By Steve Pomper
One brief disclaimer: Based on what I know about the man, I have developed a deep admiration for Detroit’s Chief of Police James Craig. I’ve written about him previously, as he is a walking, talking pat on the back for law enforcement officers trapped in poorly-run, large cities across America.
I first wrote about Chief Craig when he encouraged his citizens to arm themselves against Detroit’s criminals. He told the people he serves a stark reality. In most cases, the police won’t arrive in time to save you from violent crime. You must be prepared to protect yourselves and your families.
Well, the chief is telling the truth again. And it’s such an obvious truth he’s telling about the support for anarchy and violence by many activists, politicians, and at least one judge. Police-critics have become famous for their incessant conflation of “peaceful protests” and riots. Now, the chief is defending his officers, contradicting police critics’ charge that cops are using force on “peaceful protesters.”
Chief Craig responded to U.S. District Court Judge Laurie Michelson (an Obama appointee), who, according to FOX News, “granted a temporary restraining order” to a group called, “Detroit Will Breathe” (DWB), preventing police from using force against “peaceful protesters.” On DWB’s website, they openly describe themselves, as “using militant resistance and mass collective actions.”
A radical, anti-cop faction, DWB, describes itself as “militant,” which Bing defines as, “combative and aggressive in support of a political or social cause, and typically favoring extreme, violent, or confrontational methods.” This also describes a riot.
Then, a callous federal judge ideologue issues a restraining order intended to take away from officers nearly every protection they have to defend themselves and to conduct their public safety mission.
Her ruling prohibits the DPD from using “batons, shields, gas, chokeholds, rubber bullets, or sound cannons against peaceful protesters for the next two weeks.” Wait, shields are defensive, right? It’s kind of what the word means, right? What does that say about Judge Michelson that she would also take shields away from police officers?
This ruling may seem ominous to those who refuse to engage their critical thinking. But, if you think about it, this ruling means absolutely nothing. Why? Because police officers do not use force against peaceful protesters. This is obvious, watching any of the available video.
But the problem occurs when judges (and media, academia, politicians, entertainers, athletes, etc.) engage in what former CIA agent and NYPD officer Dan Bongino has correctly described as gaslighting. Radical groups, politicians, and media gaslight the public by trying to make people believe obviously violent rioters are in fact, peaceful protesters.
Even Jack Schulz, DWB’s lawyer who filed the suit agrees, though he manages to lie when doing it. The Detroit Free Press reported Schulz said, “For a short period, we know that the police will not be able to use the brutal tactics they have in the past against peaceful protesters without violating a court order.” That’s true. DPD officers will not… use… “brutal tactics… against peaceful protesters…” because they already don’t.
Another DWB lawyer, Amanda Ghannam, continues the gaslighting when she says, “We are relieved that Detroit Will Breathe will be able to commemorate their 100th day of protest (Saturday) safely and peacefully, without fear of violent retaliation or unlawful arrest by police — that has always been the main goal of this lawsuit…” Can you smell the gas?
As Chief Craig has correctly pointed out, the DPD does not use force against peaceful protesters. Why would they? However, if you contort the meaning of “peaceful” into an unrecognizable form, then you can conflate peaceful with violent, which is what DWB, and their ideological kin, have done.
Chief Craig told the Detroit News, “If someone is resisting arrest, or trying to attack our officers, we will use the force that’s both reasonable and necessary to overcome the resistance. We don’t want the protesters injured, and we don’t want officers injured, either.”
So, where does that leave reasonable people? A federal judge rules in favor of a violent anti-police faction and against police officers attempting to quell the violence and restore public safety. And she does this while cops across America are being injured and killed by people belonging to such groups. Like the recent horrific incident in which two L.A. County sheriff’s deputies were ambushed in Lynnwood, CA.
In a video of the incident, the human vermin can be seen walking up to the passenger side of the patrol car and opening fire on the officers inside. One of the officers was initially described as the mother of a six-year-old boy. Among other wounds, one she a bullet struck her in the jaw, and the thug shot the other officer in the forehead. What followed was almost as monstrous. A depraved crowd of anti-cop slime showed up at the hospital, blocked the ER ramp, and chanted “death to the police.”
As Churches in Action member Bishop Juan Carlos Mendez, described it to ABC 7 News, “They were saying death to the police, kill the police and they were using all types of curse words and derogatory terms about the police, just provoking our police officers. (It’s) unacceptable behavior because the hospital should be a sanctuary, we should leave hospitals alone.”
Sorry, Bishop, any hint of decorum or humanity on the anti-cop side has evaporated in the bright spotlight of political and media support. According to the sheriff’s office, demonstrators were also shouting, “We hope they die.” Let’s just hope the deputy’s six-year-old son never has to see and hear that evil spouted against his mom, while she was lying in a hospital bed fighting to see her little boy again.
Following this next national election, I can only hope there will be some deep soul searching in the media, with politicians, and all those who have lost their collective minds in supporting such anarchy and barbarism, supposedly conducted for reasons that never had any empirical evidence to support it.
I’m not including the violent radicals who are likely a lost cause. I’m talking about those supposedly otherwise “normal” people who have unconscionably supported a violent insurrection against their country—ostensibly, to win an election—to obtain political power.
Sadly, it appears, before what used to be the loyal opposition recovers its senses (if it ever does), it’s going to have to get even worse for America. I hate to think about what could be worse than has already happened in places like, Portland, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, and Kenosha.
It’ll have to get worse than a judge, along with taking away less-than-lethal crowd control tools, depriving Detroit cops of even the shields they use to protect themselves against rioters hurling frozen water bottles, bricks, Molotov cocktails, and bags of urine and feces. Get even worse than a monster, unprovoked, calmly strolling up and shooting two rookie cops sitting in their patrol cars.
I shudder thinking about what kind of atrocious event will finally have formerly rational judges, politicians, media, and even pro athletes finally recover their sanity—their humanity. Can any election truly be worth allowing this socialist psychosis to continue? Tragically, it seems so.