Ohio Police Arrest Woman For $1 In Unpaid Taxes

[The Straight Story]

Ohio Police Arrest Woman For $1 In Unpaid Taxes
Unfiled City Tax Forms Also Cited In Case

POSTED: 9:59 am EDT October 13, 2005
UPDATED: 12:09 pm EDT October 13, 2005

LOVELAND, Ohio -- An Ohio woman was arrested after she didn't pay just more than $1 that she owed in income taxes, WLWT-TV in Cincinnati reported.

Deborah Combs owed the city of Loveland $1.16 last year, but she also hadn't filed her city income tax forms in five years, the television station said.

She said officers pulled her over and acted as though she were a violent criminal.

"One sheriff approached my car with his hand on his gun," she said. "Another from the other side of the car leaned in and said, 'Are you Deborah Combs?' He said, 'We have a warrant for your arrest.' I was absolutely shocked."

http://www.local6.com/money/5093711/detail.html

[Neil Lisst]

1. We are living in a police state. WHY? I'll tell you.

Reagan, Bush I, and Bush II bench appointments, and rightwing, fascist leadership at the top for the past five years.




http://www.webcomicsnation.com/neillisst

[henslee]

2. I know its not the same but I just read the police blotter here in Miami -

two different cases of seniors -- one an eighty six year old man and a one a seventy six year old woman getting arrested for stealing candy. I mean what is wrong with folks who arrest the elderly who are probably senile?

[Ferret Annica]

3. Seig heil, and a nice day to you too officer

[Neil Lisst]

13. Ferret Mike, it's sad but true.

The police are always right and the citizen is always wrong.

If it's not that way, the police will cover it up and the prosecutors, judges, and legislatures will help them.



http://www.webcomicsnation.com/neillisst

[Ferret Annica]

16. We had a sweep in Eugene in 1986

I was doing Cop Watch as they arrested over a hundred people who were hanging around the University of Oregon Campus. It was right after Jerry Died, and many were tour heads with no shows to go to, and Eugene, Oregon has traditionally been a counter-culture enclave friendly to wanderers.

A guy was lambasting a cop named Laurence Crompton asking for his badge number. I leaned in and said,"His name is Crompton, and I would not do that with that particular guy."

Crompton then arrested me for trespassing as I was standing on a portion of the sidewalk belonging to the Eugene Flower home, a florist shop, though there was no way I could have known that. He really moved on me fast and mercilessly as if I had just donesomething unforgivable.

Naturally I slumped to the ground and told them that if they wanted me, they would have to carry me. Other cops tried to guilt trip me about possible back injuries they could suffer picking up my 170 pound body. Naturally I was unmoved as I was outraged and angry.

Crompton knelt down and started blowing in my ear trying to get me to struggle with the cuffs on to accrue an additional charge against me, but I have had the training and joked how horny I was getting and he stopped.

He also talked about using his fingers in my nostrils to get me to my feet, and after the carried me to the car, they used pain compliance to get me into it.

I was far from the only person victimized by this bending of the law to drive a class of people out of town that week, but it taught me an important lesson of how the cops can work not for justice, but for the goals property owners and the University who had parents week coming up real fast with much alumni money at stake.
Sorry to go off on this personal tangent this story reminds me of, but it is one of the reasons stories like this make my hands shake in anger and worry for this country.

As far as the rest of what happened, all other Cop Watch people including my friend were eventually arrested, and we all were charged with trespassing. I lost in manicipal court, and won in the re-trail in the cort of record it then went to.

[progressivebydesign]

4. I think the arrest was about not filing for 5 years probably.

I didn't know cities had tax evasion laws, but apparently they do. That's just wierd.

[Ferret Annica]

7. I went 18 years before filing any U.S. income tax forms...

... and that was two years ago and haven't filed one since then. Guess I better listen for the loud knocking and the door to come crashing in on me. ;-)

[kestrel91316]

8. Well given the current misadministration ..................

I'd call that monkeywrenching. A noble art.

[Ferret Annica]

11. Thanks, I agree it is a noble art...

...But really, why file when all they would do is expect me to pay the percentage they want to waste on imperialism, death and corporate enrichment? ;-)

[shenmue]

5. Well that...just...about...

:mad: :grr: :nuke:


That's disgusting.

[NVMojo]

6. America is dying ...

[MercutioATC]

9. Let's take it easy and look at this a moment...

The police know only that they have an outstanding warrant on the woman for tax evasion. They don't know the amount she's in arrears and they are bound by law to arrest her.

The bottom line is that she broke the law and was arrested for it. I really don't care if she feels it's "fair" or not.

The police were simply doing their job by arresting her on the warrant and she brought this on herself by refusing to file tax returns.

[Speed8098]

23. Let me guess

You're a cop, you're married to a cop, or a family member is a cop.

The police were simply doing their job
I'm so sick of that cop out(pun intended)

It's not their job to be cruel.

It's pretty naive of you to say they didn't know how much she was in arrears on her taxes.
It was either a felony warrant, or a misdemeanor warrant. In either case it gives the police the seriousness of the charge.

What's your take on the NOPD beating of the 64 year old man?

[wrathofkahn]

25. Cruel?

I don't see anything in the article that indicates the slightest amount of cruelty. They affected a traffic stop, and they advised her that she had an outstanding warrant. I don't see anything in the article to indicate that they dragged her out of the car and threw her on the ground or anything remotely like that.

And no, cops don't know what outstanding amount is owed when they make the original arrest. They radio in the person's name (which probably came back with her license plate), and they get a response of a warrant outstanding for "tax evasion" or whatever the charge is. They don't know, nor do they care, whether it is a misdemeanor or a felony warrant. If someone is known or believed to be violent or dangerous, they will approach the situation that way (e.g. an outstanding warrant for murder or armed robbery). Otherwise, they make the arrest, and the rest is up to the district attorney.



As for the cops in NO, they should probably be flogged, IMO. That's a case of cops being cruel.

[Dorian Gray]

28. What the article says:

Quote: She said officers pulled her over and acted as though she were a violent criminal.

"One sheriff approached my car with his hand on his gun," she said. "Another from the other side of the car leaned in and said, 'Are you Deborah Combs?' He said, 'We have a warrant for your arrest.' I was absolutely shocked."



She said that they treated her like a violent criminal. Then they asked her name and informed her there was a warrant for her arrest. I'm not quite sure where the "Cruel" comes into play.

Come on! She doesn't file taxes, and that's illegal. She wasn't thrown on the ground, punched, or tasered.

The New Orleans situation was horrible, and those cops deserve to be punished. But we don't need to have a knee-jerk reaction to every story about police officers.

[MercutioATC]

33. Let me guess

You're not a cop, have never socially known a cop, and you've been "unfairly harassed" by the cops.

Show me the cruelty you accuse them of. This woman chose to break the law. A judge issued a warrant. The police executed the warrant. No mention was made of the police being abusive or using excessive force.

This has NOTHING in common with the incident in NOLA.

[400Years]

31. yeah, we should just bend over and act like good little slaves

fuck that

[MercutioATC]

36. No, just file your taxes and you won't be arrested.

Tell me what you feel the police did wrong here.

[Fleshdancer]

10. It's far more expensive for the state to arrest her for this

$1.16 owed in city income tax over 5 years? Well in defense of the cops, they probably didn't know how much she owed, they just knew there was a warrant for her arrest. However, processing the warrant, searching for her, arresting her, and processing the paper work will end up costing far more than the $1.16 that she owes. I don't think this is a "Police State" issue as much as it is a bureaucracy issue.

[Daphne08]

12. The police are becoming more and more aggressive.

Why treat this woman like a violent criminal? Because we are now living in an atmosphere where they can.

[Neil Lisst]

14. They're mean to old people, kids, and women, too

We are living in a police state.



http://www.webcomicsnation.com/neillisst

[MercutioATC]

18. How was she treated like a "violent criminal"?

She didn't pay her taxes (and chose not to file for five years)..

A judge issued a warrant for her arrest.

The police executed the warrant.

Standard operating procedure.

[Daphne08]

22. I understand that she broke the law, but I see a difference

between the police dealing with someone who has committed a violent crime and dealing with someone who has simply not paid her taxes.

She told the reporter that she felt as if she had been treated as a violent criminal.

My initial statement is in relation to many articles I've read over the past few years about the indiscriminate use of Taser guns on people who seemed (at the time) to pose no direct threat to officers.

I also know firsthand of some things that have occurred in a couple of police departments around the country.

Please understand me. I'm aware of the fact that the majority of police officers are hard-working professionals who are well-intentioned. They do a good job and are often underappreciated-- and if we happen to find ourselves in danger, we will certainly want and need their protection.

However, there's always a certain element (within any group or profession) that will take advantage of the authority granted to them by a state, a city, an employer, etc.

It seems to me that this above-mentioned element has become more aggressive over the last few years, especially in light of the fact that the newly created Department of Homeland Security seems to regard all American citizens as possible terrorists.

I believe "this perception" has filtered down to all levels of law enforcement (even if it's at the unconscious level), and I also believe this has created an unhealthy atmosphere in regards to the civil liberties of all Americans.

[wrathofkahn]

26. She may FEEL like she's been "treated like a violent criminal..."

...but there's nothing in the article to indicate that she actually was.


I don't see anything indicating that she was violently pulled from the car or wrestled to the ground or anything like that. The article doesn't mention any tear gas getting fired into the car to get her out, either.


Sorry, but she broke the law, and a judge issued a warrant, and she was arrested according to that warrant. If she had failed to appear in courts on a jaywalking citation, then a judge could have issued a warrant for her arrest just as well.

[Dorian Gray]

30. Daphne...

I couldn't agree with your assessment more. Some cops are too aggressive.


It is this case, however, where I feel people are over-reacting. She "feels" that she was treated like a violent criminal, but there is no overwhelming evidence that was actually the case.

[MercutioATC]

32. I agree that there are certain cops who are more agressive than needed.

In this case, the woman says that they treated her like a "violent criminal" because one of the officers had his hand on his gun as he approached the car (standard practice) and the other asked her to get out of the car (again, standard practice).

This is a woman who chose not to file taxes for five years. She's the only one at fault here. Nobody got tasered. Nobody got roughed up. Somebody got arrested for being stupid and she's upset about it.

That said, I used to work for a local Sheriff's Office. I've seen cops whi pride themselves on being able to make situations worse so they could press additional charges. There are bad apples in every barrel.

This doesn't seem like an example of the police doing anything wrong, however.

[MercutioATC]

35. As I said, I agree there are bad cops. This doesn't seem to be an example

of that, though.

I see nothing in the article that suggests this woman was "treated like a violent criminal".

Her statement that she DID feel that way, however, does speak to her sanity...

[Dorian Gray]

29. Violent criminal?

SHE SAID that they treated her like a violent criminal. The only evidence of that was that they approached her with their hand on their gun in its holster. They asked her her name and informed her that she had a warrant out for her arrest.

They did NOT treat her like a violent criminal. They treated her like a regular old criminal who evades taxes.

[Sgent]

15. Do ya'll not see the problem here?

Due to issues surrounding profiling, everyone has to be treated the same at the arresting level - and since that means the level that most protects cops while providing equal treatment, everyone with an arrest warrent will be treated the same.

I don't like what happened, but this IMHO is an uninteneded cosequence of the crackdown on police over racial and age specific profiling, as well as the desire for police to maintian their own security.

[MercutioATC]

17. Where does profiling enter into it????

The woman had a warrant for her arrest and the police executed it. That's pretty standard where I come from. It has nothing to do with profiling, it's enforcing a warrant.

[donheld]

20. MercutioATC, I have to agree with you

I'm sure the police had no idea what she had done. The whole thing was probably computer generated. I'm sure the police had no idea if it was $1.16 or 1.16 million. And if they did know, are tehy suppose to tell their superiors they are not going to serve the warrant?

[greyl]

19. I can't wait for the court case.

This is an unnecessarily sensationalistic and deceptive headline.
Think of all the wasted seconds at the water cooler:

Ming: "Did you hear about the woman arrested for owing a dollar in taxes?"

Janice: "Actually, she was arrested for not filing for 5.."

Lee: "But think of how much money will be spent on her arrest! I mean the city budgets have been decimated by the bu..."

Vlad: "The damn cops had their hands on their guns!"

Ming: "Yeah!"

Lester: "Are you guys on the clock?"


City income tax forms?
What the hell are those?

[slaveplanet]

24. There is a city income tax in Ohio

City income tax forms?
What the hell are those?

for certain cities(especially those that still have jobs left) and guess what, you don't even have to work in your city to be liable for it....they still tally it even if you've moved away....there's a form to fill out on the back to inform them you've moved, but that does a lot of good when you move in February but the form comes in November...It's up to you to inform them...the city has full subpoena power as a tax collector and exercises that option swift and often. The police are militant and corrupt in most lower income locales.

Ohioans are heavily taxed , homeowners are nailed with property, federal income, state income, city income, sin tax, sales tax, federal excise....and lots and lots of hidden riders....and it's major theater watching them try to figure out why businesses and young graduates have left in droves. There is possibly no other state that Walmart has put the kabosh on with such intensity. The manufacturing sector(once near the tops in the nation) has been decimated by the trade deficit with China who are here weekly, buying the huge machines of businesses that have gone under, for pennies on the dollar. No state has higher forclosure rates.

To add insult to injury they're putting a non union Walmart in downtown Cleveland on the site of where they once made the finest steel in the world. The dem mayor has the nerve to call this an accomplishment. What she doesn't talk about is her trip to Las Vegas to make the secret end run around city council and TIF(as if Walmart needs TIF) that brought everyone such progress.

[JVS]

21. No tasering?

[Dorian Gray]

27. Is the problem

the amount she owed? Or the fact that she hasn't filed in five years? I'm not sure about taxation law, but it seems that not filing is pretty serious.

[Robb]

34. How dare the cops

arrest someone for breaking the law!

What's next? Put criminals in jail? :eyes:

I happen to pay my taxes and drive the speed limit. If you don't, and think you're somehow "special," fuck you.

[daleo]

37. "The law doesn't deal with trifles"

Try getting the police to arrest someone for stealing your newspaper off your front porch. They rarely bother with this sort of thing.