The plan that led to the arrests of hundreds of teenagers at Kmart, Sonic

KHOU TV Houston ^ | August 24, 2002 | By Jeff McShan

[Pay now bill Clinton]

"The plan that led to the arrests of hundreds of teenagers at Kmart, Sonic"

And that was just the employees!

[lonestar]

We need a system where government is responsible

They should sue Brown, the HPD Chief, and the HPD Union; hold them accountable for their members. Brown is the former HPD chief.

Taxpayers shouldn't have to pay.

[freebilly]

If there were errors made, the people will have their day in court

And you, as a Houstonian, will pay for the errors, and pay for them, and pay for them....

[Leper Messiah]

bump for later

[freebilly]

Thank you Houston Police Department for this plan you worked on for months. A few more months of this type of excellent planning and we'd have had our own Tianamen Square

Some of the neo-totalitarians on these threads can hardly wait.

[arthurus]

several employment opportunities will be opening up soon for police officers who want to work in Houston.

[StolarStorm]

I have experienced what you are writing about... yet I can't come even close to seeing that this was appropriate. Even those of us who support the police are disgusted by this gross abuse of power.

[arthurus]

The first reports made it sound like there were something like 450 arrested, though later reports toned it down to "only" 250 or so.

The police first reported it as the larger number and revised it downthe next morning.

[sawsalimb]

Yup. As if groups of teenagers hanging out in mall parking lots is some kind of "new" thing. With cops that have the apparent judgement of turnips it's really lucky break that they didn't shoot anybody.

What strikes me about this is that the numbers involved aren't even very large. I live in a small town,and the Sonic here has space for roughly 30 vehicles. Assume it was half full,and assume 2 occupants per vehicle,and there's 30 arrests,right there.

The WalMart here is usually pretty full on Friday and Saturday nights-not jammed,but nowhere near empty. I don't have any trouble imagining over 200 people in a K-Mart parking lot,on a weekend,afterhours,in a major city. Heck,the beer joint I patronize on occasion has that many people in it sometimes,lol.

Where the numbers get really big is when referring to the reality dose that's about to land on the HPD. Assume 100 lawsuits,equals 100 vicious,attack-dog trial lawyers,looking at a really juicy target that doesn't have a leg to stand on,and this could be a lot of fun to watch...

[demkicker]

"Thank you Houston Police Department for this plan you worked on for months."

Incredible, isn't it? I, too, listened to the Jon Matthews show and heard the 41 yr. old guy tell his horror story. If heads don't roll at the highest level in the police department over this moronic plan, we all need to be ready to march. On the other hand, who knows what will happend with bad, bad, Leeeeee P. Brown as our undistinguished mayor.

And now for a scary fact. Heard this on my way home yesterday... 60% of Houston's police force will be retiring in 2 years. Of course mayor Brown has no plans to off-set the staggering number of experience our police department will be loosing.

[Dog Gone]

It's not definite that 60% will retire. That's the percentage that will be eligible.

Of course, unless there is a significant shakeup in the Department after we shine a bright light on them after these incidents, that number might even be low.

Similar numbers apply to the Houston Fire Department. I guess the esteemed Mayor has a plan for all that. Oh wait, he'll be out of office in two years. Never mind. There's no plan.

[lonestar]

I avoid that area on weekends for that very reason. However, the solution shouldn't involve arresting people in parking lots. It's the street that is crowded.

Not so is years past. Several businesses along Westheimer were closed at night and their parking lots were trashed by people using them to hang out and a lot of damage was done; windows broken, etc. That doesn't seem to be the case this time.

[neutrino]

What you folks don't seem to understand is how destructive and dangerous large unruly groups of young people can be. It is the mob mentality and if you haven't witnessed it, then you won't understand.

Oh, I understand that well enough. But I wonder if you've considered the dangers of mob mentality in dealing with such as issue?

As I mentioned before on another thread, one can deal with this easily enough, and do so legally. First, do an ID check. Those violating the curfew are taken in and their parents called to come get them. A citation is issued. Next, one does an ID check and determines whether there are any outstanding warrants (i.e., unpaid traffic tickets). A warrant is a court issued document that requires a Peace Officer to arrest the individual...so, obey the court order. Arrest them. Public Intoxication is a legitimate crime. Conduct field sobriety tests, and arrest those guilty of same. On vehicles that are present, conduct safety inspections before permitting them to be operated. A cracked tail light means that the vehicle cannot lawfully be operated on a public roadway.

After a few iterations of such thorough enforcement, the crowds will depart. And every single action I've mentioned is legal.

The problem with the current action is that innocent people who broke no law were arrested. In fact, it appears bunches of them were. Now what are nice, law abiding people like you and I to do when it happens to us? For we cannot know when we'll happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[niki]

Thanks for the ping.

[Dog Gone]

Houston local ABC television is now reporting that Captain Aguirre has been suspended (with pay, of course) while the investigation is being conducted.

[niki]

This is disappointing. He indicated he had no knowledge of the raid. I believed him and thought Aguirre went rogue. Sounds like a lot of problems there including the pols.

[tallhappy]

ACLU plans to file suit over Kmart arrests

ACLU. Says it all.

[niki]

Looks like a bunch of whining law breakers want their baby bottles.

Have you had a chance to read the other threads?

[stands2reason]

Tallhappy: You guys would have to post more info than this to make your case. Liberal and leftists always say kneejerk that the cops are wrong and fscist. It is par for the course. Djarum, niki, could you enlighten tallhappy?

[tallhappy]

Thanks for your comment.

And your assessment strikes me as right on.

I have seen so many knee-jek anti-police sentiments that I am immediately skeptical of them. Plus it is a media cottage industry to drum up police abuse stories.