Thought to Think...Agree or Disagree at least its getting the Brain Matter Moving

Do not take this as an endorsement of all/any of the ideas in this.  There is tough language in it.  I just appreciate the honesty of the presentation of it in our time of politically correct speech and the drive to make everyone always happy.  The comedian that is speaking in this is the now deceased Greg Giraldo.  I noticed that he is not using the pronoun "you" but he almost always uses "we".  His act has always struck me as an exercise of exorcising personal demons.  His Wikipedia Link

Simple and Beautiful and Educational

Learned from this...thought it was a work of art also...enjoy.

Whale Fall (after life of a whale) [Radiolab] from Sharon Shattuck on Vimeo.

Simple Take on Gun Control

Law enforcement, on whatever level you choose to address, has always been very ineffective in the control or banishment of any type of item or substance.

Heroin has been banned since 1924.

Cocaine has been prescription only since 1914.

Until this decade cannabis has not been legal to ingest.

Don't forget prohibition.

Immigration control is nonexistent.

Not one of the proposed new gun measures would have prevented any of the recent mass killings.

Every time a new law is enacted it requires both time and money. There is a limited supply of both, so the even "saves one child that argument" does not stand. Since there is a limit to both time and money using it inefficiently takes resources from positive and successful measures and wastes them on ineffective program. Basically creating two sets of victims.

Without exception the gun violence rates for cities in America with tight gun control are significantly higher than the ones that do not.

The highest penalties in American juris prudence is for murder. If that does not stop these evil actors why would lesser penalties deter?

Finally we are at least five minutes away if you can get to a phone or someone hears you scream, why should you not have the right to protect your life after someone else has decided to take it.

I understand the need and drive of people to seek instant solutions in the wake of tragedy but the real issue is not the object but the actor. Until we address the real issue of mental illness, nothing done to control objects will have any affect at all.

Asset: Arrest, Search and Seizure Electronic Tool

The Asset: Arrest, Search and Seizure Electronic Tool was just brought to my attention.  It is a creation of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Government (first I have heard of them too).  I dropped it into my phone and I have to say I am impressed.  What this app delivers to the cell phone that is with me at all times, its equivalent in book form is filling half of my "go-bag".

Here is what I like:

1.  Portability-My reference material is stowed in my squad, which is usually far away from the call.  When a question of law arises and my backup is as befuddled as I am, someone has to stay behind while the other marches to the car and attempts to find the answer.  An Officer safety problem in all circumstances.  This app allows two of us to remain on scene to continue aiding each other.

2.  Liability-look at this app's name.  This is where you are going to get sued if you make the wrong call...just by having this on your person adds one more line to your due diligence law suit response section.

3.  Speed-this app's interface is simple and direct.  I can quibble with the long narrative sections once you hit the particular problem you are facing.  I have dropped similar long passages into my reports to justify my actions.  What I could recommend to improve this tool would be to bullet point, lets say duration with "Must be brief and accomplish only what you have suspicion of..." then click on that to get the full explication.  But this change would save, oh, about thirty seconds.

4.  Utilizing existing technology.     Most law enforcement tools are common everyday ware that is painted matte black and tripled charged.  This is using a smart phone 99% of us already have and making it useful for something other than killing time between traffic stops.

5.  It's free and not even a free trail edition.  My three years of no pay increases really make this a great feature.

6.  Updates.  I can not tell you how many times non-current information has risen up and bit me as a police officer.  Just last week I realized that they changed the statute numbers for retail theft...caught it just in time but had that gone to court it would not have been fatal but certainly embarrassing.  The stuff defense attorneys LOVE.

7.  Citations:  Peppered through they have the case law that led to the procedures that are in place.  There are reasons for everything even if the courts are just making them up as they go along.

The downside

Its primary focus is that state of North Carolina (no surprise there)...while there are many similarities, there are some differences I found that would not be the same for us here in the Midwest...since it would only require small changes here and there...I am hoping they have future plans for a state by state version.  When they do I certainly will be using it.

If this is what is coming from this UNC program I certainly applaud them for it and look forward to seeing what else they produce.

Links: UNC Asset App Link  I-Tunes Preview of ASSET: Arrest, Search, and Seizure Electronic Tool

Waiting

As I am waiting for my wife to come out of a medical procedure I am reminded about when I first became a TFO with the Feds and went on my first couple of surveillances.

As a patrol officer everything is quick, you stabilize the scene, make sure everything is safe and stays safe, get everyone off the road or out of the house, write a quick report and go 10-8. If the case would take longer than a shift, or goes out of town or had complexity it would just be shipped to the investigators.

So when I was on my first surveillance we followed the guys right to the deal, the deal was made and we followed them away. I, while driving, threw on the full gear and got ready and waited for the take down. I waited, and waited and waited. After we had followed them for another six hours I broke for the post surveillance meet geared up. I was meet with quizzical looks and soon after derision. We ended up following those two guys for another three weeks before there was a bust signal. Those first months I was just crawling out of my skin sitting in my car waiting for something to happen and waiting for something to do. Then no matter what, I had paperwork that would take days, weeks, in one case, years, to complete. It was a culture shock.

The funny part, is when I first came back to patrol I keep saying, "what's all the hurry?"

So here I sit waiting again, somewhere between the zen of an TFO and the impatience of a patrolman waiting for the surgeon to stop cutting on my wife. Funny where a worried mind takes you.

Picture Credit: http://www.apuregeneration.com/blog/what-are-we-waiting-for/3763

Rest

On a much needed vacation into the great southwest.  Throughout the Bible there is a theme of hard work followed by rest.  Started in creation with The Lord creating for six days and resting on the seventh and placed as a mandatory work week for the Israelites.  You then factor in all the time off they took for festivals, holidays and the like and you get a number of rest days throughout the year.

Police Officers tend to come in two flavors when it comes to the idea of work and rest.  The first is always at work.  The 80 hr a week guy.  The someday the spouse is going to make the calculation that he/she can have all your money and none of your time or half of your money and all of someone else's time.

The second is the vacation bank at zero guy.  The 35 hr a week guy.  The counting days till he/she can burn a sick/return/vacation/holiday guy.  The why did you ever pick this job because you hate it so much guy.  The selling real estate off his/her cell phone in the squad guy.

I have been both of those guys throughout my career and I have to say both have significant downsides.  The blend of rest and work is always the best way to go.  Strange how that Bible thing keeps saying to do what is best for all of us.


Genesis 2:2

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.

Repost from great Blog: Adoro te Devote

This blog post just came to my attention from the Blog: Adoro te Devote called: Police, Justice, Saints

See it and read the rest of the posts here: Link to Orginial Post and The Blog Itself




The most common encounter with the Police, for most people, is either because something bad happened to them, such as a burglary or car accident or some other thing, or, perhaps, a traffic stop, better known as “being pulled over."

Has this ever happened to you?

How did you react?

Did you curse or maybe even go so far as to swear (take the Lord’s name in vain)? Did you break into a sweat, feel your blood pressure increase, hear your own heart beating in your ears without benefit of a stethoscope? (As an aside…did you identify any heart problems in that experience?)

Most importantly, did you harbor resentment against the cop who had the audacity to stop you?

Think about it, and after reading this post, think about it even harder.

Last Sunday when heading back to Minnesota from my short hiatus in Wisconsin, I was driving happily along the freeway, enjoying the fall colors, creeping past a few cars, always mindful of my speed, especially since Wisconsin and Minnesota do not have reciprocity.

Then I happened to see, in a flash, the blue car with the white stripe sitting in the median.

Whenever I see a squad car, I check my speedometer and usually see I am fine. That day, I saw that I was doing something around 80 in a 65.

Crap!

I hit the brakes immediately; only an arrogant idiot continues in his bad behavior as he encounters an authority figure. Looking into the air and whistling, for some reason, just doesn't seem to be effective while driving.

I watched in the rear-view mirror as the dreaded Wisconsin State Patrol car pulled out of its spot and accelerated, knowing darn well that it was because I was the idiot that cop was after.

Carefully, when I could, even though I hadn’t yet seen the lights, I moved into the right lane, and, still watching, saw immediately when that terrible Car of Judgment changed into my lane, following me. I knew what that cop was doing in preparation for the stop and I knew that it was over.

When I saw the lights come on, I was happy to see that we were approaching a rest stop, and although it had not been my plan to rest there, I took the exit and pulled over, thinking about the safety of the State Trooper who was stopping me.

My idiocy and inattention to my speed had put that cop in danger; I was glad for the opportunity to minimize it as much as possible while still stopping obediently without causing that unknown cop any additional stress.

Traffic stops are stressful enough.

I know; I’ve been there. I HATED freeway stops. In my department we walked up on the passenger side where we could, but all too often, the offender, in doing what he was taught, pulled up tight against the median or sound barrier in order to be out of traffic. That meant that I, as the Offending Police Officer, had to hang my authoritative rear end out into 65 mph freeway traffic, and God (as well as all cops know), drivers are oddly attracted to light.

Traffic stops are what kill most cops, y’all. It’s not Hollywood’s version of shootouts or cop show’s depiction of dangerous people who are stopped. Simply put, it is average people doing stupid things that force the police by necessity to be placed in a dangerous position that leads them into being killed.

Think about that and think about it hard the next time you complain you are stopped.

If that cop stops you and is hit by someone else, it’s YOUR FAULT. Period. Deal with it.

Were it not for your own breakage of the law, that cop would not have been standing there talking to you about the dumb thing you did to cause him or her to be standing there. And therefore, he or she would not be present in that location to be taken out by a drunk, or a driver even less inattentive than you, etc.

I’m sorry, I’ve been digressing. We were talking about ME weren't we?

Yeah. Me. The Offender.

I pulled over, finding that my cousin’s instruction on my cop-status-even-after-leaving-law-enforcement still remains: once a cop, always a cop. While I greatly cared about my own problem of, well, quite honestly, either paying for a ticket I couldn’t afford on the spot, or going to jail if I couldn’t or didn’t have the proper information, it was more important to me that the officer who was stopping me not be killed in doing so.

Yeah, my cousin (God rest his soul) was right. That training in stopping and being stopped really changes those who experience it. His observation, as I have now learned, goes far deeper than mere training; it goes all the way to deep respect and a true desire for the good of the other, if we are to become philosophical about this.

I also have to say that, even further, when you’ve broken the law, you know it, and you KNOW when what is happening to you is Justice.

As I waited for that Officer to approach my window, I thought hard about Justice. I knew I was caught breaking the law. It didn’t matter that I had not intended to hit such a speed. The fact was that I had not realized I was going so fast, and only that Squad had made me look, at that moment, at my speedometer. Yes, this traffic stop was objectively Just: I was breaking Wisconsin Law, and I was going to pay for it.

I watched to see how the officer would approach. She was coming up on the right (shoulder) so I closed my left window (to block traffic noise), opening the right one, my driver’s license already in hand.

She bent down and said to me, “You know I got you speeding.”

"Yeah.”

I was resigned to my fate already, wondering how I was going to pay this fine without going to jail.

I handed her my license and realized I was an idiot for not also having my insurance out, for which she had to ask. As I dug through my purse pocket, I found old insurance cards and began to panic. Was it even POSSIBLE that I did not put my current insurance in my purse??

I’d CITED people for having no insurance for that very failure!

As I, in growing panic, went through thing after thing in that pocket, my hands beginning to shake, I envisioned my car being towed in one direction while I, in handcuffs, went in another to await court the next day.

My friends, speaking as a former cop, even the most strict of MN cops did not recognize WI cops for being merciful. I’m sure they had the same opinion of us, all because of reciprocity laws.

The law is what it is. We were servants of that law....as was the Trooper at my window.

Thankfully I found my insurance card and handed it over. Then she asked me for Registration.

For those who don’t know, in Minnesota, this is sent to you by the State when it is time to purchase your tabs. There is something that is noted as a “cab card”, and that is your Registration. To be safe, when you purchase your Tabs, take everything the State sends you and keep it in your glove box to prove your Registration. Anyone can see your Tabs on your plate, but the Registration has a bit more info and is easier for a cop to see if they have to stop you when you do something dumb.

I knew mine was in my glove box…somewhere. I told her verbally where it was, knowing what it is like to stand outside that window. She gave me permission to open my glove box, and I let her get a good view before I reached into it.

I also had to tell her that I was removing my seat belt in order to better access the contents. (I did NOT need a seat-belt ticket added on to what I was certain to be paying!). She told me that was fine.

Great. I paged through a whole bunch of crap I didn’t even realize was in my glove box and couldn’t find the document. My hands were shaking, I had already said to myself, “I was IN law enforcement…I know better than this…!” (I think she heard this although I meant only to be berating myself! *embarrassing*!)

Finally she said, “That’s fine. Does your car come back to you?”

“Yes. I am the only owner, everything is current.”

I’ll never forget what she said next: “I’m only going to write you a warning today. Stay in your car and I’ll be back."

I sat back, amazed.

I am the first person I know of from Minnesota who has EVER been let go with a warning from the Wisconsin State Patrol.

She would have been well-justified in writing me a ticket, which she told me when she came back, started at $200.

I don’t know why she let me go. Had I been stopping me, I am not at all sure that I would have been so merciful. 80 in a 65 ISN'T small potatoes! That’s speeding in any state, no matter what the law. ONE mph over the limit is an objective breakage of the law.

I was over by about 15 mph.

She handed me the Warning, my license and insurance, reminded me to keep it to 65, and told me to be safe. I told her the same.

As I drove off, I pulled out my rosary and I prayed it in both thanksgiving for this great mercy, and I prayed it for the Trooper in both reparation and for her safety.

I screwed up, she caught me, and because of my actions, I put her in danger.

Don’t comment below and say that by being a Trooper she takes that risk; that’s quite obvious and actually is a really stupid comment. She doesn't go into business to ask YOU to put her in danger!

The fact is this: you and I, when we break the law, whether frivolously by mistake or intentionally out of arrogance, we both put the officer who is bound to do his or her job, in serious danger.

Danger that would not exist for them were it not for our personal actions.

If you are one of those who were ever stopped for a traffic or other offense, how did you react?

Were you arrogant? Angry? Did you wonder why they weren't stopping "REAL CRIMINALS"?

If you have broken the law, i.e., committed a crime, it means you are a criminal!Suck it up and admit it, and if you are truly a good citizen, realize that your own actions have placed another human being in danger.

If that cop died while stopping you, you’d live with that for the rest of your life.

So don’t let it happen. Ever.

If you don’t want to watch your speed for your own sake, even if you think it’s nothing to pay a ticket here and there, then think about the cop who might die just to inform you that you’re doing something stupid and should probably slow down before you kill someone.

I don’t personally know the cop who stopped me, and even if she had written me a ticket and made me pay on the spot or, had I not had documentation I legally must carry, had taken me to jail, this post would not change. (Well, it might be more interesting if she had arrested me and taken me to jail...)

But I still want to apologize to her for putting her in danger, and for that matter, the county Deputy who stopped me a few years ago when I missed a 40 mph sign in a speed trap. He was in even MORE danger because, after all, the roads were slippery and he didn’t have the buffer zone of being on an exit ramp.

I don’t know why the WI State Trooper let me go, but I do know this: I want her action to bear fruit. I want to remind people, in the name of the Wisconsin State Patrol, to keep an eye on your speed, not just for yourselves, but because of all the police officers who are willing to put themselves at risk so that others might not be killed by your stupid actions.

I took the lesson and hope it remains with me. As a cop I made traffic stops I intended to be “educative” to the driver.I am grateful to be the one receiving the education and know full well that should I breech the law again, I will not be granted another mercy.

Pray for the Police, every day. Pray for their safety, for their families who wait for them to come home at the end of their shift. Then thank God for them, for were it not for our law enforcement officers, we’d all be living in chaos.

When I was sworn in, my Mom gave me a medal, which she’d had blessed, of St. Michael the Archangel.(I don’t have it anymore as after I left, I gave it to another aspiring police officer. I also used to pray Psalm 190 every day before I went to work.

September 29 was the Feast of the Archangels, October 1st is the Feast of St. Therese of Lisieux, the Patron of Missionaries, and October 2nd is the Feast of the Guardian Angels. If Police Officers, everwhere, don’t fit into those categories (including missionary) I don’t know who does!

Please offer your prayers for those men and women who live among you, those you view with dread in your rearview mirror, and those you call 911 for when you are in need of help. Asd the intercession, for them, of the Archangels, of St. Therese, and of the Guardian Angels, for their own protection and for their ability and vocation (small “v”) to protect

And please, in your charity, pray especially for MN State Trooper, Officer Ted Foss, who was killed in a traffic stop. He was the husband of a friend and professional reference and the reason we, by law if not by common sense, pull into the opposite lane in MN if we see a squad car responding to an incident on the side of the road, be it traffic stop or accident or mere assistance to someone in need of help.





St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil.

May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;

and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host -

by the Divine Power of God -

cast into hell, satan and all the evil spirits,

who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.

Amen

Posted by Adoro at Friday, October 01, 2010

Thrift Shop by macklenmore and ryan lewis

I don't know why but I love this song.

Thought it was cool since there was no official clean radio edit video these guys (Director: Ethan Burch Directors of Photography: TJ Clounie, Matt Shouse)...did their own enjoy.




Maybe there is a little to much of me in this to not like it...

Sygyzy

Excellent article to read

Juli Adcock, a frequent commenter on this blog has written an article on Law Enforcement Today entitled, "Chris Dorner No Excuses". It's worth the read.

Link: http://lawenforcementtoday.com/2013/02/14/chris-dorner-no-excuses/

Sygyzy

In Memory of the Fallen

It totally rankles me that in our society we publish the heck out of the agents of evil and the victims quickly fade from view, remembered only by the friends and family they left behind.  I can't name one of the victims of  jeffrey dahmer, ted bundy or david berkowitz (son of sam), just to name a few.  The only one I could come up with was Sharon Tate in the manson murders.

So in an effort to keep the memory of the victims of that ex-LAPD psychopath, justly fired, alive over his memory, as much as this blog can, here are their names.

Police Officer Michael Crain
Riverside Police Department, California
End of Watch: Thursday, February 7, 2013

His Officer Down Memorial Page Link






A fund was set up for anyone wishing to make a donation to Crain's family.

Checks can be mailed to:
Riverside Police Officers Association Assistance Fund (RPOA)
1965 Chicago Ave., Suite B
Riverside, CA 92507





Detective Jeremiah MacKay
San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, California
End of Watch: Tuesday, February 12, 2013

His Officer Down Page Link






A memorial fund has been established for the MacKay family.
To contribute: Detective Jeremiah MacKay Memorial Fund, c/o SEBA, Attn: Ellen Monsalve, 735 E. Carnegie Drive, Suite 125, San Bernardino 92408.

Monica Quan and Keith Lawrence

They passed together as they were going to go through life on February 3, 2013.

In memory of the couple and to continue their legacy, the Quan and Lawrence families have established the Monica Quan and Keith Lawrence Girls Basketball Scholarship Fund. For more information, visit www.leaap.org or email lapdleaap@gmail.com.
www.leaap.org (Link)

Our prayers are with their family, friends and co-workers.

*uncapitalized names done purposefully because to capitalize them would show a sign of respect they certainly do not deserve.


“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it--always.”
― Mahatma Gandhi


Psalm 37:9
For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

sygyzy

Humor in the Locker Room

Police Humor is.........................silly
Police Humor is also a little.........rough




It is the end of the week for my shift key, the end of the duty day and there were three of us left in the locker room.  My two shift mates are in the first bay and I am alone in the second.  As we are all ripping off our gear and uniforms, the quickest way possible to get our days off time maximized, a conversation springs up between the two officers about their family plans for the weekend.  This rolls on for a little while and when it has run its course, they feel the social obligation to ask me the same question they had asked each other.

So I share with them that my two children will both be out of town at different winter camps for the weekend, making it a date night for my wife and I.  One of the two asked me for the names of the camps and I informed them that it is through my church, Harvest, for both kids.  Officers are never one to miss the opportunity for a pun and so I am asked, "So what, they are heading out to gather some corn?"

I respond, "No that's a common misnomer, what they actually do is head out into the night and harvest organs from unsuspecting citizens from different towns, pack them in ice and place them into their bathtubs with a phone on their chest with a note to call 911 as soon as they wake up.  It's what we do to fund raise.  The irony is that our biggest market for our organs is India for people missing their organs that had this happen to them and their parts shipped here.  It's the circle of life."

Then one of the two said, "Look all I was trying to do is make a simple joke about harvesting grain because of your church's name and instead I got a run down of your whole weekend."  By this time I had completed my change over to civilian clothing and walked over to their bay.  Challenged by his comment, I started breaking down my entire weekend minute by minute.

The first responded by saying, "bye, thanks, have a good weekend", and with his pants unzipped and unbuttoned hopped out of the room trying to move and get his boot on simultaneously   I followed the other one out into the hall still breaking down the weekend when he suddenly put his fingers in his ears, started transitioning between humming and yelling, "I cant hear you!".  Then with fingers in place and maintaining his humming and shouting, he sprinted up the stairs and past the roll call in progress, looking for all the world like a ten year old that doesn't want the secret revealed.

I simply got to walk to my personal car with a grin on my face.


Exodus 12:9
Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs.

Serial Killer Cops

The latest news on the attempt of California authorities to track down ex-LA PD officer Christopher Jordan Dorner after his murder spree has gotten me thinking about Serial Killer Cops (By FBI definition that is any victim count three and over at three incidents...if two or more in one place that is a spree killer).  There do not seem to be many of them out there.

Questions:

Is this due to screening processes that would preclude a pathological personality from getting onto a force to start with?

Is this due to their increased knowledge of law enforcement procedures and practices, so they are caught less?

Is this due to an element of borderline/pathological personalities not desiring to enter this field do to their internal processes?

Is this due to the common experiences of social isolation that these personality types experiences due to their no criminal actions?

If law enforcement has a unique position of detecting (a be it unknowingly) rejecting potential serial killers and routing them to another profession could this in some way be developed into a early warning system for persons that could one day become serial killers?

I think this would be an intriguing area to study in American law enforcement.

Here are some info on serial killers in law enforcement that I was able to locate.


Gerard John Schaefer (Wisconsin, March 25, 1946 – December 3, 1995) was an American serial killer from Florida. He was imprisoned in 1973 for murders he committed as a Martin County, Florida Sheriff's deputy.  While he was convicted of two murders, he was suspected of many others. Schaefer frequently appealed against his conviction, yet privately boasted — both verbally and in writing — of having murdered over 30 women and girls. (Source Wikipedia: link)

Manuel Pardo Jr.

A.K.A.: "Manny"
Classification: Spree killer
Characteristics: Former police officer
Number of victims: 9
Date of murders: January-April 1986
Date of arrest: May 7, 1986
Date of birth: September 24, 1956
Victims profile: Mario Amador, 33 / Roberto Alfonso, 28 / Luis Robledo, 37 / Ulpiano Ledo, 39 / Michael Millot, 43 / Fara Quintero, 28 / Sara Musa, 30 / Ramon Alvero, 40 / Daisy Ricard, 38
Method of murder: Shooting
Location: Florida, USA
Status: Sentenced to death on April 20, 1988. Executed by lethal injection in Florida on December 11, 2012
(Source Murderpedia link)(I know technically he is a spree killer)

And that is all I could find.

Sygyzy

Psalm 10:15
Break the arm of the wicked man; call the evildoer to account for his wickedness that would not otherwise be found out.

Honored and Humbled-Blog included in Top 25

Over at Top Criminal Justice Degrees this blog has been selected as one of the top 25 Law Enforcement Blogs for 2012!  Read through the blog list by clicking on the link above, its an honor to be included in this group, they are worth a look.

sygyzy

Shenanigans...For some reason

This has taken hold at the PD again...been acted out in the locker room, at roll call, on the street and car to car.  This movie is the Rocky Horror Picture Show for my department.  Enjoy.  IF YOU CAN!*

* Say in that deep voice of the movie preview announcer guy...


Job 8:21
He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.

The other side of Gun ownership

The link to the article I found on Policy Mic

       The Link to James Street's Web Site

The following is a quick article I found on Policy Mic that is just one example of positive legal gun ownership.

Oregon Gun Owner Stops Clackamas Shooting Spree, Proving Guns Save Lives

• James Street
• in
• Politics,
• Guns
• 2 months ago

Since no crisis can be allowed to go to waste, never expect the media to do anything other than demand more gun control legislation any time a whacko (or a patsy) kills people with a gun. Case in point: on Tuesday night, a complete idiot walked into a Portland, Oregon mall and began firing. Obviously the shooter, Jacob Roberts, was an imbecile to start with, since he managed to kill only two people before turning a gun on himself, but that's not the whole story.

As it turns out, 22-year-old Nick Meli was at the mall, and walking with his friend and their friend's son. Nick said: "I heard three shots and turned and looked at Casey and said, 'are you serious?'" Nick then directed his friend to a safe location and took up a position behind a pillar away from the shooter.

The anti-gun types would suggest that this man call the police and watch the shooter kill a dozen or more people until the cops finally showed up. Nick had other ideas. Being a legal Concealed Carry permit holder in the State of Oregon, Nick determined that he should try to prevent more deaths. He said: "[The shooter] was working on his rifle, he kept pulling the charging handle and hitting the side," as the shooter dealt with a jammed gun.

Nick drew down on the shooter as they made eye contact, and Nick prepared to fire. However, he determined (like any conscious firearms owner should) that there were other people behind Roberts, and his shot was not safe.

The only shot fired after this point was Roberts taking his own life. What could have ended as tragically as the school shooting in Connecticut ended much less tragically, with only two innocent people dead instead of 29.

Of course, the media completely ignored the part that Nick Meli played in this situation, but that's to be expected from an anti-gun, pro-government media. However, it must be recognized that guns DO save lives, and citizens with firearms DO take the necessary precautions not to harm more people.

This could be contrasted with the recent police shooting in New York where the cops on the scene were responsible for nine bystanders being wounded.

There are many people in Portland, Oregon, who are alive today most likely because of Nick Meli possessing a concealed firearm. One could only wish for such an outcome yesterday in Connecticut.

This article originally appeared at JamesLStreet.com.

sygyzy

Milwaukee County Sheriff David A Clarke Jr

The following video is from an interview with Milwaukee County Sheriff David A Clarke Jr.  He is saying what I have been telling friends and family for years.  The gap between when we can get there and what could be done to you is huge.  You can't always prevent victimization, there is simply evil people out there that commit  random horrific acts but what you can do is lessen the level to which you suffer.  This is the reality of modern policing in a rescission economy...you need to learn to protect yourself till we can get there to help...help not prevent.  Sheriff Clarke states this position well.

The video

Deuteronomy 33:7
And this he said about Judah:“Hear, Lord, the cry of Judah; bring him to his people. With his own hands he defends his cause. Oh, be his help against his foes!”

Mustaches and Morale



Not a good look

 One of our officers is retiring after 25+ years on the job.  He has spent almost his entire career with a "Freddy Mercury" style thick mustache in place above his lip and under his nose.  As a tribute to him all of us at the PD has dedicated the month of January to him and in varying degrees of success (after weeks I have the beginnings of a mustache...the pejorative "porn star" keeps getting bandied about) we have all grown out our stashes.  It is not a good overall look, but it shows we care.

This is just a simple behind the scenes glimpse.




Psalm 126:2

Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.”

Gangnam Style Continues to Roll Through Cultural America

A couple of videos.  A U of O parody that is really well done, the Saturday Night live sketch with PSY's appearance and another song I found that I liked from him called "Champion".  Consider the band wagon jumped on...

The Saturday Night Live Sketch (Never thought I would reference them)



Champion by PSY

The Little Things

I had a great time as a TFO and now back in Patrol I am struggling to stay focused and motivated.  The needle is starting to slip from "gruntled"  to "disgruntled".  God is in charge and his ways are always good.  I know when I look back at this time in my life I will see where he has stretched me, challenged me, grown me and fulfilled all his promises.  But right now, it is quite a task to maintain joy on the way into and back from work.

It is strange, it is the little things and not just the big things, I miss.  While no one would want to hear this "war story" the following video was part of my commute into work back in those days.  I always just thought it just was a cool length of street that I would never have traveled if I did not have to go to the Feb office.  It is nowhere near my department.  So its kind of a marker of where I was and where I am no longer.  I miss that street.

Psalm 105:8
He remembers his covenant forever, the promise he made, for a thousand generations,

Burglar Alarm Info-Gram

From: HomeInsurance.org