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Deputy's transgressions caught on videotape

Wc

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CalCoastNews.com
July 16, 2010 5:51 pm

Which has the most weight in a court of law — the testimony of a law enforcement official, or that of an average, law-abiding citizen?

A rare opportunity to see, and hear, how some San Luis Obispo County sheriff’s deputies view the U.S. Constitution is contained in a 22-minute “mini-documentary” on a news website just launched. That opportunity is presented by deputies themselves, talking into their shoulder microphones and standing in front of their vehicle-mounted cameras.

In this case, the recordings tilt the argument in favor of the citizen… in a big way.

Deputy Darren Murphy is featured in the first video report by KCCN.tv, a project of Central Coast News Agency. Murphy leads a squad of heavily armed deputies into the yard of a North County man, then into the man’s house , and ultimately, into a locked gun safe. Sheriff’s department recordings made by the deputies themselves clearly illustrate their lack of concern for individual rights; deputies can be overheard manufacturing reasons for the intrusion into the home, the gun safe, and for the pending arrest of longtime resident Matt Hart.

The video report is the first of what Central Coast News Agency editor Daniel Blackburn says will be monthly offerings by the new Web site.

Blackburn, who helped found CalCoastNews.com, cited “Deputy Murphy’s uncensored, darkly disturbing observations and behavior following his Code 3 arrival at the rural home of Hart. Those utterances were picked up by Murphy’s and other deputies’ own recorders,” Blackburn said.

“Those recordings provide a rare, frighteningly revealing, behind-the-scenes perspective of how one local law enforcement agency views the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and other laws its personnel are sworn to uphold,” he said.

Watch the full video documentary at http://www.kccn.tv/. Note, you may have to download plug-ins in order to view the video.

http://calcoastnews.com/2010/07/deputies-transgressions-caught-on-videotape/
 

Citizen

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No surprises in that video. Standard police incompetence. "Oooooh! Shots were fired in a rural area! Omigod! Lets add some drama to our otherwise boring patrol work and treat this as the most dangerous possible situation so we can feel some excitement!"

Seizing keys and opening a gun safe as part of a protective sweep? For crying out loud, already. Of course, it could be that the depyootee's cousin Goober, the magistrate, was not available to issue a warrant for searching the gun safe.
 
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SouthernBoy

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Western Prince William County, Virginia, USA
I would hope that the homeowner pursued legal remedies and punishment for those officers, their superiors, and the county for such an unconscionable transgression upon his rights. The officers, in this case, can be reached personally as they violated the law under the color of law. Here's hoping they're carrying out the garbage at some seedy restaurant in the inner city.
 

Thundar

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Newport News, Virginia, USA
The most amazing thing about this thread is that all the dash cams did not come down with a malfunction on that day, that was discovered when the FOIA request was recieved by the Sherriff's Dept. Often happens in other locations in our great nation.

The police have no good reason for what they did to this citizen. Sure they are foolish and overreact to the shots fired. That can be fixed with proper training. The trampling of constitutional rights, and the make up excuses afterward should get them a ticket to the unemployment line.

I would have to say this would be a great opportunity to pierce their immunity and sue them as individuals for violation of constitutional rights.
 

kwikrnu

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Brentwood, Tennessee
The most amazing thing about this thread is that all the dash cams did not come down with a malfunction on that day, that was discovered when the FOIA request was recieved by the Sherriff's Dept. Often happens in other locations in our great nation.

The police have no good reason for what they did to this citizen. Sure they are foolish and overreact to the shots fired. That can be fixed with proper training. The trampling of constitutional rights, and the make up excuses afterward should get them a ticket to the unemployment line.

I would have to say this would be a great opportunity to pierce their immunity and sue them as individuals for violation of constitutional rights.

You have a year to sue and it appears this happened in 2008. So, unless a suit has been filed it is too late. IANAL so I could be wrong about the one year limitation.
 

Huck

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Mar 27, 2008
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Evanston, Wyoming, USA
"It was just like being robbed by a criminal". Matt Hart

He WAS robbed by criminals. Anyone who breaks the law is a criminal and those so-called LEOs broke the law. I have no doubt that the guns that hav'nt been returned (and probably never will be) are in the personal collections of the crooks who took them "for safekeeping".
 

since9

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Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
You know, the really sick thing about this is that without appropriate checks and balances, various law enforcement personnel can get in the habit of repeating this un-Constitutional fluff to one another to the point where they actually believe it, and even beyond - where they act on it as in the case cited in the OP of this thread.

Shameful! Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Thankfully, in this case, it was the judge, but dang it! This should have been nipped in the bud long, long before that by anyone (if not everyone) in the department who recognized the gross illegality of these actions.
 

Citizen

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You know, the really sick thing about this is that without appropriate checks and balances, various law enforcement personnel can get in the habit of repeating this un-Constitutional...

I think it will require more than a check or balance. I think it will require an outright penalty easily sought and obtained by the aggrieved.

Once upon a time in this great country, if a magistrate issued a defective warrant he was personally liable for the trespass.

Nowadays, we have very little. Oh, we have the exclusionary rule, but even that has been watered down by the "good faith exception" and the recent ruling that the exclusionary rule only applies when the exclusion would deter police--meaning the exclusionary rule does not have to apply when it might just be fair to the defendants even if the police kept repeating the bad behavior.

Here is an eye-opening essay that covers some of the early days of the 4th Amendment. It is astounding how far things have deteriorated: http://www.constitution.org/lrev/roots/cops.htm

Here is a 4th Amendment blog I check daily. http://www.fourthamendment.com/blog/

4A.com is run by John Hall. He made a very astute observation recently. Something like, "The good faith exception is the judicial way of saying 'close enough for government work.'"
 

Sig229

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Dec 14, 2006
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Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Unfortunately, I am not surprised by the LEO's actions.

Today, a badge = that of a saint in most eyes of the public and court juries.

I truly fear for the future of this nation.
 

Citizen

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Hey! Somebody Is Compiling Stats on Police Misconduct!

Here is a website compiling stats on police misconduct that I just found out about:

http://www.injusticeeverywhere.com/?p=2776


I haven't had time to more than skim the first page. One thing that struck me was that in the first half of 2010 almost $150M has been paid out in settlements and judgements related to police misconduct.

I found out about the website at Radley Balko's blog: www.theagitator.com

If you have not read it, hunt up Balko's report on police swat raids. The title includes the word "overkill". According to his research, almost 40 innocent people have been killed in police swat raids in the war on drugs.
 
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simmonsjoe

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Nov 1, 2009
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1,661
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Mattaponi, Virginia, United States
This is poor science.

Here is a website compiling stats on police misconduct that I just found out about:

http://www.injusticeeverywhere.com/?p=2776


I haven't had time to more than skim the first page. One thing that struck me was that in the first half of 2010 almost $150M has been paid out in settlements and judgements related to police misconduct.

I found out about the website at Radley Balko's blog: www.theagitator.com

If you have not read it, hunt up Balko's report on police swat raids. The title includes the word "overkill". According to his research, almost 40 innocent people have been killed in police swat raids in the war on drugs.
This site is manufactured from NEWS REPORTS. There is absolutely no review or fact checking besides duplicity. I sure do hate police misconduct, but I hate false statistics just as much.
 

KansasMustang

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Sep 9, 2008
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1,005
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Herington, Kansas, USA
The worst part is,

That the general public, at least some, think that it's perfectly okay for these LEO's (and I use that term loosely in this instance) are justified by doing this. Because of the "dumbing down" of our education system our children are not taught the Constitution and BOR in school. So they have no idea what their UNaleinable Rights are. We as parents and grown up type folks are morally bound to "teach our children well, their fathers hell did slowly go by" Danged if that ole Crosby, Stills, and Nash song doen't spring into my mind often now.
The people in the government are the ones that were on the streets in the 60's and early 70's chanting "No more war" and all that yada yada,,now they're the ones wearing suits and destroying our country. This is the kind of thing that will happen on a grander scale unless and until we rid ourselves of these Progressives in government by voting them OUT!
 
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