Petition: Stop WI Police from Stealing Bail Money

Stop Wisconsin Police From Stealing Bail Money

PETITIONS, POLITICS — BY JOSH SAGER ON MAY 26, 2012 2:00 AM 

Sign the Petition: http://forcechange.com/21765/stop-wisconsin-police-from-stealing-bail-money/

Target: The Brown County Drug Task-force

Goal: To stop the Brown County Police Department from robbing people who are trying to provide bail money.

Brown County, located in eastern Wisconsin, is currently experiencing a serious problem with its police department’s handling of bail money. In numerous cases where citizens are arrested in Brown County, particularly when the arrests are for drug offenses, the police have been seizing the bail money using their asset forfeiture policy.

“Asset forfeiture” laws allow for the seizure of property obtained through money gained in an illegal manner; once seized, this property is liquidated and a portion of the profits are given to the police department. The tactic of asset forfeiture is intended to punish drug dealers and to assist in funding the police departments which arrest drug dealers.

Many civil rights groups have claimed that asset forfeiture laws give the police a financial incentive to arrest more non-violent offenders and that these laws disproportionately affect the poor. Asset forfeiture disproportionately harms the poor because, as no lawyer is provided by the state to fight asset forfeitures, many poor people are simply unable to fight back, regardless of their guilt.

The Brown County Police Department has taken the concept of asset forfeiture to an entirely new level: When friends and family members of those arrested call in to the police to arrange bail, they are told (incorrectly, as a check is acceptable) that they must bring cash to the police station. Once the bail money is delivered to the police, they use drug sniffer dogs do determine whether the money has drug residue on it and, if it does, they seize the cash for themselves. Even in cases where the bail money has a paper trail directly from a bank, thus is obviously not from a drug deal, the money has still been seized under asset forfeiture.

Various studies, run by the federal government, have shown that between 75% and 90% of all currency currently circulating in the United States has enough drug residue to trigger a positive drug test. As drug residue is so commonly found on bills, this disqualifies it as proof of any wrongdoing in court and makes the seizure of money by the police wholly inappropriate; if the police officers were to empty their pockets, statistics would indicate that a majority of their money would be covered with drug residue as well.

A combination of the request for bail to be in cash and the systemic testing of said cash, even though the result is inevitably positive, proves intent on the part of the police to seize bail money.

Given the preponderance of the evidence against such use of seizure laws, the actions of the Brown County police department are little better than legitimized theft. Our police departments should protect our citizens from being victimized by those who wish to take our property, not join in on the victimization of citizens using the authority of their badges. Please sign this petition to protest the specious use of asset forfeiture laws to rob American citizens when they are simply trying to provide bail money to their loved ones.

PETITION LETTER

Dear Brown County Drug Task-force,

It has recently come to the attention of the public that your department is utilizing asset forfeiture laws to seize bail money, even in cases where this money obviously is not obtained from drug sales. While asset forfeiture laws are on the books in Wisconsin, this is never how they were intended to operate and utilizing them like this is little better than theft.

A vast majority of money in circulation has drug residue on it, including the dollar bills in your own pockets, thus the use of such residue to justify asset seizure is wholly unfair.

Please, remember why you became police officers – to protect and serve – and stop this victimization of the families of those who you arrest. Even if those who you arrest are guilty of a crime, it does not justify your department defrauding those who come in to post bail.

I, as well as everybody else who has signed this petition, implore you to immediately stop the policy of testing and seizing bail money from those who post bail within your jurisdiction.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Huffington Post Article - Black Police Officer Shot 28 Times and Charged

Howard Morgan, Black Off-Duty Cop Shot 28 Times By White Chicago Officers, Faces Sentencing

Posted: 04/ 3/2012 1:39 pm Updated: 04/ 3/2012 4:18 pm

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Howard Morgan.

As much of the country follows the Trayvon Martin case, activists in Chicago are hoping to bring some of that attention to Howard Morgan, a former Chicago police officer who was shot 28 times by white officers -- and lived to tell his side of the story.

Morgan was off-duty as a detective for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad when he was pulled over for driving the wrong way on a one-way street on Feb 21, 2005, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. While both police and Morgan agree on that much, what happened next is a mystery.

According to police, Morgan opened fire with his service weapon when officers tried to arrest him, which caused them to shoot him 28 times. His family, however, very much doubts those claims.

“Four white officers and one black Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad police man with his weapon on him — around the corner from our home — and he just decided to go crazy? No. That’s ludicrous,” Morgan's wife, Rosalind Morgan, told the Sun-Times.

She was not the only person to doubt CPD's side of the story. A Change.org petitionsigned by more than 2,600 people called for all charges against Morgan to be dropped, and now Occupy Chicago is getting involved.

"After being left for dead, he survived and was then charged with attempted murder of the four white officers who brutalized him," Occupy wrote on their website, adding that Morgan was found not guilty on three counts, including discharging his weapon. The same jury that cleared him of opening fire on the officers, however, deadlocked on a charge of attempted murder -- and another jury found him guilty in January.

That jury was not allowed to hear that Morgan had been acquitted of the other charges.

Protesters and Morgan's family say the second trial amounted to double jeopardy, and claim officers have gone to great lengths to obstruct justice in the case:

Howard Morgan's van was crushed and destroyed without notice or cause before any forensic investigation could be done.

...

Howard Morgan was never tested for gun residue to confirm if he even fired a weapon on the morning in question.

The State never produced the actual bullet proof vest worn by one of the officers who claimed to have allegedly taken a shot directly into the vest on the morning in question. The State only produced a replica.

“If they can do this and eliminate double jeopardy and your constitutional rights, then my God, I fear for every Afro-American — whether they be male or female — in this corrupt unjust system,” Morgan's wife told the Sun-Times.

Howard Morgan will be sentenced Thursday. He faces 80 years in prison.

The Trayvon Martin Shooting

While I don't usually talk about crime stories, there is a particularly egregious situation which is currently happening in Florida. Last month, in a Florida gated community, the leader of the local neighborhood watch group shot and killed a 17 year old black kid.

The victim, Trayvan Martin, walked to the local convenience store during the halftime show of a basketball game. On the way home, Martin was spotted by George Zimmerman, the local watch captain, and a tragic situation began. Zimmerman believed Martin to be "suspicious", in all likelihood because he was a black kid walking in a predominantly white neighborhood, and called the police on him. After calling the police, Zimmerman began following Martin and at some point got into a confrontation with him after getting out of his car. What actually happened is not known, but what we do know is that Zimmerman shot and killed Martin, then claimed self defense when the police arrived. 

When the police arrived, the scene was as follows: Zimmerman, a white man, was standing over the body of Martin, a black child, with a smoking 9mm; Martin was unarmed except for a bag of skittles and an iced tea. Zimmerman claimed that Martin attacked him, and despite there being no eyewitnesses, they took Zimmerman at his word. To this day, Zimmerman hasn't even been taken into custody for his apparently unprovoked murder of a black child. Zimmerman was released after questioning, not charged with any crime, and is currently living at home.  

On the off-chance that his claim of self defense is not simply falsified, Zimmerman's claim of self defense fails to meet muster on several levels.

1. Zimmerman is a grown man who was carrying a loaded gun, while Martin was an unarmed, 140lb, 17 year old kid; there is no reasonable justification for Zimmerman's use of lethal force in this instance.
2. Zimmerman followed and initiated contact with Martin, thus he is unable to claim self defense in the conflict which he initiated.
3. Zimmerman had no legal right to harass Martin, who was simply walking down a public street near the house where his family lived.

The police have yet to comment on their reasoning behind not arresting Zimmerman other than the claim that they are looking into the situation and collecting evidence. In recent days, evidence has appeared that further damns Zimmerman and suggests that he has a propensity for violence. According to reports from the press, in 2005 Zimmerman was arrested for violent battery of a police officer and resisting arrest.

While I don't have access to all of the evidence, I ask, what do you think would have happened if the police arrived at a shooting and found an armed black kid standing over the body of an unarmed white man, and attempting to claim self defense without any evidence? Do you think that he would be released only hours later, without even being charged with a misdemeanor?

Obviously, Zimmerman should be punished for his unprovoked murder of Martin, but the police also hold a responsibility that they must be held to account for. They have demonstrated indifference to the murder of a kid, based purely upon his race, and an unwillingness to do their jobs; jobs that they should be relieved of if we are to have any faith in the legitimacy of the police in that area. We should all look at this and realize that the Martin family situation could one day be our own if we don't push for justice now. 

For more information, go to the links below or watch the following video:

http://www.wftv.com/news/news/family-teen-fatally-shot-neighborhood-watch-leader/nLNq9/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/08/family-of-trayvon-martin-_n_1332756.html?ref=black-voices

Although the very fact that this needs to be done is disgusting, I would ask anybody who reads this post to follow this link to a petition intended to sway the police to arrest Zimmerman for his crime: http://www.change.org/petitions/prosecute-the-murderer-of-17-year-old-trayvon-martin

Huffington Post Article: 10% of Wall Streeters are Psychopaths

This study might explain a great deal about the causes of the recent economic collapse. It is unsurprising that psychopaths, who are intelligent, amoral, and competitive risk-takers, would self select themselves to study business. The real question here is:  Huffington Post is a reliably good, if somewhat leftward biased, publication and I would suggest  it to anybody who wants to keep up on current events.

One Out Of Every Ten Wall Street Employees Is A Psychopath, Say Researchers

The Huffington Post  |  By Alexander Eichler Posted: 02/28/12 04:22 PM ET  |  Updated: 02/28/12 04:22 PM ET

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Pictured: Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman, a Wall Street investment banker and psychopath. Researchers believe as many as 10 percent of people in the financial industry may exhibit the traits of clinical psychopathy.

Maybe Patrick Bateman wasn't such an outlier.

One out of every 10 Wall Street employees is likely a clinical psychopath, writes journalist Sherree DeCovny in an upcoming issue of trade magazine CFA Magazine (subscription required). In the general population the rate is closer to one percent.

"A financial psychopath can present as a perfect well-rounded job candidate, CEO, manager, co-worker, and team member because their destructive characteristics are practically invisible," writes DeCovny, who pulls together research from several psychologists for her story, which helpfully suggests that financial firms carefully screen out extreme psychopaths in hiring.

To be sure, typical psychopathic behavior runs the gamut. At the extreme end is Bateman, portrayed by Christian Bale, in the 2000 movie "American Psycho," as an investment banker who actually kills people and exhibits no remorse. When health professionals talk about "psychopaths," they have a broader range of behavior in mind.

A clinical psychopath is bright, gregarious and charming, writes DeCovny. He lies easily and often, and may have trouble feeling empathy for other people. He's probably also more willing to take dangerous risks -- either because he doesn't understand the consequences, or because he simply doesn't care.

An appetite for risk can seem like a positive business trait on Wall Street, where big gambles sometimes lead to big rewards. But for the people DeCovny is talking about, the outcomes matter less than the gambles themselves -- and the chemical rush of serotonin and endorphins that accompanies them.

This is hardly the first time that mental illness has been equated with a certain capacity for professional success -- especially in the financial sector, where some stock traders have actually scored higher than diagnosed psychopaths on tests that measure competitiveness and attraction to risk.

Some psychologists have long claimed that the qualities that make for a high-achieving politician or stockbroker are also the same traits that psychopaths have in abundance.

Other researchers generalize it to bosses as a species, saying that about 4 percent of all executives are psychopaths -- and that their relative lack of scruples is what helps them excel in business.

At the same time, the fast-moving, high-pressure environment of Wall Street probably compromises the mental health of some of its employees. A recent study found that many young bankers developalcoholism, insomnia, eating disorders and other stress-related ailments within just a few years on the job.

Stockbrokers have also been shown to experience clinical depression at a rate more than three times as high as the general population.

DeCovny writes that for someone with a "latent" compulsive gambling problem, a job trading stocks can trigger pathological responses that send the person into an escalating pattern of lies, debts and even embezzlement and fraud.

A person with this problem would feel gratified by an enormous loss, because of the way their brain's reward system works -- which DeCovny says may explain the activities of such notorious rogue traders as Kweku Adoboli, Jerome Kerviel and Nick Leeson, three men who gambled and lost the combined equivalent of $10.3 billion for their respective institutions over the past 17 years.