BANGOR, Maine — Police investigating possible drug use at a residence on Willow Street last week found a man with diverted prescription pills, hypodermic needles and a spring-loaded knife, Bangor police Sgt. Paul Edwards said.
Paul A. Allen, 36, was stopped by Officer Taylor Bagley and other officers at about 5 p.m. Sept. 17 and they asked if they could search him.
“He said he could not,” Edwards said, reading from Bagley’s report. “They looked at his back pocket and he had a bag of hypodermic needles.”
Allen handed over the needles, for which he did not have a prescription, and then was searched and found with diverted Klonopin, an anti-anxiety drug, and the knife.
Allen was charged with illegal possession of hypodermic needles, possession of scheduled drugs and trafficking in dangerous knives. He was taken to the Penobscot County Jail and later released, a jail official said. (Nok-Noi Ricker, BDN)
Looks like the drugs were working well, he does not appear anxious at all.
Allen was charged with illegal possession of hypodermic needles, possession of scheduled drugs and trafficking in dangerous knives. He was taken to the Penobscot County Jail and later released, a jail official said. (Nok-Noi Ricker, BDN)
This is truly what is wrong with the system. All this ammounts to is an inconvenience to him. He gets his stuff taken from the cops, which he will replace the minute they let him out of the pokey. If i were a cop, i would almost feel like I am just wasting my time, and putting my life on the line the next time i have to come and pick his addict butt up because he could be on something stronger. The laws have to be changed, these guys have to be made to stay in jail, at the very least until they dry out. Then the book needs to be thrown at them. I dont mind paying more taxes if we can get these types of people off the streets…I really dont.
Yep, cause a guy who boots Benzo’s is such a threat… If your a soft bed.
Throw the book… Why is everyone so obsessed with unreasonable punishment? It doesnt say he has a violent record, or a record at all. Maybe he just has a problem? How is sending him to prison going to help him? It isnt. In fact, in order to survive in prison he is going to have to become savage. I mean, I know you’ll feel and sleep better, but thats not really important to me. How would prison help him, or society? It just wont. Its simple. Its all about money.
Anyway, if you have a problem with the way things are going, the last thing you should be advocating is sending no-violent offenders and/or drug users to places where violence is one of a few means of survival.
I suppose you don’t remember the triple murder in Bangor over drugs…..Sooner or later, thats what happens. They need to be in prison to dry out.
Sooner or later. Yeah, right. Everyone who gets involved with drugs ends up murdered, sooner or later. You got me.
Dude, to be honest, I don’t care if he is “helped” or not. The man is a danger.. and shouldn’t be out wondering around. He appears to have made his choice to live in an environment of drugs violence (knife) and assorted crimes.
How is he a danger? Not everyone who uses is dangerous. Having a knife doesn’t make him dangerous either. I use to carry a combat knife daily. Does that make me dangerous?
What is dangerous is lack of insight and generalizations. And, not caring if criminals get “helped”. If you just stuff them in prison, it solves nothing. They get out the same or worse then before. How does that improve them, or society? It doesnt. Whats the point? I know it’ll help you sleep better, too. I am unconcerned. Current system is broken. The idea of prison being rehab is all but abandonded. Prison is just a place where people send other people they want to forget about, really.
Too bad. People who complain about issues but then enable and support the processes by which said issues are made just bug me out. Carry on with your life. Im sure its lovely.
I’d say if you are choosing to carry a combat knife and are on a drug that alters or state of mind or though patterns like Klonopin does then yes you constitute a threat.
I routinely carry a concealed firearm. Would you want me walking around with a loaded gun and be on and off mind altering narcotics? or alcohol?
Amen!
No tazing?
They identified a bag of needles by looking at his back pocket?
Yeah, because you know, people carry exposed needles in their back pocket.
A bunch of police (Bagley and other x amount of officers) roll up to some random guy on the street: “Can we search you?”
“No.”
“Why not?! You got something to hide!? Guns?! Drugs?! Better give it up and make it easy on yourself.”
“No, I have rights. I’m not doing anything illegal, officers. Just minding my own business.”
“Well, we’ve had reports of drugs in the area and now you are here, so, your suspicious. So we are going to search you anyway and hope that when this goes to trial we’ve scared you into taking the plea. Thanks for playing!”
Now, he was obviously doing something illegal. However, I dont buy the fact the needles were sticking out of his pocket. I also dont believe that being in a certain area gives police probable cause to search you. Thats problematic. All they’d have to do is make something up to subject anyone to illegal searches. And, I dont have anything to hide. I am not concerned with getting in trouble. I am concerned about our freedoms as a people being stripped away from us every year.
Officers don’t randomly walk up to people and demand to frisk them for no reason. And why would you assume someone strung out on drugs-especially an antianxiety medication that causes drowsiness and slowed thinking-wouldn’t haphazardly toss some needles into their back pocket? Besides, they were there for suspected drug use! He wasn’t just walking through town and they decided to harassed him. Geez….If you don’t have anything to hide, you shouldn’t be concerned. Funny, I’ve never been badgered and asked to be frisked by a random officer before.
“If you don’t have anything to hude, you shouldn’t be concerned”
Wow, you should look up some of the historical references to that philosophy.
Officers do ask to randomly search people for no reason. Ive had it happen, seen it happen and heard of it happening. If you say no, they assume you are guilty and you are treated with hostility. Saying no to a cop is like saying no to your parents as a child. They get angry.
Having done Benzo’s in a previous life, I object to YOUR assumptions about the mental state of someone under their effects and to the extent of which you suggest that everyone who does said medications is basically a zombie. For someone who is a RN you seem to lack insight. Way to make sweeping generalizations.
Putting a bag of needles in your pocket is idiotic. I know some dumb people, but even they know to not grab a cactus. Same princple.
I told you I have nothing to hide. I also told you I am concerned about our rights as citizens. If you are NOT concerned about the constant errosion of our rights, then maybe you need to wake up.
Ignorance (your philosophy of not being concerned) is my sworn foe an Ive already gone way to far with this. So, ill stop now before the demon comes out.
They don’t ask randomly. They ask because someone looks suspicious or perhaps they’re in the wrong place at the wrong time. You walk out of, or look like you’ve walked out of, a sketchy situation or a place suspected of illegal activity then unfortunately you might be asked to be searched. Such is life.
Now as for the comment regarding my being uneducated in regards to my knowledge of ‘benzos’…perhaps I am a bit ignorant in regards to the dependent person’s affect while on them. But my comment stated “someone strung out”, suggesting a person under the influence of enough medication as to have decreased mentation might do something foolish enough as to leave something hanging out of their pocket. I have administered IV benzodiazepines and other related medications enough to know that they can cause amnesia and somnolence and and people aren’t fully “with it”. Don’t see how this is a blanket statement, but if that’s how you interpreted it, I’m sorry.
Of course I am concerned with my, and other’s, rights. Not sure how thinking that if one keeps their nose clean, stays away from areas with bad raps as much as they can, and abides by the law that they can’t avoid the ‘hassle’ with police. Yes, it happens but that’s not the norm. But if I happen to walk out of a store where there was just a report of a burglary and I fit the suspect’s description so the cops stop to question and/or search me, I’m supposed to raise a ruckus because I wasn’t actually the robber and they’re ‘violating’ my rights? Foolish…
It’s too bad you take this personally enough that you’re so angry, but I guess we all judge based on our own experiences.
Why not just take these losers to the methadone clinic, hook them up intraveinously, give them a button that will let them mainline the junk in whatever quantities they want, and come back a few hours later to clean up the mess?
Drug addiction is a health issue.
Indeed, not a legal one. Not in this case.
Ok I’ve been out of this scene for a few decades (if I ever was really in) I have a question.
What is “trafficking in dangerous knives”?