Good morning and welcome back to the Scuttlebutt. Pull up a bucket to sit on, and let’s talk.

The Coward county sheriff’s office is the gift that just keeps giving, at least if you’re a pundit.

I’m not an expert on administering police departments. I do however have 10 years in Law enforcement and 20 years in the Navy. Between the two of them, and an additional 17 years in civil service, I have just a little experience in the difference between a bad individual in an organization, and rot at the top.

What the Broward County sheriff’s office has, is rot at the top, and all the fucking way down to the roots.

Now, first we have an ROE (that’s Rules of Engagement)/Use of Force SOP (Standard Operating Procedures) that allows the School resource officer to stay outside in an active shooter situation until he has backup. “If real time intelligence exists the sole deputy or a team of deputies may enter the area and/or structure to preserve life. A supervisor’s approval or on-site observation is not required for this decision”. (Note, not SHALL, but MAY, and the mealy-mouthed words “if real time intelligence exists”. This is a setup that allows the department to not back your play, no matter what you do.)

SOPs are decided at the top. They are the ultimate ass coverage for the beat cop. As long as the officer follows the Use of Force SOPs S/HE is golden. Use of force lawsuits and “excessive force” complaints have “I was following the department SOPs” as an affirmative defense. (means the department may be sued, but you, my good officer, may go). Bad SOPs cause cops to get away with beating the shit out of some guy for selling cigarettes on the street corner. (looking at you here, New York City).

But bad SOPs can also go the other way. They can lead the officers to think that they shouldn’t use force no matter what.

That seems to be the case here in Broward. Which is why you have 4 count them 4 officers huddled behind their police cars while kids are dying inside. Compare that to St. Mary’s Maryland, where yesterday a school shooter got off one round at students, before the School Resource Officer (the same title that hide behind his car boy above had) engaged the threat and neutralized it. (Neutralized. That’s a euphemism for shot the little fuck dead.)

It’s interesting to note, that the training given to the BCSO states that “History has shown that when confronted by any armed individual, (police, security, concealed carry person) (emphasis mine) They either shoot it out with that person, or kill themselves.” So in spite of all the BS by Israel about the evils of civilians with guns, and the bad NRA, his department training says that a lawful concealed carry citizen can and will stop an active shooter (which is more than his officers managed). I’ve reviewed their training, it’s sound, and it’s exactly what most departments in the nation get. In fact, they probably bought or cribbed it from the same place the Washington CJTC (Criminal Justice Training Commission, AKA the police academy) got ours, it looks identical. It’s also the same place that the St. Mary’s County officers training probably came from… You remember him? He’s the one above that got it right?

We also learned over the last couple weeks, that the Sheriff’s officers were directed not to charge children for crimes, in order to make the statistics look better, and in order to keep some Grant money that was tied to those statistics. (Take a second to dwell on that shit. We are going to let criminals go free, so that we get more money… Ya Mad Yet Bro?)

Now we learn that yesterday, an officer was put on paid leave while being investigated, because he was FUCKING ASLEEP ON DUTY, at the SAME school that was shot up a month ago!!!

Look, you don’t have this many problems because you have bad officers. When you have this many problems, you have bad leadership. More specifically your high command SUCKS. Rot like this doesn’t show up overnight. This shit has been brewing for years, otherwise the sergeants and lieutenants in the force would have taken a hard turn on this.

Here’s what this looks like:

In a well-run force/unit, when you have a shitbag, the Sergeant pulls said waste of flesh aside and “explains” life to him or her. If that doesn’t work, the LT gives them a trip to the outside of the fence. (leave your gun and badge here, you won’t be needing them anymore.)

BUT, in a unit with rot at the top, the Sergeant has pulled people aside, passed them up to the LT, who has asked permission to jettison same, and been told “well, I don’t know, we don’t want to have problems with the union, what they did wasn’t that bad…” In other words, failure of leadership. It only takes a couple times of this, before the Captain, or Assistant Sheriff, or whatever, pulls the LT aside and says “quit wasting my fucking time with this shit! Just handle it, and NO you can’t fire them.”

That translates as “go along, to get along.” In the military we called it “poor command climate”. If the command will not back you, the leader of the unit, then you might as well get along with the guys, because they have more power than you do!

So, unit discipline goes out the window, unit morale goes in the toilet, and the really good guys and gals start looking for a good place to bail out to.

Meanwhile, the word gets out through the cop grape vine (oh yes, there is a cop grape vine, and it makes most women’s gossip circles look like a single blade of grass, alongside a sequoia.) that “this agency” is a great place to go work, if you want the easy life, no bosses harping at ya, no worries about contact records, no demands for “active policing” or case closures, just driving around and getting overtime.

There are cops that find that attractive. Just like there were German soldiers that found the job of camp guard far more attractive than fighting Americans, Brits, or gods forbid, Russians. And yes, these cops fit in about the same level of my regard.

This can only degenerate this far because either the head cop is worthless, or the government that he responds to has gelded him and tied his hands and feet. (even then a really good cop would say “fuck you, find another stooge!”)

Why hasn’t the county recalled this fuck already?

Until they do they’re getting just what they deserve. May the gods have mercy on their souls.

Until next week, take a care.

I remain

Yours in service

William Lehman