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NYPD Developing Portable Body Scanner For Detecting Guns
Zothecula writes "You have to feel sorry for the police officers who are required to frisk people for guns or knives — after all, if someone who doesn't want to be arrested is carrying a lethal weapon, the last thing most of us would want to do is get close enough to that person to touch them. That's why the New York Police Department teamed up with the United States Department of Defense three years ago, and began developing a portable scanner that can remotely detect the presence of a gun on a person's body. The NYPD announced the project this week."
What they are talking about is a terry stop. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_stop) They can stop and frisk you for weapons based on reasonable suspicion of involvement in criminal activity.
Just because it happened to me once, they can have a "reasonable suspicion" that you are going to j-walk because you are walking down the side walk!
You will find that they can find "reasonable suspicion" in just about anything. S/His eyes were blood shot (Drunk or stoned), S/He looks out of place in this neighborhood, and my all time favorite "Three white guys under 25 at the mall must be there to cause trouble"
Note that "Reasonable Suspicion" is defined as a point where the investigating officer has weighed the totality of the circumstances to determine whether sufficient objective facts exist to create reasonable suspicion. VERY open and abused quite regularly in my opinion.
TSA is no longer just doing planes. They are performing random stops and searches on highways and public roads. They are installing industrial grade X-rays at, near and possibly away from the border. They are jack booted thugs with absolute license to infringe on everyone's liberty. Remember that they may operate within 200 miles of the border and every airport is now considered a border. They can now operate anywhere. They are the enemy of the constitution and the people of the United States of America.
I think I kinda want to punch you in the face right now. What you're saying has a point, but this is the wrong story. The scanner being presented is an infrared camera, nothing more.
Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
TSA can only make suggestions to local governments about train security. They don't control it. What is your support for them trying to "get to highways"?
Sigh. You thought you were safe on the road, eh.
What have you got to hide, citizen?
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
Terrorists didn't use guns to take over planes on 9/11. They certainly didn't use guns on the ground.
http://www.tgdaily.com/opinion-features/59187-tsa-deploys-on-tennessee-highways
http://www.newschannel5.com/story/15725035/officials-claim-tennessee-becomes-first-state-to-deploy-vipr-statewide
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57318666/tsa-expands-from-airports-to-tenn-highways/
Eloi are stupid, throw morlocks at them!
Indeed. Scanning for knives from 80 feet (unless the circus is in town) is useful. For guns, you might as well be close.
Contrary to what you see on TV and in movies a person 80 feet away is hard to hit with a handgun, especially the more compact and concealable models. It requires training and periodic practice, its a perishable skill. Even police officers who don't go to the range often enough have problems. Now add stressful circumstances.
Not
paying
attention?
My understanding is that it was within 100 miles of the border. As far as sources I can offer these after a quick google search:
This one about searches in Tennessee
Or this from the ACLU about the constitution free zone
Or any number of incidents that have occurred. Granted the border patrol isn't the TSA but they are both part of the DHS and even have some permanent "interior checkpoints" as they call them most are on the southern border but it is mentioned that there are number in northern states within 100 miles of the Canadian border.
Time to offend someone
Are you really all that surprised? I mean, isn't NY the same state whose (Democrat) senators claim that the First Amendment is a privilege, not a right?
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese