http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/jackbootedthugs/ en-us Sun, 24 Aug 2008 21:16:12 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2067301/posts ...In February, the Florida Department of Education modified its standards to explicitly require, for the first time, the state’s public schools to teach evolution, calling it “the organizing principle of life science.” Spurred in part by legal rulings against school districts seeking to favor religious versions of natural history, over a dozen other states have also given more emphasis in recent years to what has long been the scientific consensus: that all of the diverse life forms on Earth descended from a common ancestor, through a process of mutation and natural selection, over billions of years. But in a nation... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2067301/posts#comment Sun, 24 Aug 2008 21:16:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2063377/posts Armed with a battering ram and shotguns, Buffalo police looking for heroin broke down the door and stormed the lower apartment of a West Side family of eight. The problem is that the Wednesday evening raid should have occurred at an apartment upstairs. And, that’s only the tip of the iceberg, according to Schavon Pennyamon, who lives at the mistakenly raided apartment on Sherwood Street with her husband, Terrell, and six children. Pennyamon alleges that after wrongly breaking into her apartment, police proceeded to strike her epileptic husband in the head with the butt end of a shotgun and point... Buffalo News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2063377/posts#comment Sun, 17 Aug 2008 19:46:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2061420/posts WASHINGTON (Map, News) - The violent assault on Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo’s home late last month was certainly not the first bungled raid by a government SWAT team, but the bad publicity it generated should make it the last time these trigger-happy squads target innocent civilians. Tracking a 32-pound package of marijuana that had been addressed to Calvo’s wife, Trinity Tomsic, Prince George’s sheriff’s deputies forcibly entered the mayor’s home on July 29 and killed his two dogs before handcuffing him and his mother-in-law. But like so many other SWAT team raids across the country, this one turned out... Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2061420/posts#comment Wed, 13 Aug 2008 22:09:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2058993/posts Police said yesterday they have cleared Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo and his family of any wrongdoing in connection with a package of marijuana that police intercepted en route to his home, leading to a violent raid in which deputy sheriffs killed the family's two dogs. Prince George's County Police Chief Melvin C. High delivered the news in a telephone call Thursday to Calvo, saying police and State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey determined that Calvo and his family were innocent victims caught up in a drug-smuggling ring. High exonerated the mayor and his family and expressed regret that they were... The Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2058993/posts#comment Sat, 9 Aug 2008 12:36:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2058630/posts 4 gunmen bust doors, yell ‘FBI,’ loot home BY JACOB QUINN SANDERS ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE Two men kicked in the front door, splintering it near the bolt-lock. Two more kicked in a side door. All four had guns. It was 3 a.m. “FBI! FBI!” the men shouted, one pulling what looked like a badge out of his shirt before stuffing it back in. “Where’s your money?” Lloyd McCuien lay facedown on the living-room floor of his Pulaski County house — off Arkansas 365 outside Maumelle and within sight of Interstate 40 — surrounded by seven family members. “It took me about... Arkansas Democrat Gazette http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2058630/posts#comment Fri, 8 Aug 2008 16:20:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2059928/posts I saw the local police are angry about the swat team going into the Mayors house. Not only are they Friends of the mayor, the local Police Chief said that if one of his guys had been driving by when 5 heavily armed men in plain clothes and masks were kicking in the Mayor’s front door, they would have been fired on them thinking they were terrorists attacking the mayor’s home. Besides the shooting of dogs for no reason, which is bad enough, why do they have masks over their faces? Bad guys were masks so they can’t be identified... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2059928/posts#comment Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:48:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2059812/posts Berwyn Heights, Maryland Mayor Cheye Calvo on the police raid on his home earlier this month: "The reality is that this happens all the time in this country and disproportionally in Prince Georges county and most of the people to whom it happens don't have the community support and the platform to speak out. So I appreciate you paying attention to our condition but I hope you'll also give attention to those who may not have the same platform and voice that we have." -snip- Here are a few excerpts from Calvo's letter to the Justice Department requesting that investigation:... Reason Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2059812/posts#comment Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:22:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2058547/posts The FBI has launched a review of the violent law enforcement raid of the home of Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo in Prince George's County last week that resulted in the deaths of the family's two dogs. The agency has begun "reviewing the events that occurred at Mr. Calvo's residence," said Richard J. Wolf, spokesman for the FBI in Baltimore, which has jurisdiction over federal civil rights investigations in Maryland. (snip) Courts across the country in recent years have ruled that it is almost always unacceptable for police to kill pets in the course of searching a home. Cases in... The Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2058547/posts#comment Fri, 8 Aug 2008 13:41:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2058132/posts Berwyn Heights' mayor is expected today to ask federal officials to investigate possible civil rights violations stemming from last week's raid of his Prince George's County home by police officers who shot and killed his two dogs, his attorney said. Mayor Cheye Calvo and his wife, Trinity Tomsic, will ask for a U.S. Department of Justice inquiry during a 2 p.m. news conference today outside their Berwyn Heights home, said Timothy Maloney, their attorney. "They're going to call for the Justice Department to come in," Maloney said. Calvo's home was raided by the county Sheriff's Office SWAT team and narcotics... Baltimore Sun http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2058132/posts#comment Thu, 7 Aug 2008 18:14:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2053260/posts Guest Commentary by Laurie Roth This week I thought I would lose my mind when I heard of the horrifying decision by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals against Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean. So many of us who had followed this case for the last few years were hoping that once all the evidence had finally been heard, unlike with the first trial, that justice would be done. Wrong!! Justice was not done!!! You may recall in the first trial that the illegal alien, drug thug Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila, who brought 743 pounds of marijuana over our border was... RFFM.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2053260/posts#comment Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:22:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049464/posts BATFE: Any Semi-Auto Can Be A Machine Gun by Larry Pratt On July 2 I went to jail. Happily for me, I left right away. Sadly for David Olofson and his family, he had to stay, and will have to stay for 30 months in the Federal Correctional Institute in Sandstone, Minnesota. Why is the federal government incarcerating an Army reservist from Berlin, Wisconsin who has 16 years of service, a mortgage, a wife and three kids? They convicted him for knowingly transferring an unregistered machine gun. Since the case was brought by the rogue agency -- the Bureau of... Gun Owners of America http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049464/posts#comment Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:32:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048861/posts An outspoken Long Island gun owner's home was raided by Nassau County detectives, who seized two dozen weapons he lawfully owns just one day after Rep. Carolyn McCarthy's office made a 911 call about him. The New York Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048861/posts#comment Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:23:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2048506/posts Police in St. Louis seized cars, then freely drove them for months at a time. Perk extended to troubled daughter of police chief. Cars seized from motorists are being used as the personal rides of police officers and their relatives in St. Louis, Missouri. St. Louis Post-Dispatch investigative reporters uncovered the scandal while tracking down how Aimie Mokwa, 33, daughter of Police Chief Joe Mokwa, ended up driving vehicles registered to St. Louis Metropolitan Towing and its subsidiaries. Like many cities across the nation, St. Louis has adopted an ordinance giving police officers the ability to grab automobiles from people... The Newspaper http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2048506/posts#comment Sun, 20 Jul 2008 21:40:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048304/posts The makers of a Channel 4 documentary which claimed that global warming is a swindle misrepresented the views of some of the world's leading climate scientists, the media watchdog is expected to rule next week. In a judgment at the end of a 15-month enquiry, Ofcom is expected to censure the channel over The Great Global Warming Swindle, broadcast in March last year. The film sparked outcry from environmentalists and led to a complaint from a group of senior scientists about apparent errors, distortions and misrepresentations. It is thought that complaints about privacy and fairness from the Government's former chief... The Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048304/posts#comment Sun, 20 Jul 2008 10:22:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2040793/posts 'The conviction of David Olofson is a gross miscarriage of justice' A Wisconsin man today surrendered to federal authorities to begin serving a 30-month prison term for having a broken rifle, prompting the Gun Owners of America to issue a warning about the owner's liability should any semi-automatic weapon ever misfire. "A gun that malfunctions is not a machine gun," Larry Pratt, executive director of GOA, said. "What the [federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] has done in the [David] Olofson case has set a precedent that could make any of the millions of Americans that own semi-automatic... WorldNetDaily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2040793/posts#comment Fri, 4 Jul 2008 17:54:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2038161/posts Josh Raykin had never spent even a night away from his parents. That is, until Arapahoe County snatched the 8-year-old from his home after an abuse allegation that social workers dragged their feet investigating. The ordeal began while Josh was playing outside one day before dinner in April. A neighbor knocked on the door to tell his dad that police had come to take Josh away. The strawberry-blond kid with pale blue eyes was born in 1999 after Michael and Melanie Raykin tried for 15 years to conceive. Michael, a courier, and Melanie, a hairstylist, work extra hours to send... Denver Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2038161/posts#comment Sun, 29 Jun 2008 14:59:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2036399/posts The question isn't whether a Pembroke Pines police officer was justified in fatally shooting Vincent Hodgkiss in his home early Thursday morning, or whether illegal drug activity was taking place there. The real question is this: Was a paramilitary-style dawn raid the best way to go about serving a drug-related search warrant? Sun Sentinel http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2036399/posts#comment Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:40:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2036235/posts Authorities say it's the biggest pot bust in Cocke County in the last five years, maybe more. Around 10 a.m. Monday, helicopter pilots spotted hundreds of thousands of marijuana plants growing in the Cherokee National Forest in Cocke County. They alerted officers on the ground, and the crew trekked more than a mile into the forest from Interstate 40, where they came upon what they call a DTO, or drug trafficking organization. "They just live in it, move in, grow, and that's all they're there to do is grow marijuana," Special Agent Jason Poore said of the growers. Poore is... WBIR http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2036235/posts#comment Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:47:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2034632/posts HUDSON - For years, marksmen have used a technique called bump firing: shooting a semiautomatic rifle from the hip and allowing the weapon's recoil to pull the trigger. With the assault-weapons ban keeping most fully automatic weapons out of their hands, it was one of the few ways for enthusiasts to enjoy the thrill of firing a machine gun. Bill Akins found a way to simulate that action by inventing a device that mechanized the recoil resistance of a semiautomatic rifle to fire more rapid, and accurate, bursts of bullets. The Hudson man spent nearly a decade designing the Akins... The Tampa Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2034632/posts#comment Sun, 22 Jun 2008 07:55:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2032074/posts Awakened before dawn by police officers who battered down the door to his home, Basil Parasiris said he acted in self-defence when he shot at a stranger at his bedroom door. A jury agreed yesterday, acquitting the Montreal-area businessman of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Constable Daniel Tessier, a father of two. The verdict was the latest slap in this case for the Laval police. The trial had revealed that the force's search warrant relied on dubious evidence and didn't allow a night-time raid; that officers didn't properly check whether Mr. Parasiris owned guns; and that they fired... globeandmail.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2032074/posts#comment Tue, 17 Jun 2008 01:41:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2028754/posts OCEANSIDE: Woman shot by cop charged with child endangerment Investigation into officer is continuing Rachel Leann Silva was charged Monday with felony child endangerment and misdemeanor drunken driving in an alleged road rage dispute with an off-duty policeman, who shot the woman and her 8-year-old son. Silva's "erratic and aggressive" driving and actions during the March 15 confrontation put her son in danger, according to a declaration seeking a warrant for Silva's arrest that was filed by the attorney general's office in Superior Court on Monday. Witnesses reportedly said she tailgated and pursued the off-duty officer during the clash, revving... The North County Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2028754/posts#comment Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:42:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2028127/posts An immigrant couple, here legally, and their U.S.-born son have joined a statewide lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security after their Paterson home was raided last month by federal agents looking for illegal immigrants. Walter Chavez and his wife, Ana Galindo, said Thursday that on April 2, agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, forced their way into their home, pointing guns at Galindo and their child. "It was a nightmare for our family, and continues to be even today," said Galindo, 42. "The very worst part of it all was when an agent, who screamed at me... NorthJersey.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2028127/posts#comment Mon, 9 Jun 2008 01:44:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2023054/posts WEAPONS OF CHOICE 30 months in jail for broken gun Judge hands down penalty for misfire from 20-year-old rifle A federal judge has ordered a 30-month prison sentence for a man whose rifle misfired, letting loose three shots at a firing range, prompting 2nd Amendment supporters to warn their constituents how easily they, too, can become a "gun felon." "It didn't matter the rifle in question had not been intentionally modified for select fire, or that it did not have an M16 bolt carrier or sear, that it did not show any signs of machining or drilling, or that that... World Net Daily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2023054/posts#comment Thu, 29 May 2008 16:52:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2010790/posts OPA-LOCKA, Fla. -- Federal agents on the hunt for criminals on Thursday raided the wrong house while searching for drugs. Police and federal agents raided 50 marijuana grow houses around Florida on Thursday, calling it "Operation D-Day." They seized $7 million worth of pot plants, but they also kicked in the door of Noel Llorente's Opa-locka home and found nothing but bewildered homeowners. "I was frightened for my husband because they threw him on the ground," Llorente's wife said. "I was scared. Llorente said he was just leaving for work when unmarked cars pulled up, Drug Enforcement Administration agents jumped... NBC6 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2010790/posts#comment Sat, 3 May 2008 19:26:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2009210/posts Brooklyn Park police were looking for a meth lab, but they found a fish tank and the chemicals needed to maintain it. And a few hours later, when the city sent a contractor to fix the door the police had smashed open Monday afternoon, it was obvious the city was trying to fix a mistake. It happened while Kathy Adams was sleeping. "And the next thing I know, a police officer is trying to get me out bed," she said. Adams, a 54-year-old former nurse who said she suffers from a bad back caused by a patient who attacked her... KARE 11 News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2009210/posts#comment Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:27:20 GMT