Quality Policing Podcast and Blog

Only in Hollywood (Florida)

A Baltimore reader emailed me this: Michael Verdugo is a police officer in Florida who was on the HGTV show Design Star. He’s openly gay and a porn blog revealed that five years prior to becoming a police he was in a gay porn film. The police department he is in suspended him to investigate…
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The Solution to the Failed Drug War

Jack Cole, the founder of LEAP, has an op-ed in today’s Boston Globe. WAR AND RACE dominate the presidential campaign, but one nation-shaping war with profound racial consequences eludes the political radar: the drug war. I was a frontline soldier in this self-perpetuating, ineffectual effort that has swallowed more than a trillion tax dollars and…
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27 drug raids in one night

A federal a local task force, HIDTA (“High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area”) busted down 27 doors in what must have been a very long night’s work. I hope people feel safer.

Six shot, one dead

Baltimore Sun reporter Peter Hermann doesn’t exactly crack the case, but he does provide a bit more insight and analysis than you usually find in such a story. Read it here.

Gambling machines seized from bar

At many many bars in Baltimore, there are video gambling games. Video poker games. Not video games. Not Ms. Pac Man or Galaga. These are not something you would play for fun. You play for money. They’re gambling games. If you’re a regular, the bartender will pay you out if you win. Police raided some…
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You can’t arrest your way out of problems in a neighborhood

“You can’t arrest your way out of problems in a neighborhood,” the sheriff said. Communication between the community and law enforcement, Bradshaw said, is crucial. It’s my favorite line. I’ve said it a bunch myself. You canarrest your way out of some problems, but not drug problems in a drug neighborhood. There’s a piece about…
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Charges Against Shoved Cyclist Are Dropped

No surprise here. The question is what will happen to the officer.

Crime Platforms: Dems For Aiding Cops, GOP Tough Enforcement

Copied from Crime & Justice News: The Democratic Party platform includes a four- paragraph section on criminal justice focusing principally on support for local law enforcement and ending violence against women, says the National Criminal Justice Association, which represents states and localities in Washington, D.C. The platform says, “We will reverse the policy of cutting…
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War on Drugs: Mexico

“Tens of thousands protested drug violence this weekend. Many blame the president.” Here’s the story by Sara Miller Llana in The Christian Science Monitor. In August alone, the teenage son of a Mexican businessman was found dead in the trunk of a car, after being kidnapped at a fake police checkpoint; a dozen decapitated bodies…
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LEAP Becomes Latest Victim of Government Censorship

Retired police detective, Howard Wooldridge, representing Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) was ousted from the National Asian Peace Officers Association (NAPOA) Conference in Crystal City because he was representing a view contrary U.S. government policy. LEAP is a 10,000-member organization of police, judges, prosecutors, DEA & FBI agents, and others who know ending drug prohibition…
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