Officials: US report finds racial bias in Ferguson police

[Bangkok Herps]

The DoJ Report on the Ferguson police department has some revealing and incriminating data and info for anyone interested enuff to even peruse it.

It's a Byzantine criminal justice system in Ferguson. Once a black citizen gets pulled in, s/he finds it impossible to get out easily or cleanly....or alive. And the FPD has been busy pulling in citizens 24/7.

Fire 'em all, start over again from scratch. Included in the findings of the DoJ Report....

Ferguson's black citizens accounted for 95 percent of all jaywalking fines and warrants.

In order to pay for the local court system (and not motivated by public safety), the city of Ferguson engaged in "illegal and harmful practices" of charging residents high court fees and fees on nonviolent offenses (like jaywalking).

Some people have come to refer to this practice as "taxation by citation."

http://www.uexpress.com/donna-brazile/2015/3/5/the-price-of-freedom-is-vigilance

The homicide cop was unaware of any convenience store incident at the time he drove past his target while hollering at him to stop jaywalking, aka "drive-by policing."

Prez Obama's remarks about the DoJ Report and the sad trail of events in Ferguson have the strongly positive side of raising the Report to the national consciousness. It's there for even the most hard nose keyboardbanger on the right to see but they will never read the Report.

The Report documents how the police had been shaking down the black poor as the agents of the municipal government for the illicit purpose of issuing traffic and pedestrian citations and other bottom feeder revenue streams while the municipal courts enforced the scams against the residents of Ferguson.

So once again The Man is abusing the law and the Constitution while laughing and clicking off racist emails. Then when a black man blows a fuse over a drive by order by a cop to stop jaywalking something happens.

"The Man is abusing the law and the Constitution while laughing and clicking off racist e-mails," lol. I guess "The Man" must mean police officer. How is laughing and sending racist e-mails abusing the law and Constitution? The last time I checked, it is okay to laugh at work. As far as sending racist e-mails at work, that is certainly inappropriate but abusing the law and Constitution?

You refuse to read the report.

So you continue to post ignorance, and everyone who has read the report can see that.

Yet you somehow either don't realize how ignorant you sound, or you don't care.

In the report are numerous and detailed citations of the Police Department violating the 1st, 4th, and 14th amendments as a matter of department policy. The report carefully details the actions that violate the constitution (primarily from the cops' own incident reports), details the Supreme Court cases that show that such actions are a violation of the constitution, and relate the chain-of-command policies that allowed such violations to become a daily problem for the Ferguson PD.

Once again, it's not about emails. The blatantly racist emails were 1 page out of a 102 page report.

But you don't know that. Because even though you've commented on the report in four different threads, you still refuse to read it.

[Publicus]

And why would you have an ounce of trust in Eric Holder's DOJ?

Because the Republican right wing tea party extremists in the Congress hate his guts, which is as good a reason as any.

Eric Holder has on balance done a superb job as attorney general. He and Barack Obama have been the 24/7 moving targets of the unrelenting right wing in Washington centered in the Congress and which has global tentacles.

Eric Holder's handling of Ferguson has been a model for future DoJ and national action, reform, progress. It is what I voted for...twice successfully.

Where do you come up with these crazy ideas? I believe one would look long and hard to find people that hate either Holder or Obama. However, it is easy to find people who dislike their policies and constant race baiting. These two people have left a trail of destruction and devastation behind them from their idiotic decisions and failed policies.

It's no mystery Obama and Holder wanted to find Officer Wilson guilty of killing an unarmed teenager (290 pound thug with the brain of a chimpanzee). Anytime DOJ launches these investigations against state and local law enforcement agencies, they have unlimited funds to find wrong doing when little exists. Holder had unlimited time and money and even with Obama prodding him along, he was unable to find any wrong doing by Officer Wilson. They did manage to ruin his career in law enforcement with their modern day witch hunt.

I see you stopped using your constant "Dirty Harry" name calling when referring to former Officer Wilson.

constant race baiting.

Saying Prez Obama and Attorney Gen Holder engage in any "race baiting" is a 100% false statement from the far out fringe extreme of society and itself suggests an anti-social pathology toward people of color, against government per se, and it constitutes a complete rejection of democratic electoral processes. It, in short, makes the accuser illegitimate.

The DoJ Report of its months long investigation of the Ferguson police department found violations of the First, Fourth, Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution, each of which in fact guarantee citizens their civil and human rights against an abusive and tyrannical government, in this instance their local government, the local police in particular.

The DoJ Report further found the Ferguson police department is in an ongoing violation of "federal statutes," specifically, the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In short, the Ferguson Police Department is an organized crime gang that needs to be corrected in the interests of society.

The DoJ Report, stated in other words, describes a police department that not only is corrupt, it is a Fort Apache where paramilitarism reigns and drive-by policing and curbside justice are the everyday practice.

The unifying of the municipal government, the FPD and the county courts to send police out into the community to raise revenue by stopping ordinary citizens to arrest them, charge them, jail them, for the purpose of extorting money to fund the local government constitutes the gross violation of every principle and practice of a government of the people, for the people, by the people.

POLICE USE MILITARY WEAPONS TO OCCUPY FERGUSON, MISSOURI

https://www.google.com/search?

Police and dogs in Selma, Alabama on March 7, 1965 and police and dogs in Ferguson, Missouri, August 12, 2014.

In 1965 President Lyndon Baines Johnson federalized the Alabama Army National Guard to his command and ordered it to turn around to protect the demonstrators rather than, acting on orders of their Governor, George C. Wallace, obstruct them.

In 2015 Attorney Gen Eric Holder released the DoJ Report of Ferguson and President Barack Hussein Obama went to Selma to observe the 50th year since the Selma voting rights demonstration and march.

http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/selma-montgomery-march/videos/march-from-selma-to-montgomery

Edited March 9, 2015 by Publicus

[beechguy]

And why would you have an ounce of trust in Eric Holder's DOJ?

Because the Republican right wing tea party extremists in the Congress hate his guts, which is as good a reason as any.

Eric Holder has on balance done a superb job as attorney general. He and Barack Obama have been the 24/7 moving targets of the unrelenting right wing in Washington centered in the Congress and which has global tentacles.

Eric Holder's handling of Ferguson has been a model for future DoJ and national action, reform, progress. It is what I voted for...twice successfully.

Where do you come up with these crazy ideas? I believe one would look long and hard to find people that hate either Holder or Obama. However, it is easy to find people who dislike their policies and constant race baiting. These two people have left a trail of destruction and devastation behind them from their idiotic decisions and failed policies.

It's no mystery Obama and Holder wanted to find Officer Wilson guilty of killing an unarmed teenager (290 pound thug with the brain of a chimpanzee). Anytime DOJ launches these investigations against state and local law enforcement agencies, they have unlimited funds to find wrong doing when little exists. Holder had unlimited time and money and even with Obama prodding him along, he was unable to find any wrong doing by Officer Wilson. They did manage to ruin his career in law enforcement with their modern day witch hunt.

I see you stopped using your constant "Dirty Harry" name calling when referring to former Officer Wilson.

constant race baiting.

Saying Prez Obama and Attorney Gen Holder engage in any "race baiting" is a 100% false statement from the far out fringe extreme of society and itself suggests an anti-social pathology toward people of color, against government per se, and it constitutes a complete rejection of democratic electoral processes. It, in short, makes the accuser illegitimate.

The DoJ Report of its months long investigation of the Ferguson police department found violations of the First, Fourth, Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution, each of which in fact guarantee citizens their civil and human rights against an abusive and tyrannical government, in this instance their local government, the local police in particular.

The DoJ Report further found the Ferguson police department is in an ongoing violation of "federal statutes," specifically, the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In short, the Ferguson Police Department is an organized crime gang that needs to be corrected in the interests of society.

The DoJ Report, stated in other words, describes a police department that not only is corrupt, it is a Fort Apache where paramilitarism reigns and drive-by policing and curbside justice are the everyday practice.

The unifying of the municipal government, the FPD and the county courts to send police out into the community to raise revenue by stopping ordinary citizens to arrest them, charge them, jail them, for the purpose of extorting money to fund the local government constitutes the gross violation of every principle and practice of a government of the people, for the people, by the people.

POLICE USE MILITARY WEAPONS TO OCCUPY FERGUSON, MISSOURI

https://www.google.com/search?

Police and dogs in Selma, Alabama on March 7, 1965 and police and dogs in Ferguson, Missouri, August 12, 2014.

In 1965 President Lyndon Baines Johnson federalized the Alabama Army National Guard to his command and ordered it to turn around to protect the demonstrators rather than, acting on orders of their Governor, George C. Wallace, obstruct them.

In 2015 Attorney Gen Eric Holder released the DoJ Report of Ferguson and President Barack Hussein Obama went to Selma to observe the 50th year since the Selma voting rights demonstration and march.

http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/selma-montgomery-march/videos/march-from-selma-to-Montgomery

What military weapons? The rifles? Were they fully automatic M-16's or M-4's? Do you really think a 12 ga. with buckshot, would be any less lethal?

As to the dogs, if they worked then, why not now? I see police and security dogs on a regular basis, I've never had a problem with them.

Note the comment scrawled on the mailbox, lovely neighborhood. Out of curiosity, have you ever lived in a low to mid level income, predominantly black neighborhood?

As usual, more shrill ranting hysterics.

Edited March 10, 2015 by Scott

[Bangkok Herps]

Beechguy - when do you think the last time was that the Ferguson PD used those dogs on a White person?

[Publicus]

constant race baiting.

Saying Prez Obama and Attorney Gen Holder engage in any "race baiting" is a 100% false statement from the far out fringe extreme of society and itself suggests an anti-social pathology toward people of color, against government per se, and it constitutes a complete rejection of democratic electoral processes. It, in short, makes the accuser illegitimate.

The DoJ Report of its months long investigation of the Ferguson police department found violations of the First, Fourth, Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution, each of which in fact guarantee citizens their civil and human rights against an abusive and tyrannical government, in this instance their local government, the local police in particular.

The DoJ Report further found the Ferguson police department is in an ongoing violation of "federal statutes," specifically, the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In short, the Ferguson Police Department is an organized crime gang that needs to be corrected in the interests of society.

The DoJ Report, stated in other words, describes a police department that not only is corrupt, it is a Fort Apache where paramilitarism reigns and drive-by policing and curbside justice are the everyday practice.

The unifying of the municipal government, the FPD and the county courts to send police out into the community to raise revenue by stopping ordinary citizens to arrest them, charge them, jail them, for the purpose of extorting money to fund the local government constitutes the gross violation of every principle and practice of a government of the people, for the people, by the people.

POLICE USE MILITARY WEAPONS TO OCCUPY FERGUSON, MISSOURI

https://www.google.com/search?

Police and dogs in Selma, Alabama on March 7, 1965 and police and dogs in Ferguson, Missouri, August 12, 2014.

In 1965 President Lyndon Baines Johnson federalized the Alabama Army National Guard to his command and ordered it to turn around to protect the demonstrators rather than, acting on orders of their Governor, George C. Wallace, obstruct them.

In 2015 Attorney Gen Eric Holder released the DoJ Report of Ferguson and President Barack Hussein Obama went to Selma to observe the 50th year since the Selma voting rights demonstration and march.

http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/selma-montgomery-march/videos/march-from-selma-to-Montgomery

What military weapons? The rifles? Were they fully automatic M-16's or M-4's? Do you really think a 12 ga. with buckshot, would be any less lethal?

As to the dogs, if they worked then, why not now? I see police and security dogs on a regular basis, I've never had a problem with them.

Note the comment scrawled on the mailbox, lovely neighborhood. Out of curiosity, have you ever lived in a low to mid level income, predominantly black neighborhood?

As usual, more shrill ranting hysterics.

The post has no hysterics so the historical record of cold hard facts needs a continuing presentation, given the events discussed and recorded in the DoJ Ferguson report are but an extension of the historical role of the police in all of this. There have been many such or similar reports, such as the 1968 Kerner Commission Report, commissioned by Prez Johnson, observed that,

Also distinctive is the fact that recent violence, often growing out of a police incident, has been restricted to ghetto areas and involves blacks striking out at the authorities, property, and symbols of white society, rather than at whites per se. Earlier racial violence, not restricted to ghetto areas, tended to be initiated by whites and involved black and white civilians with authorities often playing a passive role.

http://web.mit.edu/gtmarx/www/kerner.html

Yes, as the 1968 report documents and as continues to be true, "...violence, often growing out of police incident..." is a matter of record.

So let's take a good look at the fact the police have always been on the front line of legal opposition to civil rights, to include the enforcement of segregation laws and other Jim Crow laws. Historically in relation to civil rights, the police have not been mediators either. Nor has the consistent police presence against civil rights been a calming factor. Historically and as indicated in the photo immediately below, from 1963 in Birmingham, Alabama, the police haven't regularly been known to de-escalate even a peaceful non-violent civil rights demonstration led by the Nobel Peace Laureate, Rev Dr. M.L. King Jr as this one was.

A 17-year-old civil rights demonstrator is attacked by a police dog in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963

I share the view of the International Association of Chiefs of Police President Richard Beary of Florida, who said last year in the wake of Ferguson, "Ninety-eight percent of the time, police do the right thing." All the same, however, one cannot be sure Chief Beary whom I very much respect, was speaking about the history of the police throughout America and the black civil rights movement, right up to the present.

Here are the local police demolishing yet another civil rights demonstration that was peaceful, passive non-violent, led also by Dr. King.

On March 7, 1965, more than 500 marchers peacefully demonstrating the need for the passage of the Voting Rights Act were met on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama by police and dogs and beaten so badly that the day became known as Bloody Sunday.

Police unions have always played a powerful role in defending cops—no matter how brutal and racist their actions. (Ben Musseig / Flickr)

Edited March 10, 2015 by Scott

[beechguy]

Beechguy - when do you think the last time was that the Ferguson PD used those dogs on a White person?

The last time they thought it was necessary to detain a white suspect, or to protect the police officer.

[beechguy]

constant race baiting.

Saying Prez Obama and Attorney Gen Holder engage in any "race baiting" is a 100% false statement from the far out fringe extreme of society and itself suggests an anti-social pathology toward people of color, against government per se, and it constitutes a complete rejection of democratic electoral processes. It, in short, makes the accuser illegitimate.

The DoJ Report of its months long investigation of the Ferguson police department found violations of the First, Fourth, Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution, each of which in fact guarantee citizens their civil and human rights against an abusive and tyrannical government, in this instance their local government, the local police in particular.

The DoJ Report further found the Ferguson police department is in an ongoing violation of "federal statutes," specifically, the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In short, the Ferguson Police Department is an organized crime gang that needs to be corrected in the interests of society.

The DoJ Report, stated in other words, describes a police department that not only is corrupt, it is a Fort Apache where paramilitarism reigns and drive-by policing and curbside justice are the everyday practice.

The unifying of the municipal government, the FPD and the county courts to send police out into the community to raise revenue by stopping ordinary citizens to arrest them, charge them, jail them, for the purpose of extorting money to fund the local government constitutes the gross violation of every principle and practice of a government of the people, for the people, by the people.

POLICE USE MILITARY WEAPONS TO OCCUPY FERGUSON, MISSOURI

Police and dogs in Selma, Alabama on March 7, 1965 and police and dogs in Ferguson, Missouri, August 12, 2014.

In 1965 President Lyndon Baines Johnson federalized the Alabama Army National Guard to his command and ordered it to turn around to protect the demonstrators rather than, acting on orders of their Governor, George C. Wallace, obstruct them.

In 2015 Attorney Gen Eric Holder released the DoJ Report of Ferguson and President Barack Hussein Obama went to Selma to observe the 50th year since the Selma voting rights demonstration and march.

What military weapons? The rifles? Were they fully automatic M-16's or M-4's? Do you really think a 12 ga. with buckshot, would be any less lethal?

As to the dogs, if they worked then, why not now? I see police and security dogs on a regular basis, I've never had a problem with them.

Note the comment scrawled on the mailbox, lovely neighborhood. Out of curiosity, have you ever lived in a low to mid level income, predominantly black neighborhood?

As usual, more shrill ranting hysterics.

The post has no hysterics so the historical record of cold hard facts needs a continuing presentation, given the events discussed and recorded in the DoJ Ferguson report are but an extension of the historical role of the police in all of this. There have been many such or similar reports, such as the 1968 Kerner Commission Report, commissioned by Prez Johnson, observed that,

Also distinctive is the fact that recent violence, often growing out of a police incident, has been restricted to ghetto areas and involves blacks striking out at the authorities, property, and symbols of white society, rather than at whites per se. Earlier racial violence, not restricted to ghetto areas, tended to be initiated by whites and involved black and white civilians with authorities often playing a passive role.

http://web.mit.edu/gtmarx/www/kerner.html

Yes, as the 1968 report documents and as continues to be true, "...violence, often growing out of police incident..." is a matter of record.

So let's take a good look at the fact the police have always been on the front line of legal opposition to civil rights, to include the enforcement of segregation laws and other Jim Crow laws. Historically in relation to civil rights, the police have not been mediators either. Nor has the consistent police presence against civil rights been a calming factor. Historically and as indicated in the photo immediately below, from 1963 in Birmingham, Alabama, the police haven't regularly been known to de-escalate even a peaceful non-violent civil rights demonstration led by the Nobel Peace Laureate, Rev Dr. M.L. King Jr as this one was.

A 17-year-old civil rights demonstrator is attacked by a police dog in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963

I share the view of the International Association of Chiefs of Police President Richard Beary of Florida, who said last year in the wake of Ferguson, "Ninety-eight percent of the time, police do the right thing." All the same, however, one cannot be sure Chief Beary whom I very much respect, was speaking about the history of the police throughout America and the black civil rights movement, right up to the present.

Here are the local police demolishing yet another civil rights demonstration that was peaceful, passive non-violent, led also by Dr. King.

On March 7, 1965, more than 500 marchers peacefully demonstrating the need for the passage of the Voting Rights Act were met on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama by police and dogs and beaten so badly that the day became known as Bloody Sunday.

Police unions have always played a powerful role in defending cops—no matter how brutal and racist their actions. (Ben Musseig / Flickr)

You do have me believing one thing, you must have a close relationship to what goes on within the Beltway, a normal human being would be too embarrassed by now, to continue posting.

I asked some simple questions and you ignored all of them. You had to go all the way back to the 1960's, to find evidence to support your shrill protestations?

So, the dear leader and Holder think this is a new problem? Obviously not, but if it was so urgent, as in immigration, voter rights, and all the other urgent circumstances, why didn't they get off their ass 6 years ago, and begin doing something about it then? Because Obama is incompetent, and doesn't know how to set priorities, skills most of us learned by actually working for living.

[Publicus]

The post is not a response to the historical fact and reality the police have been on the front lines in a violent resistance and opposition to civil rights for most of the 238 years of the United States.

Since Brown v Board of Education in 1954, when SCOTUS unanimously ruled segregated schools are unconstitutional, thereby clearing the way for the modern civil rights movement of Dr. M.L. King Jr., the police in the United States have been recorded by the mass media both print and broadcast as violently and aggressively against civil rights, consistently, persistently, wherever civil rights campaigns have occurred, which is almost everywhere.

Now we have the Ferguson PD, a gang of organized criminals in a paramilitary blue line of corruption violating the Constitution and the laws of the United States normally and routinely each and every day. FPD members specifically in violation of the Constitution and the laws of the United States need to be introduced to some certain correctional services as a guest of Uncle Sam to include free accommodations and meals in the Big House.

Until the small but significant minority of corrupt and criminal cops in the United States who continue to be violently opposed to civil rights for citizens of the United States completely and radically change their attitude by acquiring the professionalism and competence of the vast majority of police in the country, and also join the mainstream of American society broadly and in general, the Dirty Harry cops will continue to deserve the great disrespect and contempt of the great mass of ordinary Americans, a contempt that these unconstitutional cops have earned by their pathetic and miserable conduct and behaviors of the past 60 years especially.

[sdanielmcev]

More of my Mother's tax dollars wasted.

[CMNightRider]

And why would you have an ounce of trust in Eric Holder's DOJ?

Because the Republican right wing tea party extremists in the Congress hate his guts, which is as good a reason as any.

Eric Holder has on balance done a superb job as attorney general. He and Barack Obama have been the 24/7 moving targets of the unrelenting right wing in Washington centered in the Congress and which has global tentacles.

Eric Holder's handling of Ferguson has been a model for future DoJ and national action, reform, progress. It is what I voted for...twice successfully.

Where do you come up with these crazy ideas? I believe one would look long and hard to find people that hate either Holder or Obama. However, it is easy to find people who dislike their policies and constant race baiting. These two people have left a trail of destruction and devastation behind them from their idiotic decisions and failed policies.

It's no mystery Obama and Holder wanted to find Officer Wilson guilty of killing an unarmed teenager (290 pound thug with the brain of a chimpanzee). Anytime DOJ launches these investigations against state and local law enforcement agencies, they have unlimited funds to find wrong doing when little exists. Holder had unlimited time and money and even with Obama prodding him along, he was unable to find any wrong doing by Officer Wilson. They did manage to ruin his career in law enforcement with their modern day witch hunt.

I see you stopped using your constant "Dirty Harry" name calling when referring to former Officer Wilson.

constant race baiting.

Saying Prez Obama and Attorney Gen Holder engage in any "race baiting" is a 100% false statement from the far out fringe extreme of society and itself suggests an anti-social pathology toward people of color, against government per se, and it constitutes a complete rejection of democratic electoral processes. It, in short, makes the accuser illegitimate.

The DoJ Report of its months long investigation of the Ferguson police department found violations of the First, Fourth, Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution, each of which in fact guarantee citizens their civil and human rights against an abusive and tyrannical government, in this instance their local government, the local police in particular.

The DoJ Report further found the Ferguson police department is in an ongoing violation of "federal statutes," specifically, the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In short, the Ferguson Police Department is an organized crime gang that needs to be corrected in the interests of society.

The DoJ Report, stated in other words, describes a police department that not only is corrupt, it is a Fort Apache where paramilitarism reigns and drive-by policing and curbside justice are the everyday practice.

The unifying of the municipal government, the FPD and the county courts to send police out into the community to raise revenue by stopping ordinary citizens to arrest them, charge them, jail them, for the purpose of extorting money to fund the local government constitutes the gross violation of every principle and practice of a government of the people, for the people, by the people.

POLICE USE MILITARY WEAPONS TO OCCUPY FERGUSON, MISSOURI

Police and dogs in Selma, Alabama on March 7, 1965 and police and dogs in Ferguson, Missouri, August 12, 2014.

In 1965 President Lyndon Baines Johnson federalized the Alabama Army National Guard to his command and ordered it to turn around to protect the demonstrators rather than, acting on orders of their Governor, George C. Wallace, obstruct them.

In 2015 Attorney Gen Eric Holder released the DoJ Report of Ferguson and President Barack Hussein Obama went to Selma to observe the 50th year since the Selma voting rights demonstration and march.

You should have posted photos of the blacks rioting and attempting to destroy the city of Ferguson, over a justified police shooting. No one should need a history lesson to see how we got from the 60's to now. What is far more interesting is government agencies for years have been providing assistance to black people in an effort to bring them out of property. A very small percentage of them actually took advantage of the educational and employment opportunities and have succeeded in life.

Unfortunately, a much larger percentage think welfare is a career choice, and many of the young black men like Brown, think being a gang banger is way more cool than working for a living.

I believe Holder should have launched an investigation into why such a large portion of the black population in Ferguson, have failed to take advantage of all of the government provided assistance in education and employment opportunities, and why they tend to let their children grow up to be like Brown.

Obama, Holder, Sharpton, and people like Jessie Jackson, cause racial bias every time they speak about race issues. These people are piss poor choices for leaders for young blacks to look up to.

[sgtsabai]

Actually easier for right wing racists to deny the truth and spout right wing faux (not the) news talking points. As they do day after day after day. Try this for learning how black people feel about policing in America if you dare: http://crooksandliars.com/2015/03/yes-black-america-fears-police-here-s-why?utm_source=Crooks+and+Liars+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=e13035c20d-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d4904be7bc-e13035c20d-327017065 . The "welfare queen" theory has long been disproved by real evidence. When one cannot get a decent education and a decent job, one does what one has to do. I freely admit to receiving food stamps and aid for dependent children when I was raising my young son by myself, despite the fbi's illegal effort and interference.

[beechguy]

Actually easier for right wing racists to deny the truth and spout right wing faux (not the) news talking points. As they do day after day after day. Try this for learning how black people feel about policing in America if you dare: http://crooksandliars.com/2015/03/yes-black-america-fears-police-here-s-why?utm_source=Crooks+and+Liars+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=e13035c20d-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d4904be7bc-e13035c20d-327017065 . The "welfare queen" theory has long been disproved by real evidence. When one cannot get a decent education and a decent job, one does what one has to do. I freely admit to receiving food stamps and aid for dependent children when I was raising my young son by myself, despite the fbi's illegal effort and interference.

Tell that bullshit to my black classmate that is on an airport commission, or to another that is in an upper level education administration department job, or to the lady that is a bank branch manager, all from a very modest background.

I understand anyone can have difficulties, and that's good that we help them. But, before you had the child, did it not occur to you, that it was going to cost money? How about a little self responsibility.

Blaming whitey isn't the answer, well except for Al Sharpton, he's made a good living at it.

Edited March 10, 2015 by beechguy

[sgtsabai]

That child grew up to become a Navy SEAL, had to outdo his USMC Sgt dad. And yea, what the hell did you think I was doing besides taking responsiblity? Tell that bullshit to him, you might wake up, in a hospital. In fact, try saying it to my face. Did you bother to read the link, of course not. We, we, you have a mouse in your back pocket, ese'? If you think the Ferguson police aren't racist then you can think that (says plenty in itself), after all everybody is entitled to the real facts, not just your version of the facts.

[H1w4yR1da]

It appears the DOJ report on Ferguson is actually a complete fraud.

" Sorry: The Justice report doesn’t prove disparate treatment, let alone discrimination."

http://nypost.com/2015/03/09/ferguson-fake-out-justice-departments-bogus-report/

Tell that bullshit to him, you might wake up, in a hospital. In fact, try saying it to my face.

Oh oh! Internet Tough Guy Alert!

Enough with the threats already. Embarrassing!

Edited March 10, 2015 by H1w4yR1da

[beechguy]

That child grew up to become a Navy SEAL, had to outdo his USMC Sgt dad. And yea, what the hell did you think I was doing besides taking responsiblity? Tell that bullshit to him, you might wake up, in a hospital. In fact, try saying it to my face. Did you bother to read the link, of course not. We, we, you have a mouse in your back pocket, ese'? If you think the Ferguson police aren't racist then you can think that (says plenty in itself), after all everybody is entitled to the real facts, not just your version of the facts.

I appreciate your and your son's service, my son was in Navy as Medic, served with the Marines. I couldn't get a waiver, but worked with different branches of the military over 20 years, including Iraq and Afghanistan. So I do have clue what that's like. But, you also make my point, that if people are motivated, they will move forward. You did take responsibility, so you don't exactly fit the description do you?

By the way, yes, I read the article, nothing new far as I'm concerned. I grew up in a small town that was predominantly black, and in the south. So, yes I'm familiar with their attitudes about the police.

As to saying anything to your face, I pretty much say whatever I want, when I want. Deal with it.

Bottom line, all of this has been going on for decades, or actually centuries. Is it a problem, sure, but Obama, Holder, and Sharpton are playing you guys.

Edited March 10, 2015 by beechguy

[Bangkok Herps]

Beechguy - when do you think the last time was that the Ferguson PD used those dogs on a White person?

The last time they thought it was necessary to detain a white suspect, or to protect the police officer.

I guess that just doesn't happen in Ferguson, then. At least it didn't happen a single time in the years of reports handed over to the DOJ by the Ferguson PD.

[Bangkok Herps]

Tell that bullshit to my black classmate that is on an airport commission, or to another that is in an upper level education administration department job, or to the lady that is a bank branch manager, all from a very modest background.

I understand anyone can have difficulties, and that's good that we help them. But, before you had the child, did it not occur to you, that it was going to cost money? How about a little self responsibility.

Blaming whitey isn't the answer, well except for Al Sharpton, he's made a good living at it.

Al Sharpton is a fool, but that has nothing to do with anything.

I am not surprised that you used the "self-responsibility" line, quite close to the "personal responsibility" line that the city officials used against Black people in Ferguson...at the same time that they were fixing tickets for each other's White friends.

If you read the report, there's quite a bit about how Black people often tried to take responsibility, but how the city made it as difficult as possible for them to do so. I'll give you some quotes soon.

[sgtsabai]

I do not appreciate or want your "appreciation" of my or my son's service. I'm sick of that "thank you for your service" crap. No keyboard warrior here. No threats, just promises. I live in the Udon/Nong Khai area. I can't believe anybody in their right, oops, oh yea forgot right, mind would believe anything that Murdock rag printed. Just another version of his right wing propaganda faux (not the) news. I intensly dislike both Obama and Holder, but for real reasons, not their race. Nothing Obama or Holder has done or said could possibly considered "race baiting" by any sane person. On the other hand there is a lot of dog whistles in the right wing, a lot. Ferguson and many PD's are guilty of racial discrimination. I grew up in a small town in the south also, and I don't blame the blacks for their attitude towards cops in the least.

[sgtsabai]

Should have are a lot of dog whistles, and should have included many posters on this forum.

[sgtsabai]

Sorry 'bout that, should have been. Thunderstorm seems to have screwed up a few things, like the power and my ability to post correctly...lol.

[Bangkok Herps]

It appears the DOJ report on Ferguson is actually a complete fraud.

" Sorry: The Justice report doesn’t prove disparate treatment, let alone discrimination."

http://nypost.com/2015/03/09/ferguson-fake-out-justice-departments-bogus-report/

Tell that bullshit to him, you might wake up, in a hospital. In fact, try saying it to my face.

Oh oh! Internet Tough Guy Alert!

Enough with the threats already. Embarrassing!

John Lott!!! The right wing's favorite gun rights's guy and random politics mouthpiece who made up fake studies, fake data, and even created a fake internet persona in order to trump up his own research! This is the same guy who tried to claim that Obama was voiding all the Black Republican votes in Florida, right? In Michelle Malkin's words, he shows, "extensive willingness to deceive to protect and promote his own work". You know Michelle Malkin, the popular far-right columnist, right? When she's already tossed him under the bus, I can't believe there are actually people who would still take him seriously. Then again, this is the New York Post we're talking about here. lol

If you read the report, and then read Lott's article, you'd realize that it was nonsense. You say it shows the report is a "complete fraud", yet Lott at no point ever addressed 90% of the report, including the massive list of constitutional violations of the 1st, 4th, and 8th Amendments in Ferguson that would hold true no matter whether any of Lott's claims about the numbers were true or not. There was also ample evidence for violation of the 14th Amendment that would hold true even if Lott's claims about possible other explanations for a small portion of the evidence held accurate. The DOJ showed discriminatory results at every stage in the process, not simply at people being pulled over, and that effect held true even when the data was normalized for other demographic factors and the reason the stop was made (something Lott never addresses). Lott doesn't address why Black people in Ferguson were searched far more often even though White people in Ferguson were more likely to be found with contraband on them. Lott doesn't address why speeding tickets in Ferguson made without radar proof showed 50% more bias against African-Americans than speeding tickets made with radar proof, or why crimes based on officer judgement calls (like "Manner of Walking" and "Failure to Comply") showed far more anti-Black bias than serious crimes that have to be proved with evidence, like DUIs. He doesn't address the biased record of dismissals and voiding of cases. Not to mention that the federal numbers themselves are emblematic of a larger problem.

And Lott's speculation on the emails was already proven false, as three of the people involved were still working with the department to this day and have already been fired or force to resign in the last week. I'm sure Lott knows that, but his tendency to leave out anything which disproves his case and misrepresent that data he has is only in line with...his entire career to this date.

Edited March 10, 2015 by Bangkok Herps

[Bangkok Herps]

Here is a response to beechguy's post, and to the others who don't understand how difficult the City of Ferguson made life for its residents, especially the poor and Black ones. And also for CMNightRider and his friends, who keep referring to anyone abused by Ferguson's system as "criminals".

It was obvious from the report that the City of Ferguson worked to get as many people as they possibly could into the court system, whether they were “criminals” or not. Most of the adult population of Ferguson had a warrant out for their arrest as some time or another, and it was for things as ridiculous as having their grass too long, parking tickets, traffic tickets, jaywalking, etc. It is made clear over and over again in the City's own documentation that they weren't going after these people because of any public safety issue, but in order to try to raise funds to make as much money as possible off of their own citizens.

Here are a few more quotes from the report (in addition to the excessive use of force quotes I posted earlier, and some more clear constitutional violation quotes that I'll post soon). They are out-of-order compared to how they were listed in the report. I could have included a LOT more - I believe there was around 20 pages on this topic alone in the report.

The City budgets for sizeable increases in municipal fines and fees each year, exhorts police and court staff to deliver those revenue increases, and closely monitors whether those increases are achieved. City officials routinely urge Chief Jackson to generate more revenue through enforcement. In March 2010, for instance, the City Finance Director wrote to Chief Jackson that “unless ticket writing ramps up significantly before the end of the year, it will be hard to significantly raise collections next year. . . . Given that we are looking at a substantial sales tax shortfall, it’s not an insignificant issue.” Similarly, in March 2013, the Finance Director wrote to the City Manager: “Court fees are anticipated to rise about 7.5%. I did ask the Chief if he thought the PD could deliver 10% increase. He indicated they could try.” The importance of focusing on revenue generation is communicated to FPD officers. Ferguson police officers from all ranks told us that revenue generation is stressed heavily within the police department, and that the message comes from City leadership. The evidence we reviewed supports this perception.

The City’s emphasis on revenue generation has a profound effect on FPD’s approach to law enforcement. Patrol assignments and schedules are geared toward aggressive enforcement of Ferguson’s municipal code, with insufficient thought given to whether enforcement strategies promote public safety or unnecessarily undermine community trust and cooperation. Officer evaluations and promotions depend to an inordinate degree on “productivity,” meaning the number of citations issued. Partly as a consequence of City and FPD priorities, many officers appear to see some residents, especially those who live in Ferguson’s predominantly African-American neighborhoods, less as constituents to be protected than as potential offenders and sources of revenue.

As directed, FPD supervisors and line officers have undertaken the aggressive code enforcement required to meet the City’s revenue generation expectations. As discussed below in Part III.A., FPD officers routinely conduct stops that have little relation to public safety and a questionable basis in law. FPD officers routinely issue multiple citations during a single stop, often for the same violation. Issuing three or four charges in one stop is not uncommon in Ferguson. Officers sometimes write six, eight, or, in at least one instance, fourteen citations for a single encounter. Indeed, officers told us that some compete to see who can issue the largest number of citations during a single stop.

The City closely monitors whether FPD’s enforcement efforts are bringing in revenue at the desired rate. Consistently over the last several years, the Police Chief has directly reported to City officials FPD’s successful efforts at raising revenue through policing, and City officials have continued to encourage those efforts and request regular updates. For example, in June 2010, at the request of the City, the Chief prepared a report comparing court revenues in Ferguson to court revenues for cities of similar sizes. The Chief’s email sending the report to the City Manager notes that, “of the 80 St. Louis County Municipal Courts reporting revenue, only 8, including Ferguson, have collections greater than one million dollars.” (Ferguson's revenue is now well over $2 million/year.)

Similarly, in March 2011, the Chief reported to the City Manager that court revenue in February was $179,862.50, and that the total “beat our next biggest month in the last four years by over $17,000,” to which the City Manager responded: “Wonderful!” In a June 2011 email from Chief Jackson to the Finance Director and City Manager, the Chief reported that “May is the 6th straight month in which court revenue (gross) has exceeded the previous year.” The City Manager again applauded the Chief’s efforts, and the Finance Director added praise, noting that the Chief is “substantially in control of the outcome.” The Finance Director further recommended in this email greater police and judicial enforcement to “have a profound effect on collections.” Similarly, in a January 2013 email from Chief Jackson to the City Manager, the Chief reported: “Municipal Court gross revenue for calendar year 2012 passed the $2,000,000 mark for the first time in history, reaching $2,066,050 (not including red light photo enforcement).” The City Manager responded: “Awesome! Thanks!” In one March 2012 email, the Captain of the Patrol Division reported directly to the City Manager that court collections in February 2012 reached $235,000, and that this was the first month collections ever exceeded $200,000. The Captain noted that “[t]he [court clerk] girls have been swamped all day with a line of people paying off fines today. Since 9:30 this morning there hasn’t been less than 5 people waiting in line and for the last three hours 10 to 15 people at all times.” The City Manager enthusiastically reported the Captain’s email to the City Council and congratulated both police department and court staff on their “great work.”

In an April 2014 communication from the Finance Director to Chief Jackson and the City Manager, the Finance Director recommended immediate implementation of an “I-270 traffic enforcement initiative” in order to “begin to fill the revenue pipeline.” The Finance Director’s email attached a computation of the net revenues that would be generated by the initiative, which required paying five officers overtime for highway traffic enforcement for a four-hour shift. The Finance Director stated that “there is nothing to keep us from running this initiative 1,2,3,4,5,6, or even 7 days a week. Admittedly at 7 days per week[] we would see diminishing returns.” Indeed, in a separate email to FPD supervisors, the Patrol Captain explained that “[t]he plan behind this [initiative] is to PRODUCE traffic tickets, not provide easy OT.” There is no indication that anyone considered whether community policing and public safety would be better served by devoting five overtime officers to neighborhood policing instead of a “revenue pipeline” of highway traffic enforcement. Rather, the only downsides to the program that City officials appear to have considered are that “this initiative requires 60 to 90 [days] of lead time to turn citations into cash,” and that Missouri law caps the proportion of revenue that can come from municipal fines at 30%, which limits the extent to which the program can be used. See Mo. Rev. Stat. § 302.341.2. With regard to the statewide-cap issue, the Finance Director advised: “As the RLCs [Red Light Cameras] net revenues ramp up to whatever we believe its annualized rate will be, then we can figure out how to balance the two programs to get their total revenues as close as possible to the statutory limit of 30%.”

Not all officers within FPD agree with this approach. Several officers commented on the futility of imposing mounting penalties on people who will never be able to afford them. One member of FPD’s command staff quoted an old adage, asking: “How can you get blood from a turnip?” Another questioned why FPD did not allow residents to use their limited resources to fix equipment violations, such as broken headlights, rather than paying that money to the City, as fixing the equipment violation would more directly benefit public safety.

Even relatively routine misconduct by Ferguson police officers can have significant consequences for the people whose rights are violated. For example, in the summer of 2012, a 32-year-old African-American man sat in his car cooling off after playing basketball in a Ferguson public park. An officer pulled up behind the man’s car, blocking him in, and demanded the man’s Social Security number and identification. Without any cause, the officer accused the man of being a pedophile, referring to the presence of children in the park, and ordered the man out of his car for a pat-down, although the officer had no reason to believe the man was armed. The officer also asked to search the man’s car. The man objected, citing his constitutional rights. In response, the officer arrested the man, reportedly at gunpoint, charging him with eight violations of Ferguson’s municipal code. One charge, Making a False Declaration, was for initially providing the short form of his first name (e.g., “Mike” instead of “Michael”), and an address which, although legitimate, was different from the one on his driver’s license. Another charge was for not wearing a seat belt, even though he was seated in a parked car. The officer also charged the man both with having an expired operator’s license, and with having no operator’s license in his possession. The man told us that, because of these charges, he lost his job as a contractor with the federal government that he had held for years.

This also shows how laughable it was that Hawker9000 claims to have read the report and yet couldn't understand what the Court and the PD had to do with each other. It was clear that they were hand-in-hand with everything that occurred.

Edited March 10, 2015 by Bangkok Herps

[Bangkok Herps]

Now, getting the ticket is just the beginning. Once you get the ticket, the City of Ferguson does everything possible through a confusing, aggressive, and demanding court system to try to get as much additional money out of you as possible...usually by making it difficult for you to pay up your fines (especially if you are poor), overloading the original fine with multitudes of late fees and additional fines, and then putting warrants out for your arrest. It's clear that the court system, through an unjust and corrupt judge and ridiculous, unnecessary requirements, is designed to make money for the city rather than enforce meaningful laws.

Ferguson has allowed its focus on revenue generation to fundamentally compromise the role of Ferguson’s municipal court. The municipal court does not act as a neutral arbiter of the law or a check on unlawful police conduct. Instead, the court primarily uses its judicial authority as the means to compel the payment of fines and fees that advance the City’s financial interests. This has led to court practices that violate the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process and equal protection requirements. The court’s practices also impose unnecessary harm, overwhelmingly on African-American individuals, and run counter to public safety.

It is often difficult for an individual who receives a municipal citation or summons in Ferguson to know how much is owed, where and how to pay the ticket, what the options for payment are, what rights the individual has, and what the consequences are for various actions or oversights. The initial information provided to people who are cited for violating Ferguson’s municipal code is often incomplete or inconsistent. Communication with municipal court defendants is haphazard and known by the court to be unreliable. And the court’s procedures and operations are ambiguous, are not written down, and are not transparent or even available to the public on the court’s website or elsewhere.

The rules and procedures of the court are difficult for the public to discern. Aside from a small number of exceptions, the Municipal Judge issues rules of practice and procedure verbally and on an ad hoc basis. Until recently, on the rare occasion that the Judge issued a written order that altered court practices, those orders were not distributed broadly to court and other FPD officials whose actions they affect and were not readily accessible to the public. Further, Ferguson, unlike other courts in the region, does not include any information about its operations on its website other than inaccurate instructions about how to make payment. Court staff acknowledged during our investigation that the public would benefit from increased information about how to resolve cases and about court practices and procedures. Yet neither the court nor other City officials have undertaken efforts to make court operations more transparent in order to ensure that litigants understand their rights or court procedures, or to enable the public to assess whether the court is operating in a fair manner.

Most strikingly, the court issues municipal arrest warrants not on the basis of public safety needs, but rather as a routine response to missed court appearances and required fine payments. In 2013 alone, the court issued over 9,000 warrants on cases stemming in large part from minor violations such as parking infractions, traffic tickets, or housing code violations. Jail time would be considered far too harsh a penalty for the great majority of these code violations, yet Ferguson’s municipal court routinely issues warrants for people to be arrested and incarcerated for failing to timely pay related fines and fees. Under state law, a failure to appear in municipal court on a traffic charge involving a moving violation also results in a license suspension. Ferguson has made this penalty even more onerous by only allowing the suspension to be lifted after payment of an owed fine is made in full. Further, until recently, Ferguson also added charges, fines, and fees for each missed appearance and payment. Many pending cases still include such charges that were imposed before the court recently eliminated them, making it as difficult as before for people to resolve these cases.

The report goes on to spend extensive time detailing how Ferguson makes it difficult to fully resolve one's ticket. Some ways they make it especially difficult:

* Ticket often fail to describe the exact charge or process necessary to rectify the charge.

* Police fail to adequately explain how to resolve the charge

* Police give the soonest possible court date and frequently tell people the wrong date

* In-person court appearances are required for most municipal charges, even simple ones
(Poor people who can't miss work or don't have transportation often find it difficult to make these appearances. The fact that Ferguson automatically suspends you license if you miss a traffic court date and refuses to reinstate it until you've paid off all your fines in full makes it that much harder for them to resolve, especially since public transportation in Ferguson is inadequate.)

* Fine assessment methods don't evauate ability to pay and community service or other alternatives for those who cannot pay their fines is not available.

* The court typically refuses to accept partial payments unless you have already set up a payment plan, and won't set up payment plans that pay less than $100 at a time. Any partial payment outside of a payment plan is counted as a missed payment, so additional fines are added and a warrant is issued for their arrest.

* Every missed appearance results in increasingly mounted fines and a warrant for arrest. Every missed payment results in increasingly mounted fines and a warrant for arrest.

* Warrants for arrest are often sent out even when the person has not been notified that they missed a court date or missed a payment.

* Rumors in the community (at times proved legitimate) are that if you can't pay off your fines, the city will arrest you on the spot when you show up at court, so people are scared to show up at their court appearance if they don't have the money to pay the fine.


Really, how do you think a system like that is supposed to work? If you get one ticket for not wearing a seatbelt, but you can't afford to pay the fine or can't afford to miss work to show up at court (perhaps you'll even be fired for missing work, which has happened to poor people I know), a warrant is put out for your arrest and your license is automatically suspended. It's possible that you didn't even know about the court date because the ticket was sent to the wrong address, especially if you're poor and have to move homes frequently. If your license is suspended, it makes it that much harder to get to court or to get to work. If you have warrants, it's that much harder to find work. If you can't find work, can't get to work, can't drive to court, how are you going to pay your fines? You miss fines, they mount up, they catch you driving with a suspended license, through you in jail and even more mounted fines. The system is just designed to keep people struggling and struggling.

For all these reasons, the fines keep building and building, and in many many cases people who have paid well over the initial fine amount still owe even more money to the court due to the mounting fees, so the court then orders the arrest of those people and throws them in jail, releasing them afterwards with even greater fines left to pay. Unsurprisingly, 96% of the people who are arrested on warrants for missing payments for municipal code violations are African-American. These aren't “criminals”, they're just people who weren't able to make it to the courthouse or make a payment.

Further, an evaluation of dismissal rates throughout the life of a case shows that, on average, an African-American defendant is 68% less likely than other defendants to have a case dismissed. In addition to cases that are “Dismissed,” court records also show cases that are “Voided” altogether. There are only roughly 400 cases listed as Voided from 2011-2013, but the data that is available for that relatively small number of Voided cases shows that African Americans are three times less likely to receive the Voided outcome than others.

In large part, of course, this is likely due to the corruption of the court clerks, judge, and mayor, who internal emails prove have been fixing tickets for their predominantly White friends.

Many people have gone to court ten times or more to try to resolve their cases but are unable to do so, and only have greater and greater mounting fines and warrants as a result.

We spoke, for example, with an African-American woman who has a still-pending case stemming from 2007, when, on a single occasion, she parked her car illegally. She received two citations and a $151 fine, plus fees. The woman, who experienced financial difficulties and periods of homelessness over several years, was charged with seven Failure to Appear offenses for missing court dates or fine payments on her parking tickets between 2007 and 2010. For each Failure to Appear, the court issued an arrest warrant and imposed new fines and fees. From 2007 to 2014, the woman was arrested twice, spent six days in jail, and paid $550 to the court for the events stemming from this single instance of illegal parking. Court records show that she twice attempted to make partial payments of $25 and $50, but the court returned those payments, refusing to accept anything less than payment in full. One of those payments was later accepted, but only after the court’s letter rejecting payment by money order was returned as undeliverable. This woman is now making regular payments on the fine. As of December 2014, over seven years later, despite initially owing a $151 fine and having already paid $550, she still owed $541.

Another woman told us that when she went to court to try to pay $100 on a $600 outstanding balance, the Court Clerk refused to take the partial payment, even though the woman explained that she was a single mother and could not afford to pay more that month. A 90-year-old man had a warrant issued for his arrest after he failed to timely pay the five citations FPD issued to him during a single traffic stop in 2013. An 83-year-old man had a warrant issued against him when he failed to timely resolve his Derelict Auto violation. A 67-year-old woman told us she was stopped and arrested by a Ferguson police officer for an outstanding warrant for failure to pay a trash-removal citation. She did not know about the warrant until her arrest, and the court ultimately charged her $1,000 in fines, which she continues to pay off in $100 monthly increments despite being on a limited, fixed income. We have heard similar stories from dozens of other individuals and have reviewed court records documenting many additional instances of similarly harsh penalties, often for relatively minor violations.

The court imposes these severe penalties for missed appearances and payments even as several of the court’s practices create unnecessary barriers to resolving a municipal violation. The court often fails to provide clear and accurate information regarding a person’s charges or court obligations. And the court’s fine assessment procedures do not adequately provide for a defendant to seek a fine reduction on account of financial incapacity or to seek alternatives to payment such as community service. City and court officials have adhered to these court practices despite acknowledging their needlessly harmful consequences. In August 2013, for example, one City Councilmember wrote to the City Manager, the Mayor, and other City officials lamenting the lack of a community service option and noted the benefits of such a program, including that it would “keep those people that simply don’t have the money to pay their fines from constantly being arrested and going to jail, only to be released and do it all over again.”

The Finance Director’s February 2011 report to the City Council notes that “Judge Brockmeyer was first appointed in 2003, and during this time has been successful in significantly increasing court collections over the years.” The report includes a list of “what he has done to help in the areas of court efficiency and revenue.” The list, drafted by Judge Brockmeyer, approvingly highlights the creation of additional fees, many of which are widely considered abusive and may be unlawful, including several that the City has repealed during the pendency of our investigation. These include a $50 fee charged each time a person has a pending municipal arrest warrant cleared, and a “failure to appear fine,” which the Judge noted is “increased each time the Defendant fails to appear in court or pay a fine.” The Judge also noted increasing fines for repeat offenders, “especially in regard to housing violations, [which] have increased substantially and will continue to be increased upon subsequent violations.” The February 2011 report notes Judge Brockmeyer’s statement that “none of these changes could have taken place without the cooperation of the Court Clerk, the Chief of Police, and the Prosecutor’s Office.” Indeed, the acting prosecutor noted in the report that “I have denied defendants’ needless requests for continuance from the payment docket in an effort to aid in the court’s efficient collection of its fines.”

Of course, the city ignored clear calls being made that the whole system was unjust.

The City has been aware for years of concerns about the impact its focus on revenue has had on lawful police action and the fair administration of justice in Ferguson. It has disregarded those concerns—even concerns raised from within the City government—to avoid disturbing the court’s ability to optimize revenue generation. In 2012, a Ferguson City Councilmember wrote to other City officials in opposition to Judge Brockmeyer’s reappointment, stating that “[the Judge] does not listen to the testimony, does not review the reports or the criminal history of defendants, and doesn’t let all the pertinent witnesses testify before rendering a verdict.” The Councilmember then addressed the concern that “switching judges would/could lead to loss of revenue,” arguing that even if such a switch did “lead to a slight loss, I think it’s more important that cases are being handled properly and fairly.” The City Manager acknowledged mixed reviews of the Judge’s work but urged that the Judge be reappointed, noting that “t goes without saying the City cannot afford to lose any efficiency in our Courts, nor experience any decrease in our Fines and Forfeitures.”

One white individual who has lived in Ferguson for 48 years told us that it feels like Ferguson’s police and court system is “designed to bring a black man down . . . [there are] no second chances.”

Even Ferguson's own City Councilmembers are saying that the system is abusive and just creates a revolving door of arrests and fines for poor people who can't pay their tickets right away. Even Ferguson's own City Councilmembers are saying that the Municipal Court Judge fails to treat defendants justly. Even the City Manager and other city officials acknowledge that the purpose of the court is to be a money-maker for the city, not to deal out justice for the citizens.

How can you keep calling the ordinary people of Ferguson a bunch of criminals, when you know nothing about them and the documents laid out in front of you paint quite a different story?

[Publicus]

Saying Prez Obama and Attorney Gen Holder engage in any "race baiting" is a 100% false statement from the far out fringe extreme of society and itself suggests an anti-social pathology toward people of color, against government per se, and it constitutes a complete rejection of democratic electoral processes. It, in short, makes the accuser illegitimate.

Pure unadulterated rubbish!

Firstly it's not a false statement.

Holder-" I think does a great disservice to people who put their lives on the line for my people."

MY PEOPLE!!??

So you're saying anyone criticising either Obama or Holder does so because they're racist. That's called 'playing the race card'. And an obvious lie to anyone with an ounce of intelligence.

And since when did criticising your own government "constitute a complete rejection of democratic electoral processes."?

What you're basically saying is any criticism of black government officials is racist

That's beyond laughable! I'm actually embarrassed for you. Not since you guaranteed charges being filed against Officer Wilson have you sounded so stunningly ridiculous.

So you're saying

Not what you're saying I said, no...not at all what you said I said...

Here again is what I did in fact say in the post...."Saying Prez Obama and Attorney Gen Holder engage in any "race baiting" is a 100% false statement from the far out fringe extreme of society and itself suggests an anti-social pathology toward people of color" etc.

An "anti-social pathology toward people of color" could or could not be, or include racism. So I did not use the word racism in the post I made to another poster. Anyone who wants to feel guilty however based on my post to another poster is certainly free to feel and behave pathologically.

Case closed.

[NeverSure]

Actually easier for right wing racists to deny the truth and spout right wing faux (not the) news talking points. As they do day after day after day. Try this for learning how black people feel about policing in America if you dare: http://crooksandliars.com/2015/03/yes-black-america-fears-police-here-s-why?utm_source=Crooks+and+Liars+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=e13035c20d-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d4904be7bc-e13035c20d-327017065 . The "welfare queen" theory has long been disproved by real evidence. When one cannot get a decent education and a decent job, one does what one has to do. I freely admit to receiving food stamps and aid for dependent children when I was raising my young son by myself, despite the fbi's illegal effort and interference.

Tell that bullshit to my black classmate that is on an airport commission, or to another that is in an upper level education administration department job, or to the lady that is a bank branch manager, all from a very modest background.

I understand anyone can have difficulties, and that's good that we help them. But, before you had the child, did it not occur to you, that it was going to cost money? How about a little self responsibility.

Blaming whitey isn't the answer, well except for Al Sharpton, he's made a good living at it.

Tell that to the President of The United States and Eric Holder, head of The Department of Justice. Tell that to Clarence Thomas member of the Supreme Court of the USA. Tell that to Condi Rice, a black woman who is past Secretary of State of the US.

Bleeding hearts don't get it. You have to not only work hard for what you want but you have to keep your nose clean and develop a good lifetime reputation.

[CMNightRider]

One white individual who has lived in Ferguson for 48 years told us that it feels like Ferguson’s police and court system is “designed to bring a black man down . . . [there are] no second chances.”

Even Ferguson's own City Councilmembers are saying that the system is abusive and just creates a revolving door of arrests and fines for poor people who can't pay their tickets right away. Even Ferguson's own City Councilmembers are saying that the Municipal Court Judge fails to treat defendants justly. Even the City Manager and other city officials acknowledge that the purpose of the court is to be a money-maker for the city, not to deal out justice for the citizens.

How can you keep calling the ordinary people of Ferguson a bunch of criminals, when you know nothing about them and the documents laid out in front of you paint quite a different story?

You appear obsessed by this flawed report you keep posting over and over and over again, OMG. If you had been unfortunate enough to have grown up neighborhoods like Ferguson, you would be more supportive of law enforcement that have to police these areas.

http://nypost.com/20...s-bogus-report/

Edited March 11, 2015 by CMNightRider

[Scott]

Off-topic posts and replies removed. The topic is not about a specific incident. There are numerous threads covering that.

[beechguy]

I do not appreciate or want your "appreciation" of my or my son's service. I'm sick of that "thank you for your service" crap. No keyboard warrior here. No threats, just promises. I live in the Udon/Nong Khai area. I can't believe anybody in their right, oops, oh yea forgot right, mind would believe anything that Murdock rag printed. Just another version of his right wing propaganda faux (not the) news. I intensly dislike both Obama and Holder, but for real reasons, not their race. Nothing Obama or Holder has done or said could possibly considered "race baiting" by any sane person. On the other hand there is a lot of dog whistles in the right wing, a lot. Ferguson and many PD's are guilty of racial discrimination. I grew up in a small town in the south also, and I don't blame the blacks for their attitude towards cops in the least.

I made the comment of appreciation, out of respect for the uniform. If you don't want to accept that, that's fine.

[beechguy]

Tell that bullshit to my black classmate that is on an airport commission, or to another that is in an upper level education administration department job, or to the lady that is a bank branch manager, all from a very modest background.

I understand anyone can have difficulties, and that's good that we help them. But, before you had the child, did it not occur to you, that it was going to cost money? How about a little self responsibility.

Blaming whitey isn't the answer, well except for Al Sharpton, he's made a good living at it.

Al Sharpton is a fool, but that has nothing to do with anything.

I am not surprised that you used the "self-responsibility" line, quite close to the "personal responsibility" line that the city officials used against Black people in Ferguson...at the same time that they were fixing tickets for each other's White friends.

If you read the report, there's quite a bit about how Black people often tried to take responsibility, but how the city made it as difficult as possible for them to do so. I'll give you some quotes soon.

And I didn't realize it was against the law, for them to pack up and move, if they didn't like it.

I have no doubt some things have gone on in Ferguson, and hundreds of other little towns scattered across the U.S. that aren't right. But, in the Ferguson case, I don't recall ever being there, or even having passed through there. Give the whining and bitching to some one else.

[CMNightRider]

Saying Prez Obama and Attorney Gen Holder engage in any "race baiting" is a 100% false statement from the far out fringe extreme of society and itself suggests an anti-social pathology toward people of color, against government per se, and it constitutes a complete rejection of democratic electoral processes. It, in short, makes the accuser illegitimate.

Pure unadulterated rubbish!

Firstly it's not a false statement.

Holder-" I think does a great disservice to people who put their lives on the line for my people."

MY PEOPLE!!??

So you're saying anyone criticising either Obama or Holder does so because they're racist. That's called 'playing the race card'. And an obvious lie to anyone with an ounce of intelligence.

And since when did criticising your own government "constitute a complete rejection of democratic electoral processes."?

What you're basically saying is any criticism of black government officials is racist

That's beyond laughable! I'm actually embarrassed for you. Not since you guaranteed charges being filed against Officer Wilson have you sounded so stunningly ridiculous.

So you're saying

Not what you're saying I said, no...not at all what you said I said...

Here again is what I did in fact say in the post...."Saying Prez Obama and Attorney Gen Holder engage in any "race baiting" is a 100% false statement from the far out fringe extreme of society and itself suggests an anti-social pathology toward people of color" etc.

An "anti-social pathology toward people of color" could or could not be, or include racism. So I did not use the word racism in the post I made to another poster. Anyone who wants to feel guilty however based on my post to another poster is certainly free to feel and behave pathologically.

Case closed.

Case closed?? H1w4yR1da has been very clear in his posts, so there is no need to try to twist what he says around. "Anti-social pathology toward people of color?" Huh!!

You are the person who went on and on about Officer Wilson being a "homicidal" and "Dirty Harry" cop, what ever that is suppose to mean, and said he would end up in prison.

The main objective of this investigation when launched by Holder, with Obama prodding him, was to go after Officer Darren Wilson. Once it finally sunk into their thick skulls, this was a justified shoot, then they switched up and went after anyone they could in the city government. This report of racial bias is nothing more than a bias report.

Edited March 11, 2015 by CMNightRider