General Discussion

Hubert Flottz

(37,726 posts)

72. Check this out Littlewolf

Tue Oct 29, 2013, 07:59 PM

Oct 2013

Qualified Immunity And The Police State

I get many calls each week from people who believe they have been abused by the police. That is because for many years I was at the forefront of police misconduct litigation. But these days I rarely file a complaint against police officers. It is not that I have become a police groupie. Rather, I've read the handwriting on the wall. In the past decade, there has been a silent coup d' etat. Our courts have transformed themselves into the guardians of a police state in a stunning, and largely unnoticed, act of judicial activism. Their primary tool was a tricky legal doctrine known as qualified immunity.

This coup has gone unnoticed by the general public. Even academics seem blind to its import. Practitioners know better. Read More

http://www.pattisblog.com/index.php?article=Qualified_Immunity_And_The_Police_State_2675

A dangerous state of affairs, innocent people are dying over it.

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police smell meth - raid house, kill 80 year old man find no meth. [View all] littlewolf Oct 2013 OP

This kind of crap has got to stop. CanonRay Oct 2013 #1

I'm surprised. Usually cops carrry enough "throw down" meth to make the raid a success. russspeakeasy Oct 2013 #27

Our police are taking out people like they are on a military operation! Baitball Blogger Oct 2013 #2

Thread Winner FreakinDJ Oct 2013 #30

This message was self-deleted by its author Cronus Protagonist Oct 2013 #63

You fuckin' A know it's coming. TransitJohn Oct 2013 #77

Because it IS a military operation Scootaloo Oct 2013 #67

They ARE--and we are the occupied enemy population. nt tblue37 Oct 2013 #91

What THE HELL happened to our CIVIL RIGHTS! Baitball Blogger Oct 2013 #110

Military and the police have to be shut down. We are paying for this. reddread Oct 2013 #3

Thanks for the link. SoapBox Oct 2013 #42

This kind of stuff scares me way more than NSA stuff. leftyladyfrommo Oct 2013 #4

Uh... Oilwellian Oct 2013 #14

Then why didn't they know this raid was worthless? Spitfire of ATJ Oct 2013 #23

Government over-reach is government over-reach - no matter the source. lark Oct 2013 #16

Sorry. Govt over reach with black boots and semi automatics leftyladyfrommo Oct 2013 #65

OWS - check lark Oct 2013 #113

yes. i was in college when kent State happened. leftyladyfrommo Oct 2013 #115

It is all part of the same system: the national security state. Warren Stupidity Oct 2013 #59

This is just sooooo unacceptable! CrispyQ Oct 2013 #5

The militarization of police and not being held accountable sakabatou Oct 2013 #75

So depressing... TeeYiYi Oct 2013 #6

If they're going to go by smell, KamaAina Oct 2013 #7

Sometimes dogs can be reliable. Eager-to-please dogs can also alert on whatever they think will AnotherMcIntosh Oct 2013 #10

...AND on what the handlers "interpret " from the dog's behavior. bvar22 Oct 2013 #58

A "drug-sniffing" dog couldn't keep away from me once at an international airport Art_from_Ark Oct 2013 #76

Sad - so what's the defense? How do we stop it? jtuck004 Oct 2013 #8

great questions 99th_Monkey Oct 2013 #17

In France, thje sans-culottes revolted, got rid of the tyrants. jtuck004 Oct 2013 #41

I suspect it's likely to be a "bloodbath" either way, eventually. 99th_Monkey Oct 2013 #48

What I think will happen, as opposed to a revolution where people try to build something new, jtuck004 Oct 2013 #56

What I have been pondering 2naSalit Oct 2013 #24

We need a national commission on law enforcement standards and practices. Comrade Grumpy Oct 2013 #111

When all you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail. AtheistCrusader Oct 2013 #9

How long will we allow this? nt Logical Oct 2013 #11

no PatrynXX Oct 2013 #12

Terry Gilliam tried to warn us about this 28 years ago, but we didn't listen 99th_Monkey Oct 2013 #13

one way we stop this is to hold cops littlewolf Oct 2013 #15

You're right. Iggo Oct 2013 #39

They thought they were vindicated in their killing of an innocent 80-year-old man gollygee Oct 2013 #18

Where drug policy and gun policy intersect. Comrade Grumpy Oct 2013 #19

They couldn't knock on the door? tblue Oct 2013 #20

Yes. "No-knock" warrrants. Cops NEVER get punished for killings, even at wrong addresses. WinkyDink Oct 2013 #22

They need to get rid of these no knock warrants and end the war on drugs. Th1onein Oct 2013 #82

We should own guns for protection, and then, when we want to protect ourselves, the cops kill us!! WinkyDink Oct 2013 #21

It sounds like it was reasonable for Mr Mallory think he was under attack. aikoaiko Oct 2013 #25

Damn. Owl Oct 2013 #26

And you know the stock response --- "There will be an Internal Affairs investigation." lpbk2713 Oct 2013 #28

They hate us for our freedoms The Wizard Oct 2013 #29

of course if we legalized drugs all this would stop. littlewolf Oct 2013 #31

Two points TransitJohn Oct 2013 #79

Assuming it all went down as described in the article. How can anyone support this? penultimate Oct 2013 #32

Guaranteed judicial finding: "Police were acting within scope of their authority." Eleanors38 Oct 2013 #108

fuck tha police frylock Oct 2013 #33

Clearly there was no meth smell (just an excuse), so why did they go in there? valerief Oct 2013 #34

Sometimes I think they just get bored. It's a game to them. Incitatus Oct 2013 #61

For those who think that the cops only kill Black Americans, here's what he looked like: AnotherMcIntosh Oct 2013 #35

They kill whoever they want to and get away with it. Rex Oct 2013 #46

No-knock raids by SWAT teams are estimated to be 70,000 to 80,000 per year, and growing. AnotherMcIntosh Oct 2013 #51

He was prolly a social security moocher anyway. Good riddance. Enthusiast Oct 2013 #89

"Mallory, who had celebrated his 80th birthday one month prior to his death, had no criminal record. AnotherMcIntosh Oct 2013 #36

The shocking thing here is the justification for the raid jmowreader Oct 2013 #37

So who ratted the guy off in the first place? NBachers Oct 2013 #83

Mineral spirits have a strong and pervasive aroma jmowreader Oct 2013 #88

Yay, Cops! Iggo Oct 2013 #38

+1 You win this one! Egalitarian Thug Oct 2013 #53

Well there will be those who say it's the 80-year-old man's fault for allowing the ScreamingMeemie Oct 2013 #40

They will say he reached for a gun and deserved to be killed. Rex Oct 2013 #47

The best report of an LEO who shot a totally innocent person was reported here: AnotherMcIntosh Oct 2013 #52

Plus, the cops had to kill him, they feared for their safety. TransitJohn Oct 2013 #80

Maybe it would help to hire less fearful cops. AnotherMcIntosh Oct 2013 #84

His ranch was probably a Halliburton or Koch brothers illegal Hubert Flottz Oct 2013 #90

This shit really has to stop. It's like we're living in some kind of dystopian police state. Matariki Oct 2013 #43

WTF is going on with these police forces? TBF Oct 2013 #44

FIRST RESPONDERS ARE HEROES!!!!!!111111111 datasuspect Oct 2013 #45

I was under the mistaken perception that onethatcares Oct 2013 #49

No, I don't feel safer ellie Oct 2013 #50

What does meth smell like? Recursion Oct 2013 #54

A well used and unclean cat box. L0oniX Oct 2013 #98

Tell me again the such as this is not police-state tactics on 'roids. indepat Oct 2013 #55

The 'cure' is worse than the problem. CFLDem Oct 2013 #57

What "cure" is worse than meth? What do you mean? uppityperson Oct 2013 #74

By 'cure' I mean CFLDem Oct 2013 #95

Is the problem the police do not react right, or the fact they go after meth labs? uppityperson Oct 2013 #106

I concur that the problem is with police tactics. CFLDem Oct 2013 #114

Drug prohibtion is worse than meth. Drug use should be viewed as a public health issue. Comrade Grumpy Oct 2013 #112

Prohibition is a failed public policy. nt TeamPooka Oct 2013 #60

Fucking pigs lillypaddle Oct 2013 #62

Fucking asshole cops, gopiscrap Oct 2013 #64

more info: Blue_Tires Oct 2013 #66

When do they go on trial for murder one? Hubert Flottz Oct 2013 #68

police have full immunity, no matter what happens. nt littlewolf Oct 2013 #71

Check this out Littlewolf Hubert Flottz Oct 2013 #72

Wow. You should post that as an OP. cui bono Oct 2013 #86

The glorification of the uniform must stop! Dawson Leery Oct 2013 #69

Another victory for teh Drug War! Warren DeMontague Oct 2013 #70

Dick "dick" Cheney would say that it was a success because we now KNOW he didn't have a meth lab. corkhead Oct 2013 #73

Pig scum. How many of those assholes feel any remorse? Gravitycollapse Oct 2013 #78

Just like WMD ourfuneral Oct 2013 #81

80 year old model citizen with impaired vision dies in a hail of police bullets NBachers Oct 2013 #85

Kicked and recommended. Uncle Joe Oct 2013 #87

Police state neoAmerica. woo me with science Oct 2013 #92

Widow of elderly man killed by LA deputies seeks $50M in lawsuit OKNancy Oct 2013 #93

good I hope she wins every dime and more. eom littlewolf Oct 2013 #94

Murder and not so much as an apology to his family? AAO Oct 2013 #96

Stories like this JackInGreen Oct 2013 #97

The Blue Fascists strike again! Oakenshield Oct 2013 #99

Cue the badge sniffers in 5...4...3...2...1... Nanjing to Seoul Oct 2013 #100

GAWD. What a horrible way to end a life--by a police gun--for riversedge Oct 2013 #101

When is something going to be done? damnedifIknow Oct 2013 #102

Widow to Sue Over Fatal Shooting of Husband, 80, by Sheriff�s Deputies riversedge Oct 2013 #103

Good thing law enforcement officers had guns to keep us all safe. closeupready Oct 2013 #104

TV said body cremated before wife could see it or have an autopsy. Festivito Oct 2013 #105

That happened a few years ago in PA JPZenger Oct 2013 #107

War mentality. Coyotl Oct 2013 #109