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 ...
What law did the LEOs break? Or encourage to break?
I guess that your point is that we have a terrible problem with illegal whisky sales out of car trunks, so, therefore, repeal of prohibition failed.
I'm sorry to hear that. I feel bad for your area being so far out of date. Maybe you need to advertise in your town that prohibition is over...as soon as folks realize they can buy legal whiskey, I bet that problem will go away. Folks will likely cut back on the Tommy Gun massacres there, too.
The pro-drug crowd is always looking for a new martyr. They have another failure in Hoffman.
Hoffman told her drug buddies she was an undercover informant. She planned to write a book about her adventures. She invited a friend to videotape her first sting. She went with the perps who killed her after the police told her not to.
http://www.november.org/stayinfo/breaking08/FinalNight.html
Lumps of clay that are quite dense, hardened, and enjoy basking in hot air, oblivious to the fresh air and enlightenment that exists outside their own little world.
Your strawman is dressed in a guess.
It's your chimney.
I am not going to say that any were broken, as—unlike you—I don’t believe we can convict them without a trial. Besides, even if they didn’t break one yet, that doesn’t mean the policy is good—if it’s set up with incentives for them to break it.
But since you asked, check upthread...you can see the prosecutor’s words about what the chief did.
You love them strawmen.
Yeah, just like trained police do...
...r-i-i-i-ght.
Don't tell me that training wouldn't have helped her.
but if pot was legal the world would be full of rainbows and unicorns. And the only problem in the world would be the munchies. </sarc>
She had on the job training. Her book deal with never happen now.
I’m sure you think that the country would be better off if Rush Limbaugh and Cindy McCain were in prison. Rational don’t people think that way.
Nope. Never been busted, never tried, convicted or sentenced. Clean record. You?
I see cops daily, in the scope of my work... and they’re always out doing fundraising for the city. Stealing cars, whatever they can lay hands on. In other words doing the very things we hired them to prevent. Our OFFICIAL thieves, thugs and gangbangers are doing a landoffice business... while criminals roam the streets, victims have to go online to fill out reports. They’re sorta like how I’d picture you if you were a LEO and not just a wannabee.
She was convicted of doing something illegal?
No, not the earlier marijuana possession for which she failed to show in court and got three days and was in the program.
I'm talking about the claim that she was doing something illegal later.
Of course, she likely was. But if "likely was" is going to be our standard for punishing people, we can do away with courts and just have the police mete out justice based on "probable cause"...
Oh, wait, that's exactly what happened in this case!
Gee.
Funny...the potheads I knew in college are all doing quite well now.
She cut the deal so she wouldn't be convicted.
Evidence, please.
Are they drug dealers? No DU or DailyKos sources, please.
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