By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
In another case of police wannabes acting on impulse and getting themselves arrested, Shawn Robinson of Alexandria, Virginia is alleged to have pulled over a driver and announcing he was a police officer. The joke was apparently on him when the suspect he pulled over was an actual police officer who gave chase.
An off-duty police officer stated he was driving in the city of Dumfries when he alleges that Robinson, driving a Ford Crown Victoria, began following him. Robinson then used the vehicle’s spotlight to signal him to pull over. The officer, believing this to be an actual police vehicle stop, pulled over as signaled. Dumfries then positioned his vehicle alongside and attempted contact.
When the officer told Robinson that he was a police officer the wannabe fled the scene. After a short chase Robinson and another person in the Crown Victoria darted away on foot.
Robinson later turned himself in to authorities after an arrest warrant was issued.
This type of phenomenon happens occasionally in most states. Incidents such as this stem from the persons who have the desire to mimic police officers and live what they perceive to be the police experience. At first they begin acquiring police gear and sometimes later act on an irresistible urge to perform a police duty.
The Ford Crown Victoria, officially known as the Crown Victoria Police interceptor is the standard emergency vehicle used by various police agencies from the late 1990’s until recently when Ford discontinued its production. Most of these vehicles are auctioned off after retirement. In many states they are sold still having police gear such as push-bars, spotlights, antennae, and striping attached.
Several states have enacted laws prohibiting the auctioning of these former police vehicles with their police equipment attached due to this bizarre practice of those impersonating police officers.
While equipping a vehicle with spotlights, push bars, and various other devices used by police is not illegal, eliminating these devices at the source makes these vehicles less attractive to those wanting to impersonate officers. It would be prudent for other states to take such measures and minimize this type of bizarre practice.
By Darren Smith
The views expressed in this posting are the author’s alone and not those of the blog, the host, or other weekend bloggers. As an open forum, weekend bloggers post independently without pre-approval or review. Content and any displays or art are solely their decision and responsibility.
What I mean is Issac, it just seems like he went from being an angry stupid young man to being an Angry Fascist Neo Nazi Skinhead Charles Manson Wannabe – at least that’s what it looks like after the research I did.
See Issac? All the Liberals on here are wrong about me. I do research and admit when I am wrong or half wrong.
happypappies
The below are definitions found regarding the terms describing Manslaughter in Florida Law. This would be the lightest charge and conviction Zimmerman would have been nailed with, had Corey charged him with Manslaughter. Most legal analysts interviewed after the circus agreed that Zimmerman would have been found guilty of manslaughter and could have been sentenced for up to 20 years.
“Manslaughter by Culpable Negligence (Involuntary Manslaughter): Engaging in “Culpably Negligent” conduct that resulted in the death of another person.
Culpable Negligence is the omission to do something which a reasonable, prudent and honest man would do, or the doing something which such a man would not do under all the circumstances surrounding each particular case.
Manslaughter with a Weapon or Firearm
While not a specific element of Manslaughter, if the jury determines a weapon or firearm was used in the commission of the Manslaughter, the crime will be reclassified from a felony of the second degree to a felony of the first degree.”
It is standard protocol, included in all written and understood agreements between the police and neighborhood watch associations that the neighborhood watch participant does not exit the vehicle, approach the suspect, or in any way do other than call 911. Common sense dictates that when you leave your car/house to approach a suspect you are taking the law into your own hands. If Zimmerman was, as he self proclaimed (there is no formal assignment of him ever being a ‘watch captain’; on the contrary the neighborhood association stated that he was not a ‘watch captain’ and that his involvement was informal at best at the time.), then he would have known the protocol and would have acted ‘prudently’. Given his 8 years in the system he is held to a higher standard of performance.
Regardless of his history, assault on a police officer, spousal abuse (a reason to not allow someone the ‘right’ to bear arms in a reasonable society), the 50 (actually it was many more and he was seen as a nuisance by both the neighborhood watch and the police-someone who called 911 for issues that were unnecessary and diverted needed police attention for issues like someone leaving a garage door open) times he called police, and his prior and/or ongoing involvement in the neighborhood, the protocol or what constitutes a ‘prudent’ man dictates that he not leave the car. The dispatcher told him that, he did not need to do that. She understated what should have been not only protocol but obvious. He left the car, approached Martin who was walking from the store to his residence, and he was armed. That Martin was waiting to pounce on him is a stretch and if so would not have been able to pounce if Zimmerman remained in the car. If it walks like a duck, it shouldn’t be allowed to ‘bear’ arms.
Under the law, charged with murder, Zimmerman got off. This is one of the inevitable situations where the law fails due to incompetence on the side of the prosecution. OJ was another one. Rick Scott, Governor of Florida is another one. The law is the final word as it is created by man and man is fallible. However, Zimmerman is guilty of manslaughter. He is dangerous. He should not be allowed to walk around armed. I believe in rights with responsibilities. People should not be able to go around armed acting as police officers. Typically there is a screw loose and someone often gets shot by these idiots. You have your opinion, I have mine.
That’s true Issac, and that is your opinion. I gave mine because he would have been okay without all the freaking media attention – On September 9, 2013, in Lake Mary, Florida, police responded to a 911 call by Zimmerman’s estranged wife, who reported that Zimmerman had threatened her and her father with a gun and had punched her father in the face. Zimmerman was briefly detained and questioned by police.[30] No gun was found at the scene. Police took a broken iPad from the scene for examination of a video recording of the incident to determine whether to press charges against either Zimmerman or his wife.[31] His wife declined to press charges, later expressing regret about her decision.[32] After determining that the iPad video could not be recovered, the Lake Mary police department announced they would not be pressing charges against Zimmerman, his wife, or her father.[33]
On November 18, 2013, Zimmerman’s girlfriend called the police alleging that after she had asked Zimmerman to leave her home, he had pointed a shotgun at her and begun breaking her belongings.[34] The police reported that Zimmerman had barricaded himself inside the apartment before they had made their way inside and arrested him.[35] He was charged with aggravated assault with a weapon – a felony – as well as domestic violence battery and criminal mischief.[36][37] On December 6, Zimmerman’s girlfriend asked that the charges against Zimmerman be dropped and that the restraining order barring him from seeing her be lifted, after which prosecutors said that they would no longer be pursuing a case against him.[38][39]
On Tuesday September 9, 2014, George Zimmerman was named by police in a road rage incident where he reportedly threatened and followed another driver.[40] Zimmerman reportedly responded aggressively when he noticed another driver pointing at him. According to the other driver Zimmerman said “Do you know who I am?” before saying, “I’ll (expletive) kill you.” Zimmerman allegedly followed the other driver to a parking lot while the driver called 911, but he fled before the police arrived.[41] The other driver declined to press charges.
On January 9, 2015, Zimmerman was arrested by Lake Murray police and charged with aggravated assault with a weapon after allegedly throwing a wine bottle at his ex-girlfriend.[42] He was released on bond the following day.[43]
America turns everyone into a monster
Paul:
issac – a concrete sidewalk is armed”
**********
Really? Is a patio seated? Is a car driving under the influence? You’ve got some wild ideas, Paul.
I did pull one anyway as it’s in my nature to research
Zimmerman went against protocol, empowered by packing a gun, against advice from the dispatcher, and an unarmed man ended up dead.
Zimmerman is the only one to say that he was looking to see which way Martin went, the only one left. It works that way when the other guy gets killed. What probably happened was that Zimmerman tried to questioned Martin, given that he had a gun, had read some law books, had assaulted a cop once, etc. The guy was and continues to be a menace to society.
Manslaughter is the result of someone taking a gun to a situation before it is dangerous, then using it. Most legal experts agree that if Zimmerman was charged with manslaughter he would have been found guilty, unless of course the jury came from this blog.
The only reason Zimmerman is not in jail is because Angela Corey was passing a ‘brain stone’.
Furthermore they have to play the Super Bowl over. That kind of stupid play cannot be allowed.
issac – a concrete sidewalk is armed. If I am beating your head against a concrete sidewalk I am armed. And a dispatcher has no official authority to stop anyone from doing anything.
We should remove ALL equipment from thousands of old police cars because of criminal actions by a few nut-jobs….
I have an idea, how about we just arrest & punish the guilty? (Geez)
About as dangerous as “real” police.
Oh, and one more thing.
Let’s engage in a hypothetical exercise. Let’s put you in a position where a much stronger man is smashing your head into the curb. Is he going to stop? Are you going to be a vegetable? What if you have kids? You have a gun on you. What are you going to do? The honorable thing and just die? Challenge him to a duel at dawn the next day, equally armed, and at 20 paces? Or are you going to frantically shoot the man who’s trying to kill you?
You are right. Guns are for self defense.
Trayvon brought a curb to a fistfight. If you wonder how a head injury affects someone after smashing into the street, look up Brian Stowe.
What was the lesson in the Zimmerman/Trayvon case?
1. Stay in the darn car, doors locked, motor running.
2. Don’t walk up to a stranger and punch him and bash his head into the curb. He might be armed.
It’s so sad that Trayvon went down a bad path that led to his ultimate death. When you attack people, you are betting your life that they’re not going to defend themselves and hurt your seriously in the process. He never got the opportunity to snap out of it and change his vector in life.
And it’s also sad that a “wanna be cop” got out of a car that night, thinking that he would spot a suspect at a safe distance, and handle the situation.