Eureka Deserves the E.P.D.

Feel you’re being protected and served?

 

By Tim Martin, Eureka Times Standard
Saturday, January 16, 2016

Jim Pasco, executive director of the largest U.S. police union, recently offered a shocking statement to the press. He vowed to strike back at Quentin Tarantino for comments the movie director made against police brutality at a New York rally.

Pasco said he had a plan to hurt Tarantino “economically.” The Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, a union representing New York City Police, the Los Angeles Police Protective League, and the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police called for a boycott of Tarantino’s movies, including his latest picture “The Hateful Eight.”

In other words they are blackballing the filmmaker Don Corleone style: “Nice movie you got there, Quentin. It’d be a real shame if somethin’ happened to it, ya know?”

After Pasco called for a boycott of Tarantino’s films, the director appeared on “Real Time with Bill Maher” to clarify his position. “The [police] unions are saying that I am a cop hater, which is slander because I didn’t say that,” he told Maher. “They’re implying that I meant that all cops are murderers, and I wasn’t. But the thing that’s really sad about it is we actually do need to talk to cops about this. We need to bring this to the table.”

What kind of police do you call on the police? Law enforcement has become a predatory culture in America. Cops are morphing into thugs and criminals. They beat, choke, shoot, pepper spray, and Taser unarmed citizens. Police unions have transformed into terrorist groups that threaten any and all critics. Pasco’s plan to financially cripple the “Natural Born Killers” director proves that many police departments are not interested in protecting citizens, but in maintaining their unchecked right to act unlawfully.

Has it ever occurred to cops that their aggressive and violent behavior is the main reason they have such a terrible image problem?

Since when did the police become a crime mob that issues threats and warnings of harassment and intimidation? Pasco’s gang-like threat to Tarantino was a warning so illegal and egregious it boggles the mind. It clearly illustrates the totalitarian idea that any criticism of authority is punishable by law. It also reveals how much some people want our free society to be markedly less so.

This is exactly what black people have been complaining about for decades. Surprise! We are all black now.

The Department of Justice needs to wake up. Law enforcement groups are becoming domestic enemies like the white supremacist groups Ku Klux Klan and Stormfront. There is too much police brutality in this country. Bullying only incites public anger. The public will tolerate unrestrained cop misconduct only so long. If police continue this current trend, they will force violence against themselves.

Cops have killed unarmed people using illegal choke holds and excessive force. The city of Chicago recently fired an investigator who tried to hold two officers accountable for beating a mentally ill man to death. Police need to get over themselves and address the weekly unnecessary murder of people over trivial issues. Many officers do a good job, but unfortunately, they also enforce a code of silence that protects bad cops. Until the cover-ups stop, all law enforcement will be tainted. More transparency and accountability is needed. Police should be working overtime to eradicate criminals from their own ranks instead of finding ways to censor a filmmaker’s freedom of speech. And judges must stop giving officers a free pass of “badge truthfulness” in court.

The Fraternal Order of Police and their over-the-top strawman Jim Pasco offer no help whatsoever. They only increase the problem.

I applaud Quentin Tarantino’s bravery in speaking out against criminal cops and their terroristic grip on society. Protesting injustices peacefully is what makes American great. Many police officers have lost their moral compass and are abusing the badge. Even worse, they are protected and insulated by a system that allows them to continue to do so. Cops who kill unlawfully are murderers, pure and simple. Pasco is merely trying to deflect the issue by claiming Tarantino was referring to every cop as a murderer.

We were once an extraordinary country where people were free to speak their minds and criticize power without fear of retribution. Those days are over. America is no longer extraordinary. With the arrival of our police state we have become just another Iran or Russia. If we continue to turn a blind eye to police violence it will only grow worse. It’s long past the time to do something about this problem. Our entire legal system has gone to the dogs.

Tim Martin resides in Fortuna and writes this column for the Times-Standard. Email him at tmartin@sitestar.net.

URL: http://www.times-standard.com/opinion/20160116/feel-youre-being-protected-and-served

© 2016 Eureka Times-Standard (http://www.times-standard.com)

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I was catching up on my "Times-Standard" news when I came across this article from Tim Martin and just had to post it. I'm sure it took a lot of courage to write. Personally, I've refrained from writing about the lawlessness that plagues our area and the dire consequences they portend. Personally, I believe you "reap what you sow" consequently, the people (most of them anyway) deserve what they got.

"Paranoid and delusional," and scared crapless - every encounter is a time-bomb ready to go off. The people of Eureka must really enjoy playing Russian roulette. See: Eureka Police - When the Police Use Force

--Joe

The Myth of "Protect and Serve"

This morning, Thursday, May 26, 2011, we're confronted with some intersting prospects as we consider our ever-changing community. What caught my attention today were the words on page A3 of the Times-Standard newspaper right under four pictures of Eureka Police officers' swearing in ceremony that said, "Eureka Police Department: To protect and serve."


To Protect and Serve

Click to Enlarge

Makes you all warm a fuzzy when you see the new officer's girlfriend giving him his new badve. First impressions makes you think the police are there working for our needs, for the best interests of of all us law-abiding citizens, property owners and business people, doesn't it? On the same page, just two days earlier,  we were confronted with this picture and these words: "Suspect with felony warrant arrested." That picture make you feel all safe and secure? This is what happens to BAD GUYS in Eurkea California! 

To read this, you'd think the police had a "felony warrant" in their hands, went out and found this "suspect" and forcefully arrested him on the spot. To see the picture and the headline you would also think our fearless police officers were arresting a really bad person, wouldn't you? Officer Leonard LaFrance has his knee on the guy's head and his other knee on his leg pinning him while wrenching his arm behind his back jamming his body apparently on his other arm. For whatever reason, he is reported to be striking the "suspect" on the back with his fist. All of this is happening to only a "suspect." Notice the report: "He was detained and was found to have a felony warrant for his arrest." They did not know at the time of the arrest that this guy had an outstanding "felony warrant." Since he's a wanted fellon, all is justified.

Think this couldn't happen to you? If so, try "thinking" again.

In view of the above, and how the police edict is that has moved away from "Protect and Serve the tax-paying public citizen" to "Protect and Serve police self-interests," it would be good to review a couple of articles dealing with this very issue and how it is impacting every community across America. When considering these issues it would be good to keep in mind the implications of the Secret Patriot Act that was pushed through right after 9/11/2001 and congress is extending for another four years. Juan Cole concludes:

Congress is set to extend the unconstitutional law, which contravenes the 4th Amendment, for 4 years without debate.

So an elective dictatorship is imposing a dictatorial and unconstitutional law on Americans without so much as a discussion.

Couple that with the recent Supreme Court decision that basically gives the police the legal right to enter your home without a warrant. Not that little technicality really served as much of a protection.

Now read what John W. Whitehead lays out in his article: The Changing Face of the Police and the Death of the Fourth Amendment - This, the complete article, is a REAL EYE-OPENER. He starts by saying:

In early America, citizens were considered equals with law enforcement officials. Authorities were rarely permitted to enter one’s home without permission or in a deceitful manner. And it was not uncommon for police officers to be held personally liable for trespass when they wrongfully invaded a citizen’s home. Unlike today, early Americans could resist arrest when a police officer tried to restrain them without proper justification or a warrant – which the police had to allow citizens to read before arresting them. (Daring to dispute a warrant with a police official today who is armed with high-tech military weapons and tasers would be nothing short of suicidal.) This clear demand for a right to privacy was not a byproduct of simpler times. Much like today, early Americans dealt with problems such as petty thievery, murder and attacks by foreign enemies. Rather, the demand for privacy stemmed from a harbored suspicion of law enforcement officials and the unbridled discretion they could abuse.

The Fourth Amendment, which assures that "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated," was included in the Bill of Rights in response to the oppressive way British soldiers treated American colonists through their use of "Writs of Assistance." These were court orders that authorized British agents to conduct general searches of premises for contraband. The exact nature of the materials being sought did not have to be detailed, nor did their locations. The powerful new court orders enabled government officials to inspect not only shops and warehouses, but also private homes. These searches resulted in the violation of many of the colonists’ rights and the destruction of much of the colonists’ personal property. It quickly became apparent to many colonists that their homes were no longer their castles.

Revolutionary patriot James Otis was Advocate-General when the legality of these warrants came under question by the colonists. Called upon to defend that legality, he promptly resigned his office. After living through an age of oppressive policies under the British empire, those of the founding generation, such as Otis, wanted to ensure that Americans would never have to face intrusive government measures again.

Fast forward 250 years and we seem to be right back where we started, living in an era of oppressive government policies and a militarized police whose unauthorized, forceful intrusions into our homes and our lives have been increasingly condoned by the courts. ...

Read the complete article.

The paranoid fears of some improbable "terrorist" attack are small potatoes (unimportant, insignificant) compared the the occupying army we confront every day as they "Protect and Serve."

--Joe

Protect and Serve. WHO?

     Why, the POLICE, of course!

Catastrophes, calamities, disasters, i.e., floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, even riots all produce interesting lessons. As a resident of Eureka, CA having just experienced the January 6.5 magnitude earthquake I was extremely interested in how the local support infrastructure worked to inform, protect and serve the local community. I tried the TV, radio – both AM and FM bands and basically found nothing relevant. If there were broadcasts on some emergency channel, I couldn't find them. Finally, after securing or satisfying myself that there were no immediate threats of any kind in my immediate neighborhood, I tried the Internet. What I learned is the stark fact that the general public are all on their own. That means you'd better be ready to fend for yourself. Suffer the kind of devastation experienced in Haiti and Chile and we'd find the police and fire departments overwhelmed. At the point the police began to think they might lose control, you will see them act like the New Orleans' police right after the Katrina hurricane disaster. You already see indications of this problem in the way policing is conducted today. Look at how the whole attitude and implementation has changed since 1970. The police are almost incapable of performing their “duties” unless they are backed up by a squad of anonymous, highly trained, militarized and equipped with the latest high powered guns, armor, armored vehicles, etc. You would think they were combating or fighting some sort of insurgency movement. The simple fact is, you cannot alienate a major segment of society and walk around free and unbothered. Couple that with a measured amount of paranoia and the general public begins to present a serious threat. You can see the results starting to come out in this discussion here: “Federal Probe into Post-Katrina Shootings by Police Widens.” (Picture: New Orleans, shot seven times IN THE BACK by police using an assault rifle.)

It is a common misconception that the police work for the people. They do not! They work for the people that supervise them. In the case of the Eureka Police Department, that is the City Council. They defer to that council regardless. In the case of the Sheriff's Department, even though the Sheriff is directly elected by the people and they can ostensibly vote him or her out every four years, that “department” answers to and defers to the County Supervisors. The Highway Patrol, CDF, Fish and Game, etc. all work for the Governor and state legislature. The policing agencies enforce their supervisor's laws on the general public. They serve and protect themselves. A good example of this is posted on the Humboldt Herald here: “Push back against cop assaults.”

The Eureka City Council passed a unanimous resolution to have the DA prosecute to the fullest extent of the law anyone that resists, actually the word is “assaults” the police. Are they going to pass a similar resolution for complete criminal prosecution for a police officer that assaults someone? I hardly think so.

Why is it that the Wednesday, March 17, 2010, Time-Standard newspaper does not have anything on this latest Eureka City Council resolution? How is the general public supposed to know about these kinds of actions if the paper does not report them?

This is a serious issue that needs serious consideration and NOT the knee-jerk simple-minded kind offered by the City Council in support of their servants. We certainly do not need in Humboldt County what happened post-Katrina in New Orleans.  Neither do we need the kind of “push back” enforced in Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan that justifies the legal precedent that the police assault no one. Criminal assault is a criminal assault regardless of who commits the act. When it is done by the police it is a far more heinous crime and should be dealt accordingly; with the full force of the law.

[Picture source]

--Joe