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Appeals court rules arrest of ABQ family was illegal (Cops mistook Ford P/U for Chevy sedan)
The Albuquerque Journal ^ | November 2, 2015 | Scott Sandlin

Posted on 11/02/2015 3:17:05 PM PST by CedarDave

Elementary school principal Stephen Maresca was heading home from hiking in the Sandias with his wife, three children and their dog when the family was arrested by armed deputies after a rookie Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office deputy typed in a wrong license plate number.

Responding officers had the couple and their children exit the truck, walk backward with their hands up and lie face-down on the pavement. The officers aimed firearms at the parents and children, including two boys ages 17 and 14 and a 9-year-old girl, according to a summary of evidence in an opinion by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.

The reversal was based not on the mistyped number itself, the appeals court said. Instead, it was based on the fact that the deputy failed to notice the difference between a 2009 Chevrolet sedan with expired plates, which was the vehicle reported stolen, and a 2004 Ford pickup with current plates, the vehicle Maresca was driving, or to check the information. That information was in front of Fuentes on a computer screen the entire time.

The court ruled last month that the arrest was illegal – reversing an earlier decision that gave the arresting officer, Deputy J. Fuentes, immunity. The county is now on the hook for that 2013 arrest by Fuentes.

Maresca held up his hands with his driver’s license in one hand and repeatedly told the officers there must be a mistake, the complaint says. Deputies yelled at them to lift their shirts to show that they were unarmed and ignored Maresca’s pleas to check his ID and vehicle registration.

Other officers arrived, but none verified that the license plate belonged to a stolen car, the complaint says.

(Excerpt) Read more at abqjournal.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Government; US: New Mexico
KEYWORDS: donutwatch; police; tyranny
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Maresca was a former Texas police officer who become an educator. He was principal of a local elementary School. He died earlier this year of a heart attack; he was 53 at the time of his death.
1 posted on 11/02/2015 3:17:05 PM PST by CedarDave
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To: LegendHasIt; leapfrog0202; Santa Fe_Conservative; DesertDreamer; OneWingedShark; CougarGA7; ...

NM list PING!

I may not PING for all New Mexico articles. To see New Mexico articles by topic click here: New Mexico Topics

To see NM articles by keyword, click here: New Mexico Keywords

To see the NM Message Page, click here: New Mexico Messages

(The NM list is available on my FR homepage for anyone to use. Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from the list.)
(For ABQ Journal articles requiring a subscription, scroll down to the bottom of the page to view the article for free after answering a question or watching a short video commercial.)

2 posted on 11/02/2015 3:19:21 PM PST by CedarDave (Hillary for incarceration not inauguration)
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To: CedarDave

Albuquerque has a serious problem with idiot police. It’s a no-go place for me right up there with NYC partly because the police can’t be trusted to not kill each other let alone everyone else.


3 posted on 11/02/2015 3:24:33 PM PST by MeganC (The Republic of The United States of America: 7/4/1776 to 6/26/2015 R.I.P.)
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To: CedarDave

Next question will be did the arrest and subsequent litigation cause stress that contributed to his heart attack and death?


4 posted on 11/02/2015 3:24:58 PM PST by Truth29
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To: Truth29

That’s possible given that each of the victims suffered from “road rash” meaning they were forcibly taken to the ground as they were arrested. With Maresca having a heart problem this was no doubt a contributing factor to his death.


5 posted on 11/02/2015 3:30:05 PM PST by MeganC (The Republic of The United States of America: 7/4/1776 to 6/26/2015 R.I.P.)
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To: CedarDave
"Responding officers had the couple and their children exit the truck, walk backward with their hands up and lie face-down on the pavement. The officers aimed firearms at the parents and children, including two boys ages 17 and 14 and a 9-year-old girl,"

The usual boot to the back of the neck, obscenity shouting, and dog shooting warm ups were skipped? Slipping fella's! Getting soft on us!

6 posted on 11/02/2015 3:30:21 PM PST by blackdog (There is no such thing as healing, only a balance between destructive and constructive forces.)
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To: CedarDave

Yes a family with young children were brutalized, but fortunately no cop’s ego was bruised during the illegal detention.

In the end, those fragile police egos are all that really matter.


7 posted on 11/02/2015 3:30:37 PM PST by stinkerpot65 (Global warming is a Marxist lie.)
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To: MeganC

Spent a bit of time in Farmington, where my daughter was born, and ventured only once to Albuturkey. That was back in the late 70’s. Even then, people said stay out of there, if you could.


8 posted on 11/02/2015 3:32:01 PM PST by Road Warrior ‘04 (Molon Labe! (Oathkeeper))
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To: CedarDave

Just the 99% making the 1% look bad.


9 posted on 11/02/2015 3:39:28 PM PST by Navy Patriot (America, a Rule of Mob nation)
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To: CedarDave

Thank God that this family did not have their Golden Retriever with them. This is a clearly example that nazis are stupid, clearly incapable interpreting the information stream that is provided to them, and more likely than not to misjudge the situation. When they are incapable of interpreting this information, people die, dogs die, and children are traumatized for life. But, all of these nazis went home safely, they’ve got that going for them.

Until we start to applying the letter of the law to these people and require that their training be adjusted to conform to the requirements and the Constitution, these people are dangerous to law abiding citizens everywhere.


10 posted on 11/02/2015 3:39:40 PM PST by centurion316 (,)
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To: MeganC
in a just world, the eggshell skull rule would come into play here
11 posted on 11/02/2015 3:53:27 PM PST by Chode (Stand UP and Be Counted, or line up and be numbered - *DTOM* -w- NO Pity for the LAZY - Luke, 22:36)
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To: Truth29

The family is being represented by the same law firm that has won cases of cops arresting at least two persons in the Deming area for drug offenses based on an uncertified drug-sensing dog alerting on their vehicles. After a search did not turn up drugs in the cars, they focused on the individuals, did strip searches, did cavity searches, required their taking laxatives to search their feces, then took them to a hospital in Silver City for x-rays of their internal stomach and intestines. In both cases drugs were not found.


12 posted on 11/02/2015 4:02:57 PM PST by CedarDave (Hillary for incarceration not inauguration)
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To: MeganC

Denver also. You should read the horror stories coming out of that city.


13 posted on 11/02/2015 4:09:49 PM PST by SkyDancer ("Nobody Said I Was Perfect But Yet Here I Am")
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To: MeganC

Even worse, they should be drummed out of the mam club for making such an idiotic mistake.


14 posted on 11/02/2015 4:15:14 PM PST by The Antiyuppie ("When small men cast long shadows, then it is very late in the day".)
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To: The Antiyuppie

That is, “man club”. Around here, a quick way to get into a fight might be to ask a new F-150 owner how his new Chevy is doing.


15 posted on 11/02/2015 4:17:04 PM PST by The Antiyuppie ("When small men cast long shadows, then it is very late in the day".)
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To: CedarDave
OK, the cop F'd up big time. But how did this ever get to court, let alone a court of appeals?

The list of people who made mistakes is huge: The cop, his partner(s) the Sargent, the DA, the Judge and many more I am sure.

16 posted on 11/02/2015 4:17:43 PM PST by Michael.SF. (This tagline lists all of Hilary's accomplishments............................)
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To: CedarDave

From the article:

“...nothing in the facts suggested intentional misconduct.”

So, does that imply that plain old dumbass misconduct is OK? If so, then we are in a great deal of trouble. Seems like it would give great incentive for governments to find the dumbest people that they can find to hire, because then it gives them a certain level of immunity.


17 posted on 11/02/2015 4:21:36 PM PST by The Antiyuppie ("When small men cast long shadows, then it is very late in the day".)
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To: Truth29
Next question will be did the arrest and subsequent litigation cause stress that contributed to his heart attack and death?

My thoughts as well. Those officers should be sued for millions for contributing to the poor man's death. Not just the county, but the arresting officers as well. Make them lose their homes, or their jobs at the least. Too much strong-arming of innocent folks by cops these days; send a strong message.

18 posted on 11/02/2015 4:59:06 PM PST by roadcat
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To: null and void

Here is one for you.


19 posted on 11/02/2015 5:21:45 PM PST by sport
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To: CedarDave
Gads, it's FUN pushing the peasants around!

I like the "lying on their faces" thingee, especially.

Lets 'em know they're LESS THAN DIRT.

20 posted on 11/02/2015 7:42:45 PM PST by kiryandil (Maya: "Liberalism Is What Smart Looks Like to Stupid People")
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