A dope-dealing probation officer, a detective who buddied-up to a dope dealer, and a sticky-fingered small town cop make the roll-call of dishonor this week. Let's get to it:

In Santa Fe, New Mexico, a Santa Fe police detective has been recommended for termination after he was caught on an FBI tape promising to provide a gun to a drug dealer "who clearly conveyed his intent to commit murder," according to police documents. Detective Jose Valencia, who headed the police union at the time of the taping, is also accused of providing an undercover narc's description to the drug dealer and making disparaging remarks about fellow officers. Valencia faced a hearing Thursday to revoke his certification as a law enforcement officer in New Mexico. That decision will be made next month.
In Moab, Utah, a former Moab police officer was arrested February 4 for stealing $900 in drug bust proceeds from his own police station. Edward Guerrero, 43, faces burglary and theft charges in the break-in, which occurred last August.
If You Think Police Corruption Is Bad Now, Consider This
Recently President Obama's signed Executive Order EO 12425 that the authorizes INTERPOL to act within the United States without being subject to 4th Amendment Search and Seizure laws at most locations. It would appear INTERPOL can tap American phones without a warrant. And U.S. Police can now use INTERPOL to circumvent the Fourth Amendment to arrest Americans and or forfeit their assets by bringing INTERPOL into a criminal or civil investigation.
Drug War
CONSERVATIVE OR RIGHT WING ?
I have publically opposed the drug war for years and would like to thank all the organizations that propose an end to this disaster.
However, there are a couple of issues that I would like to discuss. First let me say that I am a conservative and to me, drug reform is a conservative issue.
These big government, right wing republicans who claim to be conservative need to be removed from office, While most politicians on both sides of the isle are scared to touch the drug issue, I am pleased to see a ray of hope with the socialist Obama administration when it comes to drug reform.
It appears that the American people are sick of federalist, big government destruction to our nation and there is a new awakening to become conservative.
It seems inevitable that the republicans will again take over the house and senate. That is why it is important to point out a big difference between conservative and right wing. Right wing does not mean conservative. The big government, right wing republicans who claim to be a Ronald Regan conservatives need to be thrown out on their ear. It is time to elect real conservatives. That is, those who don't want to eat this country alive with federalism.
My point is that if right wing government takes over, the drug war has the ingrediants to be worse than it has ever been.
Federalism mixed with right wing philosophy has the potential to become a very destructive force, especially when it comes to the war on drugs.
If we do not get drug reform within the mainstream political framework immediately, the American people may suffer from a Federalized central authority like we've never seen and all the drug reform success up until now will be for nothing.
A right wing Federalist government will use the drug war to escalate the War on Terror by saying the American people are responsible for supporting terrorism through drug use. Then the right wing arm of the federal government will use its power to (fix) the problem.
I know many people in my own community that believe government is the answer to strong family values, especially when it comes to the War on Drugs! What they don't realize is that they are really putting the state ahead of their own children by giving up family values!
I feel that the drug reform movement is failing to get the word out to the American people. It seems to be bogged down in preaching to the choir. I would hope more emphasis could be given to the national media and an escalation to the upcoming elections.
Thank you,
Willy Richmond
Hannibal, MO
assistance/ advice
I live in a town where the police have a reputation of abuse, especially women and those of the community with mental health problems. The local public mental health clinic has offered on numerous occasions to give the police training in dealing with their patients and de-escalation techniques in general. But, of course, they say they don't need it.
Unfortunately, I have experienced their brutality firsthand during a traffic stop. They tried and tried to provoke me into some action that would give them cause to arrest me. When I didn't do anything out of order, they arrested me anyway, grabbing me and obviously inflicting as much pain as possible. They left huge black bruises on me and almost dislocated my shoulders.
I would like to bring this to light and hopefully put it to a stop. I would also like to see the department forced to be forced to send it's officers to the training offered by the mental health services. Could you recommend a source that might help me with effective procedures to accomplish this?
Agitator dot com
You might find a sympathetic ear over at this site. Radley Balko has been reporting on police abuse on the Agitator as long as I have been reading it.
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