By Stephen Owsinski The tragic death of George Floyd understandably ignited anger among many Americans. From that temperate fury evolved the onslaught of demands to defund the police, targeting the entire police profession over the ill-conceived handling of Floyd by four Minneapolis police officers. The nation’s criminal justice system is architected to redress defense claims, Read more »
By Chief Joel F. Shults, Ed.D Jordan Anderson was a former slave who was invited back to the plantation where had been forced to work by owner Col P. H. Anderson, who now faced labor shortages at harvest time. Anderson’s letter became a noted piece of literature for its deadpan sardonic tone. The now free Read more »
By Chief Joel F. Shults, Ed.D During the Clinton White House years, the concept of Community Policing (CP) was embedded within the U.S. Department of Justice as the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. Inevitably and irresistibly reduced to the acronym COPS, the office and the concept were the culmination of presidential candidate Bill Clinton’s Read more »
By Chief Joel F. Shults, Ed.D A Constitutional Republic is what Ben Franklin is said to have remarked was produced by the first Constitutional Convention, adding, according to history “if you can keep it”. Whether those words were actually uttered or not is the subject of conjecture, but Franklin’s wit and vision ring true. We Read more »
By Steve Pomper I should feel bad that this word, schadenfreude, came rushing into mind when I heard the news. The Feds indicted George Soros-funded, Anti-cop, Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby for perjury and mortgage fraud. But I don’t feel bad the word popped up—not one bit. The word, which is one of my favorites, happens Read more »
By Stephen Owsinski And the beat goes on. By that, I mean the beat where cops patrol to preempt and abate criminals aiming to victimize innocents. But another beat is burgeoning still. It is the steady push of police officers into heightened perils due to misgovernance and a seemingly careless attitude for the human bodies Read more »
By Steve Pomper Sometimes even when cops intend to do things right, cops are human, and things can still go wrong. We recently saw this happen when former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter pulled her gun instead of Taser. This mistake resulted in a First-Degree Manslaughter charge, trial, and conviction. Even after this conviction, all Read more »
By Chief Joel F. Shults, Ed.D Civil disobedience has been a hallmark of individual courage to force attention to the need for change. From the American Revolution to Rosa Parks to imprisoned 84-year-old nun Megan Rice, defying the law and accepting the consequences has been a noble stand against perceived injustice. We have entered a Read more »
By Stephen Owsinski On his final day of duty after three decades as a New York City cop, retiring NYPD police Commissioner Dermot Shea opted to walk the beat alongside many veteran and some brand-new cops working the Times Square revelry on New Year’s Eve. One may categorize such a final official act as a Read more »
By Stephen Owsinski Several members of the Boston Police Department were met with a visit from their mayor, Michelle Wu, who stopped in to extend her gratitude and what sounded like a pep-talk, as if everything is peachy with the climate outdoors (the anti-police bluster experienced by cops, not the temps from Mother Nature). Once Read more »