I am surprised the NBPD didn't use this as an excuse to bulldoze the empty house (Waco style) with their BearCat Armored Tactical Assault Vehicle. Still no word yet on who won this battle, the house or the SWAT team. New Braunfels man jailed after standoff By Dalondo Moultrie - New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung New Braunfels Police Department SWAT team members placed tear gas in a home Thursday in their attempt to get a man out of the home they believed he had holed up in after allegedly assaulting his wife, a department spokesman said. Believing the man was heavily armed inside the home, officers evacuated neighbors before entering the home in the 200 block of Skyview and finding it empty, Capt. John McDonald said. He said police soon caught up to and arrested Christopher Arthur Kurtz, 63, just after midnight Friday. The Rest of the Story:
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The following are the actual words written by a Comal County Deputy Sheriff to justify the detention, search, and arrest of a young lady bothering no one:
"When I made contact with [the young lady], I observed that she had several small brown spots or scabs covering her face. Due to my training and experience, I know that individuals that use meth develop these types of blemishes on their face. I then developed reasonable suspicion that [the young lady] may have been in possession of a controlled substance of some kind." Does the Sheriff intend to handcuff and search every teenager in Comal County? This week I was fortunate enough to convince the District Attorney to dismiss charges on four young clients of mine.
A.D., 17 years old, was minding his own business after he got out of school when he was illegally detained by the campus cops. The campus cops handcuffed the poor guy (for "officer safety" of course) and then proceeded to violate his natural and Constitutional rights by interrogating him and rummaging through his possessions. The campus cops then arrested him when they found a baggie with traces of marihuana in it. The baggie was 50 feet away from my client. The District Attorney wanted my client to plead guilty and receive deferred adjudication probation. It would have been a tragedy had this young man pled guilty to this drug charge. Even a deferred adjudication could have prevented him from being able to go to college or join the military after he graduates from high school. Fortunately, I was able to convince the Assistant District Attorney that the campus cops had trampled all over the Constitution and my client's rights. In the end, she did the right thing and dismissed the frivolous charge against my client. M.A. got into a old-fashioned scuffle with his brother. As brothers often do, they exchanged a few blows, settled their differences, and then were cool with each other. Unfortunately for them, a passerby called the cops. Once the cops showed up these "peace officers" breached the peace by arresting my client, against the wishes of the "victim." The "victim" told the cops he did not want to press charges, in fact he wanted the cops to leave them both alone. Apparently, these cops needed to meet their arrest quota for the day and arrested my client for assault and then enhanced the charge to family violence assault. I took the case and immediately demanded a trial by jury. On the eve of trial, the prosecutor saw the futility in trying to convince a jury to convict my client and dismissed the case. P.F. was in his car in his own driveway waiting for his girlfriend when one of San Antonio's finest "pulled my client over" for having an expired inspection sticker. When my client couldn't find his permission slip (driver's license) the cop arrested him. In court, we were able to show the District Attorney that P.F. did in fact have a valid driver's license, and she dismissed the case. Unfortunately, it cost my client a night in jail and a lot of time and anxiety before this ridiculous charge was dismissed. When did "To Protect and Serve" become "To Harass and Annoy"? C.G. was arrested and charged with Criminal Mischief for punching a hole in his own wall (of his own house). These cops must have never learned that a man has a right to do whatever they want with their own property so long as they don't cause harm to anyone else, which C.G. did not. All four of these young clients had clean criminal records and had never been arrested before. A conviction could have destroyed their futures. I am grateful I was able to obtain vindication for each of them. |
AuthorDefending your rights, fighting injustice, and my views on crime and politics. Archives
January 2015
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