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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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→ Crime and Justice, Military, Race and Ethnicity, The Right, Top Stories
National Guard Confirms Identity of Alleged Neo-Nazi Soldier
—By Adam Weinstein
| Fri May. 11, 2012 11:13 AM PDT
Mother Jones has confirmed that a soldier in the Missouri National Guard, an Iraq war veteran, is being sought for allegedly joining and training a paramilitary white supremacist group that was preparing for a coming "race war" in the United States. A spokeswoman confirmed that the soldier in question is Spec. Ryan Riley, a member of Company A, 1/138th Infantry Regiment based in Boonville, Missouri. "We are conducting an internal investigation," said the spokeswoman, Maj. Tammy Spicer.
Mother Jones first reported the allegations against Riley on Wednesday, which were detailed in an affidavit against Marcus Faella, an alleged ringleader of the neo-Nazi American Front. Faella and at least a dozen other suspects were arrested in a joint FBI terrorism investigation this week alleging that the group members had trained with weapons at their Central Florida compound and planned a series of violent hate crimes. According to the affidavit, Riley—a "patched" member of the American Front's Missouri gang—traveled to Florida to train the group in military tactics:
Riley's identity was first guessed at by milblogger Jonn Lilyea, who found a Missouri-based "Ryan T. Riley" in Army Knowledge Online, the service's internet training portal for soldiers. Spicer confirmed Riley's identity to Mother Jones in an email Friday afternoon. Riley served eight years in the Army (an unusually long time for someone of such a junior rank), joined the Missouri National Guard in May 2011, and deployed to Korea in 2004-05 and Iraq in 2006-07, according to the military.
Spicer wouldn't comment directly on the National Guard's interactions with law enforcement or on Riley's current status in the service, but added the Army was looking into the matter. "The facts outlined in the affidavit are being investigated pursuant to military protocol," she said. "Appropriate disciplinary and personnel action will be taken at the conclusion of the investigation, consistent with military regulations and procedures."
Representatives of the FBI, which is leading the criminal investigation, declined to comment this week about Riley or his alleged role in the neo-Nazi terror ring. But a Central Florida sheriff's deputy who helped serve arrest warrants against the other group members told Mother Jones on Wednesday that Riley had "not been caught yet." We will continue to post updates as the investigation unfolds.
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Adam Weinstein
Reporter
Adam Weinstein is Mother Jones' national security reporter. For more of his stories, click here or follow him on Twitter. RSS | Twitter |
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Sat May 12, 2012 4:30 pm |
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twotap
F L I N T O I D
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| MOTHER JONES??? LOL LOL I guess the National Enquirer was tied up. |
_________________
"If you like your current healthcare you can keep it, Period"!!
Barack Hussein Obama--- multiple times. |
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Sat May 12, 2012 8:30 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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| Southern Poverty Law center show 55 hate groups in Florida and 36 in Michigan. |
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Sun May 13, 2012 5:42 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Armed Neo-Nazis Now Claim To Be Patrolling Sanford, Say They Are "Prepared" for Post-Trayvon Martin Violence UPDATED
By Michael MillerSun., Apr. 8 2012 at 2:48 PM
Comments (7213)
Categories: WTF Florida
Neo-Nazis say they are conducting heavily armed patrols in and around Sanford, Florida, and are "prepared" for violence in case of a race riot. The patrols are to protect "white citizens in the area who are concerned for their safety" in the wake of the Trayvon Martin shooting last month, says Commander Jeff Schoep of the National Socialist Movement. "We are not advocating any type of violence or attacks on anybody, but we are prepared for it," he says. "We are not the type of white people who are going to be walked all over."
Because nothing diffuses racial tension like gun-toting racial separatists patrolling an already on-edge community.
UPDATE: The Sanford Police Department says it has no evidence of neo-Nazis in the area. "We have not seen any neo-Nazis on patrol nor have we had any reports of them," Sgt. David Morgenstern says. He adds there have been no signs of the New Black Panther Party either.
Schoep, whose neo-Nazi group is based in Detroit, tells Riptide the patrols are a response to white residents' fears of a race riot.
A group called the New Black Panther Party recently offered $10,000 for a citizen's arrest of George Zimmerman, Martin's shooter. Schoep says the bounty is a sign that "the possibility of further racial violence... is brimming over like a powder keg ready to explode into the streets."
The patrols comprise ten to 20 locals and "volunteers" from across the state, including some from Miami, he adds. He couldn't specify what kind of firepower the patrols had with them.
In Arizona the guys can walk around with assault weapons, and that's totally legal," Schoep says, referring to the group's patrols of the U.S.-Mexico border. "What I can tell you is that any patrols that we are doing now in Florida are totally within the law."
Asked if the patrols wouldn't just make things worse -- spark a race riot, for instance -- Schoep insists they are simply a "show of solidarity with the white community down there" and "wouldn't intimidate anybody."
"Whenever there is one of these racially charged events, Al Sharpton goes wherever blacks need him," Schoep says. "We do similar things. We are a white civil rights organization."
He goes to great lengths to contrast his organization with the New Black Panther Party, which he blames for scaring local whites and spurring the need for NSM patrols. Schoep admits the NSM and the Black Panthers are actually alike in that they are both racial separatists. But he sees a double standard in the government's treatment of the two groups.
"The Black Panthers have been offering bounties and all that," he says. "But if we called for a bounty on someone's head, I guarantee we'd be locked up as quick as I could walk out of my house."
Schoep is also quick to clarify he isn't taking sides in Trayvon Martin's controversial shooting. "That's for the courts to decide," he says. Besides, Schoep says, Zimmerman is not even white.
"I think there is some confusion going on," Schoep says. "A lot of people think that this guy who shot Trayvon was white... but he's half Hispanic or Cuban or something. He certainly doesn't look white to me."
To some, sending in the storm troops seems like a sure way to incite -- not prevent -- a race riot. But Schoep says that's way off base.
"We don't wish for things like that," he says. "But there have been race riots in Detroit and L.A.... So we know those types of things happen.
"You can either be prepared or you can be blindsided," he adds. "This way, if something were to touch off a race riot, we'd already be in the area."
How reassuring.
UPDATE 2: Poynter writer Craig Silverman has published a post critical of New Times's reporting on Schoep's group, including his assertion that we didn't do enough to verify Schoep's claims that his patrols were active in Sanford. Here's Miami New Times editor Chuck Strouse's response:
Silverman's piece is high-minded criticism, indeed -- but it's wrong-headed and Luddite. We reported the claims of one group, updated the post as quickly as we got new information, and couched Schoep's claims as such. (Our only mistake: the headline and lead should have made it more clear from the get-go these were the group's claims. The rest of the story clearly made this point, however.) Mr. Silverman should join the Internet age in which posts such as ours develop and are updated in real-time. Mike Miller was the first journalist to interview Schoep about his group's claims, and he reported on them accurately. The Internet has allowed people to have a greater say in what news is important. This requires greater flexibility in reporting and storytelling. And that is exactly what we did in this case.
UPDATE 3: Schoep's group has emailed photos of two (unarmed) members holding a Nazi flag near Sanford's city hall. Police still say they have no evidence of the group patrolling the area.
Editor's note: Comments on this blog have been closed due to a flurry of violent, racist postings. We're doing our best to clean out the comments that violate our standards that have already appeared, but it's going to take some time. To the vast majority of our readers trying to have an honest discussion, sorry to close up shop.
Follow Miami New Times on Facebook and Twitter @MiamiNewTimes. Follow this journalist on Twitter @MikeMillerMiami. |
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Sun May 13, 2012 5:56 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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HUFF POST MEDIA
Fox Station Calls Neo-Nazi Group 'Civil Rights' Group, Backtracks (VIDEO)
Posted: 04/10/2012 10:32 am Updated: 04/10/2012 10:50 am
A local Florida Fox affiliate was forced to backtrack on Monday after airing a report calling a neo-Nazi group a "civil rights group."
A group called the National Socialist Movement announced last weekend that it would begin patrolling the streets of Sanford, the town where Trayvon Martin was killed.
The Southern Poverty Law Center calls the NSM "one of the largest neo-Nazi organizations in the country."
On Monday, WOFL, a Fox affiliate in Orlando, filed a report on the controversy.
"There's another civil rights group in town -- the National Socialist Movement," the reporter said, before a clip of the group's leader, Jeff Schoep, was played.
"We're a white civil rights organization," Schoep said. "...The blacks have Al Sharpton, the whites have the National Socialist Movement."
At no point were the words "neo-Nazi" used. The site Little Green Footballs also took a screenshot of the original way the story was played on the station's website: "Civil rights group patrolling Sanford." That headline was changed to "Neo-Nazi group."
Later, the station published an editors' note on its website. The note said that the group should have been referred to as a "self-proclaimed" civil rights organization.
(via Think Progress) |
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Sun May 13, 2012 6:06 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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FROM THE WHITE POWER WORLD WIDE MEMBER LEADVILLE
**NOTE WHITE POWER WORLD WIDE WPWW WAS SPRAY PAINTED IN THE DOWNTOWN FLINT PARK IN 3 FOOT HIGH LETTERS ALONG WITH OTHER NEO NAZI AND KKK GRAFITTI SEVERAL YEARS AGO.
ACCORDING TO THE SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER, THE EAST SIDE KKK GROUP IS NOT SHOWN IN FLINT ANY MORE. HOWEVER THE NATIONAL SOCIALIST ARYAN ORDER -A NEO NAZI GROUP IS SHOWN IN DAVISON. FLINT HAS THE BLACK SEPARTIST GROUP THE NATION OF ISLAM
Re: Florida: Neo-Nazis as ‘civil rights group’ trying to protect white citizens
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was watching a video of recent of a recent Black Panther meeting and they
were talking about "getting the crackers", "the blood has to flow" and a "call
to war" against the "evil whites".
This is what the Left wants to happen to help "you know who" get re-elected,
but I believe that all of this racial provocation will only lead to some of the
"SHTF" scenarios [beaten to death] on this site actually happening; not that
I'm against these "show-downs" occurring, as it's going to happen sooner than
later, so let's just do it and get it over with.
There's a very good chance that there will be one [or more] of these violent
"confrontations" happening soon in Florida and/or some of the other larger
cities where people are protesting and making threats, and that could spark
"mini-revolutions" in these areas.
It is essential to be prepared if this nastiness happens in your area and to be
ready to fight; there is no telling where some of this might lead. |
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Sun May 13, 2012 6:14 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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After Beating, Neo-Nazi Newspapers Show Up
LOCAL 15
Published: 4/26 8:11 pm
Updated: 4/26 8:15 pm
(MOBILE, Ala.) Neighbors on Delmar Drive woke up to Neo-Nazi newspapers on their front lawns and doorsteps Thursday morning.
It's the same neighborhood where witnesses say a white man was severely beaten by a group of black men.
"These newspapers are wrong," Marsha Parker, one of the neighbors, said. "This is evil. I called police immediately."
The newspapers were 2009 editions of The Aryan Alternative, published by a former Ku Klux Klan leader and a Neo-Nazi figurehead in Missouri.
Neighbors say all they want is peace, and this is an obvious attempt by racists to incite violence.
"This is putting gas on the fire," Kendric Reese said. "This is just pure hate. It doesn't make any sense."
Reese and Parker said the beating was a feud between neighbors, and was not racially motivated. The neighbors said there are no racial tensions between blacks and whites on Delmar Drive.
Local 15 News contacted the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that tracks hate groups. They said last year, a chapter of Neo-Nazis called the American Aryan Reich in Mobile crossed their radars.
Mobile Police say they know the person or group who delivered the newspapers, but would not specify who they were. Police say the newspapers fall under the protection of freedom of speech. |
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Sun May 13, 2012 6:25 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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What In The?!? White Supremacists Were Planning Violent Race War (DETAILS)
Posted May 9, 2012 by The Decider for Global Grind Staff
A race war was thwarted by an FBI investigation after it was revealed that the head of a white supremacist group was planning to kill Jews, immigrants and other minorities.
Federal authorities arrested ten alleged members of a white supremacist group near a training camp in Orland, FL.
The neo-Nazi organization known as the American Front, headed by Marcus Faella, 39, was under a 17 month investigation. According to an arrest affidavit:
"The American Front (AF) is a military-styled, anti-Semitic, white supremacist, skinhead organization and is known as a domestic terrorist organization."
It said the group's alleged local ringleader, Faella had been "planning and preparing the AF for what he believes to be an inevitable race war" and had stated "his intent ... to kill Jews, immigrants and other minorities."
According to Reuters:
Faella operated a heavily fortified paramilitary training center for the AF on his isolated property in St. Cloud, Florida, 11 miles from the Walt Disney World theme parks, according to the affidavit.
It said he recently had been plotting a disturbance at Orlando City Hall and a confrontation against a rival skinhead group in coastal Melbourne in a bid to garner media attention, but had also been experimenting with the potential manufacture of the biological toxin ricin.
"Faella views himself and the other members of the AF as the protectors of the white race," the affidavit said, adding that Faella also believed "the race war will take place within the next few years based on current world events."
Faella's compound, where he regularly conducted firearms, explosives and tactical training for AF members and other neo-Nazi groups, was protected by two pit bull dogs, a barbed-wire fence and three military-style trenches.
Faella fortified the walls of his residential trailer and added firing ports, according to the affidavit.
Faella and his alleged followers were each charged with paramilitary training, shooting into an occupied dwelling and evidence of prejudices while committing an offense, according to a written statement from the prosecutor's office.
The investigation into the AF was conducted by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force and local law enforcement agencies, which shut down and arrested the group after the confidential informant came to believe his life was in danger.
A lawyer for Faella and the other suspects arrested in the case could not be reached for immediate comment but Marcus and Patricia Faella, who were arrested on Friday, have already been released on a bond totaling $500,000 each.
The atmosphere in central Florida has been a powder keg of racial tension in the last two months after the racially charged shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman, who said he acted in self defense.
SOURCE: Reuters |
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Sun May 13, 2012 6:47 am |
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twotap
F L I N T O I D
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Neo-Nazis say they are conducting heavily armed patrols in and around Sanford, Florida, and are "prepared" for violence in case of a race riot. The patrols are to protect "white citizens in the area who are concerned for their safety" in the wake of the Trayvon Martin shooting last month, says Commander Jeff Schoep of the National Socialist Movement. "We are not advocating any type of violence or attacks on anybody, but we are prepared for it," he says. "We are not the type of white people who are going to be walked all over."
And the problem with this is???  |
_________________
"If you like your current healthcare you can keep it, Period"!!
Barack Hussein Obama--- multiple times. |
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Sun May 13, 2012 7:40 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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quote:
twotap schreef:
Neo-Nazis say they are conducting heavily armed patrols in and around Sanford, Florida, and are "prepared" for violence in case of a race riot. The patrols are to protect "white citizens in the area who are concerned for their safety" in the wake of the Trayvon Martin shooting last month, says Commander Jeff Schoep of the National Socialist Movement. "We are not advocating any type of violence or attacks on anybody, but we are prepared for it," he says. "We are not the type of white people who are going to be walked all over."
And the problem with this is???
THE PROBLEM WITH THIS IS THOSE PATROLLING ARE PROBABLY THE ONES WHO WILL HELP INSTIGATE A "RACE WAR". THAT IS THEIR WHOLE GOAL.
THE COUNCIL OF CONSERVATIVE CITIZENS IS THE MEDIA OUTLET THAT HELPS PROMOTE THE THEORY THAT ALL BLACKS ARE VICIOUS THUGS. IRONIC THAT THEIR MAIN ADVERTISEMENT IS THE BLUE EYED WHITE RABBIT, SYMBOL OF WHITE RABBIT RADIO AND PART OF THE WHITE POWER WORLD WIDE.
WHITES WILL SHORTLY BE THE MINORITY POPULATION, BUT THEN I GUESS THE WHITE POWER GROUPS WILL BE FIGHTING AND SCREAMING AS IT HAPPENS. |
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Sun May 13, 2012 5:09 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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laserttheliquidatorRSS
Daily Kos member
Profile
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Thu Mar 22, 2012 at 01:05 PM PDT.
Glen Beck The Blaze Defend's Zimmerman Attacks Trayvon Martin
by laserhaas .
Glen Beck's The Blaze is defending George Zimmerman and attacking Trayvon Martin. This really pissies me off. So, with all the banter out there on "Stand your Ground" purported self defense laws and other debates on what was purportedly said on the 911 calls by the "purported' Neighborhood Watch Captain. Thus, it seems prudent to discuss what is hogwash and what is fact from this caucasion boy's view as an outsider.
I would argue that what the real case is, George Zimmerman had a troubled past, a Hero Complex, bias against blacks and a Gun. A murder bomb just waiting for the day to come and kill someone and be thanked for it.
POLICE COVER UP
First of all, almost par for the course, the Police Lied. Trayvon's parents were told that George Zimmerman had a "squeaky clean" record. This is not true. As denoted by the Miami Herald (here) - Zimmerman had a domestic violence arrest. Zimmerman was also previously charged with batter of a police officer. Compounding those issues are the fact that Sanford Florida Police have previously been involved in racial violence and racial death incidences. The previous Sanford Police Chief (Brian Tooley) was forced from office due to a cover up over a Lt beating up a black homeless man. and current Police Chief (Bill Lee) promised to clean Sanford Police up as there was a previous incident in 2005 where an off duty Sanford policemen shot Travares McGill in the back and claimed self defense. (see Orlando Sentinel article (here)).
As a result of the apparent Cover Up attempts and lies by the current Police Chief (Lee's) office, three out of five members of the Sanford City Commission have voted NO Confidence and 1 member asked for Chief Lee to step down.
BREAKING NEWS = Sanford Florida Police Chief LEE Steps aside (for now).
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/... |
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Sun May 13, 2012 5:10 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Sanford's new chief to focus on community policing
"The police department is going through some pretty tough times."
By Rene Stutzman, Orlando Sentinel
June 11, 201
(George Skene/Orlando Sentinel / Jun 11, 2011)
SANFORD — When Bill Lee Jr. last month took over as chief of police in Sanford, he inherited a department beset with problems: hard-core urban crime in poor neighborhoods; hostility from many in the black community; fallout from a December scandal involving the son of a department lieutenant; and budget cuts.
But Lee, 51, said the $102,000-a-year job is one he has long coveted. He grew up here, the son of a Sanford firefighter, and spent 27 years as a Seminole County deputy.
He recently sat down with Orlando Sentinel reporter Rene Stutzman.
Q: What changes will you bring?
A: I hope to focus on developing partnerships with the community and continuing what they've started in their efforts of community policing: working in areas that will enable an officer to get to know the community he's working in; who in that community is not supposed to be there; work together with the community to identify problems.
Q: Did officers make the right choice in not arresting Justin Collison, the son of a police lieutenant, on the night he was captured on video sucker-punching a homeless man?
A: The internal-affairs investigation said that they acted properly. … As a result of that investigation, we've had some training with the State Attorney's Office …
Q: If something similar happens again, will you want officers to make the same choice?
A: My preference, unless there's some imminent danger or a safety issue, is that we file a capias [forgo an immediate arrest and file paperwork, requesting that the State Attorney's Office pursue charges].
Q: Many in the black community of Sanford were elated when Chief Brian Tooley was forced out. They had grown disillusioned, saying officers made fun of people of color, failed to investigate a suspected rape until the NAACP got involved. What will you do to win their confidence?
A: All of the men and women of the Police Department that I've spoken to are committed to doing the best that they can and performing and bringing honor to the profession and organization. … I would want any group, if they feel that they're not getting the service that they think they should be getting … they should call me.
Q: Why did you apply for this job?
A: I was born and raised in Sanford. My father retired from the Fire Department after 34 years of service. … The Police Department is going through some pretty tough times, [including] its relationship with the community. It was pretty tumultuous. Sometimes it's easy to talk about doing things, but sometimes it's the right thing to do, to step up to the plate — not just talk about it — step up to the plate and see if you can help.
rstutzman@tribune.com or 407-650-6394. |
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Sun May 13, 2012 5:15 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Recent rash of incidents raises troubling questions about police oversight
Orlando Sentinel
May 28, 2011
Overzealous police takedowns. Miami-style police shootouts. Police favoritism.
Are broken bones and broken teeth shattering our trust in police?
Over the past 17 months, a handful of incidents have raised red flags about whether officers with Central Florida law enforcement agencies showing the kind restraint and respect expected of people sworn to protect the public. And whether Central Florida has in place the kind of external safeguards needed to ensure that police or an agency's procedures are held to the highest standards.
Consider:
Jan. 5, 2010: Orange County deputies trailed felon and suspected truck thief Torey Breedlove to a Pine Hills apartment complex. Deputies cornered him, and then fired when he gunned his SUV into reverse, ramming a deputy's truck. He signaled surrender to stop the shooting, but then tried to blast through the police blockade. Deputies fired again — 137 rounds in all — as residents slept. Breedlove died after being struck 22 times. At least one pierced a resident's window. Outcome: An internal investigation by the sheriff's professional-standards division concluded firing 137 rounds in a densely populated housing complex fell within department procedure. The only problem: One cop had loaded birdshot in his shotgun.
Sept. 18, 2010: Orlando Police officer Travis Lamont confronted 84-year-old Daniel Daley. Inebriated and ticked off that his car was being towed, Daley repeatedly slapped Lamont's shoulder, and then reportedly grabbed his neck and tried to punch him. Lamont forced him to the ground using a "dynamic takedown," breaking the elderly man's neck. Outcome: Daley's injuries notwithstanding, Lamont's action was ruled "within department guidelines."
Dec. 4, 2010:
Sanford police arrived at the Wet Spot, a Sanford bar. Witnesses said a man sucker-punched a homeless man, knocked unconscious after striking his head on a light pole. The possible sucker-puncher was Justin Collison, son of a Sanford police lieutenant. Despite witness accounts and corroborating video, he was not arrested. Collision surrendered to authorities nearly a month later, after a public outcry. Outcome: An internal probe cleared the officers but, astonishingly, scolded the acting police chief for telling reporters the officers had violated department policies.
Feb. 25, 2011: While performing crowd control in downtown Orlando, police officer Livio Beccaccio was shown on a video recording shoving a man, who staggered backward into Lisa Wareham. Beccaccio ordered her away from the crowd. Moments later, the surveillance video showed him using an "arm bar" move to toss Wareham onto the ground. She broke her front teeth when she fell face-first to the pavement. Status: A local TV station aired a report earlier this month, and now the incident is under investigation.
In a 2008 My Word piece, Orlando Police Chief Val Demings observed that "Looking for a negative story in a police department is like looking for a prayer at church. It won't take long to find one."
Yet, something's awry when such stories crop up with unnerving regularity and policies that bless questionable acts survive unscathed.
That's why police agencies need an independent set of eyes to help enhance trust and accountability — an independent civilian review board with teeth to ensure citizen complaints are investigated thoroughly, fairly, credibly and impartially.
Tomorrow, we'll look at how effective civilian review provides that critical scrutiny and answers the age-old question: Who watches the watchmen? |
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Sun May 13, 2012 5:23 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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SANFORD FLORIDA HAD MAJOR ISSUES LONG BEFORE TRAYVON MARTIN
Sanford leaders must ensure no one's above the law
Orlando Sentinel Editorial
January 6, 2011
A cowardly attack did more than break a homeless man's nose. For some in Sanford, it confirms the belief that justice is applied unequally.
The city is reeling from revelations that would understandably erode trust in the police and administration. A full month passed and only in the past few days — probably because of video posted on YouTube — did the city get around to doing anything to confront an apparent case of preferential treatment for a cop's son.
The unnerving encounter unfolded Dec. 4. While patronizing a Sanford bar called the Wet Spot, Justin Collison, whose father is a police lieutenant in the city, said a white man inside the bar jumped him.
Incensed, Mr. Collison left the bar and cold-cocked Sherman Ware, a homeless man who hadn't been inside the Wet Spot, much less jumped anyone. And he was black, not white. Amateur video captured Mr. Collison as he waylaid Mr. Ware from behind with what acting Sanford Chief Capt. Jerry Hargrett called a "sucker punch."
After the sickening attack — which drove Mr. Ware's head into a nearby light pole, knocking him unconscious — Mr. Collison is heard on the video crowing, "Anybody else want to try me?" Stalking off, the video shows him brawling with a second man.
Mr. Ware landed in the hospital. Mr. Collison landed in the back of a patrol car. But police neither frisked nor handcuffed the lieutenant's son, a courtesy we suspect wouldn't have been granted to just anyone under similar circumstances.
And rather than being arrested that evening — despite the video, despite the witnesses — he surrendered to authorities Monday on an aggravated-battery charge nearly a month after Mr. Ware was left senseless on a Sanford sidewalk.
Mr. Hargrett has admitted the officers' decisions not to pat down or handcuff Mr. Collison were "blatant" policy violations. Monday, he correctly conceded police also should have arrested Mr. Collison on the night of the attack.
Police lamely say they were unable to collect a sworn written statement from Mr. Ware, who might have been busy with his busted nose at the hospital, or confirm conflicting accounts.
Would someone lacking Mr. Collison's thin blue bloodlines have escaped a ride to the county jail because police couldn't square suspects' stories? The prospect seems doubtful.
The officers' lapse reinforces public perception that police play favorites.
Worse, doing nothing for so long smells like it's open season on the homeless in Sanford. This in a state that, after leading the nation in homeless attacks four of the past five years, granted the homeless hate-crime protections in 2010.
Curiously, the State Attorney's Office in Sanford still hasn't brought any charges.
City commissioners didn't fire Chief Brian Tooley. Instead — held hostage by a retirement agreement the city foolishly struck in September — they simply let him retire earlier than planned.
The city recruited a former Sanford police chief to man the helm until a new chief is appointed. The commission would be wise to enlist an outside agency to review the incident.
If such an audit — or the department's review, launched more than three weeks after the incident — finds that officers violated policy, their discipline should be swift and certain.
After botching matters so badly, Sanford's police department needs to signal that it won't tolerate special treatment, especially under such violent circumstances.
Meanwhile, new Mayor Jeff Triplett could set a tone of integrity by championing changes to ensure that police treat everyone equally. Neither those who wear the badge — nor their kin who hide behind it — should be above the law.
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Sun May 13, 2012 5:31 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Sun May 13, 2012 5:38 pm |
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