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Dumb Cops

before going to a nearby house where they had consensual sex - with his gun apparently "around his ankles" during the act
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You have to wonder how this detail was noted.
 
" . . . there was nothing to suggest he could not have been back in the police vehicle within a minute or two.

Indeed the Latin motto of the force - Ponet. Erue eum. Extergunt super aulaeis!- translates as Whip it in, whip it out, wipe it on the curtains!" :shock:
 
You only have one Vauxhall Velox?
 
Australia police lose swallowed ring
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25252790

Diamond rings (file image)

The diamond rings were stolen from a shop in Indooroopilly, Queensland
Australian police say they have lost a ring swallowed by a man under arrest after trying to rob a jewellery shop.

The man is accused of stealing and then swallowing two diamond rings from a jeweller in Queensland last week.

He has been in custody ever since so that the rings could pass, but police say they now fear one of the rings has been thrown out in a bag of waste that was not searched.

Police said they thought the man would tell them when the ring emerged.

"With the benefit of hindsight, it's easy to sit here and say we should have conducted a secondary search regardless," Queensland Deputy Police Commissioner Ross Barnett said.

"This is a rare and difficult set of circumstances, no one sets out to lose evidence."

"They've done the best they could... unfortunately there was a gap in the processes they put in place."

The waste has been sent to landfill and police say searching for it would be prohibitively expensive. They are discussing compensation with the shop owner, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation said.

But they said the absence of the ring would have "no detrimental impact on the prosecution".

The other ring is still inside the suspect, an X-ray has shown. He is being taken daily to a special toilet used by the customs service at Brisbane airport, and is also being monitored.

"I'm sure, without having spoken to him, he probably regrets it," Mr Barnett said. "It's not a pleasant way to spend a week of your life and it's not over yet."
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Italian girl ‘sexually assaulted’ riot cop with a kiss
Published time: December 15, 2013 11:26
Edited time: December 15, 2013 12:15 Get short URL
http://rt.com/news/italy-protester-kiss-police-271/

A demonstrator kisses a riot police officer.(AFP Photo / Marco Bertorello)

An Italian student protester may end up in court after a photograph of her kissing a riot police officer started making the rounds and became hailed as a symbol of peaceful protest. She may now face sexual assault charges.

The incident happened during a demonstration against the construction of a rail link in the north of Italy.

Nina de Chiffre, a 20-year-old protester, had used the opportune moment to first kiss, then lick a police officer’s helmet visor. The moment was caught on camera, and the photo ended up going viral. It was hailed as an example of sending a message of love and peace and non-violent protest.

But the situation quickly went south for de Chiffre, after the Italian police union – COISP – ruled that the act was in fact sexual assault, and filed a complaint with a court in Turin, Italy’s La Repubblica reported on Sunday.

“We have accused the protester of sexual violence and insulting a public official,” said Franco Maccari, COISP’s general secretary, adding that the union “fully [expects] an investigation to start”.

Seeing the matter in a positive light is not on the cards, apparently, because “if the policeman had kissed her, world war three would have broken out,” Maccari continued. “Or what if I had patted her on the behind? She would have been outraged. So if she does that to a man on duty, should it be tolerated?”

Maccari appears very angered by the incident and doesn’t see any message of peace in it. He said it was “hardly a peace gesture, more a provocation.”

“A kiss is a positive thing,” he said, “but in this context, between these two people, it was just disrespect,” Maccari concluded.

De Chiffre’s own explanation of her actions may surprise her supporters as well, as it confirms Maccari’s assessment.

“No peace message… I would hang all these disgusting pigs upside down,” the young Italian wrote on her Facebook page, Italian media reports.

Talking to La Repubblica, she explained that the kiss was an act of indignation at the police force for allegedly beating up another demonstrator.

De Chiffre knew the police would not attack, following the kiss, she said. So she proceeded to touch the officer’s lips as well, while licking his helmet.

But now her act of defiance has not only brought her wide acclaim, which she apparently had not asked for, but also may land her a criminal record.
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Couple spends month in jail after cop mistakes soap for cocaine
http://rt.com/usa/couple-month-jail-soap-cocaine-345/
Published time: December 16, 2013 21:33

A policeman holding a cocaine brick (AFP Photo / Policia Federal

A New York couple spent nearly a month in jail after a Pennsylvania state trooper mistakenly identified two bricks of homemade soap as cocaine and arrested them for transporting the drug.

On December 12, law enforcement authorities officially dropped the charges against the couple – 26-year-old Annadel Cruz and 30-year-old Alexander Bernstein – who were pulled over in Pennsylvania as they were driving from New York to Florida.

According to a criminal complaint obtained by the Morning Call newspaper, Cruz was driving five miles over the speed limit on November 13 when a state trooper pulled her over. The officer apparently questioned her about the car, a new Mercedes-Benz, which Cruz said was a rental.

The trooper said he smelled marijuana, to which Cruz replied that she had smoked earlier that day, just not in the car. She gave the trooper permission to search the car, and the ensuing search turned up two brick-size packages that were encased in plastic wrap and red tape.

Although Cruz said the bricks were soap that she made herself, a field test performed by the officer identified the substance as cocaine. The officer also found marijuana in Cruz’s bra.

The couple was arrested and charged with intent to deliver cocaine, possession of cocaine, and conspiracy and possession of drug paraphernalia. Additional charges of possession of marijuana, disregarding traffic lanes, and speeding were applied to Cruz. Bernstein was jailed on a $500,000 bond, while Cruz was under a $250,000 bail.

While the couple spent the month in jail, tests by the state police lab confirmed that the bricks were composed of soap. The Lehigh County district attorney’s office eventually dropped the charges, but attorneys for the couple told the Morning Call that they suffered from racial profiling.

"I think it is a nice car with out-of-state plates and a Hispanic female behind the wheel" that triggered the officer’s interest, said attorney Josh Karoly, who represents Bernstein. "If it was me driving that car, this wouldn't have happened."

"After this, everyone should pause about jumping to conclusions when a field test is said to be positive by law enforcement,” said Cruz's attorney, Robert Goldman. “There are people going to jail on high bail amounts based upon these field tests."

The field test also came under fire from Karoly, who questioned whether it was performed properly or if it ever actually occurred.

"A young man spent a month in jail, spent a substantial amount of money to get out of jail and missed Thanksgiving with his 17-month-old son," he said. "To do that on a field test, we better be darn sure that these field tests are accurate."

Police have yet to comment on the incident, though Goldman said Cruz had no criminal record before she was pulled over.

"Her name is all over the place, making light of her defense that she was just transporting soap," he said. "She was labeled online as a drug dealer, she was incarcerated with people who do commit crimes. It's going to take her a good deal of time to get her good name back.”
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The criminal handed a caution 50 times
Investigation: New concerns over police mis-use of "slap on the wrist" punishment as research shows multiple cautions handed to offenders
By David Barrett, Home Affairs Correspondent
9:00PM GMT 28 Dec 2013

A criminal has been given 50 cautions by police as a new analysis shows forces are handing out the "slap on the wrist" punishment to persistent offenders rather than prosecute them.

The Telegraph can disclose the forces that made the most prolific use of cautions, which do not count as a criminal conviction, and if accepted by an offender they will face no further punishment for that crime.

Northumbria Police admitted giving one unnamed criminal 50 cautions for "historic offences dating back to 2001".
[Well, that's only about 4 a year!]
The force confessed the cautions had been handed out "inappropriately" and claimed it had since carried out a review and a training programme for its officers. However, it refused to identify the criminal or give any further information about the crimes.

Another force, Surrey, said it had handed cautions to one career thief on 43 occasions - the most recent being in September last year.

In further worrying examples, a force admitted letting one criminal off with a caution 21 times, while two others said they had handed them to offenders 19 times each.

Critics said the figures showed the police had been far too lenient with persistent criminals and called on forces to “come clean” about how cautions are being used.

Chris Grayling, the Justice Secretary, announced earlier this year he will crack down on the way police use cautions, apparently heeding warnings from magistrates and other experts that they are being handed inappropriately to serious, violent and sexual offenders.

The Ministry of Justice has previously disclosed that 62,000 offenders who accepted a caution in the 12 months to March 2013 already had at least one caution on their police record.

But this is the first time the sheer volume of cautions handed to persistent criminals has been exposed.

etc...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... times.html
 
Ut cleared 50 crimes off the books, he may not even have carried out all of them.
We know you did 20 but confess to 50 and it will just be a caution.
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Tennessee man arrested for Facebook 'like'
Published time: January 17, 2014 18:47 Get short URL
http://rt.com/usa/man-arrested-facebook-like-790/

A radio host in Memphis, Tennessee, was placed in handcuffs on Tuesday after he “liked” a Facebook post made by a woman who had previously filed a restraining order against him.

The incident occurred when a woman named Towanna Murphy posted a video on Facebook. Talk radio host Thaddeus Matthews, who used to work with Murphy and reportedly had a sexual relationship with her, “liked” the update, leading her to snap screenshots of the post and head to the police.

According to local Fox affiliate WHBQ in Memphis, 56-year-old Matthews claims he turned himself in to authorities, but either way police agreed with Murphy, arrested him, and charged him with violating a protection order. Matthews is now free after posting a $1,000 bond.

This isn’t the first time Matthews has had a run-in with the law, however, nor is it the first time his social media activity has landed him in hot water.

In November, he was indicted for publishing a pornographic image that depicts a young child performing a sexual act on an adult male on Facebook. He was officially charged with especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and sexual exploitation of a minor, according to Memphis-based publication The Commercial Appeal.

For his part, Matthews claims he only posted the image in order to help law enforcement discover the identity of the man depicted in the picture. He added that an unnamed woman sent him the photo multiple times.

If convicted, Matthews faces anywhere between two and 30 years in prison.

This marks the second time in less than a month that a social media-triggered restraining order violation has led to an arrest. Just last week, reports surfaced that a Massachusetts man was arrested and placed behind bars for sending a Google+ invitation to his ex-girlfriend despite the fact that she had a restraining order against him.

That particular case took an interesting twist when the suspected individual, Thomas Gagnon, claimed he never actually sent the invite, and that it was automatically sent by Google.

Of course, Google also recently sparked controversy with its decision to allow any Google+ user to email a Gmail user, regardless of whether or not they know their email address.
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Texas cops handcuff man after he gave change to homeless person
Published time: January 17, 2014 20:25
http://rt.com/usa/texas-police-handcuff ... eless-795/

You may want to think twice next time you consider giving a homeless person some change, if one Texas man’s experience is any indication.

Houston resident Greg Snider claims he was arrested and held for more than an hour after local police mistakenly targeted him as a criminal, all for giving a homeless man a few quarters.

Snider said he had pulled into a local parking lot in order to make a phone call when a homeless man came up to him and asked for some spare cash. Snider claims he gave the man 75 cents and left to continue on his way.

"I had no idea at all what was about to happen," he told KPRC Local 2 News.

As soon as Snider merged onto a local freeway, however, police followed him with flashing lights and sirens, ordering him to pull over.

“He's screaming. He's yelling. He's telling me to get out of the car. He's telling me to put my hands on the hood,” Snider said to KPRC. “They're like, 'We saw you downtown. We saw what you did.’ And I was like, 'Are you kidding me? I gave a homeless man 75 cents.'"

Police reportedly said they saw Snider give the homeless man drugs and asked to search his car. Snider was placed in handcuffs and held in the back of a police car for an hour or so while ten other police vehicles arrived at the scene and used dogs to search his car.

Once the search failed to uncover any illegal substances, Snider was freed and told the situation was a misunderstanding.

Houston police have declined to comment on the incident, though they did confirm that Snider has filed a complaint.

Prosecution of the drug war has come under scrutiny lately as more Americans question the overall effects of police behavior. In two particularly disturbing cases, New Mexico men were pulled over and suspected of carrying drugs in their anal cavities. The men were then taken to hospitals outside of police jurisdiction where doctors performed invasive medical procedures that failed to turn up any drugs.

One man, David Eckert, was subjected to multiple enemas and rectal finger examinations. This week, he was awarded $1.6 million as the city and county involved settled their portions of the lawsuit.
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Indiana police chief accidentally shoots himself for the second time
Published time: January 21, 2014 19:06
Edited time: January 22, 2014 04:37
http://rt.com/usa/indiana-police-chief-councellor-981/

An Indiana police chief’s day ended with a bang when he accidentally shot himself in the leg on Saturday – the second time in his career that he’s turned his own gun on his body.

David Councellor is running to become Fayette County’s new sheriff, but he chose the wrong way to make headlines when he unintentionally discharged his 40-caliber Glock handgun while perusing other firearms at a local gun shop.

A 33-year veteran of the Connersville Police Department, Councellor had taken his Glock out to compare it to another gun in the store. When he tried putting the gun back into his holster, he found himself shooting his own thigh.

“I need to pay more attention,” Counceller said to the Palladium-Item. “I know what the dangers are. It was pure carelessness on my part.”

“It got tangled in my clothing,” Counceller added. “I was wearing a sweatshirt and a fleece jacket. I felt (the gun) go in the holster and I pushed it, but it was tangled in the material which caused it to discharge. The bullet went into my leg and then into the floor.”

Councellor suffered a flesh wound and was able to drive himself to the hospital for treatment. He said that he would be back to work on Tuesday.

Although Connersville Mayor Leonard Urban called Counceller “an excellent marksman,” this isn’t the first time the police chief has shot himself. About 15 years ago, he accidentally discharged his gun into his hand.

Despite his accidents, Councellor is hoping to draw some lessons from the unfortunate situation.

“If anyone says this could never happen to them, they’re mistaken,” Counceller said. “You have to keep your guard up at all times. Some candidates are out there doing things for kids to try to get elected. Me, I shoot myself. What a way to get publicity.”
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California cop handcuffs and detains firefighter helping crash victims
Published time: February 06, 2014 19:10
http://rt.com/usa/california-cop-arrest ... crash-912/

Screenshot from YouTube user YouHotNews

A California firefighter was recently placed in handcuffs and detained by highway police while helping crash victims, all for refusing to move a fire truck after being told it was parked inappropriately in the midst of an emergency.

The incident occurred Tuesday evening when local firefighters and members of the California Highway Patrol responded to a rollover accident in Chula Vista, CA. The city’s firefighters were first to arrive on the scene, where they parked their fire trucks in a way to block oncoming traffic and protect those at the crash site.

When CHP officers reached the scene, however, they began ordering the firefighters to move their trucks out of the traffic lanes or face arrest. According to the local CBS affiliate KFMB, one officer had already directed a fire engine to leave the scene with its paramedic onboard before they could finish administering medical aid.

Another officer, meanwhile, told firefighter Jacob Gregoire, 36, to move his vehicle. Gregoire, a 12-year veteran, refused and continued assisting crash victims when the officer then placed him in handcuffs and lead him to a police vehicle. He was detained for about 30 minutes before being released.

One driver was reportedly transported to the hospital after the accident, but there’s been no word on the second driver or on the conditions of either one.

Videos and photographs of the incident were captured by KFMB and posted on the internet, sparking outrage among many commentators who couldn’t believe what was happening.

Screenshot from YouTube user YouHotNewsScreenshot from YouTube user YouHotNews

Chula Vista Fire Chief Dave Hanneman called CHP’s behavior “ridiculous” in a statement, while the firefighters’ union president John Hess praised Gregoire’s actions.

"I'm very proud of Jacob. He did a good job," he told CBS 8. "He made all firefighters look good. He was there to protect the citizens and he was willing to take a stand to do that."

The aftermath of the incident has revolved primarily around who was in the right legally. Speaking to the San Diego Union-Tribune, the city’s fire deputy chief Steve Ricci acknowledged that CHP has jurisdiction over the roads, but said that since firefighters arrived on the scene first they had initially taken command of the situation.

“As to a formalized transfer of command to the CHP — I don’t believe that ever took place,” he added.




Both CHP and fire department officials met on Wednesday to discuss how to handle such situations moving forward. In a joint statement, the two departments called Tuesday’s behavior an “unfortunate” and “isolated incident.” They added it is “not representative of the manner in which our agencies normally work together toward our common goal.”

Although rare, there have been other occasions in which a firefighter was arrested for refusing to move a vehicle. One notable case occurred in Missouri, where a firefighter filed a lawsuit against law enforcement officials who arrested him for blocking traffic at a crash site. He was ultimately awarded $17,500 in damages stemming from a false arrest.
 
Police burst motorists' tyres on A30 after dropping 'stinger' from car boot accidentally
9:50am Thursday 20th February 2014 in News .

Three drivers had a shocking surprise while innocently driving along the A30 on Sunday, after police accidentally dropped a 'stinger' into the the path of oncoming traffic.

Three cars had their tyres burst by the device, which fell out of the boot of a police car while officers were attending a crash near Launceston.

In total five tyres were destroyed, leaving the drivers sitting at the side of the road until they could be replaced, with one not t[o]o happy about the six hours he lost dealing with the issue.

Taxi driver John Beach said he was left for two hours in [the] cold waiting for the RAC to recover his car after the mistake, adding that police then sent a tyre firm around to his home to replace the tyres at around midnight.

John lost one rear tyre after hitting the 'stinger' while on a trip back to Cornwall from Bristol, adding that the two other cars lost two tyres each.
"They [police] knew straight away it was their fault," said John. Adding it was a bit of shock.

The 'stingers' have long metal barbs, teeth or spikes pointing upward which puncture and flatten tires when a vehicle is driven over them.

Devon and Cornwall police have apologised to the drivers.

A police spokesman said: "At approximately 5:45pm on Sunday, February 16 a single vehicle collision occurred on the A30 at Tregadillett near to Launceston.
"A police unit attended the scene to assist with traffic management. While placing emergency signage at the scene, the stinger device fell from the boot of a police vehicle.
"The device was immediately run over by three vehicles, leaving five tyres damaged.
"None of the drivers were injured and the force ensured that all damaged tyres were replaced by a professional roadside tyre replacement service at the scene.
"We apologise for any inconvenience and distress caused to the drivers as a result of this unfortunate incident.

http://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/11021038.Police_burst_motorists__tyres_on_A30_after_dropping__stinger__from_car_boot_accidentally/?ref=mr
 
13-year-old boy faces felony charge for hitting Chicago cop with snowball
Published time: February 21, 2014 23:14
http://rt.com/usa/cop-snowball-felony-chicago-168/

AFP Photo / Scott Olson

A 13-year-old boy was arrested Wednesday and faces a felony charge for allegedly hitting a Chicago police officer in the arm with a snowball. The boy said he was wrongly implicated, as he was in a crowd of kids walking home from school.

The officer said the snowball hit him in the arm as he sat in his marked squad car, the Chicago Tribune reported. The boy was taken into custody and charged as a juvenile with aggravated battery to a “peace officer,” which is a felony.

The incident occurred around 15:30 CST on Wednesday afternoon, a block away from where the boy – unnamed since he is a minor – attends school in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood.

The eighth grader said he had just gotten out of school and was with around 15 classmates when someone else threw the snowball, which, he told the Tribune, didn’t actually hit the officer.

"It made me mad," the boy told the Tribune. “He [the officer] said the snowball hit him but it hit the car, not him."

The boy said the school’s dean and security guard were nearby. He told his mother that the dean implicated him for throwing the snowball.

"He kept trying to tell the officer that he didn’t do it but they didn’t believe him," the boy's mother said. "He was standing on the corner, there was a whole crowd of kids. It’s so crazy."

George Leland Elementary School Dean Lenard Robertson told the Tribune, “I have absolutely no comment.”

In addition to the charges, the school levied a five-day suspension against the boy, his mother said.

"It’s sad, he’s only 13. I’m so upset, he’s never been in trouble before," she said. "It’s his first case."

Chicago police confirmed it was his first arrest. They added that the boy has no known gang affiliation.

Nearby residents and workers said the felony charge was overly harsh, especially considering the boy’s age and what a felony means for his criminal record and future prospects.

"I think that's ridiculous – it's such a big charge," Latanya Powell, a construction worker on the block told DNAinfo.com Chicago. "It's just going overboard. I can see if it were a weapon and harm was done, but it was just a snowball.”

Powell added, “This is a case of kids being kids."

Another nearby resident supported the charges.

"If [the boy] had gotten away with it, who's to say what they'd do next? If it doesn't stick to them now, they'll be 16 or 17, and they'll have a gun," Ray Fields said, telling DNAinfo.com that he has teaching experience and that his own home was burglarized by teens in 2010.

The boy is scheduled to appear in juvenile court on March 12, according to police.
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What you want to bet this is a black teen and a white cop?
No takers? :roll:
 
It's certainly worded in a way that's going to make it pretty hard to find out.

We have the names of the dean on the school and a construction worker, not the cop, the boy, the boys mother, or any details to do with the prosecution.

Many versions of the news story and discussion about it show up on google, and none that I've looked at with any detail.

I wonder if the story is entirely made up? :?
 
Suffolk Police defend 'ninja hunt' e-fit

_74513434_20140427_132958_3175.jpg

E-fit issued by Suffolk Police

The e-fit drew dozens of comments on the Suffolk Police Facebook page

A Suffolk police e-fit showing only the eyes of a suspect has been described as "a ninja" and "a joke" on the force's Facebook page.

Officers issued the image of a hooded man wanted in connection with a knife incident in Little Wratting.

One person wrote: "A man with eyes... Not too many of them around." Another said police were hunting "Darth Vader".

The police said e-fits were "helpful" and the victim gave a detailed description of the man's eyes and hood.

The artist's impression was released on Monday after a man was threatened with a knife in the town on Saturday morning.

'A wind-up'
The suspect is described as a white man, aged in his late 30s to early 40s, around 5ft 10in tall, of skinny build with blonde hair.

A Suffolk Police spokesman said: "The victim was able to describe in detail the offender's eyes, style of cap, hooded top and scarf worn across his face."

He added some people have "come forward" since the e-fit appeal.

But some, posting on the force's social networking site Facebook page, thought the picture was "a wind-up".

Dozens of people commented, including one who wrote: "You'll never catch a ninja" and a number of people suggested it was "a waste" of the artist's time.

Dr Samantha Lundrigan, senior lecturer in criminology at Anglia Ruskin University, in Cambridge, defended the e-fit.

"Assuming that the facial features that are portrayed are accurate, then this man may well be recognisable to those that know him," she said.

"As the e-fit clearly shows the suspect's eyes and some of his eyebrows, it is possibly not quite as useless as it first appears."
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-suffolk-27206233
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Now theres a chance that justice may prevail in this case. There are also details of similar cases and of a surveillance culture in the article.

Driver handcuffed at gunpoint over license plate-reader error

A California woman who was pulled over, handcuffed, and forced to kneel while at least four police officers pointed guns at her can sue the police department over their erroneous license plate reader result, a US federal judge ruled Monday.

Denise Green, who works for San Francisco as a municipal driver, first sued the police department for wrongful detention and excessive force after she was accosted in the March 2009 incident. US District Judge Richard Seeborg initially dismissed her suit, asserting that the police reasonably believed Green was a suspected car thief because of the information transmitted on a vehicle-mounted license plate reader.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals felt otherwise, ruling that a jury should decide the case in no small part because the license plate read by the electronic reader was for “a car with a different make, model and color” than the 1992 Lexus ES300 that Green, a 45-year-old African American, was operating.

“A rational jury could find that (the officers and the city) violated Green’s fourth Amendment rights” prohibiting search and seizure, the court ruled unanimously, as quoted by the San Francisco Chronicle.

The license plate number on Green’s Lexus differed by only one digit from a truck that had been reported stolen. Officer Alberto Esparza admitted he was unable to see her plate or read the photo his camera captured, calling in to the police dispatch to verify that the number picked up was the same as the stolen vehicle.

Between four and six officers responded when the number was wrongly verified. Green was ordered out of her car, patted down, and placed in handcuffs for an estimated 10 minutes while the police combed through her vehicle. It was only when they scanned her true license plate number that the mistake was revealed.

The problem, according to the three member appeals court, was that it was common knowledge that the license plate reader was often wrong. Although it was not strict police policy, officers generally made visual confirmation in order to substantiate the reader’s accuracy. The judges also criticized the officers’ actions because Green was “visibly unthreatening” after being removed from her vehicle.

“During a portion of the time that the officers pointed their weapons at her, Green was handcuffed and secured; moreover, she weighed 250 pounds and was barely able to rise from her knees without assistance,” they wrote.

Michael Haddad, Green’s lawyer, told the Chronicle the suit should convince the department to revise its policing method.

“They have been automatically pointing guns anytime they believe a car was stolen,” he said.

Attorneys for the San Francisco police argued that their belief that the car was stolen was “in and of itself” enough justification for the amount of force, according to Ars Technica. The city is expected to take the case to trial.

This incident comes as the number of surveillance cameras, and vehicle mounted cameras in particular, is becoming increasingly relied upon by law enforcement agencies.

Last month in Prairie Village, Kansas, a man named Mark Molner was wrongfully identified as a car thief and boxed in by at least two police vehicles. Molner told the Prairie Village Post that his wife looked on from another vehicle as an officer walked up to his BMW with a weapon drawn.

“He did not point it at me, but it was definitely out of the holster,” Molner said of the gun. “I am guessing that he saw the shock and horror on my face, and realized that I was unlikely to make a scene.”

Privacy advocates have admitted concern not only with the number of cameras, but with the data they record. The same camera that records a license plate number also tracks the time, date and location while storing that information. Different police agencies keep the data stored for different amounts of time, whether it be days, weeks, or years.

Two years ago a Minneapolis Star Tribune reporter filed a request for his own license plate data records under the state’s open records law. The Minneapolis Police Department turned over an extensive list of dates and times indicating that on any given day over the course of a year the reporter’s car may have been filmed seven times.

“The technology that would make ‘1984’ possible in real life exists now,” Chuck Samuelson, executive director of the Minnesota American Civil Liberties Union, told the paper. “But the infrastructure to protect individuals’ privacies and rights doesn’t exist, particularly on the legislative and judicial side.”
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http://rt.com/usa/158540-sanfran-gunpoi ... ate-error/
 
But the cops aren't the only dumb ones in this sad tale:

Sean Cruise lay dead and undiscovered for almost a week - despite carers searching for him
By Ed Stilliard, Senior Reporter .
7:00am Tuesday 27th May 2014

THE BODY of a Southampton man lay undiscovered in his small flat for almost a week – despite carers searching it three days after his death.
Those charged with visiting and caring for Sean Cruise failed to spot his dead body lying on the floor by a radiator, even though they went in and opened the curtains directly above him.
Instead, his apparent disappearance sparked a major missing persons' inquiry with Hampshire police who spent three days searching for him – but didn’t bother looking in his home.

It was six days after he died that the 52-year-old was eventually discovered when officers finally gained entry to his home and found him dead on the floor.
At an inquest into Mr Cruise’s death, Hampshire coroner Gordon Denson slammed health bosses and described a “considerable breakdown” in the care he was given before he died.

His brother Seamus also told the hearing: “Someone needs to be held accountable so that it doesn't happen someone else. That is all we can ask for.”
He also questioned how nobody spotted him on the floor, adding: “Whoever drew the curtains would have tripped over the body.”

The court heard how he was living alone in an apartment in Atherley Road, Shirley, in a house where others also lived.
There he was visited regularly by NHS Southern Health’s community health team and representatives of the Society of St James, a registered charity that helps the homeless in Southampton.

The inquest was told how alarms bells rang when Mr Cruise, who suffered from schizophrenia, failed to attend a doctor’s appointment in December last year.
Before his death, he had refused to allow care workers into his home for several weeks, making it difficult for his care team to determine how ill he was, despite him living in “squalor”.
But Southern Health and the Society of St James insisted he was receiving regular treatment from his GP and was visited by a care coordinator and support worker.

Sue Grantham, care coordinator with NHS Southern Health’s community health team, told the inquest that she searched his flat, knowing he had not been seen for three days. She had been accompanied by a care worker for the Society of St James, and a representative from property landlords Stonham when they entered the flat on December 27.

She told the hearing: “I find it very difficult to think that I was walking around the room and didn’t see him.
"I genuinely didn’t see him. That has been a mystery to me throughout the whole thing to think that he could have been in there and I didn’t see him.”

Police were called and a missing persons’ investigation was launched, the court was told.
But it was another three days before Mr Cruise was finally found, lying in a pool of vomit, when police searched the flat themselves.

Consultant pathologist Jeffrey Theaker told the court that a post mortem found Mr Cruise had died from a heart attack.
Determining a verdict of death by natural causes deputy coroner Gordon Denson said: “I consider that there was a considerable breakdown in the level of care that Sean should have been expected to receive during the latter part of his life."

He added that he hoped that a report compiled by Southern Health admitting failings in this instance will be “fully implemented so that the failings in his case will not occur again to individuals in the care of Southern Health”.

...

Hampshire Police, who were quizzed by the coroner about why they failed to carry out an immediate search of Mr Cruise’s home when he was reported missing, could not provide any comment.

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/1123672 ... ed/?ref=nt
 
Those charged with visiting and caring for Sean Cruise failed to spot his dead body lying on the floor by a radiator, even though they went in and opened the curtains directly above him.
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That really sounds to me like they missed a visit but wrote in their notes that they did it and opened the curtains. Depending on what time of day he went down, the curtains could already have been open.

A couple of years back I was involved in caring for an elderly neighbour who was supposed to have twice daily visits from district nurses, it wasn't that unusual for them to not turn up sometimes and when that happened, it was never possible to get either an explanation or an acknowledgement.
 
Oh yes, I've seen that done. :evil:

I've had jobs which involved home visits and have seen corners cut and visits and care skimped on. Quite scandalous.

A year or so ago I knew this was happening to a elderly and vulnerable relation so I had some smart electronic surveillance put in. Caught'em out immediately. Caused no end of trouble.
Not for me, of course. :twisted:
 
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