I might be a bit crass for saying this, but in politest terms I think Bissell is exactly where he needs to be. What a piece of work; throwing mom under the bus also.
@ok4450–How could anybody consider it crass if you call it like it is (was) with a piece of human trash like Nick Bissell?
In fact, I think that you were being too polite.
My blood still boils every time that I think about this piece of garbage having served as chief law enforcement officer of my county for 13 years.
Now we NEED people to stand up, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WINDtlPXmmE not like things have changed, but we need sheeple to be people. Sorry all the videos I find sound is depricated.
Not sure what you meant @dagosa. In California, and I think most other states, incorporated cities are responsible for policing. Many smaller incorporated cities contract with county sherriff departments or even larger adjacent cities for their policing, but most cities have their own police departments that answer to the city council/mayor/city manager (depending on each city’s charter.) The state police has no authority over city police forces. Some real losers get hired as police chiefs by their friends in high places. They aren’t required to be qualified and the only recourse for voters is a recall of the mayor and city council or waiting until the next election to vote them out. For people outside the cities the equivalent is the county supervisors.
@meanjoe75fan
State-sanctioned looting during war is what got us pirates;
Quite. They were called privateers when they were working for the state, and turned to piracy when the state stopped paying them.
So, forfeiture in the "war on drugs" can reasonably be expected to lead to the same mercenary result.
And already has - it’s just that these cops are funding their own government-sponsored jobs with their piracy, so technically they’re still privateers.
I’m not against all cops - hell, I’ve worked with some who are some of the finest people I’ve known - but I’m against laws which make it easy for bad cops to prey on innocent victims.
“Sorry all the videos I find sound is depricated.”
Okay, ya got me reaching for my dictionary. I suggest you buy one.
db4690
"If an officer ever stops me and demands I sign over my car and possessions, I won’t do it."
Are you actually under the illusion police officers have the authority to do this ?
You can be warned, you can be summons, you can be lectured to and you can be arrested.
But the don’t dole out punishment. The won’t give you a spanking either.
@dagosa
I’m not under the illusion police officers have the authority to do this
I know they don’t have that authority
That said, they scared the s . . t out of the people in that article, and the police did in fact receive the car and possessions
I’m just saying I won’t sign the stuff over
The officer would have to be pointing a cocked sidearm at my head before I signed over my car and possessions
To put it more politely, I would have to be in fear that my life will literally be over in a few seconds
I suspect a police officer, patrolman, sheriff’s deputy can be mighty intimidating when they have a goal
Let’s just hope they have the proper goals . . . and that shouldn’t include enriching their department or themselves at the expense of possibly innocent drivers
Well @insightful I stand corrected. Deprecated is computer lingo for stuff that may be supported, but not work properly. So I was leaping to conclusions there was an issue because of an old flv (flash video) version it was created in.
“Deprecation is a status applied to a computer software feature, characteristic, or practice indicating it should be avoided, typically because it is being superseded. The term is also sometimes used for a feature, design, or practice that is permitted but no longer recommended in other areas, such as hardware design or compliance to building codes.”
The police in our area are quite professional, but I am sure there is variation nationwide. I have a few owed cups of coffee under my belt due to help at crime scenes with my metal detecting abilities, and map making abilities for court cases.
@db4690
"That said, they scared the s . . t out of the people in that article, and the police did in fact receive the car and possessions
I’m just saying I won’t sign the stuff over
The officer would have to be pointing a cocked sidearm at my head before I signed over my car and possessions
To put it more politely, I would have to be in fear that my life will literally be over in a few seconds
I suspect a police officer, patrolman, sheriff’s deputy can be mighty intimidating when they have a goal"
What a lot of fear mongering over statements from one article that attributed the conduct to the local district attorney. Please, you admit an over statement and misunderstanding in one respect then make worse ones later. The police are not involved in that decision. You have been watching too many westerns and Dirty Harry movies. Police are as accountable for their actions as you or I. Irlandes’s account of his own involvement and the subsequent article referenced are all local court and district attorney decisions. And as bad as they are, are not basis to say that you will sign over something only if a cop has a gun pointed at your head.
Keep a little focus. If you want to fear monger wrongful accusations and punishment, put it where it belongs; the local city council and county court system. Gee, I thought Clint Eastwood was retired from
vigilanty cop movies ? Guess he just moved to Texas and is parading around imitating cops.
@ MarkM
"incorporated cities are responsible for policing. Many smaller incorporated cities contract with county sherriff departments or even larger adjacent cities for their policing, but most cities have their own police departments that answer to the city council/mayor/city manager (depending on each city’s charter.) The state police has no authority over city police forces.
Read my beginning post. All local, state and county law enforcement agencies can receive direct federal funding for support and need to use each other for support and back, so there is a training protocol to unify police training across the nation because of this. The primary training agency is the FBI which has a field office in every state of the union…ESPECIALLY IN California and Texas.
The state police can at any time, with just cause, take over the enforcement and investigation duties of a local agency if conditions warrant. Complain up the ladder to the state DA office if you must. Violation of ones civil rights in enforcing local ordinances is a valid reason to complain. There are also some local laws (speed limits on non state roads, breaking and entering) and local ordinances that are the sole responsibility of local police. But, there are many that the state and even the FBI must take the lead in. Assistance for state crimes and federal offenses is mandated. This may include arson and theft of a firearm.
And, if one feels the police department is going outside their authority and beyond what they were trained to do, they can be held accountable. Be a card carrying members of the ACLU…if you fear the conduct of your local police.
@dagosa
I like you . . . as much as I can like some faceless entity on my computer screen
I’ll word this bluntly and politely
I have already indicated that I will refrain from colorful language on this website . . . even though that is pretty much against my nature
That is a major concession on my part
However, I will otherwise continue to write as I have done
Lately, it seems that you’re tearing me apart, at least on this website . . . or at least criticizing me to a great extent
I don’t understand where it’s coming from, because . . . as far as I know . . . I haven’t been tearing you apart or criticizing you
“Keep in focus”
Exactly . . . I’m clearly not some troll and I’m obviously not trying to sell snake oil. I’m harmless, and if you don’t like what I write, that’s fine.
You also need to keep in focus
If I’m trolling, posting spam, being abusive, going off-topic, that’s one thing
But otherwise, just let it go
Like I said, I like you, so let’s just move on
@db4690
You and I agreed on a plethora of things, but just like friends do, if I am misstating things, I would expect my friends to call me to task. When I say we have to focus, it’s because going after the police when in both the article and the the incident provided, it was the district attorney. And even after I tried to indicate there was no indicated police roll In determining the penalty once, I asked that there needs to be a focus on what he real problem is. I was a cop for ten years and having someone use the example of a cop putting a gun to someone’s head, even if it is ment as an illustration, is misplaced for me. That reference scares me more then any perceived fear we all have when the blues come on. And, Everyone is nervous when the blue lights go on, I get it…even me now.
Hmmm. To those coming from a different culture or having different experiences from some of us, the police can be very fearful and intimidating. Some of these folks don’t have credit or debit cards, or bank accounts, or insurance, or know anything of economics let alone the US legal system.
I have a friend who was a teacher in Illinois and taught a Holocaust section. He also deals in WWII memorbilia and has access to Nazi uniforms. So one day he had a class demonstration with folks dressed in storm trooper uniforms. He scared the heck out of people and nearly caused a riot, a number of them were of Jewish heritage who had memories of WWII. The poor guy had no idea the impact the uniforms would have on people in this day and age.
I’ll have to say though in Minnesota, many law enforcement folks go through customer service training to learn how to politely deal with people. If you get a ticket from a Minnesota Highway Patrolman, you will likely end up thanking them afterwards for being so nice.
Information I have indicates false stops such as I and my son have both experienced twice, are happening all over the country. There is a video out by an ex- cop who tells how he managed to lie; cheat; and steal (my terms) to get to search cars when he had no legal right to do so.
Examples included dog handlers who can manipulate the dog into presenting when it finds nothing. But, there is a lot more.
And, he found probable cause to stop people for driving carefully because money carriers drive that way. Of course, he also used the 3-over standard thing as probable cause.
I did not link here, because he also told how to hide your stash, and few boards will tolerate links to anything to help you commit illegal acts.
I realize ex-cops want to believe all is well, and that some of us are exaggerating, but that is not the case at all. The forfeiture laws have badly corrupted LEO all over the country.
I live near a small city and wondered for years how the city could continue to get away with municipal wrongdoings no matter how blatant, why police were never charged for committing crimes or falsifying evidence even during murder cases, and so on.
The police chief is married to the DA; both of whom recently retired with a fat pension.
The DA was only concerned with one thing. Drug convictions and plea bargains over a few ounces of weed and making the worthless rag of a local newspaper as being “tough on drugs”.
While this doesn’t have anything directly to do with forfeiture, it does have to do with police officers who abuse their powers. This guy was…a problem…when he attended our high school, and clearly the years have not improved his character:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/23/pepper-spray-cop-uc-davis-compensation
A former University of California Davis police officer who pepper-sprayed a group of Occupy protesters has reached a $38,000 settlement in a workman’s compensation case against the school.
That is so wrong.
A “Highly decorated” state trooper pleaded guilty to an assault
It took the victim many years to get an inkling of justice from a federal court. The plea deal dropped 2 other assault charges. The newspaper linked ignored and played down the story for years as they have other complaints agains law enforcement. Officers shaking down Mexican aliens has been a profitable sport in Mississippi and Alabama for several years but it seems that no level of government in the area is concerned.
@dagosa
it's because going after the police when in both the article and the the incident provided, it was the district attorney.
It was the cops too. They’re the ones who pulled them over, hauled them in on sometimes spurious charges, or no charges at all, and started the proceedings to wrongfully confiscate peoples’ private property. There’s plenty of blame to go around here and while agree that it is certainly true that not all, or even most, cops are crooked, it is also true that many are, and they are able to use their badge as a shield for actions that would get the rest of us tossed in jail.