Sep
4
It’s hard for cops, especially street cops, to watch TV news programs when the public is misunderstanding police procedures, and commenting based on a particular video snippet of an incident. This is especially frustrating when it comes from folks normally friendly to police.
Yes, I do have an example, since you were probably wondering [...]
Jun
28
Seattle: “Teen” punched for felony assault on police officer, not jaywalking.
Filed Under police | 2 Comments
As a police officer it’s maddening when people, from the most casual observer to the sharpest political pundit, gets it completely wrong. Now, I know we all get things wrong at times, but when we get those things wrong, and worse, in a very confident or even arrogant manner, but our error is based [...]
Jun
15
Bizzaro Seattle
Filed Under Just Stuff, police | Leave a Comment
I’ve been joking with friends lately that we’re now living in Bizzaro World. You know that world from the Superman comics where everything is the opposite of what it’s supposed to be like in our “real” world. The evidence for my observation is everywhere. Consider the following:
Yesterday on John Carlson’s show on KVI 570 [...]
Jun
13
Washington’s new cell phone law is bad law for so many reasons, so where to start? First, and perhaps most ridiculous, is that this law is redundant to begin with and it’s truly flabbergasting how every proponent deftly evades this reality. Laws like this serve only to make law-breakers out of formerly law-abiding [...]
May
11
Yesterday I learned an interesting lesson while watching Stossel on the Fox Business Channel. John’s audiences tend to be infused with libertarians, which is fantastic. I find the ascendency of small “l” libertarians inspiring. However, I observed an interesting phenomenon from which we can all learn a lesson about taking a breath, or counting [...]
Jan
24
Police Work from the Streets not the Bench
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Being a libertarian I pay close attention to legal issues affecting individual freedom vs. police procedures. Obviously, my opinion doesn’t just come from a book or a classroom; it comes from working the streets for nearly two decades now. I don’t simply talk about the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights; I have [...]
Jan
2
The New Year
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Thanksgiving, Hanukah, Christmas, New Years Eve and Day—the Holiday Season has passed, probably too quickly for most and not quickly enough for others. I’d like to think everyone had a wonderful time, and though many of us were fortunate to have had such, I know that’s not true for all, especially this past year.
Criminal [...]
Nov
23
It’s well past time to finally enact the Enumerated Powers Act (H.R. 1359, S. 3159). What is it? Well, in a nutshell, Arizona Republican Congressman John Shadegg has been introducing this legislation since 1995 (unsuccessfully with both Rs and Ds in charge), which would require members of congress who offer bills to cite the Constitutional [...]
Oct
29
Suspect Theater
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I watched a well-teased video of alleged police misconduct on a FOX news show the other morning. “Caught on video!” My ass. They promoted the video as if it were of a clearly recorded action scene directed by Steven Spielberg. Instead, viewers could barely see some vague, shadowy images within a darkened doorway. The reporter [...]
Oct
22
Chances are when you think of what cops do, in general (aside from ingesting copious quantities of coffee and donuts), you probably think they primarily protect you from criminals who want to hurt you or take your stuff. I don’t blame you; many cops probably think that too. However, I’d ask you to think more deeply [...]