Is America creating a paper tiger out of our law enforcement authorities? It’s quite possibly happening as we see evidence all around.
A paper tiger is defined as a person or thing that appears threatening but is ineffectual.
Police officers should be approachable to law abiding citizens, but a threat to the criminal element. Yet the business of policing is rapidly losing its’ teeth as lawless individuals and groups engage in crime and thuggery without fear of reprisal. This is due to feckless leaders issuing orders that keep police from doing what they are trained to do, keep the peace. As a result, cops are inadequately serving the good people who rely upon their strength.
Extreme “solutions” being proposed to “reimagine” police work by people who have no idea what it takes to impact public safety is a dangerous proposition. It’s like a blindfolded person expecting to win a race against a fierce competitor. It’s simply not going to happen!
We see this occurring in Minneapolis, Seattle, Louisville, and New York among other jurisdictions. “Feelings” rule the day while factual data counteracting their premise gets ignored.
Paper Tiger #1
Minneapolis City Council members voted unanimously to amend the city’s charter to remove the mandate for a police department– the first step toward disbanding the agency, Law Officer reported.
The amendment proposes the city replace the police department with a Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention, “which will have responsibility for public safety services prioritizing a holistic, public health-oriented approach,” a draft of the amendment said.
The proposal adds that the director of the new agency would have “non-law-enforcement experience in community safety services, including but not limited to public health and/or restorative justice approaches.” It also suggests setting up a division of licensed peace officers, who would answer to the department’s director.
This gibberish doesn’t even belong in a college theory class, let alone the streets of Anytown, USA.
The “licensed peace officers” in this plan will be the “blindfolded” people that I mentioned earlier. These individuals will be placed in a series of no-win situations by idealists who think a magic wand will work with crime problems.
The paper tiger in Minneapolis is about to become paper-mache.
Paper Tiger #2
Seattle, what a hot mess! Any governing authority that allows anarchists to control six blocks of their city for weeks on end deserve an award for negligence. At last check, there had been at least four shootings involving six victims, and two deaths in the CHOP zone, Law Officer reported. The shortsighted mayor’s vision of a “summer of love” proved to be woefully inadequate.
Paper Tiger #3
According to a statement by the Kentucky Fraternal Order of Police, officers of the Louisville Metro Police Department were ordered to remove protective equipment, up to and including ballistic-rated helmets and approach a lawless crowd with a “soft-approach.” The order was preceded with the “threat of immediate suspension,” Law Officer reported.
It was this incident that got me thinking about the purpose of law enforcement in the eyes of the extreme left. They desire their cops to be paper tigers. Sadly, they have no understanding of the defeat they will face at the hands of criminal thugs and bullies who can spot weakness from a mile away.
Last check, the warriors in Louisville who are being told to put on the costume of a paper tiger seemed to be fighting a case of the “blue flu” due to the brainwashing serum they’ve been told to ingest.
Paper Tiger #4
The New York Police Department announced that it is disbanding its anti-crime unit of approximately 600 plainclothes police officers. Their job is to blend in with the general population to combat crime in the wake of protests and violent unrest over the death of George Floyd.
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said the officers will be shifted to other departments such as the detective and neighborhood policing units, Law Officer reported.
“This is a seismic shift in the culture of how the NYPD polices this great city,” the commissioner said in a statement. “I would consider this in the realm of closing one of the last chapters of ‘Stop, Question and Frisk’… I think it’s time to move forward and change how we police in this city. We can do it with brains. We can do it with guile. We can move away from brute force.”
Shea conceded that the decision does not come without “risk” and said the move is “squarely on my shoulders.”
Risky? In the midst of a spike in crime due to perpetrators challenging law enforcement authority and effectiveness, it’s paper tiger material.
Paper Tiger #5
Law Officer has chronicled one issue after another involving the inept leadership decisions of Little Rock’s police chief, Keith Humphrey. Beyond hanging officers out to dry, getting sued by staff members for a variety of malfeasant allegations, and engaging in personal decisions that have created a whirlwind of alleged indiscretion, we don’t have much to say. (Note: Click here for a long list of articles that chronicle the saga of Chief Keith Humphrey and the City of Little Rock.)
However, based upon police sources at this troubled agency, Humphrey, along with Mayor Frank Scott appear to have a strong desire for a paper tiger law enforcement agency.
As protests and riots spread across America like an out of control wildfire, Little Rock had to face their share of upheaval. Rather than leading the troops, Humphrey was critical of his department, Law Officer reported. After facing his scorn, the Little Rock FOP issued the following statement:
Today, Chief Humphrey sent an email, in which he said he was embarrassed by what he saw at briefings. The chief claims that he saw a “segregated LRPD”. Where the chief saw division, we saw unity. Officers stood shoulder to shoulder in the face of violent assaults. The only color that mattered was blue.
Last night, the men and women of the Little Rock Police Department demonstrated the courage, integrity, and honor of true law enforcement professionals. While the protests were initially peaceful, they became violent and destructive. Officers were struck with rocks and bricks, and businesses were damaged. With the assistance of our neighboring agencies and the Arkansas State Police, our officers took quick action to bring the situation under control and contain the chaos. Assistant Chiefs Finks and Fulk demonstrated excellent leadership in the unified command post.
While the unified command post was managing the incident, Chief Humphrey was spreading tension and unease. He yelled at officers, and ordered them to leave the staging area and respond to the incident without a plan, violating one of the basic tenants of incident command. Strong leadership in the command post made adjustments and our officers performed their duties exceptionally.
Every day, we are proud to put on the uniform of the Little Rock Police Department. The LRFOP is made up of a diverse group of races and creeds, who are all unified in their service to the citizens of Little Rock. Things are tough right now, and the police department needs leadership. Rest assured, however, that everyday, we will suit up and go to work, to serve the citizens with courage, integrity, and honor.
LASTLY, YOU ARE NOT AN EMBARRASSMENT, EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU ACTED AS TRUE PROFESSIONALS!
It isn’t just citizens who suffer the results of paper tiger regimes, officers do too. Good men and women who honorably seek to confront evil, are handicapped by weak and cowardly leaders.
I could go on all day with examples of paper tigers, but I’ll try to “land the plane” with wisdom from Hoover Institution senior fellow Thomas Sowell.
He said on Tuesday that much of the left’s ideology “falls apart like a house of cards” under scrutiny, FOX News reported.
Cops know this, but it’s nice to hear someone with Sowell’s intellect reinforce the doctrine.
Sowell said that he has “no idea” what the proponents of the existence of “institutional racism” mean and that they themselves do not know “what they mean.”
“In a sense that you can’t ask them a factual question and get a factual answer,” he said.
Sowell said he believes young people are influenced throughout their lives in the public education system, which leans to the left.
“You hear the same narrative and they are not taught how to test things against facts. They’re just taught to repeat these slogans and when you try to talk to them in terms of facts, they think that you are trying to confuse them,” Sowell said.
Sadly, we are living in a county where the left is running most of the large cities. Democrats govern 20 out of 25 of the largest cities in the country based upon population. Republicans govern four, while an Independent governs one.
This is what the list looks like:
- New York – Democrat
- Los Angeles – Democrat
- Chicago – Democrat
- Houston – Democrat
- Phoenix – Democrat
- Philadelphia – Democrat
- San Antonio – Independent
- San Diego – Republican
- Dallas – Democrat
- San Jose – Democrat
- Austin – Democrat
- Jacksonville – Republican
- Fort Worth – Republican
- Columbus – Democrat
- Charlotte – Democrat
- San Francisco – Democrat
- Indianapolis – Democrat
- Seattle – Democrat
- Denver – Democrat
- Washington DC – Democrat
- Boston – Democrat
- El Paso – Republican
- Nashville – Democrat
- Detroit – Democrat
- Oklahoma City – Republican
Paper tiger regimes outside the top 25 that are in the news include: #26 Portland – Democrat, #29 Louisville – Democrat, #30 Baltimore – Democrat, #37 Atlanta – Democrat, #46 Minneapolis – Democrat, #65 St. Louis – Democrat, #126 Little Rock – Democrat.
Do you see a trend?
As a result, paper tiger mayors promote and hire paper tiger police chiefs. The exceptions are few and far between, like Chief James Craig in Detroit and Commissioner William Gross in Boston. I salute these men for the role they play and the manner in which they maneuver the political landscape of their respective city.
Elections have consequences. Look at their crime stats and tell me I’m wrong. Moreover, there is a reason why nearly 80 percent of current protesters identify as Democrats.
I hope voters keep this list in mind when they head to the polls in November. Do you want paper tigers policing your city, or professional police officers who are not afraid to be held accountable?
It’s simple, cops would like support from the political leaders who all too often yield to radical bullies, much to the detriment of public safety. When the mayor IS the radical bully, well, good luck!
Bottom line: Paper tigers are taking over American law enforcement! Can we stop it? Not unless more rational people (outside of law enforcement) speak up.
