The Cops--a New Normal

When the Bad Lawyer went to jail, I had to adapt to what my probation officer, Ms. W calls, "the new normal." 

I already talked about this in the context of coffee, commissary and cans..  A couple little jolts this weeks brings this new-dimensional sensation into startling focus.  Maureen Dowd in this morning's New York Times writes about what she calls "gate rape" in the context of TSA pat downs (below, left) at airports.  Dowd cites a video from a Ky. couple's child who's getting a "deep probe" courtesy of the TSA.  I shivered at the description since throughout the whole-incarceration-thing, beginning with booking by the US Marshal Service in the court house I have submitted to countless deep probes. 

It was not at all unexpected that you would be routinely patted down, probed, and even stripped search--randomly, for any reason, for no discernible reason while in federal custody.  As I walked out of the "mainline" (chow hall) following my last meal at Morgantown (MGR), I was patted down--I think it was random the COPs were cracking down on food theft.  I suppose the crackdown wass not illogical in light of budget cutbacks.  One of the most colorful characters at MGR, the Gooch, was a notorious Mainline-food thief.   Gooch specialized in loaves of bread--one afternooon, I passed Gooch hurrying up the foot path to the residential unit.  He looked vaguely like an African-American Michelin Man.  Gooch had adapted his prison-issued jacket to accommodate his Mainline harvest.  It was his hustle, if you wanted to buy bread a loaf was "two cans." When I last saw Gooch he was being shut down by "the man" aka the cops.

The prison cops are called a variety of names not all of them nice as you might imagine.  A prison cop is in BOP speak a corrections officer, or, politely a "CO."  Inmates call them POH-leece, POH-POH, or simply a cop.  I didn't hear anyone refer to these folks, men and, yes, women--as "screws," unless it was intended humorously.  Let's face it, the prison camp at Morgantown isn't a traditional jail (except, for the SHU/HOLE)--facility doors get locked and unlocked, but there are no jail cells.  Inmates can walk away from Morgantown.  Unless the inmate, wants additional time at a much more secure facility--behind the fence, escape is a very bad idea. The corrections officers are there to discourage walking away, detecting escape, and more importantly to provide security and safety to the Morgantown community, the BOP employees, and the inmates, themselves.  Violence, workplace safety, drugs, alcohol, and further criminal activity these issues are the mission of the BOP cops.

At MGR all BOP personnel are trained corrections officers including secretaries and educators, but for the purpose of this post I'm referring to the uniformed COs.  These men (and women) perform the shakedowns of property and persons.  They do the "standing counts" day and night.  As you might expect while not necessarily unfriendly, COs aren't warm and fuzzy folks.  Among inmates the quickest way for the new guy to earn a bad reputation is to be perceived as someone who "talks to the cops."  Prison inmate culture's strongest bias is anti-snitch; and, yet, the population abounds in snitches. So, yeah, these, my former bunkees are flaming hypocrites doing what they think they need to do to get-by...still, no CO is a friend of the inmates.  There are COs who are less of an asshole than others.

When you see a Cop in prison one of two things will happen.  You will be ignored or you will be hassled.  Being hassled includes being "deep probed."   Part of this is what I call the "theater of security."  In doing the deep probe the prison cops are sending a message of deterrence to the inmate who is being frisked and to everyone standing around watching.  Oh, we watched, don't tell me you don't rubberneck car accidents. While I'm sure each CO expects to find contraband the mere act of patting down an inmate intimidates.  Many of the anomalous and seemingly random acts of indignity serve this function. 

Certain inmate cohorts are targeted for more of this than some.  Younger inmates get more of this than older inmates, I suppose on the theory that a solid bust at the outset will positively effect the overall incarceration of that inmate, henceforth.  An example of this was my SHU/HOLE bunkee Jason M, a young Chaldean dude from greater-Detroit.  Jason made it to the SHU on New Year's Day by turning to wave at his kids as he left the visiting room.  "No Way?!"  Way.   Jason ran with a group of young dudes from the Detroit area.  Earlier New Year's day Jason was caught "out of bounds" in a residential unit where he did not belong. The CO who caught him gave Jason a pass on the incident.  While the "waving" at his kids was probably not something that in the course of normal events the sort of violation that would land Jason in the SHU there is a security reason for the prohibition and Jason appeared to be someone beginning to cross lines, regularly.  The MGR cops sent Jason (and almost everyone at Morgantown) a powerful signal.  The message came in the form of 31 days in the HOLE.  As with Jason, inmates in specific offense categories (drug dealers) are more likely to undergo searches.  Inmates perceived to be members of gangs or prison cliques are more likely to fall into this category.  Also some guys have contraband "priors" or have otherwise made it onto a Hot List they get searched  more frequently. 

Several times since leaving Morgantown last Wednesday I have crossed paths with local police officers--maybe I don't look like it to the police, but I'm flinching inside.  This morning the officer is walking into Starbucks, I'm walking-out, I flinch.  He says, "Good morning, sir,"  I'm flinching.  I'm wearing a suit, not federal khakis, but I flinch.  This is my new normal for now. 

It's going to take me a while to get back to a semblance of the old normal if I can.

God Bless the Jury!

In my experience, law enforcement are rarely wrong in the eyes of the Court.  This was evident to me years ago when as a very young Bad Lawyer I sat in a municipal court and watched a gentleman successfully defend himself on a traffic ticket only to have the magistrate adjudge him guilty on the "incredible" testimony of the cop.  As I've pointed out on Bad Lawyer in the past I also have known Judges independent enough to stand up to the local police, but let's be honest, there is a lot of pressure on Judges to back up local law enforcement.   So absent a pretty strong, independent-minded judge, it is always the citizen's fault if the cops choose to give a citation.

So this account from the Kokomo (Indiana) Tribune, made me smile:

Kokomo police said Addie Etherington was completely at fault when she collided with a police squad car in 2009.  A Howard County jury, however, wasn’t buying the official version.  It decided Etherington didn’t commit either of two alleged traffic citations, rejecting police testimony Etherington failed to yield and made an unsafe lane change.

The decision could end up costing the city, which has already received notice from Etherington that she may sue over the Oct. 20, 2009, incident. Etherington collided with a brand new Dodge Charger, driven by KPD Officer Adam Martin, at the intersection of Monroe and Washington streets. Police said Martin and other officers were pursuing individuals wanted on felony charges when the accident occurred.  According to witness testimony, Etherington was stopped at the intersection, ready to turn west onto Monroe, when Martin’s cruiser came up behind her and attempted to pass her on the left. Witnesses disagreed as to whether Martin was using his siren as he came up on Etherington.

She turned into the police car, witnesses said.

Howard Superior Court 3 Judge Doug Tate, who presided over the trial, said that much was evident from the damage to Martin’s right-front quarter panel and Etherington’s left-front quarter panel.  Tate said Etherington may have thought she was clear to turn when she saw another police cruiser go by on Monroe Street in front of her.  'I think if she had heard or seen the cop behind her, she would not have turned,' Tate said.  But proving 'failure to yield' required convincing the jury Etherington should have known she was required to yield. Tate said he might have ruled the same way as the jury, if the case had been handled as a bench trial.

'Given all the facts, I can’t say the jury’s decision was the wrong one,' Tate said. 'I also don’t feel the officer was in the wrong, in any way, shape or form.'
The April 16 trial was punctuated by Tate admonishing KPD Major James Calabro from the bench.

A defense attorney saw Calabro and Martin conferring in a courthouse hallway during a break, in apparent violation of a court order separating the witnesses.  'I take full responsibility for what happened. I made a mistake,' Calabro said Friday. 'I meant no disrespect to the court, to Ms. Etherington or to the lawyers involved in the case. It happened and I offer no excuse for my actions.'

The Dodge Charger sustained more than $9,000 in damage, and last year, city officials said the matter would go to litigation as to fault.  They made that statement more than a month after receiving a tort claim notice from Etherington’s attorney, Matt Golitko, blaming the city for the collision.  According to Martin’s police report, which Martin said Calabro contributed to, Etherington complained of a bruise to her face. In the tort claim notice, Golitko said Etherington suffered 'serious injuries.' Kokomo attorney Erik May defended Etherington during the jury trial.

Tate said the jury deliberated for about 15 minutes before issuing a finding of “false” on the traffic citations. 'The reality of it was that we were forced to take it to trial,' Golitko said. 'We requested it be dismissed ... but the state wanted to proceed. I don’t think it’s any lawyer’s desire to go to trial on traffic tickets.'”
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Are you hearing what the Judge is saying--I'm telling you folks, this Cop caused an accident by foolishly trying to pass a driver be going left of center, and the Judge is saying:  the officer didn't do anything wrong!  Are you kidding me.  Notice, Judge Tate says, "[I] might have ruled the same way as the jury." 

Uh, Huh, good thing Mrs. Ethertington opted for a jury trial. 

Good judges, and good cops are a community treasure--but, God bless the jury!

Professional Courtesy

The South Carolina Post and Courier has a revealing article that addresses the age old question:  what do cops think other cops will do for them? 

A video recording made Christmas Eve at the arrest of North Charleston Police Officer Christine Phinney (pic) who was breifly pursued for speeding and ended up with a fat lip is remarkably illustrative of what cops will do for other cops.  The video tape (at the link--worth watching) of the incident records Officer Phinney berating both the Summerville police and the Dorchester County Sheriff's deputy for arresting her and issuing a citation.  Despite an alleged "tussle" with the arresting deputy, Officer Phinney was not charged with an assault.

That Mrs. Phinney was cited at all--astounded Officer Phinney.  Officer Phinney is not just a cop, she's a two-fer, she's married to a police officer.  And as Officer Phinney told the charging officer, she routinely pulls over speeding law enforcement, who flash their badges, and of course she has the decency not to arrest or charge them.  

Isn't that what all cops expect of one another?  Officer Phinney unwittingly is letting the cat out of the bag, cops protect their own.  But really, are we surprised. 

What's frightening is that they gave this officer--who was clearly impaired, any kind of break.  The arresting officers didn't conduct a field sobriety test and they didn't ask her to perform a breathalizer.  Instead her colleagues charged her with disorderly conduct and speeding;  and, then they let her go home.  

You and me, we do what Christine Phinney did,  trust me, we get tased.

Why I hate cops! Let me count the ways...

In Oakland, California, a Bay-Area Regional Transit (BART) cop was filmed beating the snot out of some poor schizophrenic schmuck, running the guy's head into a plate glass window, shattering the window. The victim was charged with assault and battery for the lacerations to the cop.  The video is at CNN.  http://www.cnn.com/video/  

BART is the same department that employed Johannes Mehserle, a cop that murdered Oscar Grant, III,  also caught on video.  The Oakland Tribune is covering the ongoing prosecution of Officer Mehserle see: http://www.insidebayarea.com/  and the full coverage is at:  http://www.insidebayarea.com/oakland-bart-shooting

But the story that really caught my attention is the slaying of wheelchair-bound Canadian singer/songwriter Thomas Reid (of the folk rock group Rehab Mama) by the Texas Rangers in Fort Stockton, Texas last Friday.  Get this, the Texas Rangers say Mr. Reid somehow wrestled a gun away from an able-bodied Texas Ranger and turned the gun on them.  Uh, huh. Right.  For more on this story:
http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2009/11/23/11892266-qmi.html

Let me assure you, I could fill this blawg with examples of the police abuse of power, trivial abuses of police authority to fatal failures, every week, week-in and week-out.

Are there good police, you bet.  I know many terrific policemen and women.  Do the police feel under attack by lawyers, the community, and the media?  Undoubtedly. But, when the police stand behind the officers who commit these acts, and rationalize the abuse of power they deserve our contempt and more.

Now, explain something to me, why is one of the BIG STORIES, in heavy headline-rotation, that annoying southern chef, Paula Deen getting boinked in the nose?

Judge Not, Less You Be Judged: the Cops can fill you with Lead!

Bad Lawyer went to law school with a bunch of smart boys and girls.  I noticed that the really smart gurrrrllll, who became a US District Judge was bawled out by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, yesterday, for "exactly the sort of theoretical speculation that the courts are prohibited from engaging in." Judge Kate O'Malley wrote a 54 page opinion refusing to throw out the civil lawsuit filed by Brandon's relatives.  Judge O'Malley "speculated" that jurors just might think that the cops were slightly excessive when they filled poor 15 year old Brandon McCloud with lead.  See, Dorothy Chappel v. City of Cleveland, CA6 08-4456  see: http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/internet/index.htm.

The facts of this case are just...well, reasonable men and women, "speculate" for yourself.

Brandon was in his bedroom, the cops were in the home searching for evidence relating to the robbery of a pizza store.  Brandon was hiding in his room with a matress set up to block the door.  He had a knife in his hand.  The cops had 9 millimeters.  Brandon was on one side of the mattress, the cops the other.  Brandon did not lunge or otherwise attack Cleveland's Boys in Blue, but Brandon also didn't drop the knife quickly enough according to the cops.  Cleveland's finest pumped 10 rounds into the former-fifteen year old.  

The US constitution has this not very important provision, well not nearly as important as the right to bear arms, but well it's the Seventh Amendment it goes something like this :   In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.  When Judge O'Malley was "engaged in impermissible speculation" she was making a decision in a FRCP Rule 12(b)(6) proceeding that implicated this little known constitutional right.

Bad Judge!