The scandal surrounding former Ravens running back Ray Rice has continued to deepen this week after his release by the Ravens for punching his now-wife in the face in an infamous elevator video. First, a longer version of the video was released. Then, the Associated Press has reported that not only was a league executive shown the video in April (long before what the NFL claimed in the wake of the scandal) but that the video was sent by a law enforcement official.
The AP says that a “law enforcement official” had a short voice mail on April 9th from a NFL official thanking him for a copy of the video and she notes on the recorded message that “You’re right. It’s terrible.”
That message would certainly suggest that the denial of knowledge before last Monday is questionable and adds to the controversy over the response of the NFL and Roger Goodell. However, I am more concerned about a law enforcement officer leaking a video to a private party anonymously. Since when does law enforcement collect evidence and then, in a non-public way, throw the evidence over a transom. There has been a long complaint over such leaks from the FBI and other law enforcement agencies designed to punish or pressure individuals.
The NFL announced that former FBI Director Robert Mueller will lead an independent inquiry into the league’s investigation. However, there has been no discussion about the authority or propriety of a law enforcement agent leaking this type of evidence. According to the AP, the officer insisted on anonymity and played the recording. Thus, you have a law enforcement officer who sends evidence to a private party and then gives a recording of that party to the press. It is all clearly calculated to punish Rice, the Ravens and/or the NFL.
I respect the AP’s work on this story, which is terrific. I also believe in the protection of such sources. However, there are legitimate concerns about what law enforcement office was responsible for leaking evidence against an individual for such purposes. There is no indication that the video was sent as part of a criminal investigation or why the NFL would be included in such a distribution. Indeed, it is not clear what office of law enforcement was involved. We do know that the Atlantic City police had reviewed surveillance footage in its investigation.
In the meantime, Atlantic County Prosecutor James McClain has denied special treatment for Rice who was able to enroll in a special treatment program despite his knocking his future wife unconscious and dragging her out of the elevator. As a first offender, he was given the alternative to jail — the same opportunity that other defendants have been accorded.
Source: CNN
PCS, you’ll have to take up the particulars with the current 2200 architects/engineers at Rethink911.
Tom Clancy fully exposed the concept of crashing a plane in to building in “Executive Orders.”
The “Towers” were bombed in 1993.
Reports of pilots learning ONLY take-off skills were ubiquitous.
What the hell, exactly, was western “intell” doing?
Intell is not a “responder” it is a “precluder.”
What did Western intell want, an engraved invitation? Seriously?
On December 29, 1992,[1] the first attack by Al-Qaeda was carried out in Aden, Yemen[2][3][4] known as the 1992 Yemen Hotel Bombings. That evening, a bomb went off at the Gold Mohur hotel, where U.S. troops had been staying while en route to Somalia, though the troops had already left when the bomb exploded. The bombers targeted a second hotel, the Aden Movenpick, where they believed American troops might also be staying. That bomb detonated prematurely in the hotel car park, around the same time as the other bomb explosion, killing two Australian tourists.[1][3] Bin Laden later claimed that he and Mohamed Khan were responsible for the 1992 Yemen attack.[2]
On November 13, 1995, The Islamist Movement for Change claimed responsibility for a car bombing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This attack killed 5 Americans and 2 Indians and wounded 60[5]. The attack was “latter (sic) attributed to al-Qaeda”[6]
In August 1998, Al-Qaeda operatives carried out the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing more than 200 people and injuring more than 5,000 others.[7]
USS Cole after it was bombedAl-Qaeda planned to attack the USS The Sullivans on January 3, 2000, but the effort failed due to too much weight being put on the small boat meant to bomb the ship.
Despite the setback with the USS The Sullivans, al-Qaeda succeeded in bombing a U.S. warship in October 2000 with the USS Cole bombing. A day later, a grenade was thrown at the British embassy in Yemen, blowing up one of its electric generators.[8][9]
On September 9, 2001, two Tunisian members of al-Qaeda assassinated Ahmed Shah Massoud, the leader of the Northern Alliance. One of the suicide attackers was killed by the explosion, while the other was captured and shot while trying to escape. It is believed that Osama Bin Laden ordered Massoud’s assassination to help his Taliban protectors and ensure he would have their co-operation in Afghanistan.[10]
John – I have seen a series of specials laying out both the Truther and the engineers side of 9/11. What I see is that Truthers cannot make a full case for what happened, but engineers can.
RULE OF THUMB
The ‘rule of thumb’ has been said to derive from the belief that English law allowed a man to beat his wife with a stick so long as it is was no thicker than his thumb. In 1782, Judge Sir Francis Buller is reported as having made this legal ruling and in the following year James Gillray published a satirical cartoon attacking Buller and caricaturing him as ‘Judge Thumb’. The cartoon shows a man beating a fleeing woman and Buller carrying two bundles of sticks. The caption reads “thumbsticks – for family correction: warranted lawful!”
The US Senate needs to police themselves first. Great comment, BFM. Political grandstanding @ its worst! If they don’t get “Zero tolerance” WTF that means, they’ll then call to BAN pro football. This is what our politics has come to. Horseshit!
There is a behavior clause that was negotiated, and is part of the basic agreement. Even Ray Rice’s attorney would not argue that the league has the right to suspend him.
Apparently 16 female senators have issued a statement calling for zero tolerance for domestic violence in the NFL:
“a bipartisan group of 16 female senators wrote a letter to league urging a zero-tolerance policy on domestic violence. The letter, which brings up the 20th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act, calls on the league to “institute a real zero-tolerance policy for domestic violence that will ensure that this type of violence and abuse has no place in the NFL.””
A little scrutiny demonstrates this call for zero tolerance, like many other zero tolerance standards, is thoughtless and counter productive.
Not all NFL players have big bucks in the bank. Many players are fresh out of college and playing for chump change. Their alternative to playing in the NFL is likely returning to their home town to work at Home Depot or Walmart – assuming they can get a job at all.
Firing domestic abusers does nothing to help victims, or their families families. It does nothing to direct abusers to get control of their violence and their life back on track.
Zero tolerance for abusers is a thoughtless, feel good policy with anti victim and anti family results.
Surely we should demand more from senators than zero tolerance nonsense that hurts victims and families, rather than helps.
Well, the reason the NFL gets involved is because having such people tarnishes their ‘brand’ which is hardly one of knights in shining armor, but to a certain extent I agree with you. At the end of the day, committing such crimes carries with it a penalty, and if its not life in prison, you have to work SOMEWHERE. Its not like his NFL employment with the Ravens places him in a position of trust with children where we fear that in the course of his employment he’ll assault others. In fact, his job kind’ve sort’ve is to assault other people, the job itself actually fuels this violent streak and to a certain extent somehow we’re surprised when they find it difficult to turn it off?
NYC Pics – when I was finishing my masters I tutored football players for my university. I worked with a lot of linemen, who are prone to the most violence on the field. My anecdotal experience was that they seemed to turn it on and off pretty well. However, I did have three Samoan linemen who felt obligated to me since I had help get them an A in a course, offer to beat someone up for me if and when I needed it (college athletes never have any money). Off the field they were the sweetest guys you could ever meet.
I do not see why the NFL is obligated or has a right to discipline this guy for something that happened away from any football game or work setting.
BarkinDog – discipline by companies for things away from the worksite is becoming more commonplace. I just got an invitation to a HR seminar dealing with this issue and how to handle these things from the standpoint of the employer.
BTW, since the wife hit him first, I think men should be marching to protest that only Rice had to do the anger management course.
I just hope he doesn’t kill her next time. Yes, there will be a next time. She won’t leave until he turns his violence on the children with enough force that she becomes afraid for their lives. I believe they have a couple of children. If so, he has the threat of removing the children from her. He has the assets for the fight, she does not.
bettykath – you know that she hit him first, right? So who is the abuser?
Well that’s good of them.
“Victory! Town Will No Longer Treat Domestic Violence Victims as Nuisances”
09/08/2014
Nuisance Ordinances
By Sandra S. Park, Staff Attorney, ACLU Women’s Rights Project at 4:18pm
https://www.aclu.org/blog/womens-rights/victory-town-will-no-longer-treat-domestic-violence-victims-nuisances
Well, the PC police are hard at work trying to wipe out all the insensitivity in the Universe (and all independent thought):
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/49ers-suspend-broadcaster-ted-robinson-for-insensitive-ray-rice-comments-164958677.html
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Squeeky
A 357 pistol can easily shoot 38 shells but you shouldn’t use a 38 pistol to shoot a 357 shell.
Why isn’t the female being prosecuted for domestic violence also??
Golden Country – you raise and interesting issue. Why, indeed, did they not prosecute the female? The video before they get in the elevator clearly shows her hitting him. Domestic violence is domestic violence. Women want equality, the should do the time, too.
The people who are responsible for Open Records and make the decisions in Wisconsin are NOT union employees. Would be wise to do one’s homework and not make false allegations.
Thank you for freeing up my comment.
raff
Some people will always defend a man’s right to lay flat out cold, the woman in his company.
Help, I did a reply to Karen on open records and used the long form of BS, putting my comment in moderation. The INFERIOR wordpress of course doesn’t allow me to edit the comment. Could you please change it to BS. You help is, as always, greatly appreciated. In case it is not freed up, Karen, NJ seems to have a decent open records law so that tape may be considered open records.
Karen, I’ve done a cursory check. The first thing I look for in assessing a states openness is to see if they have an online court record search. NJ does, although it’s a shitty one. You see, govt. almost always hires connected website companies and their sites often are inferior. See: Obamacare. But, I digress. I skimmed their open records law. They have the usual caveat that the govt. has the right to protect certain info yada yada yada. But, the key is they have the burden on the govt. to prove it needs to keep something confidential, and they should err on the side of openness. So, those records may have been public. But here’s the reality. Even though Wi. has open records, govt. HATES it. So, you have to know the law and what the court, police dept., etc. is REQUIRED to do or they’ll try and bullshit, lie or bully their way out of doing their duty. Some of that is control, but a lot of it is just lazy public union people.
Please retrieve post here @ 4:08 pm
Eric – that is so tragic about the DV woman you mentioned.
I think women find men who treat them how they feel they deserve to be treated. A woman with healthy self esteem would instantly leave an abuser. A woman who was abused as a child, or who watched her father abuse her mother, will recreate that narrative, no matter how much she intellectually knows it’s wrong.
It must be very frustrating to law enforcement when they try so hard to help these women, only to have their help refused. Becomes sometimes, that last visit takes place in a morgue.
I recall riding as a kid with a girl who had fork marks in her stomach. She said her mom stayed through a lot of abuse, but seeing her daughter almost murdered with a fork snapped her out of it.