A disturbing pattern has emerged, and various legal and law enforcement experts agree with this conclusion:The vast majority of people are mystified by the basic rules of search and seizure and due process of law. Consequentially, they're likely to be tricked or intimidated by police into waiving their constitutional rights, resulting in a greater likelihood of regrettable outcomes.
Take, for example, a recent encounter that one of my associates and a fellow contributor here from time to time, had with a female officer employed by the Bloomington Police Department here in B-town (Bloomington, IN) wherein upon knocking on the door without a warrant of any kind whatsoever or a criminal complaint concerning the occupant of the residence, the officer then proceeded to unlawfully and without just cause place her foot inside the door of the residence in an attempt to make unlawful entry into the residence and thus depriving the legal occupant and all parties present of their constitutional rights. Specifically their rights concerning protection against "unreasonable searches and seizures" as provided under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Last I checked, Bloomington, IN is still within the U.S. boarders. Isn't it folks? After dodging the officer's attempt at a B & E, my associate maneuvered the female officer and her back-up (a tall, dark and presumably menacing individual) outside to the sidewalk where there was some unwarranted questioning about a civil copyright dispute that my associate had been having with a former client. The only reason ever given for why the police were even involved to begin with was a response in the form of a question from the female officer about an e-mail that contained a notice of copyright infringement that was sent on behalf of my associate to not only his former client but to the US office of copyrights and to the Google offices as well, as it is standard operating procedure in such cases. The Bloomington Police Department has no jurisdiction in a copyright dispute case. There was no offer given by either officer present of any other reason whatsoever for their presence. The female officer then proceeded threaten to contact Housing Officials false accusations concerning the occupant of the residence.
"It took me a minute to regain my composer after being confronted with such strong-arm tactics, but once I did I dismissed the officers by stating that I was within my legal rights and that I had not broken any civil or criminal laws, and asked them if there was anything else that I could do for them." said my associate, who wishes to remain anonymous in order to avoid any further scrutiny or intimidation tactics from the B.P.D. towards his friends and loved ones. "Of course there wasn't anything else. I was shaking with adrenaline and outrage by the time that they hesitantly drove off. I felt angry that a [bitter] individual with a badge and a bad day could have the audacity to think that she had some kind of authority that gives her the right to use terrorists acts of fear and intimidation on a legal US citizen and thus depriving that citizen of his or her constitutional rights and the protection provide under the Fourth Amendment from such unlawful abuses of authority!" he went on to say, "I mean, I have traveled this great country a lot and been in some places were the police force has a scary reputation, like New Orleans and L.A. where police brutality and abuses of power are a common occurance. It was this and other factors that attracted me back to Bloomington were I thought one could escape such big city injustices."
After hearing my friends story, and numerous other stories like it, concerning a number individual officers as well as the "accepted behavior" policy of the B.P.D. I was disturbed by what these stories were saying, not only about our citizens lack of knowledge of their constitutional rights when dealing with the police but at the outright misuse and abuse of power being exibited by these officers and, at least, tolerated by the B.P.D. All of this brought to mind an awesome organization called "Flex Your Rights!".
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Flex Your Rights (Flex), a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit, was launched in 2002. Their mission is to educate the public about how basic Bill of Rights protections apply during encounters with law enforcement. To accomplish this, they create and distribute the most compelling, comprehensive and trustworthy know-your-rights media available.
The founder, Steven Silverman, was previously a campus organizer for the campaign to repeal the Higher Education Act’s aid-elimination penalty. The law blocks financial aid access to students reporting drug convictions. As part of his work, Silverman prompted students to describe the details of the police stops and searches leading to their minor drug arrests.
A disturbing pattern emerged, and various legal and law enforcement experts confirmed his conclusion: The vast majority of people are mystified by the basic rules of search and seizure and due process of law. Consequentially, they're likely to be tricked or intimidated by police into waiving their constitutional rights, resulting in a greater likelihood of regrettable outcomes.
The sum of these outcomes flow into all major criminal justice problems -- including racial and class disparities in search, arrest, sentencing and incarceration rates. All areas in which B-town is currently experiencing problems in!
"In order to ensure that constitutional rights and equal justice are upheld by law enforcement, we must build a constitutionally literate citizenry. For example, a citizen who properly "flexes" her rights in the face of police misconduct will be poised to counter with a convincing police complaint or civil action.
"Frustrated by the lack of innovative and accessible know-your-rights information, Silverman developed the "Flex Your Rights!" website and lectured at conferences and universities. Playing the role of “Officer Friendly”, he donned a cop uniform and engaged volunteers in typical police situations. These role-playing lectures greatly enhanced the know-your-rights educational experience, but a more versatile and cost-effective approach was needed.
"In 2003, Flex secured funding from the Marijuana Policy Project grants program to create its first docudrama, BUSTED: The Citizen’s Guide to Surviving Police Encounters. Flex has overseen independent distribution of more than 20,000 DVD copies, and it's one of the Internet’s most popular advocacy videos, reaching more than 2.5 million viewers. It's also regularly screened in hundreds of college and high school classrooms and embraced by an array of professional and civic groups -- including police instructors, student and community activists, lawyers and concerned parents. Most importantly, Flex materials positively impact people who use our advice.
"Flex has recently completed production for 10 Rules for Dealing with Police, a new docudrama focused on the concerns of communities of color. The DVD is now available."
Based in Washington, DC, Flex collaborates with community activists to fight new policing schemes that violate citizens' Bill of Rights protections. Successes include decisive victories against Mayor Fenty's so-called Safe Homes Initiative and an attempt by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to implement random searches of Metro passengers.
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The Anti-Society staff highly suggest that each and every one of you visit and bookmark their website. There is a huge resource of informative, educational and USEFUL information available there.
Fear not fair readers and good citizens, for you can be assured that as long as THEY are watching US, WE WILL BE WATCHING THEM!
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