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  People’s Civil Liberties Must Not Be Violated
Posted by FoM on July 09, 2001 at 09:03:48 PT
By Bernadette Malone Connolly  
Source: Union Leader 

justice Is the war on drugs in New Hampshire going too far? That is the question people who care about civil liberties must ask themselves after learning the details of two recent incidents involving narcotics.

Rep. Benjamin DePecol – a six term legislator from Keene – was arrested in his home May 24 for possession of marijuana. Part of DePecol’s defense is that Keene police violated his right against illegal search and seizure. According to court documents, police sent a female acquaintance of DePecol’s to his home to buy pot.

Allegedly, the acquaintance returned to police within minutes, claiming DePecol had given her a small amount of the substance free of charge. According to DePecol’s attorney, the police shortly thereafter approached the defendant’s screen door, peered in, and demanded that he hand over the marijuana they knew he had.

The substance was not in plain view, DePecol’s attorney claims. DePecol relented to police pressure, and now faces jail time if he is convicted. If DePecol’s version of the story is proven true, Granite Staters must ask themselves if this incident crossed the line of police state tactics.

An earlier event that Congressmen Charlie Bass and John Sununu are investigating revolves around whether Drug Enforcement Agency officials actually kidnapped a paid informant and held him or her unlawfully in Lowell, Mass., while a New Hampshire narcotic transaction went down in August, 2000.

At issue is whether federal agencies were competing with each other (Housing and Urban Development initiated the New Hampshire drug bust) and whether narcotics officers had an interest in making Massachusetts look better than New Hampshire in drug fighting. But the most serious question is whether a civilian was taken against his or her will and detained by law enforcement.

If it is found that federal drug warriors at the DEA and local drug warriors in Keene’s police department violated people’s civil liberties, public support may begin to wane for the war on drugs.

Complete Title: Drug Wars: People’s Civil Liberties Must Not Be Violated

Source: Union Leader (NH)
Author: Bernadette Malone Connolly
Published: July 9, 2001
Copyright: 2001 The Union Leader Corp.
Contact: TheUL@aol.com
Website: http://www.theunionleader.com/

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Comment #3 posted by It is not the police on July 10, 2001 at 11:55:01 PT
Fault
Blame this one on the chief. The policemen were just doing what they were told. Do you ever cross your boss? I certaintly don't. And don't give me any crap about "the Nazis alos were just following Hitler" either. This is a little different.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #2 posted by Rambler on July 09, 2001 at 09:44:22 PT
HA-HA
Are we supposed to feel sorry for this idiot?A six term legislator.He's been hangin' out watching thousand of other peoples right be violated for years,but now all of a sudden it's no fair when it comes to his own ass.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #1 posted by aocp on July 09, 2001 at 09:14:33 PT
Who woulda thunk it?
...whether narcotics officers had an interest in
making Massachusetts look better than New
Hampshire in drug fighting.

Man, the pigs are squealing at every corner of the
trough! What was the point of the whole mess again?
Oh, right ... looking good! To hell with actually
accomplishing anything.

But the most serious question is whether a civilian
was taken against his or her will and detained by law
enforcement.

Sounds about right for every consenting adult arrested
on cannabis charges anywhere.


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