Corrupt Cops

[jaherbst]

It takes a particular type of personality, to be able to jump into a situation, and take charge in about two seconds...

Yes and that is not the type of personality I prefer. That particular personality has a need for control right or wrong and usually over reacts. SWAT teams to take someone barricaded in their own home accompanied by armored vehicles, 50 officers, stun bombs, military equipment etc. In most cases it ends in a useless death because of the "personality".



If you ever had to deal with them on a personal serious basis you may see it differently.

Jack

[hulksdaddy]

There's a real easy fix to this...

DON'T put yourself in the position of being suspected drug dealer...

After all; Necromongers get to keep, what they kill!

Loved that movie!

[Oldmanzues]

Yes and that is not the type of personality I prefer. That particular personality has a need for control right or wrong and usually over reacts. SWAT teams to take someone barricaded in their own home accompanied by armored vehicles, 50 officers, stun bombs, military equipment etc. In most cases it ends in a useless death because of the "personality".



If you ever had to deal with them on a personal serious basis you may see it differently.

Jack

I have.

Most LEO are decent, nice men and women doing a needed job. A few are bad. It is departments more the inviduals doing the sieze money deals. The just disaobeying a order you feel is wrong, is a lot easyer to say then do. Are you totaly right ? Can you be fired or jailed for not doing it. Are you willing to go homeless after you are fired or jailed. You get the idea.
Oldmanzues

[mtdoragary]

There's corruption in everything. It's human nature. The large majority of LEO's are dedicated honest professionals. If you REALLY want to see large-scale corruption, look to unions and government!

[Oldmanzues]

Interesting item on AOL, right now, Same subject
Oldmanzues

[Dan_Ashley]

Has anybody actually checked to see if this "secret and encrypted" forum is actually real?

Perhaps Bigfoot is the moderator!

I tried to find it. I failed.

[C3517C]

Wrong. As Spyder riders we come into contact with law enforcement types daily. This piece is a warning that all police are to be viewed with suspicion, especially on traffic stops.

Well there's the weak excuse I was certain was coming my way. "As Spyder riders we come into contact with law enforcement daily" ( so here's some highly insightful intelligence I've assembled to warn other Spyder riders about "corrupt cops"). Really, gee thanks.

Why not tell the truth, that would look like this. "I came across an article on the internet about why we should hate the police. Since I hate them also, I'll regurgitate it onto the internet to spread it around. Since I have no forum of my own, I'll slap it onto Spyderlovers and call it Corrupt Cops.

Well Thank You Sir for your investigative prowess, savvy legal skills, and shrewd intuition ! We'll all sleep better tonight knowing you are on the job to protect us from those sinister cops. I'm sure the local drug dealers will also be happy to know your out here doing their bidding, and keeping their business flowing without those cumbersome interruptions.

[Bob Denman]

...And that forum; hasn't been found...
Does it even exist??

So If I were to post something like, "There's a secret and encrypted forum, down near D.C.n and it's recruiting members to try and discredit Law Enforcement Officers everywhere"; what would you say about it?

[SPECTACUALR SPIDERMAN]

Don't condemn all police for the actions of a few but do deal with the few very harshly. Take their pensions, jail time,
fines equal to several years salary, permanent criminal record so as never to get another city or state job. If they
want to ruin our lives then that is what they deserve. If their union wants to defend them the let their union pay
the fines.

[robmorg]

...And that forum; hasn't been found...
Does it even exist??

Bob, you have to read the Washington Post article for the details. (That Verge story is just worthless hype.) The Black Asphalt website is associated with the Desert Snow project. The article says that the forum and database website was supported by a sheriff's office in Oklahoma. Apparently, the support function has recently been transferred to another sheriffs office - Kane County, Illinois. Membership is only open to law enforcement people for obvious reasons. ( You wouldn't want drug traffickers to have access to the database.) See the link in the upper right section of this page... https://blackasphalt.org

According to the Washington Post story, Desert Snow is a legitimate operation that has been providing criminal and terrorist interdiction training to local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies for almost 25 years.

[bikeguy]

Are there corrupt cops around? I'm sure there are but I'm sure that the vast majority are honest folks who do a good job trying to keep us safe from the folks who aren't so honest and trustworthy. I know that the LEO's that I'm personally aquainted with are all fine people. But, to me, that's not the point of this thread. The point is that laws exist that allow personal property to be confiscated without any charges whatsoever. I expect that most of us have read articles in our own local newspapers where money, cars, boats, airplanes, and even real property have been confiscated by law enforcement agencies and no charges were ever filed against those from whom the property was confiscated. All that was needed was the suspicion that drug related activity was involved. Note that I said the property was confiscated by law enforcement agencies, not individual officers. There's no corruption involved. The property does not enrich the officers involved though it may be used/sold by the agencies to pay for more enforcement efforts.

But there's no need for me to worry about this activity is there? After all, I don't use drugs, never have, never will, and certainly am not involved in manufacturing, growing, transporting or selling them. Why should I worry?

Well, how about this? I just checked my billfold and I had three one hundred dollar bills in it. I don't always have a hundred dollar bill, though I try to keep a couple in case I need them but there have been times when, as someone mentioned earlier, that I've carried quite a few. Like going to buy a used Ford Excursion from someone who wouldn't accept anything but cash. I carried 110 one hundred dollar bills. Just the fact that I was carrying $11,000 in cash makes me a drug suspect and subject to having the money confiscated but take it a step further. Druggies don't write many checks, they deal in cash. What's the chance that one of those hundred dollar bills has been in a drug dealer's possession? And what's the chance that a drug sniffing dog would smell some kind of drug on it? For that matter, what's the chance that one of the three I'm carrying right now has been in contact with drugs? I don't know what the odds are but even 10 to 1 is too big a chance and I think, at least where I live, that the chance is greater than that. I don't worry at all about corrupt police officers. I think there are very few of them but I am genuinely concerned about laws that allow property to be confiscated without legal charges.

Cotton

[SPECTACUALR SPIDERMAN]

Bikeguy, i agree with you but i do worry about bad cops, i have run into 2 in my 35 years of driving that have asked for bribes unfortunately it was when i was under 20 & at that age you don't press charges against a cop when it is
your word against his.
Nowadays i just run into the stupid ones every so often or the ones with the god complex. I do agree most are
good people, neighbors, friends & customers. i have one that has come to my store on call several times, i don't say
he is dirty but he is lazy and has a very serious attitude problem, enough so that i had to file a restraining order
against him stepping foot on my property except in emergency.
Every month we hear about on the news that someone who spent the last 20 or 30 years of their life in jail & dna
proves they are innocent. The arresting dt's usually have lied about circumstances surrounding the arrest and
interrogation. Those officers are the most heinous ones that can exist, to destroy someones life to protect the
mistakes they have made.
These cops are few and far between but they do exist and must be dealt with harshly when caught.

[missouriboy]

...Druggies don't write many checks, they deal in cash. What's the chance that one of (my) hundred dollar bills has been in a drug dealer's possession? And what's the chance that a drug sniffing dog would smell some kind of drug on it? For that matter, what's the chance that one of the three I'm carrying right now has been in contact with drugs? I don't know what the odds are but even 10 to 1 is too big a chance and I think, at least where I live, that the chance is greater than that. I don't worry at all about corrupt police officers. I think there are very few of them but I am genuinely concerned about laws that allow property to be confiscated without legal charges.

Cotton

I agree with you that property forfeiture without criminal charge is a deplorable mis-justice in our current legal system, but that's another topic.

Your concern about the tainted bills is not a worry any more, however. I can't cite any proof, but I know I once read where the courts have thrown out the use of tainted cash as evidence of criminal activity by the person carrying it. For once, they did the right and reasonable thing, by ruling that "currency circulates," therefore it's inadmissible as evidence of drug-dealing. You could have obtained it from an ATM five minutes before becoming suspected, right? So, not to worry about sniffed-out cash. Just don't be caught with any actual "drug paraphernalia" because that's what would be admissible evidence, not just the cash alone.

[Bob Denman]

So, not to worry about sniffed-out cash. Just don't be caught with any actual "drug paraphernalia" because that's what would be admissible evidence, not just the cash alone.

Live your life right, and you'll never have a prblem with Law-Enforcement folks!

[robmorg]

Well, how about this? I just checked my billfold and I had three one hundred dollar bills in it. I don't always have a hundred dollar bill, though I try to keep a couple in case I need them but there have been times when, as someone mentioned earlier, that I've carried quite a few. Like going to buy a used Ford Excursion from someone who wouldn't accept anything but cash. I carried 110 one hundred dollar bills. Just the fact that I was carrying $11,000 in cash makes me a drug suspect and subject to having the money confiscated. ...I am genuinely concerned about laws that allow property to be confiscated without legal charges.

Cotton

Unless it's a cop that's stealing money for personal gain (and it's hard to imagine that), then I don't see the concern about money being confiscated with absolutely no evidence of contraband. Not even the Washington Post expose' story said that was happening. If they find drug related contraband in your car, then you'll probably lose your cash too, even BEFORE you get charged. It's a reasonable way to get drug money off the street.

I agree with Bob. No one is going to be confiscating cash unless there is a reasonable suspicion that you are trafficking or selling drugs. And in order to have a reasonable suspicion, they would have to find something besides the cash itself.

Now, if you have a friend, who thinks it would be a fun to stash a kilo of coke, or a package of marijuana in your trunk when you're not looking, ...well then you may have a problem.

[bikeguy]

The point (of this thread) is that laws exist that allow personal property to be confiscated without any charges whatsoever. I expect that most of us have read articles in our own local newspapers where money, cars, boats, airplanes, and even real property have been confiscated by law enforcement agencies and no charges were ever filed against those from whom the property was confiscated. All that was needed was the suspicion that drug related activity was involved.

Cotton

A few forays above the posted speed limit and maybe being a day or two late returning a book to the public library is about the extent of my prior criminal activity. I'm 76 years old, white, and, besides my Spyder, drive an 11 year old ford Taurus and a 12 year old Ford Excursion so I'm about as far from a drug dealer's profile as I can get. Most of us fit in that category so it's easy for us to ignore the fact that laws exist that allow personal property to be confiscated merely on the suspicion of illegal drug activity. But that doesn't mean that we should ignore them. For one thing, the fact that it isn't likely to affect us doesn't make it right. And beyond that is the fact that the government, at all levels, always needs more resources. Confiscated property is a way to acquire resources without taxes increasing. Right now druggies have lots of resources for the government to confiscate. That may not always be the case. We may be next.

Missouriboy, I wasn't aware that drug tainted money had pretty much been dismissed in court and I'm glad to hear that, however, remember that the property confiscation we're talking about here happens without any charges having been filed. Courts would only be involved if the injured party attempts to recover the property. The dismissal of any tainted money evidence might result in the property being returned but the injured party is still out the expense of lawyers and taking the case to court.

Cotton

[Gray Ghost]

Live your life right, and you'll never have a prblem with Law-Enforcement folks!

You may want to do a bit more research on that. 90 year old lady in Atlanta shot by cops because an informant had given up her address as being a drug place. No knock warrant and an innocent old lady was killed as a result. That was bad enough but then the cops attempted to cover it up by slandering her name and character.

Cop searching for a kid that is supposedly missing enters the backyard of an unrelated family (w/o permission or warrant) and shoots the family pet. Kid was found at home.

Officers conduct a no knock raid on the home of a former Marine. He was on his way to investigate the people around his house with his rifle when the deputies barge in. One trips and triggers a round. The rest assume that the homeowner is firing and shoot him down. IIRC he was hit over 70 times. His rifle had not been fired and in fact was on safe. They were actually looking for a relative who didn't live in the house.

A swat team from department of education (why do they need a swat team) breaks into a home on a no knock warrant terrorizing the man and his children. They were looking for his ex-wife who had defaulted on student loans.

But I guess they all deserved it.

[Bob Denman]

You may want to do a bit more research on that. 90 year old lady in Atlanta shot by cops because an informant had given up her address as being a drug place. No knock warrant and an innocent old lady was killed as a result. That was bad enough but then the cops attempted to cover it up by slandering her name and character.

Cop searching for a kid that is supposedly missing enters the backyard of an unrelated family (w/o permission or warrant) and shoots the family pet. Kid was found at home.

Officers conduct a no knock raid on the home of a former Marine. He was on his way to investigate the people around his house with his rifle when the deputies barge in. One trips and triggers a round. The rest assume that the homeowner is firing and shoot him down. IIRC he was hit over 70 times. His rifle had not been fired and in fact was on safe. They were actually looking for a relative who didn't live in the house.

A swat team from department of education (why do they need a swat team) breaks into a home on a no knock warrant terrorizing the man and his children. They were looking for his ex-wife who had defaulted on student loans.

But I guess they all deserved it.

I'll stand by my statement...
Lightning, and Bee Stings; kill innocent people every year also.

[robmorg]

You may want to do a bit more research on that.... A swat team from department of education (why do they need a swat team) breaks into a home on a no knock warrant terrorizing the man and his children. They were looking for his ex-wife who had defaulted on student loans.

You may want to check your sources on some of these. I'm familiar with that last story. It came from the "Cato at Liberty" blog, published by the CATO Institute, a well known radical civil liberties organisation. If, in fact, it's based on truth, the truth is likely slanted with implications to support their ideological mindset, just as the Verge did with the Washington Post piece that started this thread. I believe there are "more reliable" internet news sources than the National Review, the Verge, and the CATO at Liberty blog.

As we all know... "You cannot believe everything you read on the internet" (a quote attributed on the internet originally to Thomas Jefferson). Here is a famous photo of Adolf Hitler with his iPhone (perhaps taking a selfie). When the poster was accused of posting a picture that had been photoshopped, his reply was, "Thats rediculous! There WAS no Photoshop back in Hitler's time."

[Bob Denman]

[Gray Ghost]

You may want to check your sources on some of these. I'm familiar with that story. It came from the "Cato at Liberty" blog, published by the CATO Institute, a well known radical civil liberties organisation. If, in fact, it's based on truth, the truth is likely slanted with implications to support their ideological mindset, just as the Verge did with the Washington Post piece that started this thread. I believe there are "more reliable" internet news sources than the National Review, the Verge, and the CATO at Liberty blog.

I was in Atlanta when the lady was murdered by police officers. I remember the coverage back and forth on what are considered reputable news sources. If you do a search on no-knock warrants you can find several cases where the process resulted in the injury or death of innocent people or destruction of property where no evidence of crime was found.

A simple search on asset forfeiture will also reveal that it is often used in questionable situations and results in severe hardship for citizens trying to recover their property from police departments that use the tactic to gain funds.

If anyone wants to believe that all those folks had it coming that is their right. I, however, am mighty fond of the rights the Constitution says we have and am concerned that too often they are being ignored.

[robmorg]

I was in Atlanta when the lady was murdered by police officers. I remember the coverage back and forth on what are considered reputable news sources. If you do a search on no-knock warrants you can find several cases where the process resulted in the injury or death of innocent people or destruction of property where no evidence of crime was found.

A simple search on asset forfeiture will also reveal that it is often used in questionable situations and results in severe hardship for citizens trying to recover their property from police departments that use the tactic to gain funds.

Cliff, I'll concede all of that. "Bad stuff" happens. But you cannot say that these kinds of instances are not rare exceptions to the hundreds of thousands of legitimate police interventions that occur every year in our country. Nor could anyone reasonably argue against the fact that there are numerous so called internet "news sources" who take advantage of these rare instances to promote their own ideology with slanted versions of such incidents.

I also agree with your statement about how certain agencies today can often be guilty of violating the rights of the public that are guaranteed by the Constitution.

[SPYD3R]

http://news.yahoo.com/super-tough-co...120408100.html

[Bob Denman]

She violated her School's policy regarding cellphone usage...
Did she THINK that it didn't apply to her?

[mtdoragary]

I'll stand by my statement...
Lightning, and Bee Stings; kill innocent people every year also.

I agree. When I was in the juke box business 50 years ago, I was run out by a Mafia run operator.. But that doesn't make all businessmen mafioso.