Posted on 08/20/2013 7:11:14 PM PDT by markomalley
Tough-talking Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio is warning civilians who embark on armed patrols in remote desert terrain that they could end up with "30 rounds fired into" them by one of his deputies.
His unapologetically terse comments came Tuesday after a member of an Arizona Minuteman border-watch movement was arrested over the weekend for pointing a rifle at a Maricopa County sheriff's deputy he apparently mistook for a drug smuggler.
"If they continue this there could be some dead militia out there," Arpaio said.
Richard Malley, 49, was heavily armed with two others dressed in camouflage Saturday night along Interstate 8 near Gila Bend, a known drug-trafficking corridor in the desert about 70 miles southwest of Phoenix, when he confronted the deputy who was on patrol conducting surveillance, authorities said.
According to court records, the deputy and his partner stopped their vehicle, then flashed their headlights and honked their horn, a common practice used by law enforcement to trick drug smugglers into thinking the car is there to transfer their narcotics load and lure them out of hiding.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Bump
Makes sense, I’m afraid. You can’t have two groups patrolling the border without risking one of them shooting the other.
I wonder if it would be possible if these militia guys volunteered to be deputized by Arpaio, so they could work together, instead? That’s how it was handled in the old days when there was a serious threat to be confronted.
It’s their thing and they don’t like outsiders trying to muscle in.
Obviously, the MCSO and the Minutemen need some better coordination to avoid incidents in the future. It could be as simple as the two agreeing on one-day challenges and passwords.
That is, when one group meets another they yell out their challenge word, and the other group has to yell their password if they have one. If they don’t, all bets are off.
And the words are issued out once a day to both groups, so after a 24 hour period they are invalid, and a new challenge and password are in effect.
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
Here is a theory - how about armed private citizens patrolling THEIR OWN PROPERTY and not trying to be cops out in the middle of the desert?!!!!
I’m not a cop, but if I saw some armed guys in cammo beside the road at night, I’d have my own gun out in a heartbeat. And if one of those armed men pointed a gun at me, I’d be in fear of my life and might well shoot.
If I’m out in the desert hiking, and someone points a gun at me, what do you expect me to do? Ask them if they are militia?
The continuing trend of law enforcement organizations to try to separate themselves from "civilians" is a bad idea, since without the support and cooperation of the "civilians" their job is much more difficult - particularly when the voters cut their budgets.
Those feelings go both ways, which is why the LEOs need to coordinate with civilians, and make sure it is very clear that they are LEOs when they approach civilians - particularly if they too are holding weapons instead of just having a holstered side arm.
Brash statements from either side aren't smart. What is needed is cooperation, coordination, and very clear identification of LEOs.
EXACTLY! The LEO community has been militarizing and separating itself form “civilians” for the past 20 years. The police are not your friend! Nor is Sheriff Joe it seems.
That would require too much intelligence for most cops.
I see no reason for private citizens like myself to be making armed patrols of public property. I run, ride horses & hike on public land. If I see some guys with rifles who are not acting like hunters, my first thought would be “Drug dealers”. And if I have a gun with me, my instinct would be to use my gun to cover my retreat.
I also go out shooting in the desert. I’ve met armed guys planning to use the same general area for target practice. Again, the context - in daytime, in an area suitable for target shooting - makes a difference.
Last time I checked, YOU are a civilian, Joe.
I guess Sheriff Joe believes that The King's Men are ascendant...
Wannabe Rambos.
It's nice to know there are Civilian militias watching our border. The paid professionals are being paid to NOT do anything, hence the NEED for citizen militias!
Civilian police are civilians.
And too much faith in most civilians.
Thanks for the warning, Sheriff Joe...You da man!
Last time I checked, YOU are a civilian, Joe.
I guess Sheriff Joe believes that The King’s Men are ascendant...
Sheriff Joe finally exposes himself as a liberal, eh? sarc/
That's what the prosecution said about Zimmerman. And maybe if the amount of crime was low enough no citizen would need to leave their house armed. And no citizen would feel the need to try to prevent crime in their area. But apparently that is not the situation in Arizona.
Law enforcement officers encounter armed civilians patrolling in lots of circumstances, including in office buildings, shopping centers, and at banks. Around power plants they also encounter armed security teams, and at some installations those teams look more like a Seal Team than a group of mall cops.
Coordination and cooperation should be the goal, not the kind of threats the Sheriff was making. The militia members need to cooperate with the LEOs too, since they presumably have the same goal. But the threats by Sheriff Arpaio evidence an attitude which is counterproductive. Would he want citizens to have the same attitude towards his men if they were on private property? I would certainly hope not.
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