On or about 6 weeks ago, a young couple moved to
Dubuque Iowa
with their 3 little children. A fresh new place with
hopes and dreams
of opening a "Teens Club" for the youth. After
enrolling 2 of the
little one's in school (kindergarten and 3rd grade) they
moved into
their home with expectations of renting to own.
The mom took pictures and sent them to me excited about the
beautiful new home they had chosen and the beautiful landscaped
flowers all around the foundation. I too was excited for them.
They, without anyone's help, started to go to the
"club" daily to paint
and get it ready for it's "Grand
Opening". It was to be their gift to
the community of this college town. A place for teens to be
safe,
away from the college drinking scene and a place to enjoy being
teens!!
On September 25th of this year they were driving back to their
home
after painting for hours and got a flat tire. Their youngest was in
the
back seat. They did what any one would do, got on the phone for
a
tow truck. (No spare, you know the feeling.)
Yes, they had rushed out without the car seat and that was their
only
mistake of the day. BUT...the day turned into a nightmare when
the
Dubuque Iowa Police stopped. Yes, in any other state the police
would ask if you were alright. In some cases they would even offer
to
help change the tire or direct traffic around the broken down
vehicle.
BUT...not in Dubuque. They took it upon themselves to
start
"grilling" these two young adults as if they were
criminals of some
sort! The only difference between the young man in this story
and
the average "Joe" is that he "chose" to change
his name legally years
ago. This - the police could not comprehend!
Now, what caused this "stupid" situation. When the tow
truck pulled
up the mother went to get the money for the tow truck out of
the
trunk. No, it wasn't weird to the couple! They put their money
in the
trunk for their rent so that they didn't spend it!! It was like
their "safe
place". Remember, they were new to this place and didn't
have a
bank account there!!
Before they knew it the couple had tickets - 4 of them - they
wanted
to do a search on the car with a dog - they were being
treated like
"drug dealers" or felons. After hours of being on the
side of the road
they threatened to take them in to the police station for
questioning.
Yes, for questioning!!! These police officers treated them as if
they
were "guilty" until proven innocent about
"something"!! No, the
police didn't have any reason to detain them. However, they
did
claim to get a "hit" on the car by the dog. The car came
from a used
car dealership in Illinois just 3 months prior. The police then
started
questioning a mistake the car dealership made on the
registration
verses the insurance from the same dealership. One person
spelled
the name with the wrong first letter.
Now the key to all of this, is they DID NOT READ THEM THEIR
RIGHTS OR HANDCUFF them. They simply told them to get into
two separate squad cars and the police were taking them in for
"questioning"!
I KNOW!! All because they had a Flat tire... Now, don't forget
the
little one with them. They made her wait with "mom" for 4
hours in a
room. She's 3...so she kept asking for a drink and
repeated that she
was hungry. But they took all of "Mommy's
money"!! After hours of
that, an officer walking passed the door and heard the little
girl and
got her a little package of cookies.
They finally "released" the mother and the little girl
(so that she could
pick up the other 2 little girls from school) only to tell
her that they
were keeping the man for more investigation and "not to avoid
them
or they would arrest her too". They told her to come back
tomorrow
for more questioning.
Is anyone following this!!! How illegal is all of this!! The next
day
when she went to the police department to answer more
questions...They threatened to throw the mother in jail - IN
FRONT
OF THE KIDS IF SHE "LIED"!! The little girls started
to
panic. The mother reconfirmed to them that "mommy doesn't
lie",
and calmed them down.
All I can say is where I come from, the police are here to serve
and
protect not to harass and put fear in the hearts of children!!
It's been 3 weeks now! They still have him in custody! They
are
"digging" into his past to see if they can find
"ANYTHING" to put
him in jail! Oh My Gosh!! Seriously, just admit your mistake and
let
the poor guy go home!!
There is so much more that has happened (the mother has been
harassed by the police, they have followed her and sat outside
the
school where she walks the children every day now - a mile
away
from home, they have served them with a search warrant for
a
laptop that was in the car, they took the money out of the
car
that was for their rent and kept it, the female police officer
has
walked by the young mans room and yelled things like, "FBI
and
IRS" as if to taunt him - not to mention due to all of this
the family
who was once going to make an improvement to Dubuque Iowa is
now having to relocate these little girls again!!
I am so angry over all of this! Mainly, because I often put myself
in
other people's shoes so that I can view things with an
unbiased
opinion!!
************************************************************************************
As of today, the temperature is a cold 33 degrees and I spoke to
this
mother this morning. She walked these children to school then she
is
getting a cab to go get groceries. Then, she is going to go to the
house
and get on the internet to see if she can find a new place to
live. She
simply stated, "I don't feel safe here. It's the
police that are the bad
guys. How can anyone feel safe here."
Did I mention that when the incident first happened the Public
Defender told this mother on the phone, "Don't talk to
them (the
Dubuque Iowa Police). They are corrupt!" That would be the
same
defender to which took the case then ducked out on Friday the
9th
of October to go on vacation. Leaving the man in the city lock
up
with a new person to take him into "court" on Monday
before a
judge. --By the By, they don't take him in before
anyone!! They put
this young man in front of a camera and conduct their
conversations
that way!! He is NOT a criminal!! But I do believe these police
officers are doing injustice to him!!
I have done my own investigation on people's rights and have
found
so many faults in the police officers actions!! Not to
mention that the
female police officer did admit to the man in their custody
that she
would "stop harassing" his girlfriend.
Now, we have found out that this same police station likes to
pull
their locked up "prisoners" out at night and submit more
charges on
them - sometimes even just hours before they are supposed to be
released on bail. Causing the "inmates" to have to
stay longer.
Whether the charges are real or not...who's really knows.
The police have made several mistakes and "Thank
Goodness" that
this young man is smart enough to pay attention, rather than
shut
down and give up. But he is so scared!! Scared that they
(the
Dubuque police) will hide evidence to cover their
mistake.
He is not being given his United States of America's rights!!
He is not
being given a swift and fair hearing. When they say on the
law blogs
and in the law videos, You have the right to remain
silent...don't think
about the shows on TV that you have watched and feel fear
about
asking for an attorney. It is your right to have an attorney
present and
representing you. I have even seen where lawyers have stated
that
"police can lie". It is an accepted interrogation
technique!!!!
Here is a
Link to tell you all
about this!!
Now don't get me wrong. Our oldest son is a police officer in
another
state and we are so proud of him. I do not disrespect the
police
force. But I do, however, have questions about police like the
one's I
have been describing to you!! Is it their egos that cause
them to do
such bad things to good people???
However this may turn out, honestly you never want to go to
Dubuque Iowa. Heaven forbid You may get a flat tire and end up
in
jail!! Scary huh!!
Thank you for taking the time to read this!! I think my main
purpose
is to see if someone who is capable of helping can step up and do
just
that!
It started with a "Flat Tire"
user
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Posted by Tue Oct 13, 2009 5:12pm PDT
Report AbuseI went to college in Iowa, and Dubuque is backwards. I am an attorney in Illinois now. I know some people in Iowa who may be able to help.
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