Police and Law Enforcement News and Discussions

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Lorem Ipsum
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caltrek wrote: Thu Jun 30, 2022 4:35 pm Algorithm Predicts Crime a Week in Advance, but Reveals Bias in Police Response
June 30, 2022
Prevent
:)
Stop
:x
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caltrek
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Department of Justice Asks Court to Unseal Trump Search Warrant
by Josh Kovensky
August 11, 2022

Introduction:
(Talking Points Memo) The Justice Department moved Thursday to unseal the search warrant that lead to the unprecedented raid on Mar-a-Lago, absent any complaints from former President Trump, Attorney General Merrick Garland said.

The DOJ wants to reveal the property receipt that Trump received for records that were taken, along with a copy of the warrant itself. Garland said that the DOJ would also seek the release of two attachments to the warrant, though its not clear what those are.

It’s not clear whether an affidavit laying out to the magistrate judge the reasons for the search will be released. That document typically contains the most detailed and comprehensive version of the government’s case in a given investigation.

Garland’s statement was narrow and tailored to focus on the circumstances that led him to decide to push for the release of elements of the warrant. Trump, he remarked, had chosen on Monday to disclose the existence of the searches, and currently possesses a copy of the search warrant and of the receipt.

“The public’s clear and powerful interest in understanding what occurred under these circumstances weighs heavily in favor of unsealing,” the filing reads.
Read more here: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politic ... snnews11
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caltrek
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Unsealed Court Documents Show the FBI Was Looking for Evidence Trump Violated the Espionage Act and Other Laws
by Clark D. Cunningham
August 9, 2022

Introduction:
(The Conversation) The FBI recovered confidential and top-secret items from Mar-a-Lago during its Aug. 8, 2022, search of the estate – pointing to former President Donald Trump’s potential violation of several federal laws.
What were they looking for? Read more here: https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools ... /full.pdf
A Florida federal judge – the same one who issued the warrant to search Trump’s estate – ordered on Aug. 12, 2022, that the document be made public – along with an inventory of items seized during the FBI’s raid.

The unsealed documents seem to indicate that the U.S. Department of Justice believes Trump may have violated the Espionage Act, as well as other criminal laws relating to the handling of public records.
Further extract:
The released warrant authorized the FBI to search for evidence that Trump has violated three key laws...
First, there is the Espionage Act: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/793
Then, there is obstruction of justice, which includes concealing documents to obstruct a federal investigation: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1519
Finally, there is the Public Records statute, which prohibits someone entrusted with a public record from “concealing” that document: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2071

Read more here: https://theconversation.com/unsealed-c ... ng-188684
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caltrek
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Here is the heavily redacted affidavit involved in securing the search warrant of Trump's property: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents ... 178541021

Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Lawsuit Spotlights How Difficult Search Warrants are to Challenge – by a Criminal Suspect or an Ex-president – Until Charges are Brought
by Clark D. Cunningham
August 23 , 2022

Introduction:
(The Conversation) Some observers say that the lawsuit filed by former President Donald Trump on Aug. 22, 2022, challenging the FBI’s recent search of his Mar-a-Lago estate is “filled with bombastic complaints” and will “blow up in his face.”

I am a legal scholar who is an expert on the various Trump investigations and the constitutional protections against wrongful searches.

I think it is important to recognize that Trump’s lawsuit raises a very serious point: Current federal law does not provide good procedures to protect the rights of people subjected to a search warrant.

Federal law’s limits on searches


The Constitution protects “the right of the people to be secure in their houses and papers” and requires that search warrants must “particularly describe” the place to be searched and the things to be seized.

Trump’s lawsuit asserts that these Constitutional protections were violated both by the broad language of the search warrant and the way it has been carried out by the FBI.

Read more here: https://theconversation.com/trumps-mar ... ht-189271
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caltrek
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Insider-Only Hiring of Police Chiefs May Violate Civil Rights Law, Officials Say
by Christine Willmsen
August 26, 2022

Introduction:
(ProPublica) Both U.S. senators from Massachusetts criticized local bans on hiring outsiders as police chiefs, while the top federal law enforcement official in the state said that the restrictions may violate civil rights law.

U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins said that requiring police chiefs to be hired from within their departments is “problematic” and “ridiculous.” Such rules may limit the diversity of the candidate pool, she said.

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., urged state and local officials to “address these pressing civil rights concerns” and lift “harmful policies that have only made it more difficult for women and people of color to take on leadership roles.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said that “excluding outside candidates from consideration for key public positions is not a good idea.” An ordinance in the Boston suburb of Revere “should be reexamined to ensure all qualified candidates, internal and external, get a fair shot in an inclusive hiring process,” she said.

Rollins, Markey and Warren were reacting to a recent WBUR and ProPublica investigation of the police chief in Revere and the circumstances that led to his selection. Revere and another suburb, Waltham, have had ordinances for more than two decades that ban hiring an outside candidate as chief.


Read more here: https://www.propublica.org/article/ins ... il-rights
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caltrek
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'Huge Win' for Civil Liberties as Judge Blocks Arizona Law Limiting Filming of Police
by Brett Wilkins
September 9, 2022

Introduction:
(Common Dreams) Civil libertarians on Friday applauded as a federal judge blocked enforcement of an Arizona law restricting how people can film police officers after agreeing that the legislation is unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge John Tuchi granted a preliminary injunction sought by the ACLU of Arizona and media outlets on the grounds that H.B. 2319 violates their First Amendment rights.

The law—which was passed by Arizona's Republican-controlled Legislature and signed by GOP Gov. Doug Ducey in July—outlaws recording police at a distance of closer than eight feet if the officer verbally objects. It also empowers police officers to order people to stop filming them on private property, even if the property owner consents to the recording.

"Today's ruling is an incredible win for our First Amendment rights and will allow Arizonans to continue to hold police accountable," ACLU of Arizona staff attorney K.M. Bell said in a statement.

"At a time when recording law enforcement interactions is one of the best tools to hold police accountable, we should be working to protect this vital right—not undermine it," they added. "H.B. 2319 is a blatant attempt to prohibit people from exercising their constitutional right to record police in public and we're glad to see the court take action to stop it from going into effect."
Read more here: https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022 ... ng-police
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I sometimes wonder what it is that motivates extremists like Steve Bannon. Perhaps this article has some clues.

Steve Bannon Claims Money Laundering, Conspiracy Arrest was 'One of the Best Days of My Life'
by Meaghan Ellis
September 10, 2022

Introduction:
(Alternet) Steve Bannon, a former White House advisor for Donald Trump, recently revealed the day he was arrested on money laundering and conspiracy charges was actually "one of the best days" of his life.

On Friday, September 9, Bannon recalled his arrest during the latest episode of his podcast. Back in 2021, Bannon was arrested on money laundering and conspiracy in connection with a financial plot involving the "We Build the Wall" fundraising effort.

Speaking to conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, Bannon said, "It was a very powerful, spiritual day for me. A lot of things came into high clarity."
Bannon went on to describe that day as "one of the best days of my life."

"I was totally in the zone — as you say in sports — the entire time," he continued, "They're not gonna shut me up."
Read more here: https://www.alternet.org/2022/09/steve ... 58174938/

caltrek’s comment: Of course, the irony is that the laundering and conspiracy charges were brought to protect people who contributed to Bannon’s build the wall crusade. Their continued support of Bannon is perhaps a good example of false consciousness on steroids.
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caltrek
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California Could Give More Than a Million People with Criminal Records a Fresh Start
by Rachel M. Cohen
September 9, 2022

Introduction:
(Vox) Encounters with the criminal justice system, no matter how long ago or for what reason, can ruin a person’s life. California is on the verge of an ambitious attempt to change that.

An estimated 70 million to 100 million Americans have a criminal record, a history with law enforcement that turns up on background checks and sometimes Google searches. Applicants with criminal records can be half as likely as those without them to get a callback or job offer. Nearly 9 in 10 employers use criminal background checks; so do 4 in 5 landlords, and 3 in 5 colleges and universities. These practical realities make it harder to successfully reintegrate into society, in what researchers call “collateral consequences” of mass incarceration.

Most states have laws allowing for some form of criminal record clearing. Eligible individuals — generally those with no convictions, or who were convicted of a low-level offense — are typically required to petition a judge or state agency for clearance. Most don’t, whether because of the cost, complexity, or simply from lack of information. One University of Michigan study published in 2019 found over 90 percent of those eligible didn’t apply.

As a result, the “Clean Slate” movement was born — a recent push by criminal justice reformers to automatically clear, or seal from public view, records for eligible offenses.
Further extract:
Under SB 731, while landlords and most employers would not be able to view expunged records, public and private schools would still be able to review them during job background checks. Law enforcement, courts, and the state justice department would also still have access to the sealed records, and individuals would be required to disclose their criminal history if asked about it when applying to serve in a public office, among other exceptions. And the law would not apply to sex offenders.
Read more here: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politic ... alifornia
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A Private Policing Company in St. Louis Is Staffed With Top Police Department Officers
by Jeremy Kohler
September 9, 2022

Introduction:
(ProPublica) he biggest private policing company in St. Louis is a who’s who of city police commanders, supervisors and lower-ranking officers.

Among the roughly 200 St. Louis police officers whose names appeared earlier this year on an internal list of officers who had sought and received approval from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to moonlight for The City’s Finest were four of the six district commanders who hold the rank of captain. The list, obtained by ProPublica through a public records request, also included two of the department’s highest-ranking officers, Maj. Ryan Cousins, who oversees the department’s murder, rape and arson investigations, and Maj. Shawn Dace, who oversees South Patrol, which includes two districts. It’s not clear if all of those officers currently work for The City’s Finest.

Dace and the four captains, through the department, declined to comment.

Many of the city’s wealthier — and predominantly white — neighborhoods hire off-duty city police officers from companies like The City’s Finest to supplement patrols by the department, an arrangement that creates disparities in how the city is protected. That many top officers moonlight for a private company that exists to shore up the department’s crime-fighting shortcomings suggests deep troubles, experts said.

Peter Joy, a professor at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, said there would be less demand for The City’s Finest and other companies if the police department was more effective.
Read more here: https://www.propublica.org/article/off ... -st-louis
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Legal Analyst Indicates Unsealed Mar-a-Lago Affidavit Shows Donald Trump 'Did Play a Role' in Hiding Documents
by David Badash
September 13, 2022

Introduction:
(Alternet) A federal magistrate judge responding to a U.S. Dept. of Justice request Tuesday afternoon further unsealed the affidavit used to obtain the search warrant executed at Mar-a-Lago on August 8.

Former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance, on MSNBC, says the additional information appears to confirm that Donald Trump likely played a role in instructing his attorney, who ultimately certified there were no classified documents remaining at Mar-a-Lago, before federal agents entered the Trump resort and retrieved more than 100 classified and top secret documents.

“This does in large part make the information that’s been revealed consistent between the D.C. and the Florida investigations,” Vance, a professor of law, told Nicolle Wallace.

Vance suggested that the newly revealed information appears to confirm that Trump was at least involved in the events that led his attorney to tell DOJ there were no more classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.

“If there’s one takeaway here and Nicole, and it’s not certain, but there’s more of an implication in this newly released information that the former president did play a role in the provision of information about documents to whoever the lawyer who certified this information to the Justice Department,” Vance surmised.
Read more here: https://www.alternet.org/2022/09/donal ... y-a-role/
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