27 March 2012

March 27, 2012 Today's Stories

Zimmerman Told Sanford FL Police Martin Punched, Pummeled Him ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With a single punch, Trayvon Martin decked George Zimmerman, the Neighborhood Watch volunteer who eventually shot and killed the unarmed 17-year-old, then Martin climbed on top of Zimmerman and slammed his head into the sidewalk, leaving him bloody and battered, Zimmerman told police, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Much of it has been corroborated by witnesses, authorities say. Zimmerman says he shot in self-defense. Civil-rights leaders and more than a million other people have demanded Zimmerman's arrest, calling Martin a victim of racial profiling and suggesting Zimmerman is a vigilante. Martin was an unarmed black teenager who had committed no crime, they say, who was gunned down while walking back from a 7-Eleven with nothing more sinister than a package of Skittles and can of Arizona iced tea. Orlando Sentinel

The National Media Circus Turns Against Trayvon Martin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The media circus surrounding the Trayvon Martin-George Zimmerman case is taking "decidedly ugly turn," says Tampa Bay Times columnist Eric Deggans. As protests spread and celebrities from Sinbad to M.C. Hammer weigh in, supporters of Zimmerman, including some conservative websites are attempting to turn Martin's image from innocent kid to dangerous thug. The website the Daily Caller featured tweets from the dead 17-year-old's now-closed account under the name NO_LIMIT_NIGGA. Another website, Wagist, complained that the widely-circulated photo of Zimmerman was a mug shot from a 2005 arrest, while photos from Martin's family showing him as a younger, less threatening youth. The site posted pictures from a Twitpic account featuring what it says are Martin's multiple tattoos, concluding he "may have been a small time drug dealer." In a media world where everything is political, Martin's killing has become a tug-of-war between those who see his case as an example of the dangers of racial profiling and those who contend liberal activists have hijacked the process for their own ends. Deggans asks, "Even if Martin dabbled in drugs, carried himself like a gangsta and wore tattoos, did Zimmerman have the legal right to kill him that night?" Tampa Bay Tribune

How NRA Spread "Stand Your Ground"--An Issue In Martin Case ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In 2004, the National Rifle Association honored Florida state Rep. Dennis Baxley with an award. Then, he worked closely with the NRA to enact Florida's then-unprecedented "stand your ground" law, which allows citizens to use deadly force if they "reasonably believe" their safety is threatened in public settings, reports the Center on Public Integrity. Florida's law is under a cloud as a result of the shooting of Trayvon Martin, 17. The 28-year-old shooter, George Zimmerman, who was licensed to carry a gun, said he acted in self-defense after a confrontation with Martin. Baxley contends that his law shouldn't shield Zimmerman because he pursued Martin. The NRA is silent on the issue, but its silence contrasts with its history of activism on stand-your-ground legislation. Since the Florida measure passed, the NRA has flexed its considerable muscle and played a crucial role in the passage of more than 20 similar laws nationwide. The Florida law is rooted in the centuries-old English common-law concept known as the "Castle Doctrine," which holds that the self-defense right is accepted in one's home. The Florida law and others like it expand that to venues beyond a home. "This train keeps a rollin' - Castle Doctrine Sweeps America," an NRA message said in 2006. he campaign, the group said, "is turning focus from criminals' rights to those of the law-abiding who are forced to protect themselves." Center for Public Integrity/McClatchy Newspapers

WA Scrambling to Address Prison Overcrowding; Inmate Fights Rise ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Each week, 150 new inmates spend their first days in the Washington state prison system as "rugs," the term used to describe offenders who have to sleep on the concrete floor of cells because of overcrowding, says the Seattle Times. Inmates don't like having a third man squeezed into their cells; they complain about the heat generated by three people in a 6-foot-by-9-foot space. Recent closures of three prisons, coupled with a spike in incoming inmates, have some prisons bursting at the seams. The crowded conditions can lead to safety issues among inmates whose resentment boils over into anger, as well as the corrections officers who are assigned to watch over them. Officers regularly squeeze into the tight living units to break up fights. Corrections Secretary Bernie Warner is scrambling to address overcrowding and is bracing for the projected need for about 160 additional prison beds statewide this summer. That's down from 300 beds after officials announced Friday that all single-inmate cells at the Washington State Reformatory in Monroe will now house two inmates, giving the prison system 140 new beds. The three-strikes law and changes in sentencing laws for some firearms-related crimes have led to longer sentences, boosting inmate numbers. Seattle Times

WA Considering Statewide "Swift and Certain" Parolee System ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In an experiment, 35 Seattle parolees, were put under a new kind of supervision. Every time they failed a drug test or blew off a meeting with a corrections officer, they'd quickly be jailed, reports the Associated Press. After no more than three days, they'd be released. More serious offenses would result in up to 30 days in jail. Another 35 ex-cons were the control group. Their would be dealt with less consistently, with offenses resulting in anything from a verbal reprimand to 60 days behind bars. After six months, the parolees subject to the experimental "swift and certain" system of punishment showed dramatically lower rates of drug use. They also were less likely to be sent back to prison. "I went into it with some skepticism. How could something so simple work?" said corrections administrator Donta Harper. "But it worked." The pilot project is being proposed for a statewide remaking of probation and parole - collectively known as community custody - that would put Washington at the forefront of a nationwide push to change how they function. The system is modeled on a program started 8 years ago in Hawaii and called HOPE--Hawaii Opportunity Probation with Enforcement. Associated Press/Tacoma News-Tribune

It Took Five Years For 4 NYC Cops to Lose Jobs in Sean Bell Case ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The dismissal of an undercover detective who fired the first of the 50 police bullets when Sean Bell was killed in New York City more than five years ago may close the final chapter of that drawn-out story, says the New York Times. On the streets near the site of Bell's shooting, residents expressed anger, and resentments that remain unresolved. Some said it had taken far too long to punish Det. Gescard Isnora. Others wondered why the dismissal came as the killing of a black Florida teen stirred memories of the Bell case. Many officers said the termination would hurt morale, though some said that police commissioner Raymond Kelly had no choice but to cut ties to a detective whose name had been tainted. Kelly accepted the recommendation of a judge who presides over police disciplinary cases that Isnora be terminated and he forced the retirements of three other officers involved in the shooting of Bell, 23, outside a club on his wedding day, Nov. 25, 2006. New York Times

Federal Bill Encourages Better Technology to Prevent Drunk Driving ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Safety advocates and alcohol interests are squaring off over legislation intended to reduce alcohol-related traffic deaths through the use of devices that prevent drunken drivers from starting their cars, reports Politico.com. Tucked into a pending U.S. Senate transportation bill is a provision that directs the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to study "more widespread deployment of in-vehicle technology" that would prevent drunken driving. The research will be carried out by the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety, a collaboration between NHTSA and the automobile industry. The idea is to develop some kind of nonintrusive technology based around touch or breathing that would be able to sense when a driver is drunk and disable the car. Technology on the market now - called "ignition interlocks" - require a driver to blow into a Breathalyzer device attached to the car's dashboard and then wait 30 seconds until the sample is analyzed. Only then will the car start. The research is trying to develop a "far less intrusive" technology more acceptable to the general public, which consumers eventually would be able to choose as an option on a new car - similar to picking leather seats or a sunroof. Another provision of the bill says if states want about 5 percent of their regularly allocated safety money, they must enact a law that requires first-time DUI offenders to install an ignition interlock device if they want to continue driving. Politico.com

CO Reconsiders Allowing Prosecutors To Decide on Trying Teens as Adults ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Denver "summer of violence" in 1993 prompted state legislators to pass laws intended to crack down on juvenile offenders. Nearly 20 years later, reports the New York Times, Colorado is revisiting a law that gives prosecutors the power to charge youths as adults in serious crimes without first getting approval from a judge. Opponents of the law say it gives prosecutors virtually unchecked power over juveniles and has been used too broadly. Critics say teenagers accused of midlevel crimes like robbery and burglary are too often tried as adults and saddled with felony convictions that will stay with them forever, as well as time in adult prisons. Colorado is the latest state to take a second look at juvenile crime laws, passed largely because of rising crime during the 1980s and '90s. Such laws vary widely, and most states give juvenile judges the authority to transfer a child's case into an adult court if a crime is severe enough. A pending proposal, opposed by prosecutors, would require a judge to approve trying a juvenile as an adult. The Colorado District Attorneys' Council says the number of direct-file cases was down to 61 last year. New York Times

Philadelphia Police Arrest Student for Taking Photos of Traffic Stop ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A photojournalism student was charged with obstruction of justice and resisting arrest after photographing Philadelphia police officers who made a traffic stop outside of his home, says the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Temple University junior Ian Van Kuyk was allegedly thrown to the ground and arrested while taking photographs of police for a class assignment. The National Press Photographers Association wrote to Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey that "any police officer should know that photography on a public street is a First Amendment protected activity." A police department memo says that "all police personnel, while conducting official business or while acting in an official capacity in any public space, should reasonably anticipate and expect to be photographed, videotaped and/or be audibly recorded by members of the general public or individuals temporarily detained." It ordered officers not to interfere with the photographing, videotaping, or audio recording. Courts disagree on the extent to which the First Amendment creates a general right to record police activity in public. Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

Daniel Garcia of Dallas Chosen to Head Phoenix Police Force ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The yearlong search for a new Phoenix police chief has yielded the first top officer in at least a generation to be hired from outside the city's police force, reports the Arizona Republic. Daniel Garcia, 56, an assistant chief in Dallas, will take over the department in the wake of a series of high-profile incidents that spurred community uproar in recent years. Garcia highlighted his background in community policing. "I want the community to understand they have a voice with the new chief of police," Garcia said yesterday. The significance of Phoenix administrators' picking an outsider to lead the agency was not lost on Joe Clure of a Phoenix police union. "You'd be kidding yourself if you think this isn't a historic event," Clure said. "I've been a police officer for 30 years and never seen us seriously entertain the thought of going outside of our ranks." Garcia was among four finalists e search to replace Chief Jack Harris, who was forced out after a series of contentious issues. The others were Phoenix Assistant Police Chief Kevin Robinson, acting Phoenix Chief Joe Yahner and former San Jose Police Chief Robert Davis. Arizona Republic

Hubert Williams to Retire As Police Foundation President ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hubert Williams will retire as president of the Washington, D.C.-based Police Foundation on June 30 after 27 years as president. The organization's board retained the executive recruiting firm of Korn/Ferry to help find a successor. Board chairman Weldon Rougeau said the scope of Williams' "experience and influence on police policy is considerable." He said the foundation "has successfully assisted police departments seeking to increase community satisfaction with police service and implement community policing strategies." Williams was appointed foundation president in 1985, succeeding the late Patrick Murphy. Williams was police director in Newark from 1974 to 1985. The Newark Police Department was the laboratory for early Police Foundation studies key to the evolution of community policing-The Newark Foot Patrol Experiment and a federally-funded fear reduction experiment.

Henry Ruth Dies; Criminal-Justice Official, Watergate Prosecutor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Henry S. Ruth Jr., a well-known voice in anticrime policies over the years, died on March 16 at 80. As the New York Times reports, Ruth was better known for helping lead the prosecution of Nixon administration officials involved in covering up the Watergate break-in and kept it on track when President Nixon fired special prosecutor Archibald Cox in the "Saturday Night Massacre." Ruth, Cox's deputy, was credited with holding the office together. Earlier, Ruth had served as deputy staff director of the crime commission appointed by President Lyndon Johnson. He later worked in the Justice Department's research arm, then known as National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice. He also served as criminal justice coordinator for New York City under Mayor John V. Lindsay. With law professor Kevin Reitz, he co-authored a book, The Challenge of Crime: Rethinking Our Response (Harvard University Press, 2003). New York Times