Quote of the Day – Phssthpok (1/6/2014)

Cops take full responsibility for each bullet that leaves their gun,  the same way that Attorney general Janet Reno took ‘full responsibility’ for the Waco massacre…

Phssthpok – GBC Chat

January 6th, 2014


[It was in reference to this among other similar incidents.  I have nothing else to ad. -B]

 

Accountabilibuddable – David Bisard

Via Tam I saw this and it made me feel a little bit better.

Suspended (and now soon-to-be Former) IMPD officer David “Bottles” Bisard has just been found guilty on all charges by a jury of his peers.

Now I’m not happy still for a couple of reasons.

  1. Took way too long.
  2. Still kept his job until the verdict was found.

Seriously, WTFO!?  Name me one other job in the world where they wouldn’t have canned your ass for doing something like that?  Heck, many employers will fire you if you’re charged with a felony.  “Come back after the not guilty verdict.”  They don’t want the publicity black eye, yet in law enforcement land they get a free pass because “COP”.

Not to mention the many other issues, honestly I don’t trust law enforcement anymore.  They have too many laws protecting them so they can get away with murder.  Seriously, they can kill you and as long as they’re in uniform most likely they will get away with it as long as it wasn’t “premeditated”.

If you still don’t understand, let me just quote Tam herself yet again on the subject:

… but I can’t think of any job I ever held where my employer would wait on the jury verdict to fire me if I’d killed somebody with a company car while three sheets to the wind.

SSCC–LASO

James Spinks, then 60, was injured when a deputy repeatedly kneed him in the side after knocking him to the platform floor at the Rosa Parks/Willowbrook train station, attorney Thomas E. Beck said. Witnesses loudly complained that deputies were beating an "old man," and one captured the encounter on a cellphone camera, Beck said.

The jury made the decision and found against the police officers.  What bugs me is they don’t state what the reason for the initial contact by police officers was for.

I think the most telling part is this:

"We still stand behind our deputies," he said. "Just because this verdict has come in doesn’t mean this is over."

Yup, just like they stand behind officers shooting at a couple ladies delivering papers for no reason.

State Sponsored Criminal: Mark Collins and Ermina McKelvy

Because when you’re a cop you can detain people without cause or warrant and beat them if they refuse.

SSCC San Marcos

A San Marcos police corporal is in custody after police say he injured a woman while illegally arresting her in late May, causing her to lose at least two teeth and suffer a concussion.

Cpl. James Angelo Palermo, 40, was booked at the Hays County jail on a charge of aggravated assault by a public servant, a first-degree felony. Jail records show bail was not set as of Tuesday evening.

Go read the story on that one.  The reason he assaulted that poor girl was because she was walking on the sidewalk past a traffic stop near a business.  But it gets better, you see this department has come up before.  Not only that but I stumbled across a second current incident!

A San Marcos police officer was arrested Wednesday morning after he turned himself in on two arrest warrants for obtaining controlled substances by fraud.

Officer David Amerson surrendered at the Hays County Law Enforcement Center shortly before 6 a.m. and was released about 9 a.m. His bail was set at $10,000. The charges stem from an investigation by the Hays County Drug Task Force in conjunction with the Department of Public Safety.

Now everyone is innocent until proven guilty and the law is there to protect the innocent so sometimes the guilty may go free.  That said that is with regards to the state incarcerating someone and depriving them of their rights.  In this case the officers are on administrative leave, and we know if it looks like they are about to really get burned they will just resign and go work some place else doing the same job.

Here’s what bugs me more than anything, it is yet another data point in my theory that departments as a whole are encouraging this type of behavior and it isn’t just a “lone wolf” issue.  We are seeing many repeat incidents at the same departments, largely stemming from the fact that they don’t cut the fat until it becomes a serious liability.  Even then they don’t cut the fat in a way to terminate it, they just allow it to become someone else’s problem.

State Sponsored Criminal: James Angelo Palermo

State Sponsored Criminal: David Amerson

Because accountability serves no purpose within the police force to discourage bad conduct.

SSCC Corpus Christi

Officer Norman Morton seen in video recorded at the Corpus Christi City Detention Center was handed a two week suspension for using excessive force on a prisoner already in handcuffs and lying to internal affairs about what happened.
We learned this week that Morton retired, effective last Friday. However, the department isn’t saying what led to his retirement or whether there were any other active internal affairs investigations going on.

Here’s the video:

Think about that for a second… Beat a handcuffed man, then lied about it, and then goes into retirement.  The fact that last year 22 officers were disciplined internally last year.  As I’ve said before rarely does a single incident stand alone but usually is indicative of a systemic problem.

State Sponsored Criminal: Norman Morton

Because when you assault a man without actual cause, don’t worry about your job we’ll make sure you make retirement.

SSCC From Across the Pond…

So OldNFO sent me a SSCC candidate but this one’s from across the pond.  I don’t normally do them from out of the country but given the serious nature of this case the the prevalence of gun control in “Formerly” Great Britain I figured go ahead and include this one.

A forensic science graduate says her life was made a misery after she was allegedly harassed by police following a split from her PC boyfriend.

Katie Bowman, who has never been convicted of a crime, claims police interest in her – which saw her stopped 70 times for suspected offences ranging from drink-driving to assault – meant she could ‘barely leave the house’.

The 24-year-old alleges she was targeted over 28 months by Thames Valley Police officers from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, after splitting from Alexander Ash.

Go read the whole story.  It’s obvious that the a member of the state is using his position to retaliate against her.  The worst part is, she has no way to defend herself.

State Sponsored Criminal: Thames Valley Police

Because when you’re girlfriend breaks up with you, make her life a living hell that way she’ll regret every minute of it.

SSCC Manchester

A veteran Manchester police officer was arrested Tuesday and charged with assault on Tuesday, stemming from a domestic-related incident at his Hooksett home in April, Hooksett police said.

Soucy is a Manchester police patrolman and will be placed on modified working conditions, said Assistant Chief Nick Willard. Such conditions typically mirror bail restrictions, and Willard said police must review the bail restrictions before he could discuss details of Soucy’s work limitations.

Interesting, most places give their officers a paid vacation due to the issues involved given he’s been charge and awaiting trial.  Well given the Lautenberg Amendment you can be sure he’ll still have a gun while on duty!

State Sponsored Criminal: William Soucy

Because when you’re a cop, you get to keep your guns when you beat your significant other unlike everyone else, because you’re special.

SSCC Quincy

Via JayG comes this wonderful tale.

QUINCY, Mass. —The attorney for a Quincy police captain charged with domestic assault and battery against his estranged, pregnant wife said Capt. Michael J. Miller "blanket denies" the allegation.

According to the Patriot Ledger, Quincy defense attorney Jack McGlone also said Miller’s wife declined to press charges when she first contacted police in Plymouth, where she now lives.

Had that been anyone else on this earth they would have crucified him but this one’s “anointed” so we can’t have the law being used against our special people now can we.  I think Jay put it best:

Right, it wouldn’t have been an issue at all. Because the cops would have come to the house, taken him out at gunpoint, confiscated any weapons he had, and he would stand a very good chance of never seeing them again. Instead, he gets paid administrative leave and a pretty good chance of them dropping the charges.

Now, what about that Lautenberg Amendment? Granted, the Captain would have to be convicted, which at this point looks about as likely as an actual conservative ever getting elected to office again, but if he is convicted, he will have to give up his right to possess firearms forever. Going to be tough to be a cop that way, isn’t it?

I have no additional comments.

State Sponsored Criminal Michael J. Miller

Because when it comes to spousal abuse, cops aren’t a problem like everyone else.  (Except you know they really are more of a problem.)