Items
Mediator is exactly
Law Enforcement
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2020-09-02
March on Washington
“Even though it looks dark, I want to tell you to be encouraged. . . . Stand up. We was built for this.” - Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin, Get Your Knee Off Our Necks March -
2021-03-14
Brenda Cohen Oral History, 2021/03/14
In this oral history, I interview my mom, Brenda Lee Cohen on her pandemic experience with a particular focus on her work with the Calgary police service as a crime and intelligence analyst supervisor. In this interview, Brenda talks about her initial experience with the COVID-19 pandemic, she recalls the first day of the pandemic as she and her husband were stuck in America. This particular interview touched upon what her work environment was like during the pandemic and topics such as systemic racism, the police ‘culture’ and the revocation of a popular program for city employees known as the ‘golden handshake’ in the midst of the pandemic. Brenda also spoke briefly about her experience with misogyny within the workplace and how these ideas are so prevent within a space which mixes the civilian and police worlds. Finally, Brenda also spoke about what she is most thankful for in this pandemic, and ultimately reflects on her own inability to express her thoughts and emotions – and how one day when she is out of the police environment, things will be different. Interviewee Name: Brenda Cohen Interviewer Name: Padraic Cohen Date of Interview: 03/14/2021 Location: Cochrane, Alberta Canada. Transcribed by https://otter.ai Partially transcribed by Padraic Cohen -
2020-11-16
Militarization of Police
The militarization of America's police first came in reaction to riots occurring in cities during the 1960s. These events were often in reaction to discrimination, poverty, high unemployment, inadequate schools, poor healthcare, limited housing options, and police brutality. In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. The Act created the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, which made available grants to local governments to develop and purchase military-type resources to suppress riots. The money expedited the development of SWAT and other heavily armored police forces in cities to counteract uprisings. -
2021-03-09
Police1 Promotes Law Enforcement Submissions to the JOTPY COVID-19 Archive
I wrote this article for Police1 to promote law enforcement submissions to the JOTPY COVID-19 archive. At the time of this publication, Police1 enjoys approximately three million unique visits per month to its website. The site published my article on 03/09/2021, and I intend to use this article to encourage further promotion of the archive's Law Enforcement collection. -
2019-03-20
The disregarded
My experience was disheartening and eye opening. My department and municipality seemingly showed their true colors toward specifically road patrol. We were to continue to show up and perform our duties. When Covid-19 got a little more serious we told we could relax traffic enforcement and stay out of business unless called there. That was appreciated. And that was all we got. About a month road patrol was told we were being forced to take a day off to help limit our chance of exposure by a whopping %16. Sounded good, then we were told our forced day off we were to be “on call”. Then we were told that as road patrol since we were only supposed to be fit for duty/on call for 8 hours, we would not be getting our CONTRACTUALLY OBLIGATED and EARNED 4 hours of compensatory time! That was a big morale boost, sarcasm heavily implied. The. We as road patrol we found out every other department in the city was “working from home” including inside positions at our own department, ie detectives , court officers and administration. Those inside positions would receive full pay and not lose any financial compensation unlike road patrol. All the while other area department were being compensated extra for working during a pandemic. Some department got extra pay some got extra vacation time or comp time. We got nothing and were threatened in actually losing compensation. But we were expected to perform our duties still. We did receive a bonus of $1,000 from the federal government that was taxed. So we got $800. I am not complaining about an extra $800 mins you. But that money came from the federal government Not my municipality who has yet to recognize our efforts to this day. Needless to say morale is in the gutter and with an upcoming contract negotiation it is not going to get better. I feel the municipality could have done more or at the least something to recognize what we did. Granted it was unprecedented for all, but dealing with unprecedented from the road and the comfort of your home on Zoom are two polar opposites. -
2020-05-15
Living with a First Responder
My father is a police officer, and despite all the lockdown procedures in place in my hometown (Tucson, Arizona), that meant little regarding my dad's responsibilities at work. However, with the added stress of the pandemic, and the uncertain procedures that rapidly rose around it, I often watched as my dad would stop by the house during work to switch out clothes and take extra sanitization procedures because he had gone out on a call and been in contact with an individual who would only disclose that they had the coronavirus after he dealt with the report. These situations, especially early on in the pandemic, meant a lot of unknown variables for my family as we did our best to stay safe in a situation where we weren't always sure what to do. -
2021-03-03
‘Just a beginning’: Black Lives Matter sign to be installed in Sacramento’s Oak Park
From the Article: It’s a simple sign for a clear message, backed by the city of Sacramento: Black lives matter. A wooden structure spelling the words “Black Lives Matter,” the movement and global rallying cry for racial justice, will be installed at McClatchy Park, located in one of Sacramento’s historically Black neighborhoods. Unanimously approved by the City Council during its Tuesday meeting, the sign is covered in hundreds of names memorializing unarmed Black people killed by law enforcement. Community advocates say they hope the sign will be a symbol of a commitment from city officials to improve the lives of Black residents in Sacramento. -
2020-01-28
Everyone But Me is Vaccinated
As of today, 1/28/2021, many people have already had their second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Many of my friends and family members work in healthcare, so they are either on their first or second dosages. I myself have not had the vaccine, as I do not work in healthcare. I was surprised to see that this vaccine has more side effects than typical vaccines. After their shot, many feel their arm may be sore, or get exceptionally tired. My family member, after their second dose, felt slightly feverish. Luckily, these are the expected side effects, and they don't last more than around 1-2 days! I believe that they are now extending vaccines to front-line workers such as police, firefighters, etc in Arizona. Arizona has not been very good at social distancing, and I know many people personally who have gotten COVID (who luckily have recovered), so I hope that the general public can have access to the vaccine soon. -
2020-12-30
Black man wrongfully detained by maskless police officer tests positive for COVID-19, fiancee says
Excerpt from article: A Black man who was detained by police in Virginia Beach, Virginia after being suspected for a crime he did not commit, has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to his fiancée, Shantel Covil. -
2020-12-02
“Back the Blue” sign
I decided to include this into the collection because I believe that it would be unethical to exclude the “opposing side”. The “Back the Blue” movement is a sort of counter-movement created against the calls to “defund the police”. ‘Back the Blue’ is also often referred to as ‘Blue Lives Matter’ or ‘Thin Blue Line’. I felt that this was necessary to include opposing viewpoints, as not to completely dismiss them from existing, which would be unethical, and future historians who look back onto 2020 will also find out about this counter movement and the reason why it was formed, which allows them to fully grasp the environment of our times. -
2020-06-02
“Justice for George Floyd” sign in front of Historical Building
This is a sign that was put at the door of a historical building in Old Wethersfield, shortly following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The killing of George Flyod, more specifically, the recording, are what caused the widespread Black Lives Matter protests over the summer. To me, this image is important for the archive because it shows the significance of this event in 2020, because it shook the world, not even just the US, and that support for the movement and support for justice is being called for from ~1.3k miles away. The video was spread over social media, which allowed for it to reach that level of audience that it was exposed to. -
2020-11-22
Social anti-mask: Police break up anti-mask dance gathering at Quebec shopping mall, issue fines
One video portrays a dance gathering at a Quebec shopping mall. -
2020-05
Police Brutality and BLM
This presentation provides the history of police brutality towards POC, what led to the protests and the changes that being implemented -
2020-03
Racism during COVID-19 for minorities
The material presents racism during the Pandemic and how it has affected people from different racial communities like Hispanic Latinos, Asians, and African Americans. -
11/27/2020
CJ Willingham Oral History, 2020/11/27.
The Oral History interview is with CJ Willingham and she describes her experiences and views during the pandemic year. CJ gives her encounters during the initial pandemic and how the pandemic is affecting her now. She explains her perspective on more than the pandemic. CJ shares her knowledge on protests, police brutality and police reform. -
2020-11-22
Ashley Pierce's JOTPY Portfolio
Over the past 14 weeks, I have had the opportunity to work on The Journal of the Plague Year digital archive with Arizona State University. I learned a vast amount over the course of the internship, such as how to write press releases, collection plans, blog posts and other forms of advertising for the archive. I also learned about the ins and outs of archiving and the behind-the-scenes considerations that are involved in building and maintaining an archive. This was my very first graduate school class and as such, I wasn’t sure that starting with an internship was the best idea, but after the first week or two I realized that this was the perfect way to start, since it was basically getting a preview of the type of work someone in the public history field would be doing and I got very excited, determined that this was the type of career I wanted to pursue. The writing for publication skills that I have started to develop, I think will be extremely valuable as those skills are not just applicable to public history, but any career field really. The oral history project also provided the opportunity to work on my interviewing skills. Oral histories are vital to the study of history and even though this is an area I still need to work on, at least now I have the basic foundation to build on. For my collection within the archive, I chose to focus on Law Enforcement, as that is a community that is near and dear to my heart. I currently work in law enforcement and I have family that does as well. When we discussed silences in our weekly readings, we talked about how to identify silences and how to work towards filling them. I noted that there were very few if any, submissions to the archive from the perspective of law enforcement so I wanted to work towards filling that silence. Overall, this internship was a great experience and entry into both the public history field and graduate studies. I know that the skills I have developed here will serve me well as I continue my graduate studies! -
2020-11-14
Who you gonna call...?
After the city council expressed a desire to defund and possibly disband the police altogether, a vast number of officers decided to leave the department on their own, frustrated with the lack of support. Now, Minneapolis is scrambling to find additional officers from other agencies to deal with the rapidly escalating crime surge in their city. -
2020-11-12
First you don't want help... Then you NEED help...
Earlier in the year, Minneapolis was one of the first locations to start crying, "Defund the Police..." Now after a long year of protests and riots and all other types of struggles, the city realizes that those they had previously seen as the enemy, the source of the problem were actually the ones holding back the tide and now they see how much the police are really needed. -
2020-11-12
Don't Defund the Police
In this article, author Paul Boyer discusses the lack of logic behind the Defund the Police movement and asks who really would benefit from a decreased police presence. The article makes some sound points and raises important questions that many might not have even considered. -
2020-11-12
COVID-19 Law Enforcement Deaths
Throughout the year, Law Enforcement has been under the microscope, more so than every before. With all the negative attention being heaped on officers, police, troopers, and deputies, it can be hard to remember that they too are being affected by this pandemic and that no one is safe or immune. The current statistics (as of Nov 2020) show that the #1 killer of law enforcement officers is COVID-19. Hopefully, the new year will bring smaller numbers and a brighter outlook for Law Enforcement. -
2020-11-08
Thank you Phoenix PD!
These cards were sent to the Phoenix Police Department by children to thank them for keeping their community safe. Its nice to see that there is still a lot of support for officers. Law Enforcement is a hard job and sometimes it can be hard to remember that people still care about and support those who protect and serve. -
2020
Heartwarming
This is a small article I came across while browsing on Facebook. All to common these days are depressing, sad, aggravating messages and stories, so coming across a positive story was particularly exciting. Thank you to all those officers who provided help and comfort to that little boy! -
2020-11-06
Cop Car Vandalized
After the protests turned violent cooled down in Des Moines, Iowa, there was still a lot of anger. One group decided to vandalize this cop car to send a message to the public/media. This is a picture from a social media post of the cop car. -
2020-11-04
A Little Tired
This meme is everything that COVID/riots/election America is right now. Nobody’s talking about it, but suicides are way up. Divorce is way up. Casual alcoholism is widespread. People are doing so many drugs it’s insane. People are visibly deteriorating, not taking care of themselves and it’s showing. Men I know who used to be clean-cut and disciplined aren’t getting haircuts, aren’t shaving, and barely exercise anymore. Depression is the real “new normal.” Everyone is affected. Oppressive government regulations, blatant abuse and murder of American citizens by the police, arbitrary emergency orders, and openly fraudulent election processes have broken the spirits of almost everyone. No one even thinks change is possible anymore. People want this nation to collapse and are now openly saying it. All hope has been lost in the hearts of the average American. It’s funny because it’s TOO relatable for EVERYONE. -
2020-06-04
Destroyed Cop Cars
This is an image of protesters destroying abandoned police cars in a Black Lives Matter protest-turned riot in 2020. -
2020-05-21
“Savior or strongman? El Salvador's millennial president defies courts and Congress on coronavirus response”
Aside from being the death of hundreds of thousands, COVID-19 may also be the impetus for the decline of democracy in El Salvador, one of the smallest countries in Latin America. In an article for CNN, journalist Patrick Oppmann provides a brief summary of how El Salvador’s populist president, Nayib Bukele, is taking advantage of the pandemic to attack the nation’s political institutions and consolidate personal power. Ever since he was elected as a political outsider in 2019, President Nayib Bukele has utilized social media to attack his political opponents and journalists, who he believes are obstacles to his personal agenda. He also marched soldiers into the National Assembly to intimidate lawmakers into signing a bill to increase police and military funding, arousing the fear of those who remembered El Salvador’s history of military dictatorships. The emergence of COVID-19 has given Bukele the opportunity to further attack the nation’s institutions and to consolidate his own power. He placed stringent quarantine measures and deployed military policemen on the streets to catch violators, who would then be sent to quarantine centers. Bukele also used the pandemic to go after gangs such as MS-13, whose members were rounded up and taken to densely packed prisons and stripped naked. This particular measure not only violated human rights, it also harmed efforts to reintegrate gang members, according to a former gang member interviewed by Oppmann. Despite these heavy handed measures, Bukele and his administration maintain high approval ratings. Bukele has leveraged this high approval rating to ignore El Salvador’s Supreme Court and National Assembly. The former ruled that he had no authority to extend lockdown orders, while the former proposed a bill to reopen the nation’s economy ahead of the reopening date scheduled by Bukele. Rather than acceding to their demands, Bukele had instead taken to social media, castigating both of these institutions as unrepresentative and illegitimate. Oppmann ends his article by noting that, as the pandemic continues, there will most likely be more clashes between El Salvador’s young, populist president and the nation’s other institutions. -
2020-11-01
North Carolina rally organizer plans Election Day march
The story describes an antiracism march that was permitted to rally in the streets according to the rally leader. However, the article also explains that the police said they did not have permission to block the street, but that they escorted the marchers through the streets. It is important because it shows both sides of the story, even though they are conflicting. I do not see any blind spots in this, but I would be curious to see the proof of who was right. The reason I decided to blur the faces in this image as well as the officer’s badges is to hide their identities as the article states that “later 8 people were arrested”. By doing this, it protects the officer’s from any backlash of the arrestees or their families and friends. Hiding the faces of the arrestees protects them from repercussions of their employers using the image against them or any backlash they would receive from others, typically on social media. -
2020-08-21
Arizona’s opioid epidemic under COVID-19
The rise of COVID-19 cases and restrictions have been linked to a rise in both smuggling arrests and overdose cases. In July 2020 alone, the overdose deaths in Pima County nearly outnumber the entire number for 2019. Members of addiction centers talk about what caused the spike and ways to help, and a candidate for county attorney talks about justice reform that will help with addiction recovery. -
10/21/2020
Suzan Keebler Oral History, 2020/10/21
Suzan Keebler is a Field Training Officer with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Custody Division. Today, she speaks about her job, the global pandemic and how her job has been affected by the issues facing society today. In the course of the interview, she discusses how the pandemic has changed the day to day operations of her job and how communication with all the conflicting sides can help to bring resolution and closure to many of these issues. -
2020-05-26
NAACP Responds to George Floyd
I live just South of Minneapolis. The murder of George Floyd was horrific and brutal. It disrupted the community at multiple levels and it is still disrupting it months later. The official response of the local NAACP chapter is important to note. -
2020-10-30
The Defunding Police Idea
I wanted to talk about the part of the BLM movement where people mention defunding the police. I found an article that talks about what the idea is. -
2020-06
The Overton Window Shift
This meme is in reference to President Ronald Reagan’s gun control measures, which are a callback to the sentiments of a large number of gun-owning former Trump supporters that have been left in the dust by the President’s increasingly authoritarian and draconian attitude towards the Second Amendment. Once he started saying things such as “I prefer to take the guns first and go through due process second” and advocating for expanded red flag laws, many libertarian-leaning conservatives realized that the Republican Party was not going to preserve or prevent infringement on their Second Amendment rights. The final nail in the coffin came with the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, when riot police across the country began abusing protestors and onlookers. When right-wing libertarian militias grabbed their kits and began protecting BLM protesters from police and protecting businesses from rioters, they were targeted by counterterrorism elements of the federal government. This meme represents the complete and total lack of faith that most gun owners now have in the Republican Party. -
2020-10-30
Federal Grand Jury Issued Subpoenas Regarding Santa Ana Police Union President
There is a vein of corruption in the Santa Ana Police Union, all the way to the top with its president. -
2020-06
A Difference Between Blue Lives and Black Lives.
This experience was a phone call I had with my mother in June. My mother is a corrections officer and works in the local jail. Amidst the height of the Black Lives Matter protests, I was discussing with my mom that I value her and the work she does, yet I fully support the BLM movement and the demand for justice. The conversation shifted to white privilege and I shared my ideas on what white privilege is and how it shows up. Towards the end of the conversation, my mother stated that she should be able to wear her uniform in public without being criticized, judged, or feeling unsafe, and how it was ‘unfair’ that the BLM movement targeted police officers. My response was, “at least you have the option to take your uniform and feel safe, whereas black people do not have that option.” -
10/11/2020
Ashley Pierce Oral History, 2020/10/11
Ashley Pierce, a graduate student at Arizona State University, lives in Avondale, Arizona. In this interview, she reflects on the COVID-19 pandemic and how it has affected her life. She highlights the effects the pandemic and quarantine has had an affect on her family life and work at the Sheriff’s detention center. She describes how it has affected her work personally . She also touches on the division caused by COVID-19, politics, and the politicization of the pandemic by both sides politically. Ashley also describes the precautions taken by her and her family and friends to avoid catching the virus, and how the quarantine and the current political divide has affected their relationships. -
2020-10-25
Pockets Full of PPE
This is a photograph I took when I was clearing out my pockets to wash my uniforms. I work in Law Enforcement, and due to the nature of our work, we are always needing to refresh our PPE and have it ready to go at a moments notice. I hadn't realized how much more often I find myself needing gloves until I noticed the 'Glove Mountain' that has formed on my dryer... Almost all my pockets had gloves or extra mask in them.. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure... #GloveUp #MaskUp -
2020-04-04
Using the pandemic to prohibit gun sales
This particular story pertains to the overreach of government entities during the covid-19 pandemic, specifically regarding gun sales and the second amendment. Various government entities have utilized the pandemic to prohibit or impede gun and ammunition sales. This is particularly important to me as I believe it is the right of every law abiding man and woman to possess firearms to protect themselves and their families if they choose to do so. Furthermore, I believe in a fair and impartial government which should not have the ability to circumvent standardized governmental procedures in the event of an “emergency” they deem fitting. -
2020-10-23
No New Friends during Covid
The saddest part about living my last year as a teenager during covid isn't the fact that I have to stay at home and live with my parents for the 8th month in a row while all of my friends go out and party, or the fact that I constantly feel like I'm wasting time and should be doing more with my life and my time, or the fact that I'm constantly at a crossroads about wanting to change my major but not wanting to do so remotely, and as a result making my curriculum harder than it needs to be. I would say that the saddest part of it all is all of the people I lost along the way. For starters, I guess being in the house 24/7 makes people reveal true colors. Not only did I lose friends, but I also lost love-interests and overall people I thought would be in my life forever. No these people did not die, but their relationships to me did. The first friendship lost was a guy I held very close to me during high-school, so close that our friend group continued to communicate with one-another post-graduation (which says a lot). The reason everything blew-up was his reaction to the BLM. Me, being an African-American girl would hope that I had chosen friends that would not support unnecessary police brutality, and instead stand-up for the killing of black lives... Sadly, this wasn't the case. Lost friend #1, remained quiet during this movement after George Floyd's murder, and instead only chose to speak about how the rioting and looting had inconvenienced his life as a caucasian male living in Naperville IL. You could say I was a little offended about where his concerns lie, but this didn't stop me from speaking on it and giving him the chance to save the friendship. The was a chance he neglected to take and let's just say that was the last time I have spoken to him. I do not believe that politics should be the "end-all-be-all for relationships, but not wanting someone to die because of the color of their skin is not politics... it's human rights. Moreover, friend #2 was lost during the period of COVID due to him developing a completely new personality and turning into someone who didn't respect the words of others, and instead get mad when things didn't go his way. Given that I had shared a lot of personal experiences with friend #2, I was very hurt to see this side of him. But this didn't stop me from cutting him off. I haven't spoken to him since April, may that friendship RIP. Moreover, countless people turned out to be the opposite of who I thought they were during this time, and I have cut many ties and burned many bridges amidst experiences COVID-19. Although on the bright side, those who are truly meant to be in my life have shown their loyalty and strengthened our bonds stronger than ever throughout the past few months, and for this, I will be forever grateful to have lived through something as life-altering as the pandemic. -
2020-10-20
We're Gonna Be Alright! [REVIEW]
This is my picture that was taken at a racial injustice march days after the police killing of George Floyd and in the midst of Covid-19. (That's me with the white towel around my neck) During this pandemic the majority of America has been focusing on health, economy, and getting back to normal. However, for most of us Black Americans the pandemic has been another exhausting setback to deal with in our pursuit of life, liberty, and the American dream. Unfortunately, our pursuit didn't just start during the pandemic and hasn't been going on for a few months, or even a year. This is a pursuit that has been going on all of our lives, the lives of our ancestors, and almost assuredly for the generations that will come after us! My hope is that when people look back and search Covid-19 and the pandemic of 2020, they will also look at the totality of the struggles of Black Americans. I want them to understand that our fight and struggle to live has been, and will always be more resilient then the forces opposing us, no matter if it's a viral agent or humanity itself! -
2020-03-21
Policing the Plague
This is a photograph of myself that I took just prior to the service of a search warrant on March 21st 2020 in Salinas, California. The state of California was the first to issue a statewide lock down order due to COVID-19 and had done so just the day before on March 20th. Officers in my department were required to don our gas masks for the service of search warrants and other specific activities at this time due to concerns of contacting the virus. These specific gas masks are issued to be used in environments in which CS or CN gas is introduced. They are also designed to be effective in nuclear fallout and are subsequently extreme overkill in regards to protection against COVID-19 and additionally utterly unpractical for officers whom work 40 plus hours a week. The requirement to wear these masks was very short lived as we soon downgraded to surgical masks and cloth masks. Nonetheless, this exemplifies the fear that has surrounded COVID-19, especially in the early days of the pandemic, and the often drastic reactions we as a society have had in response. -
2020-03
COVID-19 story
Around the date that this image was taken was when the initial wave of COVID-19 began. I chose this image to best reflect my experience with COVID-19 because this was also around the time with the George Floyd shootings. As such, this document was handy for various reasons. For one, being an African-American male was a very unique experience at the time, since Floyd’s shooting brought about both people who supported either the BLM movement or was against it. The connection with COVID-19 was that during that point in time during the Floyd shooting, COVID-19 was not the main headline. However, as a consequence to the protests and COVID, curfews were put in place in various states nationwide. This image helped protect me from any unnecessary confrontation that could occur after curfew hours. During a time where there was already enough tension between African-Americans and law enforcement, I did not want to put myself in a situation where I could be compromised. In addition, this image will go down in history for future generations to see of the overall impact that COVID-19 had globally. This pandemic made drastic changes to the way of life in which we lived – from curfews to furloughing employees, to food and toilet paper shortages. This image reminds me of my experience with COVID-19. Around the date that this image was taken was when the initial wave of COVID-19 began. I chose this image to best reflect my experience with COVID-19 because this was also around the time with the George Floyd shootings. As such, this document was handy for various reasons. For one, being an African-American male was a very unique experience at the time, since Floyd’s shooting brought about both people who supported either the BLM movement or was against it. The connection with COVID-19 was that during that point in time during the Floyd shooting, COVID-19 was not the main headline. However, as a consequence to the protests and COVID, curfews were put in place in various states nationwide. This image helped protect me from any unnecessary confrontation that could occur after curfew hours. During a time where there was already enough tension between African-Americans and law enforcement, I did not want to put myself in a situation where I could be compromised. In addition, this image will go down in history for future generations to see of the overall impact that COVID-19 had globally. This pandemic made drastic changes to the way of life in which we lived – from curfews to furloughing employees, to food and toilet paper shortages. This image reminds me of my experience with COVID-19. #REL101 -
2020
New Challenges, New Hope
Ever since the start of the pandemic and the shift towards remote learning, I’ve faced new challenges in places I did not expect. In my home, it was hard getting used to studying and going to class whilst living in a small apartment that I share with my family; I did not having adequate space to learn and read, but my family and I worked something out and now I could/can study with ease. Additionally, I could not talk to my friends and interact with them, even online, given how I had to focus 2x more on my studies but I realized that my friends were experiencing the same thing and we soon planned several days to just talk online and interact. With COVID-19 and police violence spreading like wildfire, I feared what was going to happen to my family, friends, professor, class colleagues and more. However, seeing how people got together, helped each other, protested, united and worked in solidarity, it showed me something: hope. That even in the hardest times in life, there is still hope. -
2020-09-24
It was not the mask
This says that not everyone believes they should wear a mask even if they are more likely to die from the coronavirus, this is important to me because many people believed that the school and officer were wrong for enforcing their policies and even one of the governors started to talk about how the men were useless because they did not intervene in the arrest. *It is a screenshot based on some recent news justified -
2020-03-26
Reduced level of police services
Early on during the pandemic; I had a need to visit my old police department, Santa Barbara Police Department, in order to conduct my annual weapon qualification for my concealed weapon permit as a retiree. I was dismayed to find the police station shut to the walk in public. In addition, I learned that police officers were only responding to crimes in progress and emergencies of different kinds. All other contact had to be conducted over the phone. Such a reduced level of service has to have ramifications currently and down the road. Loss of personal contact between the citizen and officers will result in loss of information where as personal contacts often lead to obtaining unexpected criminal information. It’s a loss of opportunity to build trusting relationships. When little issues are not addressed by the presence of an officer; those little issues can grow to become significant problems. When officers are not dispatched to calls for service; citizens may decide not to call in the future. It’s well know that consensual contacts regarding minor issues often lead to felony crimes and arrests. So to some extent COVID-19 not only has a medical consequence it also has a public safety consequence. -
2020-04-09
Jewish Melbourne: 'Police raid ultra-Orthodox prayer group above store in Ripponlea'
report in The Age, by Paul Sakkal: "Police raided an ultra-Orthodox Jewish prayer group in Melbourne’s inner-east on Thursday morning where a group of at least 10 men were praying in contravention of social-distancing rules. Just after 11am, about 10 police vehicles swooped on an apartment above an IGA store in Glen Eira Road, Ripponlea." -
2020-04-11
Jewish Melbourne: Pesach raid: police swoop on illegal minyan
Newspaper article which appeared in the Australian Jewish News discussing the response to a group of "ultra-Orthodox individuals" who held a minyan on the first day of Pesach, despite social distancing laws which were meant to prevent such gatherings -
2020-08-18
Work Safety
These photos are some I took while creating PPE Kits for where I work... My workplace has always used them, but now, with the pandemic, we are using a lot more so we made up packets that can be grabbed and taken with we will always have supplies available when we need it. ppe, work safe, COVID-19, HST580, ASU, precaution -
2020-05-05
Coping Strategies for LEOs and First Responders
First Responders, by nature of the job, daily charged with helping people through their worst moments and traumatic events. Some might say that first responders should be able to handle it, after all, they signed up for the job. But first responders, just like the rest of us, are human. No one can ever really be prepared to handle stress like that on a day after day after day after day basis. In order to help out first responders, the CDC created this website with information on how to deal with the usual stress of the job plus the new issues and problems that 2020 has decided to throw at us. I thought it important to include here, not just for posterity, but the more places this information is posted, the more available and easily accessible it is for someone who may need it, but not know where to look. -
2020-09-11
Some do Support the Blue
With all the negative in the press, it would be easy for one to think that Law Enforcement officers are out there all alone with no support at all. This is simply not true. This article shows that there are those who support LEO's and that officers/deputies/cops are not fighting the good fight all alone. -
2020-09-13
Sad State of Affairs
I saw this article on facebook and was completely saddened by it. Those two officers were doing nothing to deserve being shot in their vehicles. And then to read that protestors were blocking the entrance to the hospital, possibly preventing ANY emergency traffic from getting in was even more disheartening. I can't even begin to think how to explain this to future generations... So. Much. Useless. Hatred.