The following is a retell of events that probably makes no sense. July 2023, I’d been living on my own for a while for the first time in my life. At 28 years old I had been in a 6 year relationship and had moved out of my mom’s apartment townhome and it was my first time actually living alone. I didn’t mind it, I love being alone and having my own freedom. I had met a guy and I would go over to his place and spend some nights, if he replied. Sometimes I’d just show up even if he didn’t say it was okay. It was a “situationship”. I was on a daily usage of crystal meth. Tina as the gays would call it. Since December 2022 I had made it my daily routine to smoke meth and go on with my days. I had done other drugs before, but mostly on a weekend when I would go out drinking to the bars, but never on a daily basis. I was doing fine, I was going to work. I would get some sleep, I ate very few amounts of food; sometimes I would forego eating all together, mostly because I loved the way I was starting to look. For the first time In my life I was thin enough, I thought I looked good. I was happy, I had someone to cuddle and kiss sometimes I had a job, a place to stay a car and didn’t really want for anything. One day everything changed. I was on one of those zoom jerk off meets and I become convinced somehow I had been hacked. My phone goes in the fritz and I am so high on meth I start panicking. The days go by and im convinced my Macbook has been hacked as well. I spend the next few weeks trying to figure out what has been happening to my technology. I change my passwords so many times to the point that to this day march 22, 2024 I am locked out of most of my old accounts. I become obsessed with this so said hack, I go and buy a different computer hook up my phone to it to find out that there’s some kind of Mobile device management installed on my phone, I know very little about hacks and stuff and I use the new bought computer to try to find out more. Eventually I find something that says developer protection program installed on this new computer. It brings up many questions that I have, I start obsessing over this thinking ive been hacked but never thinking I should lay off the pipe. It reaches a point where I start hearing voices In the music im listening to in my car and everywhere else. I start thinking im being followed and if not followed I start thinking im looking for the guy I was seeing but never actually going to his house just driving around in my car. Then something happened. Im listening to music and suddenly I get the feeling that I want to go look for said guy, I don’t text him, I don’t drive to his house or anything that has to actually do with him. Instead I let myself be carried away by the lyrics of the music. I end up driving to the aquarium parking lot. Things get intense in my head and I keep listening to the music and it ends up making me feel like this guy is in phoenix, I start driving. Somehow I decide im going to drive to phoenix Maryland. I have my bong in hand, and I keep driving. Between the music and the voices in my head, I start to think the guy I’m seeing is some kind of secret cop and he needs my help. I get to Maryland and I find myself at some retirement home that I end up thinking is some kind of drug operation, and im some kind of secret asset. I end up getting arrested for multiple reasons. And I keep thinking im doing something right. I think everything is so real. I’m in my jail cell and I hear this voice telling me to cover my face, thinking the door to my jail cell was going to open I stand in front of it. It doesn’t open. Looking back at it it reminds me of the Bible verse where Peter was in jail and the angel comes to him to free him. “Get dressed and put on your sandals,” said the angel. Peter did so, and the angel told him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.”… This was the first encounter I had that took me back to the path of the Bible. 7 hours later im released from my jail cell, just to have another episode of paranoia where I think im some kind of secret agent. I’m found by the police climbing the scaffolding of a courthouse thinking there were snipers across the courthouse. It felt so real. Im taken in to the hospital where I think a nurse is trying to poison me. I’m admitted to the mental part of the hospital. A day goes by and I keep having delusions and hearing things. There’s a tv in the room and I think the tv has secret code for me. They schedule a transfer to another hospital, and they place me on the gurney to be transported by the ambulance. I use this opportunity to slip out of the gurney holdings, and I start running. It’s raining and the only protection I have for my feet are the socks that were given to me. I start thinking I need to escape. So I do. I keep running and walking I keep thinking the secret agency I work for is somehow going to find me and everything will be okay. I try to stay off the roads so I walk through trees, I walk through a river. Suddenly I start hearing helicopters, and I know they’re looking for me. I end up at a university campus and manage to convince someone to lend me their phone. I don’t even know who to call. Minutes later I see multiple police vehicles outside of the campus. I try to hide, my feet are tired, I’m wet and cold. I decide to walk towards one of the police cars. They take me back to the hospital where I spend a week. My brother comes and picks me up from Maryland and has picked up my car that had been impounded. He drives me and my car back to New York. I keep thinking about the strange week I had and the incidents that happened. The things that I did and how I ended up in jail. Nothing makes sense. I get back to my normal daily life of work, and the pipe. Weeks later I’m driving and I almost steal a car, I end up breaking in to someone’s house through an open window. Convinced I was there to save someone’s life. I’m being held at shotgun point. The labrador is barking at the man holding the shotgun. I think my name is Lola, and im looking for Daniel. My car had slid down some sand and hit a rock outside of these people’s home. I have military vocabulary in my head, and some names that just came to me. So I start yelling out for Grace, I yell bolo, Mike and Daniel. For some reason this man doesn’t shoot me. John’s his name I think. This night is so foggy for me. The cops show up. I think I overhear the man say his son’s name is Mike and he lives in the house next door. I’m high on meth. I’m in the back of a police car. They’re asking me questions except they never ask me what I was doing in that house and to this day I have no idea what I was doing in that house. I was following the voices in my head. Hours later they’re taking my statement and I start thinking I can communicate with the cop telepathically. This goes on for what feels for hours and I start thinking a myriad of weird stuff is going on at this police station. They try to take my fingerprints multiple times, and the machine just keeps beeping red. This happened the first time I was arrested in Maryland as well. They eventually manage to successfully take my fingerprints, after multiple tries and throw me in a jail cell. I start hearing music coming from underneath the floor. I start singing. A cop comes to my jail cell twice and makes me sign some paper twice, I don’t know what I sign. I think I hear him say “its not him.” Morning comes, and im taken to the courthouse where im to await my hearing. I start feeling things cross my body, like needles. Most likely the after effect of doing meth and not sleeping. I keep hearing voices in my head, people I know, but if I tried to mimic their voices in my head I couldn’t do it even if I tried. There’s a man sitting in front of me at the holding of the courthouse. He’s making some weird signs with his hands. I keep feeling like needles are going through me. So I start making these signs myself. I pray to the lord of the bees to sting this man because I think he’s harming me somehow. I complain I haven’t been fed and I feel weak. I’m taken to a room to talk to a counselor, and there’s a translator there for me. I say I don’t need one, she tells me they told her I may need one. She asks me where I live, and for some reason I lie and tell her I live in Georgia, and don’t have a job in NY. She asks me where im staying, and I tell her I dont know. She informs me the man I was staying with doesn’t want me to stay there anymore. I’m confused, as I was renting a room from an elderly couple and the name she gave me doesn’t match their names. My court hearing time comes. I have no idea what happens at this hearing I don’t remember. I fall down from my chair in front of the judge and I faint. Im taken back to the holding room. The other man is no longer there. A few minutes pass and im given two evidence bags. One of them holding my bong that was in my car. I’m escorted out, i’m disoriented. I begin to walk, I find myself at a dead end carrying my two evidence bags. I pull out my phone and a tablet I was carrying, and dispose of the bag with the bong. I keep walking. I walk for hours. I end up at a hotel and ask the front desk lady for a charger to charge my phone. I start hearing voices and end up throwing my tablet at a room window. The hotel employee calls the cops. The cops come and ask me where I came from and I tell them I had come from the courthouse holding. They wonder why they hadn’t seen me walking. They call my sister and my brother, im panicked. I keep thinking there’s snipers after me. I don’t get arrested again instead im taken to a parking lot to be picked up by my brother. The cop asks me what kind of drugs I take. I tell him. I ask for Starbucks, he tells me to ask my brother. I dont get Starbucks. in the car with my brother I feel as if there’s someone else in the car with us, but my brother assures me there’s no one else. I begin to think once again about the things that happened to me and the things that i’ve done. I’m convinced someone is after me. My brother is worried for me and gets in contact with my mom who eventually comes to get me from new york, to bring me to Texas. Everyone says I need help. I don’t lay off the pipe. A few days later I take my car out of the impound, the impound lady tells me I have a nice car and I should take care of it. I drive off with my car and I drive straight home. My mother comes around, and I convince her to let me drive my car to Texas, so she rides with me. 36 hours later and im at my mom’s in Houston. Depressed because the guy I was talking to hadn’t said goodbye to me. He never answered after I left new york. It’s October, and I try to hang out with old friends and return to a normal life without voices. I fall back into meth. The voices dont stop. I start thinking Ive been hexed. I start reading the Bible.

I'm on my way to San Antonio for my son's graduation, I'm coming from California (currently in Phoenix) and I'm going to have to take the I-10 due to the supposed coming storm and my car Registration is expired. Does anyone know about the check points along that route? Will they penalize me or impound my car? I also have a temporary driver's license and passport, so I'm wondering if they'll accept that if they require an ID. Any help/tips are appreciated Edit: In order to register the car in California (where I'm from) my car has to pass a smog test. Unfortunately, the parts I was waiting for didn't come in time, and I have had to make do with what I have.

Daughter rec’d a criminal ticket in an unposted zone this morning in Phoenix. She didn’t realize speed limit changed, but takes responsibility.
The ticket only shows a court date. Does she have any options such as taking class or paying fine? What else can you advise? Does she need lawyer?
The officer apparently told her she could lose her license, have her car impounded, etc.
Thoughts?

Cover Image
This is a list of pit bull attacks and fatalities documented by the media and social media for the month of August 2023. This list will be edited throughout the month and after as new incidents are reported. The totals are combined with August Social Media Attacks and Fatalities.
CHILD FATALITIES: 3
ADULT FATALITIES: 2
ANIMAL FATALITIES: 67
TOTAL FATALITIES: 72
TOTAL ATTACKS LOGGED: 222
August 01

• ADULT FATALITY - Big Island, HI: 71 y/o man killed by 4 loose pit bulls.
• ANIMAL FATALITY - Bellevue, KY: Small dog killed by neighbor's pit bull.
• ANIMAL FATALITY - Varginha, Brazil: Puppy killed.
• ANIMAL FATALITY - Aurora, CO: 11 month old Shih Tzu/Chihuahua mix killed by neighbor's pit bull.
• Petaluma, CA: Loose pit bull bit a person - Article Link
• Bolzano, Italy: 3 y/o boy attacked - Article Link
• Carrara, Italy: Cat attacked, dog's owner fled the scene - Article Link

August 02

• Saint Ives, England: Woman attacked - Article Link
• Moca, Dominican Republic: 9 y/o boy attacked - Article Link
• Oceanside, CA: Elderly woman attacked - Link
• Orangeburg, SC: 19 y/o pregnant woman attacked by neighbor’s pit bull - Article Link
• Liberty, MO: 3 y/o girl and mom attacked - Link
• Virginia, USA: Dog walker attacked - Link

August 03

• ANIMAL FATALITY - Chimbote, Peru: Dog killed and owner attacked.
• Ogden, UT: Corgi attacked by neighbor’s dog - Post Link
• Brooklyn, NY: Woman attacked - Link
• Saltillo, Mexico: 5 y/o girl attacked by family dog - Article Link

August 04

• ANIMAL FATALITY - Samambaia, Brazil: Cat attacked by pit bull, confirmed fatal on another news source.
• West Midlands, England: 76 y/o woman and dog attacked - Article Link
• South Shields, England: Cavapoo attacked by 2 pit bulls - Article Link
• Peyton, CO: Woman and her Yorkie attacked - Article Link
• Oceanside, CA: 7 y/o girl attacked - Article Link
• Brooklyn, NY: Small dog attacked - Link
• Louisiana, USA: Woman attacked by boyfriend's pit bull - Link
• Pennsylvania, USA: Vet attacked by pit bull - Link

August 05

• ANIMAL FATALITY - Picassent, Spain: Dog killed by a pack of pit bulls, also attacked another pet on 7/21/23.
• Monza, Italy: 69 y/o woman and her son attacked by her pit bull - Article Link
• Trieste, Italy: Woman bit by her pit bull for the fourth time - Article Link
• Toledo, OH: 8 y/o girl attacked - Article Link
• Phoenix, AR: Police officers attacked - Article Link

August 06

• ANIMAL FATALITY - Hartlepool, England: Chihuahua killed by off-leash pit bull.
• Rosario, Argentina: 5 people attacked - Article Link
• Saanich, British Columbia: 3 dogs attacked - Article Link
• Kansas City, MO: Child attacked by neighbor’s pit bull - Link

August 07

• ADULT FATALITY - Salina Cruz, Mexico: 54 y/o man in a wheelchair fatally attacked by a pit bull.
• ANIMAL FATALITY - Des Moines, IA: 6 y/o Poodle mix killed by 2 pit bulls.
• ANIMAL FATALITY - Waterloo, IA: Small dog killed.
• Cleveland, OH: 38 y/o woman attacked - Article Link
• New York City, NY: Small dog attacked - Link
• Hidalgo, TX: Small girl attacked - Link
• Farnborough, England: Woman in her 80s attacked - Article Link
• Bialystok, Poland: 3 y/o boy attacked by family dog - Article Link

August 08

• ANIMAL FATALITY - Highland, IL: Woman and her Husky attacked.
• ANIMAL FATALITY - Villa Ridge, MO: Cat killed by pit bull.
• ANIMAL FATALITY - Joliet, IL: Boston Terrier killed.
• Omaha, NE: 21 y/o woman mauled by her dog - Article Link
• Marshall, MN: Siberian Husky puppy attacked by 2 pit bulls - Link
• Nice, France: Shopkeeper attacked - Article Link
• Corrientes, Argentina: Group of people and animals attacked by 3 pit bulls - Article Link

August 09

• ANIMAL FATALITY - Pownal, VT: Cat killed by 2 pit bulls.
• Glyncoch, Wales: Dog attacked - Link
• Colona, IL: Man attacked by neighbor's pit bull - Link
• Undisclosed location: 2 dogs attacked by 2 pit bulls - Link

August 10

• ANIMAL FATALITY - Saint-Malo, France: Spitz killed.
• Lauenburg, Germany: Father and son attacked - Article Link
• Torquay, England: Councilor's guide dog attacked - Article Link
• New Brunswick, Canada: Greyhound attacked - Link
• Milton, FL: Person attacked - Link

August 11

• ANIMAL FATALITY - Derry, Ireland: Dog killed.
• ANIMAL FATALITY - Vroesenpark in Rotterdam, the Netherlands: Dog killed.
• ANIMAL FATALITY - Palm Coast, FL: Bichon killed.
• ANIMAL FATALITY - Peoria, IL: Cat killed by 2 pit bulls.
• Indiana, USA: Girl attacked - Link
• Vignale Monferrato, Italy: 70 y/o woman and 60 y/o man attacked - Article Link
• Sheffield, England: Pit bull attacked 2 people - Article Link
• Dorking, England: Man and dog attacked - Link

August 12

• ANIMAL FATALITY - Los Angeles, CA: Chihuahua killed.
• ANIMAL FATALITY - Sulmona, Italy: Pomeranian killed.
• Edmonton, Canada: 69 y/o woman attacked - Article Link
• Norton, England: 5 y/o girl’s cheek ripped off by a pit bull. Breed not confirmed on article but confirmed on family member’s social media - Article Link
• Merseyside, England: Dog attacked while out on a walk - Link
• Belo Horizonte, Brazil: 8 y/o and 13 y/o siblings attacked - Article Link
• Moorhead, MN: Man attacked - Link
• Dewitt, KY: Young boy attacked by neighbor's dog - Link

August 13

• ANIMAL FATALITY - Hollister, CA: Cat killed by three pit bulls, another cat attacked the same day in a separate attack.
• Signoressa, Italy: Labrador attacked by loose pit bull - Article Link
• Carlton Colville, England: Loose pit bull attacked another dog - Article Link
• Hollister, CA: Cat attacked by 3 pit bulls - Article Link
• Memphis, TN: Man attacked - Link

August 14

• ANIMAL FATALITY (7) - Biggsville, IL: 2 pit bulls attacked a puppy and killed 7 hens.
• ANIMAL FATALITY - Botucatu, Brazil: Dog killed and owner injured by neighbor’s pit bull.
• Rio das Ostras, Brazil: 8 y/o child's finger bitten off - Article Link
• Capiatá, Paraguay: 2 y/o boy attacked - Article Link
• Tipton, MO: 6 y/o girl attacked by neighbor’s dog, breed confirmed via father’s social media - Article Link

August 15

• ANIMAL FATALITY (2) - Tacoma Park, MD: 2 dogs killed by a pit bull.
• ANIMAL FATALITY - Englewood, OH: Cavapoo killed.
• ANIMAL FATALITY - Hillsboro, OR: Small dog killed at dog park.
• ANIMAL FATALITY - Elmwood Place, OH: Cat killed by pit bull.
• ANIMAL FATALITY - Marton, England: 9 y/o Shih-Tzu killed by loose pit bull.
• Bend, OR: Contract worker attacked - Article Link
• Middleburg, PA: 2 pit bulls attacked 2 chickens and a kitten - Article Link
• Breaux Bridge, LA: Woman attacked by 4 pit bulls - Article Link
• Laurino, Italy: 5 y/o boy attacked - Article Link
• France: Australian Shepherd attacked by 3 pit bulls - Link
• Palmas, Brazil - Man and his dog attacked - Article Link

August 16

• ANIMAL FATALITY - Bellingham, WA: Cat killed by 2 pit bulls.
• ANIMAL FATALITY - Deltona, FL: Small dog killed by neighbor's dog (breed not mentioned but confirmed via Ring footage).
• ANIMAL FATALITY - Victoria, Australia: Elderly cat killed.
• Mobile, AL: SWAT officer attacked - Article Link
• San Antonio, TX: Man seriously injured after attack by a GSD and pit bull - Article Link
• Eden Prairie, MN: Family of 3 attacked by 3 pit bulls - Article Link
• Vaiano Cremasco, Italy: 2 volunteer workers at kennel attacked - Article Link
• Bracciano, Italy: Toddler bitten several times on the head - Article Link
• Osnabrück, Germany: 17 y/o girl and her dog attacked- Article Link
• Guadalajara, Mexico: Couple attacked - Article Link

August 17

• ANIMAL FATALITY - Ripley, MS: Cat snatched off porch and killed.
• Askern, England: 28 y/o woman attacked - Article Link
• Newton-le-Willows, England: 3 dogs and their owners attacked by 2 loose pit bulls - Article Link
• Ghaziabad, India: 8 y/o boy attacked while playing at the park - Article Link
• Trévou-Tréguignec, France: 18 y/o woman attacked while jogging - Article Link
• Bucharest, Romania: Security guard attacked - Article Link
• Juiz de Fora, Brazil: Horses attacked - Article Link
• Buckhead, GA: 81 y/o woman in ICU from 2 pit bulls - Article Link
• Hephzibah, GA: Vet attacked by pit bull - Article Link
• Monongalia County, WV: Deputy attacked - Article Link

August 18

• Torreón, Mexico: 10 y/o boy attacked by pit bull - Article Link
• Xoxocotlán, Mexico: Elderly man attacked by councilman’s dogs - Article Link
• Plottier, Argentina - Pit bull killed after attacking multiple animals - Article Link
• Tortugas, Argentina: Dog attacked by 2 pit bulls - Link
• London, England: Police horse attacked, officer injured - Article Link
• Booneville, KY: European Bassett attacked on own property by pit bull and another dog - Link
• Miami, FL: Woman attacked by 3 dogs (1 a pit bull) - Link

August 19

• CHILD FATALITY - Rupnagar, India: 13 y/o boy attacked by pit bulls, passed away 9/11/2023.
• ANIMAL FATALITY - Houston, TX: Dog killed.
• White Rock, British Columbia: Small dog attacked - Link
• Barrie, Ontario: Poodle attacked - Link
• California, USA - 4 y/o French Bulldog attacked - Link
• Midwest City, OK: 2 12 y/o girls attacked- Article Link

August 20

• ANIMAL FATALITY (3) - Albuquerque, NM: At least 3 goats killed by 3 pit bulls.
• ANIMAL FATALITY - Imatra, Finland: Small dog killed.
• ANIMAL FATALITY - Buckingham, England: Tibetan Terrier killed.
• Istanbul, Turkey: Elderly man attacked - Article Link
• Bonnievale, S. Africa: 14 y/o girl and her grandmother attacked by 3 pit bulls - Article Link
• Rockford, IL: Beagle attacked by neighbor’s pit bull - Link
• Denver, CO: Dachshund attacked - Link
• Tavares, FL: Woman attacked by pit bull, owner fled the scene - Link
• Dayton, OH: Woman's ear torn off after being attacked - Link

August 21

• Margate, England: UPS delivery man attacked - Article Link
• Udine, Italy: Dachshund and owner attacked by pit bull (breed confirmed on Facebook) - Article Link
• (3) Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales: Pit bull involved in 3 attacks on same day, 2 in Abercynon and one in Church Village - Article Link
• Orlando, FL: Small dog attacked - Link

August 22

• ANIMAL FATALITY - Barrow-in-Furness, England: Swan attacked by 2 pit bulls.
• Liberty, KY: 3 inmates on work release at animal shelter attacked - Article Link
• Grand Island, NE: Postal worker attacked - Article Link
• Silverdale, WA: Dog attacked by neighbor's pit bull - Link

August 23

• United Kingdom: 4 y/o boy attacked - Link
• Poland: Small dog attacked by pit bull - Link
• Itaú de Minas, Brazil: Pit bull attacked 34 y/o owner and neighbor - Article Link
• Jujuy, Argentina: 9 y/o boy attacked - Article Link
• Migliaro, Italy: 60 y/o man and his terrier attacked - Article Link
• Mount Joy Township, PA: 9 y/o girl flown to hospital after pit bull attack - Article Link

August 24

• CHILD FATALITY - Emmeloord, Netherlands: Infant killed.
• ANIMAL FATALITY - Mt. Morris, IL: 12 y/o Shih-Tzu killed.
• ANIMAL FATALITY - Stevens, PA: Dachshund killed by neighbor's pit bull.
• Orlando, FL: Volunteer worker attacked - Link
• Eugene, OR: Man attacked while walking home - Link
• Peabody, MA: Couple attacked - Article Link
• Springfield, OH: 13 y/o boy attacked by 3 pit bulls - Article Link
• (2) Goulburn, Australia: 2 dogs attacked by pit bull - Link Another dog attacked by the same dog - Link
• Liverpool, England: Pomeranian attacked - Link

August 25

• ANIMAL FATALITY - Chicago, IL: 13 y/o hound mix killed.
• ANIMAL FATALITY - San Antonio, TX: Yorkie-poo killed by pit bull who broke through fence.
• ANIMAL FATALITY - Martinez, CA: Pit bull killed foster owner’s cat.
• ANIMAL FATALITY - Kankakee, IL: Chihuahua killed by 2 pit bulls.
• ANIMAL FATALITY - A Coruña, Spain: 12 y/o GSD euthanized after pit bull attack.
• ANIMAL FATALITY - Baza, Spain: Pony killed by 3 pit bulls.
• Churchton, MD: Dog attacked by 2 loose pit bulls - Link
• Moss Point, MS: Small dog attacked by 2 pit bulls - Link
• Chicago, IL: Woman attacked, owners walked away - Link
• São Rafael, Brazil: 2 coatis attacked - Article Link
• Grappenhall, England: Cyclist attacked - Article Link
• St. Helens, England: Woman hospitalized with serious injuries - Article Link
• Fiume Veneto, Italy: Small dog and owner attacked - Article Link

August 26

• CHILD FATALITY - Talatona, Angola: 10 y/o girl killed by 2 pit bulls.
• Yvelines, France: Couple attacked by 2 pit bulls - Article Link
• Ballarat, Australia: Cat attacked on its front porch - Link
• Nottingham, England: Toddler’s lip partially ripped off - Article Link
• Los Angeles, CA: 2 men attacked - Article Link
• Rutherford County, NC: 12 y/o boy attacked by 10 pit bulls - Article Link

August 27

• ANIMAL FATALITY - Youngstown, OH: Chihuahua killed in its yard by neighbor’s pit bull.
• Bradworthy, England: Horse attacked, rider injured - Link
• New Zealand: Pit bull bit owner’s dad - Link
• Macapa, Brazil: 3 y/o boy’s arm torn off by grandmother’s pit bull - Article Link
• Wichita, KS: Dog and owner's daughter attacked by pit bull - Link
• El Cerrito, CA: Child attacked - Article Link
• Dover Township, PA: Small dog attacked by 2 pit bulls - Link

August 28

• ANIMAL FATALITY - Albany, GA: 14 year old dog killed.
• ANIMAL FATALITY - Hueytown, AL: Cat killed by neighbor's 2 pit bulls.
• ANIMAL FATALITY - Addis, LA: Cat killed.
• Noord, Aruba: Man attacked - Article Link
• Taranto, Italy: Woman and her Dachshund attacked - Article Link
• Grottazzolina, Italy: 75 y/o man and his dog attacked by 3 pit bulls - Article Link
• Erin, TN: 4 y/o boy attacked by neighbor's pit bull - Article Link
• Midland, TX: Man attacked - Link

August 29

• ANIMAL FATALITY - Illinois, USA: Cat killed by pit bull puppy.
• Manhattan, NY: 11 y/o boy attacked by family dog - Article Link
• Benoni, South Africa: Family dog attacked its owner (who had to have arm amputated) and her son - Article Link
• Surrey Hills, Australia: Dog attacked by off-leash pit bull - Link

August 30

• Atascocita, TX: Couple attacked - Article Link
• Highlands, TX: 2 brothers attacked by family dog, 1 LifeFlighted - Article Link
• Genoa, Italy: Man attacked - Article Link
• São Carlos, Brazil: Dog attacked - Article Link
• Tizimín, Mexico: 66 y/o man attacked by his own dog - Article Link
• Runcorn, England: 2 dogs attacked by 2 off-leash pit bulls - Link

August 31

• ANIMAL FATALITY - Maricá, Brazil: Dog out on a walk killed.
• ANIMAL FATALITY - Webster, TX: Small dog killed by 2 pit bulls.
• Tione, Italy: 2 people and 2 dogs attacked by 2 pit bulls - Article Link
• Heidelberg, Australia: Pomeranian attacked - Link
• Turlock, CA: Woman attacked by friend’s 2 pit bulls - Post Link
• Olympia, WA: Australian Shepherd attacked - Link

Unconfirmed Dates

• ANIMAL FATALITY (8) - Marlin, TX: 8 calves killed by 2 dogs (1 a pit bull).
• ANIMAL FATALITY - Chillicothe, OH: Pit bull killed his mother and bit owner’s son.
• Massa, Italy: Child attacked - Article Link
• Montereale, Italy: 68 y/o man and his small dog attacked by 2 pit bulls - Article Link
• Juticalpa, Honduras: 83 y/o man attacked by 3 pit bulls and German Shepherd - Article Link
• Neiva, Columbia: 12 y/o boy attacked - Article Link
• Elk Grove, CA: Woman attacked - Link
• Illinois, USA: Puppy’s jaw broken - Link
• New Braunfels, TX: Small dog attacked - Link

I’m 29 years old and have had a severe alcohol problem for years. I’ve got to a week long detox center and times in 2 years.
This time, I moved into a sober living house to help me stay sober. Ive only been in the sober house for 1 week and I got my first dui ever. In phoenix (Maricopa county). It occurred mid day on Cinco de Mayo. I do not have a criminal history and never had a dui or been to jail. However, I lost my job in February and have been doing Uber eats to barely sustain my bills every since. I don’t drive while intoxicated normally. I drank about 5-7 shots of liquor in a period of a couple hours and a new roommate asked me for a ride about 8 miles away and gave me gas money. I was not n my right state of and I made the mistake of getting behind the wheel.
After I dropped him off, I made a turn and got my car stuck on a curb and could not move it. The police pulled up shortly after and asked if I was drinking, I admitted a little bit because I knew my breath had to of smelled.
They did a breathalyzer and arrested me. I blew what’s considered a super extreme dui at around .21, they did not draw my blood.
I spent about 20 hours in jail because I had to wait til the next morning to see a judge and be released.
They automatically pleaded me not guilty and requested a public defender.
My follow up court date is may 15th, only 10 days after the arrest..
I feel ashamed, guilty, embarrassed, my family and friends are very upset, and the sober house I live in cares enough about me and moved me into a different, way stricter house. My car is impounded and the “house mother” put me on lockdown for 30 days to where I can’t leave the house and take drug tests weekly.
Ive sought help to achieve sobriety And made a mistake that I’m afraid will ruin my already shitty life.
I’m not sure if the court date next week is pre trial or what. I have no clue how this works or how to even contact the public defender.
I’m afraid I’ll be sent to jail for a long time. I’m in full panic mode. I know I’m going to lose my car , and all the fees that come with this charge and I’m dirt broke. My fear was losing everything when I’m already lost in life now I’m devastated by the fact I may lose my freedom after googling about DUIs.
Based on my situation is there anything I can do to avoid jail time or make the sentence lighter? I already know I’m getting at least 48 hours but I’m so scared of doing months and falling even further back in life.

$5K Debt how should I go about paying it off
Hello, So I currently owe a little over $3k on a personal loan I got to buy a car in November with a 8.8% interest rate. I no longer have the car since it’s been impounded back in February and I can not get it out since the car was never in my name also since that would automatically put me in jail for what I did. I also owe about a little under $3k on my Discover Credit Card, the main thing I wanna know is which one should I pay down first? I just sold the last of my stocks and all of the money I’ve invested over the last two years is gone so I’m left with $800 in my checking account. I work two jobs in Phoenix and I’m making $1900 a month with $1500 rent, I have to spend money on Lyfts on my credit card just to get to work since I have no cash. Forgot to mention my credit limit is $4800 and since I’m now using my credit card everyday just to work the utilization is 46%. So I’m basically wondering should I use this $500 to pay down some of my personal loan or pay down some of my credit card off? I’m also considering getting another personal loan to buy a cheap car so I’m not spending money on Lyft every single day.

Hello, So I currently owe a little over $3k on a personal loan I got to buy a car in November with a 8.8% interest rate. I no longer have the car since it’s been impounded back in February and I can not get it out since the car was never in my name also since that would automatically put me in jail for what I did. I also owe about a little under $3k on my Discover Credit Card, the main thing I wanna know is which one should I pay down first? I just sold the last of my stocks and all of the money I’ve invested over the last two years is gone so I’m left with $800 in my checking account. I work two jobs in Phoenix and I’m making $1900 a month with $1500 rent, I have to spend money on Lyfts on my credit card just to get to work since I have no cash. Forgot to mention my credit limit is $4800 and since I’m now using my credit card everyday just to work the utilization is 46%. So I’m basically wondering should I use this $500 to pay down some of my personal loan or pay down some of my credit card off? I’m also considering getting another personal loan to buy a cheap car so I’m not spending money on Lyft every single day.

Sometime in January my vehicle was stolen out of storage in a locked condo garage (Phoenix Arizona). The vehicle was reported stolen later in January. On February 9th the police found it (Phoenix PD) and had it impounded. I was never notified of the car being found. On the 14th of February I got a letter in the mail from Arizona DOT saying the car was found and towed. I went and retrieved the car ($380 dollars) that day. I immediately scheduled a post storage hearing and it was denied. I sent in my phone records showing I never received a call. They claim I was notified twice, once at 0446 and again at 0504 (I would have been at work and legally unable to leave, but would have at least gotten the call), they said they did not leave a message and they would have called from a restricted number. They say I can appeal through the Arizona Superior Court.
My main questions

• Are they required to notify me? I couldn't find anything
• They say they towed it under ARS 28-871 Phoenix City Chapter 36, Does ARS 28-3512 hold any merit? It states a stolen car must be returned from impound and the impound company has no financial stake. (I brought this up in the post impound hearing and she said that one doesn't apply)
• Is any of this worth dealing with or should I just take the loss?

Other points

• I do plan on contacting my city representative
• A police officer from the stolen vehicle division said I could get the fees back through the Arizona Victim Compensation Fund, however I would prefer the money back from the city/tow yard if its more appropriate.
• The person conducting the hearing was the city records clerk
• The vehicle was unregistered
• I could have walked from work to pick it up if I had been called
• While not an insane amount of money for me, its far from nothing and the principal makes me madder than anything

Hi guys,
I've never posted here before but I need to see if anyone can help me locate my vehicle. On Saturday 02/18, I had work and was in a rush (I should've just taken the extra couple of minutes to find a decent parking spot instead of doing this, lesson learned so please no rude comments as this is pretty frustrating), so I parked on 5th St right next to Moreland St (It was to the right of an apartment complex: 1103 N 5th St), in front of a chain-link fence that is now a dirt lot. It had a private property sign, but I did not see any tow-away signage or phone number to contact the tow company if your vehicle were to be towed. I got off work at about 12:10 so Sunday, 02/19, early AM, to find that my vehicle was gone. I realized I shouldn't have worried about being late to work and just found a legitimate spot to park my car instead of ignoring the dirt lot's private parking signage.
So here's the kicker, I contacted Phoenix PD Non-Emergency and they told me it was towed through Anytime Towing and gave me a disconnected phone number. I spoke to the owner and representatives from a phone number I had to search for since the given was disconnected, and they said that they had not impounded in over a year. My boyfriend and I drove down to multiple lots associated with them and also spoke to someone there who also stated they do not impound anymore. We also snooped around beforehand and I did not see my vehicle in their yard nor in any of the open bays (I also used my car key's alarm).
Non-Emergency says they've provided me with all of the information they can, there was no address associated with the private tow company. I have frantically called several tow companies, including ones associated with Maricopa County precincts, and so far I have not found one that has my vehicle.
I am unsure if I just need to try the other tow companies that are closed for President's Day tomorrow, or if I should file a stolen vehicle report. I do not rationally know what the next plan of action is, as I do not want to continue racking up storage fines from a sketchy tow yard.
Has anyone had this problem in downtown Phoenix?? I apologize if this post is so disorganized, I am just very distressed, but I am trying to be patient.

Seeking expansion beyond the confines of Orange County, Disney decides to expand in relatively nearby Arizona rather than Orlando. Arizona offers a similar set of advantages -- lots of cheap land, warm winter weather and presumably a state government willing to cede near government-level authority to a corporation.
Presumably a site near Phoenix is chosen, but Tucson might be viable as well given that both have an airport for ferrying in customers. Probably an East Coast site is considered, and perhaps land even purchased for some far-distant expansion plans, but ultimately the East Coast isn't chosen because the West Coast feels like the future and the East Coast the past.
The disadvantage to Arizona is the lack of water, however it could be argued that Disney World's many water features are more about dealing with being built on swampy land as much as a water-ish themed resort. And it would be unsurprising for Disney to figure out how to strategically create water features, perhaps using recycled grey water or leveraging its size to create a reservoiimpoundment that would serve as a design element and a regional water source. They likely could have also integrated water features as a heat sink for the park's cooling systems.
How much does this slow Florida's growth, if it does at all? Or does it just limit the growth of the Orlando area, with Florida's climate and beaches serving as an inherent draw?
How would this impact Arizona's growth? Would the park have been as successful without easier access to East Coast populations? Would the existence of Disneyland in California have kept California residents from bothering with even the relatively short trip to Arizona?
What about the Magic Kingdom itself? How would it have been different set in a desert environment? A larger emphasis on Frontierland, Adventureland and general "wild west" themes? Would Futureland have been styled more around the terrain mimicking a distant planet?
Would there have been the expansions of Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom?

June 19, 2006 - In a nightmarish post-cocaine comedown that was intensified by the devil Steel Reserve, I nearly missed the show. It was a four hour drive to Chicago with a friend who refused to speak to me the entire way. He was sore about my disappearing act in the hours that followed the coke-fueled endeavors of the previous evening. His fear was amplified by the fact that I didn't show up to work the next morning and I could not be reached by any means. I tried to sweet-talk him on the ride but the silent treatment I received was beyond anything I've experienced with even the most committed of romantic partners in my life. When he realized that Chicago was an hour behind our time zone and that we had actually gained an hour, he began to lighten up. I bought him a couple beers and we smoked some questionable grass in the parking lot of the venue with some strangers. As we entered the venue, I watched his face light up. He was feeling better and I was most certainly about to experience the most profound panic attack of my life.
A rock duo from Akron, Ohio was taking the stage and they were a force to be reckoned with. As The Black Keys proceeded to shred my face off, I noticed that the intense thumping of the percussion was disrupting my natural cardiac rhythm. I went to the bathroom and splashed water on my face in an attempt to regain control.
Chill the fuck out, you fool. No wonder he doesn't want to be at the concert with you. He wants to chill out and hear some good music. And what the fuck do you want? You don't even know what you want.
The shred of self-compassion I possessed stepped in for a moment: "No, no, no, You're good. You got this shit. You're alright. You're about to see Radiohead for your first time. You've been partying a little too hard but you're okay. You made it to the venue."
Yeah, but your heart is off, isn't it? It's beating awfully erratically. You think you're gonna croke from smoking some weed? Maybe you should have been worried about that last night when you concocted a near-lethal level of cocaethylene within your own body. That's probably what's led to the heart arrhythmia you're experiencing. Your body is a temple, you know.
I returned to my seat where I stood with a plastered smile while sweat poured profusely from my face like Doc Holiday in his final moments. I was sure that there was no turning back.
But the opener had finished and the lights had gone low. There was a strange kind of peace within the fever-pitch excitement of the crowd. An extreme close-up of Thom's eye was broadcast across several trapezoid screens and I heard the familiar beckoning, "C'mon. C'mon. You think you drive me crazy?"
It was, without a doubt, the most intense and beautiful show I had ever seen. When the lights took over during Paranoid Android, I perceived the stage as engulfed in flames. This was no cause for alarm though. They were merely a part of the experience that had to be accepted.
May 9, 2008 - After traveling several hours toward a show in Charlotte, NC, I awoke in a West Virginia jail with no memory of the previous night. I remembered getting to the hotel in the late afternoon. That much was certain. Oh, and then we went to an Applebee's. That's never a good sign. What kind of depraved asshole finds himself in an Applebee's free of threat or coercion? Did I pay my tab? And what about this huge block of memory that had been erased from storage?
I clung to the fantasy that I might be released with time to spare. I was 3 hours away from the venue and... if I could just be released... maybe somehow I could get my vehicle out of impound. Maybe my friend and I will be able to link up and scrounge some money together to take a bus? Fuck, I'll hitch-hike to the damn show if I can just get out of here. I'll do anything to get out. I fucked up.
The inmates were permitted 15 minutes in an outside courtyard area of the jail that evening. I watched the beautiful orange glow of the sunset just as Radiohead would have been taking the stage. I wasn't released for weeks.
August 4, 2008 - To make up for leaving my friend stranded in West Virginia back in May, I purchased 4 tickets to see Radiohead in our home state of Ohio. Only a two hour drive. Not much for me to fuck up with this one. We go out for drinks the night before and discuss our excitement for tomorrow's show. My buddy's girlfriend shows up at the bar to convey her certainty that I will somehow ruin this one as well. I flip over the table and call her a cunt. I leave the four tickets behind and don't attend the show because I know she's right.
August 13, 2008 - I decide to purchase tickets to a show in Massachusetts where another friend lives. This is a 10-hour drive. My thinking is that if something happens on the way, no one is inconvenienced. Hell, this friend doesn't even like Radiohead so he won't mind missing it.
Grizzly Bear opens and it is a beautiful show. I have a hard time focusing because I'm actually sober. My friend even enjoys it despite not "getting" Radiohead. I end up at a party where my friend gets laid and promptly goes to bed. I stay up all night tripping on acid with strangers in an unfamiliar setting. It's not bad but it's certainly not good. I recall persuading an older woman to drive me 25 minutes to the nearest convenience store at 6 AM as I am in desperate need of nicotine. She adamantly did not want to make the trip but I make some vague promises she doesn't care about and she decides to take me because she thinks I'm cute. Block. Freeze. Confusion. Laughter. The gas station clerk is asking me to pay for the cigarettes. I am pulling keys and wrappers and things out of my pockets but there is no wallet amongst this collection of oddities. I laugh maniacally, explain the situation to a stranger who is amused by my predicament, and she buys me flowers to give to the woman who drove me all this way. I bring the flowers to the car and the woman is not amused. We begin driving for a few minutes and I find my wallet in the car.
We return to the party house. I feel strange, giddy, and confused. My friend is awake now after a restful night of sleep and it's time for us to go meet his aunt and uncle for some reason. They are sitting on the porch of their beautiful country home eating breakfast. My friend introduces me and I communicate in a way that they view as odd.
In the subsequent years, I find myself heavily dependent upon opioids and benzodiazepines. One of my buddies who was able to capitalize on my 4-ticket giveaway in 2008 has since died from an overdose at the ripe old age of 24. My dependency upon the pills has rendered my drinking a distant third in terms of substance priority in my mind. This means I'm drinking less but still able to achieve the escape I've always sought. Because I'm drinking less, people in my life are beginning to comment on how much healthier I look and how I haven't been arrested in a few years. I use this as some totally corrupt justification that I am doing well and that pills are the answer. Heroin is not far off.
June 6 and June 11, 2012 - I catch Radiohead twice on The King Of Limbs tour. Once in Ohio and a week later in Michigan. But, my friends, heroin is not a "concert drug". These shows I had been anticipating for years had somehow become a chore and I found myself reeling at the thought of a second encore. Let's get this shit on the road. I got some shit in my car I need to get back to.
[Incomprehensible demoralization section removed for brevity and to avoid melodrama].
August 4, 2016 - (This particular excerpt was written by me just a few days after the show):
I have 3.5 years sober and a big part of my use always included music and seeing live shows. I've always had great difficulty relaxing and getting into a positive emotional zone... both of which are paramount when going to shows. In the past, chemicals helped me find these positive emotional zones but they were also the cause of my missing many shows and waking up in jail with no memory of how I got there. Hence, the 3.5 years of sobriety.
Anyways, this last Thursday I traveled to Los Angeles to see Radiohead for the 5th time. I will do my best to minimize all fanboy praise because that's not the point of this post.
After an incredibly long week filled with work, a Weezer concert in Phoenix and several hours of driving, I found myself at The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California waiting for the show to begin.
The show began.
And I was tired. Very tired.
The band rolled through the first few songs (all of which I knew were coming and in which order because, like any good fanboy, I've paid close attention to previous setlists. Too close.)
And then... yep... there it was... the onset of a tired brain going into overdrive in an attempt to stay up for the show... The internal monologue kicked it up a gear.
Why'd you study the setlists so closely? Why can't you just be a human and experience something without needing to know what's coming first?
"This is no problem... you're at Radiohead! Who cares if you know what's coming next? You haven't heard some of these live before!"
"Jesus, my legs are getting tired."
You know what? It's not the fact that you studied the setlists... you're too fucking old for this shit and you're sober. You don't have the stamina or the ability to just shut the fuck up and enjoy something for what it is. At least when you were using, you knew how to stay present.
(Meanwhile, I'm recognizing that Thom's vocal performance is outstanding.... like unbelievably solid... miles above any previous show I'd seen. You'd think this would help...)
Thom's putting on the best show of his career and you can't even enjoy it because you're so deep inside that fucked up excuse for a thing you call a brain? You drove 7 hours for this shit!
"Relax. Give yourself a break, man."
"OK.. that performance of Climbing Up The Walls was absolutely phenomenal. Even your excuse for a brain appreciated that."
"I think I'm catching a second wind."
There was a short break and the band began playing "Let Down". It was during this flawless rendition that I reached some sort of introspection climax... My brain just couldn't think anymore. No more analyzing or self-loathing was even possible.
And suddenly all I could perceive was the performance. I had somehow managed to become present through my brain becoming overwhelmed with the nonsense background noise that I've only been able to silence with chemicals in the past. (For those of you in recovery or struggling with substance abuse, you know this is huge).
At this moment, during the climax of the song, I welled up with tears and had this kind of slack-jawed expression on my face. I wasn't thinking.
And that was it. The rest of the show was free from the hellishly intense introspective nightmare that plagued the beginning of the show. Each song thereafter was enjoyed without there having to be a reason to enjoy it or not... each song was enjoyed without thought.
This Thursday, December 22, 2022, I will have the opportunity to see The Smile, once again, at the Shrine Auditorium. I am nearly 10 years sober and my life has improved immensely. I have made amends and rekindled relationships with my friends that are still living. My family trusts me. My girlfriend loves me. And we have two dachshunds that we spoil rotten.
I will never convey, however, that life is some bubbly fantasy. That type of rhetoric from some sober folks out there is just as dangerous as an old drug dealer giving you a call to catch up. This is because when the recovering person realizes that life can still suck, they are surprised because their sober brethren have promised them a life free from pain.
The truth is that life can still be incredibly painful. But it's nowhere near the torment I experienced during my worst moments of addiction. And I'm no longer willing to go to those depths.
I am incredibly grateful for the music of Radiohead which has been present with me through the good and the bad, the neuroses and the peace, the substance use and recovery, the bliss and torment.
I'll tell you what freedom is to me: no fear. I mean really, no fear! - Nina Simone

Warning: Crime Scene photos are linked at the end of this post. Please click at your own discretion, as they are graphic.
Background
Growing up in Connecticut, Bob Crane immersed himself in music. Bob began exploring the drums by age eleven, and when he entered junior high, he began to organize drum groups and parades for other drummers, and friends, his age. Once Bob entered high school, he joined the school’s marching band, and on his off time, he played in the Connecticut and Norwalk Symphony Orchestra’s youth program. This love of music would set Bob Crane on a successful path in the music and acting business, but before that, he would join the National Guard where he served for two years, and also marry his wife, and high school sweetheart, Amy Terzian.
In 1950, Bob followed his love of music and set out for a career in radio. He hosted radio shows in both New York and Connecticut, before being offered a job with CBS Radio, to host a morning show in Los Angeles, California. This show was a success, and Bob was rubbing elbows with huge celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, and Bob Hope. Before long, Bob was known as “king of the Los Angeles airwaves.” But, Bob wasn’t only interested in radio stardom, he wanted to try his hand at acting, as well. Since he was already a common household name in California, he was offered guest spots on a variety of shows, including Who Do You Trust? with Johnny Carson, The Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and The Dick Van Dyke Show.
Bob’s role on the Dick Van Dyke show presented him with another opportunity, when Donna Reed of The Donna Reed Show saw his performance. She offered Bob a guest spot on her own show, which went over so well, she decided to incorporate his character in the program on a regular basis. Bob had successfully jumped from radio and music, to acting. Bob ended his time on The Donna Reed Show in 1964, before picking up the lead spot in the up and coming show Hogan’s Heroes, which was set in a WWII POW camp. The show quickly became a hit, which led to Bob being nominated for an Emmy.
Stardom came with a cost, though, when Bob’s marriage began to fall apart due to Bob’s multiple affairs with costars on the set of his show. He and Amy would divorce in 1970, and Bob would go on to marry his costar, Patricia Olsen. The pair were together for seven years, before they separated in 1977. During their marriage, in 1971, the show Hogan’s Heroes was cancelled, which left Bob taking minor roles in things here and there, such as two Disney films, and a guest spot on The Love Boat. In 1975, NBC gave Bob his own show, called The Bob Crane Show, but it only lasted 13 episodes before being pulled off the air. In between all of this, Bob was also working in dinner theatres across four different states, including in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The Murder
On June 29, 1978, Bob’s costar Victoria Ann Berry entered his Scottsdale, Arizona apartment to find his lifeless body. Bob was found lying on the bed, shirtless, and bludgeoned to death, with an electrical cord tied around his neck. Blood was covering both the walls and the ceiling, and the pillow beneath Bob’s head was completely drenched in blood. Looking around the scene, police noted that nothing had been stolen, and there was no evidence of a forced entry. However, a look at Bob’s video tape collection pointed them in one direction.
Bob had a friend named John Henry Carpenter, who worked high up with Sony Electronics. The pair met while on the set of Hogan’s Heroes, and they had a habit of picking up women at bars, and taking them home to video tape their sexual encounters. The two did this so often that Carpenter would schedule his work around Bob’s dinner theatre schedule, so they could be available to continue their sexual encounters and video taping. After the murder, Bob’s son would go on to say that all of the women knew, and consented, to being videotaped- however, many of the women came forward to say that they had no clue they were filmed until after the Scottsdale Police Department spoke to them.
After reviewing the video, Scottsdale police learned that John Carpenter had flown to Phoenix on June 25th, four days before the murder occurred, to spend time with Bob. When police impounded and searched John’s car, they found a couple smears of blood, which matched Bob’s blood type. Carpenter did not have the same blood type, nor did anyone that he had in the car he was driving. In 1990, after re-examining photographs of the car, an investigator saw what appeared to be pieces of brain tissue in the car’s interior. Despite the actual brain tissue samples being lost, the judge found the photographs of the tissue to be admissible, leading to the arrest of John Carpenter.
The Trial
The trial began in 1994. The prosecution brought Bob’s son, Robert, to the stand, and Robert explained his father’s state of mind leading up to the murder. Robert claimed that Bob told him that he had very much wanted to end his friendship with John, stating that John was becoming a nuisance and hanging on too long. Robert stated that the night before the murder, Bob called John and formally ended their friendship. The defense attacked this statement, bringing in witnesses who had seen John and Bob at a restaurant the night before, saying they were getting along just fine. They argued that the murder weapon was never identified, though the prosecution had a theory: a camera tripod. The defense stated that the brain tissue photos were speculation, and it’s the fault of the state for having lost the actual tissue samples. The defense pointed their fingers at a handful of other possible suspects: any of the woman from the videotapes, or their angry husbands, and an actor from Texas who had previously threatened Bob after a violent confrontation.
At the end of trial, John was acquitted. Even Bob’s son didn’t seem to believe that John played a role in his father’s death, hinting that Bob’s widow may have instigated the crime, due to her being able to inherit Bob’s entire estate. Bob had omitted his children from his will, as well as his ex wife, and left the entirety of it to his widow, Patricia Olsen.
In 2016, the state decided to allow a reporter, John Hook, to run the DNA on the still remaining samples from the car. Two DNA profiles were discovered, one being from an unknown male and the other sample was too far degraded to be of any use. By testing the DNA in 2016, the used up the entirety of the sample, making any further testing out of the question.
Bob’s murder is still unsolved, and the verdict is still out on who may have been his killer, with fingers pointing in every direction. John Carpenter claimed his innocence until he died in 1998.
Links
Entertainment Weekly
AZ Central
NSFW(!) Crime Scene Photos

Stop Server jumping and find your favourite place at Phoenix City!
Phoenix City is a new serious roleplay server with many different scripts for every part of the city.
As we are completly new, we'll give a special gift offer for the members who'll join us at our first month! You have the chance to buy 3 time limited cars, which will never be sold again.
- Lotus Esprit V8 - Ferrari 812 - Nissan Skyline GT-R R34
What we offer: 1. Housing We have a complete housing script with currently about 100 housing locations. If you buy a house, you have a personal garage at your housing spot, you get access to different options to deposit weapons/money/etc in your house and you can invite your friends or give them keys to your house to give them access without your permission.
2. Car's We have custom cars and we're implementing more week for week. No more normal GTA5 cars. We'll bring you the real and good stuff to your frontdoor! Remember, your car needs fuel. If you car is out of fuel, it will get damaged step by step. If it's gone, you can get it back at the Impound in the city.
3. Gangs We have a huge gang script (rcore_gangs). Join a gang or create a new one (contact admin) of your liking. Gangs have their own zones and can expand by selling drugs, kill gang members from other factions or just stay long enough in a zone to get reputation. Only gang members can see zones. The law departments won't know which zone belongs to who, or even if there are any gangs around. There are special garages and deposits for gangs, which will be shared among all gang members.
4. MerryWeather (not live, but implemented) MerryWeather Security is here for some special jobs. A private (heavy equipped) special force, which will do bounty, transportation, or anything for everyone, who can spare a dollar.
5. Weapons You need a weapon license to be allowed to have weapons on you. Weaponshops will only sell you weapons if you have a weapon license. There are different weapons for everyone. We have about 90 weapons. Some of the weapons are exclusive for the police, FBI, gangs, merryweather, etc.
6. Crimes There is enough illegal stuff you can do on our server if you don't want to earn your money the right way. There is much potential like robbery, vehicletheft, etc.
7. Jobs Server relevant jobs are whitelisted and you can't access them freely. If you want a server relevant job, you can fill out the discord application. These whitelisted jobs are simply to prevent players from abusing powers, which the whitelisted jobs have.
Jobs for everbody: Banker, Fisherman, Fueler, Lumberjack, Miner, Reporter, Butcher, Tailor, Unemployed
Whitelisted Jobs: LSPD, FBI, EMS, Taxi, Cardealer, Mechanic, MerryWeather Security, Real Estate Agent
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Join us today and be part of the Phoenix Community! Discord: Join the Phoenix Community Discord Server!

Last year (January), I purchased a vehicle from a Police Impound Yard in Detroit, MI - I live in Phoenix, AZ. The vehicle was auctioned off to the highest bidder through ebay. These are non-running, abandoned vehicles from MI. Fast forward to May of this year when I received a Letter of Inquiry concerning Michigan Taxes - basically their Tax Department went through a review and they didn't like the amount on the bill of sale. Their estimate of the actual Retail Vehicle Value is much higher than the price paid and they want me to pay taxes on the the Retail Value. I have submitted repair orders showing the amount of damage and repairs done to the vehicle as well as parts and the cost of shipping as well as explaining that it was a non-runner...Now I received another letter showing an adjusted Retail Value (after taking my paperwork into consideration), and a bill for $600.00 On the form it states that if payment is NOT received, it will result in the issuance of a Bill for Taxes Due? What exactly is that? Is it something that will follow me in AZ? Is it something that IRS will take up? I have never dealt with this before - and I didn't find any sources for info.
​
Many Thanks!

14 minutes. 3775 words.

Persona non grata Murad Papazian and his conflict with smaller diasporan organizations: an interview with Diaspora Office chief Zareh Sinanyan

ARF Bureau member Murad Papazian leads a French-Armenian group CCAF. His entry to Armenia was denied last week. He accused Pashinyan of blocking him on political and personal grounds. NSS provided the reason today. But before that...
Diaspora Office chief Zareh Sinanyan has accused Papazian of divisive activities and causing diplomatic problems for Armenia by lobbying foreign leaders not to cooperate with the Pashinyan administration.
Zareh Sinanyan: I can't say exactly why his entry was denied, but I can tell you about Papazian's conduct in and outside of France in recent times. Papazian represents two organizations. They organized so-called political "boycotts" against state visits, but they went a step further. A boycott is when you refuse to take part in something, but they went a step further and actively pressured foreign diplomats not to cooperate with Armenian authorities. That's sabotage, not a boycott.
First group. It's a political group representing a political regime that has corrupted Armenia for 25 years. Their goal is to return to power. They can't accept the will of the Armenian citizens.
Second group. Papazian is a co-leader along with his cousin here. They are struggling to maintain their political monopoly over the 500,000-strong French-Armenian community. This isn't realistic, though. One organization cannot represent so many people. They don't speak for everyone. So for them to treat other smaller diasporan organizations as enemies, is not healthy.
I can confidently assure you that the claims that Papazian's entry was denied "to appease Turkey" is nonsense. Papazian needs to present himself as a victim, so he'll claim anything.
Reporter: Papazian complained that the Armenian government created and was promoting a new diasporan movement in France, and that it was dividing the diaspora, and "why do you need another organization if you have an established one".
Zareh Sinanyan: Nonsense. There have been multiple organizations operating in France that have never been part of the organization led by Papazian. La Movement [sorry, it's tranlit] is one of them. CFA is another. There are smaller ones, too. They don't report to Papazian.
These organizations were organically born because Papazian and his cousin established a dictatorship and have been forcing their will upon everyone else for the past 15 years. It's impossible for a 500,000-strong diaspora to have only one organization. This is where the problem is. Papazian has convinced himself that "I'm the only one. Period." It would be better if they cooperated with the other organizations without fearing them. They should fix their relations and address the issues that led to the formation of these alternative organizations. Once again, the government of Armenia and the Diaspora Office have nothing to do with the formation of any of these organizations in France.
Reporter: What about Diaspora in other countries?
Zareh Sinanyan: The emotions increased in the diaspora after the war. Diasporans are coming out of the shock much slower than those residing in Armenia. They are further away and more emotional, whereas those living in Armenia live on the ground, in reality, and couldn't afford to give in to emotions for too long. But things have gotten much better in the diaspora lately, partly because they visited Armenia, interacted with people, and saw that life continues. // Interview continues here
NSS and Premier's office provide the reason why Papazian was blocked: The entry was denied based on Article 8.G & 8.Z. Papazian was one of the organizers of the physical attack on the government motorcade in June 2021, in France.
Various objects were thrown at the vehicles, and the situation was resolved only with the intervention of French police and security services. The incident was recorded and reported by the media. The entry of all violent participants is prohibited. This does not apply to peaceful protesters. //
Papazian: I did not take part in that 2021 protest. Besides that, I was allowed to enter Armenia after that protest. The ban was imposed later, possibly on personal grounds. I will fight to regain my right to entry. //
Premier's spokesman: Papazian bragged about organizing the aforementioned protest in an interview to the Hraparak outlet. "Առաջին անգամն է պատմության մեջ, որ մենք ցույց պիտի ընենք Հայաստանի շուրջ," he told the reporter. You can find many tapes on the internet showing the consequences of the physical attack. //
Ambassador-at-large Edmon Marukyan: An attack against any person representing the Republic of Armenia abroad must have legal consequences. An attack against Armenian embassies and flag-bearing motorcades is essentially an attack against the Republic of Armenia. //
In relevant news, it was reported in April that "two activists assaulted Armenia's ambassador" to U.S. on Capitol Hill.
article, article, article, article, article, article, article,

Charles Aznavour's statue will be installed in France

Education Ministry hosted the representatives of the Aznavour Foundation led by Kristina Aznavour. They spoke about the 2024 program of events dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the legendary artist.
Kristina: The French side is preparing for the events. The statue of Charles Aznavour will be installed in France by 2024. The design is ready. There will be a concert and an exhibition. The issue of installing another statue in Armenia is being discussed with the Yerevan administration.
Ministry: We will cooperate with you with pleasure in implementing the program. The jubilee will be celebrated in Armenia as brightly as in France. We've also created a working group to implement Francophonie programs more effectively. The first meeting will be held on July 28, attended by the French ambassador.
Kristina: We are investing in the Yerevan State College of Culture and Art named after Charles Aznavour. The college is regularly holding master classes and inviting international specialists. Our goal is to open a path for children with great potential to global stages and contribute to the development of their talent.
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Gyumri is developing. They need more hotels... and you

Municipality: You are invited to attend the beer festival on August 20, and the Gyumri Day celebrations on August 27. People are already reserving hotels, so you should hurry.
The city has turned into a tourism center in recent years, but we still have many problems to solve: 2200 inhabited makeshift homes and 500 uninhabited, bad roads, and unemployment.

... what is being done?

▶︎ Large-scale road construction is underway. The ֏2b state-local subsidy programs include the renovation of 22 roads.
▶︎ Condos are receiving thermal insulation in Ani and Mush districts. New equipment has been acquired.
▶︎ The overhaul of the park and square near the station is nearing the end.
▶︎ 14 apartments will be renovated and given to homeless families for $0/mo.
▶︎ A new kindergarten is being built for 75 children. Others are being renovated.
▶︎ Companies are building hotels and condos. We receive many inquiries from businesses interested in building new hotels. We do need more, especially in the holidays.

... Gyumri is inviting you to celebrate Vardavar on Sunday

Գալը՝ քեզնից, ջուրը՝ մեզնից: Գյումրին մեծ տոնի է պատրաստվում: Նրանք, ովքեր այս շաբաթ-կիրակին պլանավորում են անցկացնել իրենց բնակավայրից դուրս, should ընտրել Գյումրին:
Քաղաքի յուրաքանչյուր այցելու մեզ համար հատուկ հյուր է, said the municipality.
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the 2017 election fraud charges are dropped against several Gagik Tsarukyan party members after they "plead guilty" and used the statute of limitations

Over a dozen BHK members, including leader Tsarukyan, were charged with committing bribery in 2017. Tsarukyan was arrested and released on bail. The prosecutors recently dropped the charges against a dozen suspects, citing the statute of limitations.
Prosecutors: Tsarukyan himself is still facing charges but it could be dropped if he agrees to go through a similar process.
Reporter: If the suspect agrees for his charge to be dropped per the statute of limitation, that means he is accepting the guilt. Tsarukyan's lawyer said he will not accept this offer. //
Another BHK member was recently charged and found guilty of bribing voters, this time during the 2021 elections.
video,

Turkish border guards did not take any Armenian shepherds hostage: Aragatsotn governor's office provides details

Read Thursday news digest for context and the village mayor's refutal of a report by opposition 186 outlet.
Governor's office: No Turk has entered the province, and no shepherd is a prisoner. We do not rule out that the false alarm was a plot by an insidious group. It's best to verify the news, especially about people's safety, before publishing it.
Russian border guards: The media publications about Turks crossing the AM-TR border are false.
Local officials: We don't know where the reports of 8 hostage shepherds and armed Turks traveling in the village came from. This is an apricot harvest season. Since we need more workforce, we hired residents from the nearby villages.
Three young workers, likely teenagers, separated from their parents and walked towards the border and attempted to cross it out of curiosity, without knowing about the existence of an alarm system. They rushed back after the alarm. The Russian guards rushed to the scene and shut down the area to investigate.
On the other side of the checkpoint, there is a large investor called Caucasus Agro. Many of our residents work there. They pass the area through a special permit [by Russian border guards]. The alarm incident coincided with the moment these workers were supposed to return home. Since the checkpoint was shut down at the exact time they were supposed to return, they thought the Turks did something. And since a herd was left on the other side, they thought the shepherds were being kept hostage. This is how the information evolved and spread through the speed of light. The NSS has identified the teenagers with the help of Russian guards.
Residents: We know every shepherd here. No one was held hostage. The situation is calm. Villagers are busy with their daily work.
article, article, article, Tags: #FakeNews

Erdogan continues to receive criticism for the bombing in northern Iraq that killed several civilians

Turkey's opposition HDP party: The ruling AKP party carries political and legal responsibility for the attack. The parliament must convene an urgent meeting. Bombing civilian settlements is a crime against humanity and a war crime. Turkey is a direct party to international conventions prohibiting such attacks. This massacre is also an attack on the sovereignty of another state. Perpetrators and organizers must be held accountable.
Iraqi premier: This is a warning to Turkey. We have the right to take revenge. This attack was a violation of our sovereignty.
Armenia's Foreign Ministry: Our condolences to friendly Iraq and Iraqi people on the tragic death of civilians as a result of shelling in Zakho district. We strongly condemn violent acts against the civilian population and wish a speedy recovery to those injured. //
A Turkish military base in Kurdistan (northern Iraq) was targeted with at least 2 drones equipped with explosives today. One of them crashed, and the other was downed.
article, article, article,

today in history

1793: Scottish explorer Sir Alexander Mackenzie reaches the Pacific Ocean, becoming the first recorded human to complete a transcontinental crossing of North America.
1812: British forces led by the Duke of Wellington defeat Napoleon's army near Salamanca, Spain.
1893: Katharine Lee Bates writes "America the Beautiful" after admiring the view from the top of Pikes Peak near Colorado Springs.
1894: The first ever motor race is held in France between the cities of Paris and Rouen. The winner drove a 3-horsepower petrol-engined Peugeot.
1916: The WW1 brings carnage to Europe but the isolationism movement is strong in the US, especially in San Francisco and among labor unions. A "pro-war" group organizes a rally in San Francisco. A suitcase bomb explodes, killing and injuring 50, the worst terrorist attack in San Francisco's history. Two labor leaders are convinced and imprisoned but later found to be innocent. The identity of the bombers has never been determined.
1937: The US Senate, led by the "Joe Manchins" of the 1930s, voted down Franklin Roosevelt's proposal to add more justices to the Supreme Court. Roosevelt was trying to pack the Court after it abolished some of his New Deal programs. Luckily for Roosevelt, however, retirements allowed him to appoint new judges.
1992: Pablo Escobar escapes from his luxury prison in Medellin, fearing extradition to the US.
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what do producers say about the appreciation of dram, and depreciation of the dollar?

Armavir Fruit rep.: Our main export destination is the US. We export canned fruits and vegetables. The main problem is the fluctuation of the foreign currency and the appreciation of the dram. Thanks to the state assistance programs, people have started to build orchards and greenhouse farms. But the ongoing problems are transferred to farmers. We can't simply change the price for our US partners. We will lose our long-time partners. When the dollar drops by 20%, we operate at a loss when it comes to certain goods. We continue to export at a loss in order not to lose a market.
Spinnaker logistics firm: At the moment, all exporters suffer from the fluctuation of foreign currency. The dram appreciation, of course, is not something bad. But when it happens immediately, it is a problem. The prices in the field of cargo transportation are calculated in dollars.
Central Bank chief: We will not artificially depreciate dram because that would create a new wave of inflation that will impact all citizens, including exporters.
Armavir Fruit: The Upper Lars checkpoint is a major headache because of regular shutdowns. Armenian cargo trucks suffer greatly. We will soon have major agreements with Russian buyers, so it's going to get worse for us.
Spinnaker logistics: True. Upper Lars has always been bad, but this year the traffic is worse because of the flow of vehicles from other countries which cannot travel to Russia via Europe. We haven't exported apricot this year partly because we know we won't be able to quickly pass Georgia through these queues.
Government: To mitigate the problem of Lars, we'll subsidize ferry transfers via the Black Sea. It was expected to launch in June but the Dutch ferry company, the Poti port operator, has not granted permission yet and they have sanctions against Russia. [The government is negotiating with the other Black Sea port and a Philipino operator instead.]
Companies: The ferry transfer will mitigate the problem but it's a temporary solution.
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government plans to attract investors for use of uncultivated land

Economy Minister Kerobyan: A roadmap for land reform was recently presented to the Premier for approval. We launched a pilot program in 3 locations. The efforts aim to consolidate all uncultivated lands and make them available as a single land plot for large investors. We expect tangible progress by mid-2023.
There will also be a new program "investments in exchange for property and infrastructure". Details soon. //
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roadmap is developed to make Armenia's investment sector safer, easier, profitable, and simpler

USAID representative: A roadmap for investment reforms has been developed based on the best international experience. The document embodies the best standards, adapted to the Armenian conditions. It is an action plan.
This roadmap can serve as a guide to direct foreign direct investments in Armenia. We are ready to help Armenia in implementing the plan. It was developed by Armenian and international experts.
We've seen big progress in Armenia in this area. "Armenia Business Enabling Environment Project" was launched in 2020 to address many issues.
Economy Minister Kerobyan: The guide's proposals are in line with the economic realities of our country and the government's priorities. We have big expectations from this document. Its successful implementation will give tangible results by ensuring the target figures outlined in the 2021-2026 action plan.
Armenian and foreign businesses must be informed that thanks to several serious reforms, doing business in Armenia is becoming easier and safer, procedures are simplified.
The Ministry participated in the entire process of developing the roadmap. Many issues were adjusted and aligned with our programs. The goal is to [presumably by 2024] to increase the investments to 25% of GDP, and the foreign direct investments to 6% of GDP (currently at 1.7%). //
full video, article, article,

European Parliament's Foreign Affairs chief visited Armenia

Speaker Alen Simonyan hosted David McAllister on Friday, and thanked the EP for the efforts aimed at strengthening the resilience of the region, noting the AM-EU understanding around humanitarian issues after the war. They spoke about AM-AZ relations, unblocking roads, borders, and a need for a UNESCO mission to Artsakh.
Pashinyan: The EU is one of the key partners in the effective implementation of Armenia's democratic agenda. Armenia is holding leading positions in Eastern Partnership in the fight against corruption, freedom of speech, electoral reforms, and other directions.
David McAllister: We welcome Armenia's ongoing democratic reforms in different areas. The EU will continue to provide support. //
McAllister met representatives of all three parliamentary political forces.
David McAllister: The discussions with our Armenian partners were very useful and allowed us to better understand the concerns that Armenia has around security and humanitarian issues. Real and sincere efforts are required to establish lasting peace. These efforts must be based on the political will and commitment to implement the agreements reached to date. The EU gives great importance to the entire South Caucasus.
We've expressed our opinion through several resolutions. In 2021 the EP adopted a resolution demanding Azerbaijan release Armenian POWs and captives without preconditions. And in March of this year, the EP adopted a resolution about the destruction of cultural heritage in Nagorno Karabakh.
Despite the international challenges, Armenia continues to carry out the ambitious domestic reforms agenda and the efforts toward the AM-EU CEPA agreement.
Reporter: If you care about human rights, why did you sign a gas deal with the Azeri regime that has committed numerous war crimes and continues to oppress domestic opposition?
David McAllister: The EU has no choice but to reduce reliance on Russian energy. We must diversify the sources by importing more from Algiers, Qatar, or Azerbaijan. This won't prevent us from raising human rights issues.
video, article, article, article, article, article,

normalization of Armenia-Turkey diplomatic relations

Reporter: Yesterday a Turkish diplomat tied the AM-TR normalization efforts to Azerbaijan, with demands for a Zangezur corridor and a peace agreement between AM-AZ. Is this a violation of the agreement not to impose preconditions?
QP Aghajanyan: Not really. Turkey has always expressed those views, which we have never accepted. We have always stated that Turkey's words and actions don't always match. The AM-TR negotiations must continue without preconditions.
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National Academy of Sciences organized a startup contest for young experts

International Falling Walls Lab: We are coming to Armenia. Which wall will your research break? Pitch your innovative idea in just three minutes, showcasing a breakthrough that creates a positive impact on science and society. //
Young Armenian scientists presented 7 innovative ideas during the Thursday meeting organized by NAS. The winner was Lilith Guroghlyan from "QaylTecհ" company, for presenting the "Rehabilitation Device". [mobility tech for wounded veterans and disabled people in general]
The runner-up was the NAS's Organic & Pharma Center, for presenting an innovative idea about "Preliminary Diagnosis of Cirrhosis".
Hovhannes Manushyan took third place with "Prekog.ai", an automated crypto trading system.
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Armenian students won 2 bronze medals during the 18th International Geography Olympiad

That's 1 extra bronze compared to last year. Are you smart enough to locate Kiribati without Googling? I thought so...
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cost-friendly experimental preschool program will be implemented in several villages

The kindergarten in Tsaghkunk (Sevan, Gegharkunik) is being renovated as part of the efforts to implement a new preschool education program in 5 villages of Sevan.
Official: The government and UNICEF are working on a program that will allow villages that lack resources to provide the necessary education. The idea is to form classrooms with 10-15 children aged 3-6, without an age division. They will attend 3-5 hours a day, 5 days a week, free of charge.
After the merger of villages with Sevan, a contract was signed with UNICEF (funded by the EU). The teachers are being retrained to gain skills on how to organize the games and education effectively. //
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Armenia and Ethiopia discussed cooperation

Education Ministry hosted the Ethiopian ambassador (residence in Moscow).
Minister: Ethiopia is a key country in Africa. There are favorable conditions to develop our relations, thanks to the small but influential Armenian community, as well as the educational cooperation dating back to USSR.
Ambassador: Let's discuss education and sports cooperation. Our universities can exchange students and staff. We hope more Ethiopian students will have the opportunity to study in Armenian universities.
Minister: You are invited to attend the STARMUS science festival on September 5.
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Armenian tennis player's hotel room reportedly robbed in Hamburg

Karen Khachanov, an Armenian tennis star representing Russia, defeated his Italian opponent yesterday during the Hamburg tournament, but lost the match against the Spaniard today.
The Russian media reports that Khachanov's hotel room was robbed and even the safe was broken into. The German authorities are trying to find the thieves.
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apparently Armenian villagers love driving without license plates

Police: We understand that some cars are being used for transporting farming materials, but they still need a license plate to drive on public roads.
Last year we detected 11.7k such vehicles, and 5k in the first half of this year. The cars will be impounded regardless of the excuse. //
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renovations begin in Yerevan's saddest-looking park PHOTOS

Soviets built a park in the Malatia-Sebastia district in 1985, dedicated to the 40th anniversary of WW2 victory. Its fountains operated regularly until the early 2000s. The infrastructure has since deteriorated. Recently the municipality approved a plan to renovate the fountains and alleys.
Before and after photos, article,

aren't you a good citizen?

video

top-10 bestseller children's books in June

5) Հայկական հեքիաթներ, a collection of Armenian fairy tales.
4) Շաղգամը, by Atabek Khnkoyan.
3) Coraline, by Neil Gaiman.
2) Ով է ապրում տնակում, by Vladimir Suteyev.
1) Harry Potter and the Order or the Phoenix, by the canceled lady.
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in case you missed

Yesterday's news in English, русский (by Impossible-Ad-). Archive by Armeniapedia. Donate to Armenia & Artsakh here
The accused are innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law, even if they "appear" guilty.

State Supreme Court Rules Cops No Longer Need a Warrant to Enter Homes and Seize Evidence The Free Thought Project
By Justin Gardner on February 13, 2016
Wisconsin Just Lost its 4th Amendment Rights by the Single Vote of a Judge Appointed by Scott Walker
The Wisconsin Supreme Court just dealt a death blow to the Fourth Amendment, which is supposed to protect a citizen against unreasonable search and seizure. What’s more, the decision was made by a single, newly-appointed judge who was not even present when arguments were made in court.
In a 4-3 decision, the state’s highest court ruled that evidence seized in a person’s private home during a warrantless search can be used against the person under an expanded view of the “community caretaker” clause.
Police went to Charles Matalonis’ house after his brother was found bloodied at a nearby residence. Matalonis, admitting he fought with his brother, let the cops in, where they saw blood in the apartment and some cannabis. They wanted to look inside a locked room, and when Matalonis refused to unlock it, the cops broke in. There they found a cannabis growing setup, whereupon Matalonis was arrested and charged with manufacture of cannabis.
The Court of Appeals had previously ruled this to be an unreasonable search. However, in the majority opinion of the Supreme Court, “Justice Annette Ziegler found that police were not investigating a crime but exercising their “community caretaker” function by checking to make sure no other injured people were in the house.”
This was challenged by three other Justices, who argued that “by the time officers entered the locked room, some 20 minutes or more after they had been in the house, there was little reason to suspect someone else was in the bedroom, but plenty of reason to suspect it might house marijuana.”
If the case had remained deadlocked at 3-3, then the Court of Appeals ruling that the evidence should be suppressed would have stood. But in a move that is without precedent in the U.S. or the Wisconsin Supreme Courts, newly-appointed Justice Rebecca Bradley cast the deciding vote without participating in oral arguments.
“No precedent appears to exist in the United States Supreme Court or in this court for a new justice who did not participate in oral argument to participate in the case without re-argument,” said Justice Shirley Abrahamson.
Bradley was appointed by Governor Scott Walker after Justice Patrick Crooks passed away on Sept. 21, and is now running for election. Bradley had not participated in five earlier cases since her appointment, but decided to chime in on this one. She believed that listening to taped recordings of the arguments, instead of being there in person and involved, was sufficient for her to make the call.
So, an unelected judge appointed by a partisan politician cast a single vote, without being present during arguments, which effectively nullified the Fourth Amendment in that state. Now in Wisconsin, cops can enter a person’s home without a warrant, seize evidence and use it against the person.
The irony is that this attack on the Fourth Amendment is being carried out under the guise of cops being “community caretakers.” In other words, the state presumes that it is doing what’s best for the common good by violating the rights of the individual.
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Supreme Court Rules You Have No 4th Amendment Protection Against Cops Ignorant of the Law The Free Thought Project
By The Free Thought Project on December 30, 2014
In a blow to the constitutional rights of citizens, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 in Heien v. State of North Carolina that police officers are permitted to violate American citizens’ Fourth Amendment rights if the violation results from a “reasonable” mistake about the law on the part of police.
Acting contrary to the venerable principle that “ignorance of the law is no excuse,” the Court ruled that evidence obtained by police during a traffic stop that was not legally justified can be used to prosecute the person if police were reasonably mistaken that the person had violated the law. The Rutherford Institute had asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hold law enforcement officials accountable to knowing and abiding by the rule of law. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the Court’s lone dissenter, warned that the court’s ruling “means further eroding the Fourth Amendment’s protection of civil liberties in a context where that protection has already been worn down.”
The Rutherford Institute’s amicus brief in Heien v. North Carolina is available at www.rutherford.org.
“By refusing to hold police accountable to knowing and abiding by the rule of law, the Supreme Court has given government officials a green light to routinely violate the law,” said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute and author of the award-winning book A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State. “This case may have started out with an improper traffic stop, but where it will end—given the turbulence of our age, with its police overreach, military training drills on American soil, domestic surveillance, SWAT team raids, asset forfeiture, wrongful convictions, and corporate corruption—is not hard to predict. This ruling is what I would call a one-way, nonrefundable ticket to the police state.”
In April 2009, a Surry County (N.C.) law enforcement officer stopped a car traveling on Interstate 77, allegedly because of a brake light which at first failed to illuminate and then flickered on. The officer mistakenly believed that state law prohibited driving a car with one broken brake light. In fact, the state traffic law requires only one working brake light. Nevertheless, operating under a mistaken understanding of the law, during the course of the stop, the officer asked for permission to search the car. Nicholas Heien, the owner of the vehicle, granted his consent to a search. Upon the officer finding cocaine in the vehicle, he arrested and charged Heien with trafficking. Prior to his trial, Heien moved to suppress the evidence seized in light of the fact that the officer’s pretext for the stop was erroneous and therefore unlawful. Although the trial court denied the motion to suppress evidence, the state court of appeals determined that since the police officer had based his initial stop of the car on a mistaken understanding of the law, there was no valid reason for the stop in the first place. On appeal, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that even though the officer was wrong in concluding that the inoperable brake light was an offense, because the officer’s mistake was a “reasonable” one, the stop of the car did not violate the Fourth Amendment and the evidence resulting from the stop did not need to be suppressed. In weighing in on the case before the U.S. Supreme Court, Rutherford Institute attorneys warn against allowing government agents to “benefit” from their mistakes of law, deliberate or otherwise, lest it become an incentive for abuse.
Affiliate attorney Christopher F. Moriarty assisted The Rutherford Institute in advancing the arguments in the amicus brief before the U.S. Supreme Court.
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Study Shows White Students Commit Crimes Eight Times More Than Minorities Before Being Arrested
ring of fire
Josh de Leon
September 18, 2015
The arrest of Ahmed Mohamed is just a single example of a larger problem in America. Well-behaved boys of color are more likely to get imprisoned than white boys who cause trouble, according to a recent study.
Boys of color are, on average, twice as likely to get arrested and imprisoned as their white counterparts, according to a study published the research journal, Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice. White students who said they’d committed 40 crimes within the period of a year were as likely to get imprisoned as black and Hispanic students who committed only five crimes within that same timeframe.
“Youth of color are not given the benefit of the doubt. The presumption of innocence is just not there for them and certainly wasn’t there for him in this case,” said juvenile crime attorney Thena Robinson-Mock. “In my opinion, had Ahmed been a white student, this would not have happened to him.”
That discrimination isn’t exclusive only to the juvenile justice system. It’s prevalent within schools, as well. It was found that the words “defiance” and “disobedience” were more likely to be attached to students of color than white students.
Not only are students of color more likely to be charged with crimes, but the punishments are also likely to be harsher. Racial discrimination is still present in America, and Mohamed’s case isn’t an isolated incident.
For more on this story, visit the Washington Post Ahmed isn’t alone: Well-behaved minority boys more likely to be imprisoned than white troublemakers
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SWAT Lobby to Congress Hands Off Our Mine-Resistant Vehicles! - The Daily Beast
08.21.14
Tim Mak
Congressional lawmakers aren’t so hot on the idea of military equipment going to local cops anymore, and that makes national police organizations nervous.
In an attempt to counter widespread concern over “militarized” local police departments, law enforcement groups are pressing Capitol Hill to not cut off the supply of armored vehicles, body armor and other military equipment to the nation’s cops.
This week, the National Tactical Officers Association, the lobbying group for 1,600 SWAT teams across the country, emailed all legislative staffers in the House and Senate to express that they shared in “our nation’s grief” over the events in Ferguson, Missouri.
But their ultimate message was unmistakable: Don’t take away our gear.
“The police have to be one step ahead of the criminal element, have to be prepared for the worst-case scenario. You don’t want a community to be taken over by one or many criminals,” NTOA Executive Director Mark Lomax explained to The Daily Beast. “We’re definitely for equipping our law enforcement officials out there properly, with proper training and proper policies.”
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So far, most of the conversation in Washington, D.C., has tended in the other direction, and a number of lawmakers say they want to curtail or eliminate the transfer of military equipment to civilian law enforcement.
...
end of article
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SWAT Raids Innocent Family, Shoots 12yo Boy in Bed, Covers Up Body Cam—Lawsuit
the free thought project
An innocent child is left permanently disabled after a SWAT team raided his house and shot him, exploding his knee cap.
Matt Agorist  August 13, 2019
Chicago, IL — In their effort to go after people for possessing and selling substances deemed illegal by the state, US law enforcement personnel will lay waste to anyone in their path. As TFTP has reported time and again, even innocent children, including sleeping babies, are not exempt from the terror and violence doled out by the American Drug Warriors. A 12-year-old boy in Illinois learned this the hard way recently after cops shot him and shattered his knee cap during a fruitless raid to make a drug arrest.
On the night of May 26, 2019, Amir Worship was sitting on the edge of his brother’s bed when SWAT cops burst into their family’s home and began deploying flash bang grenades and holding everyone at gunpoint. According to a lawsuit filed in Illinois state court this month, Amir had his hands up when a cop shot him in the knee cap. Amir is now left permanently disabled.
Police were executing a search warrant for Amir’s mother’s boyfriend, Mitchell Thurman.
Thurman was arrested that night, but the criminal case against him was later dropped — meaning the entire violent ordeal that left a 12-year-old child shot and permanently disabled was for nothing.
According to the lawsuit, a SWAT team officer shot Worship in his bedroom after the room had been secured “and long after it was obvious that a 12-year-old child posed no threat.”
“In fact, 12-year-old Amir was shot, shot while sitting on the edge of the bed with his hands up,” the lawsuit says. “An officer shot him with his assault rifle, striking him in the knee and shattering his knee cap. At that moment, this officer was pointing his rifle directly at shirtless Amir as he sat on the edge of his brother’s bed.”
Adding to the unscrupulous nature of the raid is that according to the lawsuit, after the officer
exploded the 12-year-old boy’s knee cap, he covered his body camera and put black tape over his badge number as not to be identified.
The Worship family’s attorney, Al Hofeld, Jr., told Reason Magazine that the police departments denied records requests for body camera footage from the incident.
“Amir will never be able to play sports again,” the suit says. “This part of his childhood has been taken from him forever. He will never again experience the sheer physical joy of walking or running normally.”
During a press conference last week, Amir’s mother Crystal Worship fought back tears as she noted how that night changed their lives forever. “It will never be the same,” she said.
“He’s my angel,” Worship said at the news conference about Amir. “As a mom, I’m supposed to protect him and I wasn’t there.”
Because of their gross negligence and incompetence, the city of Chicago is facing a slew of lawsuits for raiding the homes of innocent people — allegedly by mistake. TFTP has reported on several of these lawsuits in which cops raided a four-year-old’s birthday party and held other children at gunpoint.
As TFTP reported last month, one of these families has been raided — mistakenly — three times in just the last four months.
“There was no time to breathe in between,” said Krystal Archie, 38, whose home in the 6800 block of South Dorchester Ave has been repeatedly raided by incompetent and often extremely rude cops. “I’d get my house together, and they were back in my house.”
According to the Washington Post, Amir’s mother is suing the city of Country Club Hills, Ill., the village of Richton Park and several police officers for damages in excess of $50,000, alleging negligence, willful and wanton conduct, assault, battery, false arrest and imprisonment, and emotional distress.
“There is a silent epidemic of trauma being perpetrated upon the children and families of color by Chicago and South Suburban police barreling into the wrong homes, handcuffing innocent adults, holding guns on children, handcuffing children, trashing their homes, refusing to show warrants, and screaming dehumanizing commands,” Hofeld said in a press release. “Now, children are being shot in their beds.”
According to the Washington Post, Illinois State Police received a request from the Richton Park Police Department to investigate a shooting involving one of their officers that occurred at the time of the raid. The investigation is open and ongoing.
“Someone should be held responsible,” Crystal Worship said. We agree.
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Texas Governor Wants Christian Crosses On Cop Cars
Addicting Info
Randa Morris
February 7, 2016 5:53 pm
In a brief sent to the state Attorney General’s office on February 5, Texas Governor Greg Abbott insisted that putting Christian crosses on police vehicles is a Constitutional right.
In his brief, Abbott wrote:
“Even under the U.S. Supreme Court’s expansive interpretation of the Establishment Clause’s limited and unambiguous text, the Court has never held that public officials are barred from acknowledging our religious heritage. To the contrary, the U.S. Supreme Court has long recognized the demographic and historical reality that Americans ‘are a religious people whose institutions presuppose a Supreme Being.’”
Of course that an absolute lie. The Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled against any government sponsorship or endorsement of religion.
Abbott goes on to claim that Christian cross bumper stickers on police vehicles “neither establish a religion nor threaten any person’s ability to worship God, or decline to worship God, in his own way.”
I wonder if he would feel the same way about Islamic symbols on police vehicles? What about symbols used by the church of Satan? Do those belong on police vehicles?
Like most Americans, I am tired of hearing the religious right whine about how their religion is under attack in the U.S., every time a judge tells them they cannot use public funds and resources to promote their personal religious beliefs.
There is a big difference between the state oppressing Christians and the state banning Christians from promoting or endorsing their religion with taxpayer dollars and/or taxpayer property.
If you want to put a Christian bumper sticker on your personal vehicle, no-one is standing in your way. If you want to put one on a publicly owned vehicle, that’s an entirely different story.
Why is this so difficult for right-wing Christians to comprehend?
Much to the dismay of the Christian right, the government is not a vehicle for enforcing their hypocritical religious beliefs on the public.
In light of the Christian right’s constant attempts to use government to force their religious doctrine on others, it makes perfect sense that they would try to slap Biblical bumper stickers on police cars.
When state legislatures pass laws banning oral and anal sex, denying rights to the LGBT community, attempting to ban non-Christians from practicing their religious beliefs, making atheist marriage illegal, even suggesting laws that would make not going to church a crime, it’s already frighteningly clear that they want police to act as the armed enforcers of their religious doctrine.
In spite of Governor Abbott’s ill-informed brief on this subject, even the slightest semblance of police being used as the “enforcers of Christianity” is a clear violation of the Establishment Clause.
Over and over and over again these right-wing nuts whine about how their religion is being oppressed in the United States.
Let’s get something straight. Religious oppression is when the government attempts to keep you from practicing your religion on your own time and using your own resources. Barring you from using the stuff other people paid for to promote your religion, is not oppressive.
If the government were to force all Christians to wear a special ID badge designating their religion, that would be oppressive. Or if the government were to bar Christians from entering the country, simply because of their religion, that would be oppressive. Or if the government were to create a special database for Christians so that they could be easily identified and closely watched, that would be oppressive.
Only the government does not do that to Christians.
On the other hand, right-wing Christians in government, including Texas Governor, Greg Abbott, sincerely want to do those things to Muslims.
Thankfully, the establishment clause was created to protect Christians from experiencing the kind of government oppression they would gladly inflict on others.
It’s also there to protect the rest of us from right-wing Christians who would use our government, our tax dollars, our public property and our public employees to force their skewed version of Christianity down everyone’s throat with a police-issued revolver.
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Texas Police Officer Cops Killing People is Justified Because the Bible Says So The Free Thought Project
By Matt Agorist on April 18, 2014
“When Jesus comes back, he will be the man of war. When he comes back, there will be a whole lot of killing going on.” -Sgt Charles Eipper
rtv6 News.com
April 18, 2014
(WICHITA FALLS, Texas) — SWAT Officer Charlie Eipper lowered his head to his rifle, peered through his Simmons scope, searched for his target, and fired.
When he killed a man in the line of duty on Jan. 10, 1999, he was confident that Jesus Christ condoned — even supported — his use of deadly force.
He spelled out his convictions — and the Bible’s support for them — in his book “Jesus Christ on Killing,” self-published March 5.
The book is available on Amazon.
Eipper has considered himself a professional warrior in the service of his country for the past 23 years. He served three years as a helicopter pilot in the Army, then 16 years on the Wichita Falls Police Department SWAT team as a sniper and team leader of the gang unit.
Sgt. Charlie Eipper turns in a report to records supervisor Alice Harrison during his shift as an officer for the Wichita Falls Police Department in Wichita Falls, Texas. Image Credit: rtv6News
His service has required him to use deadly force in several incidents. Currently, he is a patrol sergeant.
In the early days, Eipper — a devoted follower of Christ — said he was misinformed about how Jesus viewed his mission of protection and defense. He’d been told killing of any kind was wrong, which was a troubling stance in his line of work.
But after studying the Bible with the help of Grace Church Pastor Tom Rodgers, today Eipper is confident that Jesus Christ supports warriors and anyone acting in self-defense.
After three years of intense study for the writing of his book, he is articulate on the subject of Jesus Christ and killing and eager to share it with other military and law enforcement colleagues and Christians.
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Texas Sheriff My Power Comes From God--Wants To Get Rid Of 'Innocent Until Proven Guilty'
By Andrew Bradford on September 5, 2015
There sure seems to be a lot of what can best be called “Religion Run Wild” right now in the United States. Whether it’s Kim Davis in Kentucky or Ted Cruz asserting that the Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage ruling has created Christian “victims,” the right wing is going batshit gonzo crazy these days.
Which brings us to Texas, which is often the incubator for the stupid and extreme. Hunt County Sheriff Randy Meeks wrote an op-ed in the Herald-Banner newspaper, and here’s what has been percolating in his brain:
“Due to recent events, I can no longer be silent concerning what our country allows. It is amazing to me that the criminals who break into our homes and steal from us, those who sell drugs to our children, those who abuse innocent and defenseless children, those who rape our wives and daughters, those who commit cold-blooded murders are all innocent until proven guilty. Yet, law enforcement officers are found guilty as soon as it ‘appears’ that the officer has done something wrong. Way before the whole incident can be reviewed and the TRUTH obtained, that officer is found guilty and nobody cares what the facts are. This folks, is a travesty!”
The real travesty is that a newspaper gave space to this asshat for his objectionable and ignorant views, but I will temporarily suspend my objections so I can continue.
Next, Sheriff Meeks complains that America is now a “Godless nation,” and he writes:
“Guess where that authority comes from to law enforcement? It comes from God. Read Romans 13:1 in the Bible. And while you are at it, you folks in Ferguson, Baltimore, Arlington and here, take a Gander at Romans 13:2.”
Yes, by all means let’s take a look at the verses Brother Meeks refers to:
“Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.”
If this is the case, then there’s no need for Sheriff Meeks to run for election, now is there? God will place him in his position of power.
Allow me to say what I have said many times in cases like this: We do not run this country by the Bible, we run it by a Constitution. If these public officials want to live in a theocracy, we should put them on a plane to Iran or some other country where religion comes before the rule of law.
So, Sheriff Meeks, how soon can you have your bags packed?
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Speeding Off-Duty Cop Slams Into Car, Killing an Infant, but the Child’s Mother Also Faces Homicide Charges_ Report
The Root
Breanna Edwards
3/01/18 8:39 am
Brittany Stephens
Photo: Baton Rouge, La., Police DepartmentA Baton Rouge, La., police officer was arrested almost two weeks ago on charges of negligent homicide after being accused of causing a crash that killed a 1-year-old infant and injured multiple other people.
Normally, one would think that the story would end there, with the officer going to trial and facing whatever repercussions were deemed appropriate.
However, this week, according to The Advocate, the child’s mother was also arrested on the exact same charge after police accused her of contributing to the death by failing to properly secure the baby, Seyaira Stephens, in her car seat.
Mom Brittany Stephens, 20, was arrested Tuesday after police apparently discovered that her daughter’s car seat had not been secured and the straps not adjusted to fit Seyaira’s height. Police said that the “lack of securing the seat to the vehicle and the loose straps are a contributing factor in the death” of the baby and show “gross negligence.”
Stephens was not driving the vehicle when the crash occurred, but told officers that she had secured the car seat with the baby inside. Police say otherwise, and police spokesperson Sgt. L’Jean McKneely said that because of this, Stephens was arrested as “the person responsible for the buckling of the car seat.”
She was subsequently booked on one count of negligent homicide and seat belt violation. The three other adults who were in the car with Stephens at the time of the crash were also given traffic citations. McKneely said that more people were riding in the vehicle than seats available.
From The Advocate:
Breea Gross, 18, was driving when the crash occurred and was cited for driving without a license, seat belt violation and three counts of child safety restraint violation. Janice Gross, 40, was cited for allowing an unlicensed driver to drive her vehicle and seat belt violation. Seth Eames, 23, also cited for seat belt violation.
The fatal crash occurred around 8 p.m. on Oct. 12, 2017, after authorities say Police Officer Christopher Manuel, driving a Corvette off-duty at 94 mph, slammed into the passenger side of the Nissan, which was carrying a total of four adults and four children.
Police Officer Christopher Manuel
Photo: Baton Rouge, La., Police Department
The speed limit in the area is 50 mph.
All of the Nissan’s occupants were transported to the hospital for injuries.
Seyaira later died.
Manuel, 28, was ultimately arrested on Feb. 16 on charges of negligent homicide and speeding. He has been on paid administrative leave since the accident and has been walking free after posting $15,000 bail on the day he was booked.
Baton Rouge police say that a blood test showed Manuel was not impaired at the time of the crash.
Despite the arrests, East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore III said Tuesday that his office has not yet decided whether Stephens or Manuel will formally face charges, saying only that prosecutors “will review all reports, charges and arrests and make the appropriate decisions based upon facts and law.”
Stephens has since also posted her $3,600 bond and was released from jail by Wednesday morning.
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So ugly Florida officer tases 62-year-old woman in the back just for the hell of it
shaunking
Daily Kos
Wed Oct 01, 2014 at 11:06 AM PDT
After police arrived on the scene of her Tallahassee, Florida, neighborhood, 62-year-old Viola Young asked them why they were there. Told to turn around, Young did so and walked away. While walking away, at just about 2:31 in this video shot by a local resident, the officer brutally uses his stun gun to tase Young in the back. Immediately, she falls flat on her face. It's brutal.
No charges have been brought and the officer is currently on paid leave.
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St_ Louis police chief defends fatal shooting by officers - Yahoo News#
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Slur-spewing cop terrorizes black family while burglarizing their home — and still has a job with the NYPD – Raw Story
September 13, 2019
By Tana Ganeva
A 25-year-old NYPD cop who broke into a home in Nashville while on vacation and screamed racial expletives at a black family pled no contest to aggravated criminal trespassing and three counts of assault, reports the Tennessean.
Michael Reynolds was staying at an Airbnb next door to Conese Halliburton and her sons. At 2:30 am, he broke into the home– drunk–and proceeded to stomp around from room to room threatening the family.
According to surveillance footage, he screamed:
“Try to shoot me, I’ll break every bone in your f(expletive) neck. You f(expletive) n(expletive).”
Halliburton described being terried, reports News Channel 5.
“He made it past the rst bedroom, down the hall to like two more bedrooms and the only thing that stopped him was my sons. So it was scary,” Halliburton said.
Halliburton is represented by Nashville attorney Daniel Horwitz, who said Reynolds should be red from the New York Police Department.
“I think he’s a racist. I think he is not t to carry a badge or a gun,” Horwitz said. “There’s no possible excuse for it. He is tasked with upholding the law rather than violating it.”
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Shocking Video of Phoenix Cops Holding Black Family at Gunpoint Over $1 Doll _ Heavy.com
By EllynSantiago
Updated Jun 14, 2019 at 9:50pm
The term shocking is oft used to describe surprising or eye-popping viral videos.
There may be no more ‘shocking’ videos than these of Phoenix police pulling guns on a young black family in a parking lot over the alleged shoplifting of a 99-cent Barbie-like doll from a dollar store.
On May 29, Dravon Ames, 22, his pregnant ancée Iesha Harper, 24, and their daughters, Island, 4 and 1-year-old London, were held at gunpoint by several screaming Phoenix police ofcers. Police were responding to an anonymous caller about a possible shoplifting incident of a dollar store Barbie doll. Court documents show that the dollar store did not call for police. With guns drawn, and screaming orders rife with foul language, cops surrounded the family at their car, pulled guns, and threatened to kill them.
You can watch the full video of the incident below:
The police were not wearing body cameras and did not le any report, a court document states.
“This is everything that’s wrong with (law enforcement) today, ” AZ State Senator Martín Quezada tweeted, adding the “community deserves better than this type of inexcusable and unjustiable rage and abuse of power from the Phoenix police.”
"My hands are up! My hands are up!" 22yo Dravon Ames says as a Phoenix police ofcer yells to "get your fucking hands up." The same ofcer later says "You're gonna fucking get shot!"
Ames says the ofcers stopped him after his child walked out of a Dollar Store with a doll. pic.twitter.com/Nlkd7IXsyc
— Meg O'Connor (@megoconnor13) June 12, 2019
There are a number of videos from various angles. In one, ofcers can be heard screaming and cursing at the couple in front of their children to “put your f*****g hands up.” A cop is seen pointing a gun at the car, with children inside, while another cop yells, “You’re gonna f*****g get shot!”
An ofcer is seen slamming Ames’ face against a cruiser and kicks his legs and punches him in the back while he’s pinned to the police car. “When I tell you to do something, you f*****g do it,
” the cop yells at Ames a number of times. Ames says he’s com lying and is seen in the video complying. The other ofcer is seen trying to snatch Harper’s baby out of her arms. He screams at her to put her hands up while she’s holding her baby. Then screams at her to put the baby down on the pavement.
Harper said that a cop told her he could have “shot you in front of your fuc*ing kids” as she was arrested, handcuffed and placed inside a police cruiser.
From the look of the video these cops were prepared to execute an entire family for absolutely nothing. https://t.co/HPUBd44zx6
— b-boy bouiebaisse (@jbouie) June 14, 2019
The chilling threat that can be heard on the video that has stunned people the most from police called to a possible shoplifting incident, is this:
“I’m gonna put a cap right in your f*****g head!”
Phoenix police refuse to name the ofcers, but in the complaint obtained by Heavy, which can be read in full here and below, it’s believed the cop that threatened to kill Ames is named Myer, Meyer or Meyers.
Late Friday afternoon, police issued a statement. They claim that the couple had stolen underwear from the dollar store and say that they “quickly” drove away and were pursued. The couple told police about the doll, police admit in the statement. But police also claim “the man,” presumably Ames, threw a pair of “stolen” underwear out of the car window. Police also admit they did not believe the family was armed. They said that since the dollar store wasn’t interested in prosecuting the couple, no charges were led. But Ames, police allege, was driving with a suspended license and that led to his car being impounded. Police described the entire incident, the violent arrest and threats to shoot the family, as, “a man and woman in the car were taken into custody and detained.”
The full statement is below.
Then Friday night, Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams posted a video statement to Facebook. She spoke about her officers “making contact” with the couple. She said, “like you, I’m disturbed by the language and action of our officer, ” saying the incident is “not representative of the majority” of the police department.
The full minute-long video is below.
Here’s what you need to know:
A local clergy member advocating for, and speaking on behalf of, the family says that the Phoenix police department’s claim that it will investigate to see whether excessive force was used is stunning in its audacity.
“Clearly, excessive force was used. Clearly, policies and procedure were not followed.
Clearly, body cameras were not being utilized. Clearly, the ofcers felt empowered to be disrespectful and abusive,
” said Reverend Jarrett Maupin. “What we demand to know is, what kind of background these ofcers have? They held toddlers and a pregnant woman at gunpoint, grabbed a mother and infant by the neck, dislocated a 1-year-old’s arm, endangered a delicate pregnancy, terrorized and tortured a young father, and nobody was charged or jailed. These ofcers must be held accountable. We want justice.”
In an email to Heavy, Maupin said, more than 10 independent eyewitnesses have agreed to come forward and cooperate with the family’s lawyers and with any investigations that may be conducted.
.@phoenixpolice All of this over a 4 yr old taking ONE toy from a dollar store!?😠 These "ofcers" need to undergo psych eval, urinalysis and blood draw. Warning MUCH foul language from police officers https://t.co/WZT0bThjSd via @azfamily
Floie Frazier (@oief) June 14, 2019
“We have an unprecedented number of citizens coming forward to share footage and give eye-witness accounts. So many residents were shocked to see police being so abusive with a pregnant mother and kids. So many people were concerned that the father was going to end up dead because of police brutality and the violence of officers, ” Maupin said.
Ofcers never recovered the allegedly stolen doll.
#RT u/shaunking: RT u/Blackmediagrp: Update!
No Charges Were Filed And The Family Is Suing #Phoenix PD
"Someone Might End Up Dead Next Time, It Might Be A Police Ofce Cause I Don't Know Many Black Man Who Would Let Them Put Their Hand On Their Pregnant… pic.twitter.com/YSDxT65Y88
— Dick and Sharon (@DickandSharon) June 14, 2019
In the second video, which Maupin believes “is worse than the rst …ofcers are acting like bullies and thugs. They endangered an unborn child and traumatized two toddlers.
Shame on them and shame on the department for not suspending them immediately – without pay.”
Ames’ older brother is worried about his sibling.
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end of article
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Sheriff Mistakes Innocent Man for Suspect, Dumps 10 Rounds Into Him—NO CHARGES
the free thought project
A Texas sheriff opened fire on a moving vehicle after mistaking him for a criminal, nearly killing the motorist and will face no consequences.
Jack Burns September 2, 2019
Kimble County, TX — Kimble County Sheriff Hilario Cantu is taking fire in the form of criticism after he opened fire on an innocent man, dumping 10 rounds into him and his truck.
Quite unlike what the general public would face, in the form of criminal charges, Cantu will likely face no charges, serve no time in jail, and will potentially not even be disciplined for shooting up the wrong moving vehicle. What started out as a traffic stop for a missing license plate nearly turned deadly for both one police officer and one hapless innocent bystander.
When officer Lee Meadow pulled over a Gray Chevy Colorado pickup he had no idea the motorist would allegedly pull out a gun and shoot at him as he was standing beside the driver’s side window. After the certain brush with death, the suspect fled. Meadow then radioed in that a suspect in a Gray Chevy Colorado had shot at him and then fled.
Hearing the call come over the radio, Cantu and another deputy grabbed some long guns, and ran out of the police precinct to intercept the wanna-be cop killer. Cantu and his deputy took a position along an exit of the highway and noticed a truck coming in their direction and believed it to be the suspect vehicle. Cantu took aim and fired 10 rounds of .223 ammunition from his AR-15 into the truck. But there was one major problem. The truck Cantu shot was a White Silverado not a Gray Colorado. It also had only two doors—not four.
Despite there being a difference in size between the two vehicles, and the fact the truck was a completely different color, Cantu fired at the truck nonetheless. The sheriff’s bullets found their mark with at least one of the bullets piercing the side of Hugo Reyes, an oil field worker from West Texas. Reyes was on the phone with his wife, Amparo Villareal, at the time he was shot. She told reporters:
He told me he saw the police on the side of the road…He thought it was weird that they had big guns…Suddenly we heard this ruckus. I thought he’d gotten distracted and he’d hit somebody. Then the phone cut off.
Reyes has yet to make a formal statement but his lawyer described what happened next to the innocent victim in the shooting. Bobby Garcia, the family’s lawyer, said Reyes was treated like a cop shooter when he arrived at the hospital and said the man suffered dearly. According to the Houston Chronicle:
He said Reyes was hit by several bullets and suffered two collapsed lungs and an injured liver. Villarreal said her husband spent several days in the hospital. She said he only recently was able to return to work.
The family is now over $250,000 in debt to medical bills and they have yet to receive so much as an apology from Cantu or the county. Garcia says it has been an apparent nightmare for the family. They have yet to file a lawsuit against the sheriff and the county.
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end of article

Hope i formatted this right. I’m on my way from Seattle down to Phoenix, and yesterday a ball joint went out in my truck, and I had to either pay $700 to get it fixed or let it go to impound. I’m overdrawn on my bank account now. I’m scheduled to work in Phoenix all of the week after next, but I don’t have enough money to pay for gas or food to get down there.

TL;DR -
New Lyft driver here - I started NYE night - in a border community (Arizona-Mexico).
I need advice from the hive...
Both nights I had late night pickups (about 1:30 am) in the community with similar destinations (hotels on Interstate 8 - a major drug and human-trafficking corridor.)
Both trips involved what i suspected to be Creole-speaking Haitians with limited English skills - so it does not involve a lot of questions from me.
How am I to know if the Lyft reservation is really a sketchy attempt to cross illegally into the US?
When I realized what these trips were involving, I went to the Border Patrol sector office to report what I experienced this morning.
The BP Duty Officer shut me down in 2 seconds, and said if I said anything more I might be admitting to human smuggling. S**t.
He said it was a growing issue with Lyft and Uber drivers in our border area, and if we are caught (very high probability) - we will be arrested, car impounded, blah, blah, blah. It's a federal arrest - so it's not like I would be able to post bail. It's Federal Magistrate 4 hours away in Phoenix.
Officer stated that Lyft will not come to my defense, and I am on my own until things are investigated.
These Lyft pick up areas are known to have heavy law enforcement surveillance 24/7/365 with drones, infrared cameras, and police stakeouts. 1,200+ migrants per day are streaming past the agents to the nearby Interstate and it's whack-a-mole for Border Patrol. Also, most of the migrants are coerced into carrying backpacks with LOTS of meth and fentanyl to "pay" for their trip.
If I decline rides after I show "arrived" - what excuse reason should I use?
Do I get penalized by Lyft if I turn down sketchy rides too many times that I am not comfortable with?
I learned from "the street" that other Lyft/Uber drivers get the same pickups, and when they get to the local destination - the offer is $500 (each passenger) in cash to continue to take them to San Diego or Los Angeles immediately.
I know what common sense tells me to do with this scenario - but I how do I decline the pickup for obvious reasons and not catch Lyft feedback about declining rides.
By the way, I am not worried about physical harm from the migrants - I am worried about the "coyotes" who know my Lyft profile, vehicle, etc., and pissing them off - AND being arrested by Border Patrol. The coyotes are monitoring the pickup/dropoff, and texting the migrants the entire time.
What say you Lyft-Nation? Any suggestions are welcome.