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| A Sheriff's Deputy stops a vehicle after it exited U.S. 69 onto Poplar Rd. Thursday. Officers stopped numerous vehicles throughout the day. Michael Glover/Tribune Photos |
Area law enforcement agencies conducted a drug enforcement operation on Poplar Road and U.S. Highway 69 Thursday.
Kansas Highway Patrol, Bourbon County Sheriff's Office, Pittsburg Police and Fort Scott Police K-9 Units participated in the operation.
The operation was conducted simply by placing signs on north and southbound lanes of U.S. 69 that indicated a drug checkpoint was ahead and drug dogs are in use. Law enforcement was banking on drivers who may have been transporting drugs to take the Poplar Road exit to avoid the checkpoint. However, there was no checkpoint.
Instead, several KHP troopers and sheriff's deputies were parked on Poplar Road just off the exit/entrance ramp of U.S. 69, looking and pulling drivers over for traffic violations.
The enforcement started around 11:30 a.m. and ran late into Thursday evening. Deputy Sheriff Mike Feagans participated in the operation. He had pulled over 10 vehicles by late Thursday afternoon.
The operation netted zero drug arrests as of Thursday afternoon. "I don't believe we've had any yet," Feagans said.
There was a brief chase when a car blew a stop sign at 215th and Poplar, but officers lost the vehicle because of heavy dust on the road.
The officers were mainly looking for violations from drivers exiting the highway. They were looking out for vehicles that had out-of-state license plates particularly.
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Group files lawsuit against DC vehicle checkpoints
By BRIAN WESTLEY -- Jun 20, 2008
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A civil liberties group filed a lawsuit Friday seeking an injunction against the District of Columbia police department's vehicle checkpoint program, calling the "military-style" initiative unconstitutional and ineffective.
The class-action lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington by the Partnership for Civil Justice on behalf of four D.C. residents who were stopped by the checkpoints earlier this month in the city's Trinidad neighborhood.
The checkpoints were in effect in Trinidad for six days beginning June 7. The initiative requires officers to check drivers' ID and turn away those who don't have a "legitimate purpose" in the area, such as a doctor's appointment or church visit. Police have said the checkpoints could be used in other areas that experience a surge in violence.
The lawsuit also asks the court to throw out data that police collected on law-abiding citizens who were stopped at the checkpoints.
"The District's military-style roadblock system ... is neither constitutional, nor effective," the lawsuit states. "There is an urgent need to tackle the problems of violence, street crime, unemployment and education. This roadblock does not address any of them."
Police say they turned away 46 of the more than 700 vehicles that tried to pass through checkpoints. One person was arrested for driving with alcohol. The neighborhood had no shootings while the checkpoints were in place.
At a D.C. Council hearing Monday, police Chief Cathy Lanier refused to rule out using the checkpoints in the future, despite the pleas of several council members who said the tactic had brought the city a rash of bad publicity.
William Robinson, a retired D.C. schoolteacher who has lived in the Trinidad neighborhood for more than 50 years, is among those suing. He described Trinidad as a mostly safe area where people go about their business and compared the checkpoints to "living in a police state."
Interim D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles defended the program, saying something had to be done after a particularly violent weekend in early June in which eight people were killed, including three in the Trinidad area.
Nickles said the initiative was narrowly focused with one goal -- preventing people from driving into the neighborhood, shooting at residents, and then fleeing. He said officials examined other cases to make sure the initiative passed constitutional muster.
"We've heard all his arguments," said Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, an attorney who filed the lawsuit. But she maintained that the checkpoints are "flatly unconstitutional."
Nickles cited a case involving New York City police, who once stopped motorists in the Bronx at random hours to curtail drive-by shootings, drugs and robberies. Neighborhood residents and commercial vehicles were allowed to pass, while others were turned away.
A federal appeals court ruled in 1996 that those police tactics were constitutional, saying that the checkpoints "were reasonably viewed as an effective mechanism" to reduce drive-by shootings. But in a Supreme Court case from 2000, justices struck the roadblocks down, claiming they violated the Fourth Amendment's protections against unreasonable search and seizure.
I am so pleased at the Ft Scott PD right now but am still waiting to see some houses get kicked in and some people go to jail. How many young girls and young men look at the drug dealer and think it is there friend ??? Then they end up using drugs and having babies by drug dealers. Selling drugs for the dealers. It has to stop and it is up to all of us to help put a end to this problem. No special favors because of who you are and who you are related to.
Marxist06. "It is all the new harsh laws that are making drugs a bigger problem to society."
WOW, here is a thought, it is all the drug users and sellers that make a problem to society not the laws that protect us.
Marxist06, As you can see from all the comments of your letters, you are not convencing anyone but yourself. Have a good day! I'm keeping you in my prayers.
marxist - nowhere in this article you quote does it state anything comparable to what you claim. this article says the current policies are failing - which they are in many cases. that does not mean there shouldn't be a policy against drugs, just a more effective way to deal with them on a societal level. some suggestions would include broader access to care and treatment, more resources made available to those in the areas of social work, psychology, possibly even the creation of mental health courts to deal specifically with this the problems of addiction and other mental health issues.
legalizing drugs won't make the problems go away. while the use of drugs might be victimless - the other crimes associated with the drugs, therefore the EFFECTS of the drugs are far from it.
This is from the New York County Lawyers Association-
"With aid of these distinctions, we see that present drug policy appears to contribute to the increase of violence in our communities. It does so by permitting and indeed, causing the drug trade to remain a lucrative source of economic opportunity for street dealers, drug kingpins and all those willing to engage in the often violent, illicit, black market trade.
Meanwhile, the effect of present policy serves to stigmatize and marginalize drug users, thereby inhibiting and undermining the efforts of many such individuals to remain or become productive, gainfully employed members of society. Furthermore, current policy has not only failed to provide adequate access to treatment for substance abuse, it has, in many ways, rendered the obtaining of such treatment, and of other medical services, more difficult and even dangerous to pursue. "
So basically it is like when the U.S. made alchohol illegal in prohibition. During this time there was a sharp rise in crime from all the gangs trying to smuggle and deal the liquer. This put many people in prison, as well as confiscated lots of alchohol. This makes prices go up, which in turn leads to more crime from people stealing and committing other illegal acts just to get money for their fix.
We think the drugs are doing it, but in fact the drugs have been here forever. It is all the new harsh laws that are making drugs a bigger problem to society.I believe what persons do in private should not be regulated by the government. It is argued that persons should be able to do whatever they want with their bodies, including the recreational use of drugs, as long as they do not harm others. drug use is a victimless crime and as such the government has no right to prohibit it or punish drug consumers, much like the government does not forbid overeating, which causes significantly more deaths per year.
Thank God that the area law enforcement is doing something to combat the awful problem. I am sick of seeing and hearing about drugs in our community. I think Fort Scott should do more operations and measures like this to combat the drug issue we have. And the community should stand up behind the law enforcement. The community should step up and help in any way they can. Kudos to all of you who are making a difference!
- Tabatha Goodwin, The Fort Scott Tribune/Nevada Daily Mail special projects manager.
I AM GLAD FOR THE STOPS AND GET RID OF THE CRIME! ....BUT, IF THEIR WAY OF DOING THIS WAS TO BORDER ON ENTRAPMENT??? WOULDN'T THE CRIMINALS GO SCOTT FREE GETTING THEIR CASES THROWN OUT OF COURT BY UNCONSTITUTIONAL PRACTICES?? I DON'T KNOW THE LAW, I WAS JUST THINKING WHAT A WASTE OF TIME AND TAX PAYERS DOLLARS IT WOULD BE IF THEY DID GO FREE??!!
I am so pleased that the Fort Scott PD did this and if I were one of the people they stopped I would not mind because I am not a drug dealer so I have no fear. I have lost family memebers to drugs and I am one of the Ft Scott people who cares about home. I used to think the police did not care about the drugs but I have come to learn they can only do so much. Ft Scott is a small town with a BIG drug problem. We all need to work with the police to tackle the problem. Why do we wait until it is our family before we care. Everyone has someone who cares about them so the problem with drugs is EVERYONE'S PROBLEM. We have drug dealers who own more property in Ft Scott that our police officers who struggle with little pay or the working family. I will be glad to see this problem solved and so will many others. Thanks Ft Scott PD keep up the good work.
I understand your concern, I have seen some ops of this type that seemed to violate civil rights, and you are within your rights to question the activities of our government and voice your opinion about it.
That being said, I don't believe this particular operation violated any known civil rights laws.
Those who pulled off the highway onto the sideroad were not pulled over unless the law had probable cause to do so. Read the article, it's in there.
And what about the car that sped away that they were unable to catch? Sounds like the law exercised great self-control by choosing to not put lives in danger while chasing this car.
Whether one thinks it was right or wrong, it was clever!
This operation was very well planned and executed. If I were a government supervisor I would rate it as a very successful operation, and give credit to whoever planned,organized and executed this event, taking absolutely nothing away because no arrests were made.
Marxist06,you are either going through life with eyes wide shut or just craving attention.Either way, you got it. First let me say that as a 24 year Military Veteran,I, and millions of others like me, gave you the Freedom of Speech which lets you speak out against our Public Servants. In many countries today you would have been hung in the Town Square for your words. It's a shame you don't live in one of those countries instead of such a great little town like Fort Scott.If you are up to taking some advice try this. The next time you need a Cop --- call a drug dealer.
To marxist06 You are a person that makes me sick. I don't know but sounds like you are one of the people that the PD,SO,KHP and the KBI might be looking for. Instead of putting down what the office's in our area are trying to due, try backing them and helping them out. Praise them for what they due. Or better yet, If you think that you can do a better job, put on a bulletproof vest and get out their, join them in fighting crime.
fiveft2eyesofblu, sorry about you loss. God Bless you.
FtScottCitizen, Thank you for what you son is doing
Were in the story does it say they just pulled people over even if they didn't do anything?
Ow, that's right, it doesn't.
You want to make a real impact on crime, STOP THE DRUGS. Then burglary goes down, theft goes down, and violent person crimes go down. Granted, they will never completey stop but watch TV once and awhile. Stories of people hooked on drugs say that they will do anything to get the money for the there next high.
I would rather see my tax dollars go towards law enforcement being proactive than to fund the people on welfare, or food stamps who abuse it.
My child is a law enforcement officer and I have learned several things about the life they live. He lives with the fact he may not live until tomorrow because some drug dealer who is high trying to transport a load of goods. He may never grow old to see his daughter walk down the asle. But day after day he gets up, puts on his bullet proof vest and puts his best foot forward to try and protect everyone in his community. He is not any different than the men and women in our US Military. Yet day after day, people do nothing but spit in his face and tell him he is a joke.
I think we should shake the hand of people who try to make our life SAFER and our town better instead of make fun of them behind a screen name on the internet.
I HAVE TO DISAGREE WITH YOU, MARXIST06. INSTEAD OF LAUGHING AT OUR POLICE OFFICERS WHO PUT THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE EVERY DAY TO PROTECT US, YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED. I'M GUESSING YOU HAVE NEVER HAD A LOVED-ONE OR FRIEND KILLED BY SOMEONE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF DRUGS OR ALCOHOL. I AM TRULY GLAD FOR YOU. SOME OF THE REST OF US HAVE NOT BEEN THAT LUCKY. I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU THINK THIS IS NOT A REAL CRIME. IT IS TAKING OVER THE WORLD. I DO PRAISE THE LAW ENFORCEMENT FOR ALL THEIR EFFORTS FOR GETTING THESE PEOPLE OFF THE STREETS. I ALSO THANK THEM FOR THE DARE PROGRAM IN OUR SCHOOLS. I'M SORRY YOU THINK THEY ARE NOT SERVING THE PUBLIC. IF YOU EVER HAD TO CALL 911, WHO CAME TO SERVE? IF YOU EVER HAD A WREAK, WHO CAME TO SERVE? IF YOUR CHILD'S BIKE WAS STOLEN, WHO DID YOU CALL? IF SOMEONE WENT AROUND YOU GOING 60 IN A TWENTY, RESIDENTIAL AREA, WHO STOPPED THEM TO KEEP THEM FROM HITTING A CHILD? INSTEAD OF LAUGHING AT OUR POLICE & SHERIFF, WE ALL NEED TO PRAY FOR THEM & BE THANKFUL FOR ALL THEY DO.
Wow this story sure makes me feel all warm inside. I just love hearing about our law enforcement using unconstitutional tactics against its own citisens. So basically they just pulled everybody over even if they did not do anything? It makes me laugh to see they had no arrests, it makes the police look stupid and the drug dealers smart. I mean this is the kind of stuff Nazi Germany would pull, not the land of the free. And you know what is so bad about it? It was not sponsored by the KBI, it was sponsored by our tax dollars. We dont even have a say in how our money is spent, they choose for us. What a waste of money and manpower. Stop real crime, serve the public, these are a few of the things i would like to see our police do. Instead of investing so much money and effort to the "War on Drugs."