Posted on 08/12/2014 12:41:22 PM PDT by Kartographer
Ever since 911, there has been a trend moving toward much harsher local police. Here is a photo of how the Boston Police have militarized to the point it looks like war against the people. Even small towns are geared up for war.
The small town of Medford, Oregon with a population of 76,462 has spent millions of dollars to militarize their police. They have their own Swat Teams, yet no incident in history of some major shooting of such a nature to warrant a Swat Team. The entire reason where there was the Second Amendment was to eliminate this very threat of standing armies. We are seeing the abuse of force at every level. Medford Police bought a new vehicle that some say could survive a so-called the apocalypse. They used their Swat Team to go after a mere carjacker.
Medford, New Jersey with a population of just 23,033 also has a Swat Team. They rushed in and held two white kids on the ground at gun-point for shooting potatoes into a lake setting hair spray as the propellant.
(Excerpt) Read more at zerohedge.com ...
What would you thing that?
MEDFORD, Ore. – A Medford man is suing the city of Medford, the Medford Police Department and the Jackson County Sheriff. He says 2 years ago, he was improperly placed in protective custody and had his guns seized. The man says he’s been the target of constant harassment from officers since the incident.
David Pyles’ former house here on Effie Street sits empty, Pyles has moved away and the house has been declared vacant earlier this year, but the memories of an incident that occurred here nearly three years ago are still lingering, and now its resulted in a lawsuit against the people involved. In March 2010, David Pyles was placed on leave from his job at ODOT, and bought 3 firearms. Police were concerned he would retaliate against his employer. A swat team was sent outside his house, and negotiated for Pyles to come out.
Police say Pyles voluntarily gave up his guns as he was taken into protective custody. The guns were returned a short time later after a mental health evaluation. Pyles is now filing a lawsuit against the city of Medford, police, and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, saying they violated his civil rights.
The lawsuit also says he was wrongfully arrested in august of this year. Court records show Pyles was arrested for improper use of 911. In a statement, Pyles said, “I understand the events of March 2010 and August 2012 are related, based on the obvious, outrageous police abuse, mistreatment and misconduct[...]by the city of Medford and Jackson County.”
The Oregon Firearms Federation, which has been in contact with Pyles since 2010, says the police should never have taken the guns in the first place. Attorney’s representing the city declined comment. Medford Police also declined to comment on this case because of that pending lawsuit.
http://www.kdrv.com/medford-man-sues-city-police/
What’s the frequency, Kenneth?
have seen a lot of people walking around with tombstones in their butt... butt why should I care?
LOL!
Open Carry a Gun, Go to Jail!
Medford PD Continues Lying – Conspiring
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By Joseph Snook
Investigative Reporter
Medford, OR - On the afternoon of July 25, 2012 David West was returning home from work when he saw a familiar Radar Enforcement Van operated by the City of Medford, Oregon. This van had been parked in his neighborhood before and it posed concern for West.
medford police officer erik baines
MPD Officer Erik Baines
West, 22 years of age is an aspiring filmmaker and is described as an astute man who is knowledgeable and active in politics and civil/human rights. West decided to protest the van that afternoon while recording himself. Within 10 minutes of protesting the van, West was ordered at gunpoint by Officer Erik Baines of Medford Police Department (MPD) to the ground, put in “double locked” handcuffs and arrested for disorderly conduct.
According to Officer Baines’ police report, West decided to protest that day because, “He sees that van out on Garfield (street) two or three times a week and feels the police should be out looking for criminals, not code violators.” West had made a sign to protest the radar van, set up his video camera across the street, and was peacefully protesting when the van operator - Michael Blair, a retired Detective with MPD made contact with him, which was confirmed by video obtained.
As described by Blair’s statement to Officer Baines, Blair asked, “If West had gotten a ticket from the van and West said he had not.” Blair also asked, “If the sign was for him and West said it was.” Blair then asked West if he would like a drink of water and West politely declined. Although the audio portion was not clear on video, you could see the conversation was brief, and David was clearly not creating a disturbance as reported by Blair on dispatch audio recordings. West stated that before Blair ended the conversation, he called West a “Whiny Boy” and said, “Have a good day Whiny Boy”, to which West replied, “You have a good day too, fat ass.”
A few minutes later, West headed to the rear of the van and stated, “He made sure there were no vehicles approaching”, and is seen on video running across the street. This is important because according to Blair’s report of the incident and arresting Officer Baines police report West was “Lodged after blocking traffic...” but West never blocked traffic.
Nearly six months after West was arrested, on January 9, 2013, Officer Baines testified that Blair had told him West blocked two vehicles on Garfield Street for 10-20 seconds - this was clearly a lie and disproved by video footage of the entire incident. If responding officers would have reviewed the video, which West requested at the time of his arrest, they would have easily seen that Blair was lying, but they either didn’t review the video, or clearly disregarded the evidence on the video.
According to Officer Baines’ report, one of two witnesses Myranda Capehart stated, “She did not see him in the street interfering with traffic.” The other witness also made no claim that West obstructed or blocked traffic.
Multiple Officers who responded on scene testified at West’s hearing on January 9, 2013. MPD Detective Justin Ivens stated he has been an MPD officer for “seventeen years” and testified to hearing “Stress” in Blair’s voice while listening to Blair’s call to dispatch. Lieutenant Whipple testified that he heard “Stress” in Blair’s voice. Arresting Officer Erik Baines testified to hearing “heightened anxiety” in Blair’s voice. All officers who testified admitted to discussing the case prior to testimony and Officer Baines testified to talking to Medford’s Senior Assistant City Attorney, Kevin McConnell, about Blair’s tone of voice prior to the hearing. After listening to the call made to dispatch by Blair, I was puzzled that the officers would all say the same thing about Blair’s “Stress”, which was not even close to apparent while listening to his recorded conversation with dispatch. Blair even stated during his call, “Just be advised so far he hasn’t menaced me...”
Detective Justin Ivens on a recording obtained from the date of West’s arrest stated to West, “I just don’t want, more than anything, we can’t have this. I understand your frustration. This isn’t the way to go about demonstrating it.” There is no law against protesting because it is protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is the supreme law in the United States, so why was Ivens compelled to make that statement to West?
Officer Ivens also stated to West, “Believe it or not, the number one complaint in the City of Medford is speeding vehicles from citizens.” This is another example of how an officer can create a fabrication to validate his abusive actions. According the city of Medford’s own website, reported offences for the entire year of 2012 were recently published and speeding vehicles was not even in the top 10 on the list.
Arresting Officer Baines stated to West, “You seem like you got some, a brain between your ears and it’s just kind of a poor decision.” What was Officer Baines referring to? What law had David West violated?
While transporting West to jail, Baines stated, “So here is the deal, you’re being charged with disorderly conduct. I’m gonna have the jail hold you overnight and you should be arraigned by the municipal court judge tomorrow morning.”
David West is astute because he stands up for his rights, and more importantly, he exercises his rights, whether protesting a radar van is your cup of tea or not, that is not reason enough to arrest someone. What happened is simply wrong, unlawful, and a clear and present danger to all citizens in Medford, Oregon. If the police can conspire and create evidence against David West, what are their actions on a daily basis? I am an advocate for transparency and honesty, especially in government and this is not good for the rest of MPD, especially the officers who do their job the right way, every day.
“The real reason why David West was arrested”
David West
Photo: David West
David West often open carries a firearm; a handgun which is kept secure in a holster on his belt at all times. He has taken firearm safety courses and has valid Concealed Carry Permits from the states of Oregon and Utah. West had a .357 magnum revolver carried openly on his person that day while in public, which is legal in almost every city in Oregon, even without a concealed carry permit. West’s sign read: “Tax Whore Pig”, to describe his view of revenue generating practices for the city. While carrying a firearm and holding a sign like that is clearly not something often seen in public, that doesn’t make it illegal. So, after responding to the scene and forcing West to the ground at gunpoint, placing him in handcuffs, stuffing him into the back of a patrol car and reading him his Miranda rights, what options did MPD have after finding out that West never threatened anyone or un-holstered his pistol, and has a CCW permit and no criminal history whatsoever?
The only logical explanations are that the responding officers either attempted to lie, or Blair lied to the responding officers. Either way, the responding officers had West’s permission to view his video, which was barely over eleven minutes long and learn the truth and then they could have released him. They did not do that. Instead, they went along with Blair, and probably even conspired with him to make the arrest? They also obviously conspired prior to court when they all testified about the “stress” in Blair’s voice, which wasn’t even mentioned in the police report.
A copy of the exculpatory video that West had taken was secured by the defense when its release was negotiated by West’s attorney Nathan Wente several weeks after his release from jail. Apparently no one at MPD or the city prosecutor’s office observed the video, despite having both West’s camera and memory card in their evidence locker for nearly 6 months.
After West had his pre-trial hearing and the officers had testified, Nathan Wente, West’s attorney, shared the video with the prosecutor, McConnell. McConnell filed a “Motion to Dismiss” on January 11, 2013 and Mr. West’s charges were formally dismissed less than one week later by Municipal Judge William P. Haberlach.
If this writer’s bias or opinion is too strong in this article, please let the decision from the city prosecutor to dismiss the charges before trial be evidence enough that what has been reported is absolute fact. If you reside in Southern Oregon and are facing criminal charges, I would highly recommend Nathan Wente. He decided to withhold the video until after the officers testified. Smart move Mr. Wente.
Please note that although Michael Blair is not a “Police Officer” at MPD, he is a retired police officer, he operates a vehicle that takes photos of speeding cars (which results in citations), his paycheck is from the City of Medford, and he is a government employee. Had he not lied to dispatch that day, it is likely that West would have never been arrested.
Had West not decided to video his peaceful protest on July 25, 2012, one must assume he would have been convicted - another loon with a gun, another notch on the conviction belt for the prosecutor, and, most certainly, another lie resulting in arrest and conviction for MPD.
http://www.usobserver.com/archive/feb-13/west-article.htm
kill ‘em with your Bible.
I’ve seen that van, and it is just a revenue generator for the tax man. No cop in his right mind would want to be associated with it. But in Medford, the cops are better than you, as evidenced by the article.
Southern Oregonians are pretty out-front about their open carry rights. I packed on my hip regularly. I went to a different nearby town’s police department to verify it was okay. But I’d never go to Medford and ask... Those guys are spooky.
Former Medford Oregon Police Officer Travis Henson Pleads No Contest To Menacing After Threatening Teen With Taser Weapon And Lying - Receives A Slap On The Wrist
Guilty verdict shocks former officer
A Jackson County jury has found a former Medford police officer guilty of perjury in a case that involved more than $12,000 in unemployment benefits, a phantom phone call and claims of verbal abuse and sexual impropriety.
http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110408/NEWS/104080326
yep, hang it in.
Notice how the Trayvon Martin controversy bubbled up inthe summer before an election year and now this. Do you think this could be a part of plan to mobilize black voters and put the rest of us on the defense
Is Heaven helping you in time?
We guess Uncle Miltie. We guess.
Military Vet Arrested; Guns Confiscated: His Crime – Defending his home from Burglar
A Military veteran living in Oregon, 36-year-old Corey Thompson, has been arrested and has had his firearms confiscated after defending his home from an intruder.
Medford, Oregon Police arrested Thompson, after he attempted to stop a wanted felon from breaking into his home by firing a warning shot into the ground. The felon, 40-year-old Jonathon Kinsella, had outstanding warrants that included burglary and assault charges.
The wanted felon was trying to break into Thompson’s home through a back door. Trying to defend his property, Thompson grabbed his AR-15 rifle and warned the criminal that he was armed. He then yelled to him that he was giving him his one and only warning shot; he then fired one warning shot. The bullet did not strike the suspect or anyone else.
“This is the end result. You break into someone’s house, there’s consequences,” Thompson told KDRV-TV. “When I’m dealt with a stressful situation, being a veteran from Iraq and the Afghanistan war, it’s natural. I just jump into combat mode. I told him, ‘I’m going to give you a warning shot’.”
Despite the fact that Thompson was clearly defending his home from a wanted felon, Medford, Oregon Police arrested the military vet and charged him with Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Menacing and Reckless Endangering.
http://offgridsurvival.com/militaryvetarrested-defendinghishome/
I often hear of “a few bad cops” giving all the others a bad name. The question then becomes; “Why don’t the good cops, turn in the bad cops?” The only comparison, and I will be the first to admit that it is an unfair one, is to Islam.
We are always told of the radical 10% that are the trouble makers, but we never hear anything from the other 90%, that rebukes the actions of the minority.
Same holds true of police, no matter how poorly or illegally an officer has acted, his brothers and sisters in blue will NOT speak up against him.
Another impediment to cleaning up law enforcement is that when an officer is found guilty of misconduct, the tax payers and not the officer are on the hook for any costs. The officer may lose their job, but the tax payer foots the bill.
So what can we do to fix this situation? Well as my old First Sergeant used to say; “Don’t complain unless you have a solution to the problem.” Well here is my idea.
Any and all monetary damages awarded to a plaintiff as a result of the actions of law enforcement officers, are to ONLY come from the offending departments or organizations pension fund.
Only when it hits home personally by weakening every officers retirement, will the good ones begin to turn in the bad ones. In time, department phycologists and training officers will do a better job of weeding out the nut jobs. Senior staff will do a better job of triple checking addresses before conducting a “no-knock” late night call to a suspect’s home. Officers will advise their partners that a course of action is not advised, rather than just going along.
And once this has happened, law enforcement might begin to gain some of the mountain of trust and respect that they have lost in past few years.
That is the game, like it or not, so one has to determine then how they will play it given the end result as depicted in this guys outcome...so be ready for it with your plan on how your going to handle a similar situation.
those cops should be in jail for official oppression
Medford Oregon was mentioned in another thread too, as having a very militarized police force
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