Law Enforcement
GUARDIAN “De-listed” As Media By BPD Spokeswoman
Boise City’s attempt to control the media and deny the GUARDIAN normal access afforded the news media took another turn Monday when we received this curt message from the police spokesperson: Dave – FYI – You are no longer on the “media” email list. The list is for media only. Feel free to call me […]
Canyon Fails Miserably On Jail Bond Vote
Canyon Politicos who just wouldn’t take NO for an answer got their lunch eaten Tuesday when voters turned down yet another attempt at a jail bond. This time around county officials and a well organized group of supporters were humiliated. When the tally ended at 10:35 p.m., jail-bond advocates had captured 43 percent of the […]
Boise PD Reports Arrest In “Bad Taste” Fight
Boise Coppers responded to a fight call Sunday night reminiscent of Mike Tyson–with a twist. Seems a couple of guys got in a fight and one enderd up with a bloody nose–at least what was left of it after his opponent bit it off. Police reported they searched the fight scene, but were unable to […]
Dirty Pool At Canyon Fair
If the action of the Canyon Commishes and their Fair staff is any indication of how the county will conduct Tuesday’s Jail Bond Election, the name of the game is DIRTY POOL! The commishes set the Aug. 3 election at the last possible moment which was long past the deadline for applicants to get space […]
Boise PD Bans Cell Phone Texting In Cars
Citing his own distraction while driving, Boise’s top copper, Mike Masterson, announced a new policy banning texting on phones and mobile devices in BPD squad cars. The use of those front seat laptops will continue until new hands free and voice recognition equipment can be purchased and installed within the budget constraints and technological developments. […]
Bum Taser Case Still Hangs Over Boise
While it would be nice to put the infamous Boise PD Taser incident to rest, it will unfortunately be with us for some time to come–thanks to ongoing investigations and recent policy changes. Latest indication of more to come is a May 15 “special order” amending the BPD policy manual which requires incidents like the […]
2C Prosecutor Deal Typical Local Government
Canyon County Prosecutor John Bujak finds himself in a big financial mess with personal debts overwhelming his ability to repay and a murky agreement with the city of Nampa to provide private prosecutor legal services through his public Canyon County elected job. The Nampa-Canyon-Bujak deal has caught the attention of the legal community–both public and […]
Coppers Watch You On ACHD Cameras
In a program with which we can’t really argue, Ada County Highway District is making its extensive network of traffic cams available to coppers at the dispatch center. ACHD Commish Sara Baker revealed the arrangement on her blog yesterday and noted several recent crimes and emergencies which involved police use of the system. You too […]
Statehouse Workers Decry Nasty Students
Spring is the traditional season for educational field trips to the State Capitol in Boise, but recent events have left Statehouse employees feeling less than hospitable toward education. One GUARDIAN reader thought it a bit hypocritical that schools are pleading poverty during the legislative session with claims that all field trips will be cancelled while […]
May Day Is Exercise In Democracy
Once only an opportunity for the Ruskies to roll out the latest rockets in Moscow, May Day has become a worldwide day of protests and demonstrations. The Thais want elections, Albanians claim election fraud, Nepal has anti-government protests, Greeks are against spending cuts, the English protested “militant Islam, Iran saw labor demonstrations, and in Montana […]
Cops Aren’t The Only Dog Killers
We have made repeated attempts to get a return call from the Idaho Humane Society to discuss a story about coppers killing dogs, but so far no response. There have been a couple of incidents lately and several more that come to mind from the past of coppers “being forced” to kill domestic dogs. First […]
Homeless Panhandler Problem–Any Ideas?
The two comments to the Mayor Hotline featured in the previous post point out the total disconnect on a growing problem in Boise. Both the businessman and the parks worker want “something done.” Team Dave pawns it off on the coppers and their only tool is the law. Problem persists. Mr. Businessman doesn’t like the […]
Coppers From Similar Cities Share Info
Your readers may find the following benchmark cities study helpful in a discussion on many topics you cover in your forum ranging from crime stats to employee information to things like miles driven. The BENCHMARK SURVEY is from a group of similar size cities who seek to compare notes. For instance, data regarding some of […]
Boise Top Copper On Police Texting
Boise PD Chief Mike Masterson has monitored the GUARDIAN coverage and comments from readers on the issue of police texting. Here are his thoughts to the GUARDIAN. EDITOR NOTE– For sake of discussion we can define TEXTING as “reading or typing messages on electronic devices which require the driver of a motor vehicle to divert […]
Idaho Sheriffs Use Deceptive Marketing Scheme, Plan To Dump Telemarket Firm
We all get the dinner time phone calls from someone representing the coppers asking us to donate to their “fight against drugs.” The GUARDIAN editor hung up on them a few weeks ago and subsequently got a very official looking bill for a $25 pledge to the Idaho Sheriff’s Association with an address on State […]
Emergency Texters, A National Issue
The Idaho House of Representatives is about to consider a “no texting bill” that passed the Senate Wednesday. Interestingly, we don’t see any exemptions for coppers and firefighters. The Fed transportation people, AAA, and just about everyone who has watched a car weaving slowly down the road agree that reading and writing on computers while […]
Bruneau Dunes Could Be Abuzz with ATVs
During the Vietnam War an Army officer explained a village had to be burned “in order to save it.” Idaho Parks Director Nancy Merrill finds herself in that same situation today as she considers allowing dune buggies to chew up the tallest free standing sand dune on the continent to possibly make a few bucks […]
All Public Records Should Remain PUBLIC
Freedom of Information in Idaho is being attacked by some of the people who have taken an oath to uphold the constitution and the laws of Idaho–coppers. The police bill approved last week by the senate state affairs committee would allow police, prosecutors, and prison guards to conceal their private phone and home address numbers […]
Fraud Alert To Educators–Xpress Flex
We are posting this memo sent to Nampa School District employees as a public service to alert others who may do business with Xpress Flex. No word on the scope of the damage, but certainly not good news to folks who thought they were making a wise financial decision. There will no doubt be more […]
Idle Coppers Copy Canyon Commishes
A GUARDIAN reader observed a quintet of copper’s cars idling for at least 40 minutes at the Friday night swap held at the Cole Village Shopping Center. He certainly doesn’t sound “anti cop.” The GUARDIAN isn’t anti-cop either, but given what we have seen in the past, there certainly is a shared attitude between some […]
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