In The News…Again

Periodically there are several newsworthy incidents that occur at the same time that beg for comment and as a result it causes me to cover several stories in the same column. The first such incident might sound familiar.

Los Angeles Police Department Chief of Police Michel Moore is the latest law enforcement executive to capitulate to the cop-hating crowd by issuing a departmental order that bans the display of the Thin Blue Line flag at public events and in police station lobbies. The LAPD joins a growing list of departments whose chief executive refuses to stand strong against an evil movement. Other departments that previously did it include the Milwaukee Police Department, the Niles, Illinois Police Department, the University of Wisconsin Police Department, the Chardon, Ohio, Police Department and the Golden Minnesota Police Department. Yes, here we go again. Wokeness wins out. This is an act of cowardice at a time when morale is at all-time low among front-line officers. Here was an opportunity for Moore to display strength and support for the 9,000 men and women who put on the uniform of the city of Los Angeles to protect and serve. Instead, Moore genuflected and paid homage to a domestic terrorist mob because they claim that the U.S. flag with a blue line as one of its stripes is offensive. My initial thought was who complained and how many people complained and who are they? This is a United States flag we are talking about. The description of the complaint in an article by the news service, NewsNation, was that the flag was, “a symbol of far-right ideology and white supremacism” is repulsive. Moore said that displaying it in the lobby of police stations can be divisive and calls it a tool of extremism. This claim by Moore is putrid.

This is boilerplate language that every law enforcement executive who abandons front-line officers uses in their statement as to why they are banning what is a sacred symbol. They all have said the same thing and used the same excuse. They talk about building more trust between citizens and police. That useless endeavor has been going on since the ‘60s with no marked improvement. There has been no improvement in certain communities because this is a political construct where left-wing agitators don’t ever want trust to happen. It is a perpetual grievance tool.

This flag represents the line between good and evil. It represents the service, the courage, the commitment and the sacrifice officers display when they go out to protect and serve. Many law enforcement executives have forgotten where they came from. This is reprehensible. It’s a disgrace. That thin the blue line is the only thing that protects law-abiding citizens in a civil society. No one else does. Politicians can’t be counted on to be that force.

The people behind this move are nothing more than the mask of Black Lives Matter. Chief Moore associates the flag with the Proud Boys group. He’s lying. That’s a convenient excuse. Moore is unfit to lead front-line officers. He has abandoned the first rule of servant leadership, which is to put yourself second. He should focus instead on lowering crime rates and improving the quality of life in the ghetto that has become Los Angeles. He should focus on getting his officers more resources. But that is heavy lifting. To the officers of the LAPD, know this. Moore doesn’t have your six, as they say. You are on your own.

A second story of a law enforcement agency succumbing to wokeness emanates out of Madison, Wisconsin. A story from a news source Empower Wisconsin indicates that information put out by police about a carjacking incident failed to indicate the race of the perpetrator in the suspect description even though it was known. Department Public Information Officer Stephanie Fryer told Empower Wisconsin that, “it would have to be super descriptive and necessary to solve the crime for race to be included.” What the hell does that mean? She further indicated that including the race in the suspect description could fit so many different people and that it could lead to jumping to conclusions. What? She said that after talking to community activists that the Madison Police Department wanted to be mindful, “that releasing the race of a suspect could lead to targeting of some audiences and people in our community.” What? This is garbage and they know it. Here again I will ask, what community activists. They are nothing more than criminal apologists. Enablers. The same ones who want police defunded, no bail and jails shut down. That Madison police executives are kowtowing to these agitators is downright despicable.

This is ludicrous. You could say the same thing about releasing the gender or height and weight of the suspect or even the clothing. Listing the race among other indicators actually narrows the field of potential people police might want to stop and question. Clothing and facial hair are also important and relevant information to give out not only to officers but to enlist the help of the public in capturing the perpetrator. Now it’s the opposite. Our country is definitely upside down.

This policy actually increases the possibility that cops will be unnecessarily stopping white, Hispanic and Asian people who might be wearing similar clothing that the suspect was wearing. Is that what we want, to be harassing people who definitely weren’t involved? Is that the equity left-wing activists are trying to achieve?

The former police chief from the Madison Police Department, Mike Koval, who is not in favor of the policy, issued the following statement. He said, “Crime fighting, criminal investigations and law enforcement require facts and, often the public’s help. The facts may be inconvenient but in Madison the victims of serious violent crime are frequently people of color and the suspects they describe are just as frequently people of color.” Can I get an Amen please for what former Chief Koval told the news source?

Let me comment on this policy change. Is this about keeping crime under control or is it about social engineering experiments? Do they want to catch crooks or not? Do they want to reduce crime victimization or not? Police officials are always begging for the public’s help in solving crime, but then won’t give them all the pertinent information that is known about suspects by police at the time. This makes policing a one-way street and it makes you wonder why law-abiding citizens should even get involved in helping. And what about identifying the suspect in court? Is the race of the suspect relevant then? Have these idiots thought about the ramifications of these misguided woke policies?

God help us.

Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. is former Sheriff of Milwaukee Co, Wisconsin, President of Americas Sheriff LLC, President of Rise Up Wisconsin INC, Board member of the Crime Research Center, author of the book Cop Under Fire: Beyond Hashtags of Race Crime and Politics for a Better America. To learn more visit www.americassheriff.com