

The Whack'em & Stack'em White Paper

News Analysis by J.J. Johnson

Sierra Times 08.23.01

Since publishing yesterday's Whack'em& Stack'em, Sierra Times has received many inquiries from folks, some wanting to know, "exactly what IS a Whack'em & Stack'em?" Let us explain. This is a term created here at Sierra Times to identify the 'always justifiable' law enforcement homicide, or fatal police shooting. The "whack" means to "kill", and the "stack" means to just keep counting the bodies, and thanking the Good Lord that even though more people die in the country each year via cop bullets than in Russia, we can sleep easy knowing there is always a "good reason" for killing someone. What we find so fascinating about this lethal art is the methods the justifications for whack & stacks are laid out to the public, and how. Of course, there is always a good reason, including the generic, "the officer(s) thought his/their life was in danger". We have learned that this usually works as a catch all when ever a whack & stack is reported. In this whack & stack White Paper, we will use one of our most recent stories, and show you some things to look out for whenever there is a whack & stack in your neck of the woods. (Article in red; our analysis in black) Authorities on Monday declined to comment in detail on what actions Kathleen C. Neuburger took before a state trooper shot to death the armed 40-year-old McKean Township woman Saturday night. - Whenever you hear "declined to comment", this usually means, they will need time to sort out the whole mess (read: make sure everyone has the same story). You first read this and your eyebrows immediate raise wondering why would police just shoot a 40-year old woman? Never fear. Like we said, there is always a good reason, even if it turns out not to be true later. The mission is to paste the early images in your head, so you'll just forget about it later. That's called the "stack". Let's continue Erie County District Attorney Brad Foulk said Monday he was "not in a position to make a formal ruling" about what led a trooper to shoot her, or what led Neuburger, a registered nurse with the Erie County Health Department, to go to a jetty off the Lake Erie shore, armed with a loaded .38-caliber handgun. There's the bait: "armed with a loaded .38". Oh - you DID see the 'registered nurse' part, right? Perhaps another eyebrow might have been raised since this person was probably NOT a criminal by any means. Solution: we give you the weapon. We provide the motive, but first, let's tug on your heart strings and make you feel empathy for what the folks who killed this person are going through "We simply don't have all the facts yet," Foulk said at a press conference Monday. "We are trying to do the most professionally unbiased job possible in this case in order to treat everyone fairly. We haven't had a case like this, as far as I know, in a long, long time." Authorities have still not identified the four troopers at the scene shortly after 10:30 p.m. Saturday. - A person kills someone - say, a police officer. He makes no statement either. But his name and life history is made public immediately - self defense or not (check that: there is no self-defense if police are trying to kill you. The unspoken rules of engagement state: "If police are in the process of shooting and killing you, don't not bleed on their shoes."). But since these are police, you have no need to know who they are at this time. Foulk said there was "every indication showing that (Neuburger) was in possession of a gun" at the time a trooper fired a semiautomatic shotgun at her. Yes - that loaded .38. Of course, a semi-auto shotgun (banned in some states) is a pretty fair match. And since this woman has been 'whacked', no one can ask her if that was actually HER gun. This happens in many cases (especially, the Southern California area). In this example however, we're pretty sure it was her gun.



We should stop here and remind you that, as of now, no law was broken. But the best whack & stacks happen when no laws are broken. Oh by the way, notice how there's no comment on what led to the shooting, then they tell what led to the shooting? Keep reading

When asked if Neuburger was pointing the .38-caliber handgun at police at the time of the shooting, Foulk declined to comment Monday. - If you had three eyes, another eyebrow would go up. Since these folks say they haven't had a whack & stack in a long time, Foulk didn't follow script and say "well, the officers saw a weapon pointed at them, feared for their safety, and pursued their right to defend themselves" (the standard line). This would have pretty much cleared the officers (if there were no witnesses to the contrary) But as a person is reading this article, say, quickly on the way to work, it's easy to assume that yeah, she pointed a gun at them. "We will clarify the details on what happened in the next couple of days," Foulk said. - Right. 4 officers - trained to gather crime scene evidence immediately, and it'll take them a few days to sort the whole thing out. Question: how long would it take them if the whacked-in-question was a law enforcement officer? Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook said Monday that he would not rule on the manner of Neuburger's death, but said the cause of her death was due to a gunshot wound. "It's too early in the investigation to say anything more," Cook said. "It's too sensitive an issue." - The typical load of crap from the conspirators. It is almost laughable with all the violence on television and movies to understand what's so 'sensitive' about the issue. The whack weapon was a semi-auto shotgun. We can assume the standard police load. You'll see later that we had (according to this report) one shot to the head, and one to the torso. Translation: blood, guts, and brain matter all over the place. This was a gruesome scene. Cook said an autopsy was completed on Neuburger by forensic pathologist Dr. Eric Vey just before midnight Sunday. The coroner said it would take about five days for toxicology test results to return from a lab in Pittsburgh. The tests, Cook said, will determine if Neuburger had alcohol, drugs or any of 40 different medications in her system at the time she was shot. - Alcohol? Drugs? See the picture forming in your head? This is standard. Read it carefully and you'll see there isn't a hint of evidence of this. But again, since she's not around to give her side of the story, and what's left of the body is in their custody, well you get the picture. Foulk said Monday that he would not comment on Neuburger's "psychological condition, past or present," meaning the time of the shooting. - add 'crazy' to 'drunk' and 'doper'. Make the average person forget about the registered nurse part, doesn't it? Notice to this point: no mention of past criminal record. You can trust that if there was one, by now, they'd be reporting it. Read on "We have talked to some of her relatives," Foulk said. "There will be some additional meetings with them in the next day or two." Relatives of Neuburger reached by telephone Monday declined to comment on the shooting or the investigation. Stop right here. Now, we've seen these before and we'll explain, but first let's use a little common sense: Relatives hear a love one just got killed by police and no one's talking from the police side. Do you really think the surviving members of the family would have NOTHING to say? Our speculation from past experience is that the family in question was probably never contacted. Typical media ploy. The Media is in on this you ask? We'd better explain that too. You see, if you want to succeed in the media business out here, you report whatever the government tells you else you'll get thrown out of the press pool, and not get those good stories and hot tips. Then bad rumors get passed around about you, advertisers intimidated, followed by loss of revenue. Media outlets who insist on being a pain to the government (e.g. telling the truth against them) can lead to that media outlet being labeled 'anti-government'. Thus, it's wise to keep the state-sponsored news source happy at all costs. The identities of the four troopers involved will be released either today or Wednesday, said Cpl. Mark Zaleski, public information officer for Troop E in Lawrence Park. When asked why authorities were not releasing the troopers' names Monday, Zaleski said it was because the troopers needed time to explain the incident to their families, and that the troopers needed to be debriefed by the state police Member Assistance Program and a state police psychologist. - Like we said: A real gruesome scene. Folks, if this story is true, this poor woman got her head blown off. A scene so sick that even the officers got shaken over it. But of course they HAD to do it, didn't they? Lt. James Breth, the criminal investigation section commander for Troop E, said Monday the four troopers are "all veteran officers." Breth declined to comment further on the incident or the officers. A source close to the investigation on Monday said the handgun Neuburger was carrying Saturday night was "legally registered within the family." - Stopping here to let you get caught up with that picture in your mind. That drunk, doped up, crazy woman had a loaded. 38, and pointed it at four veteran police officers in a place that hasn't had a police shooting in years. That's what has been implied here so far via hints and innuendoes. But a careful reading to this point again will show that NONE of this has been proven yet. This is what makes a classic whack & stack. The police are good. They are the victims. This bitch had it coming. Nice and clean - see? Neuburger, 8771 Neuburger Road, worked at the Erie County Health Department for more than 10 years, working most recently in the health department's environmental division, according to Charlotte Berringer, director of the health department's Community Health Services division. -Speculation here: Neuburger on Neuburger Road. In rural areas, that's indicative of a family who's been there for at least a generation or two. Street name matches family name. Could be a coincidence, of course. But 10 years in the County Health Department. One of their own? Odd isn't it? Even stranger that NO ONE has anything to say about her. Read that as, plenty of people have something to say about it, but you won't get that from this media story. She's a drunk, doped up, crazy gun nut, remember? Berringer declined to comment on Neuburger. "We have not had a chance yet to talk to (Neuburger's) family," Berringer said Monday. State police said a call came into the Girard station late Saturday night from a small group of teenagers who reported that a distraught woman with a gun was at the Walnut Creek Access Area in Fairview Township. She fired one shot into the water, then told the teens there were five more rounds in the gun, according to police. The teens then ran off and called police. Alarms going off in your head yet? If we were a betting lot (we are based in Nevada), we'd put money on the fact that Neuburger knew what she was doing, didn't want to hurt anyone (she could have shot any of the teens), and probably wanted to tell police to find the little curtain climbers and give them the what for - they probably were harassing her. Anyone with half a brain (including veteran police officers) who got an initial report like this should have KNOWN this was a warning shot to get the brats to back off. Investigators said Neuburger was standing on the stone jetty off the east parking lot of the access area and was holding a .38-caliber handgun when four on-duty troopers responded to the scene at 10:37 p.m. One of the troopers attempted to talk to Neuburger [Think she might have mentioned the little brats?] while the trooper with the shotgun took cover along the shoreline, north of the jetty, police said. The woman did not put down the gun when told to, police said. [How the hell to we know that?] She then turned with the gun toward the trooper who tried to talk to her, police said [yes, of course she did] . Neuburger was then shot, according to authorities. - All this from folks who would not 'comment' on what happened. Police said the shotgun blast hit Neuberger in the upper torso and head. Neuburger was pronounced dead at the scene by Cook shortly after 1 a.m. Sunday. - Make that about 10:38 PM. A shotgun blast to the head is usually instant death. State police are trained in such situations to shoot for center mass, which is the largest area of the body, Zaleski said. "If you shoot to wound an individual, in a situation where an officer makes the decision to use deadly force, you're putting all officers at the scene in danger because that individual could still feasibly fire their weapon," Zaleski said. Cpl. Larry Wallick, supervisor of the Pennsylvania State Police firearms unit in Harrisburg for the past three years, said cadets are not taught to shoot to kill, or to shoot to wound, when they encounter a dangerous situation. "We teach to stop the action and take the situation under control," Wallick said Monday from headquarters in Harrisburg. Wallick said he has trained more than 600 state police cadets on firearm usage. "Using deadly force is based on the officer's judgment and the particulars of the situation," Wallick said. "There's no black and white answer to the parameters (of using deadly force), but when a firearm is pulled on an officer and their life is in danger, then that would be the highest level of when deadly force is justified." THERE YA GO!! - " when a firearm is pulled on an officer and their life is in danger, then that would be the highest level of when deadly force is justified.". There is nothing in the story that states this was the case (no one's really commenting, remember?) But the picture has already been placed in the head of most readers. The only thing that hasn't been nailed down is the victim's past criminal record. Here's is how this little matter is handled: Authorities with the District Attorney's Office, state police and the Erie Bureau of Police said Monday that they could not recall the last time a police officer shot and killed someone in Erie County. In January 1990, Union City police Patrolman John Kerr fatally shot a man he stopped to question about a suspected street corner drug deal near North Main and Market streets in Union City. Kerr was killed in a gunfire exchange with the man, Bruce Leland Thompson, of North East. Kerr fatally wounded Thompson after being shot first, authorities said. "Hasn't happened in at least 30 years," Breth said, referring to the state police. "And you probably have to go farther back than that." Breth said police fatally shot a man in Venango Township during a domestic dispute in the early 1990s, and that officers, "sometime in the past decade," he said, shot and injured a man during a hostage situation in Crawford County. -You see, the police around here only use such deadly force in these situations. Thus is was justified - again. This is just one example of the hundreds of people killed by police daily - somewhere in America. You've heard the stories - shot 41 times (officers thought their life was in danger), storming the wrong house (Gee, he had a criminal record anyway), shooting the unarmed (well, we thought that cell phone or pager was a gun), or just plain killing the poor bastard (looked like a knife - and you know that 21 foot rule?). Sierra Times has been covering these whack & stacks since this publication started. And we know that there will be some reading this thinking that Sierra Times doesn't like police officers. So let us make our position very clear: We're just that little ol' news service that, like many drivers, can't help but to slow down and 'rubberneck' at that awful car accident. But since we do it so often, we just happen to see the patterns - the same paramedics and coroners at every 'accident' - with the same justification each time. One of the other reason we call these whack & stacks because (contrary to political correctness) there are as many whites getting killed as everyone else. When a black person gets whacked, it's hard to say stacked because there will be general outrage among the black community. If on the other hand, the person is white - "who really cares". Let's just 'stack' that one up, and move to the next one since we trust white folks won't start burning the suburbs. You'll only get continual coverage of the black victim and the outrage (and possible riot) to follow in regular media. They love that stuff . Pisses white folks off when they sit there and watch - great for ratings. We also cover these issues to remind our readers what kind of society we really live in. Yes, we are told we live in a free country. But this routine killing doesn't occur in other industrialized nations - just third world countries. Keep this White Paper in mind as you see more Whack & Stacks shown at Sierra Times.com. Read between the lines, and you will begin to see a common pattern as well that should make anyone, regardless of political persuasion, start asking questions. And so we will begin again to collect the "Whack and Stack" stories that we find. If you see any that we don't, please send them to news@sierratimes.com with "Whack and Stack" in the subject line. Include a URL or a phone number so we can verify them.

Inmate dies after officers 'use force'

Orlando Sentinel

An Orange County Jail inmate died Tuesday night after corrections officials said he caused a disturbance in his cell and officers used force to restrain him. Sheriff's Sgt. John Allen said he did not know if the inmate, Alfred Wade, 40, charged with aggravated assault and criminal mischief, had medical problems. He was not being treated for methadone withdrawal or monitored for drug observation of any kind, officials said. Another lawsuit filed in fatal Prescott Valley police pursuit

Associated Press

A third lawsuit has been filed in a January police chase that ended in a fiery crash in downtown Prescott that killed three young men. Family calls for independent investigation

Relatives of Martinez Mendez doubt

police can be impartial

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Relatives of a man killed by a Bellevue police officer are questioning whether the department can conduct an impartial investigation into the shooting, their lawyer said yesterday.