Live Blog from the Anchor Desk 05/05/09
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Tonight on AC360°, stunning allegations of highway robbery in a small Texas town. Dozens of drivers claim they've been held up for cash, cars and jewelry. Even more shocking is who some victims are blaming – the police who deny the accusations against them.
Don't miss Erica Hill's webcast on Gary Tuchman's report during the commercials. Watch our WEBCAST
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I have to say that Gary Tuchman did an excellent job of conveying the weirdness of this story.
Why would a police dept adopt procedures that to begin with are blatant violations of individual rights? What are the overall circumstances in Teneha? Whatever they might be, it seems obvious that these are unreasonable searches and seizures.
@MARINA-Im sorry to hear about that, but i hope this police robbery in texas stops soon..!
This is why when I travel from New Orleans to Texas I don't stop in small towns. This is " Racial Profiling " at its best. It's even amazing to find out it's one of our own stopping people for DWB ( Driving while Black).
I was pulled over in one of these small speed trap towns. The Cop knew we were from CA, and asked if I was bonded to drive in TX. I told him, I didn't know I had to be bonded to drive there legally. So he said that I would have to pay him right then and there, or go to gail. So he asked me how much money we had on us, and I told him we only had $60 to $70 dollars on me. He then gladly took every dollar we had in Cash, wrote me a speeding ticket, when I didn't think I was speeding, and sent us on are way. Don't Mess With Texas, ah, ah !
White Male, White Female, White Cop 1989-1990
Robert Potter, CA
Hi AC, AC360 casts and bloggers,
What an egregrious story of the police report!.. I never experienced anything first-hand like that..although i've heard the similar stories manytime foldover..( in Bangkok Too, if you get pulled over, you bribe a cop 2 bucks and then you are free to go )
Warm Welcome to the manhattan studio, mr cooper
Gary Tuchman,
Thank you for your the story of Highway Robbery in Texas, Excellent job! Congrats Gary!
Very interesting report by Nic - hope all reporters stay safe covering this story....
Outside of Kabul is the government actually in control
of most of Afghanistan.
Interesting point that the interrogation techniques weren't an issue with these terrorists. The opponents claim it's a great recruiting tool. I think they hate us no matter what.
Incredible piece by Nic Robertson. Fabulous reporting tonight. I read his story on the blog and I would have been scared spitless.
Those who want all government services localized should think long and hard about your "highway robbery" story. At some point, everyone has to travel through other cities, where one or two bad apples under the cloak of the government can make it a living hell.
Jana, Indiana, Gary will get that interview, he never gives up!
There is no worse criminality than that which is committed under the color of authority. These Texas extortionists should be charged under Federal RICO statutes and if found guilty spend a real long time in Federal prison.
I worry about Nick Robertson. His work seems to be putting him in harms way, more and more.
These things are so unbelievable!
And so far from my reality
Thank you for the news from Afghanistan/Pakistan...nobody does international news like you guys do. Much appreciated.
These things are so unbelievable!
And so far from reality
why are you'll so suprised at the allegations in texas on taking minority money. everyday we minority's are harrassed and threatened by cops and no one does anything to protect us. we are stopped for no reason and our property is taking from us and there is nothing that we can do.. your report is not helping unless u continue to put these people out there. only the media can give us a voice.
I can't wait for the face transplant story!
these cops down here have only one thing on their mind and that is pulling over people for a shakedown..I live here and have not experienced this but i have seen it and know all about it.there is no way in hell these cops would pull me over and take my hard earned money.I would hire a lawyer,file a criminal and civil complaint.i hope justice is served for all of the victims getting robbed.
Small town Texas will never change. I am from Texas and my family is in law enforcement there. You would be shocked at what is allowed to happen there. Hwy 59 is a major drug route from Houston to the northern states. The local officials use this as their justification for unlawful search and seizure. I am glad someone finally decided to fight back.
Forfieture law abuse is nothing new. Volusia County, Florida (Daytona Beach) ran a program for years. I don't know what the situation there is today. They would stop minorities on their way to Disney World, hoping they had brought cash for their vacation. When you're hundreds of miles from home and being held and threatened by armed men, and have had every cent you had with you stolen, what can you do? This has been going on for years in numerous locations. Thanks for bringing it to public attention, but you act as if this if something new.
A friend of mine recently got pulled over. He was driving without a license but his wife had $6000.00 in her purse. The police took that money and now they won't return it back. He got tooken to jail and appeared in court and was released. What should they do? Should they file a lawsuit?
Ask any Jamaican motorist who's been stopped for speeding violations and they'll tell you it's the norm for "hungry traffic cops" to ask what they can do for themselves to avoid being ticketed or slapped with points on their driver's license. Some cops are even brazen to ask them what will it be – the left (meaning to pass them money via the left hand to drop the charges) or the "write" – meaning they'll write a ticket if you don't intend to pay.
Its a recession. A district attorney and police officers have to live also. But hopefully it will be an awesome story for them to tell people on the unemployment line.
I highly recommend Nic's blog on this interview, as well. It is a fascinating account not only of the events, but of Nic's feelings throughout this interview.
Without U.S. the Taliban couldn’t have beaten the Russians...
These terrorists are gutless chickens–covering their heads when speaking publicly.
News flash!!! No one has won a war in Afghanistan since Alexander the Great...we aren't going to win in the traditional sense...we need to use political means, not militaristic, to "win" (no one "wins" a war, by the way).
This is not the only place in the country where this has happened. to get the money back, attach a lien on the property/vehicles of all the accused. Or, go to their homes and clean them out......since they used stolen money to pay for it. D.A.'s and cops who behave like this give justification to not trust the justice system. Sad!
If I were Gary right now I'd be jumping up and down like a giddy schoolgirl! This is a great story – can't wait to see where it will lead.
Where's the Justice Dept? Racial profiling by a black police officer? Greed and corruption are color blind! Look at the progressive we've made.
The story about the robbery of the innocent was not surprising to me.. I have heard stories like that for a long time!
Hey, Erica
I thought this could only happen in a third world country.
Shame on these people.
But this is the USA, there surely will be JUSTICE!!!
This region scares the heck out of me. I can't imagine interviewing them and thinking how in danger you would be during the interview. Amazing work by the journalist.
Great report by Gary! I feel good to have watched it.
Great reporting tonight. Believe it or not those things happen more often then most people know.
Hello to all, ALso check the Police "Checkpoints"no drunk drivers, just impound bills from 300-to 1000Dollars,
Whoa! These folks are bad, should go to jail taking advantage of simple folks like us, if it were Drugs and Gangs, it would be one thing but not hard working folks just trying to make it and they take advantage of them? The DA should go to jail for life! And the officer that would not speak to y'all should go further~!
Anderson, this is crazy, the Texas Troopers should be in there tomorrow, they are suppose to be the best, let them show us!
Bobbya
I wish I could say this surprizes me. Police corruption is more the norm than honest law enforcement. It seems our society has become used to being harrassed and robbed by the police, while forgetting what their job is supposed to be...protecting its citizens.
So glad that this 'outrage' is getting the attention that it deserves. It will be interesting to see how fast this 'so-called officer of the law' crawls in to a hole, and the unwarranted stops, and theft, comes to an abrupt halt!
Hey, it's Mr. Ackerman (remember from the Madoff thing?)!!! I love his analogies!
I hope Nic Robertson didn't put himself in harm's way. I truly enjoy Nic's reporting! What a great reporter!
I'm the Treasurer of a small city and our police officers are all good, honest people. Nothing like this going down in our city. It's insane! It requires collaberation of almost the entire city.
"Pakistan's pants are on fire." – this line just doesn't work very well in an analogy. It "dumbs down" the sentence.
Texas,
Isn't a fair state for the minority,
there has been so much racial bias against minorities here, I would love to see CNN keep us informed over the coming months on this story to T. Texas.
I love representative Ackerman. Thank God for people who aren't afraid to speak up and who (seemingly) have the best interest of his constituents in mind.
And I thought rural Georgia cops were pigs....lol OMG
Oh there's one of my favorite Congress people – Gary Ackerman from New York.
Good evening Anderson, Erica and fellow bloggers! I feel so badly for Judy Trunnell's family and, especially, her new baby who will never know her mother. I really wish people would seriously take into account the high risk of contracting contagious illness that teachers face every day at work. As much as I love all of my students, they are perfect little disease vectors. Teachers contract all kinds of serious illnesses from our students, including hepatitis, tuberculosis, regular flu, and now swine flu. We are constantly exposed to colds, bronchitis, lice, ringworm and other less serious illnesses/conditions. First year teachers often get sick a lot. Will someone please add us to the list of people such as doctors, nurses and police officers who are given preventive equipment, vaccines and medication? Judy Trunnell's baby should never have lost her mother to swine flu!