Posted on 07/22/2002 1:31:29 PM PDT by rdavis84
Mystery men keep handle on security at courthouse
BY LINDA SATTER
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
July 22, 2002
They stand resolutely outside the federal courts building in downtown Little
Rock, watching and listening, saying little.
Inside, more of these mysterious men patrol in navy blue jackets,
starched white shirts and gray pants. They demand identification from all
who enter and screen for weapons. In courtrooms, they keep an eye on
proceedings while their earpieces deliver a running account of happenings
elsewhere in the building.
Occasionally, they speak softly into radios, and then suddenly,
discreetly, more of their kind appear.
They also guard jurors and jurists and stand ready to provide
cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Last year, James Thomas Carman was nationally
recognized as CSO of the Year for performing chest compressions to save the
life of U.S. District Judge Henry Woods, who died this March.
Though the badges pinned to their jackets declare "U.S. Marshal’s
Service," they’re not marshals. They’re also not security guards, cops or
bailiffs. And contrary to what some believe, they’re not federal agents, or
even federal employees.
They officially are called court security officers, or CSOs. They are
part of a nationwide group of former law enforcement and military security
officers who work for a private security firm under contract with the U.S.
Marshal’s Service. While in the courthouse, they have the same powers as
deputy marshals. But unlike the federal agents they work alongside, that
authority evaporates when the CSOs leave the building each day.
"They are the guys on the front line," said Daya Khalsa, senior vice
president of Akal Security, a company in Santa Cruz, N.M., that employees
CSOs in two-thirds of the country’s 12 federal judicial circuits, including
the 8th Circuit that encompasses Arkansas and six other states.
"They’re really providing the face of security to everyone. They’re the
people who see things first. They know the building better than anybody,"
Khalsa said.
The CSO program began on a small scale about 20 years ago in New York
City to supplement overworked federal marshals. It spread nationwide as all
federal courthouses increased security and as marshals’ duties expanded
beyond protecting judges. Today, there are about 4,800 federal CSOs.
"There’s a perception out there that private security is just driven by
price and it’s very low quality, and that’s a misconception," Khalsa said.
He said CSOs, who make $15 to $30 an hour, "couldn’t be more different" than
lower-paid private security employees.
While many private guards lack law enforcement experience and don’t carry
guns, CSOs are armed and have at least three years of law enforcement
experience. Most, Khalsa said, are retired cops with 20 to 30 years of
experience.
"I’ve been wearing a badge and carrying a gun since I was 18 years old,"
said John Dillon, 61, of Sherwood, a former U.S. Air Force security guard
and a CSO for five years.
In Little Rock, about half of the 28 CSOs at the main courthouse or the
nearby bankruptcy courthouse are former military police, while others are
retired sheriff’s deputies, police officers or state troopers. Many have
experience in both areas. The youngest is in his mid-30s, the oldest, in his
mid-70s. Most are in their 50s. All must pass stringent annual physicals.
Behind their uniformly steely gazes, though, they are a diverse bunch of
individuals, with skills reaching far beyond knowing how to shoot guns and
wrestle suspects — not that there is much of a need for either on their
watch.
Ron Cunningham, a CSO for 11 years who spent 20 years with Air Force
security, and who races horses around barrels on weekends, credits the
no-nonsense reputation of federal court for minimizing rowdy behavior that
sometimes afflicts the less-staid state courts.
"I think they have a lot more respect for the federal system," Cunningham
said of would-be troublemakers.
Cleo Randall, a CSO for three years who previously worked as a juvenile
court bailiff and in Air Force security, agreed. A martial arts teacher and
sword maker while off duty, Randall said the CSOs’ law enforcement
backgrounds help them quickly recognize postures or movements that signal
trouble, allowing them to ward it off by quietly summoning reinforcements.
Because the officers’ mere presence can deter trouble, making it hard to
know how much actual danger or crime they may have averted, the workday
often ends without that satisfying sense of accomplishment, notes Mike
Kieffer, a CSO for 10 years who spent 20 years in Air Force security.
Kieffer said that’s why the most rewarding part of the job is the
friendliness the CSOs get from courthouse regulars — judges, staff and
lawyers.
"They go out of their way to speak and remember what your name is. It
makes you feel appreciated," he said.
Chief U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright said the court officers
"serve us well."
"My experience with them is they’re ordinarily pretty good with handling
people and different situations in a courtroom setting," Wright said. "I
think that, because of their backgrounds, they do have a lot of people
skills that others of us lack. The downside is they tend to be older and not
as physically fit" as marshals.
Wright said that since the bombing of the federal courthouse in Oklahoma
City in 1995 and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, she’s heard informal
chitchat at meetings of senior judges across the country about whether
more-enhanced security is needed in federal courts beyond that provided by
the combination of CSOs and marshals. Jim Hall, a supervisory deputy marshal
in Little Rock, said the CSOs provide necessary extra manpower and are "a
good group of guys."
Though much of what the CSOs do is secretive, one of their unofficial
duties is hard to miss. At least once a week, the courthouse is permeated
with the smell of bacon, stew or perhaps chicken and dumplings, all
emanating from the officers’ firstfloor office. Usually the cook is their
supervisor, 18-year veteran Joe Maxwell, or seven-year veteran Fred Clark.
"We have a simple meal once a week for fellowship. It’s just kind of
become a tradition," said Clark, a retired state trooper, deputy sheriff and
smalltown police chief known for making a mean batch of cornbread.
The CSOs admittedly cultivate the sense of mystery that leaves people
wondering who, exactly, they are, and what, exactly, they might do if
provoked.
"A great deal of the respect we get comes from the mystique," three-year
CSO Robert Bellamy said.
Max Ballew, a 13-year CSO, agreed. With a sly smile, he notes that’s one
reason why, when CSOs are on the job, "the courthouse is very well
protected."
This story was published Monday, July 22, 2002
GUIDELINES FOR SIKHS IN AIRPORT SECURITY CHECKS -
October 9th 2001
- by Akal Security, Espanola, NM.
SOME THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND FIRST
1. Understand in advance that it is a different world than a month ago and people are very nervous and suspicious.
2. All airport security personnel, including security screeners, are on heightened alert.
3. Understand that the FAA does have a Watchlist and the name Khalsa does appear on that list.
US adds two Sikh separatist groups to terrorist list
The US government has added two Sikh separatist militant groups to a list of "specially designated global terrorist" entities, the Treasury Department said.
The two groups are Babbar Khalsa, and the International Sikh Federation which are opposed to New Delhi control of the north-west Indian province of Punjab.
Financial institutions in the US will now have to freeze the assets of the groups which join 200 other terror organisations in the list.
The move will bring American policy in line with that of the European Union, which declared the two entities as terrorist groups in early March.
The groups' leaders are on India's list of 20 wanted suspects and it wants Pakistan to hand them over for trial.
ISLAMABAD, Nov. 8: Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry and visiting Sikh leaders Tuesday pledged to make joint efforts for freedom from Indian servility.
The Kashmiri and Sikh communities will have to snatch their rights from India which is engaged in human rights violations, AJK premier said. The Sikh delegation assured every possible help to Kashmiris for the freedom cause.
“The struggle for independence will succeed only once the minorities’ rights are clenched jointly by the Kashmiris and Sikhs from the Indians,” the AJK premier added while addressing a delegation of the International Sikhs Youth Federation. Mahmood said that Indian would disintegrate like USSR, as Indians are involved in worst kind of violation of minorities and human rights. He said that influential countries must take notice of the Indian barbarism.
He said Sikhs were among the major minorities of Inddia and their rights might be respected. He said that Sikhs could also extend help to Kashmiris through their exiled-government in London. The Sikhs assured every possible help to Kashmiris for the freedom cause.
APP adds: The Sikh leaders vowed to stand by the Kashmiri leaders for achieving their right to self-determination. While announcing to further strengthen the ‘Khalistan Movement’, they said they will joint hands to face the growing suppression in the occupied territory by the Indian troops.
Those who addressed the reception included International Sikh Federation Vice President Raghbir Singh and Surinder Singh Bhinder. They said the time is not far off, when the ongoing freedom struggle will crown with success, and India will turn into separate states for Muslims, Sikhs and other minorities.
AJK PM said the Indian government tried to create hatred and misunderstanding between Muslims and Sikhs, by killing Sikhs at Chattisingpora in occupied Kashmir at the time of President Clinton’s visit to South Asia. But failed to put the blame of the gruesome murder on Muslims to achieve their nefarious designs.
Description
Sikh terrorism is sponsored by expatriate and Indian Sikh groups who want to carve out an independent Sikh state called Khalistan (Land of the Pure) from Indian terroritory. Active groups include Babbar Khalsa, International Sikh Youth Federation, Dal Khalsa, Bhinderanwala Tiger Force. A previously unknown group, the Saheed Khalsa Force, claimed credit for the marketplace bombings in New Delhi in 1997. Previously active groups included the Azad Khalistan Babbar Khalsa Force, Khalistan Liberation Front, and Khalistan Commando Force. Many of these groups operate under umbrella organizations, the most significant of which is the Second Panthic Committee.
Location/Area of Operation
Northern India, Western Europe, Southeast Asia, and North America.
External Aid
Sikh militant cells are active internationally, and extremists gather funds from overseas Sikh communities. Sikh expatriates have formed a variety of international organizations that lobby for the Sikh cause overseas. Most prominent are the World Sikh Organization and the International Sikh Youth Federation.
A distinguished contingency of 14 Sikhs from around the United States met in an hour long meeting with President Bush in the Roosevelt Room of the White House.
They discussed the importance of respecting diversity in America, Sikhs in the military, and that India is a strong ally of the US and in full support of the President
The following is a list of Sikh Community Leaders attending the Sept. 26 meeting with President Bush:
Avtar Gill, Sikh Community of Central Valley, California
Balwinder Cheema, president, Sikh Cultural Society of New York
Bhupinder Saini, executive committee member, Sikh Religious Society of Wisconsin
Charnjit Batth, president/chair Pacific Coast, Khala Diwan Society, Fresno, California Darshan Dhaliwal, president, Bulk Petroleum Corporation, Mequon,Wisconsin -- Charranjeet Dhaliwal, Sikh, Mequon, Wisconsin
Daya Singh Khalsa, senior vice president, Akal Security Inc. Santa Cruz, New Mexico
Didar Singh, ex-president and founder, World Sikh Organization, Yuba City, California
Jason Thompson, vice president, Bulk Petroleum Corporation Mequon, Wisconsin
Jaspreet Singh, Sikh Gurudwara, Bridgewater, New Jersey
Jessie Singh, B.J.S. Group, a computer company, Milpitas, California
Kulwant Hundal, president, Sikh Religious Society of Chicago
Mohinder Singh, president, Baba Makhan Shah Lubana Sikh Center and coordinator of relief supplies for victims of WTC tragedy
Dr. Prem Sharma, president, Wisconsin Coalition of Asian Indian Association and president, Milwaukee Ethnic Council, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Dr. Rajwant Singh, founder and leader of the local Sikh congregation, Guru Gobind Singh Foundation.
2. To strive, through peaceful means, for the establishment of a Sikh nation, KHALISTAN, in order to protect the Sikh identity and faith as ordained by the Guru Panth in the daily prayer RAJ KAREGA KHALSA.
3. To promote and facilitate an active line of communication amongst the Sikhs of the World.
5. To promote and protect Sikh interests all over the world by participating in the formulation and implementation of the policies of the Sikh Nation.
I've been asked by RDavis84 to notify certain posters at this site that he has been banned.
Thanks for the information. I have never read a single reply by rdavis that justifies this action.
There appears to be a lot of stonewalling on this word issue...it's sort of slimy if whoever started this (IMO#36) cannot answer the question/admit they don't know. Hey, just say, "I don't know".
With that said, I'll answer the question of Akal as a muslim word...
The work "akal" means "undying: and has it's roots in both the Hindu/Muslim world from around the 16th century. The Sikh community, during that time frame, was under attack by Muslim fanatics--the Sikhs survived and won 9 Jihad over a 90 year period. Hence, the phrase "Sat Siri Akal", translates, "Sat"=truth, "Siri"=great, "Akal"=undying".
Sikhs greet another "Sat Siri Akal", the great truth is undying...Never say "Sat Siri Kal" to a Sikh becasue that means "the great truth IS dying".
Another expression used by Sikhs (in battle) is "Teg Deg Fateh", which roughly translates, "Victory by the Sword".
(I will have to look up the exact word translation). I believe, "Teg" is the sword, Fateh, means victory, but I don't recall "deg"...)
Yogi Bhajan (the head of 3HO/Sikh Dharma Brotherhood) was in charge and would tell his American converts what to name business; the entire reason for the security business was to protect Yogi Bhajan wherever he went. Security gaurds could carry weapns across state lines, sit on the front porch of where ever he slept, ect. Why? Because back in the early 80's, when Richardson was just being courted by the group, there was a lot of drug and arms smuggling by a few key members of the group (you can read about the federal bust on Rickross.com).
I hope this clears up the confussion so that the real issue, why does Akal exist and for what purpose, can continue.
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