Hassan Ramzah probably can relate a little to verbal assaults on Barack Obama during thispast presidential campaign.
A man was ordered this morning to stand trial for criminal threat to Ramzah, a captain with the Wichita Police Department, because of Ramzah’s name.
William Bakker heard evidence at a preliminary hearing this morning that he saw Ramzah’s name on the WPD Web site and called Patrol East. Officer J.W. Kasparek reported he took the call at around 2 a.m. on June 28. Kasparek said the caller appeared intoxicated.
The officer said Bakker identified himself as Jason Sanchez, and demanded to speak to Ramzah, who is African-American.When told Ramzah was not on duty, police said the caller referred to Ramzah with a racial slur and called him a Muslim.
Kasparek said the caller then claimed to have a gun and said “I’ve shot people like that.” The caller also said he didn’t think a black man who was a Muslim should have achieved the rank of captain at the WPD “without being shot.”
Police were able to trace Bakker through the phone number.
Many times, I’ve watched prosecutors play confessions to crimes in courts, where the suspect starts talking after police tell them, “You have the right to remain silent.”
Police have told me the act of reading people their rights is actually a way to engage them and get them talking. Officers talk about how surprised they are when people allow them to search their cars at traffic stops. “Did they think I wasn’t going to find the brick of pot underneath their seat?” one said.
Now, most officers I know don’t set out to overstep their authority. They’re trying to do their jobs and catch outlaws.
But even law abiding citizens should know their rights under the U.S. Constitution. A group called Flex Your Rights has produced this video to help people understand those rights before they encounter police (via Underdog Blog):
I asked some defense attorneys to watch the video and give it their review.
Rebecca Woodman of Topeka, who argues appeals for public defenders’ offices around the state, said that the police encounters dramatized in the video are “unfortunately all too common, even though they each far exceed a police officer’s lawful authority under the Fourth Amendment.”
“It’s important for citizens to know their constitutional rights and how to exercise them,” Woodman said, “so that the right to privacy is protected, not only for themselves but for all citizens.”
Kurt Kerns of Wichita also found the video valuable.
“The bottom line is this: our rights are just like our friends and loved ones,” Kerns said. “If we ignore them, they’ll go away.”
A jury this morning convicted Scott Riener of attacking and injuring two police officers.
Testimony at Riener’s trial this week showed that he clotheslined a police officer who had chased him down by car, then by foot. The officer received 12 stitches. He had other medical complications from the injury after he was released from the hospital. Another police officer had earlier been dragged about 50 feet, when he had reached into the car during a traffic stop and Riener sped away.
The 6-foot-7 Riener had skipped out on parole a half dozen times. Because of his criminal history, he could be looking at a lengthy sentence when he returns Aug. 21 before Judge Rebecca Pilshaw.
The question is, when will Riener be up for parole next?
Colleagues of Clarence “Butch” Pugh, a former Sedgwick County sheriffs’ detention deputy killed in a motorcycle accident last month, are planning a benefit Friday to raise money to help bring his wife home to Wichita.
A dinner, silent auction, car show and karaoke contest are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. Friday at Signatures Lounge, 1621 S. Woodlawn.
The aim is to raise $25,000 to bring Debi Pugh back home from a hospital in Billings, Mont., where she is recovering after suffering multiple broken bones and having her left leg amputated. Butch and Debi Pugh had taken their new Honda Goldwings on vacation to Yellowstone Park. A driver of a pickup truck fell asleep at the wheel June 20, crossed the center line and hit the couple, killing Butch Pugh, and injuring Debi Pugh. Butch was 53.