'Kop Busters' reality show turns tables on crooked officers

[nimue77]

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Former drug officer launches 'KopBusters' TV show[/FONT]Stephen C. Webster
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Published: Saturday December 6, 2008

[/FONT][/FONT]Barry Cooper, a former Texas police officer of eight years of specialty in drug interdiction, first made waves when he released the film "Never Get Busted Again," a how-to guide for evading police drug seizures.

Austin, Texas-based Cooper's latest project is not nearly so benign, and will likely generate for the former drug warrior directly an army of enemies in law enforcement.

'KopBusters' is a reality TV program that aims to sink crooked officers.

"KopBusters rented a house in Odessa, Texas and began growing two small Christmas trees under a grow light similar to those used for growing marijuana," claims a release from NeverGetBusted.com "When faced with a suspected marijuana grow, the police usually use illegal FLIR cameras and/or lie on the search warrant affidavit claiming they have probable cause to raid the house. Instead of conducting a proper investigation which usually leads to no probable cause, the Kops lie on the affidavit claiming a confidential informant saw the plants and/or the police could smell marijuana coming from the suspected house."

"The trap was set and less than 24 hours later, the Odessa narcotics unit raided the house only to find KopBuster's attorney waiting under a system of complex gadgetry and spy cameras that streamed online to the KopBuster's secret mobile office nearby.

"The attorney was handcuffed and later released when eleven KopBuster detectives arrived with the media in tow to question the illegal raid. The police refused to give KopBusters the search warrant affidavit which is suspected to contain the lies regarding the probable cause.

"It is not illegal to grow plants under a light in your home but it is illegal to lie on an affidavit and plant drugs on a citizen. This operation was the first of its kind in the history of America. Police sometimes have other police investigating their crimes but the American court system has never dealt with a group of citizens stinging the police. Will the police file charges on the team who took down the corrupt cops? We will keep you posted."

Cooper's "Never Get Busted Again" was a runaway success, the sales of which serve as financial support for this most recent project.

"The drug war is a failed policy and the legal side effects on the families are worse than the drugs," Cooper said to the Dallas Observer in early 2007. "I was so wrong in the things I did back then. I ruined lives."

The 'Kop Busters' sting was the feature of a CBS 7 report, aired Dec. 4, 2008.

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[quantumleap]

It's a fine line as to what constitutes "probable cause". Is a spike in an electric bill enough to get a search warrant for police to enter a person's home?

How about if someone steals your identity and charges illegal goods on your credit card. Can the police search your home even though you reverse the charges?

 

[barman]

QLEAP asks: Is a spike in electric bill sufficient to create PC for a legal search of a private residence?

SH: No, presuming no other legitimate circumstansial evidence can be included.

====
As to the second question, clarify what you mean by "charges illegal goods".

 

[quantumleap]

QLEAP asks: Is a spike in electric bill sufficient to create PC for a legal search of a private residence?

SH: No, presuming no other legitimate circumstansial evidence can be included.

====
As to the second question, clarify what you mean by "charges illegal goods".

Illegal prescription medication or other illegal substances. There was a sting a few years back where people were buying GHB online and their homes were searched.

 

[barman]

aha....yeah, I was a bit stumped by where one could "charge" something that can't be sold legally.

ayuh, it would seem likely that such info (records of such illegal sales and conact info for buyers) could be sufficient to do a legal search, especially if feds were involved.

 

[quantumleap]

aha....yeah, I was a bit stumped by where one could "charge" something that can't be sold legally.

ayuh, it would seem likely that such info (records of such illegal sales and conact info for buyers) could be sufficient to do a legal search, especially if feds were involved.

Even if the illegal goods were charged by someone who had obtained the credit card info as a result of identity theft???

:think2:

 

[barman]

Well.....QL is playing Defense Advocate tonight...heh

Now that you mention it, it would probably need to be a combination of evidence that includes credit card charges from a specific address and also proof that the illegal product was delivered to the physical address in question.

 

[barman]

Moral of Story = Always Pay Cash For Your Illicit Products

 

[quantumleap]

Well.....QL is playing Defense Advocate tonight...heh

Now that you mention it, it would probably need to be a combination of evidence that includes credit card charges from a specific address and also proof that the illegal product was delivered to the physical address in question.

Sorry. That was a trick question. Credit card charges have been deemed sufficient probable cause for judges to sign search warrants based upon nothing else. I've seen it happen first hand.

 

[Omni]

I'm not sure I agree with "Never get busted again", but on the other issue I'm all for it. I'd love to see that search warrant.

 

[nimue77]

Raw footage from 'KopBusters' first sting

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[PointGiven]

this is great...

keep these crooked punks on their toes

somebody is watchin them...not just the other way around anymore

the internet is a great thing

 

[nimue77]

'KopBusters' credited for decision to vacate drug sentence

The woman at the epicenter of a Texas filmmaker's crusade against allegedly corrupt police may soon be freed thanks to a district judge's decision to vacate her sentence.Yolanda Madden, who was jailed in 2005 after being convicted of possession of and intent to distribute narcotics, was the reason that Barry Cooper came to Odessa, Texas last December. After being hired to embarrass the local police by Yolanda's father Raymond, Cooper set up a fake marijuana grow house and baited officers to stage an illegal raid. When they did, police were confronted by an empty house and lots of cameras, with a hand-written poster explaining they had become part of a new reality show called "KopBusters".
For Yolanda, the stunt was just the beginning of efforts to secure her freedom. Cooper and Madden's father insist Odessa officers planted the narcotics she was jailed for.
At a Thursday evidentiary hearing, District Judge Robert Junell granted a motion to "vacate, set aside, or correct" Yolanda's sentence, effectively guaranteeing a new trial and possibly her freedom, according to CBS 7 in Odessa.
Madden has previously lost an appeal before the fifth circuit court. That decision is available here. [PDF link]


"We have proof that neither one of the cops were at where they said they were," Raymond Madden told the CBS affiliate.
Cooper, a long-time drug officer who turned against prohibition and became an activist, claims Madden's arresting officers were his former partners.
"The lead investigator, Officer Greg Traveland, claimed he took a verbal confession from Yolanda at the police station when he was actually miles away booking informant, Keith Phillips, into jail," Cooper wrote on his Web site.
Cooper and Madden's attorneys allege that to cover his tracks, Traveland then altered Phillips' booking paperwork to make it appear that a now-deceased officer had brought the man in.
"I know it's been hard on her to be away from her family but we're looking forward to getting her smiles and her hugs," Madden's grandmother told CBS.
Cooper, who recently helped officers from Combine, Texas arrest a former police chief accused of soliciting minors, said he plans more high-profile stings soon.
CBS 7 in Odessa has new video of the Madden family's reaction to the judge's decision.

 

[nimue77]

Yolanda Madden released from prison, granted retrial


'KopBusters' filmmaker hails collective effort to 'fight corruption

A high-profile Texas drug prisoner is prisoner no more.
On Friday, Dec. 18, a federal judge in Odessa granted Yolanda Madden her freedom, allowing her to walk out of state custody for the first time in nearly five years. A retrial is possible in March, 2010.
Madden, jailed in 2005 after being convicted of possession of and intent to distribute narcotics, was the reason that Barry Cooper came to Odessa, Texas last December. After being hired to embarrass the local police by Yolanda's father Raymond, Cooper set up a fake marijuana grow house and baited officers to stage an illegal raid. When they did, police were confronted by an empty house and lots of cameras, with a hand-written poster explaining they had become part of a new reality show called "KopBusters".
For Yolanda, the stunt was just the beginning of efforts to secure her freedom.


"This is so exciting," Cooper told RAW STORY. "We're so happy to see Yolanda out of that cage and back with her family where she belongs."
"Everybody knows we attached this case and 'KopBuster' program to my attorney general campaign as proof that citizens can band together to fight corruption," he told an Odessa CBS affiliate station.
On the CBS news video, Madden's grandmother literally dances for joy after embracing her granddaughter for the first time in years.
Odessa police, which Cooper and the Madden family insist planted drugs on Yolanda and lied to ensure her conviction, had no reaction to the ruling.
"The City of Odessa remains confident that justice will be served in this case," read a prepared statement, noted by CBS 7.


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