A recent report by the Attorney General’s office shows that only one-quarter of Barre’s police officers have participated in training, offered by the Vermont Police Academy, that covers interactions with persons exhibiting mental health conditions.
Archive for March, 2010
Barre Cops Lag On Training
Friday, March 26th, 2010Reckoning With Torture
Friday, March 19th, 2010Following the events of Sept. 9, 2001, the United States launched a “war on terror” — a war against an enemy ill-defined and tied to no geographic place. The tactics employed by the U.S. government to wage the war ranged from conventional combat to espionage. They also included torture, a fact denied by the government at the time but since confirmed in thousands of pages of documents obtained by the ACLU through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. On Monday, April 12, librarians, lawyers, professors, students, writers, and others will read from recently released secret documents — memos, declassified communications, and testimonies by detainees at Guantanamo and elsewhere.
Ooops — Another Technical Correction
Thursday, March 18th, 2010Are Police Tracking You Through Your Cell Phone?
Monday, March 15th, 2010When you carry a cell phone with you, you’re constantly broadcasting your whereabouts. That’s OK when it’s your cell phone provider and you’re receiving a call. But it’s not OK when it’s law enforcement tracking you without a warrant.
58-Year-Old Barre Woman Tased
Thursday, March 11th, 2010If you’re going to Barre, look out. You could get Tased for questioning an officer’s reason for arresting you — even if you just cross your arms over your chest and say, “Give me a thrill.”
Senate Laptop Ban Lifted
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010It used to be lobbyists, advocates, and members of the public couldn’t use laptops while observing the Vermont Senate from the public galleries. That’s changed.
Obama Flipping On Military Tribunals
Friday, March 5th, 2010The Obama administration is apparently set to cave in to critics and bring Khalid Sheikh Mohammed before a military tribunal rather than have him tried in federal criminal court, as U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has wanted.
If You Thought The Patriot Act Was Gone….
Monday, March 1st, 2010You might have thought the USA Patriot Act was a Bush-era law passed in the wake of fear and insecurity surrounding the events of Sept. 9, 2001, and that a change in administration would mean a change in the law.
Think again.
The USA Patriot Act has just been renewed and re-signed into law by President Obama.