Paper Tiger Policing Will Not End Well For Law-Abiding Americans

I spent nearly four decades in local law enforcement. What I am seeing today is not even recognizable and doesn’t come close to how we protected and served our respective communities just three years ago. It’s almost embarrassing. The American Left has fully emasculated the American police officer. They have defanged them to the point of being a paper tiger.

Think of the state of things. Throwing rocks, bottles and other missiles at police lines as officers are ordered to stand down and absorbed the pelting. Private property is looted and torched. Law-abiding people caught up in the fray are beaten and killed. They are trapped inside cars as rioters surround them, not letting them escape, pound on the car while trying to get inside. In one incident in Virginia, a woman in her car with her young daughter called 911 to get a police response. Hearing her distress as I listened to the call replayed gave me chills. What if that was my family member, I thought. The operator told the woman that there was nothing she could do to help her. She told her they wouldn’t be sending police help and to call City Hall for direction because what was occurring was a sanctioned event. What? I am not making this up.

In another instance in the city of Greenfield, Wisconsin, the same county where I was sheriff for 15 years, numerous members of Black Lives Matter, who I refer to as Black LICE Matter showed up in front of a residence that had a We Support Our Police sign in their yard. The armed group began heckling the homeowner and his neighbor who came out to assist. The homeowner called 911 for a police response. He was told by the operator that no police response would be sent and that they were “monitoring the incident.” Monitoring from where, I thought. That call just a few months ago would have resulted in a red/blue light and siren response to keep the peace. Not anymore … now police just monitor these incidents until gunfire results, apparently. Is that the new crime prevention, I wondered?

Effective policing has always been premised on preserving the peace and preventing crime, not just responding to it. Now police don’t even respond to it. It gets better, or should I say, it gets worse.

Police in Seattle were ordered to abandon their police precinct, handing it over to rioters who attacked it. They remained in control of it for several weeks as police tried to negotiate its return. Police in Portland, Oregon, were reported to be in retreat as 60-plus continuous days of rioting was taking its toll on police resources. In another incident, police reported that 150 gunshots were fired around an apartment complex. There was no report of what police did in response. In Minneapolis, the chief recently issued an advisory that told citizens to give up valuables to holdup men. Just capitulate. Be a victim because they didn’t have the money for preventive patrols. In 2010, in a response to rising violent crime, I advised residents to arm themselves for self-defense.

I am in no way criticizing the front-line officers or questioning their courage and commitment to protect and serve. This is the result of ineffective police leadership. Today’s police commanders refuse to stand up to local politicians who have crawled into bed with the cop haters. They refuse to stand up to city councils and boards who are succumbing to calls to defund police and taking away tools needed to control crime and mass demonstrations that quickly turn to riots. The Milwaukee Police Chief has been banned by a police citizen oversight board from using tear gas in riotous situations. The city council refused a request for funds to replace dwindling stockpiles. There have been reports and photos of police executives who are kneeling with Black Lives Matter and actually marching with other cop-hating groups. I find it unconscionable to deploy officers out into harm’s way under stand down orders with no way to defend themselves when attacked.

This isn’t leadership, it’s a disgrace to this proud profession. It has taken its toll on the morale of front-line officers. It has left them confused about whether it is worth continuing in this or exiting the profession. Resignations and retirements in some large agencies are at record highs. Think of all the institutional knowledge walking out the door. How will they capture or replace it?

Violent crime is rising in cities the like of which we haven’t witnessed in decades. All the record crime reduction that cities had experienced is being wiped out in just a few months. Law-abiding citizens are living in fear. Their quality of life is in shambles with no sign of relief.

Defunding police is in vogue. The New York police budget has been slashed by $1 billion. That is one-sixth of the total budget. Other large cities are considering slashing budgets by 50% with no pushback by police executives. Wordsmithing has entered the picture. With polls showing no constituent support for defunding police, politicians are calling it re-directing funds to other agencies.

The question is how does this all end? I won’t sugar coat it. It ends poorly for law-abiding people. It ends poorly for law and order. It ends poorly for America as we know it.

Sheriff David Clarke Jr. is former Sheriff of Milwaukee Co, Wisconsin, President of AmericasSheriff LLC, Board of Directors for the Crime Prevention Research Center, author of the book Cop Under Fire: Beyond Hashtags of Race Crime and Politics for a Better America. To learn more visit www. americassheriff.com

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, enemy of the state? You bet!

St. Louis has made national headlines again. The current push to demonize the police and glorify Black Lives Matter is in full swing.

On June 28, St. Louis attorneys Mark and Patricia McCloskey defended their home in a private neighborhood on a private street, with legally owned firearms, against an unruly mob of BLM terrorists.  Mark, armed with a rifle, and Patricia, with a pistol, held their ground and protected themselves against feral marauders who threatened them after breaking down an iron gate to gain entry into the private subdivision.

The “not so peaceful” demonstrators claimed they were en route to protest at the home of the St. Louis mayor, who lives in the same neighborhood.  The cacophony aroused the attention of the McCloskeys, who had a right to investigate its origin.  The protesters could have walked on by, but instead chose to engage the couple with taunts and threats.  It was captured on video filmed by the criminals.

The BLM folks claimed they were merely protesting when the McCloskeys threatened them at gunpoint. This is where I officially declare bullshit!  These fuckers are never just peacefully demonstrating. They are terrorizing anyone who challenges them.  The protesters claimed they were unarmed, and again I declare bullshit! The folks filming are getting good at not showing the entire scene. They are careful not to show the BLM guns while filming.

I live here.  I’ve seen the protests, in person many times, and they are not as harmless as they purport to be.  There are armed antagonists in the crowd almost every time they come out to show their asses.  They blend into the crowd, often hiding behind women and children, using them as shields. 

The McCloskeys said one man was smacking two pistol magazines together while yelling, “You’re next!” Others shouted, “Y’all think you’re the only ones with guns?”  Is that a credible threat? Absolutely! 

The McCloskeys exercised their 2nd Amendment right while the BLM claimed to be exercising their 1st Amendment right, (except the BLM were trespassing criminals, threatening two people who were on their own property).

Enter Kim Gardner, herself only a few steps away from a federal prison cell for her “Play for pay” false charges, that brought down former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens.

A known rabid racist and cop-hater, she blatantly disregards her official capacity as circuit attorney.  She is a criminal, supporting BLM by her actions and inactions.  Instead of condemning and prosecuting the BLM in this case, she filed charges of assault and flourishing of weapons against the real victims, the McCloskeys!

Gardner and her assistant, Chris Hinckley, went as far as to browbeat the investigator assigned to the bogus case, SLMPD Sgt. Curtis Burgdorf, pressuring him to sign off on a probable cause statement to obtain a search warrant, calling for the seizure of the weapons in control of the McCloskeys on June 28.th

The probable cause was probably written by Hinckley, if not Gardner herself. This is nothing more than high-fuckery!  There is no way the verbiage in that document came from the hand of Burgdorf, in fact there exists more than one version. Burgdorf refused to sign off on at least one. Does his signature appear on any document, really? I’m asking?

The “official” probable cause statement is not yet available to the public.  I can’t wait to see it and find out which judge got duped into signing it. The warrant was served on July 10th.  Why the delay?  The McCloskeys probably would have voluntarily surrendered the rifle, had someone asked for it. 

SLMPD, their hands being tied, executed the search warrant and retrieved the alleged rifle from the McCloskey residence.

The handgun, previously surrendered by the attorney representing the McCloskeys, was already in the custody of the circuit attorney’s office.  There was a small problem (a huge one, really), the firearm was not in working order and therefore was no longer a weapon capable of doing “fuck all” to anyone, so right there the case goes out the window.  Gardner wasn’t finished. 

She “encouraged” the ballistic lab to, “make the pistol operational,” and they did!  Did Police Chief Hayden know about any of this? This gross case of evidence tampering will surely generate lawsuits and prison sentences, and it should!  Yet again, the rabid dog has left a damning trail of evidence to follow. 

So flagrant were the actions of Gardner and her team of henchmen, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has intervened to have the case against the McCloskeys dropped.  Gardner is fighting this action tooth, fang and claw. She should already be sporting a federal jumpsuit.  This shit has got to stop. Gardner, just resign already! You’re a fucking criminal and a hack!

Kirk Lawless is a 28 year, decorated, veteran police officer from the St Louis area. He’s a former SWAT operator, narcotics agent, homicide investigator, detective and Medal of Valor recipient. Off the job due to an up close and personal gunfight, he now concentrates on writing. He’s a patriotic warrior, artist, poet, actor, musician, and man of peace.
Contact : kirklawless@yahoo.com

Unintended Consequences

The law of unintended consequences states that actions of people, and often those of government, have effects that are not anticipated or are completely unintended. The difference between good and bad leaders is that the bad leaders confine themselves to visible effect; the good leader takes into account both the effect that can be easily seen and those effects that must be foreseen based on information, knowledge and in seeing the bigger picture. Unfortunately, politicians have a long and storied history of largely operating with knee-jerk reactions and tunnel vision once committed to a certain political ideology or goal.

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES IN BALTIMORE

Amid calls nationwide to defund the police, the federal judge overseeing the Baltimore Police Consent Decree has said that such reform options may exist in other cities, but not in Baltimore. In 2017, Baltimore leaders chose the path of the federally enforced decree and the city has a legal obligation to complete those reforms. U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar said the city must continue with its years-long reform efforts, which require increased funding along with the hiring of more police officers. “A specific path has already been chosen here,” Bredar said. “The court will require that the city travel down that path until it reaches the destination of ‘substantial compliance.' Until the city comes into compliance, the decree will be the template for how police reform is accomplished here.” I bet no one in Baltimore city government anticipated the full cost and commitment of agreement to the Consent Decree that political leaders in 2017 were so eager to ratify and begin implementation of.

In spite of the Consent Decree and ruling, recent city council authorization to begin defunding certain operational aspects of the Baltimore City Police Department have resulted in the abolition of the marine unit and the nation’s oldest mounted unit. Tunnel vision in the current quest to defund law enforcement and reallocate savings from law enforcement to other social services and programs may actually be a commitment to increased spending without benefit from monies spent due to unintended consequences. It has been reported that $2.4 million is the projected savings of these units being taken out of service (WJZ-TV). The cost saving motives, however, may have backfired in a big way.

The Mounted Unit is a public relations favorite and is actually an integral part of the department’s crowd control strategy when confronted by unruly mobs. Baltimore city is likely going to pay for cutting the mounted unit. The city didn’t pay for a newly constructed $3.5 million horse stable facility on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum grounds which were funded largely through private investment. The city did, however, sign a 15-year lease in November 2018. Now the city stands to break the lease and bear the “unamortized” cost of the facility, which accounts for depreciation. Since the stable has never been used, the city may have to pay back the full $3.5 million. The city council “moved very quickly and may not have been aware that the city had signed a lease with the B&O” according to the museum’s executive director.

The Marine Unit is an important element of city police services to this Major Port City and Inner Harbor area which serves as a recreational destination and tourist attraction. Just prior to the unit disbanding, it was involved in a life-saving operation with its underwater dive team. Since eliminated, another incident occurred in the Baltimore Harbor resulting in extended response times to assist those in distress. It has been speculated that Homeland Security Grants awarded to the City of Baltimore may require some payback now that the Marine Unit is no longer in service.

So not only is there a cost in diminished quality of service and wasted professional expertise, but how much more money will the city need to spend to receive even less in return? Are the Consent Decree and financial and funding agreements being ignored when it comes to previous obligations on expenditures? The primary obligation of government is that of public safety. Fiscal responsibility also ranks high on the list of taxpayer expectations. Actions such as these seem to signal the complete demise of government legitimacy. As someone who grew up in a retail sales family I have only one remaining question to ask.  Who's minding the store?

Joel E. Gordon is a former Field Training Officer with the Baltimore City Police Department and is a past Chief of Police for the city of Kingwood, West Virginia. He has also served as vice-chair of a multi-jurisdictional regional narcotics task force. An award-winning journalist, he is author of the book Still Seeking Justice: One Officer's Story and founded the Facebook group Police Authors Seeking Justice. Look him up at stillseekingjustice.com