#430 Do the Opposite of What the Racist Cops in Ferguson, MO are Doing

Prepped for a long occupation of their home town. WUT?

Unless you've been slumbering under a rock far away from the news, you are more than aware of the continuing cycle of violence in Ferguson, MO after the shooting death of an unarmed, non-resisting teenage boy named Michael Brown.

At virtually every turn since the racially charged (and, ostensibly totally unnecessary) killing of Brown, the Ferguson PD as reacted almost as poorly as possible. It appears they really just wanted an excuse to pretend to be a military occupying force in their own town.

Look at the images from Ferguson, those aren't National Guardsmen, those are LOCAL cops in full riot gear with flak jackets and enough ammo to take on a small nation. These idiots are supposed to be protecting and serving the same people they are accused of wantonly arresting or shooting.

Non-violent protests turn violent when you have cops showing up in full riot gear shooting tear gas into crowds. Violence begets violence and injustice (the shooting of a teenager without anything even CLOSE to resembling probable cause or fear for the officer's life).

The officer who shot Michael Brown six times and killed him? His name is Darren Wilson, he's a cop with a history of violence and complaints against him. Actually, it appears that more cops in Ferguson are of Wilson's ilk than not.

And there are plenty of "good", god-fearing folks who have rallied to Darren Wilson's "cause" (calling the shooting of unarmed teenagers a cause is a pretty ridiculous stretch) including St. Louis Cardinals' fans selling shirts and engaging in deeply offensive race baiting of protesters. Here's a free tip, if you're on the side of the white cop with a history of violence against an unarmed teenager then you're wrong. Plain and damned simple.

And nothing the Ferguson PD has done since has done anything to change the perception that they are a legally empowered white power gang (source) that can murder with near impunity.

Tear down the institutions with codified racism, start over with a clean slate, hire and train police officers from the localities they will be expected to police, take away all the freakin' military gear and force the police to engage with the populace on a more transparent and communicative level. Oh yes, please stop the civil forfeiture BS too, seriously, you assholes are supposed to protect and serve US, not your own fucking bank accounts.

Rule #430 is Do the Opposite of What the Racist Cops in Ferguson, MO are Doing

#405 Make Sure That The Weed You Are Busting Someone For Isn't/Aren't Daisies

I'm totally seeing double. Or not.

Whoops-a-daisy: 'Significant' outdoor bust in Lethbridge history wasn't weed

All police will concede at this point is the 1,624 plants torn from a suburban Lethbridge garden on July 30 isn’t marijuana, as first claimed after a phalanx of police marched in and starting plucking.

“This is a significant bust, given the size of this operation,” is how a senior officer put it at the time, while proudly displaying garbage bags full of the dastardly daises.

That same officer, Staff Sergeant Wes Houston, now admits the plant haul was a mistake.

Gee, really? Exactly how does one confuse daisies with marijuana plants unless one has never been exposed to either? And you'd think that one of that "phalanx of police" would also be able to correctly identify that the "drugs" they were yanking up to destroy were clearly not drugs at all.

But nope, they destroyed Ryan Thomas Rockman's garden. He is an admitted medical marijuana user for long term back pain and did have a pretty sizable quantity of weed in his house (1.5 pounds) and a bunch of hash. But they annihilated his garden because good ol' Wes Houston absolutely blows at plant identification.

Or, as likely and probably more so, the cops knew exactly what they were doing when they methodically destroyed Rockman's garden. Harassing pot smokers is a hobby for a lot of assholes.

It is my hope that Mr. Rockman sues the crap out of the police department and targets Wes Houston specifically. The damage they caused is absolutely ridiculous especially since it should have been apparent almost instantly that they'd made a stupid mistake. But egos and pride make even intelligent people do really, really stupid things sometimes too.

Rule #405 is Make Sure That The Weed You Are Busting Someone For Isn't/Aren't Daisies

#380 Look Beyond the Immediate Act to the Larger Intent

Former Fullerton Cop Charged with Destruction of Evidence

"After a man he arrested hanged himself in his jail cell last year, Fullerton police officer Vincent Thomas Mater ripped the department-issued recorder off his uniform and crushed it, making it impossible to retrieve the audio recording of the conversation he had with the man prior to his death."

He not only crushed it, he took the circuit board and motherboard out of the smashed device. In other words, he destroyed the only evidence that existed that could implicate him in the suicide of a man he'd arrested. Now, there's little doubt in my mind that the destruction of the recording device was intentional and deliberate. Mater must have had some kind of interaction with the man which caused Mater to fear for his liberty in the wake of the suicide.

What was said between prisoner and officer? We'll never know but there is simply no way that the cop reacts as immediately and violently if they'd been talking about the Mets chances to win the pennant. No, this cop said something to the prisoner that could be used against him in a court of law. Something that caused or encouraged the prisoner to take his own life.

At the very least, the cop should be suspended and a full investigation into his dealings both as a cop and as a private citizen should be undertaken. Pretty clear that he's got something to hide and that something resulted in the suicide death of a man he arrested.

Rule #380 is Look Beyond the Immediate Act to the Larger Intent