by Pete Eyre | May 7, 2013 | Videos
UPDATE
Jan. 9, 2014: http://www.copblock.org/44236/ransom-levied-then-rescinded/
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This was originally posted to CopBlock.org on May 6, 2013.
Individuals Involved:
Lesley Collier – Keene Police employee who levied ransom
Pete Eyre – Tahoe owner who allegedly victimized the “state of New Hampshire”
Ed Burke – man wearing black robe in legalland
Jim Cemorelis – Keene police employee and prosecutor
Jean Kilham – Keene police employee and prosecutor
Keene Police Department
400 Marlboro Street
Keene, NH 03431
Phone: (603) 357-9813
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On March 23rd, 2013, after hanging with some friends at the Keene Activist Center, I decided to roll out.
Unbeknownst to me, about 100′ feet away Lesley Collier, an employee of Keene police department, was at that time placing a ransom note on my Tahoe.
When I saw it, my initial thought was the adage: “answer fools with silence”
So, I didn’t read the ransom note. It remained untouched, under my windshield wiper, for a couple days as I drove around town.
But, after talking with some friends, I decided to address it, simply because I recognized it as a death threat.
I stopped by the headquarters of the Keene police outfit.
There I saw a box where many unthinkingly pay ransoms they receive from Collier and his colleagues, which only perpetuates and sets the stage for more such “legal” shakedowns.
I instead communicated that I was not going to fund their criminal outfit. I was told to appear in legalland on May 1st.
I’m now told to return on August 19th.
Do you believe this process is about justice? If not, then as best you can, stop granting it allegiance. Why not act according to your own conscience rather than to text on paper conflated as law.
Essentially what I’m doing is damage control. If I had ignored the ransom the amount demanded would increase. Next would be more frequent, and different methods of contact. Eventually, some active with the same criminal organization may claim to be “justified” as they attempt to kidnap and cage my person. If I resisted, they might initiate lethal force and claim “immunity”.
And for what? Collier’s ransom note said that I disobeyed an alleged ban on parking on public streets overnight during the winter. I certainly don’t grant authority to Collier and the rules he cites simply because its claimed. The removal of snow wasn’t an issue on the night in question. There was no victim despite Jean Kilham communicating otherwise in her response to my motion to dismiss.
The defendant alleged there was no victim.
The state objects.
As we each conclude that we shouldn’t apologize for actions that harmed no one, that we don’t owe a debt to make some fictitious entity whole, the sooner we live free of individuals claiming the right to initiate force.
We’ll see what happens. If the threat levied isn’t dropped I expect to sit half a day or a day in a cage. Hopefully it gets some folks to think. At least I know I’m being true to my conscience.
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Related:
by Pete Eyre | Mar 30, 2013 | Articles
If you live, work, or travel through Keene, chances are you’ve spied the ongoing efforts of those involved with Robin Hooding.
From KeeneCopBlock.org/RobinHood:
Keene Copblockers engage in Robin Hooding to rescue others in the community from being ransomed by Keene’s “parking enforcers.”
Whenever someone’s meter is expired, a coin is placed into the meter to extend the person’s time, especially if it is in the direct path of the individual working for the Bureau of Parking Enforcement. Usually a long nickle is sufficient. Often, if time allows, a Copblocker will walk in front of the would be ransom-issuer (while attempting conversation), depositing a coin in each expired meter along the way. This has proven to be an effective deterrent.
From RobinHood.FreeKeene.com:
In late December I submitted a 91A request (New Hampshire’s Freedom of Information Act) to obtain records of meter maid activities.
Eventually, one FRN was given to Bill Dow for a CD with over 7,000 pages of records that list the type, location, time and date of all tickets given from January 1st, 2010 to December 31st, 2012 (yes, people were given tickets on New Year and New Years Eve).
It’s shared here for transparency.
91A for Keene Parking Enforcement Records by CopBlock
Keene Meter Maid Tickets 2010-2012 by CopBlock
by Pete Eyre | Jan 2, 2013 | Re-Posts, Videos
“obfuscation, stonewalling, say-nothing, do-nothing, run-away!” – words ‘shire-based videographer Dave Ridley used to describe the actions of Ken Meola, Keene Police Department employee, when he’s questioned.
My own experience has been the same. The handful of times I’ve been in Meola’s presence and have attempted a conversation with him, he’s remained mute.
Perhaps I should be surprised, seeing as the mission Meola claims to uphold lists “courtesy” as a main component, but I’m aware of the perverse incentives in the monopolistic, hierarchical structure in which he works.
Is Meola’s statement – that the recently-acquired Bearcat (Ballistic Engineered Armored Response Counter Attack Truck) will not be modified – to be believed? Meaning, that no extra armaments will be added to the 19,000-lb vehicle?
I don’t think any sane person would put-forth that this militarized vehicle needed in quaint Keene, and therefore, nor would any additional accessories (used to kill those who don’t obey).
But recall, Meola and some of his colleagues justified the acquisition of the vehicle because it was “free” (it’s not free obviously, the DHS, through those who pay their annual ransom to the larger, federal government, covered the cost of the 286,000FRN piece of hardware to Keene PD and 299 other towns).
Is it likely that Meola and his co-conspirators would turn-down with a battering-ram arm used to inject gas, or a turret-mounted gun? If we who value peace, accountability, and consensual interactions stay focused on the actions of those who claim a “legitimate” right to initiate force the chances are definitely less-likely…
Note that this video was originally uploaded to YouTube.com/RidleyReport on Dec. 26th, 2012
Related
by Pete Eyre | Dec 19, 2012 | Articles, Videos
Many folks who reside in Keene are aware of the petty harassment doled out by Fred Parsells.
A former Keene police employee, Parsells now claims a “legitimate” right to be a nosy bother to his neighbors due to his occupation as a code enforcer.
Fortunately a lot of thinking individuals have concluded that when the initiation of force or its threat is utilized, whether “officially” sanctioned or not, the person initiating is in the wrong.
There’s much I love about Keene. Yet I could do without the countless iterations of force threatened or initiated by Fred Parsells.
Fred Parsells
11 Mckinley St.
Keene, NH 03431
603.352.4345
Let’s grow up and treat others how we’d like to be treated.
If you have a Parsells sighting or visit, please do document and share with Keene Cop Block. The sooner we can work together to put a spotlight on the actions of this individual who unfortunately has taken it upon himself to act as a creepy petty tyrant, the more-likely we are to live free from his harassment.
http://KeeneCopBlock.org
http://Twitter.com/KeeneCopBlock
http://YouTube.com/KeeneCopBlock
http://Facebook.com/KeeneCopBlock
KeeneCopBlock@gmail.com
by Pete Eyre | Dec 11, 2012 | Articles, Musings, Videos
Keene now has a Bearcat (Ballistic Engineered Armored Response Counter Attack Truck).
Does the world you want to live in include this militaristic vehicle?
Check out this stellar overview video put-together by YouTube.com/LightspeedLiberty, which compares the Bearcat to Keene’s Fire Truck #1 [*note, only slight alterations were made for this version].
The lie peddled over and over to try to assuage the vocal widespread opposition, was that the Bearcat was as a “rescue” vehicle. Seems as though Ken Meola and his cronies read a bit too much from Vladimir Lenin, who stated, “A lie told often enough becomes the truth.”
Unlike our “protectors”, I think most of us are too smart to buy-into that misinformation.
Do you really think Keene residents would choose to pay-up to bring such a monstrosity to town??
Remind yourself, as the double-speak surrounding this issue and these institutions is prevalent – the folks who brought the Bearcat to town claim to protect you. That “protection” is done at the barrel of a gun. All Keene residents, whether they like it or not, are told “pay up” or else.
What if you’re not happy with the services rendered? How do you feel if you see a Keene police cruiser in your rearview mirror? Nervous? Anxious? Doesn’t that seem odd?
As well-intentioned as some employed at the Keene police department genuinely are, there’s no way the current policing structure can ever realize its very worthwhile goal (for a safe community). They simply lack the proper incentives.
To put it plainly, the lack of competition means there’s an oversupply of policing. And a lack of accountability.
We don’t turn to a centralized, top-down hierarchy to provide goods arguably more important than policing, such as food (without which, you’d sooner be in peril), so why believe a force-backed structure is necessary in this case?
If you think a move towards a more-militarized Keene isn’t ideal, expose yourself to some alternatives: http://CopBlock.org/Knowledge
Keene Bearcat Grant
Hopefully individual Keene police employees will think about this seriously and act aligned with their conscience, which I hope means that they’ll refuse to operate the Bearcat. That’d be a significant step. And admittedly it’d be a tough step to take, when in that “thin blue line” culture, but what does it same about ones character if opt to act according to the dictates of another rather than themselves.
As the saying goes – create the world in which you want to see. The Bearcat is here. But that doesn’t mean it has to get used. It’d be a powerful action that’d resonate with others if individuals in that environment choose not to unthinking comply, but to side with those they claim to serve and, I’d hope, with their own conscience.
That seems to me the best choice for us now, and for future generations.
Background
Keene Cop Block
If you’re outside of Keene connect your local offshoot: http://CopBlock.org/Groups
Keene Police Department
Playlist from Bearcat Unveiling
[footage from multiple individuals]
