Trust and Integrity…

Integrity once lost can never be regained.

Yesterday I made the following comment on Facebook.

Cops will shoot anyone for any reason even if they create or aggravate the situation.

They have been trained at this point to exercise and only use one tool in their tool box.

With how heavily qualified immunity protects them I’ve lost all faith and trust in law enforcement. When a cop can create a dangerous situation unnecessarily, shoot someone, have it declared unjustified in the review and not face a single punishment other than being fired after committing homicide the system is broken.

The article that sparked my mini rant, was this:

Two North Carolina parents are in shock after local police shot and killed their 18-year-old son in their own home, while they watched helplessly.

Now this is not the first time I’ve seen or heard of something like this and it is merely another added to the list.  Not to mention incidents like the Seattle PD incident where the officer didn’t like someone carving some wood, proceeded to close the distance to someone he, as he stated was “armed”, and when the person finally turned around to see who was yelling at him the officer shot him.  The officer claimed the knife was open and that’s why he shot, it was determined however it was in fact closed.

Ultimately that shooting was ruled unjustified however the officer was not charged with any crime because “he was acting in a public capacity” at the time.

One of my friends then posted the following comment on my wall:

“Cops will shoot anyone for any reason…”. Every cop? You knew me as a safe fellow gun owner in college who stood along side you with an empty holster on the campus open carry awareness days. I’d like to think that I haven’t turned into a mindless killer now that I choose to put on a badge and serve the public

Initially the response was just going to be there except this is a serious problem and it’s a matter of trust and integrity, and I’m not going to go completely Kevin Baker this isn’t going to be short.

The problem is the police have no trust or integrity left.  I may trust my friend because I know him and don’t have to worry about him just shooting me because I know him and his character.  The problem is I don’t have that kind of rapport with most police officers, in fact most of them are a blank sheet that I know nothing about.

Just the same when an officer approaches me they know nothing about me, unless they pull me over.  Then they see that I have a concealed weapons permit when they run my license plate.  Fun little thing there is then the officer knows I am generally most likely an upstanding citizen.  Except some officers treat concealed permit holders as criminals because they dare exercise their rights and an immediate threat to the officers safety and everyone else.

But we’re not talking about their perspective, which is interesting since officer fatalities are at an all time low:

The annual report from the nonprofit National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund also found that deaths in the line of duty generally fell by 8 percent and were the fewest since 1959. 

According to the report, 111 federal, state, local, tribal and territorial officers were killed in the line of duty nationwide this past year, compared to 121 in 2012. 

Forty-six officers were killed in traffic related accidents, and 33 were killed by firearms. The number of firearms deaths fell 33 percent in 2013 and was the lowest since 1887.

Yes you read that right, officer friendly is more likely to die in an a traffic accident than be shot by Sumdood.  Interestingly the number of justifiable homicides committed by officers far outpaces that rate, but what is disturbing is the burden of proof for their justification is far less than a citizen who may be found in similar circumstances.  But this is ultimately neither here nor there it’s just an interesting piece of information when viewed in the additional context of the following incidents raises serious concern.

Because what this subject is really about is my perception of officer friendly.  Can I trust him?

All that I have to go on is the fact he’s been issued a badge and a gun by the state.  Neither of which vouches for his character, mental health, competence, or respect for others.  Approximately 1% of police officers will be found to have committed misconduct,  this doesn’t include unreported incidents or incidents where misconduct was likely but could not be proven or the officer was protected through judicial fiat.

Let’s look at the Canton PD incident, because honestly it is a fantastic example of why integrity and trust is being lost and why just because it’s only 1% doesn’t inspire confidence in them.

Officer Harless, while operating as a law enforcement officer and protected as such by qualified immunity,  threatened and harassed people on more than one occasion.  Watching the video that made him famous there is something even more disturbing, the complete inaction of his partner to do anything to protect the victim.  Instead of reigning the out of control officer Roid-Rage in he just sits off to the side and does nothing, silently complacent in the actions of his partner.

It gets better though because lets now investigate the fallout from that incident.  First we had a city council member justifying Harless’s actions and defending him.  That’s right, the out of control behavior was defended by a man elected to represent the public (victim) at large.  He was only brought in for a disciplinary hearing and no charges were filed due to his threats and actions, of which there was a history of misconduct.  He was eventually fired and a minor amount of faith restored as he was at least fired.

Except now the fun begins.  All of his fellow officers banded together to support him and the police union forced the city to hire him back.  This is about that, all those officers were OK with that behavior and the obvious pattern of it.  So much so they forced the government to hire him back and put that man who destroy the trust back in a position of power.  That is how you destroy integrity.

Let’s look back on the whole of the state sponsored criminal count.  There were a lot of very screwed up instances, that the story was darn near always the same.

Nonetheless, she says: “In violation of NISD police department procedures, Alvarado drew his weapon immediately after exiting the patrol car. With his gun drawn, he rushed through the gate and into the back yard. Within seconds from arriving at the residence, Alvarado shot and killed the unarmed boy hiding in the shed.”

Hell, I had created a special tag, “hiding in plain sight“, because I was finding so many school resource officers who were screwing girls in the school.

This boils down to a matter of trust and integrity and honestly the police have lost it.  Due to their job and position they should be striving for excellence and be dealing immediately and harshly with any misconduct.  Instead many officers are intimidated into not reporting misconduct.  This is a problem within the system.  I don’t know how to fix it but it is a problem and it’s destroying the trust and tarnishing any integrity that people see left.

Why should I not be afraid of someone I don’t know who’s been given a badge and a gun by the state and have a free pass to shoot someone one, even unlawfully?  You want to fix this problem, bring the police and the people back into line at the same bar.  The public are the police and the police are the public.  Between the laws and behavior that is no longer true.

If there honestly isn’t a problem, why is there such a high domestic violence rate among police officers?  Is it because many of them are so heavily trained on relying on their use of force to get their way they forget the other tools at their disposal?

I am more fearful of the police than I am of criminals.  I can at least fight back against a criminal.  The police however can kick down my door in the middle of the night, shoot my dog, shoot me, shoot my wife, and then say oops wrong house and they all get a pass.  Why didn’t they just !@#$ing knock on my door and show me the warrant?

Oh the criminal is dangerous and he might destroy evidence.  Here’s a !@#$ing idea then, catch him on his drive to work or when he’s away from the house.  The majority of no-knock warrants are unnecessary and merely used to continue justifying funding.

Do police have a right to go home safe at the end of the day, sure, but they have no more of a right to that than the people they serve.  Honestly in signing on the dotted line, they sign on for the additional risk their job brings.  If they can’t handle it they need to go work someplace else.

Shooting a grandfather in the back while he’s lying on the ground isn’t acceptable, neither is shooting a little girl in the face, or shooting a child’s dog in a cage in front of the child.  The people aren’t the ones creating this attitude, it’s the actions and behavior of police officers.  If they want the support and trust of law-abiding citizens, they need to earn it.  Letting incidents like this happen on a regular basis without the uproar of other officers just makes them all complicit.

They are also consistently exempt from laws that are applied to the rest of the general public, that is not acceptable and is yet another example of Tyranny, and the police are happy enough to enjoy it.  Again, destroying trust, faith, and integrity one step at a time.

The actions and behavior of the police have created this rift and it’s going to take them changing their behavior to fix it.  Even then it will take a long period of time.  They need to collectively step up to the plate push out the corruption, embrace the suck and ensure that laws are applied equally across everyone, including themselves.  If some officer says, high capacity magazines should be outlawed, he should be planning on surrendering the ones from his patrol car, his house, and his locker as well.

A man of character will stand up and do the right thing, even if it hurts him personally.  I do not see men of character in law enforcement.  I see a group of men, some of whom are corrupt, but overall who operate as a “brotherhood” and will defend their brother even if he has done something wrong.  Brotherhood serves a purpose, but there’s a point where character should take over.

SSCC #459–Portland

Scott Edward Elliott, 50, a 22-year veteran of the Portland Police Bureau, admitted that he used the screen name "malewantsu2004” when he engaged in an Internet-based online discussion with another person who used the screen name "doraexplora111.” Elliott received at least nine images of child pornography on Sept. 11, 2009 from "doraexplora111,” according to court records.

The ironic thing:

Elliott resigned his position with police in May. He had been most recently assigned to East Precinct’s afternoon relief patrol. He also was one of a number of officers assigned at East Precinct to help register sex offenders, part of he bureau’s Sex Offender Registration Detail.

At least they list him as a former officer, still disturbing never the less.  Doubly so since he could also easily be brought in to search for that stuff on someone’s computer.

State Sponsored Criminal #459: Scott Edward Elliott

Because being a cop and registering sex offenders some how when you do it you’re not a predator.

SSCC #446 – DHS

A 43-year-old Department of Homeland Security worker allegedly used Facebook to solicit more than 70 area children for sexual acts, according to authorities.

We’re not talking high school students either…

Robert B. Rennie Jr., a Loudoun County resident, was charged Oct. 24 with five counts of using a computer to solicit a child under the age of 15, after a school resource officer was tipped off to suspicious activity on a Mercer Middle School student’s Facebook page.

Sounds like a fine upstanding government employee doesn’t it?  I wish I could come up with something better, but this just makes me sick.

State Sponsored Criminal #446: Robert B. Rennie

Because working for the government means you’re some how special.  

SSCC #364–TSA

Seriously, I’m having problems not wishing violence upon people.  Why?  Because I have no clue why anyone would feel the following is acceptable behavior.

While I was going through the TSA, some of them started laughing in my direction. I thought it might’ve been someone behind me, but I found out otherwise.

They went through my bag (for no reason), and found a couple bags of candy I brought. I was told I wasn’t allowed to fly with that (wtf? I’ve flown with food before — these were even sealed still because I brought them right in the airport). I was then asked if I would like to donate the candy “To the USO”. Since I know the airport there has an Air National Guard base, and I figured it would go to the soldiers, I (annoyed) said sure, why not?

The guards, as I was getting scanned, started eating the candy they just told me was for the soldiers. In front of me, still laughing at me (very clearly now). One of them asked why they were laughing, and one of them came up to me, pointed at my shirt, laughed at me and said, “Fucking deafie”. The Louisville TSA called me a “fucking deafie” and laughed at me because I was deaf, and they expected wouldn’t say anything back (or wouldn’t hear them). Make no bones about it — she was facing me and I read her lips. There was no mistake. I would later find out that they had called at least 4 other individuals the same thing.

Seriously, it makes me so angry I can barely see straight.  What angers me more than just the actions of these despicable individuals is that no one yelled at the agents.  No one confronted them.  Everyone stuck their tail between their legs. 

I know exactly why no one was willing to stand up though.  No one wants to be stranded from home on the whim of some high school drop out who was too stupid to get his GED.

I am at a loss of words why anyone would tolerate that behavior in general.  While yes you do have a small risk, the quickest way to minimize the risk is to bring the majority of those who were silently protesting inside to the fight.  You do so by leading from the front.

I am disappointed in my fellow Americans.  Not only for the fact that they would allow the TSA to grow to such a behemoth mass, but they would stand by and do nothing in that situation.  I’m tired of waiting for legislators to do something.

If you’re flying, buy a bottle of Mountain Dew, drink it or dump it down the drain.  Refill it while you’re in the bathroom and feel free to let them taste test it.  Harass them verbally when seen in public.  Call them names while they do their job, make their jobs miserable.  Make it so no one would willingly take that job.  There are other options, many of which are of questionable legality, but then again, revolution is legal in the first person while illegal in the third person.  What they are doing is illegal, yet no one has acted to stop it within legal means.  Well at what point to do give up on Plan A and move to Plan B?

I refuse to fly specifically because of these state sponsored thieves and molesters.  I am reaching the point where I am going to be hard pressed to control my rage towards any of the blue gloved Gestapo.

State Sponsored Criminals: The whole damn lot of the TSA

Because when someone is deaf, or has any other disability, it is perfectly OK to harass them, steal their stuff, and be rude, insolent, and total pricks because your employer is Uncle Sam.

*And if you didn’t get the clue, I am pissed and if anyone has any video of a TSA agent being verbally ridiculed to the point of emotional breakdown, that would seriously help cheer me up.  Hell seeing a bunch of people riot in an air terminal would be a big step up.  There’s a reason our legislators aren’t doing a damn thing about it, we aren’t seeking to do damage yet.  This shit keeps up, I’m sure someone’s tripwire is going to snap

If riots occurred in air terminals, if people started being injured because of the TSA’s attitude towards the general populace, attitudes would quickly shift… I’m not saying anyone should, or condoning any such action, I am merely stating an observation that our legislators fail to act because they see no need or concern to act.

I’m all for making some molester who thinks it’s OK because Uncle Sam told him to stick his hands down little Timmy’s pants or up little Tiffinay’s skirt realize he’s a piece of crap who should be expunged from society as the heartless predator he is.  I would say to start laying on every last legislator too, but they’re a bunch of corrupt cowards anyway, and that type of stuff happens on a daily basis so what would be new?

**End Rant!

H/T to my buddy Jonah from high school.

SSCC Honorable Mention–Australia

So this one came from Sean and hails from the land down under*.

A former Victoria Police officer charged with child sex offences allegedly held a gun to the heads of victims and gave Kit-Kat chocolate bars to another after abusing him.

Yeah, it’s just as bad as it sounds.

The man, who now lives in New South Wales, faces 39 charges including several counts of rape, indecent assault and gross indecency. The charges relate to nine girls and boys aged between five and 14.

The real icing on the cake is that some of the incidents occurred while he was on duty.  State side many monsters have gone in to law enforcement to allow them to hide in plain sight.  Since this was outside the states, I’m hesitant to give him a number though I really want to.  I run the count to predominantly show corruption in the American system, if I included foreign governments I could just call it a day with Iran, China, and North Korea.

The fact this is an honorable mention has nothing to do with the incident itself, but merely the fact it occurred outside the US.  There have been other’s that have made the count in similar circumstances and this man deserves as much scorn as his countrymen can throw at him.

International State Sponsored Criminal: John Doe**

Because being a cop means that you have a huge amount of trust merely by having a badge.

*I had to put something in there to cheer me up because this sucker is just depressing. 

**As always if you get his name, please let me know.

Clayton Keith Dovel Update: SSCC #251 – TSA

Here is an update on the incident with Clayton Keith Dovel.

 Clayton Keith Dovel, 36, of Bedford, Texas, was sentenced by state District Judge Sharen Wilson to three years’ deferred-adjudication probation, which means that he will not have a conviction on his record if he completes the probation without incident.

Think about that for a second, Clayton Dovel knowingly and willfully abused his position and victimized the American people and for his crimes his record will remain clean.  He took the job and used it specifically for his own personal financial gain and got caught.

Dovel paid restitution of $4,746, split among six victims whose iPads were stolen as they traveled through DFW Airport. The restitution was paid before the guilty plea as part of a deal with prosecutors.

So Clayton Dovel had to pay out to replace the stolen property.  His biggest mistake here was that he got caught and that is exactly what this punishment is.  You got caught son, so pay back what you stole, stay clean for 3 years and then feel free to try again.

There is a reason there are pedophiles, thieves, and other predators working for the TSA.  No one is punishing them.  The TSA “zero tolerance” policy is a huge joke, doubly so when after committing a crime the rest of the legal system breaks down on holding them accountable.

So given the above, lets ask another question, why do we need them when we also have incidents like the following?

The TSA’s bungling reached a new low yesterday when a JFK Airport terminal had to be evacuated and hundreds of passengers marched back through security screening all because one dimwitted agent failed to realize his metal detector had been unplugged, sources told The Post.

At least they caught their mistake, but you mean to tell me that absolutely no one that got through security got on a plane and took off before the mistake was noticed?  The TSA is A Security Theater, period, no exceptions.  They do absolutely nothing to increase security and their effect is purely a placebo for sheep too trusting to understand how futile the TSA’s efforts are.

Clayton Dovel is nothing more than a shining example of why the TSA should have been disbanded yesterday.  Doubly so since our legal system and government is doing nothing to limit the power of these tyrannical blue handed goons.

Accountabilibuddable–Seminole Fl

Former Seminole police officer Ronald Baker was sentenced Friday to life in prison for repeatedly molesting an underage female relative at his Sunrise home, taking pictures of the girl in compromising positions and storing those pictures on his home computer.

Honestly this one’s hard to actually say he’s really been held accountable as long as he’s still breathing.  However it is a nice start and if they put him in with the general population he would be on his way to finding out what it’s like to be on the receiving end.

Ronald Baker, may never know the benefit and safety solitary confinement would give you.

SSCC #337 – TSA

You would think that given all the previous incidents of child molestation by the TSA would mean they would filter this guy out.

Until 2002, Harkins was a Catholic priest working at churches across
South Jersey. But the Diocese of Camden removed him from ministry
because it found he sexually abused two young girls. Now, in a new
lawsuit, a third woman is claiming she also is one of Harkins’ victims.

Evidently not.

The security checkpoint between Terminals D and E is a busy place where
thousands of people – including lots of kids – pass through every day.
But you might not believe who the I-Team observed working as a TSA
supervisor at that checkpoint this week: Thomas Harkins.

That’s right folks.  He was hired by the TSA and given free reign to molest your little daughters without legal recourse.  Is anyone though not surprised by this?  This to me is expected.

State Sponsored Criminal #337:  Thomas Harkins

molest_kid_thumb

Because when the church kicks you out for molesting little girls, go talk to your Uncle Sam.  After he puts his hands in your pocket you can put your hands in that little girls pocket!