People in Berrien County who could facilitate the search for Timothy Allen but refuse
Chief county prosecutor Art Cotter
Sheriff Paul Bailey
St. Joseph Township Police Chief Ross Bates
County Commissioners:
Dave Pagel
Mac Elliott
John LaMore
Debra Panozzo
Marletta Seats
Jon Hinkelman
Zach Perkins
Bob Wooley
Mamie L. Yarbrough
Bryan Bixby
Jeanette Leahey
Cathy Thieneman
Andy Vavra
Rep. Fred Upton
Benton Harbor Police Chief Roger Lange
State Rep. Al Pscholka
State Sen. John Proos
Rev. Pinkney has received new information indicating that St. Joe Twnshp. police spoke to Mr. Allen in a rude manner. The video is in the possession of BH police who refuse to allow citizens to view it, except for Allen's family.
Showing posts with label Sheriff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sheriff. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Judge Charles Lasata plays doctor
Buckle your seat belt and breathe deeply.
Beverly Lewis from Benton Harbor has only a third grade education due to severe epilepsy and a school system lacking resources. She suffers several seizures per day and is heavily medicated. Needless to say, Ms. Lewis, late 30's, is physically and mentally handicapped. (Her father happens to be the deceased wrestler, Bo Bo Brazil.)
On January 5, 2011, Ms. Lewis attended the infamous Berrien County courthouse for allegedly attacking a woman. Judge Lasata, suddenly playing the role of court physician, told Ms. Lewis that she fakes the seizures she has lived with for decades.
She was unlucky enough to have public defender Scott Sanford as counsel.
Court watchers cannot think of a case Sanford has won in a decade, and know him primarily for saying the words, "Plead guilty." Ms. Lewis has led an exemplary life, has never even received a parking ticket, but was forced to plead guilty to this crime which she did not commit.
At first she did refuse, but after Sanford hit her in the face with some papers and told her he would see that she spent the rest of her life in prison, she didn't know any better than to plead guilty. We can say with confidence that the main goal of the courthouse is to imprison for life as many BH residents as possible.
In the county jail, two days later, she sent word that she needed some assistance, so, true to common Berrien County jail practice, a guard was sent to beat her up.
Judge Lasata must be stopped.
The story ends here for now. It is our constitutional duty to hold law enforcement and courts accountable for their actions, inactions, and wrongdoing. We must fight for justice.
There is a saying in Berrien County: Do not fight Whirlpool. Why? They can
financially ruin you and do great harm to you and your family. Whirlpool controls every aspect of Berrien, including the courthouse and judges.
Buckle your seat belt and breathe deeply.
Beverly Lewis from Benton Harbor has only a third grade education due to severe epilepsy and a school system lacking resources. She suffers several seizures per day and is heavily medicated. Needless to say, Ms. Lewis, late 30's, is physically and mentally handicapped. (Her father happens to be the deceased wrestler, Bo Bo Brazil.)
On January 5, 2011, Ms. Lewis attended the infamous Berrien County courthouse for allegedly attacking a woman. Judge Lasata, suddenly playing the role of court physician, told Ms. Lewis that she fakes the seizures she has lived with for decades.
She was unlucky enough to have public defender Scott Sanford as counsel.
Court watchers cannot think of a case Sanford has won in a decade, and know him primarily for saying the words, "Plead guilty." Ms. Lewis has led an exemplary life, has never even received a parking ticket, but was forced to plead guilty to this crime which she did not commit.
At first she did refuse, but after Sanford hit her in the face with some papers and told her he would see that she spent the rest of her life in prison, she didn't know any better than to plead guilty. We can say with confidence that the main goal of the courthouse is to imprison for life as many BH residents as possible.
In the county jail, two days later, she sent word that she needed some assistance, so, true to common Berrien County jail practice, a guard was sent to beat her up.
Judge Lasata must be stopped.
The story ends here for now. It is our constitutional duty to hold law enforcement and courts accountable for their actions, inactions, and wrongdoing. We must fight for justice.
There is a saying in Berrien County: Do not fight Whirlpool. Why? They can
financially ruin you and do great harm to you and your family. Whirlpool controls every aspect of Berrien, including the courthouse and judges.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Daily Crimes Against Humanity
The Sick and Twisted Values of St. Joseph, Michigan and the Rogue Berrien county court
1. Shannon McKinney, a Benton Harbor man in his 30's, was a victim of former officer Andrew Collins. Today McKinney must go to court for a charge of which he is innocent. Collins planted drugs on him, he did time, and was one of the few to be released from prison by Prosecutor Art Cotter after Collins was convicted. Now, law enforcement is going after those who were released.
McKinney was recently stopped by deputy Haskin who told McKinney he'll "make life hell for him." Haskin took McKinney's truck, impounded it, took all of McKinney's money, and issued a warrant for his arrest. He charged him with Delivery of Drugs. Now McKinney doesn't know what to do. In a different vehicle, McKinney was stopped a second time by Haskin who put a gun to his head - payback for McKinney filing a complaint with the county. Haskin found it in the car, took it, and tore it up.
2. Rishar Goss, a BH man in his 30's, has been in county jail for armed robbery. Yesterday was his preliminary examination in Berrien county court. Always on the lookout for new ways to ruin black peoples' lives, Wes Smigielski brought a 15 year old boy to court to lie and say Rishar Goss was part of a group who committed a robbery. Unexpectedly, the boy's father showed up before the examination and told his son not to lie. Bolstered with confidence, he answered prosecutor Mike Sepic's repeated 'question:'
"You said Goss was part of the robbery" by stating,
"No, Smigielski said that."
The case was dismissed.
BRAVO to the teenager!
The Sick and Twisted Values of St. Joseph, Michigan and the Rogue Berrien county court
1. Shannon McKinney, a Benton Harbor man in his 30's, was a victim of former officer Andrew Collins. Today McKinney must go to court for a charge of which he is innocent. Collins planted drugs on him, he did time, and was one of the few to be released from prison by Prosecutor Art Cotter after Collins was convicted. Now, law enforcement is going after those who were released.
McKinney was recently stopped by deputy Haskin who told McKinney he'll "make life hell for him." Haskin took McKinney's truck, impounded it, took all of McKinney's money, and issued a warrant for his arrest. He charged him with Delivery of Drugs. Now McKinney doesn't know what to do. In a different vehicle, McKinney was stopped a second time by Haskin who put a gun to his head - payback for McKinney filing a complaint with the county. Haskin found it in the car, took it, and tore it up.
2. Rishar Goss, a BH man in his 30's, has been in county jail for armed robbery. Yesterday was his preliminary examination in Berrien county court. Always on the lookout for new ways to ruin black peoples' lives, Wes Smigielski brought a 15 year old boy to court to lie and say Rishar Goss was part of a group who committed a robbery. Unexpectedly, the boy's father showed up before the examination and told his son not to lie. Bolstered with confidence, he answered prosecutor Mike Sepic's repeated 'question:'
"You said Goss was part of the robbery" by stating,
"No, Smigielski said that."
The case was dismissed.
BRAVO to the teenager!
Saturday, December 04, 2010
Two recent letters from Berrien County prisoner Jessica Thomas to Rev. Edward Pinkney
Berrien County: Brutal Plantation
Dear Rev. Pinkney,
I am writing this letter to inform you that I would not have gotten as much time as I did if I had said my brother killed Clay.
Smigielski is looking for anybody who will lie for him. He told me he will help me get out if I lie for him in court. Then he went to my sister Kendra and lied to her.
He is like a mad man. The hate that is inside this man is out of control. He is just like Collins.
I am writing you to let you know what is going on.
Jessica Thomas
Dear Rev. Pinkney,
Just a few lines to let you know what is going on in Berrien County jail. I was beaten, maced, tazed, choked, kneed in my back, finger stuck behind my ear, all my clothes stripped off by a white male guard, beaten by men and women guards, was put in padded crazy cell [padded] and strapped to a chair for hours. All because I asked about my handcuffs being too tight. My hand was bleeding and I did not want to give them my other hand until they stopped the bleeding.
They said I was already using the phone in the holding cell, and could not use it again, but I was supposed to be able to use it all day and all night.
Another African-American named Marilyn Murphy came to jail with breast cancer - the judge sentenced her to 45 days in jail. She had an appointment for surgery and she had to cancel it because she did not want to be shackled at the appointment. She would be too ashamed and embarrassed.
A caucasian woman named Mindy was in jail and was released to go have an abortion. She was free of shackles and handcuffs and was allowed to leave and return 4 days later - her word was good enough for them.
I finally got xrayed where a guard beat my hand. My bones are damaged. I was pregnant at the time and given an abortion pill that was illegal. A deputy told me I had to be locked up until my wounds healed. I also have witnesses and names for you.
I was denied a visit from my mother and family. The wounds are still visible and I believe they will be there forever.
There are many more concerns. Lady guards giving African-American administrative lock down all day everyday. You should come talk to some of the ladies in the jail to see how they are treated. It is unfair, unjustifiable, and definitely wrong. Please come see me.
Jessica Thomas
Berrien County: Brutal Plantation
Dear Rev. Pinkney,
I am writing this letter to inform you that I would not have gotten as much time as I did if I had said my brother killed Clay.
Smigielski is looking for anybody who will lie for him. He told me he will help me get out if I lie for him in court. Then he went to my sister Kendra and lied to her.
He is like a mad man. The hate that is inside this man is out of control. He is just like Collins.
I am writing you to let you know what is going on.
Jessica Thomas
Dear Rev. Pinkney,
Just a few lines to let you know what is going on in Berrien County jail. I was beaten, maced, tazed, choked, kneed in my back, finger stuck behind my ear, all my clothes stripped off by a white male guard, beaten by men and women guards, was put in padded crazy cell [padded] and strapped to a chair for hours. All because I asked about my handcuffs being too tight. My hand was bleeding and I did not want to give them my other hand until they stopped the bleeding.
They said I was already using the phone in the holding cell, and could not use it again, but I was supposed to be able to use it all day and all night.
Another African-American named Marilyn Murphy came to jail with breast cancer - the judge sentenced her to 45 days in jail. She had an appointment for surgery and she had to cancel it because she did not want to be shackled at the appointment. She would be too ashamed and embarrassed.
A caucasian woman named Mindy was in jail and was released to go have an abortion. She was free of shackles and handcuffs and was allowed to leave and return 4 days later - her word was good enough for them.
I finally got xrayed where a guard beat my hand. My bones are damaged. I was pregnant at the time and given an abortion pill that was illegal. A deputy told me I had to be locked up until my wounds healed. I also have witnesses and names for you.
I was denied a visit from my mother and family. The wounds are still visible and I believe they will be there forever.
There are many more concerns. Lady guards giving African-American administrative lock down all day everyday. You should come talk to some of the ladies in the jail to see how they are treated. It is unfair, unjustifiable, and definitely wrong. Please come see me.
Jessica Thomas
Monday, October 18, 2010
Documentary spotlights Berrien inmates, kids
DePaul University film team hopes to capture how severely children are affected when a parent is serving time
By Scott Aiken - H-P Thursday, September 9, 2010
ST. JOSEPH - When a mother is convicted of a crime and goes to jail, the punishment may not fall on her alone.
Children, unable to understand why their parent is gone, often suffer lasting harm.
"The effect of a woman leaving for a few months is devastating, it's heart-wrenching," said Kim Clark, part of a documentary film team that has been working in the Berrien County jail since July....
Policy matters wrote on Sep 9, 2010 4:46 PM:
"...There is nothing at all contradictory about the notion that very bad social outcomes - in this case, the prospect of children growing up with one or both parents incarcerated and the myriad associated problems - can be a result of both irresponsible personal behavior and bad policy. Certainly, parents ought to consider the well-being of their children when they engage in risky, illegal,and unethical behavior. Acknowledging this fact, however, it is still the case that incarceration policies in this country are badly out of whack. The rate at which we imprison people is the highest in the world, there is little evidence of any safety benefits accruing to this rate, and there is a great deal of harm that comes from placing almost two and a half million people behind bars at any given time. One of the harms being the incidence of broken families. "
outsideinthecold wrote on Sep 9, 2010 5:16 PM:
" America, land of the free, has the largest prison population in the world. Since 1980, the US prison population has risen 400% and the trend continues upward.
The cost to our society is simply unsustainable. One-third of all black males are either in jail, or on parole/probation. Half of all black males have criminal records...We continue to enforce a 'War on Drugs' that costs over $100,000,000,000 a year and has only made the black market more lucrative for both the suppliers and dealers as well as members of the arrest and punishment industry while creating an unemployable underclass that is a cause, in large measure, of the results reported in the HP story. "
Gotta Wonder wrote on Sep 9, 2010 5:18 PM:
" I understand that we should have zero tolerance for crime. But this documentary is addressing a particular aspect of crime and its effect on children.
I think the point is, who will teach these children? Their parents may not be the best role models, but who really gets punished when they are incarcerated and not even able to care for their children in the most basic sense? So, who gets the job? Grandparents, the State, and perhaps a little attention from a social worker at school.
Particularly with women, I think there is a lot of incentive to go straight and sober up, so to speak, if it means rebuilding the family. I think the Fresh Start program has had some success.
It isn't necessarily in the best interest of children of offenders or society to issue lengthy sentences to mothers. Once the bond of mother and child is removed, mothers lose incentive to improve their lives and the kids start to drift toward crime. We are talking about people who have been raised in a cycle, a culture, a heritage of crime. "
Policy matters wrote on Sep 10, 2010 10:21 AM:
" To Logician: There is nothing in my first post to suggest that I think incarceration is never appropriate for parents. What I am claiming is that our country locks up far more people than is optimal, with no appreciable safety benefit, an enormous burden on state budgets, and a host of very serious social harms. One of these social harms, as depicted by the documentary in question, is borne by the children of the incarcerated.
Prison time is no doubt warranted for parents who pose a genuine threat to society. Likewise, all parents ought to be compelled by the state to abide by the law. There is quite a lot of careful thought, however, to suggest that this compulsion as currently applied is grossly inefficient in many ways. What we need, and what is clearly possible, is a criminal justice system that better provides the desirable outcomes of a safe and orderly society without the massive externalities of the current system. Such a system will almost certainly entail locking up many fewer people, parents included. "
rukahs wrote on Sep 10, 2010 1:37 PM:
" These jails are owned by private corporations they rely on incarcerations....more people in jail=$ "
http://www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2010/09/09/local_news/1848670.txt
DePaul University film team hopes to capture how severely children are affected when a parent is serving time
By Scott Aiken - H-P Thursday, September 9, 2010
ST. JOSEPH - When a mother is convicted of a crime and goes to jail, the punishment may not fall on her alone.
Children, unable to understand why their parent is gone, often suffer lasting harm.
"The effect of a woman leaving for a few months is devastating, it's heart-wrenching," said Kim Clark, part of a documentary film team that has been working in the Berrien County jail since July....
Policy matters wrote on Sep 9, 2010 4:46 PM:
"...There is nothing at all contradictory about the notion that very bad social outcomes - in this case, the prospect of children growing up with one or both parents incarcerated and the myriad associated problems - can be a result of both irresponsible personal behavior and bad policy. Certainly, parents ought to consider the well-being of their children when they engage in risky, illegal,and unethical behavior. Acknowledging this fact, however, it is still the case that incarceration policies in this country are badly out of whack. The rate at which we imprison people is the highest in the world, there is little evidence of any safety benefits accruing to this rate, and there is a great deal of harm that comes from placing almost two and a half million people behind bars at any given time. One of the harms being the incidence of broken families. "
outsideinthecold wrote on Sep 9, 2010 5:16 PM:
" America, land of the free, has the largest prison population in the world. Since 1980, the US prison population has risen 400% and the trend continues upward.
The cost to our society is simply unsustainable. One-third of all black males are either in jail, or on parole/probation. Half of all black males have criminal records...We continue to enforce a 'War on Drugs' that costs over $100,000,000,000 a year and has only made the black market more lucrative for both the suppliers and dealers as well as members of the arrest and punishment industry while creating an unemployable underclass that is a cause, in large measure, of the results reported in the HP story. "
Gotta Wonder wrote on Sep 9, 2010 5:18 PM:
" I understand that we should have zero tolerance for crime. But this documentary is addressing a particular aspect of crime and its effect on children.
I think the point is, who will teach these children? Their parents may not be the best role models, but who really gets punished when they are incarcerated and not even able to care for their children in the most basic sense? So, who gets the job? Grandparents, the State, and perhaps a little attention from a social worker at school.
Particularly with women, I think there is a lot of incentive to go straight and sober up, so to speak, if it means rebuilding the family. I think the Fresh Start program has had some success.
It isn't necessarily in the best interest of children of offenders or society to issue lengthy sentences to mothers. Once the bond of mother and child is removed, mothers lose incentive to improve their lives and the kids start to drift toward crime. We are talking about people who have been raised in a cycle, a culture, a heritage of crime. "
Policy matters wrote on Sep 10, 2010 10:21 AM:
" To Logician: There is nothing in my first post to suggest that I think incarceration is never appropriate for parents. What I am claiming is that our country locks up far more people than is optimal, with no appreciable safety benefit, an enormous burden on state budgets, and a host of very serious social harms. One of these social harms, as depicted by the documentary in question, is borne by the children of the incarcerated.
Prison time is no doubt warranted for parents who pose a genuine threat to society. Likewise, all parents ought to be compelled by the state to abide by the law. There is quite a lot of careful thought, however, to suggest that this compulsion as currently applied is grossly inefficient in many ways. What we need, and what is clearly possible, is a criminal justice system that better provides the desirable outcomes of a safe and orderly society without the massive externalities of the current system. Such a system will almost certainly entail locking up many fewer people, parents included. "
rukahs wrote on Sep 10, 2010 1:37 PM:
" These jails are owned by private corporations they rely on incarcerations....more people in jail=$ "
http://www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2010/09/09/local_news/1848670.txt
Monday, August 16, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
August 10 Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course Demonstration
About 100 people marched through Benton Harbor on August 10, 2010, the day Whirlpool opened it's Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course, despite two court cases pending. We stopped at the golf course entry where we were met by at least 4 sheriff's deputies, 6 Benton Harbor Township police, and 4 Benton Harbor police. Our chanting was loud, especially when Julie Swidwa of the local Herald Palladium, attempted to interview Rev. Edward Pinkney, organizer of the demonstration and local NAACP president. "Julie is one-sided!!" was chanted over and over - the people had at least this one opportunity to let Swidwa hear what is thought of her "reporting," especially the hit jobs she's done on Pinkney over a decade. There was no interview. In a gratuitous show of power, police escorted her away. Whirlpool knows that media are the prime shapers of opinion; the company paper serves them well.
Other chants included, "Jack Nicklaus Go Home!," "Marcus Robinson Go Home!," and "Jean Klock Park was deeded to the people!" (Robinson works in "community development" for Whirlpool.) 130 media outlets sent reporters to cover the opening, so people in many states viewed the demonstration as part of the golf course coverage.
After the golf course protest, a rally was held on a nearby grassy area with speakers from Benton Harbor, Detroit, New York, Minneapolis, southern Illinois, Chicago, Kalamazoo, Ann Arbor, and elsewhere. Their insightful words made evident their understanding of the era of corporate control we now live under. Government and corporation as one (fascism). And, how corporations prey on the poor. In the case of Benton Harbor, Whirlpool is carrying out a hostile takeover of the city's Lake Michigan beaches, parks, and land. Endangered plant and animal species are of no concern to Whirlpool. African-American people were also in the way, hence, arguably the most aggressively prejudicial and harsh law enforcement/court system in the state (Berrien County). Benton Harbor citizens get time for walking down the "wrong" street. As attorney Buck Davis wrote:
“The thrust [of the county courthouse] is to physically remove and destroy families through the use of the criminal justice system. Every person they can put in jail; every person whose voting rights they can revoke with a felony conviction; every person they can cause to lose their job by putting them on probation; every person they can cause to lose the ability to pay for basic necessities through imposing ruinous court costs and probation is all part of the process. In the 1960s, it was called Negro removal. In Bosnia, it was called ethnic cleansing. It could be called genocide, the removal of the minority population for the purpose of redevelopment of the land. That’s what’s happening in Benton Harbor and the foremost leader of the resistance is Rev. Edward Pinkney.”
Whirlpool Vice President Jeff Noel told U. of Mich. business school students and faculty that if you want poor peoples' land, and have justice groups "on your back," simply bring in Habitat for Humanity to build a few houses and donate some appliances. Part of the land he and his corporate partners wanted was deeded in perpetuity to the citizens of Benton Harbor in 1917 by John Klock, a land owner who's infant daughter died. In a town ceremony, Klock spoke of people who owned no land but would always have this park, and named it after his infant daughter: Jean Klock Park. The largest appliance manufacturer in the world, which has outsourced most of it's jobs leaving Benton Harbor in dire poverty, has enough lawyers to get around the minor inconvenience of a deed.
In a video no longer accessible on the web, former Whirlpool CEO Dave Whitwam stated that this is the last and largest piece (530 acres) of prime real estate along the Lake Michigan shoreline. (Parkland is real estate?) Whirlpool is busy inventing terminology to justify their takeover. An example: they call this the first ever "Master Planned Community." It will have a town center with retail shops and restaurants. (Are they replacing Benton Harbor with a new town?) Deeded parkland for the people is becoming a posh enclave for the wealthy.
A stretch of the most pristine, natural beach front is to be no more. Ever. One protester said that people who grew up in this area and love the land and lake feel like an arm is being cut off.
Judges keep ruling in favor of Whirlpool in cases brought by preservationists.
About 100 people marched through Benton Harbor on August 10, 2010, the day Whirlpool opened it's Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course, despite two court cases pending. We stopped at the golf course entry where we were met by at least 4 sheriff's deputies, 6 Benton Harbor Township police, and 4 Benton Harbor police. Our chanting was loud, especially when Julie Swidwa of the local Herald Palladium, attempted to interview Rev. Edward Pinkney, organizer of the demonstration and local NAACP president. "Julie is one-sided!!" was chanted over and over - the people had at least this one opportunity to let Swidwa hear what is thought of her "reporting," especially the hit jobs she's done on Pinkney over a decade. There was no interview. In a gratuitous show of power, police escorted her away. Whirlpool knows that media are the prime shapers of opinion; the company paper serves them well.
Other chants included, "Jack Nicklaus Go Home!," "Marcus Robinson Go Home!," and "Jean Klock Park was deeded to the people!" (Robinson works in "community development" for Whirlpool.) 130 media outlets sent reporters to cover the opening, so people in many states viewed the demonstration as part of the golf course coverage.
After the golf course protest, a rally was held on a nearby grassy area with speakers from Benton Harbor, Detroit, New York, Minneapolis, southern Illinois, Chicago, Kalamazoo, Ann Arbor, and elsewhere. Their insightful words made evident their understanding of the era of corporate control we now live under. Government and corporation as one (fascism). And, how corporations prey on the poor. In the case of Benton Harbor, Whirlpool is carrying out a hostile takeover of the city's Lake Michigan beaches, parks, and land. Endangered plant and animal species are of no concern to Whirlpool. African-American people were also in the way, hence, arguably the most aggressively prejudicial and harsh law enforcement/court system in the state (Berrien County). Benton Harbor citizens get time for walking down the "wrong" street. As attorney Buck Davis wrote:
“The thrust [of the county courthouse] is to physically remove and destroy families through the use of the criminal justice system. Every person they can put in jail; every person whose voting rights they can revoke with a felony conviction; every person they can cause to lose their job by putting them on probation; every person they can cause to lose the ability to pay for basic necessities through imposing ruinous court costs and probation is all part of the process. In the 1960s, it was called Negro removal. In Bosnia, it was called ethnic cleansing. It could be called genocide, the removal of the minority population for the purpose of redevelopment of the land. That’s what’s happening in Benton Harbor and the foremost leader of the resistance is Rev. Edward Pinkney.”
Whirlpool Vice President Jeff Noel told U. of Mich. business school students and faculty that if you want poor peoples' land, and have justice groups "on your back," simply bring in Habitat for Humanity to build a few houses and donate some appliances. Part of the land he and his corporate partners wanted was deeded in perpetuity to the citizens of Benton Harbor in 1917 by John Klock, a land owner who's infant daughter died. In a town ceremony, Klock spoke of people who owned no land but would always have this park, and named it after his infant daughter: Jean Klock Park. The largest appliance manufacturer in the world, which has outsourced most of it's jobs leaving Benton Harbor in dire poverty, has enough lawyers to get around the minor inconvenience of a deed.
In a video no longer accessible on the web, former Whirlpool CEO Dave Whitwam stated that this is the last and largest piece (530 acres) of prime real estate along the Lake Michigan shoreline. (Parkland is real estate?) Whirlpool is busy inventing terminology to justify their takeover. An example: they call this the first ever "Master Planned Community." It will have a town center with retail shops and restaurants. (Are they replacing Benton Harbor with a new town?) Deeded parkland for the people is becoming a posh enclave for the wealthy.
A stretch of the most pristine, natural beach front is to be no more. Ever. One protester said that people who grew up in this area and love the land and lake feel like an arm is being cut off.
Judges keep ruling in favor of Whirlpool in cases brought by preservationists.
Saturday, June 05, 2010
Essentially the same article was published in the HP two weeks ago. Beginning with an obviously inaccurate headline, this is nothing more than another propaganda piece. Whirlpool and Herald Palladium efforts at glorifiying intense and harassing police presence fall on deaf ears in Benton Harbor.
In 6th year, BH citizens are becoming fans of extra patrols
By Scott Aiken, Friday, May 28, 2010 (commentary begins with capital letters)
Berrien Springs - A program that has put extra police patrols on Benton Harbor streets each summer since 2005 is helping keep the city safer, officials said Thursday night. The joint effort of the Benton Harbor Police Department, Berrien County Sheriff's Department and state police is gaining public support.
---WHAT public ANYWHERE supports a police state?
Benton Harbor police Chief Roger Lange said city residents in the past questioned the presence of officers from other departments. "That's not being asked anymore," Lange told Berrien County commissioners... he believes people now see the benefit of the joint effort. Lange and Sheriff Paul Bailey presented data...
---NO RESIDENTS from Benton Harbor, nor from anywhere, welcome continued police stops, profiling, harassment, and false arrests. What human being WANTS to be in fear of the out-of-doors? Big Brother/Police State techniques keep poor people indoors, unable to communicate with friends and neighbors, living in a state of siege.
For the years 2005-09, officers working in the joint enforcement effort made 340 felony arrests, 1,417 misdemeanor arrests, 3,082 traffic stops and issued 1,505 tickets. They gave 1,810 warnings and made 4,361 checks of people using the Law Enforcement Information Network, a computerized data system.
---CHIEF LANGE, you could put a stop to these unconstitutional "checks" which you inflicted on pedestrians and drivers. Why waste money on misdemeanor arrests when they're supposed to be dismissed? These statistics are OUTRAGEOUS. Can anyone imagine St. Joe residents being made this afraid? Misery, racism, war on the poor, poverty, genocide, and a police state to make it all possible - Whirlpool is an evil enforcer. That's an understatement.
Money for the program in the warm weather is provided by an annual $50,000 contribution from the county and $50,000 from Whirlpool Corp. The money enables the sheriff's department to put two patrol cars, each manned by two deputies, on the street in Benton Harbor on weekends.
---WOULD that Whirlpool created jobs for residents. Instead, jobs go offshore, and BH residents are imprisoned.
State police add patrols during the week. The deputies and state troopers work with city police. "We're also working together in community programs," Bailey said. "It's not all about enforcement.
---BAILEY, enforcement is all you've ever understood. People have spoken out regarding your racist tendencies. You've never had a clue about "To serve and protect." Whirlpool wants you just the way you are.
"The city police are doing an excellent job, and it's been a great effort with the sheriff's deputies and state police."
---PROPAGANDA, pure and simple.
Lange said the extra manpower enables the city police department to better deal with so-called quality-of-life crimes such as gambling and public urination, and citizens appreciate the effort.
---CITIZENS are in need of jobs. Whirlpool and other corporations outsourced instead of making sure human beings in their midst were able to lead stable lives.
"The citizens' attitudes are changing," Lange said. "The citizens are coming to us and helping us solve crimes." The city police department has brought back a long-dormant reserve officer program, and 18 people who are completing training are to graduate on June 5. Lange said the reserves volunteer their time and will generally work with a certified officer. The reserves will sometimes work alone, he said, but have close radio contact with full-time police. Some of the reserve officers aspire to become certified officers, and their work as reserves allows the department to get to know them and their capabilities, Lange said. That could give a reserve officer an advantage when the city considers applicants to send to the police academy.
---TEACHING the residents how to become members of the occupying force of oppression.
saiken@TheH-P.com
In 6th year, BH citizens are becoming fans of extra patrols
By Scott Aiken, Friday, May 28, 2010 (commentary begins with capital letters)
Berrien Springs - A program that has put extra police patrols on Benton Harbor streets each summer since 2005 is helping keep the city safer, officials said Thursday night. The joint effort of the Benton Harbor Police Department, Berrien County Sheriff's Department and state police is gaining public support.
---WHAT public ANYWHERE supports a police state?
Benton Harbor police Chief Roger Lange said city residents in the past questioned the presence of officers from other departments. "That's not being asked anymore," Lange told Berrien County commissioners... he believes people now see the benefit of the joint effort. Lange and Sheriff Paul Bailey presented data...
---NO RESIDENTS from Benton Harbor, nor from anywhere, welcome continued police stops, profiling, harassment, and false arrests. What human being WANTS to be in fear of the out-of-doors? Big Brother/Police State techniques keep poor people indoors, unable to communicate with friends and neighbors, living in a state of siege.
For the years 2005-09, officers working in the joint enforcement effort made 340 felony arrests, 1,417 misdemeanor arrests, 3,082 traffic stops and issued 1,505 tickets. They gave 1,810 warnings and made 4,361 checks of people using the Law Enforcement Information Network, a computerized data system.
---CHIEF LANGE, you could put a stop to these unconstitutional "checks" which you inflicted on pedestrians and drivers. Why waste money on misdemeanor arrests when they're supposed to be dismissed? These statistics are OUTRAGEOUS. Can anyone imagine St. Joe residents being made this afraid? Misery, racism, war on the poor, poverty, genocide, and a police state to make it all possible - Whirlpool is an evil enforcer. That's an understatement.
Money for the program in the warm weather is provided by an annual $50,000 contribution from the county and $50,000 from Whirlpool Corp. The money enables the sheriff's department to put two patrol cars, each manned by two deputies, on the street in Benton Harbor on weekends.
---WOULD that Whirlpool created jobs for residents. Instead, jobs go offshore, and BH residents are imprisoned.
State police add patrols during the week. The deputies and state troopers work with city police. "We're also working together in community programs," Bailey said. "It's not all about enforcement.
---BAILEY, enforcement is all you've ever understood. People have spoken out regarding your racist tendencies. You've never had a clue about "To serve and protect." Whirlpool wants you just the way you are.
"The city police are doing an excellent job, and it's been a great effort with the sheriff's deputies and state police."
---PROPAGANDA, pure and simple.
Lange said the extra manpower enables the city police department to better deal with so-called quality-of-life crimes such as gambling and public urination, and citizens appreciate the effort.
---CITIZENS are in need of jobs. Whirlpool and other corporations outsourced instead of making sure human beings in their midst were able to lead stable lives.
"The citizens' attitudes are changing," Lange said. "The citizens are coming to us and helping us solve crimes." The city police department has brought back a long-dormant reserve officer program, and 18 people who are completing training are to graduate on June 5. Lange said the reserves volunteer their time and will generally work with a certified officer. The reserves will sometimes work alone, he said, but have close radio contact with full-time police. Some of the reserve officers aspire to become certified officers, and their work as reserves allows the department to get to know them and their capabilities, Lange said. That could give a reserve officer an advantage when the city considers applicants to send to the police academy.
---TEACHING the residents how to become members of the occupying force of oppression.
saiken@TheH-P.com
Sunday, April 04, 2010
Prosecutor authorizes charges in BH brawls
[The Herald Palladium has all the "right" language to describe BH activities; in this headline it's
"brawls." The more inflammatory, the better, to foster racist bigotry towards BH.]
By Julie Swidwa - H-P (excerpts & commentary)
April 2, 2010
ST. JOSEPH - Berrien County Prosecutor Art Cotter has authorized charges against several people in connection with a disturbance Tuesday in Benton Harbor.
Cotter said seven people were charged in connection with a large fight that happened between 6:30 and 7 p.m., and two more people were arrested in connection with a second, smaller disturbance...
COMMENT: BH history tells us that police instigate fights, and it could be true in this case.
State police and the Berrien County Sheriff's Department were called to help Benton Harbor police break up a large crowd in the neighborhood bounded by Lavette and May streets and Broadway and Empire Avenue. The later incident happened in the McAllister Street area, Cotter said.
COMMENT: Cotter has waited for months for something to happen since there has been a recent drop in BH residents being arrested. Crime in BH is down.
Initial reports from Benton Harbor Police Chief Roger Lange said all the people arrested were ages 14-19. But the arrest list provided by Cotter Thursday indicated some of the people were much older.
_______, 36, and ________, 38, are among those charged with resisting and obstructing police, Cotter said. __________, 19, and _________, 18, face that same charge, a two-year-felony.
COMMENT: Does the punishment fit the crime? Is a courthouse goal to give all BH residents a record (a life-ruining stigma)?
Also arrested in connection with the early incident were: ____________, 17, charged with assault and battery; and ______________, 18, charged with disturbing the peace. Those are misdemeanors carrying a maximum penalty of 93 and 30 days in jail, respectively.
COMMENT: This is a waste of taxpayers' money. The hidden hand of Whirlpool is evident to those who have paid attention. How can Harbor Shores development be completed with all these BH residents in the way?
Cotter said police were called again later Tuesday night to a disturbance on McAllister Street in Benton Harbor. Arrested there were ______________, 22, and ___________, 44. They both are charged with disturbing the peace, Cotter said.
COMMENT: Police were called by who? other police?
Lange said that, to his knowledge, there were no serious injuries related to Tuesday night's events.
The chief said state police and the Berrien County Sheriff's Department will continue to assist Benton Harbor police in patrolling the neighborhoods. He said the first warm days typically bring large crowds into the streets.
COMMENT: Warm weather brings people outside all over the world. The state police and the sheriff have lazer beams pointed at Benton Harbor. As residents know too well, there are cops in other nearby jurisdictions who have also used BH as a racist's "playground." People in BH have been arrested after being told they couldn't walk down a certain street at a certain time. And, of course there's the infamous drug planting...Hopefully the new BH police chief can put a stop to gratuitous and juvenile arrests.
jswidwa@TheH-P.com
[The Herald Palladium has all the "right" language to describe BH activities; in this headline it's
"brawls." The more inflammatory, the better, to foster racist bigotry towards BH.]
By Julie Swidwa - H-P (excerpts & commentary)
April 2, 2010
ST. JOSEPH - Berrien County Prosecutor Art Cotter has authorized charges against several people in connection with a disturbance Tuesday in Benton Harbor.
Cotter said seven people were charged in connection with a large fight that happened between 6:30 and 7 p.m., and two more people were arrested in connection with a second, smaller disturbance...
COMMENT: BH history tells us that police instigate fights, and it could be true in this case.
State police and the Berrien County Sheriff's Department were called to help Benton Harbor police break up a large crowd in the neighborhood bounded by Lavette and May streets and Broadway and Empire Avenue. The later incident happened in the McAllister Street area, Cotter said.
COMMENT: Cotter has waited for months for something to happen since there has been a recent drop in BH residents being arrested. Crime in BH is down.
Initial reports from Benton Harbor Police Chief Roger Lange said all the people arrested were ages 14-19. But the arrest list provided by Cotter Thursday indicated some of the people were much older.
_______, 36, and ________, 38, are among those charged with resisting and obstructing police, Cotter said. __________, 19, and _________, 18, face that same charge, a two-year-felony.
COMMENT: Does the punishment fit the crime? Is a courthouse goal to give all BH residents a record (a life-ruining stigma)?
Also arrested in connection with the early incident were: ____________, 17, charged with assault and battery; and ______________, 18, charged with disturbing the peace. Those are misdemeanors carrying a maximum penalty of 93 and 30 days in jail, respectively.
COMMENT: This is a waste of taxpayers' money. The hidden hand of Whirlpool is evident to those who have paid attention. How can Harbor Shores development be completed with all these BH residents in the way?
Cotter said police were called again later Tuesday night to a disturbance on McAllister Street in Benton Harbor. Arrested there were ______________, 22, and ___________, 44. They both are charged with disturbing the peace, Cotter said.
COMMENT: Police were called by who? other police?
Lange said that, to his knowledge, there were no serious injuries related to Tuesday night's events.
The chief said state police and the Berrien County Sheriff's Department will continue to assist Benton Harbor police in patrolling the neighborhoods. He said the first warm days typically bring large crowds into the streets.
COMMENT: Warm weather brings people outside all over the world. The state police and the sheriff have lazer beams pointed at Benton Harbor. As residents know too well, there are cops in other nearby jurisdictions who have also used BH as a racist's "playground." People in BH have been arrested after being told they couldn't walk down a certain street at a certain time. And, of course there's the infamous drug planting...Hopefully the new BH police chief can put a stop to gratuitous and juvenile arrests.
jswidwa@TheH-P.com
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
The sad fact of the matter is that too many killer cops are still walking around free
I call it murder by Cynthia McKinney, Jan. 31, 2010
They shot this Black man in his genitals and in his back. It sounds like a hate crime to me. How else could one describe it?
Well, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, it was self-defense. But how many times have we heard self-defense by cops used as a cop out?
Well, what about Amadou Diallo? Amadou Diallo was murdered on February 4, 1999 by New York Police Department (NYPD) cops who mistook a wallet for a gun. They claim that they thought he was going to shoot them and so they shot him in self-defense. One officer fell as if he had been shot. 41 bullets later, Amadou Diallo had been shot 19 times. Young Amadou was only 24 years old. He could survive the itinerant life of an African trading family, moving from Africa to Asia, but he couldn't survive the mean, racist streets of America. And the killer cops went free. Diallo's mother and step-father settled with the City of New York for $3 million in a lawsuit alleging wrongful death, racial profiling, and violation of Amadou's civil rights.
Kathryn Johnston was 92 years old when she was murdered by Atlanta Police Department (APD) officers who claim that they shot her in self-defense after narcotics officers broke into her home on November 21, 2006 using a "no-knock" warrant. Police forced their way into Johnston's home and claimed to have found a stash of marijuana there. The APD officers claimed that she had injured them with her rusty revolver. Sadly, it was all lies. Later, it was learned that the Atlanta Police officers were actually injured by friendly fire after discharging their firearms 39 times; that they planted marijuana in the Johnston basement; lied on the drug warrant authorizing the raid; invented an informant justifying the raid; and pressured an actual drug informant to lie for them. Atlanta's lying, killer cops did serve time--either for manslaughter, conspiracy to violate Johnston's civil rights resulting in death, or perjury. The three officers were also required to reimburse the Johnston estate the $8,000 cost of her burial.
In the wee hours of November 25, 2006, Sean Bell was murdered in a hail of 50 bullets fired by officers in the New York Police Department. Bell was celebrating his upcoming wedding and was leaving the club where he had just held his bachelor party. Police opened fire after they suspected the victim had a gun. Bell was struck 4 times in the neck and torso and died from his wounds. When no gun was to be found, they concocted a mystery witness who could possibly have had a gun. New York's killer cops were acquitted on all charges.
Although Diallo, Johnston, and Bell were Black, Blacks in the United States are not the only ones who can be victimized by murderous U.S. law enforcement. While on a visit to Cuba, I had the opportunity to meet and apologize to the widow of Filiberto Ojeda Rios, a leading Puerto Rican Independentista. Wanted by U.S. authorities for actions stemming from his belief that Puerto Rico was a U.S. colony that should be independent, Ojeda Rios was murdered on September 23, 2005, shot by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) at his home. An FBI press release stated that Ojeda Rios opened fire on the FBI and that the FBI retaliated, but that claim was not substantiated by an Inspector General's report that noted that the FBI opened the attack on Ojeda Rios with a "flash bang" device. Ojeda Rios shot 10 times and the FBI fired one hundred times. Ojeda Rios was struck in the lung by a single sniper's bullet, fell to the floor, and bled to death over 12 to 15 hours with no medical help allowed to save his life.
Continue reading at http://www.gp.org/cynthia/display.php?ID=30
I call it murder by Cynthia McKinney, Jan. 31, 2010
They shot this Black man in his genitals and in his back. It sounds like a hate crime to me. How else could one describe it?
Well, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, it was self-defense. But how many times have we heard self-defense by cops used as a cop out?
Well, what about Amadou Diallo? Amadou Diallo was murdered on February 4, 1999 by New York Police Department (NYPD) cops who mistook a wallet for a gun. They claim that they thought he was going to shoot them and so they shot him in self-defense. One officer fell as if he had been shot. 41 bullets later, Amadou Diallo had been shot 19 times. Young Amadou was only 24 years old. He could survive the itinerant life of an African trading family, moving from Africa to Asia, but he couldn't survive the mean, racist streets of America. And the killer cops went free. Diallo's mother and step-father settled with the City of New York for $3 million in a lawsuit alleging wrongful death, racial profiling, and violation of Amadou's civil rights.
Kathryn Johnston was 92 years old when she was murdered by Atlanta Police Department (APD) officers who claim that they shot her in self-defense after narcotics officers broke into her home on November 21, 2006 using a "no-knock" warrant. Police forced their way into Johnston's home and claimed to have found a stash of marijuana there. The APD officers claimed that she had injured them with her rusty revolver. Sadly, it was all lies. Later, it was learned that the Atlanta Police officers were actually injured by friendly fire after discharging their firearms 39 times; that they planted marijuana in the Johnston basement; lied on the drug warrant authorizing the raid; invented an informant justifying the raid; and pressured an actual drug informant to lie for them. Atlanta's lying, killer cops did serve time--either for manslaughter, conspiracy to violate Johnston's civil rights resulting in death, or perjury. The three officers were also required to reimburse the Johnston estate the $8,000 cost of her burial.
In the wee hours of November 25, 2006, Sean Bell was murdered in a hail of 50 bullets fired by officers in the New York Police Department. Bell was celebrating his upcoming wedding and was leaving the club where he had just held his bachelor party. Police opened fire after they suspected the victim had a gun. Bell was struck 4 times in the neck and torso and died from his wounds. When no gun was to be found, they concocted a mystery witness who could possibly have had a gun. New York's killer cops were acquitted on all charges.
Although Diallo, Johnston, and Bell were Black, Blacks in the United States are not the only ones who can be victimized by murderous U.S. law enforcement. While on a visit to Cuba, I had the opportunity to meet and apologize to the widow of Filiberto Ojeda Rios, a leading Puerto Rican Independentista. Wanted by U.S. authorities for actions stemming from his belief that Puerto Rico was a U.S. colony that should be independent, Ojeda Rios was murdered on September 23, 2005, shot by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) at his home. An FBI press release stated that Ojeda Rios opened fire on the FBI and that the FBI retaliated, but that claim was not substantiated by an Inspector General's report that noted that the FBI opened the attack on Ojeda Rios with a "flash bang" device. Ojeda Rios shot 10 times and the FBI fired one hundred times. Ojeda Rios was struck in the lung by a single sniper's bullet, fell to the floor, and bled to death over 12 to 15 hours with no medical help allowed to save his life.
Continue reading at http://www.gp.org/cynthia/display.php?ID=30
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, HBO program from Botswana
If you are lucky enough to see this wonderful detective show, you will delight in the methods used with those who commit crimes. Framing? Arrest? Conviction? Jail? Prison? Quite the opposite: forgiveness and restitution, among others. And, one can understand how these methods are effective.
We know that Resorative Justice programs exist in the US, certainly not in Berrien County, one of the harshest and most punitive areas of the country where lives are permanently destroyed on a daily basis. Maybe someday citizens will come forward to establish a RJ program in Berrien, and through some miracle, will succeed.
(After doing a search, we found that some libraries carry DVD's of the first season (08-09) of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.)
If you are lucky enough to see this wonderful detective show, you will delight in the methods used with those who commit crimes. Framing? Arrest? Conviction? Jail? Prison? Quite the opposite: forgiveness and restitution, among others. And, one can understand how these methods are effective.
We know that Resorative Justice programs exist in the US, certainly not in Berrien County, one of the harshest and most punitive areas of the country where lives are permanently destroyed on a daily basis. Maybe someday citizens will come forward to establish a RJ program in Berrien, and through some miracle, will succeed.
(After doing a search, we found that some libraries carry DVD's of the first season (08-09) of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.)
Saturday, January 16, 2010
JAIL CENTRAL: BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN
Interview with Dorothy Pinkney By Joseph Peery
Joseph Peery: Dorothy, what happens when young people are arrested in Benton Harbor?:
Dorothy Pinkney: They tell them to plead guilty and you’ll just be fined. By hearing this they get excited and think “I can do this, I can say I’m guilty and I’ll go home.” But it doesn’t happen like that. It’s not set up that way. The powers that be know that the poverty level in the city is so high and there are not many jobs. So when they give these young African American guys their jail sentences, they know they cannot afford to pay their sentence. So what do they do? Go to jail. Then the jail becomes overcrowded. I’ve seen so many mothers, wives, girlfriends, packed into the Berrien County Jail just to visit their boyfriends, their husbands, their fathers. It was too much to handle. I didn’t know it was this extreme.
JP: Many families don’t have a bread winner at home. And during winter, there’s a lot of homes that don’t have water or gas. Can you speak to this.
Dorothy: You’re just adding misery to people’s lives. It’s like you take a nail and hammer and you hit that nail. It’s going to pierce the wood, but you keep nailing and hitting and it goes deeper and deeper. There’s so much poverty. The city is being drained.The government doesn’t care. Why do you keep beating someone down when people are saying “we can’t take any more.” Instead of helping, you’re steady nailing deeper and deeper.
JP: What do you feel people in other cities need to do?
Dorothy: I think we can all come together and unite as one, fight for one particular thing, get that accomplished, and then go to the next thing. It’s a slow process but we can do it. It’s never too late.
http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.01/PT.2010.01.12.html#two
Interview with Dorothy Pinkney By Joseph Peery
Joseph Peery: Dorothy, what happens when young people are arrested in Benton Harbor?:
Dorothy Pinkney: They tell them to plead guilty and you’ll just be fined. By hearing this they get excited and think “I can do this, I can say I’m guilty and I’ll go home.” But it doesn’t happen like that. It’s not set up that way. The powers that be know that the poverty level in the city is so high and there are not many jobs. So when they give these young African American guys their jail sentences, they know they cannot afford to pay their sentence. So what do they do? Go to jail. Then the jail becomes overcrowded. I’ve seen so many mothers, wives, girlfriends, packed into the Berrien County Jail just to visit their boyfriends, their husbands, their fathers. It was too much to handle. I didn’t know it was this extreme.
JP: Many families don’t have a bread winner at home. And during winter, there’s a lot of homes that don’t have water or gas. Can you speak to this.
Dorothy: You’re just adding misery to people’s lives. It’s like you take a nail and hammer and you hit that nail. It’s going to pierce the wood, but you keep nailing and hitting and it goes deeper and deeper. There’s so much poverty. The city is being drained.The government doesn’t care. Why do you keep beating someone down when people are saying “we can’t take any more.” Instead of helping, you’re steady nailing deeper and deeper.
JP: What do you feel people in other cities need to do?
Dorothy: I think we can all come together and unite as one, fight for one particular thing, get that accomplished, and then go to the next thing. It’s a slow process but we can do it. It’s never too late.
http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.01/PT.2010.01.12.html#two
Saturday, December 19, 2009
[Berrien County Commissioners either don't know about the extensive research and information on preventing recitivism by keeping prisoners as close as possible to friends and family while behind bars - or they could care less. Maybe both: if they did know they wouldn't care. And just guess who directly or indirectly controls every move the commissioners make?]
Jail visits will be by video in future
Face-to-face talks across a window will soon disappear
By Scott Aiken - Herald Palladium
Dec. 11, 2009
ST. JOSEPH - People visiting inmates at the Berrien County jail in the near future will no longer see them face to face through glass. Instead, they'll "visit" via video.
County commissioners decided Thursday to get bids for video visitation equipment and related building remodeling and professional services.
A preliminary estimate puts the cost at $297,000. The system is expected to be installed next year.
The video visitations will follow video court arraignments, which Berrien County's judges have used for years through a jail-to-Courthouse link.
With the digital technology in the jail, visits are conducted by television monitors in different parts of the jail. A monitor is to be placed in each jail dormitory for inmates to use. Visitors will use monitors in an area designated for the public.
Visitors now see jail inmates face to face through glass and talk by telephone.
Sheriff Paul Bailey said video visitation improves safety in the jail because it cuts the number of times deputies must move inmates outside their cell areas.
"They do not have to be moved around the jail," Bailey said.
Already in use in many places, the video equipment can also make it easier for people in jail to visit with their lawyers. It could result in inmates having more visits, Bailey said.
The county considered three options for a video visitation system. Commissioners favor the least expensive: converting the current visitation areas on the first and second floors of the jail.
The estimated costs include equipment, wiring, devices and furniture, the county's building and grounds superintendent, Patrick Sweeney, said.
The cost of the video electronics system is estimated at $260,000. Remodeling costs and professional services will make up the balance of the $297,000.
Two other more expensive options were considered and rejected.
One was to renovate the ground-floor jail lobby for use as the public visitation station. The complete video system, remodeling and other costs, including work to meet access standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act, would cost an estimated $325,000.
The board also considered using the Legal Aid of Western Michigan building near the sheriff's department on Port Street. System costs, remodeling and other expenses for a visitation station would total an estimated $358,000.
Sweeney told commissioners that the figures are only estimates and could be different from bids submitted by contractors.
The video equipment cost estimate was provided by one company that makes the systems, he said.
For years the county has used video conference equipment for court proceedings. Through a video link, judges in the Courthouse arraign prisoners being held in the jail next door.
Jail visits will be by video in future
Face-to-face talks across a window will soon disappear
By Scott Aiken - Herald Palladium
Dec. 11, 2009
ST. JOSEPH - People visiting inmates at the Berrien County jail in the near future will no longer see them face to face through glass. Instead, they'll "visit" via video.
County commissioners decided Thursday to get bids for video visitation equipment and related building remodeling and professional services.
A preliminary estimate puts the cost at $297,000. The system is expected to be installed next year.
The video visitations will follow video court arraignments, which Berrien County's judges have used for years through a jail-to-Courthouse link.
With the digital technology in the jail, visits are conducted by television monitors in different parts of the jail. A monitor is to be placed in each jail dormitory for inmates to use. Visitors will use monitors in an area designated for the public.
Visitors now see jail inmates face to face through glass and talk by telephone.
Sheriff Paul Bailey said video visitation improves safety in the jail because it cuts the number of times deputies must move inmates outside their cell areas.
"They do not have to be moved around the jail," Bailey said.
Already in use in many places, the video equipment can also make it easier for people in jail to visit with their lawyers. It could result in inmates having more visits, Bailey said.
The county considered three options for a video visitation system. Commissioners favor the least expensive: converting the current visitation areas on the first and second floors of the jail.
The estimated costs include equipment, wiring, devices and furniture, the county's building and grounds superintendent, Patrick Sweeney, said.
The cost of the video electronics system is estimated at $260,000. Remodeling costs and professional services will make up the balance of the $297,000.
Two other more expensive options were considered and rejected.
One was to renovate the ground-floor jail lobby for use as the public visitation station. The complete video system, remodeling and other costs, including work to meet access standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act, would cost an estimated $325,000.
The board also considered using the Legal Aid of Western Michigan building near the sheriff's department on Port Street. System costs, remodeling and other expenses for a visitation station would total an estimated $358,000.
Sweeney told commissioners that the figures are only estimates and could be different from bids submitted by contractors.
The video equipment cost estimate was provided by one company that makes the systems, he said.
For years the county has used video conference equipment for court proceedings. Through a video link, judges in the Courthouse arraign prisoners being held in the jail next door.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Berrien County, Michigan:
1. is headed up by one of the wealthiest right-wing men
in the state and one of the wealthiest, and most
corrupt corporations
(items below are all related to/controlled by 1.),
2. has a court with the most convictions in the state
(highest rate of convictions of innocents and juveniles),
3. has an African-American city being gentrified
brutally and illegally,
4. is destroying endangered plant and animal species
and a Lake Michigan pristine park (stolen land) for
possibly the most massive development on the lake,
5. installs judges having conflicts of interest (investments
in the development) who coldly lock up human beings
after admitting that they're innocent,
6. has a newspaper hiding truth on a daily basis,
7. has a state governor/government which remains mute
on all of the above,
is it surprizing that a black whistleblower has been
imprisoned for writing an article?
1. is headed up by one of the wealthiest right-wing men
in the state and one of the wealthiest, and most
corrupt corporations
(items below are all related to/controlled by 1.),
2. has a court with the most convictions in the state
(highest rate of convictions of innocents and juveniles),
3. has an African-American city being gentrified
brutally and illegally,
4. is destroying endangered plant and animal species
and a Lake Michigan pristine park (stolen land) for
possibly the most massive development on the lake,
5. installs judges having conflicts of interest (investments
in the development) who coldly lock up human beings
after admitting that they're innocent,
6. has a newspaper hiding truth on a daily basis,
7. has a state governor/government which remains mute
on all of the above,
is it surprizing that a black whistleblower has been
imprisoned for writing an article?
Saturday, August 08, 2009
Day 24: Rev. Pinkney is still under house arrest, paying $105.00 per week for the electronic tether, despite the ruling of the State of Michigan Appeals Court 24 days ago. This is the reality of rogue Berrien County.
Berrien County probation officer, Jim Pjesky, tipped off Judge Alfred Butzbaugh about the Peoples Tribune article Rev. Edward Pinkney wrote. In it, Pinkney called the judge racist, corrupt, and dumb; he also paraphrased the bible. Judge Dennis Wiley ruled this a violation of Pinkney's 15th condition of his probation. Both Pjesky and Wiley knew this was not true, but since they operate in the Berrien County power structure, it is with great ease that they wheel and deal and lie without compunction. Corruption is permitted by the state and governor's office. (Strong Whirlpool Corporation ties.) Corruption is also permitted by the residents of the county.
Judge Wiley sentenced Pinkney to a 3-10 year prison term for paraphrasing the bible in
the Tribune article. He conspired with Butzbaugh, prosecutor Gerald Vigansky, probation officer Pjesky, and sheriff Paul Bailey to remove and silence Pinkney. Pinkney served a year in 8 different Michigan prisons.
This was a vicious prosecution which the State Court of Appeals reversed. The opinion stated that Judge Wiley impinged on Pinkney's 1st amendment rights, violated the constitution, broke the law, and that the trial court abused it's discretion. The prohibition was not proper as it was not directly related to anything.
The traditional integrity of the law, it's moral roots having transcendent qualities,
is disappearing not only from the minds of law professors and law students, but also from the consciousness of the vast majority of citizens. The law itself is becoming more fragmented and subjective, geared to expediency rather than morality. In Berrien County we can go further to say that it's geared towards the desires of the white and wealthy, severely oppressing the poor and Benton Harbor African-Americans. (Don't forget: with Butzbaugh at the helm, the Berrien County Court convicts the highest number of innocents and juveniles in Michigan.)
Berrien County probation officer, Jim Pjesky, tipped off Judge Alfred Butzbaugh about the Peoples Tribune article Rev. Edward Pinkney wrote. In it, Pinkney called the judge racist, corrupt, and dumb; he also paraphrased the bible. Judge Dennis Wiley ruled this a violation of Pinkney's 15th condition of his probation. Both Pjesky and Wiley knew this was not true, but since they operate in the Berrien County power structure, it is with great ease that they wheel and deal and lie without compunction. Corruption is permitted by the state and governor's office. (Strong Whirlpool Corporation ties.) Corruption is also permitted by the residents of the county.
Judge Wiley sentenced Pinkney to a 3-10 year prison term for paraphrasing the bible in
the Tribune article. He conspired with Butzbaugh, prosecutor Gerald Vigansky, probation officer Pjesky, and sheriff Paul Bailey to remove and silence Pinkney. Pinkney served a year in 8 different Michigan prisons.
This was a vicious prosecution which the State Court of Appeals reversed. The opinion stated that Judge Wiley impinged on Pinkney's 1st amendment rights, violated the constitution, broke the law, and that the trial court abused it's discretion. The prohibition was not proper as it was not directly related to anything.
The traditional integrity of the law, it's moral roots having transcendent qualities,
is disappearing not only from the minds of law professors and law students, but also from the consciousness of the vast majority of citizens. The law itself is becoming more fragmented and subjective, geared to expediency rather than morality. In Berrien County we can go further to say that it's geared towards the desires of the white and wealthy, severely oppressing the poor and Benton Harbor African-Americans. (Don't forget: with Butzbaugh at the helm, the Berrien County Court convicts the highest number of innocents and juveniles in Michigan.)
Friday, July 24, 2009
The Gates Incident
Living in a Police State
It is common practice for police in America to abuse their authority and to arrest people on a charge of “disorderly conduct” when those people simply exercise their free speech rights and object strenuously to how they are being treated by an officer
By DAVE LINDORFF 7/22/09
...[Harvard] Prof. Gates, who was understandably outraged at the whole situation, properly told the sergeant that he wanted his name and his badge number, because he intended to file a complaint. Whether or not the officer had done anything wrong by that point is not the issue. It was Gates’ right as a citizen to file a complaint. The officer’s alleged refusal to provide his name and badge number was improper and, if Gates’ claim is correct, was a violation of the rules that are in force in every police department in the country.
But whatever the real story is regarding the showing of identification information by Gates and the officer, police misconduct in this incident went further. Gates reportedly got understandably angry and frustrated at the officer for refusing to provide him with this identifying information and/or for refusing to accept his own identification documents, and at that point the officer abused his power by arresting Gates and charging him with disorderly conduct.
There’s nothing unusual about this, sadly. [certainly not in Berrien County!] It is common practice for police in America to abuse their authority and to arrest people on a charge of “disorderly conduct” when those people simply exercise their free speech rights and object strenuously to how they are being treated by an officer...
There is no suggestion by police that Gates physically threatened the arresting officer. His “crime” at the time was simply speaking out...
What is unusual is not that the officer arrested Gates for exercising his rights. That kind of thing happens all the time...
Very little of the mainstream reporting I’ve seen on this event makes the crucial point that it is not illegal to tell a police officer that he is a jerk or a racist, or that he has done something wrong, or that you are going to file charges against him. And yet too many commentators, journalists and ordinary people seem to accept that if a citizen “mouths off” to a cop, or criticizes a cop, or threatens legal action against a cop, it’s okay for that cop to cuff the person and charge him with “disorderly conduct.” Worse yet, if a cop makes such a bogus arrest, and the person gets upset, he’s liable to get an added charge of “resisting arrest” or worse.
We have, as a nation, sunk to the level of a police state, when we grant our police the unfettered power to arrest honest, law-abiding citizens for simply stating their minds. Full article: http://www.thiscantbehappening.net/?q=node/342
Living in a Police State
It is common practice for police in America to abuse their authority and to arrest people on a charge of “disorderly conduct” when those people simply exercise their free speech rights and object strenuously to how they are being treated by an officer
By DAVE LINDORFF 7/22/09
...[Harvard] Prof. Gates, who was understandably outraged at the whole situation, properly told the sergeant that he wanted his name and his badge number, because he intended to file a complaint. Whether or not the officer had done anything wrong by that point is not the issue. It was Gates’ right as a citizen to file a complaint. The officer’s alleged refusal to provide his name and badge number was improper and, if Gates’ claim is correct, was a violation of the rules that are in force in every police department in the country.
But whatever the real story is regarding the showing of identification information by Gates and the officer, police misconduct in this incident went further. Gates reportedly got understandably angry and frustrated at the officer for refusing to provide him with this identifying information and/or for refusing to accept his own identification documents, and at that point the officer abused his power by arresting Gates and charging him with disorderly conduct.
There’s nothing unusual about this, sadly. [certainly not in Berrien County!] It is common practice for police in America to abuse their authority and to arrest people on a charge of “disorderly conduct” when those people simply exercise their free speech rights and object strenuously to how they are being treated by an officer...
There is no suggestion by police that Gates physically threatened the arresting officer. His “crime” at the time was simply speaking out...
What is unusual is not that the officer arrested Gates for exercising his rights. That kind of thing happens all the time...
Very little of the mainstream reporting I’ve seen on this event makes the crucial point that it is not illegal to tell a police officer that he is a jerk or a racist, or that he has done something wrong, or that you are going to file charges against him. And yet too many commentators, journalists and ordinary people seem to accept that if a citizen “mouths off” to a cop, or criticizes a cop, or threatens legal action against a cop, it’s okay for that cop to cuff the person and charge him with “disorderly conduct.” Worse yet, if a cop makes such a bogus arrest, and the person gets upset, he’s liable to get an added charge of “resisting arrest” or worse.
We have, as a nation, sunk to the level of a police state, when we grant our police the unfettered power to arrest honest, law-abiding citizens for simply stating their minds. Full article: http://www.thiscantbehappening.net/?q=node/342
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Quacy Roberts Update
Petty revenge by law enforcement, similar to elementary playground shenanigans, only now lethal and life-ruining
Quacy Roberts, Benton Harbor resident who told the truth in court about drug planting by a BH police officer, is now a target. Police and sheriff deputies rushed him against a fence and he ended up in Berrien County jail after having drugs planted on him again. After a few weeks behind bars his girlfriend just provided bond of TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS by putting her house up for collateral. Quacy is free now at great cost to her.
There are about 20 other residents who courageously told the truth about Officer Andrew Collins - you can imagine the fear they live with 24/7 in the scariest county in the state.
Each time cops in this county go after Benton Harbor residents, there is a ripple effect. Children are sent to live with aunts. Spouses and family members are bereft. This is all part of the plan. Whirpool Corp., Rep. Fred Upton, Wendy Dant-Chesser, and the Gang need an ethnic cleansing for their golf course, and by any means necessary, they will get it. Gov. Granholm is their benevolent godmother. And most of Michigan knows nothing about this.
Petty revenge by law enforcement, similar to elementary playground shenanigans, only now lethal and life-ruining
Quacy Roberts, Benton Harbor resident who told the truth in court about drug planting by a BH police officer, is now a target. Police and sheriff deputies rushed him against a fence and he ended up in Berrien County jail after having drugs planted on him again. After a few weeks behind bars his girlfriend just provided bond of TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS by putting her house up for collateral. Quacy is free now at great cost to her.
There are about 20 other residents who courageously told the truth about Officer Andrew Collins - you can imagine the fear they live with 24/7 in the scariest county in the state.
Each time cops in this county go after Benton Harbor residents, there is a ripple effect. Children are sent to live with aunts. Spouses and family members are bereft. This is all part of the plan. Whirpool Corp., Rep. Fred Upton, Wendy Dant-Chesser, and the Gang need an ethnic cleansing for their golf course, and by any means necessary, they will get it. Gov. Granholm is their benevolent godmother. And most of Michigan knows nothing about this.
Friday, July 03, 2009
Commentary
Concerned citizens with some sense of morality and tax payers in Michigan should be aware of the waste of tax dollars and the inhumane treatment going on in Benton Harbor, Michigan. A gentleman by the name of Quacy Roberts is the latest victim of the Benton Harbor Police, the county sheriff, the corrupt court system in Berrien County, and the all-white powers of St. Joe, Michigan. Excessive waste and incessant need to jail people for drug charges is occuring in Michigan. Benton Harbor police and the Berrien county judicial system are angered by anyone who speaks up about their ability to control and oppress the poor black citizens in Benton Harbor. The police have gotten away with such heinous acts as drug planting, physical abuse similar to Rodney King, and charges that are only juried via white citizens.
Quacy Roberts is the most recent victim. A man of 32, Quacy was walking down the street in Benton Harbor and was literally attacked by a group of police officers one afternoon. He was physically assaulted. Quacy had been a recent victim of the officer who was found guilty of drug plantings and had been a part of citizens who were victimized by the officer (Andrew Collins). As revenge, the police have singled him out to make a tough statement; if you don't succumb to our oppressive power, you will be jailed and we will swallow the key.
Is it HIGH TIME the citizens of Michigan REFUSE to let our tax dollars be wasted on personal vendetta's of corrupt officials. It is high time we take a MORAL stance in Benton Harbor - a city positioned in Jim Crow laws when juxtaposed with St. Joe. How can we turn our backs on the oppression and poverty in Benton Harbor and live with ourselves?
Quacy Roberts needs citizen action. Call the Michigan Dept. of Corrections (517-335-1426), Gov. Granholm (517-335-7858), and call your state representative about this case and the waste in Berrien county - they need a reasonable drug court or case management system for those in need of help. We must not pay over $35,000 (per person) to lock him up when his crime is hard to even identify, and when the officials locking him up are driven by bizarre power and greed. All white juries for black men being charged with drug related crimes is NOT ETHICAL.
New innovative programs must develop to help drug offenders (or those accused of being drug offenders when no real proof is available) and to help the crazy people who are locking them up. In addition, we must be mindful of the politicians who are setting the stage for stealing land (Jean Klock Park) and for denying citizens of such basic services as parks, libraries, and their own rich history. (ST. JOE, MICHIGAN SHOULD BE ASHAMED.)
Concerned citizens with some sense of morality and tax payers in Michigan should be aware of the waste of tax dollars and the inhumane treatment going on in Benton Harbor, Michigan. A gentleman by the name of Quacy Roberts is the latest victim of the Benton Harbor Police, the county sheriff, the corrupt court system in Berrien County, and the all-white powers of St. Joe, Michigan. Excessive waste and incessant need to jail people for drug charges is occuring in Michigan. Benton Harbor police and the Berrien county judicial system are angered by anyone who speaks up about their ability to control and oppress the poor black citizens in Benton Harbor. The police have gotten away with such heinous acts as drug planting, physical abuse similar to Rodney King, and charges that are only juried via white citizens.
Quacy Roberts is the most recent victim. A man of 32, Quacy was walking down the street in Benton Harbor and was literally attacked by a group of police officers one afternoon. He was physically assaulted. Quacy had been a recent victim of the officer who was found guilty of drug plantings and had been a part of citizens who were victimized by the officer (Andrew Collins). As revenge, the police have singled him out to make a tough statement; if you don't succumb to our oppressive power, you will be jailed and we will swallow the key.
Is it HIGH TIME the citizens of Michigan REFUSE to let our tax dollars be wasted on personal vendetta's of corrupt officials. It is high time we take a MORAL stance in Benton Harbor - a city positioned in Jim Crow laws when juxtaposed with St. Joe. How can we turn our backs on the oppression and poverty in Benton Harbor and live with ourselves?
Quacy Roberts needs citizen action. Call the Michigan Dept. of Corrections (517-335-1426), Gov. Granholm (517-335-7858), and call your state representative about this case and the waste in Berrien county - they need a reasonable drug court or case management system for those in need of help. We must not pay over $35,000 (per person) to lock him up when his crime is hard to even identify, and when the officials locking him up are driven by bizarre power and greed. All white juries for black men being charged with drug related crimes is NOT ETHICAL.
New innovative programs must develop to help drug offenders (or those accused of being drug offenders when no real proof is available) and to help the crazy people who are locking them up. In addition, we must be mindful of the politicians who are setting the stage for stealing land (Jean Klock Park) and for denying citizens of such basic services as parks, libraries, and their own rich history. (ST. JOE, MICHIGAN SHOULD BE ASHAMED.)
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Benton Harbor & St. Joseph, Michigan: Interminable Dark Ages
The Innocent Jailing of Quacy Roberts
This is just another story of out-of-control cops using age-old methods of harassment, physical abuse, racism, fear mongering, and evidence planting -- all sanctioned by the white power structure of St. Joseph/Berrien County (Rep. Fred Upton, Whirlpool Corp., etc.) It confounds one who attempts to comprehend how county and local institutions are mired in attitudes and activities that in the year 2009 are considered by most to be immoral and so obviously unjust. Berrien county truly is the land that time forgot.
It’s a story of ANOTHER young, innocent African-American Benton Harbor man being railroaded. This man is a part of a group of people who are suing the city of Benton Harbor and Berrien County - for Cruel and Unusual Punishment for sending them to prison as innocents. It doesn’t take much to understand that the cops are using this man to send a message to anyone who fights back.
The basic story:
Quacy Roberts, age 32, was walking down a Benton Harbor street one day recently when police in two squad cars saw him. They hopped out of their cars, ran up and rushed
him, pushing him against a fence.
They knew who he was. Before BH Officer Andrew Collins was imprisoned this year, Mr. Roberts was one of his many victims. Collins planted more drugs than almost any Benton Harbor officer - on over 200 people it is believed. At his hearing in 2007, Quacy Roberts testified that he was never in possession, and that Collins had planted drugs on him. (This explains the apparent need the police in the squad cars had for stopping Quacy Roberts, plus the fact that he's part of the group suing the city and county.) It should be mentioned, to understand the level of support the federal gov. (and the state) gives to the ultra-corrupt Berrien County, that Officer Andrew Collins was convicted in the federal court NOT for the huge number of lives he ruined through drug planting, but for possession -- he was given 37 months.
Back to the latest story of corruption in St. Joe/Benton Harbor.
After shoving Mr. Roberts into a fence, police searched him and found no drugs.
Two days later they issued a warrant for his arrest. Roberts went to the Berrien County jail, turned himself in, and handed over a bond of $200.
On Friday, June 26 he was found guilty of possession of cocaine by an all-white jury. He had not been in possession of cocaine, and there was no evidence or proof to show that he was. Berrien County all-white juries always go with what the police say.
Quacy Roberts was allowed to go home (?) after being found guilty last Friday.
The big "law enforcers" show: On Monday, the judge issued a warrant for his arrest. WANTED POSTERS WERE ALSO PUT UP ALL OVER BENTON HARBOR. (Wanted posters are a technique used by police to descredit an individual.)
On Tuesday, his house was surrounded by 15 to 20 BH police officers and Berrien county sheriffs, like he was a big time criminal.
Quacy Roberts surrendered and is now in the county jail.
The Innocent Jailing of Quacy Roberts
This is just another story of out-of-control cops using age-old methods of harassment, physical abuse, racism, fear mongering, and evidence planting -- all sanctioned by the white power structure of St. Joseph/Berrien County (Rep. Fred Upton, Whirlpool Corp., etc.) It confounds one who attempts to comprehend how county and local institutions are mired in attitudes and activities that in the year 2009 are considered by most to be immoral and so obviously unjust. Berrien county truly is the land that time forgot.
It’s a story of ANOTHER young, innocent African-American Benton Harbor man being railroaded. This man is a part of a group of people who are suing the city of Benton Harbor and Berrien County - for Cruel and Unusual Punishment for sending them to prison as innocents. It doesn’t take much to understand that the cops are using this man to send a message to anyone who fights back.
The basic story:
Quacy Roberts, age 32, was walking down a Benton Harbor street one day recently when police in two squad cars saw him. They hopped out of their cars, ran up and rushed
him, pushing him against a fence.
They knew who he was. Before BH Officer Andrew Collins was imprisoned this year, Mr. Roberts was one of his many victims. Collins planted more drugs than almost any Benton Harbor officer - on over 200 people it is believed. At his hearing in 2007, Quacy Roberts testified that he was never in possession, and that Collins had planted drugs on him. (This explains the apparent need the police in the squad cars had for stopping Quacy Roberts, plus the fact that he's part of the group suing the city and county.) It should be mentioned, to understand the level of support the federal gov. (and the state) gives to the ultra-corrupt Berrien County, that Officer Andrew Collins was convicted in the federal court NOT for the huge number of lives he ruined through drug planting, but for possession -- he was given 37 months.
Back to the latest story of corruption in St. Joe/Benton Harbor.
After shoving Mr. Roberts into a fence, police searched him and found no drugs.
Two days later they issued a warrant for his arrest. Roberts went to the Berrien County jail, turned himself in, and handed over a bond of $200.
On Friday, June 26 he was found guilty of possession of cocaine by an all-white jury. He had not been in possession of cocaine, and there was no evidence or proof to show that he was. Berrien County all-white juries always go with what the police say.
Quacy Roberts was allowed to go home (?) after being found guilty last Friday.
The big "law enforcers" show: On Monday, the judge issued a warrant for his arrest. WANTED POSTERS WERE ALSO PUT UP ALL OVER BENTON HARBOR. (Wanted posters are a technique used by police to descredit an individual.)
On Tuesday, his house was surrounded by 15 to 20 BH police officers and Berrien county sheriffs, like he was a big time criminal.
Quacy Roberts surrendered and is now in the county jail.
Monday, June 08, 2009
The following is a comment posted on:
It's All About Federal Drug Money & African-American Incarceration, 3/11/09 http://bhbanco.blogspot.com/2009/03/its-all-about-federal-drug-money.html
"I can relate to this and can take it back to 1976 when Nick Jewell was sheriff.I saw the dirt first hand and with my own eyes.Dig into history and find out why officers Tom Diepert and Tom Exxum who worked for metro narcotics were arrested which was kept under covers.How about St Joe officer now retired Don Ives allowing county officer Steve Marshke to have drug parties at Dons house with there homosexual buddies.Tim Obrien was another story along with Eau Claire native Paul Bailey who is a racist along with his buddy officer John Hopkins whos brother was a coke dealer and allways overlooked ( I know I was there).I do not live in the area anymore (thank god) but have known or have been personaly involved on a social level with these people for almost 40 years.Benton Harbor used to be one of the most industrial flourishing towns in the nation and now it seems that all it produces is trumped up charges."
It's All About Federal Drug Money & African-American Incarceration, 3/11/09 http://bhbanco.blogspot.com/2009/03/its-all-about-federal-drug-money.html
"I can relate to this and can take it back to 1976 when Nick Jewell was sheriff.I saw the dirt first hand and with my own eyes.Dig into history and find out why officers Tom Diepert and Tom Exxum who worked for metro narcotics were arrested which was kept under covers.How about St Joe officer now retired Don Ives allowing county officer Steve Marshke to have drug parties at Dons house with there homosexual buddies.Tim Obrien was another story along with Eau Claire native Paul Bailey who is a racist along with his buddy officer John Hopkins whos brother was a coke dealer and allways overlooked ( I know I was there).I do not live in the area anymore (thank god) but have known or have been personaly involved on a social level with these people for almost 40 years.Benton Harbor used to be one of the most industrial flourishing towns in the nation and now it seems that all it produces is trumped up charges."
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