Gregory S. Wallace [03/08/2003]

To the editor:I want to clarify for everyone why the issue of Bob Snow's extortion and embezzlement trial is so important to all of us whether or not you have ever met the man. When we are children we are told that the police are our friends and that we can trust them. The police are there to protect and serve us and so we should have no reason to fear the policemen. Both state police and town police are referred to as "New Hampshire's finest" as well as the best of the best. You see it every time new police officers join some town's police force in the press release. That being said, police work is often a difficult and sometimes dangerous job and I think everyone is aware of it. So let's not have any of this "you don't have any idea what it's like to be a police officer so you have no right to comment on it" stuff.As a citizen of this county and the state of New Hampshire I have every right as well as responsibility to do so. The police in New Hampshire, be they state, county or town, have been given too much power and leeway in the performance of their duties by our state legislature. When a police officer can stop you for any reason, real or imagined, for let's say speeding. So you tell the officer that you were not speeding and, after getting a ticket, you decide to go to court and fight the ticket. Now you think all you have to do is tell the truth make the officer produce the videotape and the radar printout with date time and speed printed on it. In other words, some evidence other than "I saw him do it."Guess what? They don't have to do anything other than show up and say "I saw him do it!" It happened to me and up until then I had no tickets on my record but now I do. The worst part is that I wasn't speeding and I think he knew it.This is how most people are introduced to the police the traffic stop. Roads are posted below the speed that 85 percent of motorists normally drive. The theory being that properly posted speeds will cause even faster driving. This has been proven false on many different levels including state, federal and read engineering organizations like the MUTCD.What such as the above does do, however is drive a wedge between the police and the people that they are sworn to protect. It makes a mockery of the law and the courts in general. Many people are afraid to speak up about this because they may be targeted by the police. Guess what, you already are!And worse yet, it opens the door to corruption and injustice on every level. The officer that stopped me for speeding could have been like Bob Snow and said "I can make this ticket go away if you make a contribution to my cause." There is no videotape, he is not required by law to produce one or any other evidence beyond "I saw him do it." I am completely defenseless at this point and in trouble no matter what I do or say. The solution lies with our legislature and ourselves. We elect them and then rely on them to do the right thing while never doing anything thereafter. We place our responsibilities in their hands and they just give it to someone else in bureaucracy who has their own idea of how things should be done.All of our laws should be based on reality, responsibility and the burden of proof falling squarely upon the accuser. Our police and all agencies within the state must be held to a legally enforceable standard overseen by citizens who are looking to prevent abuse of power. Laws should be abolished or never written that err on the side of safety because of the misguided fear that "Someone may get away with something" so laws are enacted streamlining the prosecution process. I have one final case in point.I was arrested May of 1997 for DUI not resulting in an accident of any kind just driving over the posted speed limit. There was a lot of evidence here in my defense but I will keep this simple to save space.I was approached by a woman whom I knew through a mutual acquaintance and she asked me if I wanted her to speak to Chief Snow to see if he could get something done about my DUI arrest. At first I was shocked that anyone would suggest such a thing. She said "You may have to make a contribution of some kind." I declined and told her that I was innocent and so felt no need to do anything of the kind. I was surprised at her offer and thought she was just talking big. I later found out that she was present at Bob Snow's wedding, so who knows. The problem is his behavior must have been well known and for some time. I have never met Bob Snow.I went to court and won after the officer who arrested me admitted that I really did pass the field sobriety test and the state's own toxicologist agreed with my own toxicologist that there was something very wrong with the evidence. This took 18 months during which both my mother and my sister were diagnosed with cancer and passed away while in my care. My continuing court case making it that much more difficult to care for them. Thank God the state saw fit not to take my license away during this period. I should never have been charged in the first place. The police officer who arrested me did so with all the power of the state behind him and did so with impunity.Bob Snow should go to jail for a long long time and we should make every effort to change the face of our state. The courts and the police have way too much power to walk into virtually anyone's life and cause harm under the guise of safety.Absolute power corrupts absolutely.