Jay Leno was right.

[Blind_Io]

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/au...t-camera-case/

Charges that Clifford E. Clark III shot out a red-light camera have been dismissed. But that did not give him a green light out of his legal entanglements.

In separate incidents, Clark, now 48, still faces trials for allegedly threatening plainclothes deputies with a shotgun and criminal trespassing.

Prosecutors also say they are contemplating an appeal of Criminal Court Judge Mary Beth Leibowitz's decision last week to dismiss the camera case.

"We are looking at that possibility, we certainly are," Knox County Assistant District Attorney General Zane Scarlett said Monday.

Clark's attorney, Ron Newcomb, declined comment, citing the still pending cases.
"I hope that my exoneration will receive as much publicity as my arrest," Clark said in a brief videotaped statement posted on the Web site he created about the red-light case, www.cliffspeaks.com.

Clark, now 48, was arrested in November 2007 after shots were fired into the red light traffic enforcement camera at the intersection of Broadway and Interstate 640. Police responding to a "shots fired" call in the early morning hours stopped Clark's vehicle in the vicinity, and from his car took a .30-caliber rifle. Clark's vehicle was the last one photographed, authorities said, and empty cartridge cases found nearby were later matched to the rifle taken from Clark's car, according to Scarlett.

But the circumstances of the arrest were not sufficient for the arresting officers to have searched the car without a warrant, Leibowitz ruled. That, combined with the fact that parts of the camera that Clark's lawyer wanted to examine are missing, require the case to be dismissed, Leibowitz wrote in her ruling.

In April 2008, Clark was charged with trespassing on University of Tennessee property and then with aggravated assault when he allegedly pointed a shotgun at a plainclothes deputy who came to his house to serve the trespass warrant. He said he wielded the shotgun because the officers did not initially identify themselves or show their badges. The deputies said they had in fact done so.

The aggravated assault case is set for trial Oct. 26, the trespass case is set to be heard Nov. 16.
Jim Balloch may be reached at 865-342-6315.

So the guy is still in trouble for trespassing and pointing a gun at cops (and he should be), but he's off the hook for shooting out the traffic camera.

Some days I love this country.

/He would have been fine if he policed his brass.

[Donington]

The real reason he got away is the fact that his name is Clifford Clark the Third.

With a name like that he MUST drive a Jaaaaaaaaaag.

[argatoga]

The real reason he got away is the fact that his name is Clifford Clark the Third.

With a name like that he MUST drive a Jaaaaaaaaaag.

Heh, well over here you will see a lot of hicks with names like that. Not exactly a sign of wealth.

[thedguy]

Heh, well over here you will see a lot of hicks with names like that. Not exactly a sign of wealth.

Sounds extremely redneck to me.

[gaasc]

If he own a Jaaaaaaag the trial will be like this

Judge:Jury, have you reached a verdict
jury person: yes your honor
Judge:carry on then
jury person:we, the jury find the defendant, Clifford Clark the Third, gui...
Clifford Clark: pardon me you honor, i believe that before the jury read the verdict, can i just say. i own a JAAAAAAAAAAG
Jury person: fuck this verdict he's not guilty
Judge: case closed

[piratenews]

Of course Jay Leno wants to remove traffic cameras, since he rides a 266mph streetbike with a jet engine.

The real reason he got away is the fact that his name is Clifford Clark the Third.

With a name like that he MUST drive a Jaaaaaaaaaag.

BMW.

Order of dismissal

Yes, that pesky Constitution is a mere technicality protecting We The People from a Police State.

Beyond the constitutional reasons named in the judge’s order, it appears the reason charges were dismissed was that Mr Clark subpoenaed a Knox County deputy to testify that a Knox deputy confessed to shooting a redlight camera. That subpoena was provided to KNS and local TV news, but they failed to report that fact.

Mr Clark’s interview after dismissal of all charges:

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25wIadTDcXo[/YOUTUBE]

Transcript

Mr Clark provided that interview to my public access TV station after the dismissal, but that interview was all but censored by KNS and the TV stations. We broadcast that 6 minute interview in its entirety today on WBCR radio, where Mr Clark discussed that subpoena of a deputy to testify against another deputy about the deputy's confession to shooting a redlight camera. Odd that the case was dismissed 1 week before trial. BTW my public access station had broadcast all hearings in this case unedited for 2 years, then was banned from the courtroom right before trial. What is the State suddenly afraid of being reported?

Mr Clark also mentioned that all ballistic evidence was destroyed by KPD - the camera housing with bullet holes, and even the recovered bullet fragments themselves were thrown away, so no way to even check what caliber was used. All audiotaped “confessions” and “consents” to search his car and home that Mr Clark allegedly made were also thrown away by KPD, and Mr Clark denied making those statements. Even Redflex refused to testify in this case, perhaps out of spite since their contract got terminated during this trial, one week after Mr Clark’s lawyer confirmed that deputies said a deputy shot a camera. Mr Clark never got a redlight ticket, and he is very wealthy, so why shoot a redlight camera? The camera stopped working 6 hours before his arrest, so how did his bullets travel back in time? He never even got a traffic ticket during his traffic stop and arrest.

The only “evidence” against Mr Clark was that he was transporting an unloaded firearm in his vehicle, which is not a crime. Will KPD arrest every person carrying a firearm and accuse them of all crimes in the neighborhood?
If a person is accused of a crime, does that make it ok for police to break into homes and vehicles without a warrant, testilie and fabricate as much evidence as required to convict? Then steal all their guns out of a locked gun safe without a search warrant. After all, that’s what Hollywood stars do on TV every day…