Raid on Kmart lot leaves shock, anger( America PoliceState in the Making)

Houston Chronicle ^ | Aug. 19, 2002 | By RON NISSIMOV

[Cogadh na Sith]

And why is protecting private property rights and anti-loitering ok with homeless bums, but not with post-midnight hooligan teens?

What about the folks eating at the Sonic?

If I'm eating at Sonic at 12:30am following a long day of National Guard Drill and cops show up and order me into the parking lot of the Kmart next door with no arrest and no probable cause, I'm going to have a problem with it.

Wouldn't you?

[EBUCK]

but can anyone really imagine a Kmart and a Sonic having 425 legitimate patrons at 12:30 at night?

Appearantly K-Mart and Sonic can, otherwise they wouldn't be open 24 hours a day.

EBUCK

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

You are correct, in the poorest grammar possible, the moron is calling me an ass because he didn't bother to do a keyword search before posting.

[A CA Guy]

Leave 400 people in front of your house for a month and say that.
A businesses insurance could close the location when areas become hang-outs like that.
Broken arm, cuts, bruises or whatever, they su K-mart.
Arresting everyone was the right thing to do.

[OPS4]

Houston, Police, Need to respond to this article, when they do I am sure the same diligence will be used to update us?

Ops4 God Bless America!

[CraigH]

A couple years ago the daughter of a friend of mine went with her boyfriend to a club in downtown Rochester. When a fight broke out, the Rochester police were summoned and simply arrested everyone in sight.

This girl and her boyfriend spent the night in jail for simply having been at the club at the time. The police were insulting and dismissive.

This is, I believe, a result of the years' of cries of racial profiling. Now, everyone gets arrested. Next step -- no enforcement at all.

[rb22982]

Well, in defense of the cops, this happens a lot in my town too. Fortunately it is very evident (here) who is trespassing and who isn't. Cops come and break it up all the time, but no arrests/tickets have been given (to my knowledge). It's wendy's and Harris teeter that is the hangout for the High school kids here.

[jdege]

The cops were just doing their jobs.

It's the bureaucrats who sent them there who are the primary problem.

[TomB]

Yes. The government beats up on innocent teens buying make-up and Bibles at a large discount store, after innocently enjoying a burger and malt.

You know, I think I read about that happening in the Soviet Union under Stalin once, or was that Cambodia under Pol Pot?

[dougherty]

Nice to know HPD is arresting these big time criminals. >heavy sarcasm<

They're almost as bad as the Harris County Keystone cops.

[oiljake]

what the real problem was that the cops had nowhere to sleep the kids were making to much noise or taking up to many parking spaces when they took their DONUT break

[RandomUserName]

I'm sure most of those arrested were loitering. However, there were obviously some, if we are to believe any of this article, who were wrongly arrested.

When did acceptable law enforcement practice come to include eounding up and arresting everyone in sight, regardless of any evidence of wrongdoing?

[Dawgs of War]

My goodness. What a bunch of whining pansies. Do you believe that crap the kids were saying? They had probably been told not to congregate but they ignored the warning. Then they tried some BS story about "buying a scrunchy" or "getting an ice cream". They have no business being out at 12:30 am. They should be home.

It is amazing how people that enjoy the greatest amount of personal freedom in the history of mankind are crying about a so called police state. Come on man. Get a grip!

[RandomUserName]

eounding => rounding

Why is it I can never see my typos in the preview pane, yet they are always glaringly obvious once posted?

[Brookhaven]

Leanne Williams said her 19-year-old son called her from jail and told her he showed police a receipt for bottled water from Kmart, but he was still arrested.

The article fails to mention what time was stamped on the reciept. If the receipt is stamped 11:29, and they are still in the parking lot and hour later, they are loitering.

[Dawgs of War]

No police state here in Georgia! Must be awful to be so oppressed like you are.

You people need to get a grip!

[headsonpikes]

"Arresting everyone was the right thing to do."

And no, he's not being ironic; not in the slightest.

The Village is on the job!

[Dawgs of War]

That is exactly what is wrong with America's attitude toward law enforcement.

We have to have laws. They have to be enforced.

Your response is typical of many teenagers (and adults). No consequences. No rules.

Life doesn't work that way.

[Dawgs of War]

the Police are geting out hand all over America

A completely unsubstantiated claim. Most police in America do a great job with very little support from whiners like you.

[Moonman62]

Demmler said many youths appearing to be 13 or 14 were arrested and taken to juvenile detention facilities, adding, "They even arrested a 10-year-old girl who was having dinner with her father and took her to juvenile detention. "She got separated from her father and I asked her how old she was, and she told me she was 10," Demmler said. "She was dazed."

Did the reporter bother to find this 10 year old girl or her father to verify the story?