Can officers stop drivers for air fresheners? Why are they illegal?
The mother of a 20-year-old Black man who was fatally shot by Minnesota police this week says it all started when police pulled her son over for having air fresheners hanging from his rearview mirror.
How, some might ask, can air fresheners be the basis for a traffic stop? The answer: Minnesota is one of a number of states with laws that prohibit drivers from hanging objects from their rearview mirrors on the grounds that the items could obstruct their view.
The laws have led to vehement complaints from civil rights advocates who say police can use them as a pretext for stopping Black motorists.
Daunte Wright was pulled over Sunday by police in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center. Police said he was stopped for having expired car registration tags, but Wright’s mother, Katie Wright, said he called her just before he was shot and said he’d been pulled over because of the air fresheners hanging from his rearview mirror.
Police tried to arrest Wright after realizing he was wanted on an outstanding warrant. In the ensuing scuffle, Officer Kim Potter shot him. The city’s police chief, who resigned Tuesday, said he believed Potter meant to fire her Taser, not her gun.
Potter, who also resigned, has been charged with second-degree manslaughter.
HOW MANY STATES PROHIBIT DRIVERS FROM HANGING OBJECTS FROM THEIR MIRRORS AND WINDSHIELDS?
At least five other states – California, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Texas and Illinois – have such laws, but the total number is unclear. The National Conference of State Legislatures does not track such legislation. The American Civil Liberties Union, which has sharply criticized such traffic stops, was unsure how many states allow them.
Minnesota’s law does not specifically mention air fresheners, but says a person shall not drive or operate a motor vehicle with “any objects suspended between the driver and the windshield,” with certain exceptions, including sun visors, rearview mirrors and electronic toll collection devices.
In Virginia, it is still illegal to hang objects in a way that could obstruct a driver’s view, but last year state legislators changed the law so that police can no longer stop a vehicle solely for that offense. Under the new law, police must have another primary reason to first stop a driver.
Brad Haywood, executive director of Justice Forward Virginia, an advocacy organization for criminal justice reform, said as a public defender, he’s represented dozens of people who have been pulled over for having items dangling from their rearview mirrors, including air fresheners and rosary beads.
“I do not remember in my career as a defense attorney representing someone stopped for an obstructed view who was white,” he said. “It’s just been Black and brown people.”
WHAT DO POLICE SAY ABOUT THESE LAWS?
Police say traffic stops for minor violations have helped them solve more serious crimes, including drug trafficking, illegal firearms possession and shootings. They often cite the case of Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber, who was stopped by an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper for driving without a license plate about 90 minutes after the 1995 explosion that killed 168 people and injured hundreds more.
Joe Gamaldi, a police sergeant in Houston who is the national vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police, said he would be “hard-pressed” to find a police officer he’s worked with who has stopped a motorist simply for having air fresheners dangling from the rearview mirror. But he said traffic stops for minor violations can lead to police finding evidence of other crimes.
“There are times where we simply stop someone because they have a taillight out and then that leads to an investigation of drugs, guns – and that gun is about to be used in a drive-by shooting – and because we are able to stop that car, we are able to prevent that,” he said.
“If you don’t want someone stopped for an air freshener or even a (motor vehicle) equipment issue, you need to go to your legislature and have the law changed,” he said.
ARE THERE OTHER CASES WHERE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN STOPPED FOR AIR FRESHENERS?
In Arizona, La Paz County Sheriff’s Deputy Eli Max was fired about five months after he pulled over a 22-year-old Black man in September 2019 for having an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror.
The Phoenix News Times first reported the encounter between the sheriff’s deputy and Phillip Colbert. In a video recorded by Colbert and later posted on YouTube, Max can be heard telling Colbert he pulled him over because of a small pine tree air freshener. Max asks Colbert repeatedly whether he smokes marijuana, and whether he has any cocaine or heroin. Colbert was not arrested and did not receive a ticket.
In Bakersfield, California, the city agreed to a $60,000 settlement in a lawsuit filed by a Black man who alleged he was arrested in 2017 when he refused to answer questions after police stopped the car he was riding in for trivial reasons, including air fresheners hanging from the rearview mirror. The lawsuit said the man was jailed for 12 hours but was never charged with a crime. The city made no admission of liability.
In Chicago, police pulled over two Black men in September 2018 for having an air freshener hanging from a rearview mirror. Officers found weapons in the vehicle, and charged the men with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.
The men argued that the evidence should be suppressed because the air freshener was not sufficient probable cause for the traffic stop. A federal appeals court found that the stop was lawful, saying police had reasonable suspicion to suspect that the tree-shaped air freshener obstructed the driver’s view in violation of the city municipal code.
via: https://abc7.com/explainer-can-officers-stop-drivers-for-air-fresheners/10519994/
Photo Credit: abc7.com
Mother, 2 sons among 4 arrested after bust finds $173,000, cocaine and fentanyl at LI daycare
BAY SHORE, L.I. — A Suffolk County daycare owner was among four arrested in a narcotics bust Saturday, police said.
Tips from the community led to a narcotics investigation into Channel Daycare on Delware Avenue in Bay Shore. A search warrant was executed at 5:30 a.m. Saturday where detectives seized two loaded 9mm handguns with extended magazines, ammunition, approximately 600 grams of cocaine, 60 grams of fentanyl and more than $173,000
Owner Magodeiry Landron, 50, was arrested and charged with several criminal possessions charges, criminal use of drug paraphernalia and child endangerment. Her son, 34-year-old Rafael Landron, was also charged with possession of substances and weapons, as well as child endangerment. A child related to both Landrons was found in the house at the time of the warrant and released into custody of a family member.
A short time later, another search warrant was executed at the home of Landron’s other son, 29-year-old Anthony Dominguez, in Brentwood. They seized an additional $66,000, a 9mm glock with extended magazines and ammunition. Dominguez received weapons and child endangerment charges.
Dominguez’s girlfriend, 30-year-old Crystal Rivera, was arrested and charged with firearms possession and child endangerment. Two children were found at Dominiguez and Rivera’s residence and released to family custody.
Magodeiry Landron and Rivera are being held overnight at the Fourth Precinct. Rafael Landron and Dominguez are being held overnight at the Third Precinct. All four are scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on April 18.
via: https://pix11.com/news/local-news/long-island/mother-2-sons-among-4-arrested-after-bust-finds-173000-coke-and-fentanyl-at-li-daycare-police/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Two arrested in shooting of 1-year-old in Newark, including child’s mother
NEWARK — Two people, including a 16-year-old male, have been arrested in the shooting of a 1-year-old in Newark Monday, police said.
Police had initially said that the child was 2 years old but in a press release Saturday, stated that the victim was a 1-year-old.
The infant, two other teenagers and an adult male were in a vehicle Monday in the area of 14th Avenue and South 6th Street when the child’s mother got into a dispute with the 16-year-old which Newark Public Safety Director Brian O’Hara called “senseless.”
Detectives arrested the 16-year-old after seeing video footage of him firing at the child’s mother, Tytaneisha Wilder of East Orange, who initially pointed a handgun at the group she was arguing with.
Wilder’s handgun was found on April 12 and she was later arrested. She faces three charges of child endangerment, aggravated assault and two counts unlawful possession of a weapon. The 16-year-old faces five counts of aggravated assault and unlawful possession of a weapon.
The victim was taken to hospital for treatment.
“Our detectives have determined that this was a targeted incident. Unfortunately, a child has become a victim, Director O’Hara said on Monday when the shooting took place. “Thankfully, it appears she will recover from her injuries and there is no danger to the community.”
via: https://pix11.com/news/local-news/new-jersey/two-arrested-in-shooting-of-1-year-old-in-newark-including-childs-mother-police
Photo Credit: Newark Public Safety
Women tried to use fake $1 million bill at Tennessee Dollar General store
MARYVILLE, Tenn. (NEXSTAR) – Two women were caught trying to spend a fake $1 million bill at a Tennessee Dollar General store earlier this month, according to The Daily Times.
An employee of the discount store in Marysville reported April 5 that the women tried to use the counterfeit fortune to purchase several gift cards.
Blount County Sheriff’s deputies responded around around 10:00 a.m. and spoke with one of the suspects, Amanda McCormick, who said she “received the one million dollar bill in the mail from a church, but could not provide the church information,” according to an incident report obtained by The Smoking Gun. McCormick claimed she was using the money to buy care packages for people experiencing homelessness.
The other woman involved in the incident told investigators that she had no idea McCormick had the phony bill and was only riding along while McCormick did errands.
The women were ordered not to return to the Dollar General and were released without charges. Deputies took the bill as evidence.
The largest bill ever printed for public circulation in the U.S. was a $10,000 note, according to the Federal Reserve. The last $10,000 bill was printed in 1945 – along with other since-discontinued denominations of $500, $1,000 and $5,000 – and was issued until 1969.
via: https://pix11.com/news/women-tried-to-use-fake-1-million-bill-at-tennessee-store-deputies-say/
Photo Credit: pix11.com
73 year old Colorado woman with dementia sues police officers who slammed her to the ground and hog tied her during 2020 arrest
A Loveland, Colorado, police officer is on administrative leave and two other officers have been reassigned to administrative duties after a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging excessive use of force was filed against the city of Loveland and the three officers.
The lawsuit, filed April 14, alleges that 73-year-old Karen Garner was forcibly arrested last June for allegedly shoplifting from a Walmart.
According to the lawsuit, Garner has dementia and suffered multiple injuries, including a broken humerus, a dislocated shoulder and a sprained wrist, after she was taken to the ground and handcuffed by an officer on June 26 as she was walking along a road.
The complaint described Garner as 5 feet tall and weighing 80 pounds. The suit claims she accidentally left the store, forgetting to pay for $14 in items.
According to both police and the lawsuit, Walmart employees stopped Garner and took the items back.
CNN obtained the police body camera footage from the office of Garner’s attorney.
The video shows Loveland Police Officer Austin Hopp knocking Garner to the ground within 30 seconds after he first got on scene and attempting to detain her.
Garner repeatedly told Hopp that she was going home as he held her down on the ground alongside the road.
“After a short struggle, she is now detained,” Hopp says over his radio, with Garner calling out “don’t do that” from the ground.
“I told you to stop, you don’t get to act this way,” he tells her.
The bodycam footage shows the officer pulling Garner off the ground as he tries to get her into the police car.
“Right now you’re resisting, which is not going to fly with me, and before that you tried to steal from Walmart and they caught you and took the stuff back,” he tells her as he pushes her toward the police vehicle.
Witness attempted to intervene
According to the lawsuit, Garner suffers from dementia and sensory aphasia, which limited her ability to understand what was occurring.
“I’m going home,” Garner continues to insist.
Another police officer arrives on scene and walks up to Garner, who is pressed against the police car.
“Quit,” the second officer says, as Garner slides down to the ground and says “Ow.”MD: If You Have Toenail Fungus, Do This Immediately (Watch)If You Have Toenail Fungus, Do This Immediately (Genius!)Ad By TruthAboutFungus.com See More
Hopp searches Garner and she struggles with the officers as they try to get her in the car.
A witness attempts to intervene. “Do you have to use that much aggression?” he asks the officers.
“What are you doing, get out of here, this is not your business,” Hopp tells him.
The witness asks Hopp for his sergeant’s name and tells the officer he saw him “throw the little kid.”
“She’s not a little kid,” Hopp says, adding, “I have to use force to safely detain her, that’s what this is. This isn’t just some random act of aggression.”
“Before you go to a snap judgment, you’ve got to get all of the facts,” he tells the witness.
Several minutes later, a Loveland police sergeant arrives on scene and speaks to both officers.
“A little bloody, a little muddy, that’s how it works,” the female officer says.
“Is the blood on her?” the sergeant asks.
“Yeah, that’s her blood,” Hopp replies.
District attorney’s office will review incident
The bodycam video also shows the officers processing Garner at the police station where she repeatedly tells them she was going to pay for the items.
The 8th Judicial District Attorney’s Office of Colorado said a previous administration dismissed Garner’s case and “no investigation regarding any improper use of force has been presented to our office.”
The district attorney’s office said it will review the incident and consider if an independent criminal investigation is needed.
The Loveland Police Department said in a statement that it first learned of the incident via an edited bodycam video posted to its Facebook page on April 14.
“LPD takes very seriously the allegations concerning the arrest of resident Karen Garner, and shares with the community the concerns about video images that became public on Wednesday,” the police statement said.
CNN has contacted the Loveland Police Officers Association for comment. It’s not clear if Hopp has an attorney and attempts to reach the officer were unsuccessful.
via: https://www.kmov.com/news/woman-with-dementia-sues-colorado-police-officers-alleging-excessive-use-of-force-in-2020-arrest/article_d87a82d4-764b-532b-a493-8cc85a6d4f30.html
Photo Credit: https://www.kmov.com/news/woman-with-dementia-sues-colorado-police-officers-alleging-excessive-use-of-force-in-2020-arrest/article_d87a82d4-764b-532b-a493-8cc85a6d4f30.html
Photo Credit: CNN.com
Two people injured, one critically, after a shooting at a Nebraska mall
(CNN) — Two people suffered injuries in a Saturday shooting at the Westroads Mall in Omaha, Nebraska, according to police.
One victim has been taken to the hospital with critical injuries, Omaha police public information officer Joseph Nickerson said in a statement.
A second victim suffered a serious but non-life threatening injury to her leg, Lt. Neal Bonacci said during a press briefing
The shooting happened around noon, Bonacci said. Security footage showed two suspects fleeing the mall. Investigators are still looking for them and working to identify them, according to Bonacci.
Bonacci said the shooting was not an active shooter situation, but the department treated it as such out of precaution.
The mall will be shut down for the rest of the day as the investigation takes place, he said.
via: https://www.kmov.com/news/two-people-injured-one-critically-after-a-shooting-at-a-nebraska-mall/article_b440e6bb-cea3-5095-a586-cd7f3cae0874.html?block_id=1057681
Photo Credit: KETV
Florida woman charged for allegedly threatening to kill Kamala Harris
(CNN) — A Miami woman has been charged for allegedly threatening to kill Vice President Kamala Harris, according to a criminal complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
“Niviane Petit Phelps knowingly and willfully made threats to kill and inflict bodily harm upon the Vice President of the United States in violation of Title 18, United States Code Section 871,” from February 13 through February 18, according to the complaint.
On March 3, Special Agent David Ballenger was notified of a threat to kill Harris, according to the complaint. The threats were sent by Phelps to her incarcerated spouse in Wakulla Correctional Institution via JPay, a computer application that allows for sharing of media between non-incarcerated and incarcerated people.
A Secret Service special agent assigned to the case obtained the videos and photographs that were sent by Phelps to her spouse.
“The videos (that are of relevance to this investigation) generally depict Phelps complaining and speaking angrily to the camera about her hatred for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, among others,” read the complaint. “However, in these videos, Phelps also made statements about killing Vice President Harris.”
In one of the videos, “Phelps stated: ‘Kamala Harris you are going to die. Your days are numbered already,” added the complaint.
In another video on February 18, Phelps stated, “I’m going to the gun range…. I swear to God, today is your day you’re gonna die. 50 days from today, mark this day down,”
Phelps was also shown at a shooting range in a photo dated two days later, according to the complaint. “On February 22, 2021, Phelps applied for a concealed weapons permit.”
On March 3, the Secret Service and detectives from the Miami-Dade Police Department went to Phelps’ residence to attempt to interview her, but she refused to speak with them at the time, according to the complaint.
“Two days later, I received a call from Phelps, who complained that her employer had put her on administrative leave,” read the complaint.
On March 6, a Secret Service agent went to speak with Phelps at her home.
According to the complaint, Phelps said, “She was angry at the time about Kamala Harris becoming Vice President but that she is ‘over it now.’ Phelps expressed how she believes Kamala Harris not actually ‘black’ and how during inauguration Kamala Harris disrespectfully put her hand on her clutch purse instead of the bible. Phelps continued saying that somebody told her that America is going to choose who they choose, so Phelps had put her rage about the Vice President aside. Phelps stated that she is now ‘past it.”
CNN has reached out to Phelps’ public defender for comment.
via: https://www.kmov.com/news/florida-woman-charged-for-allegedly-threatening-to-kill-kamala-harris/article_116864ca-041f-5484-9d88-6ea7789ce913.html
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‘Consensual incest’ should be decriminalized, advocates say
Consensual incest advocates are rooting for an anonymous New York parent who wants to marry their own adult child.
Australian Richard Morris, who is pushing to change incest laws in about 60 countries, said he supports the legal push in Manhattan Federal Court and that such behavior between consenting adults “should not be criminalized.”
He and other advocates have launched about 130 petitions, mostly on change.org, seeking to change incest laws around the world. Most have received little support.
“We haven’t moved any mountains yet,” he told The Post.
Morris was inspired to fight for those in consenting incestual relationships, he said, after learning about a Scottish case in which a long-separated father and daughter were reunited, started an affair and were then criminally convicted.
Fighting for true “marriage equality” is “the right thing to do, isn’t it?” Morris said.
“It seems to be as unjust as the law that used to imprison gay people, and the law that used to stop people of different races marrying,” he added.
Keith Pullman, who runs the blog Full Marriage Equality, also cheered on the New York lawsuit.
“It is absurd to say that an adult can’t consent to marry their parent. That same adult can be sent to war, take on six or seven figures of debt, operate heavy machinery, be sentenced to death by a federal court, and consent to sex with five strangers (and marriage with one of them) but can’t consent to marry someone they love?” he told The Post. “In some of these cases, the genetic parent didn’t raise them and they met for the first time two years ago. Allegations of ‘grooming’ are laughable attempts to deny someone their rights even though it will have no impact on the person objecting.”
via: https://nypost.com/2021/04/17/consensual-incest-should-be-decriminalized-advocates-say/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Woman gets pregnant while already pregnant
(Meredith/CNN) — A woman in England has given birth to two children three weeks apart in what experts are calling “Super Twins.”
According to MSN, Rebecca Roberts, 39, went in for her 12-week ultrasound, only to have doctors tell her that she wasn’t pregnant with just one baby, but two.
The phenomenon is called “superfetation,” which happens when an egg is released mid-pregnancy and is implanted in the uterus.
Superfetation may only happen in one out of a few million pregnancies, experts say. It’s so rare, there are less than 10 documented cases in medical history.
Roberts gave birth to a baby boy, Noah, at 33 weeks and gave birth at 30 weeks to baby girl, Rosalie.
Roberts continues to share her experience with the world on her Instagram page.
via: https://www.kmov.com/news/video-woman-gets-pregnant-while-already-pregnant/article_333e2b57-1f6c-5a13-8526-9997186b8133.html
Photo Credit: seattletimes
4-year-old accidentally swallows dime, which leads to doctors finding cancerous tumor
DALLAS (KTVT) — Miracles come in all shapes and sizes.
But for 4-year-old Charlotte Mason of Dallas, hers came in the form of a dime.
“She swallowed a coin,” her mom, Moriah Mason said. “This angel child who never really does anything weird like that. She doesn’t chew Legos or beads.”
Charlotte’s curiosity got the best of her last month when it happened, sending her family on a rush to the emergency room to have the dime removed.
But that dime turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
“[The doctors] came back and said, ‘we don’t want to say anything, but we are referring you to an oncologist tomorrow.’”
The doctors found a cancerous tumor the size of a tangerine near her collar bone.
Charlotte was diagnosed with neuroblastoma.
“It didn’t feel like it could actually be real. That my child, has cancer,” Mason said.
While she was originally only thought to be at an intermediate risk, two recent biopsies have shown she’s likely a very high-risk patient, leaving her mom wondering what could have happened if it weren’t for that dime.
“She’s strong. She’s stubborn. But none of that would have mattered if we hadn’t caught it when we did.”
They still have a long road and a dangerous surgery to remove part of the tumor later this month.
But for the time being, they are just thankful they can begin her journey to healing.
“I think I am going to be thankful for that dime, permanently.”
Anyone interested in donating to help the Mason family with medical costs, they have set up a GoFundMe account.
The family has also set up a Facebook page, so those interested can follow along her journey.
via: https://www.kmov.com/4-year-old-accidentally-swallows-dime-which-leads-to-doctors-finding-cancerous-tumor/article_b0b00120-b3d0-54ad-9fdd-3f195f6d037c.html?block_id=985917
Photo Credit: KTVT