Charges dismissed against the red light shooter
An improper vehicle search by police, along with missing evidence, has led to the dismissal of charges against alleged red-light shooter Clifford E. Clark III.
Charges of felony vandalism and reckless endangerment were dismissed in a written order issued Friday by Criminal Court Judge Mary Beth Leibowitz.
The circumstances surrounding Clark’s arrest as a suspect were not sufficient for the arresting officers to search his vehicle without a warrant, the judge ruled.
August 4th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
That pesky rule of law foils yet another prosecution.
Man, if only they could get rid of those civil rights things.
August 6th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
Yes, that pesky Constitution is a mere technicality protecting We The People from a Police State.
Order of dismissal http://www.wbir.com/pdf/08032009_clifford_clark_dismissal.pdf
Beyond the constitutiona reasons named in the judge’s order, it appears the reason charges were dismissed was that Mr Clark subpoenaed a Knox County deputy to testify that a Knox deputy confessed to shooting a redlight camera. That subpoena was provided to KNS and local TV news, but they failed to report that fact.
Mr Clark’s interview on WBCR: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25wIadTDcXo
Mr Clark provided an interview to a local public access TV station after the dismissal, but that interview was all but censored by KNS and the TV stations. We broadcast that 6 minute interview in its entirety today, where Mr Clark discussed that subpoena of a deputy to testify against another deputy about confession to shooting a redlight camera. Odd that the case was dismissed 1 week before trial. BTW that public access station had broadcast all hearings in this case unedited for 2 years, then was banned from the courtroom right before trial. What is the State suddenly afraid of being reported?
Mr Clark also mentioned that all ballistic evidence was destroyed by KPD – the camera housing with bullet holes, and even the recovered bullet fragments themselves were thrown away, so no way to even check what caliber was used. All audiotaped “confessions” and “consents” to search his car and home that Mr Clark allegedly made were also thrown away by KPD, and Mr Clark denied making those statements. Even REdflex refused to testify in this case, perhpas out of spite since their contract got terminated during this trial, one week after Mr Clark’s lawyer confirmed that deputies said a deputy shot a camera. Mr Clark never got a redlight ticket, and he is very wealthy, so why shoot a redlight camera? He never even got a traffic ticket during his traffic stop and arrest.
The only “evidence” against Mr Clark was that he was transporting an unloaded firearm in his vehicle, which is not a crime. Will KPD arrest every person carrying a firearm and accuse them of all crimes in the neighborhood?
If a person is accused of a crime, does that make it ok for police to break into homes and vehicles without a warrant, testilie and fabricate as much evidence as required to convict? After all, that’s what Hollywood stars do on TV every day…