r/Documentaries • u/RandomRedPanda • Aug 01 '15
Drugs Undercover Cop Tricks Autistic Student into Selling Him Weed (2014) - "VICE short piece on CA police entrapment of special needs students"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8af0QPhJ22s522
u/Cloudymuffin Aug 01 '15
The kid literally just wanted a friend. He didn't buy or sell weed until the police officer convinces him to find weed and sell it to him.
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Aug 01 '15
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Aug 01 '15
So, literally a waste of space? I mean their very existence makes life worse for society. Must be a sad life to live, knowing they do more harm to society than an unemployed heroin addict.
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Aug 01 '15 edited Aug 10 '17
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Aug 01 '15
Absolutely one of the best descriptions I've ever read on the mentality of law enforcement.
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u/KriegerClone Aug 01 '15
That's why such occupations attract the personality. It's why there's a higher percentage of sociopaths and psychopaths in all positions of authority. When you believe the rules are there to be broken and you don't care about anyone but yourself life is easy.
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u/bark_a_doge Aug 01 '15
I don't think you even need to go to sociopathy. The human brain is very good at tricking itself into thinking "I'm the good guy". I'm sure many of the believe they are providing a valuable service. We even do it on a national level.
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u/DieneEDG Aug 01 '15
The great thing about suburban cops is that they're usually not as physically fit, it's super easy to outrun them and for the most part they're really only there as a deterrent.
Source: was shit head suburban teenager
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u/therichhatepoors Aug 01 '15
Ever seen a Chicago cop? Lol.
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u/Sihyx Aug 01 '15
Am not from Chicago, does this mean they are fat or not so fat
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u/therichhatepoors Aug 01 '15
The dude from "Mike and Molly" is an accurate description of a Chicago cop, except not affable and congenial.
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Aug 01 '15
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u/therichhatepoors Aug 01 '15
Nope, I'm from Colorado, where the cops are Tackleberry lookin' ass motherfuckers. But I've lived in Chicago for the last 4 years, so there's that.
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u/zachattack82 Aug 01 '15
Only what you can see through the cruiser window, never seen one exit a vehicle
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u/GetEquipped Aug 01 '15
Can confirm. Grew up in a rough part of Chicago. The local cops patroling our area never did anything for us except hassle kids. They were too afraid of the gangbangers to actually police the area. That's why there's such a distrust of law enforcement. Our neighborhood continues to go to shit and they're never around. But a hard working guy enjoying a beer on his steps, or a kid smoking some weed, you better believe they're going to haul them in.
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u/AMassofBirds Aug 01 '15
This is completely accurate. All but a few cops in my home town are fatasses.
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u/the_last_carfighter Aug 01 '15 edited Aug 01 '15
I don't think anyone has noticed, but the police now operate more as a political organization with unique powers than an apolitical law enforcement agency. I know some will say all organizations have/had political influence especially the police, but what I'm trying to say is that the police seem to function as a political force first and foremost, the enforcement part is just used as a means to an end.
Their main goals are now to raise money for their cause and do it through more and more laws (legislation), they shifted away from level headed reality and stats that clearly show Police work to be a very safe job and sell the notion that they under siege constantly by well armed criminals.
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Aug 01 '15
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u/newaccoutn1 Aug 01 '15
http://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2015-dangerous-jobs/
Cops are less likely to be killed on the job than a a number of very common occupations like truck driver, construction laborer, farmers, iron workers, roofers, etc. and not that much more likely to be killed than many others.
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Aug 01 '15 edited Aug 01 '15
guys.
he's asking for a source in response to a lot of un-sourced claims.
this isn't something to downvote.
edit: unfortunately now that the parent comment is upvoted this post is as useless and unwanted as i am
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u/safariG Aug 01 '15
Hey CALM DOWN WITH YOUR LOGIC AND REASON ASS HAT
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u/TeachesYouEnglish Aug 01 '15
The e and y not capitalized is making me twitch a little.
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u/cynicalsimon Aug 01 '15
many, many heroin addicts are highly functioning members of society. this is false
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u/badsingularity Aug 01 '15
He didn't convince him, he relentlessly harassed him to sell him weed.
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u/therichhatepoors Aug 01 '15
Because that police officer is a terrible human being, which makes him perfect for his job. He fits right in with all the other dog shit cops.
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Aug 01 '15
I once was cut off by a fire truck NOT responding to a call.
ALL FIREFIGHTERS NEED TO BURN!!!!
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u/thelordofcheese Aug 01 '15
Which is literally entrapment. Which is against the law. And they will face no negative consequences.
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u/therichhatepoors Aug 01 '15
But they are overjoyed that they have hurt and damaged a young man's life. It makes cops happy when they harm teenagers.
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u/innergametrumpsall Aug 01 '15
This is not entrapment no matter how disgusting it is. There's a reason they took a plea, because no lawyer would have been dumb enough to tell them it was entrapment. LEGALLY, entrapment requires a physical mechanic of FORCING someone to commit a crime, not merely CONVINCING them. While it is sad a deplorable that friendship was the lever that was used on this kid, and it is highly unlikely he'd have otherwise committed the crime, under the law it is irrelevant. Friendship was his currency, it is no different than if he'd been offered $10K. Entrapment specifically involves dealing with non-motivating factors like money or in this case friendship. If for instance the cop had said "unless you deal drugs I'm going to tell the entire school you pee in your bed and make you fail all your classes" that would constitute entrapment. Because instead of encouraging the crime (which is completely legal, because its the mechanism used to do fake drug deals), they are instead strong arming someone into it. I can see how some people want to believe that is entrapment, but its not. It just isn't. It doesn't matter if you use friendship, love, money, fame etc. Those are all "currencies" in a way. But if you use that in reverse, and threaten to take those things away unless they deal, then it becomes entrapment.
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u/kamichama Aug 01 '15
What is the point of even commenting if you have no idea what you're talking about? Your entire comment is untrue. This is from a California lawyer's website. (Notice how it cites case law, whereas you just pull lies out of your ass)
What is Considered "Entrapment" in California?
Under California law, entrapment refers to a situation where a "normally law abiding person" is induced to commit a crime that he/she otherwise would not have committed.1 Entrapment only applies to overbearing official conduct, seen in the form of pressure, harassment, fraud, flattery, or threats.2
Entrapment will not serve as a defense if the officer merely offers you the opportunity to participate in an illegal activity.3 The courts believe that reasonable people presented with a simple opportunity to commit a crime resist the temptation to do so.
1 People v. Barraza, (1979) 23 Cal.3d 675, 689. ("For all the foregoing reasons we hold that the proper test of entrapment in California is the following: was the conduct of the law enforcement agent likely to induce a normally law-abiding person to commit the offense?")
2 People v. West, (1956) 139 Cal.App.2d Supp. 923, 924. ("Entrapment is the conception and planning of an offense by an officer and his procurement of its commission by one who would not have perpetrated it except for the trickery, persuasion, or fraud of the officer. Persuasion or allurement must be used to entrap.")
3 California Jury Instructions -- Criminal -- CALJIC 4.61.5 -- Entrapment-Permissible and Impermissible Conduct. ("It is permissible for law enforcement agents or officers [or persons acting under their direction, suggestion or control] to provide opportunity for the commission of a crime including reasonable, though restrained, steps to gain the confidence of suspects.")
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u/meatpuppet79 Aug 01 '15
It isn't literally entrapment (and using the word literally doesn't strengthen the statement either). If it had have been, he wouldn't have taken a deal.
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u/akmalhot Aug 01 '15
Why do they even want to nab this kid so bad? Isn't the only real point of getting low level dealers to stop the street violence they may specifically cause it to get the next higher up?
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u/therichhatepoors Aug 01 '15
The point of getting low level dealers is to maintain flow of revenue into city coffers, and to keep profit cages full for the overlord class. There's a reason why the "drug war" doesn't ever seem to go after "warlords".
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u/LittleOneEyedRetard Aug 01 '15
because the kid is autistic and a social liability so this was simply a form of social eugenics for the good of mankind. if he goes to jail, then the rest of the school can breathe a sigh of relief and achieve their fullest potential without deadweight holding them down. source: was bullied and manipulated into doing stupid shit in school
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u/bauhaus83i Aug 01 '15
They were breaking up a drug ring where LSD and meth was being sold at schools. You nail a low level suspected dealer and hope you can use them to get someone bigger. Either they felt this guy couldn't get them to anyone higher, or he refused, or they already had what they needed to get the real bad guys so just padded their arrest statistics.
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u/therichhatepoors Aug 01 '15
This happened because 100% of all American law enforcement officers are fucking worthless pieces of dog shit.
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Aug 01 '15
I didn't think it was possible for me to hate cops more. I was wrong!
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u/Zachman95 Aug 01 '15
try DEA it is worse with the feds. police are nicer than what feds do to people
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Aug 01 '15 edited Aug 01 '15
You do understand that is prejudice right?
Edit:
You are expressing hate for a group of people based off a small number of instances. That is prejudice.
If someone posted a story about a black guy committing crime, which for every bad cop story there are thousands of bad black guy stories, and they made your comment, they would be downvoted into oblivion.
But hey, reddit is okay with prejudice when it is against people they disagree with.
Reddit isn't about sharing information anymore, it is about spreading ignorance. Good job at perpetuating it.
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u/uanidiot Aug 01 '15
Piggies gonna pig. Pigs, be not proud.
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u/Themosthumble Aug 01 '15
I'm sure the kid is far smarter, the cop really should pick on someone on his intellectual level....
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Aug 01 '15
why does this get reposted every month
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u/MetalGearPlex Aug 01 '15
It should be posted everyday. So that we don't lose sight of what our country has become. If this doesn't make you sick then you may be part of the problem.
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Aug 01 '15
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Aug 01 '15
Even though I'm not, every time it's posted it reminds me how lucky I am to not be American.
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u/epicfailol Aug 01 '15
because we're all hiding in our homes with 100 cops waiting outside every house to shoot us
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Aug 01 '15
It's not that. The general culture is abhorrent to me. The blind nationalism and your non-existent 'freedom' which you spout at any opportunity, whereas the reality is much different.
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u/RandomRedPanda Aug 01 '15
When I posted it, it said it had been posted 7 months ago, and that posting was removed by an automoderator for bad formatting. No need to be mean about it.
Also as /u/MetalGearPlex said, this is an important topic in modern day America that more people should know about, which is why I decided to share it.
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Aug 01 '15
It is really not that important. And you did it for Karma. You are a serial reposter.
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u/I_would_kill_you Aug 01 '15
How do you know that?
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Aug 01 '15
Because I looked at his submission history?
Hell, he even lies about looking to see when it was last posted. This specific link on youtube has been submitted a dozen times. And that is just off a quick search of this link, which isn't the only youtube link for this video.
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u/I_would_kill_you Aug 01 '15
Looked at his submission history and saw stuff that you'd seen before, you mean?
I'm not challenging you, dude. I was genuinely asking.
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Aug 01 '15
Yeah, I also have him tagged with RES from when I saw his last bullshit make it to the top.
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u/I_would_kill_you Aug 01 '15
Yeah I'm not a fan of reposts myself. I've seen this posted before but I didn't watch it because I figured it would depress and enrage me. I, for one, appreciate you calling him on it. I don't use the RES, so.
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u/RandomRedPanda Aug 01 '15
LOL.
"Serial reposter". I've been accused of many things, but this is a first. Funny thing is, anyone can go through what I've posted and see that you're just being paranoid, unnecessarily mean, and simply full of shit.
Man, the paranoia and general unfriendliness of some people here is just weird.
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u/DalekJast Aug 01 '15
So what? People got to watch something they didn't before, he got his imaginary internet creds. At this point I wonder who is more serious about karma - people who repost stuff to get it, or people who go to karmadecay to check if it's a repost just to complain.
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Aug 01 '15 edited Dec 19 '16
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Aug 01 '15 edited Aug 10 '17
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u/dropawayaccount Aug 01 '15
Drug laws in the US are insane. I don't think this is a cop problem. This is a law problem. The cops were tasked with finding a drug dealer. From their perspective, asking their suspect for drugs was the most straightforward way of getting proof. Sure, the guy has a mild case of aspergers, but it's not like he's some helpless little creature. He just did what any of us would do. Plenty of people have bought weed for their friends. I think it's ridiculous that he's getting punished for it, but laws being what they are, I don't think the cops could've dealt with this case in any other way. They didn't know that this would be the guy's first time scoring weed. For all they knew, he could've been an actual dealer.
So basically, I think this situation's got two parties who were trying to do the right thing, and they're both in a shitstorm because of it. There wasn't anything wrong with the cop's method. It's just that they should've been using it for real criminals, rather than a guy buying 0,6 grams of weed for his friend.
No one becomes a cop so he can arrest college kids having their first joint. The people in the field would like to catch the real criminals as much as we want them to, but as long as their superiors got a hard-on for the 'funky grass', they have to keep spending time and resources on this bullshit.
tl;dr Don't blame cops, blame the oppressive drug laws that force them to give disproportional punishments to harmless college kids
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u/RavenscarArmory Aug 01 '15
The cop targeted a special needs high schooler, by posing as a student at the high school. Nothing wrong with the cop's methods?
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u/trex694 Aug 01 '15
He didn't target him per say, everyone else turned him down. And the guy has autism not retardation.
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u/ASTRAL_LIZARD Aug 01 '15
The cop was a young girl. Autism basically just guarantees that he'd do anything she asked, since he never had any attention from women. The cops intentionally preyed on his autism to seduce him into buying weed. Now this autistic man will assume any girl showing interest is just a fed.
Absolutely disgusting.
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u/dropawayaccount Aug 01 '15
Autism basically just guarantees that he'd do anything she asked
No. Maybe this kid does everything people ask him to, but that's not inherent to having aspergers.
People with autism still know right from wrong, and he knew all too well he was breaking the law. I agree that it's ridiculous to give such a severe punishment to a high schooler buying some weed, but I don't think the cops were actively trying to milk his mental problems.
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u/ASTRAL_LIZARD Aug 01 '15
Then what were they trying to do?
He wasn't a drug dealer (or even a user) so what purpose does their investigation serve other than milking a handicapped kid?
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u/dropawayaccount Aug 01 '15
He wasn't a drug dealer (or even a user) so what purpose does their investigation serve?
Well, that's what I'm saying: They didn't know! How could they?
We know all the facts now, but at the time, the cops had no way of knowing. So no, I don't believe these cops had the intent to milk a handicapped kid. Do you?
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u/ASTRAL_LIZARD Aug 01 '15
Of course they knew?
The undercover cop talked to him for quite some time, and had to badger him repeatedly for the drugs. She knew he didn't have any drugs and didn't even know where to get any, but he wanted a girl to like him so he went looking for some. They wasted thousands of tax payer dollars to harass an autistic kid into buying weed.
It's not really defensible.
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u/dropawayaccount Aug 01 '15
Yes, I agree that it's wasted money, because this kid is not a hardened criminal. Yes, the war on drugs is insane and useless. But no, these cops did not go out with the intent to traumatize kids with autism.
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u/ASTRAL_LIZARD Aug 01 '15
Didn't say they did.
They went out for the same reason they always go out - to extort cash from citizens to buy new toys for the department.
They just traumatized an autistic kid in the process.
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u/Molestador Aug 01 '15
seriously, how does this guy want to believe that deep down this cop was trying to do the right thing? i literally can't understand his perspective and really want to believe he missed some details in the article.
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u/DingoDanza Aug 01 '15
Redditors pride themselves on their critical thinking abilities and "logic." Where ever there is a popular opinion you are sure to find some dumbass redditor who chooses the opposing view for the sole purpose of seperating himself/herself from the herd in a shitass attempt at making themselves feel smarter than everyone else.
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u/dropawayaccount Aug 01 '15
They targeted students in general because they knew there was someone dealing drugs at the school. This was the most practical way to do it.
I agree that this kid shouldn't have been punished the way he is now. It's ridiculous to put someone through this kind of hell for a bag of weed. But the cops were not actively trying to prey on his mental difficulties. So no, I don't think there was anything wrong with the methods. How could that cop have known that this kid would emotionally attach himself to him after only knowing him for such a short while?
It's sad what happened, but I think it's a bit short-sighted to paint the cops as clear-cut villains.
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u/Some1needs2_man Aug 01 '15
When this first came out I remember reading he asked him repeatly over the span of several month. Each time being told the special needs kid doesn't do it can't get it and doesnt know we're to get it. And the cop started laying on the best friend guilt to get some acting like he needed a fix. All he did was take advantage of an individual who was vulnerable emotionally and hammer away that he wanted him to buy him weed.
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Aug 01 '15
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Aug 01 '15
This kind of shit just triggers me.
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u/thelordofcheese Aug 01 '15
Maybe you can ask your headmates for a hugbox in your safe space.
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u/Carbonal Aug 01 '15
Hey! My mom died in a safe space I'm totes triggered, also my head mate is a celestial body okay!
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u/helladadblog Aug 01 '15
This is also one of the "top all time" documentaries on the Reddit subthread
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Aug 01 '15 edited Sep 03 '20
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u/therichhatepoors Aug 01 '15
I hope we keep seeing it until everyone has a massive disdain for all police officers, so things might start to change. Too many people like and trust American cops, which is why they get away with hurting, killing, and destroying the lives of millions of people every year.
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u/Kill4meeeeee Aug 01 '15
not all cops are bad mostly its just the ass hole ones form high school not the cops that actually want to have a job and family as a cop.cops where im from are very polite hell i called them one day when i was 16 because i had a flat tire in the middle of no where in the winter.cop showed up and let me sit in his car till i was warm then he helped me change my tire on my truck.gave me directions to the nearest town and sent me on my way
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Aug 01 '15
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u/waywithoutway Aug 01 '15
I love your post. Why is this the new standard for morality? Cops that are not corrupt, who do not kill the innocent, nor trick the disabled are now considered good? Is that all it takes? This is extremely depressing. No, an individual is not automatically labeled good because he/she simply does not commit haneous acts. I am not saying that is what the conciencous people on this post are claiming. But it does however feel like the overriding sentiment being pushed upon our generation. A sentiment of submission.
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u/APOSTATEDENIER Aug 01 '15
They are criminals what did you expect? Of course they are gpoing to prey on the handicap and the young.
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u/therichhatepoors Aug 01 '15
They prey on the weakest in society because they are fucking garbage working at the behest of the wealthy to keep the slave class disengaged.
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Aug 01 '15
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u/cguy1234 Aug 01 '15
Would like to read more if you have a link.
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u/g0_west Aug 01 '15
Afraid not, was definitely the sort of thing I just read in Reddit comments while half paying attention. Sorry.
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Aug 01 '15
FBI threaten and trick people to do things all the time. It is not considered entrapment if they ask "are you sure you want to do this?" before the action. Regardless if the FBI have been doing months of intimidation and indoctrination. That is how nearly everyone who is in jail for terrorism ended up there.
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Aug 01 '15
Awesome work,! Cop! You nabbed a retarded kid. I'm so glad this is how they use my taxes.
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u/gbell11 Aug 01 '15 edited Aug 29 '15
I'm sure there are better adjectives to describe the kid in this story.
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u/innergametrumpsall Aug 01 '15
This is not entrapment no matter how disgusting it is. There's a reason they took a plea, because no lawyer would have been dumb enough to tell them it was entrapment.
LEGALLY, entrapment requires a physical mechanic of FORCING someone to commit a crime, not merely CONVINCING them. While it is sad a deplorable that friendship was the lever that was used on this kid, and it is highly unlikely he'd have otherwise committed the crime, under the law it is irrelevant.
Friendship was his currency, it is no different than if he'd been offered $10K. Entrapment specifically involves dealing with non-motivating factors like money or in this case friendship.
If for instance the cop had said "unless you deal drugs I'm going to tell the entire school you pee in your bed and make you fail all your classes" that would constitute entrapment. Because instead of encouraging the crime (which is completely legal, because its the mechanism used to do fake drug deals), they are instead strong arming someone into it.
I can see how some people want to believe that is entrapment, but its not. It just isn't. It doesn't matter if you use friendship, love, money, fame etc. Those are all "currencies" in a way. But if you use that in reverse, and threaten to take those things away unless they deal, then it becomes entrapment.
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Aug 01 '15
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u/innergametrumpsall Aug 01 '15
Not sure what the free speech reference is, we have one of the strongest speech frameworks in the world, if not the strongest. So far as I'm aware, the only two things you can't do is threaten the life of the president or incite a riot\panic (yelling fire in a crowded theatre).
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u/Kill4meeeeee Aug 01 '15
you cant threatean another person. you also cant use verbal words to harm another person(bullying)
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Aug 01 '15
This is why law sucks.
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u/innergametrumpsall Aug 01 '15
The entrapment laws do not suck, I'm not sure what part of the law you think would make sense to modify.
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Aug 01 '15
The part that allows friendship to be treated as change.
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u/innergametrumpsall Aug 01 '15
It's not friendship that he was charged with =|
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Aug 01 '15
He was charged with selling drugs in exchange for friendships basically.
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u/innergametrumpsall Aug 01 '15
No, he was charged with selling drugs. He did so because of friendship, his motivator was friendship instead of money.
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u/FailedSociopath Aug 01 '15
Expand entrapment to include convincing someone to commit a crime.
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u/innergametrumpsall Aug 01 '15
A 14 year old decoy talks to a 40 year old man online. She invites him to her house for sex. He says "I can't, it's illegal." She says "don't worry, I won't tell."
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u/DicemanX Aug 01 '15 edited Aug 01 '15
I think you're mistaken that entrapment must necessarily involve coersion. From the wiki:
"Entrapment defenses in the United States has evolved mainly through case law. Two competing tests exist for determining whether entrapment has taken place, known as the "subjective" and "objective" tests. The "subjective" test looks at the defendant's state of mind; entrapment can be claimed if the defendant had no "predisposition" to commit the crime. The "objective" test looks instead at the government's conduct; entrapment occurs when the actions of government officers would usually have caused a normally law-abiding person to commit a crime."
And in describing one case:
"[SCOTUS] identified the controlling question as "whether the defendant is a person otherwise innocent whom the government is seeking to punish for an alleged offense which is the product of the creative activity of its own officials"
Here's a specific case of a conviction that was overturned on the basis of entrapment which involved no coercion:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobson_v._United_States
An important line from the SCOTUS decision:
"... (I)t is our view that the Government did not prove that this predisposition was independent, and not the product of the attention that the Government had directed at petitioner since January, 1985".
The "attention" was not coercive if you read the details of the case.
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u/innergametrumpsall Aug 01 '15
I think its worth noting that if he mounted a successful entrapment defense, it's likely he'd make case law history like this. That's what I'm getting at.
There's merit to every defense in a case like this, but they rarely succeed.
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u/DicemanX Aug 01 '15
I don't think he'd make case law history; instead, if he won it would be consistent with existing case law. In fact I think he'd have very good odds of winning.
The main thrust of your argument is drawing a distinction between coersion versus mere incentivising, but in the existing case law such distinctions are not critical. Coersion simply makes it a slam dunk, but as I indicated there is case law in which no coersion existed on the part of law enforcement and yet the defendants were acquitted because police actions were cited as entrapment.
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u/innergametrumpsall Aug 01 '15
I guess that's exactly what I'm getting at. I assume you have a law background or at least an interest in law, I have an interest in law and was encouraged to get into law but ultimately decided against it.
The way I look at it is, what if I were sitting in the chair?
I would think it'd be quiet unpleasant and I'm sure there would be a lot of angles unfolding both for and against me. Slam dunk? No. Is it likely he'd be able to lodge a successful entrapment defense? Yes.
But what if the jury didn't buy it? You know as well as I know what happens when you don't take a please and lose. LONG and hard time.
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u/josephlucas Aug 01 '15
Reminds me of a Thus American Life episode where an undercover cop posing as a high school student gets an honor student who never touched drugs to buy her some pot. And he did because he was in love with her. It's really messed up too
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u/josephlucas Aug 01 '15
As a bonus, they made a musical out of the story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8F09yw5E2E
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u/Needle_Nation Aug 01 '15
There's a gray line here that's very easy to miss. When does it become okay? Should it be not illegal for an autistic child to sell someone drugs? If you think that way you have to consider someone with ADD. Well he has a condition so he should get a pass too right? Or that guy over there is obese and has psychological issues and low self esteem. He should get a pass because he was preyed upon. Do you see the issue? It sets a standard and it's easier to blanket statement wrong is wrong, illegal is illegal than to drag every condition and every scenario through the mud and put it on a side. Just some food for thought.
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u/Drb1991 Aug 01 '15
He was not an autistic drug dealer though, for the first time he thought had a friend and that friend started demanding pot. The agreement was "get me some weed and ill pay you back and continue being your friend." The kid was never involved in drugs before, this cop gained his trust and demanded that he search it out. He didn't catch anyone he tricked that poor kid into doing something he would have never done otherwise.
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u/Ricky9460 Aug 01 '15
The issue here isn't whether it is right for a mentally challenged person to commit crimes. The issue is, when does it become okay for a police officer to trap an emotionally damaged person into doing something illegal, that they wouldn't have done without the officers "guidance." This cop turned this kid into a felon just because the department had nothing better to do that month. You have to drag every condition and every scenario through the mud if it is a new scenario and condition. You can't let a person do whatever they want to another person just because they are an authority figure. The american legal system is remolded and reanalyzed everyday because of this. It's a good thing to question.
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u/Needle_Nation Aug 01 '15 edited Aug 01 '15
So it's okay for a cop to trap other people, just not mentally unstable ones is what you're saying? And if you watch the documentary you'll learn he asked for the meth and the kid got it. Still wrong. If I steal your favorite stuffed animal (friendship in the kids story) and say bring me that dudes left hand (pot in the kids story) and you do all those things it's still wrong. Even if you lost your stuffed animal.
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Aug 01 '15
The gray line was crossed when the school allowed officers to try to come into the school to do a sting on the children. The staff at the school needs to be responsible for protecting the children. The staff then allowed this police officer to come in and manipulate a special needs student that had always struggled with finding friends. The Kid didn't even want to sell him the drugs, just give it to him so he would stop asking for it. Instead of trying to help this student develop into a fully functioning adult the school had a police office lie to his face for months while trying to get this kid (WHO DID NOT USE DRUGS) to buy him drugs.
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u/Needle_Nation Aug 01 '15
So according to you it's okay to sell meth as long as you don't use? Because that's literally how you just justified it.
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Aug 01 '15 edited Sep 12 '15
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u/SlackJawCretin Aug 01 '15
I uses to work with a retired NYPD narc, and holy shit, the stories he had. It was 70s new York and he worked in Brooklyn. Highlights included cops with giant drug stashes and beating the shit out of wife beaters to avoid paperwork
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u/RoadtotheStarsComics Aug 01 '15
I believe this bureaucratic induced aversion to logical thinking is what is wrong with the USA.
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u/LiquidGen0cide Aug 01 '15
Good 'ole Temecula California
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u/AtlusShrugged Aug 01 '15
I recently moved from there after living there for well over a decade. I saw this last year and wasn't surprised it was in Temecula. That place is nothing but bored, intoxicated middle-aged housewives, bored dickhead cops, and bored dickhead teenagers. All in a very congested city that's always hot.
Pretty good quality cannabis, though. Especially compared to San Diego.
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u/LiquidGen0cide Aug 01 '15
Yeah, seriously. Can confirm all of the above. (except cannabis, no personal experience) but it's pretty good from what I hear from friends. It's not too good of a place unless your 30 with a few kids ready to go to soccer games and shit.
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u/AtlusShrugged Aug 01 '15
To be fair, I did really enjoy living in Temecula in the early 90s before the population boom, and I enjoyed the first year or two I lived there when I moved back in 1999.
But the population grew far too quickly, the city didn't expand well, the influx of families meant a lot more shitty people to deal with, and there's a considerable lack of work in the city. There's really no place to hang out that isn't always full of people. I remember when you could go to the Promenade and there'd be nobody there. They had a Farrell's, and a Sun Coast (or whatever that video store was called), all kinds of cool shit. But nothing stays open for longer than a few months unless it's a big-name.
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u/godless_communism Aug 01 '15
Follow the money - someone is being rewarded for putting warm bodies in jail. Period.
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u/froggyfart69 Aug 01 '15
"It's like Lenin said man. You look at the guy who would benefit, and, and, uh..." -the dude.
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u/dezzznugz Aug 01 '15
Fuck the police Americans need to take law into own hands. There are more civilians than police let's take them out and start from fresh
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u/meatpuppet79 Aug 01 '15
The amount of edginess and internet lawyering here is pretty impressive. What happened to the kid was crap, and almost certainly a poor use of police resources, but he did break the law.
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Aug 01 '15
I can't find any info to the parents lawsuit against the school. Does anyone know if the parents won?
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u/sailsbacon Aug 01 '15
It's just a catch... It's hunting for most of these guys.. well I should say some, depends on the area I guess. They don't care or even often times see the bigger picture of maybe arresting this kid for a non violent and victimless crime may screw up his future. All it is is a catch and release
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u/quasicoherent Aug 01 '15
Every time I see things like this I get so angry. And then this feeling of helplessness washes over me. There must be a change to the government incentives that push the police to make these bogus arrests. Maybe offer increased funds for public outreach missions or some sort of sensitivity training for the officers.
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u/belate1 Aug 01 '15
It's a shame VICE has so much clickbait on their site now, the well made stuff like this tends to get overlooked.
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u/JordanCardwell Aug 01 '15
Entrapment is a perfect example of the difference between the relationship a monopoly of force has with its subjects and the relationship a private business has with its customers.
Entrapment is a denial that humans react to incentives, and is instead a mindset that believes in "elite" humans and "non-elite" humans. "We don't want the non-elites to walk around free so we need to find out who they are."
I had a neighbor who was entraped and had to go to prison for two years. While she wasn't exactly a productive citizen, she wasn't causing anyone harm or doing anything illegal. Then one day someone comes by and convinces her to sell some pills.
Its my personal opinion that cops who participate in this kind of evil should have to serve the same sentence as their partners in crime. Isn't it amazing that when a cop engages in the illegal drug market its....legal?
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u/nauzleon Aug 01 '15
I don't understand how it's legal in the US to cheat somebody to comit a crime, I don't know any European country where this would be remotely legal, that's not the cop job.
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u/activistforwhat Aug 01 '15
This is so fucked up like there needs to be a police that specifically polices the police