Gangsters in Blue

Recently I was found guilty in my Chalking 8 trial, while highlighting those bogus charges we (Pete and I) met Frank and Mike, who took this video of Manchester Police Officer Murphy. The video went viral and received attention from several news outlets. Instead of taking a serious look at the actions caught on tape the city went into defense mode.

The Police, school and local government officials sought to criminalize Frank, Mike and myself. They expelled Frank from school, charged Mike as an adult (over a teenage fight) and charged me with three counts of wiretapping. Crimes the state says justifies caging me, at your expense, for 21 years.

I’ve been through this before in Greenfield, MA and am confident I can present my case, logically. The problem I face in Manchester that I didn’t have in Greenfield is the personal vendetta those in Manchester seem to have for me. After all, I was given the max sentence (with 10 months of it stayed for 2 years good behavior) for ‘resisting’ my arrest.

With that in mind I’ve thought long and hard about how I’d like to tackle this case. I’ve done all the homework, reading up on New Hampshire’s wiretapping law, talking with lawyers, brainstorming ideas with fellow activist and more and it’s come down to one thing, funding. Which is why I made this video asking for your help.

As stated in the video, I think a lawyer would be beneficial to ensure I have fair pre-trial hearings and ‘proper’ (in their eyes) procedure during trial. Considering this will be an expectation of privacy trial – and that public officials have none – it will be more difficult that my Greenfield trial. Yet, a win here could do wonders for activists in the “Shire” attempting to change coercive government actions.

That being said, I also know, and appreciate, the offensive tactic as well and when done properly, is mightier than the current justice system. In terms of risk, I end up taking more with this tactic, as these actions will be done outside the court room. The best part of this strategy is that the actions the government is trying to distract you from – excessive force, deletion of evidence and criminalization of those who question government – will be front and center. As this issue goes further back than just one phone call, the Manchester police have gotten away with murder (literally) for a while now.

Regardless of how this fund raiser goes, I’ll be in court, speaking the truth and defending my position on filming, recording and monitoring public officials. I would greatly appreciate you donating to either cause as it would help me (and other activists) further the message of police accountability. You can also buy CopBlock.org swag, which help funds our CopBlock activities, or contact me for video intro/outro’s and power post. For those unable to donate, sharing CopBlock.org content and social networks is just as good as FRN’s and I need/appreciate your support as well.

Thanks in advance.

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Ademo’s First Hearing (video) – CopBlock.org
CopBlock Founder faces 20 years – Photography Is NOT a Crime
Ademo Responds to Charges by CopBlock
Manchester’s Chalking 8 by Cop Block
High School Student Catches Excessive Force on Video by Cop Block
Video shows West High student’s arrest by Mark Hayward in the Union Leader
West High student arrest video goes viral by Kathryn Marchocki in the Union Leader
Teen on school arrest: ‘I was goofing around’ by Mark Hayward in the Union Leader
Manchester students say videotape of arrest was not planned by Shawne Wickham in the Union

Defensive or Offensive? That is the Question… is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

When I wrote to the Chief of Police, in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan about the Police breaking into my home and how I was put into handcuffs and beat so bad that I had to go to the hospital and also have plastic surgery. A few weeks later and I still have pain and problems from the beating. The lawyers from the Jeff Fieger Law office, a Leon Weiss was in with the police and told me I had to sign a paper and say that I would not sue the police department or the Police would for sure see to it that I was going to jail for something that I did not even do. So, I did sign and I was found guility and had to pay thousands of dollars in fines, could not drive for one year, was on probation for one year and now I am a felon. The police officer that kicked in 3 doors in my home and shot it up with a taser gun told that I did not drive bad, did not drive too fast, I just looked suspicious because I had on a leather coat and was driving in Blooomfield Hills, Michigan.

-James Edward Staley

Submitted via CopBlock.org’s submission tab.

Bloomfield Hills Police Will Beat You is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Some people out there, even our regular readers, get squeamish when we liken police to gang members. I’ll stand by that analogy, which I elaborated upon in another article -

Mostly, this comparison is based on the fact that police, like gangs claim ultimate dominion over a particular territory. They stake out these particular territories, and demand “protection money” for reasons mostly out of the control of local residents. If their demands are not met, they resort to violence.

They swear an oath of  loyalty to each other, and will cover up for each other’s gruesome crimes at the expense of good sense and morality. Officers have purposely failed to take reports, covered up evidence, and even turned a blind eye to sexual battery and torture by their fellow gang-members (see here). Those who do not abide by the code of loyalty are ostracized or otherwise punished (see examples here and here). They even have a gang color – blue.

See the full article here. As long as government police exist in their current form, I will never retract my sentiment in this regard. However, for the sake of argument, let us assume police are ordinary human beings like the rest of us. Fair enough? (More than fair, in my opinion).

When was the last time the public got their panties in a bunch when 5 armed men in dark clothing were shot because they were mistaken for intruders after they busted into someone’s house?

Probably never.

How about if the homeowner at issue was suspected of growing marijuana plants, and the armed men, dressed in dark clothing were allegedly there to “protect” the public from a dangerous weed smoker? If you still think it was an evil tragedy the armed men were shot, then it’s because you’re still thinking about police. Think harder.

Imagine your friend Joe has been growing a little pot in his living room. Imagine a bunch of your neighbors, against all scientific evidence, believe that because Joe smokes weed occasionally, he is a dangerous individual. Instead of knocking on Joe’s door, talking to Joe about his “problem” or asking him politely to refrain from smoking, or engaging in about a million other peaceful and civil ways of addressing the issue, at least twelve of them decide to dress in all black, arm themselves, and kick down Joe’s door to “solve” this frightening problem of weed propagation. They declare to you they have a piece of paper that gives them such authority and will present it to Joe as proof they have a right to seize his little plant. They kick down Joe’s door at night. As a result, Joe mistakes them for burglars and opens fire, killing and injuring several of them, while also receiving injuries himself.

What would you think about these neighbors? You would think they are insane. You would think they are fucking stupid. You would wonder why it takes twelve (or more) grown, armed men to give your friend Joe a piece of fucking paper. You would think they are juvenile, violent, self-righteous assholes who mirror something out of Lord of the Flies, who think reckless use of violence and guns is some sort of game (you’d half expect to find Piggy with his smashed eyeglasses lying amid the bloodshed). If you are a bit of a judgmental prick, you might wonder why Joe keeps such offensive plants if the consequences can be so severe, but even so, if you are a reasonable person, you would not blame Joe for opening fire in terror upon seeing twelve or more armed men in his house after having his door broken down.

On the other hand, because the juvenile, violent, self-righteous assholes who don’t know how to mind their own damn business are police, the public is horrified, and the media is soliciting donations for the fallen and injured police officers gang members (see full story here). This is a travesty. The media literally is soliciting funds and sympathy for a bunch of aggro psychopaths whose careless indiscretions created the entire situation to begin with. Meanwhile, the victim of all this is being changed with crimes, and will likely suffer draconian legal penalties.

No one forced these officers to enforce bad laws. No one put a gun to the heads of these upstanding members of society and said they had to arm themselves, put on dark clothing, and kick down someone’s door to “serve a warrant” because the suspect had a certain plant in his living room. They did it anyway, and as a result, 6 of them were shot and 1 died.

This is not to say that any of them deserved to die, or that death is an appropriate punishment for burglary, but really – what is there to be so sorry about? If they were ordinary people, Americans would be flabbergasted at why these idiots believed rounding up a gang of armed people to solve a non-violent situation was necessary. Americans would rightly question the intelligence of those who claim drawing guns and breaking into houses at night in furtherance of eradicating a plant somehow makes society safer.

Anyone who feels truly terrible for these wounded/killed officers, without acknowledging the officers’ own stupidity, recklessness, and unwarranted aggression that brought on these consequences has unfortunately bought into the police state mentality – that police can do whatever they want because different – or perhaps no moral and legal standards apply to them.

Gang attacks homeowner, media solicits donations for fallen gang members, public laments gang member death. is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

This came out in the paper today and has been the talk of the town of these two cops who obviously don’t respect people’s rights.

A suit was filed in federal court Wednesday against the City of Batesville, BPD officer Greg Jones and Sgt. Shawn Dalton by parents of a minor who was apprehended Halloween night after curfew hours and in possession of toilet paper.
Plaintiffs Sally and Stacy Simmerman are seeking a jury trial, that a Halloween curfew be declared unconstitutional and unenforceable, compensatory damages for their minor son and reasonable attorney fees and expenses.

Ron Lewis of Oxford is the attorney for the Simmermans.
Court documents state that the Simmermans’ son, his girlfriend and her mother as well as another group were at Walgreen’s purchasing toilet paper “. . . in preparation for a Halloween prank on one of (the group’s) cousins.”

When two members of the group returned to the cars with toilet paper an officer approached the Simmerman minor asking if he was “deaf” for not responding to the policeman.
The minor was handcuffed and taken into custody according to the document which noted that the juvenile was being apprehended for not coming when the officer summoned him.

Although the parent of his friend would later ask to take the minor home, the policemen refused, the court document states.
The Simmerman minor was then taken to the police station according to the document which claims Dalton did not put a seat belt around him and then drove erratically to the police department.

The suit also claims that the minor’s cellphone contents were searched while at the police station before his parents arrived.
The document claims that the curfew was not properly created therefore void and questions why, when there were seven children in the parking lot, only one was apprehended. The suit cites erroneous procedures when the curfew law was adopted.

The suit also claims physical damage and continued suffering by the minor.
Additonal claims include that the city as well as officer Jones are liable for wrongful arrest and detention, and Dalton is liable for use of “ . . . unnecesary, unjustified excessive force, false imprisonment and unlawful warrantless search of the contents of his cell phone.”

The complaint filed in federal court in Oxford reflects only one side of the incident and attorney Colmon Mitchell who represents the City of Batesville said last week the matter had been turned over to the city’s insurance company who would handle the claim.

- Anonymous

Batesville, MS Police Brutality is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

By Guest Writer Merijoe and George Sand

In the wake of the Kelly Thomas death, citizens of Fullerton demanded answers as to why the harmless, homeless, schizophrenic, man was violently beaten and ultimately killed by Fullerton police. Video footage of the event was available, but not made public immediately. The police department did not address the death immediately, but waited before suspending the officers.

City Council member Pat McKinley claimed it took 30 days for the police department to even address the Kelly Thomas issue because the police department did not appreciate the gravity of the situation – even though the before and after pictures of the victim very clearly depicted the “gravity” of what had transpired. Councilman McKinley, who is also a former Fullerton Police Chief, defended decisions to keep the video under wraps, and insisted the cause of death was undetermined. He further defended the officers by claiming the eye witnesses’ accounts were “exaggerated” and claiming that it was not physically possible for 6 men to beat one victim at the same time (see his heinous interview below, with some very compelling and on-point questions by the interviewer).

Another Council Member, F. Dick Jones absurdly said he did not know why Kelly Thomas died, because he had seen “far worse injuries” that were survivable.

The event sparked outrage, and has since led to a string of discoveries regarding Fullerton PD incompetence and malice. The Veth Mam case came to light as another incident in which a Fullerton officer Hamptom slapped a video camera out of Mam’s handsbecause Mam was filming another beatdown by Fullerton officers. Mam was jailed and charged with assault on a police officer and resisting arrest.

Officer Rincon was found to have arrested women, handcuffed them, and sexually assaulted them between 2005 and 2008 (more here).

Citizens of Fullerton were outraged at the patent failure of police to police themselves, as well as the incompetence, and perhaps willful ignorance of city officials. Thus, an effort to instigate a recall election was born, with Tony Bushala taking the lead. People of Fullerton have attended public meetings and protested at the police station in an effort to oust the incompetent people in government. In particular, the recall movement has focused on Council Members Pat McKinley, F. Dick Jones, and Don Bankhead.

In response, McKinley called the recall activists “uneducated” at an anti-recall fundraiser. Those in power also sent out mailers to Fullerton residents, reminding people that if they had signed the petition, they could recant their signatures. The mailer further went on to lambaste Tony Bushala.

According to activist Merijoe, Council Member Don Bankhead was peeved when he saw volunteers bringing awareness to the recall movement. His wife got into a screaming match with the volunteers, and eventually, they both went inside the grocery store, and had the manager call the Fullerton police to evict them from the premises.

“It is just never-ending buffoonery throughout the years from these 3,” observes Merijoe. “They boast that they served in the military for years and are stellar members of the community…Military background and excellent personal character are wonderful qualities, but they do not qualify any person to sit in public office…”

“Until they are able to respect the U.S. Constitution and represent the people who have voted them in office…they shouldn’t expect anything less than anger from the taxpayers who pay their bloated salaries,” says Merijoe. All petitions are due in by February 16, 2012.

Please visit the Fullerton Recall website for more information, or to contribute.

Fullerton recall efforts in the wake of the Kelly Thomas murder is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Sign the petition to prevent this excessive police force from happening to anyone else…The attempted MURDER by the ordered police dog begins at 5:03… the vicious attack continues over one minute and thirty seconds…then they pull the huge killer dog off me at 6:38…Viewer discretion is advised…
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/stop-the-excessive-police-force

From a nursing assistant (NA) to a License Vocational Nurse (LVN) since the age of NINETEEN! to a Registered Nurse (RN) since the age of TWENTY THREE! to a future Medical Doctor (Surgeon, MD); to having my future operating arm mauled and chewed on and my dreams intruded with the following footage.
ALLEGEDLY! An officer placed a called about a stolen vehicle and a Black Man, a rookie saw me driving a Mercedes that he could not afford; then crashed into me as I was looking for a safe place to park.

Once they found out they made a mistake and that I was the owner of that brand new Mercedes; they attempted to cover up their mistake by sentencing me to SEVEN YEARS IN PRISON! without reading my rights or allowing me to use the telephone, and they tried to alleged that I crashed my car head-on into them several times, resisted arrest, and strike/kicked a police dog while seating in a seat belted Mercedes SUV getting mauled by a HUGE GERMAN SHEPARD!?!?! equating to SEVEN YEARS IN PRISON!!! UNBELIEVABLE!!!

I was found by my love ones reporting me missing and I had to pay $50,000!!! to bailed out! FOR MY FREEDOM!!
Now I am free demanding justice so this does not happen to anyone else. Next court date is in Orange County C5 on Dec 7, 2011. Please pray for me and all those that have experienced excessive force and who have been MURDERED!!!

After I was crashed into I felt pain, confusion and fear. I instinctively did not initially stop in fear for my life (sympathetic nervous system “fight or flight response”).
Once the vehicle came to a complete stop you could hear the officer thug yell out “THE DOG!!!” not come out with your hands up in accordance with policy, he immediately calls for ” THE DOG!!” LIKE IN THE 60′S!!! then the thugs ordered the dog to attack me while I still had my SEAT BELT ON!

Then shot me in the spine with an electrical gun WHILE I STILL HAD MY SEAT BELT ON! Then punched me in the head SEVERAL TIMES while I still had my SEAT BELT ON!!

Then they stood there and watched the huge vicious German Shepard viciously attack me for over NINETY SECONDS! waiting for me to BLEED TO DEATH!
BECAUSE I DID NOT DIE!!! they opened the drivers door and SHOT ME AGAIN with the electrical gun( the electrical scar is to my inner left bicep indicating that if I didn’t have my arm instinctively up in the air I would have been shot in the face!)

They shot me while the vicious dog was STILL ATTACKING ME then they ordered the dog off me, unbuckled my safety belt, PULLED ME OUT BY MY HAIR, hand cuffed me, slammed me to the concrete, kicked me in the face and head, hog tied my feet to my hands and the beating got immensely worse!!
When I could not take the beating anymore, I YELLED for HELP! (frame 3:44) then the THUG cop reaches for HIS GUN!!! Then they beating became extremely, immensely worse!

Was this ATTEMPTED MURDER, HATE CRIME and EXCESSIVE POLICE FORCE protecting and serving a tax paying American Citizen???
Having a huge German Shepard chew on my artery for over NINETY Seconds is ATTEMPTED MURDER!

ATTEMPTED MURDER caught on tape!! Do we now understand why so many people of color DO NOT LIVE PAST THE AGE OF 35!!!
DO WE NOW UNDERSTAND WHY SO MANY PEOPLE OF COLOR are in the penal code system. We now understand why Billions of more Dollars are spent on building new prisons instead of schools; while teachers are being fired and forced to work less.

Now do we understand how they plan on filling these newly built prisons.

As a Public Health Nurse in an Orange County jail; my experience was unimaginable. They segregate the minorities and put them in the worse living conditions; mold, rust, mildew, chip paint, MRSA!!, bed bugs and flees where we were suppose to sleep AND LIVE FOR 23 HOURS A DAY!!!

We were the last people to get food, they gave us old dirty clothes to wear and we were physically, emotionally, spiritually and psychologically abused daily .
Ironically!! This tragedy (March, 2011!!!) occurred Exactly 20 years from the 1991 Rodney King BEATING!!! (March, 1991!!!) This is the worse act of ATTEMPTED MURDER! RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, FALSE IMPRISONMENT, Kid napping, RACIAL profiling, TERRORISM and EXCESSIVE POLICE FORCE to a LICENSED VOCATIONAL NURSE/REGISTERED NURSE caught on film!!!

FOUR MONTHS AFTER THIS ATTEMPTED MURDER!!!, THOMAS KELLY WAS MURDERED!!! IN THE SAME FASHION!!! IN THE SAME ORANGE COUNTY!!!
My Condolences to his family I am truly sorry for your lost.

Sent via CopBlock.org’s Submit tab.

RN almost mudered by an ordered police dog attack is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

A guest post in via SUBMIT A POST

I have been planning on writing on the reasons why I do not like or respect cops and today is the day. You have to understand that this is not a decision made overnight but one that has come with years of experience. You see I am in my mid 40′s and am old enough to have seen the progression of how these people think and work. I hold a degree in history and political science so I am educated in two areas where tyrants shine. You don’t have a good chance of making the history books unless you kill a lot of people and subjugate a whole bunch more. I am former military and fireman and once ran for political office so I am not a crack head mad that I got busted with a rock. With that out of the way let’s start the journey.

I was a kid in the 70′s and came of age in the 1980′s, I feel very lucky that I was born when I was because I enjoyed much more freedom than those born later. I remember when cops were just guys from the neighborhood and were your next door neighbor. I remember when seeing a police car gave me comfort and not dread. The bad part is that I have seen a better county start to fall and it is sad. So, I will just begin with my experiences with those who “protect and serve”.

I will kind of skim over the speeding tickets, you know, I have a gun and am going to steal your cash and I am going to be a dick while I do it, routine. I once had a cop pop a blood vessel because I didn’t change the address on my license, imagine if I had just robbed a liquor store, Christ calm down. How dare I not let my masters know where I live?

I have only been “in trouble” once in my life. It was 1989 and my girlfriend of the time and I were living together. Now she was a firecracker when she got mad and liked to confront very aggressively, so one summer day we got into a argument and she was being crazy, me, still being naïve and stupid thought that I would call the cops and she would calm down so we could get past it, dumb move. The cop was a douche of course and arrested me for what state law called having a penis, you see I went to jail not because she was pressing charges or evidence of wrong doing but because the state says if that call gets placed and you’re the one with the penis you go to jail.

I spent the night in jail and the next day I was released, I was not to have contact with my girlfriend. Now when your girlfriend lives in your house it’s hard not to have contact, it’s my freak’in house! The day I was released was July 5th that just so happened to be a record heat wave that day and I had to walk home which was many miles from that jail. So, with one phone call I had now put myself in jail and made myself homeless and had no car or ride. I had heat stroke day and almost died, I had to stop at a stranger’s house and ask for help. Lesson learned, never call the cops.

At a later time I was pulled up on by a police car while I walked down the street with my girlfriend, what was my crime? I looked like someone they were looking for, no dumb asses, if I was running from the police I wouldn’t be openly walking down the street, they didn’t apologize and they left.

Later I joined the military and the stories I could tell would blow your mind but that is for another time, although I do consider the military as doing time, because you really are no more than a prisoner just hoping you live long enough to get out.

The next experience I had was when my stereo was stolen from my car and I called the police because that is what you are suppose to do, the cop that showed up was not interested and seemed bothered to have to deal with something he didn’t care about, I never saw my stereo or that cop again.

Not long after the stereo fiasco there were three plain clothes cops at the door, I opened the door to a plethora of threats. I mean this detective was a class A asshole. It turns out that my neighbor was writing bad checks and since I lived next door I must be a terrorist, no apology.

Next was another stolen stereo, the cop didn’t even bother to get out of his cruiser, and the next week they stole the whole truck. The cop still didn’t get out. I have no idea if they ever caught who did it, but they did find my truck on blocks some time later, gee thanks. I could have found a truck on blocks. They then towed my stolen truck to the impound yard where the state then charged me a fee to get my own stolen truck back, screwed again. You can’t make this stuff up.

Then there was the one that really broke the camel’s back, a few years ago my nephew finds out that his wife is sleeping around, and, say it with me, yep, a cop. The cop was fully aware that she was married but what does he care he’s a cop.

Now I could write forever and you would get bored after a while so I will wrap up, but if you are keeping score, in all my years there has never been a time that I have said, man, I am glad that cop helped me, because it has never happened. I have been more screwed from the state and cops many times more than any criminal has ever hurt me. They are a gang no different than any other. Oh, and I forgot to mention this, the guy that you would go to if you wanted some weed is now a member of SWAT, how do you like that.

You can’t make this stuff up

Mike

You can’t make this stuff up is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

This post was sent to us via CopBlock.org’s Submit Tab.

After reading about the atrocities committed by police on this blog, one has happened in my backyard. And just like many of those examples, police, again, get away with murder. Literally.

It began (click here for more) early in the morning of November 6th, 2010 in Mount Joy Borough, PA.. Robert Neill, age 61, called police like a dutiful citizen to report being harassed by neighbors. Somehow he ended up dead.

The government report, which of course is only one side of the tale since the other can’t tell his, reports that he became “combative and aggressive,” and was enraged when they tried to calm him down. Instead of doing the appropriate thing and leaving, they of course try to “do something”.  That something lead to his death. He was shot by Tasers, at least twice, as well as being pepper sprayed. The official cause of death was from an abnormal heartbeat (maybe because his heart was shocked with electricity).

I can imagine the scene like this: Mr. Neill calls the cops to complain about noisy neighbors. The cops arrive, find nothing, and try to talk to him. Its the middle of night, he’s already angry about the harassment, and now they don’t get what he is talking about. Understandable that he may have been angry at the whole situation. He walks toward them upset about why they can’t understand his complaint.

A normal person in this situation would try to talk, and barring that,  just leave and get out of there. Instead, the cops attack him because they feel “threatened” (AWWWWWW). They get more cops to attack him. Now, does anybody in their right mind expect an angry person who is being tased and attacked to get less angry? Only the protected class of government agents would think this is a good idea. So, he ends up dead because of their actions.

If this happened to anybody but government agents, they would be thrown in jail and charged with manslaughter. But predictably, since they aren’t lowly citizens, they are cleared of all wrong doing by the state Attorney General. (click here for more) There is nothing else released about the incident; no officer names and no justification except “the cops did nothing wrong.”

That is unacceptable in a just society. The cops should be in jail for their actions. Instead, their superiors and cohorts cover for them and the state justice system lets them get away scott free for killing a man, for a reason nobody knows.

I’m disgusted, and I’m going to go protest in front of the police station. Even if there is no official justice, at least I will make this murder uncomfortable for those responsible.

Matthew Butch

Familiar Refrain: Police Cleared in Murder of Man is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

If you spend any amount of time reading the laundry list of crimes committed by police officers at Injustice Everywhere, you may start to think to yourself, “Man, what does a cop have to do to get fired?”  Corrective counseling, short suspensions, or just a good ole talking to, seems to be the punishment of choice for crimes that would land you or me in jail.  Every once in a while a deserving cop gets fired, but as the case of King County Sheriff’s Deputy Kevin Savage demonstrates, it can take a long list of egregious behavior to finally end up in the unemployment line.  Deputy Savage was fired recently after 22 internal investigations and 26 finding of misconduct over the course of two years.  Not 26 accusations, but 26 actual sustained findings of misconduct.  That is apparently what it takes for a cop to get fired in King County.

Deputy Savage came to work for the King County Sheriff in 2006.  In 2010, he was assigned to patrol Vashon Island where because of its small size, he worked without the supervision of a sergeant.  According to residents, he quickly gained a reputation for being a bully.  During his time on the island he was accused of buying alcohol while in uniform, playing pool in local bars while on duty, physically threatening and intimidating witnesses in a effort to have them change their stories, and breaking into a home without a warrant and arresting a woman without probable cause.  In just 9 months on the island, it was found that Savage committed misconduct 18 different times.  His punishment?  He was given a 5 day suspension and reassigned.

It did not take long before Savage was again racking up complaints on his new beat, including allegedly telling a teenage girl that he could sexual assault her with a pen and that there was nothing that she could go to stop him.  Savage was finally put on paid vacation administrative leave in June.  Between that time and his firing, he received over $28,000 in pay.

Christopher Harris after being slammed into a wall by Matt Paul

It should come as no surprise that it took this long for Savage to be fired.  It is more surprising that he was fired at all.  Remember, King County Sheriff’s Deputy Matt Paul?  He slammed an innocent man, Christopher Harris, into a wall so hard that the he was left paralyzed.  He also has a long history of using violence, up to six times more often than other officers who walked same beat as him.  His superiors were aware of his tendency to escalate situations and to cause injuries.  He still has a job with the King County Sheriff.

Of course, the proclivity for not firing bad cops is not limited to King County Washington.  A Superior Wisconsin police officer, Kirk Babic, who has admitted to stealing more than $5,000 from his fellow officers will receive a suspension, and extra training, but will not be fired for his felony theft.  Can you guess the reason the Police and Fire Commission decided not to fire Babic?  Because they NEVER fire police officers for committing crimes!  They decided it would be unfair to fire Babic for committing a crime when they have never fired other officers for committing crimes, including a hit and run, domestic assault, damaging property, and giving false testimony.  This decision, along with the admission that they can’t fire an officer for breaking the law, because they never have before, gives other officers in the department permission to just go ahead and commit crimes, because they are indeed above the law.

Maybe we are being to hard on these departments for not firing bad cops.  The reality is that many times they will be forced to rehire the bad cop anyway by a judge or an arbitrator, so why go through the trouble in the first place?  Early this year I told you the stories of several bad cops who were fired, then rehired and then continued to be their normal thuggish selves.  One such cop, Boynton Beach Florida Police Officer David L. Coffey, has now once again been fired for excessive force.  This time, for slamming a man into a game-console at a restaurant while making an arrest without trying to first handcuff the individual.  He is also facing charges stemming from an incident in which he activated his taser inches from a fellow officer’s ear in retaliation for her honking her horn at him.

Even incompetent police officers can get their jobs back.  San Jose Police Officer, Matty Hrncir, was fired in 2010 for mishandling several sexual assault cases. Hrncir’s incompetence, which included failing to follow up on leads, not turning over crucial evidence to prosecutors, misquoting victims and witnesses, and even minimizing crimes in her reports, resulted in criminals walking free without being charged for their crimes.  An arbitrator recently ruled that she should be reinstated with back pay.   Can you imagine keeping your job if you sucked at it that bad?

We can only hope that Deputy Savage doesn’t get reinstated, but with the apparent job security provided to police officers I wouldn’t hold your breath.

Want Job Security? Become a Cop is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Cop Block is a decentralized project supported by a diverse group of individuals united by their shared goals of police accountability, education of individual rights and the dissemination of effective tactics to utilize while filming police.

That decentralization means contributors don’t always agree. And it’s not that I disagree 100%, just some, but I think that “some” is an important difference to tease out. After all, discussion is healthy.

On November 9th Cop Block contributor George Sand* posted to Cop Block’s Facebook page:

“We all need to recognize cops are the enemy. They’re not just the enemy of the black guy. They’re not just the enemy of Miguel who came across the border without a bureaucrats permission first. They are our enemy too, they will pick on us as well. When we allow government to prey on societies least liked memebers, it’s only a matter of time before they prey on us too” – Becky Akers

The quote was lifted from an interview Akers, a LewRockwell.com columnist, did with Scott Horton of Antiwar Radio (listen here, 26-min.).

The Akers quote attracted this comment by Quinn Mack:

They are your neighbors and the person your standing in line with at the grocery store. Educate yourself and get to know them and we can all be on the same page. Have you ever taken a ride along with your local PD? Have you ever went to a pancake breakfast and learned what they talk about? Do you even know one personally? Didn’t think so. You are depending on a story or some third party blurb to make drastic decisions about your viewpoints are without taking the time to form your own opinions with real data imo. I have some of those things planned in the near future to learn about them. I don’t know enough yet to form a valid firm opinion but plan on learning and talking with them.

A short time later Sand responded to Mack with the post “You can’t judge cops unless you’ve eaten pancakes with them first,” in which she likened his statement to “the good ‘ole ‘walk a mile in their shoes, before you judge’ argument.”

Sand then detailed that she had gone on a ride-along with someone she “truly believe[d]” was one of the “‘good apples.’” Yet that person was “either completely ignorant of the law when he arrested a parolee for no reason, or simply didn’t care.”

Assuming this is true – that the person was “completely ignorant of the law” or “simply didn’t care,” does that make them worthy of an absolute communication ban? Can’t ignorance can be overcome through information? Couldn’t the sub-par work ethic be remedied through the introduction of competition**?

Sand continues, “Regardless of whether you accept that all cops are enemies, the idea that eating pancakes and making small talk with someone somehow has bearing on the American ‘justice’ system, the problems of police brutality, and lack of government accountability is absurd.  I cannot emphasize enough how FUCKING STUPID this line of logic is.”

I disagree, and Sand’s own statement a couple of sentences later discloses why: “Police must be judged for their individual actions . . .”

There is no benefit to write-off an entire group of people based on their place of employment. Yes, cops subsist via political means*** (stolen money, aka taxes), but if that is the lone criteria for a policy of non-communication then does Sand cease communication and view as an “enemy” anyone who takes money doled-out by the great fiction**** of the State?  Including local, state, and federal government employees (and military)? Contractors? Social welfare recipients? Corporate welfare recipients? College students?

Don’t you think it likely that some of those individuals might, once exposed to new, better ideas, shed their old, worse ideas? Like anyone else the average cop has been exposed to a lifetime of pro-State, defer-to-authority rhetoric. Hell, my own views were once similar to those Sand now rightly decries, but I’ve learned and I know I’m a better person.

Also, when in conversation (with a cop or anyone else) the impact to the audience – those in the immediate area (or, in more increasing numbers with cops, via videos online) – shouldn’t be overlooked.

And to go back to Sand’s question of how a “small talk with someone somehow has bearing on the American ‘justice’ system” – it does. Accountability will come only after individuals cease to grant extra rights to someone simply because its claimed (cue the Marginal Revolution).

Sand later left two comments to the article:

they [cops] are NOT decent folks to the people they ‘serve.’ They routinely say shit like ‘no stop is routine’ and ‘officer safety first.’ This is very simple. This means they view every single person as a potentially dangerous criminal, and will kill you if they are scared. There is no dispute about this.

—–

I also disagree that talking to police personally enlightens an individual about why these abuses occur or where they stem from. The abuses quite clearly stem from police behaving in an out-of-control manner, because they can. They do not get punished when they do, therefore, they are more reckless about their actions.

Yes. But to halt there without asking why that is the case is to stop short. The badges-grant-extra-rights mentality exists only because people believe it to be the case. A policy of non-communication toward individuals wearing a specific costume casts them as “the other,” which only pays homage to, rather than erodes, the artificial power claimed.

It is to ones determent to treat those employed as police officers as a monolith that should receive the exact same treatment (in this case the silent treatment) rather than as individuals that think for themselves. Again, I’m not saying invest all your time here but it’s worth a try. Bradley Jardis did it. And more and more cops are speaking out against the aimless violence caused by their colleagues at Occupy events.

One mind at a time, consent of the violent, ineffective, monopolistic organization will be withdrawn whether due to morality- or efficiency-based rationales. As Nicholas Recker commented on Sand’s post, “
Looking at them as the enemy will leave us all guilty of stripping the other of their humanity.

”

*I have nothing but love and respect for George Sand!!

** Today the provision of “law enforcement” is provided by a monopoly. That is bad. Think about it this way: If two or more individuals reach a consensual arrangement everyone is better off, otherwise they wouldn’t have made the arrangement. They would voluntarily buy or barter or gift a good or service. Today, with no competition there’s an oversupply of policing, and they have a lot of guns and thrive on the fear they peddle. But that monopoly exists only because people believe it so. Law is emergent. Its creation and interpretation cannot be granted to or conducted by an individual or group of individuals. The surest (most moral, most efficient – take your pick) way to have a safe and prosperous society, free from institutionalized brutality and double-standards, is not through centralization but decentralization. For more watch this 5-min. video Problem: Police, Solution: Agorism based on a speech given by Austin-activist John Bush.

***From The State  by Franz Oppenheimer (1919), “There are two fundamentally opposed means whereby man, requiring sustenance, is impelled to obtain the necessary means for satisfying his desires. These are work and robbery, one’s own labor and the forcible appropriation of the labor of others.”

**** Government by Frederic Bastiat (1848), “Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else.”

A Response to George Sand’s Pancake Post is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights