The Cops Are The Thugs In Philly -- And Prosecutors Let Them Skate
Walter Olson writes at Cato about disgusting, blatant examples of police misconduct -- basically, narcotics officers there acting like a gang in blue to bodega owners there:
The Philadelphia officers' excuse for their raid on Jose Duran's bodega was the same as their excuse for other bodega raids: he was selling grocery zip-lock bags, and Pennsylvania law makes it unlawful to sell containers that a seller reasonably knew or should have known will be used to store drugs. The cops methodically snipped the wires to seven or eight security cameras around the store, and Duran said nearly $10,000 in cash, cigarettes, batteries and other goods then mysteriously vanished from the store.
Olson wrote in an email to me:
One of the more upsetting stories I've written up lately. From the Philadelphia Daily News:"Anh Ngo, like the Nams, said that she was never interviewed by investigators about what unfolded in her family grocery store in the Lower Northeast during a 2008 raid. Ngo, 30, said the officers smashed the cameras with a sledgehammer and stole about $12,000, taking her mom's diamond ring and emptying their wallets."They even took her mom's ring! If we told these immigrant store owners that the American legal system works, would they believe us?
Olson continued in his post about the sort of justice these officers were met with -- which is none:
Like others, I suspect, I assumed that with evidence like this on hand and numerous bodega owners willing to talk with the press, it was safe to stop following the story, since the justice system surely could be trusted to run its course. The last thing I imagined was that every single officer would walk. How wrong I was:
Last week, news broke that federal prosecutors had decided not to file criminal charges against the officers. And the five-year statute of limitations has run out, not just in Collado's case but for nearly two dozen other merchants with similar allegations."They played the clock game. They let time run out," said Danilo Burgos, the former head of the 300-member Dominican Grocers Association who is running for a state House seat in North Philadelphia. "Now no charges will be filed and people have no confidence whatsoever in the process." ...
...The Daily News could not find a single merchant who said they had been called to testify before a grand jury, which mystified several former federal prosecutors.
He asks a few questions below his post -- both about what conclusion immigrant shopkeepers should draw...in America!...about their supposed equal protection under the law, as well as this:
* Does it still seem like minor harmless nannyism to pass laws banning things like mini-zip-lock bags as potential drug paraphernalia, laws that are widely ignored and may even be unknown to the regulated parties, given that it allows police like this a perfect basis to go to a judge and obtain formally valid search warrants?
We are turning into some terrible, "other" kind of country. And nobody is waking up or bothering to do anything.
Yep, and it seems perfectly reasonable to smash a bunch of cameras, take jewelry, cash, etc., just because they had a few "contraband" ziplock bags. I mean, were these "major criminal" store owners prosecuted for their supposed crimes? Talk about a punishment fitting the crime. Our police are acting like they are at war with the people they are supposed to protect and we are passing more and more ridiculous laws to allow them to behave in more and more drunk on power ways....
Lee Ladisky at May 14, 2014 7:43 AM
Turning ??
Amy, THAT train left town when the "War on Drugs" started in the 1980s.
I pay, every year, my protection money to the cops.
Otherwise known as a "Supporting membership, Fraternal Order of Police" and a "Supporting Membership, Virginia Sheriff's Association". And make sure the badges and stickers are current (and the last 5 year's or so stickers are showing).
Just so I don't get randomly selected. . .
Keith Glass at May 14, 2014 8:27 AM
Just put the story on my FB page asking people to share asking that their friends/family not visit the city and to FB the Chamber of Commerce to say they won't be spending vacation money there.
That's all we can do unless you won't to go hunting, and I only keep that thought for those that threaten my family.
Bob in Texas at May 14, 2014 8:34 AM
'want' not 'won't'
Bob in Texas at May 14, 2014 8:35 AM
This touches on so many things that are going wrong... the militarization (more like the gang-ization) of our police forces and the government in general; the criminalization of everyday behavior, and rapidly-increasing facism -- you'll notice that it appears no Krogers or Publixes were search-vandalized over carrying Ziploc bags in their inventory.
Cousin Dave at May 14, 2014 8:50 AM
This is why I dont care when people kill cops
lujlp at May 14, 2014 5:28 PM
I did intake for a civil rights org in Philly for a couple years, and cops abuses were one of the things we were told to take extra note of. They were documenting all of the instances that came through. Sadly, there was nothing we could do about it. But maybe they'll have a huge class action one day.
NicoleK at May 15, 2014 9:03 AM
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