UC Davis Pepper Spray Noncharges

Remember the Occupy UC Davis incident where the police used industrial strength pepper spray (the same product that Megyn Kelly of Fox News described as "essentially a food product"). Judge for yourself, the original incident is below:



I saw this bizarre line in a Washington Post news article reporting the noncharges.

"In reaching their conclusion, prosecutors said they relied on facts included in the task force’s report. Among them was the finding that the officers perceived they were dealing with a hostile mob and needed to spray the protesters to clear a path to safety." (emphasis mine)

They're saying protestors peacefully sitting-in (resisting arrest but not fighting back) are considered a "hostile mob". This vocabulary would make George Orwell proud.

Having unindicted criminals in uniform degrades their colleagues who are on the level & it makes it 20x harder for those officers to simply do their job. Why would anyone cooperate w/ the "good" cops when they've experienced so many instances with the "bad" cops? You're seeing this already w/ the backlash over the NYPD's controversial "Stop & Frisk" policy.

Such impunity stiffles free speech in a different way. Being in a holding cell is like aversion therapy, it gives you PLENTY of time to think. You start going over all the events that lead you there, how stupid you were, & start blaming yourself (even if you did everything you could to avoid it). It sends the message that if you dare to stand up for your rights or even come close to anyone exercising theirs, this is the treatment you can expect.

This means the police have COMPLETE impunity to do what they want & when they want & those investigating after-the-fact will take everything they say at face value.

Regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum we should ALL be worried about this mentality.


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The shot below is of Sarah & Breanna, two buds simply being themselves.



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Gold and Police Cars

I noticed something that raised my eyebrows.

My local paper on 11 April reported about a case where the Warren County Sheriff's office (along w/ the Feds) seized over $2 million as part of a illegal drug plea deal. The article is below:

http://poststar.com/news/local/million-in-gold-bars-unearthed-in-queensbury-as-part-of/article_86388450-8414-11e1-ab40-001a4bcf887a.html

Not even 48 hours later, that same daily is reporting how that same sheriff's department is reporting a "crisis" over a lack of available patrol cars. That article is below:

http://poststar.com/news/local/lack-of-available-sheriff-s-cars-called-a-crisis/article_7c4c0cfc-85a7-11e1-b2a0-0019bb2963f4.html

I find it funny (or maybe sad) how the Sheriff's department is just now reporting they're in desperate need of more patrol vehicles at the EXACT moment, they're expecting to receive a financial windfall.

Ok, maybe that doesn't surprise me.

Yet in an era of enhanced concern over public expenditures, I'm outraged that the department (& the board that approves such expenditures) is willing to go spend that money before they even receive it.


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This is Burgandy, a helluva muralist in her own right. The Art Studio major in me is VERY jealous that she's able to have her craft pay her bills. But at the same time, I know that isn't for me. I jokingly attribute that to my the ornery Marine in me & my inability to blow smoke up people's rear when they solicit my opinion. =)

At the time this was shot, I had zero clue how this would turn out. The extreme lights & the extreme darks forced me to completely wing it. I'm pleased w/ how it all turned out.



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Tasers and Police Brutality

I live in a small community of 15,000 at most.

Seeing the questionable tactics used by law enforcement to disperse the Occupy Wall Street, one of the better examples is the Channel 4 news video of UC Davis' response to their Occupy protests as seen below:



 ...combined w/ a NYCLU report naming my own localities high use of tasers (aka "stun guns"), its made me question some things.

During the mid-late 90's while serving with the Marines, the use of "deadly force" was ingrained into each & everyone of us. It was seperated into two parts. Defining "deadly force" & explaining when it can be applied (while on post as a sentry). From my US Marine Guidebook (1999 edition)...

"Deadly force is defined as that force which a person uses with the purpose of causing-or which he knows or should reasonably know, would create substantial risk of causing-death or serious bodily harm. Deadly force is justified under conditions of extreme necessity and ONLY as a last resort when all lesser means have failed or cannot reasonably be employed." (emphasis mine)

Yes specific situations & environments will vary on the when, how, & why. But basically, one has to use all possible options BEFORE they pull that trigger.

So what explains the Glens Falls Police Department's high taser usage? Back in May 2010 why did they taser a guy who reportedly had no other weapon on him besides his fists? Could they not have TRIED calming him down before they shot him? If this is how they treat one of their "Brother Officers", I'd hate to see what they do their enemies (so to speak).

Why is it that reportedly 99 out of 150 tasering incidents involved people with no weapons on them?

Granted this incident happened with a sister police department, can they & in what manner do they justify using a taser on an animal?

I'm not remotely saying tasering people is always unjustified.

What I AM promoting is that the Glens Falls Police Department step forward & explain themselves to the public. Specifically their policies on A. when their officers can draw their weapon, B. when they can pull the trigger, C. why doing so is acceptable.

I WANT to sympathize with the tough jobs the Boys in Blue have (Lord knows there are A LOT of whackos) but without having any clue as to what they're thinking, it simply reads as the leadership is promoting a culture of trigger happy cops getting their jollies off on hurting people.

Edit: Another taser fatality this time by a NC Police Department under questionable circumstances.


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This is Vanessa. "She makes Zombie Killing Look Good!"

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Robbery Update

As a follow up to my blog regarding questions about the validity of a local purse snatching, the local paper is reporting that it was indeed a false report. It was to cover-up, of all things, a domestic assault case.

http://poststar.com/news/local/7cf4a21a-9e89-11df-a296-001cc4c03286.html

The irony is is that had they not bothered to report the robbery that never happened. They likely would not be looking at the domestic assault charge, among a host of other charges. Course I doubt they were thinking that far ahead.

Go figure.

Glad the Glens Falls Police Department figured it out. The city isn't crime ridden but they have enough to worry about without having to waste time investigating false allegations.

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This here is Vron. She's a total sweetie.



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