Raid went to 'hell in a handbasket'

HoustonChronicle.com ^ | Aug. 19, 2002, 11:24PM | S.K. BARDWELL

[niki]

Follow up information from citizen round up at Kmart

[Billy_bob_bob]

Sounds like Captain Aguirre might be exploring career possibilities in the private sector very soon.

[A CA Guy]

This is the 3rd new thread of the same story folks!

[chaosagent]

But this is a completely new take on the story and deserves its own posting.

Kinda puts the onus back on the police.

Reminds me of the stories about the '68 Democratic convention in Chicago where police went into hotel lobbies and restaurants and dragged customers out and arrested them, sometimes with a few beatings thrown in for good measure.

[niki]

Follow up information from citizen round up at Kmart

[realpatriot71]

This is the 3rd new thread of the same story folks!

Okie dokie hall monitor

[ozzymandus]

Nothing will happen, nothing will change. The captain will retire with a full pension.

[primeval patriot]

"I couldn't believe we were being told to arrest all those kids. It was just utterly, utterly senseless," said one officer involved, who violated department policy by discussing the arrests and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Was someone pointing a gun at this officer, telling him that he must arrest these people? Why didn't he refuse to do so if he believed it to be wrong?

[niki]

This is not the same article. Did you read it. This is the POLICE saying it was an complete cluster f--- and wrong.

[Arkinsaw]

Doy......I didn't do anything illegal and the arrest was illegal but......doy.......I will just plead guilty so I can go get my car.

This sort of half-ass citizenship is why this stuff happens.

[niki]

Doy......I didn't do anything illegal and the arrest was illegal but......doy.......I will just plead guilty so I can go get my car.

Some of the kids did not have the money to get out. They pled guilty so they would not spend another night in jail.

[paul51]

Captain, you got some splainin to do

[Looking4Truth]

"Our first concern is the safety of our customers and associates," Dennis said. "As for the action taken, that was the police. There was no directive from Kmart."

I'm going to change my screen name to 'ThreadHiJacker'. Just kidding. BUT I've got to mention the absurdity of calling service-sector employees 'associates'.

"Yeah, that'll boost my self-esteem by loads since I had to give up my manufacturing job to be a friggin' clerk at K-Mart for 1/3 the money thanks to NAFTA."

[chaosagent]

Doy......I didn't do anything illegal and the arrest was illegal but......doy.......I will just plead guilty so I can go get my car.

What do you expect from 18 year old girls who just spent their first night in jail in a cell with a hooker, and weren't allowed to call their parents?

They wanted out!

[Dec31,1999]

Previous thread

[Dec31,1999]

But this is a completely new take on the story and deserves its own posting.

Just more whining from people who don't live near these dangerous mobs of uncontrolled children.

[niki]

Follow up information from citizen round up at Kmart

[TankerKC]

Just more whining from people who don't live near these dangerous mobs of uncontrolled children.

Are you sure you read the article?

What I read is much more detail that previous stories. Details of a raid gone wrong. A raid where the goal changed from stopping drag racing to "arrest everyone in sight".

[sweetliberty]

Thanks for the ping. Just as I figured. Some uppity cop on a power trip involving the entire department and a lot of kids none of whom were involved in drag racing which is what the raid was all about. I hope they do get sued. Maybe not excessively, but enough for it to smart and enough that people can recover the expenses associated with having their cars towed and some compensation for the inconvenience and humiliation to the kids and their parents. Ordinarily I would say that a public apology would be in order, but I have yet to ever hear of a cop apologizing for any wrongdoing, even when it is without question in anybody's mind.