Things went well in Baltimore last night. So far, knock on wood, nobody else has gotten seriously hurt. Compare this with police tactics in Ferguson. But Baltimore is better than Ferguson. And the BPD is better than the FPD. What we have not seen are flash-bang grenades. No tear gas. No gun shots (except for…
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BPD says they can’t make a wagon availableto reporters? (Not the wagon but any wagon?) I hope this baby has been retired, but you never know. What you can’t see are the middle-facing bench seats fitted with seat belts. Officers arrest somebody and call for a wagon (90 or 91). Sector cars in Baltimore City…
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I always welcome intelligent comments from police officers. Here is an email (lightly edited) from a retired sergeant about police-involved shootings in general. I always appreciate thoughtful comments from police officers. I don’t necessarily agree with everything he writes (but I don’t need to). It’s a well stated opinion based on experience. When it comes…
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The Supreme Court ruled in Rodriguez v. United States (2015) that K9s cannot be used in traffic stops (without cause) if it delays the driver. Period. Previously, the law of the land was that the driver couldn’t be delayed too much. But it wasn’t clear how much was too much. Waiting for a K9 unit…
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Things are tense for police after the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore Police custody. I got no clue what happened. And I’m not going to say much till I do. Keep in mind that Baltimore cops don’t know what happened. But boy is this turning into quote a jackpot. A man died in police…
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I lose hope when, on one hand, the South Carolina F.O.P uses the term, “professional race agitators” in a press release. As a former dues-paying member, I will gladly offer my editing service gratis to any FOP newsletter. Seriously. If your goal is P.R. and you’re talking about “the recent tragedy.” Do not use the…
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Protests in Baltimore against violence. From the Baltimore Sun: “Occupy the Corner,” as it was called, was the opening salvo in another year of community outreach arranged by the anti-violence group known as 300 Men March. As they have for the past two years, members plan to gather every Friday evening into the fall to…
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This is an email I received from (someone I believe is) an Oklahoma Police officer. He answered my question — why does Oklahoma lead the nation in people killed by police? — very well. It’s knowledge I don’t have, and I can’t say it better myself. He agreed to let me reprint it here, anonymously:…
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The national average, the rate of people killed by police (as they define it, which is pretty loose, but OK) is 0.36 per 100,000. This is over the past 23 months. That’s roughly 1,135 killed per year. This is based on these data from May 2013 to April 2014. I believe it’s similar to (but…
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This is the second paragraph of an article by Ta-Nehisi Coates: When Walter Scott fled from the North Charleston police, he was not merely fleeing Thomas Slager, he was attempting to flee incarceration. He was doing this because we have decided that the criminal-justice system is the best tool for dealing with men who can’t,…
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