The Natives are Getting Restless…

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The Newspaper recently published an interesting article indicating at least some communities in Saint Louis County, Missouri are getting fed up with suspicionless police checkpoints designed to raise revenue rather than protect the traveling public.

This is a recurring theme I continue to see while researching roadblocks across the country. Local and State enforcement agencies are using public safety as a pretext for stopping drivers absent reasonable suspicion to fish for revenue generating traffic violations.

If that’s not bad enough, many of these same agencies apply to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for checkpoint funding used to pay for roadblock ops, including overtime pay for participating cops.

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Coerced Blood Draws by Pima County Sheriff Coming Under Fire

phlebotocop_Injury

A story recently published in the Arizona Daily Star caught my attention the other night. Titled, “Blood draws by officers in DUI stops questioned“, the article indicates a recent victim of this barbaric police practice has filed a Notice of Claim with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.

The claim references a persistent blood infection, centered around the needle entry point, that still exists months after being forced to endure a blood draw by a minimally trained sheriff’s deputy during a traffic stop under unsafe and unclean environmental conditions. A Notice of Claim is the first step necessary in order for an individual to file suit against a government official/agency in Arizona.

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Motorcycle Safety Latest Excuse to Violate the 4th

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After following a few links the other night, I came across this biker’s blog linking to a news article published by the North Country Gazette in East Fishkill, New York.

The article highlights a so-called motorcycle safety checkpoint that was conducted along Interstate I-84 on October 7, 2007 by the New York State Police, the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office, the Kent Police Dept., the East Fishkill Police Department and the Dept. of Motor Vehicles Field Investigations Unit.

While the stated purpose of the checkpoint was to increase motorcycle safety, it’s clear from reading the article, the operation was just another suspicionless dragnet fishing expedition designed to specifically target the biking public. It should also be noted the article referenced a seatbelt checkpoint being coordinated with the motorcycle checkpoint at the same time and in the same geographic area.

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