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Nick: So if Mr. Markadonatos had refused to pay the booking fee, would [he] have been refused booking?

Miles: No. He would have been arrested again for violating the ordinance. Another $30.

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The unidentified driver, who had a female passenger with him, sped off about 8:30 a.m. when a San Diego police sergeant tried to pull him over on Grape Street in Oak Park for using a cell phone behind the wheel, SDPD public affairs Lt. Kevin Mayer said.

While chasing the 2002 Saturn sedan, police determined that it matched the description of one linked to a shooting that wounded two men in a Mountain View-area neighborhood Monday night.

The fleeing man ran stoplights while passing through parts of Paradise Hills, Bonita and National City, Mayer said. At one point, he pulled over long enough to let his companion out, then sped off again.

The suspect ran over several tire-flattening spike strips laid out in his path before finally slowing to a halt on 41st Street at Hilltop Drive.

San Diego 6 captured video images of the car stopping in the roadway with squad cars directly behind it, their sirens screaming. A moment later, a man shouted, and at least two officers opened fire, discharging about two dozen rounds in quick succession at the front and passenger side of the red sedan.

Witness Frankie Martinez described watching as the barrage of police gunfire began, then jumping onto the ground to protect himself.

"(The driver) just stopped, and they started shooting at him," Martinez told a television reporter. "Everybody started unloading on him. He got smoked. He probably did something bad for that to happen. They didn't even give him a chance."

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Assistant District Attorney Barta phoned arresting Officer Mobley to confer about how to salvage the investigation and secure an indictment. (Lutalo was never charged.)

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Arresting Officer Mobley: I should have just let [the arrestee] get off the train and go.

Assistant District Attorney Barta: Ah, you should have said that he pulled a knife on you and shot the son of a bitch.

Mobley: (Laughter)

Barta: (Laughter) He pulled something out of his pocket and it looked like a gun... then... it was a goddamn comb, I'm sorry! (Laughter)

Mobley: My bad, I'm sorry! (Laughter)

Barta: My bad! (Laughter)

Barta: (Laughter) Oh well, anyway… (Pause) Or, you could have arrested him, alleged that the train tried to pull out, and here's a thought, throw him under the track, the wheels, and then say he tried to escape. But too late for that....

Mobley: Yeah ...

Mobley: Oh well! Anyway....

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The recordings were disclosed during discovery after Lutalo filed suit against the city for violating his constitutional rights by making false claims to justify his arrest. The suit was ultimately settled out of court.

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The dogs are trained to dig or sit when they smell drugs, which triggers automobile searches. But 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.

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LEAWOOD, KS -- Men with assault rifles raided a family who had been growing tomatoes and melons under grow-lights. The government agents thought that was enough probable cause to believe they were growing forbidden plants inside their home.

"It was just like on the cops TV shows," Robert Harte told The Associated Press. "It was like 'Zero Dark Thirty' ready to storm the compound."

https://www.facebook.com/PoliceStateUSA

Apparently all it takes to get raided is buying hydroponics equipment and materials for indoor gardening.

Dogs entered the home. The armed agents belittled the family and implied that their 13-year-old boy was growing marijuana in the home.

"If this can happen to us and we are educated and have reasonable resources, how does somebody who maybe hasn't led a perfect life supposed to be free in this country?" said Adlynn Harte.

Police kept the father laying on the ground for 2.5 hours and his children huddled on a couch while the SWAT team tore through their home looking for forbidden plants.

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LEAWOOD, KS -- Men with assault rifles raided a family who had been growing tomatoes and melons under grow-lights. The government agents thought that was enough probable cause to believe they were growing forbidden plants inside their home.

"It was just like on the cops TV shows," Robert Harte told The Associated Press. "It was like 'Zero Dark Thirty' ready to storm the compound."

https://www.facebook.com/PoliceStateUSA

Apparently all it takes to get raided is buying hydroponics equipment and materials for indoor gardening.

Dogs entered the home. The armed agents belittled the family and implied that their 13-year-old boy was growing marijuana in the home.

"If this can happen to us and we are educated and have reasonable resources, how does somebody who maybe hasn't led a perfect life supposed to be free in this country?" said Adlynn Harte.

Police kept the father laying on the ground for 2.5 hours and his children huddled on a couch while the SWAT team tore through their home looking for forbidden plants.

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BATTLE CREEK, MI – The Battle Creek, MI police department has recently released dash-cam video from the officer shooting of a 14-year-old boy outside of a Michigan party store.
On Nov. 16, 2013, police were called to the store after reports of a man carrying a gun.

The video shows some people approaching the cruiser once the officer arrives, and hear him say "let me see your hands." After the command was given, shots were fired and the teenagers ran away.

What the officer didn't know was the teen was carrying an airsoft gun, which is a replica firearm that fires pellets.

The officer hit the teen in the shoulder.

Prosecutors have cleared the officer of any wrong doing, but the victim's family is still planning a lawsuit.

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MILL CREEK, Wash.—A drug task force in Washington's Snohomish County has historically been funded in part by cash, cars, houses and other assets seized from marijuana purveyors. But with recreational pot becoming legal in the state, this funding is going up in smoke.

Snohomish's 22-officer drug-fighting operation, one of 19 such task forces in the state, brought in about $200,000 from forfeitures in marijuana cases in 2012—15% of its funding that year; the haul has exceeded $1 million in years past. The task force has a piece of land, seized from a pot grower, where it stores seized vehicles awaiting auction and trims with a riding mower confiscated in a drug bust.

The county's task force has already slashed its projected funding for this year by more than 15%, partially because of a decline in revenue from asset forfeitures in pot cases, said task force Commander Pat Slack. That will mean less money for overtime, training and new equipment, said Mr. Slack, a vocal opponent of legalization.

With marijuana legalized for those at least 21 years old in Washington later this year and in Colorado as of Jan. 1, law-enforcement agencies in those states expect to lose millions in revenue gained from assets seized from growers and dealers.

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RALEIGH, N.C. -
A video released in court Tuesday shows a fatal altercation between a Wake County corrections officer and an inmate from June.

Court documents show officer Markeith Council was involved an incident with Shon Demetrius McClain at the Wake County Detention Center June 4.

Council was indicted in August and turned himself into the Wake County Detention Center soon after.

McClain, 40, died from blunt force trauma to the head, neck, spinal and brain, damage that was sustained during the fight with Council, according to an autopsy. The inmate died 13 days later.

Council is facing a charge of voluntary manslaughter in relation to the incident.

McClain was in jail on misdemeanor drug charges when the assault occurred. According to the Department of Public Safety, McClain's convictions include possession of stolen goods, breaking and entering, larceny, indecent liberty with a child, failing to register as a sex offender and obstructing justice.

A detention officer charged with voluntary manslaughter after the death of an inmate at the Wake County Detention Center this summer threatened the prisoner before the assault, a witness testified in the case Tuesday.

Shon Demetrius McClain, 40, died from blunt force trauma to the head and neck 13 days after, the Wake County Sheriff's Office said, he was involved in an argument with officer Markeith Council.

Council, a detention officer at the jail since 2009, was indicted in August and is on trial this week. He has been suspended from his job indefinitely without pay.

"He said, 'I'll beat you to death, and I'll take my time calling the nurse for you,'" said Aaron Mitchell, an inmate in cell block FI at the Wake County jail in June.

Jurors saw a 15-second video of the June 4 encounter in which it appeared that McClain and Council exchanged words before McClain unsuccessfully tried to hit the officer.

Council then pushed McClain to the floor and slammed his head twice.

Bashiri Sandy, another inmate, witnessed the attack.

"I seen him dump him on his head, like twice," Sandy testified. "I witnessed that with my own eyes -- him holding the guy by his uniform and turning him upside down and slamming him."

Inmate James Alston said he also saw the attack.

"After (McClain) first got slammed, there was nothing he could do," he said.

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YAKIMA, WA - NBC Right Now is digging deeper into the events that led up to a deadly officer involved shooting at a car wash in Yakima Saturday.

Details on Saturday's incident at a Yakima car wash have been scarce until now. Yakima Police said an officer was on routine patrol at 3 a.m. along East Nob Hill Boulevard. 29-year-old Casey Gilette noticed a car sitting in the parking lot for over an hour.

"Approached on foot on the driver's side, moved around the vehicle to the passenger side of the vehicle," said Captain Rod Light with the Yakima Police Department. "Opened the door, discovered the suspect was armed with a handgun."

Police said the suspect 23-year-old Rocendo Arias had his finger on the trigger.

Officer Gilette shot four times hitting Arias once in the head and killing him. Officers said during this early investigation, they discovered the suspect's gun was non-lethal.

"It was later determined that the handgun was a replica of an actual firearm so what I would refer to as an airsoft gun, but they appear very real," said Captain Light.

Justin Ford said violence and shootings are the main reason he moved his young family out of Yakima.

"It's evident by the shootings that are happening on a weekly basis and the fact that law enforcement is having to use their firearms on a more regular basis is just more proof of that," said Ford.

Police said it's still very early in the investigation. They'll be interviewing Officer Gilette later this week.

Gilette is on administrative leave during the investigation. Police said he's been with the Yakima Police Department for 14 months, but he had experience as an officer with the Toppenish Police Department prior to this.

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Instead of knocking on Rocendo’s window to further investigate the situation, Light admits the officer swung the passenger side door open without informing the driver. After noticing the disassembled gun, Gilette fired four shots, striking Rocendo once in the head.

“It appeared that he had some accessories to the handgun that he was trying to install on it or put pieces of this gun together,” Capt. Light said.

The airsoft gun, which shoots plastic pellets, reportedly had a bright orange plastic tip as well, used to clearly identify the item as a toy.

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GRAND RAPIDS, MI - A police car dash cam video obtained by MLive and The Grand Rapids Press shows the encounter between Grand Rapids Police officers and open-carry advocate Johann Deffert that sparked a federal lawsuit.

Deffert's suit - filed in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids - is against the city, Police Chief Kevin Belk, Officer William Moe and two other officers.

In response to request for video of the encounter, the city has released in-car video of the March 3 incident. The camera view shows only a portion of the encounter, but it captures extensive audio from the day in question.

Responding to a report of a man with a holstered handgun, Moe stopped his patrol car on Michigan Street NE near Lakeside Drive.

“It does look like he’s got a handgun on,” Moe told a dispatcher.

The man was also "talking to nobody.”

Traffic on Michigan stopped as Moe, weapon drawn, ordered Johann Deffert, 28, to the ground.

“Do not move,” the officer said. “Why do you have a handgun on you?”

“It's my constitutional right to defend myself.”

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As Moe held Deffert, Deffert repeatedly said he was not a felon and he could legally open carry. State police say open carry of firearms is not illegal as long as the firearm is carried with lawful intent and not concealed.

“It’s illegal for you to stop me for it in the state of Michigan,” Deffert is heard saying in the recording.

Later, he said he was just walking home after having breakfast at New Beginnings restaurant.


“I’m not breaking a law. … I’m just walking.”

The officer responded: “You’re talking to yourself. You’re going down the road here with a loaded handgun.Could I just think, maybe, you might be some kind of a nut?"

A little later, an officer said: "Is that what you do on a Sunday, you want to stroll down the road? "

Deffert said: "It's not against the law."

Shortly before Deffert was released, he officer said, “Well, you've got everybody fired up around here today.”

“Excuse me?” Deffert said.

“You’ve gotten the people fired up around here today. Why do you think I’m here?"

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A 9-1-1 call was made for a heated discussion between a man and his wife. After the argument had calmed down, the responding officer shows up, kicks in the door and shoots Kevin Hughey, the home owner, who had his hands up in surrender.

“I stepped back to get out of the way of the door as it flung open,” Hughey said. “I immediately saw an officer with his gun drawn. I started to put my hands up and before I could even move, he shot me.”

...

Investigators found Wright used excessive force and he was later released from the department. The charges against Hughey were dropped.

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An argument over texting in a Florida movie theater Monday triggered a retired Tampa police captain to fatally shoot a man sitting in front of him, as about 25 horrified moviegoers looked on, sheriff's officials said.

"Somebody throws popcorn. I'm not sure who threw the popcorn," said Charles Cummings, who, as a birthday treat, was about to watch the movie "Lone Survivor" at The Grove 16 Theater.

"And then bang, he was shot."

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An Orange County jury Monday found two former Fullerton police officers accused of killing a schizophrenic homeless man, Kelly Thomas, not guilty.

Manuel Ramos and Jay Cicinelli were charged with striking Kelly Thomas with a baton and a stun gun in a beating that left him comatose. He died five days later.

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SHERIDAN, Ore. -- McMinnville police arrested a reserve Yamhill police officer who investigators said assaulted and critically injured his girlfriend's 4-year-old son.

Michael Shane Abo, 34, was arrested Saturday morning. He faces charges of assault (first degree) and criminal mistreatment (first degree).

Police said Yamhill County sheriff's deputies responded to a medical call about an injured 4-year-old boy at Abo's home on Dec. 31.

The boy was flown by LifeFlight helicopter to OHSU in Portland where he is in critical condition, police said. Investigators believe his injuries resulted from physical abuse by Abo.

Neighbors say they always thought something was off with Abo.

"If the little boy was in momma's car going to McMinnville, he would always blow a kiss at me when they left. But if he was in daddy's car, he was not allowed to look," said Ruby Swartz, Abo's neighbor.

Yamhill County Sheriff Jack Crabtree requested that McMinnville police investigate the incident because Abo is a reserve police officer and a former Yamhill County sheriff's deputy.

Police took Abo to the Yamhill County Jail. Bail was set at $1 million.

Anyone with information regarding this investigation is encouraged to contact Detective Hugo Cerda of the McMinnville Police Department at 503-434-7307.

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"He perked up on his hind legs but not in a scary way. We were so close we saw everything," said Palmer. "It is still ingrained in my head. The leash was still tight. Whatever the police said about him letting go of the leash never, never happened. The leash was still tight, the dog was on his hind legs, and the officer started shooting at him. He shot four times!"

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The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department carried out a felony search warrant Tuesday at Justin Bieber's California mansion in a vandalism probe.

The search warrant stems from allegations of an egg attack on a neighbor of Bieber's last week, a sheriff's department spokesman said.

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CHICAGO (CN) - A man claims Chicago cops shot him as he worked on his car in his garage, then delayed calling medical help, interrogated his girlfriend and stole jumbo shrimp from his freezer.

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Brawl Between Cops And Students Racial Profiling At Granny's Restaurant Detroit Video. After a brawl with the police, two brothers are charged with assaulting officers but they say they're the real victims and have the proof to prove it:

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Cop assaults a completely innocent man leaving him a quadriplegic. When the paramedic arrived he lied and told them the man did it to himself tripping and falling.

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MELBOURNE, Fla -- The family of an elderly Melbourne with dementia man says they plan on suing the police department -- all over a violent confrontation that was caught on camera.

The dash camera video shows 66-year-old Albert Flowers being kicked by Melbourne officer Derek Middendorf back in October. Flowers was also punched repeatedly, and another officer used a stun gun to shoot him in the face.

Police reports said the officer was investigating a call about an argument at the time. Officer Middendorf said Flowers was acting aggressively and refused to stop at a safe distance.

But the man's family said they're horrified and that the officer went too far.

"I know he has a job to do, but when you take it above and beyond after being warned that he has dementia when you are warning that he has dementia and be brutal like that it's criminal," said Flowers' son Carlos.

News 13 contacted Melbourne Police. They referred us to a spokesperson for the city who said because no complaint has been filed yet, they have nothing to respond to.

They do say though the officer turned off his camera before the incident - but the video was still able to be retrieved from a hard drive.

A hearing is set for Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the city says Officer Middendorf is still employed with the police department, but is currently off the job after an unrelated injury - 15 January 2012

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A California high school student was suspended after a deputy accused him of instigating a fight with another boy despite the fact that a cell phone video clearly shows he was walking away from the boy who kept pushing and shoving and hoping to instigate a fight.

However, the assistant principal never bothered watching the video nor decide to talk to any witnesses to justify Kobe Nelson’s suspension.

Instead, she based her decision on allegations from San Bernardino sheriff’s deputy Louis Ortiz, who mocked and ridiculed Nelson for being too skinny then accused him of instigating. Ortiz also warned Nelson that he if returned to school within two days, he would be arrested.

However, the boy’s father, Tommy Purvis, a journalist friend who lives in California, is livid about the treatment of his son and is doing everything in his power to remove the suspension as well as complain about Ortiz.

He is meeting with the sheriff’s department Tuesday morning to complain about Ortiz lying about the events that led up to the altercation.

Purvis provided the following synopsis:
The assistant principal has since requested to see the video, even though she claimed she had already seen it.

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This deaf gentleman was badly hurt by Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers’ excessive force simply because they were unable to communicate with Pearl during a traffic stop. This happened in Oklahoma City, OK on January 3, 2014.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1389791871

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1389791871

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What’s the story?
At this time, only limited details can be provided since this case is under investigation.

1. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol pulled Pearl over late in the evening on January 3, 2014. Pearl pulled over as he should.

2. Pearl’s driver’s license indicates he is Deaf. He also has a placard in his driver’s door that says, “Driver is deaf”.

3. Pearl pulled over and rolled down his window, expecting an officer to ask for this identification. An officer struck him in the face before Pearl had the chance to do anything. As you can see, he was struck multiple times.

4. An interpreter was never provided while Pearl was under the care of law enforcement. Not during the booking, hospital, or time at the jail was an interpreter provided, even through Pearl requested one.

5. Pearl was left wondering “why” the the entire time. He has no clue why he was beat. Pearl and his family are still not sure, but are ready for some answers.

6. Pearl’s own son is a police officer, as was his son-in-law, who is now a deputy sheriff. He respects law enforcement and knows how to respond when pulled over. There is no reason for someone like Pearl to be hurt like this by those who are meant to protect and serve.

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According to reports, 64-year-old Pearl Pearson left the scene of a minor automobile accident before being pulled over by Oklahoma Highway Patrol on January 3.

After issuing several vocal commands from their police vehicle, troopers claim Pearson refused to show his hands. Despite a large placard on his driver’s door stating, “Driver is deaf,” Pearson claims troopers immediately began hitting his face as he attempted to show his ID, which also states that he is hearing-impaired.

After a seven-minute altercation, Pearson was arrested and charged with resisting arrest and leaving the scene of an accident. According to Pearson, he was denied an interpreter for the entire duration of his detainment in and out of jail.

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The following incident just reported on AL.com illustrates the incredible problem which exists with law enforcement and particularly the Sheriff’s Department in Madison County, Alabama. An off-duty officer assaulted a patron of a bar for looking at his woman and also retaliated with a bloody beat-down weeks later. Those charges were of course dropped, but not until his friend was mysteriously murdered. The cover-up was so bad that the Alabama Bureau of Investigation is currently looking into it. This is what happens when there is no integrity with LEOs anymore. This is what happens when young militarized punks are hired to serve and protect us.

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No criminal charges will be filed against a Torrance police officer who mistakenly opened fire on an innocent man’s pickup truck during the manhunt for cop-turned-killer Christopher Dorner.

Officer Brian McGee rammed David Perdue’s truck with his patrol car, then fired three shots through the driver’s side window. Perdue wasn’t hit but his truck was riddled with bullets. He’s suing the city and officers involved in the shooting, saying he suffered a concussion when his truck’s airbag opened and that he has lingering physical and emotional problems.

“He now moves slowly and unsteadily,” the lawsuit states. “His speech is altered. He has problems with his memory. He has nightmares.”

Prosecutors concluded McGee’s actions were justified.

At the time, officers around Southern California were on alert for Dorner, a fired Los Angeles policeman who killed four people during a rampage that ended with his suicide as authorities closed in on him.

“McGee’s actions are analyzed based on the totality of circumstances, which include McGee’s knowledge of Dorner’s previous threats and actions in the days and hours preceding these events, which gave rise to an atmosphere of fear and extreme anticipation,” according to Deputy District Attorney Geoffrey Rendon. “Those circumstances created a situation in which a reasonable mistake of fact, namely that Dorner was driving the truck, nearly resulted in a horrific tragedy.

“Nonetheless, given the circumstances, as detailed above, we conclude that Officer McGee was justified in using force to stop the vehicle and in discharging his firearm. Therefore, prosecution in this matter is declined and this office will take no further action.”

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A New Jersey judge has dismissed animal cruelty charges against a cop accused of committing a sex act with young cows, saying a grand jury had no way of knowing whether the animals were "tormented."...

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...“Anything I said, he was calling me a liar,” she said. “I felt very overpowered by a huge person standing over me, telling me I was lying.”

Lord said Thompson did something even worse — convinced her that she failed to act soon enough to save Burnside’s life.

During the interrogation, Thompson told Lord repeatedly that she had waited seven minutes to call 911. That was false, according to testimony. Phone records would later show that she called 911 immediately after trying to reach one of Burnside’s friends.
Lord said that because there is no statute of limitations on murder, she lives in fear of what Thompson will do.

“I am in constant fear of him and his behavior … considering what he had already done to me,” she said, adding that she doesn’t think he’s above planting evidence and taking the case to another grand jury.

Lord said she was deprived of the chance to grieve with mutual friends and Burnside’s family, which quickly ostracized her due to Thompson’s accusations.
Lord said the damage was done even after the grand jury declined to indict her.
Her career in mortgage financing was ruined, she said, and she’s earning less than half of what she once did.

‘I’m still going to suffer’

“I’m still going to suffer for the rest of my life for this,” she said. “I can’t undo what he’s done.”

Lord said she’s exhausted from efforts to proclaim her innocence.
About a year ago, she met someone and tried to date again, she said. But that relationship quickly ended when he ran her name through an Internet search engine and discovered she had once been accused of murder.

“Life is different for me now,” she said.

Thompson will have a chance to give his side of the story on Tuesday when he takes the stand. The jury is expected to begin deliberating Wednesday.

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Jackson: Gun owner unarmed, unwelcome in Maryland

HUDSON – John Filippidis, silver-haired family man, business owner, employer and taxpayer, is also licensed to carry a concealed firearm.

He’d rather he didn’t feel the need, “but things aren’t like they used to be. The break-ins, the burglaries, all the crime. And I carry cash a lot of the time. I’m constantly going to the bank.

“I wanted to be able to defend my family, my household and the ground I’m standing on. But I’m not looking for any trouble.”

Filippidis keeps his gun — a palm-sized Kel-Tec .38 semiautomatic, barely larger than a smartphone in a protective case — in one of two places, always: in the right-hand pocket of his jeans, or in the safe at home.

“There are kids in the house,” Filippidis says, “and I don’t think they’d ever bother with it, but I don’t want to take any chances.”

He’s not looking for any trouble, after all.

Trouble, in fact, was the last thing on his mind a few weeks back as the Filippidises packed for Christmas and a family wedding in Woodridge, N.J., so he left the pistol locked in the safe. The state of Florida might have codified his Second Amendment rights, but he knew he’d be passing through states where recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions affirming the rights of individuals to keep and bear arms have been met by hostile legislatures and local officials.

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“Ten minutes he’s behind us,” John says. “We weren’t speeding. In fact, lots of other cars were whizzing past.”

“You know you have a police car behind you, you don’t speed, right?” Kally adds.

Says John, “We keep wondering, is he going to do something?”

Finally the patrol car’s emergency lights come on, and it’s almost a relief. Whatever was going on, they’d be able to get it over with now. The officer — from the Transportation Authority Police, as it turns out, Maryland’s version of the New York-New Jersey Port Authority — strolls up, does the license and registration bit, and returns to his car.

According to Kally and John (but not MTAP, which, pending investigation, could not comment), what happened next went like this:

Ten minutes later he’s back, and he wants John out of the Expedition. Retreating to the space between the SUV and the unmarked car, the officer orders John to hook his thumbs behind his back and spread his feet. “You own a gun,” the officer says. “Where is it?”

“At home in my safe,” John answers.

“Don’t move,” says the officer.

Now he’s at the passenger’s window. “Your husband owns a gun,” he says. “Where is it?”

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Of course, John couldn’t show him what didn’t exist, but Kally’s failure to corroborate John’s account, the officer would tell them later, was the probable cause that allowed him to summon backup — three marked cars joined the lineup along the I-95 shoulder — and empty the Expedition of riders, luggage, Christmas gifts, laundry bags; to pat down Kally and Yianni; to explore the engine compartment and probe inside door panels; and to separate and isolate the Filippidises in the back seats of the patrol cars.

Ninety minutes later, or maybe it was two hours — “It felt like forever,” Kally says — no weapon found and their possessions repacked, the episode ended ... with the officer writing out a warning.

“All that time, he’s humiliating me in front of my family, making me feel like a criminal,” John says. “I’ve never been to prison, never declared bankruptcy, I pay my taxes, support my 20 employees’ families; I’ve never been in any kind of trouble.”

Face red, eyes shining, John pounds his knees. “And he wants to put me in jail. He wants to put me in jail. For no reason. He wants to take my wife and children away and put me in jail. In America, how does such a thing happen? ... And after all that, he didn’t even write me a ticket.”

Now, despite having fielded apologies from the officer’s captain as well as from a Maryland Transportation Authority Police internal affairs captain, John is wondering if he shouldn’t just cancel his CCW license.

For a guy who’s not looking for trouble, that’s not an unreasonable conclusion. And it would please fans of gun control by any means. But let’s hope John Filippidis, American family man, taxpayer and good guy, doesn’t cave, because it would be a sad statement about the brittleness of our guarantees — some would call them sacred — under the Constitution.

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Cop trying to crack the Justin Bieber egg-tossing case found drugs at the singer’s Southern California mansion — but the pop star was able to scramble his way out of trouble.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said the drugs — initially thought to be cocaine — belonged to one of Bieber’s friends living at the home.

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Increasingly, and openly, ordinary Americans are committing a legal act that some police nonetheless regard as among the most heinous of all offences: it's called contempt of cop.

It's otherwise known as asserting your constitutional rights.

Citizens, feeling empowered, are pointing smartphones, rather than just an accusing finger, at abusive authorities.

Civil libertarians with hidden cameras are challenging the so-called "suspicion-less" roadblocks that police set up to catch lawbreakers. Motorists and others are fighting back in the courts and online against police shakedown rackets on U.S. highways and elsewhere.

Everywhere, it seems, Americans are openly challenging arbitrary behaviour by those in authority.

Furthermore, they are winning. Not since the late 1960s have those in authority, from heavy-handed cops to the federal operatives sifting metadata in super-secret intelligence installations, been exposed to so much disinfecting sunlight...

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Seven Border Patrol agents stormed into a man’s house without a warrant after midnight Tuesday morning, demanding he turn over cell phone video he had recorded Monday afternoon of an agent repeatedly punching a man laying facedown on the ground.

The man is a fourth waiver parolee, meaning authorities can search him or his home without a warrant whenever they please.

In this case, they didn’t even need reasonable suspicion that he had committed a crime. All they needed to do was claim they needed it as evidence.

But the man was able to download a clip of the video before they snatched it, so he handed it over to a local television station who aired it Wednesday and can be viewed in the above video.

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A New Mexico man forced by police to undergo a colonoscopy has quietly settled his legal case against officials from Hidalgo County and Deming, N.M.

KOB-TV reports that David Eckert, 64, will be paid $1.6 million by the local governments – $650,000 from Hidalgo County and $950,000 from the city of Deming – to resolve the case, which was filed in U.S. District Court in November.

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Officer Jesse Zilge Is the one doing the kicking in St.Paul Minnesota. A new police brutality video shows a St. Paul police officer kicking a defenseless man.

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Officer Wilburn is seen running to the vehicle and not maintaining distance or taking the time a reasonable officer would while approaching a vehicle with armed suspects. Officer Wilburn approached the vehicle alone after two other officers began to chase the driver of the suspect vehicle on foot. Officer Wilburn approached the vehicle without proper cover or with her weapon at the ready position. A reasonable officer in fear for their safety would not have approached a vehicle containing possible armed suspects in this manner.

Officer Wilburn opened the driver's side door of the still moving vehicle, observed Mr. Kelvion Walker in the passenger seat and immediately drew and fired her weapon. As she approached the passenger door where Mr. Walker was seated, she exposed herself to a possibly armed suspect, an action which a reasonable officer in fear for their safety would not have done.

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My buddy, who is an ex cop and left the force because of how they conducted themselves, gave me this patch today because he knows how I feel towards cops.

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UNION CITY, Okla. – A Union City police officer is facing charges after being accused of stealing and selling a weapon that belonged to another officer.

The officer who had his weapon stolen had reportedly been trying to get the local police department to investigate the case for more than a year.

He finally gave up, taking his allegations to Canadian County authorities.

Tuesday, Canadian County deputies arrested Scottie Brothers, a police officer in Union City for the crime.

Undersheriff Chris West, with the Canadian County Sheriff’s Office, said, “We’re policing the public and holding them accountable. We have to hold our own accountable.”

Canadian County authorities believe Brothers took a gun from another Union City officer’s home and sold it to a man with a previous felony conviction.

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“Among other lessons we’ve learned in this trial,” pontificated Judge William Froeberg just before a jury acquitted Kelly Thomas’s killers, “is that violence begets violence.”

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“These peace officers did their jobs -- they did what they were trained to do,” insisted John Barnett, the police union lawyer who represented Manuel Ramos during the trial.

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One of the most consistent messages I offer here is about interactions with law enforcement, and can be expressed in two words — shut up — although "oh you dumb son of a bitch will you for the love of God shut up" might capture the flavor better.

In brief, the reasons to shut up are these: cops are not looking out for your best interests. Cops are looking to make, or close, a case, which they seek to do according to their cultural preconceptions. If you answer their questions, cops' evaluation of your words will be colored by their habitual assumption that you are lying. That assumption may be premised on their culture, their simmering mood disorders, their pathological tendency to associate you (whoever you are) with the very worst people they encounter on the job, and their evaluation of evidence they may or may not have understood. If you talk to them, it is somewhere between possible and likely that you will incriminate yourself, whether or not you have done anything...

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McGee’s attack inflicted $20,000 of damage to Perdue’s truck. The victim — a member of the productive class — suffered head and spinal injuries that resulted in him losing his job as a baggage handler. Fret not for McGee: His job in the parasitic sector is secure, and he has been cleared by the L.A. District Attorney’s office.

According to the DA, McGee made a “reasonable mistake” when he rammed Perdue’s truck and tried to kill him sight unseen – because his life, and those of his fellow law enforcement officers, were of singular worth. After all, the security of the State’s punitive caste is infinitely more important than the rights of a mere Mundane.

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A police officer’s “authority” to engage in discretionary killing is co-extensive with his personal cowardice. McGee will face no civil or legal consequences because the prospect of confronting a fellow police officer gone “rogue” had reduced him to a puddle of panic.

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