Archive for the 'Law Enforcement' Category

‘This motel is hereby under arrest’

Wednesday, January 30th, 2013

Civil forfeiture is the government power to take property suspected of involvement in a crime. And unlike cases of criminal forfeiture — the seizure of ill-gotten gains after a criminal conviction — police can seize property without so much as charging the owner with any crime. This led to some widely publicized cases, a few […]

‘Fast and Furious’: what are they hiding?

Sunday, October 7th, 2012

Univision, the largest Spanish-language network in the U.S., aired a lengthy report on the Justice Department’s “Fast and Furious” Mexican gun-running operation on Sept. 30. Gerardo Reyes and Santiago Wills offer an English-language version at http://tinyurl.com/9jdp2gh:

There’s something wrong with these young men

Monday, September 10th, 2012

There were more disturbing — in fact, downright evil — mass shootings this summer, which of course brought more predictable knee-jerk calls for yet more gun control. “AK-47s belong in the hands of soldiers, not on the streets of our cities,” said Barack Obama. (Actually, while the Second Amendment certainly does guarantee my right as […]

How are we doin’?

Wednesday, July 4th, 2012

How are we doing, safeguarding those “unalienable Rights” with which we are “endowed by our Creator” — in support of which 56 patriots solemnly pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred Honor, 236 years ago? We remain free by many measures. Americans can still pretty much live where we want, work where we want, […]

Si, se puede

Sunday, July 1st, 2012

In twin op-eds in the Las Vegas Review-Journal of June 22, Patricia Vazquez, a professor of English at the College of Southern Nevada, and Fatma Marouf, co-director of the Immigration Clinic at UNLV’s Boyd School of Law, argued that illegal immigrants should no longer be referred to as “illegal immigrants.” “Our country has a principle […]

1, 2, 3, red light

Saturday, April 14th, 2012

Authorizing robot cameras to photograph red-light runners and mail out traffic tickets to vehicle owners — sometimes months after the event — is a proposal that regularly resurfaces at the Nevada Legislature. Proponents wave the prospect of millions of dollars in new revenues, as well a promise that the cameras can reduce accidents. There’s no […]

Updates from the police beat

Sunday, February 19th, 2012

Crime rates are down within Metro’s jurisdiction for the five major categories reported to the FBI, Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie proudly reported Feb. 7. Most of the drops are substantial, and impressive. The drop in Las Vegas auto thefts — though attributable in part to an economic climate that finds fewer people placing “orders” […]

Wall of silence, secrecy shelters Henderson’s thugs

Thursday, February 16th, 2012

In the largest suburb of Las Vegas, Henderson Mayor Andy Hafen expressed remorse last week over injuries caused to the unresisting Adam Greene, who was in diabetic shock when city police beat and kicked him during a traffic stop in October 2010. It was the first public comment on the incident by anyone on the […]

The proper role of the county sheriff

Sunday, January 29th, 2012

Richard Mack first came to national attention when, as sheriff of Graham County, Arizona, he successfully brought the lawsuit Mack v. United States (re-named Printz v. United States, when Mack’s suit was joined with that of Sheriff Jay Printz of Ravalli County, Montana), arguing Congress had no legitimate power to order local law enforcement officials […]

Meet the cops, go home in a box

Sunday, July 25th, 2010

It’s been two weeks since three Las Vegas Metro cops shot and killed 38-year-old West Point graduate Erik Scott as he exited a Costco store in the upscale suburb of Summerlin on July 10. So far, the incident has generated more questions than answers.