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'll take the word of a police officer over your's any day.
Then why did VOTERS pass medical pot laws in as many states as they have? Hmmmmmmmmm?
Actually, that post was sarcasm. I just forgot the tags.
Given some of the cops I have seen, I wouldn’t trust them to tell me how much 2+2 adds up to. But of course to you there’s nothing a cop can do that’s wrong in your book. I have NEVER seen you do anything but suck up. Either you’re a LEO with only two braincells to rub together or just a copsucker. I sure dunno which, and I guess it doesn’t matter much, the net effect’s the same.
Arrestee?
The Caifornia law passed by VOTERS didn't authorize marijuana sales. Or Ecstasy sales. Or non-medical possession.
Too lame.
“It is not unusual to have known drug dealers or users offer to assist police in narcotics investigations,” Jones said. “Rachel was no exception.”
You don’t get someone killed for a little marijuana there dragnet2
There are real criminals out there to kill if ya must.
"It's not like the b$itch was a Moslem or one of my two daughters."
Sending a small time dealer who had occasionally bought a couple of oz of Marijuana or a dozen Ecstasy in to buy 1500 E and cocaine "oh and a gun" pretty much screams "police snitch, kill me now" .
The cops planned for her death. It nay have been option B in case the deal to catch the big dealers with gun enhancement charges went sour, but it was a solid back up plan.
The cops were just too incompetent to keep track of her ans lost their tethered goat without catching the tiger.
You can screw up your lungs and not have lung cancer. Phlegm build ups, scar tissue, there’s a reason long term serious pot smokers cough a lot, hot smoky air is not good for you even when it lacks cancer causers.
If someone isn’t doing a good job, fire them whether they use pot or not. Under what other circumstances, if any, would you want to jail someone for poor job performance?
Cop haters are blood dancers.
Agreed.
Your opinion of cops must be lower than mine.
They should have had the deal go down in the station lobby.
She was an experienced dealer with multiple arrests running a drug house.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.