Archive for the 'Police' Category

The Legal Intelligencer:

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has ruled that a former Pennsylvania State Police firearms instructor who allegedly disregarded multiple safety measures and ultimately shot and killed a fellow trooper during training is not immune from a lawsuit brought by the deceased trooper’s mother.

A three-judge panel consisting of Third Circuit Judges Cheryl Ann Krause and D. Michael Fisher, along with visiting Eighth Circuit Judge Michael J. Melloy, overturned an Eastern District of Pennsylvania judge’s ruling that former Cpl. Richard Schroeter was entitled to qualified immunity as a state employee.

Joan Kedra, mother of Trooper David Kedra, sued Schroeter for civil rights violations under the state-created danger theory. According to Krause’s opinion, Schroeter skipped over several safety checks, included checking to see if the gun was loaded, aiming at a person instead of at a target, and then pulling the trigger.

Eastern District Judge Eduardo Robreno dismissed the case and granted immunity to Schroeter on the basis that Kedra’s complaint pleaded only an “objective theory of deliberate indifference” or what a “reasonable official should have known because the risk was so obvious, which was not then-clearly established, and was insufficient to plead the clearly established subjective theory of deliberate indifference, i.e., that Schroeter was actually aware that his conduct carried a substantial risk of serious harm.”

Okay.  Very well.  But I feel certain that this wasn’t … ahem … due to the fact that a cop died rather than a regular person like me.  Right?

So let’s see this same standard applied to every SWAT raid where a baby gets blown to bits from a flash-bang, for every wrong-home SWAT raid, for every trigger happy goober cop who pulls a gun on a motorist, and so on the list goes.  You know, for those cases where someone other than a cop gets shot or dies.

Let me know when that happens.

Avoid, barricade, and whatever else.  A few twists on the “run, hide and fight” claptrap dispensed by the DHS and there you have the CMPD advice.

Police focused on tips like having an exit strategy and escape route planned. If you can’t immediately escape, barricade yourself in a room or turn off the lights to make the room look like it’s unoccupied.

Police also said that if you’re within arms-reach of the shooter, attack them from the neck up, go for their eyes and try to jam their gun.

Clergy members told Channel 9 that they’ll be working on putting together an action plan for emergencies. Many are also planning to secure their buildings by shoring up the doors and installing locks.

For more information, call 704-336-2310 or email crimepreventionunit@cmpd.org.

Not a word on anyone doing what they need to do, which is carry a weapon and be prepared to use it by spending time at the range.  Not … a … word.  Just wait until the super Ninja warriors get there to handle it.  Perhaps only a few people will have perished at that point.

Hey, CMPD, how will you handle it when scores of people perish inside a place of worship in Charlotte and you haven’t told them to be prepared to effect their own self defense?  Are you okay with that?

Oh, and I doubt your estimate of an average of five minutes to respond to an active shooter.  Prove it?

This is a must-watch video from WRSA.

From a reader, news from Arizona:

A red-faced Arizona police chief has asked the public if they can help find his handgun after her left it in a public library.

Astonishingly, Prescott Valley Police Chief Bryan Jarrell said yesterday he didn’t realize it was missing until four days later.

It now appears somebody picked up the semi-automatic pistol and the police department is scrambling to find out two has it.

Yesterday, Jarrell said he last had his firearm on November 9.

He thinks he accidentally left his weapon in a restroom stall while he was getting changed.

Jarrell had just finished attending a town council meeting at the Prescott Valley Public Library.

The department-issued handgun is described as a Glock 19, 9mm in caliber and black.

The serial number is YHC 944.

Anyone with information about the missing handgun is asked to contact Prescott Valley police.

Gosh, I just hate it when that happens to me.  I always want another one but my wife typically wants me to show some responsibility before dropping another grand on a gun.  I can’t tell you the number of guns I’ve just lost, never to be recovered.

The last gun I lost was a machine gun.  I guess some dude is having fun with it.

Via reader David Dietz, news from Baltimore:

Five days ago, Det. Sean Suiter, a married father of five and an 18-year veteran with the Baltimore Police, was patrolling the streets of West Baltimore around 5pm last Wednesday when he saw suspicious activity. Suiter approached a man and was shot point blank in the head, in a summary execution. He was rushed to the hospital in critical condition where he later died of his injuries.

Rest In Peace Detective Sean Suiter https://t.co/NiKIdmzbAD pic.twitter.com/l7vkrOKjMv

— Baltimore Police (@BaltimorePolice) November 16, 2017

In response, Baltimore Police reacted with ‘fire and fury’ turning the neighborhood where Suiter was shot into an “open-air prison”, shutting down city streets and enabling checkpoints for citizens while officers in tactical gear went door to door, according to Baltimore Brew. Residents were prohibited from entering their own neighborhood unless they showed proper identification, these extreme measures have been in place for 4-5 days.

“They’ve been to my house three times asking, ‘Did you hear anything? Do you know anything,’” said Edward Stanley, a local resident, who had to show a yellow slip before entering the neighborhood.

Baltimore Brew said, the neighborhood was tuned into “open-air prison”, as the complete lockdown was in attempt to collect evidence and search for the shooter.

Police initially said they needed to cordon off the area to try to capture the shooter. Police have said Suiter was in the 900 block of Bennett Place, investigating a previous homicide, when he was shot on Wednesday. So far, no arrests have been announced in the case. This morning, homicide detective Mike Newton told The Brew that the lockdown was necessary to collect evidence.

One community group took pictures of a checkpoint in West Baltimore.

#FreeWestBaltimore pic.twitter.com/P61qoDLHnq

— Baltimore BLOC (@BmoreBloc) November 19, 2017

15 @BaltimorePolice vehicles on Schroeder alone and dozens more on surrounding blocks. All the officers are just sitting in their cars. pic.twitter.com/M9zCCltdzK

— Baltimore BLOC (@BmoreBloc) November 19, 2017

Another twitter account describes how ‘the police declared marital law’, as one police officer with an assault rifle guards a corner.

And apparently police been standing on corners like this the last two days pic.twitter.com/y9Qrd2TSRe

— Pulla (@KINGDACEO) November 17, 2017

This is what the U.S. Marine Corps did in Fallujah in 2007.  I’ve rehearsed this too many times already, but once more for my newer readers won’t hurt anything.  I watched prior to Daniel’s deployment as 80-100 fighters per month crossed the Syrian and Jordanian borders into Iraq, right up to his deployment.  We know that from the Sinjar papers.  They came through little towns like Al Qaim.

Ramadi was a hot spot for them, and not only were there U.S. forces, but competing groups made it a very dangerous place to be.  In response, the foreign fighters migrated to Fallujah right about the time for his deployment early in 2007.  Then 2/6 deployed, and Fallujah was so in lock step with the foreign fighters that the children would walk around groups of U.S. Marines (as instructed by the fighters) carrying black balloons so that the foreign fighters would have targets for mortar fire.

In response, the Marines locked down Fallujah.  When I say locked down, I mean they locked it down in every way.  Vehicle traffic was forbidden.  Concrete barriers were put up, and there were two ways into and out of the city.   Military age males (MAMs) were given full biometric screening (fingerprints, iris scans, name, age, place of residence, etc.), and the shooting started.  The Marines hunted the foreign fighters down room to room, house to house, and literally visited every domicile in the city.

As the fighters would try to infiltrate across the Euphrates River, the Marines would shoot them.  My son was aboard a helicopter shooting an M2 at times, when he wasn’t carrying a SAW or M4 room-to-room.  It was important to know everything about everyone, all of the time, with cameras everywhere, biometric data available at the click of a mouse, and with full control over means of ingress and egress.

They didn’t drive the foreign fighters out of Fallujah.  They found and killed them all.  This kind of tactical approach is highly effective, and the Marines were masters of it.  The Baltimore police want control over the city.  By control, I mean complete control, with knowledge of everyone, information on their comings and goings and their whereabouts at all times, updates on their intentions and predilections, and full freedom to maneuver or respond as necessary to meet the perceived threat.

They learned this from the U.S. military.  Expect to see additional elements of this COIN / stability operations in Baltimore, like UAVs or drones to help them “see” the terrain.  Expect JTTF and robust Fusion center activity, and expect to see the U.S. justice system to go right along with everything that happens.

It’s where we are.  It’s the state to which we’ve been driven.  America has created third world countries in large cities like Baltimore, Chicago, L.A., Atlanta, Houston, and St. Louis, by means of handouts and fatherless families.  Opening the borders hasn’t helped.  The result is third world hell holes that scare even the police, but given that the police are the largest gang in America, they will respond in kind.

News from Detroit:

DETROIT (WJBK) – An internal investigation has been launched at the Detroit Police Department after two different precincts got into a turf war as they converged on an east side neighborhood.

Neighbors who live on Andover on Detroit’s east side will be the first to tell you this area is known for constant drug activity.

“Definitely a drug problem in our neighbor for years,” said one resident, ” but I don’t think anyone can stop it.”

On Thursday Detroit police certainly tried — but maybe too hard.

Sources say it started when two special ops officers from the 12th Precinct were operating a “push off” on Andover near Seven Mile. That is when two undercover officers pretend to be dope dealers, waiting for eager customers to approach, and then arrest potential buyers and seize their vehicles.

But this time, instead of customers, special ops officers from the 11th Precinct showed up. Not realizing they were fellow officers, they ordered the other undercover officers to the ground.

FOX 2 is told the rest of the special ops team from the 12th Precinct showed up, and officers began raiding a house in the 19300 block of Andover. But instead of fighting crime, officers from both precincts began fighting with each other.

Sources say guns were drawn and punches were thrown while the homeowner stood and watched.

The department’s top cops were notified along with Internal Affairs. Each officer involved is now under investigation as the department tried to determine what went wrong.

“You’ve gotta  have to have more communication, I guess,” said the resident. “I don’t understand what happened about that – communicate.”

FOX 2 is told one of the units had body camera video that detailed the entire incident. That is now part of the internal investigation and we are working to get our hands on it.

Other than wondering why the hell a police department has a so-called “special ops” team, the only thing that came to mind on this came from my oldest son Joshua when we texted about this.

News from Arizona:

The officer was on a call in Madera Highlands about noon May 25 when a fellow officer noticed the rifle rack on his motorcycle was empty.

“Documented counseling.”

Dallas News:

A Dallas SWAT officer accidentally shot himself in the leg Saturday morning during a drug raid in east Oak Cliff, police said.

The officer, a 10-year veteran of the SWAT unit, and several other officers were executing a narcotics search warrant about 11:20 a.m. at an apartment in the 3800 block of Bonnie View Road, near Illinois Avenue and Overton Road.

Assistant Chief of Police Gary Tittle said the officer’s rifle sling got caught on something in the apartment, and when he tried to pull it free, the rifle discharged into his calf.

Um … what?  “The officer’s sling got caught on something in the apartment, and when he tried to pull it free, the rifle discharged into his calf?”

What?

The Denver Post:

When a gunman opened fire inside a Walmart in Thornton Wednesday night, shoppers screamed and ran for cover — and others pulled out their own handguns.

But those who drew weapons during the shootings ultimately delayed the investigation as authorities pored over surveillance videotape trying to identify the assailant who killed three people, police said Thursday.

Although authorities said “a few” individuals drew handguns, they posed no physical hazard to officers. But their presence “absolutely” slowed the process of determining who, and how many, suspects were involved in the shootings, said Thornton police spokesman Victor Avila.

It took more than five hours to identify the suspect, 47-year-old Scott Ostrem, who is accused in the seemingly random shootings. The problem for investigators came when they reviewed the surveillance footage and had to follow each individual with a firearm until they could eliminate them as a suspect.

“Once the building was safe enough to get into it, we started reviewing that (surveillance video) as quickly as we could,” Avila said. “That’s when we started noticing” that a number of individuals had pulled weapons. “At that point, as soon as you see that, that’s the one you try to trace through the store, only to maybe find out that’s not him, and we’re back to ground zero again, starting to look again. That’s what led to the extended time.”

Well, just go cry me a river, why don’t you?  This “journalist” should be notified that he wins the aware for the stupidest article of the month.  Read this again and let it wash over you.  Armed citizens were prepared to protect themselves and perhaps others in a good Samaritan defense, and the police are bitching because it took them several hours to do what they’re paid to do, which is to conduct investigations.

And say, what the hell do you mean “once the building was safe to get into?”  You mean that it isn’t the job of the police to enter active shooter zones to protect citizens?  You mean that the only real function of the police is to conduct investigations, write reports and ensure continued state power and viability?

And after knowing the answer to all of that, you want me to sympathize with the cops over having to do the only job they have?  What happened?  Didn’t they make doughnut time with their buddies?

Phillip Carter writing for Slate:

Before the bodies cooled Tuesday after a deadly terror attack in Manhattan, conservative commentators raced to proclaim that a good guy with a gun might have stopped the speeding truck that killed eight on a bike path along the Hudson River. This is absurd.

So Phillip has spoken in the superlative, stated absolutes, and committed formal logical fallacies in this awful commentary.  Let’s dissect it for a while, shall we?

First of all, everyone understands the difficulty of stopping a moving vehicle.  But at some point in the commentary one gets the feeling it must take superman to perform this feat – or Delta Force.  Or Ryan Nash or any other cop in New York (his expansion of the discussion to solutions involving beat cops and the actions by Ryan Nash shows that he doesn’t really believe what he’s saying, but we’ll get to that more in a moment).  My son did this in Iraq (dealt with moving vehicles).  True enough, he didn’t use a pistol to do it, but it doesn’t take superman.

Furthermore, shooting the tires out of moving vehicles does actually happen to bring an end to carnage.  But notice that after Carter paints the most impossible picture imaginable to bring and end to carnage – with physical barriers in place in Iraq, heavily armed Marines ensconced or on patrol, good intelligence as a foundation for their actions, but still all leading to and endless stream of busted and entangled cars and vehicles and bombs – his solution is more police.

Yes, more police.  It takes either Delta Force, or NYPD officer Ryan Nash, because why?  Well, because ordinary citizens cannot be entrusted with firearms.  Why, it would lead to a hail of bullets fired at the wrong thing and mass casualties, no doubt.  Let’s forget about the fact that the NYPD is famous for shooting wildly at targets and then missing.  NYPD fired 84 rounds at the Empire State Building shooter, missing with 70, and injuring numerous other people in the process.  Let’s also not forget that the Stockton Police engaged in an hour-long rolling gun battle involving 32 officers discharging more than 600 rounds, at speeds of at least 120 MPH over 63 miles, with the result that at least one innocent hostage was killed.

Our catalog of negligent discharges by cops, dogs shot by cops, and wrong home SWAT raids makes Phillip’s trust in the police appear juvenile.  But I’ll virtually guarantee that Phillip cannot point to a similar set of incidents where civilian carriers (concealed or open) were responsible for rolling gun battles or the legendary “hail of bullets” we all hear about from “moms against whatever.”  His objection is the chicken little “The sky is falling” warning.  The sky isn’t really falling, no matter what Phillip says.

But there is a larger problem here than this exaggeration by Phillip.  Regardless of what one might think of claims that a concealed carrier might have stopped the carnage (and an open carrier did do just that), Phillip expands his injunction against carriers by stating “Arming bystanders in Manhattan—and hoping they could stop the attack with a lucky shot—could have only killed more people in the crossfire.”

He doesn’t really know any such thing, he just made that up.  But notice how he puts this: “Arming bystanders.”  People don’t voluntarily purchase expensive guns, nor do they go to the range and spend lots of money on ammunition learning to shoot well.  No, by allowing people to carry, we’re “arming bystanders.”  Who’s doing the arming is left a mystery.  Notice the word gaming he’s doing?

Getting past his stilted prose, he argues against carrying firearms generally.  Since someone may not have been able to stop the carnage from a vehicle, no one should be allowed to carry except cops.  This is like saying that since a sharpshooter shovel (forestry spade) is required to trench water mains to the required 16″ freeze line without tearing up too much lawn, construction workers should just throw away all of their other tools regardless of the fact that not all jobs are trenching water mains for homes.  Let’s put this in more formal language.

His syllogism goes like this: (1) Pistols are ineffective against vehicular attacks, (2) Vehicular attacks is terrorism, therefore, (3) Pistols are ineffective against terrorism.  It is the fallacy of the undistributed middle, and either Phillip knows better, or he should.  This is the second commentary in two days from folks at CNAS (Center for a New American Security), Michele Flournoy’s organization and Obama’s favorite think tank, arguing for some form of gun control (the first being written by Adam Routh at CNAS).  So regardless of Phillip’s juvenile trust in the police or his logically fallacious thinking, there may be little more that I can do than recommend the same thing for Phillip that I did for Adam.  These folks are pathologically problematic to themselves and others because of their controller nature.  For Phillip I am recommending a good therapy and support group.  Same as for Adam, you must begin this way.

“I am a controller.  I think I’m smarter than everyone else.  I want to control everything people do.  I want to control what they think, how they behave, how they talk and what they say, what they have, what they do with it, how they spend their money, and what they believe.  I am admitting my problem to you in open honesty.  The only thing I don’t want to control is myself.  People hate me for it.  No one loves me.  I’ve been a controller for ___ years.  Please help me.”