black lives matter

Chaos Reigns in Sacramento

Matt15 Comments

On Sunday March 18, 2018, two Sacramento Police officers shot and killed a man.  The young man, Stephon Clark, was a 22 (or 23 depending on the source) year old black man, who was not armed.  To listen to Black Lives Matter or the deceased man’s family, you would think he was a fine upstanding young man, a pillar of society, who was seated in his backyard praying when two racist cops burst into the yard and shot him without an ounce of provocation.  Some news outlets referred to him as a “stay at home dad” and talked about how he was a “loving father who was turning his life around.”  To say the headlines were incendiary is an understatement.

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Despite what Black Lives Matter, the mainstream media and many of the ‘protesters’ would have you believe, Clark was not an innocent young man who played no role in his own demise.  He was a multiple time convicted felon, with priors for robbery, drugs, domestic violence, human trafficking, and illegal possession of a gun.  He was indeed the father of two kids, whom he did not have custody of.  He was staying with his grandmother crashing at his grandmother’s from time to time after his most recent release from jail approximately one month before he was killed.

Even the ultra-liberal Sacramento Bee was forced to admit that Clark was not the angel that protesters are portraying when they said the following.  Bear in mind, these are only charges that were filed against him since he turned 18, which is just four (4) short years.

“A search of Sacramento Superior Court records found four related cases for a Stephan Alonzo Clark. The most recent were two felony counts of domestic abuse, to which Clark – who preferred to go by the name Stephon – pleaded guilty and agreed to complete a treatment program. The court record also shows a 2008 robbery charge, and charges in 2013 for possession of a firearm and possession of a controlled substance.”

On the night that Clark was killed, he was seen breaking into parked cars by a neighbor who called 911.  Sacramento Police units responded, as did the Sacramento Sheriff’s helicopter.  Upon locating him, the helicopter observed him breaking into a home by smashing out a rear window to the home.  After doing that, he fled on foot, jumped a fence into the backyard of another home, where he began walking toward the street.  About half way to the street, he was contacted by a Sacramento Police officer who told him to stop and show his hands.  Clark instead turned and ran back into the backyard of the home.  The original officer and one other chased him into the backyard and as they rounded the corner, they saw Clark across the yard reportedly pointing something at them.  The officers thought is was a gun, as is evidenced both by they shouting “gun” on the body camera video, but also based on their actions as viewed from the helicopter FLIR footage.  Seconds later, as Clark moved toward the officers, they opened fire shooting him.  He died from his wounds.  No gun was found on him, but a cell phone was.  They determined he was apparently holding the cellphone which the officers mistook for a gun.

Since that shooting happened, there have been ‘protests’ nearly every day in downtown Sacramento.  At one point, ‘protesters’ marched onto northbound Interstate 5 and stopped traffic.  They climbed onto vehicle and vandalized CHP cars that responded.  Twice in the same week, they surrounded the Golden One Center, where the Sacramento Kings play, and prevented attendees from entering the arena for a game.  After the first incident, the Kings even made a public statement in which they espoused solidarity with the protesters, even wearing warm up jerseys with Clark’s name on them, but that did not dissuade the ‘protesters’ from shutting down another game the next day.

However, before those ‘protesters’ marched to the Golden One Center, they first overran an open to the public Sacramento City Council meeting where they acted like complete buffoons, with Stevante Clark (the dead guy’s brother) strutting around and jumping up onto the dais, getting right into the pandering Mayor Steinberg’s face and screaming at him.  He continued by fronting off the Chief of Police and declaring that Steinberg is no longer the mayor.  It was a total sh!t show, and luckily for us, CBS 13 was good enough to put the complete, unedited video of it on their YouTube channel.

Finally, after nearly six (6) minutes of total loss of control, Steinberg announced a 15 minute recess, that way he would not be present when the cops cleared out the rabble.  After all, forcing people who cannot follow the rules out of the building would not be very inclusive of him…

Later, the group of protesters that were forced from City Hall marched down the street where they proceeded to shut down the Kings game as I previously mentioned.  The open public city council meeting resumed and, while most of the speakers I saw appeared to be educated and well spoken, many of their comments seemed only partially if at all related to the topic that they were supposedly there to discuss.  As the night continued, the speakers became more and more unhinged, and eventually the whole thing was shut down more than two hours early as police made an arrest or two and had to forcefully remove others.  Steinberg’s hands off, open dialogue policy is not remotely working, just like hands off policies never do.

At one point during the multiple hours long open public council meeting, one of the people speaking asked the audience to pull out their cell phones and point them at the mayor.  One of the ‘protesters’ in attendance obliged and was captured on camera doing so.  Now, I would like to personally thank this man for proving a point that many people have tried to make, that given the proper pose, as exemplified by this man, in the dark of night while chasing a man who was seen breaking into cars and a house, you round a corner and see something similar to this, it can be quite easy to mistake a man pointing a cell phone at you as someone pointing a gun at you.

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Black Lives Matter Sacramento has promised that their protest’s will continue at least through Clark’s funeral, which now boasts the Reverend race baiter extraordinaire Al Sharpton as the guest speaker who will provide the eulogy.

While it has been largely under/unreported by the media, these ‘protests’ have not been as peaceful as some would have you believe.  While they have by no means devolved into what happened in Ferguson or Baltimore, there have been numerous violent felonies committed.  ‘Protesters’ violently attacked a counter protester (cop supporter) outside of the Golden One center.  ‘Protesters’ surrounded multiple different police vehicles as they left the Sacramento jail, which happens to be located in downtown Sacramento.  In fact, an officer from an outside agency reportedly called for Code 3 cover as they got surrounded while trying to leave.  ‘Protesters’ attacked a woman who was driving down the street because she did not want to stop for their ‘protest,’ and in my opinion, she was well within her rights as those ‘protesters’ are breaking multiple laws when they flood the street and prevent people from freely travelling where they so choose.

In fact, I would argue that legally speaking, those protesters are committing a false imprisonment of every single motorist they have trapped.  The police should be arresting every one of those fools, but instead they are treating them with kid gloves.

If you want to protest, I fully support your right to do so, but your rights do not trump those of people who are completely uninvolved in the matter.  You do not get to commit crimes just because you are angry.  Letting these ‘protesters’ continue to act like this reminds me of parents of that spoiled rotten kid who is flopping around on the floor having a temper tantrum while the parents offer them bribes to stop acting like that.  What that spoiled brat needs is a smack on the ass, and that is what these ‘protesters’ need also.  Law and order applies to all people equally and cares not about skin color.  It is time the people in charge in Sacramento start enforcing the law instead of making excuses for a group of law breakers just because of their skin color.

Oh yeah, by the way, those two racist cops who shot the poor innocent church going choir boy I mentioned at the start of this, one of them just happens to be black…  Maybe, just maybe, this shooting had nothing to do with race and everything to do with the dead guy being a criminal doing stupid criminal things.

And just in case no one is aware, there are actually guns disguised to look just like a cell phone.  In fact, the department I work for has sent out officer safety bulletins describing them and included pictures of them, just like the picture of the .380ACP cell phone gun below.

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If you were previously unaware of the cell phone gun, take 45 seconds and watch this clip (starts at 4:44 mark just in case the link doesn’t work properly).  The guys in this video is pretty much foresaw exactly what happened in this situation.

For those who have not seen the video of the shooting, I include the raw footage of the incident from both officer’s body cameras and the helicopter’s FLIR footage in the following video where I breakdown the shooting.

Remember, Cops Are The Problem With America

Matt1 Comment

Or so the many supporters of Colin Kaepernick would have you believe.

Yesterday, the news that GQ Magazine named Kaepernick their “Citizen of the Year” hit social media, and needless to say, much of America let out a collective “WTF?”

When I heard the news and saw the cover, I shared my disgust on both my FB page and on Twitter.  Twitter being what it is, I got a few replies that were not in agreement with my opinion.  That is to be expected, as not everyone has the same opinions as I do, but one of those responses lead to a “conversation” that is the epitome of what is ailing the United States currently.

This was my initial Tweet:

  What follows is the “conversation” that leaves me with serious questions about our future:

My response to that, which included retweeting it:

And it went rapidly downhill from there…

But lest we not forget, since I am calling Kaepernick out for his bullshit, that apparently means I am racist and want all blacks to die…

Apparently, according to this delightful individual, who is “Just a sexy, sophisticated, educated, charming, complicated kinda woman,” I said the Black Panther Party was racist.

While I never said anything of the sort, that is indeed factually correct, so I thought I would point that out to her.

In response, she dumbfoundingly calls the Southern Poverty Law Center “a racist bigot” because they have identified the New Black Panther Party as a racist hate group.

It was at this point that I realized that this person is definitely not firing on all cylinders. While I am no fan of the Southern Poverty Law Center, because they lean very far to the left and falsely identify a great number of conservative groups as hate groups, they most definitely are not a “racist bigot,” and the fact that this self-proclaimed “educated” person doesn’t know that, their supposed education is now being called into question. At this point, I attempted to bow out, albeit not gracefully.

But wait, how did I miss that? Did she just demand I show her where I did NOT do something???? Let me reread that. Yep, that is exactly what she said.

And at that point, it devolved into just insults and name calling, but my favorite is when she said she hopes I get killed in the line of duty. She has since deleted that tweet, but not to worry as I screen grabbed it.

So, thinking I was done with her, I carried on with life, only to check in on Twitter later in the night to find that now only is she a cop hating racist bigot, but apparently she is homophobic as well. Apparently, realizing she again screwed up, she has since deleted that Tweet too, but again, not a problem as I also saved it.  

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Then, when I point that out, she tried to put that on me, while simultaneously continuing her cop hating tirade.

It was at this point that I completely gave up, and since she was not going to let it go, I blocked her.

But, life is sometimes like a train wreck, and it begs you to look at the disaster, and so I did. I checked her Twitter feed this morning to see what other nuggets of wisdom she may have let fly during the night, aaaaaaaaand I was not disappointed.

But hey, remember folks, the cops are the problem here in the United States. It has nothing to do with the cop hating racists that continue to propagate the lies pushed by Black Lives Matter…

In all seriousness, how are we supposed to combat the blatant lies tearing this country apart when people like this actively dismiss information provided to them, and do nothing but project their racism onto others?

This is not just about the “Lioness of Judah” and other racist blacks, because there are plenty of backwards ass, idiotic racist whites too. I’m at a loss for how to effectively deal with them.

These people are the problem with the US.

These people are dragging us all down.

Media Ignoring Facts They Reported To Make Cops Look Bad

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Fox40

On February 25, 2017, three police officers from the small city of Rocklin, CA shot and killed a man in an absolutely justified shooting.  The district attorney just officially confirmed the same when they announced that no charges will be filed on the officers because the shooting was justified.  And that is where the story should end.

BUT the anti-cop media and Black Lies Matter will not let it go as they seem to be contending that the cops shot Lorenzo Cruz for no reason, and then are covering it up.  After all, look at the poor young man in the tuxedo, he would not do anything wrong… (seriously, I searched via google and the ONLY pictures I can find of Lorenzo Cruz are this one, in the tux)

“Rocklin police officers who shot and killed a man after a February confrontation have been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing.

The Placer County District’s Attorney’s office announced their decision not to pursue any charges against the officers Thursday.

However, the matter is far from resolved, according to activists who showed up at the Rocklin Police Department with a list of demands.”  

Those are the first three lines from that story about the outcome of the shooting.  To those who have been following this shooting, this was the expected outcome because it was a textbook case of a justified shooting.  However, to the media and their favorite trouble makers, Black Lives Matter (henceforth referred to as Black Lies Matter), it is far from over.

”‘He’s a compassionate person, he’s never stolen anything, never been in trouble with the law, it doesn’t make since that he’d go from not doing anything wrong to breaking into someone’s house at 10 in the morning,’ said Faison.”

Let’s just take a quick look at that pile of horse shit being shoveled by Faison, the Black Lies Matter representative.  I will refute her statement with information that has long been available to the public, via the media, and none of it has been denied.

“Police first encountered Cruz when they attempted to stop his vehicle for expired registration, according to the District Attorney’s letter. Cruz drove off at high speed. (Expired Registration – I, Evading Police – M/F) Officers determined a pursuit would cause too much risk to motorists and other people in the area, but they obtained a description of the vehicle and the license plate number.” –Sacramento Bee

Having personal knowledge of Rocklin PD’s pursuit policy, it would have been a clear violation of their policy to pursue Cruz in this situation.  That said, it can very well be argued that had they pursued him and apprehended him, NONE of the things that occurred later in the day, culminating in Cruz being shot, may not have ever occurred.  I would argue that the very restrictive pursuit policies, like Rocklin’s, those very policies that are pushed by liberal, anti-cop politicians, are the very reason more people are victims of crime, like the people who were victimized by Cruz later that day.

Continuing on with Cruz’s crime spree that day…

“Police later received a 911 call from a resident reporting that the same man was behaving in a bizarre manner and had rammed his vehicle into a gate in a residential neighborhood. (Felony Vandalism – F, Hit & Run crash – M) Witnesses reported that they were confronted by the man, and described him as angry and aggressive.

One witness reported that Cruz first attempted to enter his home through a sliding glass door, then broke a glass laundry room door and entered the home. Cruz reportedly retreated when the homeowner confronted him with a weapon. (Burglary – F)

Cruz then got into a neighbor’s vehicle and attempted to flee (Attempted Vehicle Theft – F), but was confronted by the three Rocklin police officers.”

Thus far, at a minimum we have documented one infraction, two misdemeanors (one which could possibly have been a felony), and three felonies.  But yeah, I can see how if I was a Black Lies Matter person, that could totally be seen as “not doing anything wrong.”  But hey, we aren’t done yet.

“When officers located Cruz and ordered him to surrender, he failed to comply and officers saw he had what appeared to be a firearm. Cruz was shot when he pointed the weapon at one of the officers. (Brandishing a Weapon – M)

Police later determined that the gun was a replica firearm that had been painted silver to look like a real gun, according to police.”

So, we can add two more crimes, a misdemeanor for brandishing a weapon and one which resulted in his being shot, felony stupid (the act of doing something so stupid it gets you killed – not a real crime).

Now that the DA has made their announcement, Black Lies Matter stepped in and presented a list of utterly moronic demands.  Personally, I am sick and tired of these juvenile, petulant idiots who completely ignore the culpability a person has in their own demise in order to put ALL the fault on the cops.

“Thursday, Black Lives Matter presented a list of demands to the Rocklin Police Department including: release of the police report and all video of the incident, charges brought against the officers involved, a community investigation, monetary compensation for Cruz’s family, and an apology from city officials.”

The proper response to those requests is “pound sand,” but in the politically correct world in which we live, where elected officials more often than not bend to the will of those who scream the loudest, I suspect we will see some capitulation.

Look, I feel for the family and friends of Cruz.  Sometimes we really don’t know the people we think we know.  I’ve been in those shoes.  A man I spent months working with, in the same car, a man I’d known 20 years, a man I called a friend, was arrested on very serious charges.  I get being upset, I get being blindsided.  I get being confused and angry.  I really do.

BUT, don’t blame the cops; blame the person who did the acts, blame the person who deceived you.

In the case of Cruz, friends, family and Black Lies Matter would have you believe that not only are the rotten, evil police lying to cover up their shooting of “another innocent POC” (person of color), but the cops also successfully convinced numerous private citizens to aid them by manufacturing all the incidents that lead up to Cruz’s shooting.  Oh yeah, the cops also apparently mastered time travel and successfully went back in time to create the original failed contact / pursuit in an attempt to bolster their story.

Seriously, what version of this makes more sense?  That friends and family of Cruz either did not know about his criminal behavior, or that they are ignoring it OR  that the cops shot Cruz and are covering it up?

It is long past time for the public to start demanding honesty from our “news” sources.  They have all turned into tabloids, running whatever story will get the most traffic.  They push known lies for the sake of the story and they give a voice to people who are blatantly lying because doing so makes them money.  None of that is acceptable.

From the Mind of a Third Grader

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While the Dallas Terrorist attack was being televised live my eight year old daughter became horrified and asked her mother over and over if Daddy was there. My wife tried to explain afterwards about racism, what it meant and why those Officers were being shot at. It was a very difficult discussion and we spoke about it at length everyday. After the President gave his speech at the Dallas Memorial my daughter was left with even more confusion. She wanted to know why the President didn’t like the Police. These are not words I prompted her with but even she saw through the false empathy. My wife suggested she write a letter to the president explaining how she felt.

My daughter edited her letter multiple times and the original told the President that: “He should dislike the bad guys more, the bad guys who do drugs and hurt children.” I thought this was profound but she wanted to erase it because she felt they were truly not her own words but inspired by her parents. She eventually changed the ending of the letter to simply state “Police are good!” This is meaningful not just for me, but for all Law Enforcement out there, our children will listen to what we are teaching them so let us try and teach them the truth whenever possible. If we let the state raise our children the result is chaos.

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Obviously I am biased here because I speak of my own child but I could not be more proud. After asking all of the appropriate questions over the last week and coming to her own conclusions she hit the nail on the head with deadly accuracy. Of course the president doesn’t have a great reputation in my household and I won’t ignore the fact that her words are ultimately inspired by my own lessons but isn’t that the point? Aren’t we supposed to foster critical thought in our young?

As a cop I’ve been taught to write at the fourth grade level which is extremely difficult for me yet this is third grade writing in its purest form. It speaks plainly to the message she wants to portray “my Daddy is good” and she is insulted by our leader believing anything otherwise. She feels strongly enough about it to mail this letter to the President and is hopeful for a response. The very idea that I or any of my partners would treat someone differently because of the color of their skin does not fit into her logic. She simply doesn’t believe this is true because she has not seen or heard of it. This is the danger of promoting false narratives.

Perhaps we could all learn from the third grade vantage point and learn to observe what is directly in front of us instead of focusing on the imaginary. We as a people can learn many lessons by simplifying the facts and acting on our own logic, deciding what the “truth” is by seeing this for ourselves. If I were a bigot and a racist she would know about it because it is not something you can hide from your own children. The obvious truth in her mind is vastly different from how the President views the world. What experiences has he had which causes him to believe in a universal falsehood that gives rise to racism in cops where it seldom exists?2

Our politicians need to leave their safe, upper class neighborhoods and mansions and view the world for what it truly is. I encourage President Obama to do a ride along with any lawman in any state and think about the things he witnesses. Any of you who are in doubt should also do this, perhaps some of your  questions would be answered and the world would reveal itself for how it truly exists in this realm, not the illusory world politicians speak of. Learn from the simple logic of a fourth grader and stop confusing the simple truth of the world. Racism is indeed real but where is it most prominent? Experience this issues from a wider vantage point if you can. Contact your local law enforcement agency and ask them about a ride along, you will be enlightened.

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Law Enforcement Diplomats

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Social media is an interesting armchair style warrior. Lots of opinions and sometimes zero experience or knowledge on a subject. The problem is we Cops don’t always know what someone else might have experienced or what their personal Law Enforcement story is. One reader today regarded this page as a “circle jerk LEO” page which made me remember something. Cops aren’t just Cops anymore we are Diplomats and Ambassadors to society. There is a certain responsibilitiy which goes along with the ideal and is inclusive in the duties of a Law Enforcement Officer.

People who are not cops and have never been cops might never fully understand every facet of our calling. Why become angry with those who are under a differing opinion? Obviously it’s ridiculous to think that Law Enforcement Officers are all racially motivated or on the flip side of the coin that we are all “the right hand of the democratic party’s agenda.” Ignorance can be bliss but I would rather enlighten than insult. All may not be enlightened I realize yet in some occasions it is well worth the extra effort which may benefit the Police Reputation.

1I teach my children to ask questions and not simply obey commands given to them by someone claiming to be a leader. I also teach my children to be respectful in the asking of those questions and most importantly to listen to the answer and make their own determination. When people put forth ridiculous ideas regarding cops we should seek to answer those accusations with logic and truth. We can also do it diplomatically if the misguided person isn’t too hostile. We may not reach all using this method but less will also be turned away.

When working the streets I usually allowed the public to ask any question they wanted, so long as it was safe at the time for me to do so. In one particular incident I had made a felony arrest on a subject with a warrant. Several people came out of the buildings nearby and began yelling at me. I feared they would surround me so while I was mentally prepared to kill all of them if needed, I also politely told them to give me a minute and promised to answer their questions.

I put the bad guy in the back seat of my car and secured him safely while asking for a cover unit. The potential mob was still angry but at a safe distance. Once my cover partner arrived I had him keep an eye on my prisoner and I approached the group with a smile. I asked what questions they had and It turned out these people were relatives of the man in my car, or so they claimed to be. It really didn’t matter, at this point I felt a small obligation to attempt an explanation as to why in their eyes “the government was taking away their friend for no reason.”

It was calmly explained I had a warrant for his arrest, explained the booking process and provided information on how they could contact the jail to schedule a 3visit with the subject. I was then asked about the court process, this time they were much less angry in asking the question. I explained the court process and the likelihood the subject would be in jail until his first hearing which would probably occur on the following Tuesday. I was thanked profusely by most of the group and they returned to their homes. One guy even tried to give me a hug and stated: “now that’s respect.”

Later in the day I had a discussion with my partner who told me it was pointless for me to address the small group. I explained I had only done this when it was safe to do so yet he believed I was wasting my time. It was difficult for me at the time to articulate my reasons for doing so but in short I told him this particular neighborhood might be more cooperative with Law Enforcement in the future if we treated them with a little more respect. I tell this story because I believe it is not a waste of time to explain circumstances which the public may not fully understand. Hell, the whole point of writing here is to hopefully enlighten and educate not just to complain. Otherwise our words only serve to rally those who are supportive and turn away those who may be on the fence.

I started a text conversation with one of my favorite and most trusted beat partners regarding this subject and he summed it up quickly and accurately while heading out the door. In a short text message which took him less than a minute to write he hit the nail on the head and went on to prove my point here. Examine the following text message:

“I think we have a responsibility to speak rationally and logically when we speak for the side of law enforcement. It becomes obvious that we are cops in these discussions, so why portray ourselves as irrational asshats. We both know that law enforcement officers in general are not out there hunting minorities and just trying to f with people, but there are people out there who legitimately think otherwise. We have legitimate arguments which carry serious weight. I think we do us and the real issues a huge disservice when we just yell and down talk people. I think some people start seeing the validity of our points when we calmly explain them.”

 

Sterling, Black Lives Matter & Dallas

MattNo Comments

Last night very crappy night for law enforcement and for gun owners, because I guarantee gun grabbers will try to use this incident to push gun control.

Let’s start at the beginning.

Tuesday morning July 5, Alton Sterling was shot and killed by two white cops in Louisiana early.

Let’s take a quick look at what we know about that shooting, which happened to be captured in 2 separate cell phone videos.  Sterling was a 37 year old black man who was currently on probation.  He was a convicted sex offender (sex with a minor).  Had priors for domestic battery, unauthorized entry, aggravated battery, criminal damage to property, and for failing to register as a sex offender.  He had served 5 years in prison for possession of drugs and an illegal gun.

At the time of the incident, he was selling CDs in front of a convenience store where he got into an altercation with someone, during which he pulled out a gun prompting someone to call the cops.

He was physically described by the caller to the cops.

The cops got there and contacted Sterling because he matched the description.  Sterling refused to comply, got tased twice, then tackled.

During the physical struggle with the two officers, one officer discovered the gun in Sterling’s pocket and announced “he’s got a gun!”

The other officer drew his gun and pointed it at sterling and said “hey bro, you fucking move and I swear to God!”

Sterling continued to fight, and in one of the two videos he can be seen reaching toward his right hip despite the officer attempting to control his hand.

The officer fires, shooting him several times, in the chest, not the head as many have claimed.  Immediately after the shooting, in one of the 2 videos, one of the cops can be seen removing a gun from Sterling’s right front pants pocket.

So, let’s get this straight, this is the asshole, an idiot who played a huge roll in his own demise, that Black Lives Matter has decided to defend and protest for.

13567231_114040665696326_8712523002262218402_nBlack Lives Matter social media accounts blew up again.  They began screaming about the racist cops murdering another young black man.  All the normal BS.
At 11:10 am on July 6th, this image was posted on Facebook.

I first saw it 5 hours after it had been posted.  I reported it and I shared it on my FB page asking folks to help get it removed.

It has been reported thousands of times over the last several days, yet Facebook refuses to remove it saying it does not violate the community standards against promoting violence.

FB2Are you freaking kidding me???  How does that image, an image depicting one person
standing behind another, and cutting that person’s throat with a knife, how does that possibly NOT violate those standards?

Then last night, July 7, Dallas police were working a Black Lives Matter protest, because as we all know, nothing could possibly go wrong at a Black Lives Matter protest.

This was a protest for Alton Sterling.

Four gunmen, completely unprovoked, opened fire on the cops.  In total, 10 cops were shot, and at this time, 5 of them have died.

Yet, despite all the bullshit rhetoric spewed by all the racist, cop haters from the lowliest Black Lives Matter moron all the way up to Barack Obama, those horrible evil cops, who just had 5 of their brothers murdered, they took the 3 of the 4 suspects into custody, alive, resisting every urge that I know they had, to end those worthless sacks of crap where they stood.  The fourth died in a shootout with the cops.

I really am at a loss for words to describe how I feel right now.

First, Black Lives Matter is a terrorist group.  They meet every single criteria for it as laid out by the FBI.  The following is the FBI’s definition of terrorism:

“The unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.”

It is about damned time they officially be labeled as a terrorist organization.

Secondly, Facebook needs to be held culpable in the deaths of those officers.  Their complete refusal to remove images and posts calling for the murder of police allowed the people who committed this act to spread their agenda.  Facebook is helping terrorists spread their agenda.  They need to be held accountable.

Lastly, President Obama bears some guilt in this whole situation as well.  He has fanned the flames of cop hate and racism since he took office.  Hell, a few months ago, he had invited members of Black Lives Matter to the white house where he praised them.  Just yesterday, he was publicly commenting about the Alton Sterling shooting.  How long until we hear him make a statement denouncing Black Lives Matter?  How long until we hear him name these officers who were murdered in cold blood by a group of racist black men?  I’m sure as hell not holding my breath.  That is a long wait for a train that history tells me aint coming.

The nature of The Deputy

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Courtroom oath

As a patrol Deputy I always insisted on the public doing ride a longs with a law enforcement officer whenever possible. This practice was heavily advocated because of the difficulties I had in explaining the multifaceted angles of the profession.  Today a friend of mine was speaking with me about a tragic ordeal she both endured and participated in and I remarked about the horrific and wonderful strangeness of the profession. It is true that molecularly each human individual awakes as a physically “different” person each day. I propose The Deputy awakes conceptually or even spiritually different as a person each day.

As a blanket rule, Deputies do not believe in blanket rules so this multifaceted and angular description can only poke small holes into the container which preserves the entire essence of the topic, yet this is endeavored upon in multiple parts here. While certain examples are used, this is not meant to be a collection of cop stories or law enforcement accomplishments nor is it meant to be used as a political tool in any way. My intent is to simply educate and deduce.

Part 1:  The Bonding Pear
Having taught from time to time at the Sheriff’s Academy I see new recruits entering in to the profession from a perspective of naivety as to what kind of career they are embarking upon. As if looking through a foggy (and perhaps somewhat cracked) mirror I have delighted in realizing once again the varied backgrounds of each individual who believe they desire the job of “Protecting and Serving.”

From all walks of life, we get pilots, ex-military, bartenders, hairstylists, stay at home mothers, college students, college professors, doctors,  scientists and youthful wide eyed teenagers to name a few. They all desire to do something more with their life. The first few days of an Academy class are always awkward as each participant attempts to find a way to bond with others who are so different from themselves. As the Academy progresses individuals learn to function as more efficient groups and begin to motivate each other through various intensive training and testing procedures.

As the recruits learn laws, ground combat, defensive driving, report writing, firearms proficiency and physical education they begin to develop the muscle memory which ultimately kicks in when the body produces excess adrenaline. One might become top of the class in a certain area of instruction yet it does little to prepare the recruit for the actual work. If these skill sets can be learned at a fundamental level, the recruit moves into much more intensive training in the field. It is the field where many people, after witnessing the realities and cruelties of life choose to pursue other work.

In the beginning, it is ensured that Deputies plant the bonds of partnership deep within fertile soil. It was put to me years ago in the Academy that if one did not possess a certain “fire” in the belly, succeeding as a Law Enforcement Professional would be difficult. Within the same speech I was also told if I thought I could get through the academy or field training without the help of others then I was stupid. Deputies do almost nothing alone. We have each other read arrest reports, we bounce ideas off one another during complex investigations, we show up for each other when the potential for trouble exists and we offer a brotherly nod when a good job has been done.

Entire novels, psychological studies, endless theorems and both good and terrible television series and movies have attempted to capture the essence of what Law enforcement is. In an effort to demonstrate the temperament of such circumstances and shed light upon the greater existence, certain “stories” must be told. Those beginning bonds which took root within the elementary training environments ultimately yield the fruit of emotional and physical survival in various ways.  If those seeds have not taken root however, The Deputy is, for the lack of a better term, in a bad way. I thank God for those more experienced officers who came so quick to help me before I understood the overall predicament placed upon me.

I can recall, once while I was relatively new to the job and enjoying some personal relief within the heavily graphitized resting area of a gas station, a clerk shrieked to me about someone being shot across the street. While zipping up I remember thinking to myself how important the situation must have been to have the female clerk run screaming into the men’s bathroom while an armed, stone faced Deputy Sheriff in a black uniform urinated in a supposed secure environment.

I walked outside to look across the street and indeed witnessed a mob of people doing…who knows what. I am still not certain to this day what the angry group of people were doing because most of them ran away when I arrived. It didn’t strike me until much later, but the weight and authority of driving by myself in emergency status to a shooting where an angry mob gathered was much more than I could bear psychologically at the time. The thoughts of what could have happened always come much later, sometimes years later.

I remember calling for my partners immediately. Some of them were guys I didn’t quite get along with and others had pulled me aside to specifically tell me they flat out did not like me. Each one still came, and when they arrived upon chariots of salvation they came bearing fruit from those trees long planted.  I had never tasted fear and relief at the same time yet this was the overwhelming flavor. The fruit nourishes and helps to grow, even at times when it has a rotten appearance or taste. Without it, no Deputy could survive during, after or even before a significantly stressful incident.

Situations like having to kill someone, watching someone die, attempting CPR on an infant, rescuing a half burned corpse from a burning car, or attempting to bring order to chaos after an intoxicated teenager has killed the driver of another vehicle. Events such as these provide nightmares to The Deputy either immediately or many years after the fact. The events cannot be erased and they become part of The Deputy; forever to be carried upon high shoulders along with the radio, shotgun, rifle, Taser, baton, gloves, keys, chemical spray and medical kits. Deputies become weary yet they are always sustained by the fruit.

Put Up or Shut Up!

Matt2 Comments

** Language Warning – explicative filled rant to follow **

The comments below are based on the following news story video regarding an officer involved shooting that happened December 12, 2015 involving the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.

The full news story can be found here.

FFS, I am getting so sick of all this bullshit! Take your hurt feelings and your uneducated opinions and shove them up your ass!

An armed man was firing his weapon which lead to the cops being called. Cops get there and confront said armed man, who some witnesses say fired at the cops at some point. Cops shoot armed man after he continues walking toward crowded gas station with his handgun, while ignoring all commands by the cops. Armed man gets hit, goes to ground, but continues moving toward gas station, so cops shoot him until he stops.

The people in this news video are screaming injustice and all kinds of other bullshit. But holy fuck, can you imagine what they would be yelling if the cops had let that armed man walk into that gas station and start shooting people? Is there some set number of times we are allowed to shoot an armed subject?

The cops shot an armed fucking criminal who was just firing his weapon! What the fuck are you complaining about you ignorant morons!?!?!

The solution is really fucking simple, don’t commit crime and you don’t have to worry about being intentionally shot by the cops. If you choose to ignore that piece of advice, then when the cops do show up, drop any weapon you may have and do what you are told. If you fail to follow that advice, you best expect to get your ass shot!

Look, unless you are 1) willing to don the uniform and show us how to do this, or 2) have actual experience doing the job, your uneducated, inexperienced opinion equates to exactly shit. Put up or shut up!
-Matt

The comments above are what I originally posted on Facebook, but I would like to add a giant “fuck you!” to the news station themselves.  Take a look at the differences in the images they used in their news story.  The cops are standing there both pointing their guns, but the suspect is posing with a very young little girl (hint, he was a nice guy and was kind to children and the cops are armed murderers).  Was it possible for them to use a screen capture from the very same video that shows the dead criminal holding his gun?  Of course it was, but they did not do that.

03
Fuck You KTLA 5! Race baiting, cop hatred stirring media mother fuckers!

Until the media stops fanning the flames of cop hate and racial discrimination, we are screwed!
-Matt

What Kind of World Do We Really Want?

Princess UnikittyNo Comments

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Last week a professor at Yale University (another college I would never send my children to) was shouted down by a student who felt this professor had not done enough to create a safe and comfortable environment for her.  Besides her profane tirade, she spoke to this man, this professor, and her elder in such a disrespectful tone I had to wonder first, where did she learn to treat others this way and second, who, in the real world, would want to work with her or better yet, have her as an employee?  Then I started to wonder…what is the real world anymore?

I have had jobs I’ve loved and jobs I’ve hated.  I have had bosses I’ve respected and genuinely cared about and who I knew cared about me, and I’ve had quite the opposite.  In every case, except one, I never quit a job without having another and I never treated a supervisor with such blatant disrespect without being called on it…and deserving the reprimand that followed.  For those who have known me for a long time, you know I have been known to speak before I think and while the words may have been truth, they were also unnecessarily acidic and sometimes hurtful.  Luckily I have had mentors who have pointed out these flaws, sometimes gently, sometimes not so gently and sometimes I listened and other times it was years later the lesson sunk in.  My point being, at the core of who I am was an individual who recognized I just may not have all the answers even though it may have felt  like I did (as all 20 years olds do).  I may not have admitted it, but I quietly acknowledged I may not be all that superior after all.  The core of who I am developed over time, by family, friends, teachers, co-workers, mentors, our culture, church, and my children (those creatures who sprang from my womb knowing more than I did…about everything).  Entwined in all of these is culture, the world we live in, the society our founders created and we have amended to adjust for progress (end of slavery, women’s right to vote, due process, etc).  At our foundation, we are a society that believes in self-reliance and self-direction and a people not born into a caste system, but of individuals who can achieve anything we desire if we work hard, don’t give up, and endure the failures along the way.  This is the world I grew up in and over time I recognized it wasn’t perfect and some people were given a leg up where others were not, and no, life is not fair.  However, even in its imperfection, I would take this system over any other because there is freedom in the process, I am always free to keep trying or give up.  In other words, I am not pre-destined to work in a factory for my entire life.  The problem is, this world is not the world everyone wants in this country anymore.

Occupy Wall Street used the greed and the debauchery of Wall Street to solicit support from generally concerned citizens of this country who truly want to see a change in our banking system.  I’m not sure I disagree with the premise, our banks need regulation.  We all felt the effects of their avidity in 2008 and 2009.  The problem is, Occupy was never really all about big banks.  They were about blowing up our way of life.  They were about eliminating those things we count as success, such as an education, a first job (not for a livable wage, but for the opportunity to work and learn), a first job out of college that barely pays for our rent and our bar tab, and finally, the idea that if we work hard and endure failure we might succeed.  Occupy was about taking away the work, the angst, of our 20’s so we could “enjoy” immediate gratification.  Our loans forgiven, an income (probably go fund me or Soros money) so we could take out our anger on the “man” who made the rules in the first place (you know…the rule where you can’t learn everything in college, but you actually have to live in the world, get knocked down once in a while in order to truly figure it and yourself all out).  Oh and let’s not forget about marijuana whenever we want, because you know it’s just like a glass of wine.  All of this of course leads to disaster.  Occupy failed, because in time the world saw what their real message was, in the form of rape and defecation on police cars…even my liberal friend wouldn’t go for that one.

Occupy part II is the Black Lives Matter movement.  However, since these are generally the same people, they have learned from their mistakes, mostly allowing the media to actually see them for what they are.  BLM dictates how and when they are documented.  You will rarely catch interviews of the actual participants, but instead specially groomed academics that laugh off their real intent and coyly answer questions about their focus on communities and police relations.  If you actually read many of their “requests” they are truly ridiculous, such as un-arming some patrol officers, “soft uniforms”, and of course not entering certain areas called “safe zones”.  Full disclaimer, there have been some incidents involving cops that have not been pretty.  Use of force is never pretty.  But like the twit at Yale, the disrespect for police officers is just as great and more deadly as their foes don’t just shrilly chide officers, but will fight, stab, and shoot at them.  The important thing to remember is, BLM, Occupy, and the twits in these colleges are really not interested in changing the system, or improving the system, they want to destroy the system.  This segment of our society,(remember BLM is not about African Americans as many Blacks in this country DO NOT identify with them) wants to destroy the system, because they either can’t or don’t want to succeed in it…and they don’t want you or your kids succeeding in it either.  They want to obliterate what we have because it is the only circumstance in which they can obtain power.  Yes, this is about power…it always is.  For the Bernie fans out there, even in some utopia socialist society do you really believe there aren’t those in POWER in order to distribute the resources?  For the Hillary fans out there, do you think there is any paradigm in her presidency where she and her ilk aren’t in power of EVERYTHING?

Today, Tim Wolfe, the president of the University of Missouri (another school I would never send my kid to) resigned due to not addressing alleged racism within the college.  The problem is, none of the allegations were ever proven and in fact were anecdotal.  While I have no doubt racism exists and needs to be dealt with as it emerges, I have serious doubts about whether or not there was a systemic problem at this university.  Instead, it is probably more likely these adolescents found an opportunity to be powerful and they seized it…like a 3 year old in a grocery store that knows you need basic necessities and will exploit your need for their gain.  I don’t believe they have any interest in working within this system, they don’t like it, and so no one will enjoy it.  We have allowed to proliferate a group that has no interest in the exchange of ideas, in fact, no interest in any idea they didn’t cultivate or was fed to them.  This is what we allow on our college campuses, no original thought, and the bullying of those who think differently, and policy which has been dictated, not by facts, but by innuendo and anecdotal evidence.  I would make a Hitler reference, but it really should be obvious…Jews were at the heart of all of Germany’s problems (no basis in fact) and now it’s the American way of life as we have known it.  Is this freedom?  Does this make US better?  Of course not, but that’s not what anyone is interested in now is it?  Just keep in mind those protestors today in Missouri did two things.  First, they wrapped themselves in chains on stage, no one did it to them and second, they allowed no press, instead creating a “safe space” between the protestors and the media, why is your cause afraid of the light?  Only evil lurks in dark corners.

We should stop looking at these so called movements as a means to work within our society and recognize them for what they are which is a desire to destroy what we have for the creation of something else.  Except, we don’t know what that something else is, and I doubt they do either.  These are the same people who poop on police cars, and yet we seem okay with them being the architects of a new world.

 Misplaced Anger

MattNo Comments

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As the anti-cop rhetoric continues to spool up in the ongoing #WarOnCops, I have been doing my best, going on three years now, to defend my chosen profession of nearly 20 years.  During the course of those three years, I have had a great number of discussions with people from all over country via Facebook and Disqus in response to articles I have written.  Those conversations have me convinced that a great number of the people protesting “police brutality” and “militarized cops” really don’t have a damn clue what they are mad about.

They are angry at the cops because we are the visible, very real hand of government that is slapping them on the back of the hand and telling them they screwed up.  We are the unemotional middle man in the whole system who neither makes the rules nor deals the punishment.  We are just the one catching the screw ups and making them be held accountable for their errant behavior.

Recently, I wrote a blog post in which I examined and countered the “policy change suggestions” being put forth by the Black Lives Matter movement, or as Sheriff David Clarke more correctly calls them, Black Lies Matter.  Many of the “conversations” that resulted from that article evoked arguments based on some or all of the following categories of displaced blame directed at law enforcement.

Political Cognitive Dissonance

I find it disturbing how many soft headed people are yelling about laws, that are supposedly part of the “police brutality problem” in this country, and blaming the police for the laws.  People are angry about the enforcement of those laws that are in place.  Some of the laws are national, some state and even others are local laws.  Some people point to loitering or public drinking laws as the problem, others point to drug laws, others to traffic laws.  Depending on the person or group, they all have a different pet peeve law.

Despite all those differences on what they consider the problem to be, there is one thing that all of those laws have in common.  Exactly NONE of them were created by law enforcement.  Yep, that is right. We do not create laws, we are merely tasked with enforcing them.

Now I, as a conservative (as are the vast majority of cops) find this particular part of the whole dichotomy simultaneously both disturbing and humorous.   The overwhelming majority of the cities and states that are in an uproar over “police brutality” are politically speaking, deep blue areas.  Every single city that has had rioting or marching in the streets, is a Democrat run city, and most of them have been for decades.  Thusly, all of the laws and policies being complained about by the “activists,” are written and enacted by Democrat politicians.  Those that were not written by Democrats are at least being maintained by Democrats.

So, what does that mean?  It means that the people complaining about the police enforcing the laws are the same people electing the very officials creating those laws.

Don’t like the cops citing and/or towing cars with expired registration out of your driveways?  Yell at your politicians.  Don’t like strict enforcement of seatbelt laws, or that “money generating speed trap” that you got cited for violating?  Yell at your politicians.  As cops, we did not write the laws, we just enforce them.   Don’t like the fines for a particular violation?  We don’t set them, yell at the courts and the politicians.

To use a very old saying, don’t shoot the messenger.

Unabashed Hypocriticism

When I point out to the folks complaining that the laws we are enforcing are not created by us, and that rather than being mad at us for doing our jobs, they would be better served by directing the angry words to the people making the laws, a good number of those people then suggest the following:

“As a cop, you can choose not to enforce those laws”

While I happen to work for an agency that gives it’s deputies a great deal of latitude in using officer discretion, my agency is a rarity in today’s America.  Additionally, agencies run by an appointed Police Chief are actually under the thumb of the elected politicians, not necessarily the head cop, and as such, officer discretion is often overrided when officers are directed to enact strict enforcement policies.

Now, ignoring that, and let us just assume that cops all across the country were given huge leeway with their officer discretion, and we were in fact allowed to determine which laws we were going to completely ignore, these same “protesters” would be the first to file a lawsuit when one person was cut a break and another was cited or arrested.

So, who gets to choose what laws we enforce and which we ignore, the person being arrested?  I mean really, looking at the list of crimes that the Black Lives Matter group suggested we ignore in their “policy suggestion” list is crazy.

This whole argument is just more deflecting fault.  They do not like the laws, do not follow them, and bitch about it when they get caught.  It is just one more attempt to decriminalize crimes, which if you want to see how well that works, take a look at the results of Prop47 in California.

Willful Ignorance

The final part in this cacophony of logic lacking arguments is the fact that the people screaming about “police brutality” have based the overwhelming majority of their arguments on stories where allegations of “police brutality” have been Thoroughly Disproven!

The cases that they constantly point to while they scream for “justice” (ie: revenge) include Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner and Freddie Gray.

  • Trayvon Martin – despite all the times they throw his name around, he was NOT killed by a cop. He was shot in self-defense, which was confirmed by the courts.
  • Michael Brown – absolutely none of their claims in this case were based on fact, other than a black criminal was shot by a white cop. This whole incident was nothing but a lie.  Multiple investigations, including eyewitness testimony, have proven that.
  • Eric Garner – no matter how many times they try and scream it, Garner was absolutely NOT “choked to death” by a cop. Garner died from coronary failure, which was brought on in part by him struggling with the cops as they tried to arrest him and in part by his horrible health and morbid obesity.  The officer involved did use an unapproved hold in trying to subdue him, but he was not choked which was confirmed by the autopsy.
  • Freddie Gray – the witch hunt, err, I mean “prosecution” is still ongoing. What we know so far is that Freddie Gray was not beaten or abused by the cops before he was escorted to the transportation van.  There are numerous versions of what happened once he was inside, but none of them point to any specific intent by the cops to injure him, and at best contain allegations that he received injuries that occurred during a rough ride while not seat belted.  The results of this case are yet to be determined, but based on how quickly it is unraveling, I suspect all 6 of the officers charged will be acquitted.

The very few instances where there appears to have been actual cases of police abuse (illegal use of force), such as South Carolina Police Officer shooting of Michael Scott or more recently, the Arlington Deputy shot Christian Taylor, the cops have actually agreed and have taken the correct steps, including dismissal of the offender and in most cases, filing of criminal charges (some cases are still being investigated).

Now, what do EVERY SINGLE ONE of these cases have in common?  The person shot/killed/allegedly abused was in the act of committing a crime, AND in all of those cases, they were ALSO resisting arrest.

The “protesters” however are completely ignoring that, and are putting every ounce of the blame on the cops, and not on the person who took the encounter to that level.

How To Fix This

The solution is really, really simple.  Just about anyone should be able to follow along here.  I mean if my 7 year old can figure it out, any adult should be able to, right?

  1. If you dislike the laws, don’t blame the cops. Stop voting for people who pass the very laws you dislike (Democrats).
  2. Don’t break the law, even the laws you dislike
  3. If you break the law and get caught, don’t blame the cops. They did not make you do anything.
  4. If you get caught breaking the law, don’t resist arrest and you will not get injured.