Wilkey is facing two more lawsuits, according to WRCB TV. And there’s even more weird sociopathy present in the accusations. On July 9th, Deputy Wilkey was sued by a man who claims the deputy used excessive force during a traffic stop over window tint.This lawsuit claims the deputies performed an illegal search of his vehicle by detaining him until they could run a drug dog around his car. The drug dog supposedly alerted but no drugs were found. The deputies also allegedly told the man to stand with his hands on the hot hood of a vehicle, resulting in burns.The second lawsuit [PDF], filed October 17th, details Deputy Wilkey’s harassment of six minors in a vehicle. Once again, Wilkey told the driver and occupants he had stopped them for illegal window tint. He was also accompanied by Deputy Jacob Goforth, who was present during Wilkey’s forced baptism of another driver. Wilkey also claimed he “smelled weed,” apparently to justify the actions he took next. He ordered all of the minors out of the car and began doing things only Deputy Wilkey would ever do.
Tag: USA
Totally In-Touch NH Lawmaker Blocks Device Repair Bill, Tells Constituents To Just Buy New $1k Phones | Techdirt
“In the near future, cellphones are throwaways,” Potucek said, according to New Hampshire Business Review. “Everyone will just get a new one.”
Sanders: Using Hamas to Deny Aid Dehumanizes Palestinians
No other candidate in the U.S. presidential race comes close to Sanders in terms of his willingness to condition aid to Israel.
Source: Sanders: Using Hamas to Deny Aid Dehumanizes Palestinians
Tennessee Deputy Sued Twice In The Same Day Over A Roadside Anal Search And A Forced Baptism | Techdirt
Both cases here are disturbing. And they’re disturbing in very different ways. I’ve never read a civil rights lawsuit against an officer that included claims of a forcible religious experience, but here we are.
CBP Official Refuses To Give Journalist His Passport Until He ‘Admits’ He Writes ‘Propaganda’ | Techdirt
CBP officer, holding Watson’s passport: “What do you do?”
Watson: “Journalism.”
CBP officer: “So you write propaganda, right?”
Watson: “No.”
CBP officer: “You’re a journalist?”
Watson: “Yes.”
CBP officer: “You write propaganda, right?”
Watson: “No. I am in journalism. Covering national security. And homeland security. And with many of the same skills I used in the U.S. Army as a public affairs officer. Some would argue that’s propaganda.”
CBP officer: “You’re a journalist?”
Watson: “Yes.”
CBP officer: “You write propaganda, right?”
Watson waited five seconds. Then: “For the purposes of expediting this conversation, yes.”
CBP officer, a fourth time: “You write propaganda, right?”
Watson, again: “For the purposes of expediting this conversation, yes.”
CBP officer: “Here you go.”
Ninth Circuit Upholds Its Previous Declaration That Cops Stealing Your Stuff Doesn’t Violate The Constitution | Techdirt
Earlier this spring, the Ninth Circuit Appeals Court basically said it’s okay for cops to steal property from citizens. This isn’t because stealing is okay. It isn’t. It’s illegal. It’s that stealing someone’s possessions after they’ve been seized with a warrant doesn’t violate the Constitution.
Monsanto Behind GOP Effort to Defund Cancer Researchers
IN 2015, the World Health Organization’s cancer research arm, the v, classified glyphosate, an active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup, as a “probable carcinogen,” setting off a global debate about the world’s most popular weedkiller.Over the last four years, Republicans in Congress have excoriated and pushed to defund the IARC, casting their defense of the chemical as a quest on behalf of small American farmers. Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla., has written that his outrage over the cancer research is on behalf of the “farmers and food manufacturers who rely on traditional farming methods to produce the food that fuels America — and the world.”But according to a recent trove of documents, the ongoing political assault on the IARC has been scripted in part by Monsanto, the St. Louis-based chemical and seed conglomerate that produces Roundup and Roundup-resistant crops.
Source: Monsanto Behind GOP Effort to Defund Cancer Researchers
Ring asks police not to tell public how its law enforcement backend works | Ars Technica
Ring device owners are often unclear on what information, specifically, police can see and how they can use it. That secrecy is entirely by design, CNET reports today, as Ring has a list of features its police partners are explicitly not supposed to share with the public.Documents security researcher Shreyas Gandlur obtained through a FOIA request include a communication from Ring to police in Bensenville, Illinois, saying that “Neighbors Portal back-end features should not be shared with the public, including the law enforcement portal on desktop view, the heat map, sample video request emails, or the video request process itself as they often contain sensitive investigative information.”
Source: Ring asks police not to tell public how its law enforcement backend works | Ars Technica
Elsevier Tries To Lie About University Of California’s Contract Negotiation; UC Shows Its Receipts | Techdirt
You may recall that, back in March, we were excited to hear the news that the University of California had cancelled its Elsevier subscription, after Elsevier was unwilling to support UC’s goal of universal open access to all of its research (while simultaneously cutting back on the insane costs that Elsevier charged). Apparently the fight between Elsevier and UC has continued, and it’s getting nasty.
Court: No Immunity For SWAT Team That Hurled A Flash-Bang Grenade In The General Direction Of A Two-Year-Old Child | Techdirt
It usually takes very extreme behavior from law enforcement officers to punch holes in the qualified immunity shield. Fortunately/unfortunately, there’s seems to be no shortage of extremely-badly-behaving law enforcement officers.