Category: Law Enforcement

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Is Nashville’s Gideons Army Racist and Anti-Police? You Decide!

 

 Here we are in 2022 where police officers are being assaulted, harassed and killed, with crime at an all time high in many liberal run cities and Nashville wants to give a racist, anti-police organization $750,000. In May of 2021, Mayor John Cooper created a Community Safety Partnership Fund Advisory that reports to the Board Mayor’s Office of Community Safety which makes recommendations to the Metro Council for grant funding to nonprofits.

This Community Safety Partnership Fund Advisory Board, which is comprised of “experts” has no budgetary authority but does send recommendations to the Metro Council which includes where grants and donations are disbursed.

Two non-profits have been recommended to the board to split a $1.5 million dollar pilot “violence interruption” program, Gideons Army is one of the two. The issue at hand, is it appears Gideons Army creates more violence than it interrupts.

On Sept 22, 2022 founder of Gideons Army, Rasheedat Fetuga entered Pearl Cohn High School, where she deliberately ignored requests by staff to stop, yelling profanities as she looked for Principal Miriam Harrington. After several attempts to remove her failed, Fetuga eventually left, but on her way out she removed a picture on the wall in the lobby, and once outside began to stomp on that picture breaking the glass and frame.

 

In April of 2022, another employee of Gideons Army, Charles Brooks, was sentenced to four years in federal prison related to his role in a shootout last year in a North Nashville neighborhood.  In 2006, Brooks faced state charges for voluntary manslaughter.

Charles Brooks

 

Also in April of 2022, paid employee of Gideons Army Cleveland Shaw, was killed in what police say was another shootout on nearby Clarksville Pike.

In November of 2020, we (Dailyrollcall) published an article exposing Gideons Army revealing some disgusting details about members of a group that claims to be “for the children”.

Mic True, former Gideons Army member

In order to be an effective organization that claims to want to stop violence within the community, you must have a good relationship with law enforcement. Gideons Army may say they do, however they are promoters of the defund the police movement.

While Gideons Army may have provided the community with groceries, and occasionally helps kids, does it appear they are a racist front group, run by anti police activists? The last thing these social justice warriors need is $750,000. 

 

 

 

 

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Being a Violent Thug Literally Pays off

 

When violent, repeat criminals refuse to obey a police officer’s lawful orders, the situation usually goes bad very quickly, with the split decision by that officer to kill or be killed. In today’s backwards society, it seems the norm is  for thugs to be martyred and police officers vilified.

What is even more appalling is the families of those criminals looking to score big payoffs, and city councils awarding them. In the last several weeks, three high profile police shootings have paid handsomely to such families. The largest, history making award went to the family of George Floyd, who’s true cause of death is yet to be completely revealed during the trial of Police officer Derek Chauvin.  While Chauvin may not have actually “murdered” George Floyd, he undoubtedly will face some charges, as he should. Floyd’s family was awarded $27 million, despite his hard criminal rap sheet and the apparent drugs in his system at the time of his death.

Another exaggerated settlement to prove a point despite the officers not being charged with her death, is to the family of Breonna Taylor in Louisville Kentucky. Her family will receive $12 million.

The latest settlement goes to the family of Daniel Hambrick, another thug with a violent, long rap sheet , including robbery. Hambrick had a gun in his possession upon being shot and killed by Metro Nashville Police Officer Andrew Delke.  Hambrick’s family will receive $2 million.

                                                           Hambrick Facebook photos

 

The officers in the Floyd and Hambrick cases have not yet gone to trial, yet despite city officials stating the settlements are not indicative of wrongdoing, what happens if these officers are found not guilty? Will the “wrongful death” money be returned?  As a society we need to be asking questions as to why these settlements are appropriate and what message do they send ? Hambrick had a loaded gun when he was shot by officer Delke. Would officer Delke’s family have been awarded $2 million dollars had Hambrick shot him? In a statement to the Washington Post on behalf of Hambrick’s family, attorneys Joy Kimbrough and Kyle Mothershead expressed disappointment with the amount, but said they appreciated the city has taken at least “modest accountability” in his death. Disappointed with $2 million. Not disappointed her son was a hardened criminal carrying a gun.  Interesting.

What’s becoming more apparent in these cases, is it no longer is about justice, it’s about money. Case in point, is the shooting of Nika Holbert of Nashville. After being stopped by Metro Nashville Police officer Josh Baker, Holbert refused to comply with his orders, at which point he deployed a taser, which had no affect on Holbert.  The incident escalated with Holbert pulling a gun and shooting Officer Baker. Baker returned fire, killing Holbert.  Holbert also had a rap sheet.

Woman is fatally shot by police officer after she pulled ...
                                                                Nika Holbert

Lisa Holbert-Gooch, Nika Holbert’s mother said she wasn’t surprised her daughter pulled a gun on the officer, stating “He was trying to kill her with that Taser and she was trying to protect herself,”   she further stated “I’m not understanding how this turned into a shooting.”  Really?

Gooch has hired an attorney to review legal options. What options? Her daughter refused to comply to the officers orders and SHOT the officer! This is the mentality of those who see dollar signs rather than mourn the death of their deceased.

Thanks to those leftists who have created an anti-police culture, we now see the reversal of who is good and who is evil. What about the families of fallen police officers? City councils across America are not rushing to pay their families millions of dollars for wrongful deaths. No, instead it is often uttered “they chose to do that job” or “they knew they could die doing that job”.  How about reminding criminals families of the same..  ” they chose to  commit a crime” or ” they knew they could die committing that crime”. 

It used to be said crime didn’t pay..that sure isn’t true anymore. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Nashville Metro Council & TIRRC – Pay to Play?

The TN Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), a Soros-funded organization, seems to consistently get special treatment from the Nashville City Council.

Granted, it helped that one of TIRRC’s now former co-directors is married to a far left Metro Council member. It also helps that the majority of the Metro Council members are open border far lefties who hate ICE and believe that criminal illegal aliens should have the same benefits and privileges as legal immigrants and American citizens. 

TIRRC advocates for illegal aliens and legal immigrants such as refugees and intentionally blurs the line between the two by using the legal terms “refugees” or “asylum-seekers” loosely to refer to all their constituency.

TIRRC is a named affiliate of the National Council of La Raza (renamed UnidosUS), the largest Hispanic organization in the U.S. which “lobbies for racial preferences, bilingual education, stricter hate crimes laws, mass immigration, and amnesty for illegal aliens.”

Two recent Nashville Council resolutions, one giving TIRRC money, and the other, giving TIRRC an opportunity to influence the selection for the next Chief of Police, were sponsored by TIRRC-endorsed candidates elected to the Metro Council.

Shortly before the August 2019 election for the Nashville Metro Council, three organizations came together to form the Nashville Justice League (NJL), a PAC whose goal was to move the city council further left. Of the 15 endorsed candidates, 13 won their races.

One of the those organizations was TIRRC Votes, the 501(c)(4) arm of TIRRC. The TIRRC-backed Metro Council candidates continue to deliver on their promises to help fund and promote TIRRC’s agenda.

Substitute Resolution RS2020-459, introduced, adopted and passed on August 4 was “approved” and signed by Mayor Cooper the next day. This resolution appropriated $1,244,000 of COVID-19 Pandemic Fund to nine non-profit organizations operating in Davidson County.

TIRRC got $50,000 and fellow traveler Justice for Our Neighbors (JFON) got $50,000.

TIRRC’s endorsed candidate Bob Mendes (who is also the architect of the 34% property tax increase), sponsored this resolution. In 2017, pro-sanctuary city Mendes introduced two bills that had they passed, would have made Nashville the most liberal sanctuary city in the country. The bills were withdrawn after state legislators raised a ruckus.

TIRRC is flush in the money department with the ability to raise over $100,000 annually in donations. Influence Watch has posted the organization’s 990’s which show that in 2016, TIRRC’s budget included revenue of $1,935,988 and assets of $619,228. 

TIRRC has 24 paid staff and its 501(c)(4) TIRRC Votes in 2019, employed six lobbyists. TIRRC has a newly built 7,000 SF free-standing $2.5 million dollar building which reportedly, is fully paid for. The building will also house a legal services clinic which would most likely be JFON.

Not bad for an organization claiming to represent the poor, down-trodden and lawbreakers.

TIRRC, JFON, the American Muslims Advisory Council and others, have been long-time resident partners housed in the Conxion Americas building called Casa Azafran. The newly empty space now houses a Catholic Charities social services office. 

TIRRC repeatedly tries to turn refugees, the people they claim to represent, against the government that pays for all the public support made available to help them start new lives in Tennessee.

Justice for Our Neighbors (JFON), another open borders organization, provides legal services to legal immigrants and illegal aliens.

In 2016, JFON was all about “defending unaccompanied minors.” UAC (unaccompanied alien children) arrivals enter the U.S. illegally, are under age 18 and for whom, “there is no parent or legal guardian in the United States, or no parent or legal guardian in the United States available to provide care and physical custody.”

One Tennessee example of the loophole of the legal definition of UACs is the case of 16-year old Edwin Mejia, a UAC from Honduras who in 2013, was transported to Tennessee and released into the custody of his brother, an illegal alien living north of Nashville in Madison, Tennessee. The following year the two brothers moved to Nebraska where Edwin struck and killed 21-year old Sarah Root  while he was drunk and street racing in his truck. Root had just graduated from college. Mejia posted bond and left town.

A 2018 report from the Center for Immigration Studies documents that MS-13 gang members have entered the U.S. as UACs. Available data shows that from 2014 part-way through 2017, over 4,000 UACs were brought to Tennessee.

The other Metro Council resolution, RS2020-431, introduced on July 7, 2020, sought to have Mayor Cooper include certain special interest groups, a representative from the Fraternal Order of Police, and a representative from the anti-police Community Oversight Board, to help select the new Nashville Chief of Police.

Three of the four sponsors of this resolution were TIRRC Votes’ endorsed candidates.

The resolution was amended to direct Mayor Cooper to work with TIRRC, the Equity Alliance, the anti-police Community Oversight Board, the (ultra left) Metro Human Relations Commission and the Fraternal Order of Police in the process to select the new Chief of Police.

Not only does the amended resolution name specific organizations, but it also adds new language, which read in the full context of the resolution, suggests that some of these organizations represent communities who are allegedly the most “impacted communities” which need a say in the selection process.

The Equity Alliance and TIRRC already have their interests represented since The Equity Alliance is part of the Nashville Justice League, the PAC which also includes TIRRC Votes and the Central Labor Council that helped get these same Metro Council members elected.

The Community Oversight Board’s (COB) agenda for the new Police Chief has already been laid out in a report issued by the COB in April 2020. The report was requested the COB’s vice-chair Andres Martinez who also serves as Director of Policy and Communications for Conexion Americas, a Nashville organization and named affiliate of the National Council of La Raza.

The COB report says that there are 31,000 illegal aliens living and working in Davidson County. A deep dive into the COB report shows that they are pushing for the MNPD to adopt four policies that will help illegal aliens in Nashville go undetected and to ignore the state’s sanctuary city law, something a new police chief could make happen.

Equally concerning about the COB report is the glowing reference to a resolution adopted by the Austin City Council after Texas passed a very strong sanctuary city law which was subsequently ruled as Constitutional by a federal appeals court. The Austin City Council resolution was specifically intended to obstruct and skirt the state’s sanctuary city law.

Nashville Mayor’s Immigration Task Force is also recommending that the Metro Council adopt the Austin City Council resolution. If that happens, expect to see the same in Knoxville, Chattanooga and Memphis.

Now that TIRRC and The Equity Alliance have packed the Metro Council and maintain strong alliances with members of the COB and the Metro Human Relations Commission, it is reasonable to assume that voices regarding the new Police Chief will out-influence every other constituency in Nashville.

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Bill Lee’s Administration Joins BLM Culture War

The TN Council on Children and Youth (TCCY), its nine regional council members and anyone else that wants to participate, will access a free webinar on checking their white privilege.

The “free” webinar “Cultural Collisions” addressing “cultural competency” is being paid for by the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS). This is the second webinar in a series on implicit bias and racial equity.

The third and final webinar is titled “Lets Talk Race.” The training objectives include “a safe and carefully led conversation about the history of slavery in the United States and its inevitable impact in present day”…and “the impact of racial constructs in legislation, policies, practices, and cultural identity.”

TDMHSAS Commissioner Marie Williams was originally appointed by Haslam and was reappointed by Bill Lee in January 2019.

The goal of “cultural competency” is to help white people understand and acknowledge their implicit biases across a wide range of issues which can include race, class, gender sexual orientation, sexual identity, religion, weight, discrimination and the mother of them all according to BLM, white privilege.

Last year, Williamson County teachers were shown a “Cultural Competency” video series as part of professional development, one of which addressed white privilege and how it causes “unintentional bias.”

The free webinar for Tennessee employees and TCCY council members addressing “cultural competency” includes free “CEUs” (continuing education units required to retain certain practice licenses), a sure draw for anyone needing the credits. Guest speaker Pastor Edward Palmer is a certified diversity trainer who has previously provided his course to Tennessee departments. He’s back for a repeat visit. Palmer’s focus area is juvenile justice systems.

Palmer and his wife co-pastor at The Sign of the Dove Church International located in Radcliff, Kentucky. From his bio:

“He is a Certified Diversity Trainer and works to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities within the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.  He most recently became a certified Racial and Ethnic Disparities Capstone Project Fellow through the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University.”

Palmer has a single entry on his blog, entitled, What is Race?

Race is a social construct used by some as an indicator of inferiority or superiority. Race as a social construct influences how individuals are perceived and treated by others and systems within society. Since as early as and even before the 1500s, the pseudoscientific idea that race defines who is less intelligent, less capable and of less value to humanity has been used to justify the violent, demeaning and harsh treatment of people on the bases of skin color….

 Because the consequences are real, race will continue to matter until we debunk and deconstruct the idea of race and the systems that have used this ideology to discriminate and depress people of the perceived minority group.

It is a laudable mission for resources to be directed to struggling and vulnerable children, young adults and their families. Successful interventions serve the larger community but the timing of this diversity training is highly suspect and too many actions are being justified under the COVID intervention umbrella.

The August TN Commission on Children and Youth (TCCY) newsletter includes the Commission’s statement on racial justice with the view that Tennessee is a racist state:

Another TCCY August newsletter focused on federal updates includes links to ultra-left Center for American Progress COVID information, the left-leaning Urban Institute which more often than not, pushes a progressive policy agenda, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation which was a key funder of groups pushing Obamacare and has made grants to the Clinton Foundation.

To round it out, the TCCY federal update newsletter included a link to this anti-Trump piece put out by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, another group “widely regarded as being aligned with progressive and liberal positions.”

The TCCY is a state agency funded with public money and should not be using its access to state-wide employees to share its own overt political bias.

Richard Kennedy is the TCCY Executive Director and can be reached at (615) 741-2633 or tccy.info@tn.gov

Commissioner Marie Williams whose agency is paying for the cultural competency webinar series can be reached at 615) 532-6500, Marie.Williams@tn.gov

In 2012, AMAC activists trained DCS staff

 

 

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No More State Money For the San Fran on the Cumberland

Nashville’s far left mayor and city council are working overtime to be the San Francisco of the South.

“Our Revolution – Nashville & Mid TN” is intimately involved trying to spread the insurrection and overthrow of Nashville outward. They endorsed and helped get elected former American Muslim Advisory Council (AMAC) and socialist, Zulfat Suara, to the Metro Nashville Council.

While Suara was leading AMAC, her former co-chair and AMAC co-founder Daoud Abudiab was leading TIRRC (TN Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition), and both groups joined with Black Lives Matter to “strategize, dream and build [their] movement for 2016.”

And there is very little in their way to stop Nashville’s full transformation.

In fact, a legitimate argument can be made that Bill Lee and his leadership SNAFUs is abetting Nashville’s agenda.

For starters, when Tennessee’s COVID lockdowns began, Bill Lee decided to give Nashville’s far left mayor free reign to do whatever he wanted. Predictably, Mayor Cooper followed other Democrat run cities and put Nashville on a seemingly perpetual lockdown.

Except of course when it was time to host a mass protest and invite all elected officials to attend – no social distancing required!

Cooper was cautioned by other leaders that similar protests in other blue cities had in short order, turned violent and destructive. Neither Cooper nor Metro police were prepared for the inevitable which wasn’t hard to predict especially since the Metro police department has been effectively neutered and is now under the thumb of the anti-police-pro-open-borders special interest groups running the Community Oversight Board (COB).

AMAC was an aggressive proponent of the charter amendment that made the anti-police COB a formal and $1 million dollar funded arm of the Metro Nashville government. AMAC board member Drost Kokoye was a lead organizer against police while she attended UT Knoxville.

Cop haters policing the police combined with low pay has put Metro’s police force at over a 100 person deficit.

Protest organizer Prophetess Venita Lewis admitted that the violence, and wanton destruction is “happening all across the county. The protests are not gonna end peacefully” and that “the rioting will not stop when associated with Floyd’s death.”

Bill Lee stood back and watched while Nashville was looted and burned waiting until Cooper asked for help.

In November 2019, the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office reviewed and rejected Nashville’s budget, threatening to take over if the city couldn’t figure out how to address the years of irresponsible over-spending. According to the Comptroller, “Metro’s expenses have outpaced the city’s revenue growth since 2013, according to Wilson. To accommodate those increasing expenses, city leaders have been depleting Metro’s available cash and reserve funds, which are down 24% and 16% respectively.”

Then came the March tornadoes and COVID followed by the BLM protest turned riot.

Between 2015 and 2020, the state has given Metro Nashville $99,581,919 in fast track economic development grants. In 2017 and 2018, the state rewarded the out-of-control and irresponsible spending and illegal-alien-protectionist government in Davidson County with over $28 million dollars to recruit Philips North America and Alliance Bernstein.

Cooper’s 32% property tax increase isn’t going to exempt people who’ve been and may still be out of work since his COVID lockdown started. Nor will it exempt people whose home or business was destroyed by the tornadoes. Nor is Cooper’s tax increase going to exempt the 30 business owners whose properties were vandalized by the protest rioters.

Is there any rational reason that any more state economic development funding should be given to Nashville? Does spending more state tax dollars to help the San Fran on the Cumberland benefit the state in any conceivable way?

No. But the decision to steer the economic development money to Nashville comes from the administration, not the legislature.

So San Fran on the Cumberland probably has nothing to worry about. Remember, the state’s chief executive officer, aka, the governor, had no problem sending money to the campaigns of leftists Megan Barry, Karl Dean and Phil Bredesen or rushing to meet with AMAC.

 

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Criminal Justice Reform In Tennessee Is All About Release Part 2

 

“We can empty our jails in the same way that some other states have done. I know we can do that.”  Gov Bill Lee

 

“Because of y’alls leadership, I think we’re going to get criminal justice reform,” he said, adding: “We can empty our jails in the same way that some other states have done. I know we can do that.”  Says Gov Bill Lee as he and the Senate’s Republicans gathered in Crossville in Oct 2019 to outline their 2020 priorities.

“It isn’t going to be easy to get that done,” he said. “We have to be creative and innovative and disruptive and challenge the way we’ve been doing things forever.”

Part of Criminal Justice “Reform” is the release of offenders to a parole or probation status. In Tennessee it is known as “community supervision” with former prisoners labeled “clients” rather than what they are..parolees and probationers. In the last 6 months criminals who should have remained in prison or jail, have been released which in turn, they have committed murders.

Michael D. Mosley  – In May of 2015, Mosley was arrested for a stabbing a man in the stomach for which he was found guilty.   In October 2018, he was charged with domestic assault after repeatedly slamming a female relatives head into a wall several times resulting in bodily injury. On December 5, 2018, he was charged with viciously punching a woman in a Walmart store “over and over again.” It appears that he was arrested for the December 2018 incident on November 5 2019 and was released on  $5,000 bond.  Despite the previous conviction for violent assault, Mosley was released after serving minimal time incarcerated. Mosley has been arrested for the stabbing deaths of Clayton Beathard, and Paul Trapeni III. Mosley was on probation at the time he stabbed and killed those 2 young men.

Michael Lee Cummins   From the news report in Sumner County Tenn. (WTVF) —” Three days after the ‘deadliest homicide event in Tennessee in at least 20 years’ new information is being released regarding the suspected killer, Michael Cummins and his probation status. On Saturday, April 27, Michael Cummins allegedly took the lives of seven people, three of which being members of his own family. Now, it has been confirmed that a probation officer was preparing an arrest warrant for Cummins the day before the homicides occurred. The report further stated

“According to District Attorney Ray Whitley, a violation of probation affidavit was filed on Monday, April 22. This affidavit outlined numerous issues with Cummins’ probation. These included missing appointments with his probation officer and not contacting with the probation office. Cummins also reportedly would not comply with the conditions of his probation which required him to receive mental health treatment.”

Again..Probation

In December law enforcement authorities were investigating a homicide in the Lakewood Park area in Manchester TN, where a 68 yr old male was found dead.  20 year old Tyler Parker, who was found in the victims car in Oklahoma, has been returned to Coffee County, where he and his female accomplice will be charged with that homicide. Parker, was wanted for violating probation.

This is just a sample of what probationers and parolees do when given the chance to remain free from their prior convictions.

Criminal justice reform is just a fancy way of calling it what is truly is, a sweeping release of convicted criminals because states do not want to continue to spend money on building facilities to house them. Another piece not often mentioned is the underlying ideology that prisons and jails are filled with minorities, which leads to the accusations that the current criminal justice system is racist.

While the fix will not be easy, appeasing community leaders by reducing bail or not setting bail at all is not the answer either. As of now, we still live under a system of laws. If you break those laws, consequences must prevail. As it is society is breaking down, and taking law abiding citizens and law enforcement officers with it. If states continue to dismantle the system, we can only expect more chaos and eventually civil unrest.

Emptying jails to prove points, and win votes is not the answer.

 

 

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Criminal Justice Reform In Tennessee Is All About Release Part 1.

How would you feel if hardened prisoners, convicted by juries, and sent to prison to fulfill their sentences were now walking the streets of your neighborhood? Well, if they aren’t yet, they will be soon, so buckle up and be aware. And no, this isn’t just occurring in major cities in liberal states, it’s happening in unlikely areas, including Tennessee.

On December 11 2019, Tennessee Dept of Corrections Commissioner Tony Parker, along with Gov Bill Lee celebrated the groundbreaking of a women’s shelter that would help former female inmates’ transition from prison life. While I believe these programs are helpful, there is an entire slice of this reform that is going unspoken.

 “When you look at the root causes of crime, what drives it – addiction and mental health issues – we know the answer to reducing recidivism here in Tennessee is programs like this” Said Parker.  First of all, the Commissioner of The Tennessee Dept of Corrections is stating criminals are either mental or on drugs is misleading, as many that deal with criminals (like I did for 20 years) every day know a vast number of criminals are just opportunistic thugs.

 While the criminal justice system in the United States is far from perfect, releasing those who have committed crimes of all kinds is not the answer, despite the intentions of Christian organizations who believe criminals can be cured. One such group is the Tennessee based Men of Valor, a group supported by long time former board member Gov. Bill Lee.

Men of Valor is an exceptional organization that has changed many lives and boasts on its website “Men of Valor is committed to winning men in prison to Jesus Christ and discipling them. Our purpose is to equip them to re-enter society as men of integrity – becoming givers to the community rather than takers.”   We are all for changing minds and helping people find God, but at what expense must Tennesseans be willing to pay if the program doesn’t work for all those being released, and is it appropriate for all offenders?

In the meantime, while concerned over recidivism rates, Men of Valor and other organizations are offering assistance to inmates, a blanket set of conditions for newly released prisoners has been discovered. Typically, when those who have committed serious crimes have completed a prescribed amount of time, they are often released under the supervision of Parole, with less serious offenders to Probation.

Under Parole or Probation, a former inmate must abide by strict sets of rules and conditions and be supervised by their named Parole or Probation officer. If the released offender breaks those rules and conditions, he is arrested and is sent back to prison. Wait. Read that again. If the released offender breaks those rules and conditions, he is arrested and is sent back to prison. Well, not in Tennessee under Lee’s administration.

As law enforcement officers are being subjected to every kind of harassment, disrespect, assaults and targets on their backs, departments are facing dangerous shortages, and manpower issues. What’s just as serious is the system breaking down around them, leaving their jobs in many cases obsolete. Unfortunately, this includes Parole and Probation. According to sources, Parole officers are not allowed to make arrests based on the violation’s offenders committed, even if it was one of their prescribed conditions. This would include drug possession and, in some cases, weapons. Why? Because in the state of Tennessee, Parole officers are not given powers of arrest.   This in turn has empowered former prisoners released under supervision to do whatever they want, including violate their terms of release. If such terms are broken, the Parole officer cannot make the arrest, but rather must obtain a warrant, then request local law enforcement execute it. Many times warrants are not entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) system in a timely matter, giving the former inmate a pass if he/she has contact with police. 

Last week, Gov.Bill Lee’s Criminal Justice Reform Task Force released their report, which has many scratching their head, as it is more about release then reformation. Labeling the breaking of their terms and conditions “technical violations” is soft balling the ever growing problem of prisoners failing to follow the rules. From the report it states:

“The data indicated that a large number of individuals are entering prison after a failure on community supervision, often because of technical violations. Nearly 5,000 individuals entered prison from parole, probation, or community corrections in FY2018, representing 39 percent of all admissions for that fiscal year. Between FY2010 and FY2019, the number of revocations for a technical violation increased by 53 percent, while the number of revocations for a new charge decreased by 8 percent. Just over 50 percent of all community supervision revocations in FY2018 were due to a technical violation as defined by the TDOC, up from 38 percent in FY2010. As Tennessee increases the use of community supervision as an alternative to incarceration, consistent and standardized evidenced-based supervision practices are necessary.”

Ya think? If parolees or probationers are only being arrested on technical violations, not new charges, that simply means they are not capable of following rules.  If they can’t, follow rules or conditions what makes one think they can follow laws? It does not help, that in Tennessee, Parole and Probation officers have no powers to arrest. 

“In 2016, in part seeking to address the growing number of technical violations, Tennessee enacted the Public Safety Act, establishing the use of a graduated sanctions matrix to respond to non-compliant behavior in a swift, certain, and proportional way. However, the data examined demonstrated that graduated sanctions are currently being used inconsistently across the state. Furthermore, the matrix establishes several zero tolerance policies that disproportionately affect individuals with substance use disorders. This zero-tolerance conduct, which results in immediate revocation, includes refusing to submit to a drug screen, testing positive for methamphetamine, or testing positive multiple times for any other type of drug use.”

So, the answer has been to not allow officers to re arrest those who originally were jailed for drug offense but now allow them to use or possess drugs. This can only get worse, as drug users often resort to more violent crimes to feed their addiction.

Coming up in Part 2, a look at some of those former prisoners released under “community supervision” that have committed murders in Tennessee, in the last several months.

 

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Nashville’s Community Overreach (oops sight) Board Has New Demands.

The newly formed Community Oversight Board in Nashville Tennessee should be re-named the Community Overreach Board as they raised eyebrows this week requesting police documents dating back to 2001. As an entity whose purpose is to oversee complaints about police misconduct, they already have overstepped their bounds. Another demand by the boards Executive Director William Carlos Weeden is to be placed on the Department of Emergency Communications roster, which allows him or another board member to immediately be notified of an incident of an officer involved shooting, or other serious encounter.

According to the Nashville Metro Government website page that defines the function of this board, it states:

The Board shall have the power to investigate allegations that MNPD officers have committed misconduct against members of the public, as well as issue policy advisory and resolution reports assessing allegations of misconduct by MNPD, recommendations to agencies involved in public safety and the administration of justice, and have the option of establishing a monitoring program that provides an ongoing review or audit of the complaint process administered by the MNPD Office of Professional Accountability (“OPA”) or equivalent internal affairs program in MNPD.

Investigating allegations of misconduct by a police officer is quite different than being involved in the process of investigating the crimes where that misconduct may have stemmed from. Being privy to evidence, witnesses and details of investigations by anyone other than law enforcement, will undoubtedly lead to cases being compromised and perhaps even dismissed.  Civilians have no place on crime scene locations or being involved in pending investigations.

The legitimacy of this board is yet to be seen, as they are off to a bad start. Why would a body of civilians, who are to investigate misconduct complaints, so eager to obtain 18, yes 18 years of documentation which the majority have no relevance to their position.   What information, from 18 years of records would be of value to current police misconduct cases? Looking for patterns of bad behavior can be ascertained quickly, not over 18 years.  Calls for service, police officer narratives on their reports, and arrests made for the last 18 years isn’t something that is the norm for a board only looking for today’s incidents, no, this smells of the ghost of Nashville’s past. 

The following is the records request to the Metro Nashville Police Dept:

 

The executive director of this board, William Carlos Weeden appears to have more in mind then just looking into misconduct. His background, while impressive, also states he is “Fiercely committed to civil rights and social justice, Mr. Weeden leads the law practice bearing his name with a clear vision influenced by these principles”.

What attracted Mr. Weeden to a city like Nashville anyways? Being from Chicago, it seems his services would be booming , as the number of mass shootings on weekends there is astronomical. Ah, but being a social justice warrior, Chicago is about black on black crime, which does not fit today’s liberal narrative. But white officers shooting black subjects does.

Nashvillians have had a rough few months with the run off election resulting in a new Mayor, and crime on the rise on its city streets, but they have questions that should be answered.  Why is this oversight board looking for 18 year old information, and why are they demanding to be part of active investigations? If Nashville is so important to Mr. Weeden, (or on social media William Carlos) why does it appear he lives in Mt.Juliet, in Wilson County? New Mayoral elect John Cooper is going to have his hands full with this board, and so is Chief Steve Anderson. One can only hope they will nip these ridiculous demands in the bud, before they grow out of control.

 On a side note, it is interesting Mr. Weeden seems to be an investigator of different sorts too.

Yes, he appears to be a ghost hunter.  

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Five Years After Ferguson. Will Anniversary Bring Violence?

 August 9 will mark five years since Michael Brown of Ferguson MO was shot and killed after attempting to steal a police officers gun during a struggle. “Hands up don’t shoot” was the lie that fueled days of riots in Ferguson egged on by social justice groups and Muslims for Ferguson

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In keeping with the narrative that Michael Brown is somehow a martyr for the black community,  Browns father is asking the criminal investigation be reopened. “On this 5-year anniversary, I will be asking St. Louis County Prosecutor Attorney Wesley Bell to reopen this case or obtain a prosecutor and investigate the information and see if it can go forward in reopening.”

Besides the probability this request would spark more civil unrest, it also is against the double jeopardy clause, where a defendant cannot face the same charges twice. It is a no win situation, because whether the prosecutor denies the request, or tries to go forward, undoubtedly the decision will cause anger within a community that refuses to move on. With the climate today being one of disrespect and hatred for law enforcement, one must wonder why this would even be considered.  

More than likely, activists within the community in Ferguson,  are looking to reopen old wounds, and jump on the anti-police bandwagon again, as it seems it’s the in thing to cause civil unrest and more divisiveness.

What started it all…Michael Brown attempting to rob store owner.

 

It isn’t about justice, it was duly served, and Officer Darren Wilson was determined to be innocent. It is about the continuing efforts to dismantle and destroy law enforcement as we know it. Police are no longer allowed to do their job, as they face backlash for their split second decisions, both by the community they serve and often their own superiors and elected officials.

There is no sincere effort to form an alliance with police, as we have seen with the “Black Lives Matter” movement, which was born in 2014. This movement has only caused more hatred and bias against the police. Even police training has become more about social justice and civil rights than tools for them to perform their jobs effectively.

Police agencies across the U.S, now includes “implicit Bias” and “Procedural Justice” training, for whatever good that does. Suggesting only police officers have biases in ludicrous.  Every human being has some sort of bias, however it does not mean they cannot perform a job.

The bigger picture is to continue to breakdown society, where laws and enforcement of them are no longer effective. Chaos will ultimately be the end game, if activists have their way. Perhaps it is time to put responsibility and accountability where it belongs..in the communities where criminals are born and raised. Until then, lawlessness will become the norm.

The pot is about to boil over.

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Nashville Police Cadets Schooled On Islam At Radical Mosque

At a time when police officers are targets of harassment, discrimination and violence, one should be questioning why new cadets are being sent to a Muslim Brotherhood mosque to learn about Islam. The Islamic Center of Nashville (ICN), its leaders and speakers, should not be training law enforcement, or anyone else. So lets look at some of the history of the ICN.

This is the same mosque singer Cat Stevens, now known as Yusef Islam, donated $17,000 to, to help purchase the building and the adjacent lot. In the 1990’s Stevens was banned from entering the United States after he raised tens of thousands of dollars for Hamas in cooperation with its British fundraising arm, known as the Relief Fund for Lebanon and Palestine. Hamas is a designated terrorist organization in the U.S.


 

Chair of the ICN Rasheed Farkhruddin with Cat Stevens (aka Yusef Islam)

 

Another issue with the property itself is who is listed on the deed as having the same address. The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), is one of the largest Muslim Brotherhood organizations within the United States. If you consider the Muslim Brotherhood a “moderate” political party, as Obama led so many to believe, then you have no issue with this, and good luck as the Muslim Brotherhood is one of the most violent, barbaric groups in the Middle East.

In addition to its Muslim Brotherhood affiliations, the current imam, Ossama Muhammad Bahloul hails from Cairo Egypt, where he attended Al-Azahar University, which is dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood. Not only does the Muslim Brotherhood use the university to recruit thousands of students to adopt ISIS-style beliefs, the Brotherhood used the organization to train young people for combat, including members of Al-Qaida.

                                                           Imam Ossama Bahloul

 

The Islamic Center of Nashville is the same mosque where Carlos Bledsoe also known as Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad joined while attending Tennessee State University. After becoming a member of the ICN, Carlos was sent to Yemen, where he thought he would be learning Arabic, but instead was exposed to radical, anti-American propaganda, and was “brainwashed”, according to his father Melvin Bledsoe of Memphis TN. Carlos changed his name to Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, after the imam at that time at the ICN. In 2009, Carlos went to Little Rock Arkansas where he shot and killed 2 soldiers in the name of Allah. The below documentary Losing Our Sons is based on the activities at the ICN leading up to the death of those soldiers.

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uyxz8vsSdcM

 

The American Muslim Advisory Council (AMAC) was also involved in the current training. AMAC was formed in 2012 in opposition to an anti terrorist material support bill, and whose members have partnered with the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), aka Hamas. Recent lady chair of AMAC, and now member, Zulfat Suara has shown her true colors as she expressed her inspiration and honor towards Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. Both women have spewed anti-Semitic remarks, which they still stand by today.

 

The Islamic Center of Nashville is the same mosque that invites speakers such as Siraj Wahhaj– who was raised as a Baptist but converted to Islam under the leadership of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. He is the imam at the al-Taqwa mosque in New York. He preaches that the U.S. should and will become an Islamic state because “Islam is better than democracy.” What does Wahhaj tell his audiences?
“Islam is better than democracy. Allah will cause his deen [Islam as a complete way of life], Islam to prevail over every kind of system, and you know what? It will happen.”
“If only Muslims were clever politically, they could take over the United States and replace its constitutional government with a caliphate. If we were united and strong, we’d elect our own emir and give allegiance to him. Take my word, if eight million Muslims unite in America, the country will come to us,” he said in 1992.
“You don’t get involved in politics because it’s the American thing to do. You get involved in politics because politics are a weapon to use in the cause of Islam.”

This is just a few examples of what and who is a part of the Islamic Center of Nashville, where young cadets are being brought to learn about Islam. Why, with what is happening to our law enforcement everyday, Islam a topic they must learn about? Are other religious leaders insisting police officers learn about their religion and culture? 

No, they aren’t. And one can also conclude AMAC and the ICN are not discussing real issues the police need to know such as crimes within the Muslim community, gang activity, what businesses are running scams, or how to effectively interview Muslims. No instead, AMAC sums up their arrogant reason for instructing law enforcement..”How to best serve them”.

As a retired police officer from NY, and former instructor myself, I have great respect and concern for law enforcement today, and can only hope our new cadets are able to put their propaganda is perspective.