Lots more back story, context, opinion and links -- not to mention 'The Letter' -- atnhttp://bikerbillnh.blogspot.com/2014/06/weare-police-a...
Lots more back story, context, opinion and links -- not to mention 'The Letter' -- atnhttp://bikerbillnh.blogspot.com/2014/06/weare-police-apologize-for-1a-and-a8.htmlnnWeare PD regrets and apologizes. You read that right, faithful reader. "Regret and apologize." And that's the US Constitution's 1st Amendment 'free-speech' protections and the NH Constitution's Part 1st (the state Bill of Rights equivalent) Article 8 'government accountability' mandates (as well as Article 22 'free speech,' of course), particularly, that they're sorry for violating, exercise of which on the fateful night of 7/10/2010 eventually earned your humble chronicler, over 7 months later on 2/22/2011, service of a belated but by then presumably quite carefully considered -- yet still profoundly misguided -- felony 'wiretapping' warrant.nnThese violations were in addition to their demonstrated serial contempt (and, in fact, uniquely demonstrated, WPD being the only NH police department ever to not eventually, wisely, in a nominally Article-8-'the-boss-has-given-us-our-orders' self-preservation sort of way, drop such charges for recording an employee cop) for NH statute RSA 570-A:1's clear definition of "oral communication." This state law stipulates prevailing circumstances justifying an expectation of privacy first before audio (the only type even at issue) recording can be considered illegal. You say, officer, that you can't be overheard on a public street -- to say nothing of while demanding a non-voluntary conversation as a public servant? I don't think so.nnAnd I really did try to explain all this to them that night. Trust me, it has a happy ending, 7/2/2014.nnAnd again, a profoundly heartfelt "thank you" to the Free State Project community, as well, for rallying to my financial and emotional support, desperately needed for me to wage this small, but I believe significant, and now finally successful fight against the aggressively metastasizing police state. And thank you, Carla, for (being forced to) taking point in the 1st Circuit so I didn't have to. ;-) Hey, you got this kind of community where you live NOW, dear reader...?nnSidebar, your honor: One might posit that in the Grand Scheme, all this might not be all that important on its own, in isolation. I'd still object, but... An "alternative timeline," a "thought experiment" -- and a call to action -- that I think should be considered here, too, is that had the stunning exposures of 'Hodgdon' and 'Chatel' (even a cop/lawyer they attempted to destroy) and 'Gericke' and 'Kostric' and 'Alleman' (and...) all somehow been able to have run their collective legal course and exerted their collective influence only a year sooner, had activists (reluctant or otherwise) intent on reform somehow compelled from the grassroots up the long-necessary fundamental change in the Weare police department just a measly year sooner than they (hopefully) did, then Alex Cora DeJesus might very well still be alive today instead of having been murdered in a lunatic clusterfuck of contemptuous, incompetent, unsupervised (and ULTIMATELY UNACCOUNTABLE) cowboy police-state authoritarianism. In fact, the new chief, despite the "Thin Blue Line" separating employer and habitually insular and recalcitrant employee (so props for that), has invoked the "c" word. That's right, corruption.nnDon't let this shit slide, people. Hold "troublesome servant and fearful master" government (excellent advice, disputed provenance or not) accountable and tightly tethered. Always. That's your responsibility if a free society is to be retained. If ya give 'em an inch, suddenly they think they're a ruler. They work for YOU, gorram it. Aim to "misbehave". Somebody's life could depend on it, after all -- could depend on YOU. Take a stand. You, too, can compel positive change. Less
