FL: Anonymous Internet Source Claims to be Crooked Cop, gives details

Gun Watch ^ | 24 February, 2015 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

An anonymous Internet source posting as "Guest" has started a firestorm on a forum for the Palm Beach County Sheriff Office, titled pbsotalk.com.   The original post, titled "Tricks of the trade - let's exchange!" deals with how to plant evidence to cause problems for someone they arrest who has aroused their ire.  Here is the original post:

I was lucky to get a really good FTO when I started almost 15 years ago. He taught me to always keep learning new skills and techniques. It's not always easy to do being in a zone with the same old people so I decided perhaps I would share and maybe you might also.

I have a method for getting people off the street that should not be there. Mouthy drivers, street lawyers, assholes and just anyone else trying to make my job difficult.

Under my floor mat, I keep a small plastic dime baggie with Cocaine in residue. Since it's just residue, if it is ever found during a search of my car like during an inspection, it's easy enough to explain. It must have stuck to my foot while walking through San Castle. Anyways, no one's going to question an empty baggie. The residue is the key because yo7 can fully charge some asshole with possession of cocaine, heroin, or whatever just with the residue. How to get it done? "I asked Mr. DOE for his identification. And he pulled out his wallet, I observed a small plastic baggie fall out of his pocket..." Tou get the idea. easy, right?

Best part is, those baggies can be found lots of places so you can always be ready. Don't forget to wipe the baggie on the persons skin after you arrest them because you want their DNA on the bag if they say you planted it or fight it in court.

This is one of my favorite tools. I don't use it often but when I have to do something to remove someone, this is a good way to do it with minimal effort.

The thread goes on for three pages, with various posters claiming to be "real" Palm Beach Sheriff Deputies, threats being made against the original poster, and lots of attempts at rebuttal.

The dcpost.org, an online publication, has posted a story claiming that they have verified that their source is who he says he is.   They paid for the information.  Their original story is here.   There are a lot of verified problems at the Palm Beach Sheriff Office, that are referenced in their story.

I do not know if they are being conned or not.  It is a great story that is going viral.  I predict it will be picked up by the old media eventually.  There are many possibilities.  It could be someone who is getting some "payback" at a department that he sees as corrupt.   It could be someone who believes that they have been treated unjustly, or someone who just believes they can stir up a hornet's nest and never be accountable.  It could even be true.

It is very hard to remain anonymous in today's society.  There are many traces left from Internet posts.  Officers who I talk to say that the practices mentioned are not common to their experiences, that they just are not necessary.  But, people do lots of things that are not necessary. 

I have knowledge of a case involving a close friend where the "baggy with residue" trick was attempted.  No one has gone to jail for it yet, but it caused a lot of problems for someone who has little in the way of resources. 

There is the old saying, "You may beat the rap, but you won't beat the ride."   The process is often severe punishment in itself.

This could be just an Internet commando, but I doubt it.  The person knows a fair amount of procedure and lingo.  They might be a retired officer.  No one really knows at this point, but I doubt that they will be able to remain anonymous forever.   They have just revealed an ugly underside of society that all too many either want to believe is common, or never happens.  It fits right into the narrative that the current administration pushed in Ferguson.

It would be a good way for the administration to gain credit and distract from world affairs.  I could see Eric Holder devoting considerable investigative resources to this case, except that Palm Beach County is a Democrat stronghold where President Obama got 58% of the vote in 2012.

©2015 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
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[wastedyears]

These stories outweigh the stories of upstanding peace officers, but still drives home the us vs. them mentality of far too many of them.

[RetiredTexasVet]

“...but it caused a lot of problems for someone who has little in the way of resources.”

Probably learned this trick from Eric the Corrupt and the Fed Persecutors.

[Cry if I Wanna]

Although the anonymous TOR browser has taken a lot of heat for not being as anonymous as it’s supposed to be, if the poster used it just once he probably could not be traced. But the more he uses it the more likely he’ll be caught.

[Hulka]

Odd. . .they use a photo of a volunteer citizen patrol vehicle for the story. . .a unit of old people (in my town the average age of a citizen volunteer is 59), and they don’t have stop and/or arrest powers, can only observe and not intervene.

Not commenting on the veracity of the story, after all, it was paid for (”hey paid for the information.”), but I will wait for cyber-sleuths to verify the ID of the poster before I will accept at face value.

[Lurker]

Any cop caught doing this should be executed publicly.

[QuisCustodiet1776]

Recommend everyone follow the link and read all the entries. I suspect many of these are legit and they will make you sick.

[Star Traveler]

We would lose almost half the police force ... :-) ...

[marktwain]

“Odd. . .they use a photo of a volunteer citizen patrol vehicle for the story. . .a unit of old people (in my town the average age of a citizen volunteer is 59), and they don’t have stop and/or arrest powers, can only observe and not intervene.”

It does go with the theme of he poster being unverified and anonymous, though familiar with police procedures.

[Redbob]

Sounds like this story was written for Rolling Stone.

Any time a story seems too good to be true, it probably is.

And I wonder at those on here who are so quick to believe something like this with no proof whatsoever.

[MeganC]

Any cop caught doing this should be executed publicly.

Any cop caught doing this will have about half of the FR posters arguing that it was necessary and that the cop was probably in fear for his life so he had to do it. The cop will also face a lengthy all-expenses-paid leave while an internal investigation drags on long enough for the charges to be dropped without anyone noticing. There will also be numerous denials from the department and elected officials and they'll act as if the accusations against their officer are a big lie.

[Hulka]

“It does go with the theme of he poster being unverified and anonymous, though familiar with police procedures.”

Hah. . .in my mind's eye I saw a fat-ol greybeard guy riding around in his citizen volunteer vehicle looking to hit back at a department that doesn't respect his (non)authority.

Perhaps he posted the charges via the computer in his police volunteer vehicle. . .that would be a hoot.

[Oatka]

Recommend everyone follow the link and read all the entries. I suspect many of these are legit and they will make you sick.

I don't believe they are all cops, but I get pist that it might give the creative/ambitious ones some ideas.

As a gun owner, this one, true or false, got my attention:
Also I learned long ago not to carry a real throw down because if it's found you get written up for having an unauthorized weapon. Better to keep an air soft in the trunk. Won't raise any flags and is fully explainable if you get into a bad shoot. After all, how were you supposed to know it was an airsoft when the suspect you shot was waiving it around, threatening your life? You were in fear and couldn't take that chance. I hope I never have to use that one but nice to know I have the option if needed.

[af_vet_rr]

I do not know if they are being conned or not. It is a great story that is going viral. I predict it will be picked up by the old media eventually. There are many possibilities. It could be someone who is getting some "payback" at a department that he sees as corrupt. It could be someone who believes that they have been treated unjustly, or someone who just believes they can stir up a hornet's nest and never be accountable. It could even be true.

It could easily be true. While I'm from Texas, I grew up all over the place, and spent several years in Florida and Louisiana because my father was stationed there, and I saw stuff in all three states that would make these cops look like amateurs, even if everything they posted was true.

There is some ways less accountability now than there was back then - it seems like law enforcement unions are more prevalent/powerful, so it wouldn't surprise me in the least if this type of behavior was still going on. Some of the tricks may have changed, like the DNA stuff, but at the end of the day, bad cops are going to be bad cops.

[af_vet_rr]

nd I wonder at those on here who are so quick to believe something like this with no proof whatsoever.

If you are in your late 50s or older, and happened to have lived in the South or places like Chicago or NYC, unless you were living under a rock, you saw much worse than what these people are posting on their forum. It's very believable.

[af_vet_rr]

These stories outweigh the stories of upstanding peace officers, but still drives home the us vs. them mentality of far too many of them.

There is an easy solution for dealing with bad cops: Open them up to civil lawsuits, stop forcing taxpayers to pay for their court costs/settlements when they lose, and don't let them be hired elsewhere in law enforcement.

That will never happen though, the police unions are far too powerful, and the politicians are cozy with the arrangement - after all, the occasional settlement out of court over bad cops is paid for with taxpayer money, so why worry?

It still shocks me that bad cops enjoy so much protection, and that the taxpayers are on the hook for their misdeeds.