I’ve supported reform of Wisconsin’s laws so that chronically ill people can take regulated medical marijuana lawfully. I think reform in Wisconsin is long overdue, and that although reform did not pass in our recent legislative session, it one day will. When that happens, Wisconsin will join many other states that allow medically prescribed marijuana.…
Police
Police
Speed Camera Foe Buys Police Website Address
by JOHN ADAMS •
Lots of people complain about speeding tickets, but I have never heard of anyone doing what Brian McCrary did. McCrary saw that a local police department website’s address wasn’t properly renewed, so he purchased it for himself. He’s now the proud owner of www.bluffcitypd.com. I’m not sure how long he will have the domain, but…
Law, Laws/Regulations, Police
Maryland: Still Wrong on Civil Liberties
by JOHN ADAMS •
I have written about the disregard for civil liberties in Maryland before. See, Something’s Rotten about Policing in the State of Maryland, and Elsewhere. In that earlier post, I wrote about a SWAT raid gone bad — in almost every which way — at the home of the completely law-abiding mayor of Berwyn Heights. Maryland’s…
Police
Update: On Edgerton, Wisconsin’s Police Dog (Goodbye to the Biter)
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a follow up to the story about which I posted yesterday, about a police dog in Edgerton, Wisconsin that bit a police officer and a city worker, but was nevertheless kept in service by Edgerton’s public safety committee. Sensibly, Edgerton’s city council voted unanimously last night to send the dog back to the kennel…
Police
On Edgerton, Wisconsin’s Police Dog
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s an old expression that “every dog gets one free bite.” The expression is sensible — a person may do something wrong, but one should be lenient with a first offense. One could apply the expression to either dogs or people — an initial misdeed offers no prior history or warning for misconduct. I’m sure…
City, Fire Dept, Police
On Whitewater’s Quarterly Police and Fire Commission Meeting
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a quarterly meeting of Whitewater’s Police and Fire Commission scheduled for tonight. The agenda is available online. One sees that on May 5th, this was the distribution of the agenda: May 5, 2010 Emailed/mailed to PFC members Faxed to the Whitewater Register for posting Faxed to the Library for posting Emailed to Channel 13…
Law, Police
DNA to Exonerate the Innocent (and Identify the Guilty)
by JOHN ADAMS •
At the Wisconsin State Journal, there’s a story about the Wisconsin Innocence Project’s work on behalf of an innocent man. Entitled, DNA project finally clears name of wrongly imprisoned man, the story shows the excellent work of Wisconsin’s Innocence Project: The state’s effort to collect thousands of missing DNA profiles has paid off for a…
Law, Police
Live Program on Policing for Profit: The Abuse of Civil Asset Forfeiture, 11 AM Central
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Cato Institute will hold a policy forum today, Wednesday, April 28, 2010 at noon Eastern, 11 a.m. Central on the Abuse of Civil Asset Forfeiture. The program will feature Scott Bullock, Senior Attorney, Institute for Justice; and Marian R. Williams, Department of Government and Justice Studies, Appalachian State University; with comments by Scott Burns,…
Law, Libertarians, Police
Institute for Justice Case on Civil Asset Forfeiture
by JOHN ADAMS •
I posted yesterday on the risk to communities of burdening law enforcement with a profit motive. Here’s an example, from Texas, of how distorted and unfair civil asset forfeiture can become. A news video describes the situation of a client of the Institute for Justice, Zaher El-Ali, whose Chevy Silverado was seized, even though he…
Law, Police
The Institute for Justice on “Policing for Profit.”
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve posted before on the work of the Institute for Justice, and readers can find their website on my blogroll, on the left side of this website. They’re a libertarian public interest law firm, and they sometimes produced videos describing cases and issues in their work. They have two that they’ve recently recorded, and I’ll…
City, Police
Whitewater City Manager on Police Chief on Community Outreach
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a paragraph from the Whitewater city manager’s Weekly Report for March 5, 2010 that reveals all one needs to know about how these two gentlemen view community outreach. Here’s the paragraph: City and UWW Police Departments Hold Community Forum On Tuesday of this week, Officer Saul Valadez and Chief Jim Coan participated in a…
City, Police
Chief Coan Remains
by JOHN ADAMS •
One sees that Whitewater’s police chief, Jim Coan, wasn’t hired for the public safety director’s job in Mankato, Minnesota. Coan faced an uncertain field, and even then, he wasn’t hired. One candidate dropped out, one candidate wasn’t even currently working, and the third rival Coan faced wasn’t even a police officer. Coan sought a position…
City, Police
Mankato Free Press: Miller Chosen as New Public Safety Director
by JOHN ADAMS •
From the Mankato Free Press story: MANKATO — Todd Miller, an experienced police chief who most recently served in Texas, will be Mankato’s next director of public safety…. Miller will be replacing Jerry Huettl, who is retiring after more than 28 years with the city. Mankato City Manager Pat Hentges, who chose the new director,…
City, Police
Whitewater, Wisconsin’s Tiny Chameleon
by JOHN ADAMS •
Whitewater’s police chief, Jim Coan, is a candidate for the director of public safety position in Mankato, Minnesota. I’ve written about his candidacy before, in a post entitled, Whitewater Chief Coan’s Interview with the Mankato Free Press: Dodgy! after reading his answers to questions from the Mankato Free Press. (Readers who’ve emailed remarking that Coan’s…