Right-Wing Extremism in Law Enforcement, Part I

All of us in law enforcement must be honest enough to acknowledge that much of our history is not pretty.[1]

~ Former FBI Director James Comey

I have been saying for a while – and the FBI has been saying it for years – that far-right extremists are actively infiltrating law enforcement and the military, and there is rampant and blatant racism within the ranks of those whose job it is “to serve and to protect.”

Law enforcement has always had its warts, whether in the “slave patrols” of the 18^th and 19^th centuries, the widespread police corruption during Prohibition, the continuing corruption during the “Serpico Era” in NYC, the Civil Rights conflicts in the 1960s, or today’s open racism in places like Ferguson, MO.

Years before I entered law enforcement, my great-uncle, who had been a patrolman with the St. Louis County Police for 40+ years, told me that law enforcement was “the greatest calling,” about medicine, above the law, above even the clergy, and certainly far above politics. To paraphrase what Uncle Fred told me:

We are there on the best days and the worst days in peoples’ lives. We are there when they are born and when they die. We tell wives their husbands are never coming home, we tell parents their sons and daughters have been killed in crashes, we tell young children that they will never see Mommy and Daddy again. We hear their deepest, darkest secrets, we see their lives of despair. We see their lives crash around them. We must be confessors, marriage counsellors, referees, friends, disinterested strangers, often all at the same time. We must have the wisdom of Solomon and the compassion of Jesus.

Uncle Fred, by the way, never sought promotion, for in those days, the higher one’s rank, the greater the exposure to corruption became. Fred’s reputation for fairness and decency was widespread through St Louis County in those days: those being sought by the cops would surrender to him, knowing that he would not brutalize them as they were being booked (remember, this was before the days of Miranda and Brinegar and Mapp and Escobedo and Gideon) [2]

Police officers, and others in emergency services, see and hear and smell things no decent person should ever be exposed to. We pull wax-encapsulated corpses from our waters, we dig through fire scenes for charred remnants of what used to be living men and women. Sometimes, all we can do is hold their hand and comfort them as they die, trapped in the mangled wreckage of their cars, as they cry for their mothers (strangely, never the fathers). Sometimes, we can’t even do that, and all we can do is listen to them scream in agony as they burn to death because the Fire Department hasn’t arrived yet. We have cut down teens who hanged themselves because their parents couldn’t handle the thought of their children being gay. Yet, through it all, many manage to maintain the compassion and empathy that drew them to the job in the first place.

In fact, I believe law enforcement overwhelmingly attracts people who want to do good for a living – people who risk their lives because they want to help other people. They don’t sign up to be cops in New York or Chicago or L.A. to help white people or black people or Hispanic people or Asian people. They sign up because they want to help all people.[3]

But here I must respectfully disagree with Director Comey. But there are others, relatively few compared to the million or so sworn law enforcement officers in the United States, who enter the field for the wrong reasons: to address perceived wrongs against them, to settle scores, to make sure “those” people “know their place.”

There are far-right extremist groups – the Oath Keepers, the Ku Klux Klan, the Three Percenters, militia movements and other anti-government extremists – who are actively encouraging their members, both overt and covert, to enter law enforcement, to bend the mindset of the profession to more closely reflect their own warped views. The Verge, an on-line news organization, reported on research they conducted that identified at least 400 police officers as member of extremist groups, with approximately 150 being members of the most extreme groups.[4] Back when I was a police officer, back in the 1970s and 1980s, in Connecticut, there were large numbers of openly racist officers on the job; the situation has only gotten worse in the intervening 30 years. More recently, 14 San Francisco police officers were caught exchanging racist and homophobic text messages, including, “all ni**ers must f**king hang.”[5] Most of those officers remain on the job, as a court blocked disciplinary actions based on a statute of limitations. Even a cursory examination of the public comments on law enforcement news sites reveal truly vicious racist opinions being expressed by law enforcement officers and their supporters. For instance, the far-right website UNZ Review, in an article discussing the murder of Appleton, WI, firefighter Mitch Lundgaard, comments mentioned “two-legged brown turds,” and “the Negro,” and “Chicongo” (a racist reference to Chicago).[6]

We must work – in the words of New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton – to really see each other. Perhaps the reason we struggle as a nation is because we’ve come to see only what we represent, at face value, instead of who we are. We simply must see the people we serve.[7]

These extremists, however, are often ignored, and their danger swept under the rug. In part due to a lack of a standardized selection process or operational standards, “state and local police as well as sheriff’s departments present ample opportunities for white supremacists and other right-wing extremists looking to expand their power base.” [8] Some of these groups infiltrate members into law enforcement in order to warn crews of ongoing investigations or potential enforcement actions; others seek to subvert the agencies to their own ends.

As the Verge article points out, many of these far-right officers are active on the many racist and hate groups on social media. Facebook, roundly criticized for its inability – or perceived refusal – to moderate or block these groups, announced new measures to reduce the impact of hate groups, extremism, and misinformation on its platform.

But there’s no evidence to suggest that Facebook is taking a more active role in moderating these groups’ activities – in fact, the opposite appears to be true. And the notion of active duty police officers with access to firearms participating openly in bigotry and potentially violent online behavior is worrisome for how it could translate to offline actions in the future.[9]

It also appears that there is a certain amount of consideration offered to the far-right posters that is not available to others. I reported a certain post, possibly written by a law enforcement officer, based on the use of police 10-codes in his profile, to Facebook for promoting hate speech; Facebook replied that the post “does not violate our community standards.” I shared the post to my page, with the comment, “This is how they talk of us,” and was promptly banned for a month… for “hate speech.”

Law enforcement is a closed society, with outsiders considered potentially dangerous. The “Thin Blue Line” concept originated to indicate law enforcement’s stance as the line between order and chaos. These days, however, it is more of a rallying cry, and like the “Blue Lives Matter” movement, is used to shield officers from outside scrutiny, by painting those with grievances as anti-police, and hence, anti-law-and-order. The law enforcement community today enforces a “code of silence” that makes the Mafia’s “Omerta” pale by comparison, and effectively forces honest police officers to help protect corrupt officers from being held accountable for their actions.

Another major problem with combatting the extremists’ attempts is that there is no general consensus on classification of extremist actions: some states treat them as hate crimes, others as terrorist activities, and still others consider extremist activities to be gang-related, relegating it to the same (low) priority as motorcycle gangs dealing meth. The Federal government is even more confusing in its treatment of these crimes.

---

[1] James B. Comey, Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, “Hard Truths: Law Enforcement and Race,” speech delivered at Georgetown University, Washington, DC, February 12, 2015; www.fbi.gov/news/speeches/hard-truths-law-enforcement-and-race, retrieved 07-04-2019

[2] Respectively: Miranda v. Arizona, 384 US 436, 1966; Brinegar v. United States, 338 US 160, 1949; Mapp v Ohio, 367 US 643, 1961; Escobedo v Illinois, 378 US 478, 1964; Gideon v Wainwright, 372 US 335, 1963

[3] Comey, “Hard Truths”

[4] Statt, Nick, “Hundreds of active and former police officers are part of extremist Facebook  groups,” www.theverge.com/2019/6/14/18679598/facebook-hate-groups-law-enforcement-police-officers-racism-islamaphobia, retrieved 07-04-2019

[5] Cited in Speri, Alice, “The FBI has quietly investigated white supremacist infiltration of law enforcement,” www.theintercept.com/2017/1/31/the-fbi-has-quietly-investigated-white-supremacist-infiltration-of-law-enforcement/, January 31, 2017, retrieved 07-04-2019. Expletive deletion added

[6] Kersey, Paul, “His Name Is Mitch Lundgaard: White Firefighter In 82% White City Murdered By Black Criminal After He Revives Him from Overdose,” www.unz.com/sbpd/his-name-is-mitch-lundgaard-white-firefighter-in-82-white-city-murdered-by-black-criminal-after-he-revives-him-from-overdoes, June 15, 2019, retrieved 07-04-2019

[7] Comey, “Hard Truths” Emphasis added.

[8] Speri, op cit.

[9] Statt, op cit.

'Nother Little Rapist Gets Caught...

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, please look at the defendant over there, in the orange jumpsuit.

 His name is Daniel Holtzclaw, but his street name is "The Claw." He is accused of sexually abusing eight -- count them, EIGHT -- women of color here in Oklahoma City.

Look at those piggish, dull, little eyes:

You can tell, just by looking at him, that he's nothing more than a muscle-bound thug.

He had his own peculiar little way of committing his crimes. Instead of just a normal, "legitimate" rape, The Claw just wanted each woman to take his penis in her mouth. He didn't have to ejaculate or anything, he just wanted to degrade them, to demonstrate his power over them. He would often re-visit and re-assault his victims.

Oh, you may be asking yourselves, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, how this little bastard was able to gain control over his victims.

This is how:

Yes, The Claw was a police officer. Sworn to protect and defend us, he instead used his authority to oppress and victimize.

His family is demanding "the same rights under the law as any other citizen," which means w.e can shoot his ass, I suppose.

I'm NOT Lovin' It...

Over the years, I've commented now and then on some of the legal issues facing McDonalds. I guess, in many ways, they're no better and no worse than many other large corporations.

Except a lot of them -- perhaps most -- support their local emergency services.

Not McDonalds.

A McDonalds franchisee in upstate New York fired an employee for paying for firefighters' meals out of her own pocket.

She didn't steal the food, she (and a couple of other workers) paid out of their own pockets.

 

 

Food's better at Burger King, anyway.

 

McDonalds management is claiming that the firing had nothing to do with the firefighters; they're claiming Levia swore at supervisors and was otherwise insubordinate... possibly by pointing out that management often gave free meals to police officers.

 

So now, MickyD's has lost an 8-year veteran employee, pissed off the firefighters in the area, pissed off the cops (cause now they're not gonna get freebies, either), the franchisee has been exposed as a hypocrite, and McDonalds has yet another black eye.

 

I will not patronize McDonalds until this mess is straightened out, and I would ask you to do the same.

 



NSFW: Sandy Hook/Newtown, CT

UPDATE: The lovely yet talented Mrs618 convinced me to tone it down.

But you know damn well what I mean...

THIS POST IS FOR ADULTS ONLY. IF YOU ARE UNDER 21, GO AWAY.

IF YOU ARE A RIGHT-WING NRA GUN NUT, LEAVE NOW. I DON'T GIVE A FLYING FECK* FOR YOU, YOUR OPINION, OR YOUR "RIGHTS."

Once again, the fecking right-wing whackjob gun nuts at the National Fecking Rifle Association have let loose the hounds of disaster, this time killing 20 children. 20 elementary school children.

TWENTY CHILDREN.

Because some fecking whackjob got his mother to buy and register four weapons, cause he couldn't, cause he was a fecking psychotic nutcase.

Twenty children are DEAD, because the National Fecking Rifle Association will not, under any circumstances whatsoever, consider any kind of reasonable gun control.

All right. So be it.

Here's what we need to do to prevent this from happening again.

BAN ALL PRIVATE GUN OWNERSHIP, WITH TWO EXCEPTIONS.

Only ACTIVE-DUTY military and active law enforcement officers should be allowed to possess handguns.

Hunters can hunt with a .22 rifle, or a shotgun that can hold no more than one shell at a time.

NO ASSAULT RIFLES, NO AR-15S, NO LARGE-CAPACITY CLIPS FOR ANY WEAPON.

THE NATIONAL FECKING RIFLE ASSOCIATION, WITH THEIR BULL-HEADED INTRANSIGENCE, OWNS THIS.

THEY OWN THIS.

THEY SUPPORT THE MURDER OF HELPLESS KINDERGARTNERS, INNOCENT THIRD-GRADERS, AND TEACHERS.

And if you're one of the whining, mewling, sycophants for the National Fecking Rifle Association, and you want to make your point, DO IT SOMEWHERE ELSE. You have NO fecking rights HERE, you murderous scum-burping asshole.

I don't fecking want to hear it, murderer.

Go the feck away, and take your deathtoys with you.

Don't talk to me about your "rights"... I don't give a feck. Our nation's right to protect OUR CHILDREN outweighs your "right" to go squirrel hunting with a 50 calibre machine gun.

I no longer give a shirt for your Second Amendment "rights," since you National Fecking Rifle Association MURDERERS use it as a perverted excuse to go on your damnable killing sprees.

Columbine, San Ysidro, Aurora, Virginia Tech, Oregon, now Newtown. You National Fecking Rifle Association DOUCHEBAGS don't deserve to call yourselves "Americans." You should call yourselves BRAIN-DEAD, SLACK-JAWED, DROOLING, MORONIC GUN-TOTING ASSWIPES FROM HELL.

And don't try to say "If the teachers had been armed, yadda yadda...," cause that shirt ain't gonna fly.

You bottom-feeding, inbred hillbilly yokels, YOU SOCKSUCKERS from the National Fecking Rifle Association, have forfeited any claim to consideration or even adult discussion.

THERE'S NO SENSE IN TRYING TO HOLD A RATIONAL DISCUSSION WITH A CRAZY-ASS MUTHERFECKING PSYCHOTIC NUTJOB.

YOU MURDEROUS FECKING ASSHOLES OWN THIS, YOU CHILD-KILLING SOCKSUCKING MOTHERFECKERS.

* "Feck" is a very useful word I picked up from one of the British paramedic blogs, either Trauma Queen or Medic999 (Mark Glencourse). It gets the point across rather well.

Finally: A Cop Who Gets It.

For the past few years, I've been bitching mightily about my former fellow police officers, the Oath Keepers (the ones who claim that they and only they understand the intent of the Framers), the ones who drive like demons in city-owned cars because they can, the ones who kick handcuffed women because they feel "threatened," the ones who choke out paramedics on emergency calls, the thugs with badges who disgrace a once-honorable profession, the ones who pervert their oaths, the ones who oppress those they are supposed to protect.

Well, I am proud to say there are still cops like the ones who inspired me, who led me to think as a kid that there was nothing more important than helping others.

And, simply to make things even better, after all the negative publicity for years, after Amadou Diallo, after pepper-spraying moron Anthony "Tony Baloney" Bologna, after Abner Louima, of course it had to be...

... an NYPD officer who...

... bought a pair of boots for a barefoot homeless man.



NYPD OFFICER LARRY DePRIMO, YOU ARE A GOOD MAN AND A GOOD COP.

PD versus FD... One to Watch

Dave Statter has a post up at STATter911.com, involving a situation in which a Wisconsin police officer engaged in a high-speed (and high-risk) pursuit trying to stop a vehicle that turned out to be a volunteer firefighter/EMT. The FireLaw blog, written by chief officer and attorney Curt Varone, also weighs in on the issue.

The jackass involved is suing the police department, for excessive force (apparently due to the fact the cop approached with his gun in his hand).

Statter has a good portion of the officers dash-cam video posted; here is what *I* got from it:

• the cop was already watching for a person allegedly impersonating a police officer; the suspect was allegedly driving a black Challenger;
• the officer saw a black Charger with a spotlight and push bar go past his location at high speed, running red lights and siren;
• the officer initiated a pursuit of this vehicle, based on the impersonation complaint;
• the officer ran between 85 and 105 mph for roughly the first minute and a half, attempting to catch up to the Charger;
• the Charger, when the cop caught up, was driving between 70 and 80 on a basically-deserted open-country secondary road, with virtually no other traffic;
• both vehicles reduced speed to 45-55 in a more developed area, and 15-30 mph in an obvious residential zone;
• both vehicles pulled into the "Brooklyn EMS building," at which time the officer was able to see a Wisconsin EMS marker plate, but he still handled the situation -- at this point -- as a felony stop (bearing in mind the earlier impersonation complaint and the fact that a chase had occurred);
• the officer approached the Charger with his gun drawn, as is standard for felony stops;
• as soon as the driver of the Charger identified himself, the officer holstered his weapon, and explained his view of the situation to the driver of the Charger, in a polite professional manner.

Statter links to a Wisconsin State Journal article, which picks up the story:

By the time the two vehicles pulled into the station, a bay door was open and other firefighters were arriving, so the situation should have been clear to the officer, Dean said. Also, according to an in-squad video of the incident, the officer learned prior to drawing his gun that Dean's vehicle had a state-issued Emergency Medical Services plate.

The dashboard video, made available to the State Journal by the Oregon Police Department, shows Dean getting out of his car, then ordered by Gilbertson to "Get back in the car" and "Get your hands out the door, right now, both of them."

Gilbertson then approaches the car with both hands on his pistol and appears to hold the gun close to Dean's head. Dean can be heard apologizing and explaining he's a Brooklyn firefighter.

Unfortunately, possessing an EMS marker plate is not a guarantee that the driver isn't a bad guy: there have been many EMS personnel arrested for various offenses, plus of course, there's the possibility the Charger was stolen.

One thing that is not mentioned in the fire blog reports is this:

Clark's written report faults the firefighter for acting without "due regard" for public safety. The call went out as an "Alpha-level" page for an "odor investigation."

According to Dane County policy, Alpha-level calls are non-emergencies and should be answered with "no lights, no siren (and) normal driving conditions," Clark wrote. [emphasis added]

I have no idea what the laws are like in Wisconsin, and every state's laws differ, but...

Here in Maine, when I am responding to a fire, the use of a red light requests the right of way, it does not demand it (the way a police car can; even fire apparatus cannot demand right-of-way). I am not allowed to exceed the speed limit, nor am I allowed to violate any other traffic regulation (stop signs, one-way, etc). Our local department restricts the use of lights to in-town only... if I am in the next town over, I cannot use the light till I cross into my town. The only volunteer FF who can use a siren is the chief, and he/she can only use it on a fully-equipped emergency vehicle (which has to be registered and insured as such, which, for an individual, would be astronomical).

As far as I know, every state requires "due regard for the safety of others" -- even police officers cannot drive like complete lunatics (though some certainly do; see, for example, Fausto Lopez, formerly of Miami PD).

Unfortunately, there are a few circumstances that make things look bad for this particular FF/EMT and the fire service in general:

• The FF/EMT was a driving a POV (privately-owned vehicle) that is a black Dodge Charger, which is about the only police package sedan available right now.
• The vehicle had a pillar-mounted spotlight (which firefighters could find useful) and a push bar... sounds a little too much like he was trying to make people think he's a cop.

It's like all the volunteer FFs over the years who brought Crown Victorias (here, here, here, here, here, here). Some of these yahoos go so far as making traffic stops (here, here, here [and I love the gold badge that says 'concealed weapon permit' and 'second amendment, my freedom']). The more firefighters -- especially volunteers -- try to look or act like police officers, the more it'll piss off the "real" cops. There was a similar case just a few months back... a volunteer FF in a Crown Vic with a spotlight and LED light heads all over the place, who got into a dispute with a guy in a Corvette... who happened to be a real cop who called for uniformed backup.


This jamoke will hopefully be convicted, thrown off the FD, and -- if we're really lucky -- the state will seize his car as an instrumentality of the crime.

Oh, Christ, Not Another One...

Just saw on STATter911.com that an off-duty police officer for Prince George's County, MD, was killed in a car crash.

Prince George’s County Police have confirmed the death of PGPD Officer Kevin Bowden who was killed this afternoon in his take-home cruiser in an off-duty crash on Route 5 in Clinton, Maryland. Officer Bowden was 28-years-old and had been on the police department for six-years. He leaves behind two young children.

Obviously, our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Officer Bowden, as well as the occupant of the other vehicle and his/her family.

I am hoping desperately that the cause of the crash will be something "legitimate" instead of a tragic outcome of an on-going problem of cops driving like lunatics in take-home cruisers.

The Miami Police Department recently fired one Fausto Lopez, after Lopez was chased by a Florida Highway Patrol officer and removed from his vehicle at gunpoint. Lopez had been driving at speeds of about 120 MPH during the 7 minute pursuit. Bear in mind, 7 minutes at 120 MPH yields a 14 mile chase. Lopez had been clocked operating in excess of 90 MPH over 80 times. In three months. Or about once a day.

Apparently, Lopez's excuse for the last trip was that he was late for an off-duty job. Uh-huh, right.

When I was a cop, if any of us had been caught driving over 90 MPH while off-duty, even once, we would have been fired, arrested, and charged. I don't even want to try to imagine what would have happened if we had been caught doing 90+ every day for three months.

Anyway, I sincerely hope that Officer Bowden didn't pay the ultimate price because he was a speed demon. I hope to Christ it was a sudden mechanical failure, or a kid darting in front of his car, or the driver of the minivan swerving to avoid a pothole or something. ANYTHING other than another cop being a fool, simply because he could.

We won't know the cause of the accident until the investigation is complete. Until then, I'm giving Officer Bowden the benefit of the doubt.

R.I.P., Officer Bowden.

Here We Go Again...

Once again, who you know is more important than what you did...

Manhattan prosecutors have decided not to file rape charges against a son of Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly after a two-week investigation of a woman’s accusation that he had attacked her in October inside the Lower Manhattan law office where she worked, prosecutors said in a letter on Tuesday.

The Manhattan District Attorney declined to press charges, saying:

 “the facts established during our investigation do not fit the definition of sexual assault crimes,” according to the brief letter, which was written to Mr. Kelly’s lawyer, Andrew M. Lankler. “Therefore, no criminal charges are appropriate.”

Of course, had this been someone other than a police commissioner's son, you know damed well there would have been at least a grand jury investigation.

Oh, and what does Greggy do for work?

After the allegations became public, Mr. Kelly took a leave from his position as an anchor of “Good Day New York” on the Fox station WNYW (Channel 5).

But of course.

Looking Back. Way Back. Yet Looking Ahead, Too...

I was reading the usual blogs this morning, when one brought to mind a good memory.  I'd like to share it with you.

Back in 2006, I was conducting a First Aid/CPR/AED course for my employer. The company -- amazingly -- allowed each of its almost 1000 employees to sponsor a non-employee for First Aid/CPR/AED training, at the employer's expense.

Part of my lecture was along these lines:

We do not go into emergency services because of the fantastic schedules. We know that for the first twenty years, we will miss every holiday, every birthday, every wedding anniversary, every school play, every PTA meeting. We do not go into emergency services for the fancy uniforms. The uniforms are polyester: they are hot in the summer, cold in the winter, and they always look horrible. We do not go into emergency services for the money. There is no money in emergency services: most of us are volunteers, or at best, paid-on-call.  We do not go into emergency services for fame, fortune, glory, or greed. Do you know the name of even one police officer, firefighter, or paramedic in your town? Or do you know only the Johnnie Gages and Roy DeSotos, the Barney Millers, the Tommy Gavins? We may not admit this, especially when we're sober, but we go into emergency services because we want to make a difference. We want to keep our friends and families, our neighbors, even strangers, safe and healthy. We want people to go home to their families, their spouses, their children, in the same condition as when they left in the morning. We don't want to see tears, we don't want to hear anguished crying, we don't want to tell people their loved ones are never coming home. We want people to stay alive, to go on vacation, to see their children marry, to bounce grandchildren on their knees...

Well, the wife of one of our staff members was in that class, and she listened to what I said. No, she more than listened, she heard, she understood, for the following year when it was time to recertify her CPR, she told me she was back in school, going for a paramedic certificate to pay her way through nursing school... to become a trauma nurse and eventually, a flight crew member of the local air ambulance.

What brought that memory to mind?

This:




Via Mustang Bobby

Yeah, I guess I made a difference, too.

Cops: The Changes Over the Years

You know, the more I deal with today's law enforcement "professionals," the more grateful I am that I got out twenty years ago. These days, between the birthers, Sovereign Citizens, "patriots," tax protesters, Redemptionists, Oath Keepers, militias, "minutemen (1, 2)," tea partiers, anti-immigrationists , right-to-lifers (most of whom, inexplicably, are also rabidly in favor of capital punishment), Christianists, Dominionists, and just general racist assholes, I don't see how any member of any minority group -- which apparently includes people not believing that Palin and bush are gods -- could possibly expect fair treatment from the cops.

After all, police officers are the ones we expect to uphold the law and protect the weak. But, instead, we have cops claiming for themselves the exclusive right to function as judge, jury, and executioner, threatening to "cap your ass" if you don't support their twisted, Beck-inspired version of the Constitution.

The cops these days are completely out of control.

We have cops "mistaking" their sidearms for their Tasers (yeah, right).

They demand blind adherence to their every command, while blatantly violating the laws themselves.

When I was a kid, cops were respected and looked up to; now they're feared and despised... and for good reason, too.

How the hell can anyone respect them today?