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Marc Perkel by the Springfield Missouri Police Department |
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Marc Perkel by the Springfield Missouri Police Department |
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Springfield Missouri Police Department
Abuses it's Power - Covers it up
On 09-08-98 at 10:30pm I, Marc Perkel was arrested at my home at night by two cops from the Springfield Missouri Police Department. This is an ongoing stort of police abuse and what they do to get away with it. This happens all the time in many cities. I'm going to document this incident on the Internet so that the public can read the details of what happens here in Springfield Missouri and hopefully take whatever steps necessary to prevent this from happening in your community.
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Springfield
Missouri is a little midwest hick town of about 200,000 people
located in southwest Missouri. Although this town is considered the
buckle of the Bible Belt, it is like many cities, a police state. I
define a police state as a city where the cops can come in and drag you
off in the middle of the night on a fabricated charge. To qualify as a
police state, a city like Springfield also has to allow this to continue
to occur. Things happen everywhere, but if the police department puts a
stop to it then they aren't a police state. If they cover it up and
allow it to continue, then they have police state status. The political culture in Springfield Missouri is that "you have to go along to get along" and that means that everyone in government is expected to cover up for the illegal conduct of everyone else. Springfield has it's own ways of dealing with things and doesn't want to be bothered by Washington concepts like people who have constitutional rights. Rights are based on who your friends are. Springfield doesn't deal with formalities like getting arrest warrants or search warrants. Springfield's attitude towards the constitution is "we don't know, and we don't care.
On 09-08-98 the cops show up at my door of my home to arrest me on a trespassing charge for a trespass I supposedly committed three days earlier. The real reason they were there is that they wanted me to tell them about a friend of mine who was charged with running an escort service. I was helping him and his lawyers prepare a legal defense. I made it clear that I wasn't going to tell them anything. They then arrested me, searched my house, hauled me to Springfield City jail, and threw me in the drunk tank overnight. No phone call, no bail. They had been doing the same thing to several other people involved with this friend of mine. In one case they stole $400 from a woman at gunpoint and kept the money. So, as the saying goes, when you come to Springfield Missouri, bring your Visa Card; because the cops will take your cash.
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I'm not the kind of guy who puts up with this kind of government
terrorism. Maybe I won't be around too long but that's who I am. So
here's my story. After I got out of jail the next morning, I went to the
Internal Affairs Department where I was given a complaint packet. I then
filed a complaint against Officer Kevin
Hollie for false arrest. The Internal Affairs Department decided my complaint was "unfounded" which means
they are saying I lied. I then got the Police
Report which had their version of the story. I then filed a Request to Reconsider pointing out that even
according to their own version of events that it is still false arrest.
They responded by sending me a certified letter telling me that they
will not look into the matter further. I then filed an Internal Affairs Complaint against the Internal Affairs Officer. Then I sent a copy of the whole file to the Chief of Police. It seems that the Chief is in on the coverup.
I was charged on 09-24-98 with tresspassing. I asked for a Bill of Particulars and got one. I filed a motion to make it more definite or to dissmiss the case. I also filed a Discovery Request.
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On Monday, December 12th 1988 I am going to file a Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit against the city. I don't know if I will win or not but win or lose, the city will be forced to clean up the police department. And I intend to win. I've been in a 5 year long legal battle with the local governments and I'm tired of getting screwed over by these people. It's time to bring Springfield Missouri into the 21st century. I found a great web site of case law having to do with Police Misconduct and Liability.
Additionally, I want to make contact and get a list of people who have been abused by the Springfield Police Department to call as additional witnesses to establish a pattern of conduct. I am also interested in possibly hiring a civil rights attorney to represent me in this case. This is a no-brainer and I might take it all the way pro se, but pro se trials are awkward and Judges hate People who Represent Themselves. I'm also going to publish all the details of this lawsuit here on the web so that if any of you have been abused by the Springfield Police Department then you can use this lawsuit as a template and file your own civil rights lawsuit.
If you are abused by the police in Springfield Missouri, don't bother to file a complaint with the Springfield Missouri Police Internal Affairs Department. You'll be wasting your time. These people do not investigate your complaint and will return a decision of "unfounded" which means that they consider you a liar. Unfounded is different from "not sustained" which means; "There is insufficient evidence to prove or disprove the complaint."
After your complaint is determined to be unfounded, the cop you
complained about can then sue you, and they do. In an effort to
discourage complaints against cops, in Springfield Missouri it is common
for the cop to sue you for filing a complaint. I haven't yet been sued
myself, but look forward to their attempt. I'm not a lawyer, but I have
a lot of legal experiance. Whatever lawyer tries to sue me over this
complaint is in for a surprise. Unlike lawyers who don't sue other
lawyers, I do. But for the rest of you who have any illusions that the
Springfield Police is in the slightest way interested in protecting you
from police abuses or police misconduct, you're dreaming!
I used to think that Springfield Missouri was a pretty good plact to live. But I no longer think that. If you are thinking about moving here or visiting, I have to warn you that Springfield Missouri isn't what it used to be. Take your tourist dollars and head to Branson.
This could happen to you!
I want the people of Springfield Missouri to know that this can happen
to you too. The cops can show up at your door in the middle of the night
and claim you were driving without your seat belt on. They can then
arrest you and search your home and drag you off to jail and throw you
in the drunk tank overnight. Yes, this is
illegal, but not according to the Springfield Missouri Police
Internal Affairs Department. If you live in Springfield Missouri, you
should find this distressing.
We citizens of Springfield have to actively resist police corruption. I think that police corruption is something that happens automatically unless it is it is watched closely. It's just like weeds in a garden. Leave it alone and the weeds take over. Springfield has become a city of weeds.
What I want
I want the Springfield City Council to look into this and fix the
problem. This isn't one rough cop, it's the whole department.
Springfield Missouri needs to take control of it's police department and
make it clear that they are to obey the law. Right now the City Council
doesn't give a damn about this but I'm hoping My Lawsuit will wake them up.
I want the people of Springfield Missouri to print out this web page and mail it to Springfield City Council and demand that they put a stop to these kinds of abuse of police power. You can also send email to the Chief of Police.
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