"What a Railroading Looks Like."

There are times I honestly can't believe they get away with this shit. Too much authority, too little checks, not nearly enough consequences.

Hit & Run > Ryan Frederick Trial Begins Tuesday - Reason Magazine:

"Jury selection begins Tuesday in the trial of Ryan Frederick, the Chesapeake, Virginia man accused of killing a police officer during a drug raid on his home. Police didn't find the marijuana grow they claimed on the warrant they would find, and prosecutors now concede that two men—at least one of them police informant Steven Rene Wright—broke into Frederick's home three nights before the raid. It was during that illegal break-in that Wright claims to have found marijuana plants—the probable cause for the raid.

Frederick, who had no prior criminal record, says he had no idea the men breaking down his door were police, and that he fired because he thought he thought his home was being invaded—not an unreasonable thing to think, given that he'd been burglarized earlier that week..."

The Agitator » Blog Archive » What a Railroading Looks Like:

"...Also subpoenaed for the trial were five jail inmates who evidently had conversations with Frederick about the shooting. One of them is Marlon Reed, a Norfolk gang leader who already got one break on his sentence after testifying against co-defendants in his federal racketeering case.

I’ll make a prediction: At trial, we’ll hear about how the slight guy who has wept at nearly every public appearance since his arrest (one year ago yesterday, by the way) was openly boasting to other inmates about the cob he bagged. Or maybe they’ll say he tried to sell them marijuana.

To retrofit a phrase, once the state has determined you’re a nail in need of smashing, there’s really no limit to the number of hammers at its disposal."

The Agitator » Blog Archive » Did the Cameras Go on Strike?:

"A jury has found that officers with the Prince George’s County, Maryland (where else?) police department used excessive force when they apprehended and arrested a TV reporter who was investigating possible improper use of public resources.

...But it’s the last sentence of the article I found particularly interesting:

In all, nine police cars from Prince George’s and Cheverly responded. Although most of the squad cars were equipped with video cameras, police said none of them were working that day, Pavsner said.

So “most” squad cars in PG County have video cameras. Yet at the scene of a controversial arrest, with nine cars at the scene, not a single squad car camera was “working that day?”"