say. isn't this how Rambo went on the attack? abuse at the hands of some back wood policeman?
i'd call out the national guard, just to be sure.
Army Vet Jailed for Christmas in PA for "wrong turn"?
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2011/12/23 12:47:39
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WAYNESBURG, Pa.
—
THE PITTSBURGH CHANNEL.com
A decorated Army veteran, who has never been in jail before, has been
behind bars since Monday, and looks to be spending Christmas there as
well.
"It's been quite an experience that, to me, is very unjustified," Doug Madison told Channel 4 Action News' Jim Parsons
Madison is scheduled to be in the Greene County Prison until Wednesday.
Madison told Parsons he was driving a chemical tanker from South
Carolina to Halliburton's plant near Carmichaels, Pa., on Monday when
his GPS directed him off Interstate 79 and onto country roads that have a
10-ton weight limit.
Madison's truck weighed three times that.
He was cited by a Pennsylvania State Police trooper for two traffic violations that carry a total fine of $12,000.
Ok, this is just wrong at any level. This is a sad state of affairs that Pennsylvania cannot find it's way through to give this Army Veteran a break. It seems like an honest mistake.
FULL STORY AT THE LINK BELOW
Read More: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45770582/ns/local_news...
Top Opinion
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beavith1 2011/12/23 22:12:01
Bottom line, there are lots of reasons why it is reasonable to expect this veteran to post a bond before being released. Given the risks involved, a $6,000 bond does not seem unreasonable. If you read the story, you will see this bond was lowered to $1,200 and the driver did get released before Christmas.
The officer did his/her job. I think we should praise the judge for coming in on his day off so the veteran could be released rather than looking to criticize our fine judicial system and police force.
I am ex-military and was a long haul trucker for a few years myself and dealing with the job, much less some of the hard azz --rules are God -- cops looking to dock your pay for the slightest excuse, is not always as easy as you might aSSume.
I support America's first responders against all challenges....the challengers must prove the first responder acted unreasonably before they get my attention. Remember it was a veteran who shot American troops at Fort Hood. If the first responders hadn't been there to deal with that veteran who knows how many loyal, law abiding Americans would have been injured and killed?
That doesn't mean this isn't an unfortunate story but ... the veteran will not spend Christmas in jail. He was released today after posting a bond. A judge sacrificed part of his day off to make this happen. If the veteran had done his job, the judge could have spent today with his family.
...and Thanks but I am personally experienced enough to know that first responders, judges and other lifelong dependent bureautopians are not always as selfless, honorable and professional as you might wish to innocently portray them.
Now lets talk politics and definitions. In politics we have progressives and conservatives. Progressives want to change the system. Conservatives want to preserve the system. The police officer and judge in this article represent the system. A progressive would therefore be inclined to support the veteran and use this instance to advocate for change. A conservative would be biased toward supporting the system, i.e., the police officer and the judge.
I recognize the present system has challenges but I believe in America. So when there is no evidence to proving malicious intent or fraud, I support our first responders.
I give the police officer the benefit of the doubt. I give the person arrested by the police officer due process. No one has suggested this truck driver's right to due process was violated. They have suggested a police officer ignore the law because the truck driver was a veteran and it was Christmas time.
It is always dangerous to suggest a police officer substitute their judgement for the law. 1) Who is to say the police officer didn't receive a "gift" for a beneficial judgement; 2) Why should the police officer have more power to decide the law than those elected to write and interpret the law, i.e., the legislature and the courts?
It is good will toward men time.
i'd call out the national guard, just to be sure.
None of that withstanding, while it may be that our police officers everywhere have to uphold the law, it is also a fact that some (and keyword here is some, not all) police officers break the very laws that they paid to uphold...
Also, our police officers everywhere, on a daily basis, use what is called discretion... they decide on a case by case basis if they are going to go by the letter if said laws or if they will cut someone a break...
In this case, the officer should have cut the guy some slack in the spirit of Christmas... as well as taking the extenuating circumstances into consideration...
To address this comment below, NO; being a veteran does NOT exempt you, but asinine statements like this one demonstrate how incredibly stupid some people are, and this person demonstrates it in SPADES!
You break the law you pay the price. Whilst that "veteran" was getting pissed in the war zone, all the truckers at home had to abide by the laws whilst transporting all the luxuries the "veterans" enjoyed in Iraq and Afganistan
What is it with this veteran crap, there are thousands of war veterans sleeping on the steets and living from soup kitchens no one gives a crap about them.
The mention of Veteran only adds to the issue here. The greater issue is a man being thrown in jail for a minor offense.
Also, what "luxuries" do service men get that offend you so much? No need to answer, your presence here is mute. As you should be.
Ethan Kreutzer joined the Army at the age of 17 and fought with the 19th Airborne in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. When he retuned home, he had no money, no education and no civilian job experience. He soon became homeless. He slept in an alley off Haight Street, behind two trash cans.
June Moss drove from Kuwait to Iraq as an Army engineer in a truck convoy. When she returned to the United States, she lost her home, and drove her two young children from hotel to hotel across Northern California.
Sean McKeen, a hardy, broad-shouldered 21-year-old with a wide smile, went to Iraq to clear land mines, and to get money for college. When he returned home, he became homeless in less than a week. He found himself sleeping in a cot in a crowded homeless shelter in San Francisco.
They are all part of a growing trend of homelessness among returning war on terrorism veterans.
More than 2,000 military personnel return home to California each month. Most have no specialized job experience, education or an easy familiarity with civilian life. And many have post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), making it difficult to get along with friends and family, and almost impossible to hold down a job.
"You feel like the whole world is against you when you get home," said Kreutzer. ...
Ethan Kreutzer joined the Army at the age of 17 and fought with the 19th Airborne in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. When he retuned home, he had no money, no education and no civilian job experience. He soon became homeless. He slept in an alley off Haight Street, behind two trash cans.
June Moss drove from Kuwait to Iraq as an Army engineer in a truck convoy. When she returned to the United States, she lost her home, and drove her two young children from hotel to hotel across Northern California.
Sean McKeen, a hardy, broad-shouldered 21-year-old with a wide smile, went to Iraq to clear land mines, and to get money for college. When he returned home, he became homeless in less than a week. He found himself sleeping in a cot in a crowded homeless shelter in San Francisco.
They are all part of a growing trend of homelessness among returning war on terrorism veterans.
More than 2,000 military personnel return home to California each month. Most have no specialized job experience, education or an easy familiarity with civilian life. And many have post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), making it difficult to get along with friends and family, and almost impossible to hold down a job.
"You feel like the whole world is against you when you get home," said Kreutzer. "I was sleeping on the sidewalk, whereas I had been wearing a uniform less than a year before." Soft- spoken and restless, Kreutzer was recruited in a 7-Eleven while still in high school. After five months in Afghanistan, he had a mental breakdown, diagnosed as PTSD. When he returned to the United States, he spent almost four years living on the streets.
Kreutzer said he's met several veterans of the war in Iraq on the streets of San Francisco, or sleeping in Golden Gate Park. He also said he met several veterans of the war in Afghanistan, like himself, who were in similar situations.
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