Just a brief note to commemorate the semi-decennial NYPD drug sweep at the Queensbridge Houses. I keep track of these things. (I live nearby.) 9 raids. 22 arrests. 4 handguns. Last time this happened was 2013. And that was preceded by similar raids in 2009 and 2005. Sometimes police get disparaged for conducting wack-a-mole policing. (In fact, sometimes *I’ve* disparaged…
Tag: war on drugs
“That’s quite a day’s work.”
Yesterday this video came outof Baltimore officer putting gel caps of heroin in a can, placing the can in trash in an alley, leaving the alley, and then “starting” his body cam and going to discover the heroin where he put it. Problem is, for the cops, the camera records video for 30 seconds preceding the press of the on…
Legal weed means 25% fewer overdoses
This is pretty striking data, as published in JAMAand reported in Newsweek. From JAMA: States with medical cannabis laws had a 24.8% lower mean annual opioid overdose mortality rate compared with states without medical cannabis laws. Examination of the association between medical cannabis laws and opioid analgesic overdose mortality in each year after implementation of the law showed that such…
White-On-White Crime (lots, but without homicide)
[This relates to my previous post] Years ago, like when I was 13, I was with my father, driving from NYC to Chicago, on a baseball road trip (he drove). Between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, we spent one night in Johnstown, PA. (Remember the Johnstown Flood!). After watching the Johnston Jonnies play baseball, we had dinner in a local bar. My…
“We Need Help”
This picture of adults overdosing when a kid in their car has been making the rounds since police in East Liverpool, Ohio, posted it on facebook. The police department wrote: We are well aware that some may be offended by these images and for that we are truly sorry, but it is time that the non-drug-using public sees what we…
“El Chapo and the Secret History of the Heroin Crisis”
Damn good (5,500 word) read in Esquire by Don Winslow: Okay, I’m going to say it: The heroin epidemic was caused by the legalization of marijuana. … Weed was a major profit center for [the Sinaloa Cartel], but suddenly they couldn’t compete against a superior American product that also had drastically lower transportation and security costs. In a single year,…
On Felony Running
[From pp.58-59 of Cop in the Hood] To meet the standards needed for a formal prosecution, one must follow the informal rules imposed by the state’s attorney. Rule number one is don’t take your eyes off the drugs. Drug charges against a suspect will not be prosecuted in Baltimore City if an officer fails to maintain constant sight of the…
On Clearing Corners and Drug Arrests
[From pages 65, 83, 49, and 55 of Cop in the Hood] Clearing the corner is what separates those who have policed from those who haven’t. Some officers want to be feared; others, respected; still others, simply obeyed. An officer explained: “You don’t have to [hit anybody]. Show up to them. Tell them to leave the corner, and then take…
Use and Abuse of Terry
There are some excerpts from Cop in the Hood that seem particularly relevant in light of the DOJ’s report on the Baltimore police. This is from pp.30-31.] The 1968 Supreme Court case Terry v. Ohio gives officers the right to frisk a suspect for weapons if they have reasonable suspicion that a suspect might be armed. A “Terry Frisk” is…
In case you forgot…
Civil forfeiture is still a problem. A man in Chicago has been trying for 13 years to get $101,000 is cash back from the those who stole it. Last year, the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago collected more than $19 million in asset forfeitures. The Justice and Treasury departments raked in more than $4.5 billion nationally in 2014. Is this…