Crime and Punishment

[TheMeInTeam]

No charges for New Mexico officers who knocked on wrong door before fatal shooting​

Authorities in New Mexico will not seek charges against three police officers involved in a fatal shooting after arriving at the wrong house last year.

Officers in the town of Farmington fired dozens of shots and killed Robert Dotson, 52, because he appeared at the door of his home holding a gun.

At the time, the officers were responding to a domestic violence call from a house across the street.

The Dotson family filed a lawsuit against the department last year.

According to a complaint filed by the family in court, police arrived at the Dotson residence late on 5 April, 2023 and "parked down the street and did not have their lights on".

When Mr Dotson opened his front door holding a weapon, police immediately opened fire, striking him 12 times. Another 19 shots were fired at his wife Kimberly, who was unharmed during the incident. Police later said she opened fire on officers with a pistol.

In a letter dated 26 January, New Mexico Deputy Attorney General Greer Staley said that the state's justice department determined that the officers "did not use excessive force under the circumstances when they discharged their weapons."

The letter added that the officers' approach to the Dotson home - "although they erroneously approached the wrong house" - was "reasonable, appropriate and consistent with generally accepted police practices".

An analysis of the incident included in the report concluded that Mr Dotson and his wife both created an "imminent threat of death or great bodily harm" to the officers.

Doug Perrin, an attorney for the Dotson family, told CBS - the BBC's US partner - that the family was disappointed in the decision.

"One of the disturbing things about the decision not to prosecute the police is the feeling that you may not be safe in your own home, because certainly Mr Dotson was not."

After this week's decision, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico called for "systemic change" in police use of force policies in the state.

"We hope law enforcement officials use this tragic event as a teaching moment and exercise due diligence when responding to calls and require de-escalation and rigorous use force standards," said ACLU of New Mexico investigation and research manager Barron Jones.

A separate lawsuit has been filed to a federal court in New Mexico against the department for wrongful death and seeks unspecified damages.

The lawsuit alleges that one of the officers involved "opened fire instantly" and that Mr Dotson was "blinded by police flashlights."

"The police did not announce themselves, and Mr Dotson had no idea who was in his yard shining bright lights at him," the lawsuit alleges.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68169406

the problem with the police trying to claim imminent threat of harm is that they created imminent threat of harm...very little showing they were "law enforcement" and not potential felony assailants...probably because they were, in fact, criminals.

the one thing i will agree with is that this does appear to be "generally accepted" behavior by police. as in, it's generally accepted for them to commit violent felonies on camera with no or insignificant consequences. it shouldn't be, but it is.

i saw the video leading up to this shooting. i've seen a few other felonies recorded on camera too. the fact that felons-on-camera are not criminally charged is unfortunately a recurring problem. i wonder how many people it would take to go after the da in charge of these places for malfeasance...with evidence quite likely showing criminal malfeasance if it makes it to discovery. there needs to be consequences for da which selectively enforce/engage in criminal conspiracy, and for judges who routinely ignore law.

WTF?!? Why did a med-school professor come to class armed to storm the beaches in Normandy?

4 mags is a little much, but i'm more curious as to how one person could possibly utilize 10 daggers!

Yet based on the “FindMy” result, an officer signed an application for a search warrant saying he had reason to believe that "firearms, ammunition, holsters" and other "firearm-related material" were inside.

in this case too, people need to start being held liable for handing out warrants like candy. and for those who forcibly enter residence w/o a warrant, they can and should be treated as random violent criminals forcing entry. both by the law, and by any occupants willing and able to sufficiently resist it.

 

[Klaus Hergersheimer]

4 mags is a little much

I'm sure the police carry that many.

 

[EgonSpengler]

719 civil suits against the City of New York and the New York Dept of Corrections, just for sexual assaults against women, by guards, just on Rikers Island. This isn't a class-action suit, btw, it's 719 individual suits, totaling $14.7 billion in claims.

719 sexual assault lawsuits over alleged abuse at Rikers Island seek $14 billion from NYC

An astonishing 719 sexual assault lawsuits have been filed against the Department of Correction by female inmates alleging a pattern of abuse that goes back decades.

www.cbsnews.com

Late-night sex assaults. Invasive searches. The 700+ women alleging abuse at Rikers.

A Gothamist analysis shows decades of alleged abuse in the Rikers Island women’s jail.

gothamist.com

 

[Narz]

Puff daddy been a bad boy (allegedly)

Never liked the guy, seemed a hanger on off biggies fame. Mase I did like, wonder if he got caught up in all that.

 

[Comrade Ceasefire]

What I find unusual about this case is that polygraph results were presented as actual evidence of deception.
Has anyone got a ouija board so we can get Mystic Meg's legal opinion?

Disgraced ex-lawyer Alex Murdaugh sentenced to 40 years for financial crimes

Prosecutors argued their plea deal with Murdaugh should be revoked after an October 2023 polygraph found him to be dishonest about where more than $6m he stole had ended up, and whether another lawyer had helped him steal.

In addition, prosecutors said they had found 11 new financial victims and another $1.3m in stolen cash.

"The FBI examiner determined that all of Murdaugh's responses during the polygraph examination indicated deception," the filing said.

Murdaugh's defence lawyers countered with their own claim, saying the examiner had asked strange questions, altering the results.

According to the filing, the FBI agent asked Murdaugh before the exam began if he could keep a secret, and then told him he had interviewed Joran van der Sloot, the Dutch man who suspected of killing American woman Natalee Holloway in Aruba in 2005.

Disgraced ex-lawyer Alex Murdaugh sentenced to 40 years for financial crimes

The disgraced lawyer is already serving two life terms for the murders of his wife and son.

www.bbc.com

 

[EgonSpengler]

New Video Shows Unarmed, Kidnapped Girl Being Gunned Down by Police

“Stop! Stop shooting her!” a deputy can be heard shouting at his fellow officers as 15-year-old Savannah Graziano crumples to the ground.

www.thedailybeast.com

Gunfire From Deputies Killed Teen Who Had Been Reported Kidnapped, Video Shows

Savannah Graziano, 15, was fatally shot a day after an Amber Alert was issued for her in September 2022. Newly released video and recordings show that she was killed by deputies.

www.nytimes.com

Newly released video shows the moment an unarmed teenage girl was fatally shot by police in Hesperia, California, after she had allegedly been kidnapped by her dad.

Can't help noticing this killing occurred 1½ years ago, and the video - which seemingly contradicts the official account - is only coming out now. I'm reminded of the 2014 murder of Laquan McDonald by Chicago Police, which the department tried to cover up. That was only made public after one reporter chased the story for a couple of years. Articles about this shooting in California say that the video was released 'pursuant to a records request', which is exactly what happened in Chicago. Police accounts of the California shooting note that the girl was said to be wearing "tactical gear", whatever tf that means. Parents, don't let your kids wear camo print, I guess.

“She’s out,” an officer can be heard saying over the radio. “She’s out on the passenger side.”

“Come here! Come here! Come to me! Come to me!” another officer instructs Savannah. “Come, come, come, come! Walk, walk, walk, walk!”

As Savannah begins walking toward police, she is struck down by gunfire. The deputy who was shouting at her to walk towards him now begins to yell at his fellow officers: “Stop! Stop shooting her! He’s in the car! Stop! She’s OK! He’s in the car! Stop!”

“Oh, no,” the police dispatcher can be heard saying.

 

[Comrade Ceasefire]

Ringleader of global monkey torture network, 'The Torture King', is charged
A ringleader in a global monkey torture network exposed by the BBC has been charged by US federal prosecutors.

Michael Macartney, 50, who went by the alias "Torture King", was charged in Virginia with conspiracy to create and distribute animal-crushing videos.

Mr Macartney was one of three key distributors identified by the BBC Eye team during a year-long investigation into sadistic monkey torture groups.

Two women have also been charged in the UK following the investigation.

Ringleader of global monkey torture network, 'The Torture King', is charged

Michael Macartney, 50, confessed to the BBC his role in an extreme monkey torture network.

www.bbc.com

 

[Narz]

Disgusting human

 

[EgonSpengler]

That's really revolting.

 

[Lexicus]

The fact that he has Confederate and Trump flags on his wall is so unsurprising...just normal person things

 

[Lexicus]

New Video Shows Unarmed, Kidnapped Girl Being Gunned Down by Police

“Stop! Stop shooting her!” a deputy can be heard shouting at his fellow officers as 15-year-old Savannah Graziano crumples to the ground.

www.thedailybeast.com

Gunfire From Deputies Killed Teen Who Had Been Reported Kidnapped, Video Shows

Savannah Graziano, 15, was fatally shot a day after an Amber Alert was issued for her in September 2022. Newly released video and recordings show that she was killed by deputies.

www.nytimes.com

Can't help noticing this killing occurred 1½ years ago, and the video - which seemingly contradicts the official account - is only coming out now. I'm reminded of the 2014 murder of Laquan McDonald by Chicago Police, which the department tried to cover up. That was only made public after one reporter chased the story for a couple of years. Articles about this shooting in California say that the video was released 'pursuant to a records request', which is exactly what happened in Chicago. Police accounts of the California shooting note that the girl was said to be wearing "tactical gear", whatever tf that means. Parents, don't let your kids wear camo print, I guess.

The fact that "defund the police" is politically toxic in this country really says everything that needs saying

 

[Comrade Ceasefire]

The fact that he has Confederate and Trump flags on his wall is so unsurprising...just normal person things

Yep, he's really low, but he could still parachute from a snake's butthole and land on top of Alex Jones after the Sandy Hook comments.

 

[EgonSpengler]

The fact that "defund the police" is politically toxic in this country really says everything that needs saying

And like the McDonald murder, this incident really exposes the police apologists' "a few bad apples" line for the crock of [poo] that it is*, because of what seems to have been an effort to avoid addressing the problem, if not to deliberately cover up a crime. In the case of Chicago, it was clearly the latter; it wasn't just one trigger-happy lunatic, because the department, and possibly even the city government, threw its lot in with the guy who did the shooting. I'm not passing judgment on the California case quite yet, although it's hard not to jump to some pretty obvious conclusions, given how long it took for this video to come out, and the fact that it appears to directly refute the official account. None of the articles I saw about the California shooting said what was done about the person who killed the girl.

It's similar to the child abuse in the Catholic Church. It didn't need to be true that every priest was doing it, or even that many of them were doing it, because the whole institution had dedicated itself to protecting those that did do it. After the Boston Globe articles came out, the whole Church should have been burned down to the ground (figuratively speaking). Even if it was only 1 priest in a 1,000 that actually preyed on children, the entire organization had their backs and not the kids'.


* And anyway, the actual aphorism is that 'a few bad apples do spoil the bunch.' You're not even using the phrase correctly, you zombie [donkeys].

 

[Narz]

Police will always be bad because power corrupts isn't intellectually far from government is bad because power corrupts, go anarcho capitalism!

Being a police officer is going to attract a lot of power hungry bullies

 

[EgonSpengler]

Police will always be bad because power corrupts isn't intellectually far from government is bad because power corrupts, go anarcho capitalism!

That's right, there's some overlap between the police apologists and the government-is-the-problem "drain the swamp" folks, even though those positions seem like they ought to be contradictory.

Remember that Ronald Reagan first signed the Mulford Act when he was Governor of California, which further restricted the carrying of firearms. According to Wikipedia,

Governor Ronald Reagan, who was coincidentally present on the capitol lawn when the protesters arrived, later commented that he saw "no reason why on the street today a citizen should be carrying loaded weapons" and that guns were a "ridiculous way to solve problems that have to be solved among people of good will." In a later press conference, Reagan added that the Mulford Act "would work no hardship on the honest citizen."

Then later, when he was running for President, his famous line was "The nine scariest words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help." The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation is so proud of that quote, they host the video on their website.

Well, which is it, sir? Those two positions seem contradictory to me, if not mutually-exclusive.

As I'm sure @Lexicus is about to point out, they're not really contradictory: When he signed the Mulford Act, Reagan was disarming poor & Black people. When he spoke against government 'helping' people, he was talking about taxing rich people and government regulation of big business. His positions weren't, in fact, inconsistent at all, he just wasn't being forthcoming about what his objectives were. (Then, in 2018, conservative writer - and admitted superfan of Ronald Reagan - Max Boot wrote that since 1980, the top 1% of Americans saw their wealth increase 250% while the bottom half of Americans saw their wealth increase just 1%, which he surmises led to the rise of the MAGA crowd. Hmm... What happened in 1980 that would've caused that, do you suppose, Mr. Boot..? )

Being a police officer is going to attract a lot of power hungry bullies

Exactly. Police departments have to be (made to be) extra careful and take extra steps to identify those people, to prevent them from hurting or killing people, and to deal with them when they do.

 

[Lexicus]

As I'm sure @Lexicus is about to point out, they're not really contradictory: When he signed the Mulford Act, Reagan was disarming poor & Black people. When he spoke against government 'helping' people, he was talking about taxing rich people and government regulation of big business. His positions weren't, in fact, inconsistent at all, he just wasn't being forthcoming about what his objectives were. (Then, in 2018, conservative writer - and admitted superfan of Ronald Reagan - Max Boot wrote that since 1980, the top 1% of Americans saw their wealth increase 250% while the bottom half of Americans saw their wealth increase just 1%, which he surmises led to the rise of the MAGA crowd. Hmm... What happened in 1980 that would've caused that, do you suppose, Mr. Boot..? )

It's really that all the talk about government and its metaphysical nature (big or small? Good or bad?) is a smokescreen for the real issue. Conservatives really care about hierarchy, and where the state acts to break hierarchy down, as in the case of regulations that reduce corporate profits or prohibit racial or gender discrimination (or even things like child abuse or spousal rape) they will claim government is terrible and should be "small" but at the same time they won't hesitate to use the power of the state in incredibly intrusive and expansive ways when it can aid in maintaining or deepening hierarchical divides between people (e.g. the TX attorney general doing gestapo stuff to LGBTQ advocacy organizations or red state prosecutors going after women for having miscarriages).

 

[Lexicus]

Police will always be bad because power corrupts isn't intellectually far from government is bad because power corrupts, go anarcho capitalism!

Police will always be bad because their purpose is to keep real estate values from falling, not to keep human beings safe.

 

[Narz]

Police will always be bad because their purpose is to keep real estate values from falling, not to keep human beings safe.

Meh, I've dealt with some very corrupt cops but some of them genuinely want to serve. I think the demographic of cops will be similar to any other position with power over people (judges, highly drive entrepreneurs, politicians, etc), many who are narcissistic, power hungry and selfish with a few who actually strongly want to better their communities.

It's like the education system, it's not actually designed to promote critical thinking and many/most teachers are overworked, underpaid, uninspired and don't even seem to like kids but that doesn't mean good teachers don't exist.

Probably we can agree that reducing police force where it's not needed and utilizing social workers in some situations rather than police is a good idea.

 

[Lexicus]

Meh, I've dealt with some very corrupt cops but some of them genuinely want to serve.

"Police will always be bad" =/= every individual cop is evil

 

[Narz]

"Police will always be bad" =/= every individual cop is evil

Always is a leap, I don't see how you can do without some level of police