Friday, December 4, 2009

WV Cops Constitutionally Stupid and CT Cop Candidate Too Smart

(Plus Bonus Foolishness in New Jersey!)


OK, OK now, here we are….the Police Oath of Office in West VA goes like this----

§15-2-14. Oath of superintendent and members.


The superintendent and each of the other members of the department of public safety, before entering upon the discharge of his duties, shall take and subscribe to an oath which shall be in form and effect as follows, to wit: State of West Virginia, County of ........................., to wit:

I, ........................., do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the State of West Virginia, and I will honestly and faithfully perform the duties imposed upon me under the provisions of law as a member of the Department of Public Safety to the best of my skill and judgment.

Taken, subscribed and sworn to before me, this the ...... day of .......................

All such oaths, except that of the superintendent, shall be filed and preserved in the office of the department of public safety.


And if you are wondering what the Constitution of the State of West Virginia says relevant to this topic, well, here it is, good ol’ section 2-2:


2-2. Powers of government in citizens.

The powers of government reside in all the citizens of the state, and can be rightfully exercised only in accordance with their will and appointment.


Does that sound like we have a state-given right to a citizen oversight board? (The whole WV Constitution is here).


Despite all these oaths, multiple Constitutions, sincere looks on faces, hands placed on Bibles, promises, promises, and etceteras etceteras, WV police departments are still responsible for this---Racial profiling, extorting sex in return for dismissing a false charge, citizen beatings, some into paralysis, and gang rape. All in a day’s work? Apparently so for the police in The Mountain State. Read Article


But don’t worry, I am sure Internal Affairs is looking into it for you right now. Certainly it is all a misunderstanding and there will be no police wrong-doing, while the specifics of the finding will be sealed and none of our business, even though section 2-2 clearly says the power is all ours. Can any of us say “citizen review?” Well…..


Police Say The Intelligent Need Not Apply

This one is an oldie-moldie, (1996) but it is my favorite story from the vaults, and I have to bring it up every now and then just to satisfy my chuckle jones.


A man in New London, CT was declared too smart to get a job as a cop there. He sued for discrimination and lost, but that’s HARDLY the point. Cops involved were so busy strutting and high-fiving over the fact that they “won” again, they totally missed the fact that they still said Mr. Jordan is too intelligent to be a cop. Read the story, and be careful you don’t do a spittake all over your screen.


Here’s the bonus!

Police department and SWAT were held at bay for 90 minutes by a cardboard cutout of a guy in a bank. This includes contact made with the picture via bullhorn and cell phone. Here’s the article.


This time, the citizen should have come to the rescue just to prevent further embarrassment. See how Cop Culture gets in the way of even the most basic common sense? Admitting they were wrong, no, make that “mistaken”, would have gone a long way to save face and prevent this story from ever hitting the news, but oh no, no…The Academy taught ‘em they must never leave the scene until they “win”. Well, to the winner goes the cardboard.


How much tax money did it take to dispatch the cops and deploy SWAT? We can’t afford to pay a citizen review board, but we can pay to block off streets and evacuate three apartment buildings to capture a piece of cardboard in the name of public safety. Could a citizen’s oversight panel have helped with the decision to evacuate those apartment buildings and block off the streets? At the moment it happened, no, but as a department policy, or as a revision of Academy training? Probably. But then again, we citizens were never asked. Problem……………

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