Charles Oliver: It Couldn’t Happen Here?

Published 10:49 pm Tuesday, September 8, 2015

The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection is investigating claims that two Meijer stores sold bananas, milk and other items below cost during their grand openings. A 1939 state law bars retailers from selling below cost.

A Riviera Beach, Fla., police sergeant caught on video slapping a phone out of the hand of a disabled veteran has been disciplined 29 times since he was hired by the department in October 1995. Sgt. Gary Wilson confronted Isiah James about parking in a handicapped spot even though James’ vehicle had a disabled parking placard.

Russian police say they have detained six people for illegally making cheese using banned Western ingredients. Officials say the “organized international criminal gang” had made some $41 million worth of cheese.

A DeKalb County police officer was shot by a colleague when they responded to a call at the wrong house. Officials initially said the officers were responding to a call about a suspicious person. They now say a caller reported a burglary in process. When the officers arrived at the house, they were unable to contact the occupants so they entered an unlocked door and immediately encountered a dog, which they shot and killed. Then they shot the homeowner, and one of the officers also shot the other.

Fredricksburg, Va., police officer Shaun Jergens resigned after he Tasered and pepper-sprayed a man suffering a medical emergency. Jergens responded to a call of a hit-and-run driver. When he arrived at the scene, the driver had stopped, but when he approached the car the man did not obey his commands, so Jergens used a Taser on him. When the Taser didn’t fully connect, he used pepper spray. Local media report the man had suffered a stroke.

Nebraska Beef — a slaughterhouse located in, well, Nebraska — has agreed to pay $200,000 to settle an employment discrimination suit brought by the U.S. Justice Department. The government said the slaughterhouse discriminated against foreign workers by requiring them to show they were legally eligible to work in the United States.  

Charee Stanley has filed a discrimination suit against Atlanta-based ExpressJet, claiming they suspended her from her job as a flight attendant for refusing to serve alcohol. She says serving alcohol would violate her Muslim beliefs. Hey, how was she to know when she took the job that a flight attendant might have to serve alcohol?

Charles Oliver is a staff writer for The Daily Citizen.