Free Republic

CHESTERTON, IN — An innocent man was arrested in an early morning raid and jailed for 10 days because he had the same first and last name as a drug suspect.  The ordeal caused him to lose his job, rack up bills, and nearly get evicted from his home. Steven M. Thompson, a service technician at Arcelor-Mittal Steel, received an “early morning visit” from the Porter County Drug Task Force (PCDTF) on on May 5th.  He was taken from his teenage daughter in handcuffs. Mr. Thompson had done nothing wrong.  He assumed the misunderstanding would be easily cleared up once...

SAN MATEO COUNTY (KRON) — Authorities and the family of a woman shot and killed by San Mateo County sheriff’s deputies are telling far different stories about the moments leading up to the shooting. The family tells KRON 4′s Mike Pelton the woman who was shot was 18-year old Yanira Serrano. Authorities say they got a call about an armed woman in the street in the Moondridge Housing Complex. “Deputies arrived on scene,” Sheriff’s department spokeswoman Rebecca Rosenblatt tells KRON 4. “Shortly thereafter there was a confrontation where the deputy was in fear for his life and as a result...

MILWAUKEE — Jane Flint was at work when a friend called and warned her that Milwaukee police were about to search her home for endangered reptiles. She rushed home to keep her four boisterous dogs from interfering with police, but before she arrived, officers shot and killed two of the Tibetan mastiffs. She's never been told her why. Milwaukee police shoot and kill dozens of dogs each year, often saying the animals appeared to be a threat to officers or to the public. But in response to criticism and two lawsuits, police have been able to reduce that number with...

If you’ve ever had a public defender in a criminal case, you probably plead guilty for fear of getting beaten in a trial. Yesterday in Brevard County, Florida however, a public defender got beaten at arraignment, literally. Judge John Murphy is accused of punching veteran public defender Andrew Weinstock in the face repeatedly, after the two exchanged words in the court room. Murphy reportedly wanted Weinstock’s client to waive his right to a speedy trial, and when he refused, the judge said “If I had a rock I’d throw it at you” and then invited him outside of the courtroom...

CNN has updates on the story of the Georgia SWAT team that threw a flash bang while executing a no-knock warrant that severely burned a nineteen-month-old baby. Habersham County Sheriff Joey Terrell says the deputies involved are "devastated" and that they've been called "baby killers" and received threats. "All I can say is pray for the baby, his family and for us," the sheriff told CNN. Terrell has insisted his officers and those of the local police department did nothing wrong and blamed the target of the warrant (not found at the house that was invaded) on the attack on...

In the summer of 2010, a young black man was stopped and questioned by police on the streets of Miami Gardens, Florida. According to the report filled out by the officer, he was "wearing gray sweatpants, a red hoodie and black gloves” giving the police "just cause” to question him. In the report, he was labeled a "suspicious person.” He was an 11-year-old boy on his way to football practice. A Fusion investigation has found that he was just one of 56,922 people who were stopped and questioned by Miami Gardens Police Department (MGPD) between 2008 and 2013. That’s the...

Abandoned six-month-old doberman puppy, Atticus, is being given a new life after being hit by a car on Scioto Trail and being rescued by a group of local good samaritans. Portsmouth resident Lisa Potts was sitting at home when she heard what she thought was a child crying outside. She ran to investigate and saw the young doberman in the middle of the street, and her two new neighbors running towards him, stopping traffic in his lane. Potts went to check on the dog, running between the many lanes of busy traffic, while a neighbor watched her daughter. “There were...

“Henry. A SWAT team from Homeland Security just raided our factory!” “What? This must be a joke.” “No this is really serious. We got guys with guns, they put all our people out in the parking lot and won’t let us go into the plant.” “Whoa.” “What is happening?” asks Gibson Guitar CEO Henry Juszkiewicz when he arrives at his Nashville factory to question the officers. “We can’t tell you.” “What are you talking about, you can’t tell me, you can’t just come in and …” “We have a warrant!” Well, lemme see the warrant.” “We can’t show that to...

A California woman says Veterans Administration hospital guards beat her husband to death after he waited four hours for dialysis. Norma Montano says her husband of 44 years, Jonathan, died of a stroke on June 11, 2011, after he was beaten and had his carotid artery stomped by VA guards. Montano says the hospital also lied to her about what happened to her husband. Montano’s son and daughter are also plaintiffs in the suit. Montano says he husband was tired of waiting, but when he tried to leave and go to another facility, he “was told by the nursing staff...

It's hard for Donna Kaffenderger to imagine that anyone would hurt her dog Cookie. He's been part of the family for six years and not once, she said, has he ever bit or attacked anyone. "If he's barking at somebody, you never hear him growl,” she said. Kaffenderger said Cookie might not ever be able to see out of his left eye again, and she blames it on a Public Utilities Board meter reader. She was not home when it happened, but Kaffenderger said her daughter-in-law and neighbors report Cookie was outside on the street waiting for some family members...

FORT WORTH — Police and U.S. Postal Service officials are investigating a complaint by a Meadowbrook area couple that a mail carrier fatally injured their Yorkshire terrier by hitting him with a rock. The 5-year-old dog named Maxwell wandered across the street from his owners’ residence in the 3600 block of Hazeline Road about 11 a.m. Saturday, Maxwell’s owner, Lawrence Brown, said Monday. Brown, 46, said he was in the garage and didn’t realize Maxwell was across the street when he heard a dog yelping in pain. As he walked toward the street, Brown saw the mail carrier and asked,...

A Texas homeowner got a shock when she walked into the bathroom of her College Station home to find a 12ft python wrapped around her toilet bowl. Veronica Rodriguez, 50, discovered the huge African python slithering across the bathroom floor earlier this month. It is believed that the python got in through the back door to Ms Rodriguez's home, which she shares her teenage daughter Kelsie.

BREAKING: Master Sergeant Christopher Grisham has been found guilty of interfering with police duties, a class B misdemeanor. Grisham could face a possible $2,000 fine and up to 180 days in jail for the offense. The retrial of Fort Hood soldier C.J. Grisham began Monday after a jury was unable to come to a verdict in the case last month. Monday, the jury heard two witnesses testify including the Temple police officer who arrested Grisham as well as the woman who made the call to police. Temple police officer Steve Ermis took the stand to give his account of what...

An Illinois playground was bobby-trapped with straight-edged razors glued to equipment frequented by children, WQAD.com reported. The sharp razors were discovered by parents at Millennium Park in East Moline, near the state’s western border with Iowa. The parents say their 2-year-old son was cut by one of the blades on the monkey bars. "He said, 'Ouch,'" Sally Jenks, the boy's mom, told the station. "He started bleeding and we looked and they [the razors] were everywhere."

Texas prosecutors are applauding a decision by the State Court of Criminal Appeals that provides police officers a second chance to present evidence which has been gathered contrary to Texas law and the 4th Amendment. The ruling literally offers law enforcement a “do-over,” an opportunity to secure a search warrant AFTER a home has been illegally searched, and AFTER evidence has been improperly obtained. In 2010, police in Parker County, Texas received a call from a confidential informant (CI) who claimed that Fred Wehrenberg and a number of associates “were fixin’” to cook meth. Hours after the call–at 12:30 A.M...

Missouri resident Niakea Williams was at home, in bed when she got a phone call from Walnut Groves Elementary School. She was told that her son, Michael,who has Asperger’s syndrome, was panicking. Niakea quickly head over to her son’s school, got buzzed in, and immediately went to find Michael. As KMOV News 4 reports, what happened next has Ms. Williams furious. Ms. Williams, though she had been buzzed in as a “known parent” by school officials, apparently broke protocol when she did not sign in before heading to Michael’s classroom to console him. Williams admits this but feels she was...

<p>While discussing women’s reproductive health and the government’s role in adminstering health care, a Republican state senator said he believes birth control is used by people “who don’t necessarily want to act responsibly.”</p> <p>State Sen. Pete Kelly is pushing for a state-wide effort to combat and prevent fetal alcohol syndrome in Alaska by placing state-funded pregnancy test in bars, restaurants and private businesses. But when asked if he would offer the same resources for birth control, Kelly said he does not believe in increasing access to contraception because “the thinking is a little opposite.”</p>

LANSING, Mich. (WXYZ) - It’s a secret list that can cost you your family or your job. Once you’re on it, it can be very hard to get off. While some changes are being made to the law, many experts say it doesn’t go far enough. The state maintains something called the Michigan Child Abuse and Neglect Central Registry and the sole power to label you an abuser lies not with a judge or a jury, but with child protective services workers. And you may be surprised at how the state can define “abuse.” Anita Belle says she’s never been...

The Kansas House Standing Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice has introduced a bill that will require private citizens who file complaints against police officers to sign an affidavit, acknowledging that if their allegations are proven false, they can be charged with perjury, which is a felony charge. Furthermore, this bill prohibits a Kansas law enforcement agency from opening an investigation into a complaint if another law enforcement agency has already investigated the complaint and found in favor of the officer. In other words, this bill would allow police departments to arrest the people who file complaints against police officers....

CBS 7 has obtained the two arrest affidavits for Odessa Police officer Salvador Becerra. In the affidavits, investigating Texas Ranger Brian Burney states on two separate traffic stops, Officer Becerra brought a female back to his patrol car, asked her breast size and proceeded to touch her breasts underneath her bra after a little bit more conversation. The most recent incident occurred on March 9th and soon after the female reported a complaint to OPD. The affidavit states Officer Becerra said "if she made an exception then they would not go to jail" since she released to him that she...