MJ: The dangers of turning police officers into revenue generators.

[Winehole23]

"Essentially, these small towns in urban areas have municipal infrastructure that can't be supported by the tax base, and so they ticket everything in sight to keep the town functioning," said William Maurer, a lawyer with the Institute for Justice who has been studying the sudden rise in "nontraffic-related fines."'


Take the St. Louis suburb of Pagedale, where, among other Norman Rockwell-worthy features deemed illegal, "you can't have a hedge more than three feet high," Maurer says. "You can't have a basketball hoop or a wading pool in front of a house. You can't have a dish antenna on the front of your house. You can't walk on the roadway if there is a sidewalk, and if there is not a sidewalk, they must walk on the left side of the roadway. They must walk on the right of the crosswalk. They can't conduct a barbecue in the front yard and can't have an alcoholic beverage within 150 feet of a barbecue. Kids cannot play in the street. They also have restrictions against pants being worn below the waist in public. Cars must be within 500 feet of a lamp or a source of illumination during nighttime hours. Blinds must be neatly hung in respectable appearance, properly maintained, and in a state of good repair."


Where did this Kafkaesque laundry list come from? Maurer explains that in 2010, Missouri passed a law that capped the amount of city revenue that any agency could generate from traffic stops. The intent was to limit small-town speed traps, but the unintentional consequences are now clear: Pagedale saw a 495 percent increase in nontraffic-related arrests. "In Frontenac, the increase was 364 percent," Maurer says. "In Lakeshire, it was 209 percent."



This racket now has many variants. South Carolina hosts "Operation Rolling Thunder (http://ij.org/south-carolina-police-seized-nearly-100-000-in-crackdown-but-stopped-few-criminals)," an annual dragnet in which 21 different law enforcement agencies swarm stretches of I-85 and I-26 in the name of catching drug dealers. In 2013, this law enforcement Bonnaroo netted 1,300 traffic citations and 300 speeding tickets. But after everyone had paid up, the operation boasted exactly one felony conviction.


A different strategy in San Diego simply tacks on various fees to an existing fine. A 2012 Union Tribune investigation (http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?hl=en&biw&bih&q=cache:gLaPZ1TIbc0J:http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2012/aug/18/courts-how-your-35-speeding-ticket-becomes-a-235/%2BCourt+officials+say+that+San+Diego+County+law+e nforcement+agencies+have+recently+been+issuing+few er+tickets+than+in+the+past&gbv=2&&ct=clnk) revealed that while speeding is a simple $35 fine, other government agencies can tack on as many as 10 other surcharges, including: a state penalty assessment, $40; county penalty assessment, $36; court construction, $20; state surcharge, $8; DNA identification, $16; criminal conviction fee, $35; court operations, $40; emergency medical air transportation penalty, $4; and night court, $1. When it's all said and done, that $35 ticket comes to $235.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/07/police-shootings-traffic-stops-excessive-fines

[Winehole23]

There is still no comprehensive study to determine just how many cities pay their bills by indenturing the poor, but it is probably no coincidence that when you examine the recent rash of police killings, you find that the offenses they were initially stopped for were preposterously minor. Bland's lane change signal, DuBose's missing plate. Walter Scott had that busted taillight—which, we all later learned, is not even a crime in South Carolina. Eric Garner was selling loose cigarettes. When Darren Wilson was called to look into a robbery (http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2014/08/15/ferguson-police-releasing-name-of-officer-who-shot-michael-brown/), the reason he initially stopped Michael Brown was for walking in the street—in Ferguson, an illegal act according to Section 44-344 (https://www.municode.com/library/mo/ferguson/codes/code_of_ordinances?searchRequest=%7B%22searchText% 22:%22manner%20of%20walking%20in%20roadway%22,%22p ageNum%22:1,%22resultsPerPage%22:25,%22booleanSear ch%22:false,%22stemming%22:true,%22fuzzy%22:false, %22synonym%22:false,%22contentTypes%22:%5B%22CODES %22%5D,%22productIds%22:%5B%5D%7D&nodeId=PTIICOOR_CH44TRMOVE_ARTVIIPE_S44-344MAWAALRO) of the local code. Between 2011 and 2013, 95 percent of the perpetrators of this atrocity were African American, meaning that "walking while black" is not a punch line. It is a crime.


And not just a crime, but a crime that comes with fines that are strictly enforced. In 2014, Ferguson's bottom-line-driven police force issued 16,000 arrest warrants to three-fourths of the town's total population of 21,000. Stop and think about that for a moment: In Ferguson, 75 percent of all residents had active outstanding arrest warrants. Most of the entire city was a virtual plantation of indentured revenue producers.


Back in Pagedale, St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Jennifer Mann recently calculated (http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/municipalities-ticket-for-trees-and-toys-as-traffic-revenue-declines/article_42739be7-afd1-5f66-b325-e1f654ba9625.html) a 500 percent increase in petty fines over the last five years. "Pagedale handed out 2,255 citations for these types of offenses last year," Mann wrote, "or nearly two per household."


"Once the system is primed for maximizing revenue—starting with fines and fine enforcement," Holder said apropos Ferguson, "the city relies on the police force to serve, essentially, as a collection agency for the municipal court rather than a law enforcement entity."


In Alabama, a circuit court judge, Hub Harrington, wrote a blistering opinion three years ago asserting that the Shelby County Jail had become a kind of "debtors' prison" and that the court system had devolved into a "judicially sanctioned extortion racket." This pattern leads to a cruel paradox: One arm of the state is paying a large sum to lock up a person who can't pay a small sum owed to a different arm of the state. The result? Bigger state deficits. As the director of the Brennan Center's Justice Program put it, "Having taxpayers foot a bill of $4,000 to incarcerate a man who owes the state $745 or a woman who owes a predatory lender $425 and removing them from the job force makes sense in no reasonable world."


When the poor come to understand that they are likely to be detained and fined for comically absurd crimes, it can't be a surprise to the police that their officers are viewed with increasing distrust. In this environment, running away from a cop is not an act of suspicion; it's common sense.

[z0sa]

Theres always been a conflict of interest there. Anecdotally, Ive heard of the police not writing tickets and citations because of union/labor disputes. Then ramping it up around times when they are eligible for raises, more funding etc. I never knew whether to believe it or not but the possibility seems plausible.

[CosmicCowboy]

Not in SA or Bexar County. If anything, Bexar County is running more speed traps. There is one cocksucker that constantly traps on Callaghan Road just east of I-10 at the bottom of a steep hill where you really have to ride your brakes to stay under the speed limit. Just let the car coast down the hill and you are screwed.

[Blake]

Take the St. Louis suburb of Pagedale, where, among other Norman Rockwell-worthy features deemed illegal, "you can't have a hedge more than three feet high," Maurer says. "You can't have a basketball hoop or a wading pool in front of a house. You can't have a dish antenna on the front of your house. You can't walk on the roadway if there is a sidewalk, and if there is not a sidewalk, they must walk on the left side of the roadway. They must walk on the right of the crosswalk. They can't conduct a barbecue in the front yard and can't have an alcoholic beverage within 150 feet of a barbecue. Kids cannot play in the street. They also have restrictions against pants being worn below the waist in public. Cars must be within 500 feet of a lamp or a source of illumination during nighttime hours. Blinds must be neatly hung in respectable appearance, properly maintained, and in a state of good repair."


http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/07/police-shootings-traffic-stops-excessive-fines

Sounds like a very strict HOA driven planned unit development. No difference, imo

[Winehole23]

the difference is that your HOA can't throw you in jail.

[boutons_deux]

the difference is that your HOA can't throw you in jail.

IIRC, I read an article where a HO in arrears was evicted to recover the amt of the dues.

[Blake]

the difference is that your HOA can't throw you in jail.

The police can't throw you in jail either for a basketball hoop in the front yard.

[Winehole23]

if you don't pay the fine they can

[Blake]

if you don't pay the fine they can

Looks to me they simply abate most nuisances and put liens on the property for the costs of the abatement:

http://ecode360.com/29518624

...like HOAs do..

[Winehole23]

so it's totally legit, from your point of view?

[Blake]

so it's totally legit, from your point of view?

I think if the people vote in council members that vote these into law, then yeah, it's legit.

I think it sucks ass and people should question how broken blinds affect health, safety or welfare.....but it's legit.

I'm wondering what ordinance they're using for the broken blinds...i don't see it..

[Trill Clinton]

i remember when sapd told my father he had to move my basketball goal off the sidewalk and onto the drivewayhttp://i62.tinypic.com/bfkxo1.png

[spurraider21]

i remember when sapd told my father he had to move my basketball goal off the sidewalk and onto the drivewayhttp://i62.tinypic.com/bfkxo1.png
damn racists

[SpursforSix]

This is exactly why municipalities don't push for any technology that limits or helps deter speeders.

[Wild Cobra]

I don't care if they look to drivers disobeying the law or not to generate revenue. What bothers me is when they intentionally pick places that immorally induce the tickets.

Probably around 2001, after my oldest started driving, she was ticked for speeding in a school zone, the day the schools opened. I was skeptical in what she said, but drove out to the location with my camera. The police officer purposely was ticketing people on the other side of the school where the school zone sign was completely overgrown by tree branches. naturally, i took pictures. Called the appropriate Washington county office responsible for signage talked and had email response, and I sent him the photo. I had a nice email response also showing I was a responsible citizen in reporting the blocked sign. Took the photo and email to court. The judge gave rather bad looks at the police officer, dismissed the ticket.


I hope he was reamed well.

Aren't the police suppose to report such public safety sign issues when they see them, rather than unethically using them against citizens?

[Winehole23]

how are broken blinds, basketball goals and hedgerows public safety issues?

[Quetzal-X]

i remember when sapd told my father he had to move my basketball goal off the sidewalk and onto the drivewayhttp://i62.tinypic.com/bfkxo1.png


Those fucking Assholes!

[Blake]

how are broken blinds, basketball goals and hedgerows public safety issues?

Broken blinds...dunno, what ordinance are they referring to?

Basketball goals in the right of way block pedestrian/car passage.....do you happen to know what ordinance they're using for being in the front yard?

Hedges are a traffic line of sight issue.....3 foot height comes from federal guidelines.

[Winehole23]

hedges and stuff in the street I can see, and I suppose all the ordinances are legally colorable, but using PDs to generate revenue for cities does not comport with promoting public safety and undermines trust.

[Winehole23]

to say nothing of spreading poverty and misery

[Blake]

Well using cops for revenue generating is nothing new, especially in these small municipalities, but usually they're done with speed traps. Nothing new for us to hate on.

But that other stuff looks like Code Compliance type stuff which is enforced by cops in small towns that can't afford code compliance inspectors.

Honestly, I'm thinking the author of that article embellished a bit on some of the things that that little town enforces.

[TeyshaBlue]

I got popped for not coming to a complete halt before turning right on a red light. $275. Unbelivable.

[Blake]

I got popped for not coming to a complete halt before turning right on a red light. $275. Unbelivable.

Holy crap

[Nbadan]

I got popped for not coming to a complete halt before turning right on a red light. $275. Unbelivable.

Cheaper to hire an attorney tbh...

[Wild Cobra]

I got popped for not coming to a complete halt before turning right on a red light. $275. Unbelivable.

You deserved it.

My ex wife will suffer for life. She was hit by a driver doing exactly that.

When the rolling speed and pedestrian walking speed are at the right positions, you see no movement past the post at the windshield.

Believe it of not, some laws that appear silly, aren't.

[Th'Pusher]

You deserved it.

My ex wife will suffer for life. She was hit by a driver doing exactly that.

When the rolling speed and pedestrian walking speed are at the right positions, you see no movement past the post at the windshield.

Believe it of not, some laws that appear silly, aren't.

http://betterafter50.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/debbie-downer.jpg

[Winehole23]

Jennings, MO settles for 4.7 million to avoid charges it illegally jailed thousands:


In recent years, civil rights groups have taken cities to court to compel changes to their operation of so-called debtors' prisons, where those who cannot afford to pay fines are jailed until their debts are paid off. The practice was first barred (https://www.themarshallproject.org/2015/02/24/debtors-prisons-then-and-now-faq#.B0hHnpWme) under federal law in 1833. In 1983, the Supreme Court ruled that the act of imprisoning someone unable to settle their debt unconstitutional. Yet lawsuits and a federal investigation (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/03/04/the-12-key-highlights-from-the-dojs-scathing-ferguson-report/?utm_term=.7d4c3b9daa36) into policing and court practices in Ferguson following the death of Michael Brown shed light on how municipal courts locked up (http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/07/police-shootings-traffic-stops-excessive-fines) poor residents who couldn't pay off their debts as a way to generate revenue. Beyond Jennings, federal lawsuits are under way against Ferguson (http://www.wsj.com/articles/lawsuit-alleges-ferguson-mo-legal-system-violates-constitutional-protections-by-jailing-poor-for-fines-1423502968) and 13 other cities (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/lawsuit-extortionist-ferguson-municipal-courts_us_57a8e636e4b06adc11f0f0c9) in the St. Louis area over the alleged operation of modern-day debtors' prisons.


"One thing that has been revealed over and over again in the Ferguson investigation and these lawsuits is that the worst practices tend to arise when courts and other officials perceive a financial necessity in funding their operation through fees and fines," says Larry Schwartztol, executive director of Harvard University's Criminal Justice Policy Program. "That creates conflicts of interest and distorts the justice system." William Maurer, an attorney for the Institute for Justice, told Mother Jones (http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/07/police-shootings-traffic-stops-excessive-fines) in July that small towns around urban areas "have municipal infrastructure that can't be supported by the tax base, and so they ticket everything in sight to keep the town functioning."

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/12/st-louis-jennings-ferguson-debtors-prison-lawsuit%20

[Winehole23]

Even by Texas standards this is kind of wow. Article is even crazier than the headline.

1696491663055532265

[Winehole23]

In a profanity-laced rant, Portillo lashed out against another law enforcement official while working an off-duty security job nearly 200 miles away from his jurisdiction in Coffee City.

“I’m about to call (Jerry) Garcia and tell him he’s going to be f----- in his next election,” Portillo said.

Portillo was referring to Constable Jerry Garcia, the elected constable of Harris County Precinct 2. The off-duty chief had called the constable’s office for assistance at a southeast Houston apartment complex where Portillo worked his extra security job. Portillo wanted Precinct 2 to file charges on a man he said assaulted him at the complex. The Feb. 14 encounter was captured on a responding deputy constable’s body camera.

“I’m going to call Garcia right now, tell his a-- he’s a f------ p---- or his chain of command is,” Portillo said.

Garcia said it was just one in a pattern of requests from several off-duty Coffee City officers working extra jobs at the apartment complex.

“Which at first was no big deal, we help anybody and everybody, but then we noticed it was becoming a pattern,” Garcia said.

Garcia said the pattern was draining his department’s resources so the constable reached out to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.

“And we were advised to tell Chief Portillo that he had to file the charge,” Garcia said.

But when deputies did just that, Portillo left a nasty voicemail on the constable’s phone.

“Your captain, lieutenants or whoever those numbn--- are that you have working for you, you know tell them your job is to f------ help us out,” said Portillo on the bodycam footage.

https://www.khou.com/article/news/investigations/coffee-city-police-chief-tirade/285-2ee4378d-1bdc-475a-ae8b-7b670b72f35e

[Winehole23]

It’s not the only example KHOU 11 Investigates found that calls into question Portillo’s character and integrity. In his application to become Coffee City’s police chief he never listed a 2004 DWI charge out of Bay County, Florida, in which he failed to appear in court. When asked why he didn’t list the charge on his application, Portillo said: “I just didn’t disclose it, it was over 10 years ago.”


But court records show Portillo still had an active warrant, and the case hadn’t been disposed of. The day after the interview with KHOU 11 Investigates, Portillo hired a Florida defense attorney who filed a not-guilty plea in the case.

Portillo continued to defend himself, rebutting questions of whether he was truthful.

“That's not what it is. I'm not, not being truthful,” he said. “I just put down everything that was in my mind when I filled out my application to the best of my knowledge.”

That same job application states “Be truthful, as there are criminal consequences for lying on a governmental record.”

[Thread]

The intrinsic fact remains; once turned they're infallible as "an officer of the court."

Accused: "But, judge, I swear to you I did not speed."

Cop/officer of the court: "I swear he sped. I saw him."

Judge: "Guilty. Pay the bailiff, sir."

[RandomGuy]

Even by Texas standards this is kind of wow. Article is even crazier than the headline.

1696491663055532265

This is what the freedom of speech is for. These insects need to be exposed to the light.

[Winehole23]

This is what the freedom of speech is for. These insects need to be exposed to the light.oh they have been

[Winehole23]

This is what the freedom of speech is for. These insects need to be exposed to the light.Sunshine therapy worked, Coffee City just canned the chief and deactivated the Coffee City PD.


After investigative reports showed a small East Texas town had one officer for every five residents, city officials canned their police chief and deactivated the police department. Now, locals are showing up at city hall to have their tickets dismissed due to over policing

https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/coffee-city-police-18380508.php

[Winehole23]

Didn't even take them 15 minutes to make the decision, according to KHOU.

[RandomGuy]

Sunshine therapy worked, Coffee City just canned the chief and deactivated the Coffee City PD.

https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/coffee-city-police-18380508.php

Seems like a class action lawsuit in the making.


and wow.

[Thread]

Sunshine therapy worked, Coffee City just canned the chief and deactivated the Coffee City PD.

https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/coffee-city-police-18380508.php

I surmise at least that it's populated by White people, so, they'll be no rioting and looting like when it's Black people.