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Stolen from my friend on Facebook

Blaming all cops for the thuggish and murderous behavior of a few cops is qualitatively no different at all from blaming all black people for the actions of a few.

Did I get that right?

Lorajay 9 June 8
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3

Thinking of anyone as a fungible group, where all the members are identical and indistinguishable, leads to prejudiced thinking.

There's a street or gang code "1312", which stands for "ACAB"; "All Cops Are Bastards". Certainly some cops are bastards. Others, I believe the great majority, are decent and hard-working.

Those who say "the good cops are complicit if they don't report the bad cops", well, for one thing, this is why we have body cams and dash cams; to protect everyone. And even these recordings aren't always clear as to what an officer experiences in the heat of the moment. Second, it takes a lot to stand up and call someone out for internal discipline. I've done it; I've felt ostracized for it, even though the officers involved were a hazard not only to the prisoners but to fellow staff.

And there has to be something tangible to report. Anyone can report an incident of excessive force, but there has to be evidence. Attitudes can't be reported for internal discipline. You can report discriminatory harassment and language, but it will be simply hearsay unless so many people report that there's a clear pattern. You can't really report "This officer is a racist".

Summing up my point: Anyone who's been in this situation knows it's extremely hard to be the first to speak up, but very easy to chime in after the fact and say "Someone should have done something."

I agree with your last paragraph. I'm not a policeman but as a serviceman and a civilian I've had to stand up for something or someone on occasion. If you have concerns,I think you have to air them.

@Paul_Clamberer I presume you know (and we've both been in the service) how hard it can be to stand out from the crowd, even when it's the right thing to do. None of the privates at My Lai thought of themselves as murderers; they had orders to follow.

Many police departments talk in terms of being at war with "the criminal element"; many people talk in terms of being at war with the police. When this militarized language is used, it's far too easy to fall into a mindset where "the enemy" is anyone who pushes back.

Even though it's fictional, End Of Watch is a good film to see how police officers cope with the day to day issues and see the actual reactions of people on the street to a uniform. Their interactions are almost identical to mine and my fellow officers in the prison setting. Some are friendly, some are neutral, some would like to see us dead, and it's hard sometimes to tell which is which; hence the stress and sometimes the anger.

It has become clearer in the past couple of weeks that the bad cops are by far in the majority. There is no outcry by the supposedly good cops about what their associates are doing. I've known law enforcement officers and they have been bigots and generally unenlightened.

@Theresa_N I respectfully disagree. Nobody I work with thinks these cops were at all justified.

16

Well, I'm black and I disagree. I think the reason I disagree is obvious, but if not, I have seen a LOT of people who have explained the flaw in this way of thinking. But I'll just say this. When you truly have an understanding of how racism is embedded in the system we use, you understand that nothing will change until that system is disabled and replaced with a new system that is actually FOR everyone. Of course, this won't happen overnight. There are centuries of damage from the current system that will need to be addressed and fixed. But this will require a very uncomfortable process. One thing that I am happy to see is white people (that understand the underlying issues) having conversations with other white people (who may genuinely not understand the severity of the underlying issues) on our behalf. That definitely helps and is appreciated. But with all of that being said, the comparison of cops to black people just shouldn't be done. Cops don't have the same history black people do. I appreciate all white people who are doing what they can to help in the fight against racism and police brutality so that all of us can feel safer in our own country.

Word

@Jetty I will share a more to the point answer later in this post. Also, this is not directed at or intended to be a blow to you for asking your questions. I'm simply just answering. But with that being said, the way I feel about the things you just shared, as a black person, is that some people assume that the problematic 'system' in place would never lie or manipulate information to push an agenda. For example, here's a way that people can push an agenda with numbers while not actually 'thinking' about the actual numbers. If about 76% of the US population is white and about 13% of the US population is black, there are certain things that should be acknowledged.

  1. There are significantly more white people in the US than any other race. Therefore, any 'smaller' percentage of crime among white people may be astronomical in comparison to any other race. For example. Let's say 300,000,000 makes up all of the US population. 76% of 300,000,000 is 22,800,000. 13% of 300,000,000 is 3,900,000. So let's say white people have a 60% crime rate and black people have an 70% crime rate. Well, 70% of 3,900,000 is 2,730,000. That is definitely a terrible number, but 60% of 22,800,000 is 136,800,000. Far exceeding the number of black crimes by actual numbers. This is not good for either race, but as you can see, a smaller percentage only looks good for the white race if you don't run the numbers in context. But that's not where it stops. You would also need to take into account the number of people that may be wrongfully accused or people who were wrongfully not charged for a crime. (Don't quote me on the numbers. This is purely used as an example.)

  2. The same white people who had slaves centuries ago had offspring. And they taught their offspring how to hate. That's why this race struggle still exists. It keeps being taught by some people. Some of these people are the same people over the system we use. Slavery in and of itself was never completely abolished, because someone can legally become a slave (via a loophole 13th amendment) once they are convicted of something.

  3. Optics/labels leave a mark. Terms like black on black crime are coined to make black people hate each other and make it seem as though black on black crime is worse than white on white crime or any other race on itself crime. This is exactly the type of labeling that the Trump does. If he doesn't like someone, he labels them in a negative way and pushes that label. Crooked Hillary "Lock her up", Lyin' Ted, Pocahontas, Crazy Maxine Waters, Crazy Joe Biden, Little Marco, and so on. Classic Trump.

  4. There is a long history of wrong doing to black people that goes back many centuries. And when I say wrong doings, I mean disrespect on pretty much all fronts. And the root of the problem has never truly been dealt with. That's why there are still modern day lynchings like what we saw with George Floyd. It was on camera for everyone to see. We all watched as a cop took this black man's life without any remorse. There was no struggle. The officer's hands were in his pockets. The fact that black Americans had to watch yet ANOTHER black person die at the hands of a white cop that will more than likely get off the hook for everything is quite frustrating. This has been going on since forever. It's just being filmed now. So going back to #3, the optics have changed due to the availability of easily uploading or streaming events live. In other words, we are able to see more of what black people have been saying all along. The system is having a hard time silencing the media, because individuals are the media now.

So to answer your questions about how I feel about the articles you shared, I have always felt that police brutality has been an issue. It angers me that the man was shot in cold blood like that. The system needs to be fixed. Not just for blacks, but all races. It's abuse of power and it needs to be dealt with. This system in place puts black people in a very hard place when they are in law enforcement. I'm sure they want to do good, but they have to struggle with their own feelings about the system and their own safety from not only other black people, but corrupt cops that they work with. What do you think would happen to a black cop if they tried to prevent a white cop from killing an unarmed person of any race? Do you think they would be viewed as a hero by the system? Now what if that black cop had to kill that white cop to save an innocent person's life. How do you think that story would end? What I'm saying is, white supremacy is most certainly a virus in this country. And I have to go back to #3 again. In the last part, this was shared from the black officer:

"I realized the African American community refuses to look within to solve its major issues, and instead makes excuses and looks outside for solutions. I realized that a lot of people in the African American lead with hate, instead of love. Division instead of Unity. Turmoil and rioting, instead of Peace. I realized that they have become the very entity that they claim they are fighting against.

I realized that the very reasons I became a cop, are the very reasons my own people hate me, and now in this toxic hateful racially charged political climate, I am now more likely to die,… and it is still hard for me to understand…. to this day."

Unfortunately, this is what the systems that we are under will do to a black man with good intentions. It will make them believe black people are animals, mean, ungrateful, and unreasonable people. All I can say is, if this country had no history of slavery (that is still present) and racism (that is also still present), it might make more sense to say something like that. But because this history actually happened (even though it's glossed over and not really taught properly in schools), black people can not just ignore it and be the bigger human being. We're seeing the same struggles from over 50 years ago. My father said what's going on in 2020 reminds him of what he was seeing in 1968. What that tells me is that nothing has changed. Peaceful protests are not working. Rosa Parks sat down on a bus and was arrested for not sitting in the 'colored' section. Martin Luther King protested peacefully and was shot. Colin Kaepernick took a knee and was black balled and called an SOB by the president. When the system was built to discredit black people, that's what it will do. And that's what it has been doing. There's always a distraction (by design) to change the discussion until another 'event' happens that reignites the issue. It's a cycle. The system will allow protests and riots as long as the cycle doesn't require the system to change. Our system and how it manipulates people is really messed up. There's just way too much to address and very tiring.

14

Only at first glance, and then it's a false equivalency. All black people do not turn a blind eye to, cover up, or make excuses for the crimes of a few. The code of silence prevalent in many police departments rivals that of the mafia up to and including officers murdering other officers to insure their silence.

Bingo! I mean, I agree completely. 😬

14

Actually, that's BS. People CHOOSE to be cops. So by making a choice to be associated with cops you also voluntarily take on some of the negative baggage they hold. Now, if while a cop a person can demonstrate that they're different than the rest, i.e. a person like Frank Serpico, that might differentiate them, but as a descent human being, not because they're a cop.

People don't CHOOSE to be black. So there is no reason to assume it has anything to do with defining their personality traits.

Hope that helps.

redbai Level 8 June 8, 2020

Believe it or not, the number one reason recruits say they want to be cops is “to help people” but they get inculturated into the fold. it is also profession that attracts people on power and hero trips. Hiring, training, and leadership crucial. Doesn’t need to be this way.

@NJSnarky Beauty pageant contestants say that they are there "to help people" too. It is an answer that no one can take offense to and apparently gives the interviewer the impression that the person is a "good" person because they want to "help people". It's one of the easiest lies told in an interview.

Cops get, at most, 6 months of training and then given a gun to go out and do their jobs. The idea that 6 months of training gives anyone the ability to make almost instantaneous life and death decisions is ridiculous on it's face, but somehow, in America, it's "heroic". Beauticians need 2 years and they are just cutting and styling hair.

Policing in America is doing exactly what it is designed to do, keeping people where the powers that be want them. It's why psychopaths can join and prosper in their ranks.

@NJSnarky That maybe true that new recruits say they want to help people, however I can't imagine them saying that they want power. I can't imagine them saying they want to be able to beat up people, and smack down minorities. I have a feeling that many in law enforcement seek the power, and then it also goes to their head.

@AmmaRE007 Why I went into the profession was partly to serve the people, and partly because it was supposed to be a job with a pension.

There can be a lot of anger in the job. Officers feel often they're assumed to be the enemy by anyone they deal with, and on the other side people don't understand why an officer can't just shrug an offense off or look the other way. I understand the frustration on both sides and how a conversation can quickly become a confrontation.

@Paul4747 What do you mean "shrug an offense off or look the other way"? Cops are killing, maiming and beating people that are not committing crimes. That's what people don't understand.

The way a person can demonstrate that they aren't the enemy is to not back up companions that brutalize citizens. It's just that simple. Turn in the bad ones and go to court and testify against them. The idea that people should trust cops that do nothing when their cohorts are brutalizing people is insulting.

@redbai I'm talking about an everyday encounter like wanting to tear up a speeding ticket, that's all. I'm sorry I gave the wrong impression.

13

I have yet to find anyone blaming all cops...but nevermind.

Yes, it is different.

Let ask the following questions:

  1. is there any organization with hierarchical command structure specific within a black or white or other racial community? No. The police does.

  2. Is the black, white, or other racial community endowed with powers to violate a citizen's rights? No. The police are.

  3. Is any black, white, or other racial community held to a higher standard of conduct and code of ethics and morality due to the powers given to them? No. The police are.

  4. Is any black, white, or other racial community provided with weapons, uniforms, and training to become lethal weapons? No. The police are.

  5. Is any black, white, or other racial community entrusted with protecting and serving the community and get paid for it? No. The police are.

So how can the police be even remotely comparable to black people?

Look, the police have shown that they cannot be trusted. They let this happen to themselves. They can only blame themselves. They are a trained armed uniformed gang, if you want to be draw analogies, given powers to hurt and kill, and they abused that power and enabled and abetted those who abused it. Repeatedly, for hundred of years. Yes, there is a very long history fo this. Now that's a special kind of evil, much like the Catholic church protecting enabling and creating an instution filled with child abusers.

So you should understand why "your friend" cannot logically compare the police to black people. The better comparison is to compare the police to the Catholic church. Please let "Your friend" know he is dumbass.

So many 'pork chops,' aka Cops, seem to live in a world I often dub as the Sargeant Schultz (Hogan's Heroes) mindset of " I saw nothing, I know nothing."
So again I ask, Who, exactly, watches over the Watchdogs?

12

Police brutality cannot be accounted for by the overused cliche, a few bad apples. The culture of policing in the US is riddled with hate, corruption, lying, ticket quotas, asset forfeiture, racial profiling, inadequate training and a code of US versus Them.
As others have said, it is an orchard of bad apples.

12

No, you didn't get that right at all. One bad cop in a thousand, makes a thousand bad cops.

Being black is not a job.
12

I say wrong. There's an extreme lack of accountability among police officers. The man who murdered George Floyd had 17 previous disciplinary actions against him for excessive use of force. Police officers have all the power, always have the benefit of the doubt, they are very rarely harshly disciplined and have a ridiculous number of protections to Shield them from having to take responsibility for their own actions.

12

Or there’s this

I agree

@Lorajay I’m only guessing and going off hearsay but it seems like good cops are unable to or aren’t listened to if they try to turn in the bad and corrupt police

@Marcie1974 "The Blue Brotherhood" designed to protect each other when things get a little out of hand. Defense lawyers make many cops lives frustrating therefore the reason for some of their tactics but it's a different story when police are actually afraid.

@Marcie1974 one need only read or watch Serpico to see why standing up to the bad cops rather than just doing your job best you can and keeping your mouth shut is a life changing decision. For most cops (and this applies to so many other organizations, if not human groups of any kind), it’s easier to just find another career or another police force than to break out against a fellow officer. It is the same in the military or prison guards, , as far as results: bad leaders create innocent dead bodies. But standing up can also get you killed.

@Barnie2years I’m an optimistic person and reading that just makes me sad

@Marcie1974 Especially with Donald Trump, their "president" as an example. [Will the whistle blower please stand up!] As I said earlier. Look what happened to Frank Serpico! The "Fraternal Order of Police" has a lot to do with this, and here I revert to my original statement about military cameraderie.

12

As long as those bad cops harass, assault, and murder people while their brother officers watch them, shield them, and support them; there are no good cops.

JimG Level 8 June 8, 2020

Exactly. They are professionals, supposedly. They are law enforcement. If they allow despicable behavior to occur among their ranks, which clearly they do, they are all to blame.

To blame a few bad apples is to ignore the massively larger issue of a sick, aggressive police culture of violence and oppression. They are in need of massive reform, all of them.

I agree massive reform is needed. Reform will be a lot harder to accomplish if every cop is automatically labeled a bad cop.

@Lorajay it's not just racism, too many cops have an ingrained us against them mindset that begins in training and is reinforced by their fellow officers. It is prevalent in large areas where police don't live in the jurisdiction where they work and have no ties to the community. Police unions and administrations protect the bad cops and keep them on the job. At the same time they demand more money which continues to elicit no improvement in police effectiveness or behavior.

As soon as anyone suggests reform or that law enforcement funds could be better spent, they are labelled as anti-cop and pro crime. As soon as community oversight of police is suggested, law enforcement agencies and their unions go ballistic. They claim nobody understands or can judge their actions. Why are the good cops so opposed to any oversight or investigation? I understand that nobody wants outsiders meddling in their jobs, but surely they are at least intelligent enough to understand that there has to be accountability.

12

The "good" cops need to hold the "bad" cops accountable for their actions. If "good" cops turn their back on the people they are supposed to protect (i.e. citizens) just because the perpetrator is another cop, then they are no better than the "bad" cops.

11

I heard this one : If there are 100 cops, and two are bad - and the other 98 know, but do nothing and say nothing - then there are 100 bad cops.

11

I can't agree with that.
There may be more good cops than bad cops, but the good cops aren't doing
everything they can do to stop the bad ones.

Yes, that gets almost all of them painted with the same broad brush, but
they choose to be cops. It's the job they've chosen.
They need to be the best cops they can be, hold each other to the highest
standards, or don't be cops.
It's a choice.

People of color don't choose their skin color or their heritage.
They're born that way.
It's not a choice.

There's a definite difference.

11

When just 1 dark skinned American does something wrong, the response is "see what THOSE people do". When a light skinned American does something wrong, the response is" see what THAT person did".

Absofuckinlutely!

Are we not doing the same thing now when it comes to police?

@Lorajay They can choose not to be cops. You can't choose to not be black.

@JohnnyQB By definition, there can't be racism against the dominant race.

Also, since when are people obligated to support their opinions with evidence.

And finally, you sound very angry. I am not here for that.

Exactly. White people get the mentally ill or deranged or one bad person defense. Whereas minorities get "othered" and grouped as one big bad monolith. Racialized communities are just as heterogenuous as white communities.

10

A-C-C-O-U-N-T-A-B-I-T-Y. Both fundamentally necessary for professions wielding life and death power AND largely absent in police culture. Because I am a therapist, I get to talk to a very wide array of people. In the past several years, I have heard from a handful of Black officers. All identify racism on their forces, and all felt powerful pressure to back up their fellow cops no matter what the evidence. Half the four officers charged in George's murder were minorities. I remember a black gay New Orleans cop I knew from a men's discussion group adamently supported the Ferguson, MO police in that racial/police upheaval back then. The police brotherhood culture seems to have a very powerful hold on its members, regardless of their race. Something is wrong there, and I again say our nation's appalling lack of common sense gun laws leads to police adopting a seige mentality that excuses, in their minds, all kinds of excessive police use of force.

10

Really tired of this weak argument that I hear every time this type of crisis occurs -- and there have been MANY occurrences.
I don't hate cops. If someone's breaking into my place, I'm calling alllll the cops.

I hate:
The militarization of the police force. Municipalities are not foreign entities. The "protect and serve" thing is bull so long as cops are expected to blindly follow orders, up to and including covering and lying for each other. The blue wall must DIE. "Good cops" do NOT stand silently while thug cops KILL unarmed people unjustly. Full stop.

Also, in my view, cops should LIVE in the communities they serve. Allowing cops to live outside the area reinforces an "us vs. them" mentality. I've seen that attitude first-hand, not with cops specifically, but with the "NYC" vs "Long Island/NJ 'burbs" thing.

Your last paragraph really hits it and is right on.

SeptemberW: As I reported earlier, there were over 1000 people killed by police last year and a third of them were not even armed, and the number is probably higher than reported. I didn't hear how many of those people were "Black" but I'm sure it must be a very high percentage.

9

Like Chris Rock says there is no room for bad cops like there is no room for a bad airline pilot. There are jobs where errors cannot be overlooked by anyone. If you are really a good cop you report the bad or you are not doing your job which is to PROTECT AND SERVE. Therefore you are also a bad cop. This is not complicated.

9

no, you didn't. because all black people are not responsible for what every black person does, but cops on a scene ARE responsible for stopping a bad cop from murdering someone and they look away. and then they defend the bad cop. and being black isn't a job. being a cop is a job. it's totally different.

g

8

The difference is: every "bad" cop is being protected by 1 or more "good" cops.

8

False equivalence. For starters, being a cop is a choice. Skin color is not a choice. People choose a career in law enforcement because a) they want to protect and serve, or b) they want to dominate and terrorize without experiencing any consequences for doing so. Once you have one or more bullies in a police precinct, they protect one another, which makes it easier to dominate and terrorize. The aggressive personality doesn't limit himself to potential criminals, he will inflict the same abuse on spouse, offspring, and co-workers. Often one bad cop can corrupt an entire precinct simply because the good cops remain silent, rather that becoming another target of the bully. This appears as though it could be descriptive of the situation with the cop who murdered Mr. Floyd in Minneapolis.

Deb57 Level 8 June 10, 2020
8

Here's my opinion, for what it's worth: It seems to me that the age -old institution of law enforcement has been transmogrified, in recent years, or decades, into something of a para-military force, a large percentage of which nowadays is gleaned from the ranks of ex-military retirees, trained in the various Middle Eastern War environments. If that is not true, then, at the very least, the police training reflects the fundamentals of military training.

What are the fundamental principals of a soldier's purpose? First; Kill or otherwise incapacitate the "enemy" before he does the same to you, Second; Be prepared to respond to a crisis reflexively and with minimum deliberation. Third, and very importantly: A soldiers first impulse is to bond with, and protect his or her comrades even at the cost of his own life. Finally: An effective soldier must be subject to unquestioning obedience to orders from his/her superiors, ignoring all personal compunctions to do otherwise.

I would argue that these principals, while being necessary to a military force, are at odds with the mission of todays "Guardians of Life and Property". The police are not going into battle; their primary duty is to the citizens they are supposedly there to guard and protect. It is not "them or us"!

I believe that many, if not all of modern police recruits have been indoctrinated with these precepts and have elected to become police for the wrong reasons, and should never have entered law enforcement in the first place. I will not attempt to compare the police in our country with any others, but submit that there are other countries where the founding principals of law enforcement have not been forgotten, and are still there to "protect life and property".

I agree with your perspective.

I agree, but I would add that this paramilitary cultural transformation did not simply happen at random It is, in my opinion, an unfortunate but understandable reaction to the absolute flood of high powered weaponry now flowing through America. Nearly impossible to be Officer Friendly these days when one starts each shift knowing what they could be walking into.

The problem is not simple. Not only do the police need far more accountability, but there need to be many more diverse community services provided for and funded for OTHER community partners to lead, so that the police are not called to answer every situation. AND they need to know this insane sea of powerful weaponry has been curtailed by common sense gun control. Otherwise, the police's job will automatically amount to battlefield-like warfare. ....and yes, none of this erases the racism that is still pervasive.

@Decieven Sure. I put it on my pages. Feel free to put it on yours. Are your "friends" mostly equally-minded? I'm not sure I want a lot of right wingers chiding me. It's just an opinion and I don't really enjoy controversy.

@Decieven, @MikeInBatonRouge I had a similar response to my commentary on F.B. and this was my respone to it; " I agree that we are overarmed in this country, and that it makes their job much harder, but that is inherent in today's job of policing, thanks to our right-wing politicians and lobbying organizations such as the N.R.A., to which many police officers belong, incidentally. But that only heightens the risk of their chosen profession and does nothing to excuse the thousands of incidents of shootings, beatings and strangling of citizens suspected of some crime. In 2019, about one thousand Americans were shot by police officers and over 1/3 of the victims were unarmed. We are close to the top of gun related deaths among so-called "developed countries"."

@fishline79 "excusing" excessive police force is not the same thing as explaining it. It is unacceptable no matter what. But unless we understand it, we have little hope of changing it.
The inexcusable torrent of weapons on the streets, coupled with low cop pay, discourages genuinely kind people from considering a career in law enforcement and increases likelihood of Rambo tough guy types looking for power. The same strengthens the closed coverup brotherhood culture, where calling out a bad cop likely ends up burning the whistleblower.

@MikeInBatonRouge That's about what I'm trying to say.

7

Wow! This should have stayed on facebook where silly nonsense and covert racism belongs. Ask yourself:

Are people of color subject to systemic poverty, deprivation, and oppression?
Are police at every level used as tools to enforce these oppressive systems of law?
Do you know any police? If so do you know the term "code of silence"?
Do you know any police who are living in generational poverty? or deprivation? or oppression?
How many police are in prison for thuggish behavior compared to people of color per capita?

Re. "...should have stayed on facebook...," That seems to imply that this site is total enlightenment. Uh, not so much. There is terrific enlightening discussion here, for sure, but also a lot of differing perspectives. I think this post reflects a perspective unfortunately shared by some others here, and I am glad we are getting the chance to confront it.

@MikeInBatonRouge Most social media seems enlightened when compared to facebook IMO. The OP asked "Did I get that right"? My comment was written because the post seems polemic. Keep in mind I usually agree with @Lorajay and you.

@kensmile4u I get it, and I agree. I was just airing my gut reaction, which was to think despite this site's clearly more enlightened tone compared to facebook, we are also varied on this site, and not everyone shares the same views, naturally. I want it posted, because surely others think that way, and we can then have a discussion and at least imagine that some education is taking place on important issues.

7

When we turn a blind eye to what our colleagues are doing we are equally culpable. Unfortunately it is extremely difficult to be a whistle blower in the police force. Instead of being applauded, they are most likely to be sidelined and bullied until they give up their career. The police force has been a law unto itself and until this toxin running through the force is eliminated, with transparent and independent inquiry into misconduct, the "good cops" will continue to turn a blind eye.

Serpico comes to mind!

7

Do you have the same perspective regarding black and Latino gang members as you do the police?

Yes, Many of them are just trying to survive in a chaotic unfair world. If you remember that was part of my original statement. I think I was actually aiming my statement mainly at cops to make them understand that no one should be grouped into a group of all of anything.

6

things like this get blamed on protesters when it is not them at all. Branden Michael Wolfe A federal charge has been filed against a St. Paul man for the burning down of the Third Police Precinct in Minneapolis.

United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald says Branden Michael Wolfe, 23, is accused of aiding and abetting arson. He is scheduled to make his initial appears in U.S. District Court Tuesday.

The Third Precinct was overrun during protests on May 28 and heavily damaged due to vandalism and arson, with investigators identifying multiple fires being started in the building.

On June 3, St. Paul police officers were called to a home improvement store in St. Paul about an individual, later identified as Wolfe, wearing body armor and a law enforcement duty belt and carrying a baton was trying to get into the store. Store employees said WOLFE had been working as a security guard at the store but was fired earlier that day over social media posts about stealing items from the Third Precinct.

Police arrested Wolfe and say they found him wearing multiple items stolen from the Third Precinct, including body armor, a police-issue duty belt with handcuffs, an earphone piece, baton, and knife. Officers say Wolfe’s name was handwritten in duct tape on the back of the body armor. Law enforcement says it recovered items belonging to the Minneapolis Police Department, including a riot helmet, 9mm pistol magazine, police radio, and police issue overdose kit, from Wolfe’s apartment.

According to the criminal complaint, Wolfe admitted to police that he was inside the Third Precinct the night of the arson, took property from the building, and pushed a wooden barrel into the fire. Investigators say Wolfe also identified himself in multiple witness photographs capturing him in front of the Third Precinct holding a police baton, with smoke and flames visible in the background. Wolfe reportedly admitted to knowing that pushing the wooden barrel into the fire would keep the flames burning.

The ATF and FBI urge the public to report suspected arson, use of explosive devices, or violent, destructive acts associated with the recent unrest. Anyone with information specifically related to the Third Precinct fire or other business fires in the Twin Cities can call 1-888-ATF-TIPS (1-888-283-8477), email ATFTips@atf.gov or submit information anonymously via ReportIt.com. In addition to fires, the FBI is looking for people who may have incited or promoted violence of any kind. Anyone with digital material or tips can call 1-800-CALLFBI (800-225-5342) or submit images or videos at FBI.gov/violence.

6

I don't think any one blames all cops for the horrible behavior of the bad cops; but, is a cop a good cop if he/she stands by and does nothing, or remains silent, when they have witnessed an atrocity or know that one has occurred? And, as someone mentioned, the system is set up to protect bad cops. It is broken and needs to be fixed.

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