The Cop Who Pulled The Trigger

As discussed previously on this site, a young man by the name of Andrew Finch was shot, for no reason, by a police officer in Wichita, Kansas, on December 28 of last year. As it happened, the police had been responding to false information from a gamer in California, and had not made any attempt to discover the actual circumstances, that night. Tyler Bariss, the prank caller, has been arrested and extradited to Kansas and awaits further court dates in the Sedgwick County jail. For a long while, the only piece of the puzzle that was missing, aside from the reason for all of this police brutality in the first place, was the name of the murderer. It appears that we now have it.

It was reported by the San Jose Mercury that the pig who shot Mr. Finch was hired in 2010, and has appeared in several episodes of COPS. That, in your faithful blogger's research, narrowed the list down to two possible candidates. Further information, courtesy of The Daily Haze, has narrowed the list down to one possible person: an immature, unthinking thirty-three year old moron by the name of Justin Rapp.

Justin Rapp was hired in March of 2010, was present at the scene when Andrew Finch was fatally shot, and is now on paid leave. Chief Gordon Ramsey, of the Wichita Police Department, has tried very hard to hide Rapp's identity. In fact, he appears to think that if a cop murders someone in cold blood, the family of the victim should just accept it, and move on. Gordon Ramsey does not think that any murder victim of a police officer deserves justice, but he and all Kansas police departments have no problem with the concept or the reality of smearing the reputations of other defendants in criminal cases, prior to trial.

The family of Andrew Finch is now filing suit against the Wichita Police Department.

Can India Kager's Mom Have Her Sketchbook, Please?

On September 5 of this year, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, a twenty-seven year old woman named India Yager was driving her car. Seated in the passenger seat was her boyfriend, and in the back was her four month old son, riding in a carseat. She pulled into 7/11, when suddenly, a bunch of cops in swat team gear blocked her car and threw a stun grenade in front of her. Within fifteen seconds, the police had shot thirty bullets into India's vehicle. She and her boyfriend were both killed; her baby and her older son are without a mother, now.

The cops told the media that India's boyfriend had shot at them first, but only "hit their clothes". There has been no evidence in the investigation to show that anyone in the vehicle fired shots, or even had a weapon in tow. There has also been an inane story circulated about how India's boyfriend was a person of interest in a crime somewhere....possibly a murder.....yet no solid facts on that, either, such as the identity of the alleged murder victim! No complainants or crime victims of any kind can be found to back up the pigs' version of events. India was a veteran, and had no criminal record.

Fifteen seconds. That was all the time that was required. None of the questions posed by India's family have been answered, and it does not appear that there is even going to be a true investigation. Despite this, the pigs still refuse to give India's mom any of the personal items that were in the car when India was murdered. This includes a sketch pad, containing some of India's art. It seems that law enforcement, at the very least, could give that back to her family.

Nuts And Bolton's

Do you remember that female high school student you paid, several years ago, to help you sweep a misdeed under the rug? She clearly saw something that could have cost someone's career, and rightfully so. Well. there's something you overlooked. It is against the law, everywhere in the United States, to "buy" anyone's silence in criminal matters. Not only is that called "witness intimidation" and "obstruction of justice", but it is also known as "bribery".

You bought this person's silence when she was very young, and had no real understanding of her legal rights. You did a rather good job of brainwashing her, and frightening her. But you did not realize that she has a conscience: if any harm comes to someone else, as a result of her refusal to testify, she will never forgive herself. And for that, there is no such thing as enough hush money. By the way, she was also too young to legally be bound to any contract you coerced her to sign. Did you really think that she would never realize that?

Tamir Rice Was Shot Because He Was Black

"I was right there and he went for the gun. I had no choice," is the lie told by Tim Loehmann after shooting twelve year old Tamir Rice in November, 2014.

Why do police officers in America lie? Since most investigations of police officers are done by individuals and organizations that are pro police and racist, why was  Tim Loehmann even motivated to make false statements? For instance, reporting that Rice had the gun in his hands, when the video clearly shows he did not. Also, Loehmann stated that Rice was sitting at the table at the recreation center in a group of people, while the video very clearly shows that Rice was alone. Let us also not forget that Loehmann wrote that he told Rice three times to put his hands in the air, when the video shows that he did not say a word to Rice, but shot him instantly.

This is why policemen are often referred to as pigs. I hope Tamir Rice's community can find a way to get justice.

Kyron Horman, Missing Children, And Harassment

This is Kyron Horman's mom, Desiree Young, talking about the day her son disappeared from Skyline Elementary, in Portland Oregon, when he was in second grade. That was five years ago. During that time, she has worked hard to keep her child's case in the news, and to make everyone aware of child safety issues. Unfortunately, she has hecklers, ill wishers, and internet trolls, who do not appear to share her desire for the world to be a safer place for children. This trend, of heckling the parents of missing or murdered children is disturbing; Desiree is not the only parent to notice such individuals. It seems that any time tragedy strikes a family, and crime is suspected as the cause, the game of trolling the family seems irresistible for some. Why is that?

In Kyron Horman's case, IP numbers have been traced back to friends and relatives of Terri Horman, Kyron's sometime step-mother. In a spirit of defensiveness, they spam and comment-bomb anyone who merely shares Kyron's picture and contact information. There is a seventeen year old boy, named Colton Barrera, who disappeared in Kansas, in 2008. His case has hecklers, as well. Those are mostly the parents of young people rumored to have information about him. In an ongoing effort to silence any attempt to solve Colton's case, the parents of the persons of interest harass anyone who wants to know why Colton is missing. Law enforcement in Kansas is more worried about popularity than solving crimes, so Colton's case has not even been investigated. The forty year old missing persons case of Sheila and Katherine Lyon is another case that has attracted harassment from specific sources, directed at anyone who maintains and entertains a hope that the case will be solved. There is also a court date, on June 29, for the wife of a "person of interest". She took the whole thing a step further and actually lied to the grand jury about evidence in the case.

Even in a Kansas case that ended happily, with the missing child found, there was cover-up, in order to protect the criminality of a Frankfort teacher, and to cover the school's lack of protocol when a child disappears. Frankfort Kansas must really dislike No Child Left Behind, because Tom Schroeder left a child behind one day! The child's parents are still getting nasty emails from teachers at Frankfort High School and Tom Schroeder and his stupid frankfurter friends, defending his actions and lying for him. The only reason anyone would do this is, unfortunately, the same as the reason for harassing someone whose child is still missing or has been murdered: the perpetrator, along with any accomplices or enablers, wants to derail any chance of apprehension.

Kendrick Johnson's Murder Reopened

Eighteen months after the parents of  Valdosta, Georgia high school senior, Kendrick Johnson, were told "sorry, your son died because we've been teaching children this way for years and years, and we are not going to change our lifestyle for you", Johnson's death and the subsequent staging of the crime scene.....his body hidden at school, inside of a gym mat, from his parents......has been reopened.  Conflicts between surveillance video, cell phone metadata, witness statements, and whatever evidence could be analyzed after the crime scene was contaminated multiple times has necessitated another look at this murder. Had all students mattered to the school administration and the school board, perhaps Kendrick Johnson would still be alive. 

Trusting Law Enforcement Is A Mistake

Despite all the cover-ups, lies, and initial nondisclosures of information, such as Darren Wilson's name, after he shot Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri; a person with a cell phone video came forward. So; for all the illegal seizures of cell phones and cameras, all the shutting down of local and national news coverage, and all the false arrests and unlawful detentions of journalists, we have a clear video that shows a police officer shooting an unarmed young man's head and killing him, apparently because that's what the cop felt like doing at the time, and the checks and balances upon which we depend to keep government from getting out of control isn't as helpful to some citizens as it is to others. But there really are no secrets, as the Midwest is learning.

Forensic Evidence In Kendrick Johnson Case

Kendrick Johnson's untimely death at his Georgia school last year is finally gaining some national attention. It would be nice to think it was also the subject of serious investigation, but over a year has passed, and local law enforcement initially had no intentions of any honesty with Kendrick's family; from the cause of death to the possible suspects. Judging from community reaction to this, it appears that school officials and others in the community are displeased with the determination of Kendrick's parents to find out exactly what happened to their son. Some members of the community actually think that Kendrick's family should just forget that they ever loved him, and "move forward with their lives", accepting the community's judgment that it is okay to victimize some people, and that the feelings, lives, and children of those people do not matter.

"Move forward and get on with your life." Communities who push that philosophy usually push it on minority populations, and it is most feverishly pushed on those targets when special non-minority segments of the population, such as the children of law enforcement or prosecutors, have committed crimes that the teachers, policemen, school administrators, and Christian ministers would rather see unprosecuted.

Making A Freedom Of Information Act Request

While talking with several Kansas crime victims and their families, from different parts of Kansas, it became abundantly clear to me that the Kansas judicial community not only plays a vicious game of favorites, but at times when it is inconvenient to actually solve a crime and pursue justice, either because the suspect is someone deemed important, the suspect is the child of someone deemed important, or the crime was done so expertly that law enforcement in Kansas is unable to solve it; courts and police departments will actually withhold information from victims and family members, and tell them that pertinent cases are closed, without providing documentation that said pertinent cases are closed. This is usually a stalling tactic, but can sometimes be subterfuge, specifically to protect favored guilty parties. Either way, while some information, during an investigation, can be legally withheld; if an investigation is closed, a parent has the right to know how his child died, a family has the right to know about important updates in a missing persons case, and a crime victim has the right to be informed of progress in relevant criminal proceedings.

The Freedom Of Information Act, or the FOIA, was enacted in 1966, and serves as a simple vehicle
for discovery of facts that are legally available to the individual seeking these facts. One may write a letter to an organization or individual, citing the latest update of the FOIA, and request the information. For example, "In accordance with the Freedom Of Information Act Of 2012, (or the most recent update of the law) I am requesting the files you refused to release to me via personal request." Sometimes it is a good idea to offer reimbursement for postage or shipping. One should name the specific information desired, and tell the reader why one is legally entitled to this information. This needs to be done in writing, and copies of all written communication should be
saved. Should the agency to whom the request is made refuse to cooperate, a written answer should be supplied to the petitioner. If the requested information truly belongs to the petitioner as well as the respondent, it can be used later in court, showing the lack of cooperation. In the event of cover-up or suppression of evidence, it can be a very serious ethics violation, depending on which agency suppresses information. In Kansas, there may not always be a lawyer available to represent victims of the mockery we call law enforcement, but there are some major media covering several cases wherein the Freedom Of Information Act has factored in one way or another, and copies of unlawful refusals can easily be scanned and published.

These copies make really good pictures and illustrations in the absence of pictures of the cowards who refuse to come forward with requested discovery and information.

 

A Camera Is The Best Weapon

Cameras. Those darn things pop up everywhere, don't they? Yesterday's police used to be able to get away with presenting their side of any story, practically unchallenged, without question. Today, with the advent of inexpensive home security cameras switched on at random times, business surveillance, satellites, digital cameras of all grades and price ranges, and of course, those pesky cell phones, ever in the hands of nosy, trouble-making bystanders, lying with impunity has gotten more complicated! What's a cop to do? Especially when his own surveillance tells a different story than he tells? Even the Google cameras aren't always a policeman's friend!

This Chicago forty-seven year old woman, arrested for DWI when she fell asleep behind the wheel, got picked up and thrown into a cell, as you can plainly see in the video, by a cop about twice her size. He tried to accuse her of "resisting arrest", but the camera tells a different story. Hopefully, he will be "guided" by the same judicial system to choose a different career, as he has shown that he clearly has the potential to cost the taxpayers in Illinois much more than his salary.

That "resisting arrest" line was once a cop's free ticket to violence. In fact, not only cops, but many a person not desirous of just dealings, particularly in small towns, would use the old "she cussed at me", or "he lost his temper and got upset" routine in order to justify not doing the right thing, whatever that may have been, depending on circumstances. Yours truly recently received a bill for monies she did not owe, and upon contesting the bill, was told to "pay it anyways, because that's what everyone else does"! Yours truly had no intention of doing any such thing, and eventually got an attorney involved, but what do you suppose was said by the person to whom she presented the error? You probably guessed correctly: "she got angry and swore at me, boohoohoo.....my poor little ears have never heard such things, and my poor little innards are so offended!" The truth is, I never even raised my voice. I simply stated that the bill was incorrect, and told the person why it was incorrect. Because I was on speakerphone, others in my immediate surroundings heard the conversation and know exactly what I said, which is not what the Northeast Kansas woman at the other end of the phone wanted others to believe I said. She wanted the carte blanche to say I said other things, which I did not say; and to be believed, unquestioned, just because she is a white, Northeast Kansas, Christian thingamajigger who has always gotten her own way, even when grossly attempting to get over on others. Technology has taken away this carte blanche.

Getting those who are accustomed to misrepresenting the truth accustomed, instead, to the reality of cameras and other technology will be an interesting task during the twenty-first century.

 

Hey Siriunsun! I found the smart phone the cop thought was hidden forever!

 

 

Once A Kansas Teacher, Always A Kansas Teacher

There is a push to start fingerprinting teachers in Kansas while performing criminal background checks, in an ongoing effort to curb the renewals of licenses of those teachers who have committed serious crimes both before and after starting their careers. But what good will that do? As has already been noted, in addition to criminal background checks for new hires, Kansas already has a law mandating that law enforcement and county prosecutors report any known criminal activity on the part of an educator to the Kansas Department Of Education, yet, during the past two years, only fourteen of the one hundred and five county prosecutors in Kansas reported such incidents as directed by law!

The problem does not lie in identification of these cases, it lies in proper documentation and reporting of same. In a more heavily populated or multi-lingual area, communication could present a possible problem in reporting and documentation, but here in Kansas, the problem with renewal of teaching licenses for criminals is much more likely to be cover-up and protection of cronies. Since this is probably not going to change without the help of citizens who care about the quality of the education received by our children, the most logical step a parent can take, after making sure that appropriate police reports are made, is to report any legally defined child endangerment incidents directly to the Kansas Department Of Education. This would relieve the political burden on the shoulders of the elected, and thereby recallable, county prosecutors. The telephone number one would call is 785-291-3678.