Today I want to talk about a situation that came to my attention yesterday courtesy MSNBC cyclops Krystal Ball. And yes, I watch MSNBC, but only because its inanity provides for about 95% of my stand-up routine (bah dum tsh).
So according to NPR, much of the anger brewing in Ferguson stems from the fact that in 2013, its municipal court “issued 32,975 arrest warrants for nonviolent offenses, mostly driving violations.” Keep in mind that the city hosts a population of only 21,135 people.
ArchCity Defenders, a St. Louis-area public defender group, claims that the city imposes what seems like an inordinate number of excessive fees and fines because said fees and fines account for “the city’s second-biggest source of income.” All this in turn purportedly creates a pipeline to jail that unjustly targets the poor:
“People who can’t pay their fines and fees go on payment plans. But then there are extra fees, sometimes interest — 12 percent on felonies in Washington state — and, if poor people fall behind on payments, they may go to jail. Courts often ignore laws, Supreme Court rulings and protections that outlaw the equivalent of debtors prisons.
Just like around the U.S., these municipal court fines in Ferguson are for low-level offenses, usually traffic violations. [ArchCity Defenders founder Thomas] calls these ‘poverty crimes.’ Typically, he says, someone gets stopped for a rolling stop at a stop sign, or for a broken tail light. Then police find other problems.
‘It’s driving while suspended, no proof of insurance and failure to register a vehicle,’ he says.
The fines and fees can add up to hundreds, even thousands of dollars.”
ArchCity Defenders also alleges racial bias based on the fact that “blacks make up 67% of the city’s population, but [make up] 86 percent of motorists stopped by police.” Meanwhile, “whites make up 29 percent of the population, but 12.7 percent of vehicle stops.” ArchCity Defenders also points out that “searches of black individuals result in discovery of contraband only 21.7 percent of the time, while similar searches of whites produce contraband 34 percent of the time.”
However, a report pieced together by the Missouri Attorney General and subsequently digested by Florida Institute of Technology professor Cem Kaner, J.D., Ph.D., shows that in 2013, a whopping 66 percent (or 369 out of every 562) black drivers searched by the Ferguson police had an outstanding warrant. This contrasts sharply with the 30 percent (or 14 out of every 47) rate for the white residents of Ferguson.
According to Professor Kaner, the latter statistics suggest the following conclusion:
“The Ferguson police appear to have been making discretionary stops (stops in which they were exercising their own judgment, rather than executing a court order) of white people at almost twice the rate as for black people.”
Regardless, the system works like this. A poor driver gets pulled over and fined for breaking the law in some way, shape or form: speeding, driving without insurance, etc. He or she then signs up for a payment plan but continues to fail to make payments. The individual is then eventually issued a warrant and soon after arrested.
Keep in mind that Ferguson operates an annual amnesty program that allows “allow thousands of people to get [their] arrest warrants dropped.”
Anyway. The premise being touted by liberals like MSNBC pundit Krystal Ball and media unit NPR is that the residents of Ferguson (i.e., the same ones who looted and rioted over Mike Brown a few weeks ago) reserve the right to be so angry because the local PD is unfairly targeting them over seemingly benign “poverty crimes.” These liberals also believe that the Ferguson PD is engaging in racial profiling, though the evidence suggests otherwise.
I have been reading comments throughout the Internet, and the overall consensus seems to be that the residents of Ferguson need to get over it and stop breaking the law. Everybody must follow the law, and everybody must contend with the consequences if they break it. Therefore, the best way to avoid getting caught up in the “downward spiral” of fines and warrants is to simply practice personal responsibility by following the law to a T.
I do not recall exactly where I read this, but I believe this quote best sums up how most people feel about this situation: “Control what you can control and like for most citizens, and you won’t have to worry about these issues.”
Indeed!
With that said, there is one caveat to keep in mind. My arch-nemesis Krystal Ball asked why the residents of Ferguson are being arrested for not paying simple traffic fines, but the CEO of Burger King isn’t facing incarceration for engaging in tax inversion. I suspect the answer might be because I THINK tax inversions are not illegal. The better question for Miss Ball to ask would be why the government never took the time to arrest the sleazy Wall Street bankers who crashed the economy! Now THAT would be a very fair and equitable question to ask, in my humble opinion.
So what do you think? Should the residents of Ferguson be given a break or not? YOU tell me!
PS – I say we arrest EVERYBODY . . . including my pesky ex-gf! GRRR!
Interesting how some people are getting stopped for minor violations only to find that their license was suspended which means they shouldn’t have been driving in the first place! Same with not having insurance. I’ve been stopped and ticked numerous times and guess what, each and every time I was doing something wrong. Stop your whining and man up when you get ticketed.
In regards to having your car searched – the police cannot search without a) probable cause ( they smell pot coming from your car) b) your permission, c) a search warrant or d) search incident to arrest, which means you were driving a car and committed some crime for which you were arrested. So it is really easy. Don’t break the law and you have nothing to fear.
I know from experience that a police force is only as aggressive as the police chief and mayor allow. Get a new chief and elect a new mayor and the Ferguson problem goes away.
No send in the FBI to prosecute the Mayor and the Chief… Fly them into Washington, DC, try them and jail them!
On what charge ?
Inciting a RIOT and numerous civil rights violations… First, the FBI needs to take all of his FAT MOUTH statements under Oath. Then, we will talk about the charges… Anyway, he wants it… He may even be allow to see one of those GOLD SHIELDS so he know what a real badge looks like….
Thats funny , I don’t remember him asking anyone to riot , loot or commit arson along with other multiple felonies. Those lawless thugs look for any reason to act like animals .
Not necessarily. Police Departments usually respond to the complaints of its citizens. I would bet that Ferguson PD and the mayor get a lot of complaints about lousy driving. At least that was the way it use to be with the department I worked for in Florida.
Tampa?
No, the other coast.
Are we supposed to manipulate stats to be equal? If at half, one basketball team has 16 fouls and the other has 4, is it an issue with the refs, or does one of the teams foul more often?
NO. Shoot them.
I work less than a mile away from where Brown was killed and let me tell you, I’m surprised the numbers aren’t higher for warrants. The cars are beat up pieces of crap, they get abandoned for weeks on I-70 until they’re towed and most of the drivers in St Louis are some of the shittiest drivers I’ve ever had to go up against. And I have literally driven in countries all around the world. That includes the white and other “motorists” also. My fear of God and prison prevent me from leaving a wake of non-living “motorists” behind me as I negotiate my way on the freeways of STL…
I am willing to bet these shit cars have nice rims Probably more so since the riots
Oh and I saw a sign the other day that, instead of saying “hands up, don’t shoot”, it said “pants up, don’t loot”. Heh heh…
No it says… I rather be pulled over by ISIS/ISIL than a racist Furgurson low life PD officer… That says everything about how racist things are in Furgerson! Soon this will all change and the FBI did a wonderful job making that racist PD chief shut his FAT mouth!
You don’t think Isis is racist ? What a stupid comment. What has the chief said or done to warrant the label you have given him ?
The chief has done a lot… He has hired racist cops – just look at what was said in those videos… I Fin Kill you … Some of those SCUM bag cops have already been let GO! Don’t you read the NEWS! Soon we will find out more from THE F.B.I… That is why that Chief has SHUT HIS FAT MOUTH!
Its pretty clear you are biased and are not living in reality-
The deceased was a criminal whose criminal activity’s caught up with him-
If you don’t like it why not move to Ferguson and run for police chief yourself-
You mean the chief was a criminal. This kid was not charged. Had no record. But let’s see what the FBI says. The FBI is getting to bottom of the blatant racism. Already 2 racist cops fired or quit. Many many more will choose that path.
Kevin in any law enforcement agency you will ultimately find a cross section of all types of people-
Good people bad people-
People who drink- people who dont,
etc. etc…
To call everyone on that police force a racist is simply an illogical fallacy-
The appeal to probability argument,
The fact is most people are super hyper sensitive and pc about race.
What proof do you have the Chief was a “criminal”?
1st Proof… Hell, that chief has NOT even released the incident report sworn out by the officer that killed the kid… The chief has tried to bury all evidence from the start. I wish that the State Police of the FBI just would release it. However, just give this a thought – that what is in the report is full of so many holes and falsehoods that it would surely cause more civil unrest… Maybe that is why that “racist” chief has shut his FAT mouth…
2nd – I could care less about the good apple/bad apple argument… The cops all just need to be issued personal body cams and very soon we will no the truth across the whole USA… Soon, many many cops will be looking for a new line of work… Let the bad cops become soldiers and go fight ISIS/ISIL – one brute savage army against another brute savage army…
Finally “most people are super hyper sensitive and pc about race” – well, quite a few of those so called offers were not that sensitive. Many were caught on tape saying “I’ll F in KILL YOU N word or you animal – same difference … why because these folks were protesting and the press was filming the cops… The whole nation saw it and was sick to our stomachs that a cop paid with our tax dollars could treat people that way on live TV… Sick/disgusting…. And to think we call ISIS/ISIL savages…
So what proof do I have – none… All we have is the chief’s actions and the actions of his brute police force on live TV..
First of all i hear black people call each other the n word on a daily basis,
Are they racist?
Second, the police generally wont release any evidence in an ongoing investigation.
And if you call that looting and lawless behavior “protesting”
Your just blowing smoke-
And yes you are being hyper pc sensitive.
But you have no problem with race baiters like Sharpton , Jackson or all the out of state trouble makers . Exploiting Brown’s death .
They are just private citizens exercising their consitutional right. We the people. We have rights in our country.
Rioting looting and burning are NOT constitutional rights . They are criminal acts .
Yes looters will be punished and so will unlawful racist cops
If they are proven to be unlawful , they will be punished . The racism assertion is totally unfounded .
Really. You see all the videos. I’m sure all THOSE so call honest cop regret getting caught on camera. They even harnessed the press. Stupid. Many will be fired or resign
I haven’t heard anything that could be considered racist. They are trying to control an angry and violent lawless mob . That is part of their job stupid .
So beating up the press and damaging their equipment is controlling a lawless mob… Really?
I would call it community service , but that’s just me . If they were fanning the flames or disobeying law enforcement, then yes .
Well then, that is why the FBI had to go there and re-assure everyone and scare the hell out of everyone all at the same time… The POWER of the GOLD SHIELD… That was the point in time when that racist police chief SHUT HIS BIG FAT MOUTH! Have not heard a PEEP from him since!
The feds wouldn’t even be there except for our racist president and attorney general . What did he say that was racist ?
His actions.. No, he is smarter than his COPs…. It is his actions. He won’t say it. His beat cops do… So, the inference is he agrees. And in come the FBI and he disappears from the stage and SHUTS his BIG FAT MOUTH! No he knows at that POINT he could be facing enough jail time in one of those FED Prisons that he better just shut his BIG FAT Trap… He has a life, a family, and a future – or he could do 10 years and be a fellon for the rest of his miserable LIFE!
Again , what did he say that makes you say he is a racist and that he should shut his mouth ?
He wont answer because he is full of it-
Every time a criminal gets his just deserts they turn around and scream racism-
True-
I may even go a step further and say it was self defense-
Lawlessness cannot be permitted.
Its unAmerican.
Bologna,
They are people who profit from misery-
Bottom feeding leaches-
yes and why stop the appeasement there?
Why not give them 40 acres and a mule?
Madness-
NO…These people in Ferguson deserved NO BREAKS on anything.