Oh the irony of arresting people who freely decide what to put into their bodies and then becoming someone who’s been arrested for providing people with things they want to put in their bodies. That’s the case for San Jose Police Officer, Son H. Vu, 44, who was placed on paid administrative leave in June after it was discovered that Vu was stashing marijuana in a storage unit.
According to the San Jose Mecury News:
“It is deeply disappointing that an officer sworn to uphold the law would so brazenly break it,” Patrick Vanier, a supervising deputy district attorney, said in a statement. “This office and the San Jose Police Department stand together against illegal drug dealing in our community, no matter who the dealer is.”
Vu came under suspicion June 3, when managers at Public Storage on Tully Road and 10th Street were clearing out a storage space because of overdue rental payments, authorities said. Employees found a large amount of marijuana inside and called police.
Police seized more than 12 pounds of marijuana and “grow lights” used to enable the plants to grow indoors, according to prosecutors. Investigators also found $5,700 in the officer’s personal car and seized a thumb drive which contained a file containing information on police calls related to marijuana grow houses.
The investigation by the San Jose Police Internal Affairs Unit involved more than six search warrants on locations and electronic devices, including an iPhone, iPad and MacBook, Vanier said. More than a dozen search warrants served on email addresses and social media accounts took many months to produce information, he said, including valuable evidence.
“The detectives did a very comprehensive and thorough investigation,” Vanier said. The investigation is ongoing.
Vu was assigned to the patrol division at the time of his arrest.
Following Vu’s arrest in June, Police Chief Larry Esquivel issued a statement saying, “We will not tolerate such conduct, especially criminal conduct, and we will hold those responsible for their actions.”
Officer Albert Morales, a police spokesman, on Friday said Vu will remain on paid administrative leave until there is a final outcome in the criminal proceedings. Vu is scheduled to enter a plea at 1:30 p.m. Monday, when a bail hearing also will be held.
Being a victim of the war on drugs myself, I can sympathize with Vu on what he’s about to experience here. He’ll most likely lose his job, have trouble gaining employment in the future, and will end up in the system for several years. Hopefully he’s lucky enough to make it out of the system without another arrest or violation of probation, which is probably where he’s headed. Though all of this could be avoided, if police would just stop trying to wage a war on drugs. This is merely a supply/demand issue and while the people continue to demand drugs, there will be nothing the police can do to stop it. Their time would be better spent on crimes with an actual victim or violence involved.
Pledge $1/month to help spread the message that, “Badges Don’t Grant Extra Rights.”
Of course, no war on drugs means a smaller police budget, less cop toys, less cops in general, and the reduced probable cause for minor traffic stops. So, I won’t be holding my breathe on this any time soon, even with Washington and Colorado doing so well from their reduced aggression towards the war on drugs. Do you think the war on drugs will ever end? Shouldn’t people be allowed to choose what they want to put in their bodies? Especially in the ‘land of the free?’
The one up side to all of this, it seems that most the drug cases Vu was involved in will have to be reviewed, due to the questionable credibility that’s arisen due to this new information. Maybe this should be a tactic of CopBlockers, to expose the hypocrisy of officers who arrest others for drugs, while they themselves use drugs. See video below. ..
Source Article from http://www.copblock.org/122569/san-jose-police-officer-becomes-a-victim-of-the-war-on-drugs/
San Jose Police Officer Becomes a Victim of the War On Drugs
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