New articles on an old story

[mr.72]

Well one would hope that if the police were stupid enough to try and perform an arrest of a young girl that had the look and feel of a kidnapping, once a third party started shooting they would likely promptly identify themselves as police such as "POLICE! PUT THE GUN DOWN!". But it is hard to comprehend that the same officers who would stage an arrest that looks like an abduction would also be wise enough to not simply gun down someone who was shooting at them because of their abduction.

[seamusTX]

As I understand it, the police in this case were wearing shirts with POLICE printed on them.

The problem with that is, anyone can buy those shirts off the rack or make them. Robbers sometimes do that. And, of course, anyone can flash a badge that they bought on eBay and claim to be a cop.

- Jim

[Purplehood]

Well one would hope that if the police were stupid enough to try and perform an arrest of a young girl that had the look and feel of a kidnapping, once a third party started shooting they would likely promptly identify themselves as police such as "POLICE! PUT THE GUN DOWN!". But it is hard to comprehend that the same officers who would stage an arrest that looks like an abduction would also be wise enough to not simply gun down someone who was shooting at them because of their abduction.

Once folks are shooting, any concept of "wise" is out the door.

It is not like they would say, "Oh, they are firing at us in error. Let's put down our guns and hope they come to their senses"!

[mr.72]

Once folks are shooting, any concept of "wise" is out the door.

It is not like they would say, "Oh, they are firing at us in error. Let's put down our guns and hope they come to their senses"!

No, once they decide to make an arrest that looks like a kidnapping, the concept of wise is out the door.

It's really simple: if you are kidnapping a 12 year old girl, there is a reasonable risk that the father of that child may shoot at you, whether you are a cop or not. If you are a cop, once the lead starts flying it might be a good idea to identify yourself as a police officer before shooting back.

But I didn't read about the fact that these guys were wearing T-shirts that said "POLICE". That makes kind of a big difference to me. Of course anyone can get one (in fact I have a CPPD baseball cap given to me by a police officer but I wouldn't dare wear it out). I would interrupt the apparent abduction of my daughter even if it were being done by men wearing shirts that appear to be legit POLICE shirts, but it wouldn't be "shoot first, ask questions later".

The main thing that strikes me is that it's totally ridiculous to consider that the police department thinks that it's an acceptable policy to arrest children in a manner analogous to a forced abduction. They should run the police chief and city manager out of that city on a rail.

[seamusTX]

The man who was police chief at the time of this incident retired after a series of embarrassing incidents.

I don't know to what extent the city manager influences police policy.

You might also wonder why the DA prosecuted this case twice.

The bottom line is that this is how less-than-wealthy black people are treated. Few people care whether the police rough up prostitutes. That mentality led to this story.

- Jim

[Purplehood]

The main thing that strikes me is that it's totally ridiculous to consider that the police department thinks that it's an acceptable policy to arrest children in a manner analogous to a forced abduction.

I have to totally agree. The term "jack-booted thugs" comes to mind.

[casingpoint]

When she acknowledged the guys in the van were cops and began assaulting them for it, she lost her defense related to a mistake of fact.

http://galvestondailynews.com/story.las ... 26f1cf3c9d" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Liberty]

I wonder if ttle girls opinion of LEO's is any different today than it was when she got arrested. I wonder what she will think of LEOs as an adult. Did the opinion of Galvestonians towards those who are supposed to protect us improve?

[Paddler112]

Mistrial. The jurors got hung on something and could not reach agreement. I'm inclined to go with their judgment. The fact that they didn't find a verdict of "not true" in a short time leads me to suspect there are significant parts to this story we don't know. If it was as clear cut as the articles make it appear, the jury would have tossed it quickly.

The whole thing stinks.

112

[srothstein]

While I am sure there is more to the story, I hesitate to read too much into a hnug jury. All too often, there will be a juror or two who just believes the police would not do things they do not have the legal authority to do. The credibility of the police versus the girl is going to weigh a lot on the jurors. This is one of the flaws in the jury system. Even with that, it is the best system I have seen yet for criminal justice.

[Liberty]

While I am sure there is more to the story, I hesitate to read too much into a hnug jury. All too often, there will be a juror or two who just believes the police would not do things they do not have the legal authority to do. The credibility of the police versus the girl is going to weigh a lot on the jurors. This is one of the flaws in the jury system. Even with that, it is the best system I have seen yet for criminal justice.

In this case it was only one juror who believed the girl was guilty. It would have been easier for jurors to accept a guilty plea if the girl was older. The odds go up that she would be found innocent if she were a white girl. I don't believe the there would have been a second trial if their wasn't a civil rights suit pending. This case won't be forgotten and the racial undertones will come alight when DA Kurt Sistrunk who happpens to be a Democrat runs again. DA's need tro learn and understand that they represent the 12 year old girls as much as they represent Police officers. The Sistrunk and Galveston Police Department may eventually pay a steep political price for this.

About 7 p.m., jurors told Quintanilla in a note they were deadlocked.

Five jurors said the charge of assaulting a public servant was not true, Griffin said.

Griffin asked Quintanilla to declare a mistrial from a hung jury, noting it was unlikely one juror would convince five others to change their minds.

[casingpoint]

Five jurors said the charge of assaulting a public servant was not true, Griffin said.

It's very possible in that neck of the woods, assaulting a cop is OK with a lot of folks in the jury pool. And this is an actual case of jury nullification.

[seamusTX]

As a member of the jury pool, I resent that statement. Galveston County juries routinely deal out harsh sentences to those who deserve them.

It is quite possible that the jurors thought that prosecuting a 12-year-old girl for felony assault of a public servant was out of line when (a) she was arrested in her yard while doing nothing wrong, (b) three adult men carried out the arrest with force, without asking questions or talking to her parents, and (c) she went to the hospital while the cops required no medical treatment.

What would you do if the police accused your daughter of being a prostitute, arrested her on your property, and told you to butt out when you tried to intervene?

- Jim