Girl testifies about arrest in Kmart raid

Houston Chronicle ^ | June 10, 2003 | LISA TEACHEY

[Dog Gone]

The last weekend of summer was supposed to be fun for Jessica Paine, especially since her mother had allowed her to stay out 30 minutes past her curfew.

But the day before Paine, then 17, was to begin her senior year in high school, she was released from city jail, one of hundreds who had been swept up in a raid at a westside shopping center.

As she was driving away from the Sonic drive-in next to a Kmart Super Center in the 8400 block of Westheimer, Paine testified Monday, a Houston police officer knocked on her window with gun drawn and told her and her best friend to "get out of the goddamn car."

Paine, now 18, testified at the trial of former police Capt. Mark Aguirre on five charges of official oppression.

She had no idea why she was being stopped, she said. She and her friend had been there looking at all the souped-up cars, as they do every weekend.

About 12:15 a.m. Aug. 18, they ordered two cherry limeades and an ice cream sundae and were leaving for home in time to make Paine's curfew.

Instead, she said, she was forced from her car at gunpoint, herded to the back of the strip center, placed in plastic flex cuffs and hauled to jail two or three hours later. She wasn't released until that afternoon. When she got to her towed car, she said, the ice cream was melted and the two drinks sat full in the console.

Aguirre commanded the raid planned as a crackdown on illegal street racing. When no racers were found, 278 people were arrested on charges of trespassing and curfew violations, sparking a public uproar. All the charges were dismissed and several plaintiffs, including Paine, filed civil lawsuits against the city.

Aguirre was fired after an internal affairs investigation found he violated several department policies.

Capt. Vicki King, who headed an in-house investigation, told the jury that Aguirre should have seen red flags as soon as the raid began and called it off.

Some people were detained without probable cause, she said, and all detainees should have been freed if the violators could not be clearly distinguished from innocent shoppers.

[OXENinFLA]

I'm glad to see there is a court case due to this. Some of these cops need to do Jail time for this raid.

[Zavien Doombringer]

The Heading is misleading...

It happened at a Sonic NEAR a KMart.

[Dog Gone]

In Houston, the incident at that parking lot that night is commonly referred to as the Kmart raid.

[circles]

To protect and serve

[Dog Gone]

follow-up ping

[Zavien Doombringer]

Ahh, Though the incident warrants the firing of the cops involved, most of us that live outside of the Great State of Texas, we probably would have never have known about the incident if it wasn't for your post.

Thank you for posting it, it shows that common sense is starting to prevail in the courts again!

[AAABEST]

.... she was forced from her car at gunpoint, herded to the back of the strip center, placed in plastic flex cuffs and hauled to jail two or three hours later.

This happening to one person is bad enough. To think that this happened to hundreds of citizens who were minding their own damn business is uncanny. Police = criminals in this case and should be treated as such.

[Movemout]

Just think, before the early/mid-19th century there were no widespread organized police forces. That end of the spectrum of possible public law enforcement vanished and now we have the other end of the spectrum. I hope that we have reached the end of the pendulum's swing and we, as a society, force the policies back in the opposite direction. I don't believe we will.

[Dog Gone]

Criminal charges have only been brought against two police officers, although a large number of the police on the scene have been disciplined within the department.

This is the first trial, and it's for the mastermind of this fiasco, Captain Mark Aquirre. The other trial will begin after this one concludes.

[No Truce With Kings]

Thanks. (The beat goes on.)

[Stat-boy]

From friends at HPD: Captain Mark Aquirre is (or, was!) a very politically active cop. The real reason for this ridiculous raid is as follows: Houston is going to elect a new mayor this year due to term limits, and the new mayor will appoint a new Police Chief. Aquirre’s plan was that this would be a high profile raid that would look good on his resume. Whoops!

[FreePaul]

I still don't understand why the officers who actually made illegal arrests are not on trial. Leaving these officers on the police force just breeds future Aguirre clones. This whole case is the result of a police department tolerating illegal behavior by an officer until it becomes too much for society to bear.

[em2vn]

How did Aguirre make it to the rank of Captain? Something like this doesn't just happen. This guy was following a pattern that must have been discernible long ago.

[TaxPayer2000]

Aguirre commanded the raid planned as a crackdown on illegal street racing.

She had no idea why she was being stopped, she said. She and her friend had been there looking at all the souped-up cars, as they do every weekend.

Some people were detained without probable cause, she said, and all detainees should have been freed if the violators could not be clearly distinguished from innocent shoppers.

Seems to me this girl has admitted to being there to watch all the souped up cars and while it is arguable that watching is a crime, Is there anyone that would argue that watching cock fights is not a crime?

[Dog Gone]

I still don't understand why the officers who actually made illegal arrests are not on trial.

I don't really know, but I suspect that the "just following orders" defense carried some weight with the District Attorney.

Captain Aguirre, by all accounts, was a very intimidating and abusive officer and to challenge him was to probably lose your job.

[circles]

Seems to me this girl has admitted to being there to watch all the souped up cars and while it is arguable that watching is (not) a crime, Is there anyone that would argue that watching cock fights is not a crime?

As far as I know, "watching" a drag race is not a crime. Moreover, these girls were just watching cars that might be possibly used in a drag race, and not watching drag races. You can't possibly be justifying the police actions, can you?

[TC Rider]

I heard someone on talk radio yesterday wondering how many teens would die as a result of watching the new flick, 2fast,2furious. Perhaps they should prohibit senior police officials from watching also.

[coloradan]

Aquirre’s plan was that this would be a high profile raid that would look good on his resume

Sounds like the BATF raiding the Davidians. There's something horribly wrong with a system that entangles politics, such as trying to be elected or funded, with the use of force against citizens.

[Doctor Stochastic]

What evidence are you presenting that cockfights were happening there?