Posted on 12/11/2002 9:38:12 AM PST by Henrietta
2 Officers Indicted In Parking Lot Raid
Damage Claims Could Cost City Millions
HOUSTON -- A Houston grand jury Friday indicted two Houston police officers, including Capt. Mark Aguirre, who headed the Kmart parking lot raid in which hundreds of people were arrested over the summer.
Aguirre and Sgt. Ken Wenzel, who was the field leader for the operation, were each charged with five counts of official oppression.
Attorneys on both sides of the case said that they are now watching to see what sort of effects these indictments will have on the police department.
"It's going to give a chilling effect all through law enforcement," defense attorney Terry Yates said. "The negative consequences are going to occur in law enforcement, besides what's directly occurring to my clients."
"It's not indictments on police in general," Prosecutor Tommy LaFon said. "It's certainly not an indictment on the Houston Police Department in general. What this grand jury and what this investigation focused on was the individual acts of some of the officers involved."
The grand jury was investigating whether officers of the Houston Police Department broke the law during those arrests.
The raid happened Aug. 18 in the parking lot of a Kmart department store, located in the 8400 block of Westheimer Road, in southwest Houston.
Aguirre was one of 12 HPD supervisors who were suspended in the wake of the raid.
Sources have told News2Houston that two of the officers involved in the arrests have been granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for their testimony.
HPD officials had previously said that it conducted the crackdown in response to numerous complaints from citizens and previous police surveillance regarding street racing and large crowds forming in the area.
Police said the crowds impeded the access to and from businesses and that as a result of the operation nearly 300 people were arrested, with the majority being charged with criminal trespass.
Witnesses said that innocent customers were among those arrested.
All charges were eventually dropped, but the mass arrests sparked damage claims and lawsuits that could cost the city millions.
One of those people arrested has filed a $100 million lawsuit against the city, accusing Aguirre and the city of falsely arresting him for "attempted trespass."
That is precisely what they did.
If it's true that people were actually causing a disturbance, then why did the cops go to the trouble of posting bullsh*t signs on PRIVATE property that said "No Tresspassing by Order of HPD"?
I do not know. Why don't you ask them?
What does matter is that a whole bunch of people who were minding their own business and engaged in patronizing legal businesses were arrested by a bunch of gun-toting, government-employed thugs.
Over 200 people in one place on an early Sunday morning?
That's a knee slapper. You got anymore jokes as funny as that one?
Just a little joke, these cops deserve what they get. I had simply never heard the term "official oppression" before. It sounds like a description of what you'd get in the old Soviet bloc...state sanctioned oppression.
"Don't complain comrade, we're not amateurs. This oppression is official."
If they are refusing to stop reckless drivers on account of the criminal court grief that two high ranking officials are getting over this foulup, it is nothing more or less than a thin blue tantrum. The two have nothing to do with one another. There weren't even any drag racers at the bust, even though Aguirre clearly hoped they would be.
That is precisely what they did.
Along with a whole passel more of folks who didn't even have a plausible connection with it. The only actual, demonstrable crime there was a curfew violation on behalf of some unaccompanied minors, and I wouldn't blame prosecutors for not dropping those specific charges, but they did anyhow because proving it with the sloppy arrests would be one mell of a hess in court. Legally there wasn't any trespassing because it turns out that neither K-Mart nor Sonic asked for people to be barred from their lot.
Yes, it is.
There are people who would makes very good cops, but precious few of them feel drawn to that job. After taking an oath to "Protect and serve", and to "uphold the law", most of them feel that they are above the law.
I personally watched 7 Massachusetts State Policemen walk into Court and lie under oath in an attempt to get me convicted of a misdemeanor. While they failed in their attempt, 7 out of 7 committed a felony in order to bag me for a misdemeanor.
The Mob has nothing on these guys. They are, by and large, scum. And they never, NEVER learn.
Exactly! What we need in this country is MORE rouge, cowboy cops
Tell us, does this apply to cops, too? Or does it just apply to the hard-working citizens who pay the cop's salaries?
"The 278 people were arrested early Sunday morning by police who were assigned to stop illegal drag racing.
The officers said the captain in charge, Mark Aguirre, ordered them to round up everyone who was outside the 24- hour Kmart Super Center or eating at the Sonic Drive-in next door in the 8400 block of Westhemier, even though they found no drag racers.
Also taken into custody were 42 juveniles who were cited for violation of the city's midnight curfew. Thirty of the juveniles also were charged with criminal trespass."
Now, to respond to your post.
I posted:
Arrest the people who are actually doing the law breaking.
To which you replied:
That is precisely what they did.
No, I'm afraid it isn't. Either you are being deliberately stubborn, or you just can't understand English, but what precisely happened was this: The police engaged in a wholesale roundup of citizens without regard to whether the citizen was actually engaged in any wrongdoing. Some of these people may have been wrongdoers; many of them were not.
The irrefutable FACT, which you have not produced any evidence to controvert is this:
A whole bunch of people who were minding their own business and engaged in patronizing legal businesses were arrested by a bunch of gun-toting, government-employed thugs.
You call this a "joke" and a "knee slapper." Got anything intelligent to say about it, or are you going to continue to argue a point that you have lost?
A whole bunch of people who were minding their own business and engaged in patronizing legal businesses were arrested by a bunch of gun-toting, government-employed thugs.
Henrietta, meet Christine McDonald:
Kmart neighbor: What took the police so long? (Published August 21, 2002, in the Houston Chronicle)
By CHRISTINE McDONALD
I am a resident of the west Houston neighborhood near the Kmart where Houston police arrested 278 people early Sunday. And I am angry.
Every Saturday night for the past nine to 10 months, those of us living nearby have had to put up with these teen gatherings. I applaud the police for the arrests this past weekend. I only ask: What took so long?
Typically, these gatherings start coming together around 10 p.m. and continue until 3 a.m. Car stereos are up loud. They race in circles around the parking lot "burning rubber" (or whatever the current terminology is) and race each other out onto and up and down this section of Westheimer.
It is almost impossible -- and downright dangerous -- to enter into the Kmart parking lot because cars are everywhere, either blocking entrances and exits or moving at a high rate of speed. And take a walk around the parking lot on any Sunday morning after this crowd has left, as I have done. You will find it full of trash and empty alcohol bottles.
After a long work week it is extremely distressing to have to put up with this noise weekend after weekend. I have been so extremely tired that I have wanted to cry. It is impossible to sleep. I can't remember the last time I got to sleep before 3 a.m. on a Saturday night/Sunday morning. I've talked to my neighbors and I'm not alone. Some have moved and some have considered moving.
Several of us have called police to complain. Prior to this past weekend, we were told that nothing could be done because the incidents were occurring on private property. However, I have witnessed police coming to the Kmart lot two to three times over the past six months and asking those assembled to leave. They do so for that night but are back the very next Saturday.
Don't believe that the teens had no warning before this past weekend. They did.
I am angry at their parents. For any parent out there who thinks police went too far, I say: Feel free to invite 200-plus teenagers to your place every Saturday night and then let them keep you and your neighbors awake and tear up your neighborhood. You're welcome to it. We don't want it any more in our neighborhood.
I'm also happy the cars got towed. I've seen and heard these cars weekend after weekend, and I hope the towing fee on top of any arrest fine will hit these teens and their parents in their pocketbooks. Often (and sadly) it is only after money becomes involved that people sit up and take note.
I also find it very interesting that parents are now questioning the police when many had obviously not been questioning their teens over the past few months to find out where their child was and what he or she was doing. Is this belated reaction to the arrests really just guilt because the parents were in denial about what had been going on? Would these parents rather wait until their child died or killed someone else in a street-racing accident?
Finally, these parents should be questioning why 200 teenagers are gathering in the same place on a Saturday night. We all want to think the best of our children, but c'mon folks, let's not be naive. Among teens, this was the place to be. It wasn't coincidence. It wasn't the case that these teens just "happened to be passing or shopping when the police arrived." They were there for the thrills and racing.
Or how about this?
To: *****
The $12,000 figure comes from a radio call in. The person said the manager had told him this.
Speaking of call-in radio shows, you may be interested in knowing that the Monday immediately following the arrests, people were calling Jon Matthews (KSEV-AM, mornings) and telling him about the kids coming onto their property and urinating in their yard, littering, even scaring away a dog by throwing objects at it.
61 posted on 08/25/2002 11:46 PM CDT by Houmatt...
...as seen here.
It is also worth mentioning directly across the street from the K-Mart where the raid took place is a 24-hour Wal-Mart, a Sam's Club, and a 30-screen movie theater. If things were going exactly as you described, then the same thing would have been going on at Wal-Mart, especially since the movie theater is adjacent to them.
Yesterday, I had the day off from work and I needed to pick up a couple things for dinner for the next two days, and so I went there because this Wal-Mart, being a "Super" Wal-Mart, has a grocery store inside it (And they have the best food prices in town. Period.). It also did not hurt it was within walking distance of where I live, since I do not have a car to drive (my wife drives it). But I digress.
Just for the sake of curiosity, I asked a manager if they had similar problems at their store. The answer? No.
So why the inconsistency?
A whole bunch of people who were minding their own business and engaged in patronizing legal businesses were arrested by a bunch of gun-toting, government-employed thugs.
But you also wrote:
You seem to be mentally challenged, so I'll try to type really, really slow and use short sentences and small words.
I am willing to discuss this with you, if you can refrain from flames. Otherwise, do not expect any future responses to your posts.
No, it doesn't; I stand by my earlier assertions. The fact is, all of the people who were legally patronizing the Sonic Drive-thru were arrested, even though they weren't part of the problem. Any Kmart customers who happened to come out to the parking lot while the thugs were conducting their illegal roundup were also arrested. What about this do you not understand???
As far as flaming goes, I'm really trying to figure out whether you're being deliberately stubborn, or you're just too stupid to understand what went on here. I was leaning toward giving you the benefit of the doubt, but since you haven't responded to any of my posts in a meaningful way, I'm beginning to doubt your intelligence.
The issue here is not about rounding up juvenile delinquents, or whether said delinquents deserved to be rounded up. The issue is one of a bunch of out-of-control thugs involved in a wholesale roundup of citizens, and the wrongfulness of said act.
No one here on FR is outraged about the legal arrest of people urinating in public, drag racing, and generally being a pain in the ass. But you can't arrest the innocent with the guilty just because they happen to be out on a public street on a Saturday night. THAT is the issue, Matt.
I know exactly what went on. I also know that with comments like the above, you would much rather bait me instead of debate me.
You can take your trolling somewhere else.
I think everyone reading this thread can see what is going on here, Matt. If you said something worth debating, we'd be debating. You haven't tried to debate; you've only trotted out posts irrelevant to the topic of discussion. Irrelevancies are not debate!
Thanks for finally coming out and saying it: The criminal behavior that precipitated the raid is irrelevant. Nice to see you have such a high regard for law and order.
And, yes, people reading this can indeed see what is going on here.
That's why you would not last five seconds in an unmoderated forum.
And with that, to you, my dear, communication frequencies are closed.
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