Where to begin on a Monday morning after such a devastating weekend?

First, let’s start with the latest results in the case of the officers charged with the death of Freddie Gray.

After two complete acquittals and a mistrial, today Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Barry Williams handed down his verdict in the latest case brought by prosecutor Marilyn Mosby.

Baltimore police Lieutenant Brian Rice, the highest ranking officer to stand trial for Gray’s death, was found not guilty on all charges. Judge Williams said the state simply failed to prove its case against Rice. The same was true in the other cases where he found the officers not guilty of the charges brought by Mosby. In fact, this has started to sound like a broken record. Not guilty. Not guilty. Not Guilty.

The cry from many people of the general public is that by finding these officers not guilty justice has not been served. I said in the beginning there was no factual/evidential basis for the convictions of either of the officers. At least there was none that I’d seen. Even the probable cause for their arrest stood on extremely shaky ground, especially as related to the over-the-top charges Mosby brought.

However, Ms. Mosby, who’s been chastised more than once by the court for wrongs such as withholding evidence from the defense, moved forward with the case(s). And she did so after standing before a crowd of onlookers and TV cameras where she gave her “I heard your call for ‘no justice, no peace'” speech. A speech that could’ve and may have tainted a jury pool.

What many members of the public either don’t understand, or don’t care to bother with in this case, is that Mosby’s responsibility as a prosecutor is to follow the law, not to pander to a pitchfork and torch-carrying angry mob who seemingly seeks vengeance, not real justice. And a prosecutor/DA certainly should never base a prosecution on emotion.

Anyway, Judge Williams followed the law and found that yet again prosecutors failed to prove the actions of Lt. Rice’s rose to a criminal level, and that’s the key phrase—“criminal level.” Sure, these officers may have violated a department rule, but from I’ve seen they broke no laws and they certainly didn’t murder Gray.

Murder is the unlawful killing of a person, especially with malice aforethought. The definition of homicide encompasses ALL killings of human beings by other humans, and certain homicides are absolutely legal, such as a state execution or a killing in self defense. That’s right, if a man tried to murder you and you killed him in self defense, you have committed a homicide. But not murder.

And speaking of murder … Baton Rouge.

Three police officers were ambushed and fatally shot on Sunday by a gunman who, in a self-produced video said, ““One hundred percent of revolutions, of victims fighting their oppressors have been successful through fighting back, through bloodshed. Zero have been successful just over simply protesting. It doesn’t—it has never worked and it never will. You got to fight back. That’s the only way that a bully knows to quit.”

The cop-killer continued the rant with, “If y’all want to keep protesting do that, but for the serious ones, the real ones, the alpha ones, we know what it’s going to take. Revenue and blood. Revenue and blood. Nothing else … You’re in a world that’s ran by devils … A man knows either he kills his enemy or he dies (he was speaking of Africans throughout history) … Don’t ever give up.”

Louisiana State Police officials reported today that, based on their investigation, the murderer was targeting police and ambushed the responding officers.

There’s nothing to indicate that the shooter was involved with any of the current anti-police groups or movements, but he referenced the recent murders of Dallas police officers, and he mentioned the deaths of African-American men during encounters with police officers, including the July 5 death in Baton Rouge.

The three officers murdered by the now-deceased suspect are:

  • Montrell L. Jackson, 32, a 10-year veteran. He and his wife had a baby in March.
  • Matthew Gerald, 41, who had served with the Baton Rouge Police Department for less than a year.
  • Brad Garafola, 45, an East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff’s deputy and a father of four.

Another officer is remains in the hospital today where he is fighting for his life. I believe there are two others who were wounded as well.

Yes, the past weekend brought forth a ton of devastating news, some of which I won’t share publicly. So Denene and I headed out to our backyard where we knew we’d find a bit of peace and calm. And, as always, our backyard friends brought smiles to our faces—much-needed smiles in a time when all else seems just too doggone depressing.

Here’s a peek at some of the friends who visit us daily. I hope you enjoy meeting them.

Oh, and smile!

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A traffic crash had me sitting still for thirty minutes, or so, which was just long enough to make my getting to work on time a bit on the iffy side. So iffy, in fact, that when I finally did arrive at the “institution,” I slammed the shift into park, grabbed my lunch box, and made it inside for role call just in the nick of time. But only after jogging across the parking lot playing “dodge and weave” through the rows of parked vehicles. Another two minutes and the captain would’ve written me up. The first step to guaranteed time off without pay. A crappy start to a crappy night.

The 4 p.m. count was off. I counted 220 inmates and the outgoing officer counted 219. On the second walk-through I got 219 and her total was 220. On the third attempt we both counted 219. The trouble there was that the actual total in our building should’ve been 221. We got it right on the fourth pass. I was still sweating from my sprint across the lot, and my heart was doing double duty inside my chest.

My duty assignment for the shift was as “Floater,” meaning I had no specific designated area, such as working the SHU (Specialized Housing Unit) or as an officer posted at the gate or in a tower. My responsibility was to walk, look, and assist where needed. But my first order of business was, well, I got stuck with being posted standing outside the chow hall to monitor “the line.” 800 inmates, all waiting for the doors to open so they could get their once-per-month piece of real meat—bone-in chicken.

It’s like a freakin’ holiday in that place on “chicken day.” Actually, I didn’t blame the prisoners for their exuberance since the rest of their meals consisted of things that were not easily identifiable.

Believe it or not, my job was to stand there like an elementary school safety patrol clutz, preventing grown-ass men from cutting line. Of course, there were fights. Some tatted-up white guy cut in front of the black guys. A black guy cut in front of the Nazi Lowriders. And the Mexican Mafia was putting up with none of it. Then all hell broke loose. And it was me, little old me, against them until reinforcements arrived.

Finally, after the dust settled and ten prisoners were carted off to the hole (SHU), the evening meal passed without further trouble, and the chicken actually looked pretty good. No way I’d have tasted it, though. Couldn’t pay me to eat food cooked by inmates.

I spent the next four hours out on the yard where the inmates segregate themselves by race and ethnicity—black guys by the basketball courts, the Native Americans dominated the handball courts, white guys occupy the area by the softball field, Hispanics own the soccer field, and the Italians settled at the bocci area. Jewish inmates also segregated themselves. And, each group has their own little cliques inside each of their areas.

Some of the white guys sit to themselves to play guitars. A few of the black guys hang out by the picnic tables testing their latest rap songs on their buddies. And, well, you get the idea. But the one thing that’s clear is that there is generally no mixing of the ethnic groups. The only real exception to the no-mixing rule is with the gay guys. They hang out with anybody who’ll have them and no one cares.

There are inmate “guards” who stand watch over each group and it’s their duty to let their people know if or when trouble approaches, including a visit from from staff. Looking in from the outside you’d think the inmates are doing nothing more enjoying a bit of fun time. The reality is that many of them of are scheming and plotting all sorts of things. I made a point to waltz through each area as often as I could to let them know that I knew what’s up. Besides, there’s some real talent in those places, so listening to their music is sometimes like attending a real concert on the outside. They’re that good.

Only one stabbing out there on the yard on this particular shift, and that happened when the 9 p.m. buzzer sounded to announce the yard was closing. Too many people in a group to see who stuck the guy so there were no charges and no one went to the hole for it. Investigators would review the videos later.

After everyone was back inside and the doors were locked, it was time to count them again. 221 on the first pass and, by the way, that’s 221 inmates locked inside an open dormitory with only two officers to watch over them.

TV rooms within the housing units are also self-segregated in the same manner as the rec yard and chow hall—Hispanics in one room, whites and blacks each to themselves. Each inmate has to bring his own chair from his cubicle if he wants to sit. The big TVs in the common area rooms are for watching sports and movies, or whatever the majority wants to see. Of course that, too, is dominated by whichever ethnic group has the most people in the room at the time.

There’s a room at the front of the dorm where inmates do their own cooking, using one of the half-dozen microwaves that’re perched on a long shelf attached to a wall. The opposite wall is home to community washers and dryers. The meals these guys prepare using minimal tools and ingredients are pretty amazing. And the desserts…all I can say is…incredible.

Inmates purchase their recipe ingredients from the commissary—items such as bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, sardines, potted meat, tuna, cakes, cookies, etc. And, course, they utilize whatever they can steal from the dining hall. Kitchen workers “take” things and sell them to the others.

  • Jewish inmates receive special kosher meals, which are often far better than the daily slop served to the rest of the population, so they’re often sold to other inmates for a nice profit.

Inmate “chefs” somehow turn those ragtag ingredients into dishes that would make any Chopped contestant extremely envious. When the meals are ready the cooks share with their close friends, or they deliver the steaming hot food to other inmates who’d paid to have the meals prepared for them. The Italian “bosses” really seem to fare pretty well in this regard, having their meals catered, shoes shined, clothing washed and pressed, hair trimmed, etc.

At night the place is extremely loud with chatter and laughter, card playing, TVs blaring, and such, but when the buzzer sounds for lights out it all comes to a halt. A pin dropped onto the gleaming concrete floor would resound like the 13-ton bell of Big Ben.

The time between 10 p.m. lights-out and midnight shift change is typically a quiet time. Most inmates get up early to go to work, so they do little more than immediately go to sleep. Some, however, read (they’re allowed to have book lights) or think of loved ones while listening to Delilah playing sad songs and telling sappy, sad stories on their radios (ear buds or headphones must be used at all times). However, it’s around 2 a.m. when things become a bit challenging, even for the most experienced officers, because that’s often a time when the pants come down and the bending over begins—willingly, or not.

The first time I rounded a corner and saw two men, one bent over and backed up to the front of another, well, I didn’t know what to say. I’d only been a corrections officer about two weeks at the time and, honestly, the sight totally embarrassed me. It was dark, and I was using my flashlight to illuminate the cubicles and their occupants, and when my light hit those two guys they immediately stopped what they were doing, but didn’t separate, and gave me that “deer in the headlights” look.

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Not the actual inmate. No deer were harmed during the writing of this article. Embarrassed, maybe, but not harmed.

I’m sure the expression on my face was quite similar. Thankfully, they couldn’t see me (but I’d certainly seen far too much of them). All I could think to do was snap off the light, and did. When I switched it back on a second later they were “apart.” I never mentioned it to anyone and neither did they.

So my shift was nearly over and it was almost time to drive home. I was sleepy and tired and was looking forward to crawling between the sheets for some well-earned shut-eye. In addition to my shift at the prison, I’d worked all day at my second job, digging, planting, pruning shrubs, and mowing lawns.

However, just as I was exchanging keys with the oncoming building officer, my sergeant stopped by to tell me that I’d been drafted to work the midnight shift. Seems that someone on the next shift had called in sick and my name was next on the list for the draft. To make matters worse, I’d been assigned to tower duty for the next eight hours. Mind-numbing tower duty, where you sit in a small box on stilts and stare out at absolutely nothing for an entire shift. Radios and cell phones aren’t allowed, so keeping the old eyelids open is always a chore.

But it’s a job. A job that, at best, is not great. But, where else could you go to have crap and urine thrown in your face every day of your life? Ah, you gotta love what you do, right?

Yeah, right…

 

Before police officers actually hit the streets to begin making arrests, directing traffic, responding to domestic complaints, and investigating murders, they must attend a basic police academy to receive their certifications as police officers. The time spent at a police academy varies. Some basic classes last for as little as twelve weeks while others may last in excess of five or six months, and in some cases, much longer.

Some academies require police officer recruits/cadets to live on-site during their training, such as the Virginia State Police Academy pictured above. The VSP academy is a full-service operation, complete with dormitories, an indoor pool for rescue swimming, and cafeteria facilities.

Other locales require their police candidates to attend public police academies, such as those taught in some local community colleges. Officer candidates there typically must pay for and complete their own training before they can apply for a job with the prospective police agency.

A fantastic example of a college/police academy is the Law Enforcement Academy at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC), the home of our own Writers’ Police Academy.

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Basic training consists of many aspects of law-enforcement, but perhaps the most memorable course is the one recruits often refer to as Hell Week.

During Hell Week recruits learn how to defend themselves from weapon wielding attackers, and they learn various techniques, such as weapon retention, weapon disarming, handcuffing, baton use, how to effectively arrest combative and non-combative suspects, and the proper and safe use of pepper spray. They’re also required to exercise and run….lots and lots of exercising and running. And when they’ve finished all that exercising and running, they run and exercise some more.

The training is intense, painful, and exhausting.

Recruits learn to control and handcuff combative suspects by using pain-compliance techniques—wrist-locks and joint control. The tactics taught to police are based on the techniques used by martial artists. Aikido and Chin-Na are two of the martial arts used as a foundation for these highly-effective techniques.

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Aikido founder Morihei Ueshiba (O-Sensei, “The Great Teacher”).

Sticking to O-Sensei’s original teachings, Yoshinkan Aikido was first taught to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police in the early 60’s. The Tokyo Riot Police receives Yoshinkan Aikido instruction to this day. Aikido techniques in American police academies are a bit less intensive, but still extremely effective.

Aikido (The Art of Peace) uses the attacker’s own force against him.

To give you a better understanding of Aikido and what the techniques look like in action, think of Steven Seagal, a 7th dan black belt in Aikido.

The purpose of police defense tactics training is actually threefold—to protect the officer, make a safe arrest, and protect the attacker/assailant from harm.

Basic Aikido For Law Enforcement

1. Develop a keen sense of awareness. Learn to observe the entire picture. No rear attacks!

2. Being able to quickly move forward, backward, side-to-side, and diagonally… all without losing your balance.

3. Verbally calm down any potential aggressor.

4. Knowing the right time to arrest or detain a suspect. Avoid any escalation of violent behavior.

5. Having the tools to cause pain without causing injury—use of pressure points to safely effect the arrest.

6. Always use the minimum amount of force necessary to make the arrest.

Remember:

– Unbalancing the suspect is key to reducing their resistance.

– Control the head and the body will follow.

– Move the suspect into a position where their chance of reaching you with an attack is greatly reduced—controlling their arms, wrists, elbows or shoulders.

Officers are taught a variety of techniques, such as:

A wrist turnout, for example, applies intense pressure to the joint in the wrist while forcing the suspect off balance. The proper grasp to begin the wrist turnout (Kotegaeshi Nage) technique is pictured below.

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To complete the technique the officer maintains his grasp, rotates the suspect’s hand up and to the rear in a counter-clockwise motion.

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The officer then steps back with his left leg, pulling downward on the suspect’s wrist and arm (this is all one swift and fluid motion). The suspect ends up on the floor on his back. Any resistance inflicts excruciating pain in the joints of the wrist, elbow, and shoulder.

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Combative suspects are normally forced the ground for handcuffing. From this position, a quick turn of the suspect’s wrist and arm will force him to roll over on his stomach. Any resistance causes extreme pain and could severely injure the controlled wrist, elbow, and shoulder. Combative offenders typically cease resistance when they feel pain. When the resistance stops, then so does the pain. The more they struggle the more pain they feel. The amount of pain, if any, induced by the officer, is entirely up to the offender. No resistance = no pain.

In other techniques, to effectively control the wrist the elbow must be stationary. From this position, the suspect is easily handcuffed.

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Wrist and other joint locks can cause intense pain in the wrist, the elbow, and the shoulder. In the image below, forward and downward pressure forces the suspect to the ground.

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  • Please keep in mind that drug use and other factors sometimes inhibit the pain-compliance aspects of these techniques. Officers must then resort to other control and arrest tactics, such as TASER use.

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I served as a police academy instructor and instructor-trainer for many years, teaching basic, advanced, and in-service classes such as, Defensive Tactics, Officer Survival, CPR, Interview and Interrogation, Homicide Investigation, Drug Recognition, and Firearms. I also trained, certified, and re-certified police academy instructors. Outside the academy, I owned my own school/gym where I taught classes in rape-prevention, personal self-defense and self-defense for women, and advanced training for executive bodyguards. I trained others in stick (tambo) and knife fighting. 

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Throughout my law enforcement career I maintained the rank of Master Defensive Tactics Intructor/Aikido and Chin-Na.

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“To control aggression without inflicting injury is the Art of Peace.” ~ Morihei Ueshiba

 

The house was small by any standard. Just four rooms, neither of which was a bathroom. Inside, were two children, a boy of five and a tiny girl—a toddler—who was just getting the hang of walking and talking. A small kerosene heater sat in the center of what the family called the front room. Its tank was empty and the flame had long ago burned out. Icicles dangled from the decaying front porch overhang. The dirt yard, what I could see of it, was a resting spot for junk cars, non-working appliances, tattered furniture, old tires, and a pitiful and old mixed breed dog chained to an engine block. I knew the place almost as well as I know the back of my hand, because this was at least the umpteenth time I’d been there, for various reasons. She stabbed me. He hit me. They beat the kids. Shoplifting. Cocaine. Shots fired. Stolen property. Armed robbery. Prostitution. Yes, I knew it well.

I received the call just after midnight. “A concerned neighbor reported two small children left alone in the house while the mother is out buying crack. The father is there, outside, but he’s so intoxicated he can’t stand up. The neighbor says she heard loud arguing followed by two gunshots. That’s when she called. She also said her husband said to ask that you be the one to respond, if possible.”

I parked my patrol car next to a dented vintage Cadillac that sat atop four cinder-blocks. Its tires had been removed, a sight that, for some unknown reason, reminded me of a toothless old person. I was behind that very car when the owner crashed it while driving drunk and trying to outrun the police (me). The driver immediately jumped out and ran and stumbled and pulled up his pants a dozen times as he moved across a small field and into the backyard of a small church. I caught him when he reached a chain-link fence and tried to dive over. He vigorously resisted my attempts to handcuff him, including a couple of nasty bites to my hand and arm. That was a long time ago, but some things, and people, never change.

When I stepped out of my car and into the cold, I glanced around at the other houses lining the street. All were similar—four rooms, lacking paint, yards devoid of grass, and filled with the same despair as the one before me. I’d “visited” most of those, as well. Many times. The area was as close to hell on earth as you could get and poverty was only the tip of the troubles.

Standing in the streets at various locations in the neighborhood were an assortment of drug runners, the guys who hold small amounts of crack cocaine while the larger supplies are held inside one of the houses. There was absolutely no shame in their games as they stood there blocking the roadway when cars, including police cars, approached. Some they moved for and others they didn’t. I was one of the officers who, for some reason, they allowed to pass without confrontation. Mainly, I suppose, they knew I wouldn’t stand for it. Not for a second. After all, standing in the street, interfering with traffic is illegal, and dangerous, and it was an open invitation for arrest which would allow a search of their pockets.

This was “the trouble spot.” Far more crime occurred there than anywhere else in the jurisdiction. Murders, drug-dealing, rapes, robberies, B&E’s, assaults, shots fired, stabbings, shootings, beatings, domestic violence, child abuse, animal abuse, and arson. Bullet holes in patrol cars, tow trucks, and taxis were a constant reminder of what could happen and sometimes did.

Managers of the apartment complexes in the area offered free rent to any police officer who was willing to move in and park their patrol car out front as a means to at least slow the crime rate. Few accepted the offer and those who did din’t stay for very long. A couple of officers tried to make it work but the department had to stop the program due to the destruction of police cars and equipment, and the danger presented to the participating officers. They were sometimes shot at when coming or going.

I’ve always been a firm believer in community policing and developing relationships with residents. More often than not, I and a few other officers parked our police cars, got out, and walked the neighborhoods. There’s no better method of policing than knowing your beat as well as the people who live there.

I’d sit on front porches, sometimes having a glass of iced tea (I’d been offered something stronger, including an occasional nip of moonshine which was quickly glossed over when they’d realized what they’d said and to whom they’d said it) where I’d chat with the homeowners and other occupants. We discussed everything from sports scores to community affairs to racism. No subject was ever taboo. I even stopped to chat with the drug dealers, and I often offered to help them find real jobs (a couple actually accepted the offers).

I made time to toss footballs with young boys and girls, and I’ve turned quite a few jump ropes in my day, all while in uniform working my shift. By the way, those kids were amazing. They didn’t see me as a police officer. Instead, I was one of them—just another person having fun playing a game with my friends. Of course, they weren’t satisfied until they saw me step in to jump with pistol, handcuffs, and other do-dads on my duty belt bouncing up and down. Their laughter was priceless.

I spent a great deal of my time working patrol in that small section of the jurisdiction. Then, when I became a detective I spent even more time there because that, unfortunately, was the hub of major criminal activity. I was on a first name basis with nearly everyone there and they knew I would be there for them if they needed something, and the same was true in reverse for many of the residents.

Several children came running each time they saw my car turn the corner because they knew I always had some sort of treat for them. When I first started patrolling there the kids would yell “5-0” to alert everyone that a police officer had entered the area. Then they’d run off in the opposite direction. Big change in a relatively short time.

One question that always popped up when I was chatting with the criminals was, “Why are you always in our neighborhood and not “over there?” (referring to a different section of the jurisdiction). My answer was always the same. “We go where we’re needed and we do what we need to do to keep everyone safe. When homes in other areas become the targets for thieves, and the residents there start shooting, robbing, raping, and selling drugs in the streets, I’ll be the first officer there to arrest the bad guys. Until that time comes, though, this neighborhood is where we need to be.”

Officials within my department, along with elected officials, received numerous letters and calls from the citizens in that particular area. The letters expressed the gratitude of the law-abiding residents for the job we were doing in their neighborhood, and it was a good feeling to be appreciated for our efforts.

What made this work so well was that it was a two-way street with dialog and trust between the police and the citizens. To make it work, though, required real effort and real desire. I won’t mislead you by saying this was a smooth and fast transition, because it wasn’t. Not even close. But we managed to erase the lines drawn in the sand and doing so allowed everyone to listen, learn, and act appropriately. Sure, cultures are different—I’m not you nor are you, me—and that will never change, nor should it, but everyone should be treated as equals.

And that’s how it’s done, folks. Not by violence. Not by the media, politicians, and activists with shady agendas fanning the flames. Not by Monday morning armchair cops and crooks and “brave” keyboard and social media warriors. Not by reactions based on emotion and uninformed opinion. And not by trying to make you just like me and me just like you. We’re all equal, but different, and we all see things from different perspectives. We can’t force our beliefs on others, but we can learn to understand.

Good things can happen when good people come together and talk. Talk, not yell and scream accusations based on false narratives and raw emotion.

Yesterday has passed.

Today is a new day.

Now it’s time to jump rope.

I challenge you to try.

 

 

BUT … I saw it on Facebook and it was posted by a famous author, or a politician, or Joe the fry cook over at Sally Sue’s Diner and Medicinal Pot Store, so it must be true, right?

Well, let’s pause here, just for a second, to address the trap of “I saw a famous author’s Facebook post so I know it’s true.”

You guys know I love all writers, I really do. You guys are my peeps and I’d do anything in the world to help you, all of you, which is the main reason I’m posting this article. However, not too many well-known authors, with the exceptions of former or current cop/writers such as Joseph Wambaugh, Robin Burcell, and James O. Born, to name a few—have inside knowledge of the police type operations and tactics it takes to properly assess a police action.

For example, a famous poet (this could also apply to plumbers, doctors, and lemonade stand owners) who’s lived deep in the forest for the past thirty years without seeing another living human, sharing a hut with an odd imaginary animated bird and a family of dainty butterflies, probably doesn’t know much about the use of deadly force by police.

Yet, when the quirky poet learns of an incident via carrier pigeon and then posts a heated diatribe about it on Facebook (he has internet service in the hut), based on not much more than emotion, well, suddenly he’s the expert on all things police and civil rights. Why is this so? Because he’s a famous writer with a cool website and we all look up to him. But he’s an expert on writing, not about deadly force and other cop issues.

The folks I mentioned earlier, the writers/cops who are truly “in-the-know,” typically do not spout off opinions publicly about current police situations the second the stories hit the media, if ever, and there are many excellent reasons why they don’t. Mainly because they weren’t there when those events occurred, and to second-guess/armchair quarterback would be reckless and foolish.

Also, those folks, the true experts, have “been there, done that,” so they know what it’s like to attempt to arrest someone who’s hellbent on not going to jail, or to have someone point a gun at them, or to fight for their lives when a bad guy goes for their service weapon. I know I’ve been in each of those situations and it’s not pleasant.

These are just some of the reasons that most former or current officers don’t instantly jump on the “cops murdered an innocent person” bandwagon. They wait for facts, not incomplete videos that typically do not show a scene in it’s entirety, or a view of the situation that could clearly and without doubt explain an officer’s actions, or the things he did wrong or were in violation of the law. However, videos such as the one we saw of the shooting of Walter Scott in South Carolina, well, that’s about as complete and clearcut as they come and I did write about that incident, but only of the facts.

Anyway, let’s take a few minutes to address a few misconceptions regarding a couple of current events. Starting with …

  1. A concealed carry permit doesn’t grant immunity from crimes committed while carrying a gun in your pocket.
  2. Bullets can easily penetrate cloth. In other words, a gun in the pocket with a finger on the trigger is just as deadly as a gun held out in the open.
  3. Use of force during an arrest = the amount of force necessary to make the arrest. If a person complies then the arrest is no more than an officer applying handcuffs to the wrists. If a suspect resists, well, if it takes 20 officers to gain control of the violent offender, then that’s the amount of force necessary. If the 20 officers cannot gain control, then 21, 22, 23 … whatever it takes (yes, I’m exaggerating to make a point). Contrary to what some may believe, it’s not a boxing match where opponents are in similar weight classes and must face their fellow boxer in a one-on-one fight. Officers must always succeed in making the arrest, and they’re to use the amount of force necessary to overcome the resistance of the offender.
  4. In deadly force situations, officers are not trained to aim for arms, legs, fingers, toes, weapons, etc. That is a myth.
  5. It should be no surprise to anyone that the majority of arrests occur in areas of high crime. Therefore, the majority of people arrested are probably in or from those areas when the arrests occur. The key word here is CRIME. Commit a crime and it’s reasonable to conclude that you just might be arrested for it.
  6. Resisting arrest – the crime of physically preventing an officer from conducting an arrest. Acts that are considered as resisting – hiding, running away/fleeing during the arrest, struggling with an officer during the arrest, among others. Attempting to pull a weapon/gun from a pocket during an arrest = resisting and justifies an officer’s use of deadly force.
  7. Federal civil rights violations—use of excessive force, sexual assault, intentional false arrests, or the intentional fabrication of evidence resulting in a loss of liberty to another—do not require that any racial, religious, or other discriminatory motive exist. Civil rights violations occur when anyone acting under color of law willfully deprives or conspires to deprive another person of any right protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States. (“Color of law” means that the person doing/committing the act is using power given to him or her by a governmental agency.) The keyword to remember here is “willfully.”

Color of Law Violations (per FBI)

  • Excessive force – In making arrests, maintaining order, and defending life, law enforcement officers are allowed to use whatever force is “reasonably” necessary. The breadth and scope of the use of force is vast—from just the physical presence of the officer…to the use of deadly force. Violations of federal law occur when it can be shown that the force used was willfully “unreasonable” or “excessive.”
  • Sexual assaults – by officials acting under color of law can happen in jails, during traffic stops, or in other settings where officials might use their position of authority to coerce an individual into sexual compliance. The compliance is generally gained because of a threat of an official action against the person if he or she doesn’t comply.
  • False arrest and fabrication of evidence: The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right against unreasonable searches or seizures. A law enforcement official using authority provided under the color of law is allowed to stop individuals and, under certain circumstances, to search them and retain their property. It is in the abuse of that discretionary power—such as an unlawful detention or illegal confiscation of property—that a violation of a person’s civil rights may occur.Fabricating evidence against or falsely arresting an individual also violates the color of law statute, taking away the person’s rights of due process and unreasonable seizure. In the case of deprivation of property, the color of law statute would be violated by unlawfully obtaining or maintaining a person’s property, which oversteps or misapplies the official’s authority.The Fourteenth Amendment secures the right to due process; the Eighth Amendment prohibits the use of cruel and unusual punishment. During an arrest or detention, these rights can be violated by the use of force amounting to punishment (summary judgment). The person accused of a crime must be allowed the opportunity to have a trial and should not be subjected to punishment without having been afforded the opportunity of the legal process.
  • Failure to keep from harm – The public counts on its law enforcement officials to protect local communities. If it’s shown that an official willfully failed to keep an individual from harm, that official could be in violation of the color of law statute.

Absolutely no poets, odd birds, or butterflies were harmed during the writing of this article.

And, as always, please remember that this site is not the place for arguments about politics, gun control, race, religion, and cop-bashing. Let’s continue the rational, factual, and informative discussions as we have in the past.

 

According to a couple of local news articles, Chicago police are, this morning, touting the “low” number of shootings in the city over the Independence Day weekend. They credit the “small numbers” of gun violence to arresting known gang members prior to the holiday. They also say that an increase of patrol officers on the streets was a huge help in keeping the weekend safe for local residents (as many as 5,000 officers were on patrol as opposed to the normal 3,000 – 4,000 on any given day).

Before moving forward with a review of the weekend festivities, keep in mind, please, that Chicago is pretty darn strict when it comes to owning, purchasing, and possessing firearms. For example, Chicago/Illinois law requires:

  • Any Illinois resident who acquires or possesses firearm or firearm ammunition within the State must have in their possession a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) card issued in his or her name.
  • The FOID card was created in 1968 (that’s 1968, nearly 50 years ago), by the FOID Act, as a way to identify those persons eligible to possess and acquire firearms and firearm ammunition as part of a public safety initiative in the State of Illinois.
  • A buyer is required to show his Firearms Owner’s Identification Card (FOID) when purchasing any firearms or ammunition.
  • Any seller is required to withhold delivery of any handgun for 72 hours, and of any rifle or shotgun for 24 hours, after the buyer and seller reach an agreement to purchase a firearm.
  • It is unlawful to sell, manufacture, purchase, possess or carry any weapon from which more than one shot may be discharged by a single function of the trigger, including the frame or receiver of any such weapon (in other words, machine guns are illegal).
  • It is unlawful to possess a silencer.
  • It is illegal to possess a firearm on government property (without appropriate permission).
  • You must be 21 years of age to purchase a handgun in Chicago.
  • It is unlawful to carry or possess any firearm in any vehicle or concealed on or about the person, except on one’s land or in one’s abode or fixed place of business, without a license.

In addition to the Illinois and Chicago laws, there are thousands upon thousands of federal firearms laws on the books, including:

The following classes of people are ineligible to possess, receive, ship, or transport firearms or ammunition:

  • Those convicted of crimes punishable by imprisonment for over one year, except state misdemeanors punishable by two years or less.
  • Fugitives from justice.
  • Unlawful users of certain depressant, narcotic, or stimulant drugs.
  • Those adjudicated as mental defectives or incompetents or those committed to any mental institution.
  • Illegal aliens.
  • Citizens who have renounced their citizenship.
  • Those persons dishonorably discharged from the Armed Forces.
  • Persons less than 18 years of age for the purchase of a shotgun or rifle.
  • Persons less than 21 years of age for the purchase of a firearm that is other than a shotgun or rifle.
  • Persons subject to a court order that restrains such persons from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner.
  • Persons convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.

Persons under indictment for a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than one year are ineligible to receive, transport, or ship any firearm or ammunition. Under limited conditions, relief from disability may be obtained from the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, or through a pardon, expungement, restoration of rights, or setting aside of a conviction.

So, with all of these tough as old shoe leather and rusty nails laws on the books, gun violence should be well on the way out the door, right? I mean, not a single Chicago bad guy, if they follow the rules, should never, not ever, have a gun in their hands, right? After all, we know that bad guys always obey the law. And, if we were add more gun laws to the ones already in place, well, the robbers and murderers will automatically stop shooting, right?

Well, someone is shot every two hours in Chicago, and someone is murdered every ten-thirteen hours. Over 330 people have been murdered in Chicago so far this year.

Officer stop-and-frisks (pat-downs for weapons) are down 90% in Chicago. The FOP there says officers basically stopped the practice because of racism allegations, lawsuits, and internet videos that do not show the entire situation.

Stop-and-frisk is fantastic tool that does indeed prevent gun violence, but …

Anyway, thanks to Chicago’s tough gun laws, rounding up known gang members, and a huge police presence over the holiday weekend, these are the people who might not agree with the notion that adding more gun laws will stop bad guys from pulling the trigger, because crooks don’t obey the laws we already have!

 Chicago Shootings Since Friday, and this is considered an improvement:

Friday, 5:25 p.m. — Man shot in West Englewood
Friday, 8:45 p.m. — 16-year-old boy shot in Woodlawn
Friday, 10:35 p.m. — 17-year-old girl shot in Austin
Friday, 10:40 p.m. — Man wounded in South Shore drive-by shooting
Friday, 11:30 p.m. — Man shot in Lawndale
Saturday, 12:50 a.m. — Man wounded in Austin shooting
Saturday, 1:30 a.m. — Man wounded in Englewood shooting
Saturday, 3:30 a.m. — Police: 1 dead, 1 wounded in West Side shooting
Saturday, 3:40 a.m. — Man shot in Heart of Chicago
Saturday, 2 p.m. — 1 shot in West Englewood
Saturday, 3 p.m. — Man shot in Marquette Park
Saturday, 3:30 p.m. — Woman hit by stray bullet in Woodlawn
Saturday, 4:11 p.m. — Man shot in Canaryville
Saturday, 7:37 p.m. — 1 in custody for Morgan Park shooting
Sunday, 2:20 a.m. — Man shot in Little Village
Sunday, 3 a.m. — Man shot in Humboldt Park
Sunday, 3:52 a.m. — Woman grazed by bullet in Longwood Manor
Sunday, 4:52 a.m. — One wounded in Far South Side shooting
Sunday, 6:10 a.m. — 16-year-old boy shot in Lawndale
Sunday, 1:56 p.m. — Man, 18, wounded in Brainerd shooting
Sunday, 10 p.m. — 2 teens shot in Englewood
Sunday, 10:47 p.m. — 15-year-old boy wounded in South Loop shooting
Sunday, 10:50 p.m.  — Woman shot in North Lawndale
Sunday, 10:50 p.m. — Man shot to death in Little Village
Sunday, 11:12 p.m. — Man shot in Park Manor
Sunday, 11:30 p.m. — Man shot in West Garfield Park
Sunday, 11:46 p.m. — Man critically wounded in Gresham drive-by shooting
Monday, 12:47 a.m. — Man critically wounded in shooting, crash Little Village
Monday, 1:24 a.m. — Man critical after Roseland shooting
Monday, 4:10 a.m. — Man shot in Austin
Monday, 8:50 a.m. — Man shot in buttocks in Roseland
Monday, 1:09 p.m. — Person shot in Pullman
Monday, 1:15 p.m. — Man shot in Princeton Park
Monday, 1:30 p.m. — Teen shot on South Side
Monday, 7:16 p.m. — Man wounded in Humboldt Park shooting
Monday, 8:15 p.m. — One wounded in Chicago Lawn shooting
Monday, 8:45 p.m. — Man critically wounded in West Town shooting
Monday, 9:20 p.m. — Police: Man fatally shot in South Shore
Monday, 9:20 p.m. — 2 shot in Englewood
Monday, 9:30 p.m. — 11-year-old boy shot on Lower West Side
Monday, 11 p.m. — 2 children among 4 shot in West Englewood
Monday, 11:35 p.m. — 2 shot in Trumbull Park
Tuesday, 12 a.m. — Boy, 15, critically wounded in Chatham shooting
Tuesday, 12:20 a.m. — Man critically hurt in Woodlawn shooting
Tuesday, 12:40 a.m. — Man shot in Brighton Park
Tuesday, 1 a.m. — Woman grazed by bullet in Loop
Tuesday, 1:35 a.m. — Police: 1 dead, 2 wounded in Humboldt Park shooting
Tuesday, 1:35 a.m. — Woman wounded in West Pullman shooting
Tuesday, 2:15 a.m. — Man shot in West Garfield Park
Tuesday, 2:31 a.m. — Woman shot, seriously wounded in Marquette Park
Tuesday, 2:31 a.m. — 3 shot in East Garfield Park
Tuesday, 2:45 a.m. — Man shot in Avalon Park
Tuesday, 2:55 a.m. — Man shot in Austin
Tuesday, 3:05 a.m. — 2 shot while sitting in vehicle in Austin

*This article is not an invitation to argue for or against gun control, politics, political candidates, religion, police, etc. Please save those arguments for your pages. This is also not the place for inappropriate language. I’ve heard enough “F” words to last a lifetime.

*Sources – Illinois CCW and Firearms Training, Chicago Sun Times, and NRA-ILA Institute for Legislative Action.

 

Ah, the search warrant. Many officers can’t wait to go on their first door-kicking, flash-bang-tossing raid. Beats writing traffic tickets, right? After all, what good is all the exhausting and demanding training and fancy equipment if you can’t use it?

Sure, the excitement is there. The adrenaline rush is over the top—from zero to sixty in the blink of an eye. And the danger level … WHOOSH! It’s through the roof and then some, and then add a little more.

But there’s another side to executing a search warrant, a troublesome and sad side that most people don’t see (but your protagonists should and most often don’t), and it’s after the door is breached when officers often encounter a host of unpleasantness, such as:

  •  While pawing through the kitchen drawers you notice an abundance of tiny black pellets. There are more on the counter tops, and on the stove top, especially near a large container of rendered bacon fat that’s used to season food or in lieu of olive and other costly cooking oils. A closer look reveals dozens of teeny-tiny footprints in the container of congealed animal fat, and in thin layer of slippery, slimy grease that’s coating the surface of the range.

Also present are marks indicating the dragging of a rodent’s tail, and more of the black pellets along with obvious chew-marks and tooth prints in the grease and around the edges of the container. A frying pan with remnants of the morning’s scrambled eggs sits on a rear burner. No, that’s not freshly-ground pepper dotting the top of the leftover, dried-up eggs.

Listen carefully and you’ll sometimes hear faint squeals and squeaks coming from inside the walls of the range. You don’t want to get closer, but you do it anyway. Yes, there are indeed baby mice living inside the stove, and they’re crying for their mother. And this is only the first room …

  • A favorite place to hide drugs is in or behind a toilet’s water storage tank. But there’s no bathroom in this house so you continue the search by moving to a bedroom, if that’s what you want to call it. Four walls, a tattered mattress on the floor (no bed frame), and lots and lots of filth and dirty clothes, everywhere. Chicken bones, beer cans and bottles. Yellow-gray sheets that were probably white a few years ago, a clock radio with its guts hanging out of the broken plastic casing, and ROACHES EVERYWHERE. Thousands of them. All sizes, too. On the floor, the bed, the walls, a wooden chair in the corner, the ceiling, in the closet, under your feet, and on YOUR PANTS LEGS!

But the search must go on…

  •  What’s in the white five-gallon bucket in the corner? There’s a dishtowel draped over it, as if they’re hiding something there. So you pull back the cloth and WHAM! You now know the location of the bathroom, and it hasn’t been emptied for days.
  • A malnourished skin-and-bones mixed-breed dog is backed into a corner. Most of the fur is missing from its back and around the head. Its lips are pulled back and a mouthful of plaque-coated teeth are aimed in your direction. A low rumble comes from somewhere deep inside the animal’s throat. There’s no time to call for animal control so you pull out the pepperspray. Never mind that it rarely works on dogs, but you feel better with the can in your hand. You back out and close the door.
  • In the next bedroom you discover five little kids inside playing with a few broken plastic toys—a dump truck, a tractor and, ironically, a battered three-wheeled police car. The oldest one … four, or so.

“Where’s your mommy?”

Five sets of shoulders inch upward.

No shoes. Dirty pants. No shirts. Faces crusted with food and sleep and grime. Lint in their hair.

A rat the size of a squirrel walks nonchalantly across the floor near the baseboard. It disappears into a large hole in the sheetrock. Roaches crawl across the boys’ feet and legs, marching like soldiers on a mission.

No more than five feet from where the kids are seated is a ragged microwave perched on an equally ragged nightstand. An overflowing ashtray. Two empty beer bottles. Drinking glass half full of room-temperature tea. Aluminum foil. Plastic wrap. A glass cookie sheet covered in wax paper. A plastic bag. White powder. Baking soda. And crack cocaine.

Kind of takes the edge off the adrenaline rush, huh?

 

 

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

There it is, the word sung by Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke in the movie “Mary Poppins.” Now, say it out loud. Or, if you prefer, say it in reverse – dociousaliexpilisticfragicalirupes. Either way, it takes us somewhere between one and two seconds for it to roll off our tongues, give or take a tenth of a second or two. That’s pretty quick, yes?

I suppose I could stop here and let you go about the remainder of your day with this ear worm digging its way into your brain:

It’s supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

Even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious

If you say it loud enough, you’ll always sound precocious

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

Um diddle, diddle diddle, um diddle ay

Um diddle, diddle diddle, um diddle ay

Um diddle, diddle diddle, um diddle ay

Um diddle, diddle diddle, um diddle ay…

But let’s stick with the time it takes to say that word. For me it’s somewhere between 1.01 seconds and 1.22 seconds, depending upon how quickly I start after clicking the button on the stopwatch.

Now, imagine that you’re a police officer who’s responded to a call where a suspect used a baseball bat to beat his spouse and children. You arrive at the scene and hear yelling, screams, and children crying from inside the home. You knock. No answer. Still more screaming. You force open the door and rush inside where you’re immediately faced with a man pointing a handgun at a badly battered woman. He begins to turn toward you. How do you respond to the threat, and how long does it take to do so?

Well, your body and brain must first of all figure out what’s going on (perception). Then the brain instructs the body to stand by while it analyzes the scenario (okay, he has a gun and I think I’m about to be shot). Next, while the body is still on hold, the brain begins to formulate a plan (I’ve got to do something, and I’d better do it asap). Finally, the brain pokes the body and tells it to go for what it was trained to do—draw pistol, point the business end of it at the threat, insert finger into trigger guard, squeeze trigger.

To give you an idea as to how long it takes a trained police officer to accomplish those steps, let’s revisit Mary Poppins and Bert the chimney sweep, and that wacky word supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Remember, it takes us a little over one second to say the entire word.

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To put this scenario into perspective, a police officer’s quickest reaction time (based on a study of 46 trained officers), when they already know the threat is there, AND, with their finger already on the trigger, is 0.365 seconds. That’s far less than half the very brief time it takes Bert to sing that famous word, and certainly not enough time to stop, draw a weapon from its holster, take aim, yell a bunch of commands, check for passersby, look for accomplices, and, well, you get the idea.

So, when confronted with a potential deadly force situation, officers must perceive/identify the threat, evaluate the situation, develop a plan of action, and then set that plan in motion, and they must do so in the time it takes to say “supercali.” Not even the entire word—about the time it takes to blink.

Go ahead, try it. Blink one time and then think about all the cool things you could accomplish during the time it took to quickly close and open your eyes.

Blink.

During a traffic stop in Arkansas, a passenger in a vehicle shot at officers, killing one. The man fired the first round at the face of one officer. That shot occurred in less than supercali. Actually, it was more like, su-BANG!

The suspect then continued to fire at the other officers on scene, shooting several rounds during our imaginary supercalifragilisticexpialidocious timeframe. The officers were not able to return fire.

How about you? Are you able to make extremely complex decisions in less than a second? How about decisions that involve life or death?

Blink. A suspect just fired a round at you.

I dare say that many of us can’t decide what to select from a fast food menu within that scant time frame.

Blink. Round number two. Have you managed to draw your pistol yet?

Sure, it’s super easy to look back at deadly force incidents and offer opinions as to how they should, or should not have been handled. But only the people who were there at the precise moment the trigger was pulled know the real story. They alone know how they perceived and reacted to the threat to them and/or others.

Again, officers often have less than a second to react, and a lifetime to deal with the decision, if the officer survives the encounter.

SU …

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Guns. Whether you love ’em or hate ’em, they’re here and they’re not going anywhere any time soon. As writers, though, you probably handle them, if only in your minds, more often than the average person. Therefore, it’s a good idea to know what it is you’re trusting your characters to carry and use as part of their crime-fighting tool box. So, to help your heroes sound as if they really know their stuff, here are a dozen not-so-well-known firearm facts.

1. Not all firearms require official registration under the National Firearms Act (NFA). Those that do include machine guns, short-barrel rifles (barrel less than 16? in length) and shotguns (barrel less than 18? in length), silencers, gadget-type firearms (pen and cellphone guns, etc.), *destructive devices, and what ATF calls “any other weapons.”

*Destructive devices include Molotov cocktails, bazookas, anti tank guns (over .50 cal.), and mortars. Interestingly  grenade and rocket launchers that attach to military rifles are not considered to be destructive devices. However, grenades and rockets are listed as destructive devices.

*Any other weapons include Ithaca Auto-Burglar guns, H&R Handy-gun, and cane guns.

Violators caught with a non-registered NFA firearm may be fined not more than $250,000, and imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.

2. Dealers who sell gas masks must be registered with ATF. It takes 4-6 weeks for the agency to process the registration paperwork.

3. Parts or devices that are designed to convert a firearm into a NFA firearm must be registered with ATF.

4. The semi-automatic assault weapon (SAW) ban went into effect on September 13, 1994. The law made it illegal to manufacture or possess SAW’s. The law expired 10 years later on September 13, 2004.

5. The ban on large capacity ammunition feeding devices (magazines, belts, drums, etc.) went into effect on September 13, 1994. It, too, expired 10 years later, on September 13, 2004.

6. The National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, is in place to instantly determine whether a prospective buyer is eligible to buy firearms or explosives (not a convicted felon or otherwise ineligible). The system is utilized each time someone purchases a firearm from a licensed dealer. NICS is maintained by the FBI. More than 100 million checks have been conducted since the system was initiated. 700,000 of those checks resulted in denials.

7. Muzzleloading cannons are NOT classified as destructive devices.

8. Machine guns may be legally transferred (sold) from one registered owner to another. *Note – the firearms you’ve seen in the news, the ones so often incorrectly referred to as assault weapons, are NOT machine guns.

9. It is illegal to manufacture, import, and/or sell armor-piercing ammunition. However, this law does not apply to those who manufacture and sell armor-piercing ammunition to the government of the United States or any its departments or agencies, or to any state government or any department and/or agency thereof. It is also legal to manufacture and sell armor-piercing ammunition for the purpose of exporting to other countries.

ATF defines armor-piercing ammunition as:

(a) projectile or projectile core which may be used in a handgun and which is constructed entirely (excluding the presence of traces of other substances) from one or a combination of tungsten alloys, steel, iron, brass, bronze, beryllium copper, or depleted uranium; or

(b) a full jacketed projectile larger than .22 caliber designed and intended for use in a handgun and whose jacket has a weight of more than 25 percent of the total weight of the projectile.

10. Brandish – to display all or part a firearm, or make it known a firearm is present, for the purpose of intimidating another. “Cops charged my cousin with brandishing a firearm. He’ll do six months in county for this one. It’s the second time he’s done it.”

11. It is illegal for persons convicted of crimes of violence to purchase or possess body armor.

12. Gun sales to foreign embassies on U.S. soil are considered exports; therefore, typical gun sale paperwork is not required. Instead, dealers need to obtain only one of the following – an official purchase order from the foreign mission, payment from foreign government funds, a written document from the agency head stating the weapons are being purchased by the embassy, not an individual. Standard laws apply to individual parties/diplomats.

Bonus – It is illegal to knowingly sell a gun to anyone who is an unlawful user of or addicted to controlled substances. It is also illegal to knowingly sell a firearm to someone has been adjudicated as a mental defective or has been committed to a mental institution.

*     *     *

I’m goin’ home, gonna load my shotgun
Wait by the door and light a cigarette
If he wants a fight well now he’s got one

I’m gonna show him what little girls are made of
Gunpowder and lead

Miranda Lambert ~ Gunpowder and Lead

 

I’ve been writing this blog for over eight years and I admit that it’s sometimes tough to come up with a new topic each and every day. However, I suppose there’ll always be questions that need answering as long as writers continue to write stories about cops and crime. So … here are a few responses to recent inquiries.

(By the way, I’ve seen each of these used incorrectly in at least one book, or on someone’s blog).

1. Do revolvers eject spent brass with each pull of the trigger?

Answer – No, they do not. Spent brass must be manually ejected. Semi-autos, however, do indeed eject individual empty brass casings each time a round is fired.

2. I heard a stupid thing the other day. Someone told me that thermal imagers can “see” through black garbage bags, allowing officers to identify the contents without opening the bag. This is not true, right?

Answer – This is true.

3. How many locks are on a pair of handcuffs? One or two?

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Answer – Two.

4. Speed Loaders are competition shooters who are extremely skilled at loading their weapons in a very short amount of time, right?

Answer – Read about speed loaders here –  https://leelofland.com/dump-pouches-v-speed-loaders/

5. Isn’t it true that cars almost always explode when hit by gunfire.

Answer – No. In fact, the opposite is more likely to happen … no explosion at all.

6. A writer friend told me that DNA evidence is used to convict defendants in nearly every case. Is she correct?

Answer – DNA is rarely the deciding factor in a criminal case. Sure, it’s nice to have, but it’s not always available.

7. The FBI can take over any case, any time, from local police, so why do the locals bother?

Answer – This couldn’t be further from the truth. The FBI does not have the authority to take over a criminal case. Besides, they have a ton of their own cases to work, which, by the way, does not include murder (as a rule).

8. Do the Kevlar vests worn by officers (or similar types) also stop punctures from knives and other sharp objects.

Answer – No, they’re not designed to stop punctures from knives and other edged weapons. There are, however, vests that do guard against stabbing-type weapons, but they are typically worn by officers who work in prisons and jails.

9. Do cops have to release bad guys if they forget to read them their rights the moment they arrest them?

Answer – No, Miranda is required to be read/recited only when suspects are in custody AND prior to questioning. No questioning = no advisement of Miranda. Some departments may have policies that require Miranda advisement at the time of arrest, but it’s not mandated by law.

10. Are police officers required by law to wear seat belts while operating a police car?

Answer – No, not in all states. In fact, some state laws also allow certain delivery drivers to skip buckling up (USPS letter carriers, for example).

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11. Are all deputy sheriffs sworn police officers?

Answer – No. Normally deputies who work in the jails are not police officers. On the other hand, sheriff’s deputies have far more responsibilities than you may be aware of, such as (click the link below to read about the duties of deputy sheriffs):

DEPUTY SHERIFFS: THEY’RE JUST COPS, RIGHT?

12. Coroners have to be medical doctors, don’t they?

Answer – No, in many areas corners are elected officials who have absolutely no medical training whatsoever. Actually, some California sheriffs also serve as county coroner.

13. Isn’t it true that small town police departments never investigate murder cases?

Answer – All police officers are trained to investigate crimes, and small town officers investigate homicides all the time.

14. Robbery and burglary are synonymous. I mean, they’re the same, right?

Answer – No, robbery and burglary are two entirely different crimes.

Robbery occurs when a crook uses physical force, threat, or intimidation to steal someone’s property. If the robber uses a weapon the crime becomes armed robbery, or aggravated robbery, depending on local law. There is always a victim present during a robbery.

For example, you are walking down the street and a guy brandishes a handgun and demands your money. That’s robbery.

Burglary is an unlawful entry into any building with the intent to commit a crime. Normally, there is no one inside the building when a burglary occurs. No physical breaking and entering is required to commit a burglary. A simple trespass through an open door or window, and the theft of an item or items, is all that’s necessary to meet the requirements to be charged with burglary.

For example, you are out for the night and someone breaks into your home and steals your television. That’s a burglary. Even if you are at home asleep in your bed when the same crime occurs, it’s a burglary because you weren’t actually threatened by anyone.

15. I once read that narcotics dogs are fed small amounts of cocaine at an early age to get them used to the drug. This is cruelty to animals and cops should be arrested for doing it.

Answer – This couldn’t be more false. Dogs are never, not ever, given narcotics of any type. Instead, they’re trained to locate drugs by their scents.

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16. Shotguns and rifles are basically synonymous. I know this because my grandfather had both and used both to hunt wild game.

Answer – False. To read about and see the differences, please go HERE.

17. Has there ever been an escape death row?

Yes, and a great example is the escape of the Briley brothers from Virginia’s death row at the Mecklenburg Correctional Center.

18. Is there a gun that allows officers to shoot around corners?

Answer – Yes, and you can read about CornerShot here https://leelofland.com/corner-shot-who-says-bullets-dont-bend/

19. Cops are definitely trained to aim for arms, legs, and/or to shoot a knife or gun from a suspect’s hand. This I know because I read it on a blog written by a popular activist and she should know.

Answer – Officers are taught to shoot center mass of their target. It is extremely difficult to hit small, moving targets while under duress. Therefore, officers DO NOT shoot hands, legs, elbows, or weapons (well, not on purpose). Your friend’s statement is totally incorrect.

20. Why do officers always shoot to kill? Couldn’t they shoot an arm or leg, or something?

Answer – See #19 above, and … Police officers are NEVER trained to “shoot to kill.” Instead, they’re taught to stop the threat. When the threat no longer exists the shooting stops, if it ever starts. Often, the threat ceases before shots are fired.

Shoot to Kill or to Wound? Here’s the Answer