Kiddie poo-poo politics in a small town...

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logansdad

New member
My best friend just got let go from the local PD and I am spittin' mad!!!:mad:

We grew up in a VERY small town in NW TN. After high school I went on to college, he chose the Army. He was a tank commander in the M1A1 when he left the service after about 12 years, having served honorably in the conflicts in both Panama and Kuwait.

Long story longer - he gets a job on the local PD back home. Sends one of the local alderman's kids home three times in one night for mischievious behavior. What happens next? Aldermen start stalking him on duty, checking out where he's going and what he's doing on the clock, harassing him at board meetings (calling him a bully officer), etc.

What happens when it's time for the Chief of Police (who is appointed by the city board of aldermen, not elected) to be re-upped? My buddy gets let go!! This in a department of only 4 officers, one of which recently left to take a job on the county SD. It wasn't like they were over-staffed and didn't need him.

My mom has her finger on the pulse of everything going on in this town (i.e., she gossips a lot) and she told me it was because of the altercations with the alderman's kid. My bud told me the same thing.

This guy is a veteran, a hunter, a shooter, and my best friend. I'm ready to ride in to town and raise unholy heck!!

HELP ME VENT!!:mad:
 
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C.R.Sam

New member
When politics and good sense clash, politics usually wins.
I am sorry to hear about your bud. Hope he goes on to better things.

Sam
 
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logansdad

New member
Charmedlyfe, modern law enforcement this ain't. More like Andy and Barney, which is OK in our little Podunk town. What kills me is that they want the LEO's to bust the drunks, addicts, pushers, etc., unless their kid is one of them. Then, it's HANDS OFF!!

What really bites is that every one of these aldermen have some "skeletons" in their closets. I'd love to go back home for one of their little board meetings and let a few of them bones out.

It's also unfortunate timing because he was all set to go get his POST certification. Now, if he wants another PD job, he can't even say he's certified on the application. He'll have to rely on his military service, which is enough in our small town, but may not be anywhere else.
 
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md2lgyk

New member
Amen to what you said, logansdad. I encountered the same things when I was an LEO in a small town in central Kansas. Everybody knows your job better than you do, and they all want you to DO your job, just not on THEM.

md2lgyk
 
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Danger Dave

New member
I've heard the same thing from teachers. Everybody wants them to be strict about turning assignments in on time, no pass-no play, etc., etc. Until it's their kid - then it's all the teacher's fault Johnny can't pass, even though he never turned in any homework all quarter... Funny thing is that the same parents that stand up in a PTA meeting to say the schools should be stricter are the first ones to whine to the Board when their kid can't pass.
 
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Redlg155

New member
Unfortunalely small town departments are notorious for things such as you have described. Was your buddy a member of the PBA? They could probably lend a hand in this situation if it was an "illegal" firing. It might even be worth some money in a civil suit. I'd definitely research all possibilities. People like that deserve to be sued.

Good Shooting
RED
 
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Betty

New member
:mad: That really reeks! I also hate it when cops are afraid to do their jobs because of political or racial concerns. Recent case in point:

Officer Vic of the Pulaski Police Dept. hobbles into my dad's store.

So my dad asks him "How's the knee?"

"Going in for my third surgery."

Officer Vic was at Giles Co. High School to subdue a student who was threatening a teacher. Turns out this student is a 6' tall, 200+pound muscular black male, obviously some kind of jock or weight lifter, and he wasn't about to cooperate. He was physically aggressive, and Officer Vic went over his options. The student outsized and outweighed him severely.

The PPD does not allow Tasers; they banned them after "one person lost an eye" and "those things can cause brain damage if zapped in the head".

Apparently he didn't have pepper spray (I don't recall if the PPD issues those or not). Officer Vic was afraid to pull out his ASP and use it; he pictured "White Police Officer Beats Unarmed Black Student" on the front page of the newspaper. It's also Pulaski, and anyone who thinks a little bit will remember the godawful history that Pulaski is noted for (the birthplace of the KKK). And the NAACP always has their talons dug in somewhere (but that's another story).

Vic also didn't want to use his gun; that, he considered, was worse than using the ASP on this "poor misunderstood, unarmed child". So through all the political-corectness and wanting to keep his career and reputation intact, he had one choice left: physically take him down.

In the struggle that ensued, the enormous student toppled over on top of Officer Vic, crushing his knee. It took two officers to take the student down.

My dad asked, "Looking back, what would you have done differently?"

"I should've used that ASP."
 
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