Gun Free Zone

Yesterday I wrote a post about some left over garbage from a construction scaffolding being mistaken for a noose, leading to politicans warning people that just because they didn’t put the rope in the tree as a racist act, it is one if other people say it is.

Today we have a nearly identical story from California.

‘Nooses’ in Oakland park were exercise aids, man says

Oakland’s mayor said five ropes found hanging from trees in a city park are nooses and racially-charged symbols of terror but a resident said they are merely exercise equipment that he put up there months ago.

Victor Sengbe, who is black, told KGO-TV that the ropes were part of a rigging that he and his friends used as part of a larger swing system. He also shared video of the swing in use.

“Out of the dozen and hundreds and thousands of people that walked by, no one has thought that it looked anywhere close to a noose. Folks have used it for exercise. It was really a fun addition to the park that we tried to create,” Sengbe said.

So these black guys were having fun in a park for months on a home made jungle gym and nobody cared.  He demonstrated the harmless nature of hat he did and that there was no malice here.

That should be the end of it, right?

No, because there is a narrative to maintain.

Schaaf said officials must “start with the assumption that these are hate crimes.” However, the mayor and Nicholas Williams, the city’s director of parks recreation, also said it didn’t matter whether the ropes were meant to send a racist message.

No.  Absolutely not.  You do not start with an assumption or racism and malice unless you are trying to stir up some shit.

“Intentions don’t matter when it comes to terrorizing the public,” Schaaf said. “It is incumbent on all of us to know the actual history of racial violence, of terrorism, that a noose represents and that we as a city must remove these terrorizing symbols from the public view.”

Intentions do matter.  These were not racist symbols. They were not intended to be racist symbols. This is a nothing incident.

“The symbolism of the rope hanging in the tree is malicious regardless of intent. It’s evil, and it symbolizes hatred,” Williams said.

No it fucking doesn’t.  Not every rope is a noose.

Police said several community members came forward during their initial investigation to say the ropes were used for exercise and a man came forward to say he put them up several months ago.

More exculpatory evidence.

The department said it is conducting a full investigation and had notified the FBI.

Notified the FBI about what?  Nothing happened.

“We remind and ask our community to be mindful when using this equipment in a recreational manner. These acts may send an unintended message,” the police statement said. “We recognize especially at this time, that any ropes on or attached to trees, limbs or other objects can be associated with hate crimes and racial violence.”

No.  Fuck no.  Not at all ever.

This is such a gross overreaction it is Orwellian.  The government can’t put malicious intent on your benign actions and then punish you for it.

Remember a few years ago when some students reported a Klan member on campus who was just another student wrapped in a blanket?

Or when another student said there was a Klansman on the IU campus that turned out to be a Dominican monk?

We’re reaching the point where the cold student and the monk will be prosecuted for hate crimes even though they did nothing because someone else mistook their attire for hate symbols.

I guarantee you that soon some poor guy is going to get his life ruined because someone took a picture of him halfway through putting up a tire swing for his kids or a hammock for himself and he will be accused of putting up a noose because intentions don’t matter any more.  Only the intoxication of power at the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless.

Update:

We have pictures.

Not nooses.  Not at all like nooses.

This was politicians and activists looking to stir up shit and stomp on some faces.

Wakey-wakey! ⏰ @ScuderiaFerrari (? nicola_marcia21/Instagram) pic.twitter.com/SKmlK1jb6o

— Formula 1 (@F1) June 18, 2020

On your way to work and you get to see this? Yes, a great morning

Fulton County DA Paul L. Howard previously brought charges against Atlanta police for their response to the protesters (aka rioters) just a few weeks prior.

Here are police using a taser on people under arrest.

https://twitter.com/AustinKellerman/status/1267099549862187010

DA Paul Howard said at the time that a taser is a “deadly weapon” so its use was unjustified.

Two weeks ago, the DA in Atlanta who's currently charging Officer Garrett Rolfe in the Rayshard Brooks case charged police officers with aggravated assault for using a taser on protesters.

"A taser is considered a deadly weapon under Georgia law" pic.twitter.com/ZQfsjllEQS

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) June 17, 2020

In Miguel’s post from Monday, he brought up this aspect of Georgia law.

Now we have it confirmed on video that the DA knows that a taser is a deadly weapon, at least when it’s used by a police officer on a suspect.

So why when a suspect takes that same taser and tries to use it on a police officer it’s suddenly harmless and not justification for a lethal force defense?

The Narrative.  The answer is “the Narrative.”

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — An investigation into a shooting that occurred as protesters tried to tear down a statue of a Spanish conquistador in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is far from complete and charges against a man accused of opening fire after demonstrators chased him were amended, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Under the amended complaint, Steven Ray Baca, 31, was charged with battery over his interactions with three women during the protest. He’s also facing a charge of unlawful carrying of a deadly weapon. Authorities say he did not have a concealed carry license.

District Attorney Raúl Torrez said it’s too soon to pursue a charge related to the shooting that left one man seriously injured because investigators still need to identify key witnesses, verify video of the incident and gather more evidence to determine what led to the gunfire.

Prosecutors amend charges in New Mexico protest shooting

My gut feeling says the shooting charge was brought forward more because of the political BS spouted by Gov officials and the Media rather than police work and evidence gathering. And suddenly 2 videos pop showing Baca being pursued and attacked before opening fire and the case became a hot potato with the assault with deadly weapon charge.

Bowles said the district attorney’s decision to fully investigate the case was appropriate. He pointed to video showing one protester hitting Baca with a skateboard, while there were shouts in the crowd to “kill him” before he was tackled and struck and then confronted by another protester wielding a knife.

“With multiple assailants attacking him with weapons, Mr. Baca at that point had no choice but to defend himself using force,” Bowles said in a statement. “We believe that the district attorney’s office should not file charges as this is very clearly an appropriate exercise of self defense.”

So Baca will probably eat the other charges or at lest get spanked hard. IANAL so I don’t know what should he do next, but I reckon a decent lawyer would try to have all dismissed or at least a misdemeanor charge that does not require jail time.

Hat Tip Robert E.

From Decaturish:

Atlanta Police walk out following murder charge against officer who shot Rayshard Brooks

The head of Atlanta’s police union confirmed Wednesday that officers from the Atlanta Police Department in Zones 3 and 6 walked off the job Wednesday afternoon.

Vince Champion, southeast regional director of the International Brotherhood of Police officers, said that police officers had stopped answering calls midshift, in response to charges against Officer Garrett Rolfe who is accused of murdering Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta.

“The union, we would never advocate this. We wouldn’t advocate a blue flu,” Champion said. “We don’t know the numbers. Apparently we’re learning that command staff are asking outlying counties for support and aren’t getting it.”

Atlanta INtown reports, “A drive around Zone 6 indicated there was not the usual APD presence. A Georgia State Patrol unit was handling a two-car accident at Boulevard and Edgewood Avenue around 9 p.m. The APD’s precinct at Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center appeared empty. Down in Grant Park, the Zone 3 precinct was populated by Fulton County Sheriff units.”

WRBL News 3 is reporting:

Blue Flu: A number of Atlanta Police Officers walk out in apparent protest

A blue flu appears to be sweeping across the Atlanta Police Department as many officers walked out or did not come to work allegedly protesting murder charges filed against one of their own on Wednesday.

The non-profit group Georgia Law Enforcement shared the following information late Wednesday night on their FB page. 

“The head of Atlanta’s police union confirmed Wednesday that officers from the Atlanta Police Department in Zones 3 and 6 walked off the job Wednesday afternoon.

Media personalities on Twitter have posted similar:

Breaking: Sources confirm Atlanta Police officers in zone 6 have walked out. Sources say they drove back to their precinct, turned in their keys and went home. Officers in zone 3 are allegedly doing the same.
@CBS46 #ContinuingCoverage #Atlanta #BlueFlu pic.twitter.com/kgLuNwDalP

— . (@shongables) June 18, 2020

My contacts in the Atlanta Police Department inform me that members from evening shift Zone 4 walked off the job shortly followed by Officers in Zone 3 and 6. The good members of the @Atlanta_Police will not stand for @FultonCountyDA’s activism in place of applying the law. https://t.co/PDWZNgFeXb

— Rob O'Donnell (@odonnell_r) June 17, 2020

Lawofficer.com reshared this post from Facebook:

Turning to Facebook, this is what I have seen posted:

The Georgia Bureau of Investigations released a statement that put it at odds with the Fulton County DA.

This is more evidence that the DA’s actions were entirely politically motivated.

Then there is this post I found from a few weeks back at the height of the civil unrest:

It seems like the Atlanta PD has been at odds with its management for some time and this might have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.

11 Alive is reporting the official Atlanta PD byline:

Atlanta Police disputes rumors of mass walkouts, reports higher number of ‘call outs’ for incoming shift

Atlanta Police is addressing rumors of walk outs of officers with the department Wednesday night.

Atlanta Police spokesperson Sgt. John Chafee told 11Alive that suggestions that multiple officers from each of the department’s zones had walked off the job were “inaccurate.”

“However,” Chafee said, “the department is experiencing a higher than usual number of call outs with the incoming shift.”

He added that the department has “enough resources” to be able to respond to incidents throughout the city and maintain regular operations. 11Alive has asked for specifics about the number of officers who have called out, but APD only answered with the same statement.

That sounds a lot like:

Let’s see what the morning news cycle brings.

Dovetailing with J.Kb’s update of his post.

I am currently listening to the streaming of the Atlanta PD Zone 6 and Zone 5 and the traffic is almost zero. Last I heard, they were taking care of a vehicular accident and after that nothing much. I even heard a call for “Any  Available Units” go unanswered.

Twitter is awash with support for Atlanta PD and supporting the unconfirmed walkout. Some say half the shift is gone, but again, it is unconfirmed.

If true that cops are walking out, CNN will be crapping on its pants soon.

Will be see another Atlanta Burning? Inquiring Shermans want to know.

PS: Brodfacastify.com for the scanners.

Redstate.com is publishing the following: 

Reports breaking now that large numbers of Atlanta PD officers quit responding to radio calls earlier this evening, and now large numbers have reportedly driven to their precincts, turning in the keys, and gone home.  The story below has to do with the decision by Fulton County DA Paul Howard to file felony murder charges against Officer Garret Rolfe in connection with the shooting on Friday night of Rayshard Brooks in the parking lot of a Wendy’s restaurant after Brooks fought with two officers, took a taser away from one of them, and then fired the taser at Off. Rolfe as was chasing Brooks.

From CNN:

Ex-Atlanta Police officer who killed Rayshard Brooks charged with felony murder

The now-fired Atlanta Police officer who faces a felony murder charge for fatally shooting Rayshard Brooks last week kicked the 27-year-old man after he fell to the ground, Fulton County’s district attorney said Wednesday.

DA Paul Howard announced 11 charges against Garrett Rolfe, who fired three shots at Brooks, two of which hit Brooks in the back and another that hit a car with three people inside.

Eleven charges including felony murder.

This is felony murder in Georgia:

(a) A person commits the offense of murder when he unlawfully and with malice aforethought, either express or implied, causes the death of another human being.

(b) Express malice is that deliberate intention unlawfully to take the life of another human being which is manifested by external circumstances capable of proof. Malice shall be implied where no considerable provocation appears and where all the circumstances of the killing show an abandoned and malignant heart.

(c) A person also commits the offense of murder when, in the commission of a felony, he causes the death of another human being irrespective of malice.

(d) A person convicted of the offense of murder shall be punished by death, by imprisonment for life without parole, or by imprisonment for life.

This is beyond obscene let alone reasonable.  The DA Paul L. Howard is saying that Officer Rolfe had malice aforethought when he shot Brooks and that it was evident because Brooks did not provoke Rolfe.  Either that or Officer Rolfe was committing a felony when he shot Brooks.

IANAL but I don’t see how that will stick?

Especially given Rolfe’s defense.

A law firm representing Rolfe said he reacted after he thought he “heard a gunshot and saw a flash in front of him.”

A taser sounds like a gunshot.  It uses a pyrotechnic charge to fire the darts.  If Brooks discharged the taser Rolfe could have easily thought it was a gun.

Other arguments made by Howard are equally ludicrous.

This is the DA’s press conference started at the relevant part.

Brooks “never presented himself as a threat.”

Are you kidding me?  He resisted, took a weapon from a cop, then pointed it at another cop.  How much more presentation as a thread does he need?

I expect that Howard wanted Brooks to say “by the way, I’m going to tackle you, take your gun, and try and shoot you with it as soon as you try to put the handcuffs on me, so be warned.”

It is crystal clear that this overzealous prosecution is entirely politically motivated.  I wouldn’t be surprised it Howard asked for the death penalty.

The message is being sent to the Atlanta PD loud and clear that the DA’s office cares more about the mob than the law.

This is the Atlanta PD right now:

I suspect that the Atlanta PD is going to watch this and say “fuck it” and that every cop car in the city will be out of service for a while.

Update:

As soon as I posted this a buddy sent me this:

Atlanta is about to have a very bad time.