Police state...

[alt12]

I saw this posted in a comment section in an article on police presence at BM. As someone who witnessed 5 friends get arrested in a similar undercover sting a few years ago, I feel like its a good reminder and education on the potential consequences of giving drugs to someone at burningman that you don't know pre-event....


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sevens [Moderator] Today 03:31 AM

I was strongly coerced by 2 undercover agents to share my personal stash of a psychedelic substance. I made the grievous error of being trusting after they expressed what felt like great sincerity. I was then arrested and brought to a detention facility on the playa where I was placed in one half of a single wide trailer amidst police and military looking vehicles in what looked very much to me like a miniature Guantanamo. The AC was on high in the tiny police chamber (during the COLD night) and I had very little clothing on. I was chained to a chair and berated by an ensemble belligerent sheriffs. There was a water-board style chair with leather arm restraints that many peaceful, respectful detainee’s were placed in. On a couple of occasions while the sheriff stepped out, a massive black german shephard walked in, looking very menacing, one time approaching my face with a snarling look. I was held for around 8 hours there without water or the ability to use a bathroom.

After a 3 hour drive I arrived at the jail in Lovelock where I met people who had been badly beaten and others who had been "stung" in a painfully coercive manner. One example: Cat Woman seducing a man for several hours and offering him MDMA- after he finally pulled out less than 1/2 eighth of mushrooms, he was charged with distribution and possession of both substances.

My bail bondsman was paid a handy $3800 and I'm now bracing myself for attorney fees. I broke a cardinal rule, and yet, the sting that I experienced and the others I heard about are not acceptable in that they are disturbing the peaceful; nor is the treatment following the bust humane. I was charged with felony distribution and possession. Distribution does not have to be sales in NV, it can also be levied for sharing or giving.

Jail felt like a relief after the lawless limbo in the Pershing County Sheriffs compound. I have been going since 2002 and I assure you, that you are wrong about the police state aspect. They freely conduct blanket search tactics; it is not safe to assume that you will experience the same security you find in a city- you are at far greater risk, and, you are in a ZERO tolerance state with the most regressive entrapment laws anywhere you are likely to ever go to. The officers I met LOATHED BM and its participants, drawing BM logos in the dust on the van windows circled and crossed out as they ranted about having to be in this “hippy hell holeâ€

[thirt33n]

i really don't want to believe this.

someone tell me it's great exaggeration.

...and what about Santa, Jesus and the Tooth Fairy? please?

[K-mom]

Yeah, this matches quite accurately with the story I heard from one guy I met at Summerlake Hotsprings on the way home. I'm actually wondering if he was the one who posted it on the other site. Either way, what he described sounded like this, a small military style compound out past the trash fence with hummers and jail cell trailers.

[Lassen Forge]

While not all LEO's are anti-burner (I've met some who volunteer to go just to attend the event for the event, not to be assholes) the above is actually an accurate description, and I'll leave it at that.

[junglesmacks]

I simply make it a rule to never leave camp with anything on me.. period. There is nowhere on the entire playa that I can go that is too far away from camp if I want to make a pit stop back by for a fuel up. Never. It also gives me that complete free peace of mind to know that no matter what, no one can mess with me.

Don't do anything wrong = hard to get in trouble.

[Lord Of Ruin]

i really don't want to believe this.

someone tell me it's great exaggeration.

...and what about Santa, Jesus and the Tooth Fairy? please?

Lots and lots of it are factually inaccurate or hyperbole and I don't even know of this particular incident.

But I do know the K9 officer described, as well as the part of the cop shop discussed.

<yawn> Pussy.

It's the equivalent to being told to sit at a desk in a school portable unit during detention. If that freaks you out, then you go boy.

LoR

[alt12]

i really don't want to believe this.

someone tell me it's great exaggeration.

...and what about Santa, Jesus and the Tooth Fairy? please?

Lots and lots of it are factually inaccurate or hyperbole and I don't even know of this particular incident.

But I do know the K9 officer described, as well as the part of the cop shop discussed.

<yawn> Pussy.

It's the equivalent to being told to sit at a desk in a school portable unit during detention. If that freaks you out, then you go boy.

LoR

I kind of agree with you there. My friends that were arrested in 2005 were stashed at said police compound after being snared in a similar-style sting (cute raver chick asking for a "nug" of pot). They were released after a few hours with a summons to re-appear in October. They weren't traumatized. They weren't abused. It was pretty much business as usual at camp the next day.... In the end, it boiled down to paying a $1500 fine and pleaing to a misdameanor... oh, and a great burning man story for years to come :)

[swampdog]

There was a water-board style chair with leather arm restraints

Really? What makes a chair "water-board style"? I thought they used, well, water-boards for water-boarding. Do you just mean a chair with leather restraints? Where I come from we call that a good time. Sorry, man, you lost me there. Don't get me wrong, I believe you were entrapped and detained but that level of exaggeration makes me doubt that it was nearly as bad as the writer says it was.

[Mosin]

I simply make it a rule to never leave camp with anything on me.. period. There is nowhere on the entire playa that I can go that is too far away from camp if I want to make a pit stop back by for a fuel up. Never. It also gives me that complete free peace of mind to know that no matter what, no one can mess with me.

Ditto. No matter what state of mind I am in (if you will) I never have to worry about rummaging through my bag, proximity to LEOs, passing an electro-fag to a friend etc. Peace of mind on the playa is priceless... yet, interestingly, much cheaper than a drug bust in Nevada!

[davem]

Is there a Camp Water-Board that I might be able to join next year?

[sktELEMENT]

I just wrote 2 whole pages about how and when I got caught last year, what happened after, what I did, and then my personal advice. Then my phone died...I put so much heart into it that I can't write it again right now. But the above is mostly true...if you have any questions, want advice, or need help with being already caught, send me a PM and I will help with my knowledge.

I am also considering starting a theme camp in which burners share stories and advice to other burners warning them about the virus of police and undercovers in our beloved home. If this interests you please contact me. And maybe we can start the peaceful fight to our burning freedom.

[junglesmacks]

I simply make it a rule to never leave camp with anything on me.. period. There is nowhere on the entire playa that I can go that is too far away from camp if I want to make a pit stop back by for a fuel up. Never. It also gives me that complete free peace of mind to know that no matter what, no one can mess with me.

Ditto. No matter what state of mind I am in (if you will) I never have to worry about rummaging through my bag, proximity to LEOs, passing an electro-fag to a friend etc. Peace of mind on the playa is priceless... yet, interestingly, much cheaper than a drug bust in Nevada!

lol.. allllllll of that, plus not even the LEO factor.. just straight losing or dropping "valuable" things while rummaging through the bag in the dark while not exactly in the tip top of mental sharpness..

[Captain Goddammit]

"And maybe we can start the peaceful fight to our burning freedom."

Your burning freedom to do illegal drugs??
Leave your drugs at home, and you won't get busted at Burning Man. You'll get busted at home instead!

Attention Morons: The same laws about drugs apply at Burning Man as in "Defaultia". Black Rock City is not autonomous.

[sktELEMENT]

[quote="Captain Goddammit"]Your burning freedom to do illegal drugs??
Leave your drugs at home, and you won't get busted at Burning Man. You'll get busted at home instead!

Attention Morons: The same laws about drugs apply at Burning Man as in "Defaultia". Black Rock City is not autonomous.[/quote]

Right, but don't pretend to be so ignorant as that going into the middle of nowhere desert is not an influence to try to part from cops and do what you want as long as it is not morally wrong I.e. violent crimes.

[Token]

Why anyone would do drugs out there is beyond my understanding.

I have no sympathy for those that pay the Stupid Tax (tm).

[Captain Goddammit]

Right, but don't pretend to be so ignorant as that going into the middle of nowhere desert is not an influence to try to part from cops and do what you want as long as it is not morally wrong I.e. violent crimes.

Are you saying that you shouldn't get in trouble for breaking the law as long as you make an effort to hide from the cops?
Man, lay off the pipe before attempting logic!

[Miles]

fucking burners, i hope you all get arrested

you drug using subhumans

you law breaking scumbags

[Dr. Pyro]

sktELEMENT, what you did last year you brought upon yourself. Also put BDC&WB on the sheriff's radar. That's why you were expelled from our camp, and that ain't easy to do.

I'm more than a little surprised you were ever let out of jail.

[junglesmacks]

sktELEMENT, what you did last year you brought upon yourself. Also put BDC&WB on the sheriff's radar. That's why you were expelled from our camp, and that ain't easy to do.

I'm more than a little surprised you were ever let out of jail.

*popcorn*

do tell..

[changoloco]

I have empathy for anyone that goes to jail, jail sucks and there are very few of us that deserve the kind of treatment that we receive in jail and that is the truth. With that being said, don't be a moron. How many times do we have to hear stories like this before people realize, don't give drugs to someone that you do not know personally! It's simple. Furthermore, don't carry drugs on you when you are out and about on the playa. I keep mine in my camp and I make sure every year that I camp near the things that I am going to be around the most. This year I wanted to be near Root Society and Nexus. I camped near there so that, anytime I needed to reload, I was a 3 minute bike ride from my camp. It's simple people, protect yourself. Done with this rant.......

-Chango

[LostinReno]

I have empathy for anyone that goes to jail, jail sucks and there are very few of us that deserve the kind of treatment that we receive in jail and that is the truth. With that being said, don't be a moron. How many times do we have to hear stories like this before people realize, don't give drugs to someone that you do not know personally! It's simple. Furthermore, don't carry drugs on you when you are out and about on the playa. I keep mine in my camp and I make sure every year that I camp near the things that I am going to be around the most. This year I wanted to be near Root Society and Nexus. I camped near there so that, anytime I needed to reload, I was a 3 minute bike ride from my camp. It's simple people, protect yourself. Done with this rant.......

-Chango

Thanks Chango! it never ceases to amaze me how bent out of shape people get over the drug thing. QUIT BEING SO F'NG STUPID, really, is it that hard to do your business it in your personal space?? I also love how the majority of the stories are, "A friend of a friend, did blah, blah, blah"
Apparently this one was busted for E on the playa, then proceeded to run her rental motorhome into the Reno Arch. Seriously??? These are the moron's that get busted...and apparently with good reason!
http://www.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/articl ... 0109080419

[Kinetik V]

Wow, misguided activism. Gotta love it. You want freedom to do drugs on the playa? Start with joining efforts for legalizing medical marijuana or promoting the Cali ballot initiative coming up in November. That's where you start, and you won't see change overnight. But it will happen. Here in Colorado we've put the right to use medical marijuana in the state constitution....the only state to do so. It is being put to the test in a trial even as I write this...it may come up short but the effort is being made, the awareness is being spread...and the battle front widens.

Anyone can bitch and get people to bitch with them. But...can you take the next step and translate it into something more?

[LostinReno]

Here in Colorado we've put the right to use medical marijuana in the state constitution....the only state to do so.

I personally think marijuana should be legal, but that's neither here nor there, didn't California do this already? Yeah, the state can pass whatever laws it wants but ultimately the gov't laws trump the state laws....last time I checked, it's still fedrally illegal, no?

[spectabillis]

Attention Morons:

great to see you back in your element of such graceful and considerate labeling there captain, and with such favorable zeal in the same topics you like to target such things.

[some seeing eye]

I wanted to bring this around to a more upbeat angle.

Don't be a victim of other's actions, including LEO's. Own your experience.

There is a business struggle going on between the ORG and LEO. LEO's like state agencies everywhere are desperate for money, their employees make good money with good benefits and don't want that to go away with the rest of the economy. They fear the unknown, the more staff, firepower, spy tools and intelligence they have the better they feel. Just is.

The LEO's think they need about a 75% increase in staff for BM: http://www.rgj.com/article/20100830/EVENTS04/100830001

Meanwhile the ORG thinks it should be less: http://burningman.com/news/100829_secur ... sment.html

You have a chance to influence it with your behavior. What would have happened if there were zero LEO arrests or citations this year?

Not so much ammunition for 144 LEO's and the increased costs which can be calculated from the afterburn report. Not only does heavy LEO presence change the feeling of the event, it's only a mater of time before there is a serious LEO vehicle-participant accident. LEO including BLM is probably about 5% of the budget, so there is another $15 by itself in ticket price next year. LEO encounters and blatant LEO attracting behavior are also probably about 90% of the ORG's bad publicity.

So make 2011 the zero citation year.

(Also why the ORG should bring even more tour buses of influential Nevada citizens...)

[Eric]

Honestly I don't care what people do out there. Just Don't Be Stupid. It's as simple as that.

Most of the LEO's I've personally talked to have been fine- some of them downright hysterical with their stories about collecting the Stupid Tax (don't pee on a BLM vehicle, just sayin'), but they are definitely there to collect revenue more then they are to keep us safe.

Being with Piss Clear and now the BRC Weekly I get to hear lots of stories of the negative aspects of The Law in BRC, all of which reinforce the basic line I tell all my friends over and over, because it can't be repeated enough:

Don't Be Stupid

[Bob]

If there were 80 LEOs this year per 50,000 hippies, and one or two BLM rangers back when there were 80 attendees the first year in the desert, I'd say consider yourselves lucky.

[sktELEMENT]

[quote="Dr. Pyro"]sktELEMENT, what you did last year you brought upon yourself. Also put BDC&WB on the sheriff's radar. That's why you were expelled from our camp, and that ain't easy to do.

I'm more than a little surprised you were ever let out of jail.[/quote]

Right... you mean the camp where we all pay 50 bucks for you to pay for your trip and bring stuff out, like couches? Meanwhile if we hang out to much or take a nap on the couches we paid for you bitch? No thanks. Not to mention you never told me or anyone of our said "expulsion." We expelled ourselves from your conservative idealistically defined camp. But you can pretend to be an understanding open minded burner all you want. Cause you're not.

Put barbie death camp on the radar...I never even told them where I was camping you fucking drama queen.

[sktELEMENT]

And for the record I never spent a single second in jail, nor did I ever have to go to a single court date, nor do I have anything on my record at all. Because of people like the lawyer who helped me for free because of his empathy, and his true belief in what is morally right. Belief in freedom. Why all this? Because hypocrisy rules. And they are there strictly to make dollar bills.

So get off your horse. Fact is If it weren't for drugs Burning Man probably would not exist.

Hooray to he who stomps your barbies.

[Kinetik V]

But you can pretend to be an understanding open minded burner all you want. Cause you're not.

I CALL ABSOLUTE TOTAL FUCKING BULLSHIT!

There's a lot that can be said about Dr. Pyro but I'll bring out my heavy cannons and light your ass up if you say shit like that. The fact is he is exactly what you described, an understanding open minded burner, period. Now I don't know the 411 on what went down between you two and I don't really give a flying rat's ass either. But blanket statements like that one...oh fuck no...ain't going to let that be posted without a response.

Truth be told you will not find a nicer, more respectful man on the playa. When I was persona non grata with the 3Playans and others, Dr. Pyro always treated me with respect, kept an open mind, and was a true gentleman and class act every time we met. Even when surrounded by people that couldn't stand me that were his friends, he still took time to make me feel comfortable in his camp, and to answer questions my friends and family had. Never once has he had an attitude.

In all the years I've had interactions with that man both in person and online...I have seen NOTHING, not one single damn thing that was even remotely questionable.

I apologize for running long here...but it seriously fucking pisses me off to see shit like that posted. And one last thing...Hooray to he who stomps your barbies? Seriously dude? Advocating destruction of someone's art at Burning Man is flat fucking wrong, and totally unjustifiable.