Holla atcher Boy

My name is Mark Bowers. No it's not, but it sounds like a pretty good pen name, right?
I am a former police officer with a major metro-area law enforcement agency. While employed in this capacity I worked in all aspects of uniform patrol, from a regular line officer to shift supervisor.

The purpose of this blog is to rationally discuss police procedures in the United States. In the last several years the citizens of this country have recognized GLARING problems with police use of force and the way law enforcement interacts with the public. What few realize is that the reason for all of these problems come from a series of poorly-written state laws as well as several important federal court cases that govern police conduct. These laws and the resulting case law have led to insane interpretations of the way authorities can interact with the public.

This blog is different from other "police outrage" websites in that I examine individual uses of force and possible constitutional violations based on years of experience doing it myself. I admit I am far from perfect, but I left law enforcement for one reason: because of the ridiculous procedural re-writes that have occurred in the last several years allowing law enforcement to justify their actions on a LAWFUL basis. The "thin blue line" is alive and well in this country.

Let me clarify that the point of this website is not to shine a light on stupid things law enforcement officers sometimes do just because they are bone heads. Every profession has idiots and this one is no different. My purpose is to expose those incidents that strike a blow at the United States Constitution while being justified, covered up or excused by department policy and complicit government employees.

4 comments:

  1. Thank's GOD there is people like you that give us hope on this times of darkness.
    Thank you

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    1. Thanks for the kind words. Really this is just an outlet for me to try to showcase some of the insanity, which is oddly therapeutic for me!

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  2. We are a middle aged couple with a very large family. Since moving to a new state in the Midwest, we have been disgusted by the tactics and law breaking of the local police. It is a fairly large city. Is corruption becoming common amongst police? We are originally from the Detroit area but don't remember so much underhanded ness and cheating. Maybe it wasn't as obvious. Thank you for your web page.

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    1. On the contrary I would say that "corruption", at least in a legal sense, is probably at an all-time low due to crackdowns in the last 30 years on organized crime (RICO did a LOT to clear out mob bosses). The unfortunate thing is that the tactics you see from your local law enforcement are probably legal. Asset forfeiture laws are being used to legally steal people's property, use of force policies are being broadened (think: taser) and your right to be free from an unwarranted search and seizure is being stretched to its limit. The plutocrats that are running this country are creating EXACTLY the police force they want to see.

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