> Maybe I wasn't paying close enough attention (I can't find the original > post), but I don't remember that any car theft took place. A car theft > is almost certainly a felony, and I seriously doubt that an officer > needs to witness it in order to obtain a conviction. > > If instead the issue is, Shegstad was worried about a potential car > theft, that's a car of a different color. Personally, I'm worried about > financial companies stealing from me, but that in itself is not > sufficient to get an officer to arrest their principals.
You are correct. No one in the incident being discussed stole any cars (at least not that I am aware of). The crime Dave Shegstad witnessed was car burglaries. There were additional witnesses. The suspects were seen working in a team of two, systematically entering vehicles on one side of the alley, while the other served as lookout across the alley, then they'd switch roles, checking every car down the alley. Back to the point, in this circumstance, it was apparent that a ticket alone wasn't going to stop crime, but the suspects still weren't taken in. The cops decided to look the other way, giving their implied blessing to this "minor" crime. This is the policy handed down from the chief of police. Changes are needed. Dan McGrath Longfellow http://www.shegstad.us ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dave Garland" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <mpls@mnforum.org> Sent: Monday, September 12, 2005 1:58 AM Subject: [Mpls] Re: Mpls Digest, Vol 21, Issue 25 > On Sun, 11 Sep 2005 22:13:47 -0500 (CDT), [EMAIL PROTECTED] > wrote: > > >Thanks very much to both Anne and Gregory for your knowledgeable responses > >to the Shegstad car theft issue. I do feel a lot less outraged, because I > >can better understand what the cops are going through. I believe the > >problem is basically that it is very hard to get a conviction on something > >like car theft if not witnessed by an officer? So there's not much point in > >bringing in the bad guys? > > Maybe I wasn't paying close enough attention (I can't find the original > post), but I don't remember that any car theft took place. A car theft > is almost certainly a felony, and I seriously doubt that an officer > needs to witness it in order to obtain a conviction. > > If instead the issue is, Shegstad was worried about a potential car > theft, that's a car of a different color. Personally, I'm worried about > financial companies stealing from me, but that in itself is not > sufficient to get an officer to arrest their principals. > > Dave Garland > Powderhorn > REMINDERS: > 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. > > 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. > > For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html > For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract > ________________________________ > > Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy > Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org > Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
