Henry Lee's Rap Sheet for Nov 9th, 2015
(KTVU) - Here's the Rap Sheet for November 9th, 2015:
OAKLAND JOHNS FROM OUT OF TOWN: Oakland PD has released its more recent report on human trafficking, and the numbers still tell the tale: the majority of “johns,” who those who frequent prostitutes, are not from the city.
Of the 123 johns arrested so far this year, 87 live outside Oakland, including eight each from Alameda, Berkeley and San Leandro. Seven came from San Francisco and six each traveled from Richmond and San Pablo. About 25 teens were rescued from the streets, and 11 pimps have been arrested.
HERCULES PD LAWSUIT OVER ALLEGED PROFILING: A man of Middle Eastern descent has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Hercules police, accusing officers of searching his car without legal justification, an incident that he secretly caught on video.
Ehab Ian Taha says he was inflating his car’s tires at a Circle K gas station on Feb. 22 when he noticed a Hercules police cruiser “pacing back and forth around him.” Two officers then followed Taha from the gas station and pulled him over, telling him that he had crossed a double yellow line after he left the station, the suit says.
After being asked to get out of his car so that officers could search it, Taha says he turned on his iPhone and pressed record before putting it on the dashboard.
His cell phone recorded Officer Ezra Tafesse instructing Officer Dan Barazoto, “Whatever you do, make sure he gets a ticket..” says the suit filed by Oakland civil rights attorneys John Burris and James Cook. Barazoto reportedly replied, “Yes. I already know that.”
The suit says police targeted Taha because he is “readily recognizable as a young man of Middle Eastern descent.”
It says, “The recorded conversation, coupled with the circumstances of the stop, demonstrate that the officers did not have specific and articulable facts with which to perform a valid stop and search of Mr. Taha’s vehicle.”
The two officers remain on the force. Hercules police declined to comment on the incident today, citing the pending litigation. The suit seeks unspecified damages and names the city of Hercules, Tafesse and Barazoto as defendants.
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