The Houston KMart mass arrest saga continues.

September 6, 2002 9:28 PM

The Houston KMart mass arrest saga continues. The arrest of 278 people, many seemingly innocent, for trespass in a KMart parking lot was hotly discussed here as was the Chief's suspension of the Captain in charge of the raid. The Chief later suspended an additional twelve officers. Apparently, the captain and the chief have a running feud from well before this raid, which has now led to the chief being indicted for perjury and stepping down until his trial is over.
posted by caddis (10 comments total)

Bradford was indicted on aggravated perjury charges...

The charge is a third-degree felony, with a possible sentence of up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Um, so you can go to jail for 10 years for what is essentially lying? I guess putting those evil lying bastards behind bars makes life safer for the rest of us... yeah.
posted by epimorph at 12:57 AM on September 7, 2002

He lied during a disciplinary hearing. There are plenty of harsh penalties that are supposed to serve as deterrents that I certanly disagree with such as drug charges, but this one actually works.

If you're on trial, don't lie. Justice works a lot better that way.
posted by Stan Chin at 1:16 AM on September 7, 2002

Hey, I try not to lie. I try not to smoke pot either. But, 10 years is a tad extreme, no?

As far as justice working, if we start executing people for speeding, then I assure you that the highways would become a lot safer. But, somehow we would not want to do that, now would we? Or are you saying that the ends always justify the means?
posted by epimorph at 2:02 AM on September 7, 2002

$100,000,000 lawsuit for false arrest?!? A police officer once called me a faggot, I think I'll sue for a billion kajillion dollars for emotional distress.
posted by benjh at 6:18 AM on September 7, 2002

A police officer once called me a faggot

A Houston police officer once called me an asshole; maybe I should sue. Of course, he was calling me an asshole because I, driving on a freeway access road, overtook a funeral procession (albeit unknowingly) that was driving on the freeway.

I immediately gave the officer the finger. In the final escalation of our tit-for-tat exchange, he wrote me 4 traffic tickets and told me I was "up shit creek without a paddle."

I got the last laugh, though. He didn't show up for the trial and all of the charges against me were dropped.

I'm so glad I don't drive any more. Aren't you?
posted by syzygy at 7:09 AM on September 7, 2002

Ummm.... yeah, syzygy. Way to beat the oppressive system that wouldn't let you flip off an on-duty police officer while disrupting a funeral. Right.

I guess I am glad you don't drive anymore.
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 7:24 AM on September 7, 2002

Hey, I try not to lie. I try not to smoke pot either. But, 10 years is a tad extreme, no?

I think they key is "up to 10 years." I can imagine cases where 10 years wouldn't be too extreme, say if your lies sent someone to jail for an extended period of time.
posted by sad_otter at 9:29 AM on September 7, 2002

The Houston Press, a local alt weekly, has a nice summary full of pokes at all involved.
posted by mediareport at 2:07 PM on September 7, 2002

People in positions of such power oughtta get the book thrown at them for such deplorable behavior. Maybe the whole library.
posted by birddog at 6:23 AM on September 8, 2002

XQUZYPHYR:

Lighten up. It's a story from 6 years in my past. I'm not proud of it, but I do think it's at least a little entertaining. Your display of supercilious sanctimony is laughably immature.
posted by syzygy at 8:06 AM on September 11, 2002