He wasn’t a drug user or dealer. He was found not guilty. Game. Set. Match.
Did you read your own article? It was stated right there he had a pound of weed in his car.
The cops did not lie by your standards because they were found not guilty he. He was not a drug dealer or user because he was also found not guilty. You don’t get to have it both ways.
Sure you do. If the search was ruled by the court as illegal, it doesn't matter what he had in that car. But it doesn't discount the fact that he had it. And my standards are what the court ruled whether I like it or not. The one officer did purger himself and was sentenced for it. The suspect got away on some red tape. I know people that smoke weed. Hell, I smoked my share of it myself back in the day, but nobody I ever knew bought a pound of weed for personal consumption. He had that weed to package and resell it. Plus the fact that he was on the drug enforcements radar tells me he was no innocent bystander.
I think I see. The dealer got off because of a technicality. The technicality in question was that the cops lied and the judge threw out the evidence. The cops were innocent because they were found not guilty. Granted their lies were the technicality that got the first guy off. But totally innocent. Or something.
It’s a very odd world you live in. I’m glad that I am not in that particular world.
If they would have done things in order, that guy would have went to prison for possession with intent to sell. The cops took a short cut and lied about it. So what? They were trying to keep this dope off of the streets. What they should have done is get his permission to search the vehicle, and if he refused, have a warrant sent to them. Then they would have searched the vehicle and able to use the evidence they found. Would you be happy then, or is it the idea that the cops busted the guy in the first place?
In March of 1988 I swore this oath.
Oath of Enlistment - Army Values
I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Not just the parts I liked. Not the parts I agreed with. All of the Constitution. I swore that I would uphold it.
There are a number of Amendments that cover how we will allow our Government to behave. A lot of those have some regard about the Criminal Justice system. Those were clarified by dozens, hundreds of court cases that clarified what the rights of the individual was. The Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth amendments are the most relevant here.
Sadly, you hit the nail on the head, and you don’t even realize it. The police could have gotten the evidence legally. They could have followed the rules, and gotten it fine and dandy. They could have done the job right. But instead, they decided that the Constitution, and those pesky Liberals, made their job more difficult. They didn’t want to do it right. They wanted to cut corners. They wanted to take the easy way out.
Because the British did not follow those rules when dealing with the Colonists, animosity, anger, and a desire to revolt percolated among the Americans. We wanted to make sure that the Government was limited in it’s power. We wanted to make sure that the rights of the individual was protected. People fought a war to make sure those rights, among others, would never be trampled upon again.
When the British Military broke into houses searching for guns, powder, or papers that might link the individual to the rebellion. What is the difference from the authorities doing the same thing today? Why should we be any less outraged when it’s an American doing it?
Or would you be one of those later described as collaborators? People who thought that the British were just doing what as necessary, doing what they had to in order to protect us? They weren’t abusing us, they weren’t violating our rights, they were just doing a job to protect us.
The cops knew what they were supposed to do, and violated that. Don’t ask me to believe it was the first time any of them ever dreamed of doing it. It was just the first time they got caught. They knew what the rules were and decided to ignore those rules. What other rules were the cops breaking?
The idea behind our system is that it is very hard to take the freedom, property, or life from someone. The idea that it is better that a thousand guilty men go free than one innocent man be sent to prison is one of a number of things we kept from the British when we revolted. That is partly why we have such restrictions on law enforcement, and prosecution. It’s why we have the standard of conviction as a Reasonable Doubt.
Those rules that are just annoying red tape to people like you, and the police, are in place to make it hard to take away a mans life, liberty, or property. They are part of a system that is designed to prevent a single innocent man from going to prison. Because there can be no greater crime than sending a single innocent person to prison.
We blame the pilot if he does not follow the checklist and make sure every single thing is done prior to take off. We blame a ship captain who does not follow every single rule in running his ship and collides with another. We blame builders who do not follow every single standard in constructing a building. The food you eat from a restaurant is safe because the restaurant owners and managers are mandated to follow every single rule in cleanliness, and food handling standards.
Why should we hold the police who have the power to take away that freedom, and commit a far greater crime against society than the restaurant owner can, to a lower expectation?
Do the job the right way. If you are a builder, follow the damned rules and build a safe structure. If you are a pilot, follow the ******* rules and fly the damned plane. If you are sailing on a boat, follow the rules, and navigate the boat safely. We have standards for everything, not just the police. The hard hats and steel toed shoes and silly brightly colored vests may just be nonsense to you, but they are the standard for a reason, to protect people from unnecessary injuries.
Those pesky standards that are the rules the cops must follow should not be ignored either. Why treat a builder more harshly who cuts corners than we do a cop who just cuts corners as you intimate. Just cutting a few silly rules out of the picture, saving time.
Do the ******* job right. That’s what we’re paying you for. If the Contractor can’t or won’t build to the standards in place, he loses his license, and possibly his freedom. A pilot who doesn’t do it right loses his license. All the other activities we have are regulated to a standard, but it’s just wrong to expect cops to follow those same rules, and you know, tell the truth when the swear to tell the truth.