SSCC #427 – DEA, BATFEieio

The nation’s top drug and gun enforcement agencies do not track how often they give their informants permission to break the law on the government’s behalf.

U.S. Justice Department rules put strict limits on when and how agents at the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives can authorize their informants — often drawn from the ranks of the criminals they are investigating — to commit a crime. But both the ATFand DEA acknowledged, in response to open-records requests and in written statements, that they do not track how often such permission is given.

(Emphasis mine.) When you see it written like that, it reads as the definition of a State Sponsored Criminal now doesn’t it?

State Sponsored Criminal #427: The Feds

Because if you want to get a crime, just ask the government for permission first.  If you have to sweeten the deal by squealing on your compatriots.  No honor among thieves you know.

 

Quote of the Day – A Girl and Her Gun (9/19/2012)

The most dangerous thing about these people is that they want to affect our minds. They want to convince us that we do not matter. That we have no value. That if we were truly decent and caring people we would care more about the man trying to shove parts of his body into you or me by force than our right not to have that happen.

A Girl and Her GunYou Have Worth

September 19th, 2012


[I find it interesting that our opponents arguments are exactly as A Girl points out more and more.  There is little to question about the way our opponents view criminals and the law-abiding.  Their views are that the life of the criminal is worth more than the person who is being violated.

How sad is it when their position in the argument is that you should let the criminal violate you and then the state will give him “due process”.  I don’t think he really understands how the legal system works.  Due process isn’t a method to argue against self-defense.  Due process is a legal term to protect the innocent from the force of the state.  Due process only applies within the realm of the state.  A criminal does not get entitled to have a jury vote thumbs up or down before their victim can fight back.  The victim is a one man jury and the state will apply due process on that one man jury.

What does this mean for criminals?  It means that if a criminal tries to kill someone, the victim can try to kill them right back.  In the eyes of the law and due process, the victim will be justified in their actions while the criminal will not.

Never mind that the particular individual who brought about this argument failed reading comprehension 101.  As I told A Girl yesterday regarding his commentary on “due process”:

WTFO? I think I just killed brain cells trying to make that supposedly logical leap…

It is unbelievable how willfully our opponents voice their distaste for the law-abiding while embracing, defending, and supporting criminals. -B]

SSCC #411 – Seattle

That’s right folks, the Seattle PD had decided to return to the land of the criminal count.  This one is juicy…

In a complaint filed in Seattle Municipal Court, Donnie R. Lowe, 45, was accused of knowingly violating a no-contact order issued after his arrest in June for allegedly assaulting his wife.

Lowe’s wife was believed to be a passenger in a car when Seattle police stopped him Aug. 14 for allegedly talking on his cellphone while driving, according to sources familiar with the case. But Lowe was not immediately arrested because police were not able to verify the court order as a result of a computer problem, the sources said.

Now initially it doesn’t sound that bad, especially since the judge issued the no-contact order without a request to do so from the wife.  So a judge did something against the will of both the defendant and plaintiff and they possibly violated it, but here’s the real reason this sucker is juicy.

The new charge further clouded Lowe’s career in the Police Department, in which his bachelor’s degree in business and master’s in public administration helped him land a position on the police-reform effort but whose troubling history of bad judgment and misconduct raised questions about his selection.

That’s right folks, the Seattle Police departments first choice to aid  in their reform behaves like this.  It is worth noting that he has since been removed as the team leader and the situation has changed due to this incident.

Since then, the city and Justice Department reached a comprehensive settlement agreement in July in which a court-appointed monitor will oversee broad reforms in police practices.

The most entertaining part though is this isn’t the first time he has behaved in a questionable nature.

He previously was disciplined after he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in 2008. He pleaded guilty to an amended charge of reckless driving, later dismissed when he met court conditions. The department then suspended him for four days without pay after an internal investigation.

Lowe also received internal reprimands for inappropriate physical treatment of his handcuffed son while he was in police custody in a holding cell in 2006, and over an improper effort to retrieve from a man nude photographs of a female acquaintance in 2002.

Have no fear though, I’m sure he’s on paid administrative leave, pulling down his $148,000 salary.  Seriously you can’t make this stuff up!

State Sponsored Criminal #411: Donnie R. Lowe

Because what better man to help aid the department in reform than a man who is obviously in need of some reform himself.

 

Quote of the Day – Frank Fleming

I hear the DNC had a video tribute to Ted Kennedy, the only politician with a confirmed kill in the War on Women.

Frank Fleming (@IMAO_) – Tweet (via Alan Gura)


[All I can think to add to this is, “That’s about par for the course.”  I did make a tweet about the hypocrisy of the DNC requiring ID to get in, but you don’t need ID to vote.  Someone replied saying the following:

It’s called security you know secret service.

I didn’t realize they needed photo ID before they searched you or your belongings for “security”.  Sounds like a great excuse to keep out “undesirables.”

Joe and I were driving across Nevada as the thing went down though we were getting updates via Bitter and others.  The feeling I got by the end was the hypocrisy coming from them was so thick it could have been granite by the time it was all over.  -B]

SSCC #402 – Montgomery

Jessie Alan Fuller, 25, of Pensacola, Fla., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge W. Keith Watkins to 37 months in prison and two years supervised release, the Justice Department announced.   Fuller pleaded guilty on April 26, 2012, to one count of conspiracy against rights, a felony, and one count of deprivation of rights under color of law, a misdemeanor.   These charges stemmed from Fuller’s stealing money and property from motorists on Interstate 65 in central Alabama while he was a police officer with the Fort Deposit Police Department.

The punishment of 3 years in prison I consider nothing more than a start. Total he made off with about $520 bucks and a GPS.  What disturbs me about this though is what if a citizen had actually stood up to him.  Legally the citizen had every right to and could have legally used force against the officer.  In doing so he could have very likely been killed.

What happened here was the state gave this man a badge, a gun, and qualified immunity to protect him from his victims. His mistake was getting caught, even then he only get 3 years in prison.  Accountable would have been 10 years, full restitution, and a financial penalty so severe he could never fully pay his debt.

State Sponsored Criminal #402: Jessie Alan Fuller

Because deprivation of rights under color of law isn’t that big of a deal right?  What’s the worst that could have happened because of his actions?

SSCC #388–Seattle

We all know how hard the Seattle Police department works to get their employees eligible for the count.  Today we get a rare behind the scenes look at how they grow the outstanding police officers that are a shining example that others should inspire themselves to.  (If you didn’t have a clue, that whole last sentence was sarcastic!)

A Seattle police officer caught on video kicking a handcuffed suspect in the head has been suspended for 10-days, but he won’t have to serve the suspension as long as he stays out of trouble.

Some how he escaped the wrath of the legal system, though an internal investigation did reveal the use of excessive force.  His punishment a 10 day suspension with this note:

…Seattle police chief John Diaz ruled that Haynes will not be required to serve the unpaid suspension as long as he stays out of trouble for two years.

How nice.  So that’s out they have groomed so many fine upstanding officers.

State Sponsored Criminal #388: Garth Haynes

Because you know that you only need the threaten punishment when it comes to officers of the law.  Following through does absolutely nothing to drive home the point that what they did is wrong.  Heaven forbid you use the misfit to set an example of.

SSCC #382–Los Angeles

“I felt 300 pounds on my neck,” Brooks told reporters at NBC Los Angeles. Brooks, a volunteer employee at THC Downtown Collective, a Long Beach, CA medical marijuana dispensary, was arrested June 19 during a police raid of the pot shop. Footage from the dispensary’s security camera reveals a brutal bust, including cops walking on Brooks’ back and standing on his neck, while officers prepare to handcuff the suspect. “I just felt violated and disrespected,” said the 28-year-old volunteer, one of five arrested in the raid. “We got beat up and arrested for a citation that’s equivalent to someone jaywalking.”

Even less surprising is the fact that the officers also destroyed the surveillance equipment.  Tell me, why would an officer do that?  My immediate guess is to steal pot without evidence against him for own personal use.  There’s only one reason cops destroy surveillance equipment and that is to make sure they’re not recorded when they’re breaking the law.

Overall this is nothing more than state level cronyism when you see the following:

Although police admit the dispensary was compliant with California state law, Long Beach PD said the raid was ordered because the store was operating without a city permit. The attorney for Dorian Brooks, however, argued that the city of Long Beach denied owners a permit, and makes it increasingly difficult for dispensaries like THC Downtown Collective to get one.

State Sponsored Criminal #381:

Because honest up right cops just don’t like being recorded right?  I mean they’re honest so they don’t need to be recorded, they’re just doing their job right?

h/t Uncle

SSCC #380 & #381 – Tacoma

KIRO TV’s investigative unit has discovered Tacoma police used force to arrest and handcuff an innocent deaf woman after she called 911 for their help.

Instead of an apology, she ended up bloody and in jail for  early three days without an interpreter before a prosecutor declined to press charges.  

This whole incident is all sorts of fail and can easily be broken down as an officer was quick to resort to his taser without using his brain.  Then after screwing the pooch on that front they doubled down on stupid.

 State law on the employment of ASL interpreters for deaf suspects is clear. 

RCW 2.42.120 (4)requires law enforcement agencies conducting an investigation to “appoint and pay for a qualified interpreter throughout the investigation.”

RCW 2.42.120 (5) states “If a hearing impaired person is arrested for an alleged violation of a criminal law, the arresting officer or the officer’s supervisor shall, at the earliest possible time, procure and arrange payment for a qualified interpreter for any notification of rights, warning, interrogation, or taking of a statement. No employee of the law enforcement agency who has responsibilities other than interpreting may be appointed as a qualified interpreter.”

Basically these officers played the game of CYA and ended up violating more laws because of it.  There’s a reason the prosecutor didn’t file charges, no jury in the world would convict.  Further she probably saw the civil suit writing on the wall.  This ends up in the full count because of the following:

White said despite her repeated requests to police for a certified ASL interpreter, one was never provided.

The story is complex and the officers at the scene clearly had a different point of view.  KIRO 7 Investigators have tried to get their explanation for six weeks and while we’ve talked to Tacoma Police on the phone they would not respond to the allegations.  We’ve also sent them emails and left several messages. 

If Tacoma police want to explain their side of the story, we’ll have a follow-up. 

There is no doubt that the Tacoma Police will not be punishing the officers involved and will do nothing to mediate or resolve the situation they have created.  This is a textbook case of the state sponsoring its own criminals.

State Sponsored Criminal #380: Ryan Koskovich

#381: Michael Young

Because you immediately jump to the taser when you know there is a deaf woman involved.  Further, after finding out you tasered an innocent, you charge her with a crime and hold her against the law without an interpreter or informing your supervisor she’s deaf.  Because the police don’t have to follow the law, they are the law.