Animals

Police Misconduct

James Kilpatrick ask

Two petitions are now pending in the Supreme Court that once again raise the issue of misconduct by police. Would you vote to hear the cases?

I certainly would.

Case 1

Led by veteran Dennis Watters, seven officers made their raid a little after 7 o'clock on the morning of Dec. 19. Unknown to the detectives, several months earlier Max Rettele, Judy Sadler and her teenaged son had moved into the Loneoak property. Police knocked. The boy came outside. At gunpoint, "He was then assisted to the ground."

I would be outraged if someone held a gun on one of my children. And remember these people are innocent of any wrong doing, they just had the misfortune to move into the wrong home.

Four detectives rushed in. From the record: "His gun drawn, Detective Campbell opened a door to a bedroom. Rettele and Sadler were in bed under the covers. They were told to get out of bed and show their hands. Sadler stood up... Rettele went to another bedroom, naked, to get Sadler a robe. When he came back, he put on his sweat pants and Sadler put on the robe. Sadler was naked in front of Campbell for about one minute."Detectives soon concluded that a mistake had been made. "Because all three residents were Caucasian and Watters was looking for African-American suspects, Watters decided to call off the search. He then explained why the deputies were there, apologized, thanked them for not getting upset, and swiftly left."

Jeez, it should have been apparent when the white teenager opened the door that he wasn't one of the suspect, but they still drew a gun on him and "assisted" him to the ground. Then they go barge in on his sleeping parents and force them to parade around naked. Exactly how long did it take for them to realize they were white? People should be able to sleep in their homes without fear of the police barging in.

Case 2

Sgt. Richard Dopke observed a man riding a mini-moped without lights and without a helmet. He turned on his siren and gave chase, but the suspect slipped into a garage. Two women told the officer he had run out the back door. Backup officers arrived, among them a K-9 team in charge of "Deke," a German shepherd trained to track suspects and then to bite and hold. From the petition:"During the track, Deke became free of his lead and after jumping through a hole in a fence made contact with Mr. Ken Rogers, who had been sleeping in the back yard of a neighboring residence. He was visiting his daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren. Officers Kohn and Bonnalie and Deputy Quackenbush struck Mr. Rogers with fists, knees and a flashlight, while Deke continued to bite and hold Mr. Rogers until Mr. Rogers was subdued and handcuffed. Mr. Rogers was released after it was determined that he was not the driver of the moped."In their petition to the Supreme Court, counsel for the officers argue that Deke "unexpectedly" jumped the fence. Contact with Rogers was "inadvertent"; his subsequent seizure was not an "intentional" seizure under the Fourth Amendment. Moreover, the 9th Circuit's ruling, if left in place, "will effectively result in holding every police dog handler constitutionally liable for any actions of a police dog while off leash."

This should be a no brainer. Of course the dog handler should be liable for any actions of the dog when he is "off" the leash. What if there had been a child sleeping in the back yard? People should be able to enjoy their backyards without fear that a police dog and his handlers (remember the police officers also stuck Mr. Rogers) will attack them.

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