A year and a half ago she was beaten by a neighborhood thug outside of a city bar. It took months of do-it-yourself sleuthing, a meeting with a city alderman and a public shaming in a community newspaper before the Chicago Police Department would pay any attention to her. About a year later, Shaver got more attention from cops than she ever could have wanted: A team of Chicago cops took down her door with a battering ram and raided her apartment, searching for drugs.
Shaver has no evidence that the two incidents are related, and they likely arent in any direct way. But they provide a striking example of how the drug war perverts the priorities of Americas police departments. Federal anti-drug grants, asset forfeiture policies and a generation of battlefield rhetoric from politicians have made pursuing low-level drug dealers and drug users a top priority for police departments across the country. Theres only so much time in the day, and the focus on drugs often comes at the expense of investigating violent crimes with victims like Jessica Shaver.
via Driven By Drug War Incentives, Cops Target Pot Smokers, Brush Off Victims Of Violent Crime.