Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Better than nothing...

I was hoping they'd make a meat windchime out of them, but I'll take what I can get:
ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Three former Atlanta police officers were sentenced Tuesday to prison terms ranging from five to 10 years for covering up a botched drug raid in which a 92-year-old woman was killed.
That was not the Atlanta Police Department's most shining hour.

41 comments:

Jay G said...

Agree on the "meat windchime" (t'hee), but color me shocked that they were actually, you know, punished...

the pawnbroker said...

these idiots were convicted of the crimes they committed; coverup, collusion and perjury.

reserve the windchime treatment for the stupid bastards who are responsible for such activity against civilians.

jtc

Anonymous said...

O.K., I went over my copy of the Federal Sentencing Guideline Handbook. "Meat Windchime" is curiously absent.

I think they just get sent to the BoP. "Meat Windchime" may raise a couple of issues for appeal.

Shootin' Buddy

theirritablearchitect said...

Didn't one of the bastards already off himself, once the situation started unraveling and light shone on what actually took place?

Can we hang the judge who signed the bogus search warrant too?

Unknown said...

Good idea. The judge/magistrate, the district attorney, the various police training officers, the head of the detail, the mayor....all are complicit in this murder under color of authority.

Old NFO said...

Should have been a LOT more of them on trial...

Sean Galt said...

Good; rotten frakkers. Now sentence them to go work Border Patrol for 10 years so they run a chance of ending up with Federal time.

Crucis said...

It's a start at least.

Anonymous said...

"reserve the windchime treatment for the stupid bastards who are responsible for such activity against civilians."

uh...these stupid bastards did commit their crimes against civilians. A 92 year old woman died because of their actions.

I'd say the windchime treatment is too good for them.

staghounds said...

To be fair, these aren't stupid cop tricks.

They are EVIL cop tricks.

Neither the Judge nor the DA are in the police chain of command. And I guarantee the trainers constantly told the officers to tell the truth ALWAYS.

NOTHING that can come of lying is worth it, NOTHING.

Anonymous said...

Our wonderful justice system plea-bargained the manslaughter charge down to time served while the perjury charge got them prison time. It's nice to see where the priorities are with in the DA's office.

Anonymous said...

I think if they get put in with the general prison population it should be sufficient!

the pawnbroker said...

"uh...these stupid bastards did commit their crimes against civilians. A 92 year old woman died because of their actions."

uh, no, that woman died because of the actions of fucked up and predictably fatal systemic flaws; start with the fact that the wo(s)d corrupts absolutely and keep following the power and the money all. the. way.

jtc

Chuck Pergiel said...

Somehow I don't think a "meat windchime" is going to make a very chimey sound.

Tam said...

More of a *thud*thud*thudthud*thud*thudthudthud*

...when the wind blows briskly, at least.

Anonymous said...

That's why they used those strap-iron gibbets: to render the effect more musical.

Unknown said...

Staghound, a judge or magistrate signed off on the warrant, knowing (wink, wink) that it was BS. The DA created an environment where BS like these rogue cops murdering nonogenarians was at least arguable.

They are indeed part of the problem - they had the ability to stop it.

As did the Mayor, the Chief of Police, the head of the detail, the equally complicit training officers who signed off these murdering SOB's from probationary status.

The guilty MUST be punished, or the bad behavior will be continued. Right now there are cops on the Atlanta PD thinking that they'll be more careful, next time they falsify a warrant application, lie under oath, use a bogus informant, and B&E some old persons house. Because they still have a job to do and they know how to get it done.

Unless and until ALL the guilty are subject to serious penalties (including the enablers that got off without even a stern look in this case) the criminal behavior will be enabled.

Anonymous said...

Forgive me, I'm only here because I was reading another site which linked to 'View from the porch'.

I skimmed your posts, especially the one relating to depression, and can't help but point out the obvious; you're a very angry person indeed.

I have no idea about the why's and wherefores of your life, all I would suggest is that you re-examine your reasons for your chosen lifestyle and ascertain whether it's bringing you the happiness you desire.

There's nothing wrong in admitting you made a mistake, nothing wrong in starting somewhere else doing something else. But there's everything wrong with continuing down a road laced with vitriol and anger, admittedly interspersed with moments of self-depreciating humour.

And yes, I am a doctor and yes, this advice is for free.

The very best of luck.

Anonymous said...

Bet he's a fun consult.

Anonymous said...

I am NOT a doctor, and don't necessarily agree with him. But I do notice that your profile points to the home of the Colts, who are my favorite football team. While I am not a fan of my local football team I feel that a person of your intelligence, wit, and spirit would be happier in the company of Dallas Cowboy fans. We would be happy to have you ma'am.

Anonymous said...

Wow, Tam, you've got trolls, but at least yours are literate.

Jim

Anonymous said...

I looked up 'trolls' and I rather wish I were one of that amusing species. Sadly, I'm just an ordinary Scot living in Ho Chi Minh City in sunny Viet Nam. But I forgive you your name-calling, my yankee chums :-)

I wasn't trying to be an arse, simply to offer advice to someone who seemed to be essentially sane but who was immersing herself in an insanity. Namely, the belief that you need to express hate in order to live happily in this world.

Sure, this place is crazy. But focusing on the crazed, the insane or the sad minority in society will only lead deeper into a depressive state. Find the good. It's out there. Focus on that.

BTW, isn't it odd that ten years ago I'd have called survivalists 'idiots'? Yet during these strange days, I'm not so sure...

Tempus fugit, and all that.

Tam said...

"...admittedly interspersed with moments of self-depreciating humour."

Humor is self-deprecating, Doc. "Self-depreciating" is what your 401k is doing.

Tam said...

Oh, and FWIW, I'm already in a better mood. More housecleaning and less news watching is always a pick-me-up.

Plus, I'm off to shoot some bowling pins this weekend, and bicycle weather will be here soon.

Next winter, I'll be sure to have a sun lamp.

Thank you for your concern, however. :)

Anonymous said...

"Self-depreciating" is what your 401k is doing.

Ah, the joys of being educated in things I don't require and uneducated in the things I do... Sorry, despite the fact I write for a living, spelling was never one of my strong points. *I* know what I mean, but few others do :-)

And I don't know what a 401k is, but I'm sure it's important to someone somewhere.

Forget the sun lamp. Go for a more +ive life :-)

Like I said, good luck!

Anonymous said...

Here's what you get for venturing into "Rational Discourse" territory. If you ain't with us...you're clinical!

I wonder what the server code would reveal on these despatches. When I read the first one, I thought it sounded like it came from Ho Chi Minh city.

No hate there, of course. They're so over it. Whew, just whew.

Anonymous said...

Fear, my invitation to come to the great state of Texas was genuine. Not snarky at all and probably shared by quite a few bloggers linked to here.

the pawnbroker said...

"essentially sane"?

okay, that's just mean.

you'd think the doc would have plenty of essentially otherwise targets of his free analyses right there in viet f'n nam.

jtc

Anonymous said...

Does Roberta know that free medical advice is being dispensed on this site?

Just asking, y'know, for the good of the local and all...

Anonymous said...

"No hate there, of course. They're so over it."

Yes, actually they are. And so, surprisingly, are many the American vets who venture back here.

Ironically, I met one yesterday in the lobby of the Rex. He was wounded sometime in '69, the bad guy who wounded him didn't bother to kill him, just took away his gun and moved on, so he lived to tell the tale.

Now, all these years later, courtesy of some rich buddy, he's back. Headed off to the Delta later this week to revisit old battlegrounds. He was a nice guy who bore no malice and was simply grateful to have survived.

That's the point I was trying to make. Hate - for whatever reason, good or bad - isn't a creed to live by. Neither is anger. It eats away and destroys. So ranting rarely serves any real purpose other than to eat away and the author which, to my mind, is somewhat silly.

""essentially sane"?
okay, that's just mean."

You are correct. I apologize. Forgive my Scottish use of language. It's a little rough, but not intended to cause gross offense. Minor offense perhaps :-)

"viet f'n nam"

And I hate to say it but you, sir, do neither your country nor yourself proud by expressing your bigoted opinions in such vulgar terms.

staghounds said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
staghounds said...

(Sorry for the repost- I left out the link.)

The Doctor has some points worth listening to and he seems genuinely concerned, and he isn't Ho or LBJ, so lighten up.

Although I wonder if he actually is from the place he says he is- my understanding was that the "S word" produces OUTRAGE from those whom it accurately describes. Or at least among Scotch peers named Foulkes.

Back on topic, Sun Tzu asserts that the " judge or magistrate signed off on the warrant, knowing (wink, wink) that it was BS."

On what do you base this assertion?

Did the Judge or Magistrate have actual knowledge, or should he have just automatically presumed that the sworn affidavit was false?

He also says that "The DA created an environment where BS like these rogue cops murdering nonogenarians was at least arguable."

Umm, huh? Where does that come from?

I tend to generally believe in personal responsibility, not collective. To leap from this incident to the conclusion that the entire criminal apprehension and irritation system in the ATL is evil is a bit of a stretch.

And the explanation of the difference in time is the fact that the active sentences are Federal, which have much stiffer guidelines and far less early release than State ones.

Here, for example, a defendant will do far more time for being a felon with a firearm than he will for a rape.

Unknown said...

Staghounds, if you think the activities in Atlanta were an aberation, better get on the clue train: This sort of thing happens in every major PD and city in the US - those in the South are just more prone to get caught at it.

Refer to Radley Balko at reason.com for examples.

the pawnbroker said...

"I hate to say it but you, sir, do neither your country nor yourself proud by expressing your bigoted opinions in such vulgar terms."

i, on the other hand, don't mind at all saying that you, sir, are offering up your expert opinion at a price equivalent to its value.

viet nam is frozen in the psyche of many, many of my peers such that vulgar terms cannot do it justice.

and analyze this doc: the expression and discussion of anger and outrage, not to mention the hilarious humor in which it is often couched (heh) here, is therapeutic and cathartic beyond anything your learned opinion could ever hope to achieve.

pretty effective at self-preservation, too; that is a concept that escapes pacifists completely, often at the expense of their mortal being and that of those foolish and sheepish enough to follow them.

jtc

Anonymous said...

Docanon, old chum ode beeve, if you think words like "troll" or "communist" are name-calling, you're not on another continent, you're in a different reality.

So there's no hate left in Saigon, since the tourist trade is so friendly? That must be what comes of putting 2 million of the opposition in a shallow grave.

And you don't know what a troll is? Sure you don't.

closed said...

I like being angry ... it keeps me warm at night.

And the "Doc" is showing his bigotry by expressing his disdain at the permanently Angry, and his attempts to "fix" us.

You are a Hater, Doc. Don't be hating on us permanently Angry folks.

Anonymous said...

It has just this moment occurred to me that Doctor Ming probably does not know what the word "snark" means.

This would explain a great deal.

Unknown said...

Dr Ming? Troll? Snark? DocAnon?

Guessed at the first, understand the second, looked up the third, can easily solve the last.

What, precisely, are you chaps trying to point out?

That genuine, proffered-with-good-intent advice was unappreciated? Well, I've got that message. That must be the 'openness of Americans' rushing to the fore...

That free = useless? You may be correct. Almost every time I offer medical advice for free no-one listens, yet in a couple of months I'm being paid $4000 for a two hour lecture in Kuala Lumpur saying basically the same stuff to an audience which WILL listen and act. People are weird.

That you still hate the Vietnamese culture you inanely tried to turn into messy pieces of flesh from 10,000 feet or 300 yards over your M16 sights? Yeah, I got that one too. So, I think, did the nation you were trying to destroy. They've moved on, why can't you?

That I hate the haters? Yes, I believe I do, so that makes me no better than you, doesn't it?

Now, can we all snuggle down somewhere warm and swap bed-time stories, or am I not allowed to play here any more? Your choice.

Oh, the anonymity thing. Easily solved. My name is Ro Hunter, I'm a doctor and writer and I'm living in Sai Gon (do you prefer that to HCMC?). My blog is linkable from my name. I write there infrequently and maintain no archives. But you can go there and hate me *personally* if you like...

staghounds said...

We're ALL Tam's guests here.

And I don't think she means to run an echo chamber.

We ought to make the newest visitor feel welcome, not call names.

the pawnbroker said...

wow, check that second picture...calling special agent clarice?

the pawnbroker said...

crap, link didn't show up...

http://rohunter.blogspot.com/