Here We Go Again...

Sandusky County, home of the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library, Mad River Railroad Museum and a host of other small-town attractions, is in the national spotlight.

And it is bad.

It seems that Sheriff Kyle Overmyer has a problem. A huge legal one at that, involving theft in office, deception to obtain prescription pain medications and tampering with records, to name a few.

Overmyer has been indicted on 38 felony counts following a year-long investigation by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations, which was begun at the request of Sandusky County Prosecutor Thomas Steirwalt after allegations of misconduct by the Sheriff came to his attention.

Suspicions arose when, during Sandusky County's drug give-back event, Overmyer himself visited several police agencies to collect the unused drugs, a highly-unusual practice. It is alleged that Overmyer searched each container, helping himself to those drugs that appealed to him. He also visited several area physicians and asked for prescriptions for pain medication for unnamed maladies.
Overmyer also fudged the books on the Furtherance Of Justice funds in his office, monies to be used to pay for law enforcement-related expenditures.

Thirty-eight felony counts, along with an assortment of misdemeanor charges. That is serious business, whether you're the county Sheriff or a local trash collector. My guess would be that Mr. Overmyer is drug dependent, refusing to recognize his addiction and take steps to get help for his problem.

Now he will pay a price, even in the very unlikely event he is acquitted of all charges. Once a scandal is out there in the media, the damage has been done. It cannot be unread, it cannot be retracted. For an agency such as BCI to gain thirty-eight felony counts against an individual, well, where there's smoke, there's fire.

It's just too bad that the citiens of Sandusky County and all law enforcement officers everywhere will be stained by Overmyer's actions while Sheriff.

Under the Heading of 'What Was He Thinking?'

There's a little beach spot in South Carolina between Murrell's Inlet and Myrtle Beach called Surfside. Never been there, but I'm sure it's quite popular with the vacation crowd during the summer months when there's no school. The town's residential population is listed at 4,119 residents, its beach advertised as 'family friendly'. It boasts a fishing pier, branch of the Horry County library, a zoo, an aquarium and lots of small Mom and Pop diners.

All in all, it sounds like a very nice little community.

Bion Legrand Shoemaker III, one of Surfside Beach's residents, just gave the town...and Socastee High School...a black eye.

Shoemaker, 45, is a teacher there, instructing special needs students. Apparently he was looking for summer income, as many school teachers do, when school is out. He, despite his college education, decided on the sideline of becoming a criminal.

It seems that Shoemaker had a penchant for breaking into vehicles and homes. When school started on August 17th, Shoemaker didn't show up for class; he was arrested by SBPD the next day. “We are pleased to be able to recover some of the victim’s property in these cases. This is still a very fluid investigation,” said Surfside Beach Police Chief Rodney Keziah. “We anticipate recovering more property and possibly making additional charges.”

Shoemaker is currently jailed at the Horry County Correctional Center and is on paid administrative leave from Socastee High School pending the outcome of his trial.

PC Rears Its Ugly Head Yet Again

Political Correctness, or 'PC', is going to be the downfall of this nation...or a significant contributing factor to that event.

First we have youth sports handing out trophies to EVERYone who participates in them. No league champ hardware, no Most Valuable Player plaques. EVERYONE gets the same 'participation' trophy just for showing up. Self-esteem might get injured in the youngsters otherwise.

Then we have societal issues with terms like 'men' and 'women', 'male' and 'female'. Some people feel those terms are sexist...or maybe I should say 'transsexist', because it assigns gender identity to a person regardless of what kind of plumbing God equipped them with as they were forming in the wombs of their mothers.

Just before I left law enforcement, non-police types in the social services world started taking offense over use of the term 'mental' when referring to someone who has psychological issues...who often had to be dealt with by police if they caused a disturbance or were prone to violence. Those folks wanted us to use the non-aggressive word 'consumer' when referring to mental persons. One police department locally even instructed its officers not to use the word 'mental' or the police code '10-30' over the police radios; it might offend if those individuals had scanners and were listening.

And now comes East Carolina University, based in Greenville, North Carolina, offering their students counseling on being adults in the real world and how to deal with failure in their lives. It seems some of their students couldn't handle non-passing grades or rejection at the hands of those they felt attracted to.

Whaaat??

That's right. There's your tax dollars at work, North Carolinians, creating yet more faculty positions, which account for 66% of ECU's annual budget outlay. Hey, it costs money to pay those staff members who add 'PhD' at the end of their names; to me, of course, 'PhD' stands for 'Piled Higher and Deeper'. Faculty has been added to help students cope with failure because they weren't taught how to deal with it growing up.

All because young Johnnie couldn't hit a fastball in Little League, or Suzy couldn't score a goal every time she kicked a soccer ball.

'Peaceful' Protest?

Yesterday marked the second anniversary of the shooting death of Michael Brown by Officer Darin Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri. Weeks of violence and looting followed, resulting in the destruction of local businesses and massive loss of property...and income...to the private owners, who had absolutely nothing to do with the shooting.

Their businesses were located in the wrong neighborhood at the wrong time.

According to the Associated Press, a woman driving on West Flourissant Avenue didn't stop for a group of 'peaceful' protesters who were blocking the darkened street and struck one of them, knocking him out of his shoes.

The driver, obviously fearing for her safety as some of the group started pounding on the car, drove away, at which time several shot were fired. Police investigating the incident stated that the car was 'peppered' with bullet holes. The driver, however, was uninjured. Video was obtained by law enforcement and, after interviewing several witnesses and the driver, concluded that the accident was unintentional. She simply didn't see the man standing in the roadway at night.

Maybe the driver should have stopped, gotten out of her car, raised her arms and shouted "hands up, don't shoot!"

The question I have is, how 'peaceful' of a demonstration are you going to have when A) you demonstrate at night, and B) demonstrators bring firearms with them?

Note that Officer Wilson was cleared by a state grand jury investigating the incident two years ago and also a United States Justice Department review. Both concluded Darin Wilson killed Michael Brown in self-defense.

Brown's father, also named Michael Brown, commented during an earlier memorial service that his son "...built families up...".

Never mind that, on the day he was shot and killed, Brown had committed a strong-arm robbery and then fought with a police officer who tried to talk to him, attempting to take the officer's sidearm.

                                      Protesters hiding behind a vehicle after shots were fired

What Were They Thinking?

News out of Fountain Inn, SC this morning said that a former police officer with that department, 31-year-old Adam Snelgrove, was arrested by the State Law Enforcement Division ( which is similar to Ohio's Bureau of Criminal Investigation ) for kissing and fondling a 15-year-old female in 2012.

In his cruiser. While on duty.

The incidents occurred over a six-month period at a place called 'Frankie's Fun Park', indicating this activity happened several times. Snelgrove was terminated from his job before charges were brought and it is unknown if his firing was as a result of this investigation. He was South Carolina's 'Officer of the Year' in 2014 for departments with between 11 and twenty-five officers.

Snelgrove faces the possibility of fifteen years in prison if convicted.

Mansfield's had it's share of officers who ran afoul of the law. Mike Garn, Bill Clemons and David Minard are three that come quickly to mind.

You have to ask yourself, "What were they thinking?"

These men were police officers. They knew the law and the consequences of their actions. They had well-paying, solid jobs with benefits, yet they chose to jeopardize their careers and livelihood by engaging in criminal conduct which eventually put them behind bars with some of the same convicts they'd arrested. I cannot imagine their time in prison was/is pleasant.

They gambled, lost and paid the price. If Adam Snelgrove is convicted, he'll pay the price, too.

As well he should, just like the others.

We Are Not Immortal

I got a text at 0142 hrs overnight. That's 1:42 AM for non-military/law enforcement types and, generally, when you get a call or text during times when decent people are home in bed it is not good news.

That was the case early this morning.

Jim Sweat Sr died.

Jim and I had known each other for decades, working side-by-side at Mansfield PD before he went back to the Richland County Sheriff's Office. In our early years we were just acquaintances; as we grew long-in-the-tooth we became friends, often running into one another at high-school sporting events his son....and then his grandson...participated in.

I last saw Jim at just such an event, where he'd told me he was retiring from law enforcement after more than thirty years on the job. "It's time, brother", I responded. "You've put your time in. Relax and enjoy life now." I told Jim that I hadn't regretted being forced to retire due to health reasons, that I now had time to do things I enjoyed.

"Life is short, ain't it?"

"Yes it is, Jim. Just look at what happened to John Wendling."

Jim and I had both worked with John at MPD for many years. John retired in May of 2014 after 46 years behind a badge; he died a scant six months later at age 67.

I'm not sure exactly how long Jim had been retired, but I am fairly certain it was in the ball park of eighteen months. He'd been one of those coppers everyone knew, and had spent most of his career involved with police K9s, either working as a canine officer or training police dogs. He'd worked for the Sheriff's Office long enough to see his son, Jim Jr, get hired on as a deputy and eventually become a Captain, his current position. Jim was very proud of his son's accomplishments, as he well should have been.

Hearing the news of Jim's passing harkened me back to a time when he, I...all the guys I came up with and knew on a personal level...were young men doing a dangerous job. We were go-getters, fire-breathers; we wanted all the action.

We thought we were invincible.

I was reminded, once again, that we are not. Thinking about all the people I've worked with...all the fellow coppers, deputies, troopers, dispatchers...it saddens me that so many are gone now. People like Chuck Norris, who never got to retire; Brian Evans, shot and killed by his own deranged brother; Judy Anderson/Lewis, one of the very first people to befriend me when I started at Mansfield PD; Glenn Sturgill and John Gisclon, both deputies who were killed in the line of duty in Ashland County; Ted Brinley, a deputy for many years and then a fellow patrolman at Ontario PD, killed in an off-duty motorcycle accident. Denny Reid, a gruff-appearing veteran Captain at OPD who was actually a pretty likeable guy; Sam Wade, a former patrol officer at Lexington PD who left the job to become an instructor in the law enforcement program at NCSC. Sam had kept up his certification by remaining as a part-time officer with Lex. He died of heart failure while out deer hunting with his wife. Paul Jones, a long-time chief investigator for the Coroner's Office and one of the funniest guys I ever knew; Rob Maugans, a State Trooper who was one of the most health-conscious guys I knew and a whale of an athlete. Rob died of a brain tumor, one which had been caused by years of exposure to traffic radar waves, when the antenna had been mounted just back of the driver's door on the top of the outside window or on the left side frame of the emergency light rack just above the driver's head. Lt J. D. Moore, an icon to me and also a State Trooper, who died of a heart attack at the Mansfield post; and Harold Scott, a brother who had the biggest arms...and head...of anyone I ever worked with. He had an infectious nature, a good-hearted guy who liked to laugh and play the lottery. The list goes on and on, but I don't have the time to include all the ones who are gone.

And now, Jim Sweat Senior joins that group.

We are not immortal, as we thought when we were young men.

The Walking Dead

No, not the TV show.

Pokemon Go players.

Apparently, when people play this game on their phones or tablets, common sense goes out the window...and its not only teenagers playing, either.

Early Monday morning two Sherman, Texas men were arrested for fighting in the street over Pokemon Go; it seems one wasn't happy with the other's choice of teams.

In Ashland, Ohio, players are often found in the city's main cemetery after midnight, trying to catch one of the game's characters. The cemetery closes at dusk. And in Florida, two PG players wandered into the yard of a private residence late at night. Thinking they were burglars, the homeowner shot at them; luckily, neither player suffered wounds, aside from their pride. I'd imagine they went straight home for a change of underwear.

The game's not just a novelty in the United States; in Bosnia, the government issued a warning to players to keep out of areas that have yet to be cleared of land mines, left over from that country's civil war a couple of decades ago. And in Indonesia, police have been ordered not to play Pokemon Go while on duty, and military personnel will soon be banned from the game as well, officials said this past Wednesday. My oldest stepson Cory, just home from Tinker Air Force base in Oklahoma, informed me that there had been 'updates' posted around the base as to where certain hot spots were located, inhabited by these virtual targets for capture.

Seriously??!!

Kids and teenagers I can understand; military personnel and police officers? This has to be some kind of joke. 

We've got a billionaire huckster who can't stay away from social media and a proven pathological liar as our two choices for the Office of the Presidency. Men who want to be women being permitted to use the ladies room in public venues. Illegal aliens collecting Social Security and government assistance who haven't paid one cent into those programs through tax dollars, never mind the fact they broke the law when they entered our country in the first place. Cops being ambushed. Large sections of a couple of major cities, predominantly inhabited by Muslims, that want to be governed by Islamic Sharia law which flies directly in the face of the United States Constitution. Streets flooded with illegal narcotics causing crime and overdose deaths to skyrocket. School kids being punished for biting into a Pop Tart in such a way that makes it resemble a handgun. Texting drivers causing accidents at such a rate that OUR insurance premiums are being raised even though we have no violations or accidents of our own. Teachers having affairs with students. 

This list could be endless, like the political ads we're inundated with daily.

And now comes a phone app that turns otherwise sensible human beings into walking zombies, oblivious to everything except that character they MUST capture in the virtual/real world.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to recognize our United States of America.

And I am sick of it.

                                    The man in the background, playing Pokemon Go near a mine field

                                     in eastern Europe.