RHDefense: The Law Office of Rick Horowitz
Home of Probable Cause: The Legal Blog with the Really Low Standard of Review
In a recent post, Scott Greenfield notes that:
While the analogy is often used, and used poorly, to compare the police to the mob, it seems unavoidable this time.
I’m not sure what is meant by the analogy being used poorly, but perhaps it’s because the gang that wears badges is not as sophisticated as the mob. This is not to say that gangs cannot be sophisticated. In fact, in many ways, the gang members I run into have more sophistication in their pinkies than the average cop on the street.
Scott Greenfield may not be blogging anymore, but he’s still a good resource for keeping up with things.1
“If you or I did that to somebody on the outside, you’d be sitting in jail talking to (an attorney)” Arcesi said.
But, as I mentioned in yesterday’s post, those responsible for enforcing our laws take a different approach when it comes to their own behaviors. [Read more...]
The last couple of days, I’ve been pondering something Jeff Gamso wrote, at least partly as a response to a comment I made on his blog. As with a lot of Jeff’s stuff, it’s taking me longer to consider than most things I read. I like that. I like that Jeff makes me think. Too many people in the world don’t seem to spend enough time thinking, or helping others think, these days.
Take these two cops, for instance.
Increasingly, it’s difficult for me to write this blog. I find myself wanting to be involved in something more than empty words. Blogging seems pointless when there is so much news out there already which is being ignored.
Police departments are doing their best to help with that problem, though — by reducing the amount of news you’re allowed to see and hear.
I haven’t written for long enough that the last few days I’ve been jonesin’.
The problem isn’t that I haven’t had anything to write about. Quite the contrary: I’ve had too much to write about. The problem is that what I’ve had to write about made me so angry that I decided to try to cool down a bit first.
When I was young, I remember a version of the Bible which was titled “Good News for Modern Man.” Given that this post involves the prosecution and subsequent acquittal of a police officer for excessive force in Fresno — arguably in the center of the Bible “Belt” of California — and given Supreme Court “Justice” Scalia’s not too distant comments about the “modern” and “professional” police force, it seems appropriate to play off that for this post’s title.
First, let me be clear about something, because every time I write about police abusing their authority, it seems the police supporters come crawling out of the woodwork. In Fresno, as with much of the Central San Joaquin Valley, the police can do no wrong, even when they do. Having said that, this post is not my own personal pronouncement that the jury screwed up and let a guilty man go free. I actually don’t know if that’s true.
I am, however, going to talk about what the newspaper has reported, throw in a few comments from things I’ve heard from attorneys who are more familiar with the facts, and express my opinion.
The Law Office of Rick Horowitz provides criminal defense services
in Fresno, Tulare, Kings, Kern, Madera and Merced Counties.