Category: Cops

Cops

Does a Law Enforcement Oath Mean Anything Anymore? By John Green

Post author By Grumpy
Post date December 25, 2021
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I had coffee recently with a friend of mine, a retired FBI agent. We were talking about the mess the FBI has become. He’s even more disturbed about the politicization of the bureau than I am. During our talk he said something very interesting: “Current agents are just keeping their heads down and following orders.” A simple statement with profound implications.

Jobs in law enforcement are fundamentally different than other jobs. That difference is the oath that all law enforcement officers swear. The FBI oath states:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

All federal, state, and local law enforcement officials swear something similar.

Certainly, following lawful orders is important, but notice that there is nothing mentioned about obedience to leadership. That’s because following orders is between the officers and their leaders. Upholding their oath is between them and us, the American people. We expect them to make judgements about right and wrong, and the oath is their assurance that they will do so conscientiously.

All law enforcement officers, including FBI agents, who are “just following orders” are missing the point of their oath. They may be bound by agency rules to follow orders, but they are bound by sacred honor to remain faithful to the American people.

There’s a reason why people in law enforcement are required to place their honor on the line for the citizens they serve. No other occupation is allowed to detain, sometimes with restraints, another person solely based on their word that it’s justified. A cop can pull over a car, administer a sobriety test, handcuff the driver, and arrest him if he’s found to be impaired. No citizen who has not sworn the oath can do such a thing.

We grant the police the awesome powers of the state. In exchange, they promise to not abuse those powers. They promise to serve the public, as prescribed in the Constitution. That promise takes precedence over orders. So long as their leadership directs their activities consistent with the Constitution, there’s no problem. But when leadership directs them to do something counter to the Constitution — like ordering them to violate someone’s civil liberties — such orders are unlawful. An officer’s oath, whether he be a police officer or an FBI agent, is a promise to assess the constitutionality of all orders before blindly obeying them.

And yet we’ve seen widespread infractions of that promise across the range of law enforcement. Churchgoers have been cited or even arrested for failing to comply with closure orders. Worship is a basic human right guaranteed by the 1^st Amendment. There is no pandemic exception in the Constitution. Federal and local officials have no authority to order such closures. Orders for police to enforce the closures were unlawful. Yet, far too many cops simply followed their orders.

“Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” has been affirmed by the courts to include property rights. No government official can take or lower the value of your property without due process and appropriate compensation. Yet some businesses have been ordered closed, rendering them worthless. Police have been charged with enforcing the closures, and they’ve done it. An untold number of American citizens have lost their businesses and even their life savings, simply because the police “followed orders.”

The FBI has dispatched agents to identify and question anyone in attendance at the January 6 protest — ostensibly to identify the person who placed bombs outside the DNC and RNC headquarter buildings. However, there are no reports that everyone in the surrounding neighborhoods have been questioned. Why are peaceful protesters presumed to have seen something just because they were in the same city on the same day? Have members of Congress been questioned? They were in the city too. Are the agents really investigating? Or are they just letting the protesters know: We know you were there. To have agents show up at one’s door has the effect of chilling freedom of assembly and political expression — a 1^st Amendment violation. We don’t know how many agents have refused to comply, but we know that a great many have not refused.

Project Veritas has been in the news lately because the FBI raided the homes of its leader, James O’Keefe, and a number his reporters. The FBI even seized working documents, and is alleged to have leaked them to other news agencies. That is also a 1^st Amendment violation. The courts have interceded to constrain the FBI, but it should have been stopped by the agents before it even happened.

Parents have been arrested for protesting at school-board meetings. The arresting officers weren’t even responding to the orders of their superiors. They were complying with a request from the school board itself. So now a private citizen can demand that another private citizen be arrested for saying something they don’t like, and the police comply without even questioning it? As disturbing as that is, it gets even worse. The FBI has created “tags” in its tracking database to track this constitutional behavior as possible instances of domestic terrorism. That is a violation of citizens’ rights to free speech, assembly, and due process — the 1^st and 4^th Amendments.

We have even observed the FBI interfering in the peaceful transition of power following an election. Crossfire Hurricane was the FBI’s “insurance policy” against a Trump presidency. That’s not my terminology. “Insurance policy” is the term Deputy Assistant Director Peter Strzok used to describe his plan to use the power of the FBI to prevent Trump from being elected, and to interfere with his administration if he was elected anyway. That plot was confirmed by FBI lawyer Lisa Page in sworn congressional testimony. It was a blatant attempt by our “public servants” to prevent an electoral outcome they found undesirable — and reverse the election if it didn’t go the way they wanted it to.

Compliance with an officer’s oath can involve personal risk. To refuse an order from one’s superior carries the risk of seriously damaging — or even ending — an officer’s career. But the thing is, they’ve already promised us that they would make that sacrifice on our behalf. That’s the deal they strike with the public to be in law enforcement.

If their oath no longer binds them, how does that change our relationship with law enforcement? If their sworn word no longer means what it says, how can we believe them the next time they swear to tell the “truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth” in court? When an officer assures us that they made an arrest for sound reasons, are they standing for justice, or using their authority for personal or political gain? If their oath is meaningless, they become no more credible than the person they’ve placed under arrest.

Far too many law-enforcement officers, FBI agents included, have demonstrated that they are no longer agents of the Constitution. At best, they’re just employees doing as told. Their oath has become an irrelevant formality. Given that, why should we continue to vest them with the authority of the state? For one reason, and one reason only, it’s a dangerous world. We need police organizations to maintain order. But we need them to be better than they have been, so that order does not become tyranny.

John Green is a political refugee from Minnesota, now residing in Idaho. He currently writes at the American Free News Network (afnn.us). He can be followed on Facebook or reached at greenjeg@gmail.com.

Image: US Marshals Office of Public Affairs

All About Guns Cops

Situational Awareness is NOT JUST A BUZZ WORD!

Post author By Grumpy
Post date December 22, 2021
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Cops

Some more what REAL Violence looks like and one Bad Ass Cop!

Post author By Grumpy
Post date December 20, 2021
No Comments on Some more what REAL Violence looks like and one Bad Ass Cop!

All About Guns Cops

The Fearless Gangster-Hunter Who Taught US Marines to Shoot: Walter Walsh

Post author By Grumpy
Post date December 18, 2021
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All About Guns Allies Cops

UK Man Sentenced In Gun Smuggling Case By Tom Knighton

Post author By Grumpy
Post date December 17, 2021
No Comments on UK Man Sentenced In Gun Smuggling Case By Tom Knighton

We routinely hear American anti-gun cities and states blame neighboring states for their own gun issues. Chicago, in particular, is notorious for trying to blame Indiana for their violence without ever explaining how Indiana isn’t a lot more violent.

Yet when you look at somewhere like the United Kingdom, you have to wonder where those guns are coming from. After all, they’re an island. Further, all the nations that have easy access to them also have very strict gun control laws in place. It’s not like Scotland is a gun rights paradise and criminals are just driving south with a trunkload (or should I say “bootload”?) of guns.

No, they get them some other way.

The sentencing of a UK man who was involved in smuggling guns and drugs provides some indication of just how British bad guys get their guns.

A man who fled the UK after drugs and guns were found at his house has been jailed for 14 years.

Police searched the house of Marius Supelis after a van had been stopped at the French border with guns and ammunition hidden inside, along with a TV and music speaker.

The van driver had told border officials that the items were due to be delivered to the home of Supelis who lived in Ollard Avenue in Wisbech.

When UK border force stopped the van and x-rayed its contents, they found a laundry bag with guns stashed inside.

Three handguns were also found on a makeshift shelf in the top of a boom box music speaker, held in place by three screws.

…

The guns had been adapted to fire live ammunition and the bullets found in his bedroom were identical to those seized from the delivery van.

See, this is something I’ve seen before.

Apparently, one common tactic of British criminals is to adapt non-functional replicas of firearms into fully-functional weapons. I don’t know just how common it is, but I’ve run across several different mentions of this being used to arm British criminals.

Now, let’s take a step back for a moment and look at this.

These people are surrounded by nations that have very strict gun laws, laws meant to disarm people like them and they know it. So what do they do? Anything they can to arm themselves. If they’re not using backyard-built firearms, they’re adapting lawful and inoperable guns into working models instead.

Let this stand as a reminder, folks. Criminals will get guns no matter what laws you put in place. The only thing gun laws do is inhibit the law-abiding citizen who has done nothing wrong, nothing to warrant being disarmed. The UK flipped out after a mass shooting and issued wholesale gun confiscation. So what did criminals do? What they always do. They ignored all the laws and continue to get guns regardless.

Meanwhile, the average British person is powerless to respond to the threats that present themselves. They’re not even allowed to carry pocket knives anymore, for crying out loud. What are they going to do against a bad guy who has a gun?

And this should illustrate that such a thing is a very real possibility.

Cops Stand & Deliver

‘This Is How Americans Should Act’: Citizen Asserts Right to Self Defense After Shooting Burglar Dead by Adan Salazar

Post author By Grumpy
Post date December 14, 2021
No Comments on ‘This Is How Americans Should Act’: Citizen Asserts Right to Self Defense After Shooting Burglar Dead by Adan Salazar

Would-be thieves find out too late they’ve broken into wrong house.

‘It kind of goes back to your rights. I have the right to carry, and I have the right to protect myself, and I have the right to protect my property.’

Would-be thieves find out too late they’ve broken into wrong house.

‘It kind of goes back to your rights. I have the right to carry, and I have the right to protect myself, and I have the right to protect my property.’

I have a right to protect myself': Spanaway homeowner shoots, kills suspected burglar | king5.com

A fast-acting Washington resident and his family are alive after he thwarted a burglary at his residence by shooting one would-be thief dead.

Spanaway resident Jerahme Smith, who’s lived with his wife and children at his leased home for three years, grabbed his firearm after he heard someone kick down his door Thursday around 4:20 a.m.

“The homeowner told police he shot at the suspects as they kicked in his back door,” according to Fox 13. “The intruders then ran into the front yard where deputies later found one of the suspects dead. The other suspect ran off.”

Speaking to reporters, Smith said he took a few moments to assess the situation and calm his nerves before he “took action,” resulting in a 24-year-old suspected thief being shot dead during the attempted break-in.

“When everything first started, the first thing I had to do was take a few breaths and calm myself down because I knew it could have gone one of two ways.”

“I didn’t know who they were, I didn’t know what they had, but the first thing I did–and it’s the honest to God truth–is I took a few breaths to myself. That way I knew I was calm enough to make a proper judgment decision,” Smith told Fox 13.

Relieved he survived the home invasion, Smith asserted his right to defend his family and his property, saying, “It kind of goes back to your rights. I have the right to carry and I have the right to protect myself and I have the right to protect my property.”

Smith acknowledged it’s unfortunate the incident led to a loss of life, but said choosing between his life or the thief’s was an easy decision.

“We practice, but you never want to put it into action because it’s still a human life,” he said. “But my life is more important to me than theirs is, and me going home to my family and kids is more important than theirs is. I don’t know what they wanted out of this house. I don’t know what they were doing, but I don’t care.”

“Protect yourself. That doesn’t mean go looking for it, that means just be ready,” he added.

Discussing the robbery attempt with King 5 News, Smith insisted he wouldn’t re-locate his family, and encouraged other Americans to stand their ground if faced with similar circumstances.

“He says that he won’t be scared away by this one situation and he hopes that it becomes known that this is how Americans should act and that they should protect themselves,” reported King 5‘s Lionel Donovan.

The Daily Mail reports police took about 10 minutes to arrive at Smith’s home, located roughly 45 miles south of Seattle.

One neighbor told Fox 13 there’s been an uptick in crime in the neighborhood in recent weeks.

Police say the second robbery suspect is still at large and that the incident is still being assessed by Pierce County sheriff’s department investigators.

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