years..   

[Dos Equis]

It's funny but people like Alex Jones, and many anti police folks like your ACLU and NAACP etc etc share something in common..

When they speak, they paint all cops with a broad brush. They will generalize and say how the cops brutalize the minorities, or the cops are nazi thugs in blue uniforms etc etc. But I notice that every once in awhile they let it slip that every cop they KNOW,or meet is cool, or a good cop. Kind of like a lot of bigots. They hate all blacks except Jim, and Joe and Bob and ...who are different than the other blacks... No, the fact is, you have an inaccurate preconception of blacks, or cops and you keep meeting good ones but can't get your mind around the realization that maybe it's not that you are just sooo lucky to meet the good ones, but that most of them are good, and you are simply wrong about them.

I hear it all the time. We have a local activist who is friends with half the force, but he can't help saying "APD is racist against blacks".. If you ask him, will what about officer Smith? "Oh no, he isn't" what about Officer Townes?" Oh, he's a good cop.."Well what about..." so on and so forth till you've named half the force. Ask them specifically who is racist and he doesn't have an answer, just that the police are...

Anyhoo, I've noticed that little gem over the years..   

Excellent point.  I talk to my kids all the time about the importance of avoiding overstatements. 

[Skip8282]

It's funny but people like Alex Jones, and many anti police folks like your ACLU and NAACP etc etc share something in common..

When they speak, they paint all cops with a broad brush. They will generalize and say how the cops brutalize the minorities, or the cops are nazi thugs in blue uniforms etc etc. But I notice that every once in awhile they let it slip that every cop they KNOW,or meet is cool, or a good cop. Kind of like a lot of bigots. They hate all blacks except Jim, and Joe and Bob and ...who are different than the other blacks... No, the fact is, you have an inaccurate preconception of blacks, or cops and you keep meeting good ones but can't get your mind around the realization that maybe it's not that you are just sooo lucky to meet the good ones, but that most of them are good, and you are simply wrong about them.

I hear it all the time. We have a local activist who is friends with half the force, but he can't help saying "APD is racist against blacks".. If you ask him, will what about officer Smith? "Oh no, he isn't" what about Officer Townes?" Oh, he's a good cop.."Well what about..." so on and so forth till you've named half the force. Ask them specifically who is racist and he doesn't have an answer, just that the police are...

Anyhoo, I've noticed that little gem over the years..   

I generally don't have a problem with cops and my brother is one, but IMO most of this generalizing is brought on by yourselves.  Lawyers, shrinks, and educators seem to have similar problems.  Anyway, you all often fail to police yourselves.  So, even though most of you are good, your failure to strictly weed out the bad ones causes those bad apples to overshadow a lot of what the good cops do.

[Soul Crusher]

My point in starting this thread was not really about individual officers, but society in general on levels.   There are plenty of good cops, but as a nation we seem to be going over the top in what we criminalize and penalize.   

[Skip8282]

My point in starting this thread was not really about individual officers, but society in general on levels.   There are plenty of good cops, but as a nation we seem to be going over the top in what we criminalize and penalize.   

I agree, we criminalize and penalize way too much.

[garebear]

Right on, bros.

Should be more penilize and less penalize. (No homo)

[Soul Crusher]

Sheriff Dipshit Strikes again.     Will he blame Limbaugh and talk radio again for this? 

 





Pima deputies charged with theft of drug money
KOLD 13 ^ | June 3, 2011 | Brian White

________________________ ________________________ __


TUCSON, AZ (KOLD) - Unsealed court records allege that two former Pima County Sheriffs deputies worked together to pull over known drug traffickers to steal their money.

In the "superseding indictment" that was unsealed Thursday, prosecutors allege that then-Deputies Miguel Arvizu and Francisco Jimenez arranged to also provide "security" while others stole drugs and money from a storage facility in Green Valley.

Arvizu was a deputy for nearly seven years, from June 8, 2003, to when he resigned April 28, 2010. Jimenez was hired June 23, 2006, and resigned March 17, 2011.

The charges paint a picture of two allegedly corrupt deputies who ran drugs and stole the profits, according to the indictment.

In all, Arvizu is charged with eight counts that include theft of government money and attempted distribution of 3 kilograms of cocaine. Jimenez faces similar charges.


The indictment, which was unsealed Thursday, alleges Jimenez used his position at Pima County Sheriff's Department and his patrol car in the commission of several offenses. The indictment also alleges that Arvizu, a former Pima County Sheriff's deputy, assisted Jimenez and his other co-conspirators in stealing drugs and drug sale proceeds.

The indictment alleges that on June 26, 2010, Arvizu arranged a traffic stop on a vehicle that that purportedly contained drug proceeds, according to court documents. Jimenez allegedly stole $4,000 from the car's glove compartment, and later gave Arvizu a portion of the money.

On October 8, Jimenez searched a vehicle parked at the Tucson Mall that purportedly contained drug proceeds, and stole another $4,000 from the glove compartment.

On November 24, Arvizu arranged for Jimenez to provide "security" while co-conspirators broke into a storage facility in Green Valley and allegedly stole controlled substances and drug proceeds, according to court documents.

Arvizu has been charged with eight counts, including: conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, theft of government money and property, attempted distribution of three kilograms of cocaine, attempted possession with the intent to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana, and assaulting a person having lawful charge, custody, and control of money and other property of the United States, with the intent to rob, steal, and purloin said money and property of the United States.

[Agnostic007]

I generally don't have a problem with cops and my brother is one, but IMO most of this generalizing is brought on by yourselves.  Lawyers, shrinks, and educators seem to have similar problems.  Anyway, you all often fail to police yourselves.  So, even though most of you are good, your failure to strictly weed out the bad ones causes those bad apples to overshadow a lot of what the good cops do.

I respectfully disagree. Again, speaking for my department, we do a very good job of weeding out the bad ones. We have a systems in place that  help us do that. Everytime any force is used that requires more than just putting someone in handcuffs we are required to do use of force reports. A supervisor reviews them and depending on the seriousness it can be a level 3 which just requires notes be added to the report by the Sergeant, pressure points, pepper spray, wrist locks are an example. A strike to any part of the body is a level 2 and he Sergeant must respond, interview witnesses and suspect... a strike to the head, or any force that requires hospitalization is a 1 and a special unit investigates. Then there is the video cameras in every car and mikes on every patrol officer. We are just now starting to outfit our bike and walking beat officers with body cameras. I think we are going a little too far for the sake of being transparent and trying to show we are doing things right, but once in awhile you have an officer that does something stupid, or criminal and some segments assume it is a large portion of us.

[Skip8282]

I respectfully disagree. Again, speaking for my department, we do a very good job of weeding out the bad ones. We have a systems in place that  help us do that. Everytime any force is used that requires more than just putting someone in handcuffs we are required to do use of force reports. A supervisor reviews them and depending on the seriousness it can be a level 3 which just requires notes be added to the report by the Sergeant, pressure points, pepper spray, wrist locks are an example. A strike to any part of the body is a level 2 and he Sergeant must respond, interview witnesses and suspect... a strike to the head, or any force that requires hospitalization is a 1 and a special unit investigates. Then there is the video cameras in every car and mikes on every patrol officer. We are just now starting to outfit our bike and walking beat officers with body cameras. I think we are going a little too far for the sake of being transparent and trying to show we are doing things right, but once in awhile you have an officer that does something stupid, or criminal and some segments assume it is a large portion of us.

It doesn't matter, you could have 100 checks and balances.  The only thing the public cares about is the end result, and in the end, the police do a horrible job of policing themselves.  Rarely are cops terminated. 

I'm not exempt by the way.  As a public employee myself, we also do a horrible job of weeding out the incompetent lackies.  Just trying to get one out is a bureaucratic nightmare.  And the public does take notice.

[Soul Crusher]

Education officials break down Stockton man's door
12:15 AM, Jun 8, 2011 
 

STOCKTON, CA - Kenneth Wright does not have a criminal record and he had no reason to believe a S.W.A.T team would be breaking down his door at 6 a.m. on Tuesday.

"I look out of my window and I see 15 police officers," Wright said.

Wright came downstairs in his boxer shorts as a S.W.A.T team barged through his front door. Wright said an officer grabbed him by the neck and led him outside on his front lawn.

"He had his knee on my back and I had no idea why they were there," Wright said.

According to Wright, officers also woke his three young children ages 3, 7, and 11 and put them in a Stockton police patrol car with him. Officers then searched his house.

As it turned out, the person law enforcement was looking for was not there - Wright's estranged wife.

"They put me in handcuffs in that hot patrol car for six hours, traumatizing my kids," Wright said.

Wright said he later went to the mayor and Stockton Police Department, but the City of Stockton had nothing to do with Wright's search warrant.

The U.S. Department of Education issued the search and called in the S.W.A.T for his wife's defaulted student loans.

"They busted down my door for this," Wright said. "It wasn't even me."

According to the Department of Education's Office of the Inspector General, the case can't be discussed publicly until it is closed, but a spokesperson did confirm that the department did issue the search warrant at Wright's home.

The Office of the Inspector General has a law enforcement branch of federal agents that carry out search warrants and investigations.

Stockton Police Department said it was asked by federal agents to provide one officer and one patrol car just for a police presence when carrying out the search warrant.

Stockton police did not participate in breaking Wright's door, handcuffing him, or searching his home.

"All I want is an apology for me and my kids and for them to get me a new door," Wright said.

News10/KXTV

http://www.news10.net/news/article/141072/2/Dept-of-Education-breaks-down-Stockton-mans-door

[Soul Crusher]

Source: The New York Times


POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. — For Bill O’Brien, summer has meant the serene bliss of the Hudson River ever since he went out fishing for stripers as a boy. But last year, after he was stopped once too often by law enforcement patrol boats with armed officers, he decided he had had it. He sold his 22-foot jet boat, convinced that a restful afternoon on the Hudson was just becoming too stressful to enjoy.

“One time I got stopped four times in one day.” Mr. O’Brien, 45, an M.R.I. technologist from Orange County, said. “It feels like every agency and municipality on the Hudson has a boat, and they’re all out there trying to justify themselves by finding someone doing something wrong. It’s just gotten out of control.”

Ten years after the terror attacks downriver made security checks a commonplace aspect of everyday life, a tea party of sorts is brewing on the Hudson, as boaters and marine businesses complain bitterly about being stopped too often and questioned too closely by officers wearing flak jackets and holstered pistols — many of them on the lookout for terrorists.

And as boating season begins, that vigilance has become one of those vexing flashpoints, like baggage searches and airport body scans, in the shifting definition of what is normal — post-9/11 overreaction to some, and a response to real risks to others.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/11/nyregion/stepped-up-s...



________________________ _-


This is definately true.


Between the coasties, every damn PD, Rockland Westchester county,  Fire Department, etc, its become like the gestapo out there.   

 
Its a royal pain in the ass dealing with these jerkoffs.   

[Soul Crusher]

Janet Napolitano Visits NYU Law School to Discuss Need for Citizen Spies
The Activist Post ^ | June 9, 2011 | (unattributed)




Homeland Security head, Janet Napolitano, continued her campus tour in a recent stop at NYU Law School where she gave a speech about the state of security as we approach the 10-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and following the announced death of Osama bin Laden.

In the video below Napolitano lays out a sweeping surveillance agenda that includes citizen spies who have a mission of "shared responsibility" to thwart "Core" al-Qaeda, foreign groups "inspired by" al-Qaeda, as well as domestic "extremist" groups, which apparently include an increasing number of plots by U.S. citizens. She added that "there is no single portrait" of today's potential terrorist, citing recruiting tactics "including Hip Hop videos, if you can imagine that." And, naturally, cyberspace. Each of the four key ways that she stated as critical to Homeland Security's mission will widen the Stasi-style network of unpaid employees of the State virtually deputized to spy on their neighbor in the private and public sector and issue reports to the DHS federal security matrix.

Strengthen the nation's 72 fusion centers, which coordinate with local police, businesses, churches, universities and more in a cooperative effort to federalize local communities.

Continue the expanded use of Suspicious Activity Reports (SAR), initially used for IRS reporting and for businesses to alert government officials to large cash purchases at their establishments. The new initiative will cover all sectors that will share back to DHS.

Launch the National Terrorism Advisory System to replace the general color-coded terror alert system and set up a "base level" high risk, which will be augmented with specific messages. One component of this new system that she does not address is that it will be directed toward the individual by utilizing a text messaging system, as well as social networks to issue government statements and warnings (or propaganda).

Continue expansion of a national "If You See Something, Say Something" campaign that began with the NY Metropolitan Transit Authority, and kicked off at private businesses like Wal-Mart whereby people can receive ongoing messages via telescreens in government buildings, private businesses and public areas, then report on anyone for any reason without consequence for false reports.
She also predictably suggests that the counter-terrorism apparatus is a useful tool that can save citizens in need of rescue from natural disasters.

 More likely, it is the roll-out of soft martial law that will create a permanent state of fear, suspicion, false arrests, police brutality, and the end of the American republic in the same fashion that led to the end of every society that chose the path of security over freedom.