|
Newsbrief:
Austin,
Texas,
Cop
Killed
Enforcing
Marijuana
Possession
Law
11/12/04
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/362/austin.shtml
Early this year, DRCNet reported
on the toll of police officers who are killed each year enforcing the drug
laws. Last year, we found, they were dying for the drug war at a
rate of slightly more than one a month (https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/323/police.shtml).
Now, another officer has died for prohibition, this time in Austin, Texas
-- this time in an especially pointless incident -- a bust for simple marijuana
possession.
As Austin-based crime and
drug policy watcher Scott Henson noted in his blog, Grits for Breakfast
(http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com),
Officer Amy Donovan died October 31 trying to chase down a pot-smoker in
East Austin. The 37-year-old rookie cop was killed by her partner,
fellow rookie Adrian Valdovino, who accidentally hit her with their patrol
car, pinning her between the car and a light pole.
The predominantly black East
Austin neighborhood where Donovan died is a favorite trolling ground for
Austin police, and police initially told the Austin American-Statesman
Donovan and Valdovino were on the lookout for "drug dealers and prostitutes"
when they observed someone "acting suspiciously." It was later reported
that the suspicious activity was people standing around a car smoking a
joint. One of them took off on foot, Donovan followed, and now she's
dead.
The crime Donovan died to
prevent is a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by a maximum 180 days in jail,
but, as Henson noted, the Travis County Jail is so overcrowded it can't
afford to keep low-level drug offenders locked up -- unless Austin taxpayers
want to kick in about $100 million for a new jail.
Meanwhile, the guy who just
wanted to share a peaceful toke with friends now stands to see his life
ruined because a cop died trying to enforce the marijuana laws. Nicholas
Jarmon is now charged with evading arrest, which in Texas becomes a second
degree felony worth 2-to-20 years in prison. And because Officer
Amy Donovan is dead, Jarmon will probably pay the price.
-- END --
|
Issue #362, 11/12/04
Editorial: The Spirit of Lawfulness |
Ever Upward: At Nearly 1.5 Million, US Prison Population at New High |
In an Hour of Conservative Ascendancy: Prospects for Drug Reform at the Federal Level During the Next Four Years |
Syracuse Reconsiders Drug Policy |
Newsbrief: Congressional Drug Warrior Threatens Canada Over Marijuana Legislation |
Newsbrief: In New Twist in Thai Drug War, Police Detain and Drug Test Club Goers |
Newsbrief: Ann Arbor Officials to Ignore Voters' Will on Medical Marijuana |
Newsbrief: Georgia Supreme Court Says Wife Can't Consent to Search of Home Against Husband's Will |
Newsbrief: Austin, Texas, Cop Killed Enforcing Marijuana Possession Law |
Newsbrief: Supreme Court to Look at Drug Dogs in Traffic Stops |
This Week in History |
The DARE Generation Returns to DC: Students for Sensible Drug Policy 2004 National Conference Next Month |
Apply Now to Intern at DRCNet! |
DrugWarMarket.com Seeking Information, Affiliations, Link Exchanges |
The Reformer's Calendar
|
This issue -- main page
This issue -- single-file printer version
Drug War Chronicle -- main page
Chronicle archives
|
PERMISSION to reprint or
redistribute any or all of the contents of Drug War Chronicle (formerly The Week Online with DRCNet is hereby
granted. We ask that any use of these materials include proper credit and,
where appropriate, a link to one or more of our web sites. If your
publication customarily pays for publication, DRCNet requests checks
payable to the organization. If your publication does not pay for
materials, you are free to use the materials gratis. In all cases, we
request notification for our records, including physical copies where
material has appeared in print. Contact: StoptheDrugWar.org: the Drug Reform Coordination Network,
P.O. Box 18402, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 293-8340 (voice), (202)
293-8344 (fax), e-mail [email protected]. Thank
you.
Articles of a purely
educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of the DRCNet
Foundation, unless otherwise noted.
|
