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Armed Arizona posse guards schools: Vigilantes or vigilance?

POSTED BY: NIKI2
UPDATED: Wednesday, January 30, 2013 14:30
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Wednesday, January 30, 2013 8:07 AM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...


Good old Joe Arpaio is at it again:
Quote:

Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona's Maricopa County has dispatched his armed posse to guard public schools.

From a distance, the Maricopa County sheriff's patrol car parked near the entrance to a school parking lot suggests the presence of a uniformed deputy, sitting vigilant behind the wheel – a 9 millimeter Glock on his waist, a Remington shotgun nearby, and a bulletproof vest snug under his tan shirt.

But the man behind the wheel is no deputy.

He is retiree David Bennett, a volunteer with the armed posse that Sheriff Joe Arpaio recently dispatched to patrol school zones in metropolitan Phoenix. It is the sheriff's answer to keeping students safe in the aftermath of the Newtown, Conn., school shootings in December that left 26 people dead, including 20 children.

It is also at least a glimpse of how schools might look if the National Rifle Association had its way. In the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre in Newtown, the NRA proposed putting armed guards at the entrance of every school.

Critics accuse the publicity-prone Arpaio of exploiting the school tragedy for self-promotion. They also question the effectiveness of random patrols outside school grounds without input from school administrators and state government.

"The events in Newtown should be addressed by the governor, legislature, and county and local officials," Randy Parraz, president of Citizens for a Better Arizona, said in a statement.

In her State of the State speech earlier this month, Gov. Jan Brewer (R) proposed more resources to place armed officers inside schools.

Arpaio says trying to get various groups to agree on the best way to tackle school safety could take months. And he saw fit to take quick action on his own.

A local CBS affiliate, KPHO-TV, investigated the posse and found some volunteers have a criminal history that includes offenses such as assault, drug possession, and domestic violence. More than 400 of the 3,000 posse members carry firearms.

The sheriff stands by his posse and says its saves millions in taxpayer money. The same taxpayers would be responsible for any mishaps involving posse members while on the job.More at http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2013/0129/Armed-Arizona-posse-g
uards-schools-Vigilantes-or-vigilance?nav=87-frontpage-entryInsideMonitor


Maybe I'm paranoid (I sincerely hope I AM), but I see trouble ahead...

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Wednesday, January 30, 2013 8:30 AM

STORYMARK


More grandstanding from Arpaio.




Excuse me while I soak in all these sweet, sweet conservative tears.

"We will never have the elite, smart people on our side." -- Rick "Frothy" Santorum

"Goram it kid, let's frak this thing and go home! Engage!"

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Wednesday, January 30, 2013 9:09 AM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...


Yeah, but more grandstanding which may have a nasty cost. I fear something happening, especially with some of those volunteers having records of violence in their past... I hope those poor taxpayers whose money he is supposedly "saving" don't end up hit with a multi-million dollar lawsuit bill...and someone doesn't end up losing their life!

Tit for tat got us where we are today. If we want to be grownups, we need to resist the ugliness. If we each did, this would be a better reflection on Firefly and a more welcome place. I will try.

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Wednesday, January 30, 2013 10:42 AM

FREMDFIRMA



Agreed, this is nuts.

Arpaio himself has no respect for the Constitution, or human rights, or common decency, and his jackbooted thugs are as you say, abusive, violent and potentially dangerous.
Not to mention they have bloody AWFUL weapons safety and handling.

Which makes this a friggin disaster waiting to happen, sparked by the enormous ego of a man who thinks might-makes-right and doesn't give a damn about the consequences of his own actions.

Given the widescale problem of school resource officers abusing and exploiting the very persons they're supposed to be protecting, I can see impending tragedy here as well as you can.

Arpaio being Arpaio, protest from the parents isn't gonna budge him an inch, but I wonder if riling up the students to scorn and shame his goons might have a better effect.

*shaking head*

If you WERE going to station some folks at a school, the best way to do it would be to go discreet, put them in plainclothes as general administrative flunkies or something, and arm them with tasers - which'll lock someone up and drop em faster than a bullet, AND are far less likely to cause collateral damage/injury.

But THIS... this is a disaster in motion, just waiting for somewhere to land!
How the hell is this dude not in a rubber room somewhere, instead of public office ?

-Frem

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Wednesday, January 30, 2013 12:33 PM

MAGONSDAUGHTER


Siege mentality. These people seem to have lost touch with reality and live in fantasy land.

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Wednesday, January 30, 2013 2:14 PM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...


Quote:

How the hell is this dude not in a rubber room somewhere, instead of public office ?



Now let's see, how many Republicans this year can one say that about? Starting with Jan Brewer...

Tit for tat got us where we are today. If we want to be grownups, we need to resist the ugliness. If we each did, this would be a better reflection on Firefly and a more welcome place. I will try.

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Wednesday, January 30, 2013 2:30 PM

RIONAEIRE

Beir bua agus beannacht


This is too extreme, it doesn't really help people feel safer, it makes them afraid.

"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya

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