Deadly Traps Target Police Officers In Calif. City

[onehandle]

Source: AP

HEMET, Calif. (AP) Police in this picturesque city in rural Riverside County have been on edge in recent weeks. Someone is trying to kill them.

First, a natural gas pipe was shoved through a hole drilled into the roof of the gang enforcement unit's headquarters. The building filled with flammable vapor but an officer smelled the danger before anyone was hurt. "It would have taken out half a city block," Capt. Tony Marghis said.

Then, a ballistic contraption was attached to a sliding security fence around the building. An officer opening the black steel gate triggered the mechanism, which sent a bullet within eight inches of his face.

In another attempted booby trap attack, some kind of explosive device was attached to a police officer's unmarked car while he went into a convenience store. "There's a person or people out there, a bunch of idiots, trying to do damage to us," Hemet Police Chief Richard Dana said. "We can't expect our luck to hold up, we need help."

Read more: http://cbs13.com/national/police.booby.traps.2.1574628.html

[Fumesucker]

1. That's what happens in a war..

How long has the war on drugs been going on now?

[Robb]

3. What do you mean?

[Fumesucker]

8. Wars beget violence..

What is so difficult to understand about that?

Edited to add:

Here's the sort of thing our officials are saying:

http://www.alternet.org/drugs/146090/how_many_mexican_drug_war_deaths_can_we_attribute_to_u.s._pot_laws


It was less than one year ago when acting U.S. DEA administrator Michelle Leonhart publicly declared that the escalating violence on the U.S./Mexico border should be viewed as a sign of the “success” of America’s drug war strategies.

“Our view is that the violence we have been seeing is a signpost of the success our very courageous Mexican counterparts are having,” said Michele Leonhart, who was recently nominated by President Obama to be the agency’s full time director. “The cartels are acting out like caged animals, because they are caged animals.”

[Renew Deal]

4. Put down the bong

:crazy:

[Fumesucker]

6. Alcohol Prohibition was both begun and ended by Constitution Amendments..

Amendments are remarkably difficult to do..

Why do you think that in only thirteen years public opinion swung far enough to have diametrically opposed Constitutional Amendments?

[Rapier09]

2. The Wild West

The cost of law enforcement is going to rise even though the State is bank-rupt.

[SteveM]

5. Uh, it's called the "War on Drugs, LLC." And we're losing. Bad. nt

[pattmarty]

7. The police have literally been getting away with murder for over.............

............30 yrs now. Remember the Black Panthers in the 60's, Rodney King and now with this tazer thing they use ALL the time? You can't blame the poor people (spelled black & hispanic) in some of these areas that are really under siege like a fucking war zone. It was only a matter of time.

Okay folks, have at me!

[SkyDaddy7]

9. I actually agree with you!

The longer the police are allowed to get away with lying in court, using tazers just to use them, profiling minorities, and a long list of other crimes that go unpunished then we will probably see more stuff like this.

No one is policing the police!!!!!

[pattmarty]

11. bingo!!!!!! When was the last time you saw a cop convicted of...........

.............of a crime while he was on duty? I swear, I cannot remember that whenever a cop was accused of shooting an unarmed person or beating the shit out of someone he was EVEN bought up on criminal charges much less of being convicted of a crime.

[Uben]

14. You have a short memory

..the Danziger bridge shootings in New Orleans, the BART shooting, the Salt Lake City shooting, are all current events. So yeah, some of em do get caught. Most don't because of that "code of silence" police officers seem obliged to honor. The "code of silence" is about as unAmerican as it gets, but cops wear it as a badge of honor. Only when there are civilian witnesses or cameras do cops get busted, which is why they are so adament about not letting citizens photograph them breaking the law.

Not trying to put you down, just a correction, in the name of truth.

[pattmarty]

24. It ain't correct if the 3 you quoted got off free. That is the thing............

...........a cop usually doesn't get indicted first of all, and if indicted ALWAYS gets off. Now I know that every once in a while a well publicized case will get a conviction. Usually small and usually with no jail time. To be a cop nowadays is just like being a banker except you actually get to use your god given talents to abuse and beat the shit out of anyone you think is wrong or not deferential enough.

[Uben]

28. Here's some stats I found.....

Looks like a good site to glean some stats off of. Interesting read.

[pattmarty]

32. ?????????????????

[EFerrari]

35. Police crime is self reported to the DoJ. n/t

[No Elephants]

54. The Mafia has a code of silence, too.

And it is enforced.


If anyone wanted to make it very uncomfortable for cops to withhold info, they could. New laws or regulations might not eliminate the silence, but they could sure give cops a lot to think about.

[SkyDaddy7]

47. I know!

I live in Georgia and there was a cop down here who was caught calling into dispatch that he bagged himself a -igger...He was forced to "RESIGN" that way he can go to the next town and get hired as cop. Which he did!

The same goes for cops who get caught lying on the stand, beating people or whatever, they almost never get in trouble and when they do they almost never get fired...They resign, if that.

[Better Today]

18. I agree and raise you

Police shouldn't be allowed to lie in court or out. This crap that we have to be honest (or silent) if we are arrested or being held or even just being questioned as a bystander, but they can lie their teeth right out of their mouths, is NOT RIGHT!

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

25. Deleted sub-thread

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[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[electricray]

23. I won't berate you for pondering the reasons for the targetting

but it seems like you are framing it as justified. This is intentional offensive warfare and I would be willing to bet any money that the biker gang doing it is no part of and has no concern for the huddled masses. This is a war about money. Plain and simple. The biker gang wants their leaders back and less harrassment by the government so that they can enforce and expand their market and influence, same as any corporation but without all the pesky liability shedding.

[pattmarty]

26. I have yet to see a link to this story except the OP. Nowhere yet............

.........have I seen VERIFIED info on who was responsible. Oh, I DID not justify this in any way, I simply stated that in certain neighborhoods this has been going on for decades. Hopefully there are people that have actually been mistreated or worse by police that will continue to come forward.

[XemaSab]

34. If the people there are under siege by anyone

they're under siege by violent gangs.

[Name removed]

37. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Xenotime]

42. I think you are right too.

[Psephos]

49. If someone was breaking into your house in the middle of the night, would you call the cops?

Honest question.

[SoCalNative]

10. You do all realize

that these are anti-gang officers being targeted, and the suspected group behind this is a violent biker gang, right?

This isn't about "policing the police."

[pattmarty]

12. Proof/links?????????? I'm getting fucking tired of people saying...........

.............something without any goddamn evidence.

[SoCalNative]

13. Well it was all over the news here in So Cal yesterday

but if you're googling fingers are broken:

http://www.myfoxla.com/dpp/news/local/reward-for-info-on-hemet-police-booby-traps-20100319

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/18/AR2010031803317.html

http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_W_attack19.38b4533.html

[Renew Deal]

16. I'm glad that someone here actually cares to research this stuff.

Those condoning violence on this site are disturbing, and I'm referring to several people in this thread.

[Name removed]

30. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Renew Deal]

39. Yes, and you should be ashamed

"You can't blame the poor people (spelled black & hispanic) in some of these areas that are really under siege like a fucking war zone. It was only a matter of time."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4312280&mesg_id=4312332

Don't be pissed at me for pointing it out.

[pattmarty]

45. How in the fuck you twisted that into my advocating violence is bullshit.

[Dreamer Tatum]

44. Yes, you did condone violence, and you were called on it. Deal with it. nt

[Name removed]

46. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[midnight]

19. Your first link refers to them as the the Mexican Mafia.

[mbperrin]

20. Yes, they are a gang.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Mafia


The Mexican Mafia, also known as La Eme (Spanish for the letter M) is an American-originated mostly Mexican-American criminal organization, and is one of the oldest and most powerful prison gangs in the United States.

lots more at at link

[electricray]

22. Actually, the Mexican Mafia was used as a frame of reference for how organized crime operates

"They're (the Vagos biker gang)like any other gang," the source said. "Shot-callers on the street. Shot-callers behind bars. The Mongols, the Mexican Mafia, they all work like that."

The article talks about how the orders to kill police officers are coming from inside the prison system.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

50. Exactly, bullshit like this is offered up without any proof or links.

pattmarty (1000+ posts) Fri Mar-19-10 01:16 PM
Response to Reply #14
24. It ain't correct if the 3 you quoted got off free. That is the thing............
...........a cop usually doesn't get indicted first of all, and if indicted ALWAYS gets off. Now I know that every once in a while a well publicized case will get a conviction. Usually small and usually with no jail time. To be a cop nowadays is just like being a banker except you actually get to use your god given talents to abuse and beat the shit out of anyone you think is wrong or not deferential enough.


:eyes: :dunce:

[Codeine]

51. I'm getting tired of

people who don't realize an ellipsis has only three periods, and there should be a space between each.

Illiteracy doesn't help your already unhinged argument.

[onehandle]

21. Horrifying, isn't it.

The article actually covers that somewhat, but some DUers have their own preconceptions.

[Fumesucker]

27. We have US officials appointed by Obama saying an increasin in killings is a good thing..

And a sign of "success"..

Do you agree with this view?

http://www.alternet.org/drugs/146090/how_many_mexican_drug_war_deaths_can_we_attribute_to_u.s._pot_laws

It was less than one year ago when acting U.S. DEA administrator Michelle Leonhart publicly declared that the escalating violence on the U.S./Mexico border should be viewed as a sign of the “success” of America’s drug war strategies.

“Our view is that the violence we have been seeing is a signpost of the success our very courageous Mexican counterparts are having,” said Michele Leonhart, who was recently nominated by President Obama to be the agency’s full time director. “The cartels are acting out like caged animals, because they are caged animals.”

Well, if the DEA’s chief talking head thought that some 6,300 drug cartel-related murders in 2008 was an indication of progress, one can only imagine that she believes that this weekend’s south-of-the-border killing spree — which included the murder of a pregnant U.S. official and members of her family — must be downright victorious.

To rest of us, however, these acts are nothing short of a senseless tragedy — a tragedy made all that much more heart-wrenching because it is U.S. policy that is helping to fuel this violence.

[Renew Deal]

40. The Mexicans say the same thing.

The thinking is the drug industry is getting squeezed and desperate.

[Fumesucker]

43. I didn't ask what the Mexicans think..

I asked what you think.

Do you agree that more killings is a positive development?

It's funny, alcohol is a recreational drug and yet we haven't seen shootouts between alcohol distributors for quite a number of years.

Since 1933 for some strange reason..

[Hepburn]

29. Rod Pacheco ~~ Riv County DA...

...LAW AND ORDER FREAK to the max.

I would bet dollars against doughnuts that this asshole has something to do with this and solely for publicity. Guess who is up for re-election and the Riverside Criminal defense bar is solidly against him.

Pacheco is a fucking asshole ... and those are his best qualities.

JMHO

[Hepburn]

31. Stats on Pacheco's conviction record:

"Since 2006, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Gary B. Tranbarger has been gathering and distributing statistics showing the charge-by-charge outcome of jury trials in Riverside County

The district attorney's office has chafed at Tranbarger's data gathering, challenging his motives and the accuracy of his data sent to judges, prosecutors and public and private defense attorneys.

Now Tranbarger's statistics are being cited by election-year opponents of Riverside County District Attorney Rod Pacheco, who say the judge's figures show the conviction rate for felony charges taken to trial by Pacheco's office in the last two years is less than 45 percent."

http://www.pe.com/localnews/politics/stories/PE_News_Local_W_tranbarger12.45a2d55.html

Like I said ~~ Pacheco is having election year problems and I would bet anything that he is pushing this like crazy. This crap has gone on in Riverside -- cop ambush deaths -- by gangs since I can remember. Suddenly... Pacheco jumps on the bandwagon? What Johnny come lately bullshit.

JMHO

[EFerrari]

36. I was going to say, it sounds like somebody has weapons training

but, that could be a lot of people.

[troubledamerican]

48. Strategy of Tension/Operation Gladio

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategy_of_tension

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Gladio

March-November 2009:

4 police officers killed in Pittsburgh shooting in one week

4 police officers killed in Oakland shooting in one week

4 police officers killed in Seattle shootings in one month

[frylock]

41. if it's in riverside, then it's probably cookers doing this..

pure speculation, of course.

[Hekate]

52. Well this thread got ugly fast

[truthisfreedom]

53. I hope they catch the fuc*ers responsible for this.

Seriously.