It can be argued that police departments across the country practice a form of legal extortion, in which victimless misdemeanors and infractions are punished with excessively punitive citations. The generation of state and city revenue via Kafkaesque civil and municipal violations is perhaps most apparent in the application of parking tickets, whereby inscrutable, sometimes illegible street signs make well-intentioned motorists increasingly susceptible to fines.
In the city of Los Angeles alone, fine revenue has increased 50% since 2003 and is expected to reach $180 million by 2018. In recent years, many online social media movements have surged in response to this transparently fraudulent urban taxation, with many citizens demanding their local city governments take action against cops filling their ticket “quotas.”
A new bill introduced by Representative Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri may soon push the movement forward. In the wake of the Department of Justice report regarding the police brutality and resulting riots in Ferguson, Missouri, Cleaver wants such unjust ‘policing for profit’ tactics to be considered federal civil liberty violations.
Calling the bill The Fair Justice Act, Cleaver wants any police officer charged with enforcing criminal or traffic laws for the sole purpose of raising revenue to face prison time — for up to five years!
“The time has come to end the practice of using law enforcement as a cash register, a practice that has impacted too many Americans and has disproportionately affected minority and low-income communities,” Representative Cleaver said. “No American should have to face arbitrary police enforcement whose sole purpose is to raise revenue for a town, city, or state.”
This echoes President Barack Obama’s comments following the release of the DOJ report on Ferguson.
“What we saw was that the Ferguson Police Department, in conjunction with the municipality, saw traffic stops, arrests, tickets as a revenue generator, as opposed to serving the community,” the President said. “And that it systematically was biased against African Americans.”
Do you think such a maneuver can withstand the grinding inequities of our legal system? Considering the recent difficulties in getting district attorneys to even prosecute cases of clear police brutality, it’s hard to be optimistic ‘policing for profit’ tickets will be yielding disciplinary action any time soon. But perhaps lawmakers like Cleaver can at least help bring the issue into the limelight.
This article (Cops Who Write Bull$hit Tickets May Soon Face Prison Time) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Jake Anderson and theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, email [email protected].
Modern tyrants and their enforcers are always outnumbered (and often outgunned) by their victims by a factor of hundreds or thousands. Yet tyrants still maintain power, not because people lack the physical ability to resist, but because through prolonged brainwashing they adopted the belief in “authority”, and as a result lack the mental ability to resist. As Stephen Biko put it : “The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.”
As long as the belief in “authority” remains, so will oppression.
”Do not be discouraged about any circumstances. Rather know that your core energy is the God who created all that is. You are the literal temple of God! Therefore, no situation is insurmountable.”
John 10: 10-14
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.
Again this ancient nonsense !
Revelation 22:16
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”
This is music to my ears. I have been an extortion victim a # of times. To hear of a pig in costume being locked up. I love it! Unless you injure a person, damage property or breach a contract you have done no wrong.
I would like to suggest something to you fellow victims here in the brand-new oligarchy formerly called the U.S . For a few bucks a year you can lease a monitoring device that archives your speed/location etc. to your account with them. Insurance companies often require us to rent them to help them adjust the amount they extort from us while our legislators “service” them. They are smaller than a pack of cancer sticks and plug in under your dash. When, (not if), you’re victimized, go home, log into your account, print out the data, shove it in the prosecutor’s mug then file a civil suit against the cop, D.A. and your “benevolent” leaders in town hall.
Most newer vehicles have GPS, Wifi or both installed standard so that information is already logged for you without the extra expense.
The factory installed spyware can be accessed, although not as easily as logging into any account, but should give you the same information.
There is also a “black box” in vehicles since the early 90s that LEOs can access if needed. That means so can you. So I would suggest saving some money and research those options.
Thank you for the clarification. These options you mention though. Would LEO’s et al, knowing of their existence be able to subvert it? This means they can, (as we all know), take control of them and deny access or alter the information whereas with an added one, a person could return home, instantly access their account, print out the information and have it ready. I don’t want to seem paranoid, but since 9/11 I’ve seen a multitude of treacherous acts committed by our “benevolent protectors”. I’ve watched an innocent man beaten for over 30 minutes by 6 cowards on tape until he later died then set free by the courts. Nothing can surprise me when it comes to the degree to which our police/government have been set against us.
Well I don’t know for certain if they can subvert the black box or not. I do know however that anything electronic can be hacked – it has already been proven that it can be done to remotely control newer vehicles.
I share your concerns about the gov and LEO not having or best interests in mind and your paranoia is well warrantied. However, I was just recommending a way to save a few $$ potentially.
In any case, your advice/added information is appreciated. It’s refreshing to have social discourse and sharing of ideas w/o attacking or being attacked with mindless vitriol. thank you.
If anyone thinks they are going to give up $180 million a year, I have some ocean front property in Arizona to sell. Doesn’t anyone get it yet? They (local, state and federal governments) are at war with the people.