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A Father Pulls No Punches


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I realize that the Wall Street Journal is a subscription site, but some of you may have access and others may know of a different path to see it.

 

This may be the best public discussion and analysis of the Parkland shooting that I have seen - and it comes from the father of one of the victims.

 

Bottom line, he blames the shooter (whose name he refuses to speak, instead using his prison ID number - 18-1958) 50%, and distributes the remainder among the school, the school administration, the sheriff's department, and the county's "Promise" program.  Contains some facts I never heard before (Like the fact that the sheriff's department responded 45 times to the shooter's home for various complaints about his behavior, including some brutal, violent incidents).

 

And, much to his credit, this father chose not to rant about guns; it is clear that he is looking for real answers, not political posturing.

 

He's been appointed to the state Board of Education; may his voice carry the weight that it deserves.

 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-parkland-fathers-quest-for-accountability-11547249451?mod=hp_opin_pos1

 

A small portion:

 

"Mr. Pollack believes that “political correctness killed Meadow.” A prominent villain in his narrative is Robert Runcie, who came to Broward from Chicago in 2011 as the superintendent of the county’s public schools. Mr. Runcie introduced a program called Promise—a feel-good acronym for Preventing Recidivism through Opportunities, Mentoring, Interventions, Support and Education—under which students who commit crimes in public schools would no longer be reported to the police by administrators. Under Promise, students would be evaluated and dealt with exclusively within the schools and their associated reform programs. Even felonies as severe as drug dealing, sexual assault and bringing weapons to school could lawfully be kept from the police.

Mr. Runcie “saw that minority students were being referred to the police at higher rates than whites,” as Mr. Pollack tells it. “Rather than recognize that misbehavior can be the result of many complex problems outside school, or at home,” the superintendent concluded the disparity was because “teachers and schools were racist.” With no reporting, “now there’s no crime. The school’s data looks great. Problem solved.”

But a much worse problem was created: “No student has a criminal background as a result, so once you graduate from school and want to buy a gun, background checks are useless.”

 
 

Mr. Runcie and his supporters called their policy “discipline reform.” Violent students had to attend “healing circles,” among other sorts of in-house, nonjudicial remedies. The result, says Mr. Pollack—so agitated that he almost shouts—is that “mentally disturbed students, violent psychopaths like 18-1958, are right there in the classroom with normal students like my daughter, and with teachers who don’t know how to deal with them, since they can’t bring in the cops.” As Mr. Pollack writes in his forthcoming book: “His entire life, 18-1958 was practically screaming, ‘If you ignore me, I could become a mass murderer.’ ” Parkland, he says, “was the most avoidable mass shooting in American history. 18-1958 was never going to be a model citizen, but it truly took a village to raise him into a school shooter.”

 

LL

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I'm sick to my stomach at the response from the Sheriff's Office and the school administration on this call.  There were so many opportunities to interrupt, if not downright stop, the killer.  I sent this link to all my officers.  

 

 

http://projects.sun-sentinel.com/2018/sfl-parkland-school-shooting-critical-moments/?fbclid=IwAR2-6yGZCpFKP7q4KFeUnf6Dve8fDZliw5tCYyOxLueeyApDqslI04qXCK0

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, LawMan Mark, SASS #57095L said:

I'm sick to my stomach at the response from the Sheriff's Office and the school administration on this call.  There were so many opportunities to interrupt, if not downright stop, the killer.  I sent this link to all my officers.  

 

 

http://projects.sun-sentinel.com/2018/sfl-parkland-school-shooting-critical-moments/?fbclid=IwAR2-6yGZCpFKP7q4KFeUnf6Dve8fDZliw5tCYyOxLueeyApDqslI04qXCK0

 

 

 

 

Just read this and all I can say is WOW!!!!  This makes the Keystone Cops, Circus Clowns, and the phrase “Cluster Fu(*” seem totally inadequate to describe the response of everyone involved.  The fact that the neighboring county Sheriffs department entered the school first should be the biggest embarrassment for Parkland county.  And, what good is a “security video system” with a 20 MINUTE DELAY!!!!!:angry: (and no one knew/remembered this fact until it was WAY TOO LATE!!)

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It seems to me that the whole town, from the mayor's office and city council to the school board, police department, and almost everyone else should be charged with  criminal negligence, dereliction of duty, accessory before, during, and after the fact, and in some cases, cowardice.

 

The tenet "ride to the sound of battle" has been around since Alexander The Great.  I can see no valid reason for failure to do so, and if there is no "command center" someone had damn well better step up and take charge.  I saw a Sp4 do just that in 'Nam when the rest of his platoon couldn't get it together.

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How a LEO could wait outside the school or any building while there was shooting going on in side is beyond me! If you're charged with the safety of people you suck it up and go in to stop the shooter...PERIOD. No backup? Tuff crap. Do your job!!! Didn't we all take the same oath???

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Notice that Runcie was a transplant from Chicago? Things like that “PROMISE” program are occurring every where and not just in schools. 

 

Thank you you for posting this Loophole.

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1 hour ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

Notice that Runcie was a transplant from Chicago? Things like that “PROMISE” program are occurring every where and not just in schools. 

 

Thank you you for posting this Loophole.

 

Pat:

 

I was thunderstruck when I read this article this morning.

 

Not just by the gross negligence of the involved parties - but by the fact that it has taken a year for a responsible, factual analysis.  Kudos to the author and the WSJ for bucking the ignorance and arrogance of the mainstream media, who persist in circulating distortions and politicized accounts.

 

No politician, no party, no policy has disappointed me more this past year than has the failure of the press to fulfill its obligations for accuracy, honesty and integrity.  Shame on the rest of them.

 

LL

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Th Sheriff of Browad County has been dismissed from his position by the Governor and replaced.

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fl-ne-ron-desantis-scott-israel-decision-20190110-story.html

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1 hour ago, Loophole LaRue, SASS #51438 said:

 

Pat:

 

I was thunderstruck when I read this article this morning.

 

Not just by the gross negligence of the involved parties - but by the fact that it has taken a year for a responsible, factual analysis.  Kudos to the author and the WSJ for bucking the ignorance and arrogance of the mainstream media, who persist in circulating distortions and politicized accounts.

 

No politician, no party, no policy has disappointed me more this past year than has the failure of the press to fulfill its obligations for accuracy, honesty and integrity.  Shame on the rest of them.

 

LL

Loophole, it is a shame the way the news media performs these days. Throughout the history of this country certain individuals and media outlets have manipulated news releases and reporting to meet their agenda (regardless of political standing), but it seems that these days the negligence and manipulation of the Press is bordering on treasonous and counter to the reasons for why we have a First Amendment. 

“Freedom of the Press...” should not be a shield for nefarious activities that go against the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the spirit of law, ethics and morality in this great nation. 

 

 

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3 hours ago, Utah Bob #35998 said:

Th Sheriff of Browad County has been dismissed from his position by the Governor and replaced.

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fl-ne-ron-desantis-scott-israel-decision-20190110-story.html

That's it?  No one else?  Now that is a real tragedy because with that mob it could happen again in almost the same way.

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1 hour ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said:

That's it?  No one else?  Now that is a real tragedy because with that mob it could happen again in almost the same way.

 

Five of his key supervisors have resigned. The deputy who was the SRO (Scot Peterson) took retirement before any other action could take place.  the 

 

I'd suspect all of them will have a hard time finding employment in Law Enforcement in the future.

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