Arkansas: The Worst Place to Rent in America

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Arkansas is one of the worst places to be a renter in America. It is the only state in the US where tenants are treated as criminals for paying rent late and landlords are not required by law to maintain their properties. 

Its failure-to-vacate law lets landlords give tenants a 10-day eviction notice if they are even one day overdue. Tenants who can't or won't leave within that span face fines for every day they remain on the property and up to 90 days in jail. 

This makes things difficult for the third of Arkansas's residents who are renters and have legitimate concerns about the properties they are occupying. The combination of failure-to-vacate and the lack of warranty of habitability make it almost impossible for tenants to challenge their landlords for legitimate reasons. It's estimated that criminal evictions occur everyday in Arkansas, resulting in over 2000 failure-to-vacate cases being filed each year. 

VICE News visited Arkansas to learn more about its draconian eviction laws. From the courthouses to the porches of some of the state's poorest residents, we documented first-hand accounts from one of the country's most underreported stories.

Debtors Prisons Are Taking the US Back to the 19th Century:http://bit.ly/1lnn3AT

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City of Little Rock Rental Property Inspection Program

Did you know that it is illegal to lease a dwelling that has not been inspected by the City?

From the City's Web site: "Another component of Code Enforcement is the Systematic Rental Property Inspection Program. This program provides for a biannual inspection of all rental properties located in the City of Little Rock. The purpose of this inspection is to insure that all rental units are maintained in a safe condition to meet Minimum Housing Code Standards. The Rental Inspection Program also provides an avenue for rental property owners to require tenants who damage their property to make repairs or provide financial compensation to cover the cost of repairs."
Also on their site:

Minimum Housing Code Enforcement

Code Enforcement Officers also investigate violations of the Little Rock Minimum Housing Code. Examples of these violations include property owners who fail to maintain their residences or accessory buildings, allowing them to fall in to a state of disrepair or structures that have sustained fire damage.

For more information, contact: Division Manager, City Hall #120W, 500 West Markham Street, Little Rock, AR 72201 Office: (501) 371-4685 

Debtors Prisons Are Taking the US Back to the 19th Century

https://news.vice.com/article/debtors-prisons-are-taking-the-us-back-to-the-19th-century

Post by Ean Lee Bordeaux.

LITTLE ROCK WAS WELL-INFORMED ABOUT POLICE CORRUPTION:

Post by Ean Lee Bordeaux.

Justice Department: Albuquerque police use of force is unconstitutional

Report says police in New Mexico capital 'too frequently' use force against the mentally ill and people in crisis

April 10, 2014 2:53PM ET

http://corruptionsucks.blogspot.com/2014/06/justice-department-albuquerque-police.html

A U.S. Justice Department report said Thursday that Albuquerque police "too frequently" use excessive force against people who pose a minimal threat, and that officers who do so are in breach of the Constitution.

The report comes after the New Mexican capital’s police last month fatally shot James Boyd, a 38-year-old homeless man armed with a knife.

Boyd's death — captured on video and widely circulated on the Internet — was the Albuquerque Police Department's second fatal shooting in two weeks. It prompted a demonstration by hundreds of people who blocked traffic in the city on March 30. The same day, hacktivist group Anonymous took down the APD's website for hours.

The incidents brought the department under a wave of scrutiny, but the Justice Department investigation was launched in November 2012, when its Civil Rights Division and New Mexico federal Attorney's Office began a probe of officer-involved shootings that resulted in fatalities between 2009 and 2012.

The department found that APD officers "too frequently" fatally injure people posing a minimal threat, said Jocelyn Samuels, the acting assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division.

In a phone conference with reporters, Samuels also said the APD reportedly uses "less lethal force" on those "who are passively resisting, non-threatening, observably unable to comply with orders or pose only a minimal threat to officers."

The department further reported that APD officers "too frequently" use force against the mentally ill and people in crisis.

For example, the department's report showed that one officer in 2010 used a Taser on a 75-year-old man who used a cane to walk. Also in 2010, an officer fired a Taser at a man who had been in a car accident and was convulsing in his car. The officer reportedly determined the man had been "non-compliant."

“We are very concerned by the results of our investigation and look forward to working with the City of Albuquerque to develop a set of robust and durable reforms,” Samuels said.

In response to the report, the department said it was taking several broad remedial steps including more training and measures to ensure accountability and transparency to the community.

“Today’s groundbreaking announcement marks a critical milestone in addressing problems that have plagued our community and the Albuquerque Police Department for years,” said Damon Martinez, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico. 

Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry told reporters on Thursday that he agrees the report is a milestone, and that he is prepared to face the challenges ahead to improve his city's law enforcement, however long it may take.

"As difficult as the findings are, and we recognize that they are difficult,” Berry said. “The good news is that this is an achievable goal."

APD officers have been involved in 37 shootings, 23 of them fatal, since 2010. There is no national record of how many times police departments throughout the United States use deadly force, but according to Micah McCoy with the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, Albuquerque’s rate of deadly force rivals that of New York City. New York City is 15 times larger by population than Albuquerque.

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/4/10/doj-albuquerque-policeuseofforceisunconstitutional.html

What they didn't tell you about Creepy Todd Payne-He killed my dog

Post by Ean Lee Bordeaux.

COP TRIES TO SET POLICE-CORRUPTION ACTIVISTS’S BUSINESS ON FIRE, ENDS UP DYING

 http://filmingcops.com/cop-tries-to-set-police-corruption-bloggers-business-on-fire-ends-up-dying/#tc-comment-title

Forbidden Hillcrest

LITTLE ROCK — Ean Bordeaux, a Little Rock police-corruption blogger (and hot dog vendor) was the victim of an arson attack this morning at his home at 1510 of Bragg street in Little Rock (just south of Macarthur park).

Corruption blogger, Ean Bordeaux provided hot dogs to his local community in his spare time.

According to Ean, he awoke at 4:00 am to the sound of his dogs barking.

Looking at his security monitors, he saw that his hot dog cart in his yard was on fire.

He rushed down to put out the flames which were now lapping against his house and threatening his cart’s propane tank.

Ean burned his hands putting out the fire, and immediately called the police.

Fifteen minutes later, watching his video monitor while waiting for police to arrive, he saw a man approach the cart (apparently for a second time).

The unidentified man then began pouring lighter fluid onto the cart.

Ean ran down the stairs and confronted the man, who then ran.

He noticed that the man was wearing a hat and a mask. Ean chased down and tackled him.

The masked man landed face-first onto the pavement, and they both then laid there catching their breath.

RELATED: Cop Tries to Execute Family’s Dog, Ends Up Shooting Himself

Ean claims that he didn't strike the man, but since he feared the man might have a weapon, he continued to hold the suspect down until police arrived.

The masked man died shortly thereafter.

The masked man turned out to be ex-LRPD police officer Todd Payne, who had been a subject of Ean’s blog investigation at Corruption Sucks.

Officer Todd Payne tried to set flames to a local business whose owner blogged about police corruption, but he ended up falling face-first on the pavement and dying.

Ean claims that Todd had been harassing him for some time due to his posts and that he and Todd had worked in close contact for several years in the River Market area. (Ean’s hot dog cart was on a corner in Todd’s River Market beat).

Support Ean’s blog Corruption Sucks.

The LRPD sent the following press release, which doesn’t conflict with Ean’s narrative.

“1510 Bragg Street. Around 0400 hours Ean Bordeaux called 911 in reference to someone attempting to destroy his property (hot dog cart).  The suspect left and later returned attempting to damage the property a second time.  Mr. Bordeaux confronted the suspect, whom was still next to the property.  The suspect fled on foot and was caught by Bordeaux within a short distance.  Details are limited, but while Bordeaux was engaged with suspect, the suspect sustained injuries that later lead to his death at a local hospital.  The suspect was later identified as Todd Payne, former Little Rock Police Officer.  The investigation is ongoing and no additional information is available.”

To this point, police have expressed no intention of charging Ean with a crime.

As you would expect, police were not happy to hear that an ex-LRPD cop had done this.

RELATED: Cop Who Killed Homeless Man Shows His Face in Restaurant, Americans Make Him Leave

Here is a snippet of an overheard police radio conversation from around 5:00 AM this morning:

“This is going to put a lot of us in jeopardy with his stupid action.”

“Yeah, that idiot dead dude just put us in a lot of danger doing that crap.”

Originally published by Forbidden Hillcrest. Find more stuff at Forbidden Hillcrest’s Facebook.

SYRIA: When One More Child Dies...

Post by Ean Lee Bordeaux.

Chief Elder Ean Bordeaux on Twitter

Post by Ean Lee Bordeaux.