Posted on 10/20/2002 7:48:19 AM PDT by SamAdams76
The photos above currently on the Drudge site concern me. I followed the link and the article clearly stated that nobody was arrested last night.
Why then, do we have drivers of white vans, innocent civilians, evidently being pulled out vans at gunpoint and treated like dangerous criminals? One photo shows a man on the ground, evidently in handcuffs, with police officers standing over him as though they have just captured Whitey Bulger. When I first saw the photo, I figured the man was obviously a wanted criminal that police just so happened to come across during their search. But since there were no arrests last night, this man was obviously released and was no criminal after all.
The other photo shows a man by another white van with his hands in the air and a police officer has a gun drawn on him. Again, this was evidently just another innocent civilian who had the misfortune to be driving a white van on I-95 last night.
Now I understand the need for these roadblocks and for the police to be very thorough in their search for the sniper(s). But I cannot see the point of innocent people dragged out of their vehicles at gunpoint with no pretext other than the fact that they happen to be driving a white van.
Now maybe somebody here has an explanation why these two individuals were treated like criminals. Maybe they tried to evade the police or maybe they were driving stolen vans. But again, there were no arrests made last night. So what is the deal with our citizens being treated like Jesse James just for driving a white van?
No. Just like if the police had info the terrorist was wearing a blue shirt they could detain and search all people with blue shirts.
And if its not, how do they ever catch the skell?
Well, I put my ideas down in a post above. I believe it's #168.
See, this is what I'm talking about. Your constant misuse of the Constitution. You think probably cause is they have to know that YOU did something. To most of us, probable cause is driving a white van within a few minutes of a killing when the only clue the police have is that a white van was seen at the scene of other brutal murders committed in the same way. It's not like they're pulling over white vans all over the country just because they have nothing to do. They were pulling over white vans that were on the escape route the killer has been known to take.
As I said earlier, the Constitution was intended to govern a moral, law abiding people who could apply commonsense to a situation. I can see from your replies that you certainly lack that common sense.
Cincinatus' Wife: This morning we saw a driver sitting cuffed in the median today on U.S. 29 near Burtonsville, MD. Two cruisers had pulled him over and the police were looking over his white panel van with ladders on roof racks.
Looks like she just made your point, the Constitution is just a piece of paper these days, wait until this breaks out across the country and see what happens to our rights, and the sheep here will Amen it.
BigMack
You know, you are really getting a little bit out of line here now. I don't particulary like some of the things you just said about me here. I have never hit the abuse button, but I am getting real close to it now. This saying I am equipped for the job is just a bit much. Knock it off.
Hey, I'm dying for somebody to come here and prove me wrong about those two photos. I will be genuinely happy to hear if those two men in the photos had outstanding warrants or otherwise did something to deserve the treatment they got. If that was the case, I will be the first one to apologize to the law enforcement officials of Virginia for thinking they did something wrong. But if these two men were law-abiding good citizens and they forced out of their vehicles at gunpoint and ordered face-down to the pavement and handcuffed simply because they happened to be driving a white van that night...then I feel very sad about the state of our country. This is not the America I know and this is not the America I spent four years of my life defending in the United States Marine Corps.
I'm all for catching these snipers and then giving them the ultimate penalty. But if we trash the Constitution to do it, it is only a pyrrhic victory.
So they just enjoy wasting their time on roadblocks holding the innocent citizenry? - Why on earth are they doing these roadblocks after these shootings if they know anything more about who is carrying out these attacks than they "let on"?
At least, I certainly hope so.
I wish. I do wish them luck though.
Okie dokie, you first.....let us know how it works out for you.
Any 'person of color' who uses toilet paper is therefore supporting racism , intolerance and oppression - and is a traitor to his/her race.
If we are to achieve 'true equality' (as if this could ever exist), these people had better start practicing what they are preaching, and boycott any product or technology that was invented by evil white males.
DOWN WITH ALL THINGS WHITE! Boycott bread, marshmallows, clouds......etc.
(It's so wonderful to be a liberal, and therefore not be constrained by any degree of rationality - which was probably invented by some evil white males in ancient Greece or somewhere...)
Down with ancient Greece! Down with birch trees!... etc...etc...
Please forgive the awful structure of that sentence. The police were searching the van. The van had roof racks with ladders. This morning and today ......ah.
Yes. Or someone who closely fits your description. Perhaps a "white Chevy Astro van with MD plates and a yellow ladder on top" would constitute probable cause for vans fitting that description. Surely you can see that "all white vans" are an overly broad category?
To most of us, probable cause is driving a white van within a few minutes of a killing when the only clue the police have is that a white van was seen at the scene of other brutal murders committed in the same way.
I'm not aware that police had that clue. Indeed, they continue to play down the "white van" angle. In this most recent case, it seems to me no one even saw the sniper's vehicle.
It's not like they're pulling over white vans all over the country just because they have nothing to do. They were pulling over white vans that were on the escape route the killer has been known to take.
The "escape route the killer has been known to take"? To the best of my knowledge, this is the first kill in the Richmond/Ashland area. Correct me if I'm wrong.
As I said earlier, the Constitution was intended to govern a moral, law abiding people who could apply commonsense to a situation. I can see from your replies that you certainly lack that common sense.
Well, I read the Fourth Amendment, and took it at face value. You've inferred something that isn't stated. Yet my position lacks common sense? Hmmm...
I absolutely agree with you. In fact, I would not be surprised at all if the snipers actually have gone through some of these roadblocks. But tell me, how is the end result any different when an officer pulls the driver out of the vehicle at gunpoint and has him lie face-down in the pavement? If the van is clean, the van is clean. The officers still have to let them go.
Why does my 80 year old grandmother get searched at the airport? Window dressing.
Well, gee, I just can't understand why they wouldn't let YOU of all people in on what they know. Can you imagine that?
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