Abuse of Power by Ordinary Cops (2024)

The very best cops in this country are the ones you never hear about. They go about their thankless jobs, they stick their necks out everyday, trying to make the world a safer place. They sweep drunks off the street at 3:00a.m. They fill out paperwork constantly.One their days off, their neighbors expect them to act as the neighborhood security guard, referee and guidance counselor. One fellow I know was a cop for several years, and upon leaving the profession, one of the first things he noticed was that his nose stopped hurting. Apparently he got into street fights every night, through no fault of his own, and it was just part of the job.

For a good overview of the dirty work performed by ordinary cops, read What Cops ReallyDo.

In fact, I've known a lot of people who have been law enforcement officers, and a few who still are, and they truly are America's Finest.Without people like them, this country (or any other) would be an awful place to live, because there are so many nearby residents whosimply won't behave themselves without forcible external control (foranumberofreasons).

But unfortunately there are also the cops at the bottom of the curve. The ones who are only marginally qualified. The ones who should be at the city jail— on the other side of the bars. The ones who are only working as cops because that's the best job they can get at the moment. And worst of all, the ones with more ego than brains: self-important badge-happy goons who should never have been hired. Generally, cops of this sort are only found in small towns, because the police departments in major cities filter their applicants quite stringently.

In some cases, formerly reasonable men and women have been put into positions where they have to justify their paychecks by generating revenue for the cities that hired them. It is a stereotype I'm sure you know very well: There's a cop in every small town handing out speeding tickets to tourists on the biggest highway around. But stereotypes don't just materialize out of nowhere. There really are small towns that make a lot of money offthe speeders on interstate highways. Rather than taking a bite out of genuine crime, many cops spend their days hiding in the roadside bushes with a radar gun and writing tickets. This sort of activity has very little to do with public safety, but is instead a pretense to stop passingmotorists and search their cars for guns, drugs, seat belt violators, or any of several other petty offenses. If you fail the "attitude test", you'll pay dearly. You might assume they're just following orders, but you might be wrong.

This page shows some examples of what can happen when local and state police agencies have too much power, too little restraint, and too many bad ideas.

Related pages:

The Road to Tyranny is All Downhill From Here
Abuse of Power
Sanctuary cities
The Use of 9-1-1 as a Weapon, also known as SWATting
Snitch on your neighbor
Zero-Tolerance Laws
Cases in which guns saved lives
The Police State on the Subway
Gun Control
Abusive and Invasive Searches at the Airport
The Homeland Security report on right wingers
Waco
Waco II
The case of Steven Hatfill
Ruby Ridge
FEMA— the Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Invasion of the Food Police
Carnivore, Einstein, Tempest, and Echelon
Domestic surveillance
HateCrime Laws
The Proposed National ID Card

The local police have been given too much authority

LAPDuses January6 techniques to identify Jewish students who fought back at a UCLA pro-Hamasprotest. They're studying Facebook posts. They're using frame-by-frame videoscreenshots of faces to match with gargantuan databases of named faces. They're seeking andtaking tips from "friends" and relatives and ex-boyfriends. For the UCLA Jewish students whogot into a scrap with pro-Hamas illegal campout protestors, nodoubt after hearing a slew ofantisemitic statements and being blocked from attending class, they're doing exactly what they didto identify and hunt down January6 protestors. [...] So now they're spending big bucks totarget UCLA Jewish students again, with the same use of intensive investigative techniques as theyused on January6 protestors. They're taking years to do it, calling it their biggestoperation, even as Los Angeles is awash with real crime, but this is more important to them,getting their man, or woman, as the case may be, championing a protest the establishment didn'tlike, same as they did with the January6 protestors.

AppealsCourt Rules That Cops Can Physically Make You Unlock Your Phone. As we keep more andmore personal data on our phones, iPhone and Android devices now have some of the most advancedencryption technology in existence to keep that information safe from prying eyes. Theeasiest way around that, of course, is for someone to gain access to your phone. This week, afederal court decided that police officers can make you unlock your phone, even by physicallyforcing you to press your thumb against it. In November2021, Jeremy Payne was pulledover by two California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers over his car's window tinting. Whenasked, Payne admitted that he was on parole, which the officers confirmed. After findingPayne's cellphone in the car, officers unlocked it by forcibly pressing his thumb against it as hesat handcuffed. (The officers claimed in their arrest report that Payne "reluctantly unlocked the cell phone" when asked, which Payne disputed; the government later accepted in court "thatdefendant's thumbprint was compelled.")

Keywords: arrogant, privileged, egomaniac, tyrant, loose cannon.
NastyFemale Cop From Washington Got Suspended After This TikTok Video. Officer BreannaStraus receives a suspension from work after posting a controversial video to TikTok. Straustold viewers, "I can go 90miles per hour. Youcan't." [Videoclip]

SanFrancisco Police Spent 193Hours Over 3Months Watching Private SurveillanceFootage. In 2022, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance thatwould allow the city's police department to access footage from private security cameras undercertain circ*mstances. A new city report sheds light on just how much the police have usedthe privilege. Between 2021 and 2022, news reports depicted a wave of "smash-and-grab" retailthefts across California. San Francisco Mayor London Breed complained that city policy didnot allow police to access security camera footage during emergency situations. "Where there weremultiple robbery crews hitting multiple stores, [police] couldn't even access those cameras, whichis ridiculous," Breed said in December2021. "There is a balance to be had, I know," shenoted. "But right now, if our officers cannot use cameras during a mass looting event, then thatpolicy is out of balance."

ThisAI Watches Millions Of Cars Daily And Tells Cops If You're Driving Like A Criminal.In March of 2022, David Zayas was driving down the Hutchinson River Parkway in Scarsdale. Hiscar, a gray Chevrolet, was entirely unremarkable, as was its speed. But to the WestchesterCounty Police Department, the car was cause for concern and Zayas a possible criminal; its powerfulnew AI tool had identified the vehicle's behavior as suspicious. Searching through a databaseof 1.6billion license plate records collected over the last two years from locations across NewYork State, the AI determined that Zayas' car was on a journey typical of a drug trafficker.According to a Department of Justice prosecutor filing, it made nine trips from Massachusetts todifferent parts of New York between October 2020 and August 2021 following routes known to be usedby narcotics pushers and for conspicuously short stays. So on March10 last year, WestchesterPD pulled him over and searched his car, finding 112 grams of crack cocaine, a semiautomatic pistoland $34,000 in cash inside, according to court documents. A year later, Zayas pleaded guiltyto a drug trafficking charge.

The Editor says...
If all they're doing to capturing drug dealers, few others will object to this system. But we've seen how this goes. The Patriot Act was supposed to be a tool to detect and thwart Islamic terrorist attacks, but now it's a tool for spying on political opponents. Don't give tools like this to the local cops without some oversight on the ways they use those tools.

SecretPolice in America. [Scrolldown] Now, take a real example from U.S.Federal law which is applicable here. Federal law prohibits propagating "hoaxes and falseinformation" but then exempts the FBI, intelligence community, and local police from such a law.(A separate U.S. government document on other laws clearly explains such wording in the law is a "lawenforcement exemption" and the Department of Justice uses nearly identical language in what itlabels as "exceptions for law enforcement activities" in a separate Federal law. Thus, onemight conclude that the law implies that "false information and hoaxes" may be propagated orenacted by entities like the FBI, local police, and secret police entities in America.) Reasonable Americans, then, might question reported crimes publicized in the media.Reasonable Americans also might question non-criminal occurrences published in the news as beingpotential intelligence community, FBI, or local police hoaxes. This is partially due to "lawenforcement" including "crime prevention," getting "potential criminals" or "potential threats""off the streets."

Mugged By The State? Did you know that a doctrine known as "qualified immunity" shieldslocal and state police from accountability? Federal cops enjoy an even broader, absoluteimmunity based on recent Supreme Court rulings that have eroded an earlier 1971 Supreme Courtdecision that allowed some lawsuits. Each of the federal circuit courts interprets prior highcourt rulings in its own way. In several cases, judges have shown common sense, allowingcitizens to find a remedy when a federal cop violates their rights. Still, the weight of thelaw favors the feds. Bizarre rulings in the Fifth and Eighth Circuits establish that, unlessa federal incident exactly mirrors the 1971 case of Webster Bivens— a man who washandcuffed, arrested, and later strip-searched by federal agents after a warrantless search of hishome— people whose rights are trampled by a federal officer have no remedy available to them.

ReadingBody Language: The New Phrenology? America has excellent (but not perfect) proceduresfor settling disputes among citizens in civil court and attributing guilt for crimes based onevidence arising from the actions of the offense. Yet, America always has an audience for thealternative— including non-investigative, alternative methods to detect lies andwithheld truths. Experts decipher the meanings of eye movements or gestures. Exoticdrugs called truth serums supposedly do "in vino veritas" one better. A machine that measuresbreathing, sweating and heart rate, is fitted onto the interviewee after a practice session andelaborate explication of the examiner's expertise and the machine's reliability. (If it's themachine detecting lies, why do examiners boast expertise? A microwave heats food whether thebutton is punched by Gordon Ramsay or a toddler). The American justice system requirespatience of participants and citizens[.] This virtue can be difficult for police wanting toreassure the community with a rapidly apprehended suspect.

PoliceGet a Green Light to Use Force Against Unarmed Individuals Who Have Already Surrendered orComplied. The U.S. Supreme Court has once again refused to hold police accountablefor using force on unarmed individuals who have already surrendered or complied with policeorders. Despite a series of high-profile incidents involving the use of unnecessary andexcessive force by police against unarmed individuals, the Court declined to narrow the scope ofqualified immunity granted to officers who assault non-violent suspects who have ceased to resistarrest. Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute and Cato Institute had filed a joint amicusbrief before the Supreme Court in Salazar v.Molina, challenging a lower court rulingthat essentially gives police a green light to punish and harm suspects solely based upon theirinitial nonviolent resistance or flight. The legal coalition warned that the ruling by theFifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which granted qualified immunity to a police officer who tased anon-violent suspect in the back after he lay down to surrender, undermines public safety bydiscouraging suspects from surrendering or complying with police commands.

Shouldthe Police Be Allowed to Draw Your Blood? In 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled inMitchell v. Wisconsin that the police don't need a search warrant to have medicalpersonnel draw the blood of an unconscious person suspected of DUI. This ruling significantlycomplicates life for emergency room doctors and nurses because if the patient is unconscious, theblood draw is legal, but if the patient is awake, verbal consent or a search warrant isrequired. Justices Alito, Thomas, Breyer, and Kavanaugh, along with Chief Justice Roberts,formed the majority opinion. Justice Thomas wrote that the evidence dissipates over time, andthus the states can invoke the "exigent circ*mstances doctrine" to allow for the exception toFourth Amendment protections because the suspect could become sober by the time he finally regainsconsciousness. However, the Court ruled only that police officers can ask medical personnelto draw blood without requiring a warrant. The ruling doesn't say anything about the policeofficers drawing the blood themselves.

Supreme Court Decides Suing the Feds is Mission: Impossible. The Supreme Court recently gave the cold shoulder toan American assaulted by a Border Patrol agent. No matter what party or ideology you ascribe to, this should set offalarm bells. Too often, conversations about U.S. border policy are swept up into culture war rhetoric and stick firmlyto partisan lines. This pattern plays directly into the hands of bureaucrats who wish to centralize power, shred theConstitution, and build an apparatus that can ultimately inflict more harm on American citizens than on those attempting tocross the border. The recent Supreme Court 6-3 ruling in Egbert v.Boule is yet another example of this, asit strikes a blow to U.S. citizens seeking recourse when federal agents behave badly. While law enforcement officialsdeserve recognition for choosing a job that can put their life on the line, it is also true that the vast majority ofAmericans favor recourse for citizens wronged when those officials are negligent in their duties to protect and serve.

NYPD Sued Over Illegal Collection And Storage Of Citizens' DNA. The NYPD's DNA database is comprised of anever-growing number of genetic profiles of thousands of innocent New Yorkers, including children, a lawsuit alleges.The Legal Aid Society, in a suit filed Monday [3/21/2022] in Manhattan Federal Court, is asking a judge to declareunconstitutional the "practice of secretly taking, analyzing and maintaining peoples' DNA in its suspect index." The publicdefenders group seeks an order the NYPD expunge those DNA files and records. There are 31,826 DNA profiles in thedatabase at last count, according to the suit. The database, which is maintained by the Office of the Chief MedicalExaminer, has been the subject of much debate the past few years.

Supreme Court Sees Nothing Wrong with Prolonged, Warrantless Spying of One's Home by Police Using Hidden Cameras. TheU.S. Supreme Court has refused to stop police from using hidden cameras to secretly and warrantlessly record and monitor aperson's activities outside their home over an extended period of time. In refusing to hear an appeal in Travis Tugglev.U.S., the Supreme Court left in place a lower court ruling which concluded that no "search" in violation of theFourth Amendment had occurred because the private activity recorded by the hidden surveillance cameras took place in publicview. The Rutherford Institute and the Cato Institute had filed an amicus brief in Tuggle warning that without adequatesafeguards in place, there would be no turning back from the kinds of intrusions posed by such expansive, ever-watchingsurveillance technology capable of revealing intimate details of a person's life.

Use of rape-kit DNA to probe other crimes shocks prosecutors. The San Francisco district attorney's stunning claimthat California crime labs are using DNA from sexual assault survivors to investigate unrelated crimes shocked prosecutorsnationwide, and advocates said the practice could affect victims' willingness to come forward. District Attorney ChesaBoudin said he became aware of the "opaque practice" last week after prosecutors found a report among hundreds of pages ofevidence in the case against a woman recently charged with a felony property crime. The papers referred to a DNA samplecollected from the woman during a 2016 rape investigation.

Meet the Capitol Police's New Spy Chief. When most Americans hear the term "Capitol Police," they likely conjure visionsof uniformed officers manning metal detectors at the numerous congressional buildings or helping tourists navigate thesprawling Capitol grounds: a D.C. version of a mall cop. That imagery, however, is in stark contrast to reality asDemocrats have weaponized yet another federal agency to target their political enemies on the Right. After January6,2021, Capitol Police officials announced plans to expand beyond the legislatively authorized purview of the agency and openoffices in Florida and California, as well as in other states. Congress overwhelmingly supported a bill last year tofork over $2.1billion in new funding to the Capitol Police. Now flush with cash and immune from any serious publicoversight, the agency is returning the favor by spying on dissidents of the Biden regime. According to Politico,Capitol Police investigators are preparing secret dossiers on lawmakers, congressional staff, donors, and even constituentswho visit their representatives in public or in private.

The Empire of Lies Breaks Down: Ugly Truths the Deep State Wants to Keep Hidden. [#6] More than terrorism,more than domestic extremism, more than gun violence and organized crime, the U.S. government has become a greater menace tothe life, liberty and property of its citizens than any of the so-called dangers from which the government claims to protectus[.] [#10]You nolonger have to be poor, black or guilty to be treated like a criminal in America.All that is required is that you belong to the suspect class— that is, the citizenry— of the Americanpolice state. As a defacto member of this so-called criminal class, every U.S. citizen is now guilty untilproven innocent. [#12]Private property means nothing if the government can take your home, car or money under theflimsiest of pretexts, whether it be asset forfeiture schemes, eminent domain or overdue property taxes. Likewise,private property means little at a time when SWAT teams and other government agents can invade your home, break down yourdoors, kill your dog, wound or kill you, damage your furnishings and terrorize your family. [#14]All of thosefreedoms we cherish— the ones enshrined in the Constitution, the ones that affirm our right to free speech andassembly, due process, privacy, bodily integrity, the right to not have police seize our property without a warrant, orsearch and detain us without probable cause— amount to nothing when the government and its agents are allowed todisregard those prohibitions on government overreach at will. [#16]Our freedoms— especially theFourth Amendment— continue to be choked out by a prevailing view among government bureaucrats that they have theright to search, seize, strip, scan, spy on, probe, pat down, taser, and arrest any individual at any time and for theslightest provocation.

Blindly Defending Police Officers Is Not Conservative, It Is Authoritarian. For people claiming to cherish the idea oflimited government as a foundational principle of their beliefs, many who call themselves conservatives don't seem to applythat principle in situations involving malfeasance committed by police officers. Over the past few decades, theconservative movement has developed a rather odd habit when dealing with corrupt law enforcement officials. At somepoint, too many on the right became something closer to right-wing authoritarians rather than actual conservatives.Whenever footage of a violent encounter with police becomes a national story, this authoritarian streak presents itself whenright-leaning influencers employ a messaging strategy designed to protect the officer involved. [...] One can see this inaction with the shooting of Daunte Wright. One did not need a crystal ball to predict how the authoritarian right wouldreact to this story. As with other cases, the first step was to defend Potter, who recently resigned and is facing asecond-degree manslaughter charge. In this case, it wasn't easy to defend the officer, but at least two right-leaningcommentators argued that she should not be punished for her actions.

Georgia Becomes The First State To Allow Police To Sue People For Harassment. Police across the country are so upset bypublic harassment that one state will allow cops to sue people who they perceive as harassing them. CBS46 describedGeorgia's new 'police protection law' as giving police more rights.

Mississippi Cops Can Now Use Your Ring Doorbell Camera To Live Stream Your Neighborhood. The Jackson, Mississippi policedepartment is piloting a 45day program that allows them to live stream private security cameras, including Amazon Ringcameras, at the residences of its citizens. It's no surprise that Amazon's Ring cameras were the only brand named forthe pilot program, as EFF pointed out, since they have over 1,000 partnerships with local police departments. Theprogram allows Ring owners to patch their camera streams to a "Real Time Crime Center" - i.e. a dispatcher on desk duty whosenew favorite way of passing the time is to watch you bring out your garbage twice a week in a bathrobe.

ProtestAlso Against Police Unions and Qualified Immunity. [Scroll down] I encourage you to listen to Juliette[Sellgren]'s entire discussion with [Clark] Neily. You'll learn much— including, especially, just howfrighteningly dysfunctional is the legal doctrine of "qualified immunity" for police officers. This doctrine wascreated by the U.S. Supreme Court, according to Neily, "out of whole cloth." It effectively shields government officials,including on-duty police officers, from being held legally liable for whatever damages they have caused by violating aperson's civil rights. This near-complete immunity from civil suits greatly lessens the incentives that would otherwiseencourage police officers to act with common decency. When combined with the abominable role of police unions, alongwith some other defective institutions, police-officers' incentives to behave decently shrivel to gossamer weightlessness.

Connecticutpolice to test 'pandemic drone' that monitors health of residents. Police in Westport, Conn., said they will betesting a "pandemic drone" that can scan the body temperatures of residents to determine if they have fevers or other healthsymptoms in an effort to combat the coronavirus. Aerospace company Draganfly announced in a news release the droneswill be equipped with a specialized sensor and computer vision systems that can display heart and respiratory rates.They can also detect people coughing in crowds, police said.

AuthoritarianOverreach Is Unnecessary to Fight the Pandemic. "An overreach by our police officers." Yeah, I'll say. "Overreach" was the concession that the police department in Brighton, Colo., grudgingly offered regarding their arrest of Matt Mooney, a 33-year-old former state trooper. Mooney was handcuffed in front of his six-year-old daughter. His "crime"?Playing tee-ball with her on an empty field. Cops on the scene capriciously decided that this transgressed the state's social-distancing restrictions. The incident would be madness under any circ*mstances. But it wasn't even true as alleged. Under the rules— which are executive edicts, not criminal laws enacted by the people's legislative representatives— the fine print said the park was not closed to groups of fewer than five. Mooney, his wife, and their toddler were social distancing. Indeed, they were farther apart on the empty softball field than at home. [...] The state is really sorry. And its officials would love to tell us more but, you see, an internal investigation is underway so they can't be expected to comment— just to shelter in place, hoping this lunacy slides down the memory hole but quick. And who's to say itwon't?

Because all violent crime is completely under control...
ChicagoPolice to Conduct 'Roadside Safety Checks' to Educate Public About 'Stay-at-Home' Order. Chicago policeofficers will conduct roadside safety and informational check points in each police district to provide information tomotorists about the state of Illinois' ongoing "stay-at-home" order. According to police, the checkpoints will takeplace beginning Tuesday night at 10p.m. The checkpoints will last approximately 45 minutes each night, and could takeplace between 10p.m. and 2a.m. The checkpoints will also be deployed on Wednesday and Thursday nights, according to the department.

The Editor says...
The police are always on the lookout for an excuse to stop passing motorists, look for drugs andweapons, check the expiration date on your inspection sticker and your license, and sniff around for alcohol and marijuana. The current virus hysteria is merely a convenient justification to suspend the Fourth Amendment. After all, what are you going to do aboutit?

TennesseeSupreme Court Allows Police to Carry Out Warrantless, Suspicionless Searches of Probationers' Homes, Undermining FourthAmendment. Pushing back against government efforts to chip away at the privacy and security guaranteed by theFourth Amendment, The Rutherford Institute has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a state court decision allowing policeto search the homes of probationers without any suspicion or justification. In an amicus brief filed in Hamm v.State of Tennessee, Institute attorneys have asked the Court to overturn a Tennessee court's ruling that police have carteblanche to search the residence of probationers, arguing that it violates the Fourth Amendment's overriding purpose toprotect the sanctity and security of a person's home.

If You've Given Your Genetic Code To A DNA Database, US Police May Now Have Access To It. GEDmatch lets usersupload their raw genetic data, obtained from companies such as Ancestry or 23andMe, to be matched with relatives who havealso uploaded their data. Law enforcement's capacity to use GEDmatch to solve crimes became prominent in April lastyear, when it was used to solve the Golden State Killer case. After this raised significant public concern aroundprivacy issues, GEDmatch updated its terms and conditions in May. Under the new terms, law enforcement agencies canonly access user data in cases where users have consented to use by law enforcement, with only 185,000 people opting in sofar. The terms of the warrant granted in Florida, however, allowed access to the full database— including individualswho had not opted in. This directly overrides explicit user consent.

DOJallowing foreign police to see your private data. A privacy organization is lobbying Congress to stop an agreement thatwill allow police in the United Kingdom to access the online private information of Americans without a search warrant. TheElectronic Frontier Foundation has posted an extensive report on the new law enforcement deal between the U.S. and the U.K. underthe CLOUD Act, which was signed into law by President Trump in 2018.

Your DNA Profile is Private? A Florida Judge Just Said Otherwise. For police officers around the country, thegenetic profiles that 20million people have uploaded to consumer DNA sites represent a tantalizing resource that could beused to solve cases both new and cold. But for years, the vast majority of the data have been off limits to investigators. The two largest sites, Ancestry.com and 23andMe, have long pledged to keep their users' genetic information private, and a smaller one, GEDmatch, severely restricted police access to its records this year.

The DNA database used to find the Golden State Killer isa national security leak waiting to happen. A private DNA ancestry database that's been used by police to catchcriminals is a security risk from which a nation-state could steal DNA data on a million Americans, according to securityresearchers. Security flaws in the service, called GEDmatch, not only risk exposing people's genetic health informationbut could let an adversary such as China or Russia create a powerful biometric database able to identify nearly any Americanfrom a DNA sample. GEDMatch, which crowdsources DNA profiles, was created by genealogy enthusiasts to let people searchfor relatives and is run entirely by volunteers. It shows how a trend toward sharing DNA data online can create privacyrisks affecting everyone, even people who don't choose to share their own information.

Florida Police Using FINDER System to Create Lists of Gun Owners. Pawnbrokers are required to enter information onfirearms transactions into the FINDER system. The system transmits the serial number of the firearm along with the makeand model to the local sheriffs' department to make sure that the person pawning the gun, did not stealit. A bug in the system also transmitted the names and addresses of the transfers to local law enforcement. The Charlotte CountySheriff's Department used the information to create a list of gun owners.

Blank Check Policing: Cops Stop Cars Registered to Unlicensed Owners, Whether or Not Owners Are Behind the Wheel. The Rutherford Institute is challenging the police practice of stopping cars registered to unlicensed owners, whether or not the owners are behind the wheel (such vehicles are often driven by licensed family members and friends) and in the absence of specific wrongdoing. In an amicus curiae brief filed with the Supreme Court in State of Kansas v.Glover, Rutherford Institute attorneys argue that allowing police to stop a vehicle anytime the registered owner is unlicensed gives police too much leeway to violate the standards established by the Fourth Amendment requiring particularized and articulable evidence that the specific individual being stopped has, is, or soon will be engaged in unlawful conduct.

When Does the Deep State Morph into the Police State in Our Country? The East German state police agency, the Stasi,was granted virtually unlimited power to monitor and spy on the lives of their citizens with the objective of maintainingabsolute control over all aspects of the personal and professional lives of its people. The Stasi was renowned forbeing highly proficient and effective in its ability to subjugate East Germany's citizens. This movie is a warning toAmericans about the dire consequences of increasing the powers of the state.

SupremeCourt: Police Can Forcibly & Warrantlessly Carry Out Blood Draws On Unconscious Drivers. In a ruling thatgives police greater leeway to violate the Fourth Amendment rights of anyone driving on a public road, the U.S. Supreme Courthas ruled that police may forcibly and warrantlessly carry out blood draws on unconscious drivers suspected of drunkdriving. The Court's 5-4 decision in Mitchell v.State of Wisconsin found that an unconscious driversuspected of driving under the influence of alcohol constitutes an emergency situation that allows police to ignore theFourth Amendment's warrant requirement and draw blood from that suspect without consent or a warrant, regardless of whetherthere is an opportunity to obtain a warrant.

Howmunicipalities in St.Louis County, Mo., profit from poverty. [Scroll down] Some of the towns inSt.Louis County can derive 40percent or more of their annual revenue from the petty fines and fees collected by theirmunicipal courts. A majority of these fines are for traffic offenses, but they can also include fines for fare-hoppingon MetroLink (St.Louis's light rail system), loud music and other noise ordinance violations, zoning violations foruncut grass or unkempt property, violations of occupancy permit restrictions, trespassing, wearing "saggy pants," businesslicense violations and vague infractions such as "disturbing the peace" or "affray" that give police officers a great deal ofdiscretion to look for other violations.

Police Facial Recognition Systems Have Registered Over 117 Million Americans. Massive nationwide study in 2006 revealsthat thirty-six percent of Americans are in a facial recognition database, and the number is growing rapidly. Lawenforcement is mostly unregulated and agencies are free to drift toward a police state reality.

SupremeCourt hears DUI case in which blood was ordered drawn from unconscious driver without a warrant. A WisconsinDUI case in which police officers ordered the blood of an unconscious man be drawn for evidence without first getting awarrant was heard by the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday [4/23/2019]. Prosecutors argued that drawing the blood ofunconscious drivers helps convict those who kill thousands of people a year in alcohol-related car accidents, the MilwaukeeJournal Sentinel reported. They said the process of getting a warrant is too inconvenient and that Wisconsin's impliedconsent law does not require officers to get a warrant before drawing the blood of those suspected of driving whileintoxicated, including individuals who are unconscious at the time.

Police Sicceda Dog on a Surrendering Man. Will the Supreme Court Review the Doctrine That Gave Them Immunity? When twoNashville police officers responded to a home burglary report in 2014, they found Alexander Baxter hiding in a basem*nt.Baxter put his hands in the air. Nevertheless, the police unleashed a K-9 unit, which bit Baxter under his armpit.Baxter sued the officers for excessive force, but in 2018 the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that, whether or not Baxter'srights were violated, the officers were immune from his lawsuit. It wasn't clearly established, the court said, thatusing a police dog to apprehend him while his hands were raised was unconstitutional. The decision hinged on a notoriousdoctrine, known as "qualified immunity," that protects police from lawsuits when reasonable officers wouldn't know they werecommitting a constitutional violation. Now the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is asking the Supreme Court toreconsider not just Baxter's case but the entire doctrine of qualified immunity, which has faced a growing bipartisan chorusof criticism.

Youmay soon have to give your DNA to the state and pay $250 for the privilege. Arizona could soon be one of thefirst states to maintain a massive statewide DNA database. And if the proposed legislation passes, many people—from parent school volunteers and teachers to real estate agents and foster parents— will have no choice but togiveup their DNA. Under Senate Bill 1475, which Sen.David Livingston, R-Peoria, introduced, DNA must becollected from anyone who has to be fingerprinted by the state for a job, to volunteer in certain positions or for a myriadof other reasons.

Coming Soon to a Police Station Near You: The DNA 'Magic Box'. They call it the "magic box." Its trick is speedy,nearly automated processing of DNA. "It's groundbreaking to have it in the police department," said Detective GlennVandegrift of the Bensalem Police Department. "If we can do it, any department in the country can doit."

UncleSam Wants Your DNA: The FBI's Diabolical Plan To Create A Nation Of Suspects. Actually, if the government getsits hands on your DNA, they as good as have you in their clutches. Get ready, folks, because the government—helped along by Congress (which adopted legislation allowing police to collect and test DNA immediately following arrests),President Trump (who signed the Rapid DNA Act into law), the courts (which have ruled that police can routinely take DNA samplesfrom people who are arrested but not yet convicted of a crime), and local police agencies (which are chomping at the bit toacquire this new crime-fighting gadget)— is embarking on a diabolical campaign to create a nation of suspectspredicated on a massive national DNA database.

Twenty Things YouProbably Didn't Know about Kamala Harris. [#2] Harris strongly supports "familial DNA searching," inwhich police takeDNA samples from crime scenes and compare them to existing databases to look for not just any direct matches in criminal databases, butany familial matches. Police have gradually expanded the practice's reach, from checking DNA collected against existingsamples of convicted criminals to checking them against samples in the databases of genealogy web sites and genetic-testing companieslike 23andMe and Ancestry.com. California allows the collection and preservation of DNA samples from anyone who is arrested,even if they're not charged with a crime.

Police Want the Ability to Control Self-Driving Cars. It seems the number of perplexing regulatory questions relatingto self-driving cars are piling up as fast as automakers can create workable prototypes. So will we have it all settledby the time these autonomous vehicles are "street-ready?" A new report suggests— maybe not. Reutersrecently covered a 39-page summary of a March meeting amongst regulatory stakeholders, including the federal DOT and severalindustry groups, where they settled on a fairly scary thesis: that the question is not IF but WHEN a massive cyberattacktargeting autonomous vehicles would occur, and that it was imperative to spend time now in preparation.

Incrementalism:
Scientistscall for lowering drunk driving threshold. Most women would need to draw the line at two drinks, and men at twoor three if states follow a blueprint by a prestigious scientific panel for eliminating the "entirely preventable" 10,000alcohol-impaired driving deaths in the United States each year.

The Editor says...
Laws are tightened a little at a time— for the children! usually— to give the police more power, to bring in more fines, and to make crimes out of things that are not crimes.

Don't Register Anything. [Scroll down] Actually, entering your information into a medical marijuana registry can put a red flag next to yourname in so many ways. Colorado marijuana patients have been surprised during traffic stops to discover that cops knewthey were registered users. Cops are supposed to have access to the registry only under limited circ*mstances, but thedata has obviously been shared more widely than many people envisioned.

What Country Is This? Forced Blood Draws, Cavity Searches and Colonoscopies. Forced cavity searches, forcedcolonoscopies, forced blood draws, forced breath-alcohol tests, forced DNA extractions, forced eye scans, forced inclusion inbiometric databases: these are just a few ways in which Americans are being forced to accept that we have no control over our bodies, our lives and our property, especially when it comes to interactions with the government. Worse, on a dailybasis, Americans are being made to relinquish the most intimate details of who we are— our biological makeup, ourgenetic blueprints, and our biometrics (facial characteristics and structure, fingerprints, iris scans, etc.)— inorder to clear the nearly insurmountable hurdle that increasingly defines life in the United States: we are now guiltyuntil proven innocent.

How the Supreme Court Came to Embrace Strip Searches for Trivial Offenses. The Fourth Amendment was designed tostand between us and arbitrary governmental authority. For all practical purposes, that shield has been shattered,leaving our liberty and personal integrity subject to the whim of every cop on the beat, trooper on the highway and jailofficial. The framers would be appalled.

How California police are tracking your biometric data in the field. EFF and MuckRock teamed up in August to revealhow state and local law enforcement agencies are using mobile biometric technology in the field by filing public recordsrequests around the country. With the help of members of the public who nominated jurisdictions for investigation, wehave now obtained thousands of pages of documents from more than 30 agencies. Because of the volume of records we'vereceived sofar— docs continue to flow in faster than EFF and MuckRock's teams can read through them— we're starting with California. Nine of the agencies have responded to our requests with documents, while many more claimed they didn't have any records. Of those that did respond, most employed a digital fingerprinting device. Facial recognitionhas also been widely embraced among agencies in San Diego County, with Santa Clara County law enforcement agencies close behind.

GA CopsArresting Innocent SOBER People For DUI? Katelyn Ebner is one such victim who spent a night in jail and monthsfighting DUI charges, all because of what one attorney accurately calls police "guesswork." Georgia law enforcement officersare now given the amazing power of arresting people on the "suspicion" they're under some type of influence. You heardright. That means no breathalyzer or blood test. Just an certifiable "expert" law enforcement officer deciding heor she can know more than the processes that science has already proven it can do— with 99.9% accuracy.

Washington'sDUI-E Law Now Makes It Illegal to Text, Smoke and Even Eat While Driving. The charge of "driving under theinfluence" used to only apply to drivers who were under the influence of drugs or alcohol— but it will now applyto drivers who text, eat, smoke, read or groom while driving in the state of Washington. The implementation of theDriving Under the Influence of Electronics Act was expedited from January 2019 to July23 after Washington Governor JayInslee signed a partial-veto, and insisted that "public safety is better served by implementing this bill this year."

AppealsCourt Says Right To Bear Arms Isn't A Right If Cops Are Banging On Your Door In The Middle Of The Night.Qualified immunity— a legal doctrine that originates from court decisions rather than statute—received another boost from the federal court system last week. Qualified immunity is the concept that allowsoverreaching and abusive government employees and officials to stay one step ahead of accountability. If their actionsdon't "clearly violate" established law and/or precedent, police officers, etc. can walk away unscathed from deprivations ofother people's life and liberty.

Cops Given Pass For Shooting Innocent Man In His Own Home. At issue in this case isn't whether these shootings bycop will continue in the future. They will, and this case just makes that more likely, but judges should not bedeciding cases based on their social import. In other words, there is an objective standard against which their actionsshould be judged in this particular case, and that doesn't change one iota based on what may or may not happen in thefuture. Judges aren't social workers, soothsayers or witchdoctors— or at least, they shouldn't be.

Cops given pass for shooting innocent man in his own apartment. There was no warrant and no reason to suspect theapartment resident in Lake County, Florida, of a crime. But police officers who said they were investigating a speedingmotorcyclist, to which the man had no links, pounded on the door at 1:30 in the morning. When Andrew Scott, 26,answered the door, carrying a weapon for defense because of the vigorous knocking at an unlikely hour, an officer shot andkilled him. Now, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has given the officer a pass for the killing, prompting anoutraged dissent from four justices on the panel.

HowCalifornia police are tracking your biometric data in the field. [Scroll down] Nine of the agencies haveresponded to our requests with documents, while many more claimed they didn't have any records. Of those that didrespond, most employed a digital fingerprinting device. Facial recognition has also been widely embraced among agenciesin San Diego County, with Santa Clara County law enforcement agencies close behind. In addition, In addition, the LosAngeles Sheriff's Department's biometrics system includes tattoo recognition, while the Orange County Sheriff's Department isalso investigating iris recognition.

Bostonpolice pause plans for $1.4-million social media surveillance program. The Boston Police Department on Friday [1/13/2017]announced it was putting a hold on its plans to purchase $1.4million worth of social media surveillance software, signaling a win forcivil liberties activists who said the program was poised to chill free speech and hindered other constitutionally-protected activity.Local law enforcement had sought social media analytic technology capable of scouring the internet for potential threats, including theability to monitor platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube in real time for any data of interest to investigators,according to an Oct. 2016 request for proposals.

Police Use Surveillance Tool to Scan Social Media. A Chicago company has marketed a tool using text, photos and videosgleaned from major social media companies to aid law enforcement surveillance of protesters, civil liberties activistssay. The company, called Geofeedia, used data from Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, as well as nine other social medianetworks, to let users search for social media content in a specific location, as opposed to searching by words or hashtagsthat would be less likely to reveal an exact location. Geofeedia marketed its abilities to law enforcement agencies andhas signedup more than 500 such clients, according to an email obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union.

LocalPolice Using CIA-funded Software to Track All Citizens' Social Media Posts. Stories from across the country have revealed that severallocal law enforcement agencies— in Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Oakland among others— and corporations— theMall of America and McDonald's— have purchased surveillance software from a company called Geofeedia. The program will inform policeof the physical location from which you made your last social media post. It will provide the content of your posts, too. Twitter, Instagram,and Facebook are all included in the surveillance sweep, and all the updates posted to any one of these popular services will be uploaded to one singledatabase available all day, every day, to police. Geofeedia's pamphlet promoting the service touts their intelligence platform's ability to provide"targeted surveillance" and "perpetual monitoring" of social media posts. Literature produced by Geofeedia also promotes its software's ability totrack large crowds, including "protests," athletic events, and natural disasters.

Policeuse TEN different types of checkpoints, with more on the way. Police and the Border Patrol are using 'generalcrime control checkpoints' to harass and detain motorists across the country. [...] Sixteen years ago, the Supreme Court heldthat checkpoints established for general crime control purposes are unconstitutional. So why are police and the BorderPatrol stopping innocent motorists? DHS admits DUI checkpoints are REALLY about checking a person's immigration status.

Watched. Police forcesacross the United States are stockpiling massive databases with personal information from millions of Americans who crossedpaths with officers but were not charged with a crime. A person can end up in one of these databases by doing nothingmore than sitting on a public park bench or chatting with an officer on the street. Once there, these records canlinger forever and be used by police agencies to track movements, habits, acquaintances and associations— even aperson's marital and job status, The Post and Courier found in an investigation of police practices around the nation.What began as a method for linking suspicious behavior to crime has morphed into a practice that threatens to turn localpolice departments into miniature versions of the National Security Agency. In the process, critics contend, policerisk trampling constitutional rights, tarnishing innocent people and further eroding public trust.

'Pre-Search' Is Comingto U.S. Policing. News that the city of Baltimore has been under surreptitious, mass-scale camera surveillancewill have ramifications across the criminal justice world. When it comes to constitutional criminal procedure, privacy,and the Fourth Amendment, it's time to get ready for the concept of "pre-search." [...] Since January, police in Baltimorehave been testing an aerial surveillance system developed for military use in Iraq. The system records visible activityacross an area as wide as thirty square miles for as much as ten hours at a time. Police can use it to work backwardfrom an event, watching the comings and goings of people and cars to develop leads about who was involved. [...] But thetechnology collects images of everyone and everything. From people in their backyards to anyone going from home to work,to the psychologist's or marriage counselor's office, to meetings with lawyers or advocacy groups, and to public protests.

SupremeCourt OKs warrant-less breathalyzer tests in drunk driving arrests. The Supreme Court on Thursday [6/23/2016]issued a split ruling on a trio of drunk driving cases, deciding that while law enforcement may require a breathalyzer forsuspected drunk drivers without a warrant after an arrest, a warrant is required for a blood test in the same circ*mstances.The consolidated cases, referred to as Birchfield v. North Dakota, came from three separate drunk driving arrestswhere the men arrested were prosecuted or threatened with prosecution for refusing a blood or breath test.

The Editor says...
The Fifth Amendment of the Constitution clearly states that "No person [...] shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself."

Supreme Court gives police more power to stop and question people. The Supreme Court on Monday [6/20/2016] gave policemore power to stop people on the streets and question them, even when it is not clear they have done anything wrong. Ina 5-3ruling, the justices relaxed the so-called exclusionary rule and upheld the use of drug evidence found on a Utah manwho was stopped illegally by a police officer in Salt Lake City. The court, in an opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas,said that because the man had an outstanding arrest warrant for a traffic violation, the illegal stop could be ignored.

Opposing viewpoint:
The Fourth Amendment wasn't created to protect the guilty. The Libertarians are up in arms over yet another SupremeCourt decision this week which involves the question of when police are allowed to use evidence of a crime in the prosecutionof a suspect. In a five to three ruling which crossed the normal ideological battle lines of the SCOTUS justices, thecourt found in the case of Utah v. Strieff that evidence of a crime discovered during a traffic stop could be used ifthe suspect has an outstanding warrant for an unrelated offense. [...] The protests against this decision are simply makingmy head spin.

Oklahoma governor suspends use of controversial card readers. Oklahoma state police have suspended a program that usesscanner technology to detect counterfeit credit cards amid growing concerns that it could allow cops to empty the bankaccounts of law-abiding citizens. The decision was ordered by Gov.Mary Fallin hours after FoxNews.com publisheda report Friday about concerns that the scanners could make civil forfeiture too easy. "The Department of Public Safetyneeds to formulate a clear policy for using this new technology," said Fallin. "It can be a viable tool for lawenforcement only if authorities are able to ensure Oklahoma motorists and others driving through our state that it will be used appropriately."

Pot breathalyzers and saliva tests:
Police ask motorists to "volunteer" to submit to drug tests. Just when you think you've seen it all, police stateAmerica invents a new way to destroy our rights. Two years have passed since, police were forced to stop using'voluntary' DNA checkpoints across the country. [...] Since January of this year, the Colorado State Police has beenpilot-testing drug saliva kits for private corporations! Colorado troopers have been using five different untested drugsaliva test kits on suspected drugged drivers. There are currently only a handful of manufacturers making saliva testkits and the state police are pilot-testing them all on motorists.

Indiana High Court Rules People Cannot Resist Illegal Entry by Police Into Homes. People have no right to resist if police officers illegally enter their home, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled in a decision that overturns centuries of common law.

Droneowners are warned that their aircraft will be SHOT DOWN if they fly within 32 miles of the Super Bowl. Droneowners have been warned to leave their aircraft at home during the Super Bowl. The FAA has released a statement insistingany unmanned planes flying within 32 miles of Levis Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on Sunday [2/7/2016] will be shot down.The government agency produced a 20-second video that tells people to bring their lucky jerseys, face paint and team spirit to thegame— but leave the gadgets as it is a 'No Drone Zone'.

The Editor says...
I suppose they've got to draw the line somewhere, but... 32 miles? Why not 132 miles?Most battery-powered drones are barely able to lift a TV camera. How much damage could such a device possibly do? If the cops shootdown adrone someplace just inside the 32-mile radius, isn't that (falling debris) a threat to public safety? Does that not deprive the drone's owner of his property without due process?

The Editor continues...
The earlier version of my commentary above had said "36 miles" instead of 32. I have corrected the error andmade the necessary stealth-edits -- eight years after I should have.

TheFAA says it will shoot down your drone if you fly within 36 miles of the Super Bowl. The Federal Aviation Administration is taking a toughstance on drones at the Super Bowl this year: bring them, and we'll shoot them down. The "no-drone-zone" spans much further than just thestadium itself too, extending out 36miles from Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The no-fly zone encompasses nearly all of SanFrancisco to the north and west, Santa Cruz, Morgan Hill and Gilroy to the south, and San Jose and Pleasanton to the north and east.

The new way police are surveilling you: Calculating your threat 'score'. As a national debate has played out overmass surveillance by the National Security Agency, a new generation of technology such as the Beware software being used inFresno has given local law enforcement officers unprecedented power to peer into the lives of citizens. Police officialssay such tools can provide critical information that can help uncover terrorists or thwart mass shootings, ensure the safetyof officers and the public, find suspects, and crack open cases. [...] But the powerful systems also have become flash pointsfor civil libertarians and activists, who say they represent a troubling intrusion on privacy, have been deployed with littlepublic oversight and have potential for abuse or error.

Supreme Court says police officers can be ignorant about the law, but you and I can't. Theprotests sweeping across the country in the wake of Ferguson, Mo., and the death of Eric Garner weresparked, in part, by the notion that police can get away with things no other person can. OnMonday [12/15/2014], the Supreme Court added fuel to the fire when it ruled, for the first time,that police are allowed to make "mistakes of law" during the course of enforcing the law. If that doesn't make much sense, you've gotten a taste of how the Supreme Court works.

Gun owners fear Maryland cops target them for traffic stops. A year ago this New Year'sEve, John Filippidis of Florida was driving south with his family on Interstate 95 when the MarylandTransportation Authority Police pulled over his black Ford Expedition and proceeded to raid it whilehis twins, wife and daughter looked on— separated in the back seats of different policecruisers. The officers were searching for Mr. Filippidis' Florida-licensed, palm-size Kel-Tec .38semi-automatic handgun, which he left at home locked in his safe.

Supreme Court Erodes Key Check On Government Power. Briefly, the facts in Heien v. North Carolina are that a North Carolinapolice officer pulled over Nicholas Heien because one of his car's brake lights was out. The state'slaw requires only one light to be working, so the stop was based on a mistake of law. After Heienwas pulled over, he gave consent for the officer to search his car. The officer found cocaine in thecar, then placed Heien under arrest. Heien later claimed the initial stop was not legal under theFourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The Supreme Court ruled that the mistake for the initialstop, which was a seizure under the Fourth Amendment, was reasonable and therefore lawful.

Residents criticize roadblocks in search for Pennsylvania ambush suspect. Last week, troopersissued a "shelter-in-place" order that kept some residents from leaving their houses for more than aday; those who weren't already at home could not go back. Residents contend the directive leftelderly relatives unattended and pets unfed, and resulted in lost wages for workers who couldn'tleave their houses. The American Red Cross opened a shelter for displaced residents from twotownships late Monday [9/22/2014].

Suspect in Pennsylvania trooper slaying planned for months, police say. "Based on our investigations, we knowFrein has prepared and planned extensively for months or maybe years," State Police Lt. Col. GeorgeBivens said Sunday [9/21/2014]. He planned his attack and retreat. However, we believe we are closing in on him." [...] Frein is on the run and possibly armed, but there is no indication that he is a danger to anyone other than law enforcement, Bivens said.

The Editor says...
If the suspect at large is no danger "to anyone other than law enforcement," why are the neighborhood residents being kept out of their own homes?

An Open Letter To My Friends In Law Enforcement. Let me just be blunt: ever since Ronald Reagan left office, both Republican and Democrat presidential administrations— along with both Republican and Democrat congresses— in Washington, D.C. are turning the United States of America into a giant Police State. [...] The totalitarian regimes of history could not have succeeded in implementing their enslavements over the people without the submission and cooperation of the citizen-policemen within their countries. Nor can a Police State be constructed in America without your submission and cooperation. My concern is, the Police State is already being constructed in this country; and most of you don't seem to even realize it— or don't want to realize it. In fact, some of you become angry with people like me when we try to warn the American people about it. This shows that you have already become acclimated and accepting of it. Here is the problem: in today's America, virtually every police agency and sheriff's office is being dictated to, intimidated by, and bribed by the federal government. Much of the policies you operate under— and training you receive— comes straight out of the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Justice Department.

America's expanding police state. Keep in mind, people in the political class constantly reveal their contempt for regular citizens. That contempt is the inevitable result of a group of people who have convinced themselves that big government is necessary because the little people can't control their own lives. These same politicians and bureaucrats then begin to see themselves a genuinely better than everyone else. After all, if they were just like us, then they'd be part of the rabble, and they can't have that. The solution to their dilemma is a police state.

Supreme Court: Pennsylvania cops no longer need a warrant to search citizens' vehicles. Pennsylvania police officers no longer need a warrant to search a citizen's vehicle, according to a recent state Supreme Court opinion. The high court's opinion, released Tuesday [4/29/2014], is being called a drastic change in citizens' rights and police powers. Previously, citizens could refuse an officer's request to search a vehicle. In most cases, the officer would then need a warrant— signed by a judge— to conduct the search. That's no longer the case, according to the opinion written by Supreme Court Justice Seamus McCaffery. The ruling, passed on a 4-2 vote, was made in regard to an appeal from a 2010 vehicle stop in Philadelphia.

Checkpoint Charlie:
Police halt Montgomery County commuters on I-270 to hunt for bank robbery suspects.Police arrested three bank robbery suspects in Montgomery County on Tuesday after officers set up a roadblock on Interstate270 and walked car to car with pistols, shotguns and semiautomatic rifles drawn. The rapid show of force stunned late-morning commuters butallowed officers to nab the trio 44minutes after the robbery. "I guess it turned out well, so it's hard to argue with success," said Don Troop, who was heading to the District when traffic came to halt. A group of officers made its way to his car and other cars around him. "They were just walking along saying: 'Pop the trunk! Pop the trunk!'"

Horror: Police force man to undergo invasive anal operation. When New Mexico police stopped a local driver for committing a minor moving violation, they decided to check whether he was carrying drugs in his anus. So they procured a warrant, drove him to two different hospitals, forced him to endure eight medical procedures— including an invasive colonoscopy— and stuck him with the bill. No drugs were found.

The Drift toward Despotism.David Eckert was pulled over by police in Deming, N.M., for failing to come to a complete halt at a stop sign in the Walmart parking lot.He was asked to step out of the vehicle, and waited on the sidewalk. Officers decided that they didn't like the tight clench of his buttocks, a subject on which New Mexico's constabulary is apparently expert, and determined that it was because he had illegal drugs secreted therein.

Supreme Court appears to support a warrantless police search. In a case that could narrow legal protections against police searches, a majority of Supreme Court justices sounded ready Wednesday [11/13/2013] to reject an appeal from an imprisoned Los Angeles gang member who contended that after he objected to a search and was then taken away under arrest, police unconstitutionally entered his apartment. Justices appeared to agree with attorneys for the Los Angeles Police Department, who defended the search as legal because the gang member, Walter Fernandez, was not present and his girlfriend gave police permission to enter their home.

E-ZPasses Get Read All Over New York— Not Just At Toll Booths. After spotting a police car with two huge boxes on its trunk—that turned out to be license-plate-reading cameras— a man in New Jersey became obsessed with the loss of privacy for vehicles on American roads. The man, who goes by the Internet handle "Puking Monkey," did an analysis of the many ways his car could be tracked and stumbled upon something rather interesting: his E-ZPass, which he obtained for the purpose of paying tolls, was being used to track his car in unexpected places, far away from any toll booths.

The Real Purpose of Oakland's Surveillance Center. City leaders have argued that Oakland needs a massive surveillance system to combat violent crime,but internal documents reveal that city staffers are also focused on tracking political protesters.

NYPD Designates Mosques as Terrorism Organizations.The New York Police Department has secretly labeled entire mosques as terrorist organizations, a designation that allows police to use informants to record sermons and spy on imams, often without specific evidence of criminal wrongdoing. Designating an entire mosque as a terrorism enterprisemeans that anyone who attends prayer services there is a potential subject of an investigation and fair game for surveillance.

The Editor says...
What's the difference between that and profiling? And where are the "separation of church and state" people now?

Turning public schools into forts.[A]s I point out in my book, "A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State," with every school police raid and overzealous punishment that is carried out in the name of school safety, the lesson being imparted is that Americans— especially young people— haveno rights at all against the state or the police. Indeed, the majority of schools today have adopted an all-or-nothing lockdown mindset that leaves little room for freedom, individuality or due process.

Supreme Court OKs DNA swab in serious arrests. A narrowly divided Supreme Court ruled Monday that police can collect DNA from people arrested but not yet convicted of serious crimes, a tool that more than half the states already use to help crack unsolved crimes.The case, described by Justice Samuel Alito as "the most important criminal procedure case that this court has heard in decades," represented a classic test between modern crime-fighting technology and centuries-old privacy rights.

Law enforcementapplaud ruling on DNA swabbing. The Supreme Court has ruled that is now legal for law enforcement to take the DNA of people arrested, even though they have not yet been convicted of a crime. The decision was a big victory to police and victim rights groups in the fight over how and when your DNA can be used, with the justices being nearly split down the middle.

Court: Police can take DNA swabs from arrestees. A sharply divided Supreme Court on Monday [6/3/2013] cleared the way for policeto take a DNA swab from anyone they arrest for a serious crime, endorsing a practice now followed by more than half the states as well as the federal government.

Court's DNA Ruling Brings U.S. a Step Closer to 'Gattaca'. The day that DNA cheek swabs officially became the new fingerprints deserves to be marked and remembered— and not just because of the inevitable march of technology. No, the Supreme Court's 5-4 holding today [6/3/2013] in Maryland v. King, that anyone arrested for a "serious crime" can have his or her DNA taken without any suspicion, is a landmark because it represents a major step toward a "Gattaca" world. This means that evidence of a crime can be collected without any particular suspicion, avoiding the pesky requirement of a warrant that the Founding Fathers thought would give us liberty and privacy.

A few days later...
Off-dutycops collect DNA samples at Alabama roadblocks. Off-duty cops in two counties in Alabama spent the weekend collecting saliva and blood samples from drivers at roadblocks. According to Lt. Freddie Turrentine with the St. Clair County Sheriff's Department, drivers were asked to voluntarily offer samples of their saliva and blood for a study being conducted by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation.

Why were roadblocks in St. Clair and Bibb counties asking for blood and DNA samples this weekend? St. Clair and Bibb county authorities are confirming there were roadblocks at several locations in their counties Friday and Saturday [June7-8, 2013] asking for blood and DNA samples. However, the samples were voluntary and motorists were paid for them as part of a study, they said. According to Lt. Freddie Turrentine of the St. Clair County Sheriff's Department, it isn't the first time such roadblocks have occurred in the area.

The Editor says...
The samples were voluntary, huh? How voluntary is it when the police stop your car on an Alabama highway and demand evidence? I suspect you'll be detained until the cops get what they want. Is it legal for offdutycops to set up a roadblock? It sounds like an Alabama shakedown tome.

Police Agencies Are Assembling Records of DNA. Slowly, and largely under the radar, a growing number of local law enforcement agencies across the countryhave moved into what had previously been the domain of the F.B.I. and state crime labs— amassing their own DNA databases of potentialsuspects, some collected with the donors' knowledge, and some without it.

Another instance, in another state:
Pa. town latest to force drivers over and ask for cheek swabs for federal study. Drivers in a southeastern Pennsylvania town were forced off a local street and into a parking lot, so a federal contractor— aided by local police— could quiz them about their road habits and ask for a cheek swab, in a replay of an incident last month in Texas. The checkpoint, in downtown Reading, was one of several conducted by the Pacific Institute for Research andEvaluation, which was hired by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Motorist checkpoint in Reading draws questions. A private firm with a federal contract— and backed up by city police— forced motorists off Laurel Street and into a private parking lot Friday [12/13/2013] to question them about their driving habits and ask for a swab of their mouth. "I feel this incident is a gross abuse of power on many levels," Reading resident Ricardo Nieves, one of those stopped, told City Council Monday. He said federal and local tax dollars were being used to stop innocent people without probable cause, and allow a private company to hire uniformed police to force citizens to listen to their questions. He said he wasn't told what the swab was for, but added, "Clearly it was for DNA."

Police presence at traffic stop troubling. Appearance is everything.So when a police car's lights are flashing along the side of a city street lined with cones, and someone forces motorists into a parking lot that contains uniformedcity police, forgive the motorists for believing police are operating that checkpoint. And when people with no ID tell motorists they want to ask about their driving habits but also ask for a mouth swab, forgive the motorists for believing they want a DNA sample without a warrant. And when the same people say thequestions and the swab are voluntary but don't take no for an answer, forgive the motorists for thinking it's not really voluntary after all. Because that's the way it's supposed to appear: not voluntary.

Red flags raised after local drivers asked for DNA samples at police checkpoint. Drivers in St. Charles County were asked to take partin a government survey that involved the odd request of blood and saliva samples. One driver who emailed News4 said a deputy and others dressed in safety vests directed drivers to take part and answer questions about alcohol and driving. The study is being conductedby the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration and is supposed to be voluntary. Constitutional Law attorney Bob Herman said the study does raise some red flags.

NTSBrecommends lowering blood alcohol level that constitutes drunk driving. The National Transportation Safety Board voted to recommend to states that they lower the blood-alcohol content that constitutes drunken driving. Currently, all 50states have set a BAC level of .08, reflecting the percentage of alcohol, by volume, in the blood. If a driver is found to have a BAC level of .08 or above, he or she is subject to arrest and prosecution.

The Real Threat to America.Of the many uncomfortable truths emerging from last week's bombing and subsequent manhunt— including the fact that Americancities are still vulnerable to Islamic terrorism— one of the most troubling but least talked-about is the fact that martial law may now become part of the municipal playbook. It was not two immigrant brothers— "losers," their uncle called them— who closed down Boston, at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars, put military vehicles in its streets, and sentmen in helmets and flak jackets into peoples' homes. It was our elected leaders: our local, state, and federal political officials and law-enforcement authorities. If any Bostonians objected to having their civil liberties trampled on, they were drowned out by their cheering neighbors who massed in the streets to celebrate the authorities who had turned their city into something resembling Fallujah under American military occupation.

Stop-and-Frisk Practice Violated Rights, Judge Rules. A federal judge ruled on Monday [8/12/2013] that the stop-and-frisk tactics of the New York Police Department violated the constitutional rights of minorities in the city, repudiating a major element in the Bloomberg administration's crime-fighting legacy. The use of police stops has been widely citedby city officials as a linchpin of New York's success story in seeing murders and major crimes fall to historic lows.

The Editor says...
Martial law would bring the crime rate to historic lows, too, but is that the kind of country we want to live in?

Ted Nugent to Newsmax: 'Stop and Frisk Violates the 4th Amendment'."As I sit here with you today, I am convinced that the concept of stop-and-frisk violates the Fourth Amendment," Nugent said in an exclusive interview with Newsmax before taking the stage at the packed House of Blues in Orlando. "But I don't agree with the judge in New York— that gal that presumed the cops are stopping someone based on the color of their skin. "That is wrong. They do not profile based on color of skin. They profile on suspicious behavior.It's a behavioral response, not an ethnic or skin-color response. I am certain of that."

Stop-and-Frisk in Court, Police Testify About Orders to Increase Stops. The NYPD's stop and frisk program began in 2002 and since then, according to data compiled by the New York Civil Liberties Union, the police have conducted 4million such "interrogations," peaking in 2011 with 685,724. The vast majority of stops are of blacks and Hispanics. Little more than ten percent end in any kind of summons. The program is currently being challenged in court, where testimony yesterday [3/21/2013] revealed police officers were ordered to increase their number of stop and frisks.

Opposing viewpoint #1:
How to Increase the Crime Rate Nationwide: A racial-profiling lawsuit over the New York Police Department's "stop, question and frisk" policies is now in the hands of a judge whose decision is expected within weeks. [...] A decision against the NYPD would almost certainly inspire similar suits by social-justice organizations against police departments elsewhere. The national trend of declining crime could hang in the balance. And the primary victims of such a reversal would be the inner-city minorities whose safetyseems not to figure into attempts to undermine successful police tactics.

Opposing viewpoint #2:
Don't Stop Frisking. Since the early 1990s the New York Police Department has used a crime-prevention strategy that it calls "stop, question, and frisk." Accordingly, officers stop and question a person based on reasonable suspicion and sometimes pat down the clothing of the individual to ensure that he is not armed. The department credits the strategy in large part for the huge declines in murder and major crimes over two decades in what is now the nation's safest big city.

Gun Conviction Buckles Under Stop and Frisk. Police officers may question an individual "where there is an 'objective, credible reason, not necessarily indicative of criminality,' to initiate the level one encounter," the unsigned opinion states. [Jeffrey] Johnson's conduct, however, "did not provide an objective credible reason" for the officers to question him. The officers said their suspicions were heightened because of a history of crime and drug dealing in the building, but the appellate majority rejected that explanation.

Technologies of Surveillance. The NYPD is testing a new type of security apparatus that uses terahertz radiation to detect guns under clothing from a distance. As Police Commissioner Ray Kelly explained to the "Daily News" back in January, If something is obstructing the flow of that radiation— a weapon, for example— the device will highlight that object. Ignore, for a moment, the glaring constitutional concerns, which make the stop-and-frisk debate pale in comparison: virtual strip-searching, evasion of probable cause, potential racial profiling. [...] We're scared of both terrorism and crime, even as the risks decrease; and when we're scared, we're willing to give up all sorts of freedoms toassuage our fears. Often, the courts go along.

NYPD Commissioner says department will begin testing a new high-tech device that scans for concealed weapons. The department just received a machine that reads terahertz [sic]— the natural energy emitted by people and inanimate objects— and allows police to view concealed weapons from a distance. "If something is obstructing the flow of that radiation, for example a weapon, the device willhighlight that object," Kelly said. A video image aired at a Police Foundation breakfast Wednesday [1/23/2013] showed an officer, clad in a New York Jets jersey and jeans, with the shape of a hidden gun clearly visible under his clothing when viewed through the device.

The Editor says...
No doubt the system is being fine-tuned to search for marijuana. Overlapping objects could easily appear to be a gun,which could lead to an unfortunate misunderstanding.

Could Martial Law Be Right Around The Corner For Americans? Merely a week after military exercises featuring Blackhawk helicopters were flown over the Miami skyline, the Florida Highway Patrol has informed the public that it will set up "vehicle inspection checkpoints" onspecific roadways in at least six Florida counties that will be established during daytime hours. State troopers will be requesting drivers licenses and conducting a visual inspection of every third vehicle once the checkpoint has been established.

Dear Mr. Security Agent,Today, we already see genital groping by federal agents and at least one Texas state trooper who was caught on film. Their goal is not "public safety," but public humiliation, intimidation, and control. Cowing the peasants into meek obeisance to unchecked authority.Can waterboarding American "detainees" in clandestine torture centers really be that far behind?

Ron Paul Correctly Rebuts LaPierre's Call For Fed to Fund Armed School Guards. With just days remaining in his final term in Congress, veteran congressmanRon Paul has come out strongly against NRA President Wayne LaPierre's recommendation that armed officers should be stationed in schools nationwide.Paul has consistently called attention to the growing technological apparatus of the police state— surveillance cameras, metal detectors, X-ray scannersand other intrusive devices aimed at keeping tabs on criminals and ordinary citizens— some of which are necessary, other parts of which are questionable and objectionable.

Guns and the Government. The Supreme Court has ruled consistently and countless times that the "police power," that is, the power to regulate for health, safety, welfare and morality, continues to be reposed in the states, and that there is no federal police power.

It's not about public safety. It's all about raising money for the state government.
Oklahoma HB 2525.HB2525 will allow police to pull you over... Not because you are speeding, not because you are driving erratically, but to check and see if your auto insurance is expired. In fact, it can be the primary reason you are pulled over. ... Plain and simple, HB2525 is ripe for abuse and would let the police pull you over for any reason they wanted. All they would have to sayis that they were checking to see if your insurance is current.

HB2525 would allow stops for no insurance. The proposed law, House Bill2525, would allow law enforcement officers to pull over a vehicle if they believe it is uninsured. Currently, officers do not have "probable cause for a stop" on that basis alone.

A blogger was dragged off to a mental ward because of his Facebook posts.Exactly what you'd expect in North Korea, China, or Cuba.
'Outraged' judge frees veteran Raub from Virginia psych ward. [Scroll down] His saga began Aug.16. That's when [Brandon] Raub was taken into custody at his Richmond home by FBI and Secret Service agents and Chesterfield County Police. He was not charged with a crime, yet he was handcuffedand placed in the back of a police vehicle. From there, Mr. Raub was taken to a police station and then to the John Randolph Medical Facility in Hopewell, Va., for a psychiatric evaluation. He was never formally arrested or charged with a crime, Mr. Whitehead said."He was in his underwear, in his living room, he sees a group of police, FBI agents walking up, he talks with them, he's asked about some Facebook postings, they handcuff him," Mr. Whitehead said.

There is more about Brandon Raub on thispage.

The Case Against Driver'sLicenses: Even a person merely walking down the street, having committed no crime, can be compelled toproduce his ID. And if that person lacks an ID, that person will very likely be arrested on the spot and held until his identity is ascertained. This is the reality of Homeland America. You must have permissionto move. You do not move freely. Even if you are walking.

When GovernmentKnows No Limitation: New DOJ Rules Allow More Intrusive Searches. Shouldn't law-abiding citizens be able to live their lives free from the fear that our own government would underhandedly manipulate our rights in their pursuit of an investigation? After all, the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution enumerates alimitation on the federal government, one that prevents "unreasonable search and seizure." Today, this enumerated protection is being ignored by— of all institutions— the U.S. Justice Department, under the darkened shadow of Attorney General Eric Holder.

The Indiana Supreme Court Guts the Fourth Amendment. A ruling by the state of Indiana's Supreme Court last Thursday [5/12/2011] in Barnes vs. Indiana has seemingly vacated the Constitution's Fourth Amendment provision against unreasonable search and seizure. The case involved a domestic dispute and the Court ruled 3-2 that police can force their way into aperson's home without a warrant if they deem such entry is necessary.

Court: No right to resist illegal cop entry into home. Overturning a common law dating back to the English Magna Carta of 1215, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Thursday [5/12/2011] that Hoosiers have no right to resist unlawful police entry into their homes. In a 3-2 decision, Justice Steven David writing for the court said if a police officer wants to enter a home for any reason or no reason at all, a homeowner cannot do anything to block the officer's entry.

Supreme Court gives police a new entryway into homes. The Supreme Court, in an 8-1 decision in a Kentucky case, says police officers who loudly knock on a door in search of illegal drugs and then hear sounds suggesting evidence is being destroyed may break down the door and enter without a search warrant.

Department of Pre-Crime. Moral of this story: If you hear the cops at the door, quietly get off the john, and whatever you do, don't flush. Read the whole account of the case, which ought to get your blood boiling.

IndianaSheriff: If We Need to Conduct Random House to House Searches We Will. According to Newton County Sheriff, Don Hartman Sr., random house to house searches are now possible and could be helpful following the Barnesv. State of Indiana Supreme Court ruling issued on May12th, 2011.When asked three separate times due to the astounding callousness as it relates to trampling the inherent natural rights of Americans, he emphatically indicated that he would use random house to house checks, adding he felt people will welcome random searches if it means capturing a criminal.

Givingtoo much license to cops. A series of recent court rulings, including one this week from the US Supreme Court, appear to erode one of our bedrock defenses against the arbitrary, abusive power of the state. At risk: the Fourth Amendment guarantee to all American citizens of the right to be "secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures."

Home Insecurity. While the U.S.Supreme Court said police may force their way into a home to prevent the destruction of evidence, the Indiana Supreme Court, in a less noticed decision issued the week before, said police may force their way into a homefor any reason or no reason at all. Although the victim of an illegal search can challenge it in court after the fact, three of the five justices agreed, "there is no right to reasonably resist unlawful entry by police officers." They thereby nullified a principle of common law that is centuries old, arguably dating back to the Magna Carta.

US Police State Begins Exponential Expansion.The recent Indiana Supreme Court ruling against the US Constitution, rendering the Fourth Amendment null and void in that State by patently leftist activist judges, is only the latest unconscionable step in a series ofactions designed to unravel each and every portion of the Bill of Rights. It is also one of the latest actions designed to compliment and enhance the already jack-booted Obama police State march into our States, our cities and homes.

Rally held in protest of 'unlawful police entry' ruling by Indiana Supreme Court. Protesters showed upon the south steps of the Indiana Statehouse Wednesday [5/25/2011], to rally against a controversial ruling bythe Indiana Supreme Court. The ruling, which allows police to enter your home without a warrant, sparked threatening emails and phone calls from those angry with the court's decision.

High court urged to rethink ruling on resisting police. A group of 71 state lawmakers is asking the Indiana Supreme Court to reconsider a ruling that says people don't have the right to resist police officers who enter their homes illegally.

Tennessee Speeders Could Get Fingerprinted. Motorists stopped for traffic violations in Tennessee could be fingerprinted if state lawmakers approve a bill pending in the legislature. Currently, when drivers are cited during traffic stops, police officers ask for the driver's signature on the ticket, but the proposedbill would allow police departments to eliminate signatures and collect fingerprints.

Cops pay 3 a.m. visit to tellman his door is unlocked. A Lakeville man says he feels violated after two police officers woke him up at 3a.m. to tell him his door was unlocked. Their surprise visit was part of a public service campaign to remind residents to secure their homes to prevent thefts.

The Editor says...
This is just inexcusable conduct on the part of the local cops. Leaving the door to one's house unlocked is nota crime, and with no evidence of a crime in progress, the police had no right to enter the house. It isthe police officers who were violating the law in this case, and if they were to face civil liability for theiractions, it would go a long way toward preventing the spread of this behavior. If these "public service campaign[s]" go unchallenged, police departments in other cities will try them out.

Stories of Anguish at the Hands of Police: Nine stories of abuse at the hands of California policemen.

California police state: The totalitarians are fully in control of America's largest state. The California Supreme Court ruled 4-3 last Thursday [1/24/2002] that police in the state may search cars if a driver fails to produce a licenseor registration, regardless of whether the officer has awarrant.

Washington DC is a police state.
Walled-OffWashington. It's hard to remember, but Washington wasn't always a city of walls. Thomas Jefferson held a public reception at the White House after his second inaugural, and citizens were able to freely wander through the building to personally ask presidents like Abraham Lincoln for jobs and other favors. Harry Truman took long walks around Washington each morning protected by just a handful of Secret Service agents. Capitol Hill had no roadblocks or barricades, and cars and trucks passed directly in front of the White House as they drove down Pennsylvania Avenue, one of the city's busiest thoroughfares.

The End of "The Right to Remain Silent": Every kid who has watched a re-run of TV cop shows knows that "you have the right to remain silent" when the police come knocking. Except that, now, you don't. In Hiibel v. Sixth Judicial District of Nevada, the Supreme Court, in one stroke, turned Justice Jackson's advice on its head, and turned generations of TV cop shows into so much false advertising. Silence, said the Court, is not only not privileged: it can get you thrown in jail.

Court Opens Door To Searches Without Warrants. It's a groundbreaking court decision that legal experts say will affect everyone: Police officers in Louisiana no longer need a search or arrest warrant to conduct a brief search of your home orbusiness. Leaders in law enforcement say it will keep officers safe, but others argue it's a privilege that could be abused.

Busting Posse Comitatus: Military Cops Arrest Civilians in Florida City. In Homestead, Florida, Posse Comitatus is dead. The Air Force now responds to civilian crime in the small city, population around 30,000. "Here at Homestead Air Reserve Base we have the Crime Stop hotline that allows anyone either on base or off the installation to anonymously report a crime," explains the Homestead Air Reserve Base website.

Police Turnto Secret Weapon: GPS Device. Across the country, police are using GPS devices to snare thieves, drug dealers, sexual predators and killers, often without a warrant or court order. Privacy advocates said tracking suspects electronically constitutes illegal search and seizure, violating Fourth Amendment rights of protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, and is another step toward George Orwell's Big Brother society.

RandomPat-Downs Turn PATCO Into Police State. Commuters who ride PATCO trains between southern New Jersey and Philadelphia should expect random searches of their clothing, pockets, bags and vehicles on their morning trip to work. Twelve Transportation Security Administration screeners, armed with an explosive-sniffingK-9, checked 663commuter bags randomly selected from the morning rush at the Lindenwold station Tuesday [9/7/2010]. ... "We can conduct any kind of search we want," said [Delaware River Port Authority Police Chief David] McClintock.

Wisconsin court upholds GPS tracking by police. Wisconsin police can attach GPS to cars to secretly track anybody's movements without obtaining search warrants, an appeals court ruled Thursday [5/7/2009].

Courts Divided on Police Use of GPS Tracking. If a police officer puts a GPS tracking device on your car, should he or she have to get a warrant first? It's a simple question, but one, so far, without a clear legal answer. In an example of how unsettled the issue is, in just the past week, appeals courts in two different states delivered completely opposite rulings.

Supreme Court to Decide Constitutionality of Warrantless GPS Monitoring. At the Obama administration's urging, the Supreme Court agreed Monday [6/27/2011] to review whether the government, without a court warrant, may affix GPS devices on suspects' vehicles to track their every move. The Justice Department told the justices that "a person has no reasonable expectation of privacy in his movements from one place to another," and demanded the justices undo a lower court decision that reversed the conviction and life sentence of a cocaine dealer whose vehicle wastracked via GPS for a month without a court warrant.

Officer admits to hiding GPS device in woman's car. A former Costa Mesa police officer has admitted to hiding a Global Positioning System device in a woman's car without her knowledge, court records show. Aaron Paul Parsons pleaded no contestMonday to a misdemeanor charge of unlawfully using an electronic tracking device, according to Orange County Superior Court records.

Cops mustget warrant if DUI suspect balks at blood test. Blood samples taken from motorists without their explicit on-the-spot consent can't be used to convict them of drunken driving, the Arizona Supreme Court ruledMonday. The justices acknowledged Arizona has an "implied consent" law saying motorists agree to providea sample of blood, breath or urine for testing if they are charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Supreme Court to decide whether police can take your blood without your permission. The case involves a traffic stop in Missouri, but its ramifications could range far wider, potentially rewriting drunk-driving laws in all 50states. "It comes down, basically, to are you going to see blood draws every single time someone gets pulled over for a DUI," said MichaelA. Correll, a litigator with the international law firm Alston & Bird, who examined the legality of blood draws in the West Virginia Law Review last year.

The NDAA Repeals More Rights.Innocent people are wrongly accused all the time. The Bill of Rights is there precisely because the founders wanted to set a very high bar for the government to overcome in order to deprive an individual of life or liberty. To lower that bar is to endanger everyone. When the bar is low enough to include political enemies, our descent into totalitarianism is virtually assured.

Protests Near Secret Service Protected Folk Effectively Outlawed. In case you question the value of having a Justin Amash or a Ron Paul in the House of Representatives, they were two of only three votes against H.R.347, the "Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011." ... Although [Secret Service] protection isn't extended to just everybody, making it a federal offense to even accidently disrupt an event attended by a person with such status essentially crushes whatever currently remains of the right to assemble and peacefully protest.

Canthe Secret Service Tell You To Shut Up? When the Framers of the Constitution wrote the First Amendment, they lived in a society in which anyone could walk up to George Washington or John Adams or Thomas Jefferson on a public street and say directly to them whatever one wished. They never dreamed of a regal-like force of armed agents keepingpublic officials away from the public, as we have today. And they never imagined that it could be a felony for anyone to congregate in public within earshot or eyesight of certain government officials. And yet, today in America, itis.

Another Brick Removed. HR 347 was recently signed into law by President Obama. This statute had wide support amongst both parties of Congress.In essence, it criminalizes disruptive behavior upon government grounds, at specially designated national events (Super Bowl,nominating conventions, etc.) and anywhere that Secret Service is protecting "any" person. Obviously, the goal of this law is to enhance the ability of the Secret Service to protect those persons it is charged to do so; but in extending this power, this law eviscerates the citizens' rights to assemble and petition under the First Amendment.

Surveillance without proper authority is illegal. On June 2, 2009, a janitor in an office building in New Brunswick, N.J., noticed what he thought was terrorist-related literature and sophisticated surveillance equipment in an office he had been assigned to clean. He told his boss, who called the local police, who notified the FBI. Later in the day, the FBI and the New Brunswick police broke into the office and discovered five men busilyoperating the equipment. Four of the men were officers from the New York City Police Department, and the fifth was a CIA agent.The conundrum faced by all of these public servants soon became apparent. Who should arrest whom?

Supreme Court Ruling Allows Strip-Searches for Any Offense. The Supreme Court on Monday ruled by a 5-to-4 vote that officials may strip-search people arrested for any offense, however minor, before admitting them to jails even if the officials have no reason to suspect the presence of contraband. Justice AnthonyM. Kennedy, joined by the court's conservative wing, wrote that courts are in noposition to second-guess the judgments of correctional officials who must consider not only the possibility of smuggled weapons and drugs but also public health and information about gang affiliations.

Kentucky Supreme Court Rules Highway Checkpoints Illegal. Kentucky's Supreme Court has ruled that highway checkpoints of drivers who refused to display a $10 city sticker in their window are in fact unconstitutional and therefore, illegal. The city of Liberty required all 1,850 residents and anyone working within the city limits to purchase and display the sticker, but teachers at a local school had failed to do so, prompting local policeto take action. Those individuals who refused to purchase a $10 sticker and place it in their vehicle windows were targeted by city officials, who mandated that police set up roadblocks.

The Forfeiture Racket: Police and prosecutors won't give up their license to steal.[Scroll down] Criminal forfeiture can also prevent defendants from effectively contesting the charges against them. When the DEA accuses a doctor of illegally prescribing pain medication, for example, one of the first actions it takes is to freeze his assets for possible forfeiture. Since most doctors make their entire living from their practice, nearly everything they own can be frozen. Many accused doctors therefore don't have the resources to hire legal representation, much less experts to counter government assertions that they're prescribing controlled substances outside the normal practice of medicine.Forfeiture makes it nearly impossible for them to mount a credible defense.

FBI, DEA warn IPv6 could shield criminals from police. Relax. This hasnothing to do with criminals. It's cop bluster designed to get us to wiretap ourselves "before the cops get Congress to forceusto".

We Don't Need No Stinking Warrant: The Disturbing, Unchecked Rise of the Administrative Subpoena. Meet the administrative subpoena: With a federal official's signature,banks, hospitals, bookstores, telecommunications companies and even utilities and internet service providers— virtually all businesses— are required to hand over sensitive data on individuals or corporations, as long as a government agent declares the information is relevant to an investigation. Via a wide range of laws, Congress has authorized the government to bypass the Fourth Amendment— the constitutional guard against unreasonable searches and seizures that requires a probable-cause warrant signed by a judge.

DNA test jailed innocent man for murder. Scientists, lawyers and politicians have raised new concerns over the quality of forensic evidence testing— so is the criminal justice system too reliant on lab tests without realising their limitations?

Special rights and privileges for police officers

Louisiana'sNew 25-Foot Legal Forcefield for Police Threatens Accountability and Civil Liberties.Louisiana Gov.Jeff Landry last week signed a law that criminalizes approaching policeofficers within 25feet, provided that the officer tells any would-be approachers to standback, effectively creating a legal force field that law enforcement can activate at theirdiscretion. "No person shall knowingly or intentionally approach within twenty-five feet of apeace officer who is lawfully engaged in the execution of his official duties after the peaceofficer has ordered the person to stop approaching or to retreat," the law states. Offenderscould receive a $500 fine and be jailed for up to 60days. The bill was authored bystate Reps. Bryan Fontenot (R-Thibodaux), MichaelT. Johnson (R-Pineville), and Roger Wilder(R-Denham Springs). Fontenot argued that the legislation would give law enforcement officials"peace of mind" as they carry out their duties.

LouisianaLaw Sets 25-Foot Buffer Zone Between Disruptive Bystanders, On-the-Job Police. Critics of a new Louisiana law that makes it a crime to approach within 25feet of a policeofficer under certain circ*mstances feared the measure could hinder the public's ability to filmofficers— a tool that has increasingly been used to hold police accountable.Under the law, anyone who is convicted of "knowingly or intentionally" approaching an officer, whois "lawfully engaged in the execution of his official duties," and after being ordered to "stopapproaching or retreat" faces up to a $500 fine, up to 60days in jail or both. The lawwas signed Tuesday by Republican Gov.Jeff Landry and goes into effect Aug.1. Whilethe legislation's language does not specifically mention filming, critics say that by default itwould limit how close a person can be to observe police. Opponents have also gone further toquestion the law's constitutionality, saying it could impede on a person's First Amendment rights.

The Editor says...
How about a buffer zone around TV news reporters when they're on the air? Doeseveryone have the right to be left alone, or just thecops?

CriticisingCops May Soon Become A Hate Crime, New Law Proposal. Chuck Canterbury, National President of the FraternalOrder of Police (FOP), has asked Congress to expand the hate crime laws in order to protect law enforcementemployees— calling on members of the public who "targets" these individuals to be punished. Thedefinition of a hate crime, according to Congress is criminal offence against a person or property motivated in whole orin part by an offender's bias against a race, religion, disability, ethnic origin or sexual orientation". But JimPasco, director of the National Fraternal Order of Police has said that the definition isn't enough. "Right now, it's ahate crime if you attack someone solely because of the color of their skin, but it ought to be a hate crime if youattack someone solely because of the color of their uniform aswell".

Kentucky Senate Passes Bill to Make Taunting Police a Crime. It could become a crime to taunt a police officer inKentucky, under a bill that passed the state Senate on Thursday [3/11/2021]. The measure was filed months afterLouisville, the state's largest city, became the site of huge protests in the wake of the police killing of BreonnaTaylor. The bill passed the Republican-dominated Senate 22-11 and now awaits House input. Under the legislation,anyone who "accosts, insults, taunts, or challenges a law enforcement officer with offensive or derisive words, or bygestures or other physical contact, that would have a direct tendency to provoke a violent response" would be guilty of amisdemeanor and face up to 90days in jail and fines.

Kentucky Bill Would Make It A Crime To Insult Police Officers. A bill advancing out of a Kentucky Senate committee onThursday would make it a crime to insult or taunt a police officer to the point where the taunts provoke a violentresponse. Senate Bill 211 passed by a 7-3 vote, according to reports. The proposal was a response to riotsthroughout the country last summer, said the bill's sponsor, Sen.Danny Carroll, R-Benton, a retired policeofficer. "In these riots, you see people getting up in officers' faces, yelling in their ears, doing everything theycan to provoke a violent response," Carroll said, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal.

Georgia Gov.Kemp signsnew law to protect police, other first responders. Georgia Gov.Brian Kemp signed into law Wednesday ameasure designed to offer additional protections to police officers despite opposition from a national anti-police brutalitymovement. House Bill 838 makes bias-motivated intimidation of first responders a crime. It would apply to anyoneresponsible in the death or serious bodily injury of a police officer, firefighter or emergency medical technician, and toanyone who causes damage of $500 or more to property owned by police and first responders. The crime is punishable byup to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. The measure says the sentence must be stacked atop any other relatedsentence, which could lead to long sentences for violations such as vandalism aimed at officers.

Texas: Man Gets 99 Years In Prison For Kicking A Cop While Child-Murdering Cop Walks Free. The Free Thought Projecthas reported on, quite literally, thousands of instances of police officers hurting or killing citizens, many of thementirely innocent. In the overwhelming majority of the cases, the officers are not charged with a crime and most ofthose keep their jobs. If those roles are reversed, however, and a citizen dares fight against a police officer, thatcitizen will face punishment every single time. A Texas man learned this the hard way this week after being sentencedto 99years in prison for kicking a cop.

Sheriff Mistakes Innocent Man for Suspect, Dumps 10 Rounds Into Him— NO CHARGES. Kimble County SheriffHilario Cantu is taking fire in the form of criticism after he opened fire on an innocent man, dumping 10rounds into him andhis truck. Quite unlike what the general public would face, in the form of criminal charges, Cantu will likely face nocharges, serve no time in jail, and will potentially not even be disciplined for shooting up the wrong moving vehicle.What started out as a traffic stop for a missing license plate nearly turned deadly for both one police officer and onehapless innocent bystander.

After Admitting to Felony Sex Crimes, Deputy Gets No Jail, Won't Register as Sex Offender. A Contra Costa County copwho had sex with inmates will not have to face jail time nor will he have to register as a sex offender following what someare calling a sweetheart deal he and his lawyers made with prosecutors.

NY bill to make water attacks on cops a felony faces Democratic opposition. A Republican bill that would increasepenalties for throwing water on cops, after a series of incidents in which members of New York's Finest were doused bybucket-wielding mobs, is facing some initial Democratic opposition months before the bill could even be taken up.Republicans in the state's assembly were angered by viral videos of cops being drenched by groups of local residents— with NYPD officers apparently feeling unable to respond and walking away. Police have since made a number of arrests related to the cases, but the incidents have sparked national attention, with President Trump calling the incidents "a total disgrace" last month.

The Editor says...
Yes, there is a problem to be addressed, but I'm opposed to such a law unless it applies to everyone, not just police officers. Thus, if anyone throws water at anyone else, it would be a felony. Obviously that would be ridiculous, and the jails would quickly fillup with high school kids whose victims were other high school kids.

Everything They're Telling You About Mass Shootings Is Wrong. Democrats have complained about police brutality foryears. The police, they assure us, are out of control. And, the story goes, they have it in for anyone whose skinis not lily white. You can't trust the racist cops, they tellus. Remember Ferguson, Missouri, Eric Garner,Philando Castile, Tamir Rice, and others. But these same Democrats also tell us that the police are theonlyones who should have guns, which is to say that the police we're not supposed to trust, who areguilty— in their view— of unspeakable crimes against Americans, should be given a monopoly onphysical force and that private citizens should be deprived of their most effective means of defending themselves.

Mayor de Blasio's NYPD vehicle was driving wrong way when it crashed with truck, sparking cover-up. Mayor de Blasio'sNYPD SUV was cruising the wrong way with lights and sirens blaring when it got into a car crash, sparking a frantic cover-upby his security detail, a new accident report obtained by the Daily News shows. NYPD Det. Edgar Robles wasdriving west against traffic on E.135thSt. in the unmarked black Chevy Tahoe when he collided with a boiler truck at FifthAve. at 8:15a.m. on a Saturday in August 2015, according to the report provided by the department. The mayor and two other detectives were in the vehicle at the time.

RapperCharged With Terrorism for Lyrics Criticizing Police. Individuals who engage in controversial and unpopularpolitical or artistic expression, by criticizing the police for example, can be labeled terrorists and subject to prosecutionand suppression by the government as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to let stand a lower court ruling in Knoxv.Pennsylvania. By refusing to hear the case of rapper Jamal Knox (a.k.a. "Mayhem Mal"), who was chargedwith making terroristic threats after posting a song critical of police on Facebook and YouTube, the U.S. Supreme Court hasapproved the government's expansion of the definition of "true threats."

UnderTexas Law Banning Annoying or Offensive Electronic Messages, Man Faces a Year in Prison for Criticizing Police.Warning that the government must not be given the power to criminalize speech it deems distasteful or annoying, TheRutherford Institute has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the prosecution of a Texas man who faces up to one year in jailand a $4000 fine for sending emails to police criticizing them for failing to respond to his requests for assistance.In an amicus brief filed with the Supreme Court, Rutherford Institute attorneys argue that the prosecution of Scott Ogle forsending complaints to a sheriff's office, including one email stating that officials were "[figuratively urinating]" on theConstitution, violates the First Amendment's safeguards for freedom of speech and the right to petition the government for aredress of grievances. Moreover, Institute attorneys argue that the Texas law under which Ogle was charged, which makesit a crime to send "annoying," "alarming" or "harassing" electronic messages, is so over-broad that it could be used to punisha negative review of a restaurant posted online or caustic Facebook posts.

Can It Be a Crime to "Intimidate" Police Officers by Threatening to Complain About Them? No, says the Fifth Circuit,striking down as unconstitutionally overbroad a Louisiana statute that apparently bans threatening public employees withlawsuits or complaints— and not just with violence— "with the intent to influence [the employee'sofficial] conduct."

Why shouldhitting a cop be a federal crime? Last week, the House of Representatives— by a margin of more than10 to 1— approved a completely gratuitous, blatantly unconstitutional bill that would make assaulting a policeofficer a federal crime. The lopsided vote was a bipartisan portrait in cowardice that vividly showed how readilypoliticians forsake their oaths of office to keep their hold on power. The Protect and Serve Act prescribes a prisonsentence of upto 10years for anyone who "knowingly assaults a law-enforcement officer," thereby "causing serious bodilyinjury," or "attempts to doso." Such conduct is, of course, already illegal in all 50states, and there isno reason to think local law enforcement agencies are reluctant to arrest and prosecute people guilty ofit.

If You Limit ANY Free Speech, This Is What You Ge. There are so many problems with this law. Why are masksnot protected forms of expression? What about hats, hoods, and sunglasses? At what point do those fit thedefinition of a mask? Ironically, police routinely wear gas masks and face-covering riot helmets at these kinds ofevents. Apparently, the law doesn't apply to them. But that is fitting since most laws don't apply to the peoplewho enforce them. Have you ever threatened to shoot someone with a rifle because they had a mask on? Meneither. Police are a different breed.

No Chargesfor Wichita Officer Who Killed Innocent, Unarmed Man in 'Swatting'. A Kansas district attorney announcedyesterday that a police officer who shot an unarmed man on his own porch will not face charges because the officer wasoperating under the impression that he was responding to a hostage situation. The fatal shooting of Andrew Finch inWichita, Kansas, drew national attention in December, as it appeared to be the first case of a "Swatting" call turningdeadly. "Swatting" is a particularly nasty prank in which someone calls 911 and falsely claims to be involved in adangerous hostage situation, drawing a SWAT raid to somebody else's home and terrifying the targets. In this case, aLos Angeles man reportedly made the false call as a result of some video game dispute.

Off-DutyCop Kills Baby After Smashing into Car Going 94mph— Mom Charged with Homicide. A mother has beengrieving the loss of her baby for the last few months after an off-duty cop— recklessly driving 94mph—smashed into her car, killing her daughter and injuring all the other occupants. Now, months after this officer took the lifeof her child, his fellow officers are charging HER with homicide. Brittany Stephens, 20, was arrested on Tuesday [2/27/2018] oncharges of homicide— in spite of the fact that the officer caused the deadly crash.

8 Really Bad Laws That Went Into Effect Today. [#4] Enhanced sentencing for crimes against first responders: In Nevada, enhanced penalties kick in today [10/1/2017] for hate crimes committed against first responders, including police and firefighters, because they are first responders. Criminals convicted of such crimes can face between 1and 20years in prison on top of the sentence for the crime. The enhancement, at least, can't exceed the length of the original sentence.

Police Union Tries to Cast Criticism of Police as 'Blue Racism'. The New York Police Department Sergeants BenevolentAssociation is catching hell— deservedly so— for a YouTube video titled Blue Racism.The union's video is exactly what its title suggests it is. It suggests that mass criticism of police behavior is akin to actual racism, judging people on the basis of wearing a blue uniform.

HateCrime Laws Codify Inequality. Because hate crime laws elevate some victims above others, their scope tends toexpand over time. If race and religion are covered, doesn't fairness demand that disability, sex, sexual orientationand gender identity be included as well? A Louisiana law that took effect last summer classifies attacks on policeofficers, firefighters, or paramedics as hate crimes too. Similar "Blue Lives Matter" bills have been introduced inseveral other states. This unseemly competition, in which interest groups vie for recognition and status, has verylittle to do with justice, which requires equal treatment under the law.

LouisianaPasses 'Blue Lives Matter' Law To Make Attacking Cops A Hate Crime. Louisiana enacted a new law Thursday [5/26/2016] tomake it a hate crime to attack police officers. Democratic Gov.John Bel Edwards signed the "Blue Lives Matter" bill Thursdayafternoon, adding police to the list of protected categories under hate crime law such as race and religion. Louisiana law adds anadditional five years in prison and $5,000 in fines for an offense against one of the listed groups, which now includes cops, firefighters,and EMS personnel. "The overarching message is that hate crimes will not be tolerated in Louisiana," Edwards said.

Louisiana Makes it a "Hate Crime" to Target Police Officers! State Rep.Lance Harris introduced the bill afterDarren Goforth, a Texas sheriff's deputy who was in uniform, was killed in 2015, while getting gas for his patrol vehicle. "It looked like it was strictly done because someone didn't like police officers, like a hate crime," Harris told CNN. "In the news, you see a lot of people terrorizing and threatening police officers on social media just due to the fact that they are policemen," he added. "Now, this protects police and first responders under the hate-crime law." A similar bill was introduced at the federal level in March.

BlueLives Matter bill makes targeting police a hate crime in Louisiana. Thursday [5/26/2016] the DemocraticGovernor of Lousiana, John Bel Edwards, signed a bill making it a hate crime to target police officers or other firstresponders. The bill is known as blue lives matter, a take off on the Black Lives Matter movement that has beencritical of police in the past year.

Louisianagovernor signs 'Blue Lives Matter' bill. Louisiana's governor signed a first-of-its-kind bill Thursdayafternoon [5/26/2016] that makes it a hate crime to target police officers and first responders. Called the "Blue LivesMatter" bill, the measure expands the state's hate crime law to include law enforcement officers, firefighters and otheremergency medical services personnel. "The overarching message is that hate crimes will not be tolerated in Louisiana,"Democratic Gov.John Bel Edwards told FoxNews.com in a written statement. He added that he has "great respect"for the work that law enforcement officers do and the daily risks they take.

The Editor says...
Criminal justice is supposed to be administered without regard to the class or status of the parties involved. For example, one doesnot (ostensibly) receive a lighter sentence for a violent crime if one is caucasian. Hate crimes introduce variable punishment based on the perpetrator's thoughts. That idea is bad enough, but this proposed new law features increased punishment based on the status of the victim, regardless of the perpetrators thoughts or intentions. It puts cops, firemen and paramedics into a new category of better-than-first-class citizens. Once we get accustomed to it, the law will probably be modified to include all government workers. This proposed law is nothing more or less than a means of putting more people in prison with longer sentences.

Louisianagovernor signs 'Blue Lives Matter' bill. Louisiana's governor signed a first-of-its-kind bill Thursdayafternoon that makes it a hate crime to target police officers and first responders. Called the "Blue Lives Matter"bill, the measure expands the state's hate crime law to include law enforcement officers, firefighters and other emergencymedical services personnel. "The overarching message is that hate crimes will not be tolerated in Louisiana,"Democratic Gov.John Bel Edwards told FoxNews.com in a written statement. He added that he has "great respect"for the work that law enforcement officers do and the daily risks they take.

The Editor says...
Hate crime laws will always exhibit "mission creep"— incrementally expanding in one direction only, to includevarious new features that would never have been approved at the outset.

Killinglaw enforcement would be a hate crime under new bill. Attacking or killing cops and other first responderswould be a hate crime under a bill passed by the state Senate on Tuesday [5/9/2017]. The Community Heroes Protection Actwould make cops, firefighter and EMTs among those to be included in the state's hate crimes laws which bump violent crimes upa level and impose harsher penalties. The legislation, sponsored by retired Upstate undersheriff, RepublicanSen.Fred Akshar, was spurred in part by the death of 135 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in theUnited States last year. That's the highest number since 2011 and 21 of those resulted from ambush killings, thehighest number in two decades.

The Editor says...
Awwww.... Community Heroes! How could anyone vote against Community Heroes?

Pawns: Cops used for political leverage and favors -- and scapegoats

TampaPolice Department touts Pride-themed badge 'as a conversation starter'. A collectible"conversation starter" was released for one Florida police department that left many challengingtheir prioritization for "gay badges." Community outreach from law enforcement officers hastypically been encouraged and celebrated for fostering open lines of communication. However,the latest move from the Tampa Police Department to mark "Pride" month was readily razzed as arainbow-colored waste of resources.

OhBoy, The Tampa Police Have Gone Full-Gay For Pride Month. [Videoclip]

CriminalConvictions and the Presidency. In 1996, Atlanta police detained and kidnapped theonly black Republican candidate for President from the grounds of a local TV station hosting aRepublican Presidential candidate debate from which Alan Keyes was excluded. Keyes comparedAtlanta's civic behavior to that of the Soviet Union. Keyes was handcuffed, driven to the topof a distant city parking garage and dropped off by Atlanta police in order to prevent him fromprotesting his exclusion from the presidential debate. He was never charged with acrime. The Democrat mayor of Atlanta, who personally picked up Keyes, apologized for thecity's conduct.

Blueline getting thinner in West Coast states as police take refuge in Idaho. The GemState has become a popular moving destination for both retired and active-duty police officers, atrend Horst and Idaho Fraternal Order of Police President Bryan Lovell broadly attribute to a morepositive climate. "They come to Idaho where they can enjoy their career and make a difference,"Lovell told Fox News Digital. "They see that, in large part, our communities are supportive of lawenforcement and public safety." Cities large and small across the country suffered severestaffing shortages on the heels of anti-police protests in 2020. Four years later, some departmentsstill can't stop the bleeding. Seattle's police staffing is at its lowest level since the1990s, according to a March KING5 report. Earlier this year in California, the AlamedaPolice Department offered a $75,000 signing bonus— the highest in thenation— on top of a six-figure starting salary to try to entice new officers.

Californiahemorrhages its law enforcement officers to a red state. Men and women whose job mayrequire them to lay their lives on the line, who handle some of the scummiest and darkest realitiesin the history of humanity, want to be respected and supported by their employers andcommunity? No kidding. And it's not just a few cops here and there— deepblue pro-crime cities are hemorrhaging law enforcement officers: [...] But, what I find doublyobnoxious is that instead of implementing policies that work, like the tough-on-crime policiesof red states, the government uses taxpayer dollars— like the $75,000 bonus inAlameda, California— to woo new officers. The people responsible for this don'tpay, in the slightest, and it's enraging.

WhitePennsylvania State Trooper Is Fired For Arresting A Black Transvestite Who Clearly Broke SeveralLaws. The Pennsylvania State Police are no longer employing the state trooper whoarrested Philadelphia transgender and husband LGBTQ+ officials back in March 'it's not cause you'reblack.' "We can confirm he's no longer employed by our department," a Pennsylvania StatePolice spokesperson said on Friday, May10. Pennsylvania State Police said that thestate trooper initially pulled over a gray Infinity sedan for 'multiple Vehicle Code violations.'Morrison's husband reportedly pulled up behind the trooper's car, and police said the driver was 'verbally combative' and 'resisted arrest.' [Videoclip]

DCPolice Refuse to Clear Protesters From George Washington University Campus Because of Bad'Optics'. At 3:00AM on Saturday morning, Washington, D.C. police were linedup andprepared to enter the campus of George Washington University to clear anti-Israel protesters from atent encampment they had built. [Advertisem*nt] However, according to the Washington Post,the police got the order to stand down from their superiors. Two sources told the Post thecops were "worried about the optics of moving against a small number of peaceful protesters,according to two officials familiar with the talks." The office of Mayor Muriel Bowser wasalso involved in the decision for the cops to back off. The Post reported that "cityofficials told their university counterparts they wanted to avoid images of violent altercationsbetween police and protesters flashing across TV screens across the country."

The Editor says...
In other words, the mob won.

London:Met Police Tell Jewish Man He Will Be Arrested For Being 'Openly Jewish' At A Pro-HamasRally. The Metropolitan Police of the UK approached a Jewish man who was walking neara pro Hamas protest: "You are quite openly Jewish. This is a pro-Palestinian march.I am not accusing you of anything, but I am worried about the reaction to your presence."Another officer "Because your presence is antagonizing them." [Videoclip]

Trans-hating'parody of JK Rowling' was created by Police Scotland officers. A fictionaltrans-hating character called "Jo", who women's groups claim is an offensive parody of JKRowling,was invented by Police Scotland officers, it has emerged. The national force faced scrutinythis week over a "scenario" presented at an official hate crime event in which "Jo", a gender-critical campaigner who, like Rowling, has a large social media following, states that trans people should be sent to gas chambers. The Time for Inclusive Education (TIE) campaign group, which ran the hate crime event in collaboration with police, revealed the Jo character had been "written by officers at Police Scotland based on their expertise". Women's groups said the revelation raised new doubts over the ability of police to impartially enforce new hate crime laws, which come into force on April1. They say the fictional narrative written by officers is offensive as it reinforces inaccurate claims commonly made by trans-rights activists that gender-critical campaigners such as Rowling have been radicalised.

SwissPolice Shut Off Electricity During An Anti-Immigration Speech, Arrest Speaker. In ashocking development, armed police intervened to shut down the power and arrest Martin Sellner justas he was preparing to deliver a controversial anti-immigration lecture in Switzerland.[Videoclip]

NYcop claims he was fired for writing traffic ticket to lawyer who flashed PBA card to try dodgetrouble. A Westchester County cop claims he was unceremoniously fired just monthsinto the job for writing a traffic ticket to a PBA-connected lawyer— and is now suingthe county in federal court. Joseph Saetta, 29, said he got into hot water with the suburbandepartment just two months after joining the force— all because he didn't honor apolice benevolent association "courtesy card," part of an unspoken code in law enforcement for copsto look the other way on minor infractions. It ended up costing him his job, the lawsuit claims.

PolishFarmer: "Everything was peaceful and suddenly the police came out of nowhere, [...] simplyprovoking people". Just before I left on my vacation, demonstrations by farmersacross Europe had made an impact, as the European Parliament nixed some of its unrealistic greenplans for a global utopia. Gone, for example, are rules to force the reduction of nitrogen(essential for fertilizers) and methane (generated by cattle) and plans to persuade Europeancitizens to eat less meat. At least for now. Protests are continuing, and in Poland,there are reports that farmers clashed with police. [...] Tomasz Obszanski, a farmers' union leaderand protest organiser told Reuters that police began blocking protesters from leaving as thedemonstration ended. "Everything was peaceful and suddenly the police came out of nowhere,there were loud bangs, the police started using (tear) gas and simply provoking people leaving theprotest," said Obszanski, leader of the NSZZ RI Solidarnosc union for individual farmers.

AnotherCity 'At the Brink of Disaster' After Defunding Police. [W]ho could have guessed thatdefunding the police in your city would cause problems? Well, residents of Austin, Texas,have discovered just that the hard way. The city has been plagued by police staffingshortages and longer 911-call response times since the Austin City Council voted to defund thepolice department in 2020. Last week, the shortages resulted in a section of the city beingcompletely without any police officers for a few hours. "Previous councils and leadershiphave actively worked against our officers and department, which has now put us in a free-fallingstaffing crisis," Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock told Fox News Digital. "Twicenow we've had our contract voted down or it has been allowed to expire. Each year since 2017,we've lost more officers than we've hired. We had to gut our specialized units and forcedetectives to work backfill on patrol just to try and respond to 911calls."

EmbattledDemocrat mayor [is] accused of using police as personal 'Gestapo' to target those who didn'tsupport her campaign. By now, you've probably heard of Tiffany Henyard, the embattledBiden-loving Democrat mayor of Dolton, Illinois, who recently came under fire for raking in a"combined salary of nearly $300k" to fund her glamorous first-class lifestyle and high-maintenancebeauty routine— for context, the town's residents have a median income of around$24,000. But Henyard refused to concede that perhaps isn't the best example of a civilservant and lambasted her dissenters, telling them they should be "ashamed" of themselves fordaring to petition for accountability and financial transparency. (Note: all Henyard's criticswere also black.) Well there's been a development, and the allegations are simply scandalous.

We'reLiving Under A Tyranny Of Mediocre Morons. You might think that it would be difficultto cause any kind of serious problem in a Wendy's drive-thru. The concept is prettysimple: You sit in the car, and when it's your turn, you drive up, get your order, and thenyou drive off. In an orderly society, it's a pretty straight-forward, fool-proofsystem. But in the days after George Floyd was canonized, of course, all rules weresuspended. Things started breaking down. Accordingly, on June12 of that year, a27-year-old man named Rayshard Brooks decided to treat the Wendy's drive-thru like a motelroom. He got drunk out of his mind and passed out in his car, as he waited to get hishamburger and frosty. Then, when two police officers arrived in an attempt to keep thedrive-thru moving, Brooks started fighting with one of the officers, stole his taser, and beganrunning away. A few seconds later, Brooks turned around and pointed the stolen taser at theofficers, at which point he was shot and killed. It was not only a justified police shootingbut perhaps one of the most justified police shootings ever caught on film. Nevertheless,just a few days later, the top prosecutor in Fulton County Georgia, a guy named Paul Howard,decided to charge both officers on the scene with a variety ofcrimes.

The cops don't want to offend Muslims, even if they're murderers.
'Groupof People' Kill Teenage Boys, U.K. Police Caution Public Not to Identify Suspects.The British authorities are fearful that the brutal killing of two teenagers could trigger anotherwave of public unrest. A 15-year-old boy and a 16-year-old boy, who are yet to be publiclyidentified by police, were stabbed by a "group of men" on Saturday night [1/27/2024]. Thefatal stabbing incident took place in Knowles West in South Bristol, which is the most populouscity in Southwest England. The police, as has become customary in Britain, refused toidentify the suspects as anything other than a "group of men," despite apprehending a 44-year-oldman and a 15-year-old boy in connection to the heinous crime. [...] "We have also identifiedseveral witnesses who we will be taking statements from," he went on. "Detectives are particularlykeen to speak with passengers on a bus which was on Ilminster Avenue at the time of the incident."The police commander then cautioned the public not to share information about the murder. "Itis extremely important there should be no commentary or sharing of information or images onlinewhich could in any way prejudice and any future proceedings," he commented.

OhioOfficial's Arrest After She Criticized Sheriff at Public Meeting a Free Speech Violation, JudgeOrders Damages. On Wednesday, a federal judge ruled that the constitutional rights ofan Ohio elected official were violated when she was arrested for criticizing the sheriff at apublic meeting, AP reported. U.S. District Judge J.Philip Calabrese ruled that the arrestviolated the First Amendment. Niki Frenchko, the sole Republican on the three-member TrumbullCounty Board of Commissioners, was arrested during a commissioners' meeting on July7, 2022.She was charged under a contentious Ohio law that criminalizes actions or speech intended to"prevent or disrupt a lawful meeting."

BlueStates Are Hiring Illegals as Police, Giving Them Guns. As you likely know, bluestates have been playing a cute and dangerous game to drive up their gun crime stats:
[#1] Release prisoners from jail
[#2] Keep them free with cashless bail
[#3] More criminals on the streets with guns means more crime
[#4] Use the inflated crime stats to take away your gat

The Editor says...
I play Scrabble as much as the next guy, but I thought gat was a typo until I looked it up. It's slang for a gun, as you might have inferred from the context.

CanadaGoes Full Communist After Cop Deliberately Walks Into Conservative Journalist, Then Arrests Him ForAssault. "I came here to do my job, and now I'm handcuffed." Rebel News' belovedMission Specialist David Menzies was just brutally arrested for practicing journalism in theToronto suburb of Richmond Hill. Menzies was physically obstructed by an unnamed RCMPofficer, who interfered with his attempt to question Deputy Prime Minister and Finance MinisterChrystia Freeland. Menzies was then swarmed by officers and hauled off in a paddy wagon foran unknown charge at a memorial service held for Canadians killed after the Iranian military shotdown Flight PS752 four years ago. "Welcome to [Justin Trudeau]'s Canada," Menzies can be heardsaying. "This is what they do to journalists. I was merely trying to scrum Minister Freelandand the RCMP officer blocked me, and evidently this is a trumped-up charge of assault, folks.I came here to do my job and now I'm handcuffed." [Videoclip]

TorontoCops Deliver Hot Coffee To Jew-Hating Protesters Blocking The Road To A JewishCommunity. Facing mounting criticism for an alleged tolerance of a series ofroad-closing anti-Israel protests, Toronto police members have sparked renewed outrage thanks to avideo showing them delivering coffee to said protestors. Posted to social media platform 'X'at 2p.m. on Saturday by Toronto lawyer and online commentator Caryma Sa'd, the video shows aToronto police constable— his face concealed behind a black neck gaiter—delivering a cardboard urn of Tim Hortons coffee and a stack of cups— to anti-Israelprotestors occupying the closed Avenue Road bridge over Highway401. The bridge, locatedwithin Toronto's largest Jewish area, was the site of numerous demonstrations by anti-Israelactivists. That prompted Toronto police to close the bridge during the protests, promptingcriticism of police kowtowing to protestors over enforcing the law. [Videoclip]

Philadelphia'spolice department fired its first-ever DEI officer. It is news that is sure to bewelcomed by the throngs of people who are tired of the race-obsessed society the nation hasbecome. Earlier this week, the Philadelphia Police Department fired its first-ever DEIofficer, Leslie Marant, Philadelphia's WPVI reported. Marant was hired by former PoliceCommissioner Danielle Outlaw in April2022, according to multiple sources. It wasconsidered an odd move at the time by Outlaw, especially since the city was in the middle of a waveof violent crime. Less than four months after setting a Philadelphia record for mosthomicides in a single year, Outlaw chose to pander to left-wing politics and hire Marant as DEIofficer. Moreover, Philadelphia would go on to have the second-highest total for homicides inits history in 2022, recording over 500 murders for the second consecutive year.

Ifit all goes wrong, with whom will the police side? [Scrolldown] LocalPolice: These are county sheriff's offices and municipal police forces. There will be areal blue/red divide, but it will be pretty much limited to large blue cities and red everythingelse. [...] Line cops tend to distrust and dislike such political slugs as much as the politicalslugs distrust and hate them. [...] As with the military, some line cops will play along, at leastat first, out of a misplaced sense of duty, but that won't last long, nor will they if they don'tquickly wise up. As with our military, cops tend to be conservative. Duty, honor andintegrity are part of their everyday lives, as are grooming standards. If a cop loses hisreputation for integrity, his career is over. Americans don't realize it, but cops activelyapply the Constitution every day. They may not be able to quote chapter and verse, but theyknow how vital it is. Some of them are also veterans or members of the National Guard.They're not going to be killing their friends, relatives, neighbors and the people they see every day.

Lawrequires California police to use suspect's pronouns upon release of mugshot. ACalifornia law taking effect Monday will include preferred pronouns with suspects' mugshots whilealso limiting their presence on social media. California's AB994 amended the current law onpublishing mugshots, only allowing the mugshots of suspects with violent charges to remain onsocial media for two weeks. Those posted on social media should also only be posted if "thesuspect is a fugitive or an imminent threat to an individual or to public safety and releasing ordisseminating the suspect's image will assist in locating or apprehending the suspect or reducingor eliminating the threat." This law will apply retroactively, meaning that agencies willhave to delete old mugshots from their social media. However, this law will not apply to thewebsites or data systems of agencies.

The Editor says...
In other words, the police will know that 90percent of the violent criminals are "minorities," but the general public won't be informed, because that would turn us all into racists.

Demwho defunded Austin police under fire for requesting enhanced patrols around his home. Just days after Rep.Gregorio "Greg" Casar of Texas openly criticized the Austin PoliceDepartment, and following his stint on the city council where he called to defund the samedepartment, Casar reportedly "requested enhanced patrols around his house," according to the AustinPolice Retired Officers Association. "It's come to our attention that Anti police king of thedefund movement in Austin @GregCasar who only last week called APD an agency with racist practiceshas requested enhanced patrols around his house for the next week," APROA posted Tuesday onX.

PatheticPolice In The UK Arrest An Elderly Man Because He Challenged The Pro-Hamas Mob Yet Didn't Break AnyLaws. British police officers detain an elderly man dressed in a suit to 'preventpotential breach of peace' after he made a comment to pro-Palestinian protesters who had taken overLeicester city center chanting pro-Hamas slogans. [Videoclip]

Stalkercase took deadly turn after police redeployed to monitor lockdown breaches. Aninvestigation into a stalker who is believed to have gone on to murder a 23-year-old woman wasdropped after police officers were redeployed to monitor lockdown breaches, an inquest heard.Gracie Spinks is thought to have been stabbed to death by Michael Sellers four months after shereported him to Derbyshire Police in February 2021. SgtMatthew Adams, who supervised PcSarah Parker, the officer who initially investigated the case, gave evidence at day five of the inquest into the death of MsSpinks at Chesterfield Crown Court on Monday. He told the court that during the coronavirus pandemic, PcParker had been moved over to a response team and therefore he had not been managing her, or the case, as closely as he normally would have.

Ifthe police can scour the internet for hate speech, surely they can arrest protesters calling forthe eradication of a nation. On Saturday night, senior officers at Scotland Yard nodoubt poured large Glennhoddles all round and congratulated themselves on a job well done. Bytheir own estimation, they were certainly entitled to do so. After all, a potentiallyvolatile large pro-Palestinian demonstration had passed off 'peacefully' and with fewarrests. The fact that elements of the 100,000-strong crowd appeared to be calling for a holywar to wipe Israel off the face of the earth didn't seem to trouble the police. No laws hadbeen broken, the cops insisted, pointing out that chants of 'jihad' could be interpreted in several ways.

Fivetimes the Met Police stood aside during pro-Palestine protests. The MetropolitanPolice has been criticised for its handling of a pro-Palestine rally in London on Saturday.Police said that around 100,000 people attended the rally, where protesters scaled buildings inWhitehall, chanted "From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free", and called for "jihad".Only 10people were arrested during the protests. The arrests were for offences involvingfireworks, public order and assaulting an emergency service worker.

If you see something, say something. And you'll be ignored.
Londonpolice stood by as pro-Palestine demonstrators called for a 'jihad' on London streets. Suella Braverman will today demand an explanation from police after they stood by as pro-Palestine demonstrators called for a 'jihad' against Israel. The Home Secretary will confront Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley over the force's low-key approach to anti-Israel demonstrators peddling hate on Britain's streets. Ministers reacted angrily after the police said no laws were broken at an event on Saturday where protesters in central London called for 'Muslim armies' to launch a jihad to 'liberate Palestine'. According to one report, up to 15 officers stood by and watched.

Policeshould follow the law in the Nashville shooter manifesto case. It's been nearly sevenmonths since a transgender man entered the Covenant School in Tennessee and shot and murdered threenine-year-old children and three adults. According to court filings, this murderer leftbehind at least 20 journals, a suicide note, and a memoir. Yet, they have not been releasedto the public to allow for an understanding of the killer's motive. Leftists have foughtagainst the release, either knowing or fearing what information the documents contain. [...] Thedelay makes it appear that they are attempting to hide something, and since the shooting quicklybecame a political hot potato, it looks like they are playing politics. The delay only allowsspeculation to grow over what the documents contain, and that speculation could be more harmfulthan the truth.

TheProfit Incentives Driving the American Police State. As with most things, if you wantto know the real motives behind any government program, follow the money trail. When you digdown far enough, you quickly find that those who profit from Americans being surveilled, fined,scanned, searched, probed, tasered, arrested and imprisoned are none other than the police whoarrest them, the courts which try them, the prisons which incarcerate them, and the corporations,which manufacture the weapons, equipment and prisons used by the American police state. Theseinjustices, petty tyrannies and overt acts of hostility are being carried out in the name of thenational good— against the interests of individuals, society and ultimately ourfreedoms— by an elite class of government officials working in partnership withmegacorporations that are largely insulated from the ill effects of their actions. Everywhereyou go, everything you do, and every which way you look, we're getting swindled, cheated, conned,robbed, raided, pickpocketed, mugged, deceived, defrauded, double-crossed and fleeced bygovernmental and corporate shareholders of the American police state out to make a profit attaxpayer expense.

Armycalled in as Met firearms officers put down their guns. Soldiers will be drafted into replace armed police officers following a mass walkout by firearms teams to protest against thedecision to charge one of their colleagues with murder. More than 300 officers—10percent of all firearms staff— have refused to carry a gun, forcing Scotland Yardto submit a formal request to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for help with counter-terrorpolicing. On Sunday Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, issued an openletter calling for an overhaul of the way police officers are treated by the justice system andbetter legal protection for those who use force while on duty. His comments came just hoursafter Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, gave her backing to firearms officers and said she would launch a review "to ensure they have the confidence to do their jobs while protecting usall".

DC-AreaPolice Department Turns to Puerto Rico To Alleviate Officer Recruiting Shortages.Officer shortages are so dire in the Washington, D.C., area that one county police department isplanning to send officials to Puerto Rico in an attempt to bring back hundreds of new recruits, thedepartment announced Monday. Law enforcement officials in Maryland's Prince George's County,which borders D.C., told the city's Fox affiliate that they plan to travel to the Caribbean island"soon" in an attempt to hire the roughly 350 officers they need to achieve a full staff. Inaddition to the tropical recruitment trip, the county's police department is targeting Hispaniccommunities at parades and other events across the country and running ads in Spanish. Theeffort provides a window into the unique strategies that police departments are employing as theywork to address the officer shortages that have plagued America's police departments since theheight of the Defund the Police movement in 2020.

TrumpCaravan Blocked in Manhattan by Three Leftists with a Sheet. Trump supportersorganized a caravan in Manhattan today. The Trump supporters were planning on travelingthrough the city and passing by Trump Tower. But then three leftists with a spray-paintedsheet stood in the street and blocked traffic. Police did nothing to remove the leftists fromthe road. [Tweet] The police did not remove the protesters blocking traffic.

Asking AboutDead Kids In Maui Is Not Allowed. [Tweet with videoclip]

Searchwarrant against Marion County Record is Withdrawn by attorney after raid on newspaper offices and98-year-old co-owner's home triggered her death. The search warrant that authorized asensational raid on a local newspaper's headquarters and its co-owner's home has beenwithdrawn. All seized items from the Marion County Record have been released to thenewspaper's attorney, five days after they were swiped by the police department. The policechief, Gideon Cody, was accused by newspaper owner Eric Meyer of using 'Hitler tactics' during theraid. His mom, Joan, died following the intense stress.

Did'Gestapo' Raid Over Unpublished NEWS Article Lead To Elderly Woman's Death? Above acertain age, the body is less able to cope with certain stressors. A police raid of anewspaper owner's home over a story that had never been published is a serious source ofstress. In the general sense, none of us is guaranteed to be here tomorrow, and the older weget the more deeply that truism is felt. How much more so when someone is nearing theirhundredth birthday? But even if we're not guaranteed tomorrow, there is always thepossibility that we can manage a few more trips around the sun, even at an advanced age likeninety-eight. Unless some kind of an unexpected shock puts a sudden strain onyou.

Localpolice raid, shut down local newspaper. A local news story out of Marion County,Kansas is rapidly going national because of its potential implications for the First Amendment andfreedom of the press, along with the puzzling details that set the events in question inmotion. The office of the local newspaper, the Marion Country Record was raided by the policeon Friday, along with the home of the publisher, Eric Meyer. Computer equipment, cell phones,and boxes of records were seized. One reporter's hand was injured by a police officer.Mayer's nearly 100-year-old wife was so distraught by the events that she could neither eat norsleep and she died yesterday, despite being reportedly "in otherwise good health for her age." The police claim they were justified in taking these actions, but outraged free speech advocates aredemanding answers.

This is not off-topic, once you hear the whole story.
Newspaper'sco-owner, 98, collapses and dies after being left 'overwhelmed' by 'Gestapo-like' police raid toseize. The co-owner of local newspaper the Marion County Record has died after being'traumatized' by a police home raid that was green-lighted to seize information on a story thathadn't even been published. Joan Meyer, 98, collapsed and died following the intense stressand grief she felt when her home was raided by the entirety of the Marion Police Department inKansas. The elderly woman, who co-owned the newspaper with her son Eric, was subjected to theraid by five officers and two sheriff's deputies on Friday - which caused her to be 'stressedbeyond her limits and overwhelmed by hours of shock and grief.'

PoliceOfficers Raid Local Newspaper, Sparking Major First Amendment Concerns. In a bizarreand alarming incident, local law enforcement in a Kansas town raided a newspaper, seizingcomputers, cell phones, and reporting materials. It is believed that the police department'sactions were the result of a response to the media outlet's publishing of articles portraying arestaurant owner in a negative light. This is a rather strange case based on the details thatare currently available. But the most obvious concern in this tale is the potential violationof the First Amendment protections of freedom of the press. [...] "As far as I can see, theentirety of law enforcement in Marion County was involved in this," [Eric] Meyer explained, notingthat all four employees of the department were present at the search. There is quite a bit tounpack here. From a freedom of the press perspective, this action on the part of local lawenforcement raises some critical implications regarding Constitutional protections for media.It is possible that the warrant used to justify the raid could violate federal laws protecting theability to gather and distribute information. This raid could easily have a chilling effecton journalists in the state if it is allowed to stand. Critics like Emily Bradbury, executivedirector of the Kansas Press Association, blasted the raid as an "assault on the very foundation ofdemocracy and the public's right toknow."

Update:
Thepolice chief who led a raid of a small Kansas newspaper has been suspended. Thepolice chief who led a highly criticized raid of a small Kansas newspaper has been suspended, themayor confirmed to The Associated Press on Saturday. Marion Mayor Dave Mayfield in a textsaid he suspended Chief Gideon Cody on Thursday. He declined to discuss his decision furtherand did not say whether Cody was still being paid.

KansasPolice Chief Who Led Raid on Small Kansas Newspaper Owner's Home and Caused Her Death Has BeenSuspended. The Kansas Police Chief who led a raid on a small Kansas newspaper hasbeen suspended from his post. Dave Mayfield, the mayor of Marion, suspended Chief Gideon Codyon Thursday. He did not go into detail or discuss whether or not he is being paid. Thesearches occurred on August11th, and has brought Marion into the spotlight regarding freedom ofthe press and First Amendment rights.

Another update:
Policechief took steps toward charges against journalists days after Kansas newspaper raid.Marion's police chief still worked toward criminal charges against a city councilwoman and twojournalists in the face of an intense national backlash several days after he led raids on thelocal newspaper, as well as the homes of the paper's publisher and the councilwoman. Recordsobtained by the town's newspaper, the Marion County Record, and provided to The Star show in thedays following the raid Cody coordinated with the Marion County Sheriff's Office and the KansasBureau of Investigation to consider charges against councilwoman Ruth Herbel and Marion CountyRecord editor and publisher Eric Meyer, as well as reporter Phylis Zorn, for viewing the drivingrecords of a local businesswoman. "It's just remarkable. Joan Meyer dies on Saturday andon Wednesday he's trying to arrest Eric Meyer and the rest of these so-called co-conspirators,"Bernie Rhodes, an attorney representing the Record, said, referencing the death of the 98-year-oldco-owner of the paper the day after the raid. Rhodes also represents The Star and The Eagle.

WisconsinPolice 'Acting Like Thugs' Arrest Christians for Preaching at 'Trans' Event TargetingChildren. Crackdowns on religious— that is, Christian—freedom in America are growing. Over the weekend, a group of Christians protested a so-called"trans" event targeting children in Wisconsin. But once they began to read and quote from theBible, police quickly moved into action, detaining, handcuffing, and arresting. The incidentwas videotaped. One speaker can be heard saying, "You guys are acting like thugs" to thepolice as they arrest a young man who is reading from the Bible. [Tweet with videoclip]

IllinoisGov.J.B. Pritzker Signs Law Allowing DACA Illegal Aliens to Police Americans.Illinois Gov.J.B.Pritzker (D) has signed into law a plan that allows foreign nationals withwork permits, some of whom are illegal aliens, to become police officers in the sanctuarystate. Democrat legislators, with a supermajority in the Illinois House and Senate, passedlegislation in June that opens law enforcement jobs to thousands of illegal aliens enrolled in theDeferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program as well as thousands of other foreignnationals with work permits from the federal government.

IllegalAliens with Work Authorization Now Permitted to Become Police Officers in Illinois.It may be entirely possible in Illinois now for a police officer to demand to see your papers foridentity compliance even though that police officer may be an illegal alien who broke U.S. law toenter the United States. Under a bill recently signed by Illinois Governor J.B.Pritzker,illegal aliens can now become police officers. The downstream ramifications of this effortare not difficult to imagine. As if the crisis of confidence in the U.S. legal and lawenforcement system was not under enough pressure, the reality of lawbreaking foreign nationals andborder crossers now controlling law enforcement is a rather remarkable escalation in social fracture.

LApolice union boss tells cops to leave the city: 'Go somewhere that understands your worth'. The vice president of a Los Angeles police union encouraged officers to ditch the city and find work elsewhere during unsuccessful salary negotiations with the city. Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) Vice President Jerretta Sandoz made the statement in a comment from her personal Facebook page as the negotiations were being handled in late June. Sandoz wrote in the now-deleted statement that the L.A. City Council was stacked against police. "Go somewhere that respects the work you do and you don't have to beg for a great contract," she wrote, according to a screenshot of the comment posted last month and now obtained by the Los Angeles Times. "Go somewhere that has a city council or city manager that openly acknowledges the great work you do, go somewhere that doesn't have two or more City Council members who hate you (no exaggeration)."

Bostonmayor under fire after sending list of critics and protesters to police. Boston MayorMichelle Wu, a Democrat, is facing criticism for "Nixonian tactics" after her administrationadmitted to creating a list of her most vocal critics and providing it to local authorities."The list was made in response to a request from the Boston Police Department after the Mayor hadbeen harassed and physically intimidated by individuals for several months outside her home, atcity functions such as the annual neighborhood parks coffee hours, and at other public events," Wuspokesman Ricardo Patron said in a statement to the Boston Herald. The acknowledgment by theadministration that it had compiled the document came after the list was uncovered in an emailobtained through a public records request by Wu's opponents, the outlet noted.

SanctuaryState Illinois: Gov.Pritzker Considers Allowing DACA Illegal Aliens to Police Americans asCops. Illinois Gov.J.B.Pritzker (D) is considering signing legislation intolaw that would allow illegal aliens, enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)program, to become police officers in the sanctuary state. Democrat legislators, with asupermajority in the Illinois House and Senate, passed legislation late last month that would allowthousands of DACA illegal aliens living in the state to become police officers or deputy sheriffs.

Billde Blasio ordered to pay $475,000 for misusing police detail during failed presidentialrun. New York City's Conflicts of Interest Board on Thursday ordered former MayorBill de Blasio to pay nearly $475,000 for misuse of his New York Police Department security detailduring his failed 2020 Democratic presidential campaign. De Blasio was fined $5,000 for eachof the 31 times he used city resources for non-city purposes by traveling with his NYPD securitydetail on out-of-state campaign trips from May 2019 through September 2019, the board's reportstates. The $155,000 fine is the largest ever amount issued by the board, according toPatch. The board also ordered him to pay the city $319,794.20 in travel costs for hissecurity detail during those 31trips.

WhatWill Police Do if Ordered To Enforce Pandemic Quarantine? Dr.Bill Lionberger isa physician who has studied and is an opponent of the forced vaccination of America's military andpolice. He is part of the organization America's Frontline Doctors. He's also a 12-yearveteran Police Officer. He foresees another pandemic in the future and knows that plans arebeing put into effect that the government may require the forced quarantine of those who refusevaccination. The question is, who will enforce it? American Law Enforcement Communityswears an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States, so what will they do if ordered toenforce an unconstitutional order?

ManArrested While Attempting To Read Bible Verse At Pennsylvania Pride Event. A videoshows Reading, Pennsylvania, police arresting a man after he tries to read a Bible verse duringpublic Pride event. Damon Atkins was attempting to read 1Corinthians14:33 when the police confronted him. The Bible verse reads, "For God is not a God of disorder but of peace, as inall the meetings of God's holy people." "Let them have their day. Respect it," anofficer toldhim.

Mightas Well Put Them to Use: Chicago Police Stations Become Migrant Shelters. At last,the Left has found a use for police stations that is consistent with its guiding principles andoverall philosophy. Chicago is a showcase city for far-Left policies. Crime is throughthe roof, drug use is rampant, and the police are cowed, defensive, and defanged. But now thecity, in its infinite Marxist/Leninist wisdom has found a new use for the police stations that havebecome largely ceremonial in outgoing Mayor Lori Lightfoot's (and soon to be incoming Mayor BrandonJohnson's) Chicago: they're being used to shelter illegal migrants. How wonderfullyfitting. Fox News reported Wednesday that "Chicago police sources say that their stationshave become shelters for migrants, with at least two police precinct lobbies housing asylumseekers." How enlightened! How progressive!

Report:U.S. Marshals Were Told Not to Arrest Protesters Outside Supreme Court Justices' Homes. U.S. Marshals assigned to guard Supreme Court justices during the controversy over Roev.Wade last year were reportedly told not to arrest protesters that gathered outside their private homes. Last year, individual Supreme Court Justices were targeted by protesters after an illegal leak of a draft decision aiming to overturn Roev.Wade before it had been officially decided. At the time, even the left-wing Washington Post admitted such protests were likely illegal according to Title18, Section1507, of the U.S.Code.

Fortheir personal feel-goodery, the Denver School Board shoots three, kills one, and endangers thousands at East High. Like many school boards, the Denver School Board years ago asked the police for help in quelling violence in the schools. The police succeeded to some extent. Sofar, so good, though it's a poor reflection on our society, our schools, our students, and their parents. In 1975, about 1% of schools had cops onsite. By a few years ago, it was over 50%. The presence of cops did help. But the Denver School Board was disappointed that the encounters by the school policeinvolved a disproportionate number of students of color. That was no surprise to anyone paying attention to crime statistics. A disproportionate number of police encounters in society at large involve people of color, and so it's natural that it would be the same in the schools. All serious observers know that's because a disproportionate number of crimes are committed by people of color. [...] For example, it has been well documented that Black people commit murder at roughly seventimes the rate of white people. Most people murdered by Blacks are themselves Black. The response of the Denver School Board was not to focus on the message that a disproportionate number of violent crimes are by students of color, but to shoot the messenger— the police.

LAPDchief accused of feeding personal data to anti-police activists: 'Bounty on our officers'. Thousands of photos, names and other personal information for police in Los Angeles were released to an anti-police group that has published the material on a website— sparking a complaint against the city's top cop from the officers' labor union. The information's release endangers police across the city and exposes undercover cops, the union claims, though the group said the information is public information and doesn't include private addresses. "This site just went up a day or two ago and puts a bounty on our officers," Robert Rico, general counsel for the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL), told Fox News Digital on Thursday. "We are going to court to try and get it taken down and have sent cease-and-desist demands to Google and Twitter."

ChicagoInmates Claim Guards Are Trying To Get Them To Vote Illegally For Mayor Beetlejuice.Chicago inmates have claimed they are being pressured to illegally vote in the city's mayoralelection. The inmates, some who are accused of murder, argued guards at Cook County Jail werepushing them to vote - despite some being registered in a different jurisdiction. Theyclaimed the guards were receiving orders from higher up and were 'just doing what I'm told' whenconfronted over the move. It comes amid fears of ballot harvesting as insiders claimed thejail was the 'ideal environment' due to no cameras or election observers. [Videoclip]

LAMayor Bass calls to root out 'right-wing extremist' police, signals lowering the bar for newrecruits. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called to remove "obstacles" for new policerecruits and pledged to root out officers with ties to "right-wing domestic extremistorganizations." Bass is looking to remove "obstacles" for police recruits who fail toinitially qualify for training as a means of further diversifying the LAPD, according to a summaryof her public safety goals obtained by Fox News Digital— but police union leaders arequestioning the move. Bass' summary of goals for police reform includes a list of provisionsas well as dates by which the department must report back regarding progress. One provisionsays a deputy mayor will work in conjunction with a "third party" to "evaluate the personnelprocess and identify obstacles to entry for recruits who fail to qualify for training."

Forget 'DefundThe Police': There's A New Movement To Handcuff The Cops. Leaders in multiple states and cities areembracing efforts to bar police from pulling drivers over for certain less-severe traffic violations, a move that someexperts believe endangers public safety. Lawmakers in Washington state are pushing a plan that would forbid policetraffic stops conducted to address some lower-level traffic lawbreaking, and Oregon has already established a similarpolicy, while San Francisco is considering a city-wide plan of this kind after Los Angeles and Minneapolis institutedtheir own. Such restrictions could effectively impede enforcement against more serious offenses and put innocentcivilians at risk, according to experts who spoke to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

'Defundthe Police' LA City Council member asks LAPD for extra patrols around his office. A newly-elected LosAngeles city councillor who campaigned on a pledge to abolish the police has been left red-faced after a staff memberrang the LAPD to request protection for his broken-down car. Hugo Soto-Martinez, a trade union activist and memberof the Democratic Socialist party, was elected in December. Soto-Martinez campaigned against 'armed militiasoccupying our neighborhoods,' saying that the existing policing system was 'completely corrupt, immoral, and needs to bechanged drastically.'

ThePaul Pelosi Story Has Been so Thoroughly Muzzled, News Outlets Now Sue to Get Information. ## That a dozenoutlets are banding together to get this access is a sign of how unique it has been to have these particulars held backfrom the public. It is a clear sign of controlled messaging taking place from a higher position. Just takeas one item that police officers being outfitted with body cameras was pushed in order to have greater transparency withthe public. This is footage intended to be revealed, and yet we are seeing it completely blocked from beingreleased. The preeminent question in the face of this is, of course, "Why?" Even given the sensitive natureof things, you would expect that if this were as clear a crime as we're led to believe, there would be no need for thislevel of obfuscation. The argument of this being a public official and that personal or sensitive details might berevealed in the footage from inside the home is mitigated by having editing done or aspects of the video blurredout. What justification would there be to prevent the 911 call recording from being shared? Why can we not see the police interview with Depape from thatnight?

Rebellion Against the People.They say they want to import these people to vote for Democrats, socialists, communists, but they're not here to vote,they're here to attack. They're here to trash what good is left, destroy what safety one might have felt in theirsmall towns and rural existence. They're here to show Americans how to rid themselves of the last vestige ofsovereign individuality and to demonstrate how to accept servility and kill them if they resist further.California intends to employ these disassociated masses as policemen, thugs, to terrorize and dispose of those whoquestion their authority, any authority.

RogueVirginia ABC Sends Police to Enforce COVID Lockdown. Virginia has a famous Republican Governor, GlennYoungkin, who has made his opposition to arbitrary COVID-19 mandates clear. But his predecessor, Democrat GovernorRalph Northam, although out of office for ten months, apparently still calls the shots at the Virginia Alcohol BeverageControl Board. He does so through board members he appointed. Indeed, every one of them, including BoardChair Maria J. K. Everett and Board CEO Travis Hill, are rogue agents bent on enforcing Northam's infamous ExecutiveOrder 72 even after it was withdrawn in May of 2021. For the current members of the Virginia ABC Board, electionsappear to be irrelevant. So long as the Board members have the power to contradict one of Governor Youngkin's keypolicy positions, they appear intent on doing so. And so it is that in all their fulsome Democrat glory, theyauthorized a police raid the early morning of December2 against an honest, hard-working veteran who owns one ofFredericksburg, Virginia's most popular restaurants, Gourmeltz. That owner, Matt Strickland, is a prominentRepublican, a popular prospective candidate for the Virginia State Senate, and a party opponent of the Board members.

Policingin Democrat cities: Don't say we didn't warn you. Democrats have defunded their police departments,elected or appointed weak prosecutors, abolished pre-trial confinement for violent criminals, legalized drugs, weakenedsentencing laws, and released violent criminals early from prison. Police unions have become typical left-wingunions that constantly demand more pay and benefits for police instead of advocating for better laws and policies toreduce crime and enhance the effectiveness of law enforcement while preserving constitutional rights. Many localand national police unions actually support left-wing Democrats, who enact policies that put police officers at risk,enable criminals, and endanger public safety. Police departments in big cities are adopting an unofficial "reactafter the crime" policy instead of being proactive and trying to prevent crimes from occurring. All too frequentlynow, police officers in many jurisdictions hesitate to enter a situation involving a high risk of injury, death, or useof deadly force to accomplish their mission to uphold and defend the Constitution and protect citizens' lives.

Seattle Police Justify The "Defund the Police" Movement by Arresting a Preacher for Reading His Bible Too Close to a Gay PrideEvent. I'm going to return to a theme that I've harped on in the past. Too many conservatives have boughtinto the "back the blue" nonsense in response to the "defund the police" movement and BLM rioting. This ismisguided. Police aren't guarantors of freedom; they are the enforcers of the administrative state. Police unionsand cliques of senior police officers are one of the major forces against gun rights. Time and again, you find thepolice cheerfully enforcing the most shameful regulations. During the "pandemic," police in (at least) New York and NewJersey broke up funerals and gatherings in private homes. They arrested people in empty parks and on desertedbeaches. They arrested people for not wearing masks. Their record on protecting the First Amendment rights ofChristians is similarly checkered. Dearborn, Michigan, had to pay a substantial settlement because the police arrestedChristian preachers outside the venue of a Muslim street fair.

10 Cops Arrest Man For Reading His Bible Near Pride Event In Seattle. A Seattle street preacher says he wasarrested for simply reading his Bible at a public park near a Seattle Gay Pride event. Matthew Meinecke was surroundedby Seattle police officers and taken to the police station, where he was fingerprinted before being released. "So atthis point we can no longer stand by," a police officer told Meinecke as he arrested him. "The risk that you pose forpublic safety by remaining here can be mitigated if you leave, it's your last chance." "I don't want to leave becauseI'm not in danger," Meinecke responded.

Internal probe faults Capitol Police for photographing congressman's private work. An internal investigation hasconfirmed Capitol Police entered Texas Republican Rep.Troy Nehls' office and photographed a whiteboard containing hissensitive legislative plans, concluding the officer who took the picture exercised "questionable judgment" and the departmentlacked policies and training to avoid an unnecessary intrusion on lawmakers' constitutionally protected work. Theepisode from last November exposed the need for Capitol Police to strike a "proper balance of protecting congressionalrepresentatives and their staff from physical outside threats while simultaneously protecting their legislative proposals andwork product from possibly inappropriate photography, scrutiny, and questioning," the department's inspector general wrote ina lengthy report reviewed by Just the News.

Leftist Infiltration of the Police Will Lead To Tyranny. There is an old saying in policing, "Noone hates bad copsmore than good cops." It's true. When good officers see videos of cops brutalizing unarmed, innocent, nonviolentcitizens— they get a sick feeling in their stomachs. This reaction is caused by two things. First isthe natural revulsion to the unfairness of seeing a bully abuse a weaker person. Second is the disgust of watching anofficer who has sworn to protect the weak and uphold the rule of law— dishonor the oath, the uniform, and thebadge. During the past year, I've felt this revulsion more than once. Most recently, observing the viciousbrutality by members of the Ottawa Police Department (OPD) in their unjustified and criminal use of force against peacefullyprotesting truckers in Ottawa, Ontario. The images of the OPD Mounted Unit smashing into a peaceful crowd with theirhorses and trampling an elderly disabled woman, an officer repeatedly striking a protester with a rifle butt as he lay on theground, and others savagely kicking an unarmed trucker who had just peacefully submitted to arrest— weredisgusting. OPD's Interim Police Chief Steve Bell's enthusiastic execution of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau'sdictatorial orders to violently attack the truckers was particularly disturbing. With malevolent glee, Bell announcedOPD's future mission. Instead of public safety, crime suppression, and crime prevention, his municipal policedepartment will now identify, hunt down, and prosecute protesters and their supporters. The objective? To crushtheir finances and destroy their lives. This is what a police chief and department in the service of the totalitarianLeft looks like.

Woke Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has secret unit of 70 cops protecting her. One-time Defund the Police advocateMayor Lori Lightfoot has a secret group of Chicago cops known as Unit 544 protecting her alongside her bodyguards, it hasbeen revealed. The unit of 65 officers, five sergeants and a lieutenant are provide round-the-clock protection for thecity's mayor, together with her bodyguard detail of about 20 men, The Chicago Sun Times has revealed, citing cityrecords. The revelation comes as crime in the Windy City has surged to frightening new rates not seen in half a decade,and after Lightfoot proposed slashing a whopping $80 million from the Chicago Police Department budget in 2020 during theDefund the Police protests.

Dozens of Chicago cops guard mayor and family in below-the-radar security unit created in 2020. Nearly two years ago,the Chicago Police Department quietly created a special unit to protect Mayor Lori Lightfoot's home and City Hall and overseeher personal bodyguard detail. Unit 544 began with a handful of officers and has grown, as of March 21, to a roster of65 officers, five sergeants and a lieutenant, city records show. Like previous Chicago mayors, Lightfoot also has aseparate personal bodyguard detail, which includes about 20 officers, the records show.

More Than 100 People [in Germany] Have Their Homes Raided by Police After Insulting Politicians Online. Tuesday[3/22/2022], German officials searched and questioned more than a hundred individuals for hate speech on social media duringelection campaigns of 2021. More than 600 statements were analyzed and checked for criminal contents, according to policechief Holger Muench, The Local reported. "Freedom of expression reaches its limits as soon as it comes to defamation,insults and threats," Muench said. With Tuesday's action, he said officials are making it clear that "anyone who postshate speech must expect the police to show up at their door," he said.

For Whom the Horns Honk. The trucker's convoy was crushed as soon as the police were unleashed. It took law enforcement only two days to removeevery protestor and vehicle from Parliament Hill. They used simple riot control techniques. Friendly andfraternizing police were replaced with tactical units, who had more protective equipment and better weapons, and unencumberedby body cameras and badge numbers. The suspension of usual protocols was likely planned to avoid accountability, sincea future investigation would have been considered, especially due to the controversial invocation of the Emergency Act.For riot control purposes, police stand in what's called square formation, whereby officers position themselves side by sidein echelons. Each echelon has a specific role. The first line was tightly formed of men, who would advance aftera cannon shocked front-line protestors, forcing them back. They would only advance two or three steps at a time.This first echelon held riot shields and hardwood batons, and would bludgeon anyone who held ground. [...] It was the arresting team who were caught on video ramming gunstocks onto faces or lunging knees into ribs, to pummel already submitted protestors.

Capitol Police issue emergency declaration over People's Convoy. US Capitol Police issued an emergency declaration onSunday in response to the arrival of the 'People's Convoy' of truckers in Washington, DC to protest Covid-19 mandates andrestrictions. The declaration will reportedly allow authorities to receive assistance from the National Guard and paythe food and accommodation bills for officers to stay nearby. According to Bloomberg, the Capitol Police Boardexpressed fears that the protesters could shut down roads and bridges in the US capital in a similar situation to whathappened in Ottawa with the 'Freedom Convoy' last month.

The State's Monopoly on Violence. [Scroll down] I live in downtown Toronto and everywhere I go I see policecars blocking of intersections, impeding or actually stopping traffic. There are so many of them that even the vehiclesof parking constables and court agents have been commandeered into use. They haven't recruited the dog catchersyet— at least not in Toronto but in Ottawa they have indeed started impounding the truckers' pets under thepretense that the truckers are unable to take care of them. There is no truckers convoy here in Toronto. For somemonths now there have been entirely peaceful marches, first protesting vaccine mandates and then demanding freedom ingeneral, that have endedup in front of the provincial legislature. These police cars are a warning: don't startup because if you do, we are ready for you with the entire force of the state. What they say is that the state has a monopoly on violence and will do everything it can to preserve it.

Ottawa Police Highlight International Trend of Jackboot Aggression Toward Citizens. We have watched policedisturbingly follow orders from federal, regional, state and local politicians throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Somuch so, the severity of increasingly brutal tactics from law enforcement has been one of the most eye-opening revelations ofrecent memory. The most recent behavior by police officers and RCMP officials in/around Ottawa, Canada, reflects thisincreasingly hostile approach. There are thousands of recent examples from the U.S, U.K, France, Europe (writ large),Australia, New Zealand and now Canada. What was once rare, perhaps unimaginable, is now commonplace. It is farbeyond unnerving to see this descent into totalitarianism, and it is even more unnerving to gain an understanding of howprevious horrific events in history took place. Yet, we must face these issues as they exist, and not as we wouldprefer them to be. Unfortunately, the result of their behavior, a behavior that must be seen in the totality of itsvisibility, has been a significant drop in support from the general public. We have long passed the time when "a fewbad actors" could be accepted as the excuse, and we now enter that dark period where most people accept that police officersas a group are the enemy of free and democratic society.

Why are the police we revere doing the tyrants' bidding? The outrageous mismanagement of COVID as an instrument ofpopulation control will go down as the second worst political crime against the American people in U.S. history. Thefirst is the Hillary Clinton-conceived Russia hoax. She and her cohorts belong in prison as do Fauci, Collins, Birx,and all those who pushed unsafe, ineffective injections on the millions of people who believed their lies about COVID. Eachof those bureaucrats abused his position of power over the people and has blood on his hands. [...] So how do we explain thefact that in countries around the world, Australia, the U.K., the U.S., France, Belgium, Austria, and Canada, the police,those who were not fired for refusing the vaccine, have taken the opportunity to act like tyranny's handmaidens rather thanprotectors of the people, their essential charge, the reason they signed up for the job? In Canada, a few have sidedwith the truck drivers' cause, but the rest seem to enjoy the opportunity to roust good, law-abiding, non-violent protesters.

Mayor Adams says it 'makes no sense' NYPD officers are allowed to live outside of NYC: Report. According to MayorEric Adams, it "makes no sense" uniformed police officers aren't required to live in New York City. Adams addressed thepolicy Monday following a press conference about gun violence, the New York Post reported. "I want you here in thiscity," Adams said. "I want you to go to the cleaners. I want you to go to the churches, to the supermarket, yourchildren should be in our schools. We shouldn't have 30 something percent of officers residing [out of New York City]."

The Editor says...
Cops who live in the city will pay city taxes. That's what this is about.

The police and sheriffs protect us. Or do they? Will they? Ostensibly democratic governments around theworld have reacted shamefully to the spread of COVID, with law enforcement personnel helping them abuse their power.What has happened in New Zealand and parts of Australia is truly frightening. Those two formerly free and democraticnations have seen the exercise of cruel totalitarianism in the past months. Despite the fact that lockdowns have notmitigated the spread of COVID anywhere in the world, despite the failure of mask mandates to affect the number of cases whencompared to regions without mask mandates, some states in Australia and all of N.Z. have continued the most rigidrestrictions, and their citizens are suffering the consequences.

Top investigator: De Blasio NYPD detail used as 'concierge service' for son. The head of the city'sinvestigatory agency ripped Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday [10/7/2021] for allowing his NYPD security team to be turnedinto a "concierge service" for his son. During a press conference following the release of a scathing Department ofInvestigation report, DOI Commissioner Margaret Garnett declared that the mayor's security team members have in recent yearschauffeured son Dante de Blasio around the five boroughs for personal needs rather than the unit's intended purpose."In practice, what is happening is that, you know, it's not security; it's essentially a concierge service, primarily forDante," she said. "And that, I think, you know— based on the view of experts we spoke to, and ourexamination of the facts and this matter— it's either not good security, or it's not good government, or both."

Nancy Pelosi Orders the Arrest of Those Without Masks and the Capitol Police Play Along. Throughout the "back theblue" craze of the Trump era, one thing became abundantly clear that largely quelled it— police followorders. That includes orders that are patently absurd and violate the basic freedoms of individuals. Yes, lawenforcement officers generally do good work and are to be respected for that, but if you are expecting them to stand up totheir authorities to protect the rights of individuals, they are almost always going to disappoint you. Take thatrevelation and do with it what you will. [...] Another example of that has emerged within the Capitol of the UnitedStates. Nancy Pelosi has ordered the Capitol Police to arrest people who aren't wearing masks. [Tweet] If theUSCP weren't such a ridiculously politicized department, they'd scoff at the notion of using manpower to arrest people fornot wearing masks, especially when the edict is coming from a purely political place. There is no science behind theidea of further mask-mandates anywhere. That's especially true regarding the Capitol Building, where almost everyperson in attendance is vaccinated and has lasting protection from the effects of COVID. Pelosi put this mask-mandateback into place for one reason— to poke at Republicans. No data exists to actually supports the mandatingof masks, much less in the Capitol.

Miami-Dade police unveil LGBTQ Pride-themed patrol vehicle. The Miami-Dade Police Department is honoring the LGBTQcommunity with a rainbow-themed patrol vehicle. The vehicle— which is decorated with the colors of thePride flag and the words "hope," "love," "equality," "inclusion," "kindness," "peace," and also the phrase "strength throughunity"— will be used "to establish a more trusting relationship within our communities," MDPD Sergeant OrlandoLopez said during the unveiling ceremony on Thursday [5/27/2021] in Doral.

NewYork Cops stationed at tunnels and bridges to scan license plates. Travelers coming into New York City from 35COVID-19 hotspot states were met at road entry points Wednesday under a program announced earlier in the day by Mayor Bill deBlasio. At a press conference on Wednesday morning, de Blasio said those who do not self-isolate for 14days once theyarrive in the city from those locations could face a $10,000 fine. He failed to explain how he would enforce theorder. Pictures taken by DailyMail.com show police officers stationed at the Goethals Bridge toll plaza Wednesdayevening. The sheriff's department scanned plates and pulled people over, onlookers say.

Charity Event for Mass Shooting Victims Canceled after City Officials Object to Republicans' Participation. A charityevent in honor of a police officer killed while responding to a mass shooting in Thousand Oaks, California last year has beencanceled after the local police chief and a Democratic politician objected to the participation of prominent Republicans,according to organizers who spoke with a local Fox affiliate. The event, a flag-football game called the Blue Bowl, wassupposed to have taken place at Newbury Park High School in Thousand Oaks. Los Angeles Rams football players werescheduled to show up and sign footballs imprinted with pictures of the fallen officer, Sgt.Ron Helus. Andthousands of dollars, which will now be returned to donors, had already been raised for Helus' family.

Police charity event on hold after chief withdraws because Republicans were invited: report. A charity event plannedin honor of an officer killed in a 2018 mass shooting at a country music bar in in Southern California has been postponedindefinitely— reportedly because a police chief didn't want Republicans invited. The Blue Bowl, a charityflag football game, was intended to raise money for the family of fallen Ventura County Sgt.Ron Helus as well as otherofficers killed in the line of duty, FOX 11 of Los Angeles reported.

LAPDad on pro-police Breitbart makes LAPD, leftists lose their minds. The Los Angeles Police Department wasapoplectic over a recruitment ad appearing on the conservative website Breitbart News. But it seems the LAPD—and liberals in general— have little grasp of how Google Ads work. A more troubling take is just how liberalmany police departments are in America. The left has the media and education on lockdown, and are making significantgains in religion and now law enforcement, too.

Donor who gave $45K to elect sheriff got coveted gun permit from her office. A manager for a prominent privatesecurity firm that provides bodyguards to Silicon Valley executives received a concealed-gun permit from the Santa ClaraCounty Sheriff's Office months after he made a $45,000 contribution to an independent committee supporting Sheriff LaurieSmith's 2018 re-election, newly disclosed records show. The campaign contribution is one focus of an investigation bythe Santa Clara County district attorney's office into whether the sheriff gave out the coveted gun permits in exchange forcampaign support, sources familiar with the probe have told The [San Francisco] Chronicle.

Right Shrugs, as Left Protects BadCops. [T]wo reporters from UC Berkeley's Investigative Reporting Program made a routine public-records request to the Commission on Peace Ocer Standards and Training. POST provided the reporters with a list of thousands of current and past officers and police job applicants with criminal convictions in the past decade, which are used in background checks when hiringofficers. This is how the system should work: Reporters make a legitimate request and receive important information from apublic agency, which provided the information. Unfortunately, the story doesn't end there. California Attorney General XavierBecerra, a progressive Democrat, ordered the reporters to destroy the records they legally obtained. He has threatened legal action,claimed the records were confidential, and said that POST inadvertently released them, according to news reports. Becerra also hasbeen resisting immediate compliance with a new law that gives the public the right to view disciplinary records. This is typical.Despite some newfound enthusiasm for criminal-justice reform, the state's Democrats have largely been the tools of police unions.

Is Anything Off-Limits for California's Police Unions? A few weeks ago the Costa Mesa Police Association(read: Police Union) and their former law firm agreed to pay $607,000 to settle a lawsuit after their scheme againsttwo Costa Mesa city councilmen came to light. As I wrote in my book, this settlement represents a small but importantvictory in the broader philosophical war between California's public employee unions' unquenchable demand for more and thehandful of public officials willing to stand and say there is simply no more to give. This result should also give hopeto public officials across the state who have been at the pointy-end of the public employee unions' so-called "advocacy"during labor negotiations or an election cycle.

Video shows de Blasio donors allegedly delivering bribes to cops. Accused cop-briber Jeremy Reichberg and cohort JonaRechnitz donned Santa hats and cruised around in a black Aston Martin convertible to deliver Christmas grifts to officers onStaten Island, according to videos and photos released Tuesday [11/20/2018]. The pricey goodies, including Nintendogames and American Girl dolls, were delivered to Reichberg's co-defendant, former NYPD Deputy Inspector James Grant, as wellas retired cop Eric Rodriguez and already-convicted ex-Deputy Chief Michael Harrington, Rechnitz testified in Manhattanfederal court.

California Mayor Who Proposed Pension Reforms Says Police Tracked and Intimidated Him. The recent announcement that anow-defunct law firm will pay $600,000 to a former Costa Mesa mayor and a current councilman and his wife puts to bed an uglychapter in that Orange County city's recent history. Nevertheless, it would be wrong to ignore the deeper statewidelessons from that controversy, which also spotlights the aggressive "playbook" that some police officials had used to musclepolitical opponents into submission.

Town'sentire police force resigns, citing officer safety concerns. The entire four-person police department ofBlandford, a small Massachusetts town, resigned Monday evening, citing various safety concerns. "Attention Blandfordresidents: If you have a police, fire or medical emergency, please continue to call 911 as you normally would.The entire Blandford Police Department resigned this evening, effective immediately," the department's Facebook postread. For now, 911 calls will be handled by county officials and other neighboring police forces.

Legal Update: "Whatis the NYPD Hiding?". This is a story of a cop and the case that haunts him. Forty-six years ago, NYPDPatrolman Phillip Cardillo was gunned down inside Louis Farrakhan's Nation of Islam Mosque#7 in Harlem. After alengthy investigation strewn with roadblocks Detective Randy Jurgensen made an arrest. But evidence had disappeared,the crime scene had been erased, and a special prosecutor later determined there was "a concerted and orchestrated effort"by senior members of the NYPD to impede the murder investigation. Jurgensen— a legendary NYPD detective whohelped put away five cop-killers— believes he got the right man. Much of the law-enforcement community inNew York agrees with him. But the trial of Lewis 17X Dupree resulted in a hungjury.

Broward County deputies ordered to defend their Sheriff? The Sheriff of Broward County is taking some heavymetaphorical fire in the news, on social media and from the community over the failure of his former deputy to enter theschool during this month's tragic mass shooting. Even more to the point, revelations that there were so many red flagsabout the shooter which resulted in no action which might have prevented the attack have people up in arms. Underconditions such as these, you would expect any agency to begin circling the wagons if the members were of a mind to protecttheir boss. But it's not the sort of thing one discusses in public, right? That's generally the case. Butyesterday [2/26/2018], Laura Ingraham revealed an internal memo allegedly leaked by someone associated with the Sheriff'soffice indicating that this wasn't exactly a simple case of esprit de corps. The deputies were being instructed to go out and defend the Sheriff against the media onslaught.

Safety second! Frisco's public transit officials shield thugs from racial stereotyping. The Bay Area RapidTransit system (BART) has been plagued by a spike of violent crimes with assaults, robberies and rapes up a staggering 41percent from last year. [...] Yet again, public safety is supposed to be paramount, except when the progressives eclipse safety with political correctness. To avoid being accused of racial stereotyping, they're even willing to refer to rape, robbery and assault as "minor crimes." Frisco's public transit head honchos are more concerned about the race of thugs as opposed to doing the right thing for law-abiding people being victimized.

PCPolice: Seattle cops told to replace "suspect" with "community member". In an effort to be more sensitiveand less judgmental, an edict was recently issued to law enforcement in the liberal paradise of Seattle that from now on, thecorrect term for "suspect" when writingup reports should be "community member".

NYPD shows support for gay pride with new-look patrol SUV. The NYPD is supporting gay pride with a new rainbowcolored patrol vehicle. The SUV was apparently painted for the city's gay pride parade Sunday in Manhattan and carriesa message of support for Orlando in the wake of the country's largest mass shooting incident earlier this month. Thevehicle also has a heart sticker that reads "NYC Pride 2016" and the words "Pride Equality Peace"— both inrainbow colors.

They probably had a really good reason to do this, but still...
Residentsof Colorado town baffled after entire police force suddenly quits. If you find yourself in an emergencysituation in Green Mountain Falls, Colo., don't bother calling police. In this scenic western hamlet, they no longerexist. All four members of the 700-person town's police force— Tim Bradley, the police chief, and threevolunteer reserve officers— resigned April 14 because of an alleged policy dispute with the municipality's newlyelected mayor, according to Fox affiliate KXRM-TV.

Conversion to Islam:
Islam: Some Religions Are More Equal Than Others. Captain Paul Fields of the Tulsa Policewas suspended and then transferred for refusing to order his officers to attend an event at theMasjid al-Salam, the Islamic Society of Tulsa (IST). [...] The officers were to meet with theleadership of the mosque, view the Quran, learn about Islam and were urged to buy pamphlets andbooks. I'm sure they were also urged to convert. Radical Islam is religious fascism.You can bet they are moving into every police department across the nation, converting officers and recruitingwarriors for Islam and Sharia— just as they are doing in the prisons. They want thestrongest warriors among us— violent or not— prisoners, athletes, military,police officers.

Immorality:
Hawaii law allows undercover police officers to have sex with prostitutes. Honolulu police officers have urged lawmakers to keep an exemption in state law that allows undercover officers to have sex with prostitutes during investigations, touching off a heated debate.

Participating in a political vendetta:
Political terrorism in Wisconsin: The American Police state begins. Cops are bursting into homes, seizing computers and other "evidence" while groups are being hit with subpoenas that require them to turn over voluminous and sensitive information— including the names of politicaldonors. [...] In Wisconsin, special prosecutor Francis Schmitz is going after conservative groups that were involved in the fight over the recall of Governor Scott Walker and Walker's union reforms. Subpoenas are requesting "all records of income received, including fundraising information and the identity of persons contributing to the corporation." They are seeking lists of conservative donors.

Harvesting data from government agencies:
Obamacare Marketplace: Personal Data Can Be Used For 'Law Enforcement and Audit Activities'. Maryland's Health Connection, the state's Obamacare marketplace, has been plagued by delays in the first days of open enrollment. If users are able to endure long page-loading delays, they are presented with the website's privacy policy, a ubiquitous fine-print feature on websites that often go unread. Nevertheless, users are asked to check off a box that they agree to the terms.

Your Personal Data Can Be Used For 'Law Enforcement, Audit Activities'. Maryland's Health Connection, the state's Obamacare marketplace, has been plagued by delaysin the first days of open enrollment. If users are able to endure long page-loading delays, they are presented with the website's privacy policy, aubiquitous fine-print feature on websites that often go unread. Nevertheless, users are asked to check off a box that they agree to the terms.

Obamacare Exchange Confirms: 'We Are Required to Respond to Certain Requests from Law Enforcement'. An email had been sent to the MHC on October3 requesting clarification of the policy, and included these inquires: Does that include both federal and state authorities? What type of information from the application might be of interest to law enforcement and/or state/federal auditors? However, no response was received before the story was published.

An unnecessary show of force:
Police presence inside a showing of 'The Butler' causes outrage. [Tiffany Flowers] said that after waiting in line and having their tickets double validated, with the second ticket taker just ten feet from the first employee to tear their stubs, she and Hanson approached the theater entrance, only to find a police officer directing people's movements. Flowers told theGrio the officer "herded everybody to the right, and then around the corner there's another police officer, then we round the corner and there's a third policeofficer." She said the police who remained inside the theater throughout the show were not in uniform, but dressed in all black with their badges exposed, andwearing bullet-proof vests, and that she later learned they were contracted by the Montgomery County Police Department.

Collusion with Big Brother:
NSA tips off law enforcement, asks them to keep the practice secret.Just days after the NYT wrote about the NSA denying other federal intelligence agencies access to their surveillance tools comes the disclosure thata US Drug Enforcement Administration unit called Special Operations Division (SOD) has been channeling information collected by the NSA to law enforcement agencies in order to help them start investigations of suspected criminals. The SOD, whose existence is little known to the greater public, is a sort of middleman that receives information regarding traditional criminal activities and suspected perpetrators gathered by the NSA via wiretaps, informants, intelligence intercepts, and decides how much of it to share with which field offices and agents.

NEW Spying Scandal— Is This One the Last Straw?The NSA is spying on you and sharing this information with the DEA. The DEA is then sharing this information with local law enforcement.If you get arrested because of this, abandon all hope because [#1] Law enforcement is hiding where the evidence came from[,and #2] This means you cannot effectively challenge the evidence in court. But it gets worse... The DEA unit responsible for this program— the ominous sounding Special Operations Division— is a secret organization. It cannot be investigated by defense attorneys or called into court.Even the location of the Special Operations Division is classified.

The NSA-DEA police state tango. In the latest post-Snowden bombshell about the extent and consequences of government spying, we learned from Reuters reporters this week that a secret branch of the DEA called the Special Operations Division— so secret that nearly everything about it is classified, including the size of its budget and the location of its office— has been using the immense pools of data collected by the NSA, CIA, FBI and other intelligence agencies to go after American citizens for ordinary drug crimes.Law enforcement agencies, meanwhile, have been coached to conceal the existence of the program and the source of the information by creating what's called a "parallel construction," a fake or misleading trail of evidence. So noone in the court system— not the defendant or the defense attorney, not even the prosecutor or the judge— can ever trace the case back to its true origins.

Letting personal politics interfere:
Woman threatened with arrest because of a bumper sticker.A Denver police sergeant is under investigation for allegedly threatening to arrest a woman Monday [1/24/2005] for displaying on her truck a derogatory bumper sticker about President Bush. "He told her that this was a warning and that the next time he saw her truck, she was going to be arrested if she didn't remove the sticker," said Alinna Figueroa, 25, assistant manager of The UPS Store where the confrontation took place. "I couldn't believeit."

Back the Blue? However, my thoughts on this issue have taken a sharp turn in recent months, directly relating to behavior I've witnessedfrom law enforcement, particularly during the time of COVID lockdowns and restrictions. [...] In many cases, we have seenvery troubling behavior by our police officers. We've seen them forcefully keep citizens out of public town meetingsand the police stand by while Antifa thugs attacked people in the street. We've seen people arrested for not fallinginto line with mandates that are very questionable legally. We've seen businesses shut down and livelihoods destroyedby lousy public health policies. And who was there enforcing these lousy policies? The police. [...] Finally,probably the most high-profile situation to date is what is going on in Australia right now regarding their truly Orwellianmandates and lockdowns. The police are behaving in an incredibly disturbing manner. This video was recentlyposted on a story on the Gateway Pundit and shows exactly what is going on Down Under. The video makes it pretty damnclear that these aren't reluctant officers forced to do their duty but doing so in a caring and responsible way. No,this is a case where these people appear to have been given carte blanche to brutally quash any dissent and go out and cracksome skulls. And they appear to be enjoying it.

How Louis Farrakhan got a police escort for his 'unofficial motorcade'. Wouldn't it be great if you could get a police car to accompany you for "traffic control" when you drive somewhere? It would be sort of like the president, except for the bulletproof limo and Secret Service. Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam, despite lacking any public office, has enjoyed such convenience, courtesy of his son Mustapha, whose arrangements to drive a police car for escorting his father's "unofficial motorcade" are currently under investigation by a police agency in Illinois.

The Nifonging of George Zimmerman.No civilized society can tolerate a sheep dog that turns on the sheep, or a police officer or prosecutor who uses his or her authority against innocent people for personal or political gain.

Retaliation:
Phoenix Cops Raid Blogger Critical of Police. In what should send a frightening chill down the spine of everyblogger, writer, journalist and First Amendment advocate in the United States, Phoenix police raided the home of a blogger who has been highly critical of the department. Jeff Pataky, who runs Bad Phoenix Cops, said the officers confiscated three computers, routers, modems, hard drives, memory cards and everything necessary to continue blogging. The 41-year-old software engineer said they also confiscated numerous personal files and documents relating to a pending lawsuit he has against the department alleging harassment— which he says makes it obvious the raid was an act of retaliation.

If it had been a Christian event, we'd be hearing howls about Separation of Church and State.
Creeping Sharia on the Tulsa PD? The Tulsa PD is punishing a police captain for refusing to attend an Islamic "cultural event" at a local mosque.

Surveillance cameras

Oakland[is] Installing Hundreds of Police Cameras. Liberals [are] Outraged. It seemsas if the closure of In-N-Out Burger in Oakland, California was a bridge too far. Crime wasalready out of control in Oakland, particularly retail theft and carjacking. Now GovernorGavin Newsom and Mayor Sheng Thao are finally ready to do something about it. Or at leastthey're going to throw some money at the problem and give the appearance of doing something.The Governor announced yesterday that they have entered into a contract with Flock Safety toinstall nearly 500 security cameras around the city. The cameras will primarily monitorvehicular traffic. Unfortunately, the usual list of anti-police suspects immediately showedup to complain about a rising police state, racism, and all the rest of the accusations wetypically hear any time anyone tries to do something about crime.

A.I.,Brain Scans and Cameras: The Spread of Police Surveillance Tech. A brain wave readerthat can detect lies. Miniaturized cameras that sit inside vape pens and disposable coffeecups. Massive video cameras that zoom in more than a kilometer to capture faces and licenseplates. At a police conference in Dubai in March, new technologies for the security forces ofthe future were up for sale. Far from the eyes of the general public, the event provided arare look at what tools are now available to law enforcement around the world: better andharder-to-detect surveillance, facial recognition software that automatically tracks individualsacross cities and computers to break into phones. Advances in artificial intelligence, dronesand facial recognition have created an increasingly global police surveillance business.Israeli hacking software, American investigation tools and Chinese computer vision algorithms canall be bought and mixed together to make a snooping co*cktail of startling effectiveness.

11,000 PoliceSurveillance Cars With 360-Degree Cameras and "Perimeter Alerts" To Patrol NYC. The Wausau PoliceDepartment is already using Ford's 360-degree police surveillance vehicles to quietly surveil everyone.According to Yahoo News the New York City Police Department (NYPD), which employs more people than the FBI, hasannounced it is turning all their police vehicles into 360-degree surveillance vehicles. To put the public's mindat ease of having 11,000 spying police vehicles monitor everyone, the NYPD has decided to put QRcodes on their newpatrol cars. If and when the public finally cares about losing their privacy, all they have to do is scan a policevehicle's QRcode. This will bring them to a carefully worded law enforcement website that will reassure themthat the government really cares about their privacy and that 360-degree surveillance cameras are for the public'ssafety. When a concerned citizen approaches a 360-degree police surveillance vehicle, they may be surprised tofind out what is really happening inside. Ford's Police Interceptors come with a factory-installed versionof"Surveillance Mode" or a built-in "Police Perimeter Alert" that automatically analyzes people for officer perceivedthreats. Because nothing says public safety like an AI that automatically analyzes people for so-calledthreatening behavior.

Court rules cops violated Constitution by filming man for 3 months. A police force can't set up a camera to peer overthe top of a man's privacy fence, then record him for months, before finally filing criminal charges against him.That's the ruling from the state supreme court in Colorado, where the decision freed suspect Rafael Tafoya from what wasexpected to be a significant prison sentence. According to a report in Courthouse News, officers in Colorado Springsset up a special camera on top of a utility pole next to Tafoya's home after a "tip" from an anonymous source. Withouta search warrant, they watched him and his property, recording events there, for months.

1 in 10 police departments can now access videos from millions of consumers' Ring security cameras. Nearly one in 10U.S. police departments have access to videos from millions of privately owned Amazon Ring devices. Ring's ActiveAgency Map shows the home security camera company now has partnerships with more than 1,800 police departments in the U.S.out of nearly 18,000 total departments across the country. The company's "Neighbors" app notifies Ring users whenneighbors or local law enforcement agencies send out public safety alerts.

Drones With 'Most Advanced AI Ever' Coming Soon To Your Local Police Department. Three years ago, Customs and BorderProtection placed an order for self-flying aircraft that could launch on their own, rendezvous, locate and monitor multipletargets on the ground without any human intervention. In its reasoning for the order, CBP said the level of monitoringrequired to secure America's long land borders from the sky was too cumbersome for people alone. To research and buildthe drones, CBP handed $500,000 to Mitre Corp., a trusted nonprofit Skunk Works that was already furnishing border policewith prototype rapid DNA testing and smartwatch hacking technology. Mitre's unmanned aerial vehicles didn't takeoff. They were "tested but not fielded operationally" as "the gap from simulation to reality turned out to be muchlarger than the research team originally envisioned," a CBP spokesperson says. But the setback didn't end CBP's sci-fidreams. This year, America's border police will test automated drones from Skydio, the Redwood City, Calif.-based startup that on Monday [3/1/2021] announced it had raised an additional $170million in venture funding at a valuation of $1billion.

Detroit Police Commission Board Approves Use Of Facial Recognition Technology Despite National Backlash. The DetroitBoard of Police Commissioners voted to approve the Detroit Police Department's use of controversial facial recognitiontechnology on the public, Courthouse News reported. According to the directive, police would be limited to usingthe system when officers have "reasonable suspicion" of home invasions and violent crimes involving incidents like shootings,sexual assaults and carjacking. Further, the system doesn't have assess to check immigration status on individuals andwas restricted from accessing live surveillance streaming video or any security camera device. Outside agencies wouldbe allowed access to the information if needed after proper paperwork is filed.

Don't Smile for the Camera. Great Britain is currently the most watched country in the Western world—watched, that is, by its own police forces. In London alone, the police have erected more than 420,000 surveillancecameras in public places. That amounts to 48 cameras per 1,000 residents. What do the cameras capture?Everything done and seen in public. The cameras use facial recognition technology that can capture a grimace, a pimple,a freckle, even an eye blink as you walk the streets. Software then compares whatever the camera captures to governmentdatabases. By touching the screen showing your image, the police can have at their fingertips instantly a full dossieron you— your medical, financial, law enforcement, educational, personal and employment records. [...] Theseprocedures were recently challenged by a privacy advocate named Ed Bridges in a trial in Britain's High Court.

CEOof facial-recognition company calls police use "irresponsible". Last month, controversy erupted around newsthat at least two police departments have deployed or tested Amazon's Rekognition platform. Facial-recognition algorithmshave been shown to be less accurate at identifying people of color, often because their images are underrepresented in thedatasets that algorithms are trainedon.

LAPD Drones Threaten Privacy. Today, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) civilian police commission voted to approve proposed guidelines for aone-year unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) pilot program. According to the LAPD's guidelines, UAVs will not be equippedwith lethal or nonlethal weapons and will only be deployed in a narrow set of circ*mstances. The guideline alsorequires officers to obtain a warrant before using a UAV "when required under the Fourth Amendment or other provision of thelaw." This looks all well and good, except that the Fourth Amendment and California law provide little protection when itcomes to aerial surveillance. The Fourth Amendment protects "persons, houses, papers, and effects" from "unreasonablesearches and seizures." Many Americans could be forgiven for thinking that this constitutional provision would act as a shield against warrantless aerial surveillance. Sadly, this is not the case.

HackersTook Over DC Police Cameras Ahead of Inauguration. Police surveillance camera in Washington, D.C. were infected by hackers justdays before Donald Trump's inauguration, the Washington Post reported Friday. City officials were cited saying 123 of the city's 187cameras were infected with ransomware, leaving them unable to record between Jan.12 to Jan.15. Although the issue wasreportedly resolved easily— by simply removing the software— it remains unclear who was behind the cyberattack.

Philly cops try to illegally disguise powerful surveillance SUV as Google Street View car... and fail badly. A Philadelphia police surveillance SUV crudely disguised as the Google Maps car has left local residents baffled after it was spotted Wednesday [5/11/2016]— and triggered an internal investigation. The large silver SUV, which has chunky black cameras on its roof that can photograph thousands of license plates in a minute, looks nothing like the colorful cars that Google uses to create its 360-degree interactive Street View maps. But that didn't stop someone— presumably within the police— sticking a pair of large, unconvincing Google Maps decals on its back windows in an apparent attempt to disguise the vehicle's true purpose.

BART killing exposes security gap— many train cameras are decoys. BART police investigating the weekend killing of a passenger on a train in Oakland have no onboard video of the crime, even though the transit agency had what appear to be surveillance cameras just feet from where the suspect shot the victim at close range, The [San Francisco] Chronicle has learned.Although all BART cars have what look like cameras mounted to their ceilings, the vast majority of the devices are decoys incapable of capturing footage, BART officials conceded Wednesday. And some of the actual cameras are broken, two police sources said.

The Editor says...
This is what's know as security theater. They sure look like security cameras! But they are only there to make you think you're safe. In reality, even if all the cameras work and they're all well-positioned, they cannot prevent crime.They can only provide clues about the identity of the suspects— and then only if the suspects aren't completely coveredupwith a hoodie (in July) and sunglasses (at night).

Hidden cactus cameras are freaking out the residents of a small Arizona town. In a smallArizona town, about half an hour drive from Phoenix, the hills don't have eyes, but the cacti do.Residents of Paradise Valley told Fox10 that cameras have started appearing in fake cactus plantson the sides of roads throughout the town. [...] In fact, neither town police nor City Hall were eager to speak about the cameras, with city officials saying they were waiting until every camera was installed before making an announcement.

Anti-Surveillance Camouflage for Your Face. I had slathered the paint on my face in order to hide fromcomputers. The patterns in which I applied the paint were important: To the pixel-calculatingmachinations of facial recognition algorithms, they transformed my face into a mess of unremarkablepixels. In the computer's vision, my face caused a momentary burst of confusion. That's why thepatterns are called computer vision dazzle (or CVdazzle). When it works, CVdazzle keeps facial-recognition algorithms from seeing a face.

Camerascoming to monitor St. Petersburg trail. Police will soon have a new tool to protect cyclists and joggers on a crime-ridden stretch of the Pinellas Trail: camera surveillance. [...] The cameras are unlikely to be monitored 24hours a day, but police officers would be able to view camera footage from police headquarters and in patrol cars using from laptops and smart phones.

Has the Dept. of Homeland Security become America's standing army? As Charlie Savage reports for the Boston Globe, the DHS has funneled "millions of dollars to local governments nationwide for purchasing high-tech video camera networks, accelerating the rise of a 'surveillance society' in which the sense of freedom that stems from being anonymous in public will be lost." These camera systems, installed on city streets, in parks and transit systems, operating in conjunction with sophisticated computer systems that boast intelligent video analytics, digital biometric identification, military-pedigree software for analyzing and predicting crime and facial recognition software, create a vast surveillance network that can target millions of innocent individuals.

New Chicago traffic cams hit as way to track innocent people. A new traffic camera that gives Chicago police a 360-degree view of an area is being hit as a way to potentially track people with no ties to criminal activity. The Chicago Sun-Times reported Wednesday that the American Civil Liberties Union in the state raised concern about using cameras from Xerox State & Local Solutions, while city officials insist they are not abusing citizens' rights.

Court Says Police Can Install Cameras On Your Property Without Warrant If Your Property Is A 'Field'. This is in response to the two defendantsin the case seeking to have footage from said surveillance cameras thrown out in their court case on unreasonable search and seizure grounds. Judge Griesbach made this ruling on the recommendation of US Magistrate William Callahan, who based his position on a US Supreme Court Case ruling that openfields were not covered under the 4thAmendment and didn't require a warrant. [...] And this doorway to abuse has been opened all because police didn't want to bother to get a search warrant to put video equipment on private property.

Federal Judge OKs Installation of Surveillance Cameras Without a Warrant. On October 29, a federal district court judge ruled that police can enter onto privately owned property and install secret surveillance cameras without a warrant. The judge did set forth a few guidelines that must be followed before such activity would be permissible, but the fact that such a scenario is accepted as constitutional by a federal judge is a serious setback for privacy and for the Fourth Amendment.

Surveillance Cameras Are Not All That.Cameras were a big help in Boston, but that doesn't mean they are generally a good idea.

Mayor Bloomberg admits soon NYPD surveillance cameras will be on nearly every corner. Envisioning a future where privacy is a thing of the past, Mayor Bloomberg said Friday [3/22/2013] it will soon be impossible to escape the watchful eyes of surveillance cameras and even drones in the city. He acknowledged privacy concerns, but said "you can't keep the tides from coming in." "You wait, in five years, thetechnology is getting better, they'll be cameras everyplace ... whether you like it or not," Bloomberg said.

The Editor interjects...
"Whether you like it or not"? Is that representative government, or an omnipotent nanny state?

Spy Cameras Won't Make Us Safer. CCTV cameras have minimal value in the fight against crime. While it's comforting to imagine vigilant police monitoring every camera, the truth is very different, for a variety of reasons: technological limitations of cameras, organizational limitations of police, and the adaptive abilities of criminals. No one looks at most CCTV footage until well after a crime is committed. And when the police do look at the recordings, it's very common for them to be unable to identify suspects. Criminals don't often stare helpfully at the lens, and [...] tend to wear sunglasses and hats. Cameras break far too often. [...] Cameras afford a false sense of security,encouraging laziness when we need police to be vigilant.

GOP Rep. Peter King On Boston Bombing: "We Need More Cameras". ["]So yes, I do favor more cameras. They're a great law enforcement method and device. And again, it keeps us ahead of the terrorists, who are constantly trying to killus.["]

Boston's Top Cop Warns Against "Police State". Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis warned against creating a "police state" in the aftermath of the marathon bombings during testimony in front of a congressional hearing today [5/9/2013]. "We do not, and cannot, live in a protective enclosure becauseof the actions of extremists who seek to disrupt our way of life," Davis told lawmakers, adding "I do not endorse actions that move Boston and our nation into a police state mentality, with surveillance cameras attached to every light pole in the city."

Australian Activist Defeats Spy Cameras In Landmark Case. Expansion of the global surveillance grid was dealt a major blow in Australia last week after a legal challenge by an individual against the State of New South Wales brought about a landmark ruling. A local resident opposed to the introduction of CCTV cameras succesfully [sic] proved that public surveillance carried out by his city council not only broke Australia's privacy laws, but also did nothing to prevent crime— the supposed reason for its installation.

Seattle [is the] Latest City to Install DHS Surveillance Equipment. Add Seattle to the list of local governments taking money from the Department of HomelandSecurity to put their citizens under federal surveillance. [...] Perhaps wiring the city with high-tech, federally funded surveillance equipment is whatSeattle mayor meant when he described the city's budget as "a moral document. It puts resources behind our vision of the city we want to see."Apparently, part of those resources are coming from the federal government and they are earmarked for use to putting the city under the vision of the Department of Homeland Security.

Is Crazed Super Bowl Security a Taste of America To Come? In the run-up to Super Bowl XLVIII (just be happy they don't use Egyptian numerals), the New York City Police Department is deploying an "amazing arsenal of security initiatives," including 200 "temporary" surveillance cameras to ensure that dirty deeds remain undone at the big game. [...] But never fear, security at the the Super Bowl itself promises to make attendance at football's championship game an awful lot like spending several hours at a very cold TSA checkpoint— with some watery beer. Get used to it America, this massive demonstration of pointless security theater just may be a glimpse of the future.

Homeland Security Uses Local Police to Set Up Surveillance Buffer Zones. In order to sweeten the pot of federalization, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is giving gifts of expensive gadgets to local police forces. [...] How is all this new technology being used? Who is being watched? Why are they being targeted for surveillance? Neither law enforcement nor federal agents are talking.

License plate readers

Illinoissued over proliferation of license plate reading cameras. Summons have been sent tothe Illinois State Police, Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Gov.J.B.Pritzker in a casechallenging the use of automatic license plate reading cameras across the state. On Thursdayin the Northern District of Illinois federal court, the Liberty Justice Center filed thelawsuit. Reilly Stephens, counsel on the case, said the ALPRs are virtually everywhere. "Every time you drive on one of these expressways, they are tracking every time you go past one ofthese cameras," he said. "They're feeding that into a national database which is shared bythousands of law enforcement agencies across the country." [Advertisem*nt] In January ofthis year, ISP said they were increasing the use of technology to "target and track criminalactivity." "Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) capture a visual of vehicle license platesand anytime a wanted or suspected vehicle is detected by an ALPR, an alert is issued and lawenforcement are better able to locate and track the vehicle," the agency said.

NYCcouncil members urge feds to crack down on 'ghost car' fake plates. Dozens of New YorkCity council members have urged the Biden administration to step in and crackdown on bogus paperlicense plates amid a drastic influx of so-called "ghost cars" flooding Big Apple streets, The [NewYork] Post has learned. In a letter sent to Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg Thursday, 33Big Apple pols called on the federal government to enact a slew of reforms to curb the sale offraudulent plates in other states in a bid to prevent them from running amok in the city. "Thesale and use of fraudulent paper plates has created new challenges in New York City: cars usingsuch plates cannot be easily traced, and thereby pose a street safety threat to New Yorkers," theletter, led by Bronx councilman Oswald Feliz, said.

Police Stop A Car Full Of Armed Carjackers & Things Got Wild Pretty Fast. Illinois is a state in the Midwestern regionof the United States but lately, reminds us of our hard past in the wild West where street shooting is a daily routine!Security camera footage captured a wild shootout as Chicago police officers stopped a trio of carjackers in a stolen car,wounding one of the suspects. According to Cook County prosecutors, Perez was sitting in the passenger seat of a stolenvehicle Wednesday evening [1/26/2022] that was being driven by 20-year-old Noel Centeno. A third man, 21-year-old JesseSanchez was sitting in the back seat. The men were allegedly driving on Lower Wacker Drive near Columbus Avenue ataround 8:48p.m., when officers in a nearby squad car were notified by a license plate reader that the vehicle the men weredriving had been reported stolen in a carjacking.

COVID Became Excuse To Run Statewide Surveillance Programs. Cash-strapped states are using COVID as an excuse tocreate AI-driven vehicle recognition or license plate reader surveillance programs. As Rekor Systems president and CEORobert Berman proudly boasts, "because our technology works so well for vehicle recognition, we do more, we identify thevehicle's make, model, color, body type, bumper stickers or window decals, rust, dents and other things like speed of traveland vehicle direction." Berman revealed that fast-food restaurants are using Rekor's vehicle surveillance program"because it helps the folks who are making the food to do it more efficiently" claiming that it helps companies likeStarbucks, ID customers who order the same thing everyday. Berman also admitted that Rekor's vehicle surveillanceprogram is tied to smart city surveillance, saying "this is where things are headed, this is where things are going to converge."

State court allows spy operations by police using license plate readers. The Rutherford Institute is calling adecision by the Virginia Supreme Court to give police departments unrestricted use of Automated License Plate Readers togather data statewide about residents a "blow to privacy." The legal team had asked the court to decide in its FairfaxCounty Police Department v.Neal case that the use of the computerized spy programs violated a state law restrictinggovernment collection of personal information. But the court ruled that Americans "cannot even drive their cars withoutbeing tracked by the government," according to the institute.

The "Officer-Friendly" Police Fantasy. Uncle Sam has brought the surveillance state to the nearest police car dashboard. Federalgrants have enabled many states and localities to equip police cars with license-plate scanners that provide plenty of boguspretexts to harass hapless drivers. License-plate readers often misread plates. Brian Hofer was pulled offInterstate80 in California and handcuffed and held at gunpoint after his rental vehicle was misreported as stolen.Hofer commented in 2019, "I'm sitting ice-cold and saying nothing because I do not want any itchy trigger fingers." With anerror rate approaching 10percent, license-plate readers effectively generate potentially thousands of false accusations each day.

Clothing Line Fools Big Brother Surveillance by Making You Look Like a Car. As Vice explains, "If you've evergotten a traffic ticket in the mail— sometimes complete with a photo of your vehicle, with yourself andpassengers looking stunned in the front seat— your car has likely encountered an ... ALPR." "Like manysurveillance technologies in American cities, ALPRs are everywhere, always watching," the site continues. "They'reattached to everything from public telephone poles to cop cars, but they're much more than speed trap cameras. ALPRsare privately-owned systems that capture everything resembling a license plate within their purview, collecting up to athousand plates per minute. So while you're driving around, or traveling in a rideshare, these systems read thevehicle's plates and collect its GPS location and registration information, as well as the date and time."

Report:ICE Agents Given Access to Private License Plate Database. The more important lead story of this article isburied within the outcome story of ICE agents using a private license plate database to capture illegal aliens. [...] Use aprivate-sector database to track down people for missed property tax payments; or use the database to track lawful gunowners; or use the database to stop a traveler from entering an airport until they pay an unpaid parking fine, and hey, nobiggie. But start using that private database to arrest illegal aliens, and Whoa, now the ACLU says we've got a problem.

Customerloyalty rewards programs used to convince the public to accept 9,000 private license plate readers. The die hasbeen cast, whether it is digital drivers licenses, digital license plates, license plate readers or facial recognitioncameras. Everyone from private corporations to law enforcement follows the same script; offer Americans customerloyalty rewards programs in exchange for the loss of their privacy. Surveillance politics and law enforcement regularlytout license plate readers as a necessary extension of public safety at the expense of our privacy. But now things havegotten out of control as a recent Quartz headline warned "In just two years, 9,000 of these cameras (ALPR) were installed tospy on your car." A Massachusetts company called Novume which recently acquired Open ALPR Technology Inc. boasts that theirfree software is being used by private corporations and governments in more than 9,000 private license plate readers worldwide.

Special laws for the rich:
Texas Bill WouldNix Front License Plate Law For Pricey Cars. Yes, front-mount license plates can mess up the sleek styling ofmodern cars, but they've been proven time and again to help law enforcement. 31 states require front license plates soit's not like Texas is the exception.

The Editor says...
Having license plates on both ends of every car makes it easier to collect tolls on the many highways that have license plate readers.

Floridaman claims license-plate readers let cops know your 'daily routine' in suit. A Florida man earlier this monthfiled a lawsuit against his city and its law enforcement, claiming that its use of license-plate-reading technology isunconstitutional, The Miami New Times reported. Raul Mas Canosa, a Coral Gables resident, claimed in a lawsuit filedOct.5 that Coral Gables operates 30cameras around the city and shares its data with atleast 80 law enforcementagencies. "They pretty much know your daily routine every single day," Canosa told The Miami Herald. "I thinkthey have a legitimate law enforcement purpose but what is troubling is what are the parameters for this?" Coral Gableswill have scanned more than 30million license plates by the end of the year, despite having a population of 50,000,according to The New Times.

Turning theTide on Police Surveillance. The stories seem non-stop. The NSA, FBI, and other federal agencies arespying on us in new ways and with new programs or authorities. But surveillance that is most overlooked, but is equallyas pervasive, is how state and local police spy on their own residents. In Baltimore, the police department secretlydeployed Stingrays to track the phone calls of residents in primarily black neighborhoods. In New Orleans, the policeentered into a six-year contract with data mining firm Palantir to conduct predictive policing. When residents foundout, their opposition was so fierce that within two weeks, the city canceled the agreement. And in cities and towns all overthe country, police departments are tracking people's movements with surreptitiously installed automatic license plate readers.

License Plate Risks. I leaveit as an exercise for the reader as to what risks exist in either [regular or electronic license plates]. Asides that isfrom pointing out the stupidity of an electronic tag in the age of high quality Automatic Number Plate Recognition systemslinked to a licensing computer. However, there is a second risk in being able to detect unlicensed vehicles; workoverload. The Western Australian Police have had to turn off the unlicensed vehicle feature in their ANPR systembecause there are too many alerts!

GeorgiaPower Company leasing license plate readers to police departments. It appears the police in Brookhaven, Georgiaare not content with just having their own 'Operation Plugged In' cam-share program. What they have done is create oneof the most disturbing corporate/police relationships I have had the displeasure of writing about. Last year the BrookhavenPolice Department and the Georgia Power Company entered into a unique partnership. It is unique because the power companyhas begun leasing their utility poles equipped with their license plate readers and CCTV cameras to police departments.

LiberalsUpset That License Plate Readers Are Used To Find Illegal Aliens. The battle of public safety and lawenforcement versus privacy concerns isn't going away any time soon. Much of the debate these days revolves aroundincreasingly affordable and available technology allowing the use of publicly mounted (or drone-based) cameras which canrecord both automobile license plate numbers and even human faces. Scanners and facial recognition software caninterpret this data and assist law enforcement agencies in locating suspects more quickly and accurately. But this hassome people highly upset.

ICEis about to start tracking license plates across the US. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agencyhas officially gained agency-wide access to a nationwide license plate recognition database, according to a contractfinalized earlier this month. The system gives the agency access to billions of license plate records and new powers ofreal-time location tracking, raising significant concerns from civil libertarians. The source of the data is not namedin the contract, but an ICE representative said the data came from Vigilant Solutions, the leading network for license platerecognition data.

The Rise of the American Police State. The Mobile Plate Hunter 900 is a type of license plate reader thatdemonstrates the high-tech capabilities of the police. ELSAG, the company that developed the Mobile Plate Hunter 900,describes it as "a $20,000 piece of equipment ... consisting of two cameras mounted on top of a police cruiser to fit inlight bars or can stand alone and can record up to 900 license plates an hour on vehicles driving at highway speeds." Thislicense plate reader is currently used by over four hundred agencies across thirty U.S. states. The plate reader canhave some difficulty reading plates from certain angles, but for the most part, the reader can chart and estimatedeighty-five to ninety percent of the plates that pass by. ELSAG further explains, "The snapshot recorded is taken inorder to catch fugitives, so the numbers are matched with a computerized list from the National Crime Information Center,alerting the officer within milliseconds of capture if there is a match." The plate reader therefore determines if thecar's registered owner has a suspended or a revoked license, if the car has been reported stolen, or even if the car's ownerhas a criminal record.

A Banana Republic, If We Choose to Keep It.Here's what Americans have learned in the last two weeks alone. As revealed by The Wall Street Journal, in 2010, Immigrationand Customs Enforcement officials "persuaded police officers to scan license plates to gather information about gun-show customers,government emails show, raising questions about how officials monitor constitutionally protected activity." How theydoit? They use license plate readers. Why they do it is far more germane. Under the auspices of"fighting crime," government is taking down the license plate numbers of innocent Americans and putting them in a database.A database that can be used for detailed surveillance of peoples' daily activity. [...] When the Journal received documentationafter filing an FOIA request they noted that "[M]ore than half of the pages provided by the agency were completely redacted, orblacked out; others have large sections redacted, apparently to keep secret how the surveillance was undertaken."

FederalAgency Pushed Law Enforcement to Scan License Plates of Gun Show Attendees. The emails date back to 2010 andwere obtained by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). According to WSJ, "[ICE] crafted a plan in 2010 to uselicense-plate readers— devices that record the plate numbers of all passing cars— at gun shows inSouthern California, including one in Del Mar." ICE then "compared that information to cars that crossed the border, hoping to find gun smugglers, according to the documents and interviews with law-enforcement officials with knowledge of the operation."

Automatic Number Plate Recognition:ANPR/ALPR. Number plate recognition cameras have been mis-sold to the public. Back inthe 1980s it was claimed that the cameras were developed only to find stolen vehicles. Then as anationwide network of thousands of cameras was quietly constructed in the early 2000's it was saidto be for finding incorrectly registered, untaxed or uninsured vehicles. However another littlenoticed use was stated in the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) ANPR Strategy documents,that of tracking vehicle movements. Not just vehicles linked to ongoing criminal investigations butall vehicles, with the information to be stored in national and local databases for two years. Thisis a mass surveillance tool which was constructed without any public debate.

Smile!Your Car's on Camera. It's an automatic license-plate reader, based on technologyconceived in the U.K. in the late '70s. It comprises two external fender-mounted cameras thatresemble Cyclops eyes, plus a breadbox-sized processing unit in the trunk. The cameras areessentially optical-character scanners similar to those that read bar codes at the grocery store."They search for a defined pattern of numbers and letters," says Elsag's VP of marketing and communication,Nate Maloney, "and when they find that pattern, they take a picture of it." In August alone, theMPH-900 in [Officer Brian] Walczak's cruiser photographed 32,710 plates.

City Wants Surveillance Camerasto Record Every License Plate. Police in North Carolina want to build surveillance cameras that would record every car license that passes by and run it through the FBI's criminal database, alerting authorities in real time if it finds a match. The system would store license plate numbers for up to a year to provide authorities with historic data should they want to review the data later. "There is no expectation of privacy to a license plate number," said John Carey, the police chief in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, since a license plate is a displayed public record.

You Are Being Tracked: How License Plate Readers Are Being Used to Record Americans' Movements.A little noticed surveillance technology, designed to track the movements of every passing driver, is fast proliferating on America's streets.Automatic license plate readers, mounted on police cars or on objects like road signs and bridges, use small, high-speed cameras to photograph thousands of plates per minute. The information captured by the readers— including the license plate number, and the date, time, and location of every scan— is being collected and sometimes pooled into regional sharing systems.

Oklahoma Robo Cop Alert!It's called ALPR-Automatic License Plate Reader, and these things are all the rage. ALPRs are not ordinary cameras. Attached to police cruisers, or fixed on telephone poles or other stationary places, the cameras snap an image of nearly every license plate they encounter. The device produces a file for each image captured, which includes searchable text displaying the time, date and GPSlocation of the car when and where the plate was 'read'. This information is fed into a database, where it can be shared with other agencies and databases, and "mined" or analyzed.

Automated License Plate Readers Threaten Our Privacy. Law enforcement agencies are increasingly using sophisticated cameras, called "automated license plate readers" or ALPR, to scan and record the license plates of millions of cars across the country. [...] Photographing a single license plate one time on a public city street may not seem problematic, but when that data is put into a database, combined with other scans of that same plate on other city streets, and stored forever, it can become very revealing.

Red light cameras more of a 'Go' sign for state license plate re-do. The economic future of Florida apparently relies on the redesign of our license plates.I had no idea what a problem the current license plates have been. But it turns out that they're wreaking havoc on what was supposed to be a lucrative business of photographing red-light violators at traffic intersections across the state.

The Editor says...
Maybe that explains why Texas has recently switched to plain black-and-white license plates with larger characters. The previous series of plateshad smaller black letters and numbers on an artistic background that looked nice but was completely illegible at night.

NewTraffic Camera Checks Taxes, Insurance. Cities increasingly rely on traffic cameras as moneymakers,even though the evidence suggests they increase accidents. But there's so much more traffic cams could do. Finland is testing a camera system that can scan the license plate to see if taxes and insurance are paidup.

Red Light Cameras Out, Mobile License Plate Scanners In. Arlington County, Va., tax collectors are using the mobile scanning of license plate numbers to search for individuals who owe the county money. Once the tax or parking fine scofflaws are discovered, treasury department personnel are then able to take their license plates away.

California License Plates May Go Digital. California drivers may soon come bumper to bumper with the latest product of the digital age: ad-blaring license plates. State lawmakers are considering a bill allowing the state to begin researching the use of electronic license plates for vehicles.

At Newark Airport, the Lights Are On, and They're Watching You. Visitors to TerminalB at Newark Liberty International Airport may notice the bright, clean lighting that now blanketsthe cavernous interior, courtesy of 171 recently installed LED fixtures. But they probably will not realize that the light fixtures are the backbone of a system that is watching them. Using an array of sensors and eight video cameras around the terminal, the light fixtures are part of a new wireless network that collects and feeds data into software that can spot long lines, recognize license plates and even identify suspicious activity, sending alerts to the appropriate staff.

Licenseplate recognition tools led to abduction arrest. The swift arrest of a San Jose man in the abduction of a 12-year-old girl this week was aided by an eye-opening gadget thatcan scan the license plates of a street full of cars and instantly alert police to which vehicles have been reported stolen. It was a breakthrough moment for license plate recognition, a technology that is spreading to law enforcement around the Bay Area— and is prompting privacy concerns.

Licensereader company offers trove of info to Texas cops, for a cut. The long arm of the law in Texas is getting a controversial boost from a tech company's people-tracking database, in what one critic called a "huge invasion of privacy." Vigilant Solutions, which operates license plate readers around the state, has given at least two Lone Star law-enforcement agencies access to its massive automated database.Information culled from plate readers in police cars and affeixed to traffic signals, as well as software programs that analyze it, is used to help cops track down deadbeats and scofflaws. And Vigilant, which in one case even collects the debt on behalf of the public agency, get a 25-percent cut.

License Plate Readers in Texas Are Now Also Debt Collectors. Vehicle surveillance broker Vigilant Solutions has offered Texas law enforcement agencies "free" access to its massive automated license plate reader databases and analytical tools— but only if the police give Vigilant access to all of their data on outstanding court fees and hand the company a 25percent surcharge from money collected from drivers with outstanding court fines. Vigilant also gets to keep a copy of any license-plate data collected by the police, even after the contract ends, and can retain it indefinitely. The EFF warns that it turns police into debt collectors and data miners. Neither policymakers nor the public have evaluated the technology, it contains a non-disparagement clause, and it uploads everyone's driving patterns into a private system withoutany ways for these individuals to control how their data is used or shared.

AnUnprecedented Threat to Privacy. A private company has captured 2.2billion photos of license plates in citiesthroughout America. It stores them in a database, tagged with the location where they were taken. And it is sellingthat data.

License Plate Readers Exposed! ALPR systems are a form of mass surveillance, plain and simple. This technology captures information on every driver, regardless of whether they are under suspicion. In fact, when EFF and the ACLU sent a public records request for ALPR data to the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office, the agencies refused to hand over the data, citing a provision in California law that allows them to withhold investigative records. Who are they investigating? The answer: all cars in California.

Reality TV: Live feeds from police license plate readers posted online, claims report. It was technology, not shoeleather, that brought to justice the killer of Walter Bailey, a 49-year-old grandfather who was gunned down for $10 on aKenner, La., street five years ago this week. But now, automatic license plate readers— like the one thathelped crack the Bailey murder case and send his killer to prison for life— and the company that manufacturesthem are under fire from a tech watchdog that found more than 100 of the systems streaming live on the web, potentiallycompromising personal information of countless Americans.

Manhunt for TV shooter ended on the side of a Virginia highway after a license plate reader found his rental car.[Scroll down] Overton said they tracked the vehicle as it traveled along Interstate 81 for hundreds of miles after theshooting. A license plate reader was able to pick up the Sonic's location on Interstate 66 in Fauquier County, Virginiatraveling east, where Virginia State Police Trooper Pamela Neff began to follow him until backup arrived to assist.

Moreabout Vester Lee Flanagan II a/k/a Bryce Williams.

Woman goes to doctor for X-rays after hitting her head ... then her phone turns off. Connie Ditto hit her head when she fell last week. She texted her husband Mark that she was going to the doctor to get it checked out with X-rays. That was the last he ever heard from her. [...] Connie was eventually found by a police license plate reader, hiding out in an Extended Stay hotel.

WSJReport: "U.S. Spies on Millions of Cars"— Aligns With Our 2013/2014 Maryland MCAC HubResearch. Over a year ago we brought you the story of Mr. Filippidis and his family, aFlorida Driver who was pulled over by law enforcement in Maryland. The traffic stop would have beentypical except for the fact the responding officer demanded, at random, Mr. Filippidis's firearm.[...] Sensing more to the story, we began an official public records request inquiry to get to thebottom of the issue(s). What we found was a network of federally funded, but state operated,Maryland APLR (automatic license plate readers) which were tied into an intelligence hub (ie database)called MCAC (Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center).

8News Investigates:Mobile Plate Hunters. An increasing number of police forces throughout Central Virginia areusing infrared cameras mounted on their patrol cars to snap photos of every license plate they pass.But many fear the revolutionary crime-fighting tool is a massive invasion of privacy.

SpyingOn Every Car Entering And Leaving Town Ruled Disproportionate. The UK is famous forits abundant CCTV cameras, but it's also pretty keen on the equally intrusive Automatic Number PlateRecognition (ANPR) cameras that can identify cars and hence their owners as they pass. Here, forexample, is what's been going on in the town of Royston, whose local police force has just had itsknuckles rapped by the UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) for the over-enthusiasticdeployment of such ANPR systems there: [...]

WouldLicense Plate Reader Jammers Work And Be Legal? The news that the police departmentsin California routinely scan and record license plates to create a database that can be used toretroactively track any driver's motions and activities broke at political and civil libertywebsites and is now percolating through the autoblogosphere. [...] Like the current issue over NSAmonitoring of electronic communication involves balancing national security with Americans' privacyfrom government intrusion, recording and tracking license plates can be a useful tool in solvingcrime but it also seems contrary to American values and rights like freedom of motion and freedomfrom random surveillance without probable cause. Still, if I had a vote on the matter, sincelaw enforcement in this country hasn't exactly had a sterling record in protecting civil liberties,I wouldn't trust them with this technology.

MobilePlate Hunter-900. Operations Center User's Manual [PDF]

U.S. Spies on Millionsof Drivers. The primary goal of the license-plate tracking program, run by the DrugEnforcement Administration, is to seize cars, cash and other assets to combat drug trafficking,according to one government document. But the database's use has expanded to hunt for vehiclesassociated with numerous other potential crimes, from kidnappings to killings to rape suspects, saypeople familiar with the matter.

The U.S. HomelandSecurity Role in the Mexican War Against Drug Cartels. The purpose of the LPR Initiative isto combine existing DEA and other law enforcement database capabilities with new technology to identify andinterdict conveyances being utilized to transport bulk cash, drugs, weapons, as well as other illegalcontraband. Almost 100percent of the effort and cost associated with monitoring southboundtraffic is directed at the identification, seizure, and forfeiture of bulk cash and weapons, while theeffort and cost of monitoring northbound traffic is both enforcement and forfeiture related, in thatsuspect conveyances can be identified for later southbound monitoring. DEA components have theability to query and input alerts on license plates via an existing DEA database, and other law enforcementagencies can do the same via EPIC.

ACLU sues Fairfax County police over license-plate data. The American Civil Liberties Unionof Virginia is suing Fairfax County police over a policy in which they store data collected onthousands of drivers through the use of license-plate readers.

Documents reveal that FBI lawyers were worried about invasive license plate readers. Privacyadvocates have long raised the alarm about government use of license plate readers. But it appearsthe FBI itself has had serious concerns over their use and, at one time, was "wrestling over" theirimpact on privacy. Internal documents obtained by the ACLU reveal that, in 2012, the FBI'slawyers recommended that they no longer buy license readers.

DHS, IRS, Debt Collectors Fight to Expand Use of License Plate Tracking Devices. Despitethe objections of millions of Americans and civil liberties advocates, the Department of HomelandSecurity refuses completely to abandon its license plate tracking program. And now, other governmentand industry agencies are joining in the surveillance. While there has been some slight scalingback of the scope of the surveillance, DHS will continue using the controversial technology in almost half of the United States, comprising most of the largest population centers. "The LPR [License Plate Reader] data service shall compile LPR from at least 25states and 24 of the top 30 most populous metropolitan statistical areas to the extent authorized by law in those locations," a contract issued by DHS Immigration and Customs officials reports.

The end of the license plate. Public and private entities are scanning license plates, snapping photos of our cars, and storing the times and locations where they appear. Close correlation between license plate numbers and particular drivers means that databases of mundane information aboutauto movements also reveal quite sensitive information about doctor and psychologist visits, business meetings, trysts, gatherings of legal advice and participation in political advocacy.

The DHS isn't backing down on tracking your license plate. A year ago, the Department ofHomeland Security began a new initiative to track license plates nationwide. Luckily it wasabandoned due to overwhelming opposition over privacy concerns. Organizations such as the ACLUwarned that license plate databases could be used to track the locations of all American drivers,criminal and non-criminal. The ACLU even released a report— "You Are BeingTracked"— which detailed the issues with several localities that allow license platereaders. Authorities can keep tabs on people's movements with little regard for privacy.

Georgia bill would regulate license plate readers used by police. Citing privacy concerns,House Republican leaders filed legislation this week that would regulate the license plate readerspolice use. House Bill 93— Sponsored by Deputy Majority Whip John Pezold ofColumbus— would require police to delete images captured by the devices after 30days.Mounted on police cars, road signs or traffic lights, the readers capture images of license plates as well as the date, time and location of each scan. Police use that data to help spot stolen cars or suspects wanted on criminal charges.

Why are a bunch of "3 letter agencies" gathering intel on gun owners? The NSA is monitoring phone calls and data, the Internet is anopen book to the government and recently we learned that Uncle Sam has been tracking our vehicles.According to the Wall Street Journal, "The Justice Department has been building a national database to track in real time the movement of vehicles around the U.S., a secret domestic intelligence-gathering program that scans and stores hundreds of millions of records about motorists." We are continually assured this is for own safety; the government is not opposed to the citizens' rights, it is only looking to protect us with the data.

License-plate readers violate our principles. In 2008, the Drug Enforcement Agency created a programto read and monitor vehicle license plates near border crossings in California, Arizona, and Texas.Seeking cooperation from local officials, federal authorities explained that the system would be used strictly to track the movement of contraband and money by Mexican drug cartels. Today, however, the federal government gathers information from hundreds of cameras and scanners from California to New Jersey to Florida. The resulting database tracks the movement of millions of vehicles— maybe yours— throughout the United States.

Georgia bill would regulate license plate readers used by police. Citing privacy concerns, House Republican leaders filed legislation this week that would regulate the license plate readers police use. [...] Mounted on police cars, road signs or traffic lights, the readers capture images of license plates as well as the date, time and location of each scan. Police use that data to help spot stolen cars or suspects wanted on criminal charges.

ACLU Report: Feds Using Mobile License Plate Readers To Scan Gun Show Vehicles For Database. According to emails obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union, federal authorities planned to monitor gun show parking lots with automatic license plate readers. The insight comes from a damning report released by the ACLU this week on a secretive program by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to build a massive database of license plates['] images collected by automated license plate reader devices.

DEA and ATF cooperated to record gun show attendee license plates. According to emailsobtained by the American Civil Liberties Union, federal authorities planned to monitor gun showparking lots with automatic license plate readers. The insight comes from a damning report released by the ACLU this week on a secretive program by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to build a massive database of license plates images collected by automated license plate readerdevices. As part of this investigation, emails released through the Freedom of Information Actdetailed a planned cooperation between the DEA's National License Plate Recognition initiative andthe Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to scan and record the plates and vehicleimages of gun show attendees.

FOIA Documents Reveal Massive DEA Program to Record American's Whereabouts With License Plate Readers. The DEA is currently operating a National License Plate Recognition initiative that connects DEA license plate readers with those of other law enforcement agencies around the country. A Washington Post headline proclaimed in February 2014 that the Department of Homeland Security had cancelled its "national license-plate tracking plan," but all that was ended was one Immigrations and Customs Enforcement solicitation for proposals. In fact, a government-run national license plate tracking program already exists, housed within the DEA. (That's in additionto the corporate license plate tracking database run by Vigilant Solutions, holding billions of records about our movements.) Since its inception in 2008, the DEA has provided limited information to the public on the program's goals, capabilities and policies. Information has trickled out over the years, in testimony here or there.But far too little is still known about this program.

U.S. Spies on Millions of Drivers. The Justice Department has been building a national database to track inreal time the movement of vehicles around the U.S., a secret domestic intelligence-gathering programthat scans and stores hundreds of millions of records about motorists, according to current andformer officials and government documents. The primary goal of the license-plate tracking program,run by the Drug Enforcement Administration, is to seize cars, cash and other assets to combat drugtrafficking, according to one government document. But the database's use has expanded to hunt forvehicles associated with numerous other potential crimes, from kidnappings to killings to rape suspects, say people familiar with the matter.

DEA Has Abandoned Plans to Track Cars at Gun Shows. The head of the Drug EnforcementAgency announced yesterday [1/28/2015] that the agency had abandoned plans to use surveillancecameras to photograph license plates appearing in the vicinity of gun shows. [...] Why would thegovernment even think it should "keep track" of law-abiding citizens participating in a purely legalsocial activity? Cameras are everywhere now, on police cruisers, utility polls, traffic lights andmounted in front of private businesses. Does the government have the right to catalog and monitorinnocent comings and goings?

As You Drive, So You Are Watched. Simply put, I am quite happy to live in a world inwhich, in the course of acting locally and in response to a discrete threat, the state is able tothwart the plans of those who would harm the innocent people. At the same time, I do not wantto live in a world in which the state films everybody in public as a matter of unprovoked routine.As so often, the key here is necessity. Can the security forces intrude upon my liberties in a genuine emergency? Absolutely. Should they be watching or recording the movements of private citizens absent a specific, time-limited, and easily explicable reason to do so? No, they should not.

DEA chief: US abandoned plan to track cars near gun shows. The Drug EnforcementAdministration abandoned an internal proposal to use surveillance cameras for photographing vehiclelicense plates near gun shows in the United States to investigate gun-trafficking, the agency'schief said Wednesday [3/25/2015].

The next NSA? Police departments under scrutiny for phone, license plate surveillance. The NSA isn't the only government agency raising concerns about electronic privacy. Local police departments are coming under similar scrutiny— not only for using spying technology, but for hiding their use from the public.Atleast 25police departments now use what is known as "Stingray," a briefcase-sized box that swallows up cell phone data within a mile radius. More than one in three large police departments are also using license-plate readers, which can record every plate— even on a four-lane highway— from vehicles going at speeds of upto 150miles perhour.

Justice Department Reportedly Spies on Millions of Cars to Build National Database. The U.S.Department of Justice secretly spies on millions of cars by gathering and storing information aboutmotorists in order to build a national database to track movements, according to a new report in theWall Street Journal. The database was originally used by the Drug Enforcement Administration to hunt vehicles involved in drug crimes by tracking license plates, but according to the WSJ, the program expanded to hunt for criminals sought for crimes that were non-drug related.

California man arrested, accused of duct-taping license plate to beat GW Bridge tolls. Ashwin Kumar, 28, of Pittburgh, Calif., was charged with theft of services and tampering with public documents, meaning his license plates, said Al Della Fave, a PAPD spokesman. The cash toll for six-axle vehicles, including tractor trailers, is $78 at all times.

Surveillance For Hire: Would You Take Money to Record Fellow Drivers? If you could mount a cameraon your car that simply scanned license plates as you drove— and earned you $200 to$400 each time it registered a stolen or repossessed car— would you do it? That's thegig several repo men have lined up across the country: selling location information they gather tocompanies like Texas-based Digital Recognition Network.

Private Companies Are Scanning Your License Plate And Location, Selling The Data. When youhear the phrase "vast hidden network of cameras that scan license plates," what do you think of?The police? The Department of Homeland Security? While the government and privacy advocates argueover government use of plate-scanning data, private companies are already collecting and sellingthat data with little regulation. The Boston Globe's BetaBoston brought this industry to ourattention. There happens to be a bill up for discussion right now that would ban private-sectorlicense plate data collection and scanning in Massachusetts.

Fort Worth firm creates high-tech aid for a repo man. On the streets of Laredo, repo manRey Martinez bags three or four cars a week using license plate recognition cameras and softwarethat instantly alert him to targets. Sometimes he gets a ping for a vehicle while cruising aWal-Mart parking lot. Occasionally he snags a car that pulls in front of him on the road."We follow them and eventually they stop and we explain to them what's happening and we take thevehicle," said Martinez, who owns Home Chasers Auto Recovery.

Repo Scan: License Plate Readers Fuel Private Surveillance Industry. The privacy issuessurrounding the use of license plate scanners isn't exactly a new story. [...] But The Boston Globepresents a troubling picture of how far and fast license plate scanning has come, and how thecombination of super-efficient scanning with cloud based applications and Big Data analytics areempowering private companies to surveil law abiding citizens across much of the country.

New East Palo Alto license plate readers will run plates through crime databases. By the new year, the East Palo Alto Police Department will be using automatic license plate readers to identify law breakers. The City Council has agreed to pay for the new devices— including two sets of high-speed cameras and sophisticated computers— with a $37,540 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Has the Dept. of Homeland Security become America's standing army? DHS has already distributed more than $50million in grants to enable local police agencies to acquire license plate readers, which rely on mobile cameras to photograph and identify cars, match them against a national database, and track their movements.Relying on private contractors to maintain a license plate database allows the DHS and its affiliates to accessmillions of records without much in the way of oversight.

Use of license plate photo databases is raising privacy concerns. A growing number ofcameras— hundreds around Los Angeles, thousands nationwide— are engaged ina simple pursuit: Taking pictures of license plates. [...] Law enforcement officials say the datacollection is invaluable for tracking down stolen cars and catching fugitives. But such databasesare also being built by private firms, which can sell access to anyone willing to pay, such aslenders, repo workers and private investigators. That is raising worries among privacy advocatesand lawmakers, who say the fast-growing industry is not only ripe for conflicts of interest butdownright invasive.

Homeland Security is seeking a national license plate tracking system. The Department of Homeland Security wants a private company to provide a national license-plate tracking system that would give the agency access to vast amounts of information from commercial and law enforcement tag readers, according to a government proposal that does not specify what privacy safeguards would be put in place.The national license-plate recognition database, which would draw data from readers that scan the tags of every vehicle crossing their paths, would help catch fugitive illegal immigrants, according to a DHS solicitation. But the database could easily contain more than 1billion records and could be shared with other law enforcement agencies, raising concerns that the movements of ordinary citizens who are under no criminal suspicion could be scrutinized.

Lawmakers kill bill to spy on motorists with license plate scanners. Touting the privacy rights of New Hampshire citizens, House members Wednesday voted overwhelmingly— 250-97— to kill a bill that would have allowed police to use license plate scanners, and then banned the issue for the rest of the session. With the House vote, New Hampshire continues to be the only state in the country to prohibit the use of license plate scanners. Collecting license plate information at toll booths and bridges is allowed. Recording license plate data is the same as Big Brother watching citizens in George Orwell's novel "1984" opponents said— or at least a big step down that slippery slope.

Chips Could Track Car Plates. A controversial plan to embed RFID chips in license plates in the United Kingdom also may be coming to the United States, experts told UPI's Wireless World.

Malaysia to embed car license plates with microchips to combat theft. Malaysia's government, hoping to thwart car thieves, will embed license plates with microchips containing information about the vehicle and its owner, a news report said Saturday [12/2/2006]. With the chips in use, officials can scan cars at roadblocks and identify stolen vehicles, the New Straits Times reported. The "e-plate" chip system is the latest strategy to prevent car thieves from getting away with their crimes by merely changing the plates, the report said.

The Editor asks...
[Why would they need roadblocks? Why not scan every car at every major intersection?]

Brit License Plates Get Chipped.The British government is preparing to test new high-tech license plates containing microchips capable of transmitting unique vehicle identification numbers and other data to readers more than 300feet away.

RFID-enabledlicense plates to identify UK vehicles. The UK-based vehicle licence plate manufacturer, Hills Numberplates Ltd, has chosen long-range RFID tags and readers from Identec Solutions to be embedded in licenceplates that will automatically and reliably identify vehicles in theUK.

Car tag scanners would track Tybee, Ga., tourists. City officials on Tybee Island want to know more about the tourists whovisit Georgia's largest public beach, and they plan to spend nearly $29,000 on a pair of computer-linked cameras designedto read and record the license plate of every car and truck that comes and goes on the island. But the officials in this town may have inadvertently thrust it into a national privacy debate by approving the use of scanners to track cars entering and leaving their community.

DHS Building NationalLicense Plate Reader Database. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is seeking to build a national license plate reader database, according to a recent job posting for government contractors. The posting, first reported by Ars Technica, seeks a contractor to build a national license plate recognition database for DHS and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Automated license plate recognition (ALPR) technology uses cameras to identify cars, alert police departments if they match a license plate on a "hot list," and track their movements.

The Editor says...
This sounds like a cover story planted in the malleable news media, to announce the formation of something that already exists. I would be very surprised if such a system hasn't been in place for several years already.

License plate readers: A useful tool for police comes with privacy concerns. Scores of cameras across [Washington, DC] capture 1,800images a minute and download the information into a rapidly expanding archive that can pinpoint people's movements all over town. ... More than 250cameras in the District and its suburbs scan license plates in real time, helping police pinpoint stolen cars and fleeing killers. But the program quietly has expanded beyond what anyone had imagined even a few years ago.

National RFid Center General Newsletter 09/02/2006: The roadway, known as the "Golden Corridor" is the first in the country to install all-video toll collection. Using license plate information photographedby cameras, money will be deducted from customer accounts. Those without toll accounts will have billssent to their address, based on information from their license plates.

Videoeye to scan for Newton parking lapses. Automatic license plate recognition— a kind of RoboCop of the parking world that uses a panoramic video camera, laptop computer, and sophisticated software— detectscars that have been parked too long and sounds an alert to write a ticket. The city bought three systemsfor $50,000 and plans to install them in parking enforcement vehicles this month.

Police partner with license plate readers. A growing number of police departments are turning to mobile camera systems to fight motor vehicle theft and identify unregistered cars. The cameras read license plates of parked and moving cars— hundreds per minute— and check them against vehicle databases, said Lance Clem, a spokesman for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, which purchased several systems for its police vehicles last fall.

This license plate-scanning technology has been around for a few years already, and is in use on side streets as well as freeways. The following commentary was written in 2004:

License Plate "Guns" and Privacy: New Haven police have a new law enforcement tool: a license-plate scanner. Similar to a radar gun, it reads the license plates of moving or parked cars and links with remote police databases, immediately providing information about the car and owner. Right now the police check if there are any taxes owed on the car, if the car or license plate is stolen, and if the car is unregistered or uninsured. A car that comes up positive is towed.

Lawyer: Cop scanner 'crosses line'. Civil libertarians are raising the alarm over the state's plans to createa Big Brother database that could map drivers' whereabouts with police cruiser-mounted scanners that capture thousands of license plates per hour— storing that information indefinitely where local cops, staties, feds and prosecutors could access it as they choose.

In England:
CCTV at petrol stations will automatically stop uninsured cars being filled with fuel. Cameras at petrol stations will automatically stop uninsured or untaxed vehicles from being filled with fuel, under new government plans. Downing Street officials hope the hi-tech system will crack down on the 1.4million motorists who drive without insurance. Automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras are already fitted in thousands of petrol station forecourts.

A stalker's dream come true.
New Service Allows People to Text Strangers Using License Plate Number. A new service allows individuals in San Francisco to anonymously send text messages to strangers through their license tag numbers.

Arkansas police photograph license plates, store data. Little Rock may not be a likely terrorism target or a gang crime hotspot, but the Arkansas capital has decided to follow the example of high-security cities by expanding electronic surveillance of its streets.

DHS cancels national license plate tracking plan. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson on Wednesday [2/19/2014] ordered the cancellation of a plan by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to develop a national license-plate tracking system after privacy advocates raised concern about the initiative. The order came just days after ICE solicited proposals from companies to compile a database of license-plate information from commercial and law enforcement tag readers. Officials said the database was intended to help apprehend fugitive illegal immigrants, but the plan raised concerns that the movements of ordinary citizens under no criminal suspicion could be scrutinized.

The Editor says...
The system is only there to catch illegal immigrants! How could you possibly object to that? Think ahead: Suppose the system works perfectly and every illegal immigrant is captured and deported (Ha!). Their surveillance system will still be in place, and the bureaucrats will need to think of something to do with it— probably hunting for "deadbeat dads," and people with outstanding warrants.

Testing the license plate readers:
Car hits 220 MPH on new Texas highway. Hennessey Performance, builders of some of the fastest custom cars on the planet, including the 275mph Venom GT, offered up one of their 1,200hp Cadillac coupes to test the cameras fitted to the automated toll system on the brand new SH-130 toll road, which boasts the highest speed limit in the nation at 85mph.

IRS, other federal agencies reportedly used license plate-tracking technology. The Internal Revenue Service and other federal agencies reportedly awarded contracts to a license plate-tracking company to provide access to license-plate recognition databases or technology used to collect plate information. Bloomberg News reported that the IRS and other government agencies awarded about $415,000 in contracts to Livermore, Calif.-based Vigilant Solutions before the Department of Homeland Security dropped a plan for similar work after privacy concerns were raised.

IRS Among agencies that hired license plate-tracking vendor. The Internal Revenue Service and other federal agencies awarded about $415,000 in contracts to a license plate-tracking company before Homeland Security leaders dropped a plan for similar work amid privacy complaints. Federal offices such as the Forest Service and the U.S. Air Force's Air Combat Command chose Livermore, Calif.-based Vigilant Solutions to provide access to license plate databases or tools used to collect plate information, according to government procurement records compiled by Bloomberg.

Toll road cameras looking beyond scofflaw drivers. Harris County Toll Road Authority cameras are now on the lookout for more than just those drivers who blow through EZTag lanes without paying. County authorities promise new, upgraded cameras can help catch murderers and other violent criminals. The cameras have the capability to search their databases and issue alerts to county dispatchers when a wanted criminal crosses their lenses. ... The system, which has been operating for about a month, has proved so promising that the Houston Police Department wants a piece of the action.

Big Brother?— Area cameras would record all license plates. If recent grant applications win approval, all vehicles traveling on certain local traffic arteries would have their license plates automatically recorded and checked against a U.S. criminal records database. A surveillance system would run every plate number through the National Crime Information Center, a computerized index maintained by the FBI. If the number matches someone with an outstanding warrant, or a criminal record, or perhaps just a person of interest in a local investigation, police would be alerted.

Chip del Repuve Obligatorio en Mexico. El Repuve (Registro Público Vehicular) es un proyecto a nivel nacional, queconsiste en el Registro Público de Veh'culos previo cumplimiento de un proceso de validación de información,además de ser un instrumento de información del Sistema Nacional de Seguridad Pública. Para todos losautos nuevos de agencia, ya salen con el registro en la base de datos, ademús de tener pegada la calcoman'a del Chip delREPUVE que es un engomado o calcoman'a, que tiene un código de barras que puede ser escaneado con un aparato de manerainmediata y saber el estatus legal en que se encuentra el automóvil. También mostrara la informacióndel NIV.

Translation by Google:
The REPUVE (Public Vehicle Registry) is a project at the national level, which consists of the Public Registry of Vehicles following compliance with a process of validation of information, in addition to being an information tool of the National Public Security System. For all new agency cars, they already come with the registration in the database, in addition to having pasted the chip sticker REPUVE which is a sticker or decal, which has a bar code that can be scanned with a device immediately and know the legal status of the car. Also it will show the information of the NIV.

The Editor says...
The MX_XM logo is obviously a dipole antenna for the RFID chip— without which the chip will not work. The article above was brought to my attention by a reader in Mexico, who reports a rapidly increasing number of tag readers on the highways.This is a system that can locate a car quickly, if the car is on one of those highways; and at the very least, the system can report the last known location of a specificcar. This would make "Amber Alerts" obsolete. It would also make it impossible for someone to move freely from place to place without being followed by thegovernment. That's an idea most Americans would oppose— Ihope.

Warrantless GPS tracking

GPS Tracking Devices.Do you ever get that feeling that you're being followed? Maybe youare.

Court Rules Probable-Cause Warrant Required for GPS Trackers.An appellate court has finally supplied an answer to an open question left dangling by the Supreme Court in 2012: Do law enforcement agencies need a probable-cause warrant to affix a GPS tracker to a target's vehicle? The Third Circuit Court of Appeals gave a resounding yes to that question today [10/22/2013]in a 2to1 decision. "Today's decision is a victory for all Americans because it ensures that the police cannot use powerful tracking technology without court supervision and a good reason to believe it will turn up evidence of wrongdoing," said ACLU attorney Catherine Crump in a statement."These protections are important because where people go reveals a great deal about them, from who their friends are, where they visit the doctor and wherethey choose to worship."

Obama Administration Argues No Warrant Required for GPS Tracking of Citizens. The federal government informed an appeals court on Thursday [5/31/2012] that it has the right and the power to place GPS tracking devices on the privately owned vehicles of citizens without obtaining a warrant. This is in open rebellion to a Supreme Court decision from January that held that such warrantless installation of tracking devices on cars was unconstitutional.

After GPS tracking banned by court, privacy fight turns to cell phone data. The D.C. nightclub owner at the center of a landmark Supreme Court case about GPS tracking is now also challenging prosecutors' extensive use of data from cell phone towers to monitor his location. The Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that police violated Antoine Jones' Fourth Amendment rights when they placed a GPS device on his Jeep and tracked the vehicle for a month without a valid warrant.

Groups warn high court of big government intrusion in GPS case. The high court will decide whether warrant-less GPS tracking by law enforcement is a violation of Fourth Amendment protections from unreasonable search and seizure. The U.S. vs. Jonescase is scheduled for argument in early November. ... With an expired warrant that applied only to the District of Columbia, police officers installed a GPS tracker on nightclub owner Antoine Jones's vehicle when it was parked in a public lot in Maryland. Theinformation they obtained from tracking Jones, whom they suspected of involvement in a cocaine-distribution operation, over the course of a month allowed them to trace Jones's movements to a house in Maryland. Police reportedly found cocaine, crack and cash inside the residence.

High court case on GPS surveillance could break new ground. In a potentially groundbreaking case onhigh-tech tracking by police, the Supreme Court will decide whether constant surveillance is such an intrusion on people's lives that police need a warrant before attaching a GPS device to a person's car.

Supreme Court Hears Whether GPS Counts as 'Big Brother'. Citizens traveling public highways should have no expectation of privacy just because police are tracking their movements through GPS rather than in person, the U.S. government argued Tuesday [11/8/2011] in a case before the Supreme Court that pits the interest of law enforcement against individual privacy rights. The dispute springs from a situation in which police affixed a GPS tracking device to a suspect's car without a proper warrant. It monitored the suspect's movements for several weeks, noting where his vehicle went and how long it stayed at each location.

Supreme Court justice: Warrantless GPS tracking 'sounds like 1984'. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments today in United States v. Jones, a case that will determine whether the government has the right to use GPS devices to track the locations of criminal suspects without a warrant. Several justices reportedly expressed concern over the government's argument, but Justice Stephen Breyer seemed particularly unnerved, bringing George Orwell into the legal debate.

Justice Breyer warns of Orwellian government. A Supreme Court justice on Tuesday [11/8/2011] expressed major concerns that the government would engage in round-the-clock surveillance reminiscent of the totalitarian world of the George Orwell novel 1984 if the court ruled in the government's favor. The court heard oral argumentsin the Jones case, in which the outcome will determine whether warrantless GPS tracking by law enforcement is an invasion of Fourth Amendment protection from unreasonable search and seizure.

Supreme Court: Police Need Warrant for GPS Tracker. The government argued that attaching the tiny deviceto a car's undercarriage was too trivial a violation of property rights to matter, and that no one who drove in public streets could expect his movements to go unmonitored. Thus, the technique was "reasonable," meaning that police were free to employ it for any reason without first justifying it to a magistrate, the government said. The justices seemed troubled by that position at arguments in November, where the government acknowledged it would also allow attaching such trackers to the justices' own cars without obtaining a warrant.

All Hail Samuel Alito, Privacy Champion Extraordinaire! Yesterday [1/23/2012] the Supreme Court handed down the most important privacy case of the Roberts era, U.S.v. Jones. The unanimous decisionis an occasion for dancing in the chat rooms. In holding that the government needs a warrant before attaching a GPS device to a suspect's car to track his movements 24/7 for a month, all the justices rejected the Obama administration's extreme and unnecessary position that we have no expectations of privacy when it comes to the virtual surveillance of our movements in public places.

Why the Supreme Court GPS Decision Won't Stop Warrantless Digital Surveillance: On January23 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that law enforcement authorities do not generally have a right to affix a GPS tracking device to a suspect's car without first obtaining a valid warrant. Of the many things that can be said about the case, which has been called the mostimportant Fourth Amendment test in a decade, perhaps the most sobering in the long run will be this: the decision is based on technology assumptions that are rapidly becoming irrelevant.

Setback for Big Brother.Authoritarians nationwide were disappointed to learn Monday that a unanimous Supreme Court had denied their ability to place hidden global-positioning-system (GPS) tracking devices on cars without a warrant. The decision is long overdue in a society where government officials have quietly turned to technology to spy on the public. A number of lower courts saw no problem with letting police record the movements of any motorist at any time for any reason.

FBI Turns Off Thousands of GPS Devices After Supreme Court Ruling. The Supreme Court's recent ruling overturning the warrantless use of GPS tracking devices has caused a "sea change" inside the U.S. Justice Department, according to FBI General Counsel Andrew Weissmann. Mr. Weissmann, speaking at a Universityof San Francisco conference called "Big Brother in the 21stCentury" on Friday [2/24/2012], said that the court ruling prompted the FBI to turn off about 3,000 GPS tracking devices that were inuse.

The Editor says...
I would have guessed there were 300, but not 3,000.

The militarization of the police

I suspect the average cop probably watches too many crime-fighter movies. Ordinary cops are, with increasing frequency, acting like soldiers on a battlefield rather than professionals whose primary concern is law and order.This is particularly troublesome because of the military-style weapons they now use, which is the subject of the sectionbelow this one.

Report:Austin Police Knew About Dangerous Bean Bag Rounds Before May2020 Protests. Ina revealing report, the spotlight has been placed once again on the Austin Police Department (APD)over its handling of the May2020 protests against police brutality. An internalinvestigation revealed some concerning details about the department's use of "less lethal" bean bagrounds that resulted in a slew of injuries to several people demonstrating in the city. Thecontinued scrutiny comes amid a wider assessment by the Justice Department into the APD's practicesand policies and a push on the part of the APD to promote transparency and accountability whilestill addressing crime. The KVUE Defenders published an exclusive report detailing TravisCounty's request to have the DOJ further investigate the matter.

22Years of Blowback from the USA Patriot Act. A standing army— somethingthat propelled the early colonists into revolution— strips the citizenry of any vestigeof freedom. How can there be any semblance of freedom when there are tanks in the streets,military encampments in cities, Blackhawk helicopters and armed drones patrolling overhead?It was for this reason that those who established America vested control of the military in acivilian government, with a civilian commander-in-chief. They did not want a militarygovernment, ruled by force. Rather, they opted for a republic bound by the rule of law: theU.S. Constitution. Unfortunately, we in America now find ourselves struggling to retain somesemblance of freedom in the face of police and law enforcement agencies that look and act like themilitary and have just as little regard for the Fourth Amendment, laws such as the NDAA that allowthe military to arrest and indefinitely detain American citizens, and military drills thatacclimate the American people to the sight of armored tanks in the streets, military encampments incities, and combat aircraft patrolling overhead.

Police Killings More Likely in Agencies That Get Military Gear, Data Shows. Americans have seen it time and again inrecent months on the nightly news: Protesters in the streets confronted by local police officers carrying assaultrifles, some atop armored vehicles, looking more like soldiers than public servants. Much of that equipment hastrickled down to police departments from a controversial Defense Department initiative known as the 1033 program, a30-year-old federal initiative that provides a way for the military to dispose of surplus equipment by sending it to localpolice. The impact on policing has been huge. In Georgia alone, police departments and sheriff's offices havereceived more than 2,700 military rifles, night-vision goggles and laser gun sights, and literally hundreds of armoredvehicles, including more than two dozen mine-resistant vehicles built to fight the war on terror abroad. To get themilitary equipment, police departments pay only for the shipping costs. But that does not mean the program comeswithout other costs.

Opposing viewpoint:
The Myth of Militarization. As disturbances around the country explode after officer-involved suspect deaths, law enforcement is standing by to provide ameasure to mitigate violence and property damage. Dramatic video of armored vehicles and riot-gear clad police oftenincite cries that the police are provoking violence, as though donning protective gear lights a match to an otherwisepeaceful protest. As someone who has been trained in crowd control as a member of the National Guard, and who has beenon the scene during the disturbances in Ferguson and Portland, these claims reflect a gross misunderstanding of the toolsused by police to keep others safe.

PastorJailed During 'Drag Queen Story Hour,' SWAT Team Snipers Positioned Atop Library Roof. A Baptist pastor was arrested and jailed on Saturday [6/15/2019] after refusing to move across the street from the Spokane, Washington Public Library whileexercising his free speech against a "Drag Queen Story Hour." The event had a significant militaristic police presence,including camouflaged snipers positioned atop the roof to oversee the large crowd that stood both for and against the men dressed like women reading stories to children. Afhsin Yaghtin of New Covenant Baptist Church was arrested for obstructing an officer as he contended with police that the South Hill Library is public property and that he should be able to speak adjacent to the facility instead of being required to stand across the street.

The Cops Were Chasing a Shoplifter. They Ended Up Destroying an Innocent Man's Home. Over the course of June3 and 4, 2015, adevastating police raid systematically destroyed [Leo] Lech's old home. The cops were responding to a crime that Lechhad nothing to do with: A suspected shoplifter had barricaded himself inside the house after a chase, sparking a19-hour standoff with a multi-jurisdictional SWAT team. Unleashing a display of force commonly reserved for thebattlefield, the tactical team bombarded the building with high-caliber rifles, chemical agents, flash-bang grenades,remote-controlled robots, armored vehicles, and breaching rams— all to extract a petty thief with ahandgun. When it was over, Lech's house was completely unlivable. The City of Greenwood Village condemned it,forcing Lech to topple the wrecked structure. Making matters worse, the municipality refused to pay fair market valuefor the destruction. Now Lech is suing for compensation. The outcome of his case may bring clarity to theproperty rights of Americans living in the shadow of police militarization.

TheMilitarization of the Hamptons. A few weeks ago, the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival held one of itsoccasional outdoor concerts at a nearby Long Island winery. It was well attended— 400 concertgoers came tosip wine and listen to the music of Bach and Django Reinhardt— but that wasn't a surprise: Now in its 34thyear, the music festival is one of the mainstays of the Hamptons summer season. Here's what was surprising, accordingto my friend and former New York Times colleague Susan Lehman, who was there: "Driving in," she emailed me the otherday, "it was impossible not to notice two figures with the word POLICE emblazoned in white on their spruce black costumes,and very noticeable automatic weapons in their hands." She added that while the musicians were on stage, "two armed guardsmilled around in the open space in the front of the tent where the concert was being held." Afterward, when someoneinquired about the presence of these heavily armed police, he was told that the Southampton police department required theextra protection.

Trump plans to lift Obama-era ban on giving local police military equipment. The Trump administration will bring backthe movement of surplus military equipment to local law enforcement. Documents obtained by Fox News reveal PresidentTrump will sign an executive order reversing an Obama-era policy which restricted local police agencies' ability to getaccess to gear such as armored personnel carriers, grenade launchers and other military-grade equipment. Trump'sexecutive order will restore "The full scope of a longstanding program for recycling surplus, lifesaving gear from theDepartment of Defense."

President Trump Reverses Obama Executive Order Blocking Military Surplus From Police Purchase. Today President Trump hasissued an executive order revoking a previous Executive Order #13688, put in place by President Obama, which blocked localand state law enforcement from purchasing military surplus gear. Effective with today's order local law enforcementwill have access to U.S. military equipment. Attorney General Jeff Sessions cited two studies which concluded that theuse of military-style equipment can have positive effects, reducing citizen complaints and assaults on officers.

Cops Gun Down Innocent 86yo Navy Vet as He Protected His Wife from Intruders. The widow of an 86-year-old Navy veteran whowas gunned down by armed intruders in his own home, has filed a lawsuit against her husband's killers— the SantaClara County sheriff's department. Eugene Craig was gunned down by police as he attempted to shield his wife from armedintruders who'd just broken into his home. The armed intruders were cops. [...] The tragic irony of this situation is that police claim they were there to protect the couple, noting that they had gotten word that someone inside the home was in distress. Sadly, this is what happens when militarized police are sent into an innocent couple's home to check on their wellbeing.

Innocent 58yo Man Raided by SWAT, Assaulted, Flashbanged, Kidnapped for 3 Days for 'Welfare Check'. Attorneys for TheRutherford Institute have identified eight members of a tactical police squad in an amended complaint to a lawsuit againstVirginia police over a "welfare check" on a 58-year-old man that resulted in a two-hour, SWAT team-style raid on the man'struck and a 72-hour mental health hold.

Cops Kill Man With Asperger's Whose Viral Video Touched Millions— Family Sues. According to Mesa police, theyreceived a call about a suicidal person around 11a.m.— it was Clarke's friend who'd just received an email fromhim saying "Take care of Sampson." Sampson is the dog seen in the viral video. When officers responded to Clarke'sapartment, they say he stated that he had a knife and was going to hurt himself. At this time, police claim, Clarkemoved toward them with a knife, causing them to fear for their lives and they both fired their duty weapons.Apparently, simply backing up was not an option— nor was waiting for the other officer who had just gone backoutside to retrieve a beanbag gun.

TheIllusion of Freedom: The Police State Is Alive and Well. [Scroll down] In fact, the American police state has continued to advance at the samecostly, intrusive, privacy-sapping, Constitution-defying, relentless pace under President Trump as it did under President Obama. [...] The Pentagon and the Departmentof Homeland Security haven't stopped militarizing and federalizing local police. Police forces continue to be transformed into heavily armed extensions of themilitary, complete with jackboots, helmets, shields, batons, pepper-spray, stun guns, assault rifles, body armor, miniature tanks and weaponized drones. Intraining police to look and act like the military and use the weapons and tactics of war against American citizens, the government continues to turn the UnitedStates into a battlefield.

A Journalist AccidentallyFilmed Herself Getting Shot by DAPL Police. [J]ournalist Erin Schrode was not expecting to be shot in the facewith a rubber bullet as she interviewed a peaceful protester on camera. The land she was standing on appears to beStanding Rock Reservation territory and is located on the opposite side of the creek where protesters were demonstrating.[Videoclip] This incident of law enforcement using violence against a journalist is not isolated; rather, it's becominga pattern at the site of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Dozens of journalists have been arrested, pepper sprayed, and now shot.Last week, our own Derrick Broze was tased by law enforcement while covering the protests for Anti-Media— immediately afterhe told officers he was with the media.

The ImperialPresident's Toolbox of Terror: [Scroll down] A Dictatorship Waiting to Happen. What began in the 1960s as a war on drugstransitioned into an all-out campaign to transform America's police forces into extensions of the military. Every successive presidentsince Nixon has added to the police's arsenal, tactics and authority. In fact, the Obama Administration has accelerated police militarizationby distributing military weapons and equipment to police and incentivizing SWAT team raids and heavy-handed police tactics through the use offederal grants and asset forfeiture schemes.

Militarized Police Turn Peaceful Native American Protest Into a War Zone. Following the activation of the North Dakota National Guardon September 8, peaceful Dakota Access Pipeline protests quickly became flooded with militarized law enforcement.Native American activists, or "water protectors," have been standing in the way of the pipeline's construction for months,successfully blocking it at the Sacred Stone camp near the Missouri River. When the situation initially took a turn forthe worse earlier this month, journalists on the ground who were broadcasting live video complained Facebook was blockingtheir streams. Now, videos and images from Wednesday are emerging that show an overwhelmingly militarized response tothe peaceful prayer and protest.

New York City police upgrade gear after Texas, Louisiana shootings. "You name it, we're buying it," Police Commissioner WilliamBratton told a news conference. "There's not a police department in America that is spending as much money, as muchthought and interest on this issue of officer safety." Bratton said the NYPD has purchased 20,000 military-style helmets,6,000 heavy duty bullet-proof vests, trauma kits and ballistic doors and windows for patrol cars. He said the newbullet-proof vests are capable of stopping rounds fired from the type of weapon used in the Baton Rouge shooting that killedthree officers and the Dallas shooting that left five officers dead and seven wounded.

Doyour local police have banned military equipment? Today, the Obama administration announced an immediate ban oncertain types of military equipment transfers to local police, including grenade launchers and some armored vehicles.However, it's unclear what that means for ordnance the police may already posses— thanks to an earlier collaboration withThe Marshall Project, you can find out if your local law enforcement agencies have any of the restricted gear.

From the Pentagon to the Police: The 1033 Project. As we saw in Ferguson, and most recently in Dallas andBaton Rouge, every day American police look less like a neighborhood watch and more like a paramilitary force. Here'show and why that happened.

In California, the officer driving a 18-ton MRAP could have as much as 20 hours of training time— or as little as 15 minutes.Much like our previous audit of Texas police departments' proposals to train officers in the operation of military-gradearmored vehicles, similar documents from Californian law enforcement agencies revealed that there is no clear qualificationstandard when it comes to use of 18-ton Mine-Resistant vehicles. The biggest discrepancy between these proposals is thenumber of hours police departments are allotting to learn how to properly deploy and operate an MRAP.

The Editor says...
I wasn't aware that mines had been used against police officers, or that it was such a widespread problem, especially in urban areas. Do the police needed Mine-Resistant vehicles, really?

Clevelandseeking to buy 2,000 sets of extra riot gear for Republican National Convention. Cleveland is advertising forthousands of sets of riot suits and batons ahead of the Republican National Convention later this year. The Ohio city issteppingup it's [sic] preparations for security during the July event, including spending some of its' [sic] $50millionsecurity budget on 2,000sets of riot gear. This comes just months after an investigation by the U.S. Justice Departmentfound that the Cleveland Police Department systematically engages in excessive use of force against civilians.

SomeOfficers Bristle at Recall of Military Equipment. On the day a heavily armed couple fatally shot 14people and woundedmore than 20others in San Bernardino, Calif., last month, MichaelJ. Bouchard, a sheriff here in the Detroit area, got an orderto return his department's 14-ton armored personnel carrier to the federal government. It was one of hundreds of similar notificationsfrom the Obama administration to law enforcement agencies across the country— from Los Angeles to rural areas like Calhoun County,Ala.— to give back an array of federal surplus military equipment by April1, in response to concerns that the equipment wasunnecessary and misused. The items to be returned: armored vehicles that run on tracks, .50-caliber machine guns, grenade launchers,bayonets and camouflage clothing.

GovernmentSeizes Sheriff's Armored Vehicle At Behest Of Obama. The federal government, under orders from President Obama,seized military surplus vehicles from Calhoun County, Alabama Sheriff Larry Amerson Wednesday [11/19/2015]. For over20years, under the federal government's 10-33 program, the Defense Department distributed military surplus equipmentand vehicles to local law enforcement, such as the Calhoun County sheriff's department.

Outrage as military vehicles, equipment taken from officers in wake of Obama order. Valuable vehicles and equipment arebeing yanked from law enforcement agencies across the country by the Obama administration in the wake of the president'spost-Ferguson order— as sheriffs and lawmakers tell FoxNews.com the equipment is needed, and losing it could putofficers and the communities they serve in danger. "These things are useful tools and the president taking them awaywill put more officers in jeopardy and at risk of harm or even death. I don't know how he can sleep at night knowing his actions will have those repercussions," Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., told FoxNews.com.

Sheriff: Obama's 'Meddling,' Making Cops 'Less Prepared'. The sheriff of Oakland County, Michigan, Mike Bouchard, saysthe Obama administration's decision to ban armored tracked vehicles and bayonets for cops is "micromanaging policedepartments all across America" and "meddling in really something that's not their affairs." [...] Armored tracked vehiclesare not the only tools being banned. Weaponized aircraft and vehicles, .50caliber firearms and ammo, camouflage andbayonets, are also banned.

Resistance To Militarized Cops Begins. [Scroll down] But now resistance to such militarization of local police has been enacted with a bill signed by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie that bans local law-enforcement agencies from obtaining such equipment without authorization from their local government.According to the Tenth Amendment Center, which monitors and reports on issues of state and federal authority, it's "an important first step toward blocking federal programs that militarize local police." The bill, S2364, by state Sen. Nia Gill, a Democrat, puts local government officials directly between the federal government and local law enforcers.

Obama bans police from using certain types of military gear. Thanks to military surplusprograms and federal funding, in recent years local police forces have snatchedup a bevy ofheavy-duty military equipment— from armored tanks to grenade launchers. Fergusonthrew this new, militarized law enforcement into the spotlight, as police in camouflage and armoredvehicles faced down citizens.

Obamablocks sale to police of paramilitary hardware in effort to halt decline in public trust. In a surprise announcement coming nine months after police in riot gear dispelled racially charged protests in Ferguson, Missouri, President Barack Obama is banning the federal government from providing some military-style equipment to some local departments.

U.S.Cracking Down on 'Militarization' of Local Police. The federal government will no longer provide heavy military equipment like tanks and grenade launchers to local cops following weeks of backlash against officers who confronted protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, in armored vehicles and camouflage last year, President Barack Obama said Monday [5/18/2015]. And if they want other, less-imposing military equipment, local law enforcement agencies will have to submit to stringent federal oversight and restrictions, according to the White House.

Obama orders review of police militarization. President Obama on Friday [1/16/2015] tooksteps to curb a federal program that arms local police with surplus military equipment. Throughan executive order, the president created a working group— composed of top Cabinetofficials— to examine the Pentagon's 1033 program and recommend reforms to ensure thatthe law officers receiving the equipment are trained both in its use and in "the protection of civilrights and civil liberties" of local communities.

Obama Wants to Avoid 'Militarized' Police Culture. President Barack Obama said Monday [12/1/2014] hewants to ensure the U.S. isn't building a "militarized culture" within police departments, while maintaining federal programs that provide the type of military-style equipment that were used to dispel racially charged protests in Ferguson, Missouri.

The Editor says...
Another problem solved by our fearless leader! Don't build a "militarized culture" in local police departments, he says,but let's keep sending them grenade launchers, in case the need arises.

Fishing without a license in NJ? The game warden has a machine gun, aimed at you. Why does a NewJersey game warden need an M-14? Because, shutup.

Obama to issue executive order on military weapons for cops. Obama, hosting a trio ofmeetings at the White House on Monday devoted to the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown, willinstruct his staff to draft an executive order improving safeguards of a federal government programthat allows local police departments to claim unused military weapons, senior administrationofficials said. The images of heavily armed officers in combat gear patrolling the streets inFerguson invited comparisons to war settings, with some lawmakers suggesting that such equipmentshould not be used to break up violent protests.

Militarization and Policing— Its Relevance to 21st Century Police. This work examines the blurring distinctions between the police and military institutions and between war and law enforcement. In this article, the author asserts that understanding this blur, and the associated organizing concepts militarization and militarism, are essential for accurately analyzing the changing nature of security, and the activity of policing, in the late-modern era of the 21st century.

Dozens of police agencies report loss of Pentagon-supplied military weapons. The Daytona Beach Police Department was suspended after reporting a lost M-16 in January. "We still have not been able to find it," Daytona Beach Police spokesman Jimmie Flynt told Cox. The Napa County Sheriff's Office was banned after someone stole a rifle from an employee's personal vehicle. "If I knew where it was, I'd go get it," Undersheriff Jean Donaldson told Cox."It's equipment we can obtain at no cost to our budget, so the taxpayers don't get taxed twice."

The truth about libertarians, police and Ferguson's fury:Libertarians warned for years that government is force, that government always grows and that America's police have become too much like an occupying army.We get accused of being paranoid, but we look less paranoid after heavily armed police in Ferguson, Missouri, tear gassed peaceful protesters, arrested journalists and stopped some journalists from entering the town. [...] If authorities arm cops like soldiers, they may begin to think like soldiers— and see the public as the enemy. That makes violent confrontations more likely.

Missouri Governor Helped Ferguson Get Surplus Military Equipment. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, whoyesterday said he was "thunderstruck" to learn how militarized police in Ferguson had become, signedoff as recently as January on statewide participation in a Pentagon program providing local policedepartments with surplus equipment. [...] Should Nixon, a Democrat elected in 2008 and re-elected in2012, have been surprised? Participating jurisdictions, including agencies in St.Louis County,received weapons and equipment as early as 2010 and again in 2012, 2013 and this summer. Fergusonis a St.Louis suburb.

Jake Tapper compares the police presence in Ferguson to a U.S. base in Afghanistan. CNN'sJake Tapper called out police in Ferguson, Mo., on Monday night [8/18/2014], comparing the weaponsand body armor employed by the police to Bagram, the largest U.S. military base in Afghanistan.The clip above shows Tapper pointing at the protesters, showing them moving away from the police.Tapper then turns the camera on the police.

Jake Tapper In Ferguson: "This Doesn't Make Any Sense". ["]Absolutely there have beenlooters, absolutely over the last nine days there's been violence, but there is nothing going on onthis street right now that merits this scene out of Bagram. Nothing.["]

Tanks? Grenade launchers? Police stocking up on military's gear giveaway. From California to Connecticut and several states in between, local police departments have been steadily arming themselves over the years with billions of dollars' worth of military-grade equipment— including grenade launchers, helicopters and machine guns. The materiel comes from a U.S. military program that, until this week, received little public attention.

Colorado Law Enforcement Agencies Obtain Unwanted Military Equipment. The conflict in Ferguson,Mo., where an unarmed teen was shot by police has raised the issue whether police agencies arebecoming too militarized. And records show several Colorado law enforcement agencies have an arrayof equipment that the military no longer needs. CBS4 Investigator Rick Sallinger looked at whatlocal agencies have gotten and how they're usingit.

Playing Soldier in the Suburbs. In the name of local preparedness, Washington has beenbestowing antiterror grants and Pentagon surplus on communities barely touched by major crime, letalone by terrorism. Tanks and aircraft, helmets and armor, guns and grenade launchers have flowed topolice departments from Des Moines (home of two $180,000 bomb-disarming robots) to Keene, N.H.(population 23,000, murder rate infinitesimal and the proud custodian of an armored BearCat). Lastweek, The New Republic's Alec MacGillis ran the numbers for Missouri and found that the state'sDepartment of Public Safety received about $69million from the Department of Homeland Security inthe past five years alone. Which helps explain why the streets of a St.Louis suburb flooded so quickly with cops in gas masks and camouflage, driving armored cars and brandishing rifles like anoccupying army.

Pentagon program put $4.3 Billion worth of equipment in the hands of American police forces.The U.S. Defense Department has been contributing to the militarization of local police forces sinceat least 2007, handing over heavy armaments, battle helicopters and armored vehicles for use inurban policing scenarios. 'I think it's probably useful for us to review how the funding wasdone, how local law enforcement has used grant dollars,' [President] Obama told reporters at theWhite House [8/18/2014], 'to make sure that what they're purchasing is stuff that they actuallyneed.' 'There is a big difference between our military and our local law enforcement, and we don't want those lines blurred. That would be contrary to our tradition,' he said.

Ferguson Is Not Binary. No conservative is saying police do not need to be able to outshoot and out arm the bad guys. Butmany of us are saying police are more quickly than ever before resorting to playing soldier whenthey could accomplish the same as just a policeman. One can view the events of Ferguson, MO anddecide it was a good call to, before rioting even began, suitup the police as soldiers. But theworld is not binary. Regardless of how one views the events of Ferguson, we should all be troubledby the over-militarization of routine police activity. We should all be troubled at the growingnumber of well documented cases of heavy handed local and state police.

Ron Paul: Local police not 'warriors'. Former Rep. Ron Paul on Monday [8/18/2014] calledfor the elimination of the Defense Department program that has transferred billions of dollars insurplus military equipment to local and state agencies. "It should be gotten rid of," the TexasRepublican said on MSNBC of the Pentagon 1033 program, which has come under increased scrutinybecause of the equipment used by St. Louis County police forces in Ferguson, Missouri. "Police aresupposed to be local people, and they're supposed to be peace officers," he added. "They're notsupposed to be warriors."

America has a 'militarization moment'. We have seen something like Ferguson, Mo., before. A police officer shootsand kills a young black man, which touches off protests and looting. Which prompts headlong rushesto judgment about the actions of everyone involved— the cops, elected officials,activists and the media. Which causes us to question our progress on race, our politics and ournational character. We saw it with the beating of Rodney King in 1992 in Los Angeles. We saw itagain with the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin in 2012 in Sanford, Fla. What's different thistime is police officers armed with equipment and weaponry normally associated with overseas militaryoperations. And a lot of Americans don't like what they see.

Ferguson: A Fire Alarm in the Night. [Scroll down] It is sadly true that in the contemporary world we dohave to worry about large-scale acts of violence associated with international (and sometimeshomegrown) terrorism, and so law enforcement agencies, as first responders, probably need to bebetter equipped than they were before 9/11. However, it is also true that for normal police work,armored personnel carriers and the like normally do more harm than good. [...] Equipping localpolice forces like the 82nd Airborne is not the road to lower crime or to better relations betweenthe forces of order and the communities they are supposed to serve.

I can support Democrat Hank Johnson 100 percent on his latest bill. Under PresidentObama— who famously claimed (twice) that America needed a "civilian national securityforce just as powerful as the military"— law enforcement agencies around the country have become the paramilitary wings of local governments. Nowhere has this fact become more obvious than in Ferguson, Missouri in the aftermath of the shooting of a young black man. Now, DemocratHank Johnson is calling for a demilitarization of law enforcement.

Must We Have a Dead White Kid? Conservatives have long lamented the buildup of armaments and stockpilingof bullets by the Department of Homeland Security. The media has mostly treated these conservativeconcerns with derision. Suddenly, last week, when reporters were detained by the police in Ferguson,MO, the media had to pay attention to the militarization of the police and overkill by local police forces.Given what happened in Ferguson, the community had every right to be angry. The police bungled their handling of the matter, became very defensive, and behaved more like a paramilitary unit than a police force.Property damage and violence by the citizenry cannot be excused, but is also the result of a community seeing those who are to protect and serve instead suiting up and playing soldier.

Opposing viewpoint:
The "militarization" of police was not only inevitable, but necessary. Before you're tooquick to demand the "demilitarization" of the police, you might want to remember who it is thatstands between the neighborhood you have now and South Central L.A circa 1992. And Ferguson hasshown us that you don't need a huge metropolitan area for it to happen.

Congress goes after police. Lawmakers are targeting police with new and old pieces of legislation in thewake of riots in a St.Louis suburb sparked by the killing by a police officer of an unarmed blackteenager. Much of the focus has been on the heavy military equipment many local police agencieshave received from the Pentagon under a 1991 law meant to combat drug dealers. Sen. Carl Levin(D-Mich.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Friday [8/15/2014] that program will not get a rubber stamp when it comes up for reauthorization later this year.

How to Eliminate Almost Every Federal Agency. Since 2006, the Pentagon has distributed 432 mine-resistant armored vehicles to local police departments. It has also doled out more than 400other armored vehicles, 500aircraft, and 93,000 assault rifles. As The New York Times reported in June, the Defense Department has been making use of unused military equipment by giving it to local precincts. This is despite the fact that violent crime in the U.S. has steadily plummeted since 1993. Between 1993 and 2012, the violent-crime rate dropped by nearly 50percent. Yet today, local police— in cities and small towns across the country— are increasingly loaded for bear. How did thismilitarization of the police force come about? It all seems to have started with an obscure section in a defense bill passed more than 20yearsago.

How America's Police Became an Army: The 1033 Program. America has been quietly arming its policefor battle since the early 1990s. Faced with a bloated military and what it perceived as aworsening drug crisis, the 101st Congress in 1990 enacted the National Defense Authorization Act.Section 1208 of the NDAA allowed the Secretary of Defense to "transfer to Federal and State agenciespersonal property of the Department of Defense, including small arms and ammunition, that theSecretary determines is— (A)suitable for use by such agencies in counter-drug activities; and (B)excess to the needs of the Department of Defense." [...] By providing law enforcementagencies with surplus military equipment free of charge, the NDAA encourages police to employ military weapons and military tactics.

The Pentagon Equipped Ferguson's Police Dept.. This week, the Midwestern town of Ferguson,Mo., was transformed into a war zone— occupied by heavily armed police officers wearing Kevlarhelmets, driving armored trucks and spraying tear gas at protestors and journalists. [...] Imagesemerging from the St. Louis suburb have alarmed the rest of the country. Most people don't expect tosee Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles (MRAPs) intended for the deserts of Afghanistan drivingdown the same roads normally occupied by school busses and minivans. "We rolled lighter than that in Afghanistan," Paul Szoldra, a Marine veteran-turned-journalist noted in Business Insider.

Mapping the Spread of the Military's Surplus Gear. State and local police departments obtainsome of their military-style equipment through a free Defense Department program created in theearly 1990s. While the portion of their gear coming from the program is relatively small (most of itis paid for through department budgets and federal grants), detailed data from the Pentagon illustrates how ubiquitous such equipment has become.

The Editor says...
The map shows Pecos County, Texas, (population 15,619) received 24 assault rifles, one MRAP, and 20 pieces of body armor.

Cheyenne police get armored vehicle. As America's overseas wars have wound down, much of the militaryequipment used there has come home. But rather than sit unused, it is going to law enforcementagencies across the country, including right here in Laramie County. While the scope of policework in Wyoming is different from that of Iraq or Afghanistan, law agencies say they have found valuein surplus military equipment like weapons, armor and vehicles. Even small departments have benefitted.

Has the Dept. of Homeland Security become America's standing army? The DHS routinely hands out six-figure grants to enable local municipalities to purchase military-style vehicles, as well as a veritable war chest of weaponry, ranging from tactical vests, bomb-disarming robots, assault weapons and combat uniforms.This rise in military equipment purchases funded by the DHS has, according to analysts Andrew Becker and G.W.Schulz, "paralleled an apparent increase in local SWAT teams." The end result? An explosive growthin the use of SWAT teams for otherwise routine police matters, an increased tendency on the part of police to shoot first and ask questions later, and an overall mindset within police forces that they are at war— and the citizenry are the enemy combatants.

War Gear Flows to Police Departments. During the Obama administration, according to Pentagon data, police departments have received tens of thousands of machine guns; nearly 200,000 ammunition magazines; thousands of pieces of camouflage and night-vision equipment; and hundreds of silencers, armored cars and aircraft. The equipment has been added to the armories of police departments that already look and act like military units.Police SWAT teams are now deployed tens of thousands of times each year, increasingly for routine jobs. Masked, heavily armed police officers in Louisiana raided a nightclub in 2006 as part of a liquor inspection. In Florida in 2010, officers in SWAT gear and with guns drawn carried out raids on barbershops that mostly led only to charges of "barbering without a license."

Cops, MRAPs and the Heartbreak of Police Operator Syndrome. I shake my head every time Isee a cop dressed in modern Army camouflage; we soldiers hate that camouflage because it doesn'twork anywhere, so why are cops wearing it? [...] I imagine many street cops aren't too excitedabout MRAPs either. They're bulky, slow, impractical and not likely to ever be needed.And based on what we see online and on TV, way too many cops seem to fall under a magical spell and think they have to dress and act like operators when their police department gets an MRAP.

The absurdly dangerous militarization of America's police. [Scroll down] What we have here is the absurdly dangerous militarization of America's police departments. Our sprawling Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon (which gave the MRAP to Bastrop [Texas]) are haphazardly spreading war equipment, war techniques anda war mentality to what are supposed to be our communities' peacekeepers and crime solvers. Having the technology and mindset for military actions, local authorities will find excuses to substitute them for honest police work, turning common citizens into "enemies."

Towns Say 'No Tanks' to Militarized Police. Residents in some towns have begun standing up to the large armored vehicles that local police departments are receiving from the federal government. Six-figure grants from the Department of Homeland Security have been funding BearCats and other heavily fortified vehicles in towns and cities nationwide since soon after the 2001 terrorist attacks. Beginning last summer, the government also has handedout 200 surplus vehicles built to withstand mines and bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan,and is considering requests from 750 more communities.

How Every Part of American Life Became a Police Matter. If all you've got is a hammer, then everything starts to look like a nail. And if police and prosecutors are your only tool, sooner or later everything and everyone will be treated as criminal. This is increasingly the American way of life, a path that involves "solving" social problems (and even some non-problems) by throwing cops at them, with generally disastrous results. Wall-to-wall criminal law encroaches ever more on everyday life as police power is applied in ways that would have been unthinkable just a generation ago. By now, the militarization of the police has advanced to the point where "the War on Crime" and "the War on Drugs" are no longer metaphors but bland understatements.

Small town America shouldn't resemble war zone. Something potentially sinister is happening across America, and we should stop and take notice before it changes the character of our country forever. County, city and small-town police departments across the country are now acquiring free military-grade weapons that could possibly be used against the very citizens and taxpayers that not only fund their departments but who the police are charged with protecting. [...] This trend is not only sweeping America's small cities, it's hitting American college campuses as well. Ohio State University recently acquired an MRAP. Apparently, college kids are getting too rowdy. These are just some of the most egregious examples. There are countless stories of police departments getting (and often later selling) assault weapons, drones, and other military-grade equipment that is absolutely ill-suited for America's main streets. The Pentagon's 1033 program, which "provides or transfers surplus Department of Defense military equipment to state and local civilian law enforcement agencies without charge," is a big part of this disturbing trend.

Scenes from a militarized America: Iowa family 'terrorized'. When critics (like me) warn about the dangers of police militarization, this is what we're talking about. You'll see the raid team, dressed in battle-dress uniforms, helmets and face-covering balaclava hoods take down thefamily's door with a battering ram. You'll see them storm the home with ballistics shields, guns at the ready. More troubling still, you'll see not one but two officers attempt to prevent the family from having an independent record of the raid, one by destroying a surveillance camera, another by blocking another camera's lens. [Videoclip] From the images in the video, you'd think they were looking for anescaped murderer or a house full of hit men. No, none of that. They were looking for a few people suspected of credit card fraud.

Troubling new details about the violent police raid in Iowa. The raid was apparently for suspected credit card fraud. Ankeny PoliceDepartment officials are now speaking out. But I'm not sure they're helping their cause. [...] So they see nothing wrong with how the raid was handled, and the department has no stated policy for executing warrants. All of that is troubling enough. (The lack of a written policy also suggests a lack of training.) As is the "officer safety" justification, as if that in itself trumps the rights of the people inside the house.

Indiana town's police force gets armored carrier from military. An armored carrier the West Lafayette police department recently acquired from the U.S. military is being refitted and will soon serve as a "moving shield" for officers, the city's police chief said.

DoD Program 1033 Militarizing Local Police Departments. Those who are paying attention are seeing the constant notices of military equipment from overseas war-zones being dispersed to domestic police departments. Thesegiveaways are usually in the form of armored vehicles (as far as the public knows). This is all made possible by the Defense Department's Program 1033.In place since 1997, the program allows the DOD to give away the equipment— often free of charge— to local police departments who apply for the equipment grants. This year has been the year of the MRAP, or Mine Resistant Armor Protected vehicle. For the first time these fighting vehicles, costing an upwards of $600,000 each, are being sent out to American cops, and in rapid fashion.

The Price I Paid forFighting for a Library Free of p*rn and Sex Offenders. [Scroll down] I've noticed more stories about the militarization of local police and harassment of citizens happening at an alarming rate across this country. Salinas, California just got an armored police vehicle which is disturbing its residents. They don't understand why their police need such a thing in such a little town. Places like Boulder, Colorado and Preston, Idaho alsoreceived these vehicles, disturbing their inhabitants too. Stories of police acting above the law, searching without warrants and abusing their power are on the rise also. There are videos all over YouTube of concealed weapons permit holders being forced to the ground and threatened with a bullet tothe head over a legally carried weapon by officers too caught up in their own power to abide by the law. It's a frightening time to be a private citizen.

Militarized police. With almost 13,000 agencies in all 50states and four U.S. territories participating in a military "recycling" program, community police forces across the country continue to be transformed into outposts of the military, with police agencies acquiring military-grade hardware-tanks, weaponry, and other equipment designed for the battlefield-in droves. Keep in mind that once acquired, this military equipment, which is beyond the budget and scope of most communities, finds itself put to all manner of uses by local law enforcement agencies under the rationale that "if we have it, we might as well use it"— the same rationale, by the way, used with deadly results to justify assigning SWAT teams to carry out routine law enforcement work such as delivering a warrant.

Leftover armored trucks from Iraq coming to local police agencies. The Albany County sheriff's office is among eight law-enforcement agencies in New York that have received the free mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles, made for $500,000 apiece. Civil liberties advocates, meanwhile,see it as the increasing militarization of police forces.

Let's start with a little Police State this morning... .

Defense Department gives local police equipment designed for a war zone. The Defense Department recently announced it would be giving domestic law enforcement forces hulking vehicles designed to efficiently maneuver in a war zone for use in thwarting any potential high-scale activity.

Will domestic law enforcement paranoia turn US into a police state? In an article for The Guardian earlier this month that raised questions about the 1033 program— an initiative that allows the Defense Department to donate surplus military equipment to local police forces— Michael Shank pointed to the mounting evidence that suggests the police force in America is looking more and more likethe military. "The growing militarization of the United States appears to be occurring at home as well as abroad, a phenomenon which is troublesome and sure to continue without decisive action," he wrote, warning of, "the blurring line between military forces and the local police who are meant to protect and serve." Someone is training law enforcement officials in this heavy-handed behavior. The question is, why?

Beware Of The Police's Increasing Militarization. In early August, a SWAT team broke through the gates of a 3.5-acre farm in Arlington, Texas, that promotes a sustainable lifestyleand did a 10-hour search of the property. Residents were handcuffed and held at gunpoint as police looked for nonexistent marijuana plants and various city code violations. As the owners watched, 10tons of their private property was hauled off in trucks— dangerous items such as blackberry bushes, okra, tomatillo plants, native grasses and sunflowers that provided food and bedding for animals, everything from furniture to compost.

Whatcha Gonna Do If They Come for You. [Scroll down] For [Radley] Balko, the crackdown on illicit drugs is the driving force behind police militarization. Battlefield rhetoric—we speak of the drug "war," for instance— encouraged an "us vs. them" attitude that superseded the old "protect and serve." Hundreds of police forces began to insist that they needed SWAT teams to combat dangerous drug traders. In dress and in tactics, SWAT forces are far closer to military than police. The book's cover features a phalanx of state troopers wearing Kevlar vests and face shields, gear more reminiscent of the battle suits from the Halo video game series than of a local sheriff. As military-style police became the norm, the need to treat suspects like enemy combatants changed the legal landscape.

Will domestic law enforcement paranoia turn US into a police state? Judging by the way the Department of Homeland Security is spending your money, domestic unrest may be coming soon to a city near you. The DHS has been making purchases lately that seem to signal a federal fear of riots across the nation in the coming months. The obvious question is, what do they know that they American people don't? A more enduring and chilling question is what will be the end result of America's increasingly militarized police force?

Dallas County Now Has Its Very Own Bulletproof, "Mine-Protected" Military SUV. The initial plan was to shove the vehicles, called MRAPS (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected) into a warehouseand let them collect dust. That changed when someone decided that, having served so admirably overseas, it would be only just to bring the MRAPs stateside and deploy them in the domestic war on crime. And so, for the past couple of months, news reports have been popping up announcing that places like Murfreesboro, Tennessee and Ohio State University have been receiving their very own military-grade armored SUVs.

The cops at Ohio State have an armored fighting vehicle now. The Ohio State University Department of Public Safety has acquired an armored military vehicle that looks like it belongs in Iraq or Afghanistan. Gary Lewis, a senior director of media relations at OSU, told The Daily Caller via email that the "unique, special-purpose vehicle is areplacement" for the "police fleet." He called the armored jalopy "an all-hazard, all-purpose, public safety-response vehicle" with "obviously enhancedcapabilities." Lewis did not specify exactly what previous mode of transport was replaced.

Is America Inching Toward a Police State? In his book, [JohnW.] Whitehead warns of the gradual transformation of America into a police state in which stronger law enforcement and a robust surveillance apparatus might give rise to a state governed by the strong arm of the law. He contends that the lines between foreign and domestic surveillance and between law enforcement and military agencies are dissipating. This has resulted in an increasing number of military-style SWAT raids and the rapid growth of the government surveillance programs led by the National Security Agency (NSA).

Beware Warrior Cops.We need police to catch murderers, thieves and con men, and so we give them special power— the power to use force on others. Sadly, today's police use that power to invade people's homes over accusations of trivial, nonviolent offenses— and often do it with tanks, battering rams and armoryou'd expect on battlefields.

Lewiston police unveil armored vehicle at Night Out. People flocked to Marcotte Park on Tuesday for National Night Out as the Police Department showed of its newest additions:a robot and an armored personnel carrier.

When your own police label you a terrorist. Concord Police Chief John Duval recently begged Washington, D.C., for more than $250,000 to buy a military-style "armored personnel carrier"— the Lenco BearCatG3. Chief Duvalclaims he needs this military personnel carrier because of groups like the "Free Staters." He stated in his application that their threats were "real and here" andare providing Concord police "daily challenges." A "Free Stater" is a person loosely participating in peaceful, social and economic migration: to move 20,000 Americans who believe in smaller, responsible government to New Hampshire. I did that. I came to New Hampshire for that very reason. So, yes, I guess I am a "Free Stater." I am also a Republican, a lawyer and a computer nerd. Concord police want a military-style vehicle because of people like me?

Their Constitutional Rights Violated By Authorities. A Nevada family files a lawsuit after police literally seize their house to use as a command post afterentering without a warrant and assaulting family members. Isn't this what helped start the American Revolution?

A Real Live Third Amendment Case. The most obvious obstacle to winning a Third Amendment claim here is that police arguably do not qualify as "soldiers." On the other hand, as Radley Balko describes in his excellent new book The Rise of the Warrior Cop, many police departments are increasingly using military-style tactics and equipment, often including the aggressive use of force against innocent people who get in the way of their plans. If the plaintiffs' complaint is accurate, this appears to be an example of that trend. In jurisdictions where the police have become increasingly militarized, perhaps the courts should treat them as "soldiers" for Third Amendment purposes.

And Now They Trample The Third Amendment.Henderson police arrested a family for refusing to let officers use their homes as lookouts for a domestic violence investigation of their neighbors, the family claims in court. [...] The Mitchell family's claim includes Third Amendment violations, a rare claim in the United States. The Third Amendment prohibits quartering soldiers in citizens' homes in times of peace without the consent of the owner.

StateCapitol troopers begin carrying assault rifles. Regulars around the state Capitol will soon be seeing something different: Troopers carrying military-style assault rifles. [...] Officers once armed only with handguns will be walking aroundthe Capitol with M-6 carbines, a variant of the AR-15. We don't have to explain the irony. Not all officers will be so armed— just enough to make a public statement.

Cops with Machine Guns: The Killing of Michael Nida. In October 2011, the police-related shooting death of unarmed man, Michael Nida, 31, raised serious questions about the state of policing in the city of Downey, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. Why did it raise questions? The father of four who worked in construction wasn't shot with a handgun by one of the Downey Police Department's officers. He was shot with an MP5submachine gun, the same gun used by the Navy Seals.

Battlefield Main Street.A rapidly expanding Pentagon program that distributes used military equipment to local police departments— many of them small-town forces— puts battlefield-grade weaponry in the hands of cops at an unprecedented rate. Through its little-known "1033program," the Department of Defense gave away nearly $500million worth of leftover military gear to law enforcement in fiscal year 2011— a new record for the program and a dramatic rise over past years' totals, including the $212million in equipment distributed in 2010.

The Militarization of Policing in America. American neighborhoods are increasingly being policed by cops armed with the weapons and tactics of war. Federal funding in the billions of dollars has allowed state and local police departments to gain access to weapons and tactics created for overseas combat theaters—and yet very little is known about exactly how many police departments have military weapons and training, how militarized the police have become, and how extensively federal money is incentivizing this trend.

Tanks on Main Street: The Militarization of Local Police. Take a close look at your local police officers, the ones who patrol your neighborhoods and ensure the safety of your roadways. Chances are they look less and less like the benevolent keepers of thepeace who patrolled Andy Griffith's Mayberry and more like inflexible extensions of the military. ... Moreover, as an investigative report by Andrew Becker and G.W.Schulz reveals, in communities large and small across America, local law enforcement are arming themselves to the teeth with weapons previously only seen on the battlefield. "Many police, including beat cops, now routinely carry assault rifles.

The Creeping Militarization of the Home Front: Deploying troops on the home front is very different from waging war abroad. Soldiers are trained to kill, whereas civilian peace officers are trained to respect constitutional rights and to use force only as a last resort. That fundamental distinction explains why Americans have long resisted the use of standing armies to keep the domestic peace. Unfortunately, plans are afoot to change that time-honored policy.

Super Bowl 2012 Security Patrols Use Robots, Toxin Monitors, F-16s. Weeks before this year's Super Bowl championship contenders were set, massive security teams were hard at work to secure the city of Indianapolis, deploying some of the most advanced defense technologies ever used at the big game. The U.S. military, police and federal agencies, including NORAD and Customs and Border Protection, all have officers on the ground, who specialize in multiple types of emergency situations.

WorldTrade Center to be kept safe using military-grade technology. The New York Post reported the high-tech system of thousands of "intelligent" cameras and computer processors can recognise people's faces and retinas and then compare that information with databases such as terrorist watch lists, sources said.

Pentagon halts free guns for police. The Defense Department recently fired off a round of letters warning state law enforcement officials to track down every gun, helicopter and Humvee that the military had given them under a $2.6billion surplus program, or have their access to the handouts cut off.

"When the government fears the people, that is liberty.
When the people fear the government, that is tyranny."

— Thomas Jefferson

Ordinary cops have too much fire power

The local police, with the help of the feds, have become militarized, using weapons and tactics that were once reserved for foreign battlefields.

DHShas equipped 400 police departments with military-grade sound cannons. A recent article in the Mohave ValleyDaily News revealed that DHS is using grant money to equip Arizona police departments with military-grade sound cannons orLong Range Acoustic Devices (LRAD). The Bullhead City Police Department received $54,000 in grant money to purchase a100X model and a 450XL model LRAD. The mass media has known about DHS's plan to equip police departments with LRADs formore than a decade but has remained largely silent. A Washington Times article from 2009, titled "DHS helps local policebuy military-style sonic devices" warned everyone that military-grade sound cannons are being used against Americans.

Police across the countryare adding sonic weapons to their crowd control arsenal. With forms of police crowd control such as worrying astear gas, pepper spray, and rubber bullets— not to mention batons, boots, and fists— why spend timecovering long range acoustic devices?

Connecticut Bill Would Allow Police to Arm Drones. The Connecticut State Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill on Wednesday[3/29/2017] that would allow local police to weaponize drones. [...] Three cities in Connecticut— Hartford,Plainfield, and Woodbury— already use unarmed drones. If this bill becomes law, it would make Connecticutthe first state in the union to allow police to use armed drones in their work.

Watch out, Yogi!
Assault Rifles, Flash Bang Grenades Bought for Park Rangers, Report Finds. A supervisor at the Mojave National Preservein California violated policy by buying fully automatic assault rifles and dozens of flash-bang grenades, according to afederal study released Thursday [1/14/2016]. A supervisory park ranger at the immense desert park northeast of Los Angelesbought nine ColtM-4 fully automatic rifles between 2008 and 2010, and 24grenades some years later, according to a reportfrom the inspector general's office from the U.S. Department of the Interior. The purchases violated park service policy, which specifies semi-automatic rifles and requires prior approval for defensive equipment, although the policy doesn't specifically mention flash-bang grenades, the report said.

Less-lethal weapons get new interest amid police shootings. Police in more than 20 North American cities are testing thelatest in less-lethal alternatives to bullets— "blunt impact projectiles" that cause suspects excruciating painbut stop short of killing them. Or at least that's the goal.

The latest in non-lethals: A stinkbomb for crowd control. You may have heard of non-lethal weapons like Tasers, plastic bullets, flash bangs and smoke grenades.But there's a new kid on the block that has taken the playground concept of stink bombs to the next level. Skunk is like a grown-up stinkbomb on steroids. It's been used in Israel, but it's now coming to the U.S. Both the Israeli police and the Israel Defense Forcesbegan deploying the technology several years ago and it is now available in the U.S. through Bethesda, Md.-based Mistral Security.

Blinded by laser-armed cops— scared yet? Last summer's riots in Ferguson, Missouri, prompted much talk by President Obama and certain members of Congress about the need to demilitarize local police forces. Nearly a year later, the opposite is happening. New and more powerful weapons are flowing into local police departments daily, and still others are new to the marketplace. One weapon about to make its debut is the "Z-Ro Retinal Obfuscation" gun. When fired, the gun allows an officer to temporarily blind his targeted subject for up to 15minutes. The new "compliance weapon" made a splash at the Urban Shield trade show last October in Boston.

Pinellas schools add M16 rifles to police cache. The Pinellas County School District has purchased 28 M16 rifles for its internal police department, according to Law Enforcement Support Office documents. The guns aren't currently in use, but school police officers will begin training to use and store the weapons, school district spokeswoman Melanie Marquez Parra said.

Bring it back with a full tank of gas, and I don't want to see any scratches on it.
San Diego school district to return armored military vehicle. The San Diego school district will return its armored military vehicle to the Department of Defense, school officials announced Thursday night [9/18/2014]. The district joins a list of agencies returning excess military equipment amid a national controversy over local law enforcement agencies using such equipment.

The Kampus Kops get grenade launchers. What could go wrong?
Pentagon gives guns, grenade-launchers, armoured vehicles to US schools. The US DefenceDepartment program accused of fuelling the militarisation of local law enforcement is stirringcontroversy again, this time for providing equipment and weapons to school police. Lawenforcement agencies affiliated with at least 120 schools, colleges and universities have receivedgear through the program, according to a Washington Post review of data from 33states. The itemsreceived include at least five grenade launchers, hundreds of rifles and eight mine-resistant,ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles, the hulking machines designed to withstand the kind of roadsideattacks seen in Iraq and Afghanistan.

13 Ways The American Police State Squanders Your Tax Dollars. [#1] $4.2billion for militarized police. Almost 13,000 agencies in all 50states and four U.S. territories participate in a military "recycling" program that allows the Defense Department to transfer surplus military hardware to local and state police. In 2012 alone, $546million worth of military equipment was distributed to law enforcement agencies throughout the country. [#2] $34billion for police departments to add to their arsenals of weapons and equipment. Since President Obama took office, police departments across the country "have received tens of thousands of machine guns; nearly 200,000 ammunition magazines; thousands of pieces of camouflage and night-vision equipment; and hundreds of silencers, armored cars and aircraft."

Surplus US military gear, including MRAPs, going to local police. But the program also hasits critics, who say arming police with military-grade equipment blurs the lines between cops andsoldiers and encourages unnecessary confrontations and injuries. "The military is trained tosearch and destroy— to go find the enemy and subdue them," said Tim Lynch, director ofthe Project on Criminal Justice with the Cato Institute, a libertarian think thank [sic]. "What we wantfrom our civilian police departments is to use the absolute minimum amount of force that may be necessary in some cases to bring a suspect into a court of law, where disputes can be resolved peacefully."

Incoming Boston mayor,police clash over AR-15 proposal. Boston police are clashing with the city's incoming mayor over a proposal to arm some officers with AR-15 rifles. Mayor-elect Martin Walsh came out against the plan over the weekend. The Boston Police Department had been pushing for a limited number of officers to carry the high-powered rifles, in light of recent mass shootings as well as the Boston Marathon bombing earlier this year.

The Editor says...
Bigger guns do not equate to faster response and smarter cops.

Cops can use radio waves to bring your car to a halt. Finding a safe way to stop fleeing cars has been a difficult problem for law enforcement for a long time.Police have tried everything from spike strips to PIT maneuvers to bring fleeing villains to a halt. Now, however, a British company hasa slightly more high tech idea: radio waves. The company, known as E2V is working on a system called RF-Safe Stop that projects radio pulses which overwhelm and shutdown engine electronics.

The Editor says...
I would not want to be in the vicinity when that weapon was used. Will the police pay for knocked-out engines on nearby cars? Probably not.If the radio signal is powerful enough to kill an automobile engine, wouldn't it also kill all the electronics in the area, and wouldn't it be a severe healthhazard? At the very least, this would almost certainly violate the FCC's RF exposure standards for "uncontrolled exposure areas." If the weapon killsthe electronics in your engine, wouldn't it also kill your pacemaker? This idea comes from the same nanny state that requires warning signs where there's a microwave oven in use in a public place!

Online Ammunition Salesman Says One Police Department Is Ordering Lots Of Ammo. Seems like more than just the Social Security and DHS etc are gearing up for what is coming. Reading about these .gov agencies buying all the ammo that they have been buying is eye opening, but to be on the phone talking to someone trying toprocure this much ammo for a police department, is chilling!

On the other hand ...
Why one cop carries 145 rounds of ammo on the job. Before the call that changed SergeantTimothy Gramins' life forever, he typically carried 47rounds of handgun ammunition on his personwhile on duty. Today, he carries 145, "every day, without fail." He detailed the gunfight thatcaused the difference in a gripping presentation at the annual conference of the Assn. of SWAT Personnel-Wisconsin. At the core of his desperate firefight was a murderous attacker who simplywould not go down, even though he was shot 14times with .45-cal. ammunition— six ofthose hits in supposedly fatal locations.

New York's Long-Distance Body Scanners Challenge 4th Amendment. The NYPD, sometimes referred to as the world's "seventh largest army" with 35,000 uniformed officers, already does a brisk business frisking potential suspects, with little pushback. In the first quarter of last year, 161,000 New Yorkers were stopped and interrogated, with more than nine out of 10 of them found to be innocent. And there are cameras already in place everywhere: in Manhattan alone there are more than 2,000 surveillance cameras watching for alleged miscreants.

New Anti-Crime Cameras Being Installed Downtown. Officials said 38 anti-crime cameras will soon be installed in downtown Los Angeles. In the coming weeks, this new equipment will replace cameras which have been broken or failing for years.

Police in Iowa city to buy their own semi-automatic AR-15s. Police in one Iowa city could soon be buying their own assault rifles to carry in squad cars to ensure they aren't outgunned by criminals in the wake of several high-profile shootings involving semi-automatic AR-15s, FoxNews.com has learned. Half of the 50-member force in Marion, Iowa, will take part in the upgrade, paying for the $2,000 guns in installments deducted from their paychecks, according to Police Chief Harry Daugherty.

Just like the Telescreens in 1984:
Talking Surveillance Cameras Coming to U.S. Streets.Talking surveillance cameras that bark orders at passers-by and can also record conversations are heading for U.S. streets, with manufacturer Illuminating Concepts announcing the progress of its 'Intellistreets' system.

ACLU launches nationwide look into police 'militarization'. ACLU cites ten cases where the use of excess force and weaponrydemonstrate the need for investigation. In one case, police blinded themselves with a flash bang grenade and then mistakenlyshot a sleeping nine-year-old. Police in Paragould Arkansas had to pull back from a plan to patrol streets in full SWAT gear after public pressure mounted. The Paragould Police Chief had said he expected most people stopped would be innocent of any crime, but claimed it was the civilian's responsibility to "prove" innocence.

DHS deploying in Homeland with 'weapons of war'.Compounded by the administration's now "on the radar" push to further restrict civilian firearm ownership, the recent controversy over the potential use of drones over American soil to kill citizens without due process, and a longstanding and documented train of abuses tied to the militarization of law enforcement activities, those who keep an eye on such things are noticeably distressed.

NYPD's Kelly says cops could take down an aircraft. The NYPD now has anti-aircraft capability.New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly tells "60Minutes" that the NYPD has "some means to take down a plane" in what he termed an "extreme situation," during an interview tonight on CBS, according to a transcript of the exchange.

Bossiersheriff launches 'Operation Exodus'. The Bossier Parish sheriff's office is launching a program called "Operation Exodus," a policing plan for an end-of-the-world scenario involving a mostly white group of ex-police volunteers and a .50-caliber machine gun, inspired in part from the Book of Exodus in the Bible.

Big Brother Not Only Watches Us, It Toyswith Our Children. Lego, for example, in 2003 began marketing a plastic construction set depictinga police 18-wheeler housing a surveillance unit, complete with monitoring devices and control panels to track movements of little Lego citizens. … While the Lego surveillance play set is— according to the company— oriented toward 8-year-olds, a rival company, Playmobil, which produces plastic figures for youngerdarlings, apparently has determined there is a market for toys teaching 4-year-olds the benefit of submitting oneself to intrusive police searches.

CourtOKs searches of cell phones without warrant. The California Supreme Court allowed police Monday [1/3/2011]to search arrestees' cell phones without a warrant, saying defendants lose their privacy rights for any items they're carrying when taken into custody. Under U.S. Supreme Court precedents, "this loss of privacy allows police not only to seize anything of importance they find on the arrestee's body ... but also to open and examine what they find," the state court said in a 5-2 ruling.

Where have you gone, Sheriff Taylor? [Scroll down] Not long ago I reported on an even more absurd case, in Shreveport, Louisiana. There, the police chief cooked up this hare-brained idea of holding gas station employees and owners criminally liable in cases where drivers drive away without paying. I can almost hear your incredulity. ... Well, you see, the chief got the town council to require station attendants to make their customers pre-pay. If they don't, and the driver drives off without paying, then the attendant is also a criminal! This sort of regulation of everyday life is all too common. The basic idea is to scribble out a criminal code to make it easy for law enforcement.

The Rise of the American Police State. The increasingly antiterrorism-oriented police units have begun to regarddissenting citizens, or even innocent and unsuspecting citizens, as the "enemy" in domestic "war zones." ... The militarization of the police does not occur instantaneously, but is the cumulative result of each military toolamassed, each protester silenced based on his political views, or each wrongful search that goes unchallenged.

Our Growing Police State.The Giffords/Roll shooting was brought to an end by a bystander. The Ft.Hood massacre on November5, 2009, which killed 13American soldiers and wounded 29others was brought to an end by two base police officers using conventional sidearms and procedures. The warning signs for this terrorist attack, the first on American soil since 9/11, were ignored and yet it was the local cops on the beat who faced and dealt with a terrible crime. Every case one can think of was resolved by conventional methods. And yet the police powers of government on a local and national level have been growing at an alarming rate. And despite a dissonant data base there is a growing trend towards militarization of police forces and of an invasive state security apparatus.

Obama and his Syndicate. [Scroll down] Now the extremely bad news for US citizens. First, on 19January 2012, multiple videos weremade of a shipment— via rail— of hundreds of Bradley armored vehicles and related equipment moving from Northern California Southward. ... The US military, Department of Homeland Security and LOCAL Policeare conducting "urban warfare exercises" in recent and unprecedented "showings of force" under the now undeniable(by any intelligent beings) Dictator-in-Chief Barack Hussein Obama. These military forces are inhabiting the streets and air of and over Los Angeles, Boston, Little Rock, Miami and Colorado amongst others.

Homeland Security seeking assault and sniper rifles.The Department of Homeland Security issued a bid for 36 Colt LE901 rifle systems, which will accept and function any military specification (Mil-Spec) .223caliber upper receiver, and is thus backwards compatible with all CBP/U.S. Border Patrol M4 upper receivers.Not surprisingly in this matter is the recent award by DHS, but no solicitation can be found for, .223caliber Remington Enhanced Performance ammunition.

Who Does The Government Intend To Shoot?The Social Security Administration (SSA) confirms that it is purchasing 174thousand rounds of hollow point bullets to be delivered to 41locations in major cities across the U.S. Noone has yet said what the purpose of these purchases is, though we are led to believe that they will be used only in an emergency to counteract and control civil unrest. Those against whom the hollow point bullets are to be used— those causing the civil unrest— must be American citizens; since the SSA has never been used overseas to help foreign countries maintain control of their citizens. [...] If this were only a one time order of ammunition, it could easily be dismissed.But there is a pattern here. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has ordered 46,000rounds of hollow pointammunition.

It's illegal for passengers to ride in a trailer— unless you're a cop.
Passaic County sheriff's department enlists 16-foot trailer for mass arrests response. No longer will Passaic County law enforcement have to take separate cars to respond to a scene where mass arrests are expected. Now the sheriff's department has a 16-foot dual axle trailer totransport up to 20officers to parades, demonstrations, shopping frenzies or college parties that might get too rowdy. The $130,000 trailercame from the state's Department of Corrections through a federal Homeland Security grant, putting Passaic County on New Jersey's Mass Arrest Response Team.

Why do America's police need an armored tank? If the new American paramilitary is being created not to repel a massive invasion of Al Qaeda based terrorists unleashed on our homeland, then why are we militarizing our society to a point that surpasses the wildest dreams of former Iron Curtain leaders of the 1970's?Perhaps it is not to keep the masses protected but incarcerated; to hold their wealth and prevent it from leaving the country, to control their spending with strict illegal monitoring and currency manipulation,to tax without representation, and to modify behavior just like prison inmates are manipulated using controls beyond the scope of most inmates mental capacity.

Somewhat related...
DNA Gun Tags Rioters for Future Arrest. [A] new high velocity DNA tagging system, designed by UK firm Selectamark, fires small soft green DNA pellets which could remain on the target's skin for weeks. Andrew Knights from Selectamark said: 'On contact with the target the uniquely-coded SelectaDNA solution leaves a synthetic DNA trace mark that will enable the relevant authorities to confirm or eliminate that person from their involvement in a particular situation and could ultimately lead to arrest and prosecution.'

The use of drones against civilians:

Introduction:
Unmanned aerial vehicles, colloquially referred to as drones, are now being used as a high-tech law enforcement surveillance tool.(When did we vote on this?) The UAVs are used to obtain aerial video from an altitude of 400feet or less. They might not make enough noise to alert you to their presence, and in the event of a SWAT situation, the SWAT team can make plenty of noise to be sure you don't hear any aircraft. The UAVs I've seen do not appear to be powerful enough to lift a good camera lens, to say nothing of an image stabilizer, so the resulting video is probably not that great. (If the video is completely useless, that fact will never be made public.) So far there has been nothing said about the penalties for shooting down a drone, or confusing it enough to make it crash, but after that happens you can be sure there will be legislation written, debated, passed and signed into law in a matter of 24hours— much like the way the 300-page PatriotAct materialized in six weeks and was signed into law without being read by anyone in Congress. (What's the rush?) The penalty for shooting at a UAV will probably be the same as the penalty for shooting at a police car, and the first person to do so will be prominently featured on the evening "news" (which is usually nothing more than an infomercial for big government— but that's another story).

PoliceUse Drones To Spy On Suspicious People At "Potential Crime Scenes". For years, law enforcement has beenclaiming that drones will only be used for natural disasters, crime scene investigations, car accidents and rescueoperations. That is the bill of goods, being sold to the public but it is all a lie. A perfect example of how lawenforcement promises the public one thing and after time passes, uses it for something else is taking place in Texas at theMemorial Villages Police Department (MVPD). Two years ago, Click2Houston reported how the MVPD claimed that they wouldonly use drones for "better emergency response during disasters." They also used police officer and UAV pilot, Larry Boggusto solidify their claim that drones would only be used for natural disasters saying, "drones are a huge asset for us becausevery quickly we were able to see the amount of houses that were damaged" during a 2018 storm. I love it when policedepartment's provide comic relief to prove my point.

Six ways to disable a drone. Civilian drone activity has increased exponentially as drones become more easilyaccessible and affordable. With more drones in the sky every day, there have been some creative and sometimes dangerousattempts to disable drones. The reasons for disabling a drone can vary from boredom and curiosity to privacy and safetyconcerns. To be clear, the Center for Technology Innovation does not condone or promote the act of harming drones.

Pentagonadmits it has deployed military spy drones over the U.S.. The Pentagon has deployed drones to spy over U.S.territory for non-military missions over the past decade, but the flights have been rare and lawful, according to a newreport. The report by a Pentagon inspector general, made public under a Freedom of Information Act request, said spydrones on non-military missions have occurred fewer than 20times between 2006 and 2015 and always in compliance withexisting law. The report, which did not provide details on any of the domestic spying missions, said the Pentagontakes the issue of military drones used on American soil "very seriously."

Pentagon admits operating military drone flights over U.S.. The Pentagon has deployed spy drones to fly over U.S.territory for non-military missions over the past decade, but the flights were few and lawful, according to a new report.The domestic drone flights have occurred less than 20 times between 2006 and 2015 and were always conducted in compliancewith existing laws, according to the report by the Pentagon Inspector General which was made public under a Freedom ofInformation Act request, according to USA [T]oday. The Pentagon did not provide details of the domestic spy missions, but said it takes the issue of military drone flights over America soil "very seriously."

AmericanPolice Start Pushing to Weaponize Domestic Drones. Police are now voicing their concerns about domestic droneuse— specifically, they want the option to be able to employ weaponized drones in the future, should the needarise. As if police brutality and aggression weren't already an epidemic in the United States, police departments inConnecticut oppose a bill to outlaw the weaponization of drones. The bill also address unmanned aerial vehicles fitted withcameras, and their potential to violate the privacy rights of individuals. But law enforcement departments in the stateappear far more concerned with being deprived of the possibility of arming them with weapons, rather than cameras.

Can PoliceDrones Save Money for Ohio? Law-enforcement official in Ohio hope that drone deployment may make their jobsmore effective and trim down their aerial budgets. Several departments across the Buckeye State are reporting successfuluses of UAV tech to complement or even replace more expensive helicopters. WSYX reports: "If departments are successfulin establishing drone projects, the unmanned aircraft will be whizzing 400feet above neighborhoods."

NorthDakota just made it perfectly legal for cops to arm drones with weapons. Just when you think you've seen thewildest story about drones (like that kid who strapped a handgun to one), something even crazier always seems to be justaround the corner. Well today we've reached that corner, as a recent bill amendment in North Dakota officially legalizedpolice use of armed drones anywhere within the state. This is no joke. Cops in North Dakota now have the legalability to tase lawbreakers with unmanned aircrafts.

The First Legal, Armed PoliceDrones Are Here! It is a small start. The first armed police drones only have taser weapons. But it isstill a start. Where will it end? The most disturbing element in this is the role of technology businesses in takingsides in the legislative process. Much of the Daily Beast article is taken up with the debate in the legislature aboutwhether to require a warrant for drone surveillance over private property. I tend to favor a warrant but I can also seewhy law enforcement would claim they have a right to public space. It isn't a straightforward Constitutional issue becausehuman flight was not reality when the Constitution was written.

NorthDakota cops will be first in nation to use weaponized drones. North Dakota's Bill 1328 was supposed to be cutand dry. "In my opinion there should be a nice, red line: drones should not be weaponized. Period," Rep. Rick Becker(R-Bismarck), the bill's original sponsor, told a committee hearing back in March, per The Daily Beast. That was going tohappen too, at least until an industry lobbying firm got involved. Now, law enforcement agencies in North Dakota are legallyallowed to arm their UAVs with any manner of weapons, so long as they aren't "lethal".

Illinois State Police will fly "unmanned aircraft" not "drones". The Illinois State Police recently received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to add "unmanned aircraft" to its list of tools for the next two years. In a statement released to the Sun-Times Media Wire, the police department said that it was intentionally avoiding the word "drone" because "it carries the perception of pre-programmed or automatic flight patterns and random, indiscriminate collection of images and information." The state police said they worked with legal professionals and civil rights groups like the American Civil Liberties Union to minimize the privacy impact on average citizens.

Homeland Security's Drone Program a Waste of Money, Audit Finds. Homeland Security's droneprogram has been a waste of money so far, according to the department's inspector general, who onTuesday told the department to cancel plans to spend nearly half a billion dollars on more of theaircraft. The department paid more than $12,000 an hour to fly its drones, kept them in the airfar less than it had promised and chiefly used them over just 170miles of the 1,993-mile border.

Domestic Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Drones. [Scroll down] The Governor of Virginia said in 2012 that he thought it would be "great" tohave drones flying over his State. The Miami-Dade Police Department in Florida used Federal grantmoney to purchase a small drone vehicle. Reports dating back to 2008 explain that Miami was seekingto use a small drone known as a Micro-Air Vehicle, "to gather real time information in situationswhich may be too dangerous for officers." However, police have admitted that the drone can be usedto look into houses. As of December 2010, the FAA was reporting that they were cooperating withurban police departments in Houston and Miami on test programs involving unmanned aircraft. Onedrone manufacturer advertises on its webpage that police offices that want to own a drone should seek funding from the Department of Homeland Security.

Defense Department Launches Surveillance Blimps. On Friday, December 19, 2014, the US army will deploy drone surveillanceblimps just north of the nation's capital. The surveillance blimp system, known as "JLENS," iscomprised of two 250' blimps. As deployed in Iraq, one blimp contains aerial and ground surveillancetechnology that covers a 340-mile range, while the other has targeting capability including HELLFIREmissiles. The surveillance blimps fly as high as 10,000feet and can remain operational for upto 30days straight. The JLENS system is manufactured by defense contractor Raytheon.Raytheon has tested the JLENS system with the company's MTS-B Multi-Spectral Targeting System. The MTS-B offers long-range video surveillance that allows the real-time tracking of moving targets, includingvehicles and persons, on the ground.

Speaking of JLENS...
Report:Army's runaway blimp flew for hours due to missing batteries. An Army blimp that broke loose in Maryland in October stayed airborne for hoursbecause someone failed to put batteries in its automatic-deflation device, The Los Angeles Times reported Sunday [2/14/2016]. The blimp escaped fromAberdeen Proving Ground and its dangling tether caused power outages in Pennsylvania. The mishap led to widespread ridicule of the Pentagon's blimpsurveillance program, known as JLENS for Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System, which has cost taxpayers $2.7billionsince 1998.

Missing batteries amongissues that caused Army's runaway blimp. The blimp that broke loose from an Army facility in Maryland last fall, wreaking havocwith its milelong tether, flew uncontrolled for hours because someone neglected to put batteries in its automatic-deflation device, Pentagoninvestigators have found. The pilotless, radar-carrying blimp was part of the troubled JLENS missile-defense system, which has failed toperform as promised while costing taxpayers more than $2.7billion since 1998.

Police employ Predator drone spy planes on home front. Local police say they have used two unarmed Predators based at Grand Forks Air Force Base to fly at least two dozen surveillance flights since June.The FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration have used Predators for other domestic investigations, officials said. ... The drones belong to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which operates eight Predators on the country's northern and southwestern borders to search for illegal immigrants and smugglers. The previously unreported use of its drones to assist local, state and federal law enforcement has occurred without any publicacknowledgment or debate.

Is there a drone in your neighbourhood? There are at least 63active drone sites around the U.S, federal authorities have been forced to revealfollowing a landmark Freedom of Information lawsuit. The unmanned planes— some of which may have been designed to kill terror suspects— are being launched from locations in 20states.

Surveillance Drones Don't Live Up To Expectations. Predator Drones have proven not to be worth the cost in their ability to curb contraband, drug traffic, and illegal alien activity. Nearly two years after PredatorB drones were deployed along the Texas/Mexico international border, the unmanned surveillance aircraft have proven to be, well, not worthit. The drones were intended to augment the presence of border agents and physical barriers such as some 700miles of intermittent border fencing along the Rio Grande River. The Hill reported on June10, 2010 that setting up a single drone in Corpus Christi, Texas (on the Gulf Coast), would have an estimated cost of between $20 and $80million to focus on the Texas border alone.

Krauthammer On Drones Flying In US: "Stop It Here, Stop It Now". "I'm going to go hard left on you here, I'm going ACLU," syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer said in opposition to the use of drones on the U.S. homeland. "I don't want regulations, I don't want restrictions, I want aban on this. Drones are instruments of war. The Founders had a great aversion to any instruments of war, the use of the military inside even the United States. It didn't like standing armies, it has all kinds of statutes of using the army in the country." "A drone is a high-tech version of an old army and a musket. It ought to be used in Somalia to hunt bad guys but not in America. I don'twant to see it hovering over anybody's home.[...]"

A Predator Drone in the USA Could be Spying On You. Americans are familiar with unmanned spy drones providing surveillance of Iranian nuclear complexes and Taliban armed militants combating American troops along the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Now the Obama administration has quietly authorized Predator Drone use by law enforcement officials in the United States to spy on American Citizens.

Government Withholds Information on Drone Flight Authorizations. State and local law enforcement are increasingly using unmanned aircraft for investigations into things like cattle rustling, drug dealing, and the search for missing persons. Any drone flying over 400feet needs a certification or authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration, part of the DOT. But there is currently no information available to the public about who specifically has obtained these authorizations or for what purposes.

Privacy concerns as US government rolls out domestic drone rules. Unmanned drones could soon be buzzing in the skies above many U.S. cities, as the federal government green-lights the technology for local law enforcement amid widespread privacy concerns. The Federal Aviation Administration on Monday [5/14/2012] began to explain the rules of the sky for these newly licensed drones at potentially dozens of sites across the country.

Is There a Drone In Your Backyard? Earlier this week, the federal government announced that the Air Force might be dispatching drones to a backyard near you. The stated purpose of these spies in the sky is to assist local police to find missing persons or kidnap victims, or to chase bad guys. If the drone operator sees you doing anything of interest (Is your fertilizer for the roses or to fuel a bomb? Is that Sudafed for your cold or your meth habit? Are you smoking in front of your kids?), the feds say they may take a picture of you andkeepit. The feds predict that they will dispatch or authorize about 30,000 of these unmanned aerial vehicles across America in the next 10years. Meanwhile, more than 300 local and state police departments are awaiting federal permission to use the drones they already have purchased— usually with federal stimulus funds. The government is out of control.

Despite Change to Drone Policy, Drones Still Controversial. The use of drones by the United States is so controversial that even mainstream media outlets cannot ignore it. Earlier this week, CBS News asked who would be targeted by U.S. drones, and who would decide whom the drones target. According to that report, the decision would be "concentrated" in the hands of a very small group of people at the White House.

America: The Home of the... Compliant? If you want a quick measure of the state of American society, you might consider the federal government's use of unmanned aerial drones to monitor U.S. citizens, and in particular the EPA's matter-of-fact defense of its use of drones over the Midwest as necessary to "verify compliance" with environmental laws. And as the EPA's "environmental justice" agenda is quickly becoming the government's official overarching priority, we might describe the Obama era as the dawning of the Age of Compliance.

U.S.government to use 'drones the size of Golf Balls to spy on American citizens'. A 30-page memorandum issued by President Barack Obama's Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley on April23 has stated that the drones, some as small as golf balls, may be used domestically to 'collect information about U.S. persons.' The photos that the drones will take may be retained, used or even distributed to other branches of the government so long as the 'recipient is reasonably perceived to have a specific, lawful governmental function' in asking for them.

Sen. Paul proposes bill protecting Americans from drone surveillance. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Tuesday [6/12/2012] introduced thePreserving Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act, which would require the government to get a warrant before using aerial drones to surveil U.S. citizens. More broadly, Paul's bill is aimed at preventing "unwarranted governmental intrusion" through the use of drones, according to the lawmaker.

Rand Paul Tries To Shoot Down Drone Surveillance. Does the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures include aerial surveillance of your house and property? Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., thinksso.

Talk of drones patrolling US skies spawns anxiety. The prospect that thousands of drones could be patrolling U.S. skies by the end of this decade is raising the specter of aBig Brother government that peers into backyards and bedrooms.

Dumb and Dumber Drones. OnValentine's Day (politicians know that holidays and weekends are ideal times to pull the wool over our eyes), Obama signed the FAA Modernization and Reform Act. This law allocates $63.6billion to the Federal Aviation Administration between 2012and 2015. Basically, it authorizes the FAA to spend billions of taxpayer dollars to loosen and expand drone regulations for both military and private/commercial use.

The Drone Zone. It took a few seconds to figure out exactly what we were looking at. A white S.U.V. traveling along a highway adjacent to the base came into the cross hairs in the center of the screen and was tracked as it headed south along the desert road. When the S.U.V. drove out of the picture,the drone began following another car. "Wait, you guys practice tracking enemies by using civilian cars?" a reporter asked.One Air Force officer responded that this was only a training mission, and then the group was quickly hustled out of the room.

GPS Hijacking: Team of U.S. Faculty, Students Take Control of Drone. Faculty and students at the University of Texas at Austin have proven that a sophisticated surveillance drone can be hacked mid-flight via its GPS. The same could be done with virtually any type of drone, or even with a commercial airliner. Drones, or UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), are used both domestically— particularly along our southern border— and by the military and the CIA abroad, especially in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and elsewhere. Last week, a small team of faculty and students was able to take control of a Department of Homeland Security drone by "spoofing" its GPS.

U.S.Drone Manufacturers Contribute Millions to Congressional Campaigns. President Obama's drone fever is contagious and is spreading worldwide, and the American industries that build the drones are slavering over the chance to supply the demand.

Air Force WantsTiny Drones That Squirt Trackable Sensor Goo. The Air Force wants a new kind of tracking tech in which a tiny drone surreptitiously "paints" an individual with some kind of signal-emitting powder or liquid that allows the military to keep tabs on him or her. Or perhaps upload his coordinates to a hellfire missile. On Tuesday, the Air Force put out a call for proposals for such technology, though itdidn't specify exactly what kind of drone might deliver the magic powder, or what the magic powder might be.

FAA Has Authorized 106 Government 'Entities' to Fly Domestic Drones. Since Jan. 1 of this year, according to congressional testimony presented Thursday [7/19/2012] by the Government Accountability Office, the Federal Aviation Administration has authorized 106 federal, state and local government "entities" to fly "unmanned aircraft systems," also known as drones, within U.S. airspace. "We are now on the edge of a new horizon: using unmanned aerial systems within the homeland," House Homeland Security Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Michael McCaul (R.-Texas) said as he introduced the testimony.

Drone Use Increases Worldwide; Trade Rep Says Only the Guilty Need Fear. It's been about a year since a North Dakota man was arrested after a local SWAT team tracked him down using a Predator drone it borrowed from the Department of Homeland Security.Although the story has not been widely reported, Rodney Brossart became one of the first (if not the first) American citizens arrested by local law enforcement with the use of a federally-owned drone surveillance vehicle after holding the police at bay for over 16hours.

Laser-Powered Drone Could Remain Airborne Forever. A drone being used by the United States Special Forces has the potential to remain airborne indefinitely if engineers can getthe science right. Using lasers beamed from the ground to the unmanned aerial vehicle, the military could send a continuous source of power to the drone allowing it to fly without landing for refueling. This is the "exciting possibility" demonstrated during an indoor test flight conducted by Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the Stalker drone. Lockheed Martin has already developed an electric version of the Stalker that has a two-hour battery life and this latest experiment is an attempt to perfect the technology that will recharge that battery from the ground while the drone remains in flight.

Bill would clip wings of private drone use. Concern over the personal privacy implications of the nation's inevitable drone boom continues to grow on Capitol Hill. This week, Rep. Ted Poe, a Texas Republican and former judge, will introduce the Preserving American Privacy Act, which sets strict limits on when, and for what purpose, law enforcement agencies and other entities can use unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs. Drones are being used on a limited basis by some police and federal departments, but they will be available for commercial and private use in 2015.

Grain of salt: This comes from a Russian news site.
Predator drones to start operations over North Dakota.The FAA has authorized the use of remote-controlled Predator drones in the airspace above nearly 10,000acres in North Dakota. As of this fall, unmanned military aircraft will use lasers to aim at ground targets from nearly 2miles above the earth. Grand Forks,North Dakota— the third largest city in the state— will host a domestic training facility for the military's unmanned aerial vehicles starting in October. Several times a week pilots will remotely guide robotic drones through the sky at altitudes as high of [sic] 9,999feet above sea level and zonein [sic] on ground targets with the use of dangerous lasers.

This is an indication of the state of the art:
X-47B Completes First Pax River Flight.Naval aviation officials chose 11a.m. on Sunday morning [7/29/2012] to make history as the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System demonstratormade its first flight at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. [...] Pax River has a simulated aircraft carrier environment to test the incredible feat of landing an unmanned aircraft on a carrier at sea. Navy leaders hope to make the first X-47B landing on a carrier in 2013.

Somewhat related:
Self-Guided Bullets and Super Sniper Scopes Deliver Death From 2 Km. As the technology facilitating the expansion of the surveillance state becomes more advanced, the need for proximity to the target of the surveillance diminishes. For example, very soon drones will be equipped with lasers that can penetrate walls, map the interior of a home or other building, and scan a targeted individual's genetic code from 50yards with dizzying speed and accuracy. Additionally, the ability to keep drones perpetually airborne is being engineered thanks to multi-million dollar research and development grants offered by the Pentagon to companies on the edge of technological advancement.

Remember, military hardware and tactics eventually find their way into local police departments.
U.S. Air Force Training More Drone Pilots Than Traditional Pilots. The U.S. Air Force is training more drone "pilots" than those who will be at the controls of traditional aircraft, according to the Air Force chief of staff. To date, there are reportedly around 1,300people controlling the Air Force's arsenal of Reaper,Predator, and Global Hawk drones, and the Pentagon plans to add about 2,500pilots and support crew by 2014, according to an article in published August3 by The Times (of London). The UK paper reports that 350new drone pilots were trained in 2011 "compared to 250 conventional fighter and bomber pilots."

Drones in the sky over America. In a few years the skies over the United States will be filled with hundreds if not thousands of of drones, unmanned aerial vehicles,doing a variety of tasks— border security, disaster relief, search and rescue, counter-terrorism and looking down on people and streets on behalfof police departments.

One nation under surveillance. America is no longer "one nation under God." Today, America is "one nation under surveillance." Cameras monitoring our every movement, satellites taking pictures of our homes, listening devices being used to record our conversations, hi-tech computers capturing virtually every piece of correspondence, banking institutions forwarding our private financial records to Big Brother, and now armed drones flying over the neighborhoods of the American citizenry all reveal that America is anything but the "land of the free."

PoliceChief Group Suggests Guidelines for Use of Police Drones. In advance of law enforcement's deployment of their drones, a group representing police chiefs have issued recommended guidelines for the lawful use of the unmanned aerial vehicles. The AviationCommittee of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) published a three-page pamphlet suggesting ways local police can successfully and safely include drones in their law enforcement efforts. The document breaks down its directions into four broad categories: community engagement, system requirements, operational procedures, and image retention.

Law enforcement groups back drone-useguidelines. The Airborne Law Enforcement Association, the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Association and the FBI National Academy Associates joined the International Association of Chiefs of Police in supporting rules designed to keep police and other agencies from abusing the power that comes with drone use. The guidelines call for law enforcement personnel to "secure a search warrant prior to conducting the flight" if a drone could infringe upon "reasonable expectations of privacy."

Drone may be coming to Miami-Dade. A new piece of technology may soon be coming to South Florida, but is already raising concerns from residents. The Miami-Dade Police Department recently finalized a deal to buy a drone, which is an unmanned plane equipped with cameras. Drones have been used for years in Iraq and Afghanistan in the war against terror. Many residents are concerned that the new technology will violate their privacy.

Drone Gives Texas Law Enforcement Bird's-Eye View on Crime. The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office is weeks away from launching an unmanned aerial asset to help deputies fight crime. The ShadowHawk helicopter is six-feet long, weighs fifty pounds and fits in the back of an SUV.

At America's Biggest Drone Show, the Focus Shifts Toward Domestic Skies. If you want to know what the future looks like, sit down and have a talk with Roy Minson. He's the senior vice president and general manager of unmanned aircraft systems at Aerovironment, the manufacturer of nearly 85percent of the Department of Defense's unmanned aircraft fleet— not the Reapers and Predators that so often make headlines, but small aerial systems that make up the vast majority of the DoD's 7,000 strong unmanned aircraft fleet. That is to say, business with the defense sector is good at Aerovironment. But today Minson is talking almost exclusively about non-military applications for the company's hardware— him, and just about everybody else at the nation's largest robotic systems show.

U.S. Navy Cloak Blade Inherently Stealthy Micro-Copter Presentation.A presentation accompanied a recent demonstration of the Cloak Blade, a micro-copter developed by Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratoryunder contract from the U.S. Navy.

Will Police Drones Destroy the Fourth Amendment? Although the president's use of drones to execute the war on terror and those he assumes are associated with it has so far occurred only outside the United States, soon drones will slice through the domestic skies, as well. While the sight of drones over U.S. cities and towns is rare now, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) predicts that by 2020, 30,000 of these unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) will be patrolling American airspace. Scores of these UAVs will be deployed by state and local law enforcement, adding to the many that will be sent airborne by the federal government.

The coming drone attack on America.Drones on domestic surveillance duties are already deployed by police and corporations. In time, they will likely be weaponised.

Theanti-drone hoodie which can make its wearer invisible to spies in the sky. Those concerned about the conspiratorial machinations of the state surveillance infrastructure can now swap their tin-foil hats for a more fashion conscious accessory.A New York-based artist has designed an 'anti-drone hoodie' stitched from metallised material used to counter the infra-redcameras that spy drones use to spot people on the ground.

IncredibleU.S. military spy drone. A sinister airborne surveillance camera gives the U.S. military the ability to track movements in an entire city like a real-time Google Street View. The ARGUS-IS array can be mounted on unmanned drones to capture an area of 15[square]miles in an incredible 1,800MP— that's 225times more sensitive than an iPhone camera.

City in Virginia Becomes First to Pass Anti-Drone Legislation. Charlottesville, Va., has become the first city in the United States to formally pass an anti-drone resolution. The resolution, passed Monday, "calls on the United States Congress and the GeneralAssembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia to adopt legislation prohibiting information obtained from the domestic use of drones from being introduced into a Federal or State court," and "pledges to abstain from similar uses with city-owned, leased, or borrowed drones."

Texas "Anti Drone" Laws Would be Toughest in USA. Texas would have the toughest anti-drone legislation in the country under a bill filed by State Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Terrell).

Which police departments want drones?Following a FOIA request from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Federal Aviation Administration has released an updated list of bodies, both public and private, that have applied for permission to fly surveillance drones in U.S. airspace. The FAA lists 81entities altogether including police departments, government agencies and universities such as Cornell and Penn State.

FAA moves closer to widespread US drone flights with plan for test sites. A future in which unmanned drones are as common in U.S. skies as helicopters and airliners has moved a step closer to reality with a government request for proposals to create six drone testsites around the country.

FAA To Kick Off State Drone 'Competition'.States will soon compete to operate six unmanned aircraft test sites, commonly known as drones, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on Wednesday [2/13/2013]. The FAA wants states to compete for the drone test sites, which were mandated by Congress last year in the 2012 FAA Reauthorization bill. The sites will test the safety of drones before they are introduced into the National Airspace System by 2015.

Like a Swarm of Lethal Bugs: The Most Terrifying Drone Video Yet. An Air Force simulation says researchers are at work on killer robots so tiny that a group of them could blend into a cityscape.

DHS re-designs Predator drones to spy on Americans. The documents provide more details about the surveillance capabilities of the department's unmanned PredatorB drones, which are primarily used to patrol the United States' northern and southern borders but have been pressed into service on behalf of a growing number of law enforcement agencies including the FBI, the Secret Service, the Texas Rangers, and local police.

US Drones Intercept Electronic Communications and Identify Human Targets. New records obtained by EPIC under the Freedom of Information Act indicate that the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection is operating drones in the United States capable of intercepting electronic communications. The records also suggest that the ten PredatorB drones operated by the agency have the capacity to recognize and identify a person on the ground.Approximately, 2/3 of the US population is subject to surveillance by the CBP drones.

Will drones be used to spy on Americans? A small group of police and fire departments around the country are using new high-tech drones for emergency response situations stoking fears about misuse of the unmanned aircraft.Some are using sophisticated fixed-wing drones that can remain in the air for hours as well as online digital mappingsoftware to create virtual crimes scenes.

Homeland Security Drones Designed to Identify Civilians Carrying Guns. Recently uncovered government documents reveal that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) unmanned Predator B drone fleet has been custom designed to identify civilians carrying guns and track cell phone signals. "I am very concerned that this technology will be used againstlaw-abiding American firearms owners," said founder and executive vice president of the Second Amendment Foundation, Alan Gottlieb. "This could violate Fourth Amendment rights as well as Second Amendment rights."

Weaponized drones. Drone manufacturers may offer police remote controlled drones with weapons like rubber bullets, Tasers, and tear gas. Congress has required the Federal Aviation Administration to loosen their regulations on drones and allow more drones in domestic airspace by 2015.

Oregon Company to Sell Drone Defense Technology to Public. Do you want to keep drones out of your backyard? An Oregon company says that it has developed and will soon start selling technology that disables unmanned aircraft. The company, called DomesticDrone Countermeasures, was founded in late February because some of its engineers see unmanned aerial vehicles— which are already being flown by law enforcement in some areas and could see wider commercial integration into American airspace by 2015— as unwanted eyes in the sky.

The Other Drone Question: Is Obama Building A Federal Police Force? [Scroll down] Put it all together, and it sure looks like Obama is building the backbone for that national police force he wanted the first time he ran for office. Worse yet, both Democrats and Republicans are now openly discussing a plan to put all the drones flown in America's skies, including those owned and operated by local police departments, under the ultimate supervision of the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice, consolidating the country's surveillance and law enforcement powers under one powerful federal police jurisdiction.

17 Civilian Drone Facts You Really Should Know.[#13] Connections between UAVs and the operators are easily broken. The frequency between the drone and its operator is easily lost. Civilian drones use the same frequencies (GPS) as your cell phone. The frequencies are subject to interference from variables such as weather or deliberate jamming. [#14] Drones are easily hacked. Under the direction of the US Departmentof Homeland Security, engineering students were told to see if they could hack a drone. They did, and were easily able to substitutetheir information for the drone's programming via GPS.

GAO report on unmanned aircraft systems, September 2012.[Scroll down to page 36] Additionally, a June 2012 poll conducted by Monmouth University reported that 42percent of those sampled were very concerned about their own privacy if U.S. law enforcement started using UAS [unmanned aircraft systems] with high tech cameras, while 15percent said they were not at all concerned. However, the poll reported that of those sampled, 80percentsaid they supported the use of UAS for search and rescue missions while 67percent said they oppose the use of UAS to issue speeding tickets.

Hundreds of Drones Go Homeless. As the war in Afghanistan winds down, many commanders are asking what is going to happen to the large fleet of drones that have patrolled the skies, according to the Air Force Times [...]

The Editor says...
See if you can predict the fate of surplus military UAVs. What's going to become of them?
(A) They will be dismantled and sent to a recycling company.
(B) They will be sold at Army Surplus stores.
(C) The weapons will be removed (if we're lucky) and they will be given to big-city police departments.

Somewhat related:
PETA Plans to Fly Drones That Would 'Stalk Hunters'. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is actively shopping for a drone that would "stalk hunters," the organization said Monday [4/8/2013]. The group says it will "soon have some impressive new weapons at its disposal to combat those who gun down deer and doves" and that it is "shopping for one or more drone aircraft with which to monitor those who are out in the woods with death on their minds." The group says it will not weaponize the drones, but will use them to film potentially illegal hunting activity and turn it over to law enforcement.

The Editor says...
The PETA people obviously do not understand hunting or hunters. I don't know much about it myself, but here's what I think I know:Most hunting takes place on private property in the middle of nowhere with the permission of the property owner. The people who engage in "illegal hunting activity" aren't gonna hesitate to blow a PETA drone to pieces, and the PETA people would be wise (for once) to forget about looking for those pieces. In any event, how can you tell a private drone from a police drone?

Glenn Beck: If Police Get Drones, 'The 2nd Amendment Is Absolutely Dead'. Senator Rand Paul's media tour following his "misunderestimated" statements on drones brought him to Glenn Beck's radio show Friday, where the two men discussed the prospects of a terrifying future where police cars have "robotic firing arms" that take down criminals with the push of a button. If that ever happens, Beck told Paul, "the Second Amendment is absolutely dead."

Dodging drones. The mayhem following Boston's Marathon massacre left four dead and 260injured, prompting Police Commissioner Edward Davis last week to endorse the use of unmanned spy aircraft above next year's marathon."Drones are a great idea," he told the Boston Herald. Actually, they're not. [...] Surveillance cameras don't prevent crime. There was no lack of video footage of the marathon, and the images were useful in quickly identifying the suspects after the fact. Much of the useful footage came from men and women filming the finish line or from cameras installed to watch over nearby shops and stores. Government drones would not have thwarted the attack.

Bill to AllowPolice to Use Drones Without Search Warrant Heads to Maine Senate. In a narrow decision, lawmakers accepted an amendment to a bill offered by Sen. John Patrick, D-Rumford, that could allow police to use a drone without a search warrant. In a 7-6vote on May1, the Legislature's Judiciary Committee sided with Maine Attorney General Janet Mills on the issue of how police can employ unmanned aerial vehicles in criminal investigations.

Chicago Suburb Approves TwoYear Ban on Drones. The Evanston City Council voted 5-4 for a two year ban on the use of airborne drones. The votebrought together an odd coalition of people: the anti-war groups were joined by the libertarians and the privacy advocates to pass the measure.

Mueller: FBI deploys drones in US for 'limited' surveillance. The FBI uses drones to watch specific targets within the United States, the bureau's chief saidWednesday [6/19/2013]. FBI Director Robert Mueller told senators the agency uses drones infrequently for surveillance in the U.S., and only inregards to specific investigations. "Our footprint is very small," Mueller said in testimony. "We have very few and have limited use."

FBI Chief Admits Use of Drones in Skies Over U.S..Federal Aviation Administration officials claim that within the next five years there will be close to 10,000 civilian drones in use once the FAA grants them greater access to U.S. skies. Congress had directed the FAA to provide drones with widespread access to domestic airspace by 2015, but theagency is behind in its development of safety regulations and isn't expected to meet that deadline even though the FAA has granted more than two hundred permits to state and local governments, police departments, universities and others to experiment with using small drones.

Colorado town, concerned about surveillance, considers drone hunting licenses. The small Colorado town of Deer Trail is considering an ordinance that would create drone-hunting licenses and offer bounties for hunters who shoot down an unmanned aerial vehicle."We do not want drones in town," Phillip Steel, a resident in town who drafted the ordinance and submitted it for approval by the town board, told The Denver Post. "They fly in town, they get shot down."

FAA warns shooting at drone could result in prosecution similar to shooting at manned airplane. People who fire guns at drones are endangering the public and property and could be prosecuted or fined, the Federal Aviation Administration warned Friday [7/19/2013].The FAA released a statement in response to questions about an ordinance under consideration in the tiny farming community of Deer Trail, Colo., that would encourage hunters to shoot down drowns. The administration reminded the public that it regulates the nation's airspace, including the airspace over cities and towns.

The Editor says...
This is one of the symptoms of impending tyranny: "The authorities" establish severe penalties for interference in their pet projects. In this case, they are equating unmanned aircraft with manned aircraft, much like the way they equate apolice dog with a police officer.

Bravado is contagious.
FBI says it doesn't need warrant to use drones. The FBI has told Congress it does not need to get a warrant to conduct surveillance with drones, in a letter laying out some of the top federal law enforcement agency's policies for how it uses unmanned aerial vehicles. In a July19 letter to Sen. Rand Paul, Stephen D. Kelly, assistant director for the FBI's congressional liaison office, said the agency has used drones in 10instances, including twice for "national security" cases and eight times for criminal cases. The FBI authorized the use of drones in three other criminal cases but didn't deploy them.

Drone industry gives journalists not-so-subtle hint— don't use the word 'drones'. "Drone" is a dirty word at this week's drone industry convention in Washington. Thesector long has opposed use of the term, seen by some as having an inherently negative connotation that doesn't accurately describe the awesome technology and potential positive uses of today's unmanned aerial vehicles.

Even a small aircraft overhead can put you in danger.
Toy helicopter kills teen in Brooklyn: report.A model helicopter hobbyist was killed Thursday [9/5/2013] when a remote controlled helicopter cut off the top of his head in a Brooklyn, N.Y., park.

Texas law gets tough on public, privatedrone use. More than 40 state legislatures have debated the increasing presence of unmanned aircraft in civilian airspace, with mostof the proposals focused on protecting people from overly intrusive surveillance by law enforcement.

What could possibly be the motive, other than chest-thumping supremacy?
FEMA threatens to arrest volunteer drone operators during Colorado flood relief. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) threatened to arrest anyone flying drones over theColorado flood damage over the weekend, even those volunteering with the relief effort. On Saturday [9/14/2013], FEMA grounded Colorado company Falcon UAV— a drone manufacturer that had been helping local authorities map the disaster area in near-real time— and threatened to arrest anyone flying a drone over the disaster area, IEEE Spectrum reports.

Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey to team for dronetests. Maryland has agreed to work with Virginia and New Jersey on research into unmanned aircraft, a move that could strengthen Maryland's bid to land one of the six drone test sites to be awarded this year by the Federal Aviation Administration. The three states are among the25finalists seeking an FAA-sanctioned site to study how unmanned aircraft might safely be integrated into U.S. airspace.

Ignoring the Constitution. [Scroll down] The president also has stepped up the use of airborne drones to spy on Americans in apparent violation of the Fourth Amendment prohibition of unreasonable and unwarranted searches.Previously owning up to only two instances of domestic unmanned aerial surveillance, officials of the Customs and Border Protection service released a list last week of 500occasions over three years in which the agency flew Predator drone missions on behalf of other federal agencies.

How drones will change your life. Apart from whatthey do for the military; drones have already proven themselves capable sheep herders, delivery boys, tour guides, filmmakers, archaeologists, and—possibly— spies. The global economic potential of these machines is astounding; a recent study estimated the worldwide market for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at $89billion in 2013.

US announces six drone test sites. The US aviation regulator has announced the six states that will host sites for testing commercial use of drones. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) picked Alaska, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Texas and Virginia. The sites are part of a programme to develop safety and operational rules fordrones by the end of 2015.

FAA says New York, five other states chosen to host drone test sites. New York was among six states selected Monday to develop sites to test drones, a decision that likely will bring the unmanned aircraft to New York's skies and badly needed jobs to upstate. The New York site will beat Griffiss International Airport, a former Air Force base in upstate Rome. Aerospace firms and universities in New York and Massachusetts will be involved in the research.

FAA names 6 sites for testing drones.The Federal Aviation Administration named six teams across the nation that will host the development and testing of drones to fly safely in the same skies as commercial airliners. The announcement represents a major milestone toward the goal of sharing the skies by the end of 2015,in what is projected to become an industry worth billions of dollars. But technical hurdles and privacy concerns remain in a regulatory program that's already a year behind schedule.

Blimplike surveillance craft set to deploy over Maryland heighten privacy concerns. They will look like two giant white blimps floating high above I-95 in Maryland, perhaps en route to a football game somewhere along the bustling Eastern Seaboard. But their mission will have nothing to do with sports and everything to do with war. The aerostats— that is the term for lighter-than-air craft that are tethered to the ground— are to be set aloft on Army-owned land about 45miles northeast of Washington, near Aberdeen Proving Ground, for a three-year test slated to start in October.

Drone SurveillanceLeads to Man's Arrest, Prison Sentence. Rodney Brossart has a unique distinction, although it may not be one he wanted. The North Dakota man became the first person to be sentenced as a result of drone surveillance in the United States. Brossart's three-year sentence comes following a 116-hour stand-off with a SWAT team on his ranch in 2011. The team was called in after Brossart resisted arrest for not returning livestock from a neighboring farm that had wandered on to his property; Brossart and his three sons then engaged in the stand-off beforeauthorities brought in the Predator drone.

Meet CUPID: The Drone That Will Shoot You With an 80,000 Volt Taser. Are drones not scary enough for you yet? How about this? A drone helicopter that spots you and identifies you as an intruder. It tells you to stop and put your hands behind your head. Instead, you keep coming. The drone then shoots you with barbed Taser darts that pump 80,000volts into you. If you try to getup, it will continue pumping voltage into you until you submit and the authorities arrive. This isn't some dystopian theory. It's very real already, and I just saw it in action.Yes, it is terrifying.

Prepare for drones that 'perch' on power lines to recharge, never have to land. Imagine a world where drones never have to touch the ground after takeoff. That's what MIT PhD. candidate Joseph Moore did, and now he's on the cusp of creating a drone that can "perch" on power lines just like birds to recharge its batteries.

L.A. drones: LAPD gets new UAVs to combat crime. The Los Angeles Police Departmentannounced Friday [5/30/2014] it had added two "unmanned aerial vehicles" to it's arsenal on Friday.The department received the two Draganflyer X6 aircraft as gifts from the Seattle PoliceDepartment, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday [5/30/2014]. Both drones are equipped with a camera, videorecording and infrared night-vision capabilities, the newspaper reported. LAPD officials werehesitant to refer to the gifts as drones, avoiding negative connotations the word has taken onalluding to privacy concerns.

Somewhat related:
BP allowed commercial drones by US regulators in unprecedented decision. The Federal AviationAdministration said Tuesday it has granted the first permission for commercial drone flights overUS land to the BP energy corporation, the latest effort by the agency to show it is looseningrestrictions on commercial uses of the unmanned aircraft.

Has the Dept. of Homeland Security become America's standing army? The DHS has been at the forefront of funding and deploying surveillance robots and drones for land, sea and air, including robots that resemble fish and tunnel-bots that can travel underground.Despite repeated concerns over the danger surveillance drones used domestically pose to Americans' privacy rights, the DHS has continued to expand its fleet of Predator drones, which come equipped with video cameras, infrared cameras, heat sensors, and radar. DHS also loans its drones out to local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies for a variety of tasks, although the agency refuses to divulge any details as to how, why and in what capacity these drones are being used by police.

Military Blimps Will Float In Aberdeen, Tracking Potential Threats. As Mike Schuh reports, twolarge blimps will soon rise over Harford County and stay put. Radar blimps like these have beenused on the battlefield to track the enemy, and in the Caribbeanto intercept drug runners.Testing in Utah is complete. Now they're being packed up and sent to Maryland.

The cops like their drones, but they don't like YOUR drones.
2 arrestedafter drones nearly take out NYPD chopper. Two drones nearly took out an NYPD chopperover the George Washington Bridge on Monday, and cops arrested the wayward devices' operators,law-enforcement sources told The [New York] Post. The Aviation Unit helicopter was on patrolaround 12:15a.m. when it had to swerve to avoid the small, unmanned aircraft, the sources said.The NYPD pilots "observed flying object[s] at 2,000 feet in vicinity of the George WashingtonBridge, then circling heading toward the helicopter," a police report said.

Seat belt laws:
They're not about public safety, they're about control.

Seat belt laws give cops an excuse to stop motorists and look for other violations. This has nothing to do with public safety and everything to do with justifying the cop's paycheck. Your local TV reporter is much too eagerto assist in this effort, telling you only the government's side of the story.

Should you wear a seatbelt? Of course. I wouldn't drive 50feet without wearing my seatbelt. Butin a "free country" it should be voluntary.

How Can We Lose? Thirty years ago I suffered my first infringement of reasonable liberty. It was a little thing, it was the passage of aseat belt law, that few thought meant very much at all. To me, it was the state laying claim to my body, determiningthat it was their role in my life to tell me when I should put TabA into SlotB. Now, I have studied the statisticsand I have never claimed that seat belts are not good ideas, or that they don't save lives, because it is and they do, but a lawclaiming that the state has a greater interest in my life than I do is absurd. It didn't take much digging to uncover the real factors involved, which were insurance company lobbyists and the statists teaming up to pass a law that instantly achieved two goals: 1)save money for the insurance companies; 2)establish a precedent that the state has the right and the role to dictate the actions of its citizens.

Feds Propose Tracking Black Boxes in AllNew Cars. The vehicle black boxes— which are either tiny standalone devices or part of a vehicle's computer system—are to record speed, engine throttle, breaking, ignition, safety belt usage, the number of passengers, airbag deployment, and among other things time ofthe recording and sometimes a passenger's location, depending on a vehicle's model.

The Editor says...
There will be no need for the cops to ask you if you were wearing your seatbelt two minutes ago. Your car will snitch on you.

Buckles and bucks: The seat belt mandate is back.The people of New Hampshire are about to find out if their legislators are so hard up for money that they willsell their principles for cash. Every legislative session, leftist and "moderate" lawmakers try to pass a law requiring drivers to wear seat belts. The argument is always the same: The law will save lives. This year, the argument is different: The law will bring cash.

Facts About State Mandatory Seat Belt Harness Laws: While the use of a seat belt has saved some people in certain kinds of traffic accidents, there is ample proof that in other kinds, somepeople have been more seriously injured and even killed only because of forced seat belt use. ... The public is denied the right to know there is a legitimate contrary side to the seat belt law controversy. At one time, it was the same with air bags until one investigative reporter decided to start printing the truth about air bag dangers in certain kinds of traffic accidents.

There's a web site about this specific issue:
Seat Belt Choice dot com. There is a concerted effort from Washington through the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration to pressure every state in America to enact a primary seat belt law and make everyone buckle up or lose federal transportation money. A primary law means you can be stopped solely if you or someone else in your vehicle is not wearing a seat belt. And if you are stopped, you may be ticketed, fined and perhaps even arrested.

The truth about seat belts: When we read the instructions to police officers and emergency personnel for filling out the FARS data forms, we learn that all persons who fell off the bed of a pickup truck or fell off a snowmobile or a three-wheel or four-wheel ATV or from a go-cart are to be listed as having been "ejected". Moreover, there is no evidence to prove that all the persons who are listed as having been "ejected" actually were. ... When we look at the actual data we find that most of these data points are coded as "9" which is the FARS code in this category for "unknown". In other words, all they really know in most cases is that the victims was outside the vehicle when they arrived on the scene.

Seat belt laws: Primary seat belt laws give law enforcement agents a virtual carte blancheto conduct traffic stops. Nevada's recent experience proves states don't need more intrusive statutes to persuade more people to buckle up.

The cops aren't always wearing seat belts themselves.
No seat belts in 42% of fatal police car crashes. The study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which analyzed 733crashes from 1980 through 2008, comes less than a week after a separate report found that fatal traffic incidents in 2010 were the leading cause of officer deaths for the 13th straight year. ... Some officers resist wearing seat belts because the restraints slow their movement in and out of the cars, Floyd says. Others complain that the straps get tangled in utility and gun belts.

Dangerous Changes in Seat Belt Law: Primary enforcement allows the police to freely go on a "fishing" expedition to find sometime wrong under the pretense of not using a seat belt. Primary enforcement resuscitates the once dreaded "general warrants" of King GeorgeIII of colonial America against motorists.

On the other hand...
In Praise of Routine Traffic Stops: In July 2004, Michael Wagner's not wearing a seat belt got him stopped in a SUV near Council Bluffs, Iowa, that had in it "flight training manuals and a simulator, documents in Arabic, bulletproof vests and night-vision goggles, a night-vision scope for a rifle, a telescope, a 9mm semiautomatic pistol and hundreds of rounds of ammunition."

One more step toward cradle-to-grave nanny state paternalism:
Stricter booster seat requirements begin Sunday. Six- and 7-year-olds who had "graduated" from their booster seat to a passengerseat will find themselves back in the saddle come Sunday [1/1/2012], thanks to a new law designed to increase child safety in California. California state law currently requires parents to keep their kids in booster seats until they reach the age of 6 or weigh at least 60pounds.

The Great Golden State Business Exodus. One would think that given the serious nature of [California's] problems, the legislature would focus on solutions at the exclusion of all else. Instead, lawmakers— what would we ever do without them?— found the time in 2011 to trespass even deeper into Californians' personal lives. Topping off Sacramento's monument to foolishness is a law requiring children younger than8,except for those taller than 4feet 9inches, to sit in booster seats in cars. Previous law let kids leave their boosters at6. Now children who had moved out of cars seats are being forced back into them.Actually, the law is more authoritarian— and offensive and infuriating— than it is silly.

The Editor says...
This is another example of incremental changes in restictive laws, and once again, the changes only move in one direction.

Notbuckling up your pet in the car can mean big fines. Judging from the alarming number of summonses issued so far for failing to buckle up in the back seat, motorists don't seem overly concerned about the current Click It or Ticket crackdown. After all, mostunrestrained drivers and passengers can afford a measly $46 fine. But if you drive with an unrestrained pet, don't expect a slap on the wrist. Penalties range from $250 to $1,000 and as much as six months in jail.

The Editor says...
Just imagine if they catch you with a box of kittens in the back of your truck!

Ranch exempt from 'Click It or Ticket'. President Bush found himself in a flap Tuesday about seat-belt use, a day after a federal agency began a campaign to encourage drivers to buckle up. Video cameras caught Bush without his seat belt while driving a pickup on his Texas ranch last weekend, giving a tour to NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.

The Editor says...
Most of the reporters who cover the White House beat probably have very little experience withwide-open ranch land. It is also possible that some of the reporters have never considered thepossibility that certain laws do not apply on private property.

Criminalizing everyone."You don't need to know. You can't know." That's what Kathy Norris, a 60-year-old grandmother of eight, was toldwhen she tried to ask court officials why, the day before, federal agents had subjected her home to a furious search. The agents who spent half a day ransacking Mrs. Norris' longtime home in Spring, Texas, answered no questions while they emptied file cabinets, pulled books off shelves, rifled through drawers and closets, and threw the contents on the floor. The six agents,wearing SWAT gear and carrying weapons, were with— get this— the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The Unlikely Orchid Smuggler: A Case Study in Overcriminalization. George Norris, an elderly retiree, had turned his orchid hobby into a part-time business run from the greenhouse in back of his home.He would import orchids from abroad— South Africa, Brazil, Peru— and resell them at plant shows and to local enthusiasts. He never made more than a few thousand dollars a year from his orchid business, but it kept him engaged and provided a little extra money— an especially important thing as his wife, Kathy, neared retirement from her job managing a local mediation clinic. Their life would take a turn for the worse on the bright fall morning of October28, 2003, when federal agents, clad in protective Kevlar and bearing guns, raided his home, seizing his belongings and setting the gears in motion for a federal prosecution and jail time.

Federal SWAT Raid Over ... Orchids.So as it turns out, even the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has its own SWAT team.

More about the George Norris case.

Justice for Sal. Last weekThe Washington Post reported that Sal Culosi's parents have reached a $2million settlement with Fairfax County, Virginia, police Detective Deval Bullock, who shot and killed the 38-year-old optometrist during a January 2006 SWAT raid on his home. The unusual settlement reflects the outrageous facts of this case, in which an unarmed man suspected of nothing more than betting on sports was recklessly gunned down during an unnecessarily violent operation.

Pre-Crime Policing. An allegedly "disgruntled" man has his guns seized, and "voluntarily" surrenders to two SWAT teams and dozens of police officers for a crime that hadn't been committed.

SWAT officers invade home, take 11-year-old at gunpoint.Nearly a dozen members of a police SWAT team in western Colorado punched a hole in the front door and invadeda family's home with guns drawn, demanding that an 11-year-old boy who had had an accidental fall accompany them to the hospital, on the order of Garfield County Magistrate Lain Leoniak. The boy's parents and siblings were thrown to the floor at gunpoint and the parents were handcuffed in the weekend assault, and the boy's father told WND it was all because a paramedic was upset the family preferred to care for their son themselves.

Home your castle? Not anymore.[Scroll down] Meanwhile in Detroit, a 7-year old girl sleeping on her grandmother's sofa was shot as a SWAT team crashed into the home looking for a murder suspect. Turns out they had the wrong house.The murder suspect lived next door. Then there is the case of Cory Maye, a young man I've written aboutseveral times over the past few years. Maye fired blindly as intruders crashed through a back door intohis baby daughter's bedroom. One of the intruders was hit. In the next moment the intruders identified themselves as police officers and Cory Maye immediately surrendered. He was convicted of murder of a police officer and sentenced to death.

In Virginia, the Death Penalty for Gambling.[Scroll down] As [Salvatore] Culosi emerged from the doorway, clad only in a t-shirt and jeans, SWAT officer Deval Bullock's finger apparently slipped to the trigger of his Heckler& Koch MP5 semiautomaticweapon, already aimed at the unarmed Culosi. The gun fired, releasing a bullet that entered Culosi's side, then ripped through his chest and struck his heart, killing him instantly. It only got worse from there.

Big News in Culosi Case.Apparently, the recommendation handed down by the internal police investigation is that the officer who shot and killed Culosi be given three weeks of unpaid suspension, and that he be removed from the SWAT team. I'mnot as outraged by that recommendation as Culosi's family (though I fully understand their outrage). Butas you expect, it's far less than one I would consider a just outcome.

Mass SWAT Raids in Buffalo.[Scroll down] It'll be interesting to see how many of the 78people arrested actually get charged and convicted. From the 38SWAT raids, police seized a total of five guns, not exacty a data point in support of the argument that SWAT teams are necessary because drug dealers are overwhelmingly armed with high-powered weaponry. Also, given that police seized a grand total six pounds of marijuana and seven ounces of crack in the entire operation, it's probably a bit of a stretch to say the raids "put a dent" in theBuffalo drug trade. I'd imagine you'd find that much weed in a single SUNY-Buffalo frat house.Bringing the media along for the ride was a nice touch, though.

SWAT Officer Killed by Non-Lethal Flashbang Grenade. The only malfunction with the flashbangs in thesestories was the timing of their detonation. Had they not gone off prematurely, they would eventually havebeen used against U.S. citizens, just as they're used every day in America. Most of the time, they're usedagainst people merely suspected of a crime, and most of the time those crimes are nonviolent, consensual drugcrimes. That is, by design, when they're used exactly as intended, flashbangs cause serious, sometimes permanent injury to people who have yet to even be charged— much less convicted— of nonviolent, consensual crimes.

This Is Your War on Drugs.We have another video of a raid by the Columbia Police Department. ... This isn't like watching video of a caraccident or a natural disaster. This doesn't have to happen. You're watching something yourgovernment does to your fellow citizens about 150times per day in this country. If this veryliteral "drug war" insanity is going to continue to be waged in our name, we ought to make [very] sure everyone knows exactly what it entails.

Practice on the People.A reader sends this incredible column from Tactical Response magazine, which I gather is a periodicalfor SWAT types. ... The author is actually suggesting SWAT commanders lobby to have their teams deployed in situations for which they normally wouldn't be to ensure they're in good practice. Put another way, he suggests they practice their door smashing, room-clearing, flash-grenade deploying, and other paramilitary tactics on less-than-violent people, so they're in better form when a real threat arises.

Sheriff: SWAT Team Necessary Because Man Is a "Self-Proclaimed Constitutionalist". As it turns out, the kid was fine.After the raid, a doctor examined him, and told him to drink some fluids and take a Tylenol. I'm even more troubled by the explanation for the aggressive tactics: ["]The sheriff said the decision to use SWAT team force was justified because the father was a 'self-proclaimed constitutionalist' and had made threats and 'comments' over the years. However, the sheriff declined to provide a single instance of the father's illegal behavior. 'I can't tell you specifically,' he said.["]

The Deadliest Rhetoric.At 12:30a.m. on January5, just three days before Jared Lee Loughner opened fire at a Tucson gatheringhosted by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), a SWAT team in Framingham, Massachusetts, conducted a drug raid on the home of 68-year-old Eurie Stamps. Stamps wasn't the target of the raid. Nor was he armed when the police shot him. In fact, police had found their suspects, Joseph Bushfan— the 20-year-old son of Stamps' girlfriend— and Devon Talbert, also 20. The two were arrested outside the home.They still went ahead with the raid, which ended with Stamps' death.

Fourth Circuit Denies Qualified Immunity in Mistaken SWAT Raid. [Scroll down] I still wonder why gun rights groups like the NRA aren't more disturbed by the ubiquitous use of SWAT teams. Here, the fact that the Bellotte's were legal, registered gun owners was used as justification for the violent, volatile entry into their home.It isn't the first time this has happened. You'd think that's something that might concern Second Amendmentacitivists.

Brothersrecall SWAT team break-in. Kenneth and James Jimerson were pulled from their bed, put in handcuffs and taken from their home. ... The SWAT team didn't any find anything in the brothers' home; turns out officershad invaded the wrong home. "They came back and said apparently we have made a mistake," said Kenneth.

Swat Team turns house upside down looking for attempted murder suspect. The swat team turned his house upside down looking for a man with a gun, and now this local homeowner wants to know who is going to clean up the mess left behind. ... Alicia Jennings, a concerned neighbor, told our cameras, "They kicked in the doors... pulled out the windows... the cabinets. They destroyed this man's house."

Another Isolated Incident.An elderly couple says Cook County sheriff's police on a drug raid smashed into their Southwest Side house late Thursday night, terrorizing them before admitting they had the wrong house. With her husband already asleep, 84-year-old Anna Jakymek was just turning out the lights when she heard loud noises at the back and front doors about 11:30p.m. Her initial thought was that her 89-year old husband had fallen out of bed, butshe realized something else was happening when she looked into the front room.

Deadly Force.Civil libertarians argue that military-style raids escalate the level of violence in what could be routine police action, and are leaving a growing number of innocents terrorized, wounded or dead. "Botched raids are a staple of law enforcement," said Graham Boyd, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Drug Law Reform Project. "There is a never-ending stream of ruined homes, ruined lives and innocent people who are killed or terrorized." The Cato Institute Web site features an interactive map tracking hundreds of botched paramilitary police raids nationwide beginning in the late 1990s, including dozens of instances in which innocent people were killed.

Elderly Woman Has Heart Attack: Mistaken SWAT Raid. Once again, a SWAT team in Georgia has raided the wrong house— this after a supposed two-year investigation. Maybe I'm missing something here, but it would seem that after two years they would know where they're supposed to be going.

Does NASA have a SWAT team, too?
NASA sting terrifies woman, 74. But at the end of the sting operation, agents were left holding a speck of lunar dust smaller than a grain of rice and a 74-year-old suspect who was terrified by armed officials.

Detroittragedy shows the dangers of paramilitary-style policing across US. [Peter] Kraska estimates that the total number of SWAT deployments across the country "increased from a few hundred per year in the 1970s to a few thousand per year by the early 1980s to around 50,000 per year by the mid-2000s." Today,he says "every decent-sized city has a SWAT team, and most have several. Even absurdly small towns like Eufaula, Ala., (population 13,463) have them... Where their purpose once was to defuse an already violent situation, today they break into homes to look for illicit drugs, creating violence and confrontation where there was none before."

Militarization and Policing— Its Relevance to 21st Century Police. This work examines the blurring distinctions between the police and military institutions and between war and law enforcement. In this article, the author asserts that understanding this blur, and the associated organizing concepts militarization and militarism, are essential for accurately analyzing the changing nature of security, and the activity of policing, in the late-modern era of the 21st century.

Is this still America?Armed federal agents of the Department of Education conducted a pre-dawn SWAT-style raid on the home of a Stockton,Calif., man. Read that again: The Department of Education has taken up arms against the citizenry. Meanwhile, federal Transportation Security Administration officials routinely grope our 6-year-olds and conveniently arrange that attractive women are subjected to their full-body p*rn cameras. Not even George Orwell's 1984dystopian police state went thatfar.

Prohibition. Unlike Bill Clinton, President Obama admits he inhaled! "Frequently," he said. "That was the point." People laughwhen politicians talk about their drug use. The audience laughed during a 2003 CNN Democratic presidential primary debate when John Kerry, John Edwards and Howard Dean admitted smoking weed. Yet those same politicians oversee a cruel system that now stages SWAT raids on people's homes more than 100times aday.People die in these raids— some weren't even the intended targets of the police.

SWAT Team + Hooters Girls + White Supremacist + Katrina Humanitarian Mission = Best Local News Story Ever. I really can't write a summary that does all of this justice.

Botched Raids Not Rare. The botched Atlanta raid that ended in the shooting death of 88-year-old Kathryn Johnston was sad and tragic, but unfortunately, it was neither uncommon nor unpredictable. After taking a year to research and write a paper for the Cato Institute on the proliferation of forced-entry, paramilitary-style raids, I'm sorry to say Johnston is just one of at least 40innocent people killed in botched raids over the last 20years in America.Worse, there are dozens more cases of low-level offenders, bystanders— and police officers killedor injured.

The Harding Street Raid

Update: Illicit Deadly No-Knock Houston Raid of Innocent Couple. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg held a pressconference on the 25th of January, 2021, to release details about new indictments from a grand jury in the ongoinginvestigation of the illicit no-knock raid which occurred on the 28th of January, 2019, in Houston, Texas, on HardingStreet. A gunfight occurred when the plainclothes officers burst in and shot the couple's dog. [...] The coverup ofwhat happened to lead to the raid, and what happened in the raid fell apart partly because the lead instigator of the raid,officer Gerald Goines, was wounded in the neck and unable to talk. [...] The grand jury, on 25January, indicted a 2ndofficer for murder, and five more officers for organized criminal activity. The investigation was led by the HarrisCounty Prosecutor's office.

More Felony Charges for More Officers from Houston No-Knock Raid. On 28 January, 2019, a Houston Police DepartmentNarcotics unit executed a no-knock warrant on an innocent Houston Couple, Dennis Tuttle, a disabled Navy veteran, and hiswife Rhogena Nicholas, a devout Christian. The raid was based on lies told to the court, about drug sales that neverhappened, to obtain the warrant. The couple were not drug dealers. When armed men burst into their home, withoutwarning, and killed their dog, Dennis Tuttle is said to have fought back with his .357revolver. Dennis and his wifeRhogena and their dog were all killed. The organizer of the raid, then officer Gerald Goines, was wounded in theneck. He could not talk. That may be why the coverup fell apart. Three other officers were wounded.Over the next year and a half, investigations forced onto the Houston police department by citizens, the FBI, the Tuttlefamily, and the Harris County Prosecutor, unravaveled a story of corruption and lack of accountability that lead to theTuttle deaths. [...] Even without phones, all the other devices that record images and sounds are available to a competentgovernment investigator. Surveillance cameras, doorbell cameras, and the ever more common body camera, all offer moreinformation to digest, information which is less fallible than human eyes and memory. Police can no longer rely on thepolitical machine to cover for them, or for the Media to kill stories of corruption that implicate the media's political favorites.

Grand Jury Backs Murder Charges Against Houston Cop Who Lied to Justify a Deadly Drug Raid. "Because officers lied,people died," Harris County, Texas, District Attorney Kim Ogg said today at a press conference where she announced a grandjury indictment of two former Houston narcotics officers who were involved in a January 2019 drug raid that killed amiddle-aged couple in their home. The indictment confirms the state charges filed last August against Gerald Goines,who is accused of lying to obtain the warrant for the raid, and Steven Bryant, who is accused of subsequently backing upGoines' false portrayal of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas as dangerous heroin dealers. Both men are accused oftampering with a government document, a felony punishable by up to two years in prison. Because Goines' misrepresentations caused two deaths, he is also charged with two counts of felony murder, which could result in a life sentence.

FBI ArrestsHouston Officers in Fall-out of Harding Street Raid. The Federal investigation into the no-knock raid on 7815Harding Street in Houston Texas, on January28th, 2019, where the married couple, Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas werekilled in their home, has resulted in indictments and arrests for three people. Those three are former officers GeraldM. Goines, 55, SevenM. Bryant, 46, and neighbor Patricia Ann Garcia, 53. There were many suspicious facts about theraid that raised red flags from the start. Initially, the Houston Police Department, Police Chief Acevedo, and theHoustion Police Union circled the wagons and insisted the raid was legitimate. In August, the Harris County ProsecutorCharged Goines and Bryant with crimes. They were arrested and released on bond. Now, both have been charged andarrested on the federal charges, and the neighbor across the street, Patricia Ann Garcia, has been arrested on federalcharges. [...] Police Chief Acevedo held a press conference shortly after the arrests were announced. His spin wasconsiderably different from previous press conferences. In this press conference, he claims the investigation by HPDinto Goines, Bryant, and Garcia all started mere days after the incident.

New Evidence in Houston No Knock Raid Scandal. There have been startling developments in the investigation of thedisastrous no-knock raid in Houston on 28January, 2019. A middle aged couple were killed and four police wounded. In the light of contradictory police stories, the family of the couple who died hired an independent forensics firm to documentthe evidence at the home at 7815 Harding Street. The independent investigation took place after forensic data collection done by the local government authorities. The independent investigators invited the Texas Rangers and the Harris County Institute for Forensic Science to attend the investigation. Both declined the invitation. [...] Police claim Rhogena attempted to take a shotgun from a wounded officer. She was shot and killed. It is not clear if she ever touched the officer's shotgun. The independent forensics report claims she was killed by bullets fired through the wall of the home, where the person firing could not have seen her. [...] There was no ambush. The police fired first. It was a no-knock raid based on false evidence.

Forensics Investigation Finds Cops Shot Each Other, Then Murdered Houston Couple. The murder of an innocent Houstoncouple made national headlines earlier this year as police took to smearing their names and threatening those who didn'tbelieve their official narrative. As the months passed, we learned that the Houston police department's raid on thehome of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas was based on lies and they were murdered for no reason. Now, the case hasreached turning point after the family hired a forensics expert to examine the home and found that there is no evidence theofficers encountered gunfire.

Police Charged with Murder, Tampering with Document, in Homicide of Couple during No-Knock Raid in Houston. HarrisCounty District Attorney Kim Ogg has announced felony murder charges for former Sgt.Gerald Goins of Narcotics Squad 15,the Houston Police Department (HPD), in the homicides of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas. The married couple, wholived in their modest Houston home at 7815 Harding Street for 20years, were killed with their dog in a noknock raid on January28th. DA Ogg also announced former officer Steven Bryant has been charged with second degree tampering of a government document.

Houston No-Knock Raid where 2 Killed, 4 Police Wounded, Results in 4 Retirements so far. There are continuedrepercussions from the no-knock raid that resulted in the death of a middle aged couple in Houston, and the wounding of fourpolice officers in the gunfight the raid engendered. The raid happened on January28, 2019. Four officershave retired as of 22March, 2019. Dennis Tuttle was a Navy veteran. His wife, Rhogena Nicholas, was asupporter of President Trump. They had no criminal records. They were married for 20years and lived in theirmodest home in Houston for the same 20years. The police broke down their door and shot their dog. Thatseems to have started the gun battle. Dennis is said to have shot back, wounding the officer that shot his dog.The police claimed he was shooting a .357magnum revolver, but no revolver was found at the scene. It seems morelikely he was shooting one of the two semi-auto hunting shotguns recovered at his home.

Houston CopLied for Warrant, 2 Innocents Killed, 4 Police Wounded. The lead investigator and long term Houston PoliceDepartment undercover narcotics Officer Gerald Goines lied to obtain a no-knock warrant. The no-knock warrant lead tothe death of a middle aged couple, their dog, and the wounding of four officers, at 7815 Harding Street on 28January, 2019.[...] The Houston no-knock raid was characterized as an ambush by drug dealers. The evidence did not support thatconclusion. The two homeowners killed had no criminal record. Dennis Tuttle was a Navy veteran. His wife,Rhogena Nicholas, was a supporter of President Trump. They had been married for 20years and lived in their modest homein Houston for the same 20years. The gun battle started when police broke down their door and shot their dog.Dennis started shooting back, wounding the officer that shot his dog. Police claim Rhogena attempted to take a shotgunfrom the wounded officer. They shot and killed her. [...] The exact timing of events is uncertain, because no officerswore body cameras. Surveillance video from the house next door was confiscated by the police.

Cops and their dogs

CantonOhio K9 officer on leave after video shows police dog attacking man lying on stomach,surrendering. An Ohio K9 officer is under investigation after police body cameravideo captured the officer's dog appear to attack a man on his stomach with his hands behind hisback, authorities said Friday. The officer, Nicholas Casto, was placed on administrativeleave while the inquiry into Thursday's incident north of downtown Canton is underway, a spokesmanfor the Canton Ohio Police Department said in a brief statement. "I take these occurrencesvery seriously," Canton Mayor Christian Turner said in a separate statement Friday. "I understandthe community will have questions, and I will ensure that my office will be forthcoming withinformation as it becomes available." [Videoclip]

Texaspolice K9 receives Purple Heart. A Texas police K9 received a very special honorTuesday evening after being shot in the line of duty in November, according to reports. K9Jack with the Weatherford Police Department sustained gunshot wounds to the ear and paw as awarrant service turned into a gun battle with a suspect on November16. The person beingsought opened fire on law enforcement officers who then returned fire, killing the gunman, FOX4Dallas/Ft.Worth reported. The police agency announced last week that Jack is now fullyhealed and would be honored for his efforts by receiving a Purple Heart.

Bodycam:Deputy Barks Like Police K-9 to Trick Car Theft Suspects into Surrendering. The spikedeployment was perfect and got all 4 tires flat, however the suspects took off and the deputies hadto terminate the pursuit. Officers later found the vehicle unoccupied and still running at7500 Bridgeport Way. Other Deputies surrounded the nearby area and started to check for thejuveniles. One deputy could see two of the suspects down in a creek bed. He chose avery interesting way to get them to comply. The deputy can then be heard barking like adog. After the deputy imitated a dog bark multiple times, the four juveniles came out of thecreek bed and surrendered. The Suspects actually believed there was a dog, and, in the end,they told the deputies, soon as they heard that dog, they gaveup.

Ohiopolice K9 handler fired following controversial deployment of service dog. A lawenforcement K9 handler in Ohio has been fired after a controversial deployment of his policeservice dog (PSD) on a previously non-complaint truck driver who was reticently surrenderingfollowing a vehicle pursuit, reported News Channel6. Ryan Speakman was identified as thepolice K9 handler in question. Circleville Police Chief G.Shawn Baer said in a statementTuesday that Speakman was placed on paid administrative leave as the incident was under investigationby the town's civilian Use of Force Review Board, Law Officer reported. However, things progressed rapidly as the Circleville Police Department issued a statement Wednesday, saying Speakman had been terminated, according to NBC News.

OhioState Police In Hot Water After Releasing A K-9 On Black Man With His Hands Up, MaulingHim. A newly released body-camera video shows a police dog mauling an unarmed Blackman who had surrendered to authorities after a high-speed chase in Ohio on the Fourth ofJuly. The video of the incident, obtained by The Washington Post, shows the dog's handlingofficer being given several warnings from sergeants at the scene to keep the dog in check if theman peacefully surrendered with his hands in the air. The man complied. But thehandler— identified by the Ohio State Highway Patrol as Circleville K-9 Officer RyanSpeakman— instead commanded the dog to attack. [Videoclip]

CopIgnores Commands From Fellow Officers And Forces K9 To Maul Man On His Knees With His HandsUp. In a shocking display of what can only be described as a systemic failure in theproper execution of law enforcement tactics, the Circleville Police Department in Ohio allowed apolice dog to brutally attack a surrendering suspect following a chase that covered threecounties. The attack took place on July4, but the unsettling footage of the incident wasobtained by the Guardian, which made a public records request and made it available for publicviewing this week. The driver, a black man, who had led troopers and deputies on a chase, hadvoluntarily disembarked from his semi and was actively complying with law enforcementcommands. He had his hands in the air and was slowly backing away from his vehicle whenOfficer Ryan Speakman arrived at the scene with his K9 unit, Serg. Although the semi-driverwas actively complying, Speakman, in stark contrast to his fellow officers' commands, decided tounleash his dog. Disturbingly, this happened even after a supervisor at the scene explicitlyinstructed him not to deploy the K9 as long as the suspect had his hands up and was following orders.

LAPDGets $278,000 Robot Dog, Dallas School District Adopts Pre-Crime Surveillance Technology. LAPD is the latest police force to incorporate "robot dogs" into its arsenal. [...] Referring to this device as a "dog" is obviously a manipulation of people's natural affinity for actual dogs. This is not a dog; it's potentially lethal police state tool ripped straight from dystopian science fiction. The reason the corporate state prefers to use robot "dogs," drones, etc., to execute enforcement actions is that machines don't suffer from the same hesitation to snuff out innocent life that non-psychopathic humans do. They don't ask questions. They are incapable of insubordination. Whateverthe criminals in the government program them to do, they willdo.

The Editor says...
If the cops really want to terrify the bad guys (or anybody else), they should special-order a robot "dog" with six or eight legs, and put a black hairy suit on it, with fangs and wiggling antennas on the front, and big bulging self-luminous eyes (like a tarantula in a horror movie), in addition to the bombs or cameras or whatever else it carries. And make it smell like a poisonous monster. And make it hiss andspit at everybody. Maybe some steam coming out of its ears. The bad guys will giveup in tenseconds!

LosAngeles approves $278,000 robot police dog despite "grave concerns". A $278,000robotic dog was approved by the Los Angeles City Council, despite some council members expressing"grave concerns" about the Boston Dynamics-manufactured device. The "Quadruped UnmannedGround Vehicle" was offered as a donation to the Los Angeles Police Department by the Los AngelesPolice Foundation, according to CBS Los Angeles. If the council hadn't accepted the donation,the offer would have expired, it reported. On Tuesday, the L.A. city council voted 8-4 infavor of accepting the robot dog, which is unarmed but has surveillance technology. Membersof the public spoke at the meeting, with most urging the council against taking up the offer,citing fears that the machine could violate resident's civil rights, CBS LA reported. Butadding the mechanized creatures to policing efforts have also led to controversy, with concern thatthe machines could be used against people.

The Editor says...
Of course the machines will be used against people. What else would they be goodfor?

PoliceMake K9 Bite Man Standing In Front Of His House. An attorney for a Sheffield manclaims Sheffield Police Department Officers assaulted his client at his home. Newly obtainedbody cam footage shows officers grabbing Marvin Long and a K9 biting him on June17, 2021. The footage started with Long and a Sheffield Officer exchanging words while he was standing in theroad in front of his home looking on at an unrelated arrest. [Videoclip]

'Horrible'bill banning police dogs from being used in arrests would 'embolden' criminals, sheriffsays. A California sheriff criticized lawmakers who want to keep police dogs frombiting suspected criminals or being used during protests, calling K-9s an important "less-lethal"option for law enforcement. "One of our one of our biggest successes and biggest tools todeescalate situations is the deployment of canines," Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco told FoxNews. AB742 would prohibit police from using dogs to apprehend a suspect or for crowdcontrol. Police dogs would not be allowed to bite people under any circ*mstances, accordingto the bill text. The bill does not prevent the use of search and rescue dogs or police K-9sthat sniff out bombs or drugs.

Californiabill would ban police dogs from arrests, crowd control; cites racial bias, trauma.The California Assembly's Public Safety Committee has approved a bill that would ban the use ofpolice dogs for arrests, apprehensions and crowd control, apparently a first-in-the-countrymeasure. The authors of the bill cited the need for the removal of police dogs due to racialbias and violence against Black Americans and people of color. Assembly Bill742 seeksto ban the use of police dogs for arrest, apprehensions or any form of crowd control. Thelegislation would not prevent the use of police dogs for search and rescue, explosives detectionand narcotics searches.

ReddingCalifornia Cops Now In Hot Water After Viral Video Shows Them Stomping On Suspect's Head, Releasing K9 OnHim. Multiple videos have gone viral of a Jan.23 incident on Willis Street in Redding that show alengthy struggle between 39-year-old Kevin Hursey and several Redding Police Department officers, including aK-9unit. Today Redding Police Chief Bill Schueller released a statement in response to the incident, and inacknowledgment of the dramatic footage captured by a number of witnesses. Opinions are divided regarding whetherofficers acted appropriately, or if they used excessive force. [Videoclip]

K9Officer, Murder Suspect Killed In Police Shootout. A Georgia police K9 and a murder suspect were killedFriday in a police shootout. The Clayton County Sheriff's Office attempted to stop a car believed to be linkedwith a murder investigation, according to a Georgia Bureau of Investigation press release. [...] Figo [theK9] wasairlifted after the shooting to a nearby animal hospital where he died, according to police. The suspect, whompolice identified as 33-year-old Dexton Bowden, was also pronounced dead at the scene.

The Editor says...
If the animal hospital was nearby, why was the dog taken there by helicopter? It's all just forshow.A police car would have been adequate. A dog that's wearing a uniform and a badge is still just adog.

ArizonaSWAT Shoot Suspect Dead After He Aimed A Gun At K9's Head. On August 25th, 2022, the Tucson PoliceDepartment Special Weapons and Tactics team (SWAT) were conducting surveillance on Francisco Javier Galarza, a49-year-old male, in relation to active felony arrest warrants for home invasion and bank robbery. At approximately 11:45a.m., a blue BMW pulled into a CircleK parking lot located at 6090 S.Park Ave. Galarzaexited the vehicle and entered the convenience store. At approximately 11:51a.m., Galarza exited the store.Officers approached and identified themselves, instructing him to get down on the ground in order to effect an arrest. Galarza began to flee officers and removed a black handgun from a bag on his person. Ofc.Barrie Pedersen released his K-9 partner, Kiro, to apprehend Galarza. The K-9 ended the pursuit by bringing Galarza to the ground. While on the ground, he pointed a firearm at K-9 and officers. Officers Ernest Ortiz and Barrie Pedersen discharged their firearms. [Videoclip]

63 YO Pediatrician Wins 325k Dollar Law Suit Against This Cop For Releasing K9 On Him, Biting Him While Cop Tells Him To StopMoving. Town officials released video footage late Wednesday that shows a York Police Department officer usinga K-9 to subdue local pediatrician Stephen Brennan during a traffic stop more than two years ago. The release of thefootage comes about a week after Brennan's attorneys announced their client had reached a $325,000 settlement agreement withthe town and Patrolman Jonathan Rogers, who had released the dog during the encounter on Sept.20, 2019. In a jointstatement released with the footage, York Town Manager Steve Burns and Acting Police Chief Owen Davis said Rogers "simply didhis job to keep York a safe place." [Videoclip]

Dem law led to K-9 line of duty death but Seattle activists blame police. Washington Democrats passed a series ofanti-police laws pitched as "reimaging" public safety. A police K-9 from the Seattle Police Department is dead becauseof it. Perhaps that's why anti-police activists in Seattle are blaming the cops for the K-9's death: They don'twant to take responsibility for pushing Democrats to pass such dangerous laws. Police responded to a break-in at a homein South Seattle. The homeowner reported the man was armed with a machete. After police arrived, the suspectfatally stabbed the K-9 officer, Jedi. He also cut the face of an officer. The suspect was then shot and killedby police. The SPD had the perfect non-lethal weapon to subdue the burglar without using a K-9. But Democrats in thestate legislature banned the weapon because it's a large caliber weapon. Without consulting law enforcement officials,the Democrats foolishly thought a large caliber weapon is inherently deadly.

Hawaiian Police Purchase Robot Dog To Hunt Down COVID Infected Homeless People. Hawaiian police have enlisted the helpof a robot dog as a means to aid infection mitigation efforts during the coronavirus pandemic. The dog, known as SPOT,has been used by the Honolulu Police Department to scan the temperatures of homeless citizens at police-run shelters,according to Hawaii News Now. SPOT is able to scan temperatures from approximately six feet away and then generate aphoto of the person, along with their temperature, on its monitor. [Videoclip]

St. Louis Cops In Hot Water After Releasing K9 On Suspect Up Against Police Car. Earlier this week, Fox2 obtainedcellphone video of Woodson Terrace Police officers using a K-9 on a suspect. The incident happened near St.Louis-Lambert International Airport Monday morning [9/20/2021]. Friday, the Universal African People's Organization (UAPO) and other community leaders called for the officers to be fired. [Videoclip]

UK Police Use Attack Dogs On Anti-Vaccine Passport Protesters. The new world order will not tolerate non-compliance and will use any measure or violence necessary to get those not in line to heel. London police are now using K9cops to attack anti-vaccine passport protesters. [Videoclip]

NYPD's robot dog will be returned after outrage. The NYPD will part ways with "Digidog," the robotic police dog thatbecame the subject of a City Council subpoena after images of it went viral. The department told The [New York] Post onWednesday [4/28/2021] that it ended a contract with Boston Dynamics to lease the four-legged robo-cop. "The contracthas been terminated and the dog will be returned," a spokesperson said. The sudden termination comes after a clip ofthe machine patrolling a Manhattan housing project went viral, sparking backlash and drawing comparisons to the dystopic TVseries "Black Mirror." Mayor Bill de Blasio then urged the NYPD to "rethink" its use of the robot. Eventually,City Council leaders agreed and decided to subpoena the NYPD to find out its cost. Police officials told The New YorkTimes that the department had ended its $94,000 contract with the robot dog's maker on April22 in response to the inquiries from Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Councilman Ben Kallos.

Watch As The NYPD Unleash Their Creepy New Robot Dog During Arrest In The Projects. The NYPD's robot dog is onceagain stirring privacy concerns and cyberpunk prophesies of some New Yorkers, after the four-legged machine was spottedinside of a Manhattan public housing complex on Monday [4/12/2021]. A video shared on Twitter shows the robot trotting outof a building on East 28th Street in front of two NYPD officers, then slowly descending the stairs as bystanders look on inshock. "I've never seen nothing like this before in my life," one woman can be heard saying. Since October, theNYPD has dispatched the robot to a handful of crime scenes and hostage situations, raising fears of unwanted surveillance andquestions about the department's use of public dollars. The mobile dog, which comes equipped with automated sensors,lights, and cameras capable of collecting "limitless data," is sold at a starting price of $74,000. [Videoclip]

Police Officer Is Charged With Felony Assault After Letting His K9 Bite Man For Several Minutes After Chase. A trooperof the Michigan State Police has been charged with felony assault in connection with a fail-to-yield traffic crash where hedirected his K9 to remain on the bite for several minutes during the capture of the driver. Parker Surbrook, a trooperassigned to MSP's Lansing post, is on unpaid leave while the charges play out in court. He was also removed from the K9unit [...] The driver fled and crashed the vehicle into a tree. The driver was out of his vehicle when Surbrook and anundercover officer from the Lansing Police Department arrived at the collision scene. As a result, Surbrook deployed K9Knox in order to safely apprehend the suspect. Knox remained on the apprehension bite for several minutes at thedirection of Surbrook. [Videoclip]

Cop Abuses K9 During Training. Salisbury Police Chief Jerry Stokes addressed the department's K-9 policy Tuesday after a video surfaced showing questionableactions taken against a police dog. [Videoclip]

COVID-sniffing dogs screen spectators prior to Nuggets-Heat game in Miami. As an added preventive measure on top of health questionnaires and a maskmandate, COVID-sniffing dogs are now being used to detect possible infection in fans waiting to watch a sports game.That's what happened before an NBA game between the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets on Wednesday, January27. Thevirus-sniffing dogs screened fans waiting in line to get into the American Airline Arena before entering the venue.[Videoclip]

The Editor says...
Something tells me that's not all they're sniffing for.

PoliceDog Killed in Action Buried in Special Portrait Casket. On February 13, Herriman City Police K-9 unit Hondo waskilled in the line of duty. Hondo, a seven-year-old Belgian Malinois, was aiding in the pursuit and capture of afugitive when he was shot in the sternum. Despite being rushed to a nearby veterinary hospital, he died soonafter. Heartbroken officers immediately contacted Rawtin Garage, a local friend of the force. "They asked if wecould get something together since we have done work on their motorcycles before," John Ward, owner of Rawtin Garage, told CNN.Twenty-four hours later, the casket was ready.

Cop Demoted AfterDumping His Retired K-9 Partner at a Shelter to Be Killed. Inside police departments across the country,hundreds of dogs are trained for various purposes. Some dogs sniff out drugs and bombs while others train to take outsuspects who refuse to comply. In order to forge the bond between dog and handler, these K-9 units live with theofficers whom they go out with every day. We often see stories in the media when K-9 officer is injured or dies and weare shown how the handler is suffering from a loss in this bond. What is not pushed to the front pages of the paper andthe local news outlets, however, is when an officer abuses their K-9 or, as the following case illustrates, completelyabandons them.

PunkSlugs Cop Without Warning, Officer Introduces His Furry Partner. A man who tried slugging a cop with no warningapparently didn't notice the K-9 plate on the officer's vehicle. Thankfully, this punk's extremely painful mistake wascaught on video and now serves as a warning to anyone who wants to throw down with an on-duty cop. When officer RomanScuadroni of New York's City of Newburgh Police Department responded to a call about a man armed with a knife whiletrespassing, he likely didn't know it would escalate into a bloody brawl. [Videoclip]

The "Officer-Friendly" Police Fantasy. Police have gutted the Fourth Amendment with dogs that will give them a positive alert almostany time they seek a pretext to forcibly search someone's vehicle. The fact that canines are sometimes trained to givefalse alerts is irrelevant as long as the government always wins. Canine alerts to currency are routinely used tojustify seizures even though most U.S. currency has trace amounts of drug contamination. For 30years, the courts have condemned the abuses based on currency seizures due to dog alerts. But the official robberies continue.

Video shows K-9 dog bite during arrest. The Greenville County Sheriff's Office released video Wednesday [6/12/2019] from an April incident in which a suspect wasbitten by a K-9 police dog. On April28, 2019, deputies responded to a residence on Columbia Avenue while attempting tolocate Kevin Leroy Scott White, a suspect wanted out of Florida for violation of probation. The video was released aspart of a critical incident briefing provided by the Sheriff's Office.

Police Sicceda Dog on a Surrendering Man. Will the Supreme Court Review the Doctrine That Gave Them Immunity? When twoNashville police officers responded to a home burglary report in 2014, they found Alexander Baxter hiding in a basem*nt.Baxter put his hands in the air. Nevertheless, the police unleashed a K-9 unit, which bit Baxter under his armpit.Baxter sued the officers for excessive force, but in 2018 the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that, whether or not Baxter'srights were violated, the officers were immune from his lawsuit.

Cop Charged for Stomping Innocent Man As K9 Chewed Off 'Hunks of Flesh'. On the night of June24, 2016, FrankBaker— an innocent man— 'fit the description' of a 'black man' in the area, so he was attacked bypolice and their K9. For several minutes, Baker was beaten, tasered, and viciously mauled by their K9. Now, over twoyears since that night, the officer responsible for the most vicious attack may be held accountable. On Wednesday,officer Brett Palkowitsch, 31, was charged with one count of deprivation of rights for kicking the innocent man while a K9tore him apart, literally.

TSA moving to all floppy-ear airport dog force because pointy-ear dogs 'scare children'. The TransportationSecurity Administration is in the process of swapping out pointy-ear dogs for floppy-ear ones in an effort to put more of thepublic at ease when interacting with its canines. "We've made a conscious effort in TSA ... to use floppy ear dogs,"TSA Administrator David Pekoske said during a recent tour of operations at Washington Dulles International Airport northernVirginia. "We find the passenger acceptance of floppy ear dogs is just better. It presents just a little bit lessof a concern," Pekoske said. "Doesn't scare children." Around 80percent of the 1,200 canines TSA usesnationwide are ones with droopy ears, versus 20percent that have cone-shaped ones.

Thesepolice dogs are using body cams to stop crime. The devices generally attach to dogs' backs on a vest andtransmit video to a handler watching from a screen, possibly on their wrist or around their necks. It's so the officerscan better assess what they are up against before they go into a situation.

FloridaK-9 officer shot, killed chasing carjacking suspect. A K-9 officer was fatally shot in Florida on Sunday [9/30/2018] asauthorities responded to a carjacking suspect. Fang, a 3-year-old German shepherd, worked as a dual-purpose bomb detector andpatrol dog for the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.

Taxpayers to Be Held Liable after Graphic Video Showed Cops Torturing Handcuffed Man with K9. Attorney Joel Robbins, aPhoenix civil-rights attorney in practice for 25 years, could not believe what police and their K9 did to his client after hewas accused of assaulting a police officer, "I've never heard of them bringing a dog into a holding cell... It just doesn'tmake sense." [...] Following the incident the Phoenix New Times' began investigating. Robbins provided the newspaperwith body camera footage of the K9 attack on a handcuffed citizen. In the recording McGough can be heard asking, noless than 30times, what he did wrong and why he was being arrested. He was handcuffed and escorted from the police squad car and then taken into the holding cell.

Ohioofficer forced to shoot K9 partner during attack. An Ohio officer shot his police dog after it attacked him,leaving him with serious bite wounds, the Columbus Police Department said. Officer Brian Carter underwent surgery at ahospital and K9 Benzi, a 3-year-old Belgian Malinois, was humanely euthanized. [...] It was the first time a Columbus officerhas had to shoot a K9 partner, according to the spokesperson.

Buda man shoots, kills off-leash dog that attacked him, his dog. The Hays County Sheriff's Office says a man waswalking his dog, a small breed, when they were attacked by another dog— a large breed— that was offits leash. In response, the man, who is an officer with the Rollingwood Police Department, shot and killed the largerdog. The Rollingwood Police Department says it has begun an internal investigation into the officer's actions.

Canton PoliceSic Dog On Man For Refusing to Get Out Of His Car. According to local news reports, Wagner was pulled over byan Ohio Highway Patrol Trooper for having a handmade license plate. When asked by a police officer, he refused to handover his driver's license or registration, or tell the officer his name. After the numbers on Wagner's handmade licenseplate returned a name linked to a concealed carry license, the officer called for backup. Police tried to coax Wagnerout of the car for 20minutes, during which he politely but firmly refused to comply. He also told police he wasn'tarmed. Officers then gave Wagner a final warning, broke his driver's side window, and sicced a K-9 unit, a BelgianMalinois, on him. (The Belgian Malinois is known among police and breed enthusiasts as the "maligator" because of itsincredible bite strength and tenacity. Among dog breeds, it's one of the last you would want to latch on to you.)

PoliceSay K-9 Units To Be Killed If Illinois Lawmakers Pass Bill. PJ Media reports that law enforcement officers inMacon County, Illinois have threatened to euthanize all K-9s if a law to legalize marijuana passes the state legislature.If the people of Illinois vote to legalize pot, "police may have to 'put down' many of the 275 K-9 dogs trained to recognizenarcotic substances across the state," they claim. The plan is to simply execute them. Needless to say, "marijuanaadvocates have condemned them for dangling canine death as a political tool."

Illinoispolice claim if marijuana is legalized, they'll have to kill their police dogs. The training director of apolice K-9 academy in Illinois claims that if the state legalizes recreational marijuana, it will likely have to euthanize "anumber" of its pot-sniffing dogs, The Pantagraph reports. There are approximately 275 trained narcotic K-9s inIllinois, with each costing the department thousands of dollars. Replacing the dogs would cost millions, and ChadLarner, the director of Maron County's K-9 Training Academy, said "retraining" the dogs would be "extreme abuse."

Emotional photo shows end of service for K9. K9 Hunter has been ill for that past several days and when tests were conductedthey revealed that K9 Hunter had a very aggressive form of Liver cancer. They unfortunately recommended that he be euthanized.

CPD says goodbye to beloved K-9officer. Chicago Police said goodbye Wednesday to a beloved member of their canine patrol, a 7-year-old blacklab with brain cancer. With police canine handlers standing at attention, canine "Bob" went for her last walk Wednesdayafternoon [12/7/2016] into the Niles Animal Hospital where she'd been treated in recent months.

Man Who KilledPolice Dog Sentenced to 45-Years in Prison. A 23-year-old Ohio man has been sentenced to 45 years in prisonafter exchanging gunfire with Canton police in January. This week, a judge sentenced Kelontre Barefield to be incarceratedfor 11years on multiple burglary charges and 34years for the death of Jethro, a three-year-old German Shepherdwho served as a member of the department's K-9unit. Both sentences are to be served consecutively.

Police shoot and kill suspect who fatally stabbed K9 officer. Police in western Pensylvania shot and killed a man who allegedly stabbed a Port Authority of Alleghany County police dog to death Sunday afternoon [1/31/2016]. Port Authority Police Chief Matt Porter told reporters that the K-9 officer, Aren, had been on the job for four years, working patrol and explosives details. [...] Aren suffered multiple stab wounds and was rushed to a local animal hospital, but died after being transported. The Tribune-Review reported that officers removed Aren's body, draped in an American flag, from the hospital hours later.

Ready for duty: Pup sworn in as K9 inadorable ceremony. Labrador sworn in as victim assistance dog by Douglas County Sheriff in Colorado. [Videoclip]

Retiring officerforced to raise funds to buy his K-9 partner at auction. A just-retired Ohio police officer who sought to purchase his K-9 partner offour years from the city of Marietta received an unexpected reply: You're barking up the wrong tree. "I had the money for the dog andwas ready to hand it to the chief of police, and the chief of police said he couldn't take it," Matthew Hickey told WCMH. At issue is a statecode. Officers can purchase their K-9 partners for $1 when the dog retires. But, in this case, Hickey is retiring, not Ajax.

Update:
Heartbroken Retired Ohio Cop Will Get to Keep His K-9 Buddy. The tear-jerking tale of a retired Ohio cop who feared his beloved K-9 would be auctioned off to a stranger ended with some barking— but no bite. Matthew Hickey was told Monday [2/1/2016] he could keep Ajax by simply signing-up to be an auxiliary cop in Marietta, Ohio. "I am prepared to do everything I can so that dog, which I know you love, stays with you," Police Chief Rodney Hupp said.

The Editor says...
Naturally I like stories about a man and his loyal dog, just like everybody else. My only objection comes when dogs are treated as equivalent to human police officers.

Suspect tried to drown dog, fought with officer before being shot, cops say. A suspected car thief who allegedly triedto drown a police dog and fight with an officer was shot by Tampa cops on Monday morning [10/26/2015], FOX13 reported.

Supremes Slap Leash on Drug-Sniffing Dogs. Police aren't allowed to hold suspects absent probablecause while waiting for the drug-sniffing dogs to arrive, the Supreme Court ruled, in a 6-3 decisionthat spoke to the fate of the Fourth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment reins in government againstunwarranted searches and seizures. The justices stipulated police can't detain suspects even for10minutes while the drug-sniffing dogs are en route, the Hill reported.

Was funeral motorcade for slain K-9 officer excessive? A funeral that drew more than 1,000 peoplein Pittsburgh for a slain police dog has sparked a debate among some residents over whether the citywent too far in its soldierlike salute to the animal. Friday's [2/7/2014] 45-minute memorial forRocco, an 8-year-old German shepherd K-9 officer who was fatally stabbed while trying to apprehend afugitive, featured a motorcade, bagpipers, barking canines and a procession of officers holdingRocco's photo, urn and a flag.

"In Dog We Trust" printed within Pinellas County Sheriff's emblem on new rugs. Two newlyrolled out rugs at the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office administration building sure looked nicewhile they lasted. They were placed at the front entrance— bright green with the sheriff's bold,yellow emblem. But there's one major problem. If you look closely, you'll see a major typowithin one of the crests— "In Dog We Trust."

The Editor says...
I don't think it was a mistake at all, considering how cops personify their dogs. Not your dog,of course— your dog doesn't have a badge. It would be interesting to find the purchase order for these rugs to see where the alleged typo developed.

Update:
Sheriff's office rugwith 'In Dog We Trust' typo sells for nearly $10,000. A Florida sheriff's office hasturned a $500 mistake into a $9,650 windfall for charity. The Pinellas County Sheriff's officeordered a new rug, which turned up last week with a typo. The large green rug with the black andyellow Pinellas County Sheriff's Office logo included the phrase "In Dog We Trust" within one of its crests.

DrugSmuggler Sues U.S. Over Dog Bite. A man transporting marijuana over the border withMexico says a Border Patrol dog mauled him— and the U.S. needs to pay.

Tarrant County man stabs police dog; shot dead by cop. Police said Tuesday [8/26/2014] that 22-year-old Mark Salazar of Blue Mound, Texas, stabbed a police dog named Kye, then was shot to death Sunday by the dog's handler.

Kye the K-9 police dog is buried with full honors. An Oklahoma City police dog named Kye was laid to rest Thursday [8/28/2014] with full honors after dying in the line of duty. During a funeral service, Kye's human partner, Sgt. Ryan Stark, leaned over the 3-year-old dog's flag-draped casket to give his four-legged friend a final pat.

Police Dog Killed in Line of Duty, Receives Funeral with Full Honors. On Sunday, August24,2014, Kye, a three-year-old German shepherd K-9 officer for the Oklahoma City Police Department waskilled in the line of duty when chasing down a burglary suspect. The dog was put to rest with fullhonors four days later, and hundreds of police officers and animals lovers were present to show their respect for the four-legged officer.

K-9 buried with full police honors after dying in line of duty. More than 1,000 people anddozens of service dogs attended the funeral service last week for Kye, a 3-year-old Belgian GermanShepherd that was stabbed to death by the suspect. Kye's partner since serving on the policedepartment's K-9 unit, Sgt. Ryan Stark, shed tears and expressed a final farewell to the dog beforehis flag-draped coffin was buried and the canine was given out a 21-gun salute.

This Dog Can Send You to Jail.[Scroll down] He said that he was going to write me a warning, and I said, 'OK, that's fine.' He asked me if I had any drugs in the car. I said, 'No, sir, I don't do drugs, and I don't associate with people who do.' He asked me would I mind if he searched my vehicle, and I said, 'Well, yes, I would mind if you searched my vehicle.'" But thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court, the deputy did not have to take no for an answer. In the 2005 case Illinois v. Caballes, the Court declared that "the use of a well-trained narcotics-detection dog... during a lawful traffic stop generally does not implicate legitimate privacy interests."

Machine Gun-Toting Officers To Patrol NYC Subway. The NYPD is pulling out all the stops to beef up safety of the subways. OnThursday it launched a new anti-terror effort called "Operation Torch," but the cost of the program is raisingsome eyebrows. The NYPD's new firepower consists of cops with Mp5 submachine guns, rifles, body armor and bomb-sniffing dogs.

The cops are always looking for drugs.
Drug-sniffing dogs in traffic stops often wrong. Drug-sniffing dogs can give police probable cause to root through cars by the roadside, but state data show the dogs have been wrong more often than they have been right about whether vehicles contain drugs or paraphernalia. The dogs are trained to dig or sit when they smell drugs, which triggers automobile searches. But a [Chicago] Tribune analysis of three years of data for suburbandepartments found that only 44percent of those alerts by the dogs led to the discovery of drugs or paraphernalia. For Hispanic drivers, the success rate was just 27percent.

Decorated K-9 laid to rest with full ceremonial honors as his emotional handler proudly looks on. The trained bomb detection specialist was also employed as a tracker— and one of his final duties as a police dog was to track a hit and run suspect in Eastern Oklahoma County.

Under attack: Depth of federal arms race should surprise, shock citizenry. In late February, four federal agents carrying side arms with a drug-sniffing dog descended on the Taos Ski Valley in what was called a "saturation patrol." Authorities were working on tips of possible drug selling and impaired driving in the ski resort's parking lot and surrounding area. But the agents weren't from the FBI, ATF, or even the Drug Enforcement Administration. Rather, the agents represented the U.S. Forest Service. [...] It may come as a surprise to many U.S. taxpayers, but a slew of federal agencies— some whose responsibilities seem to have little to do with combating crime— carry active law enforcement operations.

'Racist' LApolice dogs only bite Latinos and African-Americans. Police officers in Los Angeles have long faced accusations of institutional racism, but now it appears their dogs may be unjustly discriminatory, too. A new report focusing on the Canine Special Detail of the LA Sherriff's Department (LASD) has uncovered a vast increase in the number of minority individuals bitten by police dogs since 2004. And in the first six months of this year, every single victim of a bite by a LASD dog was African-American or Latino.

A Drug Dog Named 'Guilty'. Over the last 20years or so, the Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the alert from a drug dog is enough to establish probable cause for a search.The problem is that while it's true that dogs have a finely tuned sense of smell, far better than any technology we humans have been able to develop, we've also bred into dogs a trait that can supersede that ability— an eagerness to please us. Without careful training, drug dogs will endup relying more on the body language of their trainers than on their olfactory prowess. That means that for many drug dogs, an "alert" is little more than a validation of the suspicions of its handler, [...]

Police defend K-9 in attack on 8-year-old. Police say the Friday [11/25/2011] attack of the department's police dog, Storm, on an 8-year-old boy was an unfortunate accident, but Storm has done much more good than bad during his time with the department. The boy, Patrick Assion, was visiting his grandmother's house in Campbell and playinghide-and-seek with his cousin in the backyard when Storm took hold of Patrick's arm and dragged him to the ground.

If a police dog barks at you, don't bark back.
Florida linebacker arrested for barking at police dog. While police were checking out a disturbance at an after-hours club, Antonio Morrison approached a police vehicle and made a 'woof-woof' sound at a canine in the back seat according to the Orlando Sentinel. That was enough to put him behind bars.

Ohio man charged after barking at police dog. Police say an Ohio man has been charged with a misdemeanor for barking at a police dog.

Don't insult a police dog.
Woman Arrested for Making Faces at a Dog. A prosecutor has dropped charges against a woman who was arrested for staring at and making faces at a police dog.

County Sheriff Enjoys Fruits of Forfeitures. The sheriff's office in Douglas County, Neb., just finished a new$4.2million crime lab and police-dog center thanks to money seized from people driving by on Interstate80.That money is a small part of a large and controversial asset-forfeiture program known as "equitable sharing."

Highway "forfeiture traps" are apparently still alive and flourishing. A few years ago these forfeiture traps on interstate highways were getting a lot of media attention. Television news shows such as 20/20 and 60Minutes aired exposes on forfeiture traps in Volusia County, Florida, and Sulphur, Louisiana. Local police in these small towns made millionsof dollars in profits by trolling the interstate highways and stopping travelers with out of state tags. The police typically claimed some traffic infraction, asked permission to search the car and got it, found no drugs but some cash, then brought in a drug sniffing dog, and after getting it to "alert," seized all the travelers' money.

Cops and your dog

Editor's comment:
As you see in the subsection above, when a police dog is killed in the line of duty, the dog sometimes gets a funeral with a casket and a flag and soon. This is because the local government portrays the police dog as equivalent to a police officer, which makes it more difficult to dispute the veracity of the dog's "testimony" about the drugs he smelled in your car. On the other hand, when the police raid someone's house— even the wrong house— the first casualty is the family dog. (Somehow the animal rights activists are all completely silent about this.) This is similar to the double standard for video recordings of police activity: If you record the police with your camera, you could get arrested for interfering with them, but if they record your activity with a dash cam, the video can and will be used against you.

Officerfatally shoots small blind, deaf dog walking away with tail wagging, suit says. AMissouri police officer has been placed on leave after body camera footage showed him fatally shoota small deaf and blind dog. On May19, a woman found a small white blind and deaf ShihTzu in her yard, later identified as "Teddy." The woman gave Teddy water and went on socialmedia to try to find his owner, according to a lawsuit filed May28 by the dog's owner.[Advertisem*nt] On May19, a woman found a small white blind and deaf Shih Tzu in heryard, later identified as "Teddy." The woman gave Teddy water and went on social media to tryto find his owner, according to a lawsuit filed May28 by the dog's owner.[Videoclip] After about an hour, the woman called police to help her locate Teddy'sowner, the lawsuit said. The dispatcher asked the woman if the dog was acting aggressively,and she said, "no, not at all," according to the lawsuit. [Advertisem*nt] Body camerafootage obtained by KOMU shows officer Myron Woodson attempt to catch the dog with a catchpole forseveral minutes. [Advertisem*nt] "Come on baby," Woodson can be heard saying. "I'mgonna take you to get help." At no point in the video does Teddy bark at the officer.

OffDuty Chicago Cop In Hot Water After Shooting A Man's Dog When It Started ChasingHers. New surveillance video has raised questions over an incident last monthinvolving an off-duty Chicago Police officer who shot and killed a dog in the Bridgeportneighborhood. On Tuesday, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability released two videos ofthe shooting and said the CPD should rethink the officer's employment status. Chicago Policeissued no citations in the incident. CPD records show that around 11:30a.m. on Sunday,April21, off-duty CPD Officer Carmen Mostek was walking her corgi east in the 500block of West 29th Street, just west of Normal Avenue. That was when her neighbor's dog,Aggie— described by Officer Mostek in a 911 call and by police in incident reports as apit bull, but referred to by the owner as a "mutt" or a "mixed-breed rescue dog"—escaped from the backyard. According to Mostek, Aggie tried to bite the corgi. At thatpoint, the surveillance video shows Aggie's owner on the ground trying to separate the dogs.Then, according to the video, Mostek shot the mixed-breed dog at very close range while Aggie wasstill in her owner's arms. [Videoclip]

Roommatessue Maryland county over death of pet dog shot by police. Roommates who sued aMaryland county Monday claim police officers illegally entered their apartment without a warrant,detained them at gunpoint without justification and unnecessarily shot their pet dog, which wasleft paralyzed and ultimately euthanized. The dog, a boxer mix named Hennessey, did notattack the three officers who entered the apartment before two of them shot the animal with theirfirearms and the third fired a stun gun at it, according to the dog owners' federal lawsuit.

CopIn Hot Water After Shooting And Killing Family Dog. As the man yells at someone elseto "stop it," the dispatcher attempts to calm him down. Police eventually arrived around 9:45p.m. at the home owned by 33-year-old Amanda Bulick. Among those at the house was amore-than-100-pound Cane Corso named Bella, and police could be heard repeatedly calling on thosepresent to "get the dog inside." Then, as the dog trots towards officers while, shots arefired. According to a police report, Bella "began bleeding profusely" after being hit and ranback inside the residence. Officers claim they attempted to save her life, but she ended updying from her injuries. [Videoclip]

IncidentBetween Boston Police And Belligerent Woman Leads To 2 Pit Bulls Getting Shot. Twopit bulls were shot by police, leaving one dead, after they attacked an officer in Mattapan.It happened on Michigan Avenue Wednesday afternoon. Police said they were making an arrest atthe apartment when the two pit bulls attacked an officer, biting him. A second officer shotboth dogs, killing one of them. The second pit bull, a puppy, was left injured. "The nextthing you know, when I get out, I see blood everywhere," said the dog's owner, who said she heardthree gunshots. "It was just crazy." A teenager who lives in the apartment told WBZ-TV thedogs were just trying to protect her family. [Videoclip]

DetroitWoman Sues City After Police Officers Shot Her Dog and Left It in a Trash Can. A Detroit woman filed afederal civil rights lawsuit against the city today after police shot her dog and left it in a neighbor's trashcan. In a complaint filed against the city of Detroit and an individual Detroit police officer, Tiffany Lindsaysays her Fourth Amendment rights were violated last September when the officer entered her enclosed backyard without asearch warrant and shot her pit bull, Jack. As Reason previously reported, Detroit police were searching for acarjacking suspect on the night of September 4 when an officer and his K-9 unit entered Lindsay's backyard, peeked intoa doghouse and, unsurprisingly, found a dog. According to a police report filed in the incident, Lindsay's doglunged at the officer and K-9 unit, biting the officer on the forearm and tearing his pants. It also bit his K-9unit. The officer hit the dog with his flashlight several times before drawing his gun and killing the animal.

Suing Bad Cops for Shooting Good Dogs.Under the United States and Colorado Constitutions, the shooting of your dog, whether it results in your dog's death orserious wounding, is an unlawful taking under the Fourth and Fifth Amendments. In some circ*mstances, it can alsofall under the 8th Amendment for Cruel and Unusual Punishment. In all circ*mstances, it is wrong and the culpableactor should be held accountable for his/her actions. Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act permits recovery by apet owner for the shooting death or wounding of his/her dog. Time is of the essence in these cases to quickly moveto collect evidence before it is "lost" or destroyed.

Police State Madness— Man Given Traffic Ticket for Not Having a Seatbelt ON HIS DOG. While there is noshortage of videos of people being killed over seatbelt violations— or even dogs being killed bycops— we've never seen an incident in which someone was given a ticket for their dog not wearing aseatbelt. All that has changed this week, however, as the infamously ticket-happy police department in Washington,Louisiana has made news once again for issuing a ticket to a resident because his dog wasn't buckledup.

US cop shoots dead Terrier mix dog on spot after it barked at him. A family in Arkansas is furious after an "investigator" shot dead their dogafter he drove down the wrong driveway while conducting a compliance check on a sex offender. The incident occurred onMonday, November9, in Greenbrier, Arkansas. The investigator, identified as James Freeman, went to the home on AutumnHills Rd. However the house he was meant to visit was two doors down. As Freeman got out of his car, the dog— three-year-old Terrier mix Clide— started barking at him. He fired one shot, killing Clide instantly. [Videoclip]

Owner says shooting of dog unjustified;sheriff says deputy acted appropriately. A Minatare man has stirred up controversy on social media as he shareda photo of a Scotts Bluff County Sheriff's deputy and the man's dog, which the deputy had shot after he said the dog chargedhim. Scotts Bluff County Sheriff Mark Overman released video of the shooting, which involved one of the department'sdeputies, and says in a press release that the deputy acted appropriately. The video is an in-car video, Overman said,and shows the entirety of the event, except the moment when the deputy shot the dog. [Videoclip]

Florida:Cop Tries To Kill Innocent Family's Dog— Shoots Himself In The Foot Instead. Proportionately, copskill far more dogs than they do people. It's quite a strange phenomena [sic] because postal workers, UPS drivers, andfood delivery drivers don't seem to have the same problems with dogs like cops do. It's so devious, the killing offamily pets by those sworn to serve and protect the public, we actually keep an archive of stories of cops killing man's bestfriend. But one cop learned the hard way shooting a dog can be dangerous. He shot himself instead of thedog. Chris Crenshaw, of Putnam County, had committed no crime and had harmed noone when a Putnam County deputy came tohis home, walked into his gated yard and knocked on the front door before attempting to kill his dog.

Cop Granted Immunity Despite Video of Him Shooting Little Girl, While Trying to Kill Small Dog. Last year, a cop was firedafter he shot a little girl inside her own home while trying to kill her dog. Showing that they are willing to holdtheir own accountable, the officer was charged with felony aggravated battery the following March. However, this month,TFTP has learned that a Wichita judge ruled the cop is immune from criminal prosecution and can't be sued.

Rochester police officer shoots dog.A federal lawsuit has been filed against the city of Rochester and several police officers after an officer fatally shot adog while looking for a gun believed to be discarded by a suspect during a foot chase on Oct.19, 2018. This is portionof the police body cam video showing officer Javier Algarin jumping a fence to enter Dempsey's yard, followed by the dogrunning out the bag door and getting shot. [Videoclip]

Woman Calls Police for Help Who Showed Up and Killed Her Service Dog. Jennifer Weir thought she was going to receive help for herstolen property last month when she called police to report a theft. However, when an officer arrived, instead ofhelping her, he shot her dog Juniper, killing her.

Drug Dealer Ambush or Defense Against Home Invasion? The recent killing of a couple in Houston, Texas, and thewounding of four police officers, has been claimed to be an ambush of police by drug dealers. Later accounts by thepolice show the police broke into the house, and fired first, killing the couple's dog. The husband then fired back,wounding the officer who killed their dog. [...] We now know this wasn't an ambush by drug dealers. The police admitthey fired the first shot, killing the family dog. That is not an ambush. How much was a legitimate defense ofhome against home invaders who, as far as the married couple knew, might be simply claiming to be police? How much wascriminal resistance against a legitimate police action?

Arkansassheriff's deputy fired after shooting dog. A sheriff's deputy in Arkansas has been fired after he shot a dogFriday afternoon [1/4/2019]. Faulkner County deputy Keenan Wallace has been relieved of his duties after he dischargedhis gun near a man and injured the dog. Faulkner County Sheriff Tim Ryals announced Saturday evening [1/5/2019] thatWallace, a K-9 handler, "fell short" of the standards he expects of his deputies to "protect and serve" residents of theircommunity. "I believe there were numerous opportunities to de-escalate the incident," Ryals said in a Facebookstatement.

Good Cop Saves Dog, Gaveit Back to Family— Days Later, Different Cop Kills It. The same dog who was featured on the news asthe friendly pit bull sitting in the front seat of a police car just two months ago, was featured on the news for anencounter with police once again this week— but this time, it was for a sad and heartbreaking reason.

Graphic Video Shows Minneapolis Cop Shooting Two Innocent Service Dogs. The owner of the two dogs, Jennifer LeMay, isfacing thousands of dollars in bills for vet care and surgery because of the gunshot wounds to her pets. Obviouslydistraught, LeMay uploaded a security video of her beloved dogs being systematically shot by a Minneapolis police officer. Neither dog looked to be a threat to the cop. Instead, they appeared to wagging their tails and greeting the Minneapolis police officer— who was in the dogs' yard.

Maryland Jury Awards $1.26 Million to Family after Cop Wrongly Shot their Dog. A Maryland jury awarded a family $1.26million Tuesday [5/9/2017] after deciding a cop wrongly shot and killed their dog, Vernon, on February1, 2014— the largest award in American history for such a case. "The verdict sends a strong message to the police about community expectations," attorney CarlJ. Hansel said after the verdict, according to the Capital Gazette.

CopsGo to Innocent Woman's Home, Shoot Her Dog for No Reason, Take No Responsibility. Kaytlin McClure didn't callthe police. She had no need to do so. She was just minding her own business in her own home this week, when thepolice dropped by late at night to pay her a visit. They were canvassing the neighborhood and wanted McClure's helpwith their search for a fugitive. But rather than catching their man, they shot her dog.

AnimalControl Claims Longtime Family Dog Is 'Wolf Hybrid', Won't Return To Owners. A family in Aurora, Colorado ismissing it's longtime four-legged companion today. The Abbato family reports that Capone, a dog they've owned fornearly 10years, has been taken by Aurora Animal Control on suspicion that the pooch is a "wolf hybrid." Capone was seizedby Animal Control after he jumped the fence in the family's yard. "They say he is a hybrid-wolf now and don't want to release(him) back to us because he is an exotic animal," Tracy Abbato told Fox31 in Denver adding "I am 100percent confidenthe is not a wolf, not a doubt in my mind."

WestVirginia Woman Arrested for Blocking Cop from Shooting her Dog Files Lawsuit. On May9, 2015, West Virginiastate trooper Seth Cook arrested Tiffanie Hupp, 24, on obstruction charges after she stepped between the trooper and her dogBuddy, who was chained to a tree on her family's property and wagging his tail when Cook aimed his gun at the dog's headattempting to shoot it. Cook testified that he was not in fear for his life, but was only following training thatrequired him to kill all dogs that approach him, even if they are wagging their tails.

Spray-painting 'Kill all police' on wall isn't a terrorist threat, judge rules. Spray-painting 'Kill all police' on a publicwall doesn't rise to the level of a terrorist threat, a Detroit judge ruled Tuesday [12/13/2016]. Stuart Lewis, 49, ofDetroit, faced a series of charges after police pinpointed him as the culprit who painted anti-police graffiti on a wall lastOctober. After discovery of the graffiti threats, Detroit Police Chief James Craig vowed to find and arrest whoever wasresponsible. The department followed through, dispatching its Special Response Team— the equivalent ofSWAT— to arrest Lewis at his home. The man's dog was killed during the raid.

Why AreDetroit Cops Killing So Many Dogs? A group of Detroit police officers executing a narcotics search warrantknocked on Nikita Smith's door on January14, 2016. The only fact that both Smith and the officers agree on after that pointis that, a short while later, Smith's three dogs were all shot dead. What really happened in the moments between could be acostly question for the city of Detroit. In a federal civil rights lawsuit filed in May, Smith says the Detroit police executedher three pit bulls, Debo, Mama, and Smoke, without provocation. Essentially, they acted as a "dog death squad."

IdahoCop Murders Dog In Own Yard, Demands Cash from Owner for Remains. An Idaho cop murdered a dog in its own frontyard while serving an arrest warrant on a compliant citizen after officers took advantage of a door left ajar. Thearrest warrant turned into a death warrant for the beloved family pet named Targaryan. Now Caldwell police arethreatening to charge an innocent woman with "having a vicious animal at large." And they sent her a $200 bill beforethey'll release the remains of her deceased beloved pet dog. Police claim the dog "lunged." But the body cameravideos released today [9/16/2016] show a very different story.

OhioCops to Pay $780,000 for Shooting 4-year-old Girl While Trying to Kill Family Dog. Ohio cops are expected topay $780,000 in a settlement deal pending1 Columbus City Council's approval after an officer shot a 4-year-old in the legwhile trying to shoot her dog that her family says was retreating from the porch when the officer unnecessarily fired hisgun. He then fled the scene. Instead of rendering aid and making sure the child was OK, officer Jonathan Thomas1then walked down the driveway, got in his patrol car and left the scene without administering aid or making sure an ambulancewas on the way.

MadonnaDancer's Dog Shot, Killed by Police in Brooklyn. A dog belonging to a professional dancer touring with Madonnawas shot and killed by police officers while they were issuing an arrest warrant in Brooklyn Tuesday [7/12/2016], police andfriends say. The officers went to a home on Montauk Avenue in East New York in the early evening to serve a warrant toa 29-year-old man wanted in an open complaint, police said.

Familydog shot and killed by California deputies who went to wrong home. A California family's dog was mistakenlyshot and killed by law enforcement officers who went to the wrong home Monday while responding to a domestic violence call,The Los Angeles Times reported. The deputies reportedly arrived at the wrong home and rattled the fence to see if therewere any dogs outside the home. Once inside the gate, two small dogs approached them and a larger Husky mix, the report said.

SWAT Team Kills Restrained Dog for Barking. In front of Child. [Video clip.]

Cops shoot therapy dog during raid on wrong address over expired vehicle registration. Leander Police went to thehome of James and Renata Simmons acting on a warrant for unpaid vehicle registration on June17, 2013. The warrant, however,was for a completely different town— Cedar Park, TX, and was for a person named Bradly Neal Simpson, someone the Simmons family, who have lived at this address for the past nine years, have never even heard of. Officers walking around the rear of the property saw Vinny, a German Shepherd therapy dog, running free within his fence along with another German Shepherd. Police fired at Vinny, firing 3 times with one bullet hitting him in the back of his neck.

Family Raided by SWAT and their Dog Shot, for Being Unable to Pay Utility Bill. Nothing says Police State USAquite like a SWAT team raiding a family home and killing their dog because they are unable to pay their natural gas bill.

Officers Open Fire on Small Dog as it Runs Away From Them, Shoot it to Death. The argument escalated and one of theneighbors threatened to fight the other. At that point it is believed that a nearby witness called the police to calm theneighbors down. But when police arrived, the situation escalated far more than anyone could have predicted. [...]Unfortunately, however, a small dog was outside while the SWAT officers had their guns drawn. In the video, the small dogcan be seen literally running away from the SWAT team, posing no threat at all, when the SWAT team opened fire and shot thedog to death.

How often do SWAT teams kill dogs during their raid. I googled it and found more than I could possibly count. One poster said "If you don't want your dog shot, then don't call the police."

Dog shot dead by SWAT team during alleged dispute over neighborhood dog waste. A SWAT team sent to handle analleged neighborhood dispute over dog waste ended up killing the dog, and igniting a firestorm of criticism against the localpolice force. In dramatic video capturing the end of Saturday's hours-long standoff involving Racine, Wisc. police, asmall dog is seen being shot dead by a line of approaching officers moments after set loose.

St. Louis County SWAT Team Killed Family Dog Over Code Violation, Suit Says. On Tuesday [6/2/2015], a South Countywoman filed a federal lawsuit that dog lovers should read with caution— the allegations are pretty disturbing.In the lawsuit, Angela Zorich claims that St. Louis County Police tactical officers— aka the department's SWATteam— raided her house in April 2014 and killed Kiya, her four-year-old pit bull.

Officerfatally shoots woman, dog at end of high-speed chase. Police in El Cajon said an officer has fatally shot awoman and a dog in a stolen car after the driver tried to run over the officer.

Mystery shrouds shooting of cop outside Atlanta. A police officer was shot and critically wounded Monday when heresponded to a call of a suspicious person and showedup at the wrong house, authorities said. The homeowner was alsoshot in the leg and his dog was killed in what DeKalb County police Chief Cedric Alexander is calling a complicated shooting.

Why are police shooting so many family dogs? A rash of animal shootings by police officers nationwidehas law-enforcement agencies running for cover amid growing public outrage that could force statelegislatures to require greater accountability from men and women in uniform. Police in Utah shot afamily's dog while searching for a lost boy, prompting hundreds of pet owners to protest June28 infront of the Salt Lake City Police Department headquarters. They carried signs demanding "justicefor Geist," a 110-pound Weimaraner shot by a city cop within the dog's fenced-in back yard. The"missing" boy was later found sleeping in his home.

Utah rally: End police shootings of dogs. To the Guerreros, dogs are part of the family.So on Saturday [10/25/2014], the family— mother, two daughters, a grandson, a granddaughter, agreat-grandson and a few four-legged members of the clan— joined a rally on the steps of the UtahCapitol calling for an end to police shooting dogs. They hope their show of force, along withabout 50other people and a dozen canines who joined the rally, will lead to change. "It showsthem we're not going to let it go," Wendi Guerrero said of the campaign to change how police reactwhen they encounter a family pet.

Dog owners dispute officer's account of shooting pit bull to death. Video of a Cleburnecouple's dog being shot to death is making the rounds on Facebook, and Cleburne police say one oftheir officers pulled the trigger. The department also says the short, edited video clip of thedog being killed doesn't give the full picture of what happened and why the officer fired hisweapon. The video was captured by the officer's body cam.

The militarization of America's police. [Scroll down] Perhaps the most common victimof police militarization is the family dog. About 250 to 300 cop-shoots-dog cases are now recordedin the U.S. media every year, according to Randall Lockwood of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and he estimates that another 1,000 aren't reported. Some of the shot dogs are dangerous breeds trained to attack, but many are family pets that simply get excited and fearful during raids and bark at police officers. The dead dogs include such breeds as Chihuahuas and golden retrievers, and even a miniature dachshund that made the mistake of growling at a police officer during one SWAT operation. "These guys think that the only solution to a dog that's yapping or charging is shooting and killing it," says former Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper. "It goes with the notion that police officers have to control every situation."

Family allegedly forced from home by police files rare Third Amendment suit. According to the complaint, it all began when the Henderson city police called Anthony Mitchell that morning to say they needed his house to gain "tactical advantage" in a domestic violence investigation in the neighborhood. The situation turned ugly when Mitchell refused repeated requests to leave and police smashed through the door, the 18-page complaint states. Mitchell alleges the police, upon entering his home, forced him to the floor at gunpoint, then shot him and his "cowering" dog with a few rounds of pepper-spray pellets.

Uphold the ThirdAmendment. [Scroll down] Now we see another Third Amendment case, from Henderson, Nev., in which the plaintiffs, theMitchell family, claim that Henderson police seized their home— battering the door open with a battering ram— so as to secure an advantageous position in addressing a domestic violence report involving a neighboring house. The police were quite rude— calling the inhabitants "a•••••••s" and shooting both Anthony Mitchell and his dog with a pepper-ball gun— before setting up a lookout post in the house. Should the Third Amendment have something to say about this?

Woman issued citation by authorities for Facebook comment. Christine Adamski said she wassurprised last week when she received a citation in the mail for a comment she made on Facebook,but she also knew immediately she wasn't going to pay it. Adamski, 25, opened the $50 ticket fromthe Will County Forest Preserve District last week and read the letter alleging she had used a dogpark without a proper permit. The citation arrived at her Bolingbrook home with a letterexplaining the ticket, an application for a dog park permit as well as a copy of her social mediapost "admitting her guilt." "I laughed," Adamski said Thursday. "I was like, this is totally untrue. Obviously I'm not going to pay this."

Wrong house. Sorry about the dog.
St. Paul Cops Shoot Dog in Wrong-Door Raid, Force Handcuffed Kids to Sit Near the Corpse. A St. Paul, Minnesota family claims in a lawsuit that police officers who conducted a wrong-door raid on their home shot their dog, and then forced their three handcuffed children to sit near the dead pet while officers ransacked the home. The lawsuit, which names Ramsey County, the Dakota County Drug Task Force, and the DEA, and asks for $30million in civil rights violations and punitive damages after a wrong-door raid, also claims that the officers kicked the children and deprived one of them of her diabetes medication. The suit also alleges that one of the lead officers with the task force "provided false information" in order to get a warrant to raid the Franco family's home.

Family questions SWAT drug search that led to dog's death. SWAT team breaks into home, fires seven rounds at family's pit bull and corgi (?!) as a seven-year-old looks on. They found a "small amount" of marijuana, enough for a misdemeanor charge. The parents were then charged with child endangerment.So smoking pot = "child endangerment." Storming a home with guns, then firing bullets into the family pets as a child looks on = necessary police procedures to ensure everyone's safety.
Synopsis provided by Reason.com.

Austin Police Officer Fatally Shoots Dog After Going To Wrong Address. An Austin police officer fatally shoots a dog after showing up at the wrong address for a domestic violence call.

Buffalo Woman Says Police Raided Wrong House, Killed Her Dog. Prada was 5-years-old at the time. The black Labrador Retriever became more than a pet, but a part of [Rita] Hairston's family. A companion. Last Saturday morning, she returned to her E. Morris Ave. house in University Heights in Buffalo and discovered her home had been broken into and Prada was missing. There was a puddle of blood on the floor and bullet holes in the door of a bedroom where Prada slept. But it was not a burglar who brokein. Hairston found a search warrant, signed by a judge, issued to the Erie County Sheriff's Department, on her kitchen floor.

Police Shot Dog in Apparent Raid at Wrong Apartment. Buffalo police are investigating a Breckenridge St. man's claims that police killed his dog when they mistakenly raided his apartment while executing a search warrant. Adam Arroyo wants police to apologize for the death of his pit bull Cindy, which was chained inside the kitchen during a raid on his home Monday [6/3/2013].

They Always Shoot the Dog.A cop on a paramilitary drug raid decided to cut across the lawn at an adjacent home. The homeowner's watchdogs did exactly what they're supposed to do when an uninvited guest trespasses on the property. They attacked. So the cop shot 'em. One thing I've noticed while picking through the depressingly longlist of botched drug raids: The cops always shoot the dog.

N. Texas deputy accused of shooting man's dog to death gets fired. A Rains County, TX sheriff's deputy accused of shooting and killing a farmer's dog for no reason has been fired, officials with the county sheriff's office confirmed Thursday. The deputy argued that the dog, Candy, threatened his safety. Candy's owner, Cole Middleton, is a third generation dairy farmer. After Candy died, Middleton began a campaign on Facebook that is getting national attention and said she was killed for no good reason.

300-lb. probation officer shoots woman's 12-pound dog in Albany. A probation officer in Southwest Georgia fatally shot a woman's 12-pound dog while on a routine visit Monday, an act the dog's owner claimed was unnecessary. Cherrie Shelton's dog Patches, a two-year-old Jack Russell Terrier, approached officerAntoine Jones as he arrived at her home, she told FOX31 in Albany. Before Shelton, of Albany, could finish telling the officer the dog wouldn't bite, he had pulled out his gun and shot the dog.

Police Serve Warrrantat Wrong House, Shoot Their Dog, Now Refuse to Pay Vet Bills. The City of Leander, Texas is refusing to pay the medical bills for a German Shepherd dog that was shot when police served a warrant at the wrong address. An officer shot "Vinny" in June, putting the dog in thehospital with $1,500 in medical bills. Luckily he survived and is recovering, but the city is denying the claim against them. Thefamily is planning to sue.