Check out (”Spirit of the Law”) Nancy K. Bohl (Penrod’s wife) for yourself, and see where your tax money is going

California Peer Support Association

2009 Annual Conference and Training

Conference Schedule

WEDNESDAY, September 16, 2009

See also:

Hoops pays back the Good Ol’ Boys

Raymond S. G. Pryke v. Gary Penrod, County of San Bernardino, B. Chambers, Dino Defazio and Does, filed June 23, 2009

Raymond Pryke ordered to pay sanctions, costs in libel lawsuit by Penrod’s wife

Suppressed report raises questions about drug policy

In 1991, an editorial in the British Journal of Addiction condemned the inordinate amount of resources devoted to drug law enforcement, and compared the war on drugs to the witch hunts of the past.

It’s an apt comparison, since drug warriors around the world are influenced more by myths, stereotypes and propaganda than by solid evidence. And when confronted by evidence that conflicts with the myths, stereotypes and propaganda of the drug war, the warriors seek to bury it rather than address it head on.

The 1995 Cocaine Project, a joint effort of the World Health Organization and the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute, is a case in point.

You might never have heard of the Cocaine Project, and you might wonder why we’re discussing a report that’s 14 years old. The answer is simple: The WHO has never published the report, and even denied its existence, at least until last week when it was leaked to a Netherlands-based think-tank, The Transnational Institute.

View the report here.

This is unfortunate, given that the report sought the advice of experts from around the world, assessed cocaine use from Australia to Zimbabwe, and is the largest global study on cocaine ever conducted.

But a brief look at some of the study’s conclusions and recommendations reveals why it has been buried for the past 14 years.

Cynthia McKinney Demands Immediate Release After Her Gaza-Bound Boat is Seized by Israeli Navy

Former U.S. lawmaker and Green Party leader Cynthia McKinney, a longtime activist for the Palestinians, says her boat, the Spirit of Humanity, was carrying medical supplies, cement, olive trees and children’s toys to Gaza when it was seized by an Israeli navy ship.

Former U.S. lawmaker and Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney, whose relief boat was seized by an Israeli naval ship Tuesday for the second time in a year, is demanding the immediate release of her and 20 other activists.

McKinney, a longtime supporter of Palestinians, said her Greek-flagged boat, the Spirit of Humanity, was carrying medical supplies, cement, olive trees and children’s toys to Gaza when it was boarded by the Israeli navy.

“This is an outrageous violation of international law against us,” said McKinney. “Our boat was not in Israeli waters and we were on a human rights mission to the Gaza Strip. President Obama just told Israel to let in humanitarian and reconstruction supplies, and that’s exactly what we tried to do. We’re asking the international community to demand our release so we can resume our journey.”

The Israeli military issued a statement Tuesday saying that the boat had attempted to break a blockade of Gaza and was forced to sail to an Israeli port after ignoring a radio message to stay out of Gaza waters.

The statement said navy personnel boarded the freighter Arion without any shots being fired, and those on board were to be handed over to immigration authorities. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said Israel was planning to free the crew and passengers.

See also: Cynthia McKinney Prevented From Leaving U.S.

Candidate to confront deputies over raid

ENCINITAS — Francine Busby says she will demand an explanation from the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department about deputies breaking up a fundraising party held for her in Cardiff and arresting the host.

The party was Friday night in the 1300 block of Rubenstein Avenue, the home of Shari Barman, a Busby supporter.

It ended with Barman, 60, being arrested and jailed on suspicion of battery on a peace officer, and resisting, delaying and obstructing a peace officer.

Pam Morgan, 62, a Rancho Santa Fe resident and one of the guests, also was arrested and taken to the Encinitas Sheriff’s Station, where she was cited for resisting, delaying and obstructing a peace officer.

Other partygoers were doused with pepper spray, and seven deputies, a sergeant and a helicopter were dispatched to the neighborhood of expensive homes.

Busby, Barman, guests at the party and a Sheriff’s Department spokesman provided varying accounts of what happened.

The Chicago Model of Militarizing Schools

For the past four years, I have observed the military occupation of the high school where I teach science. Currently, Chicago’s Nicholas Senn High School houses Rickover Naval Academy (RNA). I use the term “occupation” because part of our building was taken away despite student, parent, teacher and community opposition to RNA’s opening.

Senn students are made to feel like second-class citizens inside their own school, due to inequalities. The facilities and resources are better on the RNA side. RNA students are allowed to walk on the Senn side, while Senn students cannot walk on the RNA side. RNA “disenrolls” students and we accept those students who get kicked out if they live within our attendance boundaries. This practice is against Chicago policy, but goes unchecked. All of these things maintain a two-tiered system within the same school building.

This phenomenon is not restricted to Senn. Chicago has more military academies and more students in Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps than any other city in the US. As the tentacles of school militarization reach beyond Chicago, the process used in this city seems to serve as a model of expansion. There was a Marine Academy planned for Georgia’s Dekalb County, which includes 10 percent of Atlanta. Fortunately, due to protest, the school has been postponed until 2010. Despite it being postponed, it is still useful to analyze the rhetoric used to rationalize the Marine Academy. Many of the lies and excuses used to justify school militarization in Chicago and Georgia may well be used in other cities as militarism grows.

More about military recruiting of youth

Baltimore transit officer charged with rape

BALTIMORE — A Maryland Transit Administration police officer has been charged with raping a 15-year-old Elkridge girl who asked him for help finding her way home on the light rail, according to charging documents.

Officer Donald Brown was taken into custody June 24 after the Howard County Police Department was contacted by a case worker for a local foster care organization. The girl told police that she thought she was being escorted to a police station to make arrangements to get home but was instead taken to Brown’s top-floor apartment in downtown Baltimore, where they had sex.

He then gave her $25 to get back home and told her to leave, according to police.

Brown was charged with first-degree rape, various sex offense charges, use of a handgun in a violent crime and kidnapping a child under age 16. He was initially ordered held without bond, though a District Court judge on Thursday set a bail at $500,000. He remained in custody Monday afternoon.

MTA spokeswoman Jawauna Greene confirmed that Brown is a member of the force and said he has been suspended without pay. She said the agency could not comment further.

U.N.: Tasers Are A Form Of Torture

(CBS/AP) A United Nations committee said Friday that use of Taser weapons can be a form of torture, in violation of the United Nations Convention Against Torture.

Use of the electronic stun devices by police has been marked with a sudden rise in deaths – including four men in the United States and two in Canada within the last week.

Canadian authorities are taking a second look at them, and in the United States, there is a wave of demands to BAN them.

The United Nations Committee Against Torture referred Friday to the use of TaserX26 weapons which Portuguese police has acquired. An expert had testified to the committee that use of the weapons had “proven risks of harm or death.”

“The use of TaserX26 weapons, provoking extreme pain, constituted a form of torture, and that in certain cases it could also cause death, as shown by several reliable studies and by certain cases that had happened after practical use,” the committee said in a statement.

“Well, it means that it’s a very serious thing,” Amnesty International USA Executive Director Larry Cox told CBS Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen. “These are people that have seen torture around the world, all kinds of torture. So they don’t use the word lightly.”

Tasers have become increasingly controversial in the United States, particularly after several notorious cases where their use by police to disable suspects was questioned as being excessive. Especially disturbing is the fact that six adults died after being tased by police in the span of a week.

San Antonio police ordered not to Taser drug users

Citing research that links Tasers to the deaths of drug users, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus announced a new policy banning the use of the weapons on anyone known to be under the influence.

The policy also calls for more training and prohibits more than one officer from using a Taser on one person. The policy on Tasers, which deliver electrical shocks that can disrupt a person’s neuromuscular system, is effective immediately, McManus said.

He said the new policy, issued in an internal bulletin, is in correlation to “excited delirium,” a diagnosis described as an overdose of adrenaline to the heart and a possible cause of death among people who were shocked by Tasers.

The policy does not limit the number of times an officer can shock someone, although it requires that police stop using the weapon when a person is in custody. The new policy requires officers to get 16 hours of training, doubling the requirement. The 141 officers who already use the weapons will get the additional eight hours of training.

Deputy pleads not guilty in Vicodin sting

A San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy has been charged with drug possession after a hidden camera showed him pocketing 71 Vicodin pills during a hotel-room sting in Redlands.Jeffery Karp, 36, who has worked for the Sheriff’s Department since July 1999, pleaded not guilty Thursday in San Bernardino Superior Court to one count of possessing a controlled substance. He was charged June 9.

Sheriff’s officials would not specify if Karp is on paid administrative leave or if he has been fired.

“I can only say he’s not working at this time,” said sheriff’s Lt. Rick Ells.

Karp’s attorney did not return a call for comment Monday.

The investigation began in late 2008 when a sergeant alleged that Karp and other employees from the sheriff’s Fontana station were engaged in on-duty misconduct. Detectives said they discovered Karp and five other employees used department computers to set up the exchange of the prescription pain medication.

The Sheriff’s Department did not confirm whether any other employees have been arrested or disciplined in the case.

To catch Karp, deputies on Feb. 11 set up a room for a fake drug dealer at the Ayres hotel in Redlands. Karp was asked to help process the “evidence.”

He was caught on camera removing Vicodin pills from a cigar box in the room and putting them in his raid vest, according to a criminal report. He did not account for the pills in his evidence paperwork.

Karp admitted stealing the pills and said he also solicited fellow employees for prescription pain medication, according to investigators.

He told deputies “he was under a physician’s care and received a prescription for methadone to assist him cure a self-described addiction to pain medications,” according to investigators.

He admitted to having a longtime addiction to Vicodin and that he stole the pills while on duty, investigators said.

Suspect dies after being “tased and restrained” by Fontana Police

FONTANA – A suspected methamphetamine addict died Monday morning after being Tased and restrained by Fontana police who had responded to his home at the request of the man’s family.Shawn Darrell Iinuma’s family called 9-1-1 dispatchers about 1:15 a.m. to report that he had been using meth for several days straight and was acting strangely.

Police and paramedics responded to his home in the 7500 block of Cherimoya.

Iinuma became violent and struggled with officials, Fontana police Sgt. Jeff Decker said.

Officers eventually Tased Iinuma and put him in handcuffs.

“After being restrained, he stopped breathing,” Decker said in a written statement.

Paramedics administered CPR and rushed him to the Kaiser Permanente Fontana Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department will conduct an investigation, as is standard procedure with an in-custody death.

Iinuma had apparently stayed awake for several days while using meth, police said.

He has past convictions of possessing a controlled substance, being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and evading a police officer’s vehicle, according to San Bernardino Superior Court records.

See also: Fontana police officer shoots, kills man in Ontario parking lot

Sheriff’s deputy responds to suicide call by killing victim

A suicidal man armed with a knife was shot and killed late Sunday in Victorville during a brawl with a sheriff’s deputy.

The unidentified man died at the scene in the 14700 block of Cheyenne Place, San Bernardino County sheriff’s officials said.

Deputies came to the home at 10:40 p.m. to check on a man who threatened to commit suicide. Deputies discovered the man was a possible suspect in a child molestation investigation.

Sheriff’s deputies found the man hiding in a closet. He had suffered what deputies suspect were self-inflicted cuts from a knife.

A deputy and the man began fighting. Sheriff’s officials said the deputy feared for his safety, so he shot the man. The deputy was not injured in the incident.

Here another SBCS suicide case, with video

Board of Ed Restricts Military Recruiters’ Access to Students

NEW YORK, NY June 24, 2009 —Military recruiters won’t be given as much free reign to high school students, under new regulations issued by the City’s Department of Education.

REPORTER: The federal No Child Left Behind Act requires school districts to provide the names and contact information of 11th and 12th grade students to recruiters – except when families opt out. But Udi Ofer, advocacy director for the New York Civil Liberties Union, says principals didn’t have clear regulations about how much access to give recruiters.

OFER: And we heard complaints from principals and the DOE has acknowledged that it has received complaints from principals about overly aggressive military recruiters trying to gain access to schools.

REPORTER: The new policy says recruiters can’t use class time. And students and their families will get clear opt-out letters in eight different languages.

See also:

America’s Child Soldiers: US Military Recruiting Children

“No Child Left Behind “: “Trojan Horse” for Pentagon Recruiters

Bush Profiteers Collect Billions From No Child Left Behind

Ohio sergeant’s daughter not arrested in fatal crash

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Columbus police are investigating why the daughter of a veteran officer wasn’t arrested at the scene of a fatal crash she was involved in — even though she had a suspended driver’s license and two outstanding warrants.

Internal-affairs investigators want to determine whether the officers who went to the scene of the crash on June 13 in Driving Park violated departmental policy by failing to arrest Alaina L. Greene, the daughter of Sgt. Charles R. Greene, a member of the force since 1979.

Alaina Greene was driving a Lincoln Town Car west on Kent Street about 6 p.m. when she collided with a motor scooter driven by Brian A. Jefferson, 35, of Columbus. Jefferson, who had been traveling south on Miller Avenue, died later at Grant Medical Center.

From recruiting to rape

Anti-war advocates aren’t surprised by shocking abuse charges

LOS ANGELES (FinalCall.com) - Prosecutors have set a $1 million bail for a U.S. Marine charged with pimping, kidnapping, and intending to rape a 14-year-old girl.

Reports indicate that Staff Sgt. Bryan Damone Cunningham, of San Pedro, California was previously honored three times for good conduct.

Military watch groups say the incident presents an opportunity to shed light on illegal recruitment methods, primarily targeting minors.

According to reports, after arranging the plot online, the recruiter drove 18-year-old Justin Willard and 19-year-old Homer Daskalakis to Hemet, Calif., to have sex with the girl. Afterward, he attempted to take her from the southeast location to Los Angeles.

Police discovered the plot when they stopped the car, which was being driven erratically, reports said.

See also:

Police: Marine recruiter planned to pimp Hemet 14-year-old girl

Marine recruiter, two others, charged with rape of Hemet girl

Assembly Bills Aim at Recruiting Youngsters for Overseas Wars

Former Marine recruiter pleads guilty to rape

Recruiter charged in child prostitution sting

Army’s New Recruiting Tool – Video Arcade for Mallrats

Bush Profiteers Collect Billions From No Child Left Behind

Former Marine Recruiter, Sgt. Victor Sanchez-Millan, Sentenced for rape

Marine Recruiter Sgt. Arthur Pledger Arraigned in Rape Case

“No Child Left Behind “: “Trojan Horse” for Pentagon Recruiters

America’s Child Soldiers: US Military Recruiting Children

Unarmed, Innocent Man Shot, Killed by Miami Beach Police

Wrongful-death claim filed in mistaken shooting of Rubidoux man

Attorneys representing the live-in girlfriend, children and parents of a Rubidoux man mistakenly killed in a shootout between Chino police officers and robbery suspects have filed wrongful death claims against the city of Chino.

Daniel Balandran, 23, was shot on Feb. 1 when an officer mistook him for one of the robbers of a Papa John’s restaurant on Central Avenue

Attorney Mark Algorri, of Pasadena, who represents Balandran’s girlfriend, Araceli Millan, and his two children, 5-year-old Lizzet and 8-month-old Manuel, said Millan remains distressed and distraught.

“She’s angry too, now that she’s been told about the (San Bernardino County) sheriff’s investigation,” Algorri said.

According to Algorri, Chino Police Cpl. Claudia Lisner, who fired the fatal shot into Balandran’s chest, told Sheriff’s Department investigators that she had twice ordered him to show his hands before she fired.

Witness statements and officer belt recordings obtained through a public records act request revealed that Lisner gave no such order, Algorri said.

See also: Attorney: shooting of victim in Chino “intentional”

Hoops pays back the Good Ol’ Boys

REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA AND RECORD OF ACTION

County of San Bernardino F A S STANDARD CONTRACT

See also:

Raymond S. G. Pryke v. Gary Penrod, County of San Bernardino, B. Chambers, Dino Defazio and Does, filed June 23, 2009

Raymond Pryke ordered to pay sanctions, costs in libel lawsuit by Penrod’s wife

Supervisors appoint Rod Hoops as sheriff

Good ol’ Boys

Spiritual Resources for Law Enforcement

Bohl v. Pryke

RCFP: Appeals court throws out $3 million libel award

Judge orders publisher to pay $3 million to sheriff’s wife

More info …

Are Mind-Enhancing Drugs a Dangerous Fad or a Great Way to Get Ahead?

In the middle of the exam season, the offer of a drug that could improve results might excite students but would be likely to terrify their parents. Now, a distinguished professor of bioethics says it is time to embrace the possibilities of “brain boosters” — chemical cognitive enhancement. The provocative suggestion comes from John Harris, director of the Institute for Science, Ethics and Innovation at the University of Manchester, and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Medical Ethics.

Ritalin is a stimulant drug, best known as a treatment for hyperactive children. But it has also found a ready black market among students, especially in the US, who are desperate to succeed and are turning to it in preference to the traditional stimulants of coffee and cigarettes. Users say it helps them to focus and concentrate, and this has been confirmed in research studies on adults.

See also:

Scientists Back Brain Drugs For Healthy People

Students ’should be given smart drugs to get better exam results’

Kids with ADHD Taking Meds Do Better in School

US says Afghan poppy eradication ‘failure’

The United States admits that its efforts in eradicating opium poppy production in Afghanistan have proven to be of no avail.

Washington’s special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke said on Sunday that the current measures taken against poppy growers had been “a failure”.

“The Western policies against the opium crop, the poppy crop, have been a failure. They did not result in any damage to the Taliban, but they put farmers out of work,” Holbrooke said at a G8 meeting in Italy.

Drug War founder, Richard Nixon, also believed abortion was “necessary” in mixed race pregnancies

Tape recordings of former US President Richard Nixon have revealed that he believed abortion was “necessary” in mixed race pregnancies.

The Richard Nixon Presidential Library has released tapes of White House classified audio recordings revealing racist face of the US’s 37th president.

In February 1971, President Nixon began secretly taping conversations and telephone calls in several locations, including the Oval Office and Camp David.

After the US Supreme Court had ruled abortion legal in 1973, Nixon tells aide Charles Colson: “I admit, there are times when abortions are necessary, I know that.”

He gave “a black and a white” as an example. “Or rape,” Colson offered. “Or rape,” Nixon agreed.

Denver cops hold up McDonald’s at gunpoint

A Denver police officer has been suspended after allegedly brandishing his gun at a McDonald’s restaurant in Aurora after his order took too long to fill.

Aurora police confirmed the CBS4 investigation saying the incident occurred May 21 at the McDonald’s at 18181 East Hampden Avenue.

A spokesperson for the Aurora Police Department said they plan to present the case — now classified as a felony menacing incident — to the Arapahoe County District Attorney’s Office Thursday for possible filing of criminal charges.

Sources familiar with the case, and the fast food worker’s account of what happened, say two off-duty Denver police officers placed an order from their car in the early morning hours of May 21. But once at the drive through window, the employee said the men became agitated and angry at how long their food was taking. The men thought they were being ignored, according to contacts familiar with the worker’s account. The male clerk then said one of the officer’s flashed his police badge and pointed a pistol through the drive through window in a threatening manner, before driving off without paying.

Both officers are assigned to Denver International Airport although only one has been placed on administrative leave with pay, pending the outcome of the case.

(© MMIX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

A Call for “A Conversation About the War on Drugs” From Solano County

Solano County Supervisor Barbara Kondylis is quoted today as follows in an article about Solano County’s plans to begin issuing medical marijuana ID cards:

“This is too long in coming. (Marijuana) does nothing compared to the harm alcohol causes. It’s time in this country we start having a conversation about the war on drugs.“

Cop Who Brutally Beat Female Bartender Receives Probation

Editor’s note: The judge in the case gave the lame excuse that sentencing the sadistic cop, Anthony Abbate, wouldn’t prevent him from getting drunk and hitting people in the future. Abbate remains on the police force in Chicago, demonstrating that crime does indeed pay.

(WGN-AM)- A Chicago police officer was sentenced to two years probation Tuesday for pummeling a woman who was tending bar, even though prosecutors produced a previously unseen video showing him beating someone else at the bar hours earlier.

Anthony Abbate — who declined to say anything to the judge before he was sentenced — could have gotten up to five years for beating Karolina Obrycka in February of 2007. The attack was captured by the bar’s security camera and the video was shown around the world.

Judge John Fleming said he decided against jail time, explaining he did not believe the crime was serious enough and that throwing Abbate in prison would not be a deterrent to others.

Read entire article

Santa Clara deputy in fatal crash sentenced

SAN JOSE — A former Santa Clara County deputy sheriff has been sentenced to spend four months in house detention or a work furlough program for hitting and killing two cyclists.

A judge sentenced 28-year-old James Council Thursday for the March 2008 crash in Cupertino that killed 29-year-old Matt Peterson of San Francisco and 30-year-old Kristy Gough of San Leandro.

Council was working a 12 hour shift after working a 12 1/2 hour shift the day before when he fell asleep at the wheel of his patrol car and crashed into the cyclists. He pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of vehicular manslaughter.

He apologized in court Thursday, taking “full responsibility” for the crash.

Some of the victims’ family and friends had called for Council to serve jail time.

1 in 8 combat troops needs alcohol counseling

One in eight troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan from 2006 to 2008 were referred for counseling for alcohol problems after their post-deployment health assessments, according to data from the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center.

Service members complete their initial health assessments within 30 days of returning home.

The authors of the study, published in the Medical Surveillance Monthly Report, compared numbers of active-duty service members who had an alcohol-related medical encounter with those who received counseling for alcohol, noting that studies have shown troops with post-traumatic stress disorder are more likely to be substance abusers.

Defense officials said they are aware of the data. “Substance misuse/abuse is a psychological health issue, and thus one we are actively involved with,” said Navy Capt. Edward Simmer, Senior Executive Director for Psychological Health Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health.

Trial date set for former B-52 pilot accused of assaulting his ex-girlfriend in the shower with a stun gun and a collapsible baton

After four years in a Florida jail on burglary and battery charges, a trial date has been set for a former Barksdale B-52 pilot accused of assaulting his ex-girlfriend in the shower with a stun gun and a collapsible baton.

Capt. John C. Perrys, 33, will face trial Aug. 3 in Panama City, Fla., 38 miles from Port St. Joe, where he is accused of attacking a judge’s stepdaughter. His attorneys convinced a judge to move the trial out of Port St. Joe because publicity surrounding the case would have made it difficult to find an impartial jury.

Perrys, who remains on inactive Reserve status, will stand trial on charges of burglary of an occupied dwelling, aggravated battery and criminal mischief, assistant state attorney Alton Paulk said. If convicted, Perrys could face life in prison.

Police say Perrys broke into Gulf County Judge Fred Witten’s Port St. Joe home in April 2005 and assaulted his stepdaughter, Caroline Lister, a former Panama City assistant public defender.

Lister told police she managed to escape the house and get help from a neighbor. Police arrested Perrys outside the gates of Tyndall Air Force Base.

Perrys, a 1997 Air Force Academy graduate, has been in jail since 2005.

A $250,000 bail deal fell through when Miami authorities declined to monitor Perrys using GPS, according to court records.

Comics artist Mark Sable detained for “Unthinkable” acts

Boom! Studios sends word that comics writer Mark Sable was detained by Transportation Security Administration security guards at Los Angeles International Airport this past weekend because he was carrying a script for a new issue of his comic miniseries Unthinkable. Sable was detained while traveling to New York for a debut party at Jim Hanley’s Universe today.

The comic series follows members of a government think tank that was tasked with coming up with 9/11-type “unthinkable” terrorist scenarios that now are coming true. (See this article for more on the series.)

Sable wrote of his experiences: “Flying from Los Angeles to New York for a signing at Jim Hanley’s Universe Wednesday (May 13th), I was flagged at the gate for ‘extra screening’. I was subjected to not one, but two invasive searches of my person and belongings. TSA agents then ‘discovered’ the script for Unthinkable #3. They sat and read the script while I stood there, without any personal items, identification or ticket, which had all been confiscated.

“The minute I saw the faces of the agents, I knew I was in trouble. The first page of the Unthinkable script mentioned 9/11, terror plots, and the fact that the (fictional) world had become a police state. The TSA agents then proceeded to interrogate me, having a hard time understanding that a comic book could be about anything other than superheroes, let alone that anyone actually wrote scripts for comics.

“I cooperated politely and tried to explain to them the irony of the situation. While Unthinkable blurs the line between fiction and reality, the story is based on a real-life government think tank where a writer was tasked to design worst-case terror scenarios. The fictional story of Unthinkable unfolds when the writer’s scenarios come true, and he becomes a suspect in the terrorist attacks.

“In the end, I feel my privacy is a small price to pay for educating the government about the medium.”

Woman Alleges Rape at Georgia Police Station

A woman is suing the city of Woodstock and a narcotics officer she said raped her at a police station. She said the incident happened after she agreed to work as a confidential informant after a drug arrest.

The allegations were laid out in a federal lawsuit that Channel 2 Action News reporter Tom Regan obtained. It was filed Wednesday in the U.S. district court.

Because there are no criminal charges filed, Channel 2 is withholding the name of the officer.

“He told me he was going to put me in jail if I didn’t cooperate,” said the alleged victim.

A 47-year-old woman asked Channel 2 Action News to conceal her identity as she described her account of rape and sexual assault by a former Woodstock narcotics officer. She said the incident happened the night of Jan. 28, 2008 inside a room at the police station.

“He asked me to lift up my shirt at the beginning of the room. And he took me to the back of the room and I knew…I knew just what was going to happen,” she said.

When interviewed by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, she said the officer told her repeatedly that “she owed him” for not arresting her a second time on drug charges.

“I asked him, “Why are you doing this?” He said I needed to remember where I was at and that I could go to jail,” said the alleged victim.

The officer named in the lawsuit denied the allegations when questioned by GBI investigators. The report concluded there was no DNA evidence that an assault took place.

But the lawyer of the alleged victim questioned why the officer resigned the day an internal investigation was to begin.

“I think he quit the day he was supposed to be polygraphed. To me, that’s significant,” said attorney Ralph Goldberg.

The Woodstock city attorney told me the lawsuit is without merit and there is no physical evidence to support the allegations.

Cherokee County district attorney Gary Moss said, while there is insufficient evidence to bring indictments in the case, the case remains active.

Copyright 2009 by wsbtv.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Ex-Sheriff Sentenced To Federal Prison

DUBLIN, Ga. — Former Telfair County Sheriff Jim Williamson has been sentenced to 36 months in federal prison.

The 49-year-old Williamson pleaded guilty to a charge of honest services fraud in January, a week after his second term as sheriff ended. Prosecutors said Williamson embezzled fine money, accepted a bribe and purchased personal items with county funds.

A pre-sentence report recommended a sentence of nearly four years in prison. Williamson could have received 20 years behind bars.

In 1994, former Telfair County Sheriff Ronnie Walker was sentenced to 10 years in prison for protecting marijuana growers. Walker’s uncle and predecessor, Jack Walker, also was sentenced to prison on racketeering charges while sheriff.

Those cases led the county to impose a two-term limit on all elected county offices.

Copyright 2009 by News4Jax.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

The Atlantic Interviews Radley Balko

Radley Balko is a senior editor at Reason Magazine whose award-winning investigative work focuses on criminal justice and civil liberties. His blog, The Agitator, is one of the most carefully curated resources for stories on the same subject.

Q. In your work, you’ve frequently reported on police abuses and the appropriate role of law enforcement in a free society. Though you’re often writing in regard to specific controversies, I wonder if you have any general criticisms of the American criminal justice system. What’s wrong about where we’re at? What are the most urgent improvements you would recommend?

Justices Rule Lab Analysts Must Testify on Results

WASHINGTON — Crime laboratory reports may not be used against criminal defendants at trial unless the analysts responsible for creating them give testimony and subject themselves to cross-examination, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a 5-to-4 decision.

The ruling was an extension of a 2004 decision that breathed new life into the Sixth Amendment’s confrontation clause, which gives a criminal defendant the right “to be confronted with the witnesses against him.”

Four dissenting justices said that scientific evidence should be treated differently than, say, statements from witnesses to a crime. They warned that the decision would subject the nation’s criminal justice system to “a crushing burden” and that it means “guilty defendants will go free, on the most technical grounds.”

The two sides differed sharply about the practical consequences of requiring testimony from crime laboratory analysts. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, writing for the four dissenters, said Philadelphia’s 18 drug analysts will now each be required to testify in more than 69 trials next year, and Cleveland’s six drug analysts in 117 trials each.

See also:

Lab ordered to turn over list of cases handled by analyst under investigation

8,000 Inland criminal cases in question in light of probe of former Riverside lab tech

Bill Maher Drug Monologue

Ex-border agent who shot smuggler to ride in Temecula parade

A former U.S. Border Patrol agent whose sentence for shooting a suspected smuggler was later commuted by President George W. Bush is scheduled to take part in Temecula’s Fourth of July parade as the guest of a conservative group.

Jose Compean will address the Murrieta Temecula Republican Assembly’s dinner meeting on July 3. The assembly invited Compean and his family to ride the assembly’s parade entry the next day.

In 2006, Compean and fellow agent Ignacio Ramos were convicted in federal court and sentenced to 12 and 11 years in prison, respectively, for shooting a Mexican national in the buttocks while he tried to flee to Mexico. Prosecutors accused the agents of trying to cover up the 2005 shooting near El Paso.

See also:

San Bernardino County supervisor hires controversial activist

Supervisor Josie Gonzales criticizes hiring of immigration activist

Minuteman leader arrested for double homicide

Congressional probe of Riverside Border Patrol office sought

Drugs ‘deck of cards’ mocks inhaling politicians

Take a deep breath, guys … ‘playing cards’ from the new Nice People Take Drugs website. Photograph: Release

From former presidents to serving ministers, politicians around the world have today found themselves the butt of a web campaign skewering them as hypocrites for advocating a zero tolerance approach to drugs despite having used drugs in the past.

The online “deck of cards” pillories public figures such as Bill Clinton and chancellor Alistair Darling while encouraging web users to volunteer their own “hypocrites” with accompanying quotes to complete the set. The device is a tactic to draw attention to World Anti-Drugs Day and is the latest phase in the Nice People Take Drugs campaign from the UK charity Release, which sparked controversy earlier this month.

Marijuana Mamas!

Gina Kaysen Fernandes: A new wave of reefer madness is sweeping suburbia — but it’s not just teenagers who are lighting up. Middle-aged, middle-class soccer moms are smoking pot … a lot. These women aren’t stoners: they’re teachers, lawyers, and, perhaps, even your neighbor who prefers puffing a joint to sipping chardonnay.

“Marijuana is the magic in my life that helps me unwind, stay sane, and have more energy,” says Sonia, a 24-year-old mother from Los Angeles. Working full-time as a restaurant manager leaves Sonia feeling stressed out and drained at the end of the day. She smokes once or twice daily to relax. “I have a stressful job, it’s something that helps me wind down so I don’t take out my frustration on my husband or my child.”

Sonia became a mother at the age of 22 and suffered from some depression. She turned to marijuana to help curb the baby blues. A doctor later diagnosed Sonia with anxiety and wrote her a prescription for the herbal remedy. Sonia gets her stash from a medicinal marijuana clinic and takes comfort in knowing the pot she smokes is legal and high quality.

Raymond S. G. Pryke v. Gary Penrod, County of San Bernardino, B. Chambers, Dino Defazio and Does, filed June 23, 2009

Case Number:  2:2009cv04502
Court:  California Central District Court
Presiding Judge:  Klausner
Referring Judge:  Zarefsky
Nature of Suit:  Civil Rights – Other Civil Rights
Cause:  42:1983 Civil Rights Act
Jurisdiction:  Federal Question
Jury Demanded By:  Plaintiff
Amount Demanded:  $9,999,000.00

See also:

Good ol’ Boys

Raymond Pryke ordered to pay sanctions, costs in libel lawsuit by Penrod’s wife

United Nations Backs Drug Decriminalization In World Drug Report

In an about face, the United Nations on Wednesday lavishly praised drug decriminalization in its annual report on the state of global drug policy. In previous years, the UN drug czar had expressed skepticism about Portugal’s decriminalization, which removed criminal penalties in 2001 for personal drug possession and emphasized treatment over incarceration. The UN had suggested the policy was in violation of international drug treaties and would encourage “drug tourism.”

But in its 2009 World Drug Report, the UN had little but kind words for Portugal’s radical (by U.S. standards) approach. “These conditions keep drugs out of the hands of those who would avoid them under a system of full prohibition, while encouraging treatment, rather than incarceration, for users. Among those who would not welcome a summons from a police officer are tourists, and, as a result, Portugal’s policy has reportedly not led to an increase in drug tourism,” reads the report. “It also appears that a number of drug-related problems have decreased.”

BUSTED: The Citizen’s Guide to Surviving Police Encounters

US to drop satellite spying on Americans

The Obama Administration intends to put an end to a Bush-era program that authorizes the use of US spy satellites for domestic security purposes.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano plans to abandon the controversial project, which was developed when the former President George Bush was in office to give law enforcement an extra tool to fight “terrorism”, said a government official on Monday.

“It’s being shut down,” said a homeland security official.

Initiated in 2007, the program, which is called the National Applications Office, was lambasted by advocates of civil liberty and privacy as they said it would lead to domestic spying.

While the Democrats have welcomed the closing of the program, some Republicans remain skeptical, urging the project to be maintained.

“If it is true, it’s a very big mistake,” said Peter T. King, who is the top Republican on the House Committee on Homeland Security. “This is definitely a step back in the war on terror.”

In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks US statesmen began putting together laws to further surveillance programs aimed at the American people. The move drew great criticism on the part of civil liberty and privacy supporters.

According to Privacy International, in 2007 the United States had a privacy index score of 1.5 (out of five possible points), which makes the US tied for forty-first with Taiwan and Thailand out of forty seven countries.

New NGO Report on Central American Gangs

Gangs of Central America: Causes, Costs, and Interventions

Small Arms Survey has just published this report on Central American gangs in an effort to respond to recent U.S. military and government reports and statements which have emphasized the national security threats that these gangs pose.

“Although gangs have long been a feature of Central American societies, they have come to the fore in the region in an unprecedented manner since the early 1990s. Estimates of the total proportion of contemporary regional violence attributable to gangs vary widely-from 10 to 60 per cent-as they have been accused of a whole slew of crimes and delinquency, ranging from mugging, theft, and intimidation to rape, assault, and drug dealing. There have even been attempts to link them to revolution and global terrorism.”

“Although gangs are unquestionably a significant contemporary concern in the region, such sensationalist pronouncements suggest that they remain profoundly misunderstood. The purpose of this Occasional Paper is to debunk some of these myths and present a balanced assessment of the causes, costs, and interventions relating to Central American gang violence.”

2008 DHS Stats on Refugees and Asylees Available

Refugees and Asylees: 2008

“The United States provides refuge to persons who have been persecuted or have a well-founded fear of persecution through two programs: one for refugees (persons outside the U.S.) and one for asylees (persons in the U.S.). This Office of Immigration Statistics Annual Flow Report provides information on the number of persons admitted to the United States as refugees or granted asylum in the United States in 2008. A total of 60,108 persons were admitted to the United States as refugees during 2008. The leading countries of nationality for refugees were Burma, Iraq, and Bhutan. During 2008, 22,930 individuals were granted asylum, including 12,187 who were granted asylum affirmatively by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and 10,743 who were granted asylum defensively by an immigration judge during removal proceedings. The leading countries of nationality for persons granted asylum were China, Colombia, and Haiti.”

Supreme Court Rejects DNA Access to Prove Innocence

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court rejected the constitutional right of a convicted individual to access his DNA to prove innocence. Chief Justice John G. Roberts held that the task of harnessing “DNA’s power to prove innocence without unnecessarily overthrowing the established system of criminal justice…belongs primarily to the legislature.” Justice John Paul Stevens, writing for four of the justices in dissent, said that “a decision to recognize a limited right of postconviction access to DNA testing would not prevent the States from creating procedures [to] ensure [] that [it] is nonarbitrary.” EPIC has filed several amicus briefs advocating limits on the collection and use of genetic material. However, EPIC has also stated that DNA evidence should be available to prove innocence. See EPIC’s pages on District Attorney’s Office v. Osborne and Genetic Privacy.

Congressional Action on Secrecy

The Senate on June 17 passed a bill sponsored by Senators Joseph Lieberman and Lindsey Graham that would exempt from the Freedom of Information Act certain photographs documenting the abuse of detainees held in U.S. custody.  Senator Graham said that if the bill was not enacted into law, the Obama Administration had assured him it would classify the photos to prevent their release.  “Rahm Emanuel has indicated to me that the President is committed to not ever letting these photos see the light of day,” he said.

Strictly speaking, however, classification alone is not sufficient to exempt any such record from the FOIA.  It must also be “properly classified,” and that is a determination that is to be made by a court of law.

Senate Jay Rockefeller introduced a bill to limit the abuse of the “sensitive security information” (SSI) marking to withhold certain health and safety information from the public.  “When an industrial emergency happens and threatens the lives of residents, workers and first responders, I absolutely believe the public has the right to receive important information about what it means for them and their health,” he said. “Period.”

Strictly speaking, again, the bill (pdf) does not modify the definition of “sensitive security information” nor does it even place public health and safety considerations on an equal footing with security.  Rather, it simply prohibits the deliberate, witting abuse of the SSI control marking.

The Senate Committee on the Judiciary again postponed its consideration of the State Secrets Protection Act (S.417) that would limit the ability of the executive branch to terminate litigation by invoking the privilege.  Senator Orrin Hatch outlined his opposition to the bill in a floor statement last week.  “Unless serious changes are made to this legislation and the amendments offered by myself and my Republican colleagues are adopted, I cannot in good conscience vote this bill out of committee,” he warned on June 10.

Independent Report Criticizes ICE Workplace Raids

Raids on Workers: Destroying Our Rights: A Comprehensive Analysis and Investigation of ICE Raids and Their Ramifications

This report from the National Commission on ICE Misconduct and Violations of 4th Amendment Rights investigates recent ICE workplace raids in the United States. “On December 12, 2006, the Bush administration conducted massive worksite raids at six Swift & Company meatpacking plants in Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Texas, and Utah. My union, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), represented workers at five of those plants at that time, and, today, we represent the workers at all six plants. In a dramatic departure from our nation’s ideals, our fundamental principles, and from the rule of law, thousands of workers at each plant were rounded up, detained, and criminalized for doing no more than reporting to work, no more than trying to earn a living and a better life for their families. See related news story

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents handcuffed workers, denied their right to counsel, denied their right to meet with union representatives, and denied, finally, the basic human decency of allowing people to use the bathroom, call spouses, or notify schools and childcare centers where children were left waiting with no one able to tell them where their parents might be or when, if ever, they would see them again. Out of an entire workforce of 12,000, ICE had obtained a federal criminal warrant identifying only 133 suspects of identity theft. The federal agents could have-as they did a week earlier at a Swift plant in Louisville, Kentucky-gone to the Human Resources office and asked that the identified suspects be pulled from the production line, so they could question and, if necessary, apprehend them.”

Political Violence Against Americans 2008 Report

Political Violence Against Americans 2008

The U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security has issued the 2008 edition of its annual report on political violence against Americans abroad. “Political Violence Against Americans is a report to the American people that focuses on major incidents of anti-U.S. violence and terrorism, with apparent political motivations, that occurred worldwide during 2008. The U.S. Department of State closely monitors and maintains information on threats to Americans overseas-from terrorism and organized violence, to street crimes and health hazards-and makes this information freely available. It is the policy of the U.S. Government that no double standard shall exist regarding the dissemination of threat information that affects U.S. citizens. Government employees may not benefit unfairly by access to, or possession of privileged information that applies equally to all Americans.”

Drugs Won the War

This year marks the 40th anniversary of President Richard Nixon’s start of the war on drugs, and it now appears that drugs have won.

“We’ve spent a trillion dollars prosecuting the war on drugs,” Norm Stamper, a former police chief of Seattle, told me. “What do we have to show for it? Drugs are more readily available, at lower prices and higher levels of potency. It’s a dismal failure.”

For that reason, he favors legalization of drugs, perhaps by the equivalent of state liquor stores or registered pharmacists. Other experts favor keeping drug production and sales illegal but decriminalizing possession, as some foreign countries have done.

Here in the United States, four decades of drug war have had three consequences:

Police Terrorize Mobile Home Park in Pomona: Community Demands Justice

POMONA, June 17, 2009 – Residents of the Woodlawn Mobile Home Park in Pomona are demanding an explanation for the harassment of their community following a series of raids on the park. A June 11 police raid on the community was apparently done in preparation for a June 12 sheriff’s raid to serve a warrant, which terrorized the entire park. During the second raid, whole families with young children were forced to ground and terrified by the officers’ violent actions. At least five or more concussion grenades were thrown into the park by officers during the raid. Three men were reported arrested during the raid on unknown charges and there is no word where they are being held.

There is some uncertainty about which agencies are responsible for last Thursday night’s raid, but eyewitness accounts seem to indicate that a joint force of San Bernardino County Sheriff and possibly un-uniformed Pomona Police officers.

Residents of the park attended the Pomona City Council meeting on Monday, June 15 and addressed the council during the public comment period. One by one, approximately thirty residents, representing adults, the elderly, and children, explained what happened to them. Some became so emotionally overwhelmed that they were unable to continue.

From the Newswire: Pomona police department uses explosive devices in raid on mobile home park & Audio testimony of eyewitnesses: Despite police abuse, mobile home park community pursues redress by Rockero

Second-ranking state prison administrator arrested

Scott Kernan, the second-ranking administrator of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, has been arrested on suspicion of driving while under the influence of alcohol in his state car, triggering a disciplinary review and postponement of a June 24 state Senate confirmation hearing, a spokesman said Wednesday.

Kernan, 47, was appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in November as undersecretary for prison operations for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, a job that had him running the state’s 33 prisons on a daily basis, said agency spokesman Seth Unger.

The arrest was made at 8:10 p.m. Sunday by California Highway Patrol officers in Sacramento County. Kernan has been placed on paid personnel leave pending possible disciplinary action that could range from suspension to termination, Unger said.

Kernan “notified the [CDCR] secretary immediately and expressed deep remorse for his actions,” Unger said.

Kernan started work for the agency in 1983 as a correctional officer and later worked as a warden.