Monthly Archives: April 2014

Exoskel Climbers and Shin Guards

Exoskel Group is a Made in the USA company producing a special shin guard that doubles as a stability and climbing aid.  The teeth, buckles, and stirrup design are tested to hold up to 1,000 pounds of weight.  Exoskel lists the following product advantages to a military or police operator: RAPIDLY ASCEND urban obstacles STABILIZER : firing / brace position on uneven ground Shin PROTECTOR Close Quarter BATTLE TOOL Perpetrator RESTRAINT Injury PREVENTION

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U. S. Supreme Court Addresses Anonymous Tips

This week, the United States Supreme Court decided upon the validity of an anonymous tip precipitating a vehicle stop.  Prado Navarette v. California was a 2008 case which involved an anonymous tipster calling in a 911 complaint to the California Highway Patrol of a pickup truck that had run her off of the road.  CHP officers pulled over a truck matching the vehicle’s description and subsequently arrested the occupants for possessing 30 pounds of marijuana in the truck’s bed. In a 5-4 decision, the majority opinion concluded that an anonymous tip can constitute reasonable suspicion for police to effect an investigative traffic stop under the Fourth Amendment.  Citing United States … Continue reading

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Florida is First in Bitcoin Money Laundering Arrests

The Miami-Dade State Attorney is the first local prosecutor’s office in the United States to charge suspects with money laundering related to the transfer of Bitcoins for illicit purposes.  Mitchell Abner Espinoz and Pascal Reid were arrested for providing unlicensed money services (FSS 560.125) and for violating Florida’s Money Laundering Act (FSS 896.101). For the uninitiated, Bitcoins are virtual currency used for online trading of goods and services.  The trading is done peer-to-peer and can be anonymous.  It is the anonymity and lack of government oversight that have made Bitcoin popular for drug dealers and money launderers.  A Bitcoin tutorial video is posted below. Espinoza was a trader of Bitcoins … Continue reading

Posted in Detectives, Legal | Tagged | 2 Comments

The Future of Police Narcotics Dogs and Marijuana

Supporters of legalized medical marijuana will have their opportunity in November to let the voters decide on whether medical marijuana will be available to patients.  The controversial ballot initiative was approved by the Florida Supreme Court.  Four legislative bills have been introduced which deal with defining, authorizing, and regulating medicinal cannabis and its infrastructure.  How will all of this affect law enforcement?  Not much…for now. Most recently, though, in Colorado and Washington State, decriminalization of recreational marijuana has changed the way police narcotics detector dogs go about their business.  The obvious issue is whether a narcotics dog’s alert still constitutes probable cause to perform a warrantless search of a vehicle … Continue reading

Posted in K9, Legal | Tagged , , | 2 Comments