So I’m writing a comment about guns when this story pops up on my screen. It illustrates both the good and bad of gun ownership perfectly: “[Off duty] Officer John Castro, left his gray BMW running … when the thief hopped in and sped off shortly after noon…. ‘The man ran after the car and jumped on top of it.’…
Balto Cops Bust Wrong Door, Leave it Hanging
My NYPD students tell me that New York doesget the doors they bust down fixed. Not in Baltimore. Police bust down your door in the course of duty? It’s on you. Even if it turns out you’re innocent. Peter Hermann writes: First city cops bust down the wrong door on a drug raid. Then, when Andrew Leonard tries to get…
Schwarzenegger wants to debate marijuana legalization
This is huge. While I would like all drugs to be regulated, for now I’ll settle for a real debate on the merits of legalizing marijuana. To me it’s a amazing that simply debatingsuch an issue has been taboo. At least until now. Why? Because prohibitionists are going to lose this debate. I’ll give Schwarzenegger props for this one. The…
Yankee Pitcher’s Mom Arrested for Selling Meth
Joba Cahmberlain’s mother, Jacqueline Standley, was arrested in Lincoln, Nebraska. Read Tony Newman’s take on the situation: America likes to promote itself as the “home of the free” but, unfortunately, we have the embarrassing honor of being known as the incarceration nation. … We lock up more people on drug charges than Western Europe locks up for EVERYTHING and they…
No Shocker Here
States with higher gun ownership rates and weak gun laws have the highest rates of gun death: Louisiana, Alabama, Alaska, Mississippi, and Nevada. Ranking last for gun deaths were Hawaii, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York. If you want to argue that increased gun deaths are a small price to pay for freedom… well, I respectfully disagree. But let’s…
Witness Intimidation
Witness intimidation is nothing new. But it usually doesn’t happen from the defendant to the witness while the witness is on the stand. Melissa Harris writes in the Sun: On the 10th day of the 17-day trial, as the lawyers huddled at the bench with their backs turned, the jury watched the 29-year-old defendant lock eyes with the witness, hold…
37 Arrests, then a Killing
A witness identified Anderson, of the 4300 block of Seminole Ave., as one of the kidnappers…. Anderson has been arrested and charged at least 37 times, mostly with drug possession charges…. Most were dropped by prosecutors before they reached trial. He was also charged three times with attempted murder and five times with handgun charges, dropped each time by prosecutors.…
Fly Over Follow-Up
Len Levitt’s NYPD Confidential talks more about the fly-over fiasco.
In Defense of Dutch Socialism
If you’re a right-winger who wants to call the European social-welfare state “socialism,” so be it. Use whatever word you want for a system that provides housing and health care and education, helps poor people, and keeps the streets safe. I’ll take it. Take the Netherlands, as Russell Shorto does in an excellent article in the New York Times Sunday…
Balto Patrol Short Handed
Peter Hermann reports in the Baltimore Sun. Top brass always says patrol is the backbone of the police department. They lie. Roughly half of the police department is assigned to the patrol. When you need officers, you take them from patrol. Backbone my ass! What kind of organization knocks out its own vertebrae? When officers are taken from patrol, of…