Howdy Folks!
I'd like to take a moment to update my progress with talking with city folks today about this travesty against the rights of citizens in this instance.
In addition, I'd like to also perhaps redirect the discussion at hand.
The problem isn't about our military. The problem is with law enforcement agencies all over America becoming increasingly militarized and more frequently prone to shooting first and asking questions later. There is too much testosterone poisoning among our LEO's, and it affects their ability to recall things... like they are servants of the people, not their rulers.
This case, according to new information I have at hand, also involved FBI agents. So the violation of Constitutional rights wasn't just a local affair, but one that involved Feds in the bargain. While I have been harranging local officals today, I anticipate contacting my federal representatives to the U.S. House and Senate tomorrow to demand an investigation. If federal agents participated in stripping citizens of Aurora of their rights under both the U.S. Constitution and the Colorado Constitution, they should be held to account as well. It should be assigned to the department of Justice for investigation, and appropriate charges filed against those who threatened citizens at gunpoint.
While talking with one official, she said "Your philosophical view may differ from what the officers observed on the scene." To which I replied, "The Constitution of the United States and of Colorado are not philosophical documents. They are the foundation of our laws, placing limits on the authority of government, and recognizing that power resides in the people! It ain't about philosophical views, it is about the rule of law!" And that's part of the problem within law enforcement. They regard a Constitutional perspective as a philosophical point of view rather than the basis of all laws in the United States of America.
I also spoke with my ward council person who told me she intended to raise this issue at tonight's meeting. I offered to go as a speaker, as I have a certain ability to articulate my concerns as a citizen. She informed that they've gotten quite a number of calls, some from outside Colorado. Folks around the country are watcing what unfolds here in Aurora. But we must keep the pressure going. They must understand that law enforcement is accountable to the people. They are servants of the citizenry, not their masters. They are here to protect and serve, not rule, dominate or threaten the innocent.
My own personal sense of outrage has grown over the last few hours, and I expect to call for an investigation from the Governor's office, and intend to contact my federal representatives and congress folks to demand action to set things straight. And if federal officers were involved in stripping away the Constitutional rights of citizens, they need to be fired without delay!
Along the way, in my conversation with one of those city officials, I stated my position: "The Constitution is the rule of law. It is not arbitrary, nor is it optional. It is the law that officers have sworn to preserve and defend against all enemies, foreign and domestic. It cannot be simply shelved for expediency, dispensed with when inconvenient, nor set aside when cumbersome. The law is the law, and when officers break the law, there is only lawlessness."
So far as I am concerned, the officers involved in this situation were in outright and overt disregard of their sworn oath.
They ought not remain in service to the city when it has become evident their oath was nothing beyond words they repeated at a ceremony at city hall.
I have demanded that my city council person take an affirmative stand to uphold the rights of Americans living in Aurora, and set about cleaning house at Aurora P.D.
My statement was that any officer who pointed a weapon at a citizen is guilty of assault with a deadly weapon, and felony menacing. I reminded one offical that I recall an Aurora officer who was killed while taking SWAT training when another officer experienced a negligent discharge and put a bullet through his fellow officer's skull. So to say there was justification for pointing loaded weapons at innocent civilians was immoral, inconscionable, deadly and just plain unprofessional.
Anyhow, we need to keep those calls coming to Aurora city officials demanding, as I have, that officers guilty of pointing weapons at innocent citizens be tried for criminal acts. In addition, those who participated should each be reprimanded for conduct unbecoming an officer of the law. Finally, the chief of police needs to be immediately replaced. Sacked! Fired!!! Anyone who claims "The ends justify the means" is echoing the mentality of Nazi Germany, not the Constitution of the United States of America.
And if he doesn't understand that simple concept, he should not be holding the job tomorrow! Either he is ignorant of the Constitution, in which case he is unfit to lead a police department, or he is endorsing the outright stripping of citizens rights, in which case, he is unfit for command.
Blessings,
M-Taliesin
