CO-Tint denver suburb, pop. 507, has 9 cops on payroll, makes it's money off shakedowns.

[Anti Federalist]

CopLand.

Too many pictures, videos and links to post it all, well worth the read.



Town 'addicted' to tickets

http://www.9news.com/story/news/investigations/2014/05/20/9wtk-tiny-metro-town-addicted-to-tickets/9312621/

MOUNTAIN VIEW - A 9Wants to Know investigation reveals a tiny town in the Denver metro area dishes out more "obstructed view" citations than Denver, Aurora and Boulder combined.

<snip>

"It's hard for me to understand what they're doing is not extortion or racketeering," William Asperi said while waiting to appear for traffic court. "What they're doing is pretty shady."

Nearly half of Mountain View's revenue comes from court fees and citations, according to its 2014 budget.

<snip>

According to the town's website, Mountain View began in 1904 with 375 inhabitants. As of the last U.S. Census, 507 people currently live within the town's borders which encompass a two-block-by-six-block area.

<snip>

Mountain View Mayor Jeff Kiddie and Chief of Police Mark Toth declined repeated requests by 9Wants To Know for an on-camera interview.

During the April town hall meeting, 9Wants to Know asked the town council during the public comment section about its ticketing practice and philosophy.

"Is this ticketing practice about public safety, or is it more about money?" 9Wants To Know asked.

Town Councilor Louis Fehlberg cited Denver's red-light camera program.

"I don't think we are out of any reason whatsoever," Fehlberg said.

"You pose a compelling question," Councilor Patricia Lilliston said. "But from my experience and the people of Mountain View, I believe they appreciate the safety."

<snip>

Chief Toth sent a statement to 9NEWS on the day of this publication. Here's his entire statement:

Thank you for providing me the opportunity to respond to your story. We have a duty to every Mountain View citizen to ensure that they feel like they live in a safe environment and that includes travelling the streets in and through our town limits. Our town includes 44th Ave and Sheridan Blvd which alone handles between 35,000 and 40,000 vehicles a day. Citizens expect that we enforce traffic laws as well as municipal ordinances and state statutes. No one likes to get a ticket but they do serve as a deterrent. It is the decision of our elected officials and citizens that we provide police services in our community 24/7. We employ the fewest officers possible to provide that coverage.

<snip>

A 9Wants to Know investigation reveals nearly half of Mountain View's police force has either been fired, faced a criminal indictment or left prior law enforcement jobs under controversy.

<snip>

Nine police officers make up the town's police force. After requesting numerous employment and payroll records from Mountain View and other law-enforcement agencies, 9Wants to Know is able to identify four police officers who had trouble with their prior agencies.

Officer Kirk Firko

Fired from CSP

Officer Kirk Firko was fired as a Colorado State Trooper for his role in the killing of a Grand Junction man in 2010. Firko kicked in the door of the man's home during a warrantless entry. His partner fatally shot Jason Kemp.

The case resulted in criminal indictments, which were eventually dismissed.

The state ended up paying out a $1-million settlement in a wrongful death suit.

Officer Leonard Portugal
Fired from Adams County Sheriff's Department

Officer Leonard Portugal was fired from the Adams County Sheriff's Department for violating the agency's rules of conduct. A department spokesperson said he was prohibited from releasing what rules Portugal allegedly violated.

Officer Brian Kautz

Controversial departure from Westminster PD

Officer Brian Kautz left his police job in Westminster under controversy. According to his last Westminster Police Department performance review obtained by 9NEWS, Kautz received "unacceptable" marks for general work and communication. About a month after the poor review, Kautz left his job.

Westminster City officials said they were prohibited by law from disclosing if Kautz was fired or if he was allowed to resign.

When 9NEWS approached Kautz for comment, he sped off in his Mountain View Police unit without comment.


Officer Mark Toth

Once indicted for beating man, lying

Chief of Police Mark Toth was once under indictment for beating up a man and lying on a police report as a Westminster sergeant.

Toth left the department soon after the incident and was eventually found not-guilty by a jury.

Toth told 9NEWS he retired from Westminster.

[Anti Federalist]

Too late to correct that grammar error.

Damn

[aGameOfThrones]

http://www.quickmeme.com/img/74/744ce3742c2a326c42b2eed06dc0eb3be2784c2932fe290fff ff34eebbb4f60e.jpg

[fr33]

I can think of quite a few Texas towns that are just like that. Virtually no crime other than the same victimless crimes that even the cops do on their own time, but many cops hired to be a honeypot and bring in revenue.

[oyarde]

They all make money off of shakedowns, This is what they do, the sun rises , the sun sets and evil fuckers work hard to steal what you worked for .

[Spikender]

Cops really are just revenue generators for the state. They're meant to take your resources and keep you in line, nothing more.

The dog murdering, street justice beatdowns, and minority harassment are just bonuses.

Even so, the fact that such a small town is getting shaken down this bad really shows how blind to their own behavior cops can be when given free reign to be the good little tax collectors for King John like they were meant to be.

[Schifference]

Too much government for 12 square blocks.

[Zippyjuan]

A look at their budget: http://mountainviewco.org/Budgets/Budget_2014.pdf

Total expenditures 2012: $956,233

$373,000 for "public safety"
$280,000 General government

Revenues 2012: $901,131

From Taxes: $306,000
From "Court fees": $360,000

[Zippyjuan]

double post

[Anti Federalist]

From "Court fees": $360,000

And what they project to collect in 2014:


The Town expects to collect approximately $575,000 in 2014 from court fines and fees.

A 62% increase.

Nice racket...

[Anti Federalist]

Operations of the Town's police department including police officers' base
salaries are included
in Public Safety. The budget assumes a $1.00 per hour
increase per officer
effective January 1,
2014 and another $1.00 per hour increase per officer effective July
1, 2014. All salary
adjustments are subject to Town Council approval and resolution. Council will consider the
financial condition of the Town to determine if such raise is affordable before the July 1, 2014
salary increase is implemented.

[Schifference]

A look at their budget: http://mountainviewco.org/Budgets/Budget_2014.pdf

Total expenditures 2012: $956,233

$373,000 for "public safety"
$280,000 General government

Revenues 2012: $901,131

From Taxes: $306,000
From "Court fees": $360,000

Where does the other $235,131 of revenue come from? Too much government. Why do 12 square blocks need a 1 million dollar government?

[SeanTX]

A look at their budget: http://mountainviewco.org/Budgets/Budget_2014.pdf

Total expenditures 2012 $373,000 for "public safety"

Revenues 2012 From "Court fees": $360,000

It looks like most of what the LEO tax ticks are bringing in is being used to pay and equip said tax ticks. So hardly a gain for the city, at least that year, if I'm understanding it right.

Never mind, just read AF's post, a 62% increase this year over 2012's revenue numbers. So now it's paying off, unless there's also a big increase in the expense of paying for the enforcers who extort the money.

[Root]

Wow. My head is spinning.

Thats quite the summary resume for the enforcement arm of a monopoly on violence.

Thats a lot of government. They did it to themselves.

[RJB]

This probably deserves its own thread, but this is one of the reasons why Ferguson blew up.

Ferguson Feeds Off the Poor: Three Warrants a Year Per Household
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/08/22/ferguson-s-shameful-legal-shakedown-three-warrants-a-year-per-household.html



In the chamber where Officer Darren Wilson received a commendation six months before killing Michael Brown, a minor court generates major money from the city’s poor and working people.

The Ferguson Police have now released a video that shows police Officer Darren Wilson receiving a commendation six months before he became known to the whole nation as the cop who gunned down an unarmed 18-year-old.

The irony is obvious to anyone who watches the footage of this proud young officer receiving the award at a ceremony in the City Council chamber as Ferguson’s six council members applaud.

“Officer Wilson, in recognition of outstanding police work while investigating a suspicious-vehicle call,” Chief Thomas Jackson says in making the presentation. “Acting alone, you struggled with one subject and [were] able to gain control of the subject and his car keys until assistance arrived. Later, during the interview, it was discovered that the subject was breaking down a large quantity of marijuana for sale.”

Jackson adds, “Great job, Darren.”

But there is another, unnoticed irony in the venue itself. Three times a month—one day and two nights—the City Council chamber also serves as home to the incredibly busy and extremely profitable Ferguson municipal court.


A report issued just last week by the nonprofit lawyer’s group ArchCity Defenders notes that in the court’s 36 three-hour sessions in 2013, it handled 12,108 cases and 24,532 warrants. That is an average of 1.5 cases and three warrants per Ferguson household. Fines and court fees for the year in this city of just 21,000 people totaled $2,635,400. (MORE AT LINK)

[Schifference]

This is not a Ferguson type of scenario. I lived in Metro Denver for many years. Owning a 12 block town/city that Sheridan BLVD goes thru could be a real cash cow especially in today's society post 9/11. I am pretty sure that the residents are not the ones getting the tickets but rather the commuters driving down the road. From looking at a map it appears that they only own half of Sheridan the South bound lane.

[PaulConventionWV]

They claim to employ the "minimal" amount of law enforcement officers to "provide that coverage".

BULLSHIT.

My town is bigger than that, and we only have 3 officers, including the sheriff.

[Zippyjuan]

How would nine officers break down? If we figure three eight hour shifts a day that averages three per shift but then you need to include vacations and days off so probably shifts of two officers on patrol together. For safety and security they generally don't want cops out by themselves individually. Going by the budget, they are paying about $41k a year in salary and benefits each.

[Anti Federalist]

How would nine officers break down? If we figure three eight hour shifts a day that averages three per shift but then you need to include vacations and days off so probably shifts of two officers on patrol together. For safety and security they generally don't want cops out by themselves individually. Going by the budget, they are paying about $41k a year in salary and benefits each.

I came up with the same number, but the chief makes more, and lower grade cops make less.

[Anti Federalist]

Wow. My head is spinning.

Thats quite the summary resume for the enforcement arm of a monopoly on violence.

Thats a lot of government. They did it to themselves.

And if you go to the link, you'll see a video where the mayor and the whole town council are just fine with it.

They know exactly what they are doing and when questioned by the reporter, they basically clammed up, and gave a look of "Fuck you, whatcha' gonna do about it?".

[NorthCarolinaLiberty]

How would nine officers break down?

It breaks down a whole lot better for Mountain View than other cities. Washington DC has 6.5 cops per 1,000 residents (http://www.smartpolicinginitiative.com/library-and-multimedia-resources/top-101-cities-highest-number-police-officers). Mountain View has about 18 per 1,000 residents. (Washington DC has the most cops per resident in cities over 50k population.)

The average number of cops per 1,000 residents was 2.3 in 2008 (http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=71). Mountain View has about 8 times that amount.




...two officers on patrol together. For safety and security they generally don't want cops out by themselves individually.

I once worked in a small town of 1,000 people. It had three officers, but you actually saw the township police and sheriffs more often. If needed, the town police could get help from the township police and sheriff. Mountain View is close to I-70, so they could get help from the state police if needed. They can also call the sheriff. They probably have reciprocal relationships/agreements.

[JK/SEA]

i blame the voters.

No sympathy from me.

[Mani]

This is not a Ferguson type of scenario. I lived in Metro Denver for many years. Owning a 12 block town/city that Sheridan BLVD goes thru could be a real cash cow especially in today's society post 9/11. I am pretty sure that the residents are not the ones getting the tickets but rather the commuters driving down the road. From looking at a map it appears that they only own half of Sheridan the South bound lane.


Florida has some speed traps like that, so does some parts of WI. Just spots where they make money for people driving through.

If you read the comments section, the people from neighboring communities talk of avoiding the town and going around it just to avoid the tickets.

I guess that can hurt the town's pocket book a little bit, but if a large metro area is nearby you will never be able to educate the entire area of a scam nearby and they will continue to ticket those that don't realize it and drive through unsuspecting.

Although I think the BIGGEST damage to this town's racket, is the lawsuit when the cops beat or kill someone. They had to payout a million dollar lawsuit for one of the cops killing someone.

If the those 9 officers get sued enough, and the taxpayers keep paying the million dollar lawsuits, eventually something will have to give.