A close-up shows a statement found on police cars in Chicago and other cities. Is it true? (Photos credit The Weekly Opine)

Try serving & protecting

One of the persistent dichotomies resulting from the militarization of American cities is the role of ICE and Border Patrol agents juxtaposed with state and local police. While Trump’s paramilitary criminally abuse American citizens, and kidnap and deport non-threatening persons who legally reside in this country, state and local cops who took an oath to “serve and protect” stand by doing nothing.

The oft-used police tactic known colloquially as “show of force” has become a farce. (I’ve nothing against cops – good cops, that is – and have experienced positive interactions during the handful of times I’ve been pulled over by police while driving.)

Having attended numerous protest marches in Chicago and surrounding suburbs and having covered the Broadview ICE facility on several occasions, I’ve seen firsthand the tension that occurs when you mix ICE thugs, peaceful protesters and caught-in-the-middle local cops. When things go awry it’s almost always due to unwarranted aggression by heavily armed ICE goons or skittish state/local cops. Many times law-abiding protesters end up tear-gassed, beaten, even murdered.

To control protesters, many state and local cops attempt to intimidate by showing force, assembling in large numbers, while showing off (and sometimes using) billy clubs. As witnessed in Broadview last fall, Illinois State Police used billy clubs to assault protesters, as if they were auditioning for a position on Kristi Noem’s team of ICE desperadoes. This occurred as protesters pleaded – to no avail – for Broadview cops to protect them and arrest ICE and state police carrying out criminal assault.

Last week, in Minneapolis, ICE shot and killed an unarmed woman. Renee Good was murdered even as she followed ICE instructions to move her car out of their way. Last September, in suburban Chicago, ICE shot and murdered a man, Silverio Gonzalez, in similar circumstances. In neither case has there been a meaningful (or any) attempt by local police to arrest the ICE criminals who murdered civilians.

Immediately after murdering Gonzalez, ICE lied about how the event transpired and stonewalled local authorities from properly investigating. ICE employed the same tactic in Minneapolis to prevent local authorities from investigating Good’s murder. In both cases, Trump officials falsely claimed Gonzalez and Good used their vehicles to run over and severely injure ICE personnel. Video evidence, recorded by protesters and home security systems, renders Trump’s claims to be (drumroll)… mind-bending lies.

Off-camera, Chicago police officers watched passively as ICE assaulted peaceful protesters last fall on Chicago’s southeast side. (Photo credit WGN-TV)

Powder Keg

What happened in Franklin Park, Illinois, last September and again last week in Minneapolis feel like precursors to something even more lethal. In a surprise admission, just days after the murder of Renee Good, an ICE official said ICE thugs are becoming jumpier in fear of protesters. Why? Evidently, some protesters are using their hands to make the gun gesture at ICE. It does feel like we are on the precipice of something much scarier. One senses an inevitability that the glue uniting the states for 250 years is failing, after being severely weakened by a decade of MAGA-led corruption, deception and criminality.

Providing a glimmer of hope, Philadelphia Sheriff Rochelle Bilal issued a stark warning to ICE thugs following the murder of Renee Good. Sheriff Bilal forcefully stated that if ICE commits crimes in Philly, they will not be “whisked away” to hide. Sheriff Bilal added, “the criminal in the White House will not keep [ICE] from going to jail.”

Too bad Bilal’s powerful statement did not garner broader coverage. That’s not a surprise, given how so many media tiptoe in fear of the Trump administration. I highly recommend going on YouTube and searching “Philadelphia sheriff threatens ICE.” Watching the video takes only about three-and-a-half minutes and trust me, you will feel better. We need more law enforcement personnel like Sheriff Bilal.

In other words, local law enforcement, when in doubt, just do your job. Serve and protect, even if it means arresting ICE criminals.

BYSTANDING NOT WORKING