Posted on 09/03/2009 3:23:56 PM PDT by JoeProBono
ERICHO, Ark. (AP) -- It was just too much, having to return to court twice on the same day to contest yet another traffic ticket, and Fire Chief Don Payne didn't hesitate to tell the judge what he thought of the police and their speed traps.
The response from cops? They shot him. Right there in court.
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
Now the police chief has disbanded his force “until things calm down,” a judge has voided all outstanding police-issued citations and sheriff’s deputies are asking where all the money from the tickets went. With 174 residents, the city can keep seven police officers on its rolls but missed payments on police and fire department vehicles and saw its last business close its doors a few weeks ago.
“You can’t even buy a loaf of bread, but we’ve got seven police officers,” said former resident Larry Harris, who left town because he said the police
Nice. Reminds me of some cities around here. Upland California and Brea come to mind.
I bet you are derided for hating all police officers by post 15. How could you put this up, don’t you know how hurtful this is?
It was anger over traffic tickets that brought Payne to city hall last week, said his lawyer, Randy Fishman. After failing to get a traffic ticket dismissed on Aug. 27, police gave Payne or his son another ticket that day. Payne, 39, returned to court to vent his anger to Judge Tonya Alexander, Fishman said.
It’s unclear exactly what happened next, but Martin said an argument between Payne and the seven police officers who attended the hearing apparently escalated to a scuffle, ending when an officer shot Payne from behind.
Would this have been Clinton's vaunted program to hire cops?
ping
As much as I detest litigation, this just yells for it.
Complete article here:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5haXSW0np0eqNFStaxdAeRzXQzBkAD9AG3GS00
yup and they probably raised local taxes to pay for them after the grants ran out. Those taxes ran the businesses out and now you got a tiny 3rd world thugocracy
If by amazing you mean ridiculous ;-)
shot in the back.... prosecutor says no charges to be filed..
its a little thugocracy all right
Seven cops and a mayor for a town of 184 (2000 census) ... one guy got a ticket for doing 58mph in his own driveway (gravel road to his house from the road). Speeding tickets going for $150.
The victim, shot in the back, could be charged!!!
BTW- All the NAZI... I mean cops in town were in the court room when this happened. ALL of them.
Amazing... amazingly ridiculous
The event happened in Jericho, AR, not Ericho, AR.
The town of 174 residents has a police force of 7.
[Wow. They much have a high crime rate.]
And they “can’t remember” the name of the cop who fired the shot. Hmmmm.....
Columbus was disincorporated?
I get the feeling something is wrong in this town
There were 66 households out of which 19.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.9% were married couples living together, 27.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.3% were non-families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.50.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.5% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 19.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 75.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.9 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $20,625, and the median income for a family was $28,214. Males had a median income of $22,250 versus $13,125 for females. The per capita income for the town was $8,577. About 25.0% of families and 25.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.0% of those under the age of eighteen and 56.8% of those sixty five or over.
Yeah that shot in the back and wounding one of his deputy pals really spoke loudly to me. That the DA already says he is not charging the criminal who shot, speaks volumes to me of why this situation came into being.
No charges, I’d be going to the state and getting each one of those cops and the prosecutor put in jail.
No kidding!
I am surprised that anyone lives there at all!
93% black. probably liberal. Thought that by raising taxes to support “jobs” everything would be peachy. Ended up with a literal gang of cops and a town prosecutor who takes sides with bad cops.
No wonder the town doesn’t have a single store.
yes, I know its all rabid conjecture but until I learn more I’m sticking to it.
For every 100 females there were 75.2 males
and 6.8 of them are named Pat
I just looked up where that town is. I am surprised that I have not met up with these guys. I used to drive thru there about 8 times a year. I would generally hit that area at about 1-2AM, in either direction on the Interstate. Glad I didn’t.
Looks like Fireman Payne is gonna own his own police force and little berg, once he sues.
And there are no plans to charge the shooter. Just damn.
Attempted murder and no one with a badge knows the name of the perp?
Talk about the blue(yellow) wall of silence.
The entire force needs to see prison as accessories after the fact to the attempted murder charge.
Note to self: scratch Jericho, Arkansas from list of potential retirement spots. Brazzaville, Congo lookin’ pretty good right now.
Where’s Buford Pusser when you need him?
Sounds like the entire town is a poster child for a “Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act” (RICO) prosecution. If it turns out that the ‘speeding fines’ were directly dispersed as salary and bonuses to the police department, as it appears since people are wondering where the money went, BINGO we have a winner. Since the town is a minority population town, I predict a request to Obama for ‘stimulus funds’ for this town’s infrastructure.
The biggest hoodlum in this farce is the Judge who allow it to continue! The judge was getting paid probably by a cut off the number of tickets collected.
theres a reason he resigned.
Reminds you of what the stimulous money will cause the following year when the states have to pick up the tab er.. WE have to pick up the tab.
This BS happened all over Oklahoma. There aren't any real law breakers so they, under color of authority, prey on people.
I once passed through in North East Oklahoma three times and could not figure out where the signs were. Got 3 tickets and from then on started crawling into town at 20MPH.
Thing is, people would get mad, as I would start a few miles back and they would pass me. Guess who I saw on the side of the road?
Some of the jokers should never, ever have a badge.
*
Holy crap! I once heard a cop say “If I wanted people to like me I would have been a fireman.” Now I see what he meant.
When local prosecutors won't prosecute deprivation of rights under color of authority is when it's time to go to the feds. Can't believe I actually said that, there really is a time to go to the feds.
How can they issue a ticket for actions on private property? As far as I know, the only excuse they have for doing so on public roads is that they belong to the public at large (government).
Don’t know but they did it ...maybe like you can be cited for drunk driving your riding lawnmower on your property or in one case a woman was cited for a DUI in her home. Not in a car and not driving a car, but that was someplace else. This town is sure whacked out. I live in a town of 2,000 - no cops, no mayor, just an FD with a chief and 20 volunteers. Our town is just a wide spot on Hwy101 - county cops patrol, if and when .... we rely on ourselves for protection ....
That’s a great point. Police departments, Nifong DAs and judges need to be charged under RICO, and held personally accountable.
I wonder what the jackboot lickers will have to say about this one.
Bet there must have been a lot of lawlessness out in the streets that day.
Someone posted about a former town called New Rome, I went to that link. It was similar. These tiny towns can be taken over by a cabal and run like fiefdoms.
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