Humpday Happenings...
I've got some more on the recent spate of shootings in our fair city of Fort Wayne, along with some pungent social commentary, but first... We something a bit more "user-friendly":
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS.
Tell you people one thing...you all don't look that bad AT ALL for being 235 years YOUNG!
Here's a link to a good video:
http://www.marines.mil/usmc/Pages/2010MarineCorpsBirthdayBall.aspx
And here's the home page:
http://www.marines.mil/Pages/Default.aspx
We can't leave out the WIKI either:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Marine_Corps
Now, if you're in the D.C. area, and really want to see something that will take your breath away, stop on by the USMC War Memorial just outside the gates of Arlington Cemetery.
I still have a picture my dad took of mom and I when I was barely a teenager, and to get the WHOLE thing in the picture, he kept backing away until we looked like ANTS in the photo...it's THAT large (and grand).
I never met a Marine I didn't like, although I met a few I couldn't figure out...but that's par for the course for most anyone.
We'll be talking more about this tomorrow, and I think you know why.
In the meantime, may all you Devil Dogs out there have a great celebration, and may you enjoy at least ANOTHER 235 years of service to our nation and to all that it holds dear.
SEMPER FI...and CARRY ON.
Now, back to more mundane stuff...
Regarding the shooting at Broadripple/Rick O'Shay's Irish Pub the other night, this came to light:
(( Bar owner blames slayings on police - Holly Abrams The Journal Gazette
The owner of a club where two men were shot dead last weekend says Fort Wayne police are to blame because uniformed officers are not allowed to work security there.
George Kotsopoulos, who also owns the plaza where Rick O’Shay’s Irish Pub is housed, urged Police Chief Rusty York in a letter he hand-delivered to the department Tuesday to allow off-duty officers to work at the bar.
Kotsopoulos said police have repeatedly refused to work security at his club. It was that lack of police presence that allowed two men to be killed there, according to a letter Kotsopoulos addressed to York.
York said Tuesday he had read the letter and described the allegation as "absurd."
"To blame the Fort Wayne Police Department is offensive," he said.
Police have said gang activity played a role in the shooting early Sunday at 4610 Parnell Ave. that claimed the lives of Jeffery James Moore, 23, and Jaquan Dartavis Gentry, 22, both of Fort Wayne.
Their deaths have been ruled homicides. A third man, Demetrius Masterson, 26, of Fort Wayne, suffered minor injuries.
Kotsopoulos said he employs security guards who wear designated shirts and that there were eight or 10 working the night of the double slaying. The guards use a hand-held metal detector to check customers for weapons at the door, he added.
Women’s purses are inspected at the door and pat-downs are conducted on patrons, he said. These security measures are taken on a case-by-case basis depending on the night and atmosphere at the club, he said.
"We have different crowds for different nights," he said.
Kotsopoulos, who has owned the building that now houses the pub for most of the past decade, further claimed the police department shows a bias against him – refusing to provide security at his establishment but having provided security during private shows.
"I’m basically discriminated on," he said. "There are no reasons for excuses anymore."
York said the establishment as a whole is off limits for off-duty work by officers. Department policy requires officers to get approval before accepting an off-duty security job, York said.
York said the ban on officers working security at Rick O’Shay’s stems from two disturbances there. Previously the bar operated under various other names – including Broadripple Place nightclub, which closed in 2002, and later Club NV – and racked up a multitude of noise ordinance violations.
At the time of the Broadripple violations, York said officers could no longer provide security there.
When the violations were cleaned up, York said officers were again allowed to work security at the site – until 2009 with the advent of a charity gaming establishment, the Parnell Poker Palace, at 4608 Parnell Ave., next door to Club NV – which is now Rick O’Shay’s.
Allen County Sheriff Ken Fries said he instituted a similar policy for his officers and their off-duty security work requests at the time the gambling parlor was operating. At that time, he also banned his officers from working at any establishment whose primary function is serving alcohol.
Kotsopoulos was arrested on illegal gambling charges in connection with the Parnell Poker Palace. He was convicted of promoting professional gambling and sentenced to probation.
"Over the years, he has violated numerous city ordinances and state laws," York said, adding that his policy is not going to change. "We know that that’s an establishment that regularly has problems."
Depending on the event, York said, members of the department’s gang unit and the Neighborhood Response Team have gone there as a precaution.
"I don’t want anyone to think that we are ignoring the problem out there," York said, adding that officers regularly patrol the parking lot and keep track of various events at the club.
York said officers are also banned from working at strip clubs but have no other specific restrictions in place.
Officers, in fact, have worked parking lot security at Piere’s Entertainment Center, 5629 St. Joe Road. Piere’s employs its own private indoor security, York added.
Plans are under way to reopen Rick O’Shay’s on Thursday, Kotsopoulos said, adding that he is scrambling to find officers from other departments to work there.
"People have respect for the Fort Wayne Police Department," said Kotsopoulos, who maintains that a police presence is necessary for his establishment. "People act different than they do when there are no police officers working."
The club is typically closed Mondays through Wednesdays, he said. ))
*Ahem*....(Rolls eyes)
There is SO much to pick apart here, I don't know WHERE to begin.
-- One thing that was mentioned on the TV interview with Chief York was that he stated that the officers were not provided a safe environment to work.
(excuuuuuusssseeee me?????)
Uh, forgive me for being a bit SLOW here, but isn't the REASON we HAVE police is to patrol all the UNSAFE ENVIRONMENTS we have, in order to MAKE THEM SAFE?
I must be missing something here.
The whole reason these brave men and women CHOOSE to get behind the shield in the first place is to PROTECT THE PUBLIC...to "make a difference", and you ask ANY LEO how many "unsafe" environments they roll into or come across in just ONE 8 hour tour of duty, and I think you'll find more than you can imagine.
Take a "simple" domestic, or even those innocuous "traffic stops", or even a suspicious person on foot or in a vehicle...
EVERY situation can (and should) be considered UNSAFE, until an officer renders it "safe" enough to then conduct the business of policing...that's what the damn job is all about, Rusty!
-- Another thing I find amusing is that the police OFFICERS are certainly NOT AT FAULT, but rather the ADMINS in the department.
The CHIEF makes the policy...simple as that. I agree that blaming the WHOLE department is absurd...but let's place the blame where it DOES belong
-- Next, the owner says they have "different crowds for different events"...
So that means whenever an "event" might pertain to having more BLACKS there, the chance for police intervention (or criminal activity) goes UP.
Well, based on the sheer number of minorities in MY neighborhood, I can say that observation of mine tracks nice and straight.
I mean how many WHITE events have resulted in similar situations as was the case early Sunday?
-- Next, the owner states he had TEN security personnel there the night of the shooting...and with a metal-detecting wand.
Didn't seem to be all THAT effective, unless all the shooting occurred in the PARKING LOT (where the FWPD are still allowed to patrol).
Oops...didn't mean to "think out loud there".
I firmly believe we have an effective police force on the streets...BUT...(uh, oh, here he goes again)...they are NOT being utilized in the MOST EFFECTIVE MANNER, because if they were, we'd not have nearly the crime and homicides we currently "enjoy".
We have all the tools to do the job CORRECTLY, but when someone tries to drive a nail into a piece of wood with a pair of PLIERS, well...that dog ain't gonna hunt all that well, is it?
Now, I've also heard that payment of security at the bar was an issue as well, but I can't confirm this right now. It does make sense, considering the place is under Chapter 11 at this time...I'm just sayin'.
But if you believe that we have a problem with police as security in BARS...how's about our SCHOOLS?
Some principals in the FWCS think that any police officers assigned to a school should be there ONLY to conduct "police business", and not "disrupt" classroom activities...
(pause for effect...let THAT one sink in for a few seconds)
OK, now we can all go...
WHISKEY - TANGO - FOXTROT???
How the hell can you do police work (like busting a kid for carrying a weapon or drugs into a classroom) WITHOUT disrupting that classroom...I ask you?
Can't be done...period!
And how often are drug-sniffing dogs being used IN the schools this year? I'd wager not AS often as in years past. And why is that?
Don't want to "disrupt" the classrooms, and put those test scores in jeopardy, so the system won't be able to snag some (race to the top) money from the FEDS?
Is THAT what this is about?
Has this become a game of "King of the hill" with dollar signs replacing good solid education?
Sure hope not.
Well, we can hope and pray that things get back on track, and that some folks discover that there IS a whole world outside, if they just remove their heads from their asses and take a good look about them.
Be nice to recall those times when everyone DID in fact have the capability to "carry their own weight" throughout life.
Then maybe we wouldn't have all this crap to deal with, and we could press forward with a better sense of determination, knowing the future was a lot more secure...instead of being as tenuous as it seems to be these days.
We can take a page from the MARINES in this instance...
Semper Fidelis - Always Faithful.
I can work with that.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.