Odds and ends

Here's a few recent items worth linking:

• First, whatever you do, don't save anyone from drowning in San Marcos. Apparently, police would prefer this outcome.

• Drylabbing and more: A new, damning report (pdf) criticizing the infamous Houston crime lab was released last week, and BlogHouston is all over it. See HPDlabinvestigation.org for more.

• Troopers hit in head too often: After a cadet died in the boxing ring taking part in a routine Texas Department of Public Safety training regimen, the Associated Press revealed that 2.3% of all DPS cadets suffered brain concussions while participating in the same program.

• I've not been writing about the border wars around Nuevo Laredo between feuding drug cartels, mostly because I don't know enough to add anything original, but bottom line, all hell's breaking loose. Until recently, the feds have ignored the problem. While American police focus on busting low-level drug users and other little fish, their counterparts south of the border are being eaten alive by sharks. Said a Mexican political commentator, "If the United States is not going to legalize drugs, then Mexico has to come to terms with the narcos ... There were agreements in the past to let 80 percent of the drugs through, to allow some seizures for the Americans and for the media, and there was a lot less violence."

• High speed chases by police often involve people who are young and stupid, not hardened criminals, and they end tragically waaaaay too often. See various news stories about recent Texas police chases, including one that crashed, one who died, and one that got away. Plus, Catonya has two more examples from Oklahoma. In one instance, officers backed off when it became too dangerous. The other chase resulted in death. Most police departments' pursuit policies leave too much discretion to chase in officers' hands, allowing chases even for low-level misdemeanors and traffic violations. Sometimes excessive speeds, red light running, firing a weapon at a moving vehicle and other chase tactics create more problems than they resolve. In about a third of instances where police high-speed chases result in death, an innocent bystander is killed. The rest of the deaths all involve suspects or police officers. See Pursuitwatch for more.
  

• The Houston Chronicle's Harvey Rice reports that the federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans doesn't seem to understand the "Supreme" part regarding US Supreme Court rulings -- they think they get to ignore the "Wise Nine" and do whatever the hell they want.

• Finally, Skippy the Bush Kangaroo needs a little help to reach a million hits by his blog birthday next week: Don't think about it, just click over and give some love. Happy birthday, Skippy.