Posted on 06/28/2008 8:16:57 PM PDT by ellery
NYPD Investigating Incident, Officers Placed On Modified Duty
NEW YORK (CBS) -- Undercover police officers who arrested four men on drug charges are under investigation after surveillance video proved the men they arrested committed no crime.
Drug charges against brothers Jose Colon and Maximo Colon, along with two of their friends have been dropped.
The undercover NYPD officers are seen on video dancing in the street, then attempting to frame four innocent men.
"I asked police officer why are you arresting me," said Maximo Colon. "Never did I get an answer."
The investigators swore under oath they bought drugs from the four men. Jose and Maximo colon say that didn't happen.
"The cops are supposed to help us," said a shaken Jose Colon.
Defense lawyers say the surveillance cameras proved their clients were framed.
"It was nauseating," said defense lawyer Rochelle Berliner.
Two hours of video showed no contact at all between the four men arrested and undercover officers - proof that lead prosecutors to drop charges against the four men, and even declare in court the men did not commit the crime.
Defense lawyers say it's disturbing but not uncommon.
"As defense attorneys you know it exists more often than government wants you to believe," said Brad Wolk.
In the 6 months it took to clear the Colon brothers names, they lost their business and their savings.
As a result of his ordeal, Maximo Colon has lost trust in police officers.
The two men are now involved in a civil suit against the city and hope to one day rebuild their lives.
The NYPD is investigating the officers involved in this incident. Two of the officers are reportedly on modified duty.
Adults should have the legal right to poison themselves. They should not have the legal authority to stop other adults from self poisoning.
Agreed, IMO, to believe otherwise would negate the premise of self ownership. In other words, if one starts with the premise that we own our bodies (which seems self evident), then it follows that only we can choose what we do with it. For others to place these restrictions puts some sort of claim of ownership over our bodies, which runs contrary to our conscious experiences. (it also follows that anything produced by the fruits of our bodies is entirely our own too, but that’s off subject) :)
Everyone has the right to commit suicide. However, that doesn’t mean that the government doesn’t have the right to make certain suicidal behaviors illegal for reasons of public interest. If heroin were legal for adults and were no longer an “outlaw” substance, more children would gain access to it and try it.
Of course some do reject the premise that we own our own bodies. Some claim that God owns us, since he created us.
At such an axiomatic level, I suppose it would be hard to make headway.
Following that logic, we could ban any item that might harm unsupervised children.
Guns, cars, antifreeze...the list is endless!
Cop Rock
but you can't fire these guys without due process. the city already has to pay the 2 guys who were arrested. they don't want the cops able to sue them too because the city violated the cops rights. it's in our contract how these situations are to be handled.
Guns, cars and antifreeze are all products with legitimate productive uses.
If God created us than we must answer to God, not government, for our actions. This sort of goes along with the founding of the United States, taking away the ‘divine right of kings’ as was the case in europe, where it was said God ruled through the kings giving them near infinite power over the people. In the US it was said you were ‘king of your castle’, and God worked directly through you, cutting out the king as middle man. I think many opponents of liberty misplace a desire for liberty with perverse desires for drugs and so forth, a lot of it also has to do with the strength that one gains when one falls.
Heroin also has legitimate productive uses. Depending on the application, it variously provides pain relief, euphoria, and the ability to function in dangerous work situations without panic.
Children can harm themselves with an infinite number of items and behaviors. Should we, for the sake of consistency, ban all of them that we think don’t have additional productive uses?
Heroin does provide pain relief. However, there are other less dangerous pain medications, by which I mean every other pain medication.
I don’t know about it providing “the ability to function in dangerous work situations without panic” but in Vietnam I understand that it was their weapon, not ours.
Also, it amuses me that we having the argument about legalizing heroin on a right wing message board. And no one seems to be joining me.
I have a good friend who was a door gunner in Vietnam and he says that his whole crew, pilot included, would sometimes use heroin to “keep straight” when making the fine-tuned adjustments necessary when descending through triple canopy forest.
That came as a revelation to me. I had always thought of heroin as just euphoria followed by “nodding off”.
Heroin does provide pain relief. However, there are other less dangerous pain medications, by which I mean every other pain medication.
I thought heroin was just as safe/dangerous as morphine.
Drug legalization does have its famous right wing advocates.
And no one seems to be joining me.
The thread is old. No one else will ever look at it again!
The essential difference between heroin and morphine is that heroin is much stronger. For the same effect, you would need quite a few times as much morphine as heroin. Morphine is thus also very addictive but somewhat less dangerous in terms of overdose, etc.
I know what I am talking about with morphine. Last winter I was in an accident. I injured one leg pretty badly, had major surgery. I was alone in an isolated area and without a phone when it happened and had no choice but to walk. It was a while before I got something for pain. When the morphine came, I liked it a lot. Very, very grateful. Later, I got off the drugs as fast as I could, because I saw what could happen.
The whole heroin in Vietnam thing worked out really well, obviously. “Keep straight” might mean “not be distracted by certain immediate needs.”
I realize that we are alone in this thread, but it does seem that there were no advocates for the drug war here, although that has been the party line for many decades.
I am not against liberalizing laws for marijuana, by the way, but draw the line at drugs like heroin and meth.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2042341/posts?page=45
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2042341/posts?page=56#56
These two Freepers seem to share your views.
Thanks for sharing yours!
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