SHERIFF DAVID CLARKE
Transcription
SHERIFF DAVID CLARKE
NY LUENOW Summer 2015 New York’s Independent Voice of Law Enforcement ™ www.NYbluenow.com Awareness Radical Islamic Threats Against the West Increases Prevention How to combat stress Legal News Baltimore Police / Freddy Gray Case Exclusive & Uncensored Sheriff David Clarke 3 contents NY LUENOW ™ ™ Team 12 Publisher Daniel Del Valle Dzengis Iljazi Editor-in-Chief Michael J. Burke Managing Editor George Beck Design Editor Dari Izhaky 24 Copy Editor Nicole C. Richardson Advertising Director John Welsh Circulation Director Dzengis Iljazi writers Bernard Kerik Rafael Rosa Sheriff David Clarke Frank Generoso Daniel Del Valle John Welsh George Beck Kyle Macci, Esq. Jason Robles Robert (Bob) Bianchi, Esq. Lt. Randy Sutton (Ret.) Melinda Inzani Lorcan Otway WEBSITE/SUBSCRIPTIONS www.nybluenow.com EMAIL [email protected] ADVERTISING 201.881.5100 OFFICE 279 Belmont Avenue Haledon, NJ 07508 ph: 973.653.3446 fax: 973.653.3447 NYBlueNow is published 4 times a year. ©Copyright 2011 NY BLUE NOW, LLC. All rights reserved. While every reasonable effort has been made to ensure that the information is accurate as of publication date, NY BLUE NOW, LLC and its employees, agents, clients and distributors shall not be liable for any damages arising from the use of or reliance on the information contained in this publication or from omissions to this publication. The www.NYBlueNow.com Website is powered by ENVISAGE PRODUCTIONS, LLC. Layout & design by Dari Izhaky, email: [email protected] God Bless Our Troops! Please share and recycle this magazine. 8 16 Editor’s point of view Michael J. Burke feature story All Eyes on You awareness The Radical Islamic Threat Against the West Increasess inside view Urban and Transport Vehicular “Traps” Beat Them at Their Own Game 6 8 prevention Officers Health and Wellness: A Few Tips on How to Combat Stress 10 National voice How Social Engineering Endangers Public Safety 12 RETIREMENT Plan and Prepare Now for Successful Retirement: You Are Worth It! 14 COVER Story Exclusive & Uncensored Sheriff David Clarke 16 Around the Nation Are We taking Care of Each Other? 22 24 legal news Climate Control Needed with Recent Police Cases: A Review of the Baltimore Police/Freddy Gray Case (s) 26 inside perspective “Easy Targets” The Jihadi War on Police Has Only Just Begun 28 family time The Essential Rules of Successful Co-Parenting 30 history The Black Duck 32 20 EP Envisage Productions PAPd ems nypd fdny fbi nysco usss of Remembrance & Tribute Walk The Brooklyn Wall of Remembrance 1904 Surf Ave., MCU Park Coney Island Brooklyn, NY 11224 Mr. Sol Moglen-Founder www.thebrooklynwall.org Spend a day in the company of Heroes All pics are courtesy of Stephen “Butch” Moran editor’s point of view W elcome to the summer issue of NY Blue Now. As the summer is winding down, take some time to read and enjoy this issue. We have a wealth of information to share with you. In this issue you will gain insight from Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke who is a huge supporter of the rank and file from within. All of us in law enforcement know we need more leaders like Sheriff Clarke. As we all know, law enforcement has been under attack for over a year now. We have been unfairly cast by some members of the media, political class, and so-called community activist as bloodthirsty savages out there looking to kill innocent people. This is far from the truth and many know it but never speak up. Therefore, those who remain silent compound problems we face in law enforcement because it is ultimately these citizens who will decide where we are headed as we move forward in this very volatile time. The silent millions that stand behind us -- the ones who respect us, those who are fed up with the disrespect and harming and killing of our officers, seldom speak out. It baffles me that so many people remain silent. I believe the goodness in people is not dead, but it seems that nowadays the calls from evil people are louder. Most people know that if it weren’t for the blue line in the street, the criminals would be in all of our living rooms. The slander law enforcement is presently enduring is sickening to watch. The same reporters, protesters and politicians who condemn us are the same who are the first to call us. The time has come for those of us in law enforcement, our friends, families and supporters to find our voice. It is time to unite and start holding those who harm and slander us accountable. In this issue we feature articles about terrorism, health and wellness, retirement, history, legal news, and so much more! We at NY Blue would love to hear from our readers. We will feature your comments, concerns and ideas in our letters to the editor section in our next issue. You can reach us at [email protected]. Stay safe and remember: Sisters and Brothers before all others. Michael J. Burke Editor-in-Chief [email protected] We’re not here to filter your message, we’re not here to give you a one-sided argument. We’re here to publish all views, from any and all in law enforcement. We’re all Blue, we’re nY Blue Now Magazine. Pro law enforcement, pro-truth, pro-you! NY LUENOW ™ Advertise with us… It doesn’t cost… It pays. 201.881.5100 Magazine 6 NY Blue now | summer 2015 To Advertise Call: 201.881.5100 NEED TO SELL YOUR CAR? SELL YOUR CAR TO AND GET A FREE VISA GIFT CARD UP TO $300 TODAY! GET IT SOLD IN THREE EASY STEPS: By calling toll free at (844) 479-(CASH) 2274 for an instant phone quote based on your vehicle’s best description. Receive an offer you’ll like with our “Price Quote Guarantee” and receive your CASH TODAY to complete the sale. We’ll buy any automobile, even those with: No title or salvage title Junk or ugly clunkers No engine or just plain old wrecks. It really doesn’t matter! Why us? When we buy your car portion of the proceeds goes to feeding the hungry You’ll get a “Price Quote Guarantee” A FREE Visa Gift card up to $300 And NO car bashing for a cheaper offer 100% Price Quote Our honest quotes are given with precision, care, and integrity. WE MAKE IT EASY TO SELL YOUR CAR FAST! CashForCarsQuoters.com CALL NOW toll free at (844) 479-(CASH) 2274 or visit NY Blue now | summer 2015 7 Mention 300NJB to get your FREE visa card awareness By Bernard Kerik THE RADICAL ISLAMIC THREAT AGAINST THE WEST INCREASES A ccording to the federal authorities, there have been about 70 attempted Islamic extremist attacks on American soil since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, with increasing attempts over the past few months. The radical Islamic terror threats against Australia and Europe has also seen a substantial increase over the past several months including the capture of five teenagers who were arrested for planning terror attacks in Australia. Most recently, in Tunisia, 39 people were killed when a 24-year-old opened fire on a beachfront with an automatic weapon. At least 30 of his victims were British. In Kuwait, a Saudi suicide bomber carried out what the interior minister called, “one of the country’s worst militant attacks” at a Shiite Muslim mosque where he killed 27 people. In France, an Islamic extremist decapitated his boss, and drove a truck into a U.S. owned chemical warehouse, setting off an explosion and then hung his employers head on the factory gate. ISIS, or the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for two of these most recent attacks, but terror experts around the globe are confident and concerned that these types of attacks will continue with increased rates, with the help of social 8 NY Blue now | summer 2015 media and the Internet. By all reports, the Tunisian attacker was radicalized over social media and the Internet. On June 26, 2015, the FBI and U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin to local and state law enforcement authorities, warning of extreme concerns of possible terror attacks over the Fourth of July weekend. This warning is the direct result of three different attacks on three continents, by radical extremists that killed dozens of people. In the aftermath of 9/11, our intelligence capabilities and the coordination between federal, state and local law enforcement is better than ever. However, our local and state police departments need to consistently train on how to address and respond to possible terror attacks in their communities. As it has been said over and over, it’s not if there will be another attack — it is when. In addition to our proactive policing and terror response plans, social media and Internet sites that promote radicalization and inspire others to commit these lone wolf type attacks, must be monitored. These radical groups are telling us what they believe, and what they intend to do. They are increasing their recruitment - creating more training camps than ever in the Middle East, Northern Africa and Asia. No one should be surprised, no one. The fight against this evil must continue abroad as well as home. We have to ensure that our local, state and federal law enforcement agencies have the resources, intelligence and training they need in the years to come to defeat this enemy. This threat is here to stay for decades, and until the American people come to that realization and take this fight to the enemy, our chances of victory are slim. There are no diplomatic solutions when you’re dealing with an enemy that wants to die. The reality is, that with this enemy, we need to kill them, or be killed – that is the bottom line. Bernard Kerik was New York City’s police commissioner during the 9/11 attacks, who became an American hero as he led the NYPD through rescue and recovery efforts of the World Trade Center. His résumé as a public servant is long and storied, and includes honors from President Ronald Reagan, Queen Elizabeth II, and the NYPD’s Medal for Valor for saving his partner in a gun battle. In 2004, Kerik was nominated by President George W. Bush to head the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. To Advertise Call: 201.881.5100 The Kerik Watch COMING SOON Bernard Kerik DDVRadio.com Only on the Official Law Enforcement Talk Radio Network THE BEST IN INTERNET TALK RADIO LAWnow ENFORCEMENT NETWORK NY Blue | summer 2015 9 prevention Officers Health and Wellness: A Few Tips on How to Combat Stress By Rafael Rosa M any officers across America are becoming physically and mentally sick. Recent studies on police wellness reveal that officers are suffering from all sorts of problems, ranging from general health degeneration and anxiety to domestic troubles and depression. We as a profession can change this reality through simple stress reduction techniques. Law enforcement work has become an extremely difficult and stressful endeavor even for the toughest of officers. Repeated exposure to elevated levels of stress can cause all sorts of problems both at home and on the job. For these reasons, it is imperative to engage in activities that promote wellness and minimize distress. Though the following suggestions are not meant to completely heal the afflicted officer from stress and anxiety, at the very least, they can be palliative and cathartic. As stress levels increase, often officers mistakenly believe living with stress is an irreversible reality. This sometimes causes officers to engage in drug use and unfettered alcohol consumption. Sublimating with drugs, and/or alcohol, is never the solution to the problem. As a well-documented reality, drug and excessive usage of alcohol works to the contrary and places officers in situations they may have never thought could happen to them. Therefore, the officer should rely on other innocuous methods to alleviate pain. Here are some tips that can be helpful in minimizing stress. Perhaps the most important activity to reduce stress is physical exercise. Exercise produces endorphins––a natural chemical that eases pain and lessens angst. 10 NY Blue now | summer 2015 According to WebMD, exercise is crucial because it produces the same euphoric effects educed by morphine and other opiates. Overall, exercise is an integral part of a salubrious lifestyle, and its gains can be both mentally and physically therapeutic. Simply 30 minutes of exercise, three to four days a week, is all it takes to feel physically and mentally fit. Music is another element that can aid in reducing stress. The renowned German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “Without music, life is a mistake.” While the aforementioned statement is a bit amplified, the overall message comes across nicely–– that music truly is one of the best ways to reduce stress and elevate happiness. A 2006 study at Stanford University on the effects of music on the brain found that music stimulated the brain by sending waves of comfort to the human body and thus reducing stress and depression. Therefore, when stressed, jaded or dejected, let the power of music heal one’s weary spirit. The healing power of nature is also therapeutic because it allows the observer to relax and reflect on life. Certainly, life can be complicated and challenging, yet a leisurely walk through a park or forest, can be enjoyable and stress reducing. In his treatise, Nature, the American philosopher and transcendentalist–– Ralph Waldo Emerson, believed that nature has the power to heal the human soul from the severities of life. Of course the theory of transcendentalism is more intricate than this, but the core of its tenets revolve around this simple premise: that nature can be the curative agent to a person’s ills. Therefore, why not let nature be a person’s palliative pill? Depending on the genre, reading books can also be an enjoyable activity that reduces stress. Books have a tendency to entertain readers by distancing them from the realm of reality and bringing them closer to a world of fantasy, fun and adventure. Presently, there is a surfeit amount of books available to satisfy a reader’s interest or desire. Thanks to the world-wide-web, the easy accessibility of books via the Internet makes this stress reducing exercise a very attainable and affordable option. To conclude, these vital, yet simple suggestions can help the restless officer manage and control his tensions more effectively. As a reminder, these suggestions are not an all-inclusive list; they are merely provided as a brief suggestion to help combat stress. By implementing one (or all) of these examples into their daily routines, officers can gradually improve their overall qualities of life. In the end, these suggestions are not intended to supplant professional or medical advice, but they may certainly help minimize an officer’s stress level and enhance healthful living. Every attempt to reduce stress naturally is worth taking. As always––stay alert, stay alive. Rafael Rosa has been a police officer since 1999. He presently holds an associates and bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice, two master’s degrees and is a doctoral candidate. To Advertise Call: 201.881.5100 National voice How Social Engineering Endangers Public Safety T en-year-old Sierra Guyton was on a Milwaukee school playground on a summer day when gunfire erupted. Two career criminals were shooting at each other. A bullet struck Sierra in the head and killed her. The two arrested for her killing were the repeated benefactors of inane social engineering experiments sweeping the criminal justice system. The American criminal justice system is under siege. Soft-on-crime advocates have recruited law enforcement executives and naïve politicians by presenting failed programs as “best practice” and “evidence-based.” They use emotional terms such as second chance, restorative justice, criminal justice reinvestment, and community corrections, and claim to be a cost-effective alternative to incarceration. This sounds appealing to an unsuspecting audience. Politicians are lured by dubious claims of saving millions in corrections, and the ability to flaunt their racial sensitivity as to the false claim of black men snared in a racially disparate criminal justice system. This get-out-of-jail-free reform has 12 NY Blue now | summer 2015 By Sheriff David Clarke, Milwaukee County Sheriff no opposing viewpoint being published or encouraged. The danger in forming policy this way is that its proponents are not forced to consider the unintended consequences of their actions on families like Sierra Guyton’s. These theories are devoid of a basic understanding of criminal behavior. As Thomas Sowell puts it, with most things there are no solutions, only trade-offs. In my view the trade-off with this rush toward prison reform will be more victimization, higher crime rates and more misery for law-abiding citizens living in the American ghetto. The acceptance by law enforcement executives and politicians of these untested theories does nothing more than normalize criminal behavior and remove accountability for criminal acts. The anecdotal claims of program success resemble propaganda more than rigorous research. They are based on false narratives, myths and misleading data. In City Journal (Autumn 2013), Heather MacDonald describes how Stanford University economist, researcher and inmate program advocate Joan Petersilia, told the National Institute of Justice that proof that evidence-based anti-recidivism treatment can have an effect on crime is not there yet, “We don’t have the models, we can’t replicate them, and if we can replicate them, we can’t scale them up.” It is almost impossible to find a criminal who has not been offered or participated in these programs numerous times, like the men who killed Sierra Guyton. The supporters of the current reform agenda falsely claim that jails and prisons are filled with low-level and non-violent offenders convicted in a failed war on drugs. Author Jason Riley points out that participation rates in violent crime explain the disparity of why so many black males are in prison. Black males are disproportionately involved in violent crime and this violence is predominantly perpetrated against other black people.1 It is not the result of a discriminatory criminal justice system. In 2006, Blacks made up 37.5% of the prison population at the state and federal level.2 If we released those convicted on drug charges alone the percentage of black males in prison would drop to 37%, a mere half of one percent.3 To Advertise Call: 201.881.5100 Illegal drug use is a scourge on the black community and is a precursor to violent crime. According to Wisconsin criminal-court judge David Borowski, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections reports that of the total state prison population, only 8% have been convicted of non-violent offenses, most of those for heroin and cocaine dealing, not use or simple possession. The false claim that drug use is harmless fails to take into account the physical and psychological danger of illegal drug use and the violence associated with gangs who run neighborhood operations. John Walters and David W. Hudson of the Hudson Institute for Substance Abuse Policy Research point out that the number of workers testing positive for illegal drugs is soaring nationally.4 People want to continue to pedal the lie that drug dealing is non-violent. Research exists that shows marijuana to be a gateway drug; drug use leads to crime and violence. Liberal elites have turned neighbor- hoods into their Petri dish, with a volatile mix of vulnerable law-abiding citizens and violent predators--with a distinct advantage to the criminal element. The experimenters are unaffected when the public ends up as victims when these dangerous experiments backfire. It is someone else’s child, spouse or friend in a minority neighborhood that is victimized. I find this to be immoral. One of the most important roles of government is to secure the personal safety of its people. Punishment through incarceration is an effective means of crime control and it keeps people and neighborhoods safe. For career criminals, crime is a lifestyle and engrained behavior. When career criminals are in jail or prison they are not out repeating their criminal behavior. Incarceration reduces the cost of crime and its damaging psychological impact, according to a 2010 Rand Corporation study that estimates the true cost of crime in the United States as $300 billion per year.5 States do not spend $300 billion per year on incarceration. When you are soft on crime, criminals are no longer afraid to reoffend. When compared to the true cost of crime, communities are safer and taxpayers are way ahead by keeping career criminals behind bars. Criminals who would not have been on the streets to senselessly take the young life of Sierra Guyton. Riley, Jason. Please Stop Helping Us: How Liberals Make It Harder For Blacks To Succeed, Encounter Books, New York-London, 2014, p.74. 2 Ibid. 3 Ibid. 4 http://www.washingtontimes.com/news.2015/jun/ 22/ david-murray-john-walters-obamas-coming-epidemic-o/ print/ 5 http://www.Rand.Org. Rand Review/Spring 2012. In Broad Daylight. 1 Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. is the 64th Sheriff of Milwaukee County and is currently serving his fourth full term. He has appeared on many of the national news stations to defend the law enforcement profession. Tune in and listen to The People’s Sheriff podcast Sheriff David A. Clarke Every Saturday on Theblaze.com/radio at 11:30 am CT. Commentary and analysis on major issues affecting Americans. NY Blue now | summer 2015 13 retirement Plan and Prepare Now for Successful Retirement: You Are Worth It! By Frank Generoso T he walk from the locker room to the property room seemed to take forever. It is amazing what you notice when you know you will never see a place again. The next 15 minutes or so seemed pretty uneventful to the property officer, but were a bit overwhelming to me. Magazine pouch… check, holster… check… Smith & Wesson 9mm handgun… check. And just like that one fall day in 1998, I found myself leaving police headquarters for the last time as an active officer. I retired way ahead of time due to an unavoidable back injury. I recall the emotions I felt. Anger and frustration perhaps dominated them. But, I am grateful that I had served in a very professional and progressive police department. During my time on the job, I was given many opportunities, which included: detective bureau, juvenile crimes, and various uniform details. It was fun, it was great, but it was all over. Just like that. Now what? Like most of my brothers and sisters in Blue, my police career was everything to me. Everything I did revolved around law enforcement. I took great pride in putting that uniform on and going out day after day. When the thought of not being able to do that became a reality, I was caught off-guard, as many are when they 14 NY Blue now | summer 2015 separate from service due to an injury. The first couple of years after retirement were spent rehabbing and going through a strenuous physical therapy program. As I got better it was apparent that I would need to do something with myself in the years that would follow. The biggest help I received during this time came from my wife. God bless her. She and a lot of the spouses deserve medals. It is not easy being the spouse of a cop, and it’s even harder to deal with a newly retired cop on disability. Because of my wife’s career and outgoing personality, I was always meeting and befriending other people outside of the law enforcement community. This association was vital in seeing life other than through an officer’s eyes and perspective. I began reading on various careers and learning about human behavior and success. I entered into a business partnership that took me way out of my comfort zone. I was selling, growing sales teams, and learning a heck of a lot about the private sector and business. It was all going well but depression had entered the picture. I missed being an officer. I never realized how my entire identity was wrapped up on “the job.” Some days were better than others. Don’t ask me why but I actually agreed to counseling. For someone who was as prideful and independent as I was, counseling would normally not even be an option. But a wife and children can sometimes change that perspective. And it did in my case. It helped tremendously. Eventually, things got better. It seemed like an eternity but life did improve. I was slowly appreciating my new life after policing. I had a great support group (by default) around me. And as reclusive as I was at times, I managed to make some good friends along the way that provided great advice and guidance. Like many officers, I hadn’t given much thought to work after policing because it was a job I loved and hoped to do it for as long as possible. But at some point, I knew I had to reinvent myself. Fast forward 15 years, my career is very different. I ended up self-employed in the training and consulting business. I often teach Communications Mastery to professionals. We cover everything about connecting with people, relating to different behavior styles as well as conflict resolution and customer service. It was 17 years ago when I took that last walk from police headquarters. Some days it seems like centuries ago and other times it feels like it was yesterday. I look at some of the young officers and cannot help but wonder how far I would be able to run with them before collapsing! It seems like the faces get younger and To Advertise Call: 201.881.5100 younger: which also means I am getting older and older. But life is great. Not perfect, not free from challenges and some scary moments, but it is good. Looking back over the years, I noticed a pattern that definitely helped to pull me up when I was down. I tell this story so other officers out there can think about planning for life beyond law enforcement. Planning is a huge part of the process. Here are some things I did that I found helpful: • I started reading on a daily basis and eventually went back and earned my degree. Most of my early retired days were spent on my back at home due to pain. But I was able to pick up a book and learn something. I knew I would have to prepare myself for the future, so I read. I continue to read to this day. Reading allowed me to expand my thoughts beyond law enforcement. • Association was vital. Hopefully you are fortunate to have family around you. If not, who you spend your time with can make or break you. There are a lot of organizations out there where you can meet and make new friends. Whether it is a hobby, trade or profession, there is never a shortage of people willing to assist and share. But you have to take the first step. • Counseling was instrumental. I was able to vent to someone that would not judge me or be biased. He or she would listen and give some objective advice. This went on for a long time. And it helped. Do not be timid in seeking help. You are worth it. Your family is worth it. You will be better because of it. • I eventually let go of the past. Easier said than done. But the past will keep you in shackles, whereas thinking of the future and the endless possibilities will free you. I heard a very successful man once say, “When your vision of the past is greater than your vision for the future, you are dead.” Not literally, of • Auto Accidents • Workers Compensation • Family Care Chiropractor Dr. Walter J. Darcy (Certified in Electrodiagnosis) course, but metaphorically. Think about it: a lot of people are “dead” mentally and spiritually because they dwell on the past. We all get caught up in it. I did and I still occasionally do. But I started focusing on the future and of all the possibilities out there. The road after retirement can be a very windy and challenging one. But there is a future out there and you too can assimilate and become a well-adjusted citizen. Plan and prepare now. You are worth it. Frank Generoso is owner of GT Global Performance LLC, a sales and customer service training company in Bergen County, NJ. He retired from the NYPD after 8 years due to an on-duty injury. • Sports Injuries • Neck & Back Pain • Headaches • Sciatica & Joint Pain Acupuncturist James Kim L.Ac. Massage Therapist Eddie Caban L.M.T. Pain Control Center 310 Merrick Avenue Merrick, NY 516-379-3052 NY Blue now | summer 2015 15 ry o t s er cov Exclusive & Uncensored Sheriff David Clarke By Daniel Del Valle, John Welsh, and George Beck Four time incumbent Sheriff David Clarke holds no punches when it comes to expressing his thoughts about attacks on law enforcement. Known for his outspokenness and “keep it real” attitude, he has gained national attention for his comments on Al Sharpton, the Ferguson riots and his accusation against President Obama and other political leaders for fueling the tensions between police and the black community. Despite being vocal on controversial issues, Sheriff Clarke uses the platform of the media to get his message across, stand up for police and make a difference. In his “no-sugar coating” interview with NY Blue Now Magazine, Clarke talks about his national spotlight, the subculture of the black community and the future of law enforcement. 16 NY Blue now | summer 2015 To Advertise Call: 201.881.5100 NY Blue Now: Who is David Clarke? David Clarke: What you see is what you get. I’m pretty straight forward. Most opinions about me are pretty black and white; they like me or they don’t. There is not a lot of in between with people. I am comfortable in my own skin. I’m not afraid to share my opinion, and if it’s been researched by me, I’ll provide the supporting documentation as to why I think I am right on a particular issue, but I approach most of the things I deal with from the standpoint that there are two schools of thought. I’m just one of those schools. What do you like to do on your downtime? I listen to a lot of talk radio. I read a lot. I’m an avid reader. I’m always commenting on some of the stuff that is said. It drives my wife nuts. My wife will attest to the fact that what you see in public is the way I always am. What made you choose a career in law enforcement? My dad was not in law enforcement. He was military. Every once in a while he would say to me do you ever think about going into law enforcement. Never really gave it any thought. Before I got into this law enforcement career, I was working for a beer distributor. I would drive a beer truck and make deliveries… Somewhere it was a defining moment when my dad brought it up again, and I thought I’d try this. How has your life changed since all of this national media attention? It’s extremely chaotic now. My time is really not mine own anymore. It’s tougher to manage. Being in the public light is a strange phenomenon. You belong to the public; you lose a lot of privacy. For my wife, I’m gone a lot—the last six or seven months. I’ve been the sheriff for 13 years now, going on my fourth term, but in the public life, even though this here elevated it to national, I was still a public figure in Milwaukee County. I was getting this public scrutiny to begin with and I’m used to it. The national level is a lot different. There are more people that come after you and want to talk to you. That dynamic is different than just focusing on the internal operations of the organization. It was Colin Powell who said to prepare the organization for the day you are not there—in this case now I’m gone a lot. Does that hurt your department or has it made it better since now you are occupied with national attention? Even as a public figure here I had an elevated status in Milwaukee County. Now it’s been raised a little bit higher, but I don’t think the people in the organization see that much of change. I was really detached as the sheriff here because I represent the public. Obviously, I am concerned about everybody in this organization, but I have to keep a clear line of distinction otherwise the public starts thinking they are not represented anymore. Has there been overwhelming support in the organization? I’m getting the love from cops all across the country. I think they have come around and see it as a positive. Do you give the correctional officers the same attention as the street cops? You’re damn right! I made it clear. I’m the one who brought in the corrections officers position. When I first came here we had all sworn sheriff deputies including those working in the jail. The reality was budgets were being cut and if they are starting to cut your budget you have to somehow do what you can to save that money. I started looking at the corrections officers’ position. The agreement I made was that I would backfill all retirements with corrections officers and start there. We didn’t lay anyone off… Who do you admire in law enforcement? Pretty simple to me. Bill Bratton. First of all I read his book early on. I first met him at a Governing Inc. conference in Austin, Texas, and I knew he was going to be a keynote speaker so I went. I wanted to meet this guy. I just went up there and start talking to him. I introduced myself; I was sheriff at the time, and he was with LAPD at the time. I was asking him a lot of questions, so I think he understood I was trying to learn from him… He gave me an autograph copy of his book Turn Around. He was just down to earth; this guy is the king. How does Bratton fit right now with Mayor de Blasio? I ran into Bratton in Washington, DC, when he started a consulting company. He seemed pretty happy. The pressure is off, he is making money and traveling. Then he gets back into the belly of the beast and I just asked myself why. He comes back under Mayor Bill de Blasio. Bill de Blasio has no use for police. Bill de Blasio is anti-police. Bill de Blasio ran on a campaign of ending stop, question and frisk and Bratton’s hands were tied. I went out to see him a couple of months ago and shadowed him a little bit. I didn’t want to say why did you come back or what you think about de Blasio. I didn’t want to put him in that position, but he is not having any fun. That’s my personal opinion, but I sense that he is not because de Blasio really tied his hands and Bratton knows what needs to be done. I don’t know why he got in— that’s his personal decision, but I think his legacy may end up being compromised. Nationally, law enforcement is experiencing a lot of negative sentiments. In your opinion how did it get to this point and did you see this coming? I only saw it coming in the post days of the Ferguson riots. This is a political movement. A lot of people have misdiagnosed this thing. This thing was seized upon by the occupying crowd as a rallying call to arms of the anarchist movement and they seized on this issue of race. If you look at the data, I think law enforcement officers use of deadly NY Blue now | summer 2015 17 cover story force may be 300 to 400 times a year; it varies but it’s consistent. They took a very local issue and tried to raise the national consciousness over this white cops shooting black males and it caught wind because the president of the United States and the attorney general of the United States gave it fuel—started talking that we need to have a national discussion. It’s a cycle now. You get your protesters and people calling for cops to be charged and fired. What’s different is the political class got in on it this time. What would you say to the officers who may worry about scrutiny regarding their job performance? Cops are not afraid to do their job. They are like if I stop this car and it turns into a deadly force situation I may be the next Darren Wilson. That’s not afraid to do the job; that’s a valid concern. Do I want to have my life and world turned upside down? Do I want to become a household name? Now my career is destroyed. I have a family and I’m sending my kids to college. I’m paying a mortgage and I may lose my career. That is a valid concern. We saw what life without police looks like in Baltimore. It ain’t very pretty. All these cops want to know is that somebody has their back, so when you get into these ugly situations you are justified in what you did. You want to know if that chief executive is going to fight for you. What would you tell that chief or dept. head who is not supporting their men if you were face to face? First of all they would have to resign. The reason is it is a part of your job to protect your people. With Darren Wilson, it was kind of known before all the facts were in he was probably in the right. The grand jury cleared him but he still lost his freaking job. Where is the fairness in that! What’s happening now in these cities is that the political class are making political decisions, and they are succumbing to the angry mobs out there. Certain demographics are not looking for justice; they are looking for revenge. We don’t have the backing of the political class. Someone has to have their backs. No one was doing it and I had the availability of a platform so I stood up—not to speak for 18 NY Blue now | summer 2015 every cop in America—but I speak for the profession. How do you respond to the Sharptons of the black community who’ve claimed you’ve sold out? I don’t pay attention to Sharpton and these race hustlers and race-demi gods. When I get a chance I will deliver some blows to them, metaphorically speaking. Sharpton is a loser. Sharpton is one of the most self-serving, self-indulged, selfinterested human beings I have ever seen. I think he is despicable. First of all the guy is not even a reverend. He is a selfproclaimed reverend. I don’t know if you know anything about his reverend status. It’s fake; it’s phony. No man of the cloth would ever act like him. He is a disgrace to the divinity class. Race is an explosive issue in this country and he always likes to put a camera and microphone to his face to spew his vulgar rhetoric, his racebased rhetoric. He is a racist and he has turned it into a way to support himself, but he exploits other people’s misery like a leech. He latches on to these situations, and he uses these people who are griefstricken at the time and he uses them to get anything he can out of the situation. He puts nothing back into it then he gets out of town. That’s the kind of person he is. What advice would you give to another black leader who shares your beliefs but is concerned to speak up because of the potential pushback from members of their community? Be not afraid; fear not. They got to get over that especially if they are in a position where they have a voice and a platform. I realize it’s hard. It’s not easy for me, but I don’t care. What are they going to do? If you are in position like me who embrace mainstream values like hard work, responsibility, reliability, and you are in the position where your voice can make a difference, shame on you if you don’t really exploit that for the overall good. You can’t think of yourself all the time. It is hard. There is no doubt about that. You have your friends to think about. You can be an outcast in your neighborhood but who cares. Now that you have seen a lot of the national mainstream media, and you’ve been around a lot of the journalists has your impression changed a little bit of them? No. Coming up as a lieutenant and detective, I was in charge of these crime scenes, and I had to give a media briefing. I always had an attitude anyway that you can’t trust them. When I say that I don’t mean with a broad stroke. I have some local ones here I trust, but overall you have to realize their role is different and To Advertise Call: 201.881.5100 if they have to, they are going to throw you overboard. I have found the more conservative news entities are a little more inviting. I don’t care if they don’t like me, but they have the platform that I need because I don’t have my own platform, so I have to use theirs. The liberal mainstream media isn’t as inviting because they don’t want my message. I’ll go anywhere in the media if they happen to invite me. If I want to get my message out to defend cops, I have to have a platform, so I thank them for that. In the news there has been a lot of cop bashing. How would law enforcement let the world know that cops are hardworking, decent people who are being portrayed in a negative image? That’s the thing about our profession. In the early days of this cop hating we didn’t have a voice to counter that message: we are racist, blood-thirsty. We didn’t have a counter narrative which is why I stepped up and tried to be that counter narrative. The liberal mainstream media really doesn’t want to hear the real side of us because they fan the flames of that Hands Up, Don’t Shoot cop bashing. They don’t have a problem painting us with a broad stroke. What I suggest to cops continuingly is screw all of them and do your job. Go out, serve the community, follow your training, policies and constitution and do what you know to be the right thing. Do you think because you are a minority you are getting the national attention? I have some leverage that other people don’t have. I realize I can say some things that others can’t. I can talk about sensitive issues that my counterparts who are not black can’t. I get that, but such is life. There is still ways of getting around these limitations, but don’t worry about the limitations. We all have strengths and if people aren’t stepping up because of whatever then shame on you. You have criticized the president of the United States and the attorney general. Do you have any fear right now about your future? No. I realized once I started taking on the attorney general and the president of the United States I was in the deep end of the pool. It is dangerous in the deep end of the pool. Again, I feel in my heart I am doing this for the right reason. I’m in a position to make a difference. I don’t want to leave this looking back saying, “I wish I would have…” when I had the chance to make a difference. All I want people to think about me when all this is said and done… I want people to know I was here. You are the cops cop. Do you lose any sleep at night and are you concerned you may be a target? It’s a possibility but I don’t think about it too much. I’m very cautious, but again, if you fear too much it’s debilitating. Maybe it wouldn’t allow me to be forthright with people and voice my opinion strongly on the American police officer; it might piss this person off. I got over that shit a long time ago. I used to be afraid of a lot of things in life. It came a point in time when I said to myself you are missing a lot of opportunities because you are afraid. I just learned to not let that stuff get in the way. In law enforcement today what is something you feel could be improved? We have to do a good job creating relationships with people. We have a tendency to keep the public at arm’s length. What I learned as an elected official is you have to get out and interact with people. You got to get out there, shake hands with people and introduce yourself. I tell people all the time, everyone you come in contact with and you have your uniform on, you have a chance to give an impression of the organization as a human being. Take as many opportunities as you can to let people see our human side. positively in their communities. They don’t stay consistently in the workforce. They are government dependent. So you have these generation of kids growing up as offspring of this underclass, growing up with no male role model to help them develop emotionally as well as physically. What I mean by that is installing values and virtues, making sure their kids are being educated and engaged in school. You have these young males growing up without fathers, at least 70 percent in single parent families. Fathers are responsible for the socialization of young boys and to teach them how to become young men. These kids are growing up with no values, and they are going to gravitate to something. That is why you need that male role model. What would you say to single mothers who are raising their sons but not instilling values and virtues? We have to have effective parenting. Another blown opportunity to raise young kids. We are all for the church but the church has been marginalized in our society. The church took care of a lot of these social skills appealing to the good nature of man. It’s a mess right now; it is a disaster. If I had the answer to that I would be giving lectures charging $100 thousand dollars a lecture. I think what we have to do is break it down into workable pieces and try to fix one thing at a time. Do you believe our leadership in this country is turning a blind eye and not working on trying to solve this problem? Is there something wrong with some minority youth, particularly within some subcultures of the black community? What we are dealing with today is a subculture—not the general black population—not by a long shot. It’s a subculture called the underclass. They live by different values than you and I live by. They live by different values than the average black person lives by. Kids out of wedlock are growing… They don’t raise their kids’ right. They are not engaged NY Blue now | summer 2015 19 cover story We have to get away from this notion that government can solve all these problems. Government is contributing through policies and funding things that are not working. We need more money for schools but the schools continue to not educate the kids. Well, what are you giving them more money for. We don’t have a lot of courage; we don’t have a lot of moral convictions for individuals in these positions. They are more worried about their own sustainment than they are of the people that they serve. A lot of these politicians are capitalizing on the dysfunction. These people aren’t about solving problems. They are about protecting their own existence— talking a big game but not backing it up. We took a poll and the question keeps coming up if you will ever consider running for the president of the United States. No. Never. (laughing) I know better. I’m flattered by that but that’s a thankless job. Is there something else you would like to do beyond this position in the future? Well, why do I have to look beyond? I take one day at a time. I live in the moment not for the moment. The next time you run for office how is the support of your officers? I try to leave the organization out of it because elections are tough for sheriff ’s officers because it divides them— especially if you get someone in on the inside to run against the seating sheriff; it could really tear an organization apart. People take sides; it get ugly and then when it is over if the insider wins and knocks the incumbent out now you have incumbent’s support from part of the community and organization that is left with a bitter taste in their mouth and vice versa. I keep them for the most part away from me. What’s your favorite baseball team? Chicago Cubs. Favorite movie? True Grit. What does your wife do that’s your pet peeve? She is constantly changing the house around. What is your strongest and weakest quality? A belief in myself and I have a sharp tongue. I just say what I feel and don’t even worry about what people think about it. Sometimes you have to watch that. Who do you think is going to be the next president? It’s too early to tell. What’s your favorite football team? Dallas Cowboys. Who’s your favorite president and why? George Washington. Can you imagine being in that position trying to pull this nation together? We almost didn’t have a nation over the constitution. You couldn’t get the constitution ratified today. It was tough back then. You had to bring them through the war taking on the greatest military force in the world—at the time Great Britain—take them on and had to bring the nation together. I got another one, Abraham Lincoln, following the civil war. Can you imagine the country almost coming apart at the seams and having to bring it back together? Do you have a favorite TV show? South Park. Do you have a favorite actor? Denzel Washington. What’s your favorite curse word? “Fuck. Because it’s very versatile. You can say ‘that was fucking great’ or ‘what the fuck did you do that for?’ It’s very versatile. We at NY Blue Now are committed to asking questions that humanize people. Whether someone on the local level or national level, we keep it real and ask questions that show we are all human. Sheriff Clarke was a good sport, answered every question, and shared some laughs with us. Thanks for keeping it real, Sheriff. A special thank you to Director of Support Services, Fran McLaughlin for helping us make this interview a success and for the great photographs! 20 NY Blue now | summer 2015 To Advertise Call: 201.881.5100 www.wiseguysddv.com WE TOLD YOU WE WERE UNCENSORED. LISTEN TO THE BEST INTERNET RADIO NETWORK JOHNNY SALAMI, CARLO AND HIS FELLOW COMEDIANS… LIVE EVERY WEDNESDAY 8 PM TO 10 PM AND RE-RUN EVERY SATURDAY 8 pm to 10 pm IT’S A CRIME NOT TO LISTEN! PAST SHOWS’ CALLERS: • ARTIE LANG • BIG ANG FROM THE MOB WIVES • REV. BOB LEVY Diverse Uncensored Opinionated • ANGEL SALAZAR FROM SCARFACE AKA CHI CHI • GABE CONTE BOXING PROMOTOR and MORE TO COMe… feature story All Eyes on You By Daniel Del Valle, Kyle Macci, Esq., and George Beck I n our modern world, officers are in a sense the new celebrities. Their every move is tracked, video recorded and quickly offered on social media and other outlets like YouTube. Sometimes the video goes viral and within minutes nearly every media entity across the globe is covering it. All officers know the new motto to live by is: “All eyes on you.” Recently, we have seen hordes of people across the country filming officers with their cellphones. It doesn’t take long to find hundreds of these videos on the Internet. They stem from simple interactions where an officer was issuing a motor vehicle summons to arrests that get physical, and in a small number of cases, force that was unjustifiable. Sometimes the unjustifiable force is based on an appearance when viewed only in the prism of the snapshot version of events offered by the cellphone camera. In other words, sometimes the video captures the entire situation, other times it doesn’t. And yes, there have been cases where the officer’s conduct was questionable and other times egregious. Nobody is 22 NY Blue now | summer 2015 denying law enforcement officers are imperfect. They’re as flawed as every other community, but in our modern times there is no room for error. Every officer at one point or another will make a mistake. But don’t make mistakes that are criminal. Officers are expected at all times to act properly. Don’t let emotions overcome reaction. A quick view of the many videos flooding the Internet will show another trend: In many cases, abuse and outright hate is vehemently shouted at officers while they are acting in the performance of their duties. Welcome to the new world we live in. Kick a cop, punch a cop, spit on him or her, and call them every profanity in the book. It’s not what officers signed up for, but it’s now reality. Officers know the appropriate response is to remain calm and alert should the verbal assault turn physical. But they are human and not robots. They fear like every other person. Yet, their human component is largely ignored. They are often portrayed as “part of a system” of injustice where the majority of law enforcement is violently seeking to hurt innocent people. This kind of thinking leads the public to a false sense of security that the world is absent of extremely dangerous people, and it’s the police who are the ones to fear. How did we get to this point? Technology and Law Enforcement Nothing has affected law enforcement in the last decade more than technology. In such a short period, many technological advances have revolutionized the profession. This has caused law enforcement to quickly adapt and adjust to meet the demands of the modern world. We have reached a point where an officer’s every move is secondguessed, and at times it seems they can’t eat lunch without being recorded on a camera phone. It all happened so quickly. Not that long ago, many veterans remember hand writing incident reports or inking prisoners and then typing their biographic info with a typewriter. They remember having to pull over to call headquarters on a payphone, or radio the To Advertise Call: 201.881.5100 desk officer to run a license plate. Even further beyond those days, many retired officers recall not having a single computer in the stationhouse. But with technology on the rise, the older methods are quickly becoming obsolete. Today, nearly every police cruiser is equipped with a computer. Prisons and jails use high-tech equipment to monitor inmates. Recent advances in cellphone technology have modernized communications and the way in which officers interact with the public. Other advances include MVR’s, body cameras, Tasers, and the list goes on and on. But technological progress can have both positive and negative impacts on the law enforcement profession. Take for example cellphone cameras. It would be pretty hard to find somebody in America without one. Many cellphones are equipped with a camera, video recorder, and smartphone technology that basically has made the device a handheld computer. Yet, video cameras are not new. They began over a century ago with the production of silent films. Over the 20th century, advancements in video camera technology eventually led to Sony producing the first consumer camcorder in 1983. Initially, video cameras were expensive and reserved only for those who could afford the luxury. But recently, new technology has placed affordable cellphone video cameras in nearly every person’s pocket. It seems nowadays many citizens using their cellular phones are constantly recording officers. A recent recording that surfaced of an NYC detective hollering at a motorist is an example of how all eyes are on the police at all times. In a flash, people in every corner of the world know the officer’s name, home address, and all other personal details. A news van camps outside their home and life as they knew it has changed forever. Mass and Social Media Can Move at Lightning Speed The power of the mass and social media should not be underestimated. Within seconds after completing a traffic stop or other interaction with the public, cellphone video taken by anyone, whether or not they were directly involved in the incident, can be uploaded and within minutes go viral, where news agencies from around the globe will feature the story. It can happen in minutes. Some have argued this has increased the accountability of law enforcement, since their actions can now be memorialized in audio and visual representation. In some respects, this argument is correct. If a rogue officer is intentionally out there harming innocent people, then to capture his or her conduct on film would be beneficial to society. But incidents where officer misconduct is blatant and purposeful make up an overwhelmingly small minority of the total. The majority of officer and civilian interactions are peaceful. There are far more incidents of hyped-up and inaccurate videos out there on social media and the Internet where the account of the incident is often one-sided and designed to depict officers as brutal savages. It’s also the bad apples who get all the attention. But video cameras are also good for law enforcement. They have vindicated officers from false accusations. Take for example the recent apology by “Empire” actress Taraji P. Henson, who claimed the Glendale Police racially profiled her son during a traffic stop in October of 2014. Her account clearly changed when the video showed otherwise. “I would like to publicly apologize to the officer and the Glendale Police Department,” the “Empire” actress said in an Instagram message. “A mother’s job is not easy and neither is a police officer’s. Sometimes as humans we overreact without gathering all the facts. As a mother in this case, I overreacted and for that I apologize. Thank you to that officer for being kind to my son.” attacked and assaulted with bystanders choosing to video record rather than render aid. Clearly this is not always the case. There are many good Samaritans out there who help an officer when he or she is being attacked. But those preferring the cellphone camera over rendering aid have many in law enforcement wondering why. Have we reached a point where an officer being attacked, injured or killed is acceptable? We as law enforcement know the truth. So, let’s focus less on the anti-law enforcement sentiment that is getting all the attention right now and more on remaining safe and making a difference in a difficult world. The overwhelmingly majority of officers are good, decent human beings who do the job with honor and pride. In closing, the best way to understand the ever-evolving law enforcement profession is to remember why one chooses a career in law enforcement. It’s to help others, and make society a safe, stable and peaceful place to live and raise a family. Law enforcement is a difficult job, but it’s important and necessary. A society without law enforcement is one that nobody would want to live in. These basic fundamentals have been part of the profession since its inception. So as technology continues to change law enforcement, let’s keep adapting and adjusting, use it to our advantage, and most importantly, remember why we chose a career in law enforcement: to leave this world a little better than we found it. Looking Ahead As we have seen, technology can have both positive and negative effects. But one thing is certain: Technology has revolutionized the profession and in many ways enhanced it. Therefore, remember at all times that law enforcement officers are in many ways like celebrities constantly being hounded by paparazzi. Surreptitious recordings of police are trending right now, whether they tell the entire story or not. What puzzles law enforcement is that nowadays there are videos of officers being NY Blue now | summer 2015 23 inside view URBAN AND TRANSPORT VEHICULAR “TRAPS” Beat Them at Their Own Game By Jason Robles I ’m growing impatient waiting for the corrections officer to bring up the violent home invader who wants to proffer and I’m sure will talk about how innocent he is. As the elevator door opens, I’m not surprised to see that he doesn’t look like much. He’s kind of typical and not much to speak of. He sports the obligatory gang tattoos, skin fade and slow stroll which seems is issued to every drug dealing, stash spot robbing home invader from the Washington Heights area of Upper Manhattan. The cage swings open and I take him into custody to walk him across the street to the New York City Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor. After he signs his “Queen for a day,” his lawyer steps out and he immediately begins to minimize his role in every violent act of torture he has participated in while involved in his “compania” robbing drug dealers. He chronicles the methodology they used to locate, identify and rob drug dealers for money, drugs and guns. As I take my notes, I am always surprised to see how calmly and nonchalantly they recant these gruesomely violent acts of terror and torture. Even though he wasn’t much to look at, I was wrong. He is a beast, a cold-blooded calculating predator. My partner and I are going to have to verify and run down all of these leads and find these victims who don’t want to be found. 24 NY Blue now | summer 2015 A daunting and arduous task at best. As he claims he’s done, he stands up, pauses and says there is one more thing. He recalls a “job” they did where he acted as the surveillance/security car waiting outside for members of his crew while they hit a stash spot. He remembers they posed as police officers and stole several kilograms of cocaine from a local dealer. He said he followed their vehicle away from the scene and remembers the crew being stopped by uniformed NYPD officers. He watched the motor vehicle stop develop and also watched them get arrested and the vehicle impounded. He states he later went online and searched the court records, which showed they were only charged for narcotics possession, and not for weapons possession for the guns they had. As he stands up to get cuffed he says “the guns are in a stash.” I’m excited because in my experience I know 90 percent of police officers are not trained to look or search for a stash, clavo, trap or any other word used to describe an aftermarket concealed compartment. I was hedging my bets those guns were still in the vehicle. Based on what he said, we find the case, which happened approximately three years earlier. A record check reveals the vehicle was impounded, and once the case was adjudicated, the registered owned never came back for the vehicle. Not surprising. This was a good indication the firearms were still in the vehicle. A year later the vehicle was sold at an NYPD auction to a civilian. Further records show the original auction purchaser kept the vehicle for a year and sold it (we later find out on eBay) to the current owner who lives in Brooklyn. We travel to Brooklyn and ring the doorbell of the registered owner. A sweet elderly woman answers the door. I identify myself and ask her if I can take a look at her vehicle. She kindly offers to show us where the vehicle is and we walk several blocks to where the car is parked on the street. She hands me the keys and I unlock the door on the passenger side and just look. I’m looking for abnormalities and inconsistencies. I’m looking for what doesn’t seem right. I know that in this particular vehicle these compartments are constructed where the airbag is. I drop the glove box, look into the void behind the glove box and up under the dashboard. I can see the airbag is intact so I know it is not there. With the owner’s consent, I take my upholstery tool and pry off the plastic trim around the radio. There is nothing constructed behind the radio. I do not see relays, carpeting, insulation, spray glue, aftermarket switches, trunk locks or linear actuators which are the usual indicators of a concealed compartment. To Advertise Call: 201.881.5100 Moving onto the passenger side floor, I peel back the rug from the front to back and there it is: the aftermarket speaker wire. I know I found a trap for several reasons. The first being the location of the wire, running down the center of the vehicle. This is not common. Second is the typical copper and nickel speaker wire used by every sound shop along Jerome Avenue in the Bronx, the motherland of trap builders. Many of the shops that build these traps use speaker wire because it is cheap and readily accessible. Third, the wire is running to a seat that is not a power seat. It is not heated and does not have any stock electronics. The next step is to put power to this wire and see what happens. I cut each wire individually and strip the ends. Using a Sequence Bypass Tool (SBT) hooked to the vehicle’s battery, I tell the Sergeant to stand back avoiding any possibility of a booby trap, which is rare but possible. Touching the alligator clips of the SBT to the exposed wire I hear that sweet sound. It is the low hum of a linear actuator opening. This sound tells me the sequence the installer devised was successfully bypassed. Looking at the back of the passenger seat I can see the bottom of the seat has opened, revealing a hinged trap door accessing a void constructed under the passenger seat cushion. Inside the void is my prize. Several loaded handguns used in the home invasion robbery three years earlier. They are hidden in a typical “urban” trap. These traps have been discovered or have traveled through virtually every village, hamlet, town, city and province in the Americas. There are two basic types of concealed compartments in vehicles, which are referred to as “Urban” and “Transport” traps. Urban traps are smaller traps constructed in the vehicle, usually within the driver’s immediate reach. These traps are constructed to hold smaller amounts of narcotics, currency and handguns, extensively used by street/mid-level dealers, gang members and outlaw motorcycle gangs. These compartments usually employ an electronic locking device such as an electronically activated trunk latch, window motor or electronic linear actuator, which is mistakenly referred to as being hydraulic. These traps are usually opened and closed through a sequence of standard switches in the vehicle such as the rear defrost, cruise control and passenger window switch being activated in the same order to open the compartment through a series of relays. Many of these are reverse polarity motors allowing the operator to just reverse the switch to close the trap. Transportation traps are usually constructed in large vehicles and often referred to as cross border traps. Large vehicles are used to transport larger quantities of illicit contraband, provide a more comfortable ride and afford the manufacturer large voids to construct large compartments. Unlike the urban traps, many of these vehicles need to be brought inside a garage or warehouse to access the compartment because it may have been sealed in with fresh body work or undercoating. Many are constructed into the subfloors, wheel wells or roofs of passenger vehicles such as pick-up trucks, minivans and SUVs. That being said these vehicles can also possess the same urban traps. Palestra Group International (PGI) provides a one day Introduction to Concealment consisting of vehicular and residential compartments. PGI also provides a two-day Advance Concealed Compartment course designed to take the student from the visual pat down, through the roadside interview and to the location, identification and breeching of concealed compartments. For more information please visit www.palestrgroup.com. From the New York Times Bestselling Author From Jailer to Jailed My Journey from Correction and Police Commissioner to Inmate #84888-054 I be happening with what really n this hard-hitting, raw and oftentimes politically incorrect memoir, Bernard B. happens behind prison walls. He takes readers Kerik, former head of the New York City deep into what he calls the “wasteland” where Department of Correction, America’s Top Cop and inmates are warehoused and treated like animals, decorated 9/11 hero — and Federal Prison Inmate abused by those with power and authority, and #84888-054 — lays it all on the line. He details deprived not only of their freedom but of respect his stunning fall from grace that whipsawed him and basic human dignity. Even those whose through the criminal justice system, landed him in crimes were nonviolent—tax offenders, doctors prison for 3 years and 11 days, and now fuels his who overbilled, commercial fishermen who unwavering and deeply personal fight for caught too many fish — suffer draconian criminal justice reform. sentences that leave them without hope. In an ironic turn of events, Kerik’s Kerik exposes the willful, devastating highest honor of being personally collateral damage the prison system chosen by President George W. Bush inflicts and the consequences to lead the Department of Homeland to American society. He makes a Security sparked his downfall. compelling case for reform and calls for wholesale change that will make This retired New York City Police Bernard B. Kerik, Commissioner was himself handcuffed, retired New York City America “smart on crime” and forestall Police Commissioner what he calls “the erosion of the very shackled, and — for a time — held in fabric of our society.” solitary confinement. From Jailer to Jailed is more than a powerful Bernard Kerik offers a riveting, one-of-a-kind memoir: it is an impassioned and singularly perspective on the American penal system as he insightful rallying cry for criminal justice reform details life on the inside with the experience of in a nation Bernard Kerik devoted his life to an acclaimed Correction Commissioner from serving and protecting. the outside. He compares what is supposed to Get Your Copy Today — Available at Bookstores Everywhere. NY Blue now | summer 2015 25 legal news Climate Control Needed with Recent Police Cases A Review of the Baltimore Police/Freddy Gray Case (s) By Robert (Bob) Bianchi, Esq. without regard to the truth in my opinion. O nce again the climate for police throughout this nation is continuing to be troubling in its tenor. I am extremely unsettled about the Baltimore case, as it now seems that the elected officials are now pandering to groups who attack the police regardless of the actual facts or law of a particular case. This makes the police extremely and unfairly subject to becoming acceptable social (and now legal) scapegoats for issues that are not of their making. As a Certified Criminal Trial Attorney who has been a prosecutor and defense attorney for over 26 years and has tried numerous murder cases, here are my thoughts: 1 This case is complex. However, it was investigated and charged in only 19 days. This is nearly an impossible timeframe if the investigation is being done thoroughly and with the diligence to ensure success at trial. This says to me that this was a pre-determined and rushed decision - - one designed to appease the community instead of achieving justice. 2 Any prosecutor of skill knows that use of the Grand Jury is a must to properly investigate a case. The subpoena power, ability to compel witnesses, get some officers to possibly testify to “lock in” their testimony, and for many other reasons, is imperative. By filing these charges, she lost a critical ability to use the Grand Jury effectively in this way to determine the truth. The Grand Jury will only be used now as a “play tool” for the prosecutor, merely a rubber stamp for her decision, 26 NY Blue now | summer 2015 that basis alone. 3 7 4 8 The prosecutor admitted at her very unprofessional press conference that based upon the investigation she does not know how, when, or who caused the injuries to Mr. Gray! What? This is essential to prove any homicide case. Was Mr. Gray injured during arrest, in the police van, during medical treatment, did he have an alleged spinal cord surgery the week before? Was he injured by police reckless disregard to Mr. Gray’s life, Mr. Gray’s own acts, or a combination of these events? The prosecutor states that she only received the autopsy that day! The fact that it indicates it was a “homicide” only means that the death was not the result of a suicide, natural causes, or by accident. It is not a legal conclusion whatsoever, a fact the prosecutor (who has very little experience and no homicide experience) should know. To rely upon that finding as a legal conclusion is breathtaking. Additionally, in a case where the manner of death is so convoluted, a more detailed, perhaps another autopsy, is warranted. To get an autopsy the same day you file charges says to me this was another rush to judgement and not a deliberate attempt to get it right. 5 Failure to provide a detailed arrest affidavit tells me there is a problem with the prosecutor’s proofs. She had an extensive press conference and she indicated that it would be unethical for her to answer questions about the evidence. This is true. The only problem is that is exactly what she did with evidence that she claimed supported her charges [a serious ethical breach] but refused to supply evidence that seemed to challenge her conclusions. Only at that point did she decide to invoke the ethical prohibition for her to discuss evidence. Very telling in my opinion. 6 This case was overcharged and my feelings are there will be not guiltys on Press conference - Her speech was wrought with political overtones, which is an ethical violation for a prosecutor. She admitted and made clear that she was listening to the voices of demonstrators “across the nation.” Huh? She is only to look at the law and facts without being persuaded by public opinion. This is a very basic concept in the area of prosecutorial ethics. It was an amazing admission that again tells me this prosecutor is not up to the job and has lost her objectivity. After her press conference, she did media shows that had nothing to do with her official duties, but rather, were PR stunts for her to justify the charges she filed and to assert her belief of the defendants’ guilt. Holy cow, this is an egregious violation of a prosecutor’s ethical rules. Cases are to be tried in a court of law upon evidence, and not in the court of public opinion. These police officers are now criminal defendants, and as such, are entitled to a process that is fair, unbiased, not prejudiced, and done in accordance with due process and the Rules of Professional Responsibility for Prosecutors. To me, the Prosecutor was thinking about votes (or some other inappropriate factors), and not the integrity of the judicial process. Robert A. Bianchi, Esq., served as the Morris County Prosecutor from June 22, 2007 through February 8, 2013. The New Jersey Supreme Court has awarded him the distinction of being a Certified Criminal Trial Attorney, with less than 1% of the attorneys (approximately 250 attorneys) in this State who are so qualified. Mr. Bianchi is a nationally recognized TV Legal Analyist on many networks and regularly appears weekly on Fox News Network. To Advertise Call: 201.881.5100 training LIKE A GLOVE A By Jay Martinez s of 2014 there has been a 68 percent increase in police-related shooting deaths. Furthermore, ambush-style attacks on officers are becoming more prevalent. No officer wants to be involved in a shooting and no officer wants to die. So if you want to live, take firearms training seriously and never let your guard down. We have to re-group and circle the wagons and introduce our departments to modern combat shooting principles. We have to trim the fat and get razor-sharp with our intent, so we can stop the bleeding! This is what we are encountering nationwide: • National police shooting statistics: threat is- 5-7 yards and closing (not retreating), 3 seconds, 3 rounds. • 3 out of 5 officers are killed with their own weapon. Protect your weapon! • Officers lack a warrior mindset when it comes down to fighting with their weapon system and having gross familiarity when dealing with movement, malfunctions and basic tactics such as: gravitating toward cover, tactical and combat reloads, low-light encounters, weapon handling skills; transitioning from primary to secondary weapons system (if applicable). • Officers need to be more prepared to render aid to one’s self and partner. Recently, I spent an entire month on the range training police officers in firearms, mindset, equipment and the finer details of prevailing within the parameters of a deadly force, firearms encounter. Furthermore, I focused a great detail of attention on debunking various myths and inconsistencies within firearms training. We trained like warriors in every phase and were rewarded with positive muscle memory investment. The skinny is simple: You are either a target (paper) shooter or a combat shooter. Think of it like this: When you go to the gym, are you the type to do some basic weights, and a few minutes of walking on the treadmill while reading the sports page? Or are you that person who needs a barf bag every session? I am talking about the one whose training begins with a four- mile run and an additional 20 minutes on the elliptical, followed by circuits of pullups, box jumps, heavy bag strikes and ball slams! Clearly, how you train can make a huge difference in results. With this in mind, you must step up and make combat shooting principles fit like a glove. As we progress forward in pursuing the true essence of a combat shooter, we realize that two urgent matters are working scientifically against us. First, action beats reaction. So, what can place us on a parallel plateau of action? The only thing that can compete with action is moveable reaction. Muhammad Ali would pick his opponents apart, because he floated like a butterfly and his jab stung like a bee. The only defense was for the opponent to bob his head like a floating apple in order to slip his jab and counter. A soccer striker will beat the goalie in a penalty kick situation if the goalie sits there and does not employ a proactive solution by gauging and moving strategically. Tick Tock does not mean a diner that serves disco fries. Tick tock means time is being shaved off of our projected three seconds to stop an armed threat. Mental chronometry refers to an analyzing period. During that period the officer will impress upon their nervous system, to shoot or not. Now we are left with an unflattering 2.6 seconds to deal with the threat. So by the time you say, Texarkana, Texas or Polly wanna a cracker, you better have moved, draw stroked (the act of un-holstering and punching out your weapon) and engaged your threat with surgical precision with as many shots as it takes to stop your threat. The threat is only 5-7 yards away on average during a police confrontation (literally 5 ½ paces away from you). Always remember NFL football players can cover 40 yards in approximately 4.5 seconds or faster. The threat can reach out and cut you or shoot you in approximately 1.25 seconds. Movement allows us to derail the plans initiated by the antagonist by encompassing OODA loop. The attacker has to re-track his prey, because movement has now snafued his action. As a combat shooter you need to develop the muscle memory of creating that supreme grip while the weapon is in your holster. Next, you need to perfect upholstering your weapon and punching it straight out onto your projected threat. Punch out means exactly that you do not un-holster and “lasso” (go around in a semi-circle), “rainbow” (from the top to the threat), or “anteater” (down and up on threat). Remember, if you are not taking firearms training seriously, if and when the time comes down to seconds to decide if you will live or die, you will be pressed on time when every millisecond counts. Furthermore, a combat shooter has to practice point shooting. They cannot afford to line up sights and close one eye during this exchange and from such an intimate distance. Officers need to master trigger squeeze, not trigger pull, jerk or slap. A combat shooter knows that once fired, you must assess and cover the threat with your finger on the trigger so you can engage subsequent rounds in order to stop the threat, if needed. Remember, a combat shooter always remains concealed in movement. So keep moving! Once the threat has subsided, index and bring that weapon to a disciplined high compressed ready (holster only when clear, no speed holstering). Lastly, communicate your actions and your requests to central communications, by speaking calmly (the secret is to breathe deeply and slowly). Follow your PD’s protocol thereafter. In 2015, we cannot afford to train halfheartedly. We must place some oomph and hot mustard behind it. A note for trainers: Psychology is part of the understanding of what our officers will endure once they have to engage their weapons during a deadly force confrontation. Prepare them by giving them a module or two that is indoctrinated with the science of combat psychology and physiology. We must prepare officers to survive. If you have any questions, please contact me and visit my company’s training website at warningorder.net. Chance favors the prepared, never stop training and stay safe. Ooo-rah. NY Blue now | summer 2015 27 inside perspective “EASY TARGETS” The Jihadi War on Police has Only Just Begun By Lt. Randy Sutton (Ret.) B eing a cop has always been a career wrought with danger. The “War on Police” has seen an increase on many fronts recently. Armed criminals, gang members and other traditional enemies of law enforcement have become emboldened by the perception of weakness of the police. This has occurred because political leaders have begun dictating enforcement decisions leading to increased deaths and injuries to those on the front line. The surrender of leadership in the wake of rioting in Baltimore and Ferguson, coupled with media and political exploitation, after high profile deadly force encounters which have led to increased public distrust of law enforcement is sucking the spiritual life out of America’s police. Meanwhile, thugs are stepping up their efforts to extinguish the physical lives of those sworn to protect and serve. The pummeled police are reeling as a result and now in what appears to be the perfect storm of “police peril,” the Muslim Jihadi threat has become a stark reality. The police shooting death of selfprofessed Jihadist Usaamah Rahim in Boston must serve as a grim reality check to every single law enforcement officer in this nation that you are a target, and in the chilling words of Rahim himself, an “easy target.” If individual officers are to have the greatest chance of survival in this ever-increasing atmosphere of threat and danger, not only is it necessary to increase their personal vigilance factor but to reinforce how important it is to embrace the concept of “warrior policing.” Unfortunately, this is diametrically opposed to President Obama’s “softer policing” stance, which is already trickling down to some law enforcement agencies whose sycophantic leadership is hell bent on embracing the same new age thinking which led to the impotent police response and ultimate destruction of lives and property in Baltimore. The “warrior mindset” that is essential to surviving potential deadly force encounters is not a call to “militarize.” It is simply the realization that every personal interaction that occurs during the shift has the possibility of an accompanying threat, and the law enforcement officer must be willing and able to transition from “officer friendly” to tactical warrior seamlessly. This requires a commitment from the police agency to properly train and equip its personnel properly and also a personal commitment on the part of the officer to diligently train and maintain the “will of the warrior.” Physical threat is and always has been part of the law enforcement job and it is a risk that all who wear the badge accept. But when I hear political leaders, community activists, clergy and media suggest that violence against police is “what they get paid for” (as I heard numerous times during coverage of the riots when deadly objects like rocks, bottles and bricks were used to injure police), I am not only angered but saddened. I am saddened because if we as a people, one people in a nation of many races, cultures and religions do not value the lives and safety of the country’s law enforcement officers, then we as a nation divided will ultimately pay a terrible price in terms of lives and freedom. Randy Sutton is a 33 year Law Enforcement veteran and the National Spokesman for ‘THE AMERICAN COUNCIL ON PUBLIC SAFETY.” www.defendingtheshield. org. He served ten years in the Princeton New Jersey Police Department and 23 years with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department retiring at the rank of Lieutenant. He is recognized as one of the most highly decorated officers in the LVMPD history, having awards for Valor, Community Service, Exemplary Service and multiple Lifesaving awards. He has trained thousands of Law Enforcement Officers in the United States on the subject of “POLICING WITH HONOR,” and has been recognized by the President of the United States while receiving the “POINTS OF LIGHT” award. He is the author of “TRUE BLUE Police Stories by Those Who Have Lived Them,” “A COP’S LIFE,” “TRUE BLUE To Serve and Protect” and “THE POWER OF LEGACY, Personal Heroes of America’s Most Inspiring People.” His web site is www.thepoweroflegacy.com. Books by Randy Sutton Available on Amazon.com Contact Randy at www.thepoweroflegacy.com and follow him on facebook Randy Sutton News Personality. 28 NY Blue now | summer 2015 To Advertise Call: 201.881.5100 family time The Essential Rules By Melinda Inzani of Successful Co-Parenting C o-parenting, sometimes called joint parenting or shared parenting, is the way parents work together to raise their children. It’s an effort to reach the common goal of a well-adjusted child. Parents, who are no longer living together, are divorced/ separated, or no longer in a romantic relationship will transition to co-parents. Transitioning from an emotionally intense relationship to an unsettling, unfamiliar, and at times painful interaction with your once significant other can be difficult. But for the health of your children, successfully making this transition is necessary. Open communication, empathy, patience and multiple supports are necessary for coparenting to work. The co-parenting process involves each parent to be respectful, polite, level headed and overcome built-up resentment. At this point, your child’s emotional and physical health and well-being are what’s at stake. There is no greater concern. If conflict remains there are multiple negative impacts, such as children being at risk for serious and lasting emotional harm, more physical health problems, lower academic performance, a greater likelihood to engage in antisocial or delinquent behavior and lower self-concept/esteem when parents are in conflict. Basic Rules of Engagement: Negative statements, complaining and blaming the other parent only hinders the process and negatively impacts your children. Remember your children can read you, so if you are using body language, facial expressions, or other subtleties to express negative thoughts or emotions, you are not fooling anyone. Putting aside your negative feelings is in the best interest of your children. Children learn through modeling, by respecting authority, themselves and others. This all starts at home. Commit to positive talk between parents as well as discouraging disrespectful conversation about the other parent by your children. Each parent has 30 NY Blue now | summer 2015 strengths and traits that are different and important. Looking for opportunities to praise each other’s parenting ability is the start of a new foundation. The goal is for the children to have a positive relationship with both parents. Children see themselves as half their mother and half their father. This is central to keep in mind when the other parent disappoints the children, in spite of the shortcomings, the parent still loves the child. It is helpful to connect the idea that your children’s relationship with their parents will influence other relationships in their lives. Communication is key. It is necessary for 18 years, if not longer. There are many ways to communicate: telephone, letters, face to face conversations, text, e-mail and even through lawyers. Common issues that arise are: school related issues such as homework, detention, and punctuality. Other areas involve clothing, computer/ gaming time, bedtime, curfews and choices of snack foods. When possible, directly and politely communicate with the other parent. Understand when children become messengers, it puts them at the center of the conflict. Gaining information through them is not helpful in the long run. Research shows when children are in the middle it may cause them to question their own strengths and abilities. In addition, exposing children to conflict has shown to promote feelings of insecurity and helplessness in children. Maintain good boundaries. Explaining to children what is going on is one thing, but discussing how hard your life now has become is quiet another. Children need to know that parents are willing to listen without judgment. A child may feel confused, guilty, sad, shocked, abandoned, and may begin to self-blame, but acknowledging these feelings as normal is instrumental in the process. Another boundary issue to avoid is filling the missing void of your former partner with your children. Your need for companionship is real and needs to be addressed. This is imperative to both your recovery as well as your children. Supports are available; friends, family, support groups and therapy are just a few. Educating yourself about what is available as well as your children’s needs related to their development is necessary for success. Consistency with rules can be beneficial. Children will frequently test boundaries and rules. As parents providing a united front during these times benefits everyone. Children in homes with a unified parenting approach have increased well-being. Children need to have a sense of peace and security, where love and acceptance is available to them through this process. Resiliency is an indispensable quality. Bouncing back may seem like an uphill battle but is it essential. Teaching children that in life there are rough patches, but with support, and finding the good in every thing and event, encourages a positive outlook on life. Perception is a huge part of this rule. As you can clearly see, in cases of divorce or separation, becoming a successful co-parent is absolutely essential to raising emotional and physically healthy children. Of course, at times this can be tremendously challenging, and you may find yourself in a situation where defeating thoughts surface. But, remember there are many parents who have successfully transitioned to productive co-parents. Understanding the basic rules of engagement and practicing them even while the other parent may be complicating interactions is paramount. By consistently remaining calm and focusing on the best interest of the children, will help the children fell less pressure. Our children deserve both parents working together to ensure they develop well and enjoy a wonderful life. Melinda Inzani is a clinical social worker who has worked with multiple populations. She has authored numerous articles, provided trainings and has consulted and lectured all over the United States. Melinda has built a successful practice in Midland Park, New Jersey. She is dedicated to the communities she serves and has volunteered her time to several outreach organizations. For more information contact Melinda Inzani, LLC at 201-704-6749. To Advertise Call: 201.881.5100 One Stop Service Center Law enforcement discount 91-12 188th Street Jamaica, NY 11423 Tel: 718-454-9463 Fax: 718-454-9466 All “n” All Automotive Auto Body NY Blue now | summer 2015 31 history The Black Duck By Lorcan Otway H ere in the United States, as in most modern nations, we are caught between two concepts, which define civil society but have the potential to be forever in opposition, moral certainty and liberty. Often moral certainty is at the core of a society’s legal system from the beginnings of complex civil society, while the notion of liberty is relatively new. In the United States, organized crime often has been the pressure valve, which has kept us from erupting into widespread revolt when our moral certainty has offended large numbers of people by challenging their sense of liberty. We could, if we wanted, dive into this question on matters on any side of the political divide and find similar expressions of moral certainty and outraged liberty on the questions of gun control, drug use, abortion, opposition to war, opposition to slavery, prostitution or expression of sexual love for those of the 32 NY Blue now | summer 2015 same sex. However, the 18th Amendment gives us a safe environment to examine this issue, as most of America today, is at least relieved by the passing of the 21st Amendment and the general acceptance of a right to buy, sell and most happily, drink alcohol. The passage of the 18th Amendment came about through a complex social compact between groups as diverse as the Ku Klux Klan and former abolitionist conductors on the Underground Railroad. For many different reasons, this complex grouping of Americans felt that the road to an American Utopia lay in removing alcohol from U.S. society. What resulted was an often joyous anarchic orgy of law breaking and a boom and bust economy for organized crime as well as a systemic corruption of policing agencies in the United States. Judge Learned Hand, the great New York jurist, member of the Bull Moose Party once said that the basic concept of rights is well described by the freedom we all share to swing our hand. That right ends where one’s hand meets another person’s face. This balance may often describe the liberty interest in any action the state seeks to control. However, where the other citizen’s face begins and the right to swing one’s hand becomes regulated is not always a narrow black line. The breadth of that line is often broadened by the political interests of those seeking to express their moral certainty through law. A good example may be the realpolitik behind the Suffragette involvement in the Temperance movement. Many women in the movement for voting rights for women understood the vital role the saloons played in the political dynamic in 19th and 20th century U.S. cities. Street gangs were employed to organize political support for the incumbent parties at the expense of those progressive radicals who believed that women should have equal voting rights. So, many feminists joined the temperance movement under a banner of saving the home, while in fact, being inspired by a hope that the power of the old boy system would be broken by the destruction of the saloon as the organizing forum where the ward bosses and rank and file gang members met. In the first weeks of Prohibition the New York Times, which endorsed Prohibition, announced that the policeman’s job became easier with the end of public drunkenness. 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ANNS DELI GROCERY 280 St. Anns Ave Bronx, NY 10454 Donna Roman Hernandez 973-979-9207 e: [email protected] 800-637-7807 718-585-8518 www.orionsignals.com www.blueforcefilms.com automotive Ask for Paul 14 Avenue Auto Tech Inc. Specializing in Foreign & Domestic Cars 30-15 14th Ave. College Pt., NY 11356 Tel: 718-359-5757 Fax: 718-445-2879 your ad here 2/12/14 4:00 PM NJ LUENOW www.njbluenow.com for $150 merchandise CT LUENOW www.ctbluenow.com ™ your ad here WE LIVE AND BURN BLUE for $150 www.sunlitcandles.com ™ history (continued from page 32) the next thirteen years, it became increasingly obvious that the Times was less than accurate in their reporting or predictions, and by the end of Prohibition in 1933, the Times wrote that the Department of Justice put the human cost of the efforts to enforce Prohibition at 270 deaths, 92 federal agents and 178 civilians. This is likely a very narrow accounting of the real numbers of police in general and civilians in the violent mayhem of these times. This number certainly excludes the civilian deaths, for example, which resulted from the “Chemist’s War” where the government sought to mandate the poisoning of industrial alcohol and the speakeasy chemists sought to remove the same, perhaps resulting in thousands of deaths by drinkers. One of the incidents which helped to bring about the 21st Amendment and the end or perhaps more accurately the reform of prohibition, as today we do not have an unregulated right to buy, sell or drink alcohol, was the “Black Duck” incident. The Black Duck was a rum runner. She would race out 25 miles to sea to Rum Row, where the rum fleet lay. Every mile or less patrolled a small coastal freighter or fishing schooner, laden to the hatch covers with alcohol. Flying the Union Jack and in international waters, they were fully in their rights to sit and wait to sell cases of whisky, rye or gin to the fast boats which would dash out to them. Back then, a case was six bottles swaddled in a burlap bag, mostly sewed up in Nassau in the Bahamas. The Black Duck was a well-known vessel, untouchable as she had a V Hull which raised her up over the swells at 32 knots, driven by two aviation engines from WWI. Her opposition were deep displacement lumbering vessels which could do, on a good day, 17 knots. But what gave her wings was a strong Fourth Amendment in an America, which still held dear the right to be left alone. The police had to catch her in the act, period. Well, this game of cat and mouse was more a cartoon of The Road Runner and Wylie Coyote. But it was a good-natured game. During the day, the rum runners would raft up together in a long line side by side, with the coast guard vessel to the extreme outboard, rafted up to the others. Typical of the day, was the story of the young coastie who calls down to the rum runner, “Got a cigarette?” The bootlegger tosses him up a pack. The coastie takes one and tosses it back saying, “Thanks, see ya tonight!” “I hope not!” calls back the rum runner with a wave. That all changed in May of 1930. A coast guard petrol boat lay in a narrow channel of Narragansett Bay. The Duck came roaring down at her, full speed. The coast guardsman hit her with a search light then raked her deck with machine gun fire, killing the entire crew except for the captain. She swerved off into the dark, only to limp back out of the dark a short time later to surrender, her decks drenched in blood and her last living crew member badly wounded. The public were outraged. It stuck at the U.S. concept of fair play. Only a few decades before, lawman, Wyatt Earp had grabbed the instigator of the events leading up to the shoot out at the OK coral and threw him out of the line of fire, because that man was unarmed at that shoot out. Worse yet, the cargo of the Duck began to turn up in speakeasys in New London, near the coast guard base. The feds put an agent on scene to guard the warehouse where the cargo was kept. He was found one night, drunk and firing his service weapon into the night sky. It made Time Magazine and it was then only a matter of time before Prohibition was put in its grave. Liberty won out, the balance tilted in that direction for a short period of time and then the pendulum swung again, but that is another story. Lorcan Otway is the curator and founder of the Museum of the American Gangster, located in New York City, at 80 Saint Marks Place in a former Speakeasy, where as a nine year old child, he with his father found two million dollars in gold certificates. His father gave it all to the wrong gangster. Lorcan became a photojournalist, boat builder, musician and Juris Doctor and came to the conclusion that there is no such thing as the “wrong gangster.” “Whichever gangster you happen to be with when you find 2 million, is exactly the right gangster to get every penny.” He is presently writing a book about the finding of the money – “The Girl in the Safe.” He owns and runs Theatre 80 Saint Marks, and William Barnacle Tavern. American Correctional Officer Intelligence Network Brian Dawe Executive Director PO BOX 1175, Thayne, WY 83127 Phone: 307-883-9707 • Fax: 307-883-9708 email: [email protected] 34 NY Blue now | summer 2015 To Advertise Call: 201.881.5100 YOUR TREATMENT ALTERNATIVE FOR SLEEP APNEA AND SNORING X Are you sleeping alone again tonight? Get rid of your Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine Snoring can have many causes, the most common being Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). It is estimated that 70% of the people who snore loudly suffer from this condition. WE offer: • Free Initial Consultations / Screening Exam • Home Sleep Testing • Oral Appliance therapy (OAT) for sleep Apnea and Snoring Get your life back by getting a good night’s rest. Dr. Doblin is dedicated to helping treat and solve obstructive sleep apnea and/ or snoring so that you can sleep better tonight for a better tomorrow. • Communication with your referring or primary care physician to inform them of your symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and follow up. • Coordination with your insurance company to maximize your insurance benefits. Dr. Michael Doblin 201.396.9338 26-07 Broadway, Fair Lawn, NJ 07410 185 Linden St, Hackensack, NJ 07601 email: [email protected] www.athomesleepsolutions.com most medical insurance plans cover sleep apnea solutions. For your sleep apnea needs… it pays to drive to see the best! NY Blue now | summer 2015 35 High Definition Metro Eye MD / Eye Surgeons of North Jersey is an ophthalmology practice that specializes in Cataract, Cornea, LASIK and general ophthalmology services. We bring to our patients the latest and most advanced treatments available in the industry, including but not limited to Laser Cataract surgery, Premium Lens Implants, Custom Bladeless iLASIK, Sutureless Corneal Transplants (DSAEK), Corneal Collagen Crosslinking, and Advanced Dry Eye treatments (IPL and Lipiflow). With convenient locations in Manhattan and Astoria New York, in addition to Bloomfield, New Jersey, we strive to provide supreme eye care to our patients at their nearest location. Located in New York and New Jersey Special Rates for Law Enforcement www.metroeyemd.com Cataract, Cornea, LASIK and General Ophthalmology Services Dr. Nicholas Nissirios 3 Convenient Locations Manhattan Bloomfield, NJ Astoria, NY 30 W 60th Street Suite 1Y New York, NY 10023 917-460-7065 [email protected] 199 Broad Street Suite 2B Bloomfield, NJ 07003 973-748-3300 [email protected] 30-16 30th Dr, 4th Floor Astoria, NY 11102 718-278-2020 718-278-2021 [email protected]