Yesterday’s article featured video of a police encounter from May 17 that resulted in no searches or arrests outside of the initial detainment. Today’s entry features another encounter from later that same day, this time elsewhere in the bay state.
Earlier that Thursday, myself and a large group of Occupiers were stranded at South Station in Boston after our bus to Chicago had broken down twenty minutes outside of the city. We had spent the night prior inside the disabled vehicle at a rest stop while a mechanic tried futilely to revive it. We returned to Boston around 8:00am, and had our itinerary restored by 3:00pm. Once we discovered that we would be getting flown to Chicago the following morning, we made our housing arrangements for the night.
I had taken a bus out of the Shire to Boston the evening prior, and rather than traveling back and fourth again, I was invited to await departure with young occupiers from Acton. It was my first time in the quaint town, and in my short time there I met many wonderful people. But as is often the case, when too much of a good time is had, the police are bound to arrive and investigate. (more…)
The Cheshire County Candidates Forum was held from 2-4pm on October 16, 2012 in the Keene Public Library’s Ruth Huntress Auditorium. Twenty-seven candidates were invited, nine attended. Candidates answered questions from the moderator and the audience. A strawpoll was conducted at the end of the forum.
Surprise winners include Libertarians John Babiarz for Governor, Hardy Macia for Congress, Ian Freeman for State Rep. Cheshire 16 and Darryl W. Perry for Register of Deeds.
The initial results incorrectly listed write-in candidates for Executive Council (Richard A. Foote) & State Senate (Eli Rivera) as receiving 4 votes, each actually received 1 write-in vote.
Watch the forum in 6 parts on YouTube or in the player below.
Interested voters turned out today to the 2012 Candidates Forum at the Keene public library this afternoon. Several candidates for local and state offices turned out including Chuck Weed, Tim Robertson, Anna Tilton, Darryl Perry, Keith Carlsen and more. Hopefully these candidate forums will continue in future years, as this is the only one that I’m aware of happening.
As expected, Delmar Burridge, the opponent of Chuck Weed and I, did not attend. Presumably because he doesn’t want to debate his indefensible, inhumane positions.
I’ve just gotten around to finalizing more videos from the NATO Summit in Chicago, and today I uploaded this short encounter from after our group’s second attempt to leave Boston. The third time proved to be a charm, and the whole story will be laid out in a cut of most of the footage I am currently working on.
In this video from May 18, a bicycle police officer on patrol around South Station picks out an individual and harangues him for being suspected of smoking herb before letting him return to the group. Police were only operating on smell and had no physical evidence, as this encounter demonstrates the difference between Massachusetts’ decriminalized cannabis status compared to other states, where this same encounter may have resulted in coerced searches or arrest. The second officer to appear on the scene says shortly before leaving, “It’s legal, but your still get a fine.”
Today the Union Leader is featuring an article about Cheshire County Department of Corrections Corporal Thomas Schoolcraft requesting to be pardoned for a string of burglaries he was involved in.
(The only uniformed law enforcement/corrections position that a convicted felon may hold in New Hampshire is county corrections officer. County corrections officers possess no arrest authority and may only use force to detain offenders brought to them by order of law enforcement agents or courts.)
In the article it appears that the reporter inquired with the Corporal about why he isn’t simply attempting to obtain a more common “annulment” for his offenses:
“Schoolcraft prefers a pardon to annulment for his convictions because he doesn’t want them to disappear from his criminal record.”
He “prefers” a pardon.
I presume that the Corporal knows precisely what his present impediment to advancement in New Hampshire law enforcement is: if he had his felony conviction annulled (not pardoned) he still could only serve as a county corrections officer.
New Hampshire Police Standards and Training rule Pol 301.05 (g) (2) specifically forbids certification of an individual who has committed a felony even if it was annulled. If you are a felon, you must receive a pardon to be eligible to serve as a certified law enforcement officer in New Hampshire.
Pol 301.05 Background Investigation. The following shall apply to the background investigation required on the applicant by the agency:
(g) The hiring authority shall evaluate the results of its background investigation and the agency shall not appoint or invest with authority an applicant who:
(2) Has ever been convicted of a felony by a civilian court or by a military court, whether or not the charge had been annulled nor whether a suspended sentence was completed, and for which he or she has never received a pardon;
If we as a society are going to forgive the Corporal for things he did that actually hurt people, how can we not simultaneously forgive all felons convicted of things that never hurt anyone? I’m sure he is a good guy working hard to now live a law-abiding life, but there are way too many “felons” in New Hampshire who (unlike Corporal Schoolcraft’s crime spree eight years ago) created zero victims.
From LiveFreeOrDance.com:
This morning I had a candid phone interview with my brother Ademo Freeman, Founder of CopBlock.org, who was found guilty of “wiretapping” public employees at work. In the interview, he reveals some insights from his experiences on the inside of Manchester’s Valley Street Jail. Learn more about his case at CopBlock.org/FreeAdemo
