Watching The Cops
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Title: Meet the New "Specially Protected Class"
Source:
Pro Libertate
URL Source: http://freedominourtime.blogspot.co ... specially-protected-class.html
Published: Feb 13, 2017
Author: William N. Grigg
Post Date: 2017-02-13 21:44:03 by Hondo68
Keywords: Fraternal Order of Police, gangbangers, Blue Lies, Matter, Above the Law
Views: 8785
Comments: 28
Adams Lin literally fainted as he read a court order authorizing federal marshals to confiscate his property. The officers seized his car, his designer clothes, a flat-screen television, golf clubs, computer, and even his treasured Samurai sword.
Unlike countless other Americans who have been pillaged by federal law enforcement officials, Lin was not a victim of the officially sanctioned plunder called civil asset forfeiture. His property was confiscated after Lin’s boss failed to make a $200,000 payment toward the $22.4 million civil damage award granted to a man who was left paralyzed through Lin’s occupational misconduct.
Lin’s boss is Palm Beach County, Florida Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, and he has adamantly refused to make payments to Dontrell Stephens, who was shot by Lin after the panicking deputy mistook the 19-year-old’s cell phone for a gun.
“There’s nothing in the rules of engagement that says we have to put our lives in jeopardy to wait and find out what this is and get killed,” whined Sheriff Bradshaw on the day of the shooting. His department quickly exonerated Lin and promoted him – before the public release of video that proved that the victim had never posed a threat to the deputy.
Rather than complying with the court order, Bradshaw filed an appeal. After the award was upheld last May, Bradshaw appealed again – which triggered an injunction leading to the seizure of property from the deputy who was directly responsible for the unlawful shooting of an innocent teenager. Owing to his service as an asset of the state’s punitive apparatus, Lin was able to get his confiscated property back. His victim, of course, remains paralyzed.
Lin continues to be held in high regard by Bradshaw, which is why the sheriff selected him to be one of seven sergeants from his department assigned to the presidential security detail at the Palm Beach Airport during the president’s recent visit.
This obviously wasn’t a reward for Lin’s exceptional valor. The deputy’s pants-wetting meltdown that led to the near-murder of Stephens, and his fainting spell triggered by enforcement of the court order, demonstrate that he’s hardly Horatius at the bridge in dealing with adversity. It was a gesture of calculated contempt toward those who believe that police officers should be held accountable for personal misconduct, and an assertion of the institutional sense of entitlement that characterizes law enforcement – and that has been reinvigorated by the current occupant of the Oval Office.
Donald Trump has repeatedly described the privileged personalities who constitute the state’s punitive caste as “the most mistreated people” in society. In a recent exercise in self-pity published by the cyber-journal Law Officer, Major Travis Yates of the Tulsa Police Department embellishes Trump’s claim, complaining that law enforcement officers are the victims of what he calls “The New Discrimination in America.”
“We see police officers being assaulted,” insisted Yates. “We see police officers being murdered. And much of it, is just because they wear a uniform.”
Police officers are occasionally assaulted, and on austerely rare occasions murdered on-duty – much less frequently, as it happens, than they were under the reign of the last self-described law-and-order president, Ronald Reagan. Those who lend credence to Yates’s jeremiad, however, would believe that the desecrated bodies of police officers can be found dangling from hanging trees throughout the length and breadth of this hate-intoxicated, ungrateful land.
“From slavery to the KKK to Jim Crow laws, nothing much has changed in this country,” he intones. “We continue to hate and we continue to kill and the only difference now is we are doing it to those in uniform.”
This ambient violence sometimes leads people to shun police officers in restaurants, or call them “vile and hateful names.” A similarly grievous illustration of what he invites the reader to pretend is unconscionable anti-cop bigotry was an executive order by Barack Obama placing modest limits on the transfer of war-fighting materiel from the Pentagon to local police agencies.
Like many others in the self-described Blue Lives Matter movement, Major Yates confuses a chosen occupation – one involving the state-sanctioned exercise of aggressive violence -- with an innate characteristic. He also ignores the critical distinctions between hateful and spiteful verbal abuse -- on one hand -- and the forceful criticism of officials who are, or at least should be, accountable to the public they claim to serve.
Yates does understand the essential nature of the occupation he has chosen. In a previous essay, he complained that citizens who are urging police to rediscover the lost skill of de-escalation in encounters with citizens are demanding that “police stop being police.”
Yeah, they're just like victims of Jim Crow.
“Follow the commands of a police officer, or risk dying,” Yates snarled, expressing the discretionary power to kill that was not enjoyed or exercised by slaves or those subject to Jim Crow laws. From his perspective, only aberrant bigotry could motivate those who take issue with the fact that police consider themselves invested with that power, or criticize them when its exercise is manifestly indefensible.
Once clad in the habiliments of the state’s punitive priesthood, police expect and demand deference from Mundanes. Recent studies conducted by a team of cognitive neuroscientists at McMaster University suggest that the mere act of donning the official costume alters the way those thus attired – in this case, students, rather than police officers – view people who are regarded as socially marginal or otherwise “problematic.”
It is incontestable that once an individual swaddles himself in police attire he begins to assess everyone who surrounds him in terms of potential threats to “officer safety.” It is likewise clear that the relatively modest occupational risks of police officers are amplified by the requirement that they enforce measures that are innately illegitimate.
Missouri State Trooper Beau Ryun, to cite a perfectly suitable recent example, was “assaulted” by 22-year-old Jonathan Timmons during a recent traffic stop, and was rescued by the intervention of a motorist named Charles Barney and a 74-year-old woman identified only as “Sandra.” That’s as far as the story will be recounted in most re-tellings: A heroic paladin of public order was viciously attacked, and was rescued by two “civilians,” who have been nominated for “honorary trooper awards.”
Little if any attention will be paid to the prelude of this altercation.
Timmons, a resident of New York State, was not suspected of an actual crime against person or property. He was stopped by Trooper Ryun because of a “lane violation.” If the vehicle had not displayed out-of-state license plates, it’s quite possible that Ryun would have ignored this trivial transgression. Owing to the perverted priorities of prohibition, however, traffic infractions of this kind are coveted, because they provide opportunities for drug arrests and asset forfeiture.
Timmons, unfortunately, was far too cooperative following Ryun’s pretext stop, agreeing to sit in the patrol vehicle while the trooper conducted a consent search. When Ryun reached for the handcuffs, Timmons decided to fight back. His offense was morally indistinguishable from that of an escaped slave who “assaulted” an officer enforcing the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law – Deputy U.S. Marshal James Batchelder, to cite one example.
Batchelder was killed by an abolitionist posse seeking to liberate a man named Anthony Burns, who had been “lawfully” arrested by the marshal for rendition to the Virginia man who claimed to “own” him. Yes, Burns violated the “law” by escaping from involuntary servitude. In similar fashion, Timmons broke the “law” by being in possession of marijuana, and by resisting state-sanctioned abduction by an armed stranger.
Deputy Marshal Batchelder’s name is inscribed on the honor roll of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. Those who compile such rosters do not inquire into the legitimacy of the statutes whose enforcement led to the deaths thus tabulated, or consider whether killing or dying to enforce them is justifiable.
Timmons faces six criminal charges, including felonious assault on a “special victim.” Yes, Missouri is among the SSRs within the American soyuz that formally designate police as a “specially protected class.” Over the past two years, law and order conservatives who otherwise abhor the concept of “hate crimes” have proposed, and sometimes enacted, hate crimes statutes that enhance penalties for crimes against police officers.
In Louisiana, for example, citizens can now be charged with a “hate crime” under that state’s Blue Lives Matter statute, which was signed into law last year. Two bills being reconciled in the Mississippi State Legislature would have the same impact.
House Bill 645, titled the “Back the Badge Act of 2017,” would triple the penalties for committing an act of violence against law enforcement officers or other first responders (who are included in the bill in order to expand its constituency, not because of an outbreak of violence against firefighters or EMTs). A similar measure, Senate Bill 2469, the “Blue, Red, and Med Lives Matter Act,” has passed that chamber of the state Legislature. That bill designates police and other first responders as a specially protected class for the purpose of hate crimes prosecution. Mississippi state law currently doubles penalties for crimes targeting people belonging to specially protected classes.
Caesar keeps the Praetorians happy.
The Fraternal Order of Police and other police unions have been agitating for federal “hate crimes” legislation for the benefit of law enforcement, and Donald Trump is eager to oblige them. His recent executive order instructs newly installed Procurator General Jeff Sessions to “pursue appropriate legislation … that will define new Federal crimes, and increase penalties for existing Federal crimes, in order to prevent violence against Federal, State, tribal and local law enforcement officers.”
With three exceptions – piracy, counterfeiting, and treason – “federal crimes” do not exist under the constitutional framework, which likewise does not authorize the federal government to investigate and punish violations of state laws. Self-described constitutionalists once regarded such considerations as important.
Just months ago, the “law and order” constituency was denouncing the President of the United States for seeking to “federalize” law enforcement. Now that same cohort is offering full-throated approval of the president’s eagerness to expand federal involvement in local law enforcement – and to federalize prosecution of people accused of criminal offenses resulting from encounters like the one involving Jonathan Timmons and Trooper Ryun.
After spending Barack Obama’s reign denouncing his regime as the distillate of despotism, right-collectivists are eagerly applauding the enhancement of state power under a president with whom they can identify.
Statists of all varieties remain committed to Lenin’s formula, under which the fundamental political question is “who does what to whom.” The “what” in that equation – the exercise of essentially illimitable state power – remains intact; the “who” and “whom” have simply exchanged places. Somewhere in hell, Lenin is kvelling.
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#3. To: hondo68 (#0)
A bill that would give hate crime protections to police officers and emergency responders has passed the Kentucky House of Representatives. The vote on the so-called “blue lives matter” bill Monday evening sparked a lengthy debate and drew protesters to the House gallery. At one point activists shouted down the proceedings and marched out, escorted by state police. Chanelle Helm, with Louisville’s Black Lives Matter chapter, called the legislation a racist act of white Republican representatives in the legislature. “I think we do need to understand where racism comes from and how it was created, and how bills like this are meant to further divide,” Helm said. The bill adds to the state’s hate crime law offenses committed against those who are — or are perceived to be — peace officers, firefighters or emergency medical technicians. The designation of “hate crime” means that judges have more discretion in denying probation and parole boards have more discretion to deny parole. Louisville Republican Rep. Kevin Bratcher, the bill’s sponsor, filed the legislation in the wake of the killings of five police officers in Dallas last June. He said during a floor speech on Monday that the debate had gotten off on “tangents.” “You guys don’t know what’s in my heart and I don’t know what’s in your heart, but I don’t know how anybody could vote against this bill,” Bratcher said. Bratcher has distanced himself from the unofficial title “blue lives matter,” though the bill is similar to legislation approved last year in Louisiana by the same name. Rep. Attica Scott, a Democrat from Louisville, said she was worried that the legislation would disproportionately affect minorities and protesters. “I’m concerned that HB 14 will give this kind of fearmongering a license to charge me with a hate crime for doing what my ancestors did during the Civil Rights Movement — standing up for the diversity of our state and the most vulnerable of our communities,” Scott said. Kentucky already has advanced penalties for those who target police officers. Assaulting a police officer is a felony in the state, and prosecutors can seek the death penalty for those who kill a police officer. But Rep. Robert Benvenuti, a Republican from Lexington, said the bill would give important recognition to first responders. “The message you will send with a yes vote today is that you will not tolerate the hunting of first responders, of the men and women who will come and lay down their lives for you,” he said. Kentucky’s hate crime law currently applies to crimes committed because of race, color, religion, sexual orientation and national origin. The bill now heads to the state Senate. https://wfpl.org/amid-protests-blue-lives-matter-bill- passes-state-house/.
Fowler introduces “Blue Lives Matter” legislation SPRINGFIELD – State Sen. Dale Fowler, R-Harrisburg, introduced his “Blue Lives Matter” legislation in order to offer additional legal protections to law enforcement and emergency services personnel. The legislation came from a campaign pledge Fowler made. “All lives matter, but in today’s dangerous world our public safety professionals have been placed in a more extreme environment, where they themselves have been made the targets of senseless aggression,” Fowler said. “I made a pledge to our Illinois police, correctional officers, firefighters, and EMS personnel, that we would introduce a ‘Blue Lives Matter’ bill which adds these professionals to the current hate crimes statues.” Recent shooting incidents in Louisiana and Texas have magnified the incredible burdens that have been placed on emergency personnel in recent years, Fowler said. Acts of violence against police, correctional officers and other first responders are starting to increase to higher levels not seen in modern years, he said. Senate Bill 1380 adds peace officers, correctional institution employees, probation and parole officers, firefighters, and emergency medical services personnel to the listing of protected classes under the Illinois Hate Crimes statutes. The legislation applies to local, state, and federal public safety professionals. Illinois Hate Crimes statutes already exist to protect disabled, racial, religious, national origin, sexual orientation populations. SB 1380 is currently waiting to be assigned to committee for a legislative hearing. http://www.dailyregister.com/news/20170213/fowler-introduces-blue- lives-matter-legislation.
As I have been pointing out, and continuing to do so now, that’s changing all across the country. Folks everywhere are now rising up to come to the aid of our police officers to help protect them. GRAND LEDGE, MI (WKZO-AM) Senator Rick Jones says he will sponsor legislation that would make an attack on a police officer a hate crime. Jones says hatred for first responders is on the rise and it's time the state take a stand to support them. Conviction on the felony count would call for the offender to get up to two years tacked on to their sentence for whatever other assault or resisting count the suspect also faced. Louisiana has just approved their so-called “Blue Lives Matter” law, and several other states have proposals. http://wkzo.com/news/articles/2017/feb/09/blue-lives- matter-bill-proposed/.
Senate passes "Blue Lives Matter" bill After a nearly two-hour floor debate, the Mississippi Senate passed a "Blue Lives Matter" bill Thursday by 37-13, adding targeting of law enforcement and other first responders to the state hate crimes law. Several amendments were proposed by African-American senators, including one by Sen. Barbara Blackmon, D-Canton, to add language that enforcement officers be held to the same standards if they targeted someone because of their race. "Young black males can be targeted for just being black," Blackmon said. The debate became one of perception with African-American senators seeing the legislation as not holding law enforcement to the same standard while the majority white senators see it as backing the badge, the people who risk their lives daily to protect. Senate Judiciary Chairman Sean Tindell, R-Gulfport, said the state's hate crimes law already provides enhanced penalty for anyone, including law enforcement, who targets someone because of their race, gender, ethnicity, religion, etc. Blackmon's motion failed 15-34. African-American senators argued it's not that they are against law enforcement, but rather that the bill isn't needed. Those supporters of the bill called it backing the badge. Blue Lives Matter started after Black Lives Matter protests over deaths of African Americans at the hands of police. Also Thursday, a state House Committee passed its own version of a "Blue Lives Matter" bill, and while that bill doesn't make it a hate crime, it does enhance the penalty for targeting law enforcement. Senate Bill 2469 adds language that if a crime is committed because the victim's actual or perceived job is law enforcement, firefighter or emergency medical technician, it would be considered a hate crime just as it would if a person was targeted due to race, gender or religion. "I want to send a message if we prove they were targeted," Tindell said. Tindell said a person who kills a law enforcement officer is already subject to the death penalty under state law. However, under the proposed legislation, a person convicted of aggravated assault or other crimes on a law enforcement officer would also face enhanced penalties, in many cases double the standard sentence with no early parole. Last year, Louisiana passed a law that has been referred to as "Blue Lives Matter" legislation. That law adds law enforcement officers to the protected class under that state's hate crime statute. Other states have been considering such bills. Tindell said the Baton Rouge shooting in July, which left three police officers dead, was only two hours away from his home. He said that was the catalyst for the Senate legislation. Mississippi ACLU Executive Director Jennifer Riley-Collins said the bill is unnecessary and there is no evidence it will make police safer. Statistics show that violence against police is down, she said. There are already severe, enhanced penalties for assaults on police officers in Mississippi. "This bill, and others like it, prioritize police over people," Riley-Collins said. The Senate bill goes to the House. If it passes in the Legislature and is signed by the governor, who has said he supports such legislation, it will become law July 1. The House bill goes to the full House.
#10. To: hondo68 (#9)
Pennsylvania - Formation of 'Blue Lives Matter Caucus' approved At the request of Representative Frank Burns, House Speaker Mike Turzai approved the formation of a Blue Lives Matter Caucus. The new group will look into all issues and concerns related to law enforcement. Burns is currently working on pushing through a bill titled 'Blue Lives Matter' which would make assaulting a law enforcement officer a hate crime. http://www.wearecentralpa.com/news/formation-of-blue-lives-matter- caucus-approved/647446389.
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest A court order authored federal marshals to confiscate Deputy Sheriff Adams Lin’s property. The officers seized his car, his clothes, a flat-screen television, golf clubs and computer. Lin was not a victim of the officially sanctioned plunder called civil asset forfeiture. His property was confiscated after Lin’s boss
Rather than complying with the court order, Bradshaw filed an appeal. After the award was upheld last May, Bradshaw appealed again – which triggered an injunction leading to the seizure of property from the deputy who was directly responsible for the shooting of an teenager. Owing to his service as an asset of the state’s punitive apparatus, Lin was able to get his confiscated property back.
failed refused to make payment toward the $22.4 million civil damage suit.
#4. To: hondo68 (#3)
#6. To: hondo68 (#4)
After spending Barack Obama’s reign denouncing his regime as the distillate of despotism, right-collectivists are eagerly applauding….a president with whom they can identify.
LOL….right on! After President Trump’s latest executive orders show of support for police….“Blue Lives Matter” went from a reactive slogan to White House policy.
#7. To: hondo68 (#6)
By TRAVIS DENEAL - Posted Feb. 13, 2017 at 9:16 AM
#8. To: hondo68 (#7)
From your article: We see police officers being assaulted,” insisted Yates. “We see police officers being murdered. And much of it, is just because they wear a uniform.
"Blue Lives Matter" bill proposed,
#9. To: hondo58 (#8)
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