Dennis Peterson Announces Support for CRB Reform
Dennis Peterson
In the wake of the shooting death of Jonathan Ferrell by CMPD Officer Randall Kerrick, City Council At-Large candidate Dennis Peterson publicly announced his support for reform of the City of Charlotte’s Citizen Review Board process and policy.
“The shooting death of Mr. Ferrell is a horrific incident and my thoughts and prayers are directed to his family. I have the full belief that Chief Monroe, City Manager Carlee, and the District Attorney’s office will handle this case in the most correct and professional manner. However, the people of Charlotte must be secure in their trust and faith of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department. I believe that the only way to restore their faith is by strengthening the oversight and review capabilities of our Citizen Review Board”, said Peterson.
He continued, “The need for strengthening trust in government is further highlighted by the recent controversies regarding the National Security Agency, the Internal Revenue Service, and treatment of journalists by both the Department of Justice and the NC General Assembly Police.”
In announcing support of CRB Reform, Peterson has pledged to support changes that are being advocated for by the group CRB Reform Now.
Admittedly not knowing all the facts yet, this shooting still rattled me more than the usual officer-related shooting.
On the surface we have a guy who was involved in a late night car accident, who then, likely injured and in shock, staggers into a neighborhood trying to find help. Disheveled, shoeless, more than likely (and reasonably so) acting a bit erratic, and being (unfortunately for him) black, I can imagine he would frighten many of the suburban sheeple by showing up in the middle of the night.
The homeowner’s 911 call (as reported by CO) paints something on a different picture, more along the lines of an attempted home invasion, so I’m not passing any judgment until I hear about the tox report.
However, I recently learned a lesson the hard way about dealing with the local 911 and CMPD. In short, never trust the 911 operator to pass along anything you say to the responding officer. Doing so might earn you a one-way ticket to the morgue courtesy of the responding officer.
Now, it’s completely understandable that police officers in a large city like Charlotte are jumpy when they roll on scene.
But it’s also reasonable to expect the 911 operator to pass along critical information provided by the caller to the responding officer. Critical information such as the caller’s height, weight, clothing, whereabouts, and, oh yeah, information like the fact that the caller is armed and will meet the officer outside at such and such specific location.
But what’s that old saying? Do Not Try This At Home.
In retrospect (which is always 20/20, of course) I should’ve realized most of a LEO’s time is spent dealing with either a) ignorant, violent types or b) weak-kneed sheeple. Yet, in my case, as he rolled up and jumped out of his car hollering at me about “approaching the police with a (properly and safely holstered) gun”, it quickly became apparent they are not at all used to dealing with informed, educated, and responsibly armed citizens who take an active interest in defending their own property. Even when the citizen repeatedly gives the 911 operator exacting details of what the officer should suspect upon arrival. And even when the citizen approached the officer arms extended horizontally out to the side, palms open and faced-forward, slowly in a non-threatening manner, with a properly and safely holstered sidearm in an open carry state.
What turned out to be a shouting match – him wondering why I needed a gun and me trying to tell him I was the person who called 911 – could have turned out much, much worse for me. In the end, after he realized I wasn’t going to harm him, he admitted to me NONE of the information I gave the 911 operator was passed along to him. All he knew was he was responding to a suspicious noise call. Only to roll up on a guy with a gun.
I say I was flabbergasted would be an understatement. To say I would have done things differently had I known he was rolling up ignorant would be a greater understatement. In my case, I don’t blame the officer. I blame the 911 operator, or perhaps the processes they have in place for getting info from the operator the responding officer.
But you can bet your last round I will never, ever again trust that an officer (or any other first responder) has been properly informed of who the good guys are. Even if I’m the one who called 911.
I’ll have to say approaching a responding officer with a gun on your hip is just plain not smart. Police officers deal with the dregs of society and when they see a gun they have no choice but to assume the worst, ones that don’t too often end up dead. Do them a favor next time and leave the piece in the house. Just because you’re allowed to carry your manhood on your hip doesn’t make it a good idea most of the time.
In a situation where you had no prior contact with a LEO I would agree with you 100%. However, I did have prior contact, I was on my own property, and I did expect them to behave professionally. They failed. Point is, in the case we have with the most recent shooting it’s not beyond the pail to ask the question if they did here as well.
As for me, I will continue to carry and I will continue to secure my property – especially when I believe there may be someone breaking in. You can stay in the house cowering with your manhood (or lack thereof), not me. The only decision I have to make next time is whether or not to call 911 until after the situation has been handled.
I thought you said your prior contact was with a dispatcher. If that’s the case the dispatcher has no assurance you are who you say you are. They can’t relay any assurances of safety. The responding officer has no assurance you are the property owner when he see’s you for the first time. All the officer see’s is a guy in front of him with a deadly weapon on their hip.
As for staying in the house, I don’t need a gun to secure my property. Those are for people not tough enough to get the job done without one. I would use another word but Christian might not like it.
My prior contact was the 911 operator. And I get your point re: assurances. With that being the case, then she should have said, “Be advised we do not pass along any information to the officer. Do not approach the officer with your firearm. He will not be aware of who you are or the fact that you armed.” She didn’t, she took my information and acted as if he would be made aware of what I was telling her. In other words, if anyone gave false assurances it was her.
As for protecting your home against a bad guy with a gun, you must be really tough. I hope to be more like you when I grow up. But for old, run down guys like myself we like to know we have an equalizer even when we’re not tough enough to get the job done without one. Go read the studies on what inmates convicted of B&E fear most. Far away it’s a homeowner with a gun. Liberals with tough talk? … not so much.
I’ve read the studies on what B&E criminals fear the most and it’s not a gun. It’s a dog, even the little yippy one’s. 80 to 90% occur when the resident isn’t home and 9 times out of 10 then they move on when they hear a dog barking. Not sure what you’re implying about liberals, or even what that means. But this one kicks ass. I grew up around Garinger High School during desegregation when the entertainment of the day usually involved violence of some form or other.
I’ve worked less than a mile from Garinger HS for the last 13 years. Maybe I’m just cynical, or maybe it’s the economy, but the daylight hours shootings are becoming a weekly occurrence around here. Hard to go to lunch, stop for gas or smokes, etc., on N Tryon or Sugar Creek anymore without worrying you might catch a random flier.
As for dogs, they’re certainly part of the equation but they’re only good until a bad guy with a gun puts them down.
As for libs, you’re about as lib as they come from what I (we) can gather from most of your comments.
He is not a liberal – in the classic sense – but an authoritarian – mostly of the progressive/socialist/fascist/crony capitalist stripe.
Yeah, but since we’re throwing out insults and labels in this thread I thought I’d try my hand at it. Guess I’m just not real good at insulting people on the fly.
It takes practice and/or an attitude which is belittling of others. Not just anyone can do it. Our President, for instance, does it very well. Zon is not really very good at it, but he does practice and has the attitude. The problem there is lack of natural ability. But, you have to give him credit, he does follow his orders fairly well.
Coming from an anarchist that thinks civil courts can solve all problems and carries a gun to meet a police officer then whines they should have treated him better, along with a certifiable wing-nut troll from the lunatic fringe with nothing to say but derision, Lib must not be all that bad.
Zon,
Three questions for you:
1) You imply civil courts can’t solve our problems. How are the criminal courts doing? They cost us tens of billions, most of the folks in jail are there for domestic issues and drugs, and we still have rampant crime. Please tell me – short of throwing more money at the prison system or other ‘programs’ – how to solve this conundrum.
2) Please let me know what’s so wrong with having civil penalties for harming someone? You say you’re a Libertarian, so shouldn’t the rule of law be based on laws that protect our property from the harm of others? Aside from that, what laws do want in place that would protect our liberties without exerting state control over our behavior?
3) How can someone (that being me) who advocates for private property rights, the rule of law, civil courts, and common law be considered an anarchist?
K.S. – now you’re responding to it as if it is rational. The words which ooze from its keyboard are copied from a crib sheet. Definitions not required or wanted, just a regurgitation of symbols – as instructed.
An anarchist, a wing-nut, and a parrot walk into a bar …
I would hope someone addresses the wayne furr case;
http://charlotte.johnlocke.org/blog/?p=940
https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/licensed_to_kill_the_growing_phenomenon_of_police_shooting_unarmed_cit