Another story of a bad cop

See, I don't have a problem with officers making mistakes. Getting too emotionally charged and snapping. I mean, they ARE people, and people have the tendency to overreact at times. I would like to see that officers are appropriately screened in order to weed out such people from such civic duty, but it can happen to anyone. But what pisses me off at police as a whole is when, after making a mistake, the officer in question lies about it. I have a strong suspicion that most people feel the same way as I do: that a mistake, even one that involves physical harm, might be excused by the general public (and by that I do not mean no discipline, just that the general public might not hate cops so much) if the officer were to come straight out and say "I am guilty. I screwed up. I apologise for my actions." This doesn't happen though. Officers seem to have a disposition to lie about what their mistakes and wrongdoing, and other officers back them up.

Just to showcase this line of thought, the story below contains a video where it shows a citizen speaking to an officer and then out of the blue, the officer punches the guy in the face, then punches him some more when the guy is down. It took first-hand viewing of the tape for the prosecutors to drop the charges because the officer was stating that the citizen was the one to attack him!

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news/the_edge/video-shows-detroit-police-officer-beating-man-at-mgm-casino

The officer, however, claims Poisson made the first move. He was facing charges, but they were eventually dropped. "As soon as the prosecutor's office saw the videotape, the charges disappeared," said Mueller.
Poisson is now suing the department for money, as well as the officer's resignation.

It is stories like these that help the general public believe that cops are criminals (and in this case, this officer was since he blatantly lied about what happened). And if you watch the video in the link provided above, you will see that the cop was not alone. What did the other officer do? Tell the prosecutors and his chief what really happened? Doesn't seem that that is the case.

I honestly want cops to be the good guys, but with so many incidents lately that are showing how bad the cops are... it is easy to see why the public opinion of cops is so bad.

Some statistics, and why you should Openly Carry a firearm

According to Armed and Considered Dangerous: A Survey of Felons and Their Firearms, James Wright and Peter Rossi, Aldine, 1986 about 60% of convicted felons said they purposely avoided targets they knew to be armed. The same study showed that 40% admitted to avoiding someone they thought might be armed. It seems to me the criminals are more afraid of open carry than concealed carry.

According to, The Armed Criminal in America: A Survey of Incarcerated Felons, U.S. Bureau of Justice StatisticsFederal Firearms Offenders study, 1997: National Institute of Justice, Research Report, July 1985,Department of Justice 57% of felons said they are more worried about running in to armed citizens than cops.

In other words the studies show that criminals avoid those that can fight back with a weapon. They avoid the hard targets. They don't hide in bushes and wait to attack them in hopes of stealing their weapon. This "target me" myth is not based in the evidence of real world studies. It just doesn't pan out based on what is known of criminal behavior.

According to a study done in Missouri 2% of civillian shootings kill an innocent person. The tally for police officers came out to 11%. According to, Geller & Karales, "Shootings of and By Chicago Police: Uncommon Crises, Part I: Shootings by Chicago Police," Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology 1813 (1981) 14% of lethal force incidents by Chicago police officers were "prima facie cases of manslaughter or murder."

Even the FBI admits that criminals don't OC & practically never use holsters.
The study was called "Violent Encounters: A Study of Felonious Assaults on Our Nation's Law Enforcement Officers".
Published in 2006; PDFs available here.
Chapter 4 is where they talk about criminals, OC, & holsters.


So if you see a citizen with a pistol in a holster, you can be pretty sure they're not planning to cause trouble.

Conceal and carry has led to more car break-ins

President of the Missouri Fraternal Order of Police Kevin Ahlbrand is a detective with St. Louis Metro P.D. He says conceal and carry has led to more car break-ins, especially where guns aren’t allowed in — such as at churches and sporting events.

This coming from a new article about assults against police on the rise. While it is interesting to note that break-ins are on the rise in areas where guns are not allowed, criminals don't want to get shot after all, it is more distressing to see that cops are being assulted at a higher rate.

Complaining outloud

Someone I know had this to say about a recent event:

I was standing on my porch one day and happened to say, while laughing 'I'd like to punch So-and-So in the nose', which is equivalent to 'give a piece of my mind', or 'kick someone's hind end', but just so happened that the child of this person who irked me was walking by when I said it (having been asked).

In about 20 minutes two cops showed up and wanted to talk to me. I was aghast. I said 'what's the problem? People say 'punch in the nose' all the time meaning they're irked. It doesn't mean actually hitting a person, or even threatening to hit someone, give me a break'.

They said 'Well since you said it standing on your porch, and we didn't hear you, we won't arrest you, but if you'd been standing in the street and said it we'd arrest you for threatening someone'. (Ri-i-i-ght!).

I said 'well, it was a figure of speech, but if you like I'll apologize to everyone involved, I definitely do NOT plan to go punch anyone AND I didn't say it to THEM I said it to another person who was grousing also and their kid overheard it'.

I am not positive how often this might happen with people, at least saying such things about someone else on your own property, but it does happen. And no matter what your intentions, you can be arrested for scenarios like the above. At the very least, for stating a desire to offer violence against another, one could be arrested for simple assault. At the worst, well, possibly even for making terrorist threats.
Now, there are some technicalities regarding if you made the statement in the presence of an officer or not, but that gets into being arrested on the spot or being arrested after the person you threatened obtained a warrant.

Your right to free speech actually ends a bit before the other person's nose.

While I agree that merely expressing a desire to do something, as opposed to actually stating your intent to do the act, should not be a criminal offense, this is the world that we live in. You have to take precautions about what you say, not only against what you do or do not say in the presence of an officer, but you have to watch what you say whenever anyone can overhear your words.

Remember your rights, but more importantly, remember the rights of others as well (which is something that I feel that the majority of people do not do).

Officers are the same, but different, than regular people (or why shouldn't you carry a non-lethal self-defence item)

In an article in The Brownfield Herald titled "In police shootings, officers held to same laws as public" the author notes that

Each department's policy on use of force against a suspect varies slightly, said McAllen police Chief Victor Rodriguez. But officers are held liable under the same laws as the public.

"We're subject to the law that applies to everybody," Rodriguez said. "It doesn't matter if you're a police officer or a citizen. A person can use force."

while also showing that officers are not the same as a normal citizen with

Harlingen police have not released the name of the officer who fired on Rivas or said why he chose his shotgun instead of his Taser during the deadly Monday night incident.

The man is currently on leave from his duties, while the Texas Rangers and Cameron County District Attorney's office continue to investigate. The evidence is expected to be turned over to a grand jury for consideration.

If you point a gun, toy or real, expect to get shot

The following story shows an officer doing what anyone would do in a similar situation

Man with toy gun shot, killed by police in Fla.

NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A man whose family said he was autistic was killed by police in North Miami Beach after pointing a real-looking toy gun at an officer, police said Thursday.

Police officers responded to 911 calls about a man seen walking around the neighborhood Wednesday afternoon with a rifle, North Miami Beach Police Director Thomas Carney said. Officers gave commands for the man to drop the weapon, but he refused and pointed it at an officer, Carney said.

The man identified as Ernest Vassell, 57, was carrying a realistic toy that could be confused with a rifle or shotgun, police said.

"It's very tragic," Carney said. "People don't understand that police officers are going to treat you like that's a real gun until we determine differently. They're not going to take any chances."

The victim's sister said Vassell was autistic and had mental challenges.

"Ernest did not deserve to die like this. Everyone is still in shock and disbelief," Marva Vassell-Gordon said.
His neighbors said it was obvious that Ernest Vassell had a disability, and police should have known.

"It's so strange to me that I can see it, and then, the police didn't see it. Or they didn't look for it," said Conroy Anderson, a family friend.

Police were not immediately releasing further information on the shooting pending an investigation.

While I might bash a bit on cops here, I only bash on cops who are being negligent in their duties or are commiting crimes themselves. I will also gladly point it out when cops protect other cops and their crimes, for that makes them accessories. But in stories like the above, while it is rather emotional to see someone with mental learning difficulties get shot because he was only playing a game (or whatever), they did the right thing. Even myself, if I saw an adult point a gun at me, I would draw mine in response. And I would pull the trigger multiple times in order to bring the assailant down. Would I mourn the needlessness of the death? Yes. However, you cannot take the time to cross your t's and dot your i's when a gun is being pointed at you. I have to wonder what the family was thinking by letting this man walk around with such a gun. I would let my kids run around the neighborhood with their bright yellow and orange nerf guns, but I wouldn't let them do the same with their daisy bb long gun. Nor would I let them do the same with any other gun that looked too realistic.

Common sense people.

My wife and our guns

We just recieved our shotgun buttstock shell holder and our shotgun shell bandolier in the mail today, so I was able to convince my lovely wife to pose a bit for me while shooting (at the clay pigeons that were mentioned in the other day's post):

Guns shown:

Winchester 12 gauge model 370
Sig Pro sp2022 9mm
Ruger P95 9mm

Personal rights.....taken for granted too often.

This is something I touched on in yesterday's post and is something that my wife and I talked about at length on our way home from the Wal-Mart.

How many people can you think of that could care less about the preservation of their rights? From the stereotypical thug yelling about the "5th" to the average joe who knows nothing about his 2A rights until someone breaks into his house.

LEO stories from around the web

Kelly Thomas Death: Officer Manuel Ramos Charged With Murder

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) -- The fatal police beating of a mentally ill, homeless man, prosecutors say, began with one officer snapping on a pair of latex gloves and a single threat.
Kelly Thomas was sitting on a curb in Southern California as police checked his backpack when Officer Manuel Ramos donned the gloves and made two fists in front of him. Prosecutors say Ramos then said: "Now see my fists? They are getting ready to F you up."

HPD punishes 7 officers for conduct in wreck

Houston police Chief Charles McClelland disciplined one of his assistant chiefs and six other police officers for their conduct after an eastside patrol sergeant allegedly crashed into a school bus while intoxicated earlier this year, HPD officials confirmed.

On Tuesday, the department said McClelland had taken disciplinary action against members of his own command staff, a rare punishment, according to Gary Blankinship, president of the Houston Police Officers' Union.

Ex-Des Moines cop charged with driving drunk in West Des Moines: W.D.M. police say former D.M. officer also had a gun.

A former Des Moines police officer who lost his job over brutality allegations was found drunk in a vehicle with a loaded gun he doesn’t have permission to carry over the weekend, West Des Moines police said.

Mersed Dautovic, 28, was found passed out in his vehicle at the stoplight at Westown Parkway and Valley West Drive at about 3:30 a.m. Saturday, according to a police report. The officer reportedly smelled a strong odor of alcohol coming from the car.

A Belleville Illinois police officer is accused of beating a man because he asked for his supervisors name.

(KMOV.com) -- A Belleville, Illinois police officer is facing multiple charges after attacking a man during a call.

The incident happened on June 14 when a Belleville couple was getting threatening phone calls.  The couple called police for assistance.  They claim Officer Sean Harris came to their home, but refused to file a report.  When the couple asked for the name of the Harris' supervisor, they say he went into a rage and became violent.

The victim's wife said officer Harris attacked her husband.  The officer "grabbed him by the neck and threw him down on his back on the brick sidewalk," she said.

Milwaukee police arrest FOX6 photojournalist at the scene of house fire

FOX6 News Photojournalist Clint Fillinger went to the scene of a house fire near 27th and Townsend late Sunday. He was shooting video behind yellow police tape alongside a small crowd that gathered to watch.

At that time, Fillinger says a Milwaukee police sergeant singled him out. He says the sergeant came at him quickly. Fillinger put up his hand in a defensive move and touched the sergeant. Fillinger was then knocked to the ground, handcuffed and arrested.

Fillinger was cited for resisting and obstructing an officer. In his 45 years as a news photographer, Fillinger says nothing like this has ever happened to him before. "I kept backing up, telling him I had a right to be there," said Fillinger.

On Tuesday, Fillinger went to a medical clinic to have his injuries checked. He has no broken bones. He does have bruises around his knee along with sore muscles. Fillinger will be off work for the remainder of the week.

South Florida blogger who supports cuts to North Miami Beach Police Department budget gets racist threatening emails, 'it only takes one bullet', from the North Miami Beach Police Department.

Several days ago, Kinzle said, she received the email, which she did not publish, which lists the home addresses of two outspoken critics of the police department. "Criminals here it is ... Have fun..." the email reads. "We love our police department," she said, "don't get me wrong, but ever since this budget process started, they've been unbelievably childish, nasty, rude."

There are not only allegations of threats but racism. The writer of the email called one of the residents and critics of the police department of German heritage a Nazi and the other critic of the police department, who happens to be a muslim, "al jazerri." Kinzle said, "That's a hate crime, that's racist, in my opinion."

Police have said they are looking into it and have launched an internal affairs investigation, and they could not comment any further.

Justice Department boosts activity to police the police (this is encouraging!)

The Obama administration is ramping up civil rights enforcement against local police nationwide, opening a number of investigations to determine whether officers are guilty of brutality or discrimination against Hispanics and other minorities.

In recent months, the Justice Department has begun inquiries into major city police departments such as Portland, Ore., where officers shot several people who had mental health issues, and Seattle, where police were accused of gunning down a homeless Native American woodcarver. The department issued a scathing report earlier this month accusing Puerto Rico police of a “staggering level of crime and corruption.’’

Veteran Gardner officer charged with child rape

Landry is charged with statutory rape of a child, indecent assault and battery on a child under age 14, and assault to rape a child.

Prosecutors say the 35-year-old Landry assaulted the boy starting in kindergarten until the sixth-grade. The alleged incidents took place in Winchendon. The alleged victim came forward on Monday.

Landry has been placed on paid leave by the gardener Police department.

Ex-cop accused of lying after arguing with motorist in funeral procession

A former Chicago police officer is accused of getting into an argument with a motorist in a funeral procession, then lying during a trial and to her superiors that the motorist had hit her with a bottle.

Sylshina London, 36, has been charged with perjury. She joined the department in 2002 and resigned earlier this year as the 2010 incident was being investigated.

During the investigation by Independent Police Review Authority, authorities said they obtained police camera footage of the incident "which proved London’s claims against the woman to be false."

Case may (hopefully) end Andrew Thomas' career

"The evidence and testimony that we will present will establish a four-year period of prosecutorial abuse by Mr. Thomas and Ms. Aubuchon," said John Gleason, the attorney prosecuting the case. "Under the direction and supervision of Mr. Thomas, he and Ms. Aubuchon engaged in personal retribution against their enemies."

"If you crossed paths with the county attorney, Sheriff (Joe) Arpaio, or former (sheriff's) Chief Deputy David Hendershott, you should expect to be sued, criminally charged, or both, by the county attorney," Gleason said.

"The evidence will show that the primary purpose of the prosecutions was to punish those individuals with whom Mr. Thomas and Ms. Aubuchon disagreed."

Seattle Police Dept Loses Thousands Of Police Videos

A plea deal prosecutors say was prompted by a loophole in state law resulted in the promise of a maximum one-year jail sentence Friday for a former Anderson police officer charged with kidnapping and raping a woman he was taking to jail.

Under the plea bargain Bryan Benson pleaded no contest to assault by a public officer and soliciting a lewd act.

Benson, 27, was arrested last year after being accused of raping a Millville woman he was taking to jail. He had faced life in prison if tried and convicted of the original charges.

In addition to serving up to a year in jail he now faces formal probation for three years.

But he might be able to serve his jail sentence on electronic home confinement if he’s found eligible to do so.

After he’s served his sentence, he could petition the court to try to have his felony assault conviction reduced to a misdemeanor. He won’t have to register as a sex offender because that’s not a requirement of the misdemeanor lewd act count to which he also pleaded no contest.

SWAT Teams Execute Man's Farm Animals With Shot Guns

First MWAG

My first MWAG (Man with a gun) since I started open carrying (from here on out in this blog, I will reference open carry with OC) just a few months ago. It was not, however, a police officer that came up to me.

I was in Wal-Mart with my wife, just running errands and picking up ammo and some biodegradable clay pigeons. I was OC as usual. I tried to get my wife to OC with me on the bases that if something should happen, it is better have someone there who can back you up, but she declined on the basis that her paddle holster has not shown up yet and she hates to wear a belt in order to carry.

So, what will happen to these two cops?

In Atlanta, a police officer arrested a disabled woman who was sitting in a chair in front of her home waiting for an ice cream truck.

Walker said an Atlanta police officer approached her and told her to move. “He came right here and said we had to move, and I said ‘What reason do he have to move?’ ” Walker said. She said the officer told her, “Because I said so.” Walker claims she stood and told the officer she was going to call his supervisor.
“That’s when he grabbed me. My ice cream fell and my phone fell,” she said. Walker said that’s when the officer put her on the ground. Walker has photos of the incident. Walker said the officer sprained her shoulder in the process, and she had to be taken to Grady Memorial Hospital.

The charge was disorderly conduct. "In six months, 27 of the 38 arrests the officer made were for disorderly conduct."

Cops

First off, you have to remember that cops have no duty to protect anyone. They are there to deter crime by their presence and to clean up the mess after a crime has been committed.

WASHINGTON, June 27 - The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the police did not have a constitutional duty to protect a person from harm, even a woman who had obtained a court-issued protective order against a violent husband making an arrest mandatory for a violation.

via http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/28/politics/28scotus.html

Why "Gunner"?

This one is easy, but it requires a bit of backstory as well.

Whats up with my diet?

As I stated in the first post, my diet is rather strict.

It is also why the first word of this blog's title is "Caveman".

College boy?

Not me.

How about a little backstory first, shall we? I graduated high school a semester early with a wife and a 3 month old son waiting for me to get a real job, which I did. Lived with the in-laws for a few years too, trying to save up the cash and work my way up the job ladder so I could get a loan. The joke on me was that since I didn't want to waste any money on other debts, I had a zero credit rating. Anyways, the long and the short of it is that I did purchase a home, then purchased another one last year which is where I am currently living. It's a better home than my first one, with better neighbors by far (I see more of my neighbor's yellow lab Sam and local horses in my yard than I do people).

Who Am I?

Since my life has recently been inundated with bullets, I will respond to the title question with bullets.