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Man arrested 62 times for trespassing... at work (G/A/F?)

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D

DoctorPayne

Banned
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/11/21/3769823/in-miami-gardens-store-video-catches.html

Earl Sampson has been stopped and questioned by Miami Gardens police 258 times in four years.

He’s been searched more than 100 times. And arrested and jailed 56 times.

Despite his long rap sheet, Sampson, 28, has never been convicted of anything more serious than possession of marijuana.

Miami Gardens police have arrested Sampson 62 times for one offense: trespassing.

Almost every citation was issued at the same place: the 207 Quickstop, a convenience store on 207th Street in Miami Gardens.

But Sampson isn’t loitering. He works as a clerk at the Quickstop.

...

Saleh was so troubled by what he saw that he decided to install video cameras in his store. Not to protect himself from criminals, because he says he has never been robbed. He installed the cameras — 15 of them — he said, to protect him and his customers from police.
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The whole thing is worth a read, but prepare to grit your teeth in fury. No recourse for the owners, no recourse for the employees, and no response from city or police officials, in spite of the evidence. Just some really wretched shit.
 
Lamel

Lamel

Banned
How...what...why....

FDLE records show that Sampson was stopped at least once a week for the past four years, and sometimes several times a week and even as many as three times in one day. The stops are often conducted by the same police officers, who have arrested him time and time again.

“I never felt they had any probable cause,’’ Sampson said. “They hop out of the car and search me before they even ask me for my name.’’
Click to expand...

What.

In December, Saleh was followed out of his parking lot by a Miami Gardens police officer, who stopped him after a few blocks. The officer, Carlos Velez, said he stopped Saleh because his tag light was out.

Two other squad cars arrived at the scene, bringing the total number of officers on the scene to six. A police dashboard camera captured it all.

“I thought, you know, there is a lot of serious crime in Miami Gardens,’’ Saleh said. “Why do they need six police officers on a car stop with a burned-out tag light?’’

Another officer, Eddo Trimino, approached Saleh’s passenger side, opened the door and removed a gun that was in a bag containing the store’s money, Saleh said. They ran a check on the gun, which Saleh was licensed to carry.

They cited him for having a bad tag light, tinted windows and bald tires.

Before leaving, the unit’s then-sergeant, Martin Santiago, allegedly told Saleh:

“I’m going to get you mother-f-----,’’

The next day, Saleh viewed video of his truck as it pulled out of the parking lot the night before.
Click to expand...

WHAT.
 
G

Gentleman Jack

Member
If you hadn't put "G/A/F" in the thread title I would have guessed New York City.

Last year, Saleh, armed with a cache of videos, filed an internal affairs complaint about the arrests at his store. From that point, he said, police officers became even more aggressive.

One evening, shortly after he had complained a second time, a squadron of six uniformed Miami Gardens police officers marched into the store, he says. They lined up, shoulder to shoulder, their arms crossed in front of them, blocking two grocery aisles.
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Zero difference between police behavior and organized crime in this case. Unforgivable.
 
K

Kinyou

Member
The videos show, among other things, cops stopping citizens, questioning them, aggressively searching them and arresting them for trespassing when they have permission to be on the premises; officers conducting searches of Saleh’s business without search warrants or permission; using what appears to be excessive force on subjects who are clearly not resisting arrest and filing inaccurate police reports in connection with the arrests.
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No words.

They're terrorizing people
 
F

fallagin

Member
What the fuck?? Cops just dont give a fuck, they just want to throw around their weight without any consequences, disgusting...
 
E

Effnine

Member
“The real problem here,’’ Drago said, “is the police department does not have a relationship with its community — black or white. When they make these kinds of stops for minor offenses, it only re-enforces the mistrust.’’
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We, as a nation, really need to do something about this ... it's happening where I live and I'm sure it's happening where a lot of you live as well.
 
N

No Love

Banned
ACLU + massive lawsuit inbound. These dumb fuck cops simply will not get it through their heads.

These idiots need to be fired, full IA investigation, and their higher ups need a stern talking to as well. Wondering if a judge can file a protective order as well. Fucking insane.

There is absolutely no way they will lose in court, either. Miami Gardens police deserve to get fucked, and here's hoping they do.
 
E

Enduin

No bald cap? Lies!
I'm amazed they never tazed, peppered, beat, cavity searched or shot him for looking at them in an intimidating fashion or for wearing threatening clothing or holding a dog. I mean the fact that they didn't lose their shit when he had a gun in the car is amazing. For a guy getting stopped by the cops so much he sure is lucky.
 
L

lexi

Banned
Kinda blows my mind a little bit that in a lot of places in America, people (rightfully) fear the police more than they fear criminals / gangs etc.
 
J

Jive Turkey

Unconfirmed Member
I kept reading, thinking there had to be something bigger, some long game the cops were playing. Nope. Just seems like they're being dicks and abusing their power.
 
I

I H8 Memes

Member
This looks like it runs very deep and is probably department wide. No real chance of this being fixed via publicity. This is a case where the Justice Department needs to step in and take over the department.
 
S

Spring-Loaded

Member
Enduin said:
I'm amazed they never tazed, peppered, beat, cavity searched or shot him for looking at them in an intimidating fashion or for wearing threatening clothing or holding a dog. I mean the fact that they didn't lose their shit when he had a gun in the car is amazing. For a guy getting stopped by the cops so much he sure is lucky.
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That would have gained too much attention. They got what they wanted though; they humiliated and debased a man completely. They've already gotten their rocks off on being bullies as adults (adults in age only).
 
B

Brian Griffin

Member
lexi said:
Kinda blows my mind a little bit that in a lot of places in America, people (rightfully) fear the police more than they fear criminals / gangs etc.
Click to expand...
I think it would be cool if communities where there is police abuse like this start reacting to cops as if they are there to hurt or kill them. Like, the second people see cops they all cower on the floor, start screaming and beg not to be shot. I don't know, maybe that would hold a mirror up to the police so they could see how they are being perceived.
 
G

Gentleman Jack

Member
NoLoveForFailWheelDrive said:
ACLU + massive lawsuit inbound. These dumb fuck cops simply will not get it through their heads.

These idiots need to be fired, full IA investigation, and their higher ups need a stern talking to as well. Wondering if a judge can file a protective order as well. Fucking insane.

There is absolutely no way they will lose in court, either. Miami Gardens police deserve to get fucked, and here's hoping they do.
Click to expand...

I don't accept that a stern talking to is all the higher ups at the department is sufficient, or that IA should have jurisdiction over the investigation anymore as it's been a year. Bring in the FBI and civil rights charges on the entire department. Fire everyone in the chain of command. You have to churn out all the shit in the department, not just trim off the leaves of a rotted tree.
 
A

Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
If you were questioning the Police's motive for their preturnatural interest in Mr. Sampson, he's the one on the right:

Ydhobrq.jpg
 
F

Fantasmo

Member
Why are the cops shaking down this guy and his customers if there's a murder in this town every week? You'd think after over sixty times they'd realize they're wasting their time. You'd think if there's a murder every week and the area is that bad, then why fuck with him when they have much bigger fish to fry? I do think it's nothing more than racism, but they have other shit to do. If I had to guess it sounds like they might be avoiding the actual crimes on purpose.
 
Z

Zhengi

Member
“Where is the police chief in all this? In a police department in a city this size, this kind of behavior could not escape his attention. Doesn’t the City Commission know that they are exposing the city to either massive liability for civil rights violations? Either that, or they are going to wake up one day and find the U.S. Department of Justice has taken over its police department.’’
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The US Department of Justice should just do this and get rid of all this morans.
 
K

Kinyou

Member
Fantasmo said:
Why are the cops shaking down this guy and his customers if there's a murder in this town every week? You'd think after over sixty times they'd realize they're wasting their time. You'd think if there's a murder every week and the area is that bad, then why fuck with him when they have much bigger fish to fry? I do think it's nothing more than racism, but they have other shit to do. If I had to guess it sounds like they might be avoiding the actual crimes on purpose.
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Could be that they have to fulfill internal quotas. In the same time they can make 3 'real' arrests they can arrest this poor guy 62 times.

Similar things happened in the NYPD until one day the whole thing blew up. This American Life had a very insightful episode about it
 
P

Persona7

Banned
A police officer arrests 207 Quickstop employee Earl Sampson as he is restocking a cooler. The police report says he was busted outside the store for loitering. Courtesy of Alex Saleh
 
G

Gentleman Jack

Member
Fantasmo said:
If I had to guess it sounds like they might be avoiding the actual crimes on purpose.
Click to expand...

A dirty police department can do two things to make their performance look better without having to do actual, difficult and dangerous police work. One is to up their arrest and incarceration rates for minor or trumped up charges. The other is to downgrade reports of actual, serious crime so that the statistics get manipulated into representing more progress against robbery/murder/rape than is really happening. The NYPD, for example, has been accused of or caught doing both. A similar thing may be happening here.
 
R

Retrocide

Member
Jesus....I can't imagine going through what Mr. Sampson has to put up with on a daily basis while simply trying to do his job. Arrested 3 times in a single day....WTF. There simply isn't any justification, they are going to lose big.
 
A

Acorn

Member
Dude is just trying to earn a honest living and has got to deal with little shits making his life a living hell. Really pisses me the fuck off.
 
P

Partial Gamification

Banned
Effnine said:
We, as a nation, really need to do something about this ... it's happening where I live and I'm sure it's happening where a lot of you live as well.
Click to expand...
There are empowerment networks opening up in undeserved communities. Some of the larger organizations have the means to assist smaller communities develop their own. Its working for what you believe in and striving to constantly maintain it.

Jenga said:
why do we even have cops
Click to expand...
The answer is obvious, to keep people in line. Ideally, protect and serve the population. There are genuine sickos out there, some of them are in uniform. People are not perfect but higher standards must be upheld.
 
E

Elija2

Member
What the hell is going through the cops' minds? How are they allowed to get away with this? Why are they even doing it in the first place? Nothing makes any sense.
 
D

Devolution

Member
lexi said:
I think this needs to start happening to white people for anything to be done about it.
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It's going to continue to be done to people who don't have a voice or more power to do something about their treatment because it's easy to get away with. That's why it's so important to listen to what minorities are saying about their treatment.
 
S

SneakyStephan

Banned
Police: what you become when you're tired of flipping burgers and getting yelled at by your manager who is still going through puberty.
 
K

Koomaster

Member
One video, recorded on June 26, 2012, shows Sampson, clearly stocking coolers, being interrupted by MGPD Sgt. William Dunaske, who orders him to put his hands behind his back, and then handcuffs him, leads him out of the store and takes him to jail for trespassing.

More than once, Saleh has told police that Sampson is an employee and is not trespassing.

On that June arrest report, obtained by The Herald, police explained the trespass arrest, saying that Sampson was arrested for loitering outside the store when in fact the video, which has a date and time stamp, clearly shows him being handcuffed and arrested inside the store.
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Every part of this thing is insane and just this incident alone shows corruption within the police department.

Sounds like they don't even care to find actual criminals. They just pick someone and start issuing fines and arresting them when they aren't doing anything criminal at all. The fact that they keep arresting this one guy for trespassing in a store they know he works at is just pure evil.

Hopefully this story and lawsuit gains some traction so the whole department is taken over and restaffed. I just can't even fathom any of these officers or their superiors keeping their jobs the way they are behaving.
 
E

ezrarh

Member
Our judicial system and police force are racist institutions. Police can get away with beating and killing minorities (and sometimes white people) because of "probable" cause. I doubt they get into any sort of trouble with this type of harassment.
 
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