Black American spills truth about Kapernick’s lies and what it costs the black community.

As a black person and a law enforcement employee, I find this protest does a grave disservice to both groups. Let me explain why, being as concise as possible. This wont be short but please bear with it.

This whole thing started because Colin Kaepernick was upset about being benched in favor of Blaine Gabbert after an abysmal 2015 football season. He threw the grown equivalent of a temper tantrum in the 2016 pre-season by remaining seated during the national anthem. During that time, he was caught on camera and asked about it in an interview after the game.

Not wanting to look like a big baby he says “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of color,” in spite of no prior mention, inclination, or interest in this issue beforehand.

What’s more, the timing was impeccable given his budding relationship with Nessa Diab, (a huge BLM activist, communist advocate, Berkeley alum, and hip-hop radio personality) which had begun in July of 2015. Diab is a proponent of the anti-cop crowd and a closet racist. Her brash words quite possibly costing Kaepernick a spot on the Baltimore Ravens. But that was much later on.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baltimore-sports-blog/bs-sp-ravens-ray-lewis-colin-kaepernick-20170905-story.html

So why does he do law enforcement a disservice? First of all, his claim that police generally target minorities is patently false and has been debunked by a number of sources. Most notably, a Harvard study, conducted by a black professor no less, found that there is no bias in police shootings. In fact, in spite of committing less crime per capita, whites are more likely to be shot. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jul/11/no-racial-bias-police-shootings-study-harvard-prof/

In his diatribe Kaepernick also stated “You have people that practice law and are lawyers and go to school for eight years, but you can become a cop in six months and don’t have to have the same amount of training as a cosmetologist.” In his extreme ignorance he failed to realize the following:
– The academy is typically 4-7 months but training continues another 4-6 months afterwards in addition to a 12-18 month probationary period. This is an extremely stressful period and maybe 5 out of 200+ applicants make it. Let’s see that vetting process in cosmetology school.
– Many officers (including myself) have certifications, associate and/or bachelor’s degrees in addition to attending a police academy.
– Many officer’s are ex or reserve military with years of experience or specialized training.
– Most police academies are 8 -10 hrs a day 40+ hours/week or live-in. During that time, recruits are subjected to rigorous physical, academic, and technical training, as well as strenuous mental conditioning. I would like to see a cosmetology school half as intensive as a police academy.

He was right about one thing, Lawyer’s are required to attend around 8 years of pre and post graduated schooling. I dated a girl who attended Mc.George law school. It’s no joke. She is also making SIX FIGURES on her own while I’m firmly entrenched in five combined. Cops are indeed required to make instant legal decisions that attorneys get weeks to dissect and tear apart and they are well compensated. Yet, my friend who works as a police detective dealing with dead bodies and living human scum barely makes $16 an hour. Cops in San Jose, where Kaepernick played football for millions of dollars, have to live in their cars and in trailers during the week because they cant afford to live in the city they police. SO, unless he (and the rest of the taxpayers) are willing to pay for 8 years of schooling and the 6 figure salaries that go with it, he just shouldn’t go there.

So, now he’s managed to use ignorance about a hot-button issue to distract from his failing career but has unfortunately had the side effect of distracting from REAL problems that ACTUALLY affect the black and minority communities. Which is why…

…this protest has done a disservice to the black community.

Blaming police for deaths he (and/or his girlfriend) perceived to be unjust (although many have been found to be justified given the evidence presented) is an exercise in futility. Why? Because even if they weren’t justified, they would still only cover a very small percentage of the unnecessary killings of blacks and minorities.
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/451466/police-violence-against-black-men-rare-heres-what-data-actually-say

This has the consequence of distracting from the issue of the rate of single parent black households is in the 70% range. Why is this a bigger problem? The lack of stable households has been a key contributor to poverty, drug abuse, and gang proliferation in the black community.

What’s worse. Since Kaepernick has drawn all this negative attention to police, there has been a sharp increase in homicides, particularly in cities with substantial black populations. This increase can easily be attributed to an emboldened criminal population. This is also due to the decrease in police activity for fear of political fallout. Who want’s to be sued, prosecuted, or assassinated because of a media inspired witch hunt? I don’t.

So in other words, more blacks have been dying since BLM and Kaepernick started their protests than before the protests.
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/01/us/murder-rates-rising-sharply-in-many-us-cities.html

As a person of color, this saddens me to no end. As a cop, this frustrates me to no end. My people are dying on both sides and my former favorite QB is partly to blame.

Now at this point the protest has become a middle finger to Trump. I find that and him both childish. The national anthem should not be used as a political chess piece for immature parties to use to inflame each other.

So NO, I DO NOT support this protest nor anyone who participates in it and that’s MY right. YES I acknowledge protesting is a right which I took an oath to defend. However, just because you have a right to do something doesn’t mean you should always do it. Effective protests are thoughtful, well planned, and peaceful as well as have a positive endgame for all parties (Think MLK & Co.) This protest has only one of those aspects.

Freedom is a privilege granted by God. The founders knew this and used that knowledge to frame this country. This protest is a slap in the face to that very ideal because it inadvertently victimizes those those it’s allegedly meant for and it demonizes the very ones who work to preserve the right.

Sorry this was so long. There’s a lot more I wanted to say. IF you read this whole thing, congrats. This isn’t a twitter issue where we can or should say what needs saying in a 140 character statement.

~Solo

Why this Officer voted Trump

Currently you are hard pressed to find anything more divisive than politics when discussing current events.  Unfortunately it is nearly impossible to avoid politics when talking about Policing.  They are practically intertwined like peanut butter and jelly.  From running a campaign to be Sheriff, to placating the mayor to have your new budget approved.  There are simply times when politics are unavoidable need to be discussed.  This is one of them for me.

Before you decide my article sucks and you hate me and everything I stand for because of the title of my article, consider this a teachable moment.  I am giving you insight in to the minds of many police officers in the United States and it doesn’t cost anything more than your time to read it.   If you want to play partisan politics, play the loyal dog to your party master, that’s completely up to you.  I can’t force you to be neutral or objective.  I can only give you the facts as seen from a mid-western law enforcement officer.

I like to think of myself and an informed citizen who wholly believe in the words of the constitution.  I think you have to be if you you are going to enforce the law.  It is the document that governs your existence.   When deciding whom to vote for, I try to keep and open mind and listen to what each person has said, and weight that against their previous political record (assuming they have one).  Like most Americans, I am tired of the same old song and dance from both political parties.  They both make promises they have no intention of keeping.  The only thing they ever keep is the establishments own power.   So it makes weeding through the *BS difficult because most of them are well versed and quite convincing.   The parties may have a few core differences, but when its all stripped away they are essentially the same animal.  Neither one delivering what they promise and always making themselves money.

August 9, 2014, the day all hell began to break loose not far from where I live.  A 6’4 300lb Michael Brown(who happens to be black, not like it should matter) strong arm robs a convenience store and then is in a confrontation with Officer Darren Wilson.  Micheal Brown is killed in the exchange is what is later ruled as a justifiable shooting.  Ferguson erupts into violence and racial tensions explode throughout the country. Every time a white officer has to shoot a black man, its because he is a racist.  Suddenly, being a white cop is an undesirable profession.

Many, many liberal politicians (especially in Missouri) began preaching about how unfair the justice system is,  how every white person has “white privilege” and how police and just jack booted, racist thugs.  Forgetting that 12% of Police Officers are black.   The leftist media began hopping on the bandwagon, condemning all police, and doing so before many of the facts had been released.  It felt like a programmed narrative.  Like someone had a script they were following.  How else could the media get it all so wrong?

 

The current president of the United States at the time, Mr. Obama, even sent an official White House delegation to Brown’s funeral prior to the conclusion of the investigation. Wilson was given his walking papers and forced to move his family out of Ferguson.  For doing his job correctly.

The comments continued from the liberal politicians, happy to support #BlackLivesMatter and hop on the racist bandwagon if it meant they got to keep control of Washington.  Even some right-winged politicians jumped on hoping it may help their chances at the black vote. Numerous comments and actions, to many to mention that helped fuel anger towards police which culminated in the assassinations of officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge.  Suddenly we were the target, not just in the media, but on the street as well.  You could be killed for simply wearing a badge and wanting to serve your community.  Around the end of 2015 beginning of 2016, it pretty much felt like the only friend you could trust were other officers.  The media surely didn’t have your back.  Left and right politicians didn’t have your back.  Everyone was head hunting the police, aka “racist death squad”.

Enter the orange haired wild man.  I admit at first I thought there was no way he was going to pull off winning a primary much less the election.  That’s what you get for underestimating Donald Trump.  I was looking towards hanging my hat on the hopes of Dr. Ben Carson whom I greatly admire, or possibly Ted Cruz.  The democrats gave me no real reasonable option when they put forth an admitted socialist in Bernie Sanders and the less than honorable Hillary Clinton.  It only took about two speeches before they attempted to pander for the black vote.  From the “systemic racism” quotes to bring Michael Brown’s mother to the Democratic National Convention, it was clear the police did not have a friend in the Democratic party, they had chose to hang their hat elsewhere.

Now lets be clear, I am no expert in the black community.  I only know what I read, what I see and what I discuss with other gentlemen of color.  I have many friends of color who are Police Officers and I rely on them greatly to form my opinions.   Because if I allow the media to control my opinion, well than I would probably assume that all black people hate the police, and that’s simply not true.  I am sure there are improvements that can be made to make sure our justice system is not prejudice and fair for people of all colors.  Demonizing the entire police force, especially those who are white, is not how you solve that.  The sad part is, this has never been a black and white thing for most officers.  The media and politicians made it that way.  The try to divide us.

So here you have a current president (Obama) who appears to be fairly anti-police, and numerous politicians who want to become president, and they all appear to be hitching their wagon to the anti-police bandwagon. All of them except one.

The positive police comments are what initially made me give consideration to Mr. Trump. For two years we had been assaulted by just about everyone there was.  Telling us we were trigger happy, racist, blue thugs, etc….

Celebrities hopped on the bandwagon.  JayZ, Tarantino, Beyonce, Gabrielle Union, Colin Kapernick, Jesse Williams,  the list goes on and on.    Because nothing says oppression quite like millionaires letting police officers know how much they hate them.

Colin Kapernick wears socks depicting police as pigs.  Tarantino attends an anti police protest

So here you have a new found racial tensions that most of us Gen Xers had never experienced, criminals being treated like royalty and the police being demonized by practically everyone but their own mothers.   One man took a stand and verbalized his appreciation of the Police.  That was Donald Trump.  Love him or hate him, that is a fact.  It made him a viable candidate to many.

Then the final nail in the coffin for the other Republican primary candidates.  Ted Cruz and John Kasich in April 2016, decide to make a agreement on removing their names from a state ballot in an feeble attempt to stop Donald Trump, confirming that Trump was not party of the Republican Establishment, and they would do anything to stop him.   The more the democrats hated him, and the more the republicans showed their true colors,  the more viable candidate he became.  The people in power feared him,  something that has not happened in a long time. He wasn’t one of them, which made him one of us, and my choice for president.

Democrats then did what they do best,  cry racism/racist.   The same way they claimed the police were racist, they saddled Trump with the exact same burden.   It really never stopped there,  eventually anyone who was supporting him or even considering it, was deplorable and irredeemable.  Which has led us to where we are now, left vs. right,  conservative vs. democrat.  Which in a way is funny, because it was never about left or right for most of us.   It was the fact we had never had the opportunity to vote for someone who wasn’t a ” American Political Power Family”,  who wasn’t a Bush, Kennedy or Clinton.

The electoral college will stand, so both parties better figure out a way to win with the deplorable citizens of the flyover states.  We are the heart of this country.

For the first time in a few years, I feel as though maybe some of the respect is coming back.  I don’t feel as if I should lie about what I do for a living.  I feel proud to be Police again.  I feel like the President has our back.

Now the detractors will point to some high profile incidents of Police misconduct and try to say that all police behave this way.  Its simply not true.  The photos we share on the stop the cop haters, of police helping the homeless, playing with kids, running towards the gunfire,  I see those things daily from the many, many brave and loving officers who care deeply about their communities.  So much so that they would give their life for it.  The negative incidents need to be addressed and handled, but that shouldn’t take away from all the good they do.

I have no idea how history will judge a Trump presidency after 4 or maybe 8 years.  I cannot read the future.  All I can tell you is how he came to be my choice.   Like it or not, its still a free country and will remain that way on my watch.

~NR

Do black lives really matter?

“Do black lives really matter?” – By Stuck in the Middle 

Do black lives REALLY matter?
We’ve all seen the t-shirts and heard the mantra that accompanies the protests and dots the Facebook news feeds of the well meaning, the cop blockers, and the generally misinformed; Black Lives Matter.  

Well, I am a black person and as such, I find this statement misleading and patronizing. Since the whole Mike Brown media circus brought this about, I have continuously pondered the question, since when did black lives truly matter to these people? 

What this movement needs, is a vetting process that separates those who truly care from those who are simply buying into the latest trend or looking for yet another excuse to point a [middle] finger at authorities. 

As such, I would like to pose some honest questions to those who would fly the flag “black lives matter.”  

When did black lives start to matter to you? Before you tell me “they always have”  I would like to know the following:

–  IF black lives matter to you: Why aren’t you volunteering in schools or organizations so black children can have access to mentors or caring adults? Why aren’t you providing a shoulder to cry on, a hand to hold, or an ear to listen? Why aren’t you giving them something to turn to besides a criminal lifestyle. Why aren’t you showing these children love instead of the people who pretend to love them so they use them?  

– IF black lives matter to you: Why are you attacking the few teachers willing to work in predominantly black schools and not attacking the school curriculum that teaches black youth that the highlight of their history is being freed from southern slavery or being saved from Jim Crow? Why aren’t you complaining that black history is so focused on the civil rights movement but ignores black contributions to the whole world? Why aren’t you demanding to know about Charles Drew (inventor of the modern blood bank), Garret Morgan (inventor of the traffic signal and gas masks), Daniel Hale Williams (pioneer of open heart surgery), or George Washington Carver (inventor and genius)? Why aren’t you demanding their achievements be taught alongside those of Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison?

If black history really mattered to you, why are you OK with being taught blacks have been nothing but victims throughout history. Why aren’t you demanding to know about the great black leaders such as King Shaka Zulu, Tousaint LOverture, and Hannibal Barca. Why aren’t you demanding to learn more about the achievements of Frederick Douglas or the Black Governors who led prosperously during the reconstruction period? Why does George Lucas ‘care’ more about the Tuskegee Airmen than you do? 

Why are you so sympathetic for the blacks who have contributed to tearing the country apart instead of lifting up the ones who helped build it? 

– IF black lives matter to you: Why do you support music and media that promotes negative stereotypes. Why do you buy the music that degrades our women and promotes gang violence. There are many talented black artists and actors who create meaningful and entertaining art, yet don’t get a shot at fame. They are suppressed by a greedy media who would rather accept your money and reinforce the image that blacks are thugs, sex mongers, drug abusers , and ignorant. If you truly care about blacks, why do you raise up Lil Wayne, Iggy Izaela, Young Jeezy, and Nikki Minaj who’ve contributed literally nothing positive to the black image? There are countless actors, hip-hop, country, jazz, rock, and r&b artists who are black and promote growth, knowledge, and positivity in the black community. Why don’t you find and support their products? 

– IF black lives matter to you: Why didn’t you protest the deaths of Terrence Avery Green. Robert Wilson III, Brennan Rabain, Josie Wells, and several other black men murdered in 2015? Was it because they were law enforcement officers? I don’t remember the the hashtag saying #blacklivesmatter,unless theyre cops. 

– IF black lives matter to you: Why aren’t you demanding black fathers stay in their sons’ and daughters’ lives so they don’t feel the need to turn to gangs, drugs, and prostitution. Why aren’t you demanding black moms on welfare be a better example to their children and find meaningful employment, go to school, and break the cycle? Why haven’t you volunteered to help them do this?   

– IF black lives matter to you: Why do you continue to indulge and condone the gang culture that has claimed more young black lives than all of the wars and police shootings have, combined?   How can you chant black lives matter over the death of a criminal who pointed a gun at police and not chant it over an innocent 9 year old girl who was shot in a drive by a block away. Why haven’t you protested ANY of the innocent children in the last year who have died by a gang banger’s stray bullet? 

– IF black lives matter to you: Why do you continue to buy into a national news system who at one moment portrays blacks as thugs, rapists, and killers, then the next moment portrays blacks as unwitting victims of an oppressive system. Why drink the koolaid? 

– IF black lives matter to you: Why has it taken the justified police shooting of an apparent criminal and not the thousands upon thousands of black deaths due to aids, heart disease, diabetes, gang violence, abortions, cancer, and despair to get your attention? 

I’ve asked myself these questions and have taken action on many of them. Why? Because black livesDO matter to me and it’s going to take a lot more than anti cop rhetoric, political pandering, and a catchy hashtag to save those lives. 

Do black lives really matter to you? My guess is, the vast majority of you who continue carry on the #blacklivesmatter mantra don’t really care. My guess is, it’s either a fad for you, you think you’re helping but are unwilling to explore the actual root of the problem, or you’re simply using this as a vehicle for your own pre-existing anti-cop sentiment. Either way, as a black person,  I’ve had enough pandering and patronizing from you. Either help out or don’t, just stop saying black lives matter unless your willing to do something useful to save them.   

Fairfax county fireman threatens to bury cops.

I am going to introduce you to the Mr. Khalil Abdul Rasheed he is a fireman at the Fairfax County fire department. As you can see from his posts below he thinks his merry group of thugs should start putting police officers in the ground.  That doesn’t sound appropriate does it.  

Let’s put it into perspective.  “Hey stop the cop haters fans,  lets start killing firemen,  all they ever save is the foundation to the house anyways”.  Now how would that fly with your department if you posted something like that on an open Facebook group?  You would probably be fired.

Khalil was posting in a thread started by Matthew which calls for violence. It was posted on a the page called ” film the police “. Another of the so called accountability pages that are filled with anti police hated and threats.  If he wants accountability then fine,  be accountable for your words.  Contact the Fairfax County Fire Department and let them know we don’t want potential cop killers working for them.

Updated:

It also appears he is an ISIS sympathizer by his photos you can see below. Many commented have told me he refuses calls for service due to prayer time and has been caught vandalising a dumpster.

How does a man who should be on the terror watch list end up being a first responder? Officers do not need a man like this helping them and neither does the public

Here is a link to an article with his reply to our story.

UPDATED: Virginia firefighter’s comment about fighting back against police getting scrutiny – Firefighter reacts to controversy

POS Alert: Antonio Buehler

Antonio Buehler is a special kind of silly.  He is copblocker who resides in Austin, Texas.  Mr. Buehler fronts the site called peaceful streets project and like all the sites run by copblocker and knuckledicks it isn’t about peaceful streets its about confronting officers and breeding hate.

Buehler has made an attempt at being an educated man when he attended Harvard University.  Of course he hasn’t put that to good use because of his xbox and cheesy poofs in mom’s basement.  He does however think he is a lawyer and “knows his rights”. 

            Mr. Harvard. Dad is so proud

His pathetic little group of anti social degenerates like to preach peaceful streets but then follow Austin officers around yelling things like ” fuck the police ” and other uneducated terms to try and antagoize them.  Which of course doesn’t work.  Like most other anti police losers he has a criminal record and currently has a pending case which he is losing.

The justice system to this point has done what’s it is suppose to, jail thugs like Buehler and protects others from frivolous lawsuits and prosecution. Buehler has another thing in common with people who hate police, as in the fact that they always expect someone else to fund their ridiculous campaigns.

Ah yes, the mark of a successful man, begging for money on Facebook. If I was his father I would be turning that sweatshirt inside out.

Buehler even attempted a run at the office of Public Safety Commissioner, which of course was like most other things in his life, a complete failure. Most of society and residents of any given city are intelligent and don’t want cop haters and people with poor attitudes running their city. The residents of Austin want to be protected from people like Buehler but sometimes those officers need your protection from him. So the next time you see Buehler harassing your officers, let him know how you feel about that. Remember, officers are human beings just like you and no one wants to be called names by someone like this. Mr. Buehler, move out of moms house and leave the people alone who serve their community. How about you find a way to serve it instead of being a drain on it.

Responsibility check: Sean Andersen

Since Facebook is no longer allowing the screen capturing and name posting of public posts then this is the next best thing.  Apparently you can post photos of dead cops and that’s OK.  But whatever you do, don’t repost something a person on Facebook already posted.  Makes perfect sense.

This tough guy here like to post about murdering cops yet has a decent job with honor health in Scottsdale, AZ.   Let’s tell them how we feel about employing a low life such as this man

Let’s make Mr. Andersen take responsibility for his posts. Contact Honor Health of Scottsdale, Arizona.

Showing restraint in judgment

Showing restraint is an integral part of being a Law Enforcement Officer.  Not only physical and emotional restraint, but judgment as well.

Our job is hard enough.  We are evaluated and judged on the split second decision we make.  Sometimes instinctive, sometimes reactive, sometimes malicious.  One thing you can guarantee, it will always be judged.  Whether that is by your peers or by a court of law.

The one thing where I feel we should show more restraint is when we pre-judge our peers is when it comes to an open investigation and when we do not have all the facts.

Being prejudice without all the facts is dangerous.  It invokes presumed emotions.

As Officers we have a duty to not be prejudice as it could affect our judgement.  It’s not supposed to matter if a convict had done it before.  It only adds to your case when it’s coupled with other facts to prove that he is guilty, or enough probable cause exists for the arrest.  But that’s not always what occurs is it?

It appears we didn’t learn much from Wilson vs Brown.  Here we are again basing our thoughts and outcomes without all the facts.  Well if you don’t already know, I am referring to Slager vs White.

Right now as I write this article a portion of the black community is near militant.  They are divided amongst racial lines that were wrongfully drawn between Law Enforcement and the community.  People are so emotionally committed and charged by this that they are driven from their normal routine lives to make their opinions heard.  Their opinions are not fact based but biased to prove that not only is Law Enforcement targeting black citizens, but circumvent our court system by demanding swift justice.  They and some of you have already judged this Officer.  You may be right, who knows.  I guess it is a 50/50 guess, right?

Topics like, “Good shoot vs Bad shoot” riddles Facebook and the Law Enforcement community.  We need to get away from that.

I get it, you want to talk about it, sure.  Talk about it.  Topics like, “What dropped on the ground in the video?”, “Is this the only video?”, “How many seconds between him being engaged with the Officer and the first shot?”, should be what we are discussing.  What if this was the 3rd time this person had engaged this Officer in a fist fight only to run and retreat and then reengage?  I am even ok with comments of, “It looks bad” because I have never seen even a justified shooting “look good.”

What we need to do is show restraint.  An independent agency is investigating this incident and they have already charged the Officer with murder.  Jumping to conclusions is unfair for us to do to a convict and it most certainly still applies to a former Officer who is protected by the same rights.  “Innocent until proven guilty.”

Tell me your thoughts..

– Frank Three

A Rookie’s Wisdom

I was recently asked to provide some insights from the perspective of a rookie currently enduring the rigors and successes of a California police academy. As such, I will give the obligatory disclaimer that none of my views necessarily reflect those of my department or academy.

Here it goes.

First some background. After working for years in customer service, having gone a small stint in the military, and earned a few college degrees, I decided to follow some good advice and make my way into law enforcement. I didn’t go into it pursuing a lifelong dream or a desire to chase bad guys, guns blazing. I went into it because I am good at talking to strangers, have a profound sense of justice, and  have been told I’d be good at it. I decided to go on a few ride alongs and then I was hooked! After distributing the finer points of my work life and personal history to agency after agency, I was picked up for a corrections job at a local Sheriffs Department while waiting for a patrol position to open up at that same department.

Having gotten my feet wet in corrections for close to a year, I was blessed to be chosen for the academy sponsorship I had applied for. So here I was, about to undergo yet another substantial learning curve and yet finally have a chance to pursue my true career. It was an exciting time!

Then Ferguson happened. Then New York happened. Oh, let me back track a little bit. I am one of a few black recruits in my Academy and should I survive it and FTO, I will be the only black male deputy in my department (that I know of.) That being said, my perspective, much like my mind and body, have undergone some substantial changes in the last several months to a year.

When I was young, my parents taught me to have proper respect for authorities and how to properly conduct myself when dealing with law enforcement. That said, there was always an underlying mistrust there. Add to that, the more generalized or popularized perspective of black LEO’s is overwhelmingly negative, being seen as sellouts or traitors. Though I have had the undoubted support of my parents, this career path was not the first they would have chosen for me. That didn’t stop me however. I wanted to go out and help. I wanted a chance to change the image of black men and of cops in the minds of the public. Then came Ferguson. Then came New York.

The academy alone is tough by design as is FTO. There hasn’t been one week where I haven’t questioned my choice on some level. Questions such as whether I am strong enough, patient enough, young enough (I’m in my mid 30s BTW), or good enough. There hasn’t been one easy week. There hasn’t been a time when I believed this career couldn’t take me away from my family or take my family away from me somehow. There hasn’t been a time since I started the Academy, that the events from out East haven’t made everything more complicated.

All of the above surely begs the question, what then, are my views on said events as a rookie (a pre-rookie really,) who is black? The quotable I suppose would be this:

The mantra “black lives matter” is absolutely true. The underlying implication that “black lives matter more than others,” carried about by rabble rousers and divisive politicians, is absolutely untrue. The more accurate mantra of “all lives matter” is much more preferable in my opinion. Everyone is entitled to a level of respect but no one should ever expect more than they are willing to show to others. This is a lesson I learned long before going into law enforcement but it has been reinforced by seeing what life is like on the other side of the badge.

As a person of color in law enforcement, walking the thin blue line becomes all the more precarious when people try to draw black and white ones on either side. This is exacerbated by  politicians who use the situations mentioned as a political asterisk in their career and a blood thirsty news media desperately looking to inflate their ratings. As a result of this irresponsible behavior, my brothers and sisters of both badge and ethnicity are left feeling disenfranchised by the very same lip service that purports to be looking out for us.

So what am I to do in a nation increasingly hostile to law enforcement? How do I do my part to quell the artificially and unnecessarily stoked fires of racism? I do what I have always done in my life, when an insurmountable challenge is before me.

I carry on, I don’t quit, and I trust God.

This “law enforcement Vietnam” as someone aptly put it, will pass some day. I plan to use this baptism by fire to make me a better officer and member of the community I am working to serve. I plan to prove the haters wrong and change some lives for the better.

– Academy 1 Bravo

Dealing with it

Have you ever dealt with it?  Some of you may be reading this and may be asking yourself, “What the heck is he talking about?”  Well, I am talking about severe traumatic incidents.

As a Law Enforcement Officer, we deal with sever traumatic incidents routinely and I hate using that word, but it is unfortunately on a routine basis that we have to deal with this stuff.  Now I am not trying to say Law Enforcement is the only one dealing with stuff, but, I would like to share to some of you incidents that have occurred to me throughout my time in Law Enforcement and how it still effects me to this day.

To set this one up I am going to have to travel back a generation.  Unfortunately for me, I am one of those Officers that had several generations worth of Law Enforcement in the family tree.  However, I will only have to go back one to set this up.

My father was an Officer of 30+ years of service.  Well one day back in his patrol days, a mid air collision occurred between two passenger airplanes.  No we are not talking about just a small aircraft, but a small aircraft and a large jetliner.  To make things worse, both of these aircraft fell out of the sky into a housing track near his reporting district (area he worked).  He was one of many first responders that drove into that horrific traumatic incident.  I will contest anyone who would say they did not earn their full yearly paycheck on that day alone.  I won’t go into a lot of the gory details described to me years later after going to him to confide in him for my own traumatic incident, but instead I will tell you my memories of it as a child.

I can remember my mom picking me up from Elementary school and driving us home to have my mother tell me, “Shh.. Your father is sleeping”, as I entered the house.  I used to get so excited coming home from school because I had a really awesome “He-man” play set and it was always the first thing I ran to when going in the house.  My bedroom was adjacent to my parents so I knew I had to be extra quiet if I where going to play in my room.  One of those days I can remember walking into my bedroom and hearing my father screaming next door.  Well it didn’t even sound like screaming now that I think of it but more of ugly growls and snorts while tossing and turning in his bed which lead up to a loud yell.  I heard my mother enter their bedroom and ask my father, “Was it the plane crash again?”  In which my father, who sounded like he just ran a marathon would answer her, “Yes.”  While this didn’t happen daily, I will say it was quite the common event in my childhood and outlasted “He-man”, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”, “Saved by the Bell” and ran all the way up until I left the house.

So, now, fast forward many years until later when I became an Officer doing the same job as my father before me.  I was a cocky, arrogant, little cuss.  Not in a real obvious way, but in the way where I thought I could handle anything.  I had a heart of ice and was able to deal with anything.  Gunshot victim with half their arm blown off and all the gruesome little parts barely hanging onto the skin.  Traffic accident victims with brain matter scattered all over the floor while eating an egg breakfast burrito.  I was ok with all of it.  Nothing seemed to bother me, or so I thought..

One event filled day brought me to my knees.  I got a call of a five year old boy who had drowned.  While at that call the young helpless victim was lying there lifeless wearing the same “Sponge Bob Square Pants” t-shirt my five year old was wearing that night I left him to go to work.  It immediately hit me and when I say “it”, I mean that feeling of grief and sorrow that you just cannot hide.  I kicked the door closed behind me where I was at because I didn’t want anyone to see that I had completely lost it.  I kept telling myself, “Get a hold of yourself.  There is time for this **** later.”  After about a minute or two of gathering myself I was able to pull myself together long enough to finish up my day.  The ride home was a completely different story.  I cried the entire way home.  All the calls I had been to.  Everything I have seen.  All flashing up now and just as vivid as the day they occurred.  A gate had been opened and there was no stopping it.  All of those suppressed emotions just bubbled up and bubbled over onto the floor.

There was only two people that came to mind when wondering how to cope with this.  So I went to my father and asked him, “How do you deal with this?”  That was the first time I had ever seen my father’s eyes turn glossy and said, “..because people need you to.  Well I wish I could sit here and write you all of you and say that my father’s advice helped, but it did not.  I understood it, but it did not make it all go away.  Instead I went on in my career “Dealing with it” on the calls, and getting hit by it emotionally after I punched off the clock.

I will say a few years later I did turn to the second person I knew to help me through these times and that has helped tremendously, but perhaps I will save that for another time..

God bless all of you..  Hug your loved ones tight..  To all of our military and first responders out there, stay safe.

– Frank Three

“Why” our badge is so heavy

I recently went with the girlfriend over to a social gathering of non law enforcement party go-er’s.  These were long time friends and co-workers of her’s.  Knowing that my girlfriend has no clue what it is like to wear a badge, it was completely foreign to her “why” I made my introductions to her friends slowly and methodically.  At one point she even accused me of “standing like a cop.”  When I asked her what that meant, she said, “I don’t know but you just look scary.” 

I took an evaluation of myself and the way I was standing and I had to really think about it.  I was standing in the corner, so nobody could be behind me (Officer safety first), my arms were folded width wise in front of me resting on my stomach and I was sizing up the party go-ers in the crowd.  Looking at and evaluating everyone.  Checking tattoo’s, clothing, bulges, intoxication levels, etc..etc..  I sized up what I was wearing; blue jeans, athletic t-shirt, running shoes, work watch on wrist, cleanly shaven…you know, the poster child for a Police Officer off duty. 

“Why do you stand like that?”, the girlfriend fires off.  So I took the time to explain to her all the reasons I had for being a social stand-off.  So I started with the lack of knowledge of the group of people at this particular event and the implications/repercussions for me as a Law Enforcement Officer.  She of course advised me that “they are not druggies.”, in which I replied, “Would you bet my job on it?”  I had to explain to her that not knowing these people had serious potential to become a huge problem for me.  It’s not as if we are in public place where I have no control over certain possessions and my involvement around those possessions.  No, this was someone’s house that while, not intimately known, my girlfriend is well versed with and associates.  Can you imagine trying to explain to your supervisors why you were at a party where illegal substances were being used?  Not saying that was the case in this instance, and in-fact I can say there wasn’t, however, the scenario is a real potential.

The freedom and liberties of the average person that is not a Law Enforcement Officer is the ability to remain gullible.  Our training and experience makes it so we have no valid excuse.  Imagine your Lieutenant asking you, “So why were you hanging out with a wanted felon?”  I guess you can play the, “I didn’t know he was.”, but how far is that going to get you?  Days off maybe?  Internal Affairs investigation?  Fired?  Bad reputation?

Normal social conforms for an Officer is so much greater than the average person.  There is so much risk and responsibility involved.  If someone is smoking marijuana, you can’t stay.  Why would you?  As a person growing in this day and age, marijuana is perceived as a little above a cigarette.  It’s “no big deal” to most people now.  But something as minor as a “no big deal” to them, can cost you your livelihood.

Now take all of your fears and worries aside and say no one has or is doing anything illegal.  Do you tell them you are a “Cop?” If you don’t, give your girlfriend a glass of wine and she will.  Even after telling her NOT to say anything.  Now once that information has been let out, there’s no way to put that cat back into the bag.  “My brother got a speeding ticket. Can you write off tickets for me?”  “Most cops I know are assholes.”  “Did you ever break the law?” – The questions just keep coming.  It’s funny, a show that debuted in 1952 still has a clip that carries the same weight to social events today.  Ever watched that infamous Joe Friday clip “What it means to be a cop?”  That clip hits home to this very day.  But the average person doesn’t realize it.  If you haven’t seen it, I advise you to youtube it.  Joe kills it.  There is a reason L.A.P.D. buried that man with full honors.

Now you take all these awkward social missteps that Law Enforcement have to navigate in their home life, then you add it to the stress of having to deal with the on the job stress of knowing and retaining thousands of laws, policies, case laws, etc..etc., it’s enough to drive anyone to insanity.  Well anyone except the hundreds of thousands of us that are doing it every single day for a low-adequate pay with decent benefits.  So the next time you run into a “Cop” at a party, do him/her a favor and talk about something interesting besides his/her job. – Thanks..

Stay safe all.. and when a Police Officer tells you something, please listen and do it.  They don’t know you or your intentions.

– Frank Three

https://youtu.be/IMc3RS_afSE
Joe Friday Clip