NLBS #29: Police Officer Caught with Five Pounds of Pot: No Charges

Today we take a close look at a confusing incident in California, as K9 officer Joe Avila was found with five points of marijuana that should be in the evidence lock-up. Local authorities are not filing charges, preferring to put officer Avila on paid administrative leave. The problem is, this double standard for police officers is a significant part of what's causing intense frustration with law enforcement across the country. We compare the insanely light slap on the wrist he received with other insanely disproportionate sentences for nonviolent marijuana offenders. One of which is a sob-story from Arizona where civil asset forfeiture is ruining the life of a man licensed to cultivate marijuana.




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Will he be treated differently than you and I? Well of course he will! He will sit back and collect at home, and most likely tokin up what he stole! And that is some Extreme Bull#$*^!

I am so tired of TPTB, Cops, Banks, ETC, ETC, ETC, not being held accountable for their actions. It makes me so mad I can't even see straight.

And NLBS, great job again. Love your show. I am glad to see you all are back on some REAL BS! I was not a fan of episode #27 & #28. Stay with the BS we need to hear about.

Disappointed, but at the same time this is to be expected... Imo they're doing this to cause more riots and more civil unrest so they can put martial law into effect.

Stay safe my friends.

There is always some level of corruption among every institution. But being that I'm a current LEO I have to say this honestly isn't every department around the U.S. like the media (and ATS lately) wants you to think. I work for a larger agency in our area and work with several smaller departments. We actually have very strong ties to our community (a pretty diverse one at that, from impoverished people to students of our large university).

The chief that we have is very diligent in investigating any rumors of corruption and has actually arrested five of our officers this year for various things. The "thin blue line" as it were shouldn't be used as it is in most places to separate cops from citizens. The cops should be a real and tangible part of the community and not be treated as a segregated untouchable thing. I personally like being able to interact with the various people here in a positive manner.

**Personal Opinion Tangent: It is my own philosophy that we should have a live and let live policy. I also would not issue a citation or jail someone for something I would do myself. If we find pot (which most of us "on the other side" believe should be legal anyway) we usually just have people throw it out or ignore the smell so as not to search (yet again, 4th amendment supporter, I refuse to work DUI check points). X number of miles over the speed limit, don't worry about getting pulled if you're reasonable and obviously not endangering others. I didn't sign up and go through the training to be moral patrol because one group wants to imprison another group and needs legal justification. I signed up to do this because there are people out there that go home and beat their wives/children, gangs that force young kids into situations they don't want to be apart of, and I get a real feeling of accomplishment when I know I've helped someone (first month on the job my partner and I pulled a few guys out of a burning car). I think one of the things that helps my department is the education requirement. Everyone at our agency has at least an Associates, but a B.A. or B.S. is the unspoken standard a lot of these degrees are actually outside of the Criminal Justice field. Having intelligent officers tends to be a good diffuser in tense situations that could quickly get out of hand.

My two cents, I just ask that these titles and mistrusts not be applied to all officers.

a reply to: theNLBS

Which is exactly why there should not be unions in government. At minimum the union should not be able to protect their employment, maybe just negotiate wages and benefits.

Mmmm, I thought pot messes with your brain/s? It couldn't be a good thing to have a K9 officer 'Barking Mad' now could it!

a reply to: ravenger13

An interesting reply, and sounds like you're more of the kind of cop many of us would like to see- but- what does any of that have to do with this cop who has been busted with 5 lbs of weed?

Don't cops routinely have to go through drug tests? So what if this cop is telling the truth and is using this weed to train his dog and doesn't care where the rest is? It is plausible. Especially if he tests negative. But he still could be selling it on the side.

The video makes the point though, that if it was anyone else, they'd be in deep doo-doo. Like when a cop gets killed in the recent Frein case. How many millions spent apprehending that guy, when other murder cases of normal citizens barely get any attention at all?

Tell me ravenger, how do you respond to citizens like me who want to know what gives cops the right to this clear elitism and special treatment? Do you agree with it?

All men are NOT created equal. That is the message given by cops and chiefs perpetuating and receiving this special treatment. There are citizens in jail for BS pot charges whose own tax dollars are PAYING for this cop's salary while he is on paid administrative leave for 100 times the amount of weed.



And you wonder why we are fed up? Yeah. NLBS for sure.

Hi Everyone,

"Nothing new under the US Sun"...we live in a world where the political and economical systems are ruled by threats and by compromises, and if you displease those who are supposed to enforce the above, how can you keep the leadership?
Truth is, without law enforcement agencies playing along with politicians, sane citizens would never follow or support our current leaders...

This is just a "little" example of a broader...much broader problem...

Just in the name of keeping things 100, in CA if you have the right card you can carry up to 5kg.

Now you have to be able to show that all you are doing when having said amount is transporting it.

I also understand that this case is nothing close to that since A) we have a cop that failed to report evidence and B) I doubt that a cop is allowed to have his 99 card.

So yes if any of us had 5lbs and no card, we are going to jail for sales and trafficking no doubt.
Well maybe not no doubt on trafficking but I bet they would try hard to get it.

a reply to: theNLBS

This is just one example of many in the sea of bullspit that the authorities are above the law. Those that make and enforce the laws are usually above them.

Good video, I enjoy each one.

a reply to: ravenger13

Excellent post and a department like yours is what we all would like to see around the nation, even the world. Keep up the good work and carry on!

I've only been caught with pot by a cop once in my life and he did exactly what you do, he made me dump onto the street and rub it in with my foot. It was a small amount and he was very kind the entire time. It's good to know cops like this exist.

a reply to: TrueAmerican

That was a very well worded question and I see what you mean!

I don't believe anyone should be above the law, cops should be a sparkling example of HOW to follow the law (lead by example, right?) and I believe that many do, unless you find yourself in a toxic environment where it rolls down from the top (which is also very common in the military, toxic leadership sucks) and those who are new and willing to do the right thing get fired or "leaned on" until they become corrupt. I hope that people will be able to sort through corrupt elected officials in their cities/towns/counties so that they can elect mayors/city managers that will apply the pressure where it needs to be. If the Chief of Police or Head Sheriff and his Captains/Lieutenants are politically pressured to do the right thing that will almost instantly trickled down to the Sgts and Corporals that are responsible for new officers.

While looking for certain personality traits and backgrounds is a good way to predict the behavior of a future officer establishing a solid chain of command is crucial in avoiding developing bad habits and pruning the force of people with God complexes. The politics and do's/dont's are often established by the Chief of Police and the Mayor (or City Council). Sometimes when corruption hits a certain point then the people of a city/town really will reach out and do something. Two city police departments were completely abolished in Florida for their corruption last year. I also think that it should work both ways, I don't think the cops should have their hands tied when it comes to arresting corrupt politicians. There are a lot of police that would LOVE to bag a corrupt politician but they are threatened with their job which could put the officer's family in risk.

I hope this helped a little! I'm open to questions from any of the members and I take a pretty open minded approach to things. When it comes to society and living together there really isn't a hard science besides respect others and hope they do the same.

a reply to: theNLBS

All I can say is....this cop should be stoned!

a reply to: nerbot

I'm pretty sure he was stoned.

Zing!

I agree, the more these stories come out, the more the public is going to cry for blood. The sad part is that they will get it because these bastards can't police themselves. I don't even smoke pot but I can see the time they give people isn't right. We're seeing a huge amount of these double standard cases recently. What is the agenda? Are they going to be federalized?

a reply to: TrueAmerican

Coming in a little late here, but during my time as a dispatcher (which is not held to the regs and standards of LEO, but close) I was not drug tested ONCE. Not at hiring, not during entire employment. To my knowledge none of the Deputies there had them DURING THEIR EMPLOYMENT, but I hope, I pray actually, that they were subject to a hiring drug screen.

My friend got sent to jail last night because he had a gram of hash on him. This pisses me off

a reply to: Sremmos80
Dunno about Cali, but my uncle got caught in Ct with a quarter pound(four ounces), and trafficking was one of the charges they threatened him with.

He took a "plea deal" which was time spent + give up his green card and leave the US. Kinda hilarious, for a few hundred worth of pot, they spent thousands on court and jail fees, plus in the end lost a #load of taxes per year he would have paid had he stayed in the US. The government is retarded.

a reply to: TKDRL

Ya I just added that it might not be without a doubt cause I am not positive on the laws.
But ya they would charge ya with it for sure and hope it sticks.
Bummer to hear about your uncle, flawed laws are flawed

This is just the latest chapter in a very old book--police officer is tempted by $ created by poor laws and the drug black market. He succumbs to temptation, and we know the rest of the story.

This is why I have long supported Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. To make the profession better, get rid of the rotten drug prohibition. This is one of the many social pathologies generated by prohibition.