Western Rifle Shooters Association

Do not give in to Evil, but proceed ever more boldly against it

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

23:59:59: A Letter to Your Local Chief Law Enforcement Officer - Part I

Dear Chief [insert name here]:

I am writing this letter as an extremely-concerned citizen to you in your official capacity as this jurisdiction's chief local law enforcement officer.

As you are likely more aware than I, our state's finances are a shambles, and accordingly, so too are the finances of our community's government. Layoffs, essential service cutbacks, reduced operating hours -- all of these expedients and more will be tried in a likely-futile effort to compensate for the astonishing drop-off in sales, property, and other tax collections in the current edition of the Great Depression.

But that is only the start of our shared problems. On top of the devastating economic collapse across our nation, the current Administration in Washington and its allies in the Congress are attempting to impose an unprecedented level of nanny-state control over every single citizen. Combine that social-control agenda with the equally-unprecedented militarization of local and state police forces over the past twenty years, interpose the pro-freedom Tea Party movement and its allies, overlay all of these ingredients with a historic economic downturn that gets worse with each passing month, and you have a recipe for disaster.

Constitutional activist Mike Vanderboegh attempted to describe the concerns of the active and growing freedom constituency in our nation's politics with his recent essay, "Yeah, but what does that Three Percent thing MEAN?". I commend that essay to you for your background information, but it is another recent Vanderboegh article which is more directly relevant to our discussion today.

In last month's "“Choose this day whom you will serve”: An Open Letter to American Law Enforcement", Mr. Vanderboegh challenged law enforcement executives such as yourself to consider the following scenario:

***
...So ponder that deteriorating social trust that holds civilizations together, and then ponder this: the worst is yet to come.

What will happen when we are faced, God forbid, with some dislocating national disaster -- natural or man-made -- that makes Katrina look like a kindergarten playground? Now, even if you intend to run off like some New Orleans policemen did, to see to the safety of their families rather than keep order in the city, you are still going to need the cooperation of the armed citizenry in your home neighborhood to protect your family.

You -- ALL of you -- law enforcement officers, will then need us, the armed citizenry -- ALL of us willing and competent to muster -- to defend public order against the tide of chaos represented by five or ten million gang members and the tens of millions of panicked unprepared refugees or opportunistic criminals left unrestrained by a breakdown.

Do you seriously think that federal police, all 150,000 of them, will actually help you in that event, beyond issuing orders that they will not be personally endangered with carrying out?

You will then be on your own, and you will have us. At least those of you will who have the sense to plan now to make that happen in the event...
***


Lest you think Mr. Vanderboegh is a lone crackpot scribbler issuing doomed-to-obscurity manifestos from some dank basement, consider the following excerpt from this essay by noted financial writer Karl Denninger, which also came out last month:

***
...Let's face facts: while today we all count on being able to pick up the phone and call "911" if we need an officer to take a report on our stolen stereo, if the bad times come you will need us, not the other way around. We the people will, under such a circumstance, have the luxury of determining whether your oath of office has been faithfully discharged, or whether the only difference at that instant between you and the gangbanger is that you've got a fancy hat and a nicer car.

Most of us, should we determine that you're just the thug with the fancy hat will hide under the desk. We won't shoot at you - that's not our way. We're law-abiding citizens, for the most part, and while we will shoot back, we won't shoot first. But what we won't do is help you, because your time - your opportunity to help us prevent this catastrophe - will have expired. We will protect our neighbors, our friends, our fellow citizens.

But that's all.

You will get to deal with Zombieland, and in the back of your mind as you're literally consumed will ring that old saw you laid on us for the last two decades: "I just follow orders; I don't make the rules."

Be honest with yourselves: Is this where you want to be, or would changing things now be worthwhile? Would regaining the trust of the people be a good thing? Would replacing the large percentage of law-abiding citizens who now would spit on your shoes with those who will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you, weapons facing the oncoming zombie hoard, be a good thing?

If so you have some work to do and there's still time left to accomplish it...
***


It is the cooperative spirit of these two important essays that I offer these suggestions for how you could, with only the inherent authority you already possess as this jurisdiction's chief law enforcement officer, begin to build those soon-to-be-vital bridges to the majority of our community:

1) Immediately make your law enforcement firearms training facilities fully accessible to the public: Currently, only certified LEOs can access both the known-distance pistol and rifle range at the county's training facility, as well as the new tactical "shoot house" constructed with the Federal law enforcement assistance/stimulus grants last year. For all but four days of each month, all of these publicly-funded training facilities lie empty and unused.

You can, with the stroke of a pen, change that policy and allow lawful gun owners to train at the facilities on a cost-fee basis (to cover the incremental additional staffing that the increased hours would require). In addition, I and other members of the community who are certified handgun and rifle instructors would welcome the opportunity to teach other citizens how to safely and accurately use their weapons. Liability issues could be handled on a waiver/indemnification basis.

This single step alone would be a concrete step showing all of our jurisdiction's citizens on which side of the line you will stand should civil unrest develop. However, there are two other concrete actions that you could take -- today -- that would further enhance your reputation as a true public servant, rather than a fully-bought-and-paid-for local stooge for the Federal law enforcement and disaster management apparatus based in Washington:

2) As a senior member of our jurisdiction's emergency management agency, insist that practical medical classes be started immediately for our citizens: As a career public safety officer, you know that in a true emergency, virtually all medical resources in our county will be overwhelmed in the first hour of the crisis. To help our citizens survive until our more-traditional medical infrastructure is repaired/resupplied/augmented, you could persuade your EMA colleagues to initiate realistic practical medical training on a volunteer basis immediately at local schools. The curriculum would begin with basic first aid/CPR (modified appropriately to reflect realistic disaster durations) and would culminate with a course akin to wilderness survival medicine (where the time to obtain traditional medical resources is assumed to be days or possibly longer). Costs could be handled on a fee-basis, and I am confident that students would be willing to waive any future liability in exchange for admittance to the class.

3) Release our jurisdiction's relevant FEMA contingency plans for public review and comment: Simply put, you and your fellow public safety executives know in detail what FEMA and other Federal agencies plan to do in the event of civil unrest or disorder here in our area. It may turn out that those plans are perfectly rational and reasonable, and disclosure of them into broad daylight will serve only to reassure our fellow citizens. On the other hand, there is a significant and growing number of people in our area who have grave misgivings about those plans. Only by embracing disaster contingency transparency and making those plans available for public review will you be able to reassure those of us who doubt both the motivation and the competence of the Federal disaster response mechanism.

Chief, I hope you understand that by "disaster", I am not simply referring to a hurricane, earthquake, or other such natural occurrence. In Part II of this letter, I will explain exactly the kind of man-made disaster that may face us all as the American economy moves into critical condition.

12 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Another great concept in theory.....but is it too late for most jurisdictions?

I will cite my own locale as an example:

I have determined that the sheriff here is a political dupe, bought and paid for by some rather powerful interests; Republican Party, NRA, etc. He is not on the side of "we the people" he is on the side of whoever keeps him in power and keeps him fed to maintain his rotund waistline.

One area he has shown himself to be at odds with freedom loving individuals and the letter of the law is his overstepping authority with regard to issuing carry permits for handguns. To wit: the legislature sets the requirements for the application. His office has added above and beyond what the state requirements are questions that are not relevant nor lawful. If an applicant refuses to supply the info he then refuses to even accept the application. It is a neat trick. Because you need to hire a lawyer to fight with him. A further catch-22 is that if you show annoyance at his violation of the law set by the legislature he can deny the permit based on your attitude (wrong temperament to carry a gun)!!!

This is a sheriff who enjoys a reputation among many locals as being pro-2Amendmant. He is supposedly in charge of the county jail and yet is bullied by the unions that represent the "corrections officer" (jail guards) into accepting every demand they put upon him. They are a powerful force to be reckoned with, organized, funded by inflated salaries and very vocal.

He has held the position for over 20 years and has run uncontested in the past 2 election cycles.

My sense of things is this: if one were to send a letter like this to him he would be investigating that individual for a covert threat at the least or possibly labeling the sender as someone to dealt with.

I prefer to let him see and feel the wrath of a righteously indignant people as they rise up and strike down his lawlessness when it all comes unglued.

I have only recently relocated here to look after an aging and infirm relative. This is what I have learned from my own first hand investigation of the situation. I choose to not investigate any further as I become too depressed over the situation.

I will also tell you the same problem existed in the county from where I moved, in another state. That sheriff had 3 unions to deal with, a dispatchers union, corrections officers union, and a deputy sheriff's union. If you think your elected sheriff has any authority guess again. He is beholden to the unions who tell him what to do and how to do it or he goes down the road. That jurisdiction was also well beholden to the fedgov. That sheriff had been through the FBI/Quantico training program. He had received many favors in the form of toys like surplus helicopters and tanks from the feds. After 15 years of vocally challenging that county government structure I was happy to get out of there as I had earned a target on my head for all of my efforts and attempts to awaken a sleeping public.

In this new location I operate in a more observe and calculate mode. I think it is better for my health in the long run and when the time comes.....and I said when not if, I know where I stand and who the traitors are.

Someone recently said "got rope" on another comment section. I believe that would be the more fitting end for traitors. Bullets are too good for them.

March 2, 2010 at 1:40 PM  
Blogger Concerned American said...

Anon:

I understand and agree in many situations, including my own. Nonetheless, I wanted to provide folks with a template they could use if they thought the idea might be applicable in their area.

March 2, 2010 at 1:53 PM  
Anonymous Defiant III-per said...

Pete,

I agree with your essay in theory however in the "real world" most if not nearly ALL sheriff's would snicker at such a letter which would purely serve to paint a target on your back and CLEARLY identify YOU as a "trouble making extremist".

The time to involve and ally with law enforcement is long since past.

With a few exceptions, law enforcement as a group IS the enemy of our natural born liberties, freedoms, and Constitutional rights. They are little more than State Sponsored Domestic Terrorists.

In an SHTF scenario, these LEO's would be at YOUR door FIRST to confiscate your firearms, ammunition, and survival supplies and probably worse.

The examples set by LEO's in Katrina and Greensburg, KS have codified law enforcement as one of the first enemies of civilized society and decent law abiding citizens right along with the looters,rapist, murders, thieves, and thugs. They will be among the first to be culled.

This is NOT the way I want it......is is just the way it IS in this day and age. How many examples of police terrorism, abuse, and misconduct do we need to have inflicted on us before we learn??? Read David Codrea's "ONLY ONES" posts on his War on Guns Blog that shows 100's of examples of police terrorism and abuse.

I saw someone post on Sipsey Street that a "cop with an M-16 is NOT a cop......they are unlawful combatants looking for a confrontation with the enemy (read law abiding, tax paying citizens).....aka the sheeple.

In this day and age, ANY LEO of good moral character, decency, honesty, honor, and courage would resign in protest of how most if not nearly all law enforcement agencies are run.

They MUST choose a side......freedom and a constitutional republic or tyranny.


Defiant III-per

March 2, 2010 at 3:07 PM  
Blogger Pat H said...

We of the Southern National Congress wrote a letter similar to this one last September to be sent to the various sheriff, State National Guard Adjutants General, and to the State Attorneys General requesting a similar action on their parts. We didn't get significant responses. Perhaps receiving these en masse will help, most of the above know about the Tenth Amendment Enforcement Movement, and most know about the Firearms Freedom Acts passed or pending in many state legislatures.

March 2, 2010 at 4:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Concerned American:

I applaud your tenacity and forthright efforts on behalf of the cause of liberty.

At this point I intend to be the "gray man"...shouldn't be to hard with my aging locks...lol

We shall see how it all unfolds. I am prepared as best I can be and hope to see a brighter day in our homeland but the times is fading quickly.

I recently returned from visiting a good friend who has expatriated to the Philippines. It is not my first choice but when faced with the possibility of extermination and a seemingly complacent populous who outnumber those of us who love liberty, I have to ask myself this question: Why do I want to stay and spend my remaining days watching my homeland suffer death by a thousand cuts?

Am I selfish? I suppose but I have worked, in my own circle of influence, to shed light on the perils of this impending...nay growing tyranny and most Americans dont give a shit, dont get it, dont want to get it and are in deep denial. It is so heartbreaking to know we are so outnumbered and this could go on slowly bleeding us all to death.

I wish I were a smarter man and able to see how to fix it. I wish I were a younger man with the strength to press on. I wish I were a wealthy man with money to buy an opposing army to slay these filthy dogs who have destroyed my country.

Or perhaps it is not in our hands as our fate has been sealed by a power much greater than mortal men?

March 2, 2010 at 5:10 PM  
Blogger Some Guy said...

Clackamas County, Oregon already met item #1. It's a fine facility with great trainers.

March 2, 2010 at 7:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sorry - 99.9% of our law enforcement are no better than armed thugs employed by a tyranical government. When the line has been crossed, all are legitimate targets and there is no reason what so ever to be their friends or to help them in any way. Writing such a letter would simply make you a target and would be a threat to your OPSEC. The time for letter writing is long gone. The time for prepping and training is coming to an end. Let them fire first but once they do show them no mercy and give them no quarter. They will show us no mercy and we can expect none of the protections formerly provided when we had a working justice system and the rule of law. If anything, I am inclined to temporarily ally with the gangs to wipe out the gang in blue (and then target the gangs). Until them give them no respect or help.

A 3% Operating Near the Heart of the Beast...

March 3, 2010 at 12:11 AM  
Blogger W W Woodward said...

Very appropriate photo to head this post. Sheriff Andy's department was the best (if not the most efficiently) operated department on Television.

Robert Peel said that the effectiveness of a law enforcement agency was best determined by the peace and tranquility of the community.

[W-III]

March 3, 2010 at 2:45 PM  
Blogger jon said...

lest you believe freedom of speech is still inviolate, mine is not the part of the country to say such a thing in. i would probably be watched by the state cops if i said even half of these things to so much as an off-duty local patrolman while at a bar. "in the future, when terrible things happen, we'll have to work together" might even be suspicious. this is a fine tactic, but not one for me.

March 3, 2010 at 7:02 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Probably better to keep quiet and not let the enemy know who is dangerous. It is always better to have surprise.

March 5, 2010 at 1:21 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I unfortunately must agree w/ the sentiments of those who say that the time for attempts @ reconciliation w/ the majority of LE is rapidly passing if not already gone entirely. I also, unfortunately, must agree w/ those who say that entreaties to the decency & honor of LE are not only a waste of time & effort, but simply serve as a means to identify the senders as "leaders" of "a group of anti-govt/anti-LE extremists" that can be later propagandized as a "domestic terror threat" as per recent DHS & SPLC proclamations & thereby be categorised as "legitimate targets" for the "heroic protectors of public safety & defenders of the rule of law", a.k.a. LE. It's a bitter day when a citizen of what was (in spite of the flaws, aggravations, stupidities, cruelties, & injustices) a pretty good place to live has to adopt the mindset chillingly portrayed in the recent film "The Lives of Others" in order to (temporarily) avoid the fate of those deemed "disloyal" & "traitors" by the ruling regime. But given the prospect of what many forsee as the destruction of America either from internal stresses (econo-social collapse, political upheaval) or external assault (acts committed by outside forces &/or their allies inside the U.S.) which would necessitate a declaration of a "state of emergency" & the subsequent imposition of martial law, it would be foolish to the point of suicidal idiocy not to consider some way to preserve enough of the best of this country's accomplishments so as to perhaps (hopefully) one day restore same. Pat H seems to have a method to do such & it's one I hate being forced to contemplate,: Making preparations for the institution of individual & allied regional govt/s as a means to survive the aftermath of the dissolution of the United States. Mr. H & his colleagues in the S.N.C. are apparently trying to do this, but what's unknown is how truly representative they are of sentiment in the Southeast. It's all well & good to make this or that declaration of intentions, but w/o the overwhelming support of the majority of ALL of those who'll be affected by the outcome of said declaration it'll devolve into the Confederacy or the American version of what's in Latin America, Russia, the "Islamic world", or Africa. NOT a good thing @ ALL! And now to my suggestion for what might be the title for a couple of regional govts that may be set up. The territory starting @ the Canada/MT/ND borders west to the Canada/ID/WA borders, & then south to the NM/TX/Mexican & AZ/CA/Mexican borders respectively would be titled the Western States Alliance, & may also include OK & TX depending on whether they want to go w/ the W.S.A. or stay w/ their linguistic kin in the South. The plains states, if they so desired, would NOT be known as "Heartland" since that designaton comes from a VERY dictatorial source, but instead might be called either the Prairie States League or Assn of the Central States. I'd avoid using League of Prairie States/LoPS (as in 'lopsided/s' as a descriptive for the mentality of those in said "rebel" territory or 'lops' for the severed heads of the leadership/populace of the breakaway states) or Assn of Prairie States/APS (Apes) due to the potential for acronymic denigration by whatever tyranny ruled in the East.

March 6, 2010 at 9:12 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

cont.

It's no doubt been noticed that some states have been omitted from the W.S.A. & the P.S.L./A.C.S. & that's not by accident. The entire west coast was left out of the W.S.A. because the majority of the citizenry in WA/OR/CA are of similar political orientation & so would likely form their own group of "People's Democratic Republic/s" that wouldn't, of course, be called that even if things worked out that way. Many Leftists of the "hippie" bent have for years discussed naming such a "country" Pacifica, & include British Columbia if it wanted to join their post-Apocalyptic "utopia" of "love, peace, freedom, & brother/sisterhood" (enabled by more than a little bit of recreational "hemp" use) where things would be EVER so "wonderful" for EVERYBODY who was "cool" & just wanted to LIVE, ya know, man? What "reconquista" outfits like La Raza, MEChA, & Aztlan (& also the huge numbers of Mexicans & other Latinos who'd doubtless come across the former U.S. border) would think about this "paradise" is a VERY large fly in their ointment, as the names & statements of said groups are in violent opposition to such a "land of love" & the type of people entering from Latin America are QUITE likely to take STRONG exception to the libertinism of Pacificans & then do something about it. Imagine the shock when Jose & Josefina tell Starheart & Rainbow (a.k.a. Tad & Jannafer) that they have to go because they're no longer in California but in Califas/Alta Mexico/Aztlan, "gringos perversos" like them are NOT welcome any more, & they'd better get gone if they know what's good for them. Another problem for "Pacifica" is how the black population will react should the SHTF & the U.S. falls apart. I may be wrong, but given the low-level war that's been going on between blacks & "Hispanics" & the subsequent ethnic cleansing of blacks by such from ever larger parts of L.A. that once were all/majority black, it looks like things'll get mighty, interesting, very quickly. And that's something for those who are primarily focused on the 'survivalist' aspects of a national breakup to cogitate on HARD, because that eventuality will have to be dealt w/ real quick & the solution isn't @ all likely to be a nice one.


Cassandra (of Troy)

March 6, 2010 at 10:35 AM  

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