America has places that resemble police states, but most Americans don’t notice, because these conditions — a mix of KGB-style surveillance and third world-style tinpot tyranny — mostly exist in poor minority neighborhoods. Places that middle class Americans don’t visit, do[...]
Posts Tagged ‘Police Abuse’
September 9th, 2014 - 8:27 am § in Misc.
America’s corrupt small towns and their predatory shakedown rackets
Are you leery of small town cops? For many people, the phrase provokes nervous jitters about speed traps, police harassment, etc. When Michael Brown was gunned down by a Ferguson cop last month, he was in all likelihood walking away from a jaywalking ticket. He probably got mouthy, and may have scuf[...]
September 8th, 2014 - 6:06 pm § in Misc.
Shot By A Tax Collector
Traffic fines are Ferguson, Missouri’s second-largest source of municipal revenue. Municipal court day features a white judge, a white prosecutor, and numerous black residents lined up to pay fines. “We’re just used to raise revenue,” said Patricia Bynes, a Democratic committeewoman for Fe[...]
September 6th, 2014 - 10:22 pm § in Politics
North Carolina GOP’s ‘Oops’ Moment
In 2010, the North Carolina GOP defeated a Democratic state legislator with a campaign flyer featuring mugshots of two black death row inmates and warning voters these “killers” might be “moving into your neighborhood sometime soon” because the legislator had “voted to [...]
September 5th, 2014 - 3:29 pm § in Misc.
Charlotte Police Arrest Black Activist For Distributing Leaflets At Rally
ThinkProgress reports that Charlotte police arrested a black activist for putting voting rights leaflets on parked cars at a public park where a Labor Day rally was being held. http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/09/02/3477768/police-arrest-young-black-politician-at-moral-mondays-rally/ Umm, c[...]
September 2nd, 2014 - 6:33 pm § in Uncategorized
Do They Still Beat Confessions From Murder Suspects In North Carolina?
“A North Carolina judge overturned the convictions Tuesday of two men who have served 30 years in prison for the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl after another man’s DNA was recently discovered on evidence in the case. Superior Court Judge Douglass Sasser ordered the immediate re[...]
September 1st, 2014 - 10:08 pm § in Misc.
When cops shake down citizens
Forfeiture laws are meant to deprive criminals of the instruments and proceeds of crime. This may look great on paper, but without adequate safeguards, these laws create conflicts of interest that encourage misuse of the law and can lead to corruption and oppression. The latest example of this com[...]
August 26th, 2014 - 3:10 pm § in Uncategorized
Why St. Louis Has A Cop Problem
When citizens are more afraid of police than criminals, you’ve got a problem. Everyone now knows St. Louis cops shoot black people with sickening callousness, but the reasons aren’t well understood by people who don’t live there, hence this article. Other cities, of course, also [...]
Rules for not getting shot by police if you’re black (courtesy of Daily Kos)
1. Do exactly what the police tell you to do but don’t do it too fast or too slow. 2. Whatever you’re carrying is a weapon. 3. If you do not have anything in your hand then you must also realize that your hand is also a lethal weapon. 4. If you are asked to […][...]