Some are more equal than others

Legislation being proposed would pay for the health insurance and college tuition for children of law enforcement officers, firefighters and other public safety officers when that parent dies in the line of duty.

Under the plan, children of those workers would keep their parent's health insurance benefits at no cost until age 26. Children under the age of 26, and qualified veterans under the age of 30, would receive free tuition and fees at Iowa's community colleges and public universities.

Iowa bill would help children when officers die.

Tragic as that is, and I know I'll take a hit for this, but I don't understand why those children get benefits provided by the taxpayer that are not given to all children of the state. My children are less important because of my occupation?

Who is pushing for this bill? Iowa State Troopers Association, State Police Officers Council and two legislators, one a current and one former firefighter. Big surprise.

My suggestion would be to buy life insurance (I know the rates are higher for risky occupations) - but that's what I had to do. Because the state isn't going to step in and provide for my boys with free tuition and health insurance if I die. I don't expect them to.

[Senator] Hancock said the legislation will likely be rolled into a larger "EMS bill of rights" that he and Danielson are working on that also is designed to give some benefits to volunteer public safety workers and help local governments.

Why not teachers who already get a break on student loans if they stay in the state? How about state legislators? Or DOT workers who plow the roads? That's dangerous work.

What about the electrical linemen who brave the ice and wind during a power outage? They are pretty damned important, too. How about the surgeon who saves the life after the ambulance driver safely delivers the patient to the emergency room? The EMS workers' kids get free benefits and the nurses and doctors don't? Doesn't sound fair to me.

It's not like I have no heart as I freely give to associations and fundraising benefits for those in my community who need help. But I do not understand why I should be paying (non-voluntarily) for the benefit of others who should have anticipated the risks and provided for their family if a tragic death should occur.

No one in the state house would be interested in providing for families of IT engineers if one of us should die "on duty." We don't have a lobbying group pushing for it.

Sleeping Officer Beauty Your tax dollars at rest

New title courtesy of Midwest Chick


Cedar Rapids police officer disciplined for sleeping on the job

[Spokesperson] Hamblin said the officer was in the wrong, but she downplayed the idea that it could seen as an embarrassment to the department.

Nope, not an embarrassment at all.

Anti-freedom sheriff wants more gun control

This anti-freedom petty tyrant wants to regulate your freedoms. Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner:

“The Sheriff’s office in the state of Iowa do nothing to regulate the purchase of long guns,” said Gardner, “We only regulate the purchase of handguns.”

Is he implying that he wants to regulate all guns?

Seems that way to me.

The watchman needs a watchman

An Iowa City Police Citizen’s Review Board member and community liaison has been placed on administrative leave after allegedly hosting a party that turned into a fight, though she still retains her position on the board.A fight involving up to 40 people, brandishing firearms. Still on the review board and probably will end up staying.

H/T to David Codrea

He'll be glad to take care of it

Ft Madison Police Chief, Bruce Niggemeyer had a Q&A with local citizens. In response to a business owner in Ft Madison who had a question about responding to a person toting a gun in their establishments:

"It depends on how comfortable you or the business owner feels walking up to them and asking [if they have a permit]. If you don't, call us and we'll be glad to take care of it," Niggemeyer responded.

A citizen remarked that magic no-carry signs have no effect on someone intent on committing harm to another. Niggemeyer agreed, adding:

If someone is bent on doing something like that, I don't think a sign or someone else with a gun is going to stop them.

If guns are so ineffective in stopping violent criminals, then why do law enforcement officers carry them?

Sheriff friendly offers tips for those with permits

After some initial lamentations regarding the new permit process:

Lee County Sheriff Jim Sholl reported that there are now 654 residents with gun permits. Prior to Jan. 1 and the revised law, only 84 Lee County residents held per- mits. Sholl says he believes the revised law is the sole reason for the increase in permit applications.

“You’ll never convince me that there were 500 some people denied permits by any sheriff here,”Sholl said. “It’s just so easy to get one, and there has been so much publicity on it that it piqued their interest.”

Could it be that many county residents gave up from trying? Why waste the time and money if the sheriff will deny your application?

And because mere citizens aren't capable of handling a weapon, the remark:

“One of my deputies said it best, and I stole the line from him — if you go get a driver’s license you have to show you know how to drive, but now you can get a gun permit and not show you know how to shoot,” Sholl said.

Read more advice at: Law enforcement officials offer suggestions for weapon carry

Iowa "Intelligence" Office audited

An office created to "pump up the exchange of safety intelligence information" was audited, where it was discovered that almost $67,000 was "misspent."

I think the word is stolen, but let's not quibble over semantics here.

According to the article, charges are not expected against the four who were employed by the Atlantic police department.

Sheriffs will comply with new permit law

This ace cub reporter at the Des Moines Register dishes out the dramatic adjectives to bring a compelling story to our attention:

Many Iowa sheriffs still have grave concerns about a new state gun law, but they will follow its requirements on issuing permits to carry weapons, two leading sheriffs said Wednesday.

"Grave concerns". In other words, these sheriffs expect death and destruction because of the new permit law.

No real investigation regarding the current law or the history of the changes:

The sheriffs association said sheriffs currently issue more than 36,000 weapons permits statewide a year, and deny few permits.

Tell that to the citizens of Johnson, Louisa, Des Moines or the other counties where the sheriff routinely turned people down. The number of denials would steadily go down because people wouldn't waste their time.

The title of the article is ridiculous: County sheriffs say they'll comply with gun law

You mean sheriffs were ready to not comply?

I think those who have voiced their "concerns" understand that if they didn't "comply" they would have to defend themselves in front of a judge at some point. Just ask Osceola County Sheriff Douglas L. Weber how that went.

Police fire at cell phone user

Mistaking a cell phone for a firearm, a Des Moines police officer fired at a local TV reporter and luckily missed.

I'm betting that the guy is glad that the officer wasn't a better marksman.

Sheriff earns a B-

This has nothing to do with NRA grades or endorsements. Remember the sheriff that denied a resident a carry permit because he was asking questions of the county's finances?

U.S. District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett ruled against Osceola County Sheriff Douglas L. Weber in the suit brought by Paul Dorr. The good judge ordered the sheriff to go back to class to learn a little more about the Constitution.

Sheriff Weber earned a B- from the online University of Phoenix.

Let's hope he learned something.

Former Van Meter police chief gets probation

The former police chief in the central Iowa town of Van Meter has been sentenced to two years probation stemming from felony misconduct charges.

That sound fair.

Previous post:
Van Meter police chief fired

"Our State Fair, is a violent state fair..."

While the Des Moines police diddle over whether to call the past two weekend's state fair violence a "hate crime" (of which type laws should be overturned), the Aryan Nation is coming to town.

Thanks a lot, Des Moines. We can't have a state fair in peace and these guys show up.

“We don’t want to jump to conclusions,” Lt. Joe Gonzalez said.

Thank you, Lt. Joe. I wouldn't want anyone to jump to any conclusions after WHO radio broadcast a person who claimed he heard, "Kill the crackers," during one of the attacks.

I think all "hate crime" legislation to be nothing more than pandering to one group over another, breaking the concept of "equality under the law." It's used to pit one group against another and rarely applied to all groups equally.

Maybe some groups are more equal than others. Like "Only Ones?"

Meanwhile:

So far, there have been a total of 11 arrests stemming from incidents that date between Aug. 14 and Aug. 22. Four of the arrests were made on adults and seven were juveniles.

Among those arrested was Reginald Rashawn White, 18, of Des Moines, a Hoover High School basketball player. White is charged with two counts of willful injury, a class D felony.

If he did it, convict him and throw him in jail. But not everyone agrees with the seriousness of his alleged actions:

Police Sgt. Lillie Miller, who’s son is friends with White, bonded White out of jail after the state fair fights on Aug. 14. Miller also reportedly asked for White to receive a citation in lieu of arrest.

Gonzalez said a police internal investigation has been conducted, which determined Miller did nothing illegal. She may have exercised poor judgement, Gonzalez said.

Miller was sanctioned over the issue, but Gonzalez could not elaborate because it’s a personnel matter, he said.

Using her position as an officer to influence an arrest, in an attempt to reduce the incident down to a mere ticket.

According to Sgt. Lillie, stab someone (allegedly) and get a ticket. No jail time.

Sounds right to me.

I don't give a rat's hind-end about race. Thugs come in all colors, creeds, ethnicities, nationalities, and uniforms.

Celebrating Independence Day in Marshalltown

A letter to the editor (lacking some editing skills by both the writer and editor) describes an incident in Marshalltown, IA during Independence Day celebrations this year.

About 9 p.m. Fourth of July evening, my daughter, her son and grandson, were at her brother's home, they had been invited to watch the fireworks with him and his two sons. It could be seen clearly from where he lived on the east side of town. My daughter was sitting on the ledge of the flower bed attached to his house. The sidewalk was almost against the wall of the ledge.

Sounds like an innocent place to watch a fireworks display.

All of a sudden, a white truck stopped in the middle of the street, two guys went running up to her flashed something in her face and quickly stuck it in their pockets, and said, "I'm a cop, your coming with us." She asked what for, and they said for drinking on public property. She did have a can of beer sitting beside her on the ledge.

Uh, oh, a can of beer. I may have missed it, but didn't Prohibition get repealed a few years ago?

She said I'm on private property. They said she was on the sidewalk because her legs were dangling down from where she was sitting.

That's a pretty strict interpretation there.

Her brother told them he lived there and it's private property. He was told to shut up or he'll get arrested too. My daughter asked to see their badges because she didn't get to see it before. They told her son and nephew, they were going to too.

And since they were driving a pickup, they could have hauled them all away.

Her brother said her was going to call the real cops and went into his house. My daughter thought it might be a gag, that she was being "punked" so she badge a third time and was ignored a third time. The guys started getting loud, and my daughter got scared. She was afraid they would start beating on them like you see on the news or even taser them. She was afraid to ask for their badge again, or they would charge her with resisting arrest too. So, she said "I'll go with you, but I wasn't on the sidewalk."

The woman gave in to the fear and intimidation tactics. Luckily, some smarter LEOs showed up:

They were searching for cuffs when the city police officers arrived. They all talked for a few minutes and the two guys and city officers left. My daughter was not arrested. Thank the lord her brother called 911.

But the author had to bring a little swipe at Arizona:

They were watching the celebration of what our county had won, freedom and liberty, and those two rough cops were set to take her away. That is a perfect example of what can happen with the law in Arizona that will give a reason to say where are your papers. By the way, we are white citizens whose ancestors have been in the country since the 16th century.

Cops don't need a law in Arizona to act like this, I've seen it several times in my life. I've also been privileged to know some fine LEOs as well.

Unfortunate Fourth incident

Update on Mz Jones-Hall

When we first looked at this, (Open your mouth, lose your job) I thought she was just another elitist. But a new discovery for miss "I'm entitled" has been posted. It seems that she was a police officer in St. Louis.

According to online University of Iowa newsletters, Lisa Renee Jones-Hall “had worked as a St. Louis City Police Officer in the domestic violence response unit prior to admission to (the University of Iowa) law school.”

Woman who lost Linn County job after Marion traffic stop was once a police officer

Marion has been historically a "cop busting your chops for a ticket" place for years. But this has all sorts of stupid on it.

Open your mouth, lose your job

Trying to act like a big shot will sometimes get you in trouble. That's what happened to a "woman on track to become a Linn County prosecutor" last month. Woman Loses Job as County Prosecutor After Confrontation with Police

Lisa Jones-Hall acted like she was too important to receive a ticket for tinted windows from Marion police last month.

The officer asked Jones-Hall to sign a ticket because he said her windows were illegally tinted. But, she initially refused to sign it, called the officer names and then brought up the job she was supposed to start the following week. “Ok. I want you to arrest me for having tinted windows. I start with the Linn County Prosecutor’s Office next Tuesday. I want you to arrest me for not signing this.”

Ok, then.

After hearing about her little tirade, the Linn county prosecutor's office did the right thing and rescinded their job offer. Good for them.

Ms hyphenated-name declined to comment with a desire to get this incident behind her.

Lack of knowledge of the law (or willingness to disregard the law) and a haughty sense of self-importance is a bad combination for a county prosecutor.

Judge to sheriff: Go back to class

(Update - John Richardson has more and a copy of the ruling. Well Done, sir)

Related to a previous post Permit denial decision U.S. District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett ruled against Osceola County Sheriff Douglas L. Weber in the suit brought by Paul Dorr, a local rabble-rouser. I've never met the man but I have talked to a few of his children.

Apparently the good sheriff didn't like Dorr's snooping in his department and asking questions about his budget. After having a permit to carry for many years,

But then in 2007, after Weber was elected sheriff, he denied Dorr's application for a permit, listing the reason for his denial as "Concern from Public. Don't trust him."

Bennett's ruling says Weber, who was a deputy before he was elected sheriff, knew about Dorr's prior activities but it wasn't until Dorr began working for a local taxpayers association seeking county spending records, including records from Weber's office, that the sheriff rejected his application.

Judge orders Iowa sheriff to issue gun permit

One of the reasons I don't like the whole "asking permission" process we have in this state.

After ruling for the first time from the bench a month ago, Judge Bennett follows up with these comments:

“The court finds a tsunami, a maelstrom, an avalanche, of direct, uncontroverted evidence in Sheriff Weber’s own testimony to conclude beyond all doubt that he unquestionably violated the First Amendment rights of at least Paul Dorr,” Bennett wrote in his ruling.

Weber’s reason for disapproving the application was, “concern from public. Don’t trust him.” The following year Weber also denied Alexander Dorr’s application for a permit and informed Paul Dorr that he would deny any further applications from him.

Weber testified that he had heard people refer to Paul as “a whacko, delusional, a nut job, a spook, and narcissist,” Bennett’s decision noted. “Regardless of the adjective used to describe Paul, however, Sheriff Weber stated that Paul’s ‘lousy’ reputation was due to his political activities of writing letters to the editor and distributing fliers.”

The ruling continued, “Giving Sheriff Weber more deference than is due his elected status, the court finds that Sheriff Weber denied Paul’s application for a concealed weapons permit not because of the content of his First Amendment activity but because it was effective and agitated many members of the local community.”

And, Bennett said, “In denying Paul a concealed weapons permit, Sheriff Weber single-handedly hijacked the First Amendment and nullified its freedoms and protections. Ironically, Sheriff Weber, sworn to uphold the Constitution, in fact retaliated against a citizen of his county who used this important freedom of speech and association precisely in the manner envisioned by the founding members of our nation ...

"In doing so, this popularly elected Sheriff, who appears to be a fine man and an excellent law enforcement officer, in all other regards, blatantly caved in to public pressure and opinion and, in doing so, severely trampled the Constitution and Paul’s First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and association. This is a great reminder that the First Amendment protects the sole individual who may be a gadfly, kook, weirdo, nut job, whacko, and spook, with the same force of protection as folks with more majoritarian and popular views."

Federal judge orders Osceola County sheriff to issue gun permit

And the Coup de Gras:

Bennett required Weber take a class that must be a college-level course on the United States Constitution, “including -- at least in part -- a discussion of the First Amendment.” And Bennet said, Weber must obtain approval from the court before participating in the class. Upon completion of the class, Weber must also file anan [sic] affidavit with the clerk of court showing successful completion with a passing grade.

That's gotta smart.

Sheriff Weber wouldn't comment in any article I found.

Sean McClanahan has some thoughts on this as well: District Court Judge awards permit and requires training for Sheriff

Officer's firing upheld

William Bowker's firing from the Ft. Madison police department was unanimously upheald by the city's Civil Service Commission. F.M. officer firing upheld

Readers may recall my post: Sex, lies and incompetence that the officer was fired for "incompetence, laziness and stupidity (cruising the internet at work)" besides having a sordid affair with the police chief's wife.

At the bottom of the article, the Hawkeye reports about a Iowa Supreme Court case:

The Iowa Supreme Court, in a 2002 opinion, summed up the plight of a police officer: "Since peace officers are charged with a public trust, the public has every right to expect these officers to conduct themselves with good character, sobriety, judgment and discretion. ... The image presented by police personnel to the general public is vitally important to the police mission."

"Police officers must earn and maintain the public trust at all times by conducting themselves with good judgment and sound discretion," the high court stated.

Sounds good to me.

Cedar Rapids' red light cameras catch cops too

Or so they say. They being the police chiefs of the cities of Cedar Rapids and Marion.

“We want to be consistent and show no favoritism,” [Marion Police Chief Harry] Daugherty says. “If my people have a reason to be speeding, I will excuse them. On the other hand, if they don’t have a reason, I won’t. (Otherwise), I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if I didn’t.”

Touching sentiment, chief. Too bad the rest of us don't get a review:

Cedar Rapids Police Chief Greg Graham reports that the enforcement cameras had snapped photos of 26 Cedar Rapids police cars speeding or running red lights as of last week.

No, these photos don’t immediately end up being tossed aside, the chief says.

Upon review, Graham reports:

Five of the potential violations were deemed not to be violations; officers were operating in “legitimate” fashion. For instance, they were tailing a speeder at the speeder’s speed.

The enforcers get to enforce themselves and deem whether they get a ticket. Will a common citizen get the same opportunity?

Read more and the comments at: Red light cameras nab police cars speeding

Permit denial decision (updated)

SIOUX CITY -- After less than a full day of testimony in U.S. District Court, Presiding Judge Mark W. Bennett issued a ruling from the bench this week that found Osceola County Sheriff Douglas Weber's denial of an Ocheyedan, Iowa, man's application for a gun permit constituted First Amendment retaliation, according to court documents.

Bennett's written order in the civil action is to follow.

Paul Dorr and his son Alexander, then 18, filed suit in 2008 after Weber turned down their concealed-weapon permit applications.

Paul Dorr said Friday he believed Weber denied his application because he was working as a paid consultant with the Osceola County Taxpayers Association, which was fighting public safety budgets, including those of the sheriff's and county attorney's offices.

Weber could not reached for comment Friday. His Sioux City attorney, Douglas Phillips, said he would not comment until he had seen the judge's order.

In his 2008 response to the lawsuit, Weber wrote that he was using his discretion as sheriff to determine whether or not the men should get gun permits. Osceola County residents' fear of bullying, harassment and intimidation by Paul Dorr was a legitimate basis for the denial, he wrote.

Judge: Sheriff violated man's 1st Amendment rights in denying gun permit

"Bullying, harassment and intimidation..." - interesting.

This case is a perfect example of the flaws we have in Iowa and the whole asking permission philosophy regarding permits to carry. A sheriff can deny if they think you can't be responsible or if they "foresee" a crime in the future.

The new permit process that will start January 2011 will not change the fact that sheriffs still have some discretion when a permit comes in. There is an appeal process that may not take three years to wade through, but discretion was not removed from the law.

(Updated) Paul Dorr is the father of Aaron Dorr, Executive Director of Iowa Gun Owners. I spoke with Aaron on June 19th at the Iowa Gun Owners Freedom Rally and he gave a few more details about the case. This was the first time Judge Bennett ever ruled from the bench. In the judge's remarks, it was such a clear-cut case of a violation of Mr. Dorr's rights, that he didn't bother going to chambers.

From Aaron and his brother's comments, it's not clear the sheriff understands what he did wrong. The judge is ordering the sheriff to attend instruction on First Amendment rights. Punitive damages could be awarded, but is not being sought.

It would seem that Mr. Dorr's lawsuit was about the principle, and not money.

Gov Chester's driver not at fault

We have an update to an earlier post: Gov. Chester's driver owns the road.

Culver's driver is cleared in traffic stop

With differing stories in this incident, too bad the driver of the other car didn't have cameras.

Someone was in the wrong here, and I suspect it was Culver's driver:

A spokeswoman for the Department of Public Safety said she didn't believe Allen would be ticketed in the incident. The Iowa State Patrol's chief, Col. Patrick Hoye, said in a separate news release that the incident "provides us with an opportunity to evaluate procedures that relate to the Executive Protection Unit."