Cops know that they can be sued at anytime for anything. The allegation doesn’t have to make sense or have any resemblance to the facts.
I was once sued for, “failure to cater.” The complaint claimed that I violated a suspect’s rights because I didn’t book him into county jail in time to get breakfast.
Then the was the guy that was shot by two of my fellow cops. He claimed that he was shot for simply driving down the street. He neglected to mention that he was making his getaway after fire bombing our office. He apparently forgot that he had rammed the cop’s car not once, but twice. Hint to would be crooks, DO NOT go down dead end streets during a getaway.
So now the ACLU and ANTIFA, partners in crime, are upset because the Feds are snatching assholes off the street. According to the ACLU the cops are in unmarked vehicles and not wearing patches and badges that identify them as police. Boo-hoo.
Is there an explanation that explains these events? Yup. Does it provide a reasonable alternative to the ANTIFA version of events? I’m going to address the complaint, point by point.
Unidentified Cops with no uniform identifiers
Homeland Security briefing, Portland
Bad angle but, the agents are displaying shoulder patches with unit identification. They are also wearing standardized uniforms, implying central supply, rather than a trip to an army surplus store.
There is no requirement that police state their identity and purpose prior to making an arrest. Just because an arrest is made, doesn’t mean a booking must follow.
I was involved in one operation where we took 1800 pounds of marijuana from a truck driver. We allowed him to go on his way. We were such nice guys we didn’t even give him a citation for the traffic violation he committed.
Federal Agents are detaining people at Random
To the rabbit, this may seem a random event. From the eagle’s point of view the rabbit is lunch.
There is nothing random about the detention of the suspect. It isn’t arbitrary. I taught and used this tactic more that twenty years ago when I was with AANTF. The purpose of the tactic was to avoid a confrontation. By “jumping out”on a suspect we could have him in custody and clear the scene before bystanders could take action. These guys are kind of slow. We could do it in less than thirty seconds.
Because we were narcs we put our own twist on things and deployed a secret weapon.
Non lethal munition
Suspects were so busy trying to figure out what hit them they didn’t have time to resist. AANTF developed a double secret weapon. However it never left the drawing board.
Federal Agents are increasing the violence
The tactic is designed to decrease the violence. Watch any video of an ANTIFA/BLM riot. When the police move to arrest an individual, they are immediately swarmed by additional rioters. What starts as the efforts of two or three officers to arrest a rioter turns into a general melee.
By following a suspect away from the immediate riot, agents are able to effect an arrest without outside interference. There is nothing wrong with transporting a suspect to a position of relative safety in order to process him. A release without charge, doesn’t mean there won’t be any.
Check the news. Police across the nation have arrested ANTIFA/BLM protesters only to see them released by prosecutors. Cops arrest based on probable cause. Many times an arrest without warrant is a work in progress. The arrest is supported by probable cause with a promise of additional investigation.
Prosecutors bring a case to trial when they think they can prove the charges, “beyond a shadow of a doubt.” There is a wide gap between the two. Dishonest prosecutors dismiss a charge because the case is not complete.
Oftentimes cops and prosecutors are not allies at this stage but adversaries. Ask any prosecutor who has performed “intake”. If they are honest they will admit their function is to figure out a way to dismiss the case.
I suspect that what is happening in Portland is that the Federal facilities are surrounded by cameras and undercover agents. Suspects are identified as leader organizers or particularly violent and their actions are caught on tape. Undercover agents babysit these suspects until they leave the scene. Once clear of the area, the undercover agents call in the bust team.
The bust team takes the suspect to a secure location, establishes his/her identity, takes fingerprints, photographs and then sends them on their way. In this manner, agents will have a complete package to present to prosecutors. What then follows will be an indictment and arrest.
It takes two to tango. These tactics were adopted by federal agents in response to activities of the rioters. The uniforms and protective gear are made necessary by the actions of the rioters. Gas masks are not a fashion statement. However, if gas is deployed then the agents have to have protection. Whether gas is used by the police is dictated by the protesters.
Set fires, breaking windows, throwing rocks, urine, and Molotov cocktails are not the actions of peaceful demonstrators. Just because the government, judiciary and police of Portland and other cities have abdicated their responsibility doesn’t mean that Feds have to follow the same line.
We discussed outfitting the “jump out team” in rabbit costumes and arming them with rubber carrots.
We figured, “Go ahead, tell everybody how a group of six foot tall rabbits jumped out of a van, whooped your ass with rubber carrots, threw you in the van and took you to their bunny hutch!”