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.”
Last night, a group went out in a couple different vehicles to patrol Keene and keep tabs on the public officials who claim jurisdiction over it. On the police scanner, there was a report that the owner of a local establishment had called 911 after two customers left the property as they believed the driver may have been intoxicated. A description of the vehicle the customers were driving was reported, and officers were encouraged to track this vehicle down.
We were close by, and spotted the vehicle that was identified. The driver of the car I was in pulled up next to the vehicle at a stoplight and motioned for them to roll down the window. It was conveyed to them that police were on the lookout for them and that it may be an intelligent idea to pull into a parking lot and get out of the vehicle. The driver took the suggestion, and we stopped to see if we could be of assistance. At this time, we heard dispatch tell all units to be on the lookout. One of the passengers in the truck I was in, Clyde, offered to drive the vehicle home for the two in the car.
As there were four of us in the CopBlock truck, we split up. Ademo accompanied the driver of the other vehicle while I stayed with Pete. The passenger of the vehicle rode with Pete and I, while the previous driver stayed with their vehicle. They, and their vehicle, were safely delivered home, very appreciative and they gave a donation to cover gas. In addition to helping a couple individuals in need of a hand to guarantee a safe arrival home, we prevented the Keene Police from forcefully taking an individual to a cage where he would be held at taxpayers’ expense although nobody had been harmed, stealing the vehicle, and demanding ransom for the individual’s freedom and/or vehicle.
Please tell me again, naysayers, about how CopBlocking is not helpful or how CopBlockers’ goal is simply to instigate?
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.
You may have heard that I am running for State Rep in Keene this year against Chuck Weed and Delmar Burridge. Chuck Weed is good on ending cannabis prohibition and is also the incumbent – to his credit as well, he will be debating me in the upcoming candidates’ forum on 10/16 at 2pm in the Keene library.
Delmar Burridge, however, is not going to appear at the candidates’ forum. Perhaps because he thinks he has the election in the bag, or maybe because he doesn’t really want voters to hear his sick, twisted views. Allow me to refresh you on what Burridge has to say. I would like to take you back to 2008 when Free Keene blogger and then host of Free Minds TV Toby Iselin had an email exchange with Burridge regarding cannabis decriminalization. After Toby asks Delmar to do the right thing and move the legislation forward, Delmar responds with an insulting screed that actually advocates Toby snitch on his cannabis-using friends, saying,
“You are very passionate in your beliefs and would make a great snitch. It is thrilling to dime on your so called friends.”
-Delmar Burridge to constituent
The rest of his outrageous email to Toby is worth reading. This sociopath ex-law enforcement officer is my competition in the upcoming Keene state house race. If you want to vote for oppression of freedom, Burridge is your man. If you want to vote for liberty, I’m the clear choice, having been endorsed by the NH Liberty Alliance.
Here’s additional content from Chalk the Police day in Keene. A remix of yesterday’s video with Keene parks director Andrew Bohannon is below, along with numerous photos.
On Thursday MaryEllen McGorry was suspended from her duties as the principal of Manchester High School West. Now the Union Leader is reporting that her secretary, Denise Michael, has also been suspended and is under investigation. That is all the information that school superintendent Tom Brennan is willing to release to the public at the moment, according to the UL:
MANCHESTER — The secretary of suspended Manchester High School West principal MaryEllen McGorry has been placed on administrative leave, Superintendent Tom Brennan said.
Denise Michael will be on paid leave until an investigation is completed, Brennan said.
He would not give reasons nor say whether the suspension has anything to do with McGorry’s suspension, which took place last week.
Brennan said Julie Moore of Employment Practices Group is handling the investigation into the McGorry matter. Her rate is $250 an hour. (more…)
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.
