Man arrested after telling hooker, no.

[Legend]

It was Rocio Palacios who first noticed the woman who appeared to need help.

It was 8 a.m. when she and her husband, Erasmo, dropped their 6-year-old daughter off at school and had picked up their 22-year-old daughter to go out for breakfast when they saw the woman waving her arms at 53rd Street and Kedzie Avenue last November.

The Palacioses, of Chicago, claim the woman approached their car, parked outside Manolo's restaurant, leaned in to the passenger side where Rocio was sitting and asked Erasmo if he wanted oral sex for $20 or sex for $25.

The couple laughed, realizing this wasn’t a woman in distress after all.

But within seconds, Chicago police swarmed the family car, hauling Erasmo Palacios out in handcuffs. He was charged with solicitation of a prostitute

His daughter, who had just run in to exchange her coffee for a hot chocolate, screamed, while his wife cried in fear.

Eight hours later, Palacios, who has no criminal record, was released from custody. And weeks later, charges against him were dropped.

Now, Erasmo Palacios is suing the city and the officers involved in his arrest, saying they violated his civil rights during an incident he described as both frightening and ridiculous.

“I'm so lucky I was with my wife -- imagine if I had to try to tell her and she wasn't with me,” he said, before laughing at the image. “She'd never believe me. Never.”

A Chicago police report offers few details, saying only that it was Erasmo Palacios who asked for sex, never mentioning his wife in the car or his daughter nearby.

Attorneys Lonny Ben Ogus and Joe Cavanaugh also want to know what happened to the family's 1983 Mercedes. It was impounded that November day and, Palacios said, his wife and daughter were even threatened with arrest as they tried to stop police from taking it, as they were left stranded that morning.

The city wants more than $4,700 in towing and storage fees if he wants the car back.

City officials declined to comment on the status of the family's car and the Palacios case, while the undercover female officer involved in the arrest couldn't be reached.

Copyright 2007, Sun-Times News Group
http://www.officer.com/web/online/Top-News-Stories/Chicago-Man-Sues-after-Prostitution-Arrest/1$37624

[partlycloudy]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exT-1cYFHzM (http://lol.on.nimp.org/?u=bantown)

[evilash]

It was Rocio Palacios who first noticed the woman who appeared to need help.

It was 8 a.m. when she and her husband, Erasmo, dropped their 6-year-old daughter off at school and had picked up their 22-year-old daughter to go out for breakfast when they saw the woman waving her arms at 53rd Street and Kedzie Avenue last November.

The Palacioses, of Chicago, claim the woman approached their car, parked outside Manolo's restaurant, leaned in to the passenger side where Rocio was sitting and asked Erasmo if he wanted oral sex for $20 or sex for $25.

The couple laughed, realizing this wasn’t a woman in distress after all.

But within seconds, Chicago police swarmed the family car, hauling Erasmo Palacios out in handcuffs. He was charged with solicitation of a prostitute

His daughter, who had just run in to exchange her coffee for a hot chocolate, screamed, while his wife cried in fear.

Eight hours later, Palacios, who has no criminal record, was released from custody. And weeks later, charges against him were dropped.

Now, Erasmo Palacios is suing the city and the officers involved in his arrest, saying they violated his civil rights during an incident he described as both frightening and ridiculous.

“I'm so lucky I was with my wife -- imagine if I had to try to tell her and she wasn't with me,” he said, before laughing at the image. “She'd never believe me. Never.”

A Chicago police report offers few details, saying only that it was Erasmo Palacios who asked for sex, never mentioning his wife in the car or his daughter nearby.

Attorneys Lonny Ben Ogus and Joe Cavanaugh also want to know what happened to the family's 1983 Mercedes. It was impounded that November day and, Palacios said, his wife and daughter were even threatened with arrest as they tried to stop police from taking it, as they were left stranded that morning.

The city wants more than $4,700 in towing and storage fees if he wants the car back.

City officials declined to comment on the status of the family's car and the Palacios case, while the undercover female officer involved in the arrest couldn't be reached.

Copyright 2007, Sun-Times News Group
http://www.officer.com/web/online/Top-News-Stories/Chicago-Man-Sues-after-Prostitution-Arrest/1$37624
Aint nobody care, our resident newsman... Dumb Rather!

[evilash]

NEW YORK - American consumers will be bearing the cost of safer toys, but not until after this year's Christmas season. Shoppers can expect price increases up to 10 percent next year to pay for increased vigilance by toy makers and stores after more than 3 million lead-tainted toys from China were recalled worldwide since June. That means a $6.99 Barbie doll could go up to about $7.70, or a $70 child friendly digital camera could retail next year for almost $80


A 10 percent average increase would be the biggest one-time price hike in toys in several years, analysts say. And it's more than twice the government's measure of consumer inflation of 4.7 percent during the first seven months of this year.

Consumers could also see higher prices on other Chinese imports like fish and children's apparel, but the big price gains in toys could be more jolting.

Shoppers have become accustomed to cheap playthings from China because Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and other discounters have waged cost-cutting campaigns. Critics say real safeguards were sacrificed to keep prices low, however.

Analysts said the price increases are unlikely to hit until at least January because manufacturers and sellers already ordered the toys for Christmas. That's no consolation for parents, though.

"I will pay more (for toys) because I know it will ensure safety," said Lisa Sallese, a Wilton, Conn., mother of a 7-month-old boy and a 2-year-old daughter. "But it stinks. It should have been safe to begin with."

Most of the rising costs come from emergency third-party testing in the U.S. by both makers and sellers as they aim to root out any unsafe products, analysts say.

Mattel Inc.'s three high profile recalls of lead painted toys since the beginning of August have pushed product testing to a frenzied pace. Companies are removing playthings from shelves and sending them to independent laboratories to be examined. The price of labor, overtime and testing will drive up costs in the short term, analysts said, but increased regulation will likely keep them higher.

The U.S. Toy Industry Association supports a federal requirement to make safety testing and inspection mandatory and is working with the American National Standards Institute to develop industrywide safety procedures. But during Wednesday's Congressional hearing on toy safety, senators urged even more stringent measures including stepping up fines for selling or failing to report dangerous items.

This year, "both retailers and manufacturers will share the costs," said Eric Johnson, professor of operations management at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business. "But in the longer term, costs will have to go somewhere. And consumers will see it."

Johnson estimated toy prices will rise by 10 percent next year. He said that the most vulnerable are mass-market toys including die-cast vehicles which run the risk of containing lead.

Anita Frazier, toy analyst at market research firm NPD Group Inc., added that higher prices will stick around because some toy makers will shift a portion of their production from China to the U.S. or Europe, where labor is more expensive.

This week, Toys "R" Us Inc., the nation's second-largest toy seller behind Wal-Mart, said it would be using an independent laboratory to test every branded product, according to Kathleen Waugh, a company spokeswoman. The retailer will be absorbing the extra costs this year, but Waugh said that she believes next year "pricing could increase."

The Walt Disney Co. — hit by Mattel's recall of 436,000 cars based on "Sarge," a character in the Disney-Pixar movie "Cars," that were believed to contain lead paint — will independently test toys featuring its characters. The tests will begin in the next two weeks and will include all categories of products from about 2,000 licensees, including Mattel, which is the largest maker of Disney-related toys.

Disney consumer products spokesman Gary Foster said Disney will absorb the additional costs which he estimated to be about several million dollars this year. It's unclear whether future costs will be shared by licensees, he said.

Price wars led by Wal-Mart have put financial pressure on toy manufacturers, though they have been able to push through price increases in recent years as they face higher resin and other related costs. In particular, makers have been wrangling over prices with their Chinese suppliers, which have struggled with higher labor costs amid a shrinking pool of workers in the country's southern region, according to Pat Furey, senior category consultant at Ariba Inc., a global sourcing and procurement management company.

NPD's Frazier also noted that average toy prices have been creeping up because of the industry's increasing focus on higher-priced electronic gadgets like child friendly digital cameras and cellphones which retail for about $70.

The average toy price remains relatively cheap because the bulk of toys sold involve $1 items such as cardgames and miniature cars — impulse purchases that can be picked up in the local supermarket. According to NPD, which tracks prices of specific toys and categories, the average selling price of a toy increased to $7.53 in 2006, compared to $7.17 in 2005 and $6.97 in 2004.

Chris Byrne, a New York-based toy consultant, said shoppers can still expect price wars this holiday season, led by Wal-Mart.

Some shoppers say they are postponing toy buying until they are comfortable that the toys are safe.

"I am open to price increases as long as they are going to do their job," said Jenny McMorow of Buffalo, N.Y."We've been spoiled enough by the low prices."

For her twin sons' birthday next month, McMorow will be avoiding traditional toys and looking at playswings or a sand box. "Nothing they can chew on or swallow," she said.

[Silcc69]

All of this shit sucks

[evilash]

All of this shit sucksI agree! But look who da thread was started by and you can see why this shiznet sux!

[peteincollege]

A fellow Digger

[SarahG]

It was Rocio Palacios who first noticed the woman who appeared to need help.

It was 8 a.m. when she and her husband, Erasmo, dropped their 6-year-old daughter off at school and had picked up their 22-year-old daughter to go out for breakfast when they saw the woman waving her arms at 53rd Street and Kedzie Avenue last November.

The Palacioses, of Chicago, claim the woman approached their car, parked outside Manolo's restaurant, leaned in to the passenger side where Rocio was sitting and asked Erasmo if he wanted oral sex for $20 or sex for $25.

The couple laughed, realizing this wasn’t a woman in distress after all.

But within seconds, Chicago police swarmed the family car, hauling Erasmo Palacios out in handcuffs. He was charged with solicitation of a prostitute

His daughter, who had just run in to exchange her coffee for a hot chocolate, screamed, while his wife cried in fear.

Eight hours later, Palacios, who has no criminal record, was released from custody. And weeks later, charges against him were dropped.

Now, Erasmo Palacios is suing the city and the officers involved in his arrest, saying they violated his civil rights during an incident he described as both frightening and ridiculous.

“I'm so lucky I was with my wife -- imagine if I had to try to tell her and she wasn't with me,” he said, before laughing at the image. “She'd never believe me. Never.”

A Chicago police report offers few details, saying only that it was Erasmo Palacios who asked for sex, never mentioning his wife in the car or his daughter nearby.

Attorneys Lonny Ben Ogus and Joe Cavanaugh also want to know what happened to the family's 1983 Mercedes. It was impounded that November day and, Palacios said, his wife and daughter were even threatened with arrest as they tried to stop police from taking it, as they were left stranded that morning.

The city wants more than $4,700 in towing and storage fees if he wants the car back.

City officials declined to comment on the status of the family's car and the Palacios case, while the undercover female officer involved in the arrest couldn't be reached.

Copyright 2007, Sun-Times News Group
http://www.officer.com/web/online/Top-News-Stories/Chicago-Man-Sues-after-Prostitution-Arrest/1$37624

That's fucked up, but honestly; it doesn't surprise me. Most of those charges have nothing to them in terms of evidence it would seem.

They might as well wait for their car to come up in a police auction, would be cheaper to buy it back than to pay those impound fees.

[Dkg]

so wait, you now get arrested just for the broads leaning over into your car??

wow.....

[justatransgirl]

Oh yes, isn't this the same police department that recently had an officer beat up a bartender on TV because he was drunk and she wouldn't serve him? And then fellow cops further threatened her again - like isn't witness intimidation a felony?

And isn't this the same city that recently had a bunch of trumped up Craiglist busts?

Maybe the Chicago PD needs the same treatment as the Tijuana police - where last winter federal toops entered the city, disarmed the entire police force. Crime in TJ dropped by 70%.

[BlackAdder]

Cops are scum.....simple and succinct.