Lawsuit alleges excessive force by BR police
It was a bad day for Brett Percle.
Fortunately for Percle, he is the 22 year old son of a middle class white family, so he knows how to handle this kind of thing, he is going to sue. The raid netted 3 ounces of marijuana and $1600 in cash. Even though everyone in the apartment was strip searched, no charges have been filed.
If the facts play out as they appear to be, this is going to be expensive. Percle is undergoing dental surgery to put his teeth back in. His lawsuit is going to cost the taxpayers of East Baton Rouge a lot of money. About every five years or so, there is a tax election in the city. Some taxes must be renewed and some new ones are proposed. Whenever the police department wants a raise, they run an ad campaign themed on "Back the Blue," to try and get public support for the extra tax. The next time the BRPD wants a raise and starts planting "Back the Blue" signs in everybody's yard, we'll need to remember where the money goes. Police brutality costs us plenty, in judgments and in our quality of life.
I have to remind myself that 3 ounces of weed is a lot of marijuana, these days. The very few of my friends who still smoke weed often proudly produce a single bud about the size of their finger. I don't bother to ask how much it cost. I'm not buying any, and I never paid more than $40 for a full ounce. I think that maybe why I quit smoking, anyway. High inflation priced me out of the market.
It was a bad day for Brett Percle.
Fortunately for Percle, he is the 22 year old son of a middle class white family, so he knows how to handle this kind of thing, he is going to sue. The raid netted 3 ounces of marijuana and $1600 in cash. Even though everyone in the apartment was strip searched, no charges have been filed.
If the facts play out as they appear to be, this is going to be expensive. Percle is undergoing dental surgery to put his teeth back in. His lawsuit is going to cost the taxpayers of East Baton Rouge a lot of money. About every five years or so, there is a tax election in the city. Some taxes must be renewed and some new ones are proposed. Whenever the police department wants a raise, they run an ad campaign themed on "Back the Blue," to try and get public support for the extra tax. The next time the BRPD wants a raise and starts planting "Back the Blue" signs in everybody's yard, we'll need to remember where the money goes. Police brutality costs us plenty, in judgments and in our quality of life.
I have to remind myself that 3 ounces of weed is a lot of marijuana, these days. The very few of my friends who still smoke weed often proudly produce a single bud about the size of their finger. I don't bother to ask how much it cost. I'm not buying any, and I never paid more than $40 for a full ounce. I think that maybe why I quit smoking, anyway. High inflation priced me out of the market.