Session%20vi%20threats%20to%20freedom%20crime%20fighting%20preventative%20detention%20%20chris%20coo

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AT THE 2017 JAMAICAN BAR ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE Session VI: Threats to Freedom: Crime Fighting, Preventative Detention and Powers of Arrest PAPER: STOP, FRISK, and BAIL IN THE CARRIBBEAN AND ABROAD By Attorney Christopher C. Cooper © 2017 The Law Office of Christopher Cooper, Inc. Chicago, Illinois civilrightsemploymentlaw.com Contact: cooperlaw3234@gmail.com

STOP, FRISK, & BAIL IN THE CARRIBBEAN AND ABROAD By Christopher C. Cooper © 2017 INTRODUCTION…………………. METHODS………………………… THE LANDSCAPE………………………..2 JAMAICA…………………………...........2 THE UNITED STATES………………….4 THE UNITED KINGDOM EXPERIENCE.11

A NEW ZEALAND EXPERIENCE……13 THE POLICE PERSPECTIVE………..16 BAIL & BOND…………………………...20 CONCLUSION…………………………...23 INTRODUCTION Examining allegations that the police stopped, frisked, or detained persons without a basis requires considering the perspective of the those detained, etc., as well, the perspective of the police. As important are those times when a person is held until a bond is posted or that bail is paid. The Organization, Jamaicans for Justice, has taken up the causes. While there is no doubt that the United States, in recent years, has been a focal point for stop and frisk discourse, Jamaica has its own stop, search, and detain issues; however, they are distinguishable from the American issues and experiences.The U.S. experience can be summarized, from one perspective as: Is “Fits the Description” an acceptable or “troubling basis for a stop if the description is so general that it fits a large portion of the population in the area, such as black males between the ages of 18 and 24.” Floyd v. City of New York, 959 F. Supp. 2d 540, 578 and 581 (2013). In 2016, the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) announced that it would be increasing “stop-and-search operations during the festive season.” To ease public concern, the head of the JCF Corporate Communications Unit (CCU), asserted there “would be a surge in the number of police on the ground;” however, she continued: “We don’t want persons to think they are being stopped arbitrarily. We will stop persons if we detect that there is a breach (of the law), or if the vehicle matches a description of a car in question based on intelligence received.” In the United Kingdom, a 2012 study concluded that police in England and Wales are up to 28 times more likely to use stop-and-search powers against black people than white people. A December 2014 analysis of stops in the U.K. found that nine officers carried out three hundred and twelve (312) stops without making an arrest. Is it appropriate to conclude the officers behaved wrongly? Or, in the alternative, that they behaved rightly? This paper examines actions by the police, namely stop, frisk, and


AT THE 2017 JAMAICAN BAR ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE Session VI: Threats to Freedom: Crime Fighting, Preventative Detention and Powers of Arrest PAPER: STOP, FRISK, and BAIL IN THE CARRIBBEAN AND ABROAD By Attorney Christopher C. Cooper Š 2017 The Law Office of Christopher Cooper, Inc. Chicago, Illinois civilrightsemploymentlaw.com Contact: cooperlaw3234@gmail.com

detain, from an international perspective. Additionally, the paper considers how the stop sometimes lead to concerns around bail and bond. METHODS A comparative analysis of court documents, studies, and articles concerned with police officers stopping, frisking, and detaining people. THE LANDSCAPE With a Focus on Jamaica and United States In countries throughout the world, interactions between police and citizens are major topics for discourse as much as such interactions are often among the most significant social issues facing a nation. With an emphasis on Jamaica and the United States, this paper offers a glimpse into some of the most significant social and legal issues of our time. JAMAICA The Jamaican experience around detainment (temporary or long term) has similarities to the U.S. experience. The Opinion\ruling in Hemans, Gary v The Attorney General of Jamaica, 2009HCV02800, 2013 JMSC CIV. 75 (2013) is of great significance. The Hon. Mr. Justice David Batts writing for the Court, emphasizes lessons and acceptable thought processes around reasonableness for both Jamaica and United States. To see the full Opinion: http://supremecourt.gov.jm/sites/default/files/judgments/Hemans%2C%20Gary%20v%20Th e%20Attorney%20General%20of%20Jamaica.pdf

Below is a news article germane to the Court’s Opinion. Quotations omitted and that the source is found in the following footnote.1

STOP IT NOW - Judge Tells Police To End Illegal Stop And Search Of Vehicles; State Ordered To Pay Taxi Driver Millions Published: Sunday | June 30, 2013 | 12:00 AM

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http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130630/lead/lead1.html

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AT THE 2017 JAMAICAN BAR ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE Session VI: Threats to Freedom: Crime Fighting, Preventative Detention and Powers of Arrest PAPER: STOP, FRISK, and BAIL IN THE CARRIBBEAN AND ABROAD By Attorney Christopher C. Cooper Š 2017 The Law Office of Christopher Cooper, Inc. Chicago, Illinois civilrightsemploymentlaw.com Contact: cooperlaw3234@gmail.com [Author] Barbara Gayle, Justice Coordinator A Supreme Court judge has ruled that the police have no power, under the Road Traffic Act, to arbitrarily stop and search motor vehicles, opening the door for a flood of lawsuits.

The police have repeatedly argued that the law gives them the power to stop and search vehicles, and that this has resulted in the apprehension of criminals, the recovery of stolen vehicles and stolen farm produce. But Justice David Batts says the police are abusing this power. Batts made the ruling when he ordered the Government to pay $2.8 million in damages to a motorist who was assaulted by the police when he was stopped in St Catherine in May 2007. Batts emphasized in the judgment that lawful reasons must be given by the police for stopping and searching a motor vehicle. Batts has directed the registrar of the Supreme Court to send copies of the judgment to the Office of the Commissioner of Police and to the commissioner of the Independent Commission of Investigations for action to be taken, as seen fit. The judge said there was some belief that Section 58 of the Road Traffic Act gives power to the police to stop and search vehicles without reasonable cause. "That act does no such thing," Batts said in the judgment. He explained that the act allows for the redirection of traffic or stopping of vehicles for the purposes of traffic flow or some reasonable purpose. "The request for documents and driver's license similarly follow on some existing cause, such as a reasonable suspicion that a crime has been or is about to be committed. "The reasonable cause to suspect that an individual has or is about to commit a crime must relate to peculiar characteristics of the persons or the vehicle he is driving, or the manner in which it is operated, or to information received," said Batts. He said further that in Jamaica, the citizen is free to move about without an obligation to carry a pass, and is not to be subject to arbitrary or random searches. CONSTITUTIONAL GUARANTEE Batts noted that this was still a constitutional guarantee. "I find it necessary to quote the Constitution and to recite its abbreviated history because of some surprising features of this case. "Surprising, because when the evidence from the defendant was completed, the matter of a lawful reason to stop and request a search of the claimant's vehicle had not been addressed. "Indeed, the attorney-at-law representing the Crown, when asked, stated that reasonable cause was the fact that the police were conducting random searches for guns and drugs. "It is the casual attitude by the defendant and its witnesses to the individual's right to freedom of movement, freedom of the person, and freedom from search, which has caused me to restate the source of these rights and the history of struggle to attain them. "It bears repeating that while lawfully driving his motor vehicle, the claimant was exercising his right to freedom of movement and was entitled to expect that that, as well as his other rights, would not be interfered with without lawful excuse. "Let me say further that even on the account given by the defendant's witnesses, no lawful reason is given for stopping the claimant's vehicle. Nor is there any lawful reason advanced for the desire to search his vehicle, or for the alleged request for his documents. "It is still the law of this nation that persons under The Queen's peace are entitled to freedom from search of their person or property unless such a search is legally justified. "I hold that it is not a lawful reason to stop and search a car based on the fact that cars with similar features are often stolen and used in the commission of crime. 3


AT THE 2017 JAMAICAN BAR ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE Session VI: Threats to Freedom: Crime Fighting, Preventative Detention and Powers of Arrest PAPER: STOP, FRISK, and BAIL IN THE CARRIBBEAN AND ABROAD By Attorney Christopher C. Cooper © 2017 The Law Office of Christopher Cooper, Inc. Chicago, Illinois civilrightsemploymentlaw.com Contact: cooperlaw3234@gmail.com

"It would really be no different saying that an individual walking on the road bears 'similar features' to the majority of persons convicted of crime … [such as] 'He is of dark complexion and wearing shorts below the waist'," said Batts in the judgment. Gary Hemans, a taxi driver who was represented by attorney-at-law Sean Kinghorn, had sued the attorney general to recover damages arising from his ordeal. Hemans testified that he and other family members were coming from the Hellshire Beach in St Catherine on May 16, 2007, when they were stopped at the Hellshire roundabout by three police officers. HUMILIATED, EMBARRASSED He said when he enquired why they were so aggressive, he was beaten and taken to the Portmore Police Station, where he was locked up until the next day. Hemans said that at the station, he was forced to strip and squat in a corner, and he felt humiliated and embarrassed. He said he was charged with assaulting the police, using abusive language, and using indecent language. The taxi operator attended court several times, but the case was dismissed for want of prosecution because the police did not attend. Batts awarded Hemans aggravated damages of $1.2 million for being forced to strip and stoop at the station, and due to the fact that the police officers did not attend court. He was awarded $200,000 for exemplary damages, because he was beaten without cause and made to suffer indignities. He was also awarded damages for assault, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, and special damages for lost earnings, medical expenses and legal costs. The Police High Command is still studying the judge's ruling.

THE UNITED STATES It is common knowledge that the United States has a history of conflict between police officers and people of color (visible minorities). With the advent of nearly every mature person having a video recorder on their person, disturbing police-citizen interactions are now front and center from cell phone footage, among from other sources. The landscape is one in which the Country’s highest court, the Supreme Court, needs to take another look at how courts should determine when it is reasonable (therefore legal) for the police to stop people, frisk people, question people, and to detain people. These issues implicate the 4th Amendment of the United States Constitution. The 4th Amendment allows police to stop and seize people based on reasonableness and\or a concept known as “probable cause.”2 Probable cause is a requirement found in the Fourth Amendment that must usually be met before police make an arrest, conduct a search, or receive a warrant. Courts usually find probable cause when there is a reasonablebasis for believing that a crime may have been committed (for an arrest) or when evidence of the crime is present in the place to be searched (for a search). Under exigent circumstances, probable cause can also justify a warrantless search or seizure. Persons arrested without a warrant are required to be brought before a competent authority shortly after the arrest for a prompt judicial determination of probable cause. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/probable_cause 2

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AT THE 2017 JAMAICAN BAR ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE Session VI: Threats to Freedom: Crime Fighting, Preventative Detention and Powers of Arrest PAPER: STOP, FRISK, and BAIL IN THE CARRIBBEAN AND ABROAD By Attorney Christopher C. Cooper © 2017 The Law Office of Christopher Cooper, Inc. Chicago, Illinois civilrightsemploymentlaw.com Contact: cooperlaw3234@gmail.com

Reasonableness is the issue for which this paper most concerns. Arguably, some courts in the U.S. seem not to share the urgency held by people of color to want to talk about reasonableness as it applies to stops, et al., by police. People of color rightly assert that in a multi-racial and ethnic society in which once accepted stereotypes have been debunked (e.g., black or Latino people are monolithic in appearance, etc.), there must be new and fresh discourse along with 21st level racially and culturally appropriate policy implementation on matters of the right of police officers to restrict a person’s movement. Quoting a United States federal judge, namely Judge Schendlin, in recent litigation in the U.S. around the issue of reasonableness: “There is no evidence that black people's movements are objectively more furtive than the movements of white people. Furtive Movements is vague and subjective. In fact, an officer's impression of whether a movement was ‘furtive’ may be affected by unconscious racial biases… Fits Description" is a troubling basis for a stop if the description is so general that it fits a large portion of the population in the area, such as black males between the ages of 18 and 24.” Floyd v. City of New York, 959 F. Supp. 2d 540, 578 and 581 (2013)). D.Z. v. Buell There comes the saga of 13 year-old D.Z. (Diwani) who is black (DZ v. Buell, 796 F. 3d 749 (7th Circuit, 2015). D.Z. was taken into custody by Defendant Buell, a police officer, because Defendant believed D.Z. fit the scant, general description-lookout for a black male who had committed a burglary. From the Investigation file in which the Officer was questioned by superiors: INTERNAL AFFAIRS-HEARTS-GLASS: Q. And what was the description of the person riding the bike? BUELL ANSWER. The description came out, it was a young, black male wearing khaki shorts. The description of the suspect? Q. From the suspect, right. Q. And the person you saw riding the bike, what was his description? ANSWER: We had no idea. We went to go try to see what his description was and by the time we got to the area where we originally saw him, he was gone. Q. Was he male black or male white? A. We had no idea. (IA interview of Officer Buell, Pf. Ex. 31: 263-278, see Case 12cv7580 in the United States District Court for Northern Illinois).

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AT THE 2017 JAMAICAN BAR ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE Session VI: Threats to Freedom: Crime Fighting, Preventative Detention and Powers of Arrest PAPER: STOP, FRISK, and BAIL IN THE CARRIBBEAN AND ABROAD By Attorney Christopher C. Cooper © 2017 The Law Office of Christopher Cooper, Inc. Chicago, Illinois civilrightsemploymentlaw.com Contact: cooperlaw3234@gmail.com

On August 30, 2012 at approximately 11am, in a Chicago suburb which borders the Rogers Park area of the City, police were looking for a black male who had committed a burglary. Appellant D.Z., 13-years black (or AfricanAmerican) (Pf. Ex. 25),3 out of school for summer break, was taken into custody by Defendant Buell, a Caucasian City of Evanston, Illinois police officer, for suspicion that he had committed the burglary. A show-up was conducted. The victim stated that D.Z. was not the burglar. D.Z. was un-handcuffed [sic] and released. (See Case 12cv7580 [passim] in the United States District Court for Northern Illinois). A lawsuit followed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The District Court granted Defendant’s motion for summary judgment holding there were not genuine issues in dispute and that Officer Buell acted reasonably in stopping and detaining D.Z. Additionally, the Court ruled that Officer Buell was entitled to immunity. Thereafter, a Seventh Circuit panel affirmed the District Court opinion. (See 796 F.3d 749, 752; 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 13769).4 Appellant sought en banc review, the petition was denied. Appellant sought a Writ of Certiorari from the Supreme Court. “Cert” was denied. D.Z. contended in his district court and 7th Circuit filings that the evidence along with standards for determining 4th Amendment reasonableness, and if immunity should be granted, show that Defendant Buell acted unreasonably (not in concert with the holdings in Graham v. Conner, 490 U.S. 386 (1989); Saucier v Katz 533 U.S. 194, 216 (2001); or, Reid v. Georgia, 448 U.S. 438, 441 among others). Plaintiff D.Z. defines Defendant’s actions as in violation of the holding in Reid v. Georgia, supra. Essentially, an allegation against Buell of racial profiling, since the broadcasted description made countless black males suspects.5 Essentially, a net cast on all young black males. Additionally, D.Z. takes issue with his interpretation of the 7th Circuit Opinion not boding with the Reid holding among others, by the 7th Circuit not finding constitutionally violative conduct by Defendant Buell (with Officer Brown) having added a bicycle to the “lookout”; although, there was not a basis in fact to have added a bicycle to the lookout. See DZ v. Buell, 796 F. 3d 749, 752 (7th Cir. 2015). 3

D.Z.\Appellant was an honor roll student. Prior to August 30, 2012, D.Z. had not had contact with the police. Id.

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See DZ v. Buell, 796 F. 3d 749 (7th Cir. 2015).

5 The officers (Buell being one of them) were told, verbatim, the “offender is a black male probably in his teens wearing a dark shirt and Khaki cargo shorts.” (Def. Ex. E at 1:26-1:33 in12cv7580 in the U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois).

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AT THE 2017 JAMAICAN BAR ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE Session VI: Threats to Freedom: Crime Fighting, Preventative Detention and Powers of Arrest PAPER: STOP, FRISK, and BAIL IN THE CARRIBBEAN AND ABROAD By Attorney Christopher C. Cooper © 2017 The Law Office of Christopher Cooper, Inc. Chicago, Illinois civilrightsemploymentlaw.com Contact: cooperlaw3234@gmail.com

Compare Choi v. Gaston, 220 F.3d 1010, 1015 (2000) arriving at the completely opposite view where an officer added to the lookout without a basis in fact.6 D.Z. at 13 years-old was approximately five feet and six inches tall. But the detailed broadcasted lookout (as opposed to the initial lookout) of the burglary suspect was: “[a] black T-shirt, dark cargo shorts, no hat, skinny, tall probably six feet, high school age.” (Def. Ex. E, audio, at 8:00minutes; Doc. 128, Ex. 56, video and audio; & Doc. 108-2, Ex. 10 at 11:20AM in 12cv780, supra.). Among the arguments presented by Plaintiff\Appellant D.Z. is that the initial lookout was too vague to arm a police officer with reasonable suspicion to stop anyone and certainly not probable cause. (Ex. 24:120:1-24). The City of Evanston has approximately 75,430 people living in a small space of only 7.78 sq mi (20.2km) (see Selected Housing Characteristics: 2011 American Comm. Survey 1-Year Estimates (DP03): Evanston city, Illinois." U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Retrieved Feb. 11, 2013). The City borders a heavily black section of Chicago known as Rogers Park. Evanston is 65.1% white; and 18.1% black (see Ex. 48 in 12cv780, supra, U.S. Census Data). On August 30, 2012, the mean temperature was 79 degrees (see Ex. 47 in 12cv780, supra) and K-12 schools were not in session. Using the above statistics and information, the residential area in which the events occurred was populated with black males who fit the initial description (as opposed to the more detailed description). This means that black males of light, medium and dark complexions were about; as were, Latino children of lighter shades of brown.7 The Plaintiff's argument [was] that the initial description (“black male probably in his teens wearing a dark shirt and Khaki cargo shorts” was too vague to arm a police officer with reasonable suspicion, probable cause or the right of seizure of any specific person. D.Z. believes his position is supported by: 6 In Choi, Justice Noonan wrote: “They argue that next to him was a man they had seen running, but nothing in the police broadcasts had indicated that there were two suspects; if anything, the presence of a man they believed to have run from the vehicle should have focused their attention on the runner as the single suspect. Instead, without basis in fact at all, they were soon telling the CHP that they had seen both men running from the abandoned vehicle.” (Id. at 1015). 7Some

would argue that because there are blacks in the Chicago area of West Indian heritage, African heritage, etc. and that complexions of blacks Americans (light, medium, dark, all terms used in black American culture) vary; then shouldn't a lookout for a black male account for complexion? See Ex. 71, a news article. An example of an appropriate lookout in a mature, multi racial society.

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AT THE 2017 JAMAICAN BAR ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE Session VI: Threats to Freedom: Crime Fighting, Preventative Detention and Powers of Arrest PAPER: STOP, FRISK, and BAIL IN THE CARRIBBEAN AND ABROAD By Attorney Christopher C. Cooper © 2017 The Law Office of Christopher Cooper, Inc. Chicago, Illinois civilrightsemploymentlaw.com Contact: cooperlaw3234@gmail.com

(a) the 9th Circuit's Opinion in Choi v. Gaston, 220 F.3d 1010 (2000); (b) Reid v. Georgia, 448 U.S. 438, 441-2 (1980). The Court having written: “For these reasons, the judgment of the appellate court cannot be sustained insofar as it rests on the determination that the DEA agent lawfully seized the petitioner when he approached him outside the airline terminal. Accordingly, the petition for certiorari is granted, the judgment of the Georgia Court of Appeals is vacated, and the case is remanded to that court for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion.” (c) the 3rd Circuit in United States v. Brown, 448 F.3d 239, 247-48 (3d Cir. 2006), finding that the following description was too general: “AfricanAmerican males between 15 and 20 years of age, wearing dark, hooded sweatshirts and running south on 22nd Street, where one male was 5’8” and the other was 6”; (d) the 5th Circuit correct holding in United States v. Jones, 619 F.2d 494, 497-98 (5th Cir. 1980), finding the description of “black male, 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing between 150 and 180 pounds, with a medium afro hair style, who was wearing jeans and a long denim jacket” to be too general)? In Choi, the officers testified they had been informed by police radio that the suspect was "Oriental," but the police radio log shows that they were informed that the suspect was a particular man noted as Vietnamese and particularly identified not by race or ethnicity but by name: Phu Nguyen. The Court wrote that "the officers generalized from this information to a classification embracing 2 billion persons. U.S. Bureau of the Census, Report WP/98, World Population Profile (U.S. Government Printing Office, 1999). (Id. at 1015). Appellant D.Z. questioned whether it was proper for the 7th Circuit to decide genuine issues of fact and that the 7th Circuit concluded that the person on the bicycle fit-matched the lookout, where Defendant testified that neither he or his partner knew the color of the person on the bicycle; although his partner stated the person on the bicycle was black and wearing shorts.8 (See Opinion, 796 F.3d 749, 752; 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 13769).

At one of his two Internal Affairs (IA) interviews, Mr. Buell stated when he was asked by IA investigator Hearts-Glass about the 2:27-3:39 dispatch: INTERNAL AFFAIRS\HEARTS-GLASS: Q. And what was the description of the person riding the bike? BUELL: A. The description came out, it was a young, black male wearing khaki shorts. The description of the suspect? Q. From the suspect, right. Q. And the person you saw riding the bike, what was his description? ANSWER: We had no idea. We went to go try to see what his description was and by the time we got to the area

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AT THE 2017 JAMAICAN BAR ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE Session VI: Threats to Freedom: Crime Fighting, Preventative Detention and Powers of Arrest PAPER: STOP, FRISK, and BAIL IN THE CARRIBBEAN AND ABROAD By Attorney Christopher C. Cooper © 2017 The Law Office of Christopher Cooper, Inc. Chicago, Illinois civilrightsemploymentlaw.com Contact: cooperlaw3234@gmail.com

_________________ The U.S. federal courts are divided into thirteen (13) groups\circuits. The Circuits do not agree on the issue of reasonableness for a stop by the police. D.Z. occurred in the 7th Circuit. Which circuit has it right [sic] as to what is a constitutionally protected lookout, etc? The 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th or none; rather, that the Supreme Court is correct in Reid v. Georgia, 448 U.S. 438, 441 (1980)? Is the 7th Circuit in the instant correct as to “lookouts” where the Court held the officer had enough information. Or is the opposite view by the 9th Circuit in Choi v. Gaston, 2210 F.3d 1010, 1016 (9th Cir. 2000) correct? Or, the 3rd Circuit in United States v. Brown, 448 F.3d 239, 247-48 (3d Cir. 2006) (finding that the following description was too general: “African-American males between 15 and 20 years of age, wearing dark, hooded sweatshirts and running south on 22nd Street, where one male was 5’8” and other was 6’”); or is the 5th Circuit correct holding in U.S. v. Jones, 619 F.2d 494, 497-98 (5th Cir. 1980) (finding the description of “black male, 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing between 150 and 180 pounds, with a medium afro hair style, who was wearing jeans and a long denim jacket” to be too general)? The D.Z. case, prosecuted for D.Z. by the undersigned author (Cooper) was presented to the U.S. Supreme Court with a request that the Court hear the case (namely by way of a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari). The Court denied the request for issuance of a Writ hence, the case was not heard by the Court. (See D.Z. v. Buell, 136 S.Ct. 1179 (2016)). The following questions were presented to the Supreme Court by D.Z. The questions encapsulate the issue(s) of when police in the United States should be permitted to stop and detain persons. QUESTION 1: Which circuit has it right [sic] as to what is a constitutionally protected lookout, etc? The 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th; or, is the Supreme Court correct in Reid v. Georgia, 448 U.S. 438, 441 (1980) in which the Court held police dispatch descriptions in general cannot be a basis for reasonable suspicion if officers run the risk of stopping an overly broad group of people? QUESTION 2: In the 21st Century (societal thinking about race and skin complexion having matured), is the phrase\notion: "Fits Description, a

where we originally saw him, he was gone. Q. Was he male black or male white? A. We had no idea. (IA interview of Officer Buell, Pf. Ex. 31: 263-278).

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AT THE 2017 JAMAICAN BAR ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE Session VI: Threats to Freedom: Crime Fighting, Preventative Detention and Powers of Arrest PAPER: STOP, FRISK, and BAIL IN THE CARRIBBEAN AND ABROAD By Attorney Christopher C. Cooper © 2017 The Law Office of Christopher Cooper, Inc. Chicago, Illinois civilrightsemploymentlaw.com Contact: cooperlaw3234@gmail.com

troubling basis for a stop if the description is so general that it fits a large portion of the population in the area, such as black males?” QUESTION 3: Race as a factor is sufficient or not sufficient for a stop, frisk, or seizure in an area with a racially diverse population? Which circuit has it right [sic]? The 7th (the instant D.Z. case in which the “lookout” was for a young, black male with dark shirt and Khaki shorts) or the 9th? or In Choi v. Gaston, 2210 F.3d 1010, 1016 (9th Cir. 2000) in which the lookout was for an Oriental person? (The Choi court holding Race as a factor is not sufficient for a stop, frisk, or seizure in an area with a diverse population.) QUESTION 4: Shouldn’t a court consider the concentration and demographic make-up of a geographic area as did the Choi court? Secondarily, is it proper for a Court not to take issue with law enforcement officers who have added things [sic] to a lookout without a basis in fact? Which Circuit is correct? The 9th or the 7th? When the 7th Circuit was presented with facts of the instant case (D.Z.) --similar to those in Choi v. Gaston, supra.-- the 7th Circuit arrived at the opposite view. QUESTION 5: Except, by example in the 9th Circuit, why is it –-perhaps-- that a lookout for a white male does not cast a net on all white males (making them suspects) but that a lookout for a black male appears to allow the police to apprehend any black male? The latter could equally apply where the lookout is for an Asian person and the police are allowed to apprehend any Asian person or for a Puerto Rican person and the police are allowed to apprehend any Puerto Rican person. QUESTION 6: Do Qualified Immunity & 4th Amendment Reasonableness Determinations require a fresh 21st century look, since, once accepted notions of alleged race connected behaviors have been debunked? QUESTION 7: If there are genuine facts in dispute, should a case be dismissed on summary judgment? QUESTION 8: If Reid v. Georgia, 448 U.S. 438, 441 (1980) (police dispatch descriptions in general cannot be a basis for reasonable suspicion if officers run the risk of stopping an overly broad group of people) is the law, then was it proper for the 7th Circuit to hold that the stop and seizure of 13 year-old D.Z. was constitutionally valid? QUESTION 9: When it comes to the police stopping and seizing black males, is it enough that the lookout asserts black male without specifying complexion hue? 10


AT THE 2017 JAMAICAN BAR ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE Session VI: Threats to Freedom: Crime Fighting, Preventative Detention and Powers of Arrest PAPER: STOP, FRISK, and BAIL IN THE CARRIBBEAN AND ABROAD By Attorney Christopher C. Cooper © 2017 The Law Office of Christopher Cooper, Inc. Chicago, Illinois civilrightsemploymentlaw.com Contact: cooperlaw3234@gmail.com

THE UNITED KINGDOM EXPERIENCE Article entitled: The UK has a 'stop and frisk' problem, too PRI's The World https://www.pri.org/stories/2016-07-11/uks-stop-and-search-source-tension-between-police-and-minorities July 11, 2016 · 5:30 PM EDT By Daniel Ofman

An armed police officer patrols ahead of the arrival of members of Britain's royal family to a service of thanksgiving for Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday at St Paul's cathedral in London, Britain, June 10, 2016. Credit: Reuters/Peter Nicholls

Over the past week, it feels to many in the US like the already uncomfortable relationship between law enforcement and minorities is unraveling. But fatal shootings and overt violence aren’t the only sources of conflict. "Stop and frisk" searches, for example — which disproportionately affect minorities — have also been a heated point of contention between law enforcement and minority communities. The UK has a similar problem. Former London police officer Nick Glynn says he has experienced police racism first-hand. Glynn, who is black, has been stopped dozens of times for what the UK calls "stop and search." The fact that he was a police officer himself had varying effects on the officers who stopped him. “On some occasions it’s changed the encounter for the better and they have been much more friendly … the encounters ended pretty quickly,” Glynn said, “but on other occasions for some reason it has made it worse.”

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AT THE 2017 JAMAICAN BAR ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE Session VI: Threats to Freedom: Crime Fighting, Preventative Detention and Powers of Arrest PAPER: STOP, FRISK, and BAIL IN THE CARRIBBEAN AND ABROAD By Attorney Christopher C. Cooper © 2017 The Law Office of Christopher Cooper, Inc. Chicago, Illinois civilrightsemploymentlaw.com Contact: cooperlaw3234@gmail.com

A police officer checks an man's mobile phone after stopping and searching him on a back street in the Brixton neighbourhood of London. Credit: Reuters/Andrew Winning Glynn has no doubt that when people are stopped on the streets of London racial profiling is a key factor. In one of Glynn’s first encounters with the police in the late 1980s, Glynn figured he was stopped because he was driving a new car. But the trend has continued, and he still gets stopped frequently. “More recently I’ve been stopped a number of times where my genuine belief was the only reason I’ve been stopped is because it’s a black guy driving a car,” Glynn said. “I don’t think it’s quite on the scale that it is in the US [in the UK] because we have different histories and we have different population makeup, but it’s still a big issue here.” 12


AT THE 2017 JAMAICAN BAR ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE Session VI: Threats to Freedom: Crime Fighting, Preventative Detention and Powers of Arrest PAPER: STOP, FRISK, and BAIL IN THE CARRIBBEAN AND ABROAD By Attorney Christopher C. Cooper © 2017 The Law Office of Christopher Cooper, Inc. Chicago, Illinois civilrightsemploymentlaw.com Contact: cooperlaw3234@gmail.com

There are tools available to bring more accountability to policing, however. Glynn notes data on police "stop and search" practices as one of them. “The availability of data means that both the police internally can have effective scrutiny but also the public can have access to that data … which means they can hold the police to account because policing is done for and with the public.” Glynn can relate to what’s going on in the United States, and he believes progress can be made to improve the relationships police officers have with minorities. “It feels like things are spiraling, and there’s a real need for calm collected reflection, honesty, for transparency; for absolutely a focus on looking for solutions.”

Police Powers The powers of [the] police in England and Wales are defined primarily by statutory law. The primary sources of police power are from the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and the Police Act of 1996. As to England, a review reported in 2013 by HMIC (Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary) “found police had carried out a stop and search without reasonable grounds in 27% of cases. Under the law, the power should be used when based on specific and objective information that a person is in possession of a stolen or prohibited item. Then home secretary Theresa May “resolved that it was ‘time to get stop and search right.’" (https://www.theguardian.com/law/2013/oct/20/stop-and-search-streetspolice). As in Jamaica and the United States, police in England and Wales possess the power to detain people in connection with an offence; have limited power to stop and search people/vehicles in connection with offences (actual or suspected); have the power to arrest people without a warrant for minor offences. The reason for a stop must be “clear” and should be made known to a stopped or detained person. Powers to stop and search can be extended on a limited (by place and duration) basis by legislation such as s.60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994[1] or ss.44-47 of the Terrorism Act 2000. A New Zealand Experience By Aaryn Niuapu

Article Title: AARYN NIUAPU

As a Maori-Samoan, I know we need to talk about racism 13


AT THE 2017 JAMAICAN BAR ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE Session VI: Threats to Freedom: Crime Fighting, Preventative Detention and Powers of Arrest PAPER: STOP, FRISK, and BAIL IN THE CARRIBBEAN AND ABROAD By Attorney Christopher C. Cooper Š 2017 The Law Office of Christopher Cooper, Inc. Chicago, Illinois civilrightsemploymentlaw.com Contact: cooperlaw3234@gmail.com Last updated 10:48 31/05/2016

FILE IMAGE Protesters march to Parliament in Wellington calling for the end to racism. Aaryn Niuapu believes Kiwis need to talk about this issue.

One Tuesday afternoon, a couple of years ago, I was on my way home from university. I jumped off the bus, and proceeded to walk down the main road before turning into the street I lived on. I was about five houses away from my home when it happened. A police car came zooming up onto the footpath to cut me off, I was cornered between the car and the front hedge of a property. The officer got out in a hurry, and as the car lurched forward, he quickly reached back into the vehicle for the hand brake. Jumping out and jogging towards me, with his hand out commanding me to stay where I was, he asked me where I was going. No nice hello, no warning of his presence or intention. I was cornered, five houses from my home, and I didn't know why. I told the officer that I was on the way home, I even pointed to my driveway in the near distance. After talking into his radio, he asked me where I had been in the past two hours. I told him that I was at university in the morning and that I just got off the bus about five minutes prior. After asking to see my ID, in a rather forceful manner, he uttered words that I have never forgotten. "There's been a recent break-in. You look like the suspect." Those words, I have never forgotten. I told the officer that I didn't know anything about the break-in, and reiterated that I had been at university all morning.

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AT THE 2017 JAMAICAN BAR ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE Session VI: Threats to Freedom: Crime Fighting, Preventative Detention and Powers of Arrest PAPER: STOP, FRISK, and BAIL IN THE CARRIBBEAN AND ABROAD By Attorney Christopher C. Cooper © 2017 The Law Office of Christopher Cooper, Inc. Chicago, Illinois civilrightsemploymentlaw.com Contact: cooperlaw3234@gmail.com Checking my ID, he continued to question me about my knowledge of a stolen TV, in which I held out my hands which obviously had nothing in them. I asserted that I didn't break into anyone's house, and I didn't steal anything. The officer continued to emphasize his statement. "Well, it's just that you meet the description, I'm going to get the home owner to come and see if you're the one, just wait there." After the officer called it in, another cop and a man came out of a property across the road. The initial officer asked the man if he thought I looked like the suspect. To my relief, after the man analyzed me for what seemed like forever, he disclosed that he didn't believe I was the one. The other officer proceeded to escort the man back to his house. The initial cop hurriedly apologized for the inconvenience, before jumping back into his car. As the vehicle dismounted the footpath, and the officer drove off, I was left with a feeling that I've carried ever since. Shame. That afternoon, as I got home, I didn't tell my mum what happened, I didn't lodge a formal complaint with the police, and I didn't tell people about the shame I felt. It was like a muzzle, like if I told people, I felt no one would care. I felt like it was just normal, for a young Maori-Samoan, to be racially profiled by the police. Whether in restaurants, shops, at university, or even on my own street; I've had awful experiences that have made me internalize shame and sadness. The shame of being racially profiled. The sadness, that it seemed normal in New Zealand, especially for people like me. I say this now, not as an attack on the police, but as a statement against racism in Aotearoa New Zealand. I'm not ashamed of who I am or what I look like, but I am ashamed of our country’s systemic racism issue. I hope that this encourages more people to share their experiences, and hopefully dialogue will come. We need dialogue, as a society we need to talk more about racism as well as ways to dismantle systemic racism. I don't want my kids to grow up with the same experiences that I've had, and I sure don't want them to carry a heavy sadness.

The author of this paper (as opposed to the author of the above) challenges readers to consider both sides. The side of the police and the side of Mr. Niuapu. Based on Mr. Niuapu’s own account, it may reasonable to conclude the police acted reasonably. This is because Niuapu’s account offers little show that the police lacked a reasonable basis to consider him a suspect.

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AT THE 2017 JAMAICAN BAR ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE Session VI: Threats to Freedom: Crime Fighting, Preventative Detention and Powers of Arrest PAPER: STOP, FRISK, and BAIL IN THE CARRIBBEAN AND ABROAD By Attorney Christopher C. Cooper © 2017 The Law Office of Christopher Cooper, Inc. Chicago, Illinois civilrightsemploymentlaw.com Contact: cooperlaw3234@gmail.com

THE POLICE PERSPECTIVE The police should not be thought of as monolithic. Reasons include that black police associations along with police organizations of color often take a position distinguishable from mainstream police organizations. The latter groups have too been faced with repeated incidents in which black police officers and other members of the law enforcement community, are subject to stops and detainment which are suspect (as in, may be a product of racial profiling). See below as examples: Black Florida state attorney Aramis Ayala pulled over in traffic stop ... https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation.../black-florida...stop.../478498001/ Jul 14, 2017 - ORLANDO -- A traffic stop involving State Attorney Aramis Ayala, Florida's first AfricanAmerican state attorney, has been raising some eyebrows. ... The video has sparked outrage among some who say Ayala was pulled over due to racial profiling. ... Ayala released a statement in response ...

White Police Officer in St. Louis Shoots Off-Duty Black Colleague - The ... https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/26/us/saint-louis-black-officer.html Jun 26, 2017 - A white police officer shot and wounded an off-duty black officer who had been trying to help with an arrest in St. Louis last week, a “friendly fire” ...

Despite mishaps and improper profiling by some officers, there are times when members of the public may not appreciate the reasonable basis upon which a police officer stops, frisks, or detains a person. The below article brings to attention some such situations, contemporaneous with also alerting readers that some officers maintain stereotypical perceptions and carry Sociological Baggage which are an impediment to an officer carrying out police duties equitably.

Article entitled: 3 Officers, Prolific at Stops, Will Get Their Say at Trial By JOSEPH GOLDSTEINMARCH 26, 2013 Internal Quotations omitted. Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/27/nyregion/police-perspective-to-bepresented-at-trial-on-stop-and-frisk-tactic.html One officer described how car thieves might pretend to be beggars, sifting through curbside trash. “If someone is in the middle of a dark street, staring into the car and then when we drive by, they start ripping up garbage bags,” the police officer, Michael Noboa, said, “that would give me reasonable suspicion to conduct a stop, question” and possibly frisk.


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AT THE 2017 JAMAICAN BAR ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE Session VI: Threats to Freedom: Crime Fighting, Preventative Detention and Powers of Arrest PAPER: STOP, FRISK, and BAIL IN THE CARRIBBEAN AND ABROAD By Attorney Christopher C. Cooper © 2017 The Law Office of Christopher Cooper, Inc. Chicago, Illinois civilrightsemploymentlaw.com Contact: cooperlaw3234@gmail.com

Another officer in the same Brooklyn precinct, Kha Dang, explained how gang members often stash a gun nearby when they congregate outdoors. So he might grow suspicious, he explained, if he observed people repeatedly glancing over at a trash can or “at the bushes, you know, no person would sit there and keep looking at the bushes like that.” In the debate over the Police Department’s use of stop-and-frisk tactics, the discussion has largely pitted the accounts of those who have been stopped — mostly young black and Latino men — against a staunch defense of the strategy by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg; the police commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly; and others who say it is a crucial crime-fighting tool that has saved lives. But largely absent has been the perspective of officers who spend their days on the streets carrying out the tactic, which has stoked intense resentment in many parts of the city and is now at the center of a federal trial in Manhattan. Now, as a result of the unusually large number of stops they conducted, Officers Noboa and Dang, as well as a third officer in the same Brooklyn precinct, Edgar Gonzalez, are poised to become intriguing players in the trial over whether the city’s street stops have resulted in constitutional violations. The officers have already described in pretrial testimony the kinds of suspicious behaviors that might lead to a street stop. At one point, the three officers were conducting an average of about 10 street stops a week, far more than other officers. Over one three-month period in 2009, according to legal papers, they were “three of the four N.Y.P.D. officers who recorded the highest number of stop, question and frisk encounters.” Pretrial depositions from at least one of the officers are likely to be submitted into evidence in the next week or so. Officer Dang is also expected to be called as a witness, lawyers say. Hundreds of pages of testimony from the officers, obtained by The New York Times, offer a window into the unvarnished street-level experiences of the officers who were unusually active when it came to finding and confronting behavior they deemed suspicious. It also goes to the central issue of the trial: whether officers only stop individuals who they have reason to believe are engaged in criminal activity, or whether the stops are a result of racial profiling. In their statements, the officers described various legal standards related to encounters between the police and the public. While officers have a right to approach anyone to request information, the encounter only becomes a stop, as Officer Noboa explained, once “you temporarily detain somebody while you’re speaking to them.” Officer Gonzalez, in his deposition, explained that, “We can’t just stop anyone for the sake of stopping a person.” 17


AT THE 2017 JAMAICAN BAR ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE Session VI: Threats to Freedom: Crime Fighting, Preventative Detention and Powers of Arrest PAPER: STOP, FRISK, and BAIL IN THE CARRIBBEAN AND ABROAD By Attorney Christopher C. Cooper © 2017 The Law Office of Christopher Cooper, Inc. Chicago, Illinois civilrightsemploymentlaw.com Contact: cooperlaw3234@gmail.com

Indeed, before conducting a stop, Officer Gonzalez said an officer had to believe “the person has committed a crime, is committing a crime or is about to commit a crime.”

Three officers in the 88th Precinct in Brooklyn had the most stop-and-frisk episodes in a three-month period in 2009. Credit Kirsten Luce for The New York Times The officers offered examples of situations in which suspicious behavior might result in a stop. Officer Gonzalez said he might grow suspicious if someone were waiting at a bus stop and “every possible bus that they could possibly get on has come through and went, and this person is still there.” Officer Dang said that men “randomly looking in apartment windows” had led to a number of stops. Still, Officer Noboa said he tried not to jump to conclusions when observing seemingly suspicious behavior, often pausing before moving in to stop someone. “I don’t want to stop someone without having the reasonable suspicion, and I usually just wait and make the observation,” Officer Noboa said. “Maybe I’m overlooking something, maybe I’m not seeing the bigger picture.” The officers also explained that not every stop was the result of an out-of-the-blue observation. Some stops occurred in response to a specific crime, often as an officer drove a victim in search of a suspect. “When you have a victim of a crime in a car, and she tells you this is the person that did it, and you would obviously stop them, you know,” Officer Gonzalez explained.

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AT THE 2017 JAMAICAN BAR ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE Session VI: Threats to Freedom: Crime Fighting, Preventative Detention and Powers of Arrest PAPER: STOP, FRISK, and BAIL IN THE CARRIBBEAN AND ABROAD By Attorney Christopher C. Cooper © 2017 The Law Office of Christopher Cooper, Inc. Chicago, Illinois civilrightsemploymentlaw.com Contact: cooperlaw3234@gmail.com

The officers’ testimony also contained reminders that even in a large city, crime can be local. The three officers, assigned to the Clinton Hill and Fort Greene neighborhoods, grew familiar with the criminals in their precincts. According to the testimony, they often compared notes about the demeanor of a particular suspect during interactions with various officers. Officer Dang explained that he might know a person he was stopping given “my previous experience from arresting the person, or the person has been wanted by the detective squad for a particular crime.” The three officers all joined the Police Department in 2005. Two of the officers are Hispanic and the other is Asian. All three worked in plainclothes, part of the 88th Precinct’s anticrime teams, a destination for young, hardworking officers eager to prove they have the makings of a detective. Anticrime officers perform far more stops than uniformed patrol officers, who primarily respond to 911 calls. It is common for an anticrime officer to perform about 20 street stops a month. But the three officers each recorded between 126 and 134 stops over a three-month period. Some of the stops came amid an escalating gang war in July 2009 at the Ingersoll and Whitman public housing developments. A number of the deposition questions focused on the fact that blacks represented about 90 percent of the people the officers stopped. “A lot of the times people are calling 911 and giving us a description and whoever they described is essentially who we end up stopping,” Officer Dang explained, adding that a suspect’s descriptions went well beyond race. “If all you knew was the person’s race, and nothing else, then no, you couldn’t stop anybody,” he said. The officers denied ever engaging in racial profiling. “I know not to stop somebody for their race,” Officer Noboa said. “That’s wrong. Morally wrong.” The testimony offers few clues into the tenor of the actual street interactions. When a lawyer for the plaintiffs asked why so few of his stops seemed to result in an arrest, Officer Dang replied, “Hopefully the reason I’m not arresting them is because I’m preventing them from doing certain crimes.” A version of this article appears in print on March 27, 2013, on Page A19 of the New York edition with the headline: 3 Officers, Prolific at Stops, Will Get Their Say at Trial. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/27/nyregion/police-perspective-to-be-presented-at-trialon-stop-and-frisk-tactic.html

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AT THE 2017 JAMAICAN BAR ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE Session VI: Threats to Freedom: Crime Fighting, Preventative Detention and Powers of Arrest PAPER: STOP, FRISK, and BAIL IN THE CARRIBBEAN AND ABROAD By Attorney Christopher C. Cooper © 2017 The Law Office of Christopher Cooper, Inc. Chicago, Illinois civilrightsemploymentlaw.com Contact: cooperlaw3234@gmail.com

BAIL & BOND When the issues of police stopping and detaining are front and center, it is prudent to maintain a contemporaneous discussion as to matters of bail and bond. In short, where a justice system causes those detained to have to pay monies (regardless of the form, i.e., cash bond or the requirement of a surety) to cause release from detainment\confinement, significant pokes at democracy occur, so asserts the author of this paper. ARTICLE TITLE: Jamaica Needs A Bail Bond System – Bar Association President Published:Monday | September 25, 2017 | 9:45 AM9

President of the Jamaican Bar Association, Jacqueline Cummings, says it’s time for a bail bond system to be introduced in Jamaica. Cummings argues that this will help to regulate current practices as well as make it easier for poor Jamaicans to stand surety. Currently, many persons who do not own valuable assets or who lack money turn to individuals of means to stand surety for their relatives. While not illegal, the practice is frowned upon by some in the administration of justice. In an interview on Power 106, the bar association president contended that the justice system needs to be reformed so as to address the difficulties of posting bail. The discussion about individuals standing surety for accused persons re-emerged last week after a man, who bailed one of three murder accused, was held by the police. The man admitted that he did not know one of the accused. He was held while attempting to post bail for another accused person using the same land title. It was revealed that he used the title as surety on three occasions. __________

In the United States, bail and bond became a much talked about topic of discussion following the death of Sandra Bland in police custody. The below article explains the Sandra Bland saga. The author of the instant paper (Cooper) advocates for elimination of bond and bail.10 The District of Columbia has done away with bail and bond with success. http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20170925/jamaica-needs-bail-bond-system-bar-association-president Compare: (Spring 2003). Cooper, Christopher. Unlawful Motives & Race Based Arrest for Minor Offenses in Justice Policy Journal. Vo. No. 2.http://www.cjcj.org/pdf/cooper.pdf 9

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AT THE 2017 JAMAICAN BAR ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE Session VI: Threats to Freedom: Crime Fighting, Preventative Detention and Powers of Arrest PAPER: STOP, FRISK, and BAIL IN THE CARRIBBEAN AND ABROAD By Attorney Christopher C. Cooper Š 2017 The Law Office of Christopher Cooper, Inc. Chicago, Illinois civilrightsemploymentlaw.com Contact: cooperlaw3234@gmail.com

When it comes to pretrial release, few other jurisdictions do it D.C.'s ... https://www.washingtonpost.com/.../8eb52134-e7d3-11e5-b0fd-073d5930a7b7_story.ht... Jul 4, 2016 - Nationally, about 47 percent of felony defendants with bonds remain jailed before their cases are heard because they cannot make bail. At the D.C. jail on 19th Street SE, no one is locked up on a criminal charge because of an inability to pay.

ARTICLE TITLE: Failure to be bonded out led Sandra Bland to suicide, jail officials allege11

Sandra Bland, 28, of Naperville, was found dead in a jail cell in Waller County, Texas, on July 13, 2015, after her July 10 arrest.

Clifford Ward, Chicago Tribune A Naperville woman whose death in a Texas jail was ruled a suicide was distraught because family and friends failed to post her bond after her arrest during a traffic stop that turned contentious, attorneys for the jail contend in a new court filing. Attorneys representing Waller County, Texas, filed a motion in federal court Wednesday asking that a lawsuit filed on behalf of Sandra Bland's family against two jailers be dismissed. Family members say the jail was negligent in its treatment of Bland, 28, an African-American who authorities say hanged herself three days after an altercation with a police officer that spotlighted attention on confrontational interactions between police and minorities. The new motion contends jailers followed protocol, including a suicide screening, when Bland was booked into the jail, and that Bland took her life after she was unable to raise the $515 she needed to post bond.

-(2002). Cooper, Christopher. Subjective State’s of Mind & Custodial Arrest: Race-Based Policing in Journal. of Intergroup Relations, Vol. XXVIII,No. 4: 3-18. 11

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-sandra-bland-court-motions-met-20151112-story.html

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AT THE 2017 JAMAICAN BAR ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE Session VI: Threats to Freedom: Crime Fighting, Preventative Detention and Powers of Arrest PAPER: STOP, FRISK, and BAIL IN THE CARRIBBEAN AND ABROAD By Attorney Christopher C. Cooper © 2017 The Law Office of Christopher Cooper, Inc. Chicago, Illinois civilrightsemploymentlaw.com Contact: cooperlaw3234@gmail.com

"It is apparent now that Bland's inability to secure her release from jail — and her family and friends' refusal to bail her out of jail — led her to commit suicide," the motion said. "I think it's amazing that they said that," Chicago attorney Cannon Lambert, who represents Bland's mother, said Thursday. "I'm not sure how they can say that without having taken my client's deposition." Lambert, who this week filed a motion seeking more evidence and information from Prairie View, Texas, police about the incident, called the jail's motion "extremely premature."

Sandra Bland, in a photo from her Facebook page. (Facebook) Bland was stopped July 10 in Prairie View by a police officer for a minor traffic violation. The stop escalated, though, into a physical confrontation that led to Bland's arrest. Three days later, jailers say, she used a plastic bag to hang herself in her cell.Lawyers for the jail argued that jailers followed proper intake procedures when Bland was incarcerated. "In this case, (the jailers) conducted suicide screenings of Bland, and she indicated she was not suicidal," the motion said. "She disclosed a prior suicide attempt, but based on the totality of the circumstances, including Bland's demeanor and the charges against her, (the jailers) did not find her to be suicidal." The jail allowed her to make several phone calls in an attempt to raise bond, including to a Texas man with whom Bland had been staying, "but it appeared he was intentionally ignoring her calls," the motion said. Bland also contacted a bail bondsman, who, the jail said, contacted Bland's mother and other relatives. "However, none of her friends and family provided the approximately $515 necessary to bail her out of jail," according to the motion. Meanwhile, Lambert's motion asks the court to compel local police to turn over all information related to Bland's case, including some jail videotape. "Cleary, it makes sense to leave no stone unturned," he said. Lambert filed a subpoena in October seeking police information and documentation. But, in response, attorneys for Prairie View argue that they should not have to comply because of what they say is an ongoing criminal investigation into Bland's death. But Bland's attorney argues that the only apparent probe, a Texas Rangers inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Bland's arrest and death, do not constitute a criminal investigation, so Prairie View has no legal basis to withhold the information. "If you're not engaged in a criminal investigation, you're not entitled to the privilege," Lambert said Thursday. Lambert is asking the court to compel Prairie View to turn over its information or allow him to inspect the materials in the presence of the judge overseeing the federal complaint filed by Bland's mother, Geneva Reed-Veal. The matter is due for hearing Tuesday in Texas court. The officer who stopped Bland was placed on administrative leave following her arrest and death. He is also a defendant in the suit filed by Bland's mother. Bland had driven to Texas to accept a position at Prairie View A&M University, the school from which she graduated in 2009. Clifford Ward is a freelance reporter Copyright © 2017, Chicago Tribune

A version of this article appeared in print on November 13, 2015, in the News section of the Chicago Tribune with the headline "Bland was distraught by lack of bond, jail alleges - Motion to dismiss suit argues insufficient cash led to suicide.”

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AT THE 2017 JAMAICAN BAR ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE Session VI: Threats to Freedom: Crime Fighting, Preventative Detention and Powers of Arrest PAPER: STOP, FRISK, and BAIL IN THE CARRIBBEAN AND ABROAD By Attorney Christopher C. Cooper © 2017 The Law Office of Christopher Cooper, Inc. Chicago, Illinois civilrightsemploymentlaw.com Contact: cooperlaw3234@gmail.com

CONCLUSION In a democracy, for government to restrict a person’s freedom of movement, the basis must be reasonable. In the 21st Century, reasonableness must consider circumstances and context. "The reasonable cause to suspect that an individual has or is about to commit a crime must relate to peculiar characteristics of the persons or the vehicle he is driving, or the manner in which it is operated, or to information received. In Jamaica the citizen is free to move about without an obligation to carry a pass, and is not to be subject to arbitrary or random search. This is still a constitutional guarantee." The Honorable Justice Batts writing in Hemans, Gary v The Attorney General of Jamaica, supra. at ¶58. Furthermore, it is the position of this paper, that in the 21st Century, reasonableness must consider how demographics, along with race, ethnicity, and culture (apart from race and ethnicity) require law enforcement officers to notice differences. Christopher C. Cooper, ESQ., PhD. © 2017 Law Office of Christopher Cooper, Inc. 79 W. Monroe Street, Suite 1213 [or] 426 N. Broad St., Griffith, IN 46319 Tel: 312 473 2968 [or] 219 228 4396; cooperlaw3234@gmail.com

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