Independent Video Journalist Dave Ridley Arrested by Nashua Police

by | May 25, 2011 | 7 comments

The Ridley Report‘s Dave Ridley has been arrested, as reported by Dave himself in this afternoon’s call to Porc 411 from the Nashua Police station. Dave was interviewing politicians at a Nashua hotel when the hotel staff asked him to leave. He complied and began backing out of the hotel, when he was arrested by police. Charges are unclear at this point. Dave reports he is being taken to Valley St. Jail in Manchester. Thus far, no one has called Porcupine 411 with any updates, and I don’t see any on the FK forum or NHFree.com’s forum. Anyone know what’s happening?

UPDATE: Ridley being held without bail. Charges still unknown. You can call the jail to inquire about Dave at 603-627-5620. Thanks to Kelli for the update. Here’s her Porc411.

UPDATE: I called the jail and they refuse to reveal the charges. I then called NPD and spoke to Officer Dewitt, who says he will call me back with the charges. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: DeWitt did call back, which is unusual for a bureaucrat. He did however, pass the buck to the “station supervisor”, claiming that he was not authorize to release information regarding charges. He also claims he doesn’t know who the station supervisor is at this time. I called back and asked for the station supervisor and the officer answering the phones also claimed to not know who it is, but told me to call back in ten minutes. I will be calling back. NPD’s number is 603-594-3500.

UPDATE: Called back. Phone-answering-bureaucrat claims the supervisor is not in and he doesn’t know who the supervisor is. Takes my name an number, says will have supervisor call me. More updates as they come in.

UPDATE: Dave did manage to make a QIK video from inside the jail.

UPDATE: A Sargent Rourke called me and also claimed that he could not tell me the charges, because Dave is an adult and they cannot give that information out. (This is the same excuse they would use to “protect” a minor.) He told me I can go to Nashua District Court and then find out at the arraignment. He claims court starts at 8:15am – hopefully activists in the area will be able to attend and record his hearing and get this information.

Tweak the Law, Protect Rights

by | May 19, 2011 | 4 comments

Unfortunate as it may be, police rely heavily on the general public being unaware of their Constitutional rights.  A majority of people who become charged with victimless crimes such as drug possession become ensnared in the criminal justice system due to not being informed of their ability to stand up to law enforcement’s attempts to have them waive their rights.  As a police officer, I did it countless times.  I was even trained how to do it by the police academy.

“I’m going to have to ask you to allow me to look in your vehicle.”  Did I ask or order you to do something?  I asked, in an ordering sort of way.

I’ve become a real skeptic of “consent” searches for the simple reason that in order to be lawful they must be given freely and voluntary.  Three officers surrounding a sixteen year old new driver and repeatedly asking them to allow a search is hardly free or voluntary when the young driver is scared s-less.  Of course the exact level of hounding which is sometimes required to obtain “consent” never appears in the police report.

Reports are always written in the way that gives an impression that the police simply asked and received a waiver of rights.  In practice, it doesn’t always happen that way.

I think this judge said it best:

U.S. v. Minker, 350 US 179, at page 187 “Because of what appears to be a lawful command on the surface, many citizens, because of their respect for what only appears to be a law, are cunningly coerced into waiving their rights, due to ignorance.”

I have a solution.

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