Police are using armed task force to stop-and-ID citizens, Bill of Rights be damned.
AR - There isn’t a lot to do in Paragould, Arkansas, but residents of the town of barely 25,000 seem to have no problem finding trouble. Now in order to curb the rising crime rate, the city is proposing heavily armed police patrol the streets on foot.
In response to a recent increase in crime, Paragould Mayor Mike Gaskill and Police Chief Todd Stovall offered residents at a town hall meeting Thursday night at West View Baptist Church what could be considered an extreme solution — armed officers patrolling the streets on foot.
Stovall told the group of almost 40 residents that beginning in 2013, the department would deploy a new street crimes unit to high crime areas on foot to take back the streets.
"Police are going to be in SWAT gear and have AR-15s around their neck," Stovall said. "If you're out walking, we're going to stop you, ask why you're out walking, check for your ID."
Stovall said while some people may be offended by the actions of his department, they should not be.
"We're going to do it to everybody," he said. "Criminals don't like being talked to."
Gaskill backed Stovall's proposed actions during Thursday's town hall.
"They may not be doing anything but walking their dog," he said. "But they're going to have to prove it."
Stovall further elaborated on the stop-and-ID policy Friday morning, claiming the city's crime statistics alone met the threshold of reasonable suspicion required to lawfully accost a citizen.
"To ask you for your ID, I have to have a reason," he said. "Well, I've got statistical reasons that say I've got a lot of crime right now, which gives me probable cause to ask what you're doing out. Then when I add that people are scared...then that gives us even more [reason] to ask why are you here and what are you doing in this area."
Stovall said he did not consult an attorney before announcing his plans to combat crime. He even remained undaunted when comparing his proposed tactics with martial law, explaining that "I don't know that there's ever been a difference" between his proposals and martial law.
Stovall said task force members would not even be required to be looking for a specific suspect before stopping citizens on the street.
"Anyone that's out walking, because of the crime and the fear factor, could be stopped," he said.
Should an individual not produce identification, Stovall said his officers would not back down. Individuals who do not produce identification when asked could be charged with obstructing a governmental operation, according to Stovall.
"I'm hoping we don't run across any of that," Stovall said. "Will there be people who buck us? There may be. But we have a right to be doing what we're doing. We have a zero-tolerance. We are prepared to throw your hind-end in jail, OK? We're not going to take a lot of flack."http://www.paragoulddailypress.com/articles/2012/12/15/top_story/doc50cbbb312e241511092932.txt
Martial law in one city: The case of Paragould, Arkansas.
The marauders “are going to be in SWAT gear and have AR-15s around their neck,” grunted Stovall at a town hall meeting held last Thursday at the West View Baptist Church. “If you’re out walking, we’re going to stop you, ask why you’re out walking, check for your ID.”
“We’re going to do it to everybody,” Stovall explained, anticipating objections. “Criminals don’t like being talked to.”
The same is true of citizens, of course — but like most members of his paramilitary tribe, Stovall divides the world between enlightened agents of State “authority” such as himself and the Mundane population, which is to be intimidated into submission.
Stovall insists that constitutional quibbles over probable cause don’t apply, because the “crisis” justifies imposition of a city-wide curfew and garrison state measures.
“I’ve got statistical reasons that say I’ve got a lot of crime right now, which gives me probable cause to ask what you’re doing out.” He admits that he didn’t consult an attorney before reaching that conclusion, and that “I don’t even know that there’s ever been a difference” between what he’s proposing and undisguised martial law. To those who might complain about being harassed by Stovall’s minions, the chief offers an unqualified promise” “We have a zero-tolerance. We are prepared to throw your hind-end in jail, OK? We are not going to take a lot of flack.”
Paragould historically has a very high burglary rate, but the violent crime rate is substantially below the national average: In 2010, the last year for which stats are available, there wasn’t a single murder in the town of roughly 26,000 people. But political elites and their enforcers are adept at manufacturing fears, and the bullet-headed militarist who heads the police department — and appears to be building his own little private army — assumes that government derives its "just" powers from whatever fears it can instill and exploit in its subjects.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/128829.html
The police state comes to Arkansas.
Police Chief Todd Stovall said he did not consult an attorney before announcing his plans to combat crime.
Stovall added that he realized there was little difference between what he was proposing and martial law-and that he didn't much care.
The mayor and city attorney have apparently walked the idea back, at least a little. But the police chief isn't wavering. And of course it's his cops who will be enforcing the law.
The fear of crime is ever-present, even when crime isn't. For example, despite the fact that the crime rate has been dropping dramatically for nearly 20 years*-to historic lows-70 percent of Americans still think crime is getting worse.
I'm sure the cable news obsession with sensational crime stories and the emergence of tragedy vultures like Nancy Grace have a lot to do with it. Long-developing trends like the crime drop by definition aren't daily news. Crime is, even when it's down. I've seen it stated over and over in the Newtown coverage that mass shootings are on the rise. As I pointed out in the morning links, there is no evidence for that, and in fact the numbers suggest they're on the wane. They happen so infrequently that there simply aren't enough data points to say for certain.
Unfortunately, empirical data aren't nearly as compelling as images of victims and mug shots of scary-looking criminals. And like Nixon, today's politicians and law enforcement officials know that you don't pass new laws and give the police new powers by assuaging public fear. You get these things by stoking it.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/radley-balko/the-police-state-comes-to_b_2321878.html
Paragould police cancel town hall meetings.
Paragould police have canceled the remaining two town hall meetings that had been planned to discuss crime in Paragould after extensive public outcry over the department’s controversial proposal to lower the crime rate.
While a press release on Sunday made it appear as though PPD was reinforcing its decision to use armed foot patrols to stop citizens on the street and request identification, along with a reason for them being in the neighborhood, starting in 2013, the decision by police to cancel the town halls late Monday afternoon left those plans unclear.
In a statement on PPD’s website, the department said the town hall events were canceled in the interest of public safety after speaking with “numerous” residents and non-residents on Monday.
“Some of the correspondence has caused us great pause in whether or not the meetings should remain as scheduled,” the statement read.
“We feel that with the strong feelings on both sides of the Street Crimes Unit issue, a safe and productive meeting would not be the probable outcome.”
Stovall said the street crimes unit would be deployed to high crime areas and would make contact with all pedestrians.
“If you’re out walking, we’re going to stop you, ask why you’re out walking, check for your ID,” Stovall told a crowd of nearly 40 that had gathered at West View Baptist Church.
Mayor Mike Gaskill followed Stovall’s statements by explaining that a simple walk with a family pet could get a resident stopped and questioned.
“They may not be doing anything but walking their dog,” Gaskill said. “But they’re going to have to prove it.”
“During hours in which crime seems to be more prevalent (i.e. between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.), our process will become more stringent,” the release continued. “We will be asking for picture identification. We will be ascertaining where the subject lives and what they are doing in the area.”
http://www.paragoulddailypress.com/articles/2012/12/18/top_story/doc50d08e9fb2588217300183.txt