More police misconduct?? Officers caught on camera fabricating police report

In the aftermath of the Henry Louis Gates incident, not only has dialogue opened up nationwide regarding race relations, but police conduct has also been thrown into the spotlight.

A few days ago, another situation involving "questionable" police behavior was uncovered. Back in February, police officers in Hollywood, Florida charged 23 year-old Alexandra Torrensvillas with DUI and a traffic violation following a fender-bender where the officers ran into the back of her car.

Upon questioning Torrensvillas admitted that she had been drinking. The officers were caught on the dashboard camera devising a plot to spin the story to make it appear as if the accident was a result of Torrensvillas driving under the influence and not the fault of the officers who were following too closely.

Check out the news story:

Now in the Gates situation, there is some fuzziness surrounding the details and who is most at fault, but here the facts are clear cut and officers are clearly in the wrong.

Sgt. Dewey Pressley, a 21-year veteran on the force is can be heard on the tape saying "well, I don't lie and makes things up ever because it's wrong, but if I need to bend it a little to protect a cop, I'm gonna."

To make matters worse, Pressley then goes on to direct another officer on how to write the report.

"I will write the narrative out for you. I will tell you exactly how to word it so it can get him off the hook. You see the angle of her car? You see the way it's like this? As far as I'm concerned, I am going to word it she is in the left hand lane. We will do a little Walt Disney to protect the cop, because it wouldn't matter because she was drunk anyway.."

Wow..Talk about abusing the law. The officers have since been placed on desk duty and the charges against Torrensvillas have been dropped.

Now I know the Gates incident and this have little in common other than the fact that police behavior in both situations have come under scrutiny. If anything, police behavior and the officers' commitment to enforcing not abusing the law should be the common thread these incidents share. Unfortunately that's not the case.

In another incident, an openly gay attonery from D.C. was arrested and ticketed after police officers overheard him telling his friends that he hates the police. Apparently, officers handcuffed him without giving their reason and then told him to "just shut up fa**@!"

Henry Gates is a prominent scholar, and because of that he was able to draw attention to his plight, even gaining sympathy/support from the President of the United States. Alexandra Torrensvillas had the good fortune of a dashboard camera to capture her arresting officers transgressions. The prominent lawyer in D.C. has his reputation and legal knowledge to aid him in his battle. Not everyone is that lucky, and the fact that these incidents happened in different parts of the country under different circumstances tells me that this is not a racial/class struggle between police and civilians, but rather a culture of superiority over the law within police departments nationwide. These cops are setting a dangerous precedent, and the issue needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.

In the mean time, I'll just make sure to be on my P's & Q's when I see Johnny Law approaching and let N.W.A comment on my feelings about coppers...

"May God spare you no mercy": Bernie Madoff sentenced to 150 yrs in prison

The Bernie Madoff saga has come to an end as judge Denny Chin has sentenced Madoff to the maximum 150 years in prison for spearheading a Ponzi scheme that swindled $65 billion from investors. Madoff's lawyer asked for leniency and a 12 year sentence but was denied.

The sentencing is mostly symbolic as federal court rules require 80% of a sentence to be served before being eligible for parole. At 71, Madoff would be 191 before he would be eligible..

Madoff's sentencing brings closure to the debacle that has ruined to financial lives of over 1,000 people. Two investors have committed suicide after losing millions with Madoff. Countless others are still reeling after the nest eggs they thought were being protected by Madoff were only figments of their imagination. 

CNN has a nice timeline of events surrounding the case.

To date, Madoff has returned $1.2 billion and says he can recover up to $13.2 billion for investors. That still leaves almost $50 billion that cannot be recovered or accounted for. 

My heart goes out to the retirees and families who thought their money was safe in Bernie Madoff's hands. In the courtroom today, victims of Madoff's scheme spoke about crushed dreams and the devastation that has ensued in the aftermath of Madoff's scheme being exposed.

Madoff told the judge "I thought I could get out of it. The harder I tried to get out of it, the deeper the hole. I could not accept for once in my life I had failed. I was responsible for a great deal of suffering and pain. I am in torment....This is a horrible guilt to live with."

A horrible guilt to live with indeed. A guilt that he will now have to deal with as he spends the rest of his days on earth in federal prison.

808's & Camera Breaks: Kanye West charged with 3 misdemeanors

The Los Angeles City Attorney has charged Kanye West and his manager, Don Crowley with 3 criminal misdemeanors; battery, vandalism, & grand theft. 

The charges stem from an altercation West and his manager had with a paparazzi member on September 11, 2008 in the Los Angeles airport. As West and Crowley walked through the terminal, like most celebs, they were greeted by the paparazzi.

West & Crowley smashed a few cameras and lights, and the ordeal was caught on camera.

If convicted, Kanye could face up to 2 1/2 years and Crowley could get 5 if convicted on all counts.

See the attack for yourself:

 

Charles Barkley..NBA star, celebrated analyst, INMATE

Charles Barkley has been in the slammer all weekend. An Arizona judge sentenced Sir Charles to a 36 hour sentence for a drunken driving violation that occurred New Years Eve.

Barkley also took a leave of absence from his analyst job at TNT following the arrest. 

A few interesting things about this situation:

- inmates at the jail where Barkley is serving his sentence are housed in tents, not traditional cells. 

- Barkley's sentence breaks down like this: 24 hours on Saturday, work release from 8a-8p on Sunday, and then back in the slammer from 8p-8a Sunday Night. Work release at 8a Monday, and then he's done.

Now, I don't know much about the penal code and I do my best to avoid Johnny Law, but sleeping in outdoor tents, not jail cells, and getting released for 12 hours for "work release" sounds like a sweet deal to me. I wonder, is this the situation for everyone who gets a DUI in that county or is Chuck Barkley receiving a little preferential treatment?