After NDAA Amendment, Indefinite Detention of Americans Still the Law

From The New American Magazine by Joe Wolverton, II

In a shameful display of disregard for the Constitution and for liberty, on Friday, the House of Representatives voted to perpetuate the president’s power to indefinitely detain American citizens.

By a vote of 238-182, members of Congress rejected the amendment offered by Representatives Adam Smith (D-Washington) and Justin Amash (R-Michigan) (left and right, respectively in photo montage at left) that would have repealed the indefinite detention provision passed overwhelmingly last year as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2012.

The Fiscal Year 2013 NDAA retains the indefinite detention provisions, as well as the section permitting prisoners to be transferred from civilian jurisdiction to the custody of the military.

“The frightening thing here is that the government is claiming the power under the Afghanistan authorization for use of military force as a justification for entering American homes to grab people, indefinitely detain them and not give them a charge or trial,” Representative Amash said during House debate.

Debate on the Smith-Amash Amendment, as well as about 140 others began in the early, pre-dawn hours Friday morning.

In his impassioned speech supporting his amendment, Representative Smith reminded his colleagues that the NDAA granted to the president “extraordinary” powers and divested the American people of key civil liberties, as well as divesting civilian courts of their constitutional jurisdiction.

Smith pointed out that there was no need to transfer suspects into military custody as “hundreds” of terrorists have been tried in federal courts since the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Congressmen — Republicans and Democrats — were not persuaded and they voted against Smith-Amash.

Another amendment offered by Representatives Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), Jeff Landry (R-Louisiana), and Scott Rigell (R-Virginia) passed by a vote of 243-173. The Gohmert Amendment (House Amendment 1126) states that the NDAA will not “deny the writ of habeas corpus or deny any Constitutional rights for persons detained in the United States under the AUMF who are entitled to such rights.”

Again, this amendment is yet another indefensible use of vague language that would make it vulnerable to challenge in any court in any state in the Union, but somehow adds to its appeal among the Republicans in Congress.

Smith and those supporting his amendment claimed that Gohmert’s Amendment was unnecessary as it does nothing of any value other than restate what is already settled law: viz., that Americans have the right to a ask for a writ of habeas corpus.

Smith called Gohmert’s amendment “a smokescreen,” arguing that “It doesn’t protect any rights whatsoever.”

But supporters of indefinite detention suggested that the Smith-Amash amendment would incentivize terrorists to come to the United States, because they would receive more rights on U.S. soil than outside the country.

In response to these allegations, Gohmert said that terrorists “supported” Smith’s amendment.

Another influential Republican added to Gohmert’s misrepresentation of the Smith-Amash Amendment:

“We cannot look to guarantee those who seek to harm the U.S. the constitutional rights granted to Americans,” said Rep. Allen West(R-Florida). “If we extend that to them, this war on terror, now it’s a criminal action.”

The real crime is that Allen West and so many of his fellow Republican lawmakers have betrayed not only the Constitution, but their oaths of office to “preserve, protect, and defend” it from all enemies.

Of course, one can hardly expect 243 members of Congress to vote to declare themselves enemies of the Republic as to do such might expose them to arrest and indefinite detention per the terms of the NDAA passed by such a large majority.

It is remarkable that so many on the Right have promoted this hostile and open assault on the Constitution and freedom. Take for example this opinion posted by the Heritage Foundation on its website:

The Smith–Amash amendment would force the government to send any al-Qaeda member captured in the United States directly to federal court. If this amendment becomes law, it would limit a President’s flexibility and take off the table lawful military detention and lawful interrogation for intelligence purposes. For these and other reasons, the proposal is unwise.

Despite over-the-top claims to the contrary, last year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) does not impact the conditions under which a U.S. citizen may (or may not) be detained. In fact, section 1021 of the NDAA is explicit: The law regarding how U.S. citizens are handled, including the right to habeas corpus, is the same today as it was the day before it was passed.

Describing as “over-the-top” the claim that the NDAA authorizes the indefinite detention of American citizens is both irresponsible and inaccurate.

One would reasonably expect the scholars at the Heritage Foundation to have a bit of a better grip on the nuance of language used in the NDAA.

Perhaps these experts should read the words of Section 1021 more closely. This provision says that the military is not “required” to detain American citizens. That is hardly the same as saying that the military is “forbidden” from detaining American citizens.

Congress is full of attorneys who know the importance of specificity of language. They know that vagary in language is contrary to good law. In fact, innumerable laws are struck down by courts for being too vague.

The point is: if these men and women in Congress, so many of whom are trained in the law, meant to forbid the military from arresting and detaining American citizens, then it could have done so. They chose not to. They chose to leave that option open.

More importantly, these key terms so ill-defined that they are ripe for the wresting and within the penumbras of these cleverly crafted provisions could be found lurking the tools of tyranny. Wrenches that one day could force anyone branded as an enemy into a predetermined “terrorist” slot.

It is apropos to recall the timely words written by James Madison in a letter writing to Thomas Jefferson in 1798:

“It is a universal truth that the loss of liberty at home is to be charged to the provisions against danger, real or pretended, from abroad.”

Representative Gohmert, Representative Allen West, the Heritage Foundation and others are likely unaware that they are the very fulfillment of Madison’s observation-cum-prophecy.

Each of these freedom-phobes invoked the specter of terror (in one way or another: “terrorist,” “al-Qaeda,” “enemies”) to justify the abolition of constitutionally guaranteed civil liberties.

Seemingly, those promoting these provisions would offer Americans as sacrifices on the altar of safety, the fires of which are fed by the kindling of the Constitution.

Despite the denigrating description offered by the Heritage Foundation, what the Smith-Amash Amendment actually did was identify and attempt to close two very large gaps still present in the  2013 NDAA.

First, the Smith-Amash Amendment explicitly forbids the indefinite detention of suspects, as well as the conducting of the trials of such suspects before military tribunals. The language in this amendment makes it clear that any individual arrested in the United States on charges stemming from the NDAA or the AUMF would be tried in a civilian court and be afforded the complete catalog of constitutional protections.

Second, the Smith-Amash Amendment would have absolutely repealed that section of the NDAA which provides that foreigners suspected of committing terrorist acts be held in military custody, unless they have been granted a specific waiver from the President.

Likely, it is that commendable clarity of language and intent that doomed the amendment from the beginning.

Ron Paul, Republican Presidential hopeful and Congressman from Texas, made a rare appearance on the floor of the House to voice his support for the Smith-Amash Amendment:

“I do not believe a republic can exist if you permit the military to arrest American citizens and put them in secret prisons and be denied a trial,” Paul said.

Apart from his work as a journalist, Joe Wolverton, II is a professor of American Government at Chattanooga State and was a practicing attorney until 2009. He lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Since 2000, Joe has been a featured contributor to The New American magazine. Most recently, he has written a cover story article on the Tea Party movement, as well as a five-part series on the unconstitutionality of Obamacare.

‘El Loco’ Arrested After 49 Beheaded Bodies Found Along Mexican Highway

From ABC News by Randy Kreider, May 21, 2012

Authorities have arrested an alleged Zetas drug cartel leader nicknamed “El Loco,” AKA the Fool or the Crazy One, on charges that he dumped 49 headless bodies on a highway outside Monterrey, Mexico.

‘El Loco’ Arrested After 49 Beheaded

When the Mexican Army came to arrest Daniel Elizondo Jesus Ramirez, say authorities, Ramirez attempted to elude capture by shooting at troops and throwing a fragmentation grenade. Zetas commanders nicknamed The Shrimp and The Speaker have also been linked to the body dump, but officials have not yet apprehended them.

The mutilated bodies of 43 men and six women were found near Cadereyta, Mexico on May 13. Though the condition of the bodies made it difficult to identify any of them, some physical features and tattoos indicated that they may have been migrants from southern Mexico and Central America.

A graphic seven-minute video posted on the web last week allegedly showed gunmen dumping the bodies, and then flourishing a “narcobanner” “signed” by El Loco and two other alleged Zetas commanders.

The banner warned that the same fate would befall members of rival cartels, the police and the military. The video is still available on-line, though a version that was posted on YouTube has been removed. The first version that appeared on YouTube was posted by someone who claimed to be a Zeta.

After the bodies were discovered in Cadereyta, the Zetas posted new “narcobanners” throughout Northern Mexico condemning the murders, but Mexican officials claimed they had only done so to create confusion about responsibility for the deaths.

The Zetas, who dominate much of eastern and northern Mexico, are battling the Gulf cartel and the Sinaloa cartel for dominance in Nuevo Leon and other Mexican states. Founded by former members of the Mexican military, the Zetas have a reputation for violence.

During a press conference in Mexico City, Brig. General Edgar Ruiz Villegas Melendez alleged that “El Loco” had been told to dump the bodies in the town square of Cadereyta but instead chose to dump them on a nearby highway. Villegas claimed that Ramirez, who was arrested Sunday, had confessed to dumping the corpses and said he’d done so on the orders of Zeta leaders.

El Loco is also a suspect in the kidnapping, murder and dismembering of two women last year, one of them the girlfriend of an Army lieutenant. He was mistakenly reported killed during an operation to apprehend the alleged kidnapers. He sent a taunting message to the Mexican media that said, “I’m still alive … El Loco of the Zetas.”

Law Enforcement Use of Drones Raises Privacy Concerns

By Catherine Herridge FoxNews.com, May 14, 2012

 

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 began to explain the rules of the sky for these newly licensed drones at potentially dozens of sites across the country. The agency, on its website, said that government “entities” will have to obtain a special certificate in order to fly the aircraft, adding that the FAA is “streamlining the process for public agencies to safely fly (drones) in the nation’s airspace.”

In doing so, the government is taking a tool that has become synonymous with U.S. counterterror warfare in countries like Pakistan and Yemen — and putting it in the hands of U.S. law enforcement. 

Unlike some of the drones used overseas, these will not be equipped with missiles. They are to be used purely for surveillance. But that alone has raised serious privacy concerns on Capitol Hill and beyond.

“Our Founding Fathers had no idea that there would be remote-control drones with television monitors that can feed back live data instantaneously — but if they had, they would have made darn sure … that these things were subject to the Fourth Amendment (protecting individual privacy),” Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, told Fox News.

Drones have already been employed domestically. In what was described as the first case where an unmanned drone was used to arrest an American citizen on U.S. soil, a North Dakota SWAT team reportedly borrowed a Department of Homeland Security drone to monitor Rodney Brossart — who was involved in a 16-hour standoff at his North Dakota farm over six cattle that had wandered onto his property and which he claimed as his own. The SWAT team apparently used the drone to make sure it was safe to arrest him, though his lawyer has since claimed Brossart was subjected to guerrilla-like police tactics and had his constitutional rights violated.

Advocates, though, say the drones are a force-multiplier for local cops.

“They’re not going to be used for constant surveillance — typically they can stay in the air for about 30 minutes, so they’re only going to be used for specific missions,” said Gretchen West, executive vice president of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International.

She said the drones would help law enforcement have “more eyes in the sky to help … assist them when they’re going into potentially volatile situations.”

Lawmakers like Barton say there are “legitimate uses” for drones on U.S. soil, but that strict privacy standards will be needed.

“It would be okay for a drone to be used in order to make sure that all the cattle on a ranch are identified on an ongoing basis. It’s okay … to survey a forest to make sure there are no forest fires. But it would not be okay if that individual who purchased the drone then decided ‘I think I’ll go and check and see what’s going on over in my neighbor’s backyard’,” Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said. “That would be wrong and that has to be protected against.”

Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst with the American Civil Liberties Union, agreed.

“We don’t want a situation where every time we walk out of our front door we have to look up and wonder whether some invisible eye in the sky is monitoring us, you know, constantly,” he said. “There are good uses for drones that everybody agrees with, but what we don’t’ want to see are drones used for constant, persistent, suspicion-less surveillance where we are all being watched for no particular reason.”

‘In Memory of Many, in Honor of All’: Law Enforcement Officers Honored at Cleveland Co., NC Memorial Service

From The Shelby Star Newspaper by Rebecca Clark, May 18, 2012

SHELBY — The uniformed officer held the blue carnation in his white gloves.

Brittany Randolph/The Star

Cleveland County Sheriff’s Deputy L. S. Ledbetter places a blue carnation to honor an officer who lost his life in the line of duty. Six officers were honored at the Cleveland County Law Enforcement Memorial Day service.

He placed the flower carefully in a wreath among the green leaves and scattering of small American flags and then solemnly saluted.

Each blue flower, six in all, represented a Cleveland County law enforcement officer who had been killed in the line of duty.

After each name was called and the carnations had been added to the wreath, a moment of silence followed under a dark sky.

Law enforcement officers from the N.C. Highway Patrol, Kings Mountain Police, Shelby Police and the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office along with city officials and community members, gathered in front of Shelby City Hall on Friday for the Cleveland County law enforcement memorial day.

Each year, the event is held in May during national police week and past and present law enforcement officers are honored.

The theme of the service is “In memory of many, in honor of all.”

During the ceremony, Sheriff Alan Norman presented a family member of one of the officers who had been killed with a red carnation and the honor guard performed the presentation of the colors.

Chaplain Glenn Davenport of the Shelby Police Department spoke about the increase in deaths of law enforcement officers over the years.

Last year, he said, there was a 13 percent increase nationally over the year before and a 42 percent increase over 2009.

“We need to remember these folks,” Davenport said.

He said it’s not only the officer who loses his or her life who suffers, but the husbands and wives and children, and “the law enforcement family,” who are left behind.

In 2011, there were 173 officers in the U.S. who died on the job, Davenport said.

“That’s not just a number, that’s a person,” he said.

Norman, Shelby Police Chief Jeff Ledford, Kings Mountain Police Chief Melvin Proctor and Highway Patrol First Sgt. Tony Luckadoo were each presented with a special memorial coin.

Cleveland County, NC Law Enforcement Officers Who have Died in the Line of Duty:

1901: Shelton Jones, City of Shelby Police Chief

1904: Edgar Hamrick, City of Shelby Police Chief

1931: Sanford Pruitt, Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office

1933: Ewart W. Sanders, Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office

1968: Donald Henderson, Kings Mountain Police Department

1974: George Allen, Cleveland County Deputy Sheriff

Drop George Zimmerman’s Murder Charge

By Alan Dershowitz / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS, May 18, 2012

A medical report by George Zimmerman’s doctor has disclosed that Zimmerman had a fractured nose, two black eyes, two lacerations on the back of his head and a back injury on the day after the fatal shooting. If this evidence turns out to be valid, the prosecutor will have no choice but to drop the second-degree murder charge against Zimmerman — if she wants to act ethically, lawfully and professionally.

State Attorney’s Office/AP

This Feb. 27, 2012 photo released by the State Attorney’s Office shows George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot Trayvon Martin, with blood on the back of his head. The photo and reports were among evidence released by prosecutors that also includes calls to police, video and numerous other documents.

There is, of course, no assurance that the special prosecutor handling the case, State Attorney Angela Corey, will do the right thing. Because until now, her actions have been anything but ethical, lawful and professional.

She was aware when she submitted an affidavit that it did not contain the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. She deliberately withheld evidence that supported Zimmerman’s claim of self-defense. The New York Times has reported that the police had “a full face picture” of Zimmerman, before paramedics treated him, that showed “a bloodied nose.” The prosecutor also had photographic evidence of bruises to the back of his head.

But none of this was included in any affidavit.

Now there is much more extensive medical evidence that would tend to support Zimmerman’s version of events. This version, if true, would establish self-defense even if Zimmerman had improperly followed, harassed and provoked Martin.

A defendant, under Florida law, loses his “stand your ground” defense if he provoked the encounter — but he retains traditional self-defense if he reasonably believed his life was in danger and his only recourse was to employ deadly force.

Thus, if Zimmerman verbally provoked Martin, but Martin then got on top of Zimmerman and banged his head into the ground, broke his nose, bloodied his eyes and persisted in attacking Zimmerman — and if Zimmerman couldn’t protect himself from further attack except by shooting Martin — he would have the right to do that. (The prosecution has already admitted that it has no evidence that Zimmerman started the actual fight.)

Facts Are Stubborn Things; Charges Should Never Have Been Filed!

Police Officers, Witnesses, and Evidence Back-Up George Zimmerman’s Version of Trayvon Martin Shooting

From www.abcnews.go.com by Matt Gutman and Seni Tienabeso, May 17, 2012

Two police reports written the night that George Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin said that Zimmerman had a bloody face and nose, according to police reports made public today.

The reports also note that two witness accounts appear to back up Zimmerman’s version of what happened when they describe a man on his back with another person wearing a hoodie straddling him and throwing punches.

It has been such a contentious case that even the evidence is being disputed.

The police report states that Trayvon Martin’s father told an investigator after listening to 911 tapes that captured a man’s voice frantically callling for help that it was not his son calling for help.

But Tracy Martin, Trayvon’s father, claims that is not true. The Martin family lawyer Ben Crump told ABC News that Tracy Martin initially listened to a distorted version of the 911 calls and said he could not identify the voice. But when he listened to a second tape that had been “cleaned,” “He immediately broke down in tears because he knew it was his son calling for help,” Crump said.

The new information is part of a trove of documents released by the Florida State Attorney today in the case against Zimmerman, who is charged with second degree murder for the Feb. 26 killing of Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old African American male.

Surveillance video of Martin in a store purchasing skittles right before the fatal incident was also released today.

Zimmerman, 28, is a multi-racial Hispanic man who volunteered for the neighborhood watch committee who claimed that he shot Martin in self-defense after the 6-foot tall, 160 pound teenager knocked him to the ground, banged his head against the ground and went for Zimmerman’s gun.

The documents start with a criticism of Zimmerman’s decision to follow the teenager, who Zimmerman said was looking suspicious.

“The encounter between George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin was ultimately avoidable by Zimmerman, if Zimmerman had remained in his vehicle and awaited the arrival of law enforcement,” an investigating officer wrote.

Zimmerman claims he got out of his vehicle to find a house number to let police know where he saw the allegedly suspicious person, and while returning to his car was knocked down by a punch in the nose and attacked by Martin.

Two police officers reported that when they arrived at the scene of the shooting, Zimmerman seemed to have a battered nose and bloodied face. One wrote that his “facial area was bloodied,” and the back of his clothing was soiled with wet grass.

“Zimmerman was also bleeding from the nose and the back of his head,” Officer Ricardo Ayala wrote.

Another officer wrote, “I saw that Zimmerman’s face was bloodied and it appeared to me that his nose was broken.”

Witnesses, whose names were redacted from the report, also lent support to Zimmerman’s version of what happened.

“He witnesses a black male, wearing a dark colored ‘hoodie’ on top of a white or Hispanic male and throwing punches ‘MMA (mixed martial arts) style,’” the police report of the witness said. “He then heard a pop. He stated that after hearing the pop, he observed the person he had previously observed on top of the other person (the male wearing the hoodie) laid out on the grass.”

A second witness described a person on the ground with another straddling him and throwing punches. The man on the bottom was yelling for help, the witness told police.

The documents state that Zimmerman can be heard yelling for help 14 times on a 911 call recorded during the fight.

Yet another witness described the confrontation in emotional terms.

The witness heard “someone yelling, almost crying. Then I heard a gunshot.” The witness wrote that he or she “saw a man on top of a guy laying on the ground. He was putting his hands on his neck or chest.”

The man asked the witness to call 911.

“He stood up and took a couple steps away and put his hands on his head and then walked back over to the guy on the ground. He looked at him for a minute, then started to walk away toward the road. That is when the police walked up,” the witness wrote.

The lead investigator on the case, Officer Christopher Serino, wrote that Zimmerman could be heard “yelling for help as he was being battered by Trayvon Martin.”

Martin’s death sparked public outrage after police released Zimmerman without any criminal charges for the killing. Zimmerman was later charged with second-degree murder, and the killing provoked widespread debate about racial profiling.

The autopsy also shows that Zimmerman shot Martin from a distance of between 1 inch and 18 inches away, bolstering Zimmerman’s claim that he shot Martin during a close struggle.

Martin’s autopsy report also revealed that there was a quarter-inch by half-inch abrasion on the left fourth finger of Martin, another indication of a possible struggle.

The teen, who lived in Miami, was in Sanford while serving a suspension for an empty marijuana bag discovered in his possession. Martin had THC, the drug found in marijuana, in his blood on the night of his death, according to the autopsy. His family told ABC News that it was “trace amounts” of THC.

Man Arrested in Connection with Mississippi Fatal Shootings

From Good Morning America (online) By KEVIN DOLAK, MICHAEL S. JAMES, CHRISTINA NG and PIERRE THOMAS

Authorities in Mississippi have arrested a suspect in the two fatal shootings last week during what authorities initially thought were phony police stops in the northern part of the state.

James D. Willie, 28, has been charged with two counts of capital murder in the shootings.

• 

  Man Arrested in Connection with Mississippi Fatal Shootings (ABC News)

Willie, who has an extensive criminal record, was arrested Tuesday on rape and aggravated-assault charges. Police allegedly found a Ruger 9mm, semi-automatic handgun in his possession during the arrest, which investigators determined to be a match of the weapon used in last week’s shootings.

State Department of Public Safety spokesman Warren Strain said the suspect had not posed as a police officer in the shootings as authorities previously suspected.

“Hundreds of man hours have been devoted to tracking down and arresting this individual,” Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said. “Public safety is of paramount concern to us. Just as a week ago, with the resolution of the kidnap-murder case in north Mississippi, again we see the effective results of a unified effort of several law enforcement agencies working together.”

Authorities were questioning another man as of late Thursday, who was being held in Humphreys County, Miss. The man, James Lucas, was merely “under investigation,” authorities said.

He was being questioned regarding a Wednesday night incident and was not charged with a crime, a Humphreys County sheriff’s official said.

Police could not say Thursday night whether that and another recent incident were related to last week’s fatal shootings. “We’re just going to say these are isolated incidents in our county and we’re going to deal with that first,” Sam Dobbins, an investigator with the Humphreys County Sheriff’s Office, said

But Dobbins added that other police agencies in the state, including the Mississippi Department of Investigation, also were investigating, apparently giving the case a broader scope.

At least one detail might not match those reported in the fatal shootings: Wednesday’s incidents involved a blue Mercury Grand Marquis, possibly the one Lucas was driving when he was pulled over around noon today in Yazoo City, Miss., according to ABC News affiliate WAPT in Jackson, Miss.

The fatal incidents, however, were believed to involve a gold-colored Ford Crown Victoria.

“The Bureau of Investigation and Crime Laboratory dedicated all resources available to this investigation,” Public Safety Commissioner Albert Santa Cruz said. “Our citizens have been terrorized by these murders and we worked tirelessly to resolve them.”

 

Drivers Told “Don’t Pull Over” by Police

The Humphreys County incidents occurred after Mississippi authorities urged drivers to question whether anyone pulling them over really was a police officer.

“We urge everyone to be cautious while driving, especially at night,” the Tate County Sheriff’s Office posted on its Facebook page. “If someone attempts to pull you over with flashing lights and you feel unsure of stopping, DON’T PULL OVER. Use your cell phone and dial 911 and if it’s a real officer then the dispatcher will confirm it for you and if it’s not a real officer they will send help to you.”

“Our deputies have been told not to overreact if someone does not immediately pull over,” the sheriff’s office wrote. “Your safety is our primary concern.”

Two drivers were killed on northern Mississippi highways within days of each other and investigators in multiple counties and federal officials were working to find out who may be behind the killings.

One driver, Tom Schlender, 74, from Nebraska, was found in his car on Interstate 55 in Panola County on May 8 about 1:30 a.m. Three days later, Lori Carswell, 48, from Mississippi, was found near her car on Mississippi Highway 713 in nearby Tunica County about 2:15 a.m.

The recent cases occurred along U.S. 49 in Humphreys County, which is in central Mississippi, between 9 p.m. and midnight Wednesday night.

“We received some calls last night for a blue car similar to a police car, a Mercury Grand Marquis, that attempted to stop two vehicles,” Dobbins said.

Although Dobbins believed the person in the Grand Marquis approached the victims’ cars in plain clothes, the suspicious car’s occupant evidently made indications his was an official vehicle.

“He displayed flashing blue lights, yes he did,” Dobbins said. “That’s what we call impersonating a police officer.” Both pulled-over drivers grew suspicious and sped off toward Yazoo City in neighboring Yazoo County, where Lucas and the car later were found being brought back to Humphreys County.

One of the two victims grew frightened and fired a gun when he saw the Grand Marquis following him, Dobbins said. Later, one of the victims identified the seized car as the one involved in the highway stop, Dobbins added.

Dobbins would not comment on whether or not Lucas or the occupant of the Grand Marquis displayed a weapon.

Former Houston, TX Officer Acquitted

From The Associated Press by Juan A. Lozano, May 17, 2012

HOUSTON (AP) — A jury’s acquittal Wednesday of a former Houston police officer in the alleged beating of a 15-year-old burglary suspect during a videotaped arrest upset black community leaders who criticized the verdict as unjust and racist.

Former Houston police officer Andrew Blomberg reacts to being found innocent of the charge of official oppression. HC

Andrew Blomberg, 29, was the first of four fired police officers to stand trial for their roles in the alleged beating of Chad Holley during a daylight arrest on March 2010. The incident involving the black teen, now 18, prompted fierce public criticism of the Police Department by community activists who called it another example of police brutality against minorities.

Blomberg fought back tears after the verdict was read, then hugged his attorneys and started to cry as he embraced his parents. He could have faced up to a year in jail if convicted of official oppression, a misdemeanor that alleged Blomberg as a public servant intentionally mistreated Holley by kicking him.

“This is the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do in my entire life,” Blomberg said, referring to being a police officer. “And I’m just glad this part is finally over.”

He said he will “take a deep breath” before deciding whether to pursue another job in law enforcement.

During his trial, Blomberg, who is white, testified that he didn’t mistreat Holley and denied kicking or stomping on the teen’s head or neck. He said he only used his foot to move Holley’s arm after he refused to comply with an order to put his hands behind his back.

Jurors declined to comment after the verdict.

Community activists who were gathered in the hallway outside the courtroom yelled “Racism!” and “Injustice!” after hearing the outcome.

“It is pathetic. It is unacceptable,” the Rev. James Dixon of the Community of Faith Church said of the jury’s decision. “This kind of expression says to me, to my children and to every black child in the city, ‘Your life is not worth manure.’”

Quanell X, the community activist who had released the video of the alleged beating to the media, called the verdict “wrong” and criticized the lack of blacks or other minorities on the six-person jury.

“They knew what they were doing with an all-white jury,” he said.

Blomberg denied that his actions during the arrest were racially motivated. To those who insist Holley was treated a certain way because of his race, Blomberg said, “They weren’t out there that day.”

His attorney, Dick DeGuerin, also said “it is not and was not a racial thing.”

“It’s been made into that by others for their own reasons,” he said.

Asked why there weren’t any blacks or minorities on the jury, DeGuerin said most of the African-Americans in the jury pool had already made up their minds that Blomberg was guilty.

Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos said while she respectfully disagreed with the jury’s decision, she also accepted it.

“Our prosecutors conducted themselves with professionalism and dedication to the pursuit of justice. We are prepared to go to trial on the remaining three cases,” she said in a statement.

The other officers also are charged with official oppression. Two of them face another misdemeanor as well: violating the civil rights of a prisoner. Their trial dates have not been set.

“They will never again be Houston police officers whatever the verdict is in the criminal trial,” said Houston Mayor Annise Parker, who disagreed with the verdict.

Holley testified that he didn’t resist arrest and that he briefly lost consciousness during the incident with the officers.

At trial, Blomberg’s attorneys told jurors he was next to Holley for less than four seconds before running off to help another officer. The defense also pointed out that Blomberg was accused of kicking Holley on the left side of his head but that photos presented at trial showed the teen’s injuries were on the right side of his head.

In the video footage from a security camera, which jurors were shown in court, Holley is seen falling to the ground after trying to hurdle a police squad car. He’s then surrounded by at least five officers, some who appear to kick and hit his head, abdomen and legs.

Prosecutors told jurors Blomberg kicked Holley several times and Houston Police Chief Charles McClelland Jr. testified that he believed Blomberg kicked and stomped on the teen.

Defense attorneys countered he was only trying to secure a potentially armed suspect. Several officers testified supporting Blomberg’s claim that Holley was resisting arrest.

Blomberg and the officers told jurors that before arresting Holley, they had been told the teen and several other suspects were potentially armed and dangerous participants in a series of bold daytime burglaries.

The defense tried to portray Holley as a gang member and Blomberg told jurors he thought at the time of the arrest the teen might have been in a gang. Holley denied being a gang member.

Holley was convicted of burglary in juvenile court in October 2010 and placed on probation.

A federal lawsuit Holley filed against Blomberg, the other fired officers and the city of Houston is pending.

Off-Duty Railroad Detective Shot 28 Times by Chicago Officers is Sentenced to 40 Years in Prison

From www.thegrio.com and The Huffington Post, April 30, 2012

Howard Morgan, a Detective for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, was off-duty when he was pulled over by four white Chicago Officers for driving the wrong way on a one-way street in February. Morgan and the Chicago Police disagree about the altercation that followed, which left the former officer with 28 gun shot wounds. The Huffington Post reports on the story:

Morgan was off-duty as a Detective for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad when he was pulled over for driving the wrong way on a one-way street on Feb 21, 2005, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. While both police and Morgan agree on that much, what happened next is a mystery.

According to police, Morgan opened fire with his service weapon when officers tried to arrest him, which caused them to shoot him 28 times. His family, however, very much doubts those claims.

“Four white officers and one black Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad police man with his weapon on him — around the corner from our home — and he just decided to go crazy? No. That’s ludicrous,” Morgan’s wife, Rosalind Morgan, told the Sun-Times.

She was not the only person to doubt CPD’s side of the story. A Change.org petition signed by more than 2,600 people called for all charges against Morgan to be dropped, and now Occupy Chicago is getting involved.

“After being left for dead, he survived and was then charged with attempted murder of the four white officers who brutalized him,” Occupy wrote on their website, adding that Morgan was found not guilty on three counts, including discharging his weapon. The same jury that cleared him of opening fire on the officers, however, deadlocked on a charge of attempted murder — and another jury found him guilty in January.

That jury was not allowed to hear that Morgan had been acquitted of the other charges.

Protesters and Morgan’s family say the second trial amounted to double jeopardy, and claim officers have gone to great lengths to obstruct justice in the case:

Howard Morgan’s van was crushed and destroyed without notice or cause before any forensic investigation could be done.

Howard Morgan was never tested for gun residue to confirm if he even fired a weapon on the morning in question.

The State never produced the actual bullet proof vest worn by one of the officers who claimed to have allegedly taken a shot directly into the vest on the morning in question. The State only produced a replica.

“If they can do this and eliminate double jeopardy and your constitutional rights, then my God, I fear for every Afro-American — whether they be male or female — in this corrupt unjust system,” Morgan’s wife told the Sun-Times.

Howard Morgan will be sentenced Thursday. He faces 80 years in prison.

Update: Morgan was sentenced Thursday to serve 40 years in prison, essentially a life sentence.

To learn more about Howard Morgan’s case, visit FreeHowardMorgan.com.

33 Year-Old Tennessee Man Fathers 30 Children by 11 Different Women, Wants Taxpayers to Pay for Them

From www.thegrio.com, May 16, 2012

Desmond Hatchett of Tennessee is pleading with the state to help him pay for child support he simply cannot afford. Hatchett, 33, has 11 different “baby mamas” and the state of Tennessee says there is nothing that they can do to limit him from having more children. WGCI has the story:

“I had four kids in the same year. Twice.” Desmond Hatchett said in an interview. He’s been begging for help from the state of Tennessee because he can’t afford the child support for all these kids! The children range in age from toddlers to 14 years old. There are at least 11 baby mamas; probably several more. Constitutionally, there is nothing the state of Tennessee can do to limit him from having more kids.

The last time he was in court he had 21 kids and his name appeared on the docket 11 times, this was back in 2009. If my math is correct, that means he’s had at least 9 MORE kids in the last 3 years!

Hatchett spent some time in jail back in 2009 while a child support referee decided how to split up the $400 he brought to court. $400! lol At the time, if he didn’t pay what he owed, he would go back to jail because he’s on an automatic jail order.