This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: Police

  • Police feel animosity towards politicians – welcome to the club

    deblasio arrested

    The Washington Post writes that police are becoming disillusioned with elected officials as they find themselves alone on the front lines of law and order;

    As the nation continues to grapple with the thorny issues of race and policing, some officers have been bruised by comments made by some local and national officials and have accused them of showing more support for the protesters, some of whom have violently clashed with police, than for their police departments. Law enforcement officials say morale is flagging among the rank-and-file, who they say feel “betrayed” by President Obama and Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. in their calls for tough reforms of policing tactics.

    “We might be reaching a tipping point with the mind-set of officers, who are beginning to wonder if the risks they take to keep communities safe are even worth it anymore,” Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke said. “In New York and other places, we’re seeing a natural recoil from law enforcement officers who don’t feel like certain people who need to have their backs have their backs.”

    I understand that police officers have a tougher job than the military – they have to try and protect all life until their own life is in jeopardy.

    But, imagine if you will, that you’re carry 150 pounds of people-killing crap on your back and your job is to kill as many people as you can find – that everyone in front of you wants you dead, but every time you kill someone, you’ll read about what a monster you are. Even if you don’t ever kill anyone, you’re still a monster because the government loads you down with shithead killing material and you sally forth and then the very people who sent you forth disavow your every action. Demand investigations. The more you accomplish, the more resources they take from you – and then blame you for your failures, no matter how slight.

    And then, every time those very same people present themselves in front of you, you must shake their hand, you must cheer for them on command, you must salute them, because if you don’t, it’s mutiny.

    Folks in the military are used to that treatment, at least for the last fifty years or so. The police shouldn’t be surprised that they’re abandoned by the politicians when it’s convenient. But then, we don’t do it for the accolades, we don’t do it to endear ourselves to the perfumed princes. We do it for the folks who can’t protect themselves, we do it for the folks on our left and right who are depending on us to do it. We do it because no one else will and someone damn well needs to do it.

  • Fayetteville Feel Good Pointless Gun Buyback

    Fayetteville Feel Good Pointless Gun Buyback

    From the Fayetteville Observer

    So many guns were collected during Fayetteville’s first gun buyback event Saturday that police had to start giving out IOUs after about two hours.

    More than 250 guns were collected, according to a Fayetteville police spokesman.

    The Rev. Mark Rowden, who was a driving force behind the event, said the response was incredible.

    “It has exceeded my expectations,” he said.

    How much taxpayer money did they spend you may wonder?

    Yep, I know the article claims that around $25,000 came from seized funds but isn’t any money seized by our government the property of the citizens?

    Anyone who surrendered an assault-style weapon or handgun got a $200 Visa prepaid gift card. Anyone who turned in a rifle or shotgun was given a $150 gift card.

    Fayetteville police gave out $30,000 in gift cards and IOUs for another $20,000. The people who did not get gift cards will get them later through the mail or by picking them up.

    What about checking for stolen guns, were any arrest made?

    No questions were asked when the guns were turned in. Police officials would not let members of the media photograph or talk to people giving back the guns.

    Police officers checked the guns to make sure they were in working order. Serial numbers were checked to see whether the weapons were stolen, several of which were.

    “It doesn’t matter,” Fayetteville Police Chief Harold Medlock said. “The driver of the car still has anonymity.”

    From what I read and saw on news videos they collected a lot of junk and a few scary black guns.  They gave more than a pawn shop would have. I saw a lot of Marlin model 60’s and a bunch of single shot  shotguns.  I did see something that appeared to be a real Ivory gripped revolver, but we all know that will get destroyed with the rest of the junk. It would never end up in some police officers collection would it now? Anyone?

    I don’t see where this did any good at all other than possibly encouraging the theft of guns in the days and weeks leading up to this well publicized event.

    So a total of $50,000 dollars was spent to get 250 guns off the street, it makes good press but in reality it did little to get guns out of the hands of criminals.

    They would have been better served to have spent that 50 grand in firearms safety courses for the public, or just dropping it into a salvation army pot.  Either of those would have made a greater impact on the community.

    I will admit that had I known I would have been more than happy to sell them some of the junk I have sitting around.

     

     

  • Fellow who ambushed troopers was reenactor

    Eric Matthew Frein

    Last weekend, we reported a bit about the Pennsylvania State Troopers who were ambushed at their barracks in Blooming Grove. Today at Fox News we read that the fellow they’re looking for in regards to the attack, Eric Matthew Frein, is an East European soldier reenactor;

    Frein has also changed his hairstyle. He shaved his head on the sides and has long hair on top that Bivens described as “wider than a Mohawk.”

    Investigators believe the hair change was part of his preparations for the “cowardly” attack, Bivens said.

    More than 150 law enforcement officers fanned out across the dense northeastern Pennsylvania woods Wednesday as they tracked Frein, who is believed to be armed with two high-powered rifles and a grudge against police he’s had since 2006. Frein was identified by police as the gunman who killed one trooper and injured another in a late-night ambush outside a state police barracks.

    So, that explains it all to me – he’s reenacting PTSD, like a real soldier. The haircut probably pushed him over the edge. I hope that he’s not captured alive and I also hope that his killing of the members of the thin blue line is over.

  • Pennsylvania troopers ambushed (Updated)

    Pennsylvania troopers ambushed (Updated)

    Police line

    The Associated Press reports that two Pennsylvania State Troopers were ambushed outside their barracks in Blooming Grove last night. One was coming to work and the other was leaving, one was killed immediately, and the other is recovering in the hospital;

    A person of interest identified as Jeffrey Hudak, 48, was being questioned by police, Trooper Connie Devens said.

    “No one is in custody or under arrest,” she said. “Mr. Hudak is being questioned as a person of interest.”

    Noonan confirmed that one trooper was killed and the other was injured and taken to Geisinger Medical Center in Scranton, where he was in stable condition after undergoing surgery.

    He provided few details on the shooting but said the attack seemed to be directed at state police.

    Pike County, their patrol area, borders New York and New Jersey which have deployed officers to help in the investigation.

    UPDATE from Associated Press;

    [State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan] identified the dead lawman as Cpl. Bryon Dickson and said Trooper Alex Douglass was hospitalized in critical but stable condition.


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  • The Militarization of School Police

    This comes from KHOU out of Houston Texas

    Jonn has posted about the Militarization of Police here and here but it seems that no less than 10 Texas School Districts are using the DOD program to get M16s, body armor, militarily vehicles, ammunition and other goodies. Remember this is the same DOD program that has been  so successfully managed by police departments around the country. That was sarcasm by the way.

    State records show 10 different school district police departments in Texas received military surplus equipment, including trucks, guns, and armor, through a Department of Defense program. The districts include the following:

    Frenship ISD

    Texarkana ISD

    LaJoya ISD

    Linden-Kildare CISD

    Aledo ISD

    Beaumont ISD

    Ector County ISD

    San Antonio ISD

    Edinburg CISD

    Spring Branch ISD

    These are K-12 school districts. My question is how did the DOD give this stuff to them? Is there no oversight? Yea I know that they use Sandy Hook, Columbine and others as a reason. But come on. do they really think those tragedies would have been averted if the school district had been armed better than some NG units?

    In all, the departments received 64 M16 rifles, 18 M14 rifles, 25 automatic pistols, and magazines capable of holding 4,500 rounds of ammunition as well armored plating, tactical vests, and 15 surplus military vehicles.

    Under the program, school police departments received the equipment at little-to-no cost. But not everyone’s thrilled.

    “We don’t necessarily believe that this kind of equipment leads to students feeling more secure and safe in schools,” said Brennan Griffin of Texas Appleseed.

    The group has studied school police polices for years. Griffin calls news that military rifles have found new homes in Texas schools “concerning.”

    “We’ve seen how even much less-lethal devices like tasers and pepper spray get used inappropriately and end up harming children,” he told the I-Team.

    Locally, Spring Branch ISD police received 10 automatic pistols and 13 rifles.

    Police Chief Brawner says the rifles are available only for use by tactically-trained officers in an emergency. He says when not being used in training, the military weapons are locked in the department’s armory.

    But Griffin cites studies showing the typical active-shooter crisis lasts only about 12 minutes.

    “It’s hard to see how an officer would be able to gain access to the armory, bring it to the school, assess the situation and somehow use that weapon in the time that a school shooting usually occurs,” said Griffin.

    We already have problems with police stationed in schools being used to enforce school policy instead of the law. I can see a situation being escalated by the fact that the systems have this equipment so they feel they must use it. An upset parent or student being confronted by police in Body Armor and M16s instead of a principle or counselor that is willing to sit down and find resolution.

    Having school systems own equipmet like this is a very bad idea.

  • Decepticon cop is free

    Decepticon Cop

    Lawyer Russell Matson, the defense attorney of the fellow who was arrested for driving a Decepticon Police car in Massachusetts writes to tell us that charges against his client have been dropped;

    Update Sept 4th: The case was dismissed at a clerk magistrate’s hearing!

    The police prosecutor wanted the charge to go forward, and argued strenuously that my client was a legitimate threat to public safety, and had criminal intent.

    I argued that my client did absolutely nothing wrong, and certainly did nothing that met the criminal statute.

    Fortunately, the clerk magistrate did not accept the argument of the police officer prosecuting the case, and also did not think that decorating your Maserati in a fashion similar to a police car met the statute for impersonation of a police officer. Dress up is not impersonation.

    This is the best possible outcome for the client. A case dropped at a clerk magistrate’s hearing (a show cause hearing) means that no criminal complaint was ever formally issued, and the client will have no record.

    And this is a victory for common sense over police authority.

  • Palestine, AR Police lose Humvee

    Palestine, AR Police lose Humvee

    Police Humvee

    Poetrooper sends us a link from Yahoo News that the police department of Palestine, Arkansas, population 700 souls, took a few days to notice that one of their Humvees that they’d recently acquired from the feds was missing. Apparently, the thief drove the vehicle with it’s distinctive paint job, unnoticed, into some trees and completely ruined it, but that’s OK, because now it’s a hanger queen for parts to fix the other one when it inevitably breaks down, says the Chief;

    In fact, at least three other police stations have misplaced or been robbed of their government-issued Humvees in the past five years. Weapons turn up missing, too. Yahoo News found that local police departments like Palestine’s have been suspended from the Pentagon 1033 program for misplacing at least 14 M16 assault rifles, 11 M14 assault rifles, 21 pistols and 10 shotguns. These figures don’t come close to representing the total number of weapons that have been stolen or lost over the life of the program, however — a figure the Defense Department has not released.

    Well, I’m glad that the taxpayers’ money isn’t being wasted on frivolous stuff that the departments don’t need – or don’t mind losing. We used to have 19-year-old E-2s and -3s who could account for a few hundred weapons in an infantry company without error. That doesn’t make these police departments look particularly competent. Since when is an M14 an assault rifle? It’s not black or scary, in the most common configuration as I understand it to exist as an M14. Must be the flash suppressor.

  • Laying a Brave Officer to Rest

    Laying a Brave Officer to Rest

    officer-shooting-k-9

    I’ve written multiple articles here at American Thinker questioning the militarization of our local police forces that have mostly met with agreement from those commenting. Something’s not quite right with the way America’s police departments are interacting with the folks in the communities they police. I say mostly with agreement because those opinions have generated some angry rebuttals from the law enforcement community that all seem to agree, “I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about.”

    Well, let’s put all that aside for the moment to honor a fallen Oklahoma City police officer killed in the line of duty last week. Officer K-9 Kye responded to a burglary call with his handler, Sergeant Ryan Stark. Apparently the burglar was armed with a knife and when Officer Kye engaged him, the criminal thug stabbed officer Kye inflicting a fatal wound. Sgt. Stark responded in what I believe most of America will agree was a justifiable response and sent that cop-killer burglar to Hell with his sidearm.

    The response of the Oklahoma City Police Department to Officer Kye’s death is in a series of funeral photos posted at the Washington Times. Some of you may consider the ceremony a bit overdone considering Officer Kye’s canine status. I find it altogether proper and fitting. My condolences to Officer Kye’s fellow officers, especially to Sergeant Stark and his family, who were Officer Kye’s family as well.

    Brave Officer Kye, R.I.P.

    Crossposted at American Thinker