After “glitter bomb,” cops arrested former cop who criticized current cops online

Tomcat From Mars

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As opposed to the US, where the black widow is (and is just as bad?). Though we probably win for snakes, but you really need to worry about horses, cows and dogs because of their proximity to people - they're the ones most likely to kill you anywhere (add donkeys, camels etc for regional variants)
Where I'm from the things that are most likely going to kill you are bears and the weather. And I'm not too worried about a bear making a stealth attack on my wedding tackle while I'm on the toilet.
 
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Ars is headquartered in Chicago, right? Can you dispatch a beat reported to stay on top of this? :p
"Nice party, huh?"
"Sure is! So what do you do?"
"I work for Ars Technica, a venerable and well-respected tech and science blog."
"Fascinating! What do you write about?"
"I'm on the glitter desk."
". . . ."
 
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Chuckstar

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Australia ftw

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-37481251

Though the headlines need to be clearer that it was probably separate spiders, not the same spider making another go of it.
I’m trying to figure out the geometry of a black widow sized spider hiding under the toilet seat and then biting you on the dick. All I can come up with is “he knows you’re not supposed to have your dick touching the underside of the seat, right?”
 
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One off

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I've finally codifed a month or two ago what I've noticed from my ~40 years on this Earth; too many people grow older, not more mature.
A lack of emotional maturity can be very valuable in climbing a hierarchy. Being a vicious egomanic under a thin veneer of responsibility is a real advantage. Same as it ever was, those who are possessed by the desire for power are the least suited to wield it.
 
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One off

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One off

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This guy is going to have a field day with subpoenas for police emails and other stuff related to his case. With as thinned skinned as these police seem, the likelihood that the chief or others wrote something embarrassing is pretty high. There’s a good chance they pay him off to get away from that. Of course it won’t cost them anything personally.
Sounds like everyone with any responsibility is part of the "You scratch my back..." club, they will delete everything. The out of town lawyer they bring in to defend the civil suit will shout "Settle!" and walk out again.
 
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SeanJW

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Are we sure it was bad luck? Maybe he's hoping one day his colleagues will try and suck out the venom.

It's a redback - they don't even give you anti-venom by default as it's almost as nasty as the venom is on the system - they keep you under observation to see if you're going to die first.

And Australians are actually taught the proper treatment for venomous bites at a pretty early age because the spiders aren't a real risk, but the damned snakes definitely are. Nobody here is going to suck venom out. If he wanted his willy wrapped tightly in bandages, he can do that himself.
 
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SeanJW

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I’m trying to figure out the geometry of a black widow sized spider hiding under the toilet seat and then biting you on the dick. All I can come up with is “he knows you’re not supposed to have your dick touching the underside of the seat, right?”

Water in an Australian toilet is much lower than in a US toilet, so there's plenty of room for the spider to just sit there. In a portaloo or an outhouse there's plenty of opportunity for bugs to be attracted to the smell and so make a good feeding site for the spider, so its supposed to be normal practise to check before sitting.
 
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SeanJW

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Where I'm from the things that are most likely going to kill you are bears and the weather. And I'm not too worried about a bear making a stealth attack on my wedding tackle while I'm on the toilet.
Most people don't try and ride bears, but they fall off and get trampled by horses all the time...
 
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Chuckstar

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Water in an Australian toilet is much lower than in a US toilet, so there's plenty of room for the spider to just sit there. In a portaloo or an outhouse there's plenty of opportunity for bugs to be attracted to the smell and so make a good feeding site for the spider, so its supposed to be normal practise to check before sitting.
Yeah. That’s not the issue though. They think he was bitten by a spider that really isn’t all that big and doesn’t jump. And he claims to have looked carefully, first, so it probably isn’t that he was sitting in the middle of its web, which would otherwise be a possibility considering how black widow webs are built. So he had to have his Johnson pretty much right up against an interior surface of the toilet.
 
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sleepyox

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"appear to have been made in bad faith."

Acts of bad faith is the start of the path towards hurt and rage. They are always premeditated, which means perpetrators had time to think about it, and their brain was unable to reason them out of it.

... (In fairness, a glitter bomb is not to be sneezed at).
Aren't there versions where they are not to be inhaled at?
 
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LotusPoet

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Cane toads and foxes too. No wonder we're rather serious on biosecurity now, when it's rather too late.
That's what ya'll get for not keeping Crocodile Dundee contained in your own borders, mate. Seriously, the only land borders ya'll have are with more australia - how hard could it be?
;)
 
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One off

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SeanJW

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Yeah. That’s not the issue though. They think he was bitten by a spider that really isn’t all that big and doesn’t jump. And he claims to have looked carefully, first, so it probably isn’t that he was sitting in the middle of its web, which would otherwise be a possibility considering how black widow webs are built. So he had to have his Johnson pretty much right up against an interior surface of the toilet.

Clearly he didn't look carefully enough. Toilet seats are common enough sites for them that there's even a song about it. Sitting down will certainly get you close enough to annoy a spider.
 
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Another reminder that Scalia was doing the best deadpan comedy of his career when he wrote "many forms of police misconduct are deterred by civil-rights suits, and by the consequences of increasing professionalism of police forces, including a new emphasis on internal police discipline" in Hudson v. Michigan. Straight face the whole time.
Oh man thank goodness the court didn't create an entire legal theory out of thin air that gives police immunity from civil rights suits decades before that ruling. If they had that whole thing would just be another time that Scalia was a lying piece of shit.
 
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Korios

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The police then issued their press release, letting their community know that West had witnessed "demeaning comments in reference to his supervisory position within the department from Kovac’s posts on social media"—which doesn't sound like any sort of crime.

It is not. It is protected speech. I truly wonder with what BS probable cause they got those warrants though.
 
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Korios

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The cops blaming the DA for losing the trial is bonkers.

I wish we would be privy to follow ups between the cook county DAs and Orland Park, cause I can't imagine that's going to go well. Imagine the ego to abuse your power, get gut checked on it, then blame the DA over being wrong.

This happening in Orland Park is hardly surprising, though.
The DA should be blamed for taking the case, not for losing the trial. Unlike cops DAs have law degrees, so they're supposed to be constitutionally well versed. But that DA pressed charges for constitutionally protected speech. The judge should have fined them for wasting their time.
 
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Clearly he didn't look carefully enough. Toilet seats are common enough sites for them that there's even a song about it. Sitting down will certainly get you close enough to annoy a spider.
some people can get distracted by other things and then plan a heist to steal the toilet itself instead: £4.8m Golden Toilet Heist.
 
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barich

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Where I'm from the things that are most likely going to kill you are bears and the weather. And I'm not too worried about a bear making a stealth attack on my wedding tackle while I'm on the toilet.
I have had the weather make a stealth attack mind you. There's nothing like those polar vortexes whistling down the vent pipe and up about your bits to make you reconsider some life choices.
 
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A classic would have been to order a huge number of assorted donuts to be delivered to the police station anonymously via burner email, uber eats, and a pre-paid CC.
I know cops liking donuts is a stereotype, but would they really be pissed to get free snacks? Or by huge did you mean a truly unreasonable amount of donuts?
 
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Orland Park was not backing down, however, blaming prosecutors for the loss. "Despite compelling evidence in the case, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office was unable to secure a prosecution, failing in its responsibility to protect Deputy Chief West as a victim of these malicious acts," the village manager told Patch.
The three acts mentioned were:
1) Satirical social media page
2) Glitter bomb
3) Anonymous tip to prompt call from suicide hotline

The first is certainly not criminal, there are clear precedents about the protection of satire as free speech.

As for 2 and 3, if there was any evidence linking those acts to the same perpetrator as 1, it was not reported in this article.

And none of these were particularly harmful; a call from a suicide hotline certainly wouldn't be as dangerous as swatting.
 
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LotusPoet

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A classic would have been to order a huge number of assorted donuts to be delivered to the police station anonymously via burner email, uber eats, and a pre-paid CC.
A "classic" Chicago hotdog is with mustard, relish, onions, tomato, pickle, hot peppers, and never ketchup. Donuts they get a free snack, dogs with ketchup they get a free "fuck you" from the kitchen staff and delivery driver.
 
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Rand

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The cops blaming the DA for losing the trial is bonkers.

I wish we would be privy to follow ups between the cook county DAs and Orland Park, cause I can't imagine that's going to go well. Imagine the ego to abuse your power, get gut checked on it, then blame the DA over being wrong.

This happening in Orland Park is hardly surprising, though.
The prosecutors should sue the cops for defamation.
 
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Golgo1

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The really hilarious part is that a major technical site decided to cover this story. I look forward to a coming analysis of dancing cats.
The really dissapointing part is that most other major news outlets DON'T cover this story.
The sharp rise in fascism needs to be covered EVERYWHERE

Don't you agree?
 
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