Government: From Servant to Master

Although we give lip service to the notion of freedom, we know the government is no longer the servant of the people but, at last, has become the people's master. We have stood by like timid sheep while the wolf killed--first the weak, then the strays, then those on the outer edges of the flock, until at last the entire flock belonged to the wolf.

Gerry Spence, From Freedom to Slavery, 1993. Mr. Spence was a defense attorney and free speech advocate. Today, free speech advocates are rare. Speech is now controlled by big tech, the media, academia and a massive government bureaucracy that keeps track what we do and say.

Criminal Justice Quote: Targeting the Police

     Two Los Angeles police officers were shot at Sunday night December 28, 2014 while they drove their patrol car…The officers returned fire…No one was injured in the exchange. One suspect was arrested in possession of a rifle, the other remained at large…

     That Sunday there was a second incident involving police officers who were fired at. This shooting took place in Pasco County, Florida. Someone fired three shots at two sheriff's deputies as they sat in their patrol car. According to a sheriff's office spokesperson, "Both deputies heard the whizzing sound of each projectile. The officers did not see the shooter or the vehicle from which the shots were fired."…

     These two police targeting incidents occurred after New York police officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were gunned down in their patrol car on December 20, 2014….

"Officers Shot At in Florida and Los Angeles," CNN, December 29, 2014 

Criminal Justice Quote: Barricaded Soldier Shoots Herself To Death on Military Base

     A female soldier shot herself on Monday August 25, 2014 at a military post in central Virginia. She later died…The incident began at 8:45 AM at Fort Lee when the soldier brandished a weapon and then barricaded herself in an office at the Army Combined Arms Support Command headquarters building…

     Fort Lee police responded within two minutes and quickly established contact with the barricaded woman. But during the course of the negotiations she turned the weapon on herself and fired one shot…The soldier, who was not identified, died at the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center…

     Fort Lee is located near Petersburg, about 30 miles south of Richmond…

"Soldier Who Shot Herself Dies, Army Says," CNN, August 25, 2014 

Criminal Justice Quote: Police Pepper-Spray Knife-Wielding Six-Year-Old

     Police in Hancock, Maryland pepper-sprayed an unusually large six-year-old who had stabbed his grandmother. Deputies were called to the scene where the boy, who police described as "out of control,"was attempting to stab his mother.

     Officers issued one shot of pepper spray after the 100-pound child charged them while making stabbing motions with two butcher knives. The kid dropped the knives and fell to the ground…He was transported to a medical center for mental evaluation. He was not injured by the mace.

     The boy's grandmother suffered a laceration on her hand but refused medical treatment. Because of his age the boy will not be charged with a crime.

Chuck Ross, "Police Pepper-Spray Large 6-Year-Old," The Daily Caller, August 5, 2014 

Criminal Justice Quote: What Kind of Community Pays Tribute to a Cop Killer?

     The "cop killer memorial" that disgusted the nation has been torn down. The candles lit to memorialize Lawrence Campbell, the accused killer of officer Melvin Santiago, as well as the empty bottles of liquor, the balloons, and the t-shirts inscribed with messages of love to Campbell, are gone…
   
    The shrine went up on Sunday, July 13 in Jersey City, New Jersey at Orient Avenue and Martin Luther King Drive. It appeared on the side of a red brick building that houses a mini-mart, a bar and residential housing. Lawrence Campbell ambushed the police officer that morning at the Walgreens drug store killing Santiago before officers shot him dead. Campbell lived in the neighborhood.

     News of the shrine caused a furor when The New Jersey Journal first reported it…Mayor Steve Fulop called the memorial "disgusting."…In a statement released by his spokeswoman, Mayor Fulop took credit for having the memorial torn down…"I am not going to let a few residents pretend like they express the views of a great city like Jersey city," he said.

     But residents who live near the shrine defended it. "There's two lives lost," said one man inside the Columbia Tavern. Another said it "bothered" him that the police took away the shrine. "Even though it was the wrong thing to do, there were two lives lost," he said.

"Jersey City Tears Down 'Cop Killer' Shrine," Associated Press, July 15, 2014

Criminal Justice Quote: Car Burglar Dies of Heart Attack After Struggle With Police

     A 30-year-old man suspected of breaking into cars died of an apparent heart attack following a foot chase and struggle with officers early Wednesday, June 11, 2014. Yonkers, New York police said a resident called 911 at 3:58 AM to report that a man was attempting to break into a vehicle on Bolmer Avenue. The caller said the man was running away through backyards.

     Police said officers from the Fourth Precinct responded and that the man was spotted on Corbalis Place. Police said a struggle ensued and the man was taken into custody. While being treated by Empress Ambulance personnel, police said the man went into cardiac arrest. He was treated at a local emergency room but died….

     The Yonkers Police Department Internal Affairs Division and the Westchester County District Attorney's Office are investigating the incident….The death comes about two and a half months after another suspect in Yonkers died during a police investigation. David Tena, 45, jumped out a window of an apartment and fell three stories to his death as police conducted a drug raid…

Thane Grauel, "Yonkers Suspect Dies After Struggle With Police," lohud.com, June 11, 2014 

Criminal Justice Quote: Happy Birthday Kid

     Police in Filer, Idaho are being criticized for shooting and killing a dog during a birthday party celebration for the owner's 9-year-old son. Neighbors complained that Rick Clubb's dogs were unleashed and on the loose, and police were called to the scene. When officer Tarek Hassani arrived at the Clubb home, he found two of the dogs on the front lawn. They barked at him as he approached the property. He kicked at the dogs, drew his gun and shot one of them dead.

     Clubb was enraged when he learned what had happened. Officer Hassani claims the dog had tried to bite him and put his safety in danger--and it was Clubb's fault for not leasing them. Clubb countered that his dog never would have hurt the officer….

     A dashboard camera captured the incident on video. It's not clear the dog actually tried to bite Hassani, nor is it clear that the dogs were actually obstructing the officer's path to the house, as he claimed….

Robby Soave, "Idaho Policeman Kills Dog at Kid's Birthday Party," The Daily Caller, February 11, 2014 

Criminal Justice Quote: Political Correctness Over National Security and Common Sense

     The U.S. Justice Department will significantly expand its definition of racial profiling to prohibit federal agents from considering religion, national origin, gender and sexual orientation in their investigations….The move addresses a decade of criticism from civil rights groups that say federal authorities have in particular singled out Muslims in counterterrorism investigations and Latinos for immigration investigations.

     The Bush administration banned profiling in 2003, but with two caveats: It did not apply to national security cases, and it covered only race, not religion, ancestry or other factors.

Matt Apuzzo, "U.S. to Expand Rules Limiting Use of Profiling by Federal Agents," The New York Times, January 15, 2014 

The LAPD Wants You!

     Less than a year after reaching its long-sought goal of 10,000 officers, the Los Angeles Police Department is now seeing a steady decline in its ranks as the city struggles to find enough qualified candidates. Fewer people are applying to join the LAPD and, of those who do, a significantly higher number of them are being disqualified from consideration. Officials say budget cuts have slashed advertising used to draw recruits while other departments are luring top talent with higher salaries than the LAPD offers. Since the decline began several months ago, the LAPD is down more than 100 officers. The department needs to hire about 350 officers a year to make up for normal attrition, and officials say they could remain understaffed for years if the current trend holds….

     Also, the number of women and blacks--and especially black women--making it into the training academy has dropped considerably. The leaves the department far short of diversity goals in recent academy classes….None of the 30 rookies who recently graduated from the academy, for example, were black and only five were women….

     Although the LAPD has the advantage of a strong reputation, some other agencies pay significantly higher starting salaries….The base starting pay for an LAPD recruit is $48,462….

     Many of the applicants are being eliminated because of their responses to 173 questions about past drug use, run-ins with the law, financial problems and other potential character flaws….[Many of them are either too fat for the job, functionally illiterate, or mentally unstable.]

Joel Rubin, "With Fewer Qualified Recruits, LAPD Sees Decline in Ranks," The Los Angeles Times, December 3, 2013