A Diversion

It is barely June and it is already beginning to feel like summer.  

Plenty of rain and warm temperatures is good for the grass here on the farm.  Four acres of growing grass is demanding this time of the year and we mow twice a week to keep up.

 

Mowing is time consuming and it has become a welcome diversion from all of the troubles in the country.

Not Much Has Changed

There is a police crisis in America and the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, caused by police use of excessive force, is a continuation of the crisis.

In 2014 I wrote the following after the riots in Ferguson, Missouri.  Especially relevant is the militarization of the police and the use for deadly force. 

 

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Ferguson, Missouri Postmortem

I have purposely waited to comment on the Ferguson, Missouri shooting because I wanted to see how it all played out over time.  Now that the grand jury has ruled that Officer Wilson will not be criminally charged, that portion of the incident is over (even though he may be later charged with federal civil rights violations).

In the interest of full disclosure I will mention that after graduation from college I went into law enforcement as a uniformed police officer and later a plain clothes investigator over a period of 12 years.  Later in my career I was also the director of the state affiliate of the ACLU and obtained a postgraduate degree in Paralegal Studies.  

I do not think I am qualified to pass judgment in the Wilson case, even though I have read Wilson’s entire grand jury testimony.  I do, however, feel I am qualified to comment from a police perspective, as well as a civil rights perspective.  

In many airplane crashes they determined that a combination of fatal factors contribute to the crash. I think a number of factors contributed to the Ferguson shooting and resulting protests.

1)  Media 

Most obvious is the quick and comprehensive media coverage.  I don’t fault the media for doing their job.  I do fault the media viewers for not thinking critically and independently.  Many are quick to opine without knowing all the facts.  That is why I waited to comment until more facts were available.  Unfortunately (or fortunately, as the case may be), continued daily media coverage stokes the sensationalism. 

2)  Militarization of Police

Years back when I was a police officer there was a notion of policing called “community policing”, which essentially sought to have police officers as a part of the community.  Kind of a “precincts” concept, but more in depth.  Even in large cities an effort was made to get police officers out of the central command building and into facilities in the neighborhoods.  Officers were encouraged to get out the car and talk to people - like walking a beat in the old days. As a young officer I thought this was a good idea and found that walking the streets, especially the downtown area, was beneficial.  But, that concept was short-lived.   

We have gotten away from community policing, for whatever reasons, including tight budgets, fewer officers covering more territory, laziness, etc.  Over time this has led to an attitude of “us vs. them.”  Even worse, police departments have become more militarized (see my blog entry “War On Us”, June 25, 2014).  A uniformed police officer is striking in appearance, as they should be, however a police officer with a buzz haircut and jackboots is intimidating.  

3)  Affirmative Action

As the conservatives have taken over in this country, including the Supreme Court, stalwart civil rights laws have been overturned, including affirmative action in public employment  and education.  They throw out the catch phrase “reverse discrimination” and when applied to the hiring of police it insures that a majority of police officers will be white, even in predominately minority communities like Ferguson.  I believe this is a mistake.  I do not think whites are intimidated by a black or hispanic police officer, but blacks and hispanics are clearly intimidated by a white officer - and for good reason.

There is sufficient evidence that targeting and profiling of minorities exists.  A good example is Maricopa County, Arizona where the courts have determined just that and placed the Sheriff’s Department under a court order to cease profiling of minorities (see my blog post “Reining In Joe”, October 3, 2013).

4)  Deadly Force

As part of my police training we attended classes on deadly force.  Back then it was titled “Shoot, don’t shoot.”  They used a roll up screen and projector to play out scenarios of when to shoot and when not to shoot.  Today I’m sure that seems simplistic, but the videos, along with classroom instructions, sticks out in my mind as the most important part of the training.  I have no idea what the training involves today and it is no doubt far more sophisticated.  I still wonder if it is enough today.

In my blog post “A War On Us” I wrote the following, “When we were in the Southwest this past winter there seemed to be an unusual amount of police shootings.  Most noticeable was Albuquerque, where the police department allegedly has a history of aggressive and unwarranted shootings .

Records show that 26 people have been killed by city police in Albuquerque since 2010, a per capita rate of officer-involved deaths higher than New York City and Chicago. Forty people have been wounded by police over the same period of time. So far, the city has paid out $30 million in settlements and officials acknowledge that amount will grow.  (CNN)”

Even as recently as November 23rd, a 12-year-old Cleveland, Ohio boy was shot and killed by a first year rookie police officer. Police say the boy was holding a replica gun resembling a semiautomatic pistol.  Even though they had the protection of the police car and there were two officers, within seconds of arriving one officer made the decision to shoot.  

Granted there is more media coverage, but it seems to me aggressive police actions and shootings are increasing.  The power of arrest assumes an awesome responsibility, but the use of deadly force assumes an even higher duty to act judiciously. 

5)  Grand Jury

The grand jury's functional independence from the judicial branch is evident both in the scope of its power to investigate criminal wrongdoing, and in the manner in which that power is exercised. Unlike [a] [c]ourt, whose jurisdiction is predicated upon a specific case or controversy, the grand jury can investigate merely on suspicion that the law is being violated, or even because it wants assurance that it is not. United States v. R. Enterprises, 498 U.S. 292 (1991) 

It need not identify the offender it suspects, or even the precise nature of the offense it is investigating. Blair v. United States, 250 U.S. 273 (1919)

The grand jury requires no authorization from its constituting court to initiate an investigation, see Hale, supra, 201 U.S., at 59-60, 65, 26

Nor does the prosecutor require leave of court to seek a grand jury indictment.

And in its day-to-day functioning, the grand jury generally operates without the interference of a presiding judge. See Calandra, supra, 414 U.S., at 343, 94 S.Ct., at 617

It swears in its own witnesses and deliberates in total secrecy, Fed.Rule Crim.Proc. 6(c), United States v. Sells Engineering, Inc., 463 U.S., at 424-425, 103 S.Ct., at 3138.

The point of these citations is that the grand jury is independent of any other judicial or governmental proceedings and that they have wide latitude.  They are essentially charged with determining if there is probable cause for a suspect to be charged with a crime.  In most cases a grand jury is impanelled and guided by the prosecuting attorney.  This is fundamentally questionable.

In the Ferguson case, Prosecutor McCulloch allowed Wilson to testify for hours and made sure the grand jury was aware of every possible piece of evidence that could benefit Wilson. After the grand jury decision, McCulloch explained that the refusal to indict resulted from the combination of contradictory eyewitness testimony and other exculpatory evidence. Many legal experts contend that the way the prosecutor presented the evidence virtually guaranteed that there would be no indictment, and therefore no trial. 

McCulloch’s final instructions to the jurors was, “You must find probable cause to believe that Darren Wilson did not act in lawful self-defense and you must find probable cause to believe that Darren Wilson did not use lawful force in making an arrest. If you find those things, which is kind of like finding a negative, you cannot return an indictment on anything or true bill unless you find both of those things. Because both are complete defenses to any offense and they both have been raised in his, in the evidence.”

Years back when I was a deputy sheriff three robbery suspects were being pursued by an adjoining county deputy and they came into our county.  The suspect vehicle was stopped on the side of the highway switching license plates when I witnessed the other deputy shoot at the vehicle as it sped away.  He clearly knew other officers were in the area and in pursuit, including me. 

I pursued the vehicle and once it crashed in an open field one suspect got out and ran.  I did not shoot at him because there was no where he could go far on foot and there was another suspect in the car.  When I approached the car I saw that he was dead from a shotgun blast from the other deputy.  I radioed for an independent state patrol investigator.  When the sheriff from the other county arrived he told me he canceled my call for an investigator and to fill out an motor vehicle accident report.  I refused, telling him I knew a fatal gunshot wound from a vehicle accident.  He got aggressive, but I told him he was now standing in my county and to back off.  Long story short, I prevailed.  

But, that isn’t the end of the story. The next day I was told by the county attorney to go out and find some men who could serve on a grand jury.  When they did meet they ruled the shooting as justified within a few hours.  The grand jury was guided by the county attorney and no other attorney was present to give additional evidence.

Conclusion

I believe the Ferguson shooting was a direct result of fatal circumstances, including a overwhelming white police department in a predominantly black community, thanks in part to conservative courts overturning reasonable affirmative action in hiring of police officers to more fairly represent society. 

I believe Officer Wilson exercised inexcusable judgment in the use of deadly force,  notwithstanding that he was stopping someone suspected of theft.  Only he knows why he opted for his gun instead of his mace. He had already called for back up and should have waited to conduct a chase.

I believe the militarization of the police has led to an “us vs. them” mentality and abandoned community policing which has created a huge chasm between police and the public.

I believe the grand jury process is flawed and skewed unfairly toward the interests of the prosecutor, especially in police shootings. 

These are all circumstances which will contribute to more fatal police shootings in the future, unless changes are made.  

Six years later not much has changed.  So long as America continues with the militarism in law enforcement, nothing will change in the culture of police aggression and abuses.

 

 

May Be A Lost Cause

A robin has decided to build a nest in a precarious spot on our tool shed which we go in and out of frequently.




The robin constructed the nest on a Model T wheel tacked up on the shed as a decoration.

Every time we approach the shed the robin flies off the nest and scolds us.  At some point the robin may just give up.  Unfortunately moving the nest isn't an alternative. 

There are plenty of trees here on the farm, but this may be a lost cause.

Going To A Restaurant?

A black light video from Japan is going viral for showing just how quickly the coronavirus — or any germ, really — can spread through touch alone.

Japanese state broadcaster NHK simulated what can happen when people dine in close quarters, such as at a buffet or being served family-style in a restaurant.

The 35-second clip shows 10 people sitting down to eat — including one “infected” person whose palms were coated with a paint that is invisible to the naked eye, but can show up under UV light.

The video shows all 10 people sharing a water pitcher and serving utensils as they fill their glasses, pile their plates with food, and begin to eat. Everyone is left to dine, go back for seconds and converse freely for 30 minutes.

But once that half hour is up, the black light is turned on — and glowing traces of the “virus” are seen on all 10 people — including three people’s faces — as well as on the table, the plates, the drinking glasses, the serving utensils and the drinking pitcher.

He Won't Repeat This Story

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”   Donald Trump


Albuquerque, N.M. - Jose Nuñez Romaniz was on a mission to buy socks for his grandfather. He'd just helped him find the right ones online, after the elder man had no luck finding them in stores. 

The 19-year-old Nuñez just needed to deposit money into his bank account to make the online purchase. When he tried, he made an astonishing find -- and what he did next has earned him praise and a bit of fame in New Mexico's most populous city. 

Nuñez drove to an ATM outside a Wells Fargo bank branch Sunday morning, just two minutes from his Albuquerque home to make his deposit.

As he pulled his truck alongside the machine, he spotted a clear plastic bag on the ground. It was a "foot-long stack" of $50 and $20 bills, he said.  Nuñez called Albuquerque police. Two officers arrived, and the teenager handed over the money.

The officers counted the cash back at their station: It totaled $135,000.

Albuquerque police understand the money was mistakenly left outside the ATM by a bank subcontractor that was meant to supply the machine with cash, Officer Simon Drobik said.

Nuñez said that as he stared at the cash, waiting for police officers to arrive, he could hear the lessons of his parents in his head.

"My parents always taught me to work for my own. Stolen money would never last you any time," Nuñez recalled his mother and father teaching him.

Nuñez's parents immigrated from Mexico in the late 1990s. They once worked in farm fields picking onions. His father also spent years working as a dishwasher and cook and in construction.

No doubt you won't hear demagogue-in-chief trump repeating this story.

Vito Genovese Would Be Proud

The trump administration corruption, led by the miscreant AG Bill Barr, continues.

WASHINGTON (AP) — In an abrupt about-face, the Justice Department on Thursday said it is dropping the criminal case against President Donald Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, abandoning a prosecution that became a rallying cry for the president and his supporters in attacking the FBI's Trump-Russia investigation.

The action was a stunning reversal for one of the signature cases brought by special counsel Robert Mueller. It comes even though prosecutors for the past three years have maintained that Flynn lied to the FBI in a January 2017 interview about his conversations with the Russian ambassador.

Flynn admitted as much, pleading guilty before later asking to withdraw the plea, and he became a key cooperator for Mueller as the special counsel investigated ties between Russia and Trump's 2016 political campaign.

Vito Genovese would be proud.

Way To Go Ruth!

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is participating in telephone arguments from a Maryland hospital where she’s being treated for an infection caused by a gallstone.

The court said Tuesday evening that the 87-year-old justice had undergone non-surgical treatment for a benign gallbladder condition. The court said she planned to participate in arguments from the hospital Wednesday.

Way to go Ruth!  Hang in there.

Four Dead In Ohio. 50 Years.

Four Dead In Ohio

On this day in 1970, those who protested the Vietnam War were shocked to the core by the shooting of unarmed fellow student protesters by the Ohio National Guard at Kent State University.

   

The guardsmen fired 67 rounds over a period of 13 seconds, killing four students and wounding nine others, one of whom suffered permanent paralysis.

Clockwise from top left: William Schroeder, Allison Krause, 

Sandra Lee Scheuer, and Jeffrey Miller. 

The senseless shootings caused nearly four million students at hundreds of colleges and high schools around the country to go on strike to protest the shootings. 

   

Politicians have not learned the lessons of the Vietnam War.  They continue to get the U.S. involved in civil and religious disputes and wars around the world.

Many of the protesters of the 1970’s are now age 60 and older, me included.  And, many have lost their zeal for protesting U.S. involvement in unjust wars.  I have not.

It is fitting to remember the four dead in Ohio, which happened on this day 50 years ago.