Judge throws out DUI case, saying police had quotas

[madinmaryland]

A Howard County judge threw out charges Thursday that an Ellicott City woman was driving under the influence of alcohol, ruling that they were linked to an illegal quota indicating that officers had to cite two to four motorists every hour.

It was unclear how many other county cases might be affected by the ruling, which involved federally funded initiatives that targeted drunk and aggressive drivers from January through April of 2011. At least two other similar cases are pending before the same judge.

Howard County Police Chief William J. McMahon, in an unusual criticism, called District Judge Sue-Ellen Hantman's decision a "bad ruling" and said an appeal is likely. The police chief said a memo distributed to officers contained, "in retrospect, not the best wording," and conceded that he "could see how it could be misinterpreted."

McMahon added, "We don't have quotas. It's against the law, and it's not how we manage the Police Department."

Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/howard/bs-md-ho-dui-stops-20120105,0,4850878.story

Why am I not surprised. Interesting, 90% of the people I see pulled over are minorities.

[comipinko]

1. Obviously, minorities are poor drivers.

Why else would you observe such?

[NathanTheGreat]

2. Yeah, right

These police departments always claim they don't have quotas, but in reality unwritten quotas exist for every department.

I had an officer admit that when they work shifts and don't produce any arrests or many tickets, their Captain will have some words with them...and they'll often be made to work Christmas Day and other crappy shifts.

Police stations are businesses just like any other, they just collect revenue from those unwilling to pay.

[rocktivity]

3. The fines from traffic tickets have become a vital source of revenue

for many police departments -- 'nuff said.


rocktivity

[xchrom]

4. +1

[baldguy]

5. And yet the police always claims they have no quotas.