As time goes on, I’m liking this shooting less and less. I love how some conspiracy anti-police folks were saying there was never a woman in his car and the police made all that up. There was. Stephens County court records now indicate the woman riding with Ayers the day he was shot was Kala Jones Barrett, whose home is…
Drug Tests
I wrote about my drug test a few days ago. Tonight I asked my students if they had ever been drug tested. Approximately 2/3 of my masters students (n ~ 55) and all of my undergraduate students (n ~ 30) have been through a drug test. Every single one. That shocked me. It also bothers me. It also bothers some…
Police Suicide
Buried in a story about an LAPD narcotics officer killing herself is this information: “Between 1998 and 2007, 19 LAPD officers committed suicide.” That’s a lot. More, in fact, that the 11 LAPD officers who have died in action.
This Modern World
Tom Tomorrow’s “This Modern World” is my favorite political comic. He’s liberal. And it’s better for me to read his comic and laugh smugly than bash my head into a wall over conservative hypocrisy. Here’s his latest winner over at Salon.com. Not that you asked, but my other favorite comics are Doonesbury, Pearls Before Swine, Monte, and Get Fuzzy. Hard…
Officer Down
Sometimes you get criticized for shooting too fast. Sometimes you don’t shoot fast enough. Here’s to North St. Paul police officer Richard Crittenden. While protecting someone else, Officer Crittenden was killed with his own service weapon. Rest in Peace. Crittenden reportedly pushed the woman out of harm’s way but in the process left himself vulnerable for the man to ambush…
Undercover Cops Kill Jonathan Ayers
In an off-topic comment to another post, “Badge Licker” (is that like Holster Sniffer?) wrote: “Undercover narcotics agents take out the trash this week.” I clicked on the link and realized this was talking about Jonathan Ayers. That got me thinking. Here’s a later report [dead link removed] from the same Fox News station. [dead link removed] I replied to…
Deep Undercover
Kristina Goetz of the Memphis Commercial Appealhas this story about an officer doing “deep undercover.” She also had to restrain her police instincts to break up a fight at a convenience store or call social services if she saw a dealer hit his child because being caught would compromise the larger goal. And what larger goal was more important than…
Alaskan Privacy
I’ve been a little fuzzy on the topic. But thanks to a reader, I’ve learned a bit. Remember when marijuana used to be legal in Alaska? What ever happened to that? Well here’s the story, best I understand it. In May, 1975, in Ravin v. State, the Alaska State Supreme Court ruled that possession of weed by an adult, at…
Piss On This!
I hate drug tests. I think they’re dumb and ineffective as policy. But mostly I object on moral grounds. I don’t think it’s your boss’s business what you do at home. I don’t think it’s the government’s business what you do at home. And I think it’s a shame that the least harmful illegal drug is the easiest to pick…
Trouble for the Greek
John Paterakis Sr., the baker and well-connected developer who bankrolled Harbor East, pleaded guilty Friday afternoon to two misdemeanor campaign finance violations and will pay $26,000 in fines and be barred from donating to Baltimore politicians until his probation ends in January 2012. The storyby Annie Linskey in the Sun.