Police Protection Racket

Christine Alford, a former city councilwoman of Gold Hill, has it in for Dean Muchow, the city's latest one-man police department. She makes that clear on a web site that is rambling and incoherent and defies all laws of grammar, logic, and rhetoric. But she's harmless, and easily ignored.

Unfortunately, she got under somebody's skin. On Monday morning nearly a dozen police officers conducted a surprise search of her home, saying they were investigating claims of "identity theft".

Nine officers from five police agencies joined Muchow in the search, entering Alford's residence in the 200 block of Second Avenue in Gold Hill just after 9 a.m. The officers seized her computer system, including discs, two towers and other related items.

Nice computer you have there, Christine. Shame if anything should happen to it.

Ms. Alford got her computer back on Tuesday afternoon, but not before the police had made themselves a complete copy—a bit-for-bit replication—of her hard drive. Think about that for a moment. Think about your computer.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Empty words, I know, but let's parse them a phrase at a time.

to be secure... against unreasonable searches and seizures

Was this a reasonable search? Unless Muchow knows more than he lets on, the "identity theft" consisted of a fake return address in a parody email posted on Alford's web site. Not exactly a felony-caliber offense.

and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath

But he swore to the judge that she was probably up to no good, and that was enough to bring ten officers from five different agencies to her door on Monday morning.

particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

To wit: her computer and every bit of data on it. Think about that.

If her computer was anything like the typical home computer, they now have copies of her usernames and passwords, bank account numbers, financial records, personal letters, email messages, photos, songs, videos, games, and her son's internet porn collection. Including files she thought she had deleted—because the computer-savvy can easily recover them.

to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects

Does this kind of police protection make you feel more secure?

Not me.