I too was wondering what kind of probable cause they had when reading the article about this in the newspaper when it happened. I would think they would have to have had someone they trust report that he/she was seen in this suspect in the home. If not anyone that had a problem with someone in this family could report them as harboring a criminal.
Too often law enforcment relies on the "blowing smoke" method to deal with those who are unaware of the laws. The intimidation factor is used too often. When the average citizen is confronted with this situation they are not sure what to say/do. If you refuse to allow a search, the first thing for police to think is that you are hiding something. If you do give them consent to search as this family did they still came out on the dirty end of the stick. I am still not sure why the paneling was torn from the wall unless they suspected some type of hidden door or compartment. But that should have been replaced as weil when the search was over. The door being replaced is a given, the carpet should be replaced as well. But I do believe if the paneling was torn off and all this was done with no suspect found they need to take care of damages. And give the home owner a good solid apology. Mistakes will be made in any line of work but admit when a mistake is made and make it good with the citizen. If I remember right this guy was in prison for a violent crime against a person. That is why they more than likely used the flash bangs. But I would have thought that would have done some surveilence first to make sure this report had some validity before doing this search. It would be interesting to know when and where they will find this perp. And someone will find him. They always do.
I know how you feel. I have only been here a short while and have seen that this place is a complete joke as far as law enforcement! Thay can arrest you for a dog bite, parking on the grass, sneezing in your hand, and whatever they feel like. So yes, the can go into a home vandalize it beyond recognition and not ever be responsable for what they did. As far as suing them you can try, but always they will win. no matter what evidence you have they always weasel their way out of their wrong doings.
Hazzard County strikes again. Sounds like the locals didn't do much research or observation of the "house". Mutt #1 says he saw mutt #2 going in a house thats good enough for Hazzard County. You are lucky the Ak City 50 didn't run a tank into your home to get mister violent bad guy. Rest assure the bad guys "rights" will be observed, so one out of two as Roscoe says ain't bad.
First of all, why are these threads ALWAYS so out of order? Makes it a pain in the butt to try to respond to anyone.
Secondly, I didn't write the article to trash the Ark City Police Dept., so let's not get too carried away. I do think it has it's faults, but most of the guys and gals working there have their hearts in the right place when it comes to cleaning up the town, and keeping citizens safe. But, it seems there are always a couple of rotten apples.
Being a Police Officer is a thankless job. People don't want you around, and treat you like crap when you do come around... UNLESS they need you, in which case you weren't there fast enough to suit them. The men and women who put on the uniform deserve respect when they do the job correctly, which most of them around here do. And let's no even talk about the pay, because although ACPD pays better than most departments in the region, the pay is not enough for the work being done. You try wrestling a drunk on the side of the highway in the pouring rain, or working a case in which a child is the victim of abuse, either physically or sexually. It is a very demanding job, and requires people with the skills to handle it.
Now, with all that being said, I HAVE seen ACPD officers stop people for no reason, and charge people with offenses that should not be charged, just so their stats would be better. What I intended with my earlier post was to help people to understand their rights under the law when it comes to search and seizure. I would urge everyone to be aware of their rights, and to speak up when those rights are violated. I surely intend to if it happens to me.
I regard to S23246G's post, I too agree that officers are not always given the thanks they deserve. I too agree that sometimes they are not wanted in a situation they get called too, and sometimes they are ridiculed because they didn't get there sooner. But the fact of the matter is, sometimes they make mistakes too. They are not perfect, although the public believes they should be. And for the most part they should try really hard to walk the straight and narrow. But for those of you who are complaining that stops are made without reason, or tickets are written without need, there is a reason for some of that. As S23246G said in his post, "STATS" are the reason. When a department requires that their officers do "so many" car stops. And "so many" tickets it causes "bad stops" to be made. One department calls them "expectations". One calls them "percentages". Regardless, when an officer has these expectations on him/her. There is undoubtedly going to be bad stops made. Hence, some of the public is going to feel ridiculed, as I am seeing on some of these posts. If you are truly unhappy about some of the contact you have with these officers, you have the right to complain to their superiors. Whether it be ACPD, CLSO, or WPD. All of these departments have superior officers. I mean Chiefs, Sheriff,Undersheriff. And after you do, and you think you have gotten nowhere, you can go to the state level if you feel you have been harassed. On traffic tickets, if you think you were stopped without reason, fight it in court. I have seen many of these overturned in court. An officer is no better than his name. If he gets known for making bad stops, the courts will know who he is. Some people just pay the fine and complain about mistreatment. If you fight it, you will be heard in court. It may not be enough to get out of the ticket but at least you made the officer go to court and explain himself/herself to the judge. They often have to do this on their days off. Make him work for this ticket. But make sure you do your homework as well, photos, documentation, witnesses, all that apply. One thing to do is try to stay within the limits of the law and give them nothing to stop you for. There are many things a citizen can do when they feel like they have been wronged. It will take some work, but at least you will let yourself be heard.
The ACPD needs nobody to make excuses for them, they do well enough on their own. They are accountable for their actions at a direct result to the citizen and tax payers. Do they make mistakes? A few. My pinion...we needto outsource the job of chief to either an elected position or change the profile of what we expect as leaders in that department.
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"I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals." == Winston Churchill
Having an elected leader of any Law Enforcement Department is a BAD idea. I have seen Sheriffs let drunk drivers go home, or NOT arrest someone when they should have been arrested, simply because that person was a campaign supporter (ie: Gave them money), or they were a voice in the community. Any time a person needs to be elected, it leaves the door open for corruption. Now, I'm not saying that ALL Sheriffs are so easily tempted, but I have seen those who are, and the tempation is always present when you have to rely on the public as to whether or not you will have a job or not. Politics and Law Enforcement have NO BUSINESS together. Just my informed opinion.
Citizen unhappy with treatment by police I have a story that made the news and was no more than a "hearsay" story from an unknown source about a fugitive fleeing from the law.
I was on my way to take my daughter to the middle school when we noticed a white car was following us. After I dropped her off at school, I was then pulled over by the white car, and then my car and I were searched on a "hear-say" story of drug suspicion. I followed all of the officers' procedures and was then taken on to the police department to be questioned about a fugitive that I have never seen before in my life. Later on, my husband and four year-old daughter were brought down to the station and questioned about this fugitive's where-abouts, and my husband has never seen this person either, but he was supposedly seen going in and out of our house and nobody knows by whom. Because none of my neighbors have seen him either and they told the officers this as they destroyed my home.
"Suspicion" of wrongdoing is NOT enough for Police to stop and detain a person or vehicle. A Police Officer MUST have PROBABLE CAUSE. I have seen many many people in this town stopped by police without probable cause to do so, so I'm not saying it didn't happen in this case, but it could be that police had more than just "suspicion".
My husband and I gave police permission to go in and search and we said that our house and garage were unlocked, and police still knocked my doors off and totally ramshackled my home and garage.
Once you give police a broad consent to search a home or vehicle, then they can do whatever it takes to search anywhere in that area. What most citizens don't know, is that you don't have to give consent; and without it, police must apply for a search warrant. In that warrant application, they must spell out for a judge why they believe that they will find what they are looking for in that place, and they must give probable cause for why they think that, not just suspicion. Something else that a lot of people don't realize, is that you can limit the area that you consent to have searched. For example, if the police stop you (hopefully for a good reason, and not just because you look suspicious, or because they are bored) and ask if they can search your vehicle, you can tell them yes... BUT, only the part you want them to search. That's right. If you decide that you don't want them to look in the trunk, or the glove box, etc. All you have to do is say so, and they cannot search in it. Also, you have the right to stop the search at any time, and they must immediately stop searching. Or, you can just tell them no in the first place. And if they threaten you with any repercussions if you don't let them search, then that is a clear violation of the law. Isn't the Constitution a wonderful thing?!
The FOURTH AMENDMENT to the CONSTITUTION of the UNTITED STATES prohibits "Unreasonable Search and Seizure". And what a lot of people don't realize (including many of the officers, it would seem) is that every time you are stopped by Police, you and your vehicle are being SEIZED. There are strict laws in place that govern police from being able to pull people over for no reason.Police must haveProbable Cause to believe that a crime has been, or is being committed. Now, this could range anywhere from a broken taillight, to not using a turn signal to change lanes, or to a bloody arm hanging out of your trunk, BUT, just driving around in the middle of the night, or in an upscale neighborhood (in Ark City?) does NOT qualify as Probable Cause. I heard of an incident during deer season where a man was driving through town with a deer in the back of the truck, and was stopped and questioned about it for nearly TWO HOURS! This is an obvious abuse of power. Once people begin to realize what their rights are, and maybe even bring a lawsuit or two when their rights are violated, maybe these violations will end. That is my goal in writing this. The Police should be able to enforce the law, and keep it's citizens safe, without violating our civil rights in the meantime. If they can't, then they need to rethink their strategies, or find another line of work. I would suggest that all of you who read this learn about your civil rights, and if they are ever violated, you should sue the pants off of whatever department or agency violates them. Then maybe that agency will quit doing business in that manner.
When I asked the officer where he had gotten his original information, he said he couldn't say. When I was allowed to return home four hours later, I walked into a real nightmare.
My front door was no longer on the hinges; paneling was removed from my kid's bedroom wall; clothes were thrown everywhere;
all of my pictures had been rummaged through; and there were numerous burns on my floor from the KBI's flash-grenades.
My five children are afraid now to even stay at their home because of fear the police might come back and make the same mistake again! I feel like this is a form of harassment and police negligence. I was very offended by one of the head officers when I called to ask about all of the damages to my home.
All he could do was reply that he, "couldn't discuss this case," very rudely.
I feel like, as a citizen of this town, I should have the legal right to know from whom and from where the police received these false statements about a fugitive being in my home and around my family.
My family and I didn't deserve the embarrassment this has caused us. I hope from now on, these law
enforcement agencies and the KBI will do a better job so that this doesn't happen to anybody else or so that no one else's children have to fear what my mine do now!
Katy Dorman Arkansas City Editor's note: Arkansas City Police Chief Sean Wallace was provided an opportunity to respond to the above letter and elected not to.
If you feel like your rights have been violated, then by all means, bring a suit against the department. The court system is not just in place to put people in jail for doing wrong (although I wish it would once in awhile), but it is also there to protect the citizens who have been wronged, whether it's by the police or other citizens. I would think in this case you could recover the cost to have the carpet replaced at least (since Wallace already said they would pay for the door). And who knows, it may even come out how they got your name in the first place, and if the information they had did not add up to probable cause, then the original traffic stop was a violation of your rights.
An afterthought. This little scumbag that's absconded from prison (and running lose in our city) must be a real bad dude, since they went in with flashbangs in the first place. Flashbangs are usually reserved for the baddest of the bad. They must have expected the worst.
You don't think that a person hired by city fathers doesn't follow the lead of those who hired them.Whatever silly hidden agenda those clowns have is followed so politics always plays a part. So elect carefully the leaders you put in power positions.
