Busting the boys in blue (Jack Bog's Blog)

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This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on December 10, 2008 11:52 AM. The previous post in this blog was Coming soon to Portland: pork. The next post in this blog is It's a new day. Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.

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« Coming soon to Portland: pork | Main | It's a new day »

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Busting the boys in blue

While we're on the subject of citizens turning the tables on the police, here's a heck of a story out of Texas.

Posted at 11:52 AM | Permalink

Comments (11)

That's pretty amazing stuff. I've long suspected that cops troll the streets using FLIR cameras and then find some bogus reason to get a warrant. Good to see them get trapped for once.

Posted by Dave J. | December 10, 2008 4:16 PM

Flir could have been used, but they probably didn't need it.

More likely... The former cop (now reality tv star) anonymously calls a police tip line with the address of the house, and says he has seen the plants. The real cops go by and see foil on the windows. The neighbors are spoken to, and report suspicious activity of folks who are coming and going. A lawful check of the utility bill shows high use because of the grow lights.

This is probably enough to get a look inside if the warrant is reviewed by a generous judge.

As for the cops saying they smelled the marijuana? I doubt it. Sometimes people want desperately for their senses to back up their beliefs. Other times people embellish to make their case stronger, and that is called a lie. So it will likely be the end of a career or two for the cops who authored the warrant.

Good riddance to those who lie on search warrants, because abuse of that power will only lead to greater restrictions on honest police trying to get the job done. I am however suspect of the source here, and I try to remember that most reality TV is staged for an intended outcome.

Posted by Gibby | December 10, 2008 4:56 PM

I'm not sure what you could see on a utility bill when the grow lights had only been in for 24 hours...

Posted by Mike | December 10, 2008 5:17 PM

Meanwhile in New York, officers are indicted for alleged sodomy of a suspect with a baton:

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/officers-surrender-in-assault-case/?scp=1&sq=police%20officer%20sodomy%20baton&st=cse

Posted by Matt Davis | December 10, 2008 6:33 PM

What are you people crazy?

When you need a cop in an emergency, I bet you don't discriminate about who shows up.

For example, if you thought you saw a mentally ill guy urinating in the street, you wouldn't care if the cop that shows up is a "thumper" that parks illegally, uses prohibited tactics to spy on people in their homes, lies on his search warrants, sodomizes "suspects" or what have you.

Freaking cry baby liberals.

Posted by none | December 10, 2008 11:10 PM

There's always a person willing to shine those "Jack-Boots".

Posted by KISS | December 11, 2008 6:54 AM

Actually, I would.

But I'm weird like that, expecting the civil servants whose salaries I help pay to have standards and to follow the law.

Posted by Dave J. | December 11, 2008 9:05 AM

With all due respect, there is a huge difference between parking illegally, and perjuring yourself on a warrant to invade the privacy of a citizen's home, or using excessive force against transients, the majority of whom probably suffer from some addiction or other mental or emotional malady. And it is true the police routinely use electric consumption spikes as reflected in utility records, to target grow operations. But I agree with the comment above, 24hrs of increased electric use hardly sounds like enough time to support probable cause.

Posted by DB | December 11, 2008 10:23 AM

Sarcasm is lost on some people. ;)

Posted by none | December 11, 2008 10:43 AM

Mike; The point is that warrants are not all that difficult to get in the first place. Good cops don't need to lie. That's why any lies in any affidavit are so awful. It only creates case law and requirements that work against the good guys trying hard to do the right thing.

None; Your sarcasm was not lost on all of us. You are exactly right. If one is likely to fudge on the small things, it gets much easier to fudge on the big ticket issues.

Posted by Gibby | December 11, 2008 5:59 PM

none: I guess I missed the tongue in cheek in your post. Jack gets so many rabid righties sometimes it's hard to tell the sarcasm from the hysteria.

Posted by DB | December 12, 2008 11:32 AM

In Vino Veritas

Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
Cameron, Chardonnay
B.R. Cohn, Cabernet, Silver Label 2006
Graffigna, Cabernet 2005
Palo Alto, Reserve Red 2008
Menguante, Garnacha 2008
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Felsina Berardenga, Vin Santo 1997
Anne Amie, Pinot Gris 2009
McKinley Springs, Bombing Ramge Red 2007
Vieux Papes Red
Dionysius Chardonnay 2009
Haden Fig, Pinot Noir 2009
Vega Montan, Mencia 2008
Chateau la Vernede, Coteaux du Languedoc 2007
Mount Defiance, Hellfire (White) 2008
Root: 1, Cabernet 2008
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Pinot Grigio 2009
Columbia Crest, Two Vines, Vineyard 10 White, 2008
Columbia Crest, Two Vines, Vineyard 10 Rose, 2007
Abacela, Grenache Rose 2009
Avia Cabernet 2004
Lemelson Pinot Noir, Thea's Selection 2007
Chateau de la Roulerie, Rose d'Anjou 2009
Casal Garcia, Vinho Verde Rose
La Ferme Julien, Rose 2008
Cana's Feast, Bricco Red, 2006
Hogue, Genesis Merlot, 2008
Owen Roe, Sharecropper's Cabernet, 2008
Kim Crawford, Unoaked Chardonnay 2008
J. Scott, Pinot Noir 2008
Edmunds St. John, White, Heart of Gold 2008
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2006
Stevenot, Cabernet, Sierra Foothills, "Stanford" 2000
Portuga, Vinho Rose 2009
Taylor Fladgate, First Estate Reserve Porto
Franciscan, Cabernet, Napa 2006
Chaparral de Vega Sindoa, Garnacha 2008
Quinta da Aveleda, Vinho Verde 2008
St. Francis, Chardonnay Sonoma 2008
E. Guigal, Cotes du Rhone Blanc, 2007
Edmunds St. John, Bone-Jolly, Gamay Noir 2008
St. Innocent, Pinot Noir 2006
Jigsaw, Pinot Noir 2007
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Merlot, Indian Wells 2007
Charles Shaw, Chardonnay 2008
Edmunds St. John, Bone-Jolly, Gamay Rosé 2009
Cameron, Willamette Valley Chardonnay
Il Valore, Sangiovese, Giovane, Puglia 2008
Duck Pond, Chardonnay, Wahluke Slope 2007
Kim Crawford, Marlborough Pinot Noir 2008
Domaine du Pesquier, Cotes du Rhone 2005
Cantina Zaccagnini, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2006
Domaine Matrot, Chardonnay, Bourgogne 2007
David Hill, Oregon Sparkling Wine, Brut
Chandler Reach, Monte Regalo 2006
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2008
Kirkland, Columbia Valley Merlot 2008
D'Aragon, Old Vine Garnacha 2008
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2005
Pavin & Riley, Merlot 2006
David Hill, Estate Pinot Noir, Barrel Select 2006
Castle Rock, Paso Robles Cabernet 2006
Magnificent, Cabernet, Steak House 2008
Conundrum 2008
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1998
Saint Cosme, Cotes-du-Rhone 2007
La Granja, Tempranillo 360, 2008
Santa Rita, Mendalla Real Cabernet 2006
Columbia Crest, Grand Estates Merlot 2006
Andezon, Cotes-du-Rhone 2007
Collegiata, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo
Troon, Druid's Fluid 2008
La Granja, Tempranillo 2008
Monte Antico, Toscana 2006
Vieux Papes, Blanc de Blancs

The Occasional Book

Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt

Road Work

Miles run year to date: 26
At this date last year: 15
Total run in 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269