The 911 call is here: Part of the 911 tape is here: Here is my take on the matter. Only the first three points are new. 1) The 911 call was excellent. A woman saw something suspicious and reported it. Race was not mentioned. In fact, the caller specifically said she could not determine race…
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For me at least. My wife writes travel books. And no, travel writing is not as glamorous as you’d think. She’s going to Mexico. I tag along and play the role of Pedro, El Chófer. She and her friend also have an outstanding cookbook coming out soon. Forking Fantasticquotes me as saying a mandoline is…
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I wrote a short piece about the racial profiling for the New York Times. Some other good opinions there, too. And thanks to 10-8 for pointing out the article by Syracuse Professor Boyce Watkins in The Grio.
Oakland votes to tax medical marijuana. It’s expected to raise about $300,000 a year and passed with 80 percentof the vote.
Should being an a-hole to police get you locked up? Seriously. Remember, being an a-hole isn’t technically a crime. But many people have talked their way into handcuffs. Police can always get you for something. I ask this because my wife seemed vaguely bothered by this concept. But it doesn’t bother me. John Van Maanen…
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Leave it to me to have to read another blog to find out about stuff that I’ve already written. See, there’s this book I wrote, Cop in the Hood. I hear it’s pretty good. It’s also, uh, for sale. Anyway, on pp. 117-118 I describe how officers can invite a person outside in order to…
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Apparently for pissing off a Cambridge cop who responded to a burglary call. Gates had sort of broken into his own house because the key didn’t work. A witness called police. Words are exchanged and Gates gets cuffed for dis con. It’s hard to overstate just how esteemed of an intellectual Harvard Professor Gates is.…
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There can be a future with legal and regulated drugs. A drug deal plays out, California-style: A conservatively dressed courier drives a company-leased Smart Car to an apartment on a weekday afternoon. Erick Alvaro hands over a white paper bag to his 58-year-old customer, who inspects the bag to ensure that everything he ordered over…
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Two officers down in Baltimore. Supposedly in stable condition. Supposedly returned fire, which is a good sign.
Walter Cronkite died Friday. He was 92. On his 90th birthday he told the Daily News, “I would like to think I’m still quite capable of covering a story.” He was known for knowing a failed war when he saw one. Not just Vietnam. He was against the War on Drugs and a friend of…
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