Are we becoming a police state?

[Dar]

Quote:
here .. you hit a cyclist and they charge the cyclist... my son was crossing the street at a green light..he was hit by a car and now he has to go to court.. but because he is not 16 he cant be charged under the highway traffic act so he has to go in front of a judge.

 

[PaulaSB12]

And then there is this

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathryn_Johnston_shooting
Kathryn Johnston (June 26, 1914 - November 21, 2006)[1] was an elderly Atlanta, Georgia woman who was shot by undercover police officers in her home on Neal Street in northwest Atlanta on November 21, 2006, where she had lived for 17 years. Three officers had entered her home in what was later described as a 'botched' drug raid.[2][3][4] Officers cut off burglar bars and broke down her door using a no-knock warrant.[5] Police said Johnston fired at them and they fired in response; she fired one shot out the door over the officers' heads and they fired 39 shots, five or six of which hit her.[3][6] None of the officers were injured by her gunfire, but Johnston was killed by the officers. Police injuries were later attributed to "friendly fire" from each others' weapons.[2][3][6]

One of the officers planted marijuana in Johnston's house after the shooting.[7][8] Later investigations found that the paperwork stating that drugs were present at Johnston's house, which had been the basis for the raid, had been falsified.[3] The officers later admitted to having lied when they submitted cocaine as evidence claiming that they had bought it at Johnston's house.[7] Three officers were tried for manslaughter and other charges surrounding falsification and were sentenced to ten, six, and five years respectively.
The officers, dressed in plainclothes, approached the house at about seven in the evening.[9] Officers Gary Smith, Gregg Junnier, and Arthur Tesler; who were wearing bulletproof vests and carrying riot shields when they entered the home,[10] announced themselves after opening the door but before entering the house, according to police.[11] Johnston fired a gun after police forced open the door.[9] It was later determined that Johnston fired one shot from an old pistol, and none of the officers were hit by that bullet.[12] The police officers fired a total of 39 shots, five or six of which hit Johnston.[13][14][15] Police injuries sustained in the raid were due to friendly fire and were not from Johnston's gun. The officers were hit in the arm, thigh, and shoulder respectively; they were treated at the hospital.[9]

Prosecutors later said that Smith handcuffed Johnston as she was dying.[16] Johnston was pronounced dead at the scene.[17] Prosecutors accused one of the officers of planting three bags of marijuana in the house as an attempted cover-up after no drugs were found in the house.[4] Smith later admitted to having planted the drugs.[3][6] They had been found in an unrelated case earlier that day.[7] Prosecutors also accused Smith of calling Alex White after the shooting and telling the informant to say he had bought crack cocaine at Johnston's house.[16] According to court filings, before talking to the homicide detective, the three officers involved in the shooting got together to get their stories straight.[7]

Johnston lived alone and had lived in that house for about 17 years.[9][18] Her house was in a crime-ridden neighborhood in west Atlanta.[16] People in the neighborhood speculated that the police had the wrong person, but police denied that they had had the wrong house.[9] Neighbors and family said that Johnston kept a "rusty revolver" for self-defense; another elderly woman in her neighborhood had recently been raped, and drug dealing was common.[11] In the year before her murder, Johnston had installed extra locks and burglar bars.[19]


http://www.laweekly.com/2011-02-10/news/officer-down-in-redondo/

 

[dlee]

Yes, I think we have been becoming a police state for many years. Check out "The New World Order" . The "Very Wealthy" & powerful people of this world have been planning a One World Government for decades. Our Federal Government has been & still is making itself more controling by the day. Our Constitution is being trampled on daily. It is becoming scaring that most of us are simply ignoring what our government is doing to us & living in our own little cocoon. I really hope more people will wake up soon. I do ignor the mainstream media, as it DOES NOT report the "REAL" news that is happening. I get all my real news from the internet. That's why "THEY" are trying to control the internet. They are afraid too many of us people will find out what they are really doing to us.

 

[Happy Chooks]

This guy died because they raided the wrong house and refused to allow the paramedics to save him:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/25/jose-guerena-arizona-_n_867020.html

 

[KristyHall]

Quote:
But don't you think the officer over reacted? What happened to restraining the lady like cops use to do before tasers? A taser is extremely dangerous.

He might as well have punched her in the face or shot her in the foot. At least he would have had less of a risk of killing her. The problem I have with tasering people who are non violent , even if they are belligerent, is that it is an over reaction. It is violence. A person does not have a right to be violent to someone just because they are yelling. What worries me is that some officers are using it as a way to solve all problems instead of talking or restraining. Laws need to see a taser as a weapon that is unacceptable to use unless life threatening situations just like a billy club and a gun.

It can kill people. It is being over used.

 

[KristyHall]

Quote:
I have often thought the same thing. It has a lot to do with who's sacred cow is being gored

 

[pepperlady]

I think that we have been a police state for at least 10 years. "Terrorist" events have made the general public willing to give up their civil liberties a little at a time in order to feel "safe". Our own government is using our military to enforce local law & order on a regular basis these days on our own soil. This is a direct conflict with Posse Comitatus and our government doesn't care. They believe that it is okay for them to order our military to break our own federal laws.

Now, let me also say that I love our military and think that it is full of dedicated & hardworking people who love their country & have no reason to believe that they are being used for the greater purpose of maintaining a police state.

Just my 2 cents........

 

[KristyHall]

Quote:
I remember when the Bush administration passed the Patriot Act.

I couldn't breath when I heard it had passed. Some people around me were cheering because they were staunch Bush supporters. I kept saying " It doesn't matter what party you belong to, this is wrong no matter who passes it"

They disagreed. All I kept doing is running it over and over in my mind " This is bad, this is dangerous, this is going to be ripe with abuse"

But during that time, here in my conservative town, so many people were yelling that criticizing the government was unpatriotic. Of course now the people that said that are the very ones criticizing the government because it is being run by a party they do not belong to. To me polititions are polititions. Both parties are the same evil just in different clothes.

 

[krcote]

Quote:
But don't you think the officer over reacted? What happened to restraining the lady like cops use to do before tasers? A taser is extremely dangerous.

He might as well have punched her in the face or shot her in the foot. At least he would have had less of a risk of killing her. The problem I have with tasering people who are non violent , even if they are belligerent, is that it is an over reaction. It is violence. A person does not have a right to be violent to someone just because they are yelling. What worries me is that some officers are using it as a way to solve all problems instead of talking or restraining. Laws need to see a taser as a weapon that is unacceptable to use unless life threatening situations just like a billy club and a gun.

It can kill people. It is being over used.

I suggest you be very careful in your accusations. Unless you have ever been a police officer, you have zero ground to stand on. Buck up, go through what it takes to become a police officer and only then, in the face of you being in this exact situation can you make a judgement. In case it had never occured to you, often times the "police report" that you have read or the information relayed to you by your (I'm sure) very credible news source is not a complete account of what occured.

 

[pepperlady]

Quote:
I remember when the Bush administration passed the Patriot Act.

I couldn't breath when I heard it had passed. Some people around me were cheering because they were staunch Bush supporters. I kept saying " It doesn't matter what party you belong to, this is wrong no matter who passes it"

They disagreed. All I kept doing is running it over and over in my mind " This is bad, this is dangerous, this is going to be ripe with abuse"

But during that time, here in my conservative town, so many people were yelling that criticizing the government was unpatriotic. Of course now the people that said that are the very ones criticizing the government because it is being run by a party they do not belong to. To me polititions are polititions. Both parties are the same evil just in different clothes.

At the time, I could not see the danger of the Patriot Act, but now I see LOTS that I could not or did not want to see before. I think that we are living in an illusion of freedom is some ways instead of true freedom. Thanks for starting this thread. It is great to know that others see this issue for what it really is..............

And a big thanks to all for being civil while talking about such a touchy subject........