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 ...
>If I had my way anyone using drugs should on the spot execution.<
I’m sorry you’re going to be forever frustrated here in the US. Ever thought of pulling up stakes and moving to Saudi Arabia? They think just like you.
Your story keeps changing.
Rush got drug diversion for his misuse of a prescription painkiller. Hoffman got drug diversion too.
But she kept on using. And selling.
Another follower of the Dan Rather school of logic. Fake but accurate.
LOL
The meth addict. Your guy.
Sure. In my town we have an amusement park which draws a lot of out of town visitors. Down the street from the park is a freeway overpass which for the longest time had NO, zero, zip, nada “NO PARKING” signs or curb markings or anything to tell folks that they should go down the street and pay an extra $20.00 to park. So some would park there. Our meter maid-guy would come along and ticket them. No authority to do so, but he would. Then the city would collect the money. I had been told about it, but never saw it myself. Well, one day I did. The meter maid was there writing tickets with not a single bit of legal authority to do so except his boss’s word. I wrote a VERY stiff letter to the editor and guess what... within two weeks the city came out and painted the curb red. Gee... phony tickets, yet most of the out of towners would just send in the money and not fight them. Free money to the cops and the city. Wow. How cool. But when they were publicly confronted, they went on and caved. Like any bully. And yes, there is documentation of all this. THAT’S how the cops I see do business.
You know.....reading your post got me to thinking. We didn't have much poverty in this country until we declared war on it (circa 1965). We didn't have much of a drug problem until we declared war on it either (circa 1970). Now we have poverty galore (the gubmint makes sure of that) and we have drugs galore (the gubmint also makes sure of that). With all these poverty and drug problems we are assured of a never ending battle with all the annual budget increases to pay for all the drug and poverty warriors and their gubmint benefits.
I say.....let's declare war on gasoline. Then we'll have gasoline coming out our ears! The gubmint will see to it. Anything they attempt to eradicate seems to grow by leaps and bounds. The trick will be to keep the price down as would happen in a totally free market.
Maybe it's not a good idea after all. The gubmint would insure that there was ample supply (like they do with poverty and drugs) but the price per gallon would probably be $850.00/$950.00 a gallon. People would still be screaming and DEA agents would still get their 30 days vacation each year and full medical....of course!
Better just let the free market handle it.
>All they care about are their damn drugs.<
Baloney. Many of them care about the execution of a young woman who was sent by incompetent police into a lethal situation.
I can't even begin parody that.
The “deal” was never cleared with the D.A. by the cops. If it HAD been, it would never have been approved. No, the COPS cut a deal, she did not. She was coerced into accepting it. Intimidated, if you will. But she did not “cut a deal.” Try real hard to face the realities of the situation, will you? You’re embarrassing yourself, much as my ex’s late husband did when he soiled himself in public. Sort of what you do to yourself with words.
She was killed by her fellow drug dealers while doing the opposite of what the police told her to do.
And your contention is as reliable as your bizarre meter maid story and your fake but accurate quotes defense.
By the way, what law required the D.A. to approve confidential informants?
I never tried to attribute them to anyone. Nor does it matter. They are, in fact, actual quotes and quite true. The only thing you are disputing is their lineage, or so I read from your comments. I could care less who penned them. Though it would be nice if someone so well versed in the way things are got proper credit for his or her words.
Never said you did.
Nor does it matter.
And out pops the Dan Rather "fake but accurate" defense again.
Neither can I... but it’s truth. I saw it with my own eyes. And our meter maid in his cute little scooter is a guy. Oh, well.
Read the article. Try to put your drink down so you can comprehend it. The DA said HE needed to OK such a deal because of her participation in the diversion program. The cops IGNORED that.
Her mistake was to believe reality TV and trust the bad guys
In this case, accurate and truthful but mis-attributed. Nothing fake about these quotes. As I said (and lay down your drink again), the only issue I saw YOU have with them was their lineage. WHO it was who either spoke those words or first wrote them down. On THAT I take no sides. On their actual veracity, the truth in them speaks for itself. If you don’t like it, well... put some ice on it.
The Florida Attorney General's office says it is reviewing the procedures and protocol of the Tallahassee police.Fake and inaccurate.
Faked.
Going around telling people she was a confidential informant wasn't real wise either.
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