SOME HUMOR TO BRIGHTEN YOUR DAY

 

BRIEF BUT SPECTACULAR What it’s like to be a black cop in 2016: ‘I see both sides’ 16SEP16

THIS is a great piece from the +PBS NewsHour Brief But Spectacular series, go to for more episodes of this series, and enjoy....
What it’s like to be a black cop in 2016: ‘I see both sides’

What it’s like to be a black cop in 2016: ‘I see both sides’

September 16, 2016 at 6:15 PM EDT

Damon Gilbert is a black police officer in one of the most violent cities in the country. He describes his experience on the force in Oakland, California, as well as how he’s dealt with the police as a private citizen. Gilbert offers his Brief but Spectacular take on what it means to be a cop in 2016.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Finally, to another in our Brief But Spectacular series.

Tonight, Oakland, California, police officer Damon Gilbert offers his candid thoughts on what it means to wear a badge in 2016.

DAMON GILBERT, Oakland, California, Police Department: Any time you put on a bulletproof vest to start your day off to work, you have to know that you may or may not come back home to your child, to your wife, to your grandmother, to your auntie.

And that in itself is scary. That in itself is scary.

Anybody that tells you that they haven’t been scared, I’m under the full impression that they’re a total liar. It’s there, and you’re human. You’re not a robot. You actually have emotions. We train you and put you in realistic predicaments.

How do I make sure that my finger is not on the trigger, but my finger is indexed? How do I function when I’m talking to the radio while keeping an eye on unknown threats?

Many times, I have given a direct order or a lawful order, and it’s been met with “F you,” or it’s been met with, come on, let’s fight.

For me, I have never been in that situation where I have actually had to pull the trigger. Every time you see something on TV, it’s a clip of an officer with a gun. And what tends to happen is, the community thinks that every call an officer goes to, they’re using their gun. That’s not the case. And, in Oakland, we work in one of the most violent cities in North America.

When we see videos that are definitely disturbing, it hits home. When you see it as a citizen, and it shocks your conscience, a lot of times, when I see the same footage or we see the same footage, it shocks our conscience as well. And then we want answers.

My heart sank when I have seen everything that I have seen over the past couple months, couple years. Seeing the response to different riots, and different violent protests, protests that go wrong, it’s heartbreaking, because I see both sides.

I see the officers out there who are probably on a 24-hour day, and people don’t know that. And then I understand the other end, where people are frustrated. They have seen different things that definitely leave some questions that need to be answered, and they’re angry.

Sometimes, you have to give the people a voice, and that maybe their anger isn’t necessarily towards you. It may be toward another contact that they had with another police officer 10 years ago.

It’s tough for the African-American community when dealing with the police. I personally have been pulled over multiple times as a police officer. I actually was arrested in high school for doing something I didn’t do.

Why would I want to impose that feeling on you? Because I was mad, I was angry, I was disappointed, I wanted revenge. There’s a difference between getting into police work for the right reasons and the wrong reasons.

The wrong reasons would be, I don’t like people, I don’t like talking with people. The wrong reasons would be, well, I want to feel — well, it makes me feel bigger, and badder, and tougher.

You get into this business to help out the community, to serve the community, to be a servant. I know my circle of influence is very small, but it starts with me.

So, when I go out there, I have to make sure that I’m doing the right thing. And I believe that will help start the process of doing things correctly and building back the public trust.

My name is Damon Gilbert. And this is my Brief But Spectacular take on being a police officer.

JUDY WOODRUFF: You can watch additional Brief But Spectacular episodes on our Web site, PBS.org/NewsHour/Brief.

Public Enemy Number One? & (VIDEO) White guy starts fight, black guy gets pepper sprayed 12&13AUG14

"Our common humanity is more important than all the things that divide us."
- Mairead Corrigan
 
Since 9/11 there has been a militarization of police forces in villages, towns and cities, communities big and small all across America. The general populace has been propagandized into believing this has been and is necessary to keep us safe. The question that has been ignored for to long is who will protect us from the police, those men and women who used to be in blue but are just as likely to be in camouflage now. Beat cops and neighborhood patrols take a back seat to SWAT teams. Citizens are seen by too many, but not all police officers, as the enemy until they have proven themselves as friendlies, and police rules of engagement at times seem little different from military rules on the battlefield. It is just more proof of America's slide into Third World status, the rich and powerful being protected by a military police force that has no respect for and will not protect the lives and liberties of the 99% From +Daily Kos .....

Tue Aug 12, 2014 at 07:21 PM PDT

Public Enemy Number One?

by pajolyFollow

Yes, this is the Front Page photo on Huff Post right now, but it needs to be seen and studied by every American. There more I study it, the more my blood boils. When did it become okay for multiple officers, dressed for war, to aim assault rifles at unarmed civilians who pose no threat? Even if they pose a non-lethal threat, being unarmed, do the police have cause to respond with lethal force?   Who cleared this with the public, this tactic of heavy weapons and implied instant death? Do we not have a say in how our law enforcement officers conduct themselves? Have we not learned the failure of shock and awe? Is there a sentient being on the planet who does not agree these are the actions that breed distrust, hate and eventually armed resistance? You dare to ask us to trust authority when you refuse to treat the public with decency and dignity? How did these tactics work for us overseas? Anyone think this assault on the public on the home front at the ends of our driveways will yield any better result?
As a culture, we've lost all sense of proportion. We are insane. We answer peddling of "loosies" with death. We answer retreat with shots to the back, and 4 more point blank for good measure, and then get left on the street in the heat of summer while the flies congregate and the blood hardens on the asphalt. Jump a turnstile at a train station? Get shot. Are you a 94 year old infirm veteran waving a steak knife at a cop as you sit in a chair in a nursing home? Take two in the chest. Link arms on the ground and sing in non-violent protest? Get kicked, pepper sprayed, get shot in the face with a bean bag cannon at point blank range.
You bastards, you don't own our streets. We owe you no obedience. We put the food on the table of your families. You serve at our pleasure. This needs to end.
For every action, there is an equal and opposite action. Newton's Law, damn it. Basic physics. See that sentiment scrawled on the mailbox in that image? If this is what law enforcement has become, if this is the default response to its own crimes, then, yeah, I agree.

Wed Aug 13, 2014 at 04:40 PM EDT

White guy starts fight, black guy gets pepper sprayed

by Hunter Follow

via Alex Garland/The Dignity Virus

http://youtu.be/mfWjgAK-VsQ 

Peaceful protestors stage demonstration. Random white guy passing by starts screaming at them, takes off his shirt and approaches black man in the crowd, still screaming. Security guard promptly pepper sprays the black guy.

According to a police report, the guard said he used the spray because Wilford balled his fists and “took an aggressive step towards him.” [...] “I thought he (the guard) was the helper, that’s why I approached him. But he thought I was the threat,” Wilford said Monday. [...]
Afterward, the heckler walked away and a YouTube video shows that the guard held and eventually handcuffed Wilford, about the time police showed up. A Seattle police officer shouted at a few of the onlookers to stay back as the guard escorted Wilford into Westlake Mall. Demonstrators shouted, “You pepper-sprayed the wrong guy” and similar comments.

This is in Seattle, not Ferguson. Yes, yes, it's all a misunderstanding. One that keeps happening over and over.

This is what one cop thinks of George Zimmerman 15JUL13

TOO bad this guy isn't still a cop, it is obvious we need more like him. From Daily Kos....

The verdict was ridiculous but not surprising.  The only way I would describe the way that I feel is nausea.  I am just sick that this guy got off and his lawyers are going to shamelessly be doing victory laps on TV for the next several weeks.  I also feel so terrible for Trayvon Martin's parents who had to live through that clown show just to see this punk Zimmerman walk. But right now my burning issue is with all of the police officers that defended this idiot from the beginning.  Because as a cop of 11 years myself this burns me especially deeply.

First off I'll just say that for me to write this post I have to be brutally honest about a side of the job that most non-police don't even know that much about, the police-adjacent characters that play a pretty significant role in the career of the average police officer. NO not fireman and EMS.  I'm talking about the other people that if you work the street you get to know by name because you see them that often. They are the medical examiners, the tow truck drivers, and yes at times the Security Types. Security types come in basically two flavors; bouncer types and security guard types.

Security Guard Types:

If you've gone to the calls and done the job you know dudes like this.  You usually meet them pretty early on in your career and you get used to them, they can be clingy at times.  As you gain experience you learn what they do well and what they don't. Most of the time the whole precinct knows who they are.  They will work security at an apartment complex or a gated community.  In my case I worked a pretty rough side of Atlanta so there were no gated communities there, only apartments, and trust me the apartments that had gates were the roughest of all. These security guard types usually know all the neighborhood "stuff".  They know (or purport to know) who sells the drugs and who is breaking in houses.  They definitely know about the noise complaints and the unruly kids.  The teens smoking weed.   Most of the time they wan't you to run some dope-boy off or break up the couple having sex in the parking lot. Or maybe they are in over their head with a thug that they have talked a little to sassy too and they have been told they are going to get beat up or worse.  Sometimes they do get beat up and worse.  There is a place for people like this.  They should be respected for what they do. But they should always respect what role they play and even more than that the limits of their authority.

In my experience this person gets in over their head a lot. There seems to be this struggle between what they perceive as their authority and what they know is their responsibility.  As a cop they can make your life easier if they just keep the little stuff tamped down, (i.e. kids running at the pool, loud music complaints).  But When you drive up and the security guard hands you a 27 ounce bag of weed that they just "confiscated" from someone in a car that is now unoccupied, the occupant of which has since run into a now locked apartment that Mr security just happens to have the key to, and they are begging you to enter (with no warrant), so that they can "help you apprehend the perp", well I think you get the picture. Every single day police officers have to make decisions like this.  All are trained, some better than others. Security officer's choose to make these decisions without the training.

The Bouncer Types:

I can't lie, I've worked off duty at night clubs and been thankful for the security there. I have been in bar fights so massively bad that they looked like a scene from brave heart.  When you are alone and the music is loud and everybody is yelling and screaming and running its hard to get backup so the only thing that has saved my ass a few times was the folks in security until the cavalry got there.  Some of these folks are top notch, some are ex-pro athletes and martial artists. Some are even models and actors so you get a healthy mix. Many a night standing in the cold waiting on my shift to end I've talked to these guys about their dreams and some I've thought would be some really excellent police officers and I've told them so. I've encouraged them in the process, called friends in the department that were recruiters, even given personal references for them.  So I definitely appreciate and respect what they do. At times I've worked with security that were more professional than some of the sworn officers that I worked the streets with. But then of course you've got the real knuckle-dragger's that just love to beat people up and then bring them to you looking like a grapefruit expecting you to look the other way.  They are just clowns through and through and most likely sociopaths.  Some of them may be doing drugs on the job but if they are real turds they may be the ones selling the drugs in the same club they work in. It's a dirty business. But they probably only make up a small part of the population.  

In both groups, a lot of these guys probably work security because they have a desire at some level to be a police officer.  I always took that as a compliment not with disdain.  Law enforcement is an honorable profession and people do good work. But like any other job you have to have good people to do the good work.  I've always believed that it is the combination of intelligence, integrity and courage that makes an average police officer a good officer, but I believe it is empathy that comes with experience that makes a good officer great.  It is the same dynamic for security officers.  The vast majority of these people are hard working folks that are very good at what they do.  They are a true asset to law enforcement as long as they stay in their lane and do what they are supposed to do.  I'm no longer a police officer I'm actually a counselor now.  We have this term in the mental health field that we use that's called "scope of practice".  If you are a mental health counselor, practicing outside of your scope will get your ass in trouble and your license revoked.  Practicing outside your scope of practice in law enforcement will get your certification revoked and your ass prosecuted and put in prison.  But what happens if you are a security guard and you "work outside of your scope of practice"?  Well it looks like you can shoot somebody and walk free.

George Zimmerman:

George fits into a special category that we will just term the perpetual wanna-be. He loves guns, he loves MMA, he watches cops.  He fancies himself a criminal investigator in the making.  He patrols in his personal vehicle, keeps a police scanner and thinks that he has a direct line into dispatch.  The dispatchers on night shift probably do know him by name only because he shows up on caller ID so much.  On the night in question he probably sees Trayvon and for some tragic reason made his mind up that this sneaky perp wasn't going to get away from him this time.  His GUN makes him do things that he shouldn't do because he is basically a coward.  He follows, attacks, then is bested in a ground fight by a 17 year old boy that he outweighed by several pounds that he then decides to shoot at point blank range.  Even the fight scene that played out in Zimmermans mind was written like an urban contemporary movie with Trayvon's last words saying "you got me". (really?)  As a police officer you are trained to use the necessary force to subdue the threat but if there is no longer a deadly threat, deadly force is no longer necessary or approved. Translation = Had this been a real police officer, his ass would be in deep shit.  The local police knew he was a cheese ball. That's why they never hired him. They probably knew him by name.

I think what we have in George Zimmerman is a person who very likely has tried to be a police officer many, many, many times but couldn't for some very good reasons. He has probably tried to apply to police departments and could not pass the entry requirements.  Now from the surface you would say this is because of his size.  You may surmise that he probably couldn't meet the weight or fitness standard. But I disagree.  I would wager that Mr. Zimmerman has probably never gotten past the psyche evaluation.  I'm sure laws prohibit the release of applicant information but I would bet that he has applied to at least 2 or more sheriff or police departments in the area and has been declined.  You see even in a big city it's a relatively small community.  Once you begin applying and fail a polygraph or fail a psych, that follows you.  Chances are he's failed a few and has likely been blacklisted.  Judging from his demeanor and some of the witness statements he may have some delusions as well.  As many voter purges as FL has done it is amazing that this man was able to purchase a weapon after an altercation with police and a DV but I assume that is what having a father in law enforcement will get you.  Just from the 30,000 foot view Zimmerman probably never should have been able to purchase a gun.  Zimmerman never should have held the job that he did. And Zimmerman never should have been able to get away with murder but he did.

That is what is so infuriating and confusing about this case.  Good police officers that I know personally very well, that I have policed with, bled with, have taken sides on this case that are completely contrary to everything they have ever demonstrated in their entire professional lives.  People that would be pulling their eye teeth out with pliers if they had to deal with a guy like Zimmerman on their beat are cheering his acquittal. People that supervise officers.  If this scenario had played out with one of their subordinates shooting an unarmed teen after pursuing them under these circumstances they would have recommended termination at the least and gone all in on an Internal Affairs Investigation are saying the prosecution never had a case.  I am sure that my old department would not have hesitated a moment to prosecute any off duty police officer if they had done the same thing that George Zimmerman did. But for some reason this case triggered some sort of collective fugue state that has clouded every bodies mind.  At some point this became a basketball game for them, our team versus their team. Now we've got defense lawyers doing victory laps, cops cheering prosecutors losing a case and 60% of the country feeling like a guilty man is going free.

ORIGINALLY POSTED TO MILITANT APATHY ON SUN JUL 14, 2013 AT 03:29 AM PDT.

ALSO REPUBLISHED BY BARRIERS AND BRIDGES AND TRIAL WATCH.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/07/14/1223459/-A-Cop-s-take-on-the-Verdict?detail=email

• A Cop's take on the verdict , by Militant Apathy


• Chambers Brothers singer assaulted on stage dedicating set to Trayvon Martin, by Zwoof


• Most viral Daily Kos Facebook meme of the week: Sarah Silverman on anally probing Scott Walker


• PA-Gov: Tom Corbett (R) Calls pregnant women and breast cancer patients healthcare moochers, by poopdogcomedy


• Has Cumulus Media already thrown in the towel on Rush Limbaugh?, by ProgLegs


• Erick Erickson tells liberals to go buy coat hangers after TX abortion bill passes, by weatherdude


• Southern Republican governors discover hurricanes, decide sequestration is bad, by Hunter


• Walmart tries—and fails badly—to push back against workers' awful stories, by Laura Clawson

In love and solidarity,
Sarah Burris, Daily Kos

LAST DONUT

Romney Agrees With Obama: Government Does ‘Help You In A Business’ 18JUL12 & Romney To Olympians: ‘You Didn’t Get Here Solely On Your Own’ 23JUL12

mitt romney and the repiglican / tea-bagger propaganda machine are attacking Pres Obama using an incomplete quote taken out of context about American business succeeding due to the American social contract that has supported the business community through taxes paid by all of us. Let's not forget romney's own words as late as last week to the Olympians in Salt Lake City in 2002. AND WHAT ABOUT ALL THE GOVERNMENT BUSINESS SUBSIDIES, TAX BREAKS AND TAX LOOPHOLES? This from Think Progress.....

By Adam Peck 

The Romney campaign and conservative bloggers have been feasting on a selectively-edited quote from President Obama to argue that he believes that the government, not business owners, are responsible for the success of their enterprises. Though Obama’s comment — “if you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that. Somebody else did that” — accurately observed that businesses large and small rely on public infrastructure funded by taxpayer dollars, Republicans have used the statement to reinforce their ‘Obama hates businesses’ narrative.
But during a campaign appearance in Ohio on Wednesday, Mitt Romney misquoted Obama, before agreeing that tax payer-funded programs help all American businesses succeed:

ROMNEY: I know that you recognize a lot of people help you in a business. Perhaps the bank, the investors. There is no question your mom and dad, your school teachers. The people who provide roads, the fire, the police. A lot of people help. But let me ask you this. Did you build your business? If you did, raise your hand. Take that Mr. President! This is what’s happening in this country. These people are entrepreneurs.

Watch it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Ui-3I2qs8jU
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Ui-3I2qs8jU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


Romney has proposed deep reductions in government spending and has even said that the nation must “cut back” on firemen, policemen and teachers.

Romney To Olympians: ‘You Didn’t Get Here Solely On Your Own’

 By Aviva Shen 

Mitt Romney and the conservative blogosphere are pushing a selectively edited Obama campaign speech to suggest that the president believes that the government is responsible for the successes of small businesses.
Obama’s full remarks, which pointed out that taxpayer-funded infrastructure and services enable businesses to prosper, are demonstratively true and represent a sentiment shared by Republican leaders. For instance, Mitt Romney himself made an almost identical point during his speech at the Opening Ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics, crediting the community for helping individuals achieve the pinnacle of success:

ROMNEY: You Olympians, however, know you didn’t get here solely on your own power. For most of you, loving parents, sisters or brothers, encouraged your hopes, coaches guided, communities built venues in order to organize competitions. All Olympians stand on the shoulders of those who lifted them. We’ve already cheered the Olympians, let’s also cheer the parents, coaches, and communities.

Watch it:  (click the link below to go to Think Progress for the NBC News / Olympics video )

Obama echoed this sentiment in his misquoted campaign speech on July 13: “The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together,” he said.
Romney agreed with Obama as recently as last week, saying in a campaign appearance, “I know that you recognize a lot of people help you in a business. Perhaps the bank, the investors. There is no question your mom and dad, your school teachers. The people who provide roads, the fire, the police. A lot of people help.”
http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/07/23/565491/romney-to-olympians-you-didnt-get-here-solely-on-your-own/

Wolf Votes Against Creating Jobs and Reducing the Deficit 10AUG10

Click the header to go to the Barnett campaign website to find out more about the person we deserve to have as our Representative in Congress! Too bad frank wolf isn't as concerned about keeping teachers, police and fire fighters employed as he is about protecting the military-industrial complex, fueling the war machine out of Virginia Beach.

Barnett Criticizes Wolf’s Vote on Crucial State Aid Bill

30-Year Incumbent Votes Against Saving Jobs, Reducing Deficit

 

McLEAN, VA – Jeff Barnett, Democratic nominee for Congress in Virginia’s 10^th District, criticized Rep. Frank Wolf for voting against an aid bill that will direct $26 billion to state governments, saving hundreds of thousands of jobs. 

“Budget shortfalls around the country are forcing states to consider laying off hundreds of thousands of educators and public safety workers, and I’m proud that Congressional Democrats stepped in to prevent that fate,” Jeff Barnett said. “This bill keeps 140,000 teachers in our classrooms and hundreds of thousands of police officers and firemen in our communities. We can’t afford a Congressman who stands in the way of a bill that invests $540 million in Virginia’s schools and public services. That’s unacceptable.”

 

“Frank Wolf claims to be concerned with reducing the deficit and creating jobs, but today’s vote shows otherwise,” said Barnett spokesman Patrick Dorsey. “Wolf voted against a bill that will save hundreds of thousands of jobs while reducing the deficit by more than a billion dollars. As long as Republicans vote to send the people who serve our communities to the unemployment lines, they have no credibility talking about job creation.”

 

“Congress has just saved the jobs of our teachers, our policemen, and our firefighters – people who work hard for the common good, but Republicans are calling this bill a handout to the ‘special interests.’ That speaks volumes about their priorities,” Barnett continued. “My opponent has been in Washington for thirty years, and he has lost track of what’s important. Here in the 10^th District, there’s broad support for educating our children and protecting our communities. I wish I could say that our Congressman shared that commitment, but Frank Wolf failed us today.” 

 

“Our district deserves a Congressman who will stand up for our kids and their future, who will fight to keep teachers in the classrooms even when times are hard. That’s the kind of Congressman that I am going to be.”

 

---

Media Contact: Patrick Dorsey 

patrick@jeffbarnettforcongress.com