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Did Police Chief Steve Bracknell Libel George Zimmerman?
Gun Watch ^ | 17 September, 2013 | Dean Weingarten

Posted on 09/16/2013 6:37:48 PM PDT by marktwain

Edited on 09/16/2013 7:27:19 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]




Whenever I write anything to be published on the Internet or email, I assume that it could be made public at any time.   I caution readers to do the same.  While Internet anonymity is possible, it takes careful preparation and significant effort.

Florida Police Chief Steve Bracknell had a moment of inattention to that advise, and it has pushed him into the middle of the Zimmerman persecution, where no matter what he does, he will get criticism from nearly everyone.   In addition, he may well be sued by George Zimmerman for libel.

In an email to Santiago Rodriquez, of unknown residence,  quoted in the left wing thinkprogress.com, Chief Bracknell makes an unguarded comment.   At thinkprogress.com there is a link to the email exchange between Santiago Rodriques and Chief Bracknell :

Rodriquez writes:

Either way you had crimes committed by this man and did nothing,  Zimmerman is a Sandy Hook, Aurora waiting to happen your job is to protect the communities you serve and you are failing big time...

There is no other state in America in which a man can threaten someone with a gun and not be arrested for it apparently in Florida you have no regard for true justice or the law and that has to come to an end, if Charges are not filed on George Zimmerman we will demand the Justice department to investigate the way your department handled this investigation and how potentially you had assisted a cover up

Sincerly

One Disgusted American
Now is when (Chief) Steve Bracknell makes his mistake.  He writes a long reply to Mr. Rodriguez, explaining in detail the situation and his scrupulous following of the law.  At the end, he writes:

16.  Your reference to Sandy Hook.........................I agree.
17.  Again, there is no cover up.  We are just bound by the laws of our state. I welcome any outside oversight.

Thank you for your email.  I have tried to answer your questions honestly.  On a personal note I agree with you on a few of your points.

Respectfully
Ordinarily, a statement of personal opinion such as this would be uneventful.  The problem is that Chief Bracknell is not speaking as a private individual.  He is speaking as Chief of Police on (almost certainly) department owned equipment and on a department set up email.   From such a position, he has a duty not to make unsupported, libelous statements to the public, which is what he appears to have done, albeit likely without considering it to be so.

Now that the email has been published online, Chief Bracknell is, correctly, backtracking.   It is doubtful that he has the training to make such statements, and they are very likely actionable.

He is caught between two camps.   The animus toward George Zimmerman is very high, and appears to be supported at the highest levels of the administration.   The sympathy for George Zimmerman is also very high, with a majority of people believing that he is not guilty and has been treated unjustly.

This is a very dangerous place for Chief Bracknell to be.   I hope that he will backtrack fast enough not to be caught in the jaws of this trap.



 ©2013 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.

Link to Gun Watch


TOPICS: Government; History; Politics; Society
KEYWORDS: banglist; bracknell; libel; zimmerman
Public officials tread on dangerous ground when they make disparaging statements about individuals from their official positions.
1 posted on 09/16/2013 6:37:48 PM PDT by marktwain
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To: marktwain

Oh, to be George Zimmerman’s civil attorney.


2 posted on 09/16/2013 6:41:42 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (I aim to raise a million plus for Gov. Palin. What'll you do?.)
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To: marktwain

Short answer?

Yes.


3 posted on 09/16/2013 6:41:44 PM PDT by mylife (Ted Cruz understands the law, and he does not fear the unlawful.)
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To: marktwain

Oh, to be George Zimmerman’s civil attorney.


4 posted on 09/16/2013 6:41:46 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (I aim to raise a million plus for Gov. Palin. What'll you do?.)
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To: marktwain
Either way you had crimes committed by this man and did nothing, Zimmerman is a Sandy Hook, Aurora waiting to happen your job is to protect the communities you serve and you are failing big time...

Ah! What a refreshingly original, candid, insightful thought!

5 posted on 09/16/2013 6:46:41 PM PDT by Standing Wolf (No tyrant should ever be allowed to die of natural causes.)
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To: marktwain; All

Their is a mistranscription in the Chief’s comments.

He wrote: “personal note” not “personal not”


6 posted on 09/16/2013 6:48:28 PM PDT by marktwain (The MSM must die for the Republic to live. Long live the new media!)
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To: marktwain
Public officials tread on dangerous ground when they make disparaging statements about individuals from their official positions.

Democrats get away with it all the time.

7 posted on 09/16/2013 6:49:29 PM PDT by digger48
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To: marktwain
Public officials tread on dangerous ground when they make disparaging statements about individuals from their official positions.

Democrats get away with it all the time.

8 posted on 09/16/2013 6:49:57 PM PDT by digger48
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To: marktwain

He’s the Cheif in a very lilly white town. Hispanics are not welcome there because they cause trouble.


9 posted on 09/16/2013 6:50:20 PM PDT by VRWC For Truth (Roberts has perverted the Constitution)
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To: marktwain
Public officials tread on dangerous ground when they make disparaging statements about individuals from their official positions.

Democrats get away with it all the time.

10 posted on 09/16/2013 6:50:20 PM PDT by digger48
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To: marktwain

And I suppose him siding with Trayvon makes him a saint?

No, it makes him a terror supporting jerk.


11 posted on 09/16/2013 6:54:02 PM PDT by lavaroise
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To: marktwain

Hey, Yo! Twain,

GRAMMAR NAZI HERE!!

Their = singular possessive.

There is = there exists.

Please DO NOT confuse THERE, with THEIR.

I know it was on oversight. I KNOW you knew better. It was just a typo.

Flame On!


12 posted on 09/16/2013 6:58:14 PM PDT by ConradofMontferrat ( According to mudslimz, my handle is a HATE CRIME. And I HOPE they don't like it.)
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To: VRWC For Truth

Yes they do, so what the hell is your point?


13 posted on 09/16/2013 6:59:38 PM PDT by ConradofMontferrat ( According to mudslimz, my handle is a HATE CRIME. And I HOPE they don't like it.)
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To: marktwain
Hopefully, Zimmerman can take Bracknell’s home and guns.
14 posted on 09/16/2013 7:00:22 PM PDT by Navy Patriot (Join the Democrats, it's not Fascism when WE do it, and the Constitution and law mean what WE say.)
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To: marktwain

Anatomy of a double standard

Jeffrey Babbitt:

Sucker punched by a black man in Union square New York city, smashes his head on cement:

Police put bandage on his head...

But it's too late. He has bleeding on the brain, he lapses in a coma AND HE DIES

His killer Lashawn Marten says he is not a racist even though witnesses heard him say 'I’m going to punch the first white man I see!'.

*crickets* *crickets*

15 posted on 09/16/2013 7:06:15 PM PDT by GrandJediMasterYoda (What do we want? Time travel. When do we want it? It's irrelevant.)
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To: ConradofMontferrat

I always appreciate constructive criticism.

I am still looking for a volunteer editor.


16 posted on 09/16/2013 7:07:08 PM PDT by marktwain (The MSM must die for the Republic to live. Long live the new media!)
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To: ConradofMontferrat
> "Their = singular possessive"

I share your dislike of their/there confusion, but their looks like a 3rd person plural possessive to me.

17 posted on 09/16/2013 7:35:00 PM PDT by GJones2 ('Their' singular or plural?)
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To: marktwain

Likely he did.


18 posted on 09/16/2013 7:38:45 PM PDT by TBP (Obama lies, Granny dies.)
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To: ConradofMontferrat
"I know it was on oversight. I KNOW you knew better. It was just a typo."

Was "on oversight" an oversight or a typo?

19 posted on 09/16/2013 8:03:38 PM PDT by CivilWarBrewing
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