tagged w/ Police Brutality
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A man whose family said he was autistic was killed by police in North Miami Beach after pointing a real-looking toy gun at an officer, police said Thursday.
Police officers responded to 911 calls about a man seen walking around the neighborhood Wednesday afternoon with a rifle, North Miami Beach Police Director Thomas Carney said. Officers gave commands for the man to drop the weapon, but he refused and pointed it at an officer, Carney said.
The man identified as Ernest Vassell, 57, was carrying a realistic toy that could be confused with a rifle or shotgun, police said.
"It's very tragic," Carney said. "People don't understand that police officers are going to treat you like that's a real gun until we determine differently. They're not going to take any chances."
The victim's sister said Vassell was autistic and had mental challenges.
"Ernest did not deserve to die like this. Everyone is still in shock and disbelief," Marva Vassell-Gordon said.
His neighbors said it was obvious that Ernest Vassell had a disability, and police should have known.
"It's so strange to me that I can see it, and then, the police didn't see it. Or they didn't look for it," said Conroy Anderson, a family friend.
Police were not immediately releasing further information on the shooting pending an investigation. ( Of course not, they're trying to find ways to spin this and make it seem like it wasn't their fault)A man whose family said he was autistic was killed by police in North Miami Beach... more
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KSirys
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9 months ago
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Um cops gone wild again. Cops located around the well known upstate amusement park "Rye Play land"got into an all out free for all with muslim patrons at the well know play land park. Most on lookers and people involved in the incident say the police arrived ready to crack heads. Diplomacy was not an option.
According to reports things got ugly when the muslim women were barred from going on rides due their head scarfs.. watch the video below for more.
Watch Brawl Video At The Link
http://www.waneenterprises.com/news/761Um cops gone wild again. Cops located around the well known upstate amusement park... more
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A former police officer from Gwinnett County, Georgia will serve a year of probation after pleading no contest to firing his Taser at a Waffle House waiter in 2009 — for fun.
Daniel Wilson, an employee of the late-night greasy spoon, said then-Officer Gary Miles was hanging around at around 2:30 in the morning during a graveyard shift back in February 2009. Wilson says Miles was a regular and in the past had intimidated and taunted him while both were on the clock — even though employees often fed the officers for free. This time, however, Wilson says the cop went over the line.....http://www.factoverfiction.com/article/3102A former police officer from Gwinnett County, Georgia will serve a year of probation... more
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Equal topless rights for all! Protesters take off their tops in the name of social justice
Cops increasingly under siege after homeless death
Anti-corruption protests in EuropeEqual topless rights for all! Protesters take off their tops in the name of social... more
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A federal jury says Chicago law enforcement must pay $330,000 to a family after officers shot their dog during a home raid that turned up no illegal activity.
Thomas Russell, then 18, opened the door to his home in February 2009 to find police officers with their guns drawn. He asked if he could lock up his 9-year-old black labrador, named Lady, before letting the officers inside. The Chicago Tribune describes what happened next:
Police refused the request and came into the house, the lawsuit said. When Lady came loping around the corner with her tail wagging, Officer Richard Antonsen shot the dog, according to the suit, which alleged excessive force, false arrest and illegal seizure for taking the dog's life.
The cops handcuffed Russell and his 16-year-old brother, and eventually charged Russell with obstructing their operation. He was found not guilty. According to NBC, the jury awarded $175,000 to Russell, $85,000 to his little brother, and $35,000 each to the brothers' parents. The officer who shot the dog owes $2,000 in damages, and his supervisor owes $1,000, according to NBC.
A law enforcement spokeswoman told the Tribune that the officers were protecting themselves.
FUCKING COWARDS!!!!A federal jury says Chicago law enforcement must pay $330,000 to a family after... more
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KSirys
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9 months ago
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A sericollection of photos featuring activists protesting the BART cellphone shut down that is said to be an attempt to stifle free speech and activism.A sericollection of photos featuring activists protesting the BART cellphone shut down... more
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By Eric W. Dolan
Thursday, August 11th, 2011 -- 5:05 pm
A police officer from Springfield, Massachusetts has filed an application for a criminal complaint against a woman who recorded his fellow officer beating a black suspect while he stood by, according to The Republican.
In November 2009, Tyrisha Greene made a 20-minute recording of now-retired Springfield patrolman Jeffrey M. Asher repeatedly beating Melvin Jones III with a flashlight during a traffic stop. The recording shows a group of other officers standing around Jones without intervening.
Jones was partially blinded in one eye from the attack, and had bones all over his face broken. The officers claimed that Jones grabbed one of their guns as they tried to arrest him and that Asher struck Jones with his flashlight in order to "disorientate him."
But a grand jury rejected that claim, finding no evidence that Jones behaved aggressively towards them.
Michael Sedergren was one of the four officers disciplined for the incident. He was suspended for 45 days. Sedergren claims Greene violated the state's wiretapping laws by recording him without his consent.
“If officer Sedergren feels his rights were violated under the law then he has the opportunity to make his case in court, just like everyone else,” Sedergren's lawyer said.
"When you start charging people who have videotaped police wrongfulness, it borders on, in my opinion, an attempt to silence people,” Democratic Rep. Benjamin Swan told The Republican.
“I think it would be dangerous if this person were to be charged with a crime,” added the Rev. Talbert W. Swan, president of the NAACP's Springfield branch. “It would say to the public that we don’t have the right to hold law enforcement accountable for their actions.”
Jones has been charged with shoplifting, domestic battery and drug trafficking on separate occasions since 2009.
"D'Oh!!! How LAME is that???"By Eric W. Dolan
Thursday, August 11th, 2011 -- 5:05 pm
A police officer from... more
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KB723
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10 months ago
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Off duty Officer Sentence of 2 years probation for the charge of felony battery for beating a female bartender half his size. http://www.factoverfiction.com/article/2618Off duty Officer Sentence of 2 years probation for the charge of felony battery for... more
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Jordan Flaherty, author of Floodlines: Community and Resistance from Katrina to the Jena Six, reports on the murder trial of five New Orleans cops for ColorLines.
August 10, 2011
Community members celebrate news of the convictions outside the courthouseCommunity members celebrate news of the convictions outside the courthouse
IN A historic verdict with national implications, five New Orleans police officers were convicted August 5 of civil rights violations for killing unarmed African Americans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and could face life in prison when sentenced later this year. The case, involving a grisly encounter on the Danziger Bridge, was the highest-profile of a number of prosecutions that seek to hold police accountable for violence in the storm's wake.
The officers' conviction on all 25 counts (on two counts, the jury found the men guilty, but with partial disagreements on the nature of the crime, which could slightly affect sentencing) comes nearly six years after the city was devastated by floodwaters and government inaction.
The verdict helps rewrite the history of what happened in the chaotic days after the levees broke. And the story of how these convictions happened is important for anyone around the U.S. seeking to combat law enforcement violence.
The results of this trial also have national implications for those seeking federal support in challenges to police abuses in other cities. New Orleans is one of four major cities in which the Department of Justice has stepped in to look at police departments. Any success here has far-reaching implications for federal investigations in Denver, Seattle, Newark and other cities.
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THE DANZIGER Bridge case begins with Hurricane Katrina. As images of desperate survivors played on television, people around the world felt sympathy for people waiting for rescue after the storm. But then images of families trapped on rooftops were replaced by stories of armed gangs and criminals roaming the streets.
News reports famously described white people as "finding" food, while depicting Black people as "looting." Then-Police Chief Eddie Compass told Oprah Winfrey that "little babies (are) getting raped" in the Superdome. Then-Gov. Kathleen Blanco announced she had sent in troops with orders to shoot to kill, and the second in charge of the police department reportedly told officers to fire at will on looters.
Evidence suggests that the NOPD acted on these instructions. On September 2, just days after the storm, a Black man named Henry Glover was shot by a police sniper as he walked through a parking lot. When a good Samaritan tried to help Glover get medical help, he was beaten by officers, who burnt Glover's body and left it behind a levee. The next day, a 45-year-old named Danny Brumfield, Sr., was killed by officers in front of scores of witnesses outside the New Orleans convention center when he ran after a police car to demand that they stop and provide aid.
The following morning, two families were crossing New Orleans' Danziger Bridge, which connects Gentilly and New Orleans East, two mostly middle-to-upper-class African American neighborhoods. Without warning, a Budget Rental truck carrying police officers arrived, and cops jumped out. The officers did not identify themselves, and began firing before their vehicle had even stopped.
Officers had heard a radio call about shootings in the area, and according to prosecutors, they were seeking revenge.
James Brisette, a 17-year-old called studious and nerdy by his friends, was shot nearly a dozen times and died at the scene. Many of the bullets hit him as he lay on the ground bleeding. Four other people were wounded, including Susan Bartholomew, a 38-year-old mother who had her arm shot off of her body, and her 17-year old daughter Lesha, who was shot while crawling on top of her mother's body, trying to shield her from bullets. Lesha's cousin Jose was shot point-blank in the stomach and nearly died. He needed a colostomy bag for years afterward.
Further up the bridge, officers chased down Ronald Madison, a mentally challenged man, who was traveling with his brother Lance. Ronald was shot in the back by one officer, and then stomped and kicked to death by another. Lance was arrested and charged with firing at officers, and spent weeks behind bars.
At the time, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported that officers "sent up a cheer" when word came over police radios that suspects had been shot and killed.
A cursory investigation by the NOPD justified the shooting, and it appeared that the matter was closed. In fact, for years, every check and balance in the city's criminal justice system failed to find any fault in this or other officer-involved shootings from the days after the storm.
Eddie Jordan, the city's first Black district attorney, pursued charges against the officers in late 2006. When the cops went to turn themselves in, they were greeted by a crowd of hundreds of officers, who cheered for them and called them heroes. Before the case could make it to trial, it was dismissed by a judge with close ties to the defense lawyers, and soon after that, Jordan was forced to resign.
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AFTER THE charges brought by Jordan were dismissed, the story of police violence after Katrina remained untold.
Jordan believes an indifferent local media bears partial responsibility for the years of cover-up. "They were looking for heroes," he says. "They had a cozy relationship with the police. They got tips from the police; they were in bed with the police. It was an atmosphere of tolerance for atrocities from the police. They abdicated their responsibility to be critical in their reporting. If a few people got killed, that was a small price to pay."
Other elected officials, like the city coroner, went along with the police version of events. For example, the coroner's office never flagged Henry Glover's body, found burned in a car, as a potential homicide.
But the Madisons, the Bartholomews and the Glovers, along with family members of other police violence victims, refused to be silent. They continued to speak out at press conferences, rallies and directly to reporters. They worked with organizations like Safe Streets Strong Communities, which was founded by criminal justice activists in the days after Katrina, and Community United for Change, which was formed in response to police abuses.(more at link)Jordan Flaherty, author of Floodlines: Community and Resistance from Katrina to the... more
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What we are not hearing much about is the excessive police force which resulted in the death of a British youth, and which elicited a small familial protest that ignited the festering discontent of social and financial disenfranchisement of British youth. As here in the U.S., British government has condoned and facilitated the corporate and banking fleecing of the people and the national treasury. Such smoldering discontent is like small tender building up on a forest floor which ignites into an out of control forest fire with one lightning strike, or a carelessly tossed match; such as excess police brutality or prohibiting police action filming. It's bound to happen here as well under the current circumstances and course of government action. One comment from a victim of the riots characterizes the issue completely: ["No one's stolen anything," Graham Reeves said. "They just burnt it down."] The purpose isn't looting, as alleged, it's to vent anger and frustration at the "establishment" which has exploited and victimized the average person in the U.K. Our criminally militant corporate & banking right believe that they will be unharmed if such an outbreak occurs within the United States, but I suspect they will be terminally mistaken. The dissatisfied in this country have a very good idea of who has stolen their lunch and beds.
"UK riots claim 1st death; Cops weigh new tactics"
"Police to flood London streets amid riots"
"(CBS/AP) LONDON - British Prime Minister David Cameron recalled Parliament from its summer recess Tuesday and nearly tripled the number of police on the streets after three days of rioting in London blossomed into a full-blown political crisis.
Cameron described the scenes of burning buildings and smashed windows in London and several other British cities as "sickening," but refrained from more extreme measures such as calling in the military to help beleaguered police restore order.
Instead, he said 16,000 officers would be on the streets of the capital Tuesday night, almost tripling the number that were out Monday night.
Some 525 arrests have been made in London alone and dozens were arrested in other cities. Police announced Tuesday that plastic bullets would be "one of the tactics" available to officers to quell the riots.
London riots spread to 3 other U.K. cities
London riots said fueled by BlackBerry (Really?)
The riots also claimed their first death — a 26-year-old found shot dead in a car."
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/08/09/501364/main20089926.shtml?tag=nl.e875What we are not hearing much about is the excessive police force which resulted in the... more
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University of Cincinnati officials are investigating the school's police department after a summer school student died after campus cops shot him with a Taser.
Everette Howard, 18, from Cincinnati, had a heart attack early Saturday after a confrontation with campus cops investigating a reported assault.
The incident took place outside a dorm where Howard was staying during a six-week college prep program. He was set to enroll at University of Cumberlands in Kentucky in the fall.
School officials said officers arrived at the dorm at around 3 a.m. and were approached by Howard, who was agitated and had balled his fists, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
The cops told Howard to back off but he refused, officials said. An officer then shot him once with a Taser.
Howard crumpled to the ground. When the officers checked on him, he was incoherent, officials said. Paramedics arrived, and Howard went into cardiac arrest soon after.
He was pronounced dead at University Hospital.
UC Spokesman Greg Hand told The Enquirer an investigation "ongoing."
The officer who fired the stun gun was on paid leave, local reports say.
UC Assistant Dean of Students Dawn Wilson said the school was "distraught" over the young man's death.
"I just wanted to be here to express my support to students and my condolences to his friends and family and the people who loved him," Wilson told WLTW television.
Howard was a champion wrestler in high school and graduated in the top 10% of his class this spring.
He was enrolled in the university's Upward Bound program, which helps prepare poor high school students for college, The Enquirer said.
On Sunday, dozens of students gathered on UC's campus for a candlelight vigil, and more than 1,400 people posted condolences for the young athlete's family on a Facebook tribute page.
"He was probably the most talented student as far as writing skills, oral, leadership; anytime I had trouble with the rest of the group he would help me out," Ekundayo Igeleke, Howard's mentor in the summer program, told WLTW.
"The world didn't get to see who he really was, to fully develop into the man he could have been," Igeleke said.
The Hamilton County coroner said Howard had been shot by a Taser once before in 2010.
Details of that incident were not immediately available.
www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/08/08/2011-08-08_student_everette_howard_fatally_tasered_by_campus_cops_at_university_of_cincinna.html#ixzz1UWGygaZgUniversity of Cincinnati officials are investigating the school's police... more
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KSirys
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10 months ago
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He knew more than 5 cops combined. Looks like they had no choice but to let his kid go before the embarrassment reached Kanye West levels.
COWARDS OWNED!!!!!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOgj1ycBN6AHe knew more than 5 cops combined. Looks like they had no choice but to let his kid go... more
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KSirys
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added this
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10 months ago
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Teen struck by Ohio campus officer's stun gun dies
CINCINNATI (AP) — Police say an 18-year-old attending summer classes at the University of Cincinnati was struck by a campus officer's stun gun and died of cardiac arrest.
THIS IS A STORY THAT SHOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED. The Campus Police are there to protect students not to STUN GUN them. The kid went up to the cops for help and they zapped him and he dies... It reminds me of the time in Florida when a young man shouted DON'T TASE ME BRO! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqAVvlyVbag
Watching this video from the 2007 College Police brutality incident in one of our Florida colleges... (still moves me to a bawling point...)
That episode should have created a whole new training program for those people hired to uphold the laws and protect our children during their time of learning how to Critically Think.
INJUSTICE IS ALIVE AND WELL and police brutality is still a CANCER that will grow if left untreated!!!
Sad beyond comprehension!! thinkingblue.blogspot.comTeen struck by Ohio campus officer's stun gun dies
CINCINNATI (AP) —... more
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CINCINNATI (AP) — Police say an 18-year-old attending summer classes at the University of Cincinnati was struck by a campus officer's stun gun and died of cardiac arrest.
Officers received a 911 call about an assault at Turner Hall early Saturday. The university's assistant police chief, Jeff Corcoran, tells The Cincinnati Enquirer (http://bit.ly/q3FIuz ) that the teenage boy approached officers in the dorm hallway, appearing agitated and angry.
Corcoran says officers ordered the teen to back off, but he refused. He was then hit once by an officer's stun gun.
Afterward, the teen appeared incoherent. He went into cardiac arrest after paramedics arrived and was pronounced dead at University Hospital.
The department has suspended the use of stun guns until his cause of death is determined. Authorities are also investigating the original 911 call.
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THIS IS A STORY THAT SHOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED. The Campus Police are there to protect students not to STUN GUN them. The kid went up to the cops for help and they zapped him and he dies... It reminds me of the time in Florida when a young man shouted DON'T TASE ME BRO! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqAVvlyVbag
Watching this video from the 2007 College Police brutality incident in one of our Florida colleges... (still moves me to a bawling point...)
That episode should have created a whole new training program for those people hired to uphold the laws and protect our children during their time of learning how to Critically Think.
INJUSTICE IS ALIVE AND WELL and police brutality is still a CANCER that will grow if left untreated!!!
Sad beyond comprehension!!
thinkingblue.blogspot.com.CINCINNATI (AP) — Police say an 18-year-old attending summer classes at the... more
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!-Teen-struck-by-Ohio-campus-officers-Stun-Gun-DIES!
CINCINNATI (AP) — Police say an 18-year-old attending summer classes at the University of Cincinnati was struck by a campus officer's stun gun and died of cardiac arrest.
Officers received a 911 call about an assault at Turner Hall early Saturday. The university's assistant police chief, Jeff Corcoran, tells The Cincinnati Enquirer (http://bit.ly/... ) that the teenage boy approached officers in the dorm hallway, appearing agitated and angry.
Corcoran says officers ordered the teen to back off, but he refused. He was then hit once by an officer's stun gun.
Afterward, the teen appeared incoherent. He went into cardiac arrest after paramedics arrived and was pronounced dead at University Hospital.
The department has suspended the use of stun guns until his cause of death is determined. Authorities are also investigating the original 911 call.MORE HERE
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THIS IS A STORY THAT SHOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED. The Campus Police are there to protect students not to STUN GUN them. The kid went up to the cops for help and they zapped him and he dies... It reminds me of the time in Florida when a young man shouted DON'T TASE ME BRO! http://www.youtube.com/...
Watching this video from the 2007 College Police brutality incident in one of our Florida colleges... (still moves me to a bawling point...)
That episode should have created a whole new training program for those people hired to uphold the laws and protect our children during their time of learning how to Critically Think.
INJUSTICE IS ALIVE AND WELL and police brutality is still a CANCER that will grow if left untreated!!!
Sad beyond comprehension!! thinkingblue.blogspot.com!-Teen-struck-by-Ohio-campus-officers-Stun-Gun-DIES!
CINCINNATI (AP) —... more
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A jury convicted four New Orleans police officers of violating the civil rights of a teen-ager shot to death a week after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in 2005. A fifth was found guilty of a later cover-up, along with the other four, reports bloomberg news.
After three days, Jurors deliberated to reach verdicts today on 25 counts. They ruled that the civil rights violation caused the death of 17 year old James Brissette, opening the door to a possible life sentence for the 4 officers involved in the conspiracy.
More here:
http://www.politicalfailblog.com/2011/08/new-orleans-police-convicted-in-katrina.htmlA jury convicted four New Orleans police officers of violating the civil rights of a... more
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Nearly a month after half a dozen Fullerton Police Department officers in Southern California beat a homeless, mentally-ill man to death, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is opening up a probe of the case.
The FBI’s involvement comes after Shawn Nelson of the Fullerton PD asked the Agency to take things into their own hands following the July 5 death of Kelly Thomas that has brought hundreds of protestors to the streets of SoCal to find out why excessive force was used to the point of murder.
Thomas was confronted by six officers in a Fullerton bus depot earlier this month when the local PD considered him a person of interest in a recent string of car burglaries. From there, Thomas, who was unarmed in addition to being homeless and schizophrenic, was beat beyond recognition. He went into a coma and died several days later.
Keep Reading:
http://www.politicalfailblog.com/2011/08/fbi-investigating-cops-for-killing.html?utm_source=BP_recentNearly a month after half a dozen Fullerton Police Department officers in Southern... more
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A Las Vegas police officer is in hot water after being caught on tape beating a videographer outside of his home in March.
A police department review found that Officer Derek Colling violated police policies when he used "excessive force" on Mitchell Crooks, reports the Las Vegas Review Journal.
According to the newspaper, the incident occurred on the night of March 20, when the 36-year-old Crooks was in his driveway videotaping police as they investigated a burglary report across the street. Crooks said that when he refused to stop filming, Colling arrested and beat him, with much of the altercation recorded by the camera.
In the video, Crooks can be heard yelling in pain while Colling can be heard telling him to "shut up" and telling him his decision not to turn off the camera put him in "a world of hurt."
More at PigTube. org
http://www.pigtube.org/2011/07/mitchell-crooks-las-vegas-police.html
http://www.politicalfailblog.comA Las Vegas police officer is in hot water after being caught on tape beating a... more
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MIDWAY, Ga. -- Police in Georgia have shut down a lemonade stand run by three girls trying to save up for a trip to a water park, saying they didn't have a business license or the required permits.
Midway Police Chief Kelly Morningstar says police also didn't know how the lemonade was made, who made it or what was in it.
The girls had been operating for one day when Morningstar and another officer cruised by.
The girls needed a business license, peddler's permit and food permit to operate, even on residential property. The permits cost $50 a day or $180 per year.
One girl, 14-year-old Casity Dixon, says the three had to listen to police and shut down.
The girls are now doing chores and yard work to make money.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/15/georgia-police-bust-lemonade-stand_n_900230.htmlMIDWAY, Ga. -- Police in Georgia have shut down a lemonade stand run by three girls... more
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