I'm In Your Fort

Effectively archived

noreply@blogger.com (MichaelK) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 20:15:00 +0000

But see the Tumblr posts rolling down the sidebar on the right? Head on over, it's more fun over there.

And of course, there is the Great Hub.

Unsurprisingly, Pogan gets no real punishment

noreply@blogger.com (MichaelK) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 22:41:00 +0000

A former city police officer will not spend any time in jail after being sentenced to conditional discharge today for lying about a run-in with a cyclist.

Apparently there is no punishment for lying under the color of law, even if not getting caught would have cost the victim thousands in defense costs, prison time and left the victim with a felony record.

Take it, NY Daily News:

"The defendant doesn't need any further supervision by the court and the verdict is conditional discharge, period," said Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Maxwell Wiley.

...

The judge was swayed by some 180 letters in support of Pogan, detailing his long history of public service.

It was a long ten days he was a cop, I guess.

The sentence was even lighter than what the defense, which expected community service, had asked for.

-snip-

Pogan thanked the police union and his lawyer as he left court.

As well he'd better.

Another win for the fictional "higher standard."

Pogan sentencing, delayed

noreply@blogger.com (MichaelK) — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:33:00 +0000

Sentencing was originally scheduled for yesterday, but eTrack WebCrims tells me it's now up for July 14th:

Last Appearance: 06/23/2010 --- Information updated
Part: 42,
Judge: Wiley, M
Calendar Section: SENTENCES --- Information updated
Arraignment / Hearing Type: Sentencing --- Information updated
Court Reporter: Canella, D Urgo, P --- Information updated
Outcome / Release Status: Adjourned For Sentencing / Released on Recognizance --- Information updated

Next Appearance: 07/14/2010 --- Information updated
Part: 42,
Judge: Wiley, M
Calendar Section: SENTENCES
Arraignment / Hearing Type: Sentencing --- Information updated

LAPD update

noreply@blogger.com (MichaelK) — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 03:46:00 +0000

Update on LAPD bike kickers:

Four LAPD officers accused of clashing with bicyclists are relieved of field duty via Tucson Bike Lawyer

Claim filed against city over LAPD bicycle incident see on YouTube via laist

Where we get to see the cyclist that recorded the incident on his now-smashed iPhone.

From the claim:

Shortly after capturing an image of an LAPD officer kicking at the tire of a cyclist, Mr. Gallegos was chased down by LAPD officers, who tackled him, dragged him off his bicycle and proceeded to beat and kick him. During the course of the beating, one as of yet unknown LAPD officer stomped and kicked Mr. Gallegos' phone in what is believed to be an attempt to destroy evidence of the unlawful conduct of the LAPD officers.
After being beaten, Mr. Gallegos was then handcuffed and detained by the LAPD officers for approximately 45 minutes. In what is believed to be a further effort to conceal their unlawful conduct, the LAPD officers then issued Mr. Gallegos a traffic citation containing false and fabricated violations of the California Vehicle Code.

Good to know that an iPhone has a good chance of keeping the video data intact even after a good attempted evidence-destroying stomp.

Maybe the officers involved are getting the idea that cameras are the new guns*, or they've stopped by Photography is Not a Crime by now.

(Hint: damn right they are, keep shooting.)

Even Techdirt is getting in on this.

*Admittedly, I'm kind of surprised to see this one out of Gizmodo.

LAPD learned nothing from Patrick Pogan, I guess

noreply@blogger.com (MichaelK) — Sun, 30 May 2010 13:55:00 +0000

No, the lesson wasn't "quick kick instead of body-check" nor was it "just don't blatantly lie on a police report." This was an anti-BP ride though, maybe someone the cop knows works for BP. Or he's pro-oil-spill.

Well, you're not a good one, AWB

noreply@blogger.com (MichaelK) — Wed, 19 May 2010 15:29:00 +0000

AWB likes to delete comments that hit a little too close to home, I guess. Here's what I had to say to that:

"I could have broke the story some time ago, and I choose not to."

You either had a solid story you chose to spike, or you didn't have a solid story which makes this post somewhat meaningless.

One or the other.

If you write and publish stories you do journalism. It doesn't matter if you have an editor or if you edit yourself. "Blogger" is only a reference to the medium you work in.

Really, not even that harsh a commentary.

Sorry pal, you don't get to have it both ways. But I'll give you this: you're not a journalist in the end. You kept your mouth shut for your buddy Souder. You put your loyalty to him and your political party before your readers. Don't try to play it off like you had to make some sort of principled stand and you're some sort of hero for not giving info to the media, which you now claim not to be a part of.

Of course, if he's not a part of the media and not a journalist, it might be a good case for him to give up the www.fortwaynenews.com domain, and @ftwaynenews Twitter.

Originally posted in my Tumblr.

Bike Summit tomorrow

noreply@blogger.com (MichaelK) — Fri, 07 May 2010 18:19:00 +0000

Press release:

LOCAL CYCLISTS INVITED TO FREE BIKE SUMMIT SATURDAY MORNING

Free event features workshops, keynote speaker, vendor expo, bike rides

Fort Wayne, Ind. – The City of Fort Wayne invites cyclists to Saturday’s second annual bike summit at the Allen County Public Library downtown.

The summit’s keynote speaker, Randy Neufeld, will start at 9 a.m. He is a Chicago-area cycling advocate and SRAM Cycling Fund director. He will present examples from other cities that have had success in increasing bicycle use and offer solutions for expanding cycling opportunities here in Fort Wayne. Neufeld is coming courtesy of Summit City Bicycles and Fitness and Trek Bicycles.

Following Neufeld's presentation, participants can choose from four workshops offered in two 45-minute breakout sessions at starting at 10:25 and 11:15 that morning. The workshops will cover bikes as transportation, sharing the road for drivers and bicyclists, grassroots advocacy and details about Fort Wayne Trails and Bike Fort Wayne. Workshop sponsors are the Ronald G. Repka Foundation Inc., Fort Wayne Outfitters and Bike Depot, Carson Boxberger Attorneys and the Downtown Improvement District.

A free vendor exhibit open to summit attendees and library patrons will be in the library’s Great Hall from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Additional summit sponsors are the Fort Wayne/Allen County Convention and Visitors Bureau and Engineering Resources Inc.

Summit attendees can participate in as much or as little of the summit as they choose. Due to limited capacity at the library, the summit will be first come, first served.

3 Rivers Velo Sport, a local bicycle club, will offer three free bike rides following the summit, starting from the east plaza at the library.

A 30-minute downtown ride will start at 12:30. A longer casual ride featuring parks, the Rivergreenway and low-traffic streets will start at 1 p.m. For more experienced riders, 3RVS will also lead an out-and-back 45-mile road ride to Columbia City starting from the library at 1 p.m.

The club requires all riders to wear helmets and anyone younger than 16 needs to be accompanied by an adult.

Anyone attending the summit will receive a free “Ride Your Drive” t-shirt.

With input from the public, including information gathered during last year’s summit and from the 4,000-plus responses to the 2008 bike-use survey, the City’s planning department has drafted the Bike Fort Wayne plan. It is proposed as an amendment to Plan-it Allen, the joint City-County comprehensive land-use and development plan. For more information about the bike plan, visit http://www.cityoffortwayne.org/bike-home.html.

###

Be sure to show up, especially if you care about counteracting the 3RVS roadie influence/people who drive more miles with a bike on their car/SUV's bike rack than actually ride the bike.

On a slightly related note... Growing Resistance to Helmet Laws? via Copenhagenize. I'll just leave that right there.

OK, I'm shocked

noreply@blogger.com (MichaelK) — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:13:00 +0000

Ka-POW!:

The officer, Patrick Pogan, 24, who has since resigned from the Police Department, was found guilty of one count of offering a false instrument for filing; he was acquitted of assault.

Not sure how he dodged the assault, but never mind, the false filing was the charge that carries up to four years.

Now we just have to wait and see if he actually serves any time for nearly screwing up someone's life.

Let's drag this out some more

noreply@blogger.com (MichaelK) — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 18:54:00 +0000

And now we have a sick juror.

Deliberations resumed at 12:30 p.m. after being put on hold all morning after the husband of Juror No. 9, called in to say she was sick with a fever and strep throat.
The delay was compounded when court officers could not then reach the juror herself by telephone -- to determine the extent of her illness -- because she was home, sound asleep, said Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Maxwell Wiley.
"She's an older woman, so it sounds like we'll be missing [her] for an indeterminate amount of time," the judge said.

An alternate has been subbed in, and the jury was instructed to start deliberations over from the beginning. The jury had deliberated five hours after getting the case yesterday.

I'll still be shocked if the jury has the guts to hand down a conviction. And remember, it's come out that Pogan wisely (likely followed the advice of his superiors/friends and) resigned before being fired.

Bike-push cop Patrick Pogan -- charged with shoving and then framing a Critical Mass cyclist for arrest -- would "seriously consider" rejoining the NYPD if he's acquitted, said his lawyer, as a Manhattan Supreme Court jury goes into Day 2 of deliberations today.
Pogan resigned before being fired after his indictment 18 months ago in the notorious Times Square cyclist take-down.
The ex-cop remains "cautiously optimistic" of his chances of acquittal, said the lawyer, Stuart London.

Have to keep that "gypsy cop" option open, even if he doesn't get an acquittal.

Are they even trying?

noreply@blogger.com (MichaelK) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:03:00 +0000

I need to find more facepalm art.

Getting somewhere, before we forget

noreply@blogger.com (MichaelK) — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 01:28:00 +0000

And now that things are actually getting under way (and bike blogs will be picking right back up on it, it's not like anyone really forgot) we hear from the lawyer:

"Sometimes, good police work can look ugly," London said.

Which, while technically true, has no real bearing on this case. Thuggery looks pretty ugly, too. But it's not like he has a lot to work with here, what with blatant video evidence that's out of their hands.

And ultimately, Pogan never laid a hand on the paperwork charging the cyclist, Chris Long, of Bloomfield, NJ, the lawyer argued. That, he said, was hastily drafted by a superior officer, Sgt. Eric Perez, he said.

Take it, Picard.

We never expected the "but I didn't type it in" defense.

Whoever wrote it, the now dismissed criminal complaint -- which accused Long, an Army vet, of resisting arrest and attempted assault -- was based on Pogan's sworn statements, prosecutors have countered.

Going from "and so I body-checked the $%^@%!" to "and the cyclist swerved to hit me" is such an understandable clerical error, though.

The sick thing about all this is that without a random video capture, no court would have ever questioned the veracity of the statements in that report and Long would have suffered for it.

And judging by events that continue to come up, such as the savage beating of the UMD student, it just keeps happening.

Also: Bit of video at NY1

And it's finally ON

noreply@blogger.com (MichaelK) — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 11:45:00 +0000

But I must go to work for the moment.

NYPD cop to be tried for pushing Critical Mass cyclist

It's the New York Post, but not living in NY (yet) it's the best I can do from here.

Oh snap, Courteous Mass

noreply@blogger.com (MichaelK) — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 19:20:00 +0000

And I forgot to mention it before.

Possibly because I'm dead tired and probably won't get out there.

Better a Bike Pirate

noreply@blogger.com (MichaelK) — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 14:46:00 +0000

Than a Bike Ninja. It's just not a generally successful survival strategy.

Late-night bike ride kills teen

AP - SEYMOUR – Police say a pickup truck hit two teens riding double on a bicycle in the middle of the night on a southern Indiana highway, killing one boy and critically injuring the other.

Police say the boys were riding in the middle of the southbound lane of U.S. 31 a couple of miles from Seymour when they were hit about 2 a.m. Sunday.

More accurately, riding double in complete darkness on a highway at night (with no bike lighting at all, apparently; a reasonable assumption given the location I suppose, but of course the story doesn't mention it) will get you killed. And no styrofoam hat has yet been engineered that will mitigate a highway-speed impact, but I'm still surprised they didn't bother to mention that at least.

And later, the second boy died in hospital.

And onward we trundle

noreply@blogger.com (MichaelK) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 23:09:00 +0000

Case Number: 06416-2008
The following case which you have subscribed to in eTrack has been updated. Changes from the last update are shown in red and are annotated.

Court: New York Supreme Court - Criminal Term
Case Number: 06416-2008
Summons/Ticket Number:
Defendant: Pogan, Patrick
Defendant Status:
Arrest Date: December 16, 2008 08:30
Incident Date: July 26, 2008
Criminal Justice Tracking Number: 63322620J
NYSID Number: 2521497R
Arrest Number: M08705984
Issuing Officer Agency:
Issuing Officer Command:

Defense Attorney: London S And Tinan, John
Attorney Type: Private (Retained)
Assignment Date: February 4, 2009

Assistant District Attorney: Chung, Cindy
Assignment Date: February 4, 2009

Last Appearance: 03/10/2010 --- Information updated
Part: 42,
Judge: Wiley, M
Calendar Section: TRIALS AM
Arraignment / Hearing Type: No Type
Court Reporter: Cirillo, Valerie --- Information updated
Outcome / Release Status: Adjourned / Released on Recognizance

Next Appearance: 04/14/2010 --- Information updated
Part: 42,
Judge: Wiley, M
Calendar Section: TRIALS AM
Arraignment / Hearing Type: No Type

Tumblr roundup

noreply@blogger.com (MichaelK) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:39:00 +0000

A cautionary tale: Medford scraps bike licensing ordinance

My cats just chewed on Vader's lightsaber arm (amusing 'shoppery)

We3 Syndicated (see also here)

OH COME ON yeah you guessed it

noreply@blogger.com (MichaelK) — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 00:56:00 +0000

Last Appearance: 01/27/2010 --- Information updated
Part: 42,
Judge: Wiley, M
Calendar Section: TRIALS AM
Arraignment / Hearing Type: No Type
Court Reporter: Kern, Donna --- Information updated
Outcome / Release Status: Adjourned / Released on Recognizance

Next Appearance: 03/10/2010 --- Information updated
Part: 42,
Judge: Wiley, M
Calendar Section: TRIALS AM
Arraignment / Hearing Type: No Type

Let the Patrick Pogan watch continue...

In non-delayed justice news, a 5-year sentence was handed down to a teen driver that killed a cyclist while texting & driving in Washington state.

Ruin the kids to save them

noreply@blogger.com (MichaelK) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 19:44:00 +0000

A bounce-link to the tumblr. Remember, Brian Gensel at pros@porterco.org is the clown you want to rage at on this one.

Again with the cluelessness

noreply@blogger.com (MichaelK) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 21:04:00 +0000

Here, let me fix that Rant for you:

Why do the taxpayers of Fort Wayne and Allen County who ride bicycles or just don't drive have to pay as much in taxes for roads as those who use them (with cars and trucks) all the time? Bicyclists should get some paths and a share of the infrastructure as they pay into the taxes that fund the roads as well.

There you go, no need to thank me.

...

I know AWB has a loaded question up about this (with some nonsense of bike licenses and taxes; one of the links he gives doesn't go to the second part about being free - then he seems to think the bicycle commuter tax break is limited to California, instead of a federal tax break championed by a congressman from Oregon. But why let facts or accuracy get in the way of a good rant?) but...

Last I checked he was still hallucinating me leaving comments on his site without my ever being there. So I doubt any reason will get through. Must be getting under his skin...

I know they mean well...

noreply@blogger.com (MichaelK) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 05:13:00 +0000

[Update] Here is the initial text in .pdf format to view (Dropbox link, h/t Aishah Hasnie)

Press release via Aishah Hasnie:

STATEHOUSE (Dec. 16, 2009) - State Sen. Tom Wyss (R-Fort Wayne) filed legislation Tuesday to help protect Hoosiers by making it illegal to take or distribute "upskirt" pictures or video of a person in public.

"I felt compelled to author this legislation after hearing public concerns and media reports about a loophole in Indiana's voyeurism law that doesn't prohibit individuals from taking video or pictures of another person's private area in public," Wyss said. "As camera phones have become more popular, the ability for people to secretly take photographs has dramatically increased."

Current law prohibits taking photos of a person without his or her consent in a private place - bath, dressing room, restroom and shower - but provides no protection for public places and does not yet address the Internet.

If passed, Senate Bill 101 would make taking an inappropriate picture or video a Class 'A' misdemeanor - a crime punishable by up to one year in prison. If the person publishes or forwards an image via the Internet the crime becomes a Class 'D' felony - punishable by up to three years in prison.

"Voyeurs are taking advantage of new technology to secretly film and photograph unsuspecting victims in compromising positions," Wyss said. "Some of these opportunists then publish the video or images on Web sites featuring inappropriate shots of women in public places. Advances in technology have made updates to our law a necessity."

(emphasis mine)

I really want to see the text of the bill. Depending on how it's written, it may or may not pass constitutional muster. I'm especially interested in how narrow the definition of "inappropriate" is and how much room for interpretation there is.

Written badly enough, or interpreted with enough bad intent, it could become a tool for harassment of photographers, and an end-run around 4th amendment protections of cameras from being searched at will.

Of course it's not the only way someone's tried to craft anti-upskirt laws, say with technological mandates...

...and OH COME ON

noreply@blogger.com (MichaelK) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 23:29:00 +0000

It's becoming somewhat familiar.

Next Appearance: 01/27/2010 --- Information updated
Part: 42,
Judge: Wiley, M
Calendar Section: TRIALS AM
Arraignment / Hearing Type: No Type

It's been a solid year since Patrick Pogan was officially arrested. I'm beginning to wonder if the constant continuations are just in hope that everyone forgets about it so the charges can be quietly dropped.

Hard to let go

noreply@blogger.com (MichaelK) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 03:46:00 +0000

If I failed training for my job, I wouldn't get to keep it. Even more so if I constantly lost my temper with the people I worked for and with.

And I don't even carry a badge and a gun, like Brent Whan.

From the News-Sentinel report:

That event was followed by an apparent example of road rage while Whan and Baker were responding to an officer-assist call. Baker said Whan encountered motorists and pedestrians “in his way” while responding to the call, and he let out a profanity-laced tirade during what Baker described as a bout of “fiery anger.”

That shift closed with a traffic stop that Baker said was as bad as bad could be. Whan and Baker pulled a woman over for an undisclosed violation, and the woman was reportedly highly uncooperative with Whan. That made Whan's tactics and demeanor worse, Baker said. Baker said the stop got so bad that he was forced to let the woman drive off while he sat Whan down to discuss his issues.

If this isn't a roadside TASERing or shooting waiting to happen, I don't know what is.

And from the Journal-Gazette:

[Whan] received a three-day unpaid suspension in March for violating the county’s sexual harassment policy, improper conduct and immoral conduct.

Not really helping there.

I'd have to say it's a no-brainer to support Sheriff Fries in letting Whan go. Just because someone's in law enforcement shouldn't mean they have any greater right to keep their job than anyone else.

[Late EDIT] Deputy loses badge over anger problems - Leading to Sheriff overhauls applicant psych test

Now you've done it, Johnny

noreply@blogger.com (MichaelK) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:30:00 +0000

If you're a cop, and you're going to post a hateful little diatribe about how much you dislike and look down upon a certain group of people, lifting a picture from a photojournalist's site that's sympathetic to that group isn't the best idea.

It's probably even less of a good idea to put "photo courtesy of (link to site copied from)," which does tend to imply that at least permission was asked, if not outright endorsement.

I contacted Katia, the photographer and blogger that runs iamkatia.blogspot.com. She made it very clear that she was unaware that the photo was even being used. I didn't find this too surprising, given the difference in tone from her site to what "Johnny Law" writes:

Teenage bums. Dozens of them.

They usually range in age from mid-teens to early 20s. They love to have nasty dreds and smell like the ass of a camel. It seems like each one is issued a mangy dog to lead around. Most carry backpacks bigger than the ones carried by US Infantry. Heroin is often their drug of choice.

...

I give them very few breaks and often "suggest" that they go back to wherever they came from. Unfortunately I know that they are like cockroaches and I won't be rid of them until the weather changes again.

You just have to love the "suggest" in place of intimidate/target for harassment there in that last quoted paragraph there.

Of course Johnny doesn't use his real name or location - I wouldn't if I was gloating about targeting people I didn't like for misconduct and harassment - and bullies like this wouldn't gloat so publicly if they knew they could be held accountable.

Because really, if there is one thing that pisses me off beyond all measure, it's people with power pushing around people without it, and then bitching about it like it's some kind of fucking chore.

[UPDATE]

Now in place of photo:

*photo removed at request of counter-culture loving photographer*

Whose property he was all too happy to use, natch.

With added text:

It's probably a good thing that the picture was removed. Just use your imagination and think of a young person who hasn't bathed in months and likes to wear dirty cargo pants.

Of course, removing the picture also keeps Blogger from having take action on that DMCA takedown notice for using it without permission.

;)

...and continuing...

noreply@blogger.com (MichaelK) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:24:00 +0000

No change from last appearance. Patrick Pogan returns to court December 9th.

Just checking

noreply@blogger.com (MichaelK) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:26:00 +0000

I saw Officer to watch over EACS today in the News-Sentinel and that reminded me of What Did The Police Teach Your Child Today over at Injustice Everywhere.

There's probably nothing wrong with most school resource officers around the area... but I have to wonder how closely and if anyone's looked lately, instead of just assuming the SRO program is automatically a good thing.