whiskey tango foxtrot: baltimore PD

[JohnBT]

It's just Maryland politics - more of the same old, same old. Pick an example, any example. Here's one. We left Balmer more than 40 years ago.

"Agnew was re-elected as vice-president in 1972 but the following year it was announced he was being investigated for extortion, bribery and income-tax violations while governor of Maryland. On 10th October, 1973 resigned as vice-president"

 

[Helmetcase]

Every once in a while...the thought of throwing in the towel here really does seem appealing. I'm of the stubborn "it won't get any better if we quit" mentality, but the thought of O'Malley getting into power in Annapolis, lobbying for another AWB, ruining even more police forces the way he's ruined Baltimore's...sigh.

Another liberal who'll be pulling the lever for Ehrlich

 

[chaim]

Wow, the Baltimore police harrassing innocent people and seizing property they have no right to seize. What a shock...unfortunately, the reality is this is no surprise. This is a city where Jewish people and property is being specifically targeted at the moment and the police complain about giving us "special treatment". A guy in the community was being beat up by about 20-30 guys and during the attack (which caused over $3K in dental work) he called 911 and was told he needed to calm down because there was no reason to be excited and the 911 operator would hang up on him if he didn't. A Jewish woman told a cop about something she saw being done just a bit up the road (she was driving) and the cop harrassed her, told her to mind her own business, frisked her (Orthodox women don't want men they aren't related to touching them, its against our religion), and then he ticketed her for some made up infraction. This is a city where people throughout the city are arrested regularly for "tresspassing" when on public streets, and where a couple from out of state recently was arrested for tresspassing when they stopped to ask a cop directions. Nothing surprises me there.

As for this case, I don't understand how it got past the first day. Fine, he had a jack... cop who arrested the owner of the car despite him having his registration. Why didn't it end as soon as he got to the station? Surely someone there would realize the driver did nothing wrong and was the owner of the car. Fine, Balt. City police are messed up, they don't notice (or don't care), why did he get charged and why did the City Attorney prosecute this case? How the heck did it ever get to trial? And the kicker of course, the police sold the car!? What the heck- first it was evidence, why sell evidence, and second- if my car is stolen and the police find it I really think they should return it to me (and as a former insurance adjuster I know the insurance company wouldn't be too pleased either).

 

[longeyes]

from the Pelosi Chronicles...

Pelosi hails from a strong family tradition of public service. Her father, Thomas D'Alesandro, Jr., served as Mayor of Baltimore for 12 years, after representing the city for five terms in Congress. Her brother, Thomas D'Alesandro III, also served as Mayor of Baltimore.

 

[GunnySkox]

I have got to stop reading the articles y'all post here in L&P. My stomach's all up in a knot and I feel like I wanna kill somebody. If I'd've (hehe, 'd've..) been the judge in that courtroom, I'd have torn the prosecutor about six new ones and probably given him a serious case of brain damage with the gavel.

Probably not that second bit, but I could probably crack his skull with all the invective I'd hurl at him.


Grrgrghgh.. L&P is gonna give me an ulcer.

~GnSx
"If you work for the government, I assume you're an [expl.] until you prove otherwise."

 

[hksw]

I hope Mr. Spence cleans the city's clock with his lawsuit.

 

[Ohen Cepel]

It's MD, doesn't surprise me at all

At least the cops didn't shoot the kid.

 

[beerslurpy]

Yeah molon, I'm liking your explanation a lot. Finding out who ended up getting the car would probably produce some very embarassing evidence for the civil suit. All they would have to do is run the vin at the DMV and see who it is registered to.

Actually, wait a damn second. This is straight out of Pennoyer v Neff (minus the procedural bits). Why dont they just go the DMV and find the current owner and then sue THEM to get the car back? The city never had title to the car and couldnt possibly have transferred it legitimately. Then sue the city for depriving him of a car for a year, malicious prosecution, wrongful arrest, etc etc... You get the car back without any of the messyness of filing suit against the government because I guarantee you the current owner of teh car is, like you said, a private citizen related to the arresting officer. And they will be out the money they paid to the city or any middlemen.

Applying Occam's Razor, this is the most likely explanation:

The cops saw a young black guy driving a nice car. They figured he was a drug dealer gansta-type, and decided to rough him up and take his car. The didn't feel bad about doing this, since they figured he bought the car with drug money. Furthermore, they assumed the driver wouldn't do anything about it, since they assumed any investigation would reveal the car was bought with drug money.

So they told him his car was stolen, and took his car. The department then sold the car to one of the cops who originally pulled him over (or to a friend or relative of one of the cops). My guess is that the records will show the car was sold for a very low amount.

It's a scam.

 

[armedandsafe]

I'd have torn the prosecutor about six new ones and

I wouldn't have bothered with shouting and raving. I'd just cite the prosecuter and his boss for contempt of court and had the baliff escort them straight to jail.

Then, I'd have started on the cops, the impound yard and the evidence officers. :

Can you say "Bivens" boys 'n' girls?

Pops

 

[Standing Wolf]

Well, yeah, but we're not a police state: after all, crooked cops sometimes get caught, don't they?

 

[Nightfall]

Are we taking bets on what kind of punishment will be issued in this case to the "authorities"? I'm guessing a short period of paid leave until it's forgotten, then it's back to business as usual.

 

[nico]

Disgusting. I don't know what to say that hasn't already been said and wouldn't bother Art's Grandma.

This makes me wonder if it's really worthwhile to move to Pikesville (closer to school).

 

[grampster]

Not to change the subject, but this debacle is a priceless demonstration of the dumbing down of qualifications for public service. It used to be that in order to work for the goobermint one had to pass a fairly stringent test, both using the mind and the body to qualify. This was for any government job, be it police, fire, road workers, et al. You had to be a certain height, weigh a certain bit, be able to read reasonably well and be able to express yourself in ways others than gutteral grunts.

Since political correcteness and its associated attacks on common sense and the forced disregarding of the fact that goobermint service was a high calling rather than a repository of those that had to be prompted to breath have reached ascendency, things have'nt work quite as well as they have in the past as far as public service goes. (Whew that was a long sentence with lots of comma opportunities, hope ya'll could ride it out.)

In other words, I'm not surprised.

 

[Waitone]

Lemme see here. We have
--presidents not enforcing existing law and asking for more law
--we have governors enforcing laws that don't exist and bestowing privileges not legislatively approved
--we have LE stealing private property and converting it to public use
--we have corporations and government conspiring with the agreement of SCOTUS to confiscate private property and give it to another private entity

Thank goodness I live in a country ruled by law and not men.

 

[longeyes]

And the more lawyers the less lawful the society.

 

[SomeKid]

Grrgrghgh.. L&P is gonna give me an ulcer.

Good news Gunny!

Stress does not cause ulcers. Ulcers are caused by Helicobactor pylori.

While L&P does shed light on the anal mistreatments our great land endures from the statist dogs in power in many places, that stress will not cause an ulcer. The increased stress levels may cause myocardial infarcts, and CVA's. Sadly, we have no known ways of simply giving Helicobactor pylori, CVA, or MI as gifts to Baltimore's *ahem* 'finest'.

 

[nico]

OT: stress doesn't cause ulcers per se, but chronic stress can affect the pH of the stomach, making it more conducive to H. pylori growth. So, technically, L&P could contribute to an ulcer

 

[GunnySkox]

Jeez!

Ga'mighty, nico and SomeKid!

I'm just--

I can't even--



You can't throw a freakin' cat on this board without learning something new!

*stomps off*




~GnSx
"I watched the news on monday...
"I spent half an hour screaming invective at a television set, and my stomach hurt for hours afterward..

 

[hksw]

Are we taking bets on what kind of punishment will be issued in this case to the "authorities"? I'm guessing a short period of paid leave until it's forgotten, then it's back to business as usual.

You give too harsh a sentence, IMO.

My guess is a small repremand in his supervisor's office, a tick on the arresting officer's record for not being more diligent, get back to work. Business as usual after a 15 minute talk.

 

[Don Gwinn]

You can't throw a freakin' cat on this board without learning something new!

I guess we all have our hobbies, but you might want to try golf.

 

[pete f]

Boy lets add up the charges.

Unlawful detention.

Unlawful arrest.

Arrest without reasonable cause.

Receiving stolen property ( who ever received it at the property yard)

Fencing. Selling stolen property.

Profiting from an illegal operation.

IANAL but a good DA could put ten or more people in jail over this one.

I would say that the owner of the red cadillac will not be driving a 1993 caddy in the future, but maybe a 2007 benz

 

[nico]

IANAL but a good DA could put ten or more people in jail over this one.

true, a good DA could press charges, but we're talking about Baltimore here. Nothing will happen without a lawsuit. If the guy's lucky, he might get a "we're sorry" in writing. I'd even doubt that though, as it could be used in the civil case that should be filed.

 

[baz]

What can we do...

to pass laws that will provide more accountability to law enforcement? Are any of our public interest organizations (NRA, SAF, GOA, or whatever) doing any work in this direction? We need to remove their immunity from civil suit if they cross the line. Same with damages incurred from wrongful no-knock raids.

Surely somebody is on this. My legislators are too wimpy to initiate this on their own, but if somebody else were promoting legislation to change the landscape here, I'd start a local campaign to get them to support it.

 

[HankB]

If the guy whose car was stolen by the police has an extra set of keys, then he just needs to find HIS car, and go get it.

He has the title, right? He never signed it over, right? So . . . as long as he can find HIS car parked somewhere, he should just go get it.

 

[MartinBrody]

Too bad his civil case will be tied up in the system behind someone who says a cop gave him a dirty look.