the american defendant
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Issue 3 of the American Defendant featuring an article on Bay County Florida's first Citizens Law Enforcement Oversight CommitteeTRANSCRIPT
AMERICANDEFENDANT
THE
ISSUE 3NORTHWEST FLORIDA, SUMMER 2011HIGHLIGHTING POLICEABUSE AND MISCONDUCT
An alternative to mugshot publications
RESISTINGARREST
WITHOUTVIOLENCE!!
OBSTRUCTINGOUR LAWFUL DUTY!!
SHUTUP!!
WHAT IS THIS ABOUT OFFICERS?
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:A look at Bay County’s
Citizens Law EnforcementOversight Committee
FREEDOM
POWERIS PARTICIPATION IN
our numbers - our creativity
www.americandefendant.info
WHO HAS it? WHO DOESN’T?
publish your story of police misconduct
www.robbrayshaw.comwww.ratemycop.com
CONTENTS:
PAGE 7. featured story: Godbless the Innocent Ones
PAGE 5. citizens law enforcement oversightcommittee of Bay County: Combat police abuse! File with CLEO!
PAGES 9. & 10. local officer ratings from ratemycop.com and highlights from high profile arrest cases
IF REHABILITATION IS THE PURPOSE OF INCARCERATION, WOULD OFFENDERS
WHAT ARE THOSE MUGSHOT PUBLICATIONS ALL ABOUT?
IF THOSE ARE PICTURES OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE ONLY BEEN ARRESTED, WHY ARE THEY PRESENTED AS IF THEY WERE GUILTY?
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THEM?
ARE THOSE PEOPLE REALLY CRIMINALS?
WHY SHOULD MAKING FUN OF PEOPLE GETTING ARRESTED BE APPEALING TO ME?
ARE THOSE PEOPLE REALLY CRIMINALS?
DO I THINK PEOPLE GETTING ARRESTED IS FUNNY?
ARE THOSE PEOPLE REALLY CRIMINALS?
WHY SHOULD MAKING FUN OF PEOPLE GETTING ARRESTED BE APPEALING TO ME?
ARE THOSE PEOPLE REALLY CRIMINALS?
DO I THINK PEOPLE GETTING ARRESTED IS FUNNY?
The above quote was heard by many at a regularly scheduled greater Bay ACLU meeting in the back room of Sonny’s BBQ on 390. Sheri� McKeithen was responding to a question about the legalities around filming or photographing an arrest. Although his reponse was accidental and generally innocent, it is telling of the reason police o�cers ought to have an independent review board; the capacity for human error.
Human error happens regularly, and we humans are designed to absorb it and move on. Although, when an o�cer makes a mistake in the line of duty, their mistake can be life-altering and even life-threatening. Of course, then there is always plain old police abuse, which any attentive community or respectable o�cer would not tolerate. Such are the reasons some Bay County citizens have come together to create an oversight committee. An oversight committee helps to minimize mistakes and abuse by facilitating a transparent and independent complaint process that would encourage o�cers to be more responsible and thoughtful in their dealings with citizens.
“a police oversight com-mittee is simply a matter of checks and balances”
“I know plenty of officers who could make up ... er, uh, ... find a law to charge you with”
- Sheri� McKeithen
Citizens Law Enforcement Oversight of Bay County: Combat police abuse! File with CLEO!
5
Forms will soon be available online at both The American Defendant website and the Greater Bay Area ACLU website. You can download and email your complaint or download, print and send via regular mail.
“An oversight com-mitte helps to mini-mize mistakes and abuse”
We can’t expect a particular police department, working hard to build good public relations, to highlight all the negative aspects of their work. Why should we? An independent review board supplies the much needed checks and balances. The American Defendant would like to encourage anyone with even the most minor complaint to file it with the Citizens Law Enforcement Oversight Committee.
To learn more about the Citizens Law Enforcement Oversight and read their mission statement, visit www.americandefendant.info
Complaints about individual o�cers are numerous but a transparent complaint process has never existed until now. Citizens can now make complaints through “CLEO” by filling out the form and sending it to their address. From there the complaints will be sent out to the appropriate department and the state attorney’s o�ce.
Forms will soon be available online at both The American Defendant website and the Greater Bay Area ACLU website. You can download and email your complaint or download, print and send via regular mail.
“An oversight com-mitte helps to mini-mize mistakes and abuse”
We can’t expect a particular police department, working hard to build good public relations, to highlight all the negative aspects of their work. Why should we? An independent review board supplies the much needed checks and balances. The American Defendant would like to encourage anyone with even the most minor complaint to file it with the Citizens Law Enforcement Oversight Committee.
To learn more about the Citizens Law Enforcement Oversight and read their mission statement, visit www.americandefendant.info
Complaints about individual o�cers are numerous but a transparent complaint process has never existed until now. Citizens can now make complaints through “CLEO” by filling out the form and sending it to their address. From there the complaints will be sent out to the appropriate department and the state attorney’s o�ce.
Of course, the point is that I was arrested on false charges. My driver's license was stolen, I was publicly harassed by five o�cers of varying departments, placed in hand cu�s and sent to jail to spend the night. In the long-run it seems like no big thing; I'm not guilty, the honorable judge agrees, and I can move on. But what of the others? What if they aren't so “lucky”? Who is rallying for the innocent ones lost in the shu�e of criminal “justice”? So I wanted to publicize my story to say that I am with those folks. I have been there. I just happened to have the time and energy and support to get out.
My name is Jerrad Hardin. I was arrested in 2009 for resisting arrest without violence and disorderly intoxication. After roughly six months in the Bay County justice system and with the employ of a public defender, I was adjudicated not guilty in 2010.
GOD BLESS THE INNOCENT ONES
7
The o�cer's entire narrative, save for the time and place and other insignificant details, is a lie. Called in for back up on a trespass warn-ing, o�cer Rick Williams unlaw-fully arrested me for resisting arrest without violence and disor-derly intoxication. When the initial o�cers arrived they were cordial, said they were called for trespass-ing, ran my name but couldn't find any trespass. After returning to their car to figure what was next, I was bombarded with questions about my night and threatened with arrest for trespassing. As I spoke calmly in protest, citing that the o�cers could find no trespass against me, two o�cers jumped me and put me in handcu�s.
I have given the o�cer's narrative to The American Defendant to publish on their site, which states (among many others) the lie that I “eventually” gave him my license. To contrast, I have also given them a voicemail recording of Kim Weeks, the arresting o�cer's secretary, stating that the o�cer never saw my license. God bless the many who are innocent and struggling alone.
The arresting o�cer wrote a made-up narrative that left me turning down 6 months of plea bargains until I finally saw trial and won my case.
Rate My Cop.com rates o�cers on Authority, Fairness, Satisfaction.
Officer Jerry A. Blackwell, BCSO: Rating is poor for all three catigories with 419 hits.
Officer David C. Eaves, BCSO: Rating is poor for all three catigo-ries with 302 hits.
Officer Luther C. Burnam, BCSO: Rating is poor for all three catigories with 304 hits.
Officer Adam J. Buff, BCSO: Rating is poor for all three catigo-ries with 424 hits.
This represents the number of poorly rated officers according to ratemycop.com and does not necessarily represent an accurate number of poorly rated officers in Bay County, FL overall. These ratings are subject to change.9
The Police State TimesHIGH PROFILE ARREST CASES FROM AROUND THE NATION!
Summer 2011 www.americandefendant.info
Whistle Blower Protection Act Ignored for American Troops Alleged military whistle blower Bradley Manning is currently imprisoned at Ft. Leavenworth after almost a year in solitary confinement and has yet to see trial. He is alledged to have passed along a video to the press depicting the murder of nearly a dozen Iraqi civilians including two Reuters reporters by an army helicopter in 2007.
Community Group Arrested for Serving FoodOrganizers from the Orlando chapter of Food Not Bombs, a group whose name highlights the need for food over the need for blowing up poor folks, were arrested for serving area homeless.
Dancing Warrants Arrest
Several were recently arrested for dancing at the Jefferson Memorial in Washington DC.
