Bad boys, bad boys...watcha gonna do?

[Matt_Crimson]

(04-03-2017, 03:43 PM)Au165 Wrote: I'm sure they justified it to themselves as being against bad people. As I said that 100k in an area where the median income is 20k doesn't magically appear. The guy was probably a drug dealer taking into account his past offenses and the amount of money on hand multiple times when he clams he was robbed, so they made their case work and had no remorse in stealing from a criminal. It's not the way our justice system should work, but it happens more than we know and sometimes to innocent people.

My problem with that line of thinking is that the convictions are based on made up evidence. That is a serious problem.

We can all sit here and say "They were probably guilty" but guilty of what exactly? Murder? Or an accessory to it? Thats the problem cops create by planting evidence. Although  the criminals may be going to prison they're not actually going to prison for what they ACTUALLY did. 

All crimes are not the same. Someone could be selling small amounts of marijuana and the cops can plant two barrels of cocaine in their house and send them to prison for the rest of their life based on something they weren't actually selling nor in the possession of. People "probably" being guilty should not be justification for planting evidence. This leads to people being convicted of crimes they werent really commitng even if they were commiting some. Sure, we can argue that they should go to jaiil when it seems "obvious" that theyre doing something wrong, but what are they being convicted of and is the punishment for that conviction fair punishment for what they actually did?

[GMDino]

(05-02-2017, 06:11 PM)Matt_Crimson Wrote: My problem with that line of thinking is that the convictions are based on made up evidence. That is a serious problem.

We can all sit here and say "They were probably guilty" but guilty of what exactly? Murder? Or an accessory to it? Thats the problem cops create by planting evidence. Although  the criminals may be going to prison they're not actually going to prison for what they ACTUALLY did. 

All crimes are not the same. Someone could be selling small amounts of marijuana and the cops can plant two barrels of cocaine in their house and send them to prison for the rest of their life based on something they weren't actually selling nor in the possession of. People "probably" being guilty should not be justification for planting evidence. This leads to people being convicted of crimes they werent really commitng even if they were commiting some. Sure, we can argue that they should go to jaiil when it seems "obvious" that theyre doing something wrong, but what are they being convicted of and is the punishment for that conviction fair punishment for what they actually did?

We just had a District Justice speak at a banquet last night.  He gave a good accounting for how all the drug arrests in our area are simply the low end dealers.  The main distributors stay well away and use their mules to push their product.

That aside ANY time the police (who have the ability to take away your freedoms) are dirty or shady it needs pointed out, handled and corrected.

[GMDino]

Quote:Ex-officer Michael Slager pleads guilty in shooting death of Walter Scott


Story highlights

•  As part of a plea deal, two other federal charges and state charges will be dropped
• Slager killed 50-year-old Walter Scott as Scott was running away
  

(CNN)In a plea deal with federal prosecutors, former South Carolina police officer Michael Slager admitted to using excessive force in the shooting death of Walter Scott.

Slager shot Scott in the back as the unarmed man was running away from Slager after a traffic stop in April 2015. In a reversal from his previous account, Slager admitted in court Tuesday that he did not shoot Scott in self-defense and said that his use of force was unreasonable.

Scott's death sparked renewed "Black Lives Matter" protests after the 50-year-old became the latest in a series of unarmed black men killed by police.


With his family and Scott's family present, Slager pleaded guilty in US District Court in Charleston to a federal charge of deprivation of rights under the color of law. In exchange for the plea, state murder charges, as well as two other federal charges, will be dismissed.

The civil rights offense has a maximum penalty of life in prison. The plea agreement states that the government will ask the court to apply sentencing guidelines for second degree murder, which carries up to 25 years in prison.

"We hope that Michael's acceptance of responsibility will help the Scott family as they continue to grieve their loss," Slager's attorney, Andy Savage, said.

The plea marks one of the first resolutions of a high-profile police shooting under new Attorney General Jeff Sessions. He has ordered a review of police reform activities of the previous administration -- many of which were launched in response to police-involved shootings.

"The Department of Justice will hold accountable any law enforcement officer who violates the civil rights of our citizens by using excessive force," Sessions said in a statement Tuesday. "Such failures of duty not only harm the individual victims of these crimes; they harm our country, by eroding trust in law enforcement and undermining the good work of the vast majority of honorable and honest police officers.






The shooting


[/url]
[url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/08/us/south-carolina-who-was-walter-scott/index.html]Who was Walter Scott?

Slager was an officer for the North Charleston Police Department when he pulled Scott over for a broken tail light. A few moments later, Scott ran away.

A foot chase ensued, and a bystander's cell phone video captured Slager firing eight times -- striking Scott five times in the back.

Slager initially said he feared for his life because Scott had grabbed his Taser -- but the plea agreement contains no such claim.

Slager's first attempt to use his Taser did not stop Scott. The second deployment dropped Scott to the ground but he got up and took off running again. As he was fleeing, Slager shot him.

Lawyers for Scott's relatives said they accepted the plea deal.

"What these government officials did is they told Walter Scott and they told the Scott family, 'You matter.' And that is what we need to see all across the country, not just when there is a video," lawyer Justin Bamberg said.

Attorney Chris Stewart said the plea represented a rare show of accountability compared to other police-involved deaths that did not end in pleas or convictions for officers involved.

"Today is rare. The Garners. The Blands. The Rice family. They didn't get this type of justice that we got today," said Chris Stewart, a lawyer for the family of Alton Sterling, who was shot by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

"So it is a phenomenal day. And hopefully this will be the blueprint of future success for civil rights because it's got to change."

'Black Lives Matter' cases: What happened after the protests?

The explanation and the fallout

Protesters in North Charleston decry Walter Scott's death shortly after the shooting.

The North Charleston police chief fired Slager, saying he was "sickened" by what he saw. And a state prosecutor filed a murder charge against Slager.

But in December, a judge declared a mistrial in Slager's state murder trial after the jury failed to reach a verdict.

"In my heart, I will find the peace to forgive Michael Slager," brother Anthony Scott said at the time. "But at this present time, until my family can see justice, no, there's no forgiveness."

At the time, prosecutor Scarlett A. Wilson vowed to retry Scott. On Tuesday, Wilson said the state would not go forward with murder charges. She said the plea deal recognized the civil rights violation underlying Scott's death.

"While certainly the State charges addressed the killing of Mr. Scott, they did not squarely address the violation of Mr. Scott's civil rights by a police officer acting under color of law. It is essential that law enforcement and our community see the federal government address such an important aspect of this case," Wilson said in a statement.

"Now that Slager has pleaded guilty to a willful violation, admitted the facts we set out to prove and waived the right to appeal his conviction, a successive prosecution by the State is not necessary."

[GMDino]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/04/12/officer-charged-with-shooting-autistic-man-caretaker.html

Quote:Officer charged with shooting autistic man's caretaker

Published April 12, 2017 


MIAMI –  A Florida police officer who shot an autistic man's caretaker was charged Wednesday with attempted manslaughter, authorities said.

North Miami Police Officer Jonathan Aledda was also charged with misdemeanor culpable negligence, the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office said in a news release. Aledda had been on administrative leave since last summer's shooting.

The Miami Herald (https://goo.gl/TKp8Qh ) reports that this is the first time prosecutors under Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle have charged a police officer for an on-duty shooting.

North Miami's police union continued to defend Aledda on Wednesday.

"In this case, we're going to be able to show how politically motivated, vindictive and incompetent ... the state attorney is," the Herald quoted John Rivera, president of the Miami-Dade Police Benevolent Association, as saying. "The law is a very simple thing - intent. They're never going to be able to prove that this guy acted maliciously or recklessly in any way."

Aledda shot Charles Kinsey in the leg July 18 as he lay in the street next to his adult client, officials said. Arnaldo Rios had walked away from the group home where he lives, and Kinsey had followed Rios for more than a block trying to get him to return. Kinsey was trying to coax him back when a woman called 911 saying a suicidal man was walking down the street with a gun.

Cellphone video shows Kinsey lying on his back next to Rios with his hands up, screaming at officers that Rios is autistic and that the metal object in his hands was a toy truck.

After the video ended, Aledda fired three shots. Two missed but one struck Kinsey just above his left knee, went through his thigh and exited near his waist. Kinsey has since filed a federal lawsuit against North Miami.

According to an arrest warrant for Aledda, an investigation found that the officer was about 150 feet (45 meters) away from Kinsey when he fired. Two other officers had been within 20 feet (6 meters) of Kinsey and Rios and didn't feel threatened, investigators found.

The warrant also pointed out that Aledda's rifle was equipped only with standard iron sights, rather than a scope or other enhanced optical sights that might have made it possible to see that Rios was holding a toy.
___
Information from: The Miami Herald, http://www.herald.com

More:

Quote:The arrest marks the first time prosecutors under Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle have charged an officer for an on-duty shooting. Her office concluded that Aledda was more than 150 feet away from Kinsey, while two other officers — also armed with rifles — were within 20 feet and did not feel threatened. Aledda “was not in a position to correctly assess the situation or in a position to accurately fire,” according to a press release.


The Kinsey case, which came amid protests in many cities over controversial police shootings, was being closely watched by police and civil rights groups critical of law enforcement tactics — particularly in the black community.

The decision to file charges drew a swift rebuke from North Miami’s police union, which is representing Aledda, an officer with a history of commendations.

“In this case, we're going to be able to show how politically motivated, vindictive and incompetent that the state attorney is” Miami-Dade
Police Benevolent Association President John Rivera said. “The law is a very simple thing – intent. They're never going to be able to prove that this guy acted maliciously or recklessly in any way.”
Aledda, 30, was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center and was expected to post bail Wednesday night.

The encounter unfolded on July 18, 2016, when North Miami officers were summoned to the scene by a 911 caller who reported what appeared to be a disturbed man armed with a handgun. It was actually a silver toy truck. The man was 26-year-old Arnaldo Rios, a severely autistic man who had wandered away from a group home and sat down in the middle of the street. Kinsey was trying to coax him back to the facility when police arrived.

The standoff culminated in Aledda, a trained SWAT officer, firing three shots from his M4 carbine without a scope, hitting Kinsey in the thigh.

Kinsey survived and has since sued North Miami over the officer’s use of force. His attorney, Hilton Napoleon, declined to comment because of the ongoing federal litigation.

After the shooting, Rivera defended Aledda, saying the officer was actually firing at Rios, the autistic man, whom the officer believed was armed and a danger to Kinsey.


“This guy was trying to save a life. The fact that he missed, the last time that I checked, is not a crime,” Rivera said on Wednesday.

But prosecutors – after months of internal discussions, re-enactments and reviews of witness statements, radio transmissions and other evidence – determined that the use of force was not legal and Rios was not a threat.

Police radio transmissions were conflicting, with one commander early on saying Rios appeared to be reloading. That commander later left to fetch binoculars and did not witness the shooting.

Prosecutors learned that two other officers, Kevin Crespo and Alens Bernadeau, taking cover and only about 20 feet from Rios and Kinsey, concluded the silver object was not a weapon, according to an arrest warrant.


During the brief stand-off, Rios was rocking back and forth, playing with the silver object, twirling it back and forth. Kinsey was on the ground hollering: “It’s okay! It’s okay” and “All he has is a toy truck in his hands!”


At 5:06 p.m., Bernadeau radioed out: “The person advised that it’s a toy –it’s the toy, uh, car ... so use caution.”


Moments later, Aledda announced “I have a clear shot of the subject.”


Then, as Bernadeau inched closer to take cover behind a light pole, he radioed out again: “I have a visual. Does not appear to be a firearm. Have units [standby].”


Bernadeau and Crespo were about to walk over to put handcuffs on Rios when the shots rang out, according to the warrant. Aledda was 152 feet away when he fired three times.


Whether Aledda heard the radio transmissions remains unknown. Aledda, however, was uncertain enough about his target that before firing, he asked an officer next to him whether the man did indeed have a gun. The fellow officer wasn’t sure either.


The sound of the gunshots surprised all the other officers on the scene, who later told investigators they did not feel threatened. That included Kevin Warren, the officer taking cover next to Aledda behind a black car.


“Much like Officer Warren, no other officers on the scene observed Mr. [Rios] exhibit any behavior that compelled them to shoot,” according to the arrest warrant by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which investigated the case.


For prosecutors, what happened afterward confirmed the fact that the shots were unjustified, according to the warrant.


With Kinsey writhing on the ground in pain, Rios stood up and began to yell, still holding the toy truck.


Aledda did not fire again, but did radio “be advised, it’s a toy truck.” The dispatcher asked him anyone was hurt. “Negative,” Aledda replied – he was too far away to even see Kinsey, or hear his screams.

Aledda remains suspended with pay. City Manager Larry Spring said the department is still investigating whether he and other officers violated an internal administrative policies in how the incident was handled.

The arrest was lauded by Rios’ attorney, who said his client remains traumatized by the shooting. “To this day, he suffers from night terrors and wakes up and screams ‘Police! Police!’ and screams about blood,” said lawyer Matthew Dietz, of the Disability Independence Group.

The use of force by police has been an ongoing national debate in recent years in light of a slew of fatal officer shootings, particularly of unarmed black men.

Fernandez-Rundle, in office since 1993, has received criticism over the years for not having charged any police officers, in a state where laws afford cops wide latitude to use deadly force, including the ability to shoot at fleeing felons.

Her office has also received criticism for lengthy delays in closing investigations into police shootings, probes that can sometimes drag on years.

The Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, under Janet Reno, was the last office to get a conviction of a police officer for a shooting. A jury in 1989 convicted Miami Officer William Lozano of manslaughter for the shooting death of unarmed black man on a motorcycle – but the conviction was overturned, and a second jury acquitted him.

The Aledda case will be prosecuted by Chief Assistant State Attorney Don Horn, who also tried the Lozano case. That also drew the ire of Rivera, the police union president.

“I think Don Horn is trying to vindicate himself from the Lozano case he lost,” Rivera claimed.

After Lozano, a Palm Beach deputy was charged with shooting a fleeing man in 1993, and acquitted. After that, no Florida police officer had been arrested for an on-duty shooting until Broward Deputy Peter Peraza was arrested in December 2015 for the killing of a man who was walking down the street with BB-rifle.

Again, there was no conviction – a judge later dismissed the case after ruling Peraza acted in self-defense.

Prosecutors may have an easier chance getting a conviction in the case of Palm Beach Gardens Detective Nouman Raja, who was arrested last year for manslaughter and attempted murder after shooting musician Corey Jones along the side of Interstate 95.

[GMDino]

http://www.11alive.com/news/investigations/the-drug-whisperer/437061710

Quote:'The Drug Whisperer' | Drivers arrested while stone cold sober

DRUNK DRIVING ARRESTS ARE DOWN SHARPLY AFTER DECADES OF AGGRESSIVE ENFORCEMENT WHILE DRUGGED DRIVING ARRESTS ARE CLIMBING. THAT’S WHY GEORGIA HAS MORE THAN 250 OFFICERS WITH SPECIAL 'DRUG RECOGNITION EXPERT' TRAINING. BUT THE 11ALIVE INVESTIGATORS DISCOVERED THOSE 'EXPERTS' SOMETIMES PUT INNOCENT PEOPLE BEHIND BARS.

Drunk driving arrests are down sharply after decades of aggressive enforcement, while drugged driving arrests are climbing.

Georgia now has more than 250 officers with special 'drug recognition expert' training.

But 11Alive News Chief Investigator Brendan Keefe discovered some drivers are getting arrested for driving stoned -- even when their drug tests came back clean.

Katelyn Ebner was arrested after she left her job as a server at a bar in Cobb County.   

Cobb County Police Officer T.T. Carroll: "You said you haven't had anything to drink tonight?"
Katelyn Ebner: "Not tonight, no."
Officer Carroll: "Not tonight, okay. One of the things we do is we ask people to blow through this thing, okay."
Katelyn Ebner crossed the center line, and got pulled over on the way home from work. She works in a bar, and does not drink while at work.
Officer Carroll: "Blow real hard, blow 'til I ask you to stop -- keep going, keep going -- you can stop. Okay."

No, she had not been drinking. All tests for alcohol came up empty. But the Cobb County police officer who pulled her over was not done yet.

Officer Carroll: "I'm going to ask you a question, okay? When was the last time you smoked marijuana?"
Katelyn Ebner: "Oh, I don't do that. I can give you a drug test right now."
Officer Carroll: "You don't smoke marijuana?"
Katelyn Ebner: "I do not, no."
Officer Carroll: "Okay. Well, you're showing me indicators that you have been smoking marijuana, okay?"

"I didn't realize that you could get arrested for something that you didn't do," Ebner told Keefe. "That never crossed my mind until it happened to me."


Officer Carroll: "Watch your wrists for me, I don't want to pinch you."
Katelyn Ebner: "I'm going to jail for marijuana?"
Officer Carroll: "No, ma'am -- not possession, unless I find any in your car. I believe you're impaired by the marijuana you've smoked."
Katelyn Ebner: "Okay, so when I do a drug test, I'll be free to go, correct?"
Officer Carroll: "You're going to jail, ma'am. Okay? I don't have a magical drug test that I can give you right now."
Watch the dashcam from Katelyn Ebner's traffic stop:

"Before you felt the handcuffs closing over your wrist, did you understand just how serious this was?" Keefe asked Ebner.

"I didn't understand," Ebner said. "As soon as I took that breathalyzer, I thought I was going home."

►ANOTHER INVESTIGATION: Questions raised about Georgia trooper's actions

The waitress spent the night in jail, had her alcohol server's permit revoked because of the arrest. After four months, prosecutors dismissed all her charges -- because the blood test came back completely clean.

Nursing student Princess Mbamara was arrested by Cobb County Police Officer T.T. Carroll because he believed she was under the influence of marijuana  

"You had to spend months -- and thousands of dollars --  proving your innocence," Keefe said.

"I did," Ebner said.

Officer Carroll: "When's the last time you smoked weed?"
Princess Mbamara: "I don't smoke weed."
Officer Carroll: "You don't smoke weed?"
Princess Mbamara: "No. Not at all."
Officer Carroll: "Okay."

The same thing happened to college student Princess Mbamara two weeks earlier -- on Good Friday.

Princess Mbamara: "Wait -- okay, hold on sir."
Officer Carroll: "Just one second -- Just give me one second."
Princess Mbamara: "You're arresting me!?"
Officer Carroll: "That's correct."
Princess Mbamara: "Sir, hold on one second. I'm complying."



"I didn't understand," Mbamara told Keefe. "I was like, 'Why are you arresting me? What did I do? I did everything. I walked the straight line, I touched my nose, I did everything you asked.' I was like, 'Why am I getting arrested?' And he said, 'DUI of a substance.' And I was like, 'What!?'"

Princess Mbamara: "You're arresting me because you think I smoke marijuana?"
Officer Carroll: "I think you're impaired by cannabis, yes, ma'am."
Princess Mbamara: "Sir, I don't smoke weed! Is there a way you can test me right now?"
Watch the dashcam from Princess Mbmara's traffic stop:

Princess Mbamara was also jailed. She fought the DUI-drug charges for half of 2016.

"So the blood test comes back, and they toss the case?" Keefe asked.

Princess Mbamara's toxicology screening only showed positive for lidocaine - an over-the-counter medication used in products like these back pain medication patches, available for less than $10 at Walmart.  

"I remember my lawyer trying to talk about a deal," she said. "I was like, 'I'm not taking a deal. I didn't do anything! I want more than just a deal -- I want more than just dismissal; I want my life back. Can you reverse time? If you can go back in time, then that's what I really want.'"

Mbamara's toxicology screen came back and only showed positive for lidocaine -- an over-the-counter local anesthetic used in transdermal patches to treat back pain, insect bites and other types of pain and discomfort. Lidocaine can be found in many other anti-burn, anti-itch and pain creams, lotions and medications sold both over-the-counter and by prescription under a myriad of brand names, including Aspercreme, Icy Hot, Salonpas, Preparation H, Gold Bond, Solarcaine and others.

An Auburn University student was also arrested by Officer Carroll using the same drug recognition screening protocol. After his blood and urine tests came back negative, charges were dropped by the prosecutor five months later.  

Officer Carroll: "How're you doing?"
Auburn Student: "I'm doing great."
Officer Carroll: "Okay -- Let's just walk over here for a second."
Auburn Student: "All right."

►ANOTHER INVESTIGATION: Trigger: Who shot the officer's wife?

Months later, it happened again to an Auburn University student.

Officer Carroll: "You're giving me indicators that you have consumed marijuana, okay? So at this time, I believe that your failure to maintain lane was the reason for that -- so you're being placed under arrest for DUI, okay?"

The prosecutor filed a dismissal of the DUI-drug charge five months later: "Defendant performed well on FSEs (Field Sobriety Evaluations) and blood and urine were negative."

Three DUI drug arrests -- Three clean toxicology screenings -- One police officer: Cobb County Police Officer T.T. Carroll.

►ANOTHER INVESTIGATION: From auction block to handcuffs: Why did a legal car auction put a couple in jail?

Documents show Carroll is one of the best-trained officers on Cobb County's legendary DUI Task Force.

Officer Carroll: "Well you're showing me numerous indicators."
Katelyn Ebner: "I understand that. But I can 1,000 percent guarantee you that I don't do that stuff."
Officer Carroll: "Okay."

He's a certified drug recognition expert -- one of 250 Georgia officers who have gone through a month-long training course.

► RELATED | 7 categories of drugs identified by Drug Recognition Experts
The DRE Evaluation involves a dozen observations that allow officers not only to pronounce a driver is on drugs, but to identify which of seven types of drugs are in their system.

Princess Mbamara: "How can you look at somebody and say marijuana?"
Officer Carroll: "Because of the totality of the circumstances and a lot of things -- and there are involuntary responses of the body that we can observe that have suggested impairment of marijuana, okay?"

"He looked at you. He did this technique that he was taught, and he determined you were on something you weren't on," Keefe said.

"Yeah, unfortunately for me," Mbamara said.

Officer Carroll: "Because he's ingested marijuana -- that's what my training suggests, okay?"

► RELATED | Drug Recognition Experts' 12-step process for examining suspects

Officer Carroll relies on his drug recognition expert training -- but in these three dismissed cases, he did not do the full evaluation after the arrests. The standard protocol requires all 12 steps to be completed -- yet, any police officer can make a DUI-drug arrest on fewer observations.

Officer Carroll: "If I establish probable cause, and I believe that based on my training, so that's why I put the handcuffs on you, okay?"
Auburn Student: All right.

 

Katelyn Ebner: "Sir, I can promise you, I have never -- please -- I have never smoked marijuana."
Officer Carroll: "Okay. Well, ma'am, you're giving me indicators -- several, several indicators -- that you have, okay?"
Katelyn Ebner: "Okay, so when I do a drug test, I'll be free to go, correct?"
Officer Carroll: "You're going to jail, ma'am. Okay? I don't have a magical drug test that I can give you right now."

"But he just did the 'magical drug test' that resulted in your arrest," Keefe said.

"Yes," Ebener said. "They're ruining people's lives."

Katelyn Ebner filed an Internal Affairs complaint against Officer Carroll.

Cobb County Investigators exonerated the officer and doubted Ebner's innocence, insisting, 'the marijuana could have already metabolized out of the blood.'

"When you brought up that you had a clean blood test when complaining to Internal Affairs, their answer was what?" Keefe asked.

"They said, 'Yeah, we see this happen all the time. Um, the test results come back wrong all the time,'" she said.

"So the test results were wrong?" Keefe asked.

► ANOTHER INVESTIGATION: 3 missed clues: Evidence that could have stopped a killer

"Yeah, that's what they said," Ebner replied. "The test results were wrong, and also, if I had a urine test, it would have come back positive for drugs."

But Katelyn got her own urine test the same week as her arrest -- scanning for any metabolites that would still be in her system. The urine test was also negative for marijuana -- or other drugs.

"This training is so powerful, that they believe they can detect drugs that a blood test will not detect," Keefe said. "Is that surprising to you?"

"That's extremely surprising," Princess Mbamara replied. "That's extremely surprising -- because this is my life that they're playing with."

Last week, Cobb County's DUI Task Force was awarded a trophy by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and Officer Carroll was given a Silver Medal for 90 DUI arrests during 2016.

In late April, Cobb County's DUI Task Force was awarded a trophy by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and Officer T.T. Carroll was given a Silver Medal for 90 DUI arrests during 2016.  

"He's getting an award for just arrests," Mbamara said. "Not even convictions. Arrests."Mbamara said. "Not even convictions. Arrests."

"And you were one of them," Keefe said.

"And I'm one of these arrests," Mbamara said. "So this guy is just stacking up on awards and trophies. On ruining people's lives."

"He's getting praised for arresting innocent people," Katelyn Ebner said. "I'm not saying all those people he arrested were innocent, but at least three of them were, and no one is doing anything about it."

"It's something that I'm going to have to carry for the rest of my life," Mbamara said.


Officer Carroll got a promotion and a merit raise after a 2016 employment evaluation -- which also noted most of his DUI arrests end in convictions or pleas. Supervisors call him the department's 'go-to officer when it comes to DUI-drugs." He got top marks for making the correct arrest-no arrest decision on impaired drivers.

 

There's no mention of the three drivers who had their DUI charges thrown out because of negative lab tests.
What is the Cobb County Police Department saying about all of this?

Commanders would not let Officer Carroll talk with us, but they stand behind the arrests. The department doubled-down on their assertion that the drug recognition expert is better at detecting marijuana in a driver than scientific tests.

Cobb County says the GBI Crime Lab reports negative when even trace amounts are detected.

Special magical powers of observation.... 

[Dill]

(05-13-2017, 04:04 PM)GMDino Wrote: http://www.11alive.com/news/investigations/the-drug-whisperer/437061710



Special magical powers of observation.... 

I'm sure you were smoking marijuana when you posted that, Dino. 

I can run down some of the indicators for you--dilated type, inability to quote in a strait line (inclusion of extraneous links), monitoring of police business across multiple posts, associating with known liberals. None of this is accidental.

[GMDino]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/video-appears-show-texas-striking-girl-14-arrest-article-1.3192816

Quote:Video appears to show San Antonio police officer repeatedly striking 14-year-old girl during arrest

A police officer in San Antonio repeatedly punched a 14-year-old girl and used excessive force during an arrest that was caught on video, local activists claim.

Mayor Ivy Taylor said the video "is hard to watch and listen to," and indicated the police department is reviewing the body camera footage to determine what took place.

The incident took place Saturday outside an event center where authorities say officers were called about men fighting at a quinceanera, a Hispanic tradition of celebrating a girl's 15th birthday.

The video appears to show the girl move toward the officer before he hits her for the first time. He then strikes her again, causing her to fall into people standing nearby. He appears to hit her again before he and other officers arrest her.

Texas police officers demoted for leaking body cam footage

A 14-year-old girl is arrested by San Antonio police officers on Saturday, and local activists say excessive force was used.
 (YOUTUBE)

The teen's lawyer Artessia House told the San Antonio News-Express that the the video shows an officer hitting her client "clear as day."

An incident report described the tense scene outside the event center, with multiple people fighting and onlookers angered by the police response, with many "on the verge of interfering."

The girl's mother can be heard pleading, "No! No! No! No! Let her go!" during the arrest, according to the San Antonio Express-News.


The 14-year-old girl appears in juvenile court in San Antonio on Monday.
 (BOB OWEN/AP)

"There's no way you can justify this officer hitting this girl in the face," Taj Matthews of the Claude & ZerNona Black Development Leadership Foundation told the newspaper.


The eighth-grader was arrested on a charge of assaulting a public servant, the San Antonio Express-News reported. She was taken to a juvenile detention center and released Monday.

House denies that the teen struck the officer, and described her as an honor student with no history of violence, according to the newspaper.

[GMDino]

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/06/body-cams-reveal-us-police-use-less-respectful-language-black-drivers

Quote:Body cams reveal U.S. police use less respectful language with black drivers
By Matthew HutsonJun. 5, 2017 , 4:00 PM

Viral videos of U.S. police officers beating and shooting black citizens have sparked a national conversation on how they interact with racial minorities. Such videos have also inspired law enforcement agencies to embrace body cameras to document those interactions. Now, a new study of body cam footage from Oakland, California, suggests that officers of all races consistently use less respectful language with blacks than with whites during traffic stops. The results—taken from more than 36,000 language snippets at nearly 1000 stops—could transform officer training, social scientists say.  

Most data on how police communicate with citizens come from eyewitness accounts—from drivers, outside observers, and officers themselves. The new work sought to get around that subjectivity by using audio recordings. “It’s taking it from the realm of what any two of us might discuss over drinks at a bar to using the tools of modern science to get a more precise picture,” says John Rickford, a linguist at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, who was not involved in the work.

Stanford researchers started with body cam footage from every encounter Oakland police had with black and white drivers in April 2014. They transcribed what officers said at 981 traffic stops to come up with 36,738 usable “utterances,” or conversational turns. Next, they had college students read and rate about 400 utterances for how much respect they showed, taking into account what drivers said just before officers spoke. The students, who had no knowledge of the driver’s race, rated speech toward black drivers as less respectful than speech toward white drivers overall.

The researchers then analyzed which words and phrases correlated most strongly with respectfulness. Apologies, last names, formal titles like “sir,” and words that expressed gratitude, reassurance, and hesitation (“um” and “uh”) signaled higher respect. So did mentions of safety, positive words like “able,” and phrases that gave agency to the listener, such as “you may.” First names, informal titles like “brotha,” word fragments, negative words like “against,” and negations such as “not” signaled lower respect (see chart below).

“The differences are subtle,” says Jennifer Eberhardt, a social psychologist at Stanford and an author of the study. The language officers used with blacks was not “really disrespectful,” she says. It was just less respectful. One example on the low end: “All right, my man. Do me a favor. Just keep your hands on the steering wheel real quick.” On the high end: “There you go, ma’am. Drive safe, please.”

Eberhardt and her team then used software to rate the full set of 36,738 utterances. Even after controlling for driver age and gender; officer race; the crime rate and business density of the neighborhood; whether the stop resulted in a search, warning, citation, or arrest; and the severity of the offense (if there was one), more respectful language was used with white drivers than with black drivers, they report today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Further, the analysis revealed that a white driver is about 60% more likely than a black driver to hear something from the top 10% most respectful utterances, whereas a black driver is about 60% more likely to hear something from the bottom 10%.

Those discrepancies can’t be fully blamed on a small number of officers, as they were seen in the majority of officers. Nor could they be attributed to the behavior of the drivers, as ratings showed discrepancies even accounting for what the driver had just said, and discrepancies appeared even in the first moments of an interaction. What’s more, given an equal number of utterances toward black and white drivers, researchers could train a computer to detect the race of the recipient with 68% accuracy. 

Perhaps surprisingly, even black officers were seen as less respectful toward black drivers. “I think once they put on that uniform, there’s this pressure to be a cop and follow the norms,” Rickford says. But even if none of the results comes as a surprise, “what makes it such a phenomenal study is the methodology,” says James Pennebaker, a social psychologist at the University of Texas in Austin, who reviewed the paper. He says that some people could come to similar conclusions based on the history of police violence—blacks shot and killed by officers are more likely to be unarmed than whites shot and killed by officers—but this study starts “at the beginning of the interaction.”

Pennebaker and others say the study could improve officer training. In a few years, for example, officers might receive an automated score after each stop, along with pointers on different language they could consider using. A body cam that nags about politeness might not be well received, but given that respect is often reciprocated, such a device could be a life saver. 

[Rotobeast]

(06-08-2017, 10:26 AM)GMDino Wrote: http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/06/body-cams-reveal-us-police-use-less-respectful-language-black-drivers

I think this issue is due to the deteriorating relations between police and blacks. Whether the chain of events started with less respect for one or the other, we've gotten to the point where blacks do not trust cops, are already on edge in a traffic stop, and the officers take a more dominant/authoritative tone, thinking it necessary to control the event.

We do need training to de-escalate the tension.

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[JustWinBaby]

(06-08-2017, 12:56 PM)Rotobeast Wrote: we've gotten to the point where blacks do not trust cops, are already on edge in a traffic stop, and the officers take a more dominant/authoritative tone, thinking it necessary to control the event.

We do need training to de-escalate the tension.

Sent from my SM-S820L using Tapatalk

I don't think that is a new development.  I think cell phones and media have exacerbated the issue.  There are bad cops.  Corrupt cops.  And many cops that make mistakes.  It's a tiny percentage, and I choose not to use a few dozen, or even hundreds of events to indict a profession making 10M arrests a year.

I think it mostly comes down to gangs and drugs.  But I haven't heard of a good solution there that doesn't make me very weary of opening pandora's box.

[GMDino]

(06-08-2017, 12:56 PM)Rotobeast Wrote: I think this issue is due to the deteriorating relations between police and blacks. Whether the chain of events started with less respect for one or the other, we've gotten to the point where blacks do not trust cops, are already on edge in a traffic stop, and the officers take a more dominant/authoritative tone, thinking it necessary to control the event.

We do need training to de-escalate the tension.

Sent from my SM-S820L using Tapatalk

Or they get "nervous" when the victim is doing everything he tells them to do?

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/20/us/police-shooting-castile-trial-video.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share

Quote:Video of Police Killing of Philando Castile Is Publicly Released


Days after a police officer was acquitted of all charges in the fatal shooting of Philando Castile, a black motorist in Minnesota, video of the shooting was publicly released on Tuesday for the first time.

Millions of people have seen the immediate aftermath of the shooting because Mr. Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, had livestreamed it on Facebook. But few have seen video of the moments before that, when the shooting actually took place along a suburban street last year.


This video, from a dashboard camera on Officer Jeronimo Yanez’s patrol car, parked right behind Mr. Castile’s car, was played several times this month to jurors during Officer Yanez’s manslaughter trial but had not been shown outside the courtroom.


The video reveals how a mundane conversation about a broken taillight devolved within seconds into gunfire. The newly released footage provides the fullest account yet of an episode that led to a national debate over police conduct toward black people, but it also leaves unanswered critical questions about what happened that day.


[/url]Continue reading the main story


Before they meet

The video opens at dusk on July 6, 2016, on a busy street near the Minnesota state fairgrounds. Officer Yanez is following a white Oldsmobile driven by Mr. Castile in Falcon Heights, a St. Paul suburb. When Officer Yanez turns on his flashing lights, Mr. Castile, a longtime school cafeteria worker, quickly pulls to the side and stops his car. Ms. Reynolds is in the front passenger seat, and her young daughter is in the back.


Though it is not heard on the video, Officer Yanez radioed to a colleague that he thought Mr. Castile matched the description of a robbery suspect from a few days earlier. He tells a fellow officer that Mr. Castile’s “wide-set nose” looked like the robber’s. Officer Yanez waits for the second officer to arrive before pulling Mr. Castile over, but he never mentions his robbery suspicions to Mr. Castile.


What the video shows


Most revealing, perhaps, about the newly released video are the voices that can be clearly heard on it — a calm, polite discussion at first, and then, in seconds, a sudden burst of tension and shots.

At first, Officer Yanez walks up to Mr. Castile’s window and tells him that his brake light is broken. The officer asks for proof of insurance and a driver’s license. Mr. Castile responds politely and hands his insurance card through the window.


Mr. Castile, who had a permit to carry a gun, then says, “Sir, I have to tell you I do have a firearm on me.”


Officer Yanez then reaches toward his holster and says, “O.K., don’t reach for it, then.”

Mr. Castile starts to answer, but is cut off by Officer Yanez, whose voice is now raised. “Don’t pull it out!” the officer yells.


“I’m not pulling it out,” Mr. Castile says, and Ms. Reynolds also tries to assure Officer Yanez that her boyfriend is not grabbing the gun.


Officer Yanez again yells, “Don’t pull it out!” Then he fires seven shots, fatally wounding Mr. Castile. “I wasn’t reaching,” Mr. Castile says softly just after the gunfire stops.


In the minutes after the shooting, Officer Yanez keeps his gun pointed into the car as he calls for backup and an ambulance. He grows emotional and repeatedly yells an expletive.


What the video doesn’t show


The video does not show images that might have been essential for jurors to consider: a full view of the front seat of Mr. Castile’s car, which would have showed his hands — and what he was reaching for — just before the shooting.

Officer Yanez has said that Mr. Castile was reaching for his gun, and his lawyers made that a central point in his defense. Officer Yanez, who was charged with three felonies, including second-degree manslaughter, told jurors he feared for his life. But Ms. Reynolds has said that Mr. Castile was simply reaching for his driver’s license, as the officer had asked him to do.


From where the dashcam was perched, though, behind the car, the video cannot resolve this.


Reacting to new images


The footage quickly spread Tuesday afternoon after it was released by state investigators. The images drew anger, prompting responses on social media from rights activists and others.

Quote:

 Follow
The Incredible Oak 

@OakSmash
#PhilandoCastile You were wronged. You were murdered. The government failed you. You were a target because of your skin color.
11:34 AM - 20 Jun 2017

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 YouTube ‎@YouTube

Quote:

 Follow
rolandsmartin 

@rolandsmartin
This is the dashcam video of Jeronimo Yanez killing #PhilandoCastile. There is no way in hell he should be free.... http://fb.me/9d8ynAslY 
3:53 PM - 20 Jun 2017

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Protesters have marched in the St. Paul area since the acquittal on Friday, calling the shooting unreasonable and evidence of racism in the justice system.

Quote:

 Follow
ACLU of Minnesota @ACLUMN
Heartbreaking #PhilandoCastile dashcam footage released. Irrational fear of black men is not cause for police shooting. #BlackLivesMatter
4:16 PM - 20 Jun 2017

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/new-dashcam-footage-shows-philando-castile-warning-officer-of-his-firearm_us_59498027e4b0177d0b8a1c97

Quote:Later in the video, when Yanez is interviewed by another officer, he admits that he didn’t actually see Castile grab for a gun. He notes, however, that he was nervous after he asked to see Castile’s license, and Castile “had his grip a lot wider than a wallet.”

Yanez says:


“I didn’t know where the gun was, he didn’t tell me where the ******’ gun was, and then it was just gettin’ hanky. He was just staring straight ahead, and I was gettin’ ******’ nervous and then … I told him to get his ******’ hand off his gun … F**k.”


Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, and her 4-year-old daughter were in the car at the time. Reynolds live-streamed the aftermath of the shooting, which brought worldwide attention to the case.


Yanez was interviewed by two agents of the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension a day after the shooting. At one point, he told investigators that he thought he was “going to die,” and seemed to correlate his jitters with the fact that he smelled “burned marijuana” coming from Castile’s car.




“As he was pulling out his hand I thought I was gonna die, and I thought if he has the guts and the audacity to smoke marijuana in front of the five-year-old girl, and risk her lungs and risk her life by giving her secondhand smoke ... then what care does he give about me?”

And found not guilty due to...fear?


What a great cop.


Disgusting.

[Rotobeast]

(06-20-2017, 09:45 PM)GMDino Wrote: Or they get "nervous" when the victim is doing everything he tells them to do?

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/20/us/police-shooting-castile-trial-video.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share





http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/new-dashcam-footage-shows-philando-castile-warning-officer-of-his-firearm_us_59498027e4b0177d0b8a1c97






And found not guilty due to...fear?


What a great cop.


Disgusting.

Castile was murdered.
The verdict is bullshit.

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

(06-20-2017, 10:06 PM)Rotobeast Wrote: Castile was murdered.
The verdict is bullshit.

Yanez certainly seemed to panic.  Yet, we aren't privy to the evidence that was available to the jury and the jury unanimously voted for acquittal.

[GMDino]

(06-20-2017, 10:16 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: GMDino logic.

The actions of around 5-10% of muslims is not indicative of all muslims.

The actions of less than 1% of LEO's is indicative of all LEO's.

(06-20-2017, 09:45 PM)GMDino Wrote: Or they get "nervous" when the victim is doing everything he tells them to do?

What a great cop.


Disgusting.

Singular.

(06-20-2017, 10:18 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: Yanez certainly seemed to panic.  Yet, we aren't privy to the evidence that was available to the jury and the jury unanimously voted for acquittal.

SSF logic.  Cop murders a man who was doing as he was told but maybe we don't know something the jury did.

Defend them all SSF....this cop deserved to found guilty.

Have a great night!

[GMDino]

(06-20-2017, 10:06 PM)Rotobeast Wrote: Castile was murdered.
The verdict is bullshit.

But the cop got nervous because he was looking straight ahead and talking calmly.

Maybe it was his "flat nose" that made him feel uneasy? 

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

(06-20-2017, 10:29 PM)GMDino Wrote:  

I suppose I'd use only emoticons if I had no counter argument too.

Quote:Singular.

Hahahahaha, let's please not pretend this post of yours exists in a vacuum.  Everyone here knows about your deep seated prejudice in this regard.

Quote:SSF logic.  Cop murders a man who was doing as he was told but maybe we don't know something the jury did.

Wait, did the jury find him not guilty?

Quote:Defend them all SSF....this cop deserved to found guilty.

You base this on what evidence?  Are you claiming to be privy to more evidence in this case than the jury?  Please actually answer this question instead of obfuscating as usual.

Quote:Have a great night!

:andy:

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

(06-20-2017, 10:29 PM)GMDino Wrote: Defend them all SSF....this cop deserved to found guilty.

Tamir Rice is shot.  SSF points out how the officers involved made several errors, including driving the car far too close to Rice before stopping.  Officer is fired for driving the car far too close to Rice before stopping.



You want to blame someone for lack of charges or conviction blame the DA or the jury that acquits.  I'm sure you wouldn't blame the prosecutor in the Freddy Gray case though.


You constantly amuse me.


Kisses. 

[Rotobeast]

(06-20-2017, 10:18 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: Yanez certainly seemed to panic.  Yet, we aren't privy to the evidence that was available to the jury and the jury unanimously voted for acquittal.

Understood.... my opinion is only made on what's available.
I just cannot see zero fault here.



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[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

(06-20-2017, 11:19 PM)Rotobeast Wrote: Understood.... my opinion is only made on what's available.
I just cannot see zero fault here.



Sent from my SM-S820L using Tapatalk

I would tend to agree with you, brother.  However, not being privy to what Castille did in the car to precipitate the shooting and given the officer's reaction (overreaction?) I don't see how anyone outside that courtroom could declare an injustice.  I say this as someone who fully champions the right of law abiding US citizens to carry a firearm.  I will fully admit that the officer could have panicked.  I would even say the audio lends itself to that conclusion.  But I do not see enough to convict a person beyond a reasonable doubt.  There might be evidence we are not privy to that would sway me, I don't know.  What I do know is that a jury of twelve people did not see enough evidence to convict and that has nothing to do with a supposedly cozy DA/LEO relationship.

[Rotobeast]

(06-20-2017, 11:24 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: I would tend to agree with you, brother.  However, not being privy to what Castille did in the car to precipitate the shooting and given the officer's reaction (overreaction?) I don't see how anyone outside that courtroom could declare an injustice.  I say this as someone who fully champions the right of law abiding US citizens to carry a firearm.  I will fully admit that the officer could have panicked.  I would even say the audio lends itself to that conclusion.  But I do not see enough to convict a person beyond a reasonable doubt.  There might be evidence we are not privy to that would sway me, I don't know.  What I do know is that a jury of twelve people did not see enough evidence to convict and that has nothing to do with a supposedly cozy DA/LEO relationship.

But..... 7 shots ?
That's what gets me.
I can't defend that, man.