Posts tagged as Police
Vermont Prison Inmate Plays Good Practical Joke
"State officials Thursday pointed to the failure of the quality assurance office within the Vermont Correctional Industries Print Shop in St. Albans to detect a prisoner-artist’s addition made four years ago to the traditional state police logo. A spot on the shoulder of the cow in the state emblem was modified into a pig. An investigation has begun into how the computer program was improperly modified to insert the image, Vermont Corrections Commissioner Andy Pallito said." READ MORE
Italian Policemen Dress Up Like Gladiators For Undercover Sting Operation
"For the police operation officers dressed up as gladiators themselves to infiltrate the gangs. Other officers, disguised as dustbin men and members of the public, took part in the raid. They came to the rescue of colleagues who were set upon by angry gladiators. Police say the arrested men came from seven families, and were working with five tourist agencies that control the market for guides at the Colosseum. They had divided up tourist sites such as the Colosseum, the Piazza Venezia, and St Peter's Basilica, according to police, and were defending their territory with violence." READ MORE
The Cleanup of the New Orleans Police Department Continues
In the case of the Danziger bridge shootings in New Orleans, after Katrina, five police officers have been convicted of an impressive array of charges, ranging from conspiracy to obstruct justice to false prosecution to planting a firearm to falsifying victim statements to fabrication of witnesses to "deprivation of civil rights by shooting." One of the victims was developmentally disabled and was shot in the back... seven times. The police officers were not, however, convicted of murder.
Drug Dogs Usually Wrong, Also Hate Mexicans
Apparently the drug dogs that sniff your car and get all excited when they smell your dope are not so good. Or maybe too good? "A Tribune analysis of three years of data for suburban departments found that only 44 percent of those alerts by the dogs led to the discovery of drugs or paraphernalia. For Hispanic drivers, the success rate was just 27 percent." To be fair to the dogs, the Chicago Tribune is working off some fairly lousy data here—the Chicago PD and the Illinois State Police don't even collect data, apparently, about drug dog alerts. But going through suburban police departments in Illinois, they found things like this: "The McHenry County's sheriff's department had the most dog alerts, finding drugs or paraphernalia in 32 percent of 103 searches. In the eight searches on Hispanic drivers, officers reported finding drugs just once.... In Naperville, 47 percent of searches turned up drugs or paraphernalia, though searches on Hispanic drivers turned up drugs in only one of 12 traffic stops, for a rate of 8 percent." Man, do not bother with the Hispanics, they keep their dope at home, they're not stupid.
Gun Battle Rages As Jamaican Government Attempts To Arrest Aptronymic Druglord
Wow. Here is a story that seems likely to be made into many raps songs and eventually a feature film. The Jamaican government is trying to arrest a notorious Kingston gang leader for extradition to New York. But he's not going quietly. As the Times reports: "Security forces broke through barbed-wire barricades and fought their way into the warren-like Tivoli Gardens neighborhood Monday afternoon. Sporadic gunfire could be heard into the night echoing across the darkened slums, where authorities cut off power. Military helicopters flying with their lights off buzzed overhead. Masked gunmen swarmed around West Kingston trying to prevent the extradition of Christopher 'Dudus' Coke, who has been indicted in New York on drug and arms trafficking charges. The U.S. Justice Department considers him one of the world's most dangerous drug lords." READ MORE
Florida Rap Robbery "Off the Chain," Says Florida Cop
A Florida rapper was robbed of $35,000 worth of jewelry last week in a Miami barbershop. That's a shame, but it may have been worth it for the interview with a local police officer, which comes at 1:38 in the video. This guy's got it all. The corny hard-boiled humor: "They took a little more off the top than he expected." The stilted use of hip-hop slang: "This robbery was off the chain." The insulting anthropological assessment: "For a rapper to have his bling stolen, they might as well have just stolen this man's heart!" All in all, a very impressive job of reinforcing cop stereotypes established by officer "Hoppy" Hopkins in mid-70s episodes of Sanford and Son.
Rioting Cops To Have BBQ, Reminisce About Beating Longhairs
The rioting insane cops who beat protesters at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago are having a reunion next week! And it's bringing out the crazy all over again. Says one person claiming to be one of those cops: "Anarchists came to the city to disrupt the democratic process. They continue with their rhetoric but provide little substantive efforts to better their environment. They choose instead to intimidate a bunch of old men getting together for a good time." Yes, maybe some elderly anarchists will come by and try to crack some skulls at their peaceful get-together.
