Category: leadership failure

Public Trust & Lawlessness

Every time the public encounters a law enforcement officer, all the experience they have EVER had with police, ever seen other people have with police, and also every story they have ever heard are present. Every story they heard on the news about the breach of trust in overzealous and lawless cops are sins that every cop carries to every encounter. More times than not, the public lacks confidence that law enforcement will help them if they need it, make arrests if necessary to provide a measure of justice.

This has never been no truer than in recent years. In order for a community to feel safe and in turn, be safe, is to have a measure of trust that law enforcement assigned to guard them from harm is actually doing just that. The people must feel and see law enforcement as the good guys doing good work. When that ceases to be the case, public unrest leads to crimes against police, and vigilantism can develop to overcome the sense of helplessness when law enforcement is not there to help for one reason or another. This hurdle has to be addressed by leadership in law enforcement. Perception is reality to people.

Having said that, my hometown of Escambia County, Pensacola, Florida, is facing an epidemic of Escambia County Sheriff’s Office lawlessness. WEAR Channel 3 had a story last week about this same issue but the story you are about to read is a separate incident and it is a distressing story has come to me and frankly it should scare the hell out of everyone who lives in the county.

The details are that a neighbors’ squabble results in one neighbor calling ECSO on another playing loud noise on the porch. When the ECSO arrives, the music is off. No more issues, right? Wrong. Deputies arrive and unbeknownst to them, there are outside cameras. Watch for yourself.

The biggest problem here is the report of the incident here:

The two are not even partially the same. The report is pure fiction. Why is that? Because the resident involved called to report the stolen stereo. He spoke with Sgt. Jason Young, who told him that the deputies would NOT ARREST him for disorderly conduct and in exchange they would return his stereo. Arrest him? No crime was committed other than the stolen stereo. But this is the manipulation to act as if Young is doing the resident a favor, for in turn not making any waves about the stereo. This unfortunately is a common thing. Assuming people don’t know their rights and believe if a deputy does it, it must be legal is a fallacy that most in this ECSO administration count on.

This report shows the lengths of the cover up and perjury that several deputies entered into in this one incident. Frankly, if so many will risk their badge and effortlessly cover up something like this, one has to question what major things are handled just the same. This one act of a deputy committing, what amounts to, an armed robbery is white washed and covered up because it was thought the resident would not know their rights.

The most egregious part of this is that this resident is unemployed and not in a financial position to make a fuss. He’s a vulnerable citizen. When law enforcement abuses power, people, like this resident are typically the ones they abuse because the victims of their abuse are marginalized by a criminal history, poverty, or both. When people of power victimize the most marginalized in their charge, that is such a deep violation of public trust. No one is safe.

Deputy Response to Haines Email

The prediction made concerning the bully behavior and tactics by Haines has now been confirmed. Many of you read the post a couple of days ago about this issue. The path that Haines would follow was clearly explained. He exploited the weak leadership of PBA. He didn’t accomplish what he wanted so in the typical Haines/Morgan fashion throws a baby fit and takes his ball and goes home. This is not the behavior of professionals nor is this behavior what the ECSO employees deserve from the leaders of the agency.

Appearance:

On its face, as Haines’s email is written, it appears that he is attempting to be completely transparent and attempting to keep the employees informed. His email creates the illusion that he has been open and honest with the entire process. In fact, he even feigns some sort of personal hurt by not being able to facilitate a solution to this terrible problem that has harmed the beloved employees of the ECSO. By God, he is still dedicated enough to his mission that he has extended another opportunity for PBA to do the right thing. He even puts a deadline that would cause happiness for his troubled heart to achieve a solution to this issue adversely impacting the employees he serves.

True Meaning:

For those of us who can decipher BS, I would like to translate what his email actually says. Working for this man for the number of years that I have and knowing him personally, I am in the position to expose his maniacal intentions with this email. As to the $2200 raise to all deputies including trainees, this is laughable. Haines has argued in the past that veteran deputies are not entitled to raises during a probationary period after a promotion. Now he believes $2200 across the board is the best plan for even those not even trained to be deputies. This statement just divided any officer under the rank of sergeant from those who are aware of the importance to standing strong for a contract providing job security. Haines has separated those that will get a raise and fight for his cause and those that know what Haines is capable of as it relates to job security. The ones slated for a raise will argue that the contract should be agreed on immediately. This is playing both groups of deputies, veterans and new recruits/trainees against each other. As it stands, it would be more beneficial financially for the veteran deputy to quit and reapply, giving up his seniority for the all mighty dollar. The veteran deputies just became more compressed, and that was what Haines argued so vehemently against to the BOCC.

Also, he just gave himself $2200 to spend at his discretion in lapse salaries. There are hundreds of thousands of salary dollars that have been wasted because of vacant positions. Every vacant position just gave an irresponsible administration another $2200 to waste at their discretion. When it is explained, it is clear Haines actually gave himself free money to use at his discretion and didn’t have the deputies best interest in mind. He increased the amount of money that is available for useless spending which they have proven is so dear to their hearts. He made himself the “good guy” with the sub-set of deputies, created by his rhetoric, he says will get them a raise no matter what! However, he is the one obstacle in veteran deputies getting raises.

As the email continues, Haines specifically explains all his issues with the contract. One of the changes he wants is with the discipline matrix. He tries to convince the deputies that he wants the change made so that certain violations that are level E could be reduced as to not be automatic termination. Then Haines continues that there were others either up or down. That statement sounds relatively benign and any reasonable person would think it is harmless. However, this is another example of where Haines spins the subject to brush over the issues creating the problem. Why didn’t he specifically discuss “several other violations that we also requested for the range to go up or down”? The answer is because in that brief seemingly innocent statement were issues that weaken the contract and strip employees of security in the job. He took the time to mention the one benefit to Morgan but not the one that causes the real problem. It is worth noting that Morgan (Haines) often ignore the discipline matrix if the employee has been determined unworthy of being treated in a manner that is fair. Employees have been terminated when the matrix and the DRB (Disciplinary Review Board) suggested termination was not appropriate. Again, Haines appears the “good guy” and others are interfering with his distribution of unicorns and rainbows.

Continuing through the lies in this email, a scenario of patience and understanding is described. Time and again, Haines worked through with PBA causing delays such as illness and other reasons that were understood by Haines. His fluttering angel wings and shiny halo in place, Haines is always at the ready to discuss issues that have been known for years and needed to be finalized. The troublesome “loopholes”, that were being exploited by those cast off for failure to honor the privilege of a law enforcement career under the Honorable Thelbert Morgan, had to be closed. The “loopholes” he speaks of are rights protected by state and federal law.  A contract, even one negotiated by Haines, can’t deny an employee the rights provided by law. I will admit there are many issues that would benefit Haines/Morgan when the torturous acts they embrace of preparing employees for termination begins. The problem is the PBA contract can’t give them permission to violate law. Maybe Haines should put in a bid for a lawmaker’s seat. He is trying to trick deputies into signing a contract that makes the likelihood of being fired for arbitrary violations of loyalty more likely and making job security non-existent, all for a raise.  A better idea would be to avoid the innate desire to harm good people because of his demented philosophy of how to be an effective leader. Machiavellian is the only word to describe this attempt to roll a raise into a contract that negates job security. He fails to realize that the contract exists to protect employees from people like him. Haines maliciously is trying to buy deputies’ right to work with the $9 million dollars given to the ECSO for deputies.

To the leadership of the PBA:  it is time to step up and do the right thing. This position isn’t easy and it is not for the weak. If you are scared right now and wishing you were not a leader in PBA, it is not likely you are the man for the job. There is no shame in honesty. Step down and walk away. Allow a true leader to move into your spot and save the rights you have left. It isn’t about you and has everything to do with the future of so many honorable people.  You are dealing with peoples’ lives and more importantly the ripple effect of causing deputies to flee the drama and trauma of this administration. Less deputies perpetuates crime but I guess that is the goal of the criminals running the show.

 

Ronald Clark Ball

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Mr. Ball’s incarceration marks the point of no return in the crusade to de-throne corruption in Escambia County. Mr. Ball, being an author, a man of prestige & a globally renown lecturer in the understanding of the cyber threat as it relates to National Security, has become the latest name to the list of victims of abuse of power throughout the Escambia County government. Mr. Ball is not the typical victim, because he is not of a lesser demographic; he’s not a minority, nor a socio-economic nobody that is usually the profile of people marginalized by the Escambia corruption machine. People like Pat Gonzalez, or Michelle Clarke are denigrated by the “honorable” elite of the county due to their backgrounds or prior bad acts. People like Philip Nix, Bill Chavers, Gene Valentino, Anita Hemphill, Laura Montoya or the honorable other citizens who are outspoken in the abuses of the county,  are said to be suffering from a technical term by Sheriff Morgan known as “sour grapes”.  They have been wronged by the county and are labeled as trying to retaliate for their dismissals. That may have basis, if the list of people, who are suffering– allegedly — from “sour grape syndrome” didn’t hit double digits with the exact same complaints, including slander, defamation, civil rights violations, & discrimination.

No Mr. Ball does not suffer from any of the labels previously used by the GOB to discount people. He cannot be seen as I am by Sheriff Morgan, as a lone nut, who spews lies, “a political terrorist”. Mr. Ball has been silenced for a long time but that silence is broken. He cannot be dismissed as the rest of have.

Mr. Ball drafted a pro se motion to dismiss in June that is skillfully written and could be used by any of the above victims against varying agents of the Escambia corruption machine.  While his assertions may sound outlandish, I say to you that the actions against him are just that outlandish and bringing them to light is the right thing to do.

As I have said many times, the abuses of Escambia GOB are vast enough to be in violation of RICO (Racketeer Influenced & Corrupt Organization Law). This entails 2 or more felonies committed to further an ongoing criminal enterprise. The justice system in Escambia County is, itself, the criminal enterprise. The felonies are embezzlement, perjury, fraud and the list goes on and on.  Morgan arrests people, Eddins & his minions as well as various judiciary perpetuate the wrongful arrest through the court system to the tune of illegal seizures, defamation, and political gain.  The real violation is of the honest services clause.  According to 2017 Fall edition of  American Criminal Law Review, in an article by Alexander Sanyshyn, the honest services criteria is thus:

 Elements of the Honest-Services Doctrine

To be convicted under § 1346, an individual must (i) defraud the victim of honest services (ii) by accepting a bribe or kickback. n446

Defraud of Honest Services

Generally, a scheme to defraud of honest services takes place in a fiduciary or employer-employee relationship. n447 Such a fiduciary relationship is often present when one manages money for another’s benefit. n448 It may also be present when a voluntary trade association n449 or charitable and nonprofit organization is involved. n450 The employer-employee relationships that may give rise to an honest-services claim range from a shareholder-management relationship n451 to a government employee-private citizen relationship. n452 However, the duties owed by a public official and a private individual differ. n453

 [*1725]  The fraud need not be directly accomplished by the defendant–the defendant need only to have caused fraud to be committed. n454 However, the defendant must be aware of, or participate in, the fraud committed by the third party. n455

 

This lays out the basis for many public corruption cases. The use of public power for private gain is the biggest risk associated with people in power.  The various prongs of corruption, quid pro quo corruption, undue influence in inequality corruption, misuse and abuse of power are all used to further the criminal enterprise that operates as the criminal justice & legal system in Escambia County. There is no justice to had in the system in Pensacola. No one is above the law and while that hasn’t been apparent to most people except those churned out by the system in my hometown, Mr. Ball’s case added to the 7 people in the Billings Case, specifically prove a pattern of behavior that spans over many years & many cases. The totality of injustice is astronomical in Escambia County.

Ron Clark Ball is going to the catalyst case that shines a light on the stuff Willie Junior was killed covering up. Get your popcorn, kids. The show is beginning.

I told Morgan that when he saw me coming, that hell was coming with me. He should be feeling the heat, because I am at his door.

 

 

Can’t Paint a Zebra & Call It a Horse

When I was little, I heard the phrase, “you can’t paint a zebra & call it a horse, because the stripes will eventually show through.” I don’t know if that is the phrase commonly used but the moral of the cliche is the same. “You can put lipstick on a pig and call it Monique, but it’s still a pig.” I would like to offer up  my own new form of this cliche. “You can put medals on a con man’s jacket and collar. Hell you can give him a Sheriff’s star, but he’s still a con man.”
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Example:
Sheriff David Morgan (aka Sir David for his phony knighthood), apparently,deleted his Facebook profile. Now he was an advocate of all social media prior to November 8th. So if that is true….why do you think that is? He put on this sociable pretense–leading up to the election. Now he doesn’t need that. His arrogance has trumped his need for attention. He now does not need the connection to the people. His true stripes are showing. The people of the community have been dismissed from his self-centered world.
This is also evident by the reaction of the deputies. When Morgan was re-elected, I was horrified at the corrupt voting system, because I honestly don’t think that was a solid, straight up election.  There was something hinky with the early mail in votes…but I digress. Understanding the people under Sir David and listening to their input, comments is far more important in evaluating the “success” of Sir David and relevant to the understanding of the morale inside the agency and thus the performance on the street.
These are just a few anonymous comments made about Sir David from his deputies:
With there being so many different violations (criminal,civil,conduct unbecoming etc.) that can cost deputies their jobs, why in a profession where “high character” is important and deputies are held to a higher standard would we employee deputies that refuse to recognize their own child/children as their own or be a father to to them? If someone is that sorry and of low character how can we as an agency believe they’re capable of making the kinds of decisions we are in trusted to make on a day to day basis?
It all depends if Chief Haines believes it violates HIS morale conduct code or not. Then it depends on whether he likes you or not or if he perceives someone as unworthy. Here is the perfect example. It is alleged that Deputy XYZ was insubordinate. Chief Haines believes a bunch of BS told about this Deputy so instead of it being handled on shift level he insists it must be investigated by IA. The investigation determines there are conflicting sides to the story and the supervisor based the insubordination on assumptions. The charges are unfounded. But that isn’t good enough for the Admin. The case goes back to IA to check it out again and this time around someone mentions Deputy XYZ has ….I don’t know….recently moved and Oh No….he has neglected to change his address with the office. BINGO…there it is. Deputy XYZ is found guilty.

That is how this Admin works. If they want to get you they will. They just keep on and on and on until they find something.
So hang in there. When they find out there is a Deputy who isn’t taking care of his child they will get him. It might not be a violation at all but if Haines thinks it is this deputy will be put through pure hell and will feel he has no other choice but to leave.

 Speaking to “undeserved raises” recently:
The sheriff has never cared about the deputies or their pay. He made a promise when he ran the first time to up the deputies pay by several thousand dollars, didn’t happen! We’ve received a few token raises, far less than any other sheriff. He’s taken good care of his staff and their salaries. Morgan is a bullshitter and a politician who can’t bring himself to speak the truth and when pushed you can bet his response will be, “I’m the sheriff and I do what I want to”. I predict this pattern of promotions will continue and his reorganization will resemble something from a Georgia roadmap. Merry Christmas to all my brothers and sisters, it’s going to be a long four years.
(In response to another comment claiming the raises are sound)
You made Major, are you now trying for Commander? Come on man, neither you or David deserved the promotion. You have zero patrol experience and zero supervisor experience. David has 2 years as a Sergeant and I dont need to repeat all the lacking experience. This place is a joke and nothing will change here. There isn’t any integrity and loyalty only 6exists for the select few who place campaign signs and troll Facebook for 1st Amendment violations.

To anyone wishing to work at an agency that is professional, honest and trustworthy, this ISN’T the place. You will be buried in the back with the trash and fish bones. Want a promotion with a 30% pay raise, put up campaign signs, troll the internet and back stab fellow deputies. Great job AH and DI, you now contributed to the lowest morale level the department has ever seen.

He has excellent skills at letting a former garage supervisor cover up theft and misuse of county property. Maybe if we were the bad guys that would be a useable skill. Otherwise he fits right into the Morgan way of doing things.
 Why even put a promotional process in place if you’re just going to crush the hopes and morale of those who come to work and try hard by doing something like this? How is someone supposed to respect the rank of anyone above them if it’s just handed to them without merit? Sheriff you can step up and admit you erred and gain back trust. If this festers watch this place come to a screeching halt. It won’t be due to some reorganizational issue but directly tie to morale and two less than stellar sergeants being given something they don’t deserve
Why would you expect anything different from Morgan? Look at some of the past promotions he’s made and it shouldn’t surprise you one bit. Please don’t think Simmons is going to be any better, he’s a clone right now. Time to sit down and let things run their course. Obviously hard work means nothing.
These comments are anonymous because there is punitive actions against anyone with an opinion contrary to Sir David. Just ask Buddy Nesmith or hell, Eric Haines, the demoted Chief Deputy who doesn’t even see his own demotion. (This would be the 2nd demoted Chief Deputy in Sir David’s cabinet, by the way.)
So I might be crazy, but it appears that there are an inordinate amount of deputies who feel slighted by Sir David’s lastest choices in raises.  But that’s not the only disappointment or breach of trust/service, Sir David’s committed. Yet still we sit here with Sheriff Shithead at the helm…..anybody else see a problem?????
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Do You Really Know Your Sheriff? Part 2

In case there are any questions about the performance of Ye Olde Sheriff, please consider this: the LET investigation of money mishandling is simply another red flag.

For those who may not know, the failure to disclose his military record is because Morgan made a deal with the Air Force. They were investigating him for misappropriation of funds (government credit card). This is the story that has come out of close friends that would be “in the know”, but Morgan eventually screwed them over. That is also how Morgan met Susan. She was with OSI and investigated him. The Air Force allowed him to retire quietly but he had to go. No criminal charges if he chose to do so. This story comes from multiple directions but it is the same account. However, the documentation is not there for the general public.

But I’ll play the devil’s advocate for a moment. If this doesn’t problematic for you as something that is not tangible enough, there are other incidents that show a predilection or pattern of behavior.

LETTER-TO-SHERIFF panhandle politico

Recently a letter came out in PanhandlePolitico.com that was correspondence from an internal employee displaying the in-fighting that goes on with this administration, but the most fascinating thing in that letter is worth noting. It confirms what I have always suspected. The writer talks about flagrant disregard for checks and balances within the accounting department, especially as it pertains to seized assets. Henrique Dias, the CFO at the ECSO, seems to be less concerned about properly handling money than he is about employee retribution. We are not talking about children. We are talking about custodians of your money.

Henrique Dias is a character. He was arrested for soliciting a prostitute years prior to his employment. It was ultimately not prosecuted but after I shared this, last year, with many others via the Escambia Clerk’s site, it disappeared. Expunged most likely, but that doesn’t mean it did not happen. It is not just me but employees describe Dias as sketchy and over the last few years, he has ingratiated himself to Morgan–so much so, that Morgan put him in charge of his campaign money.

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This seems counterintuitive. A supervisor, who has one employee found to be stealing over $1 million but has no clue until she retires, seems like a poor manager. Then, to see that same CFO show reckless disregard in the previous correspondence mentioned, certainly doesn’t reassure a rational person that he is competent to handle more responsibility.

In a private sector job, Dias would be held responsible for the money that walked out the door under his nose–at some level, to some degree. Then when he failed to comply with checks and balances put into place to prevent such an occurrence again, his boss should be questioning his ability to handle the burden of the county’s money. But instead of that, Morgan lets him handle his personal campaign money too.  Things that make you go hhmmm…

Now getting back to Morgan’s money skill. While he was not charged criminally, a source close to the governor claims that the infractions brought to light in Escambia County with the mis-spending of the LET fund were a state-wide plague.  There are 64 counties in Florida and David Morgan’s perversion of this liberty is a symptom of a bigger issue that cannot be handled by arrest and prosecution. The governor opted to change the legislation to address the problem but there for a few days, before this was decided to be the method to which the governor would handle this mis-spending, Morgan got quiet.  He sought counsel with a private attorney.  Why?  There was a moment in time that he was not sure he was going to jail over this action. If his intentions were as pure as he claims, would this have been the case?

Here’s the point here. whether any of the military accusations are true or the LET fund spending was “uncriminal” may be up for debate. However, the fact that Cathy Lister stole $1 million of the county’s money, there is a problem.Read her story.

Then going back to the letter above. It took almost 3 years for a system to be implemented after that to prevent future theft. That is unacceptable. To add insult to injury for the CFO to be resistant to these changes which are beneficial to the community indicates he should not have a job, yet he is given Morgan’s money to “handle” for his campaign.  Why? There is more than a sliver of question as to the integrity of this administration’s money handling.

Where does the buck stop in this administration?

I have not even mentioned the jail. The money grab from the BOCC that turned into them taking away of the jail. Again why?  It was money. Morgan had no interest in the jail or the conservation of that responsibility. He wanted more money to play with and when he was questioned by Gene Valentino, he started a political feud with him and turned over the jail. Why?

If you have any question about the management or mismanagement of county funds, you must consider changing the tide and voting Morgan out. He is the common denominator of all the issues.

“A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit.” – Arnold H. Glasow  

 

 

A Letter of Concern from ECSO Sr. Deputies

Given to me by senior deputies who listened to an incident in Montclair this past weekend:

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RESIDENTS OF PENSACOLA:

It is a difficult task to bring up topics during an election year and not be blamed with making political attacks. It is true this is the time of the year that this type of tactic will occur. It does not mean that serious issues should be avoided or ignored. All public officials have a job to do regardless of being an election year or not. This opinion is not about David Morgan. The issues brought to light here are about is the Sheriff doing what he is expected to do. It does not matter who the person is in the office but if the person in office is the right person for the job.

The country has witnessed some of the most terrifying events that could be imagined in recent months. Incidents we would never have believed could occur in our country are happening in places that resemble any given neighborhood that each of us lives our life. Police officers are being targeted and being murdered. These acts are being encouraged by groups known to exist for the purpose of hate. As a law enforcement officer of more than 20 years, I would have not been able to imagine our society ever reaching a point that this was allowed. Officers were always looked upon as the good that was there to keep balance from bad.  Now, officers are not only viewed as the enemy but also the prey.

Most all citizens will go through their day with a sense of security because they have never been a victim of a crime. There is an expectation that if they need an officer one is only a call away. How would the public feel if that were not true? What would the average day be like for a citizen if they believed that there may not be help available if needed? Think about how it would change your daily routine. What if you called for an officer and had one come to you that was not more capable than you were with solving an issue? Would you want to leave the safety of your home if that were the case? Would you allow your children to play outside knowing the safety you had as a child has vanished? I can only speculate what each person reading this is answering to each of the questions. I feel confident that most are realizing it would change their life drastically.

The truth is you are not as safe as you were 10, 15, or 20 years ago. Time causes change and not all change is positive. We do not always have control over what change occurs. We do have control on what we do to adapt to the change that happens. With law enforcement, the responsibility to adapt is crucial. The public depends on our officers being educated and trained to the changes that will be faced as change occurs. A sheriff of any county has the obligation to know what the needs of the community are and do all possible to accomplish reaching the goals of meeting those needs. The main objective of a law enforcement leader should be to protect the community to the best of their ability. That ability should be constantly evaluated and made to prove they are not in a position that exceeds their ability. The proof of ability is measured by looking at the performance of that leader.

I am now reaching the point that many will attempt to claim this is a political post. It is not a political post. In fact, I have no candidate for sheriff I am endorsing. I believe all of the candidates seeking office have a resume to support the belief they could be elected. I say that with one exception. David Morgan is not proving he is capable of continuing as the leader of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. He has not been tested with any true crisis that would prove he is capable. There have been some situations that received nation attention and given the appearance that he is capable. Much of this opinion was through quick sound bites that are designed to create entertainment by media sources. None of us have ever seen him taken to task on what he would do in a real life incident that required critical thinking at a pace not set by him. When given the luxury of time and the ability to schedule a media event he is very prepared. He is even entertaining. He is in no way prepared for the tough decisions that occur in real time that determine the outcome of a person living or losing their life. He has never been on “hot” calls that create the feeling that seconds feel like hours or that the wrong decision will cost you your life or the life of another. He may feel he has because of the strict policies that are in place that have given him the ultimate ability to second guess the decision of officers and pass judgement. The fact is and always will be he has less experience of doing the job of a cop than a guy that was hired to attend the Basic Recruit Academy. In fact, he would not even be able to clearly understand a conversation between two deputies having a conversation on a police channel. These facts are not what should concern the average citizen.

With the most recent tragedy, which occurred in Dallas, we witnessed an attack on law enforcement officers that devastated an entire city. It caused fear that none of could begin to understand. Imagine for a moment that the individuals you depend on for your safety are targeted and killed. If they are such easy targets how would you feel knowing the average person has even less of a chance of surviving such an attack? Those brave officers had been through hours of training, equipment to protect, and weapons to eliminate a threat. They were still killed. Imagine how easy it would have been to kill even more of those brave men and women if they had none of that training or equipment that ultimately gave them the upper hand to defeat the evil perpetrator in this senseless crime. If you can’t get a picture of that into you mind I’ll help you out.  Imagine the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.

Since the accepting of hate groups encouraging attacks on law enforcement we have had numerous attacks on officer across the country. Many have lost their life. Many have been victimized by liberal agendas. The result has been agencies seeking training and equipment to help defend the life of officers and the public. I can tell you right now that is not the case with the ECSO. We have had not one single hour of training to educate officers on crowd control or purchased equipment handle crowd control. In fact, we have not even changed from the training that we have had for the last 5-6 yrs. Why would David Morgan, with all of his self-proclaimed ability, not see we are no longer training for a scenario that is based on incidents from a decade ago?  I’ll answer that easily.  He isn’t a cop and never has been a cop. He made a choice to surround himself with people who knew how to brown nose better than they knew how to police.  The result is an agency that is exposed and vulnerable.

As I am writing this there is an event occurring in Montclair subdivision. The ECSO has known of this event being planned for several weeks. The response was to do nothing. Today there was someone that decided to take the event seriously because of threats to kill officers on Facebook. The response from the ECSO was to call in a handful of overtime deputies. With several weeks of knowledge and time to gather endless intel we put out a few officers for overtime. This is disgusting to even think about. David Morgan has become a danger to lives of the officers he commands by having such complacent thoughts concerning the safety of these officers. His staff is either to ignorant to know or to spineless to tell him. Either case proves our cops deserve better.

Now, this is not the story that the public will get when Morgan talks about his “operation” if a media event is scheduled. He will explain how weeks of planning went into the operation and how he has made sure we have the best equipment to make sure the best job is being done. Know now that if he makes that statement he is a liar.

He will produce a few items that we have for critical incidents. There are a few ballistic shields. A few helmets and maybe some gas guns. The vast majority of that equipment is only used by SWAT and the patrol officer will never have the benefit of having use of that equipment.  Any of you who know the system can make a public records request for any of the statements I have made and I assure you I am accurate with my description.

I seriously do not care who is elected but I do care that Morgan is gone. He does not have the right to play cops and robbers when his antics will cost the life of an officer to be lost. The one thing I have to say in all of this that is political is how much training and equipment could be purchased for $130,000.00 that could potentially save an officers life? I guess locking your car door is more important than an officer’s life to Morgan.

I am sure my opinion will be attacked and that is expected. I just hope there is a chance that some of you will help us. It is what we do to support our families and we shouldn’t have David Morgan and his ego cost our families by not coming home because of his silly political games.

Sincerely,

Senior Deputies worried about the future of Escambia County635614962314354267-ecsobadge

 

 

Commentary on the Escambia County Sheriff’s Forum May 23, 2016

I don’t know what to say. Should I start with the biased reporting of Kevin Robinson by claiming John Johnson “attacked” Sir David? Mr. Robinson does not understand the meaning of the word “attack” if he thinks that is what Johnson did.  Johnson merely unveiled the current conditions to the people. Morgan likes to whitewash the community erosion by saying it does not exist.  Escambia County isn’t Never Never Land. It evokes the tale of the Emperor’s New Clothes.  Sir David would have the citizens believe his rhetoric over the statistics, experiences of people around him. Let’s not forget the community vulnerability that cannot be explained away. Citizens are targets in their own sanctuary of Escambia County.  Where there is smoke, someone should be looking for fire.

Finally, to end this rant of bias by PNJ, Mr. Robinson, being a journalist, you should have a better grasp of vocabulary. Could you have used more legitimate wording?  Certainly! Challenged, confronted, impeached are all better descriptions of the dynamics of the forum. Unless Robinson’s vitriol was part of the propaganda machine of Team Morgan, there is no reasonable explanation of Robinson’s choice of words.  Ignorance or Venom—you decide.

P.S.

Mr. Robinson, do you or the PNJ get LET money to provide endorsements of political candidates?

Issues in the Forum

One of the most conspicuous things I noticed was roughly 19 minutes into the video. The moderator noted the long-standing corruption problem and asked what the candidates would do to increase public trust in the ethical (snicker) behavior of public officials. Sir David either misunderstood the question or he chose not to address “ethical behavior”. Funny how there is no reference to the “Good Ole Boy crew” he claims to have removed with McNesby. He’s put that song and dance to bed. Apparently, his hypocrisy has some limitations.

But He does jump into the fact he doesn’t have a “hate-filled Facebook page”.  What does that have to do with corruption or even unethical behavior? It is social media and campaign ads are simply not unethical.  What is unethical is putting a senior officer on admin leave for something that is purely a civil action between his mother and another officer. What is unethical is the targeting of personnel that do not agree with you and forcing another senior officer into early retirement for liking a anti-Morgan Facebook post. How about targeting women and minorities to make their employment environment a living hell of discrimination and condescension? These are unethical.

Perhaps Mr. Robinson and Sir David should take the same vocabulary lessons.

I could continue with the 10+ blatant prevarications & misdirections throughout the forum but I want to discuss something more offensive.  Sir David repeatedly started bombastic, defensive proclamations with “If Escambia County is so bad”.  This is a tragic effort to validate his re-election campaign by trying to bring the virtues of the county to light. He tried to take credit for everything Escambia County great.

So why do I care? There seems to be a perception that I am an outside agitator. That is far from the truth.  I spent the majority of my life in Escambia County.  I came to live with my Dad in 1986. He was a fisherman and a supervisor for BE&K (worked at International Paper).

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His name was Jim Barnett (that’s why I’m Jimmie). My Dad was an exceptional man in a very un-exceptional world. He was a straight-shooter that people tended to love. His friends will attest to that, I was the pride and joy of his life. As his only child, he spoiled me rotten but in that, he did teach me the difference in right & wrong.

He passed away May 23, 1997. He was a veteran and was buried in Barrancas. There will always be a part of me in Pensacola.

I told that story to talk about the greatness of Escambia County, despite Sir David’s damage. Escambia County is not “so bad” as he would make it sound but he has been detrimental to entire county. He had no hand in making Escambia great, therefore he doesn’t have the power to take away that greatness.

The things that make Escambia great are the people, the values and the ability to live in a community for decades and NOT HAVE TO LOCK THE DOORS. By systematically fleecing the taxpayers, disrespecting the deputies and insulting the citizens, Sir David attempts to blame the community, but I submit to you that he cannot take away anything the constituency doesn’t allow him to take.

As for the disease of corruption, Sir David is patient zero. He is currently the biggest albatross Escambia County has. It is not the Sheriff Dept—it is him. He is either psychopathically delusional or sociopathically indifferent to the crime problem in the county. Sir David is the nexus of racism and discrimination in ECSO as well.  A double digit number of employees have filed lawsuits for discrimination, civil rights violations and hostile work environment.  DOUBLE DIGIT.  This is the largest number in recent history. Ronnie Mc did not have this sort of litigiousness.  When there are this many people seeking judicial relief because of animus at work, maybe it is time to consider the Sheriff is the problem.

In any other job, if you fail so completely by maliciously endangering the community, you get fired or arrested. If you misappropriate money, you go to jail. Why is Sir David allowed to sit in his office? Only the people of Escambia County can unseat this albatross.

Make Pensacola great again, VOTE MORGAN OUT-2016.

 

 

“MAJOR DRUG BUST” Purely Accidental

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Sir David got some face time with this drug bust done several days ago. He was out of town at a marketing conference in New Orleans. This also allowed him time to develop this overblown story of a 4 year investigation that culminated in the seizure of $500K  of drugs.  There are many details of this “investigation” that are being propagated & are false.

To clarify, this pursuit may have been originated 4 years ago, but was it continually worked and on-going? The answer is yes and no. The dealer, Alfred Hayes, went by the nickname “E”. E has been tracked by a “stingray”. The deputies got a line that a deal was going down but prematurely hit the house only to find the money for drugs and no actual drugs. The money “was seized” but no arrests were made and paradoxically, the money was never recorded at the ECSO.

This week, the “bust” in the spotlight, a source who was inside the holding area reported Melissa Buchanan was stopped on a routine traffic stop. No one knows her from Adam. She is in possession and trafficking of a quantity of methamphetamine and is taken into custody. In the holding room at the ECSO, she is overheard trying to cover her own ass to try to make a deal. She calls E but he’s callous as to her arrest but she gives him 30 minutes to arrange her release. After the time expired, in her panic and feeling of being shunned, she dimed him and his cousins out. E is the grandson of a woman that owns a nursing home. The family had been selling prescription drugs of people who had passed on.  This is common knowledge in the community.

The prevarication of events in the press conference were a self-serving narrative developed over the days following these arrests for maximum political collateral for Sir David’s re-election efforts.  An accidental arrest turned sting…not a prolonged investigative effort that finally paid off.  Misdirection and misrepresentation of events…sounds vaguely familiar for the stories Sir David likes to deliver to the unknowing people of the county.

 

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VMO 2016 #6-Sheriff Morgan is All About Double-Talk

Sir David is the King of Contradiction, or Hypocrisy, Flip-Flopery, if you like. When he gets questioned about something he said, his favorite excuse is “I did not say that” or “What I said was taken out of context”. That within itself shows the lack of responsibility for words he careless uses regarding that come back to bite him in the ass.

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  1. Running for Sheriff  
    When Sir David filed for Sheriff, I had to laugh, because he spoke to the Pensacola Biz Net Aug 4, 2011  & he made the following statement:

“I believe in term limits from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet….. You lose touch with reality when you’re spending other people’s money.  So that’s why I’m a big advocate of term limits…..term limits.I believe in term limits from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet… We have to stop putting our county down…we have alot of problems in Escambia County. Take the Billings Case…..I encourage you to follow that case through to end of the last prosecute, then ask for the public record of how much it cost us, the taxpayers. It cost hundreds of thousands of dollars if not millions of dollars”

“I would like to do a second term as the Sheriff of Escambia County but let me make this statement to this group as I make to a lot of these groups, I believe in term limits from the top of my head to the soles of my feet.  If I go stupid and run for a third term do not vote for me, do not vote for me…. Because you need to cycle people out of these positions.”-Sheriff David Morgan, 2010

2.  Billings Case:  DEA involved? 

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Here is an article from NorthEscambia.com that sums up the mystery.

Is The DEA Involved In The Billings Case- - NorthEscambia.com.clipular

Is The DEA Involved In The Billings Case?

July 16, 2009

There are conflicting reports this morning as to whether or not the DEA has become involved in the Billings murder investigation.

“As Escambia County Sheriff, I have no knowledge of any DEA involvement in this case,” David Morgan said Wednesday night. “I have not spoken to any representative of the Drug Enforcement Agency today.”-CNN

But CNN was reporting early Thursday morning that the DEA was on the case. CNN quotes a DEA spokesman in Miami, David Melenkevitz, as saying that the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department did call for the DEA’s assistance.

David Melenkevitz, a spokesman for the DEA, said his agency is assisting with the investigation but would not comment further. He said Escambia County officials have also sought help from other federal agencies including the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. —CBS News  July 16, 2009

Even Sir David’s repeater (not reporter), Rick Outzen, who has claimed that Sir David is the best sheriff Escambia County has had in years wrote this:

It has been a week since Bud and Melanie Billings were killed. The seven men who the authorities believe are responsible and one female accomplice have been arrested. The media wants to know why, what was the safe taken from the home and why are the FBI and DEA possibly involved.

CNN is reporting early Thursday morning that the DEA is on the case, despite denials by Sheriff Morgan the prior night on Anderson Cooper 360. They say that David Melenkevitz, a DEA spokesman in Miami, has said that the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department did call for the DEA’s assistance.– Rick Outzen, Rick’s Blog, July 16, 2009

Now if this is a humdinger as Sir David had claimed and the alphabet soup (FBI, ATF, FBI & Homeland Security) were participants, then Sir David may not be the BIGGEST LIAR IN ESCAMBIA COUNTY (He’d still be in the top 10, if not the top 5). Here’s why I say that, they actually responded.  Now anyone can call these agencies and ask for assistance, but they may not actually show up. But there are credible sources saying, as early as 1 week after the murders that the DEA was brought in, contrary to Morgan’s statement.  There appears to be solid reasons that the DEA was a participant in this case.

 To end speculation, I have proof of their involvement.

 Corroborated by an FBI source, there were 2 ACTIVE DEA investigations into Byrd & Melanie Billings at the time of their murder. DEA only gets involved on high level drug cases. They don’t show up for insignificant possession/personal use cases where there is no chance of trafficking. Their presence speaks for itself and is contrary to Sir David’s version of events.

*Also, these DEA cases, one initiated in 2005 and the other in 2007, are still, TODAY, active investigations.

Think about that for a moment.

3.  Super Predator/ Thug Culture is the Downfall of America

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“I take issue with the time African Americans. We are Americans…The blacks that currently reside in the United States are not from Africa. Those sorts of terms society has chosen to use are divisive in nature. So what are the issues in the minority organizations within Escambia County? Many are real and many are perceived. I will tell you I think many are perceived. Here is why, again, let’s go back to the history of our nation and where we are today. Not that many years ago, the thought of electing an African American president would have been unthinkable in the United States of America. I would remind African American’s that you are a little over 13% of the entire population of the United States…..If those 13 % were the only ones that voted for President Obama, he would not have won that election….the statistics are if we are such a racist nation, why do we currently have an African American president?”

When asked for a response to the assertion that racism is merely a perceived social problem, Sir David responded with a statement to Channel 3 WEAR that his comments were taken out of context and  that those who propagate information about his rant have “a motive”. 

And the best statement ever out of his mouth:

“I challenge someone to find an incident where anyone could have said that I am racist.”

The irony is every word he said prior to that statement is a jab at every ethnicity. He uses statistics to belittle the African-American people and remind them they are but 13% of the population. You can add hypocrite to his tile of racist.

Escambia County's Sheriff Morgan's -Black People embrace the Thug Culture- - YouTube.clipular (1)

4. Rotary Club assertion that Muslims are like Nazis.

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CJ'S STREET REPORT- Pastor Lee Middleton's Pregnant Daughter Slammed Down, Hogtied, and Wife Arrested--A Deputy's Tall Tale.clipularDr. James Scamanaci, known for his blog, CJsstreetreport.blogspot.com reported for DailyKos  the following:

In the wake of two Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputies firing 15 bullets at Mr. Roy Middleton in late July 2013, which created a national story, Sheriff Morgan delivered prepared remarks before the Rotary Club of Pensacola.  The Pensacola News Journal carried the Public Information Office’s edited version of the Sheriff’s remarks.

Sheriff Morgan:  ‘Muslims are Nazis’

At the 3:45 mark of the uncut version that the Street Report came to possess, Sheriff Morgan, after recommending to his Rotary Club audience reading Winston Churchill’s three-volume memoirs, Sheriff Morgan stated the following:

“And what you’ll find striking, and I find striking by the way, is the policy of appeasement that we go through in an almost a cyclic mode through our communities and our societies.  An appeasement across the board.  We intend to appease crime; we intend to appease political opponents; we intend to appease those who have different religious beliefs than we do.  And the frightening thing about these volumes is this, if you changed NAZI to Muslim, you’ll have a terrific eye opener…”

5. Triple Murder of the Smith Family

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In a press release, 5 days after the bodies were found and all news was hushed, Sir David made this eloquent statement regarding the brutal murders.

“It’s witchcraft, I’ll say that right now. The method of the murder, blunt force traumas, slit throats, positions of bodies and then our person of interest has some ties to a faith or religion that is indicative of that. Those of you that follow any of that will also note that at the time of death we believe on Tuesday it also coincides with what’s referred to as a blue moon, which occurs every three years.”

In response to that ignorant statement, every Wiccan, homeopath, occult personality came forward to refute this statement of “witchcraft”. I contacted Michelle Belanger, occult expert, known for her work on “Paranormal State” as well as her writing on the subject. When I spoke to her she was baffled how a person of Sir David’s authority and assumed intelligence would make such a reckless statement. She made 2 videos for YouTube regarding Sir David.  Here is a bit of what she had to say:

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 “The biggest problem in Pensacola right now is you got a Sheriff who is jumping to all kinds of conclusions. He’s creating his own kind of red herrings. …My other problem with Sheriff Morgan is, your average person doesn’t know what a Wiccan is, doesn’t know what a Pagan is. They hear these words from an authority figure, like Sheriff Morgan. What he is doing, either through his own ignorance or his own willful misdirection of the actual facts of the case. He’s betraying the trust that people have put into him……..He is misleading people who he’s their only source for whether or not that’s true. And because he’s seen as an authority figure, they are not going to go out and Google to find out that he’s actually talking out of his posterior in a grievous way that could honestly incite hate crimes.”

Sir David’s response: “It was a misconception.”

Sheriff- 'Witchcraft' Comments a Misconception - YouTube.clipular

**Sidenote: Morgan claimed the family was reclusive and that hampered investigation. When WKRG Channel 5 out of Mobile interviewed the Smith Family about the witchcraft factor, the family denied there was anything suggestive of Blue Moon or witchcraft based on the information given to them. They also refuted Morgan’s claim of the family being reclusive.**

The fact in this murder is that one of the sons is a cybercrimes expert at Homeland Security. Sir David said that they KNOW that fact wasn’t the motive for murder. He still says that theory was still “in play,” but that his office had also investigated financial gain and Richard Smith’s connection to the Department of Homeland Security as possible motives.

Specifically, the way he phrased it in an exclusive with WEAR-TV 3’s Amber Southard, who is now his new Public Information Officer that out earns most lietenants at the ECSO, was there were three possible motives: National security, witchcraft, monetary gain. Two are still on the table, as there were no national security implications involving the death of 49-year-old Department of Homeland Security employee Richard Thomas Smith.

 No chance that he’s wrong on the Homeland Security angle  but witchcraft is possible?

It hurt my head to even put that sentence together.

Sir David has many more loosy goosy “out of context”, “misunderstood” or “wrong perception” excuses. This is just the highlight reel, folks.