Yeah, couldn't miss him. Stood out like a sore thumb. A BIG sore thumb.
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Posted on 12/31/2002 2:57:48 PM PST by EBUCK
Yeah, couldn't miss him. Stood out like a sore thumb. A BIG sore thumb.
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What people fail (or in some cases, refuse) to see is criminal behavior is what precipitated this raid. Since all Terry Yates has to do is create reasonable doubt, it is only a matter of putting three people on the stand: The store manager of the Super K-Mart, Christine McDonald, author of the op-ed piece run by the Houston Comical shortly after the raid, and the store manager of Wal-Mart.
Doing this will show:
1) There had been several complaints to the police and K-Mart management regarding the behavior of those on the property;
2) If all 200+ people claim to be paying customers (and they have), you would think something similar would be happening at the Wal-Mart directly across the street. It's not. Certainly not at 12:30 am.
Voila! You have reasonable doubt!
We the jury find the defendant not guilty of the crime of official oppression.......
I don't think that's the case. It appears to me that the lawyer is serving his clients first by preserving the evidence of their damages. Assuming his clients prevail in their claims, any winning judgment or settlement would also mandate that all arrest records must be expunged. But first things first...
If someone were punching you, and you could physically avoid it by running away, but stood there so the damage would be worse, you are hurting your case. A plantiff is obligated to mitigate damages, in my opinion. The fact they were arrested will not evaporate. This attorney is a moron.
It's better late than never, and the people arrested who haven't already decided to get even with the city will be pleased with this action.
This whole matter was botched from beginning to end, and the only amusing thing about it is the people who continue to defend it.
And speaking of which, where have they gone?
See #22.
At this point, their official position is moot. They have already admitted to the complaints they had received about the situation in the past. And barring anything different, we can assume nothing was ever done on their part.
K-Mart is going to be closing another 200 stores this year. Expect this one to be one of that number.
Did they request the police action?
Not likely. By all indications, the raid was spurred by a large number of complaints from residents living in the apartment complex that surrounds the K-Mart.
Did they target (no slur on that store) specific individuals for arrest?
Well, when you consider there were over 200 people in the K-Mart parking lot at 12:30 am on a Saturday night/Sunday morning, but this was not being repeated at the Wal-Mart that is directly across the street (I live in another complex around the corner from this area, and I have discussed this with the store manager of the Wal-Mart personally, so I know what I am talking about), you can be assured the only reason these people were there was to engage in criminal behavior. So there was no need to "target" anyone.
What a mess caused by "Law Enforcement" involved in a criminal conspiracy.
Actually, the "mess" was caused by the folk who were engaging in criminal behavior on private property. The police was only doing their job in coming in and arresting them.
There is no doubt in my mind the prosecution of Aguirre and Wentzel is both personal and political in nature.
It happens. Interestingly enough, I remember seeing a number of arrests for official oppression among Texas CHL holders in the late 90's. The offenders obviously weren't peace officers (they don't need a CHL), but the data doesn't provide any information about the circumstances.
It's rare that peace officers are prosecuted for this, because it requires a truly blatant and knowing violation of the law. The fact that the officers have been simply indicted indicates that the DA has a very strong case, because he would pursue it otherwise.
Accountable for what? They did not do anything wrong.
See, what it all comes down to is this: Was the raid and the subsequent arrests justified? The answer is an unequivocal, indisputable YES. Anyone who tells you different is either ignorant or a liar.
There are, in fact, two reasons this prosecution is going on:
1) A well-known feud between Police Chief Bradford and Aguirre;
2) The action and reaction of a biased media has turned the raid into bad PR for the HPD.
This was made clear by the revelation two officers have volunteered to testify for the prosecution in exchange for immunity. The only thing is, they were never in danger of being prosecuted in the first place, because a Grand Jury investigation resulted in the indictments of two people, and the thought these two testifying officers in question are named Aguirre and Wentzel is just plain silly.
You very clearly have not read the previous threads concerning this.
People were leaving the store with receipts in the their hands and were still arrested. They were also arrested at the nearby Sonic, while EATING the food they had just purchased.
What criminal behavior? They were on private property. They weren't doing anything illegal. If, as you say, this was not done on behalf of the property owner why were there any arrests? Most of the arrests were for trespassing. This is not an offense unless the property owner complains. No arrests were made for "drag racing" which was the stated purpose of the raid. Some of the arrests were made in the parking lot of another business where the operators complained about their customers being arrested. The no trespassing signs posted on the property were purchased by the Houston Police Department and placed on the property by them.
There certainly is a feud between suspended Chief Bradford, who has been indicted for perjury, and Aguirre his accuser. The K-Mart raid was planned for weeks and everyone in the upper ranks of the Police Department knew of it. Aquirre, and the other officers conducting the raid, ignored the plan, violated the law, arrested people who they knew were not guilty and would have gotten away with it except for the publicity. If this was done in the name of the apartment residents who live nearby maybe they should be added as defendents in the suit. Maybe Houston can start cleaning up by getting rid of Bradford and Aguirre. Probably quite a few other names should be included.
Tell that to the people living in the apartment complex surrounding the K-Mart who had complained to the police for months prior to the raid.
Most of the arrests were for trespassing. This is not an offense unless the property owner complains.
Uh, no. If you enter private property with the intent of engaging in criminal behavior, you are trespassing. Just because the property owner is not complaining, that does not make what they are doing legal.
Some of the arrests were made in the parking lot of another business where the operators complained about their customers being arrested.
And a lot of those people had in fact run to the other business in question (Sonic) in order to evade arrest. Just because they were there, that did not make them paying customers.
The K-Mart raid was planned for weeks and everyone in the upper ranks of the Police Department knew of it.
Except, apparently, for Bradford, as he has denied any knowledge of such a plan.
Aquirre, and the other officers conducting the raid, ignored the plan, violated the law, arrested people who they knew were not guilty and would have gotten away with it except for the publicity.
Actually, the raid was executed by the person who planned it, which was Aguirre himself.
If this was done in the name of the apartment residents who live nearby maybe they should be added as defendents in the suit.
Ah! Here is where you really show your a$$. It indicates your state of mind is, How dare they complain about something that is happening someplace else?
Kind of like hearing gunshots at the house next door. Who do you think you are calling the cops and complaining about that? Why, you should mind your own business!
If that is your attitude, then I have nothing but pity for you.
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