This isn’t new news, but it’s worth re-mentioning: No-knock raids are “a tactic that has grown in use from 2,000 to 3,000 raids a year in the mid-1980s, to 70,000 to 80,000 annually.” Maybe that doesn’t bother you at all. But it should. A no-knock raid is when police simply bust down your door at…
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Police in Arlington Heights say a 16-year-old boy arrested in January home burglary told them he poisoned the victims’ three goldfish because he “didn’t want to leave any witnesses.” Read the story here. [thanks to Dave H.]
[update: Hey, look at the picture below and then the picture of me to the right? Do you think we were separated at birth? Or maybe I just photo-shopped all the cops holding me out of the picture.] Should I be bothered by the fact that I’m always somewhat relieved whenever I find out that…
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Under “portfolio,” check out NYPD Operation Impact (1 & 2), from former police officer and photographer Antonio Bolfo. In an interview he says: I really liked the story of Operation IMPACT in general: how new, inexperienced cops get sent to the most dangerous places, places where a cop really should know what he is doing.…
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All this revolution and celebration got me thinking… One of the things I’m always surprised at when I travel, at least when I travel anywhere other than the US and Western Europe, is just how sweet and kind and generous the average person on the street is. I’ve seen it Egypt, in Syria, in Thailand,…
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Deputy Probation Officer Joe Miller signed a letter in support of California’s Proposition 19 (marijuana legalization). A disclaimer made it clear that he did not represent the viewpoint of the Mohave County Probation Department. Officer Miller was fired. Maybe you think a police officer should never have an opinion on anything. I can understand saying…
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Mubarak is out! Here’s the happy scene on my local Arab drag: Steinway Street, in Astoria, Queens, New York. Three of the five news vans: A happy crowd (small, because I only got there at 4pm): My friend, Ali El Sayed, making delicious food as always, equally happy: (You can see the “1919 Trevor Ethnic…
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Dog-burning case will be tried again Jurors deliberated for more than 20 hours over three days, but couldn’t agree on a verdict. One juror wasn’t convinced of the brothers’ guilt in the attack, leading to a mistrial. It was the longest animal-cruelty trial ever held in the city. You tried, you didn’t win. Guilty or…
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Your Attention Please: Marijuana has now been found in all five boroughs. Luckily, in response to this plague, the NYPD has cracked down and arrested more people than ever for the crime of possessing marijuana. In 2010, 50,383 were arrested (86 percent of these are black or Latino). Noble drug warriors estimate that a continued…
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Ahhh, I hear the immortal if overused words of Martin Niemöller… then they started drug testing at work. But I did not complain, because I was not a drug user. Actually, just for the record, I’ve complained every time I’ve taken (and passed) a drug test. Well it seems that now there are more places…
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