Posted on 01/25/2003 8:07:03 AM PST by Houmatt
Two police officers involved in the Kmart raid in which nearly 300 people were arrested are likely to be fired Tuesday, their lawyer and a union representative say.
The lawyer for Capt. Mark A. Aguirre, who ordered the raid, and for Sgt. Ken Wenzel said the Houston Police Department should wait to decide whether to fire them until after the two go to trial this summer on charges of official oppression.
Instead both are scheduled for hearings, at which it will be determined whether they should be fired Tuesday.
"Most people who have loudermill hearings get fired," lawyer Terry W. Yates said.
"They should allow us to have our day in court," he said. "They're rushing to judgment."
HPD spokesman Robert Hurst said the department is following proper procedures.
"Mr. Yates is fully aware of what the Houston Police Department disciplinary process is," he said.
Aguirre and Wenzel were indicted last month on five counts each of official oppression for the Aug. 18 sweep of a Kmart parking lot. The raid was intended to crack down on drag racing, but when no one was found drag racing, officers arrested hundreds on charges of trespassing and curfew violations.
Thirteen police officers were suspended with pay and all the trespassing and curfew violations dropped. No charges were filed against the other 11 officers implicated in the incident.
More officers are scheduled for hearings, Hurst said, but he said he did not know how many, who or when the hearings would be held. Hurst declined to comment further because the issue is a disciplinary matter.
Hans Marticiuc, president of the Houston Police Officers Union, said he expects Aguirre and Wenzel and possibly two more officers to be fired.
Acting Police Chief Timothy Oettmeier will report to City Council on Wednesday the results of an internal investigation of the Kmart incident.
The public doesn't support them, and if the reports are true, the rank and file police officers don't support them. It's no secret that the Police Chief doesn't support them, and the District Attorney has already indicted them.
They're toast.
People living in glass houses shouldn't be throwing stones.
I hope you're right. If they get convicted it's a sure thing. Also there are a dozen or so other officers on paid vacation waiting for an internal police investigation. Seems that the police take forever to investigate themselves.
On another matter I think you are wasting your time arguing with you know who. Some people take ridiculous positions and then can't let them go. Sometimes medication helps.
Do you think it may be because Aguirre said to arrest them all for trespassing?
But nobody has even hinted that drugs and alcohol were there that night. No investigation was ever conducted into the behavior of those arrested. So, again, we have to rely on objective witnesses. So far, there is only one, the tow truck driver.
We have to assume that they weren't.
You have to have something solid to make that kind of assumption. But, again, all we (and you) have is the tow truck driver, who has stated the exact opposite. So to make such an assumption is absurd.
How about the Sonic, is it open later than 11:00 p.m.? Blocking access to the parking lot "after hours" may not be easily accomplished.
Let's get this thing out in the open here and now: For the purposes of this and any other discussion regarding this raid, we should refrain from mentioning drug possession and abuse, as none of the established facts (as presented here) refer to such.
were the kids remarkably well behaved?
No. Truth is, this had been going on for months before the raid (which was planned in advance) took place.
The Sonic is open until 2 am on Friday and Saturday nights. And the KMart was open 24 hours at the time of the raid. That is no longer the case.
At the request of the acting police chief, something that the cop haters here refuse to acknowledge.
You won't take the cops' word for it. Their words are on this very thread. But, no, you won't believe them.
As you also know of the behavior and complaints that led up to this raid.
Do you really expect any reasonable person to believe they (all 270 of them) suddenly chose one night to act civilized, and by coincidence that was the night of the raid?
That is just as preposterous as suggesting the tow truck driver sitting across the street triggered the raid.
Not quite as much as suggesting the driver is impeachable because he made money for doing his job.
That has as much credence as a tow truck driver witnessing an accident: He towed a vehicle away, so he cannot be impartial and objective.
You won't take the cops' word for it.
And what exactly did these (anonymous) cops say, other than they apparently objected to the raid?
What part of that statement confuses you?
I'll take back my previous comment. You still don't get it. There were no arrests for "uncivilized behavior". The great majority of the people were falsly arrested for criminal trespass. At least one was charged with attempted criminal trespass. All of the officers present knew that they were making false arrests. Some are using the "just following orders" defense. The supervisors are either indicted or under investigation for their parts in the operation.
Assigning a noble purpose to a criminal act still makes it a criminal act. Cleaning up the neighborhood does not justify criminal activity by those whose job is to apprehend criminals.
Areesting people for loitering. BIG freakin' deal.
Maybe the "victims" should get free counseling.
Wow. It took 30 posts. Given a choice between the cops and Libertarians, I will take the cops. LP's are way to emotional.
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