Posted on 07/25/2008 8:49:03 PM PDT by bamahead
After being caught twice with a "baggie" of marijuana, 23-year old Rachel Hoffman was reportedly told by police in Tallahassee, Florida that she would go to prison for four years unless she became an undercover informant.
The young woman, a recent graduate of Florida State University, was murdered during a botched sting operation two months ago.
"The idea of waging a war on drugs is to protect people and here it seems like we're putting people in harm's way," said Lance Block, a lawyer hired by Rachel's parents.
The Florida Attorney General's office says it is reviewing the procedures and protocol of the Tallahassee police.
"I'm calling her a criminal," Tallahassee police chief Dennis Jones told 20/20, who maintains that both drug dealers and drug users are considered criminals to his department.
Under Florida law, possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana is a felony.
The Tallahassee police chief says Rachel was suspected of selling drugs and she was rightly treated as a criminal.
"That's my job as a police chief to find these criminals in our community and take them off the street, to make the proper arrests," Jones told 20/20.
Rachel's case also is raising questions about how police recruit and use informants in undercover operations.
"There need to be some safeguards here," said Block, the Hoffman family lawyer.
The young woman received no training before being sent to an undercover meeting to buy a large amount of drugs and a handgun from two suspects.
Police says Rachel was killed by the very handgun she was supposed to buy.
"I don't think she understood the risk or danger that she was in," said Block.
Rachel was in a drug court diversion program when she became an informant.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
I guess you think everyone does pot then? I’m in my 30’s and never have. Knew a few good potential students back in the day that did, all of them went on to be dropout pizza deliveriers..
Great stuff, to watch peoples’ lives fall apart over a drug. None of the drinkers I’ve known have ever been in the same league.
The only person that got it worse did heroin.
Not the point. She should have been prosecuted and the chips fall where they may. Putting a drug addled idiot in harms way is a bad idea.
They won’t pay anything. The practice of using informants is ancient, and well established. The precious angel here chose to do this instead of go to jail.
What’s next, suing the police if your son’s killed while running from the cops in a high speed chase?
She was a drug dealer. She died cutting another deal.
Some of the comments here, like yours for instance are laughable.
Send some 22 year old female out there to buy guns and drugs for the cops, after they *persuade* her it beats prison, she gets here head blown off...And you blame this young stupid kid?
Good God...
Her choice.
Well, I’m in my 40’s and haven’t done it for over 20 years. It never harmed me. I know lots of engineers and lawyers and very successful folk who smoke pot.
I’ve seen more people lives fall apart over alcohol than anything else, but that’s OK, because its legal?
Actually I blame the murderer in this case. What’s laughable is to think the cops are going to ‘train’ informants to be secret agents or something. It’s not how it works.
She gambled and lost.
Send some 22 year old female drug dealer out there to buy guns and drugs for the cops
As Redcoat1982 has already pointed out, pot can be grown in most areas (climates). So what can you do to keep it out of the hands of a 12 year old? Will you still keep it illegal to grow(manufacture) outside of a licensed facility like alcohol? Law enforcement would still have to deal with the problem of people growing it illegally
“Putting a drug addled idiot in harms way is a bad idea.”
This is what so often happens with the no-knock BS. They put a informant on the payroll and make sure they get cash to buy drugs. Then the informant needs to keep feeding them info or get cut loose. So based on the word of a whacked up crack fiend they send in teams with flash bangs and mp-5s pre-dawn.
Then they hit some joe milktoast’s house and hold a press conference talking about “our department followed all of our procedures we did nothing wrong blah blah blah”
So did the cops make any mistakes here?
IT SHOULDN’T BE A CRIME that is the point. THEY sent her to her death, the morons. And they’ll pay, watch and see.
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You moron, a high speed pursuits can kill entire innocent families in a blink of an eye. This is a pot possession deal.
This is about some stupid 22 year old girl caught with pot, who the cops persuaded into buying guns and drugs for them, and she gets her head blown off in the process.
Good grief! Stupid comments abound...
I know I’ll sleep so much better, won’t you?
I’ll sleep better when the cops get nailed for this SNAFU. They caused her death.
What is truly sad are the very sick people who need pot for medical reasons and even in states where it is legal have to worry about the feds busting somebody in a wheelchair.
We should be so proud.
*plays world’s smallest violin*
Don’t use/sell illegal drugs, and certainly don’t go be an informant if you want a better (or any) life.
It should not have been. Don't you get it?
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