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The state rep and the seven police officers
By adamg on Tue, 07/05/2011 - 8:58pm
Channel 5 reports on an incident in which state Rep. Carlos Henriquez, D-Roxbury, and two friends found themselves surrounded by seven cops because the car they were in was missing a front license plate. The story is based on Henriquez's Twitter feed, on which he posted the following yesterday:
If you are going to pull me over you should speak to me w/ the same respect you want & do it before you find out who I am.
I asked "why 4 cars & 7 officers for a traffic stop?" her response "what does it matter to you?" mine: well drugs & prostitution 2 blocks up.
Imagine what happens with teens in my hood!
I mean they should respect me as a man not because I hold elected office.
Oh, I'm going to talk to the bosses tomorrow, over donuts. my treat.
Today, he added:
Had a good talk w/ BPD about training and customer service.
The relationship between BPD & my community needs alot of work. both institutions need accountability to themselves and each other.
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Comments
what he should have done
For their conversation, they should have gone for a walk on roads within a block around the station. Wowie, look at all those Ford Fusions, Crown Vics, and 500's with no front plate, illegal tint, some of them illegally parked, too.
When I had my car tinted, the tint shop proudly showed photo after photo of cops with their personal and patrol vehicles on the wall, and the guy said that they never want legal levels of tint. He tells them he can't do that, and they tell him to do it anyway.
The district Captain wouldn't even need to bring his citation book - they could borrow one of the dash of any of a number of the cars.
The owners of those cars aren't killing anyone.
So they probably want to focus on different issues.
Neither is Henriquez.
When last I checked, neither is Henriquez, despite his obvious guilt on the driving-while-black charge. Any other straw men you want to trot out?
Not really a strawman
But that wasn't my point.
My point was that you could do all sorts of traffic enforcement in back of the police stations in town and you will never find any gangbangers.
Pull over 1000 cars a day in the area Henriques was pulled over and you will find a lot of gangbangers and make some good arrests.
And he was pulled over for not having a front license plate, not for being black.
Any other lies you want to write about?
Racial profile much? Oh..
Racial profile much?
Oh.. ya... you're a cop, so of course the answer is yes.
Act like a dick much?
Oh yea, your name is Rich, so of course the answer is yes.
Rep. Henriquez and his ilk are the root of the problem. Shame!
National news outlets report that at least four are dead in urban Boston and the number of wounded are in double digits, most in a five hour span on July 4-5. Clueless Menino and his puppet police commissioner blame everything from dirtbikes to Dos Equis. Meanwhile, a young, Democrat, African-American legislator, in the midst of the bloodshed in his district, chooses first to question the social skills of the officer who stopped his crew for a blatant traffic violation, then goes further to assert that too many police showed up to back-up the first officer in this urban war-zone! This is who the people of Roxbury are electing?
How about something like, "As a lawmaker, I was embarassed to be stopped in a car that was in violation of a longstanding state law, (a similar law in OK led to the capture of Timothy McVeigh) but I am grateful that the BPD is ever vigilant and that there is plenty of back-up to assist our brave officers who make the initial stop. Decades of FBI statistics show that officers who are killed in action are most likely to be killed during traffic stops, so I fully understand why a few cruisers stopped by the incident I was involved in. In fact, the last Boston Police officer to be killed in the line of duty was a fellow African American, Patrolman Berisford "Wayne" Anderson who was murdered by gunfire in 1994 after he stopped a vehicle for going the wrong way on a one way street. Please know that the offending vehicle that I was riding in this weekend has since come into compliance with state law and I urge my constituents and all motorists of the Commonwealth to display two registration plates if they were issued two registration plates. I also urge my constituents who are killing people to stop it and anyone with knowledge of these dreadful crimes work with our friends, the Boston police."
Spoken like a true Duxbury resident
I assume missing license plates are at the top of your force's agenda, tying up your officers for hours upon hours, taking precious time away from nabbing those ne'er-do-wells who constantly walk outside the crosswalks. "Rep. Henriquez and his ilk are the root of the problem." You think kids are killing kids because a state rep whose politics and skin color irks you has the temerity to question why cops are stopping a car full of minorities while war rages down the street and the quality of life of people who actually want to raise their families in the city is being threatened? If you need a clue, O, I have some available. You clearly have none at your disposal.
Well
Traffic stops are the number one way to nab criminals and people holding warrants.
Stupid people tend to do stupid things from top to bottom, which includes not knowing or blatantly disregarding simple traffic laws.
That said, 7 cruisers for backup is a tad much without any other evidence or problems. If they're discriminating in their stopping, also a problem.
Stopping cars for violations is a good thing.
DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?
It's not as if there were any murders or shootings in Henriquez's district last weekend, or anything, like on Norton Street, Geneva Ave, or Sumner Street, huh?
Why would the cops want back up when making a traffic stop?
This guy is an entitled little hack princeling, the son of Sandra Henriquez of the BHA and now HUD.
Pay attention to UHub anon 6:25 am
If you frequent this site at all, you know that Adam often posts about significant arrests that are the result of otherwise insignificant traffic violations. Again, I cite the capture of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh who was intially stopped for the same violation as Rep. Henriquez. As for Duxbury, it was Trooper Mark Charbonnier who was gunned down in Kingston near the Duxbury line after he stopped paroled killer David Clark (who is white) for a routine traffic violation in 1994, not knowing that Clark was very likely fleeing the scene of a murder in the North End. That same year it was Patrolman Berisford "Wayne" Anderson (who was black) who was killed during a "routine" traffic stop in Boston. So the references to Duxbury and police racism are non-starters.
Why wouldn't you question them?
If you think the cop is just a puppet of another puppet regime? Why respect any cops?
Good for him he was probably profiled.
..hurm....
...Exactly what are the Representatives "ilk"?
Henriquez's ilk are those who "lead" by blaming the police
His ilk are the Sharptons, Jacksons and Skip Gates of the world. Black leaders who prefer to criticize the police than take responsibility for their actions or the actions of others they purport to represent. "Race baiting poverty pimps" as black former Congressman J.C. Watts (R-OK) once called the two "reverends". Now that its been revealed that Henriquez was in a car owned by a wanted violent felon, the representative has even more street cred and a bright future in Democrat politics.
Felon?
Last I checked, O-Fish, "wanted" is not the same as "convicted" and one is not a "felon" for being "wanted." Unless, of course, you're a white cop or former cop and then you get to be judge and jury, which you apparently are. And I'll see your two police shotings in the last 17 years and raise you an Anthony McGrath, shot and killed by Plymouth police after allegedly running a red light.
Whitey Bulger was a Wanted Felon too.
What is the difference? Convicted Felons don't have warrants because they are already in or back out of jail. Wouldn't make sense to be looking for convicted felons on the street. Then again, he could have already been a convicted felon on other charges.
And I'm not sure what being white has to do with it.
When registered owner is wanted on a felony, call in the cavalry
@Anon 9:52: The owner of the vehicle Rep. Henriquez chose to ride in is reportedly wanted on a felony warrant. That means a judicial official --not just the police-- has determined that probable cause exists for arrest on the felony. For the purposes of a traffic stop in this situation, all precautions should be taken by police and all available backup should respond, since the courts have ruled that there is prima facie evidence that the registered owner of a vehicle is also the operator, until proven otherwise. An arrest warrant, by its very nature, means the defendant is already on the run so it's the defendant himself who has escalated the situation. Police need not concern themselves with convictions, merely probable cause, which was abundant in this case. Commissioner Davis is correct, the police acted properly.
In re the case you cite in Plymouth, thank you for bolstering my point about hoodlums attempting to kill the police, even in America's hometown. An independent investigation ruled the officers lives were indeed in jeopardy and it was ruled a justified shooting. Allow me to refresh your memory:
---
"A months-long investigation by State Police detectives cleared police officers Richard Tavares and Edwin Almeida of any wrongdoing in shooting the 16-year-old on Jan. 10, authorities announced yesterday.
Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz ruled that Tavares, 39, and Almeida, 50, were justified in shooting McGrath based on the State Police investigation that determined the teen ignored repeated orders to stop his vehicle and get out of the car and instead threatened the officers by driving toward them in his red Toyota Camry."
The Patriot Ledger
March 10, 2006
where has this guy been, with
where has this guy been, with teens killing each other in his very own neighborhood. the officer stopping that car got backup because she wanted to go home to her family at the end of her shift.. where is his outrage over kids dying on a daily basis.Good for you commisioner sticking up for your hard working men and woman of the Boston Police dept.
this guy is a Loser......THIS THE OLD "DONT YOU KNOW WHO I AM CRAP"
Felony Assault Warrant
Michael Levenson has the story in today's Globe as well with this additional detail that was not in the Channel 5 report: But police say they acted appropriately, and, when they checked the car’s license plate number, they discovered that the car’s owner was wanted for felony assault.
I would hope that the Rep would show more understanding of the risks facing police. Here they are pulling over a car with only one license plate and the owner comes back as having a felony assault warrant on him. The police have to assume that the owner who has the warrant is driving and act with due care and caution.
That the Rep is acting in this way is embarrassing. Rather than showing wisdom and understanding, he claims to feel put out and put off by how the police handled the stop.
How about someone ask him about the owner of the car. Looks like he got in a car that he did not know much, if anything about. He should be apologizing to the police not grandstanding.
Well why didn't you say so!
That's a horse of a different color! .... uhm...wrong adage.