....well okay, I'm not for SURE it was TEXANSFAN on accounta the officers refused to show this councilwoman their badge numbers.
Kinda cool the news traveled all the way to Connecticut via the miracle of the Associated Press
http://www.newstimes.com/national/ci_10151763
Police say Texas councilwoman interfered in arrest
<!--subtitle--><!--byline-->The Associated Press
<!--date-->Article Last Updated: 08/09/2008 08:42:25 PM EDT
<script language="JavaScript"> var requestedWidth = 0; </script>
<script language="JavaScript"> if(requestedWidth > 0){ document.getElementById('articleViewerGroup').style.width = requestedWidth + "px"; document.getElementById('articleViewerGroup').style.margin = "0px 0px 10px 10px"; } </script>HOUSTON—A City Council member is accused of interfering with police officers conducting an arrest last week outside a gas station, according to a police report obtained by the Houston Chronicle. Councilwoman Jolanda Jones said Friday that officers rebuffed her when she tried to question them after the arrest of a 25-year-old man. Police said later he was wanted on an outstanding warrant for marijuana possession.
The Harris County prosecutor's office did not say whether Jones was being investigated in connection with the confrontation.
The officers' report said Jones arrived at the gas station at the time of the arrest. Jones, described by the officers as "irate, angry and hostile," began questioning police tactics.
The report said she "threatened the officers with lawsuits."
Jones, a criminal defense attorney and a former contestant on the CBS reality show "Survivor," said: "That's a lie. I never threatened anybody with lawsuits. I saw what I believed to be a civil rights violation."
Jones said that she saw the officers search the car's trunk and that "based on my training, there was no probable cause for them to search that trunk."
She took pictures of the scene and offered police her City Council business card. The officers would not take her card, she said.
Jones said the officers would not reveal their badge numbers, so she took photographs of their patrol cars.
One officer told her to leave because she was impeding
an investigation, but she said she didn't leave until she had finished taking pictures. Police officials released a statement Friday, saying that citizens cannot interfere with officers but that they can report violations of rights by the police. The statement said the department will enforce both laws impartially.
The Police Department is one of many city agencies the Houston City Council oversees.
Kinda cool the news traveled all the way to Connecticut via the miracle of the Associated Press
http://www.newstimes.com/national/ci_10151763
Police say Texas councilwoman interfered in arrest
<!--subtitle--><!--byline-->The Associated Press
<!--date-->Article Last Updated: 08/09/2008 08:42:25 PM EDT
<script language="JavaScript"> var requestedWidth = 0; </script>
<script language="JavaScript"> if(requestedWidth > 0){ document.getElementById('articleViewerGroup').style.width = requestedWidth + "px"; document.getElementById('articleViewerGroup').style.margin = "0px 0px 10px 10px"; } </script>HOUSTON—A City Council member is accused of interfering with police officers conducting an arrest last week outside a gas station, according to a police report obtained by the Houston Chronicle. Councilwoman Jolanda Jones said Friday that officers rebuffed her when she tried to question them after the arrest of a 25-year-old man. Police said later he was wanted on an outstanding warrant for marijuana possession.
The Harris County prosecutor's office did not say whether Jones was being investigated in connection with the confrontation.
The officers' report said Jones arrived at the gas station at the time of the arrest. Jones, described by the officers as "irate, angry and hostile," began questioning police tactics.
The report said she "threatened the officers with lawsuits."
Jones, a criminal defense attorney and a former contestant on the CBS reality show "Survivor," said: "That's a lie. I never threatened anybody with lawsuits. I saw what I believed to be a civil rights violation."
Jones said that she saw the officers search the car's trunk and that "based on my training, there was no probable cause for them to search that trunk."
She took pictures of the scene and offered police her City Council business card. The officers would not take her card, she said.
Jones said the officers would not reveal their badge numbers, so she took photographs of their patrol cars.
One officer told her to leave because she was impeding
an investigation, but she said she didn't leave until she had finished taking pictures. Police officials released a statement Friday, saying that citizens cannot interfere with officers but that they can report violations of rights by the police. The statement said the department will enforce both laws impartially.
The Police Department is one of many city agencies the Houston City Council oversees.
