HAS “WHEELS UP, RINGS OFF” BECOME A COUNTER CULTURE IN THE SECRET SERVICE??

Hello Bloggers/Readers, I hope all of you are staying on top of the news and current events in this country and most importantly communicating.

Today I need to discuss a subject that has become a national news event and has been an incident that will continue to impact my life. I say this because the agency that I spent most of my adult life working for has been brought to its knees. Literally, brought to its knees. I worked for the U.S. Secret Service for 25 years. During this time, I never would have imagined agents of this elite agency would ever lower themselves to a level that would bring so much disgrace to this country, the Secret Service and to the President of the United States!

To say I am very angry would be putting it mildly. How could these guys act in a manner that is not only unprofessional but stupid? I have always believed agents of this agency should be held to a higher standard of ethical conduct. If after an initial investigation, it is determined that the allegations are true, then I think those involved should be fired. (I just recently learned that some of the agents have already been fired or removed; but the damage is already done and the prestige of the agency will forever be tarnished).

Some may say that because prostitution is legal in that country, the agents didn’t do anything criminal. That is not the point!! They were there to provide protection for the President and were representing their country…our country. There were so many bad things that could have occurred that would’ve or could’ve impacted the security mission. The agents had the President’s schedule, persons he was to meet with, places he would be visiting, etc. What if a terrorist group had used the prostitutes as a plant to either gain security information, to perhaps assassinate the President, or harm the agents and security personnel, or embarrass this country?? The President was there to meet with other heads of countries and this incident over-shadowed the entire Presidential conference. The President had to respond to questions regarding this incident while at the conference. Prostitution in this country is mostly illegal; but we have had members of Congress, heads of city government, etc., who have been identified as being customers of prostitutes. They have kept their jobs; some have gotten other visible positions. Doesn’t this send a negative signal and give an impression that these acts are excusable and condoned??

I retired from the Secret service in 1990 and I hope the culture of “the Service” hasn’t deteriorated to a point where their protective mission is compromised. The director of “the Service” has to take a thorough look at his agency and make the necessary changes to prevent a re-occurrence of this sort of situation. The people of this country are entitled to expect people in these positions to be beyond reproach. This should be demanded of all government employees… The President, Congress, judges, agency heads, employees, etc. Yes there will be some mistakes… That is human nature; but swift action needs to be taken in incidents of this type or these acts will be repeated.

I still have problems believing this incident and understanding why it happened. I appeared on a local television station this week and discussed my career and what should be done to the agents involved. This is not a “sweep under the rug” situation or a “too big to fail” scenario. The life of a President could be at risk!

Fox 10 News Interview

TRAYVON MARTIN FINALLY GETS THE JUSTICE HE DESERVES

Hello Bloggers, I want to compliment all of you who have entered into an important dialogue regarding this tragic incident. I have observed some spirited comments on Blog Critics, regarding my previous post “Why did Trayvon Martin Die”, those comments will hopefully have a positive impact to help this country deal with these issues. Each of you has the right to express your own opinion regarding this situation and we won’t always agree with each other but, the communication is important.

Most of my adult life has been in law enforcement and I was waiting to not only find out what the special prosecutor would decide regarding whether to prosecute Zimmerman or not, but I wanted to hear additional facts regarding this incident, such as, did one of the Sanford police officers file a report suggesting he didn’t believe Zimmerman’s account of what happened that night?? Unfortunately, based on Florida Law we will have to wait for this type of evidence. After listening to the special prosecutor, I applaud her for making a tough decision. All of the protest, hostility and anger could have been avoided if this type of thorough investigative process had been conducted immediately after Trayvon Martin’s death.

Trayvon Martin probably would have been a case of justifiable homicide due to the Stand Your Ground Law, if not for the protest, outcries across the country and Martin’s parent’s perseverance. Trayvon Martin was initially listed as a John Doe for three days, even though the police had his cell phone. We should remember the statement of the Stanford Police Chief who said Zimmerman would not be arrested. The special prosecutor didn’t throw the Stanford Police Department under the bus but, if we just examine what we do know, a complete and proper investigation wasn’t done. The Governor of Florida was forced to name the special prosecutor and that was the right call.

The Martin case and the protests also have caused some States that have a Stand Your Ground Law, to re-examine the validity of the law. This is a good thing!! This law has not been applied correctly, based on everything I have learned. Can we as a country accept the premise that an unarmed teenager can be killed and the killer can get off without any prosecution, just by saying “I feared for my life”? The original intent of the law was to protect your castle (your home) and Stand Your Ground, if someone has broken into or trying to break into your home and you feared for your life. I don’t have a problem with that!! But, I do have and everyone should have a problem with this law as it extends to areas outside the home.

This law has been abuse on several occasions and will continue to be abused in the future if something isn’t done to correct it. I will remind you of one case in Texas, when a man cited the Stand your Ground Law, when he observed two men burglarizing a home, not his, left his home with a shot gun and shot the burglars. His life wasn’t in danger. Was he a hero?? He had been on the phone with the police and was told “Don’t go outside of your home”, he went anyway, cocking his gun for the police to hear. Does this law give the shooters the applied appearance of immunity?? What if he had been killed?? What if he had accidentally killed the other home owner?? What if he was killed by the police who told him not to go outside and they didn’t know who he was?? In Texas, he was treated as a hero!! He stood his ground!! This law causes vigilantism by citizens and a shoot first Wild West mentality prevails. Zimmerman was also told not to follow Martin, he said “Okay”, but continued to follow Martin and a confrontation resulted in the death of Martin. In my opinion, based on my experience, a person can’t fear for their life if they are pursuing someone they fear!!

Zimmerman deserves and will have his day in court and now let us wait for a judicial verdict. Keep Blogging/keep communicating.