Hardly a day passes without a new story popping up on alternative news sites about rogue cops committing violence against innocent civilians. People who are merely living their lives and innocently going about their business are assaulted by those who are supposed to ‘protect and serve’ them.
While there are still a few good officers who take their oaths to ‘protect and defend’ and their motto ‘protect and serve’ seriously, the majority seem to have evolved into an ‘enforce and intimidate’ mode. The militarization of our domestic police has not helped.
Last summer I was surprised to find myself being ‘tailgated’ by a county deputy. Deputies have made this a common practice in my county. I pulled over to allow this ‘annoyance’ to pass. Rather than doing so, he pulled to a stop next to me and asked if anything was wrong.
My reply was, ‘Yes, you’re tail-gating me.’ To which he asked if I was feeling guilty about anything. What followed was a very interesting conversation. It began with my telling him about some of the YouTube videos I’d seen with police abusing innocent people and thus my concern with his aggressively riding my bumper. He found that amusing and popped a little smirk of a grin.
I pointed out to him that he was driving a black squad car with smoked windows, was wearing black BDUs, black combat boots, black sunglasses, and was sporting a ‘buzz’ haircut. I reminded him that black uniforms first came into vogue in the United States when the Oakland Raiders switched to black jerseys when I was a teenager. Al Davis, owner of the Raiders, admitted that he wanted his team to intimidate the other team on game day and that black was the color of intimidation.
I pointed out that he was carrying a 9 mil. handgun, had a shotgun mounted to the dash, and carried an assault rifle in his trunk. All this ‘gear’ was supplemental to his nightstick, mace, and taser. I asked him if he thought he was in a war. I was shocked at his reply.
‘Yes’, he said, ‘I am in a war.’ I decided it best, at that point, not to inquire, ‘with who?’ And herein lies the problem. Our domestic police officers who are supposed to ‘protect and defend’ the Constitution’ and ‘protect and serve’ We the People have lost their way.
Police of all varieties now routinely abuse citizens by ignoring Constitutional protections, at best, and by committing physical violence against them, at worst. They ignore the fact that many of the so-called laws they enforce are unconstitutional and treat all citizens as enemies and criminals. But the most alarming development over the past few years has been the fact that regardless of the outrage committed against an innocent civilian, police officers are rarely, if ever, held to account. It appears that they can commit any violence against an innocent civilian and explain it away as necessary for ‘officer safety.’
A word of caution to all officers. Look around. People are waking up. People are tiring of the constant abuse to their rights and their persons. People are beginning to notice the rampant injustice and, more importantly for you, noting those who perpetrate it. If and when people finally make the decision to push back, I doubt that they will, or will even be able to, discriminate between a ‘good’ officer and a rogue ‘enforcer’.
It is critically important that the ‘good’ officers begin to demand that the rogue enforcers in their ranks be held accountable. Either that or take off their uniforms before it’s too late. The time has come for all of us to choose what we will serve. Will we serve justice or will we serve evil. Will we support and defend our foundational law or will we serve lawlessness.
For anyone reading this who remains naive about the ‘train of abuses’ being perpetrated, I invite you to recall the recent decision to implement the ‘No Hesitation’ targets for police training. Do the images on the targets look like dangerous criminals, or more like innocent people protecting themselves against a violent attack? Are officers being desensitized in order to make them more compliant tools of a totalitarian state?
The company’s (Law Enforcement Targets, Inc.) marketing team explains that the “non-traditional targets ” were created at the request of police officers and trainers, who are seeking to dis-inhibit the killing instincts of police “when deadly force is required on subjects with atypical age, frailty or condition…. This hesitation time may be only seconds but that is not acceptable when officers are losing their lives in these same situations…. If that hesitation time can be cut down due to range experience, the officer and the community are better served.”
That is to say, it can condition them to overcome the natural and indispensable reluctance to kill the innocent and helpless. This is summarized in the company’s sales slogan: “No more hesitation.”
Read on for a small sampling of the train of abuses being perpetrated …
“the “non-traditional targets ” were created at the request of police officers and trainers,”…and, true or not, I have read that top brass in the military are keeping or losing their jobs based on their willingness to fire, or order fire, upon American citizens…Seems every day it becomes more of a ‘dog-eat-dog’ world, huh?
So what happens if we put the shoe on the other foot, targets representing D.H.S.,Police,Sheriffs writing tickets or conducting body searches. How would that look? Me thinks they might bitch some…
Tom S, Bonniegadsden has suggested that on his blog a few days ago and is willing to put up the targets if he gets enough interest.
The article opens with a reference to “rogue” cops who abuse the citizenry. If only this were true. The term “rogue” would indicate these officers were outliers, the exception, a distinct minority. They are not. The vast majority of badged thugs in America are little more than a brute squad hiding behind the facade of authority and respectability. If “rogue” officers exist
they would be the honest ones who honor our rights and refuse to abuse their authority. The odds of such an officer actually being found are small and grow less probable on a daily basis. It’s high time the average American realized a basic truth-our government is at war with the citizens of this country and the badgemonkeys are the tip of their spear.
Dan, I stand corrected. You are absolutely spot-on with your definition of ‘rogue’. I was thinking more in terms of where they are now in comparison to their legitimate role. I often ask those who still naively believe that the government is looking out for our best interests if they can name any government, just one, in the history of the world, that has been good to or for it’s people. The inevitable response is always the ‘deer in the headlights’ gaze.
You are also correct in pointing out that the thugs in costume are the tip of the spear. Hence my warning that they’d best ‘police’ their own ranks before their victims decide it’s time to knock the point off the spear.
Tom S. (above) also has a good idea. The government likes to speak of the ‘lists’ they keep of those of us who resist their predations. They do this in part to cause us to fear them and what they might do. I’m thinking the targets are being deployed for the same reason. Fear is an impressive weapon when properly employed.
Maybe we should develop our own ‘list’ of politicians, government officials, and ‘badgemonkeys’ who abuse the Constitution and the people. Maybe posting it on the internet with a short synopsis of their ‘crimes’ would be in order. I’d include name, photo, badge number (if appropriate), and address. Then make Tom’s targets available and sit back and watch THEM squirm …