Posted on 08/24/2002 10:37:58 AM PDT by Dog Gone
"Simply issuing citations has had little or no impact"
08/23/2002
HOUSTON (KHOU) -- With parents still fuming over the arrests of hundreds of teenagers for trespassing, 11 news has learned the chief, himself, was apparently in on the planning for Operation E-racer.
Houston Police Chief Clarence Bradford made it clear this week that the raid on Westheimer would be thoroughly investigated. Hundreds were arrested in a sting operation set up to curtail street racers and trespassers.
But many have filed complaints saying the arrests were unjust. People like Emily Demmler. "I was handcuffed. I was put in the back of a van," she said. "And I sat in a jail cell from 4:00 to 9:00."
Monday night Chief Bradford called for an investigation of the controversial crackdown. He wanted to know who was in charge? What instructions were given to officers? And why were arrests made instead of issuing citations?
Who was in charge? It turned out to be HPD Captain Mark Aguirre. He told 11 news that he was surprised the chief had so many questions about the raid. "It was my understanding that Chief Bradford was in the loop," said Aguirre. "I assume that. Nothing of this magnitude would escape his attention."
Friday night 11 News obtained an interoffice correspondence, which appears to back Captain Aguirre's beliefs. The memo is the plan for last weekend's raid. It was sent to Chief Bradford on May 13, months ago.
In the correspondence Captain Aguirre explains to the chief the proposed solution for the problems in that area and why issuing tickets would not work.
Aguirre says, "Simply issuing citations has had little or no impact. By arresting individuals observed violating local, state or federal laws and towing violators' vehicles, law enforcement will have more of an influence over the individuals' future behavior."
Yesterday most, if not all, the officers involved in the raid were told to report to police headquarters where they picked up a set of over 20 questions. They'll all have to answer the inquiries about what happened last weekend, such as who was in charge. The questions came from HPD's Internal Affairs Division, which is investigating along with the Houston's Office of Inspector General.
And that was just the employees!
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.
And you, as a Houstonian, will pay for the errors, and pay for them, and pay for them....
Some of the neo-totalitarians on these threads can hardly wait.
The police first reported it as the larger number and revised it downthe next morning.
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...
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.
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.
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.
ACLU. Says it all.
Have you had a chance to read the other threads?
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.
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