Big Force of Reserve Cops Terrorize Nearby Michigan County

[XLFD]

From a recent article in the Barry County Newspaper The Hastings Banner 

"... asked (Barry Township Supervisor Wesley) Kahler how many full time police officers were in the township, to which Kahler replied four.  He then asked how many reserve officers there are in Barry Township and Kahler replied, “34, all volunteers.”

Most people around the City of Ludington have not took notice that we have a reserve officer program that has as many reserve police officers as we do regular cops (see  Ludington's Police Reserves who are they? ).  In fact if they haven't paid attention to the council meetings or peered into the flames of the Ludington Torch, they may not even realize we have reserve officers, that their duties, training and identities are shrouded in secrecy from the public eye, and that there are four teaching in our school district, including our mayor, Ryan Cox.

Barry Township is in the southwestern corner of Barry County, a county just south of Grand Rapids whose biggest city is Hastings.  The township government itself operates out of Delton, and is where a town hall meeting took place this month which exhibits the problems that Ludington may find itself having very soon with a mostly secret and unaccountable reserve officer program, not officially allowed by our city code and charter.

What's happening in Barry Township is big news.  It's been covered by Radley Balko in the Washington Post in a story entitled "Barry Township, Mich., asks state for protection — from its own police department".   He borrows liberally from the coverage of this month's meeting in The Hastings Banner, and properly commends it for reporting what actually happened at the meeting, rather than sugar-coating the public official side of the story as too many local papers would do to appease the powers that usually help them with their stories and press releases.

If we are to believe the people that showed up en masse to confront the problem, who seem to have been shocked by the revelation that there were so many reserve officers in this township of 3500 people of which nobody outside the public officials knew about, and who as a 100 member strong unit related incidences of reckless policing that should serve as a reminder that police forces need legal accountability and adequate training to properly serve the people, they have a big problem. 

I will use pictures from the upcoming film "Let's Be Cops", which has as a plot about two friends who pretend to be police officers, and get embroiled in a variety of problems and perks.  Perhaps when this comes out this August it could be used as a training film for reserve units.  Included around it is the Hastings Banner article on the meeting that took place which showed many of the inherent problems of a reserve police officer unit, many of these I highlighted for the readers convenience. 

Think of Ludington's situation, and the fact that we have an illegitimate reserve officer serving as our City's mayor.  Does it give you confidence that our own LPD force and their reserves won't abuse their power, represent a liability, and perform like they are depicted in Barry Township if the reserve program continues unchecked?

With fellow residents milling around the parking lot outside, unable to access an already at-capacity meeting room, over 100 people inside the Barry Township Board of Trustee’s meeting Tuesday held little back in voicing their discontent with police presence in their community.

As the township’s regularly scheduled meeting began with agenda business as usual, the moment that everyone in attendance was waiting for arrived with the call by Supervisor Wesley Kahler for public comments. It quickly became apparent that the majority of attendees had reached their limit of patience with Police Chief Victor Pierce and his police ‘force.’ Tony Liceago, a 43-year resident and Delton Kellogg graduate, approached the podium first to ask why the township had so many police officers in Delton.

“I understand there are five full time police cars, two Humvees, or whatever those things are, and a SWAT team, here, began the evening’s first speaker, Tony Liceago, a 43-year community resident and Delton Kellogg graduate. “Why so many vehicles, why such a show of force for little old Delton? This has been a family community for my family for so long and now, all of a sudden, there’s a force here. “If we cannot afford these things that need to be done in our community,” Liceago concluded in reference to sidewalks not maintained in winter months due to lack of funding, “how can we afford such a large police force?”

Lisa Tobias brought the audience’s attention to serious allegations concerning the actions of local law enforcement.

“Where is the line between protection and harassment?” Tobias asked. “When we have teens being handcuffed and guns pulled on them, but not arrested, this seems more like harassment than protection.” Voicing her discontentment regarding the officers’ treatment of persons during non-criminal situations, Tobias then turned her comments towards Pierce, who continued to sit motionless for the majority of the public comments time frame.

Recent arrests in Delton, including that of local business owner and county planning commission member Jack Nadwornik, had prompted many of the guests to the night’s meeting to share their own stories of their brush with the ‘law.’ Several residents stepped up to voice their concerns, each one telling of family or neighbors who had been stopped by the Delton police and subjected to what many called unwarranted and unnecessary treatments, statements made by officers to incite civil unrest, and implications of excessive force, with many of the comments eliciting applause from the bulk of the members of the audience.

Dan Sutherland, from Prairieville Township, asked Kahler how many full time police officers were in the township, to which Kahler replied four. Sutherland then asked how many reserve officers there are in Barry Township and Kahler replied, “34, all volunteers.”

That sparked a shouted question from the audience regarding if the township offers and pays for the insurance coverage on 34 reserve officers. Before Kahler could respond, however, Sutherland continued his line of questioning.

“Wow, 34,” observed Sutherland. “If they [the officers] did something wrong or illegal, would the township be liable? What they did to Jack [Nadwornik] was ridiculous. The liability of their actions will fall on the shoulders of the township. There are too many officers and that’s the gist of it.”

Again, applause erupted as Sutherland exited the podium. George Turner from the Pleasant Lake area and a retired State police officer offered a different take on the discussion. “What I am hearing is there needs better training [of reserves, officers] and there are resources in Hastings to assist with this, with training officers better on probable cause, handcuffing regulations, traffic violations,” suggested Turner. “Some of the things I am hearing you folks say are very alarming, you don’t draw a gun unless you intend to use it. Maybe training will help. Take advantage of what the State Police have to offer.”

Johnny Montes approached the podium and, without reservation, explained he is tired of the harassment and slander of his name throughout the community by local law enforcement, while alleging that falsifying probable cause had been used numerous times to affect him and his family. Montes unabashedly demanded that the police force and the township do their jobs right, closing his comments by saying, “This isn’t about protect and serve, it’s about harassing and teasing.” Directing his final comment directly toward the board, Montes added, “Do something.”who had waited until everyone who had wanted to, had been given time to speak, began by explaining his motivation for attending the night’s meeting.

Explaining that his involvement in the matter has evolved in recent weeks, Mike Smith, of Smith and Doster in Delton, related that he’s reluctantly been made a participant in the issue.

“In the last two weeks, I have been approached about town activity and I want to point out that this community has some excellent officers on staff,” said Smith. “However, I am now included in the discussions, so now I am involved. My brother-in-law was pulled over on Manning Road for encroachment and for failure to dim his bright lights quick enough.

“Unhappy about the obvious stretch to which the officers cited his violation, I sent him to talk with Victor Pierce. Shortly after that, another person approached me and asked if I had heard about the incident at Tujax. This person was awakened by the situation as it was happening, and stated she was awakened by screaming she heard through her open windows, and that the screaming was not by the person that was arrested but coming from the police officers themselves.”

Smith attempted to enlarge the scope of the charges being made about the actions of local law enforcement officers.

“This meeting isn’t about Jack [Nadwornik]. This meeting is about a pattern developing. Is it not taught to officers that raising their voice can incite confrontation?” asked Smith while looking at Pierce, who nodded in agreement to Smith’s rhetorical question. Continuing, Smith said, “And then the incident with the gun being drawn, not pointed at anyone, but towards the ground, while the other officers were talking with the teenagers. Then there is the young women who stated she was pulled over and told it was because of fuzzy dice hanging from her mirror, which could obstruct viewing.”

Smith indicated that community and businesses need to get involved in getting answers.

“Somebody has to get involved [in stopping the pattern],” insisted Smith. “I am involved. This incidence of two boys being handcuffed but not arrested or found to be in violation of anything…this is a pattern. How did it develop?”

Smith turned to Pierce again and asked, “are these isolated incidents, one or two, or is this community wide? [This pattern] does not fit this community. We need to find out what exactly is going on.”

Applause again emphasized that the majority of the guests at the meeting were in support of Smith’s revelations.  Smith, turning to Kahler, asked, “What will you do?”

Kahler replied that the board would look into it.

Smith then encouraged the township to insist that the board investigate the allegations of inappropriate law enforcement actions.

“I propose you do a board investigation, with no hearsay,” implored Smith. “I am seeing and hearing about too much aggression and intimidation. This excessive use of authority is not professional nor necessary for our community.”

It appeared that Smith was prepared to stand at the podium indefinitely, in order to get answers, and he was being supported by several positive remarks by guests to the meeting. “This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Smith continued. “The article in the Banner came out before he [Nadwornik] was even indicted. He should not have been named in the paper. The article’s interview with you, Victor, sounded like he was guilty, tried and convicted. I don’t want to see this community come to despise its police officers, so we have to get to the bottom of this.”

Pierce then approached the podium to respond to the questions and allegations, by saying how much he appreciated the feed back and comments and that this is the first time he had been called upon to address such a large group.

“There are two sides to every issue,” pointed out Pierce. “The incident regarding Jack [Nadwornik] was not originally put in the paper. Residents called the media, prompting the call by the Banner for a response from me. The officers did not want it to turn out the way it has, and would have rather just gave a warning to Mr. Nadwornik.”

At this juncture of Pierce’s response, several rose and left the building, voicing disappointment in what appeared to be Pierce patronizing concerned residents. “You sound out of control, Victor, like you’re from Detroit,” said Ron Daniels, sitting in the front row, in response to comments made by Pierce of the number of times he had experience the death of one of his comrades in law enforcement and that the reality of the potential for incidents of violence was real, even in the community and surrounding areas of Delton.

Pierce struggled to continue as audience members continued to shout out questions. “For residents, I want to make Barry Township safer, better, and do it on a limited budget,” countered Pierce.

“Are the ‘free’ Humvees being insured by the township?” asked another person, to which Pierce explained that the State had provided the opportunity for law enforcement departments to utilize excess and unused equipment, such as military vehicles, for free, but that insuring the vehicles was the responsibility of the township.

Dissatisfied that no answer was forthcoming from Pierce to inquiries by the audience on the subject of officer behaviors, several more people walked out of the meeting, while more, who had been standing outside for lack of room, started to move closer to the interior of the hall to get a better view and to move within hearing distance. “Each step an officer takes has the potential for danger,” continued Pierce, prompting Smith to say, “There’s no reason for us to feel unsafe in this community.”

The crowd, once again, applauded in support of Smith’s summation of the feelings of the residents.  As Pierce offered insight into volunteer hours logged by reserve officers, and mentioned the after-effects of the Sandy Hook school shooting incident in Massachusetts, he stated his goal was to ensure that a dedicated patrol for the school be implemented, an endeavor he succeeded in accomplishing. He noted the importance of his officers not having to answer a call alone, explaining the need for the large amount of reserve officers in Barry Township.

“As a department head, I am willing to accept the leadership it takes to address the issues of police officers and their interactions with the community,” maintained Pierce. “Good, trained officers are hard to acquire and to maintain.”

Pierce implored residents to consider the importance of having the reserve officers as backup support for each certified officer, with respect to the large area his men are obligated to respond to, citing situations where they have responded to calls for assistance outside of Barry Township.

“I am not trying to build a military militia,” explained Pierce. “I just wanted to create a reserve so certified officers did not have to answer calls alone. This is reality folks, the need for the numbers of reserves is necessary.”

Pierce was asked if he condoned aggressive tactics being used by his officers and he replied no, to which several voices in the crowd exclaimed disagreement with his response.  Pierce continued to be bombarded with questions, such as how many full- and part-time officers were on the Barry Township law enforcement unit, how many reserves were being insured by the township, and how many marked and unmarked police vehicles are being used. Pierce hesitantly answered that there are four full-time and four part-time certified officers supported by a unit of reserves numbering thirty-four. The department has within their resources five marked police vehicles, with a total of 10 vehicles being used for law enforcement in the community.

Pierce countered the admonishments by asking how many knew of the break-in at the Delton Pharmacy or of the busting of a meth operation in Barry Township, noting that investigation into both situations had shown that both had been perpetrated by suspects from outside the township, drawing correlation to the need for additional support in addressing criminal elements venturing within the township’s borders. Pierce said that Delton and Barry Township has its share of illegal drugs; issues in the community, abuses not necessarily being committed by its residents, and it’s his departments responsibility to address the situations, including the use of undercover tactics, in order to secure evidence towards prosecution.

Smith asked Pierce if he had felt, previously, that there were serious problems within his department regarding police officer behaviors towards non-threatening situations or persons, to which Pierce said, “no, not up to this point, I did not feel there was any problems.”

Smith then asked Pierce, “Do you feel there is a problem now, [after the numerous complaints voiced that evening] to which Pierce replied, “No, I will take each situation on a case by case basis.”

This comment again riled the audience of residents with Daniels immediately asking Pierce, “Why are you so protective of this apparent problem? It will continue until you address it, openly.”

Montes added, “I tried coming to you. I came to you and it didn’t matter. You don’t do anything about it.”

Kahler tried to restore decorum by announcing that the board would probably schedule a special board meeting to address the many elements of the night’s proceedings. Pierce added final comments.“I am proud of [my department’s] progress and its officers, and I will take these hits for them,” defended Pierce. “They have done a damn good job and some really great things.”

Pierce left the meeting to address inquiries by some of the attendees both in the parking lot and in a room adjoining the meeting room behind closed doors with residents on a one-on-one basis. One of his officers remained standing near the entrance door to the hall, having appeared there sometime during the last 40 minutes of discussion.

While the township board reined in the remaining minutes of the meeting to return discussion to the scheduled agenda items, attendees continued to gather outside.Tobias, when asked if the meeting had answered her concern about the line between protection and harassment, replied, “I am not satisfied. This is not a straight answer, and this is not over. This [aggressive behavior of law enforcement] has been a problem going on two years now and the police chief is not being honest about the fact that people have gone to him, to no avail. And the problems have escalated. There will be more meetings because this community has had enough.”

Nadwornik, owner of Tujax Tavern, was in attendance but chose to stand outside the building throughout the meeting while the lively discussion was unfolding within. When asked for a comment, he respectfully declined to comment on his specific case, but agreed that the outpouring of support from local residents was a good thing for the community as a whole.

[XLFD]

Thanks for the Kalkaska tips and the compliment, Jamie.  These cops will continue to go wilder while their city council and county board members commend their fine service and ignore this crap.  Zero tolerance needs to work from within these police departments, but it's not going to happen without the public figuratively lifting their torches and pitchforks and saying that enough is enough.  Protect and serve, or GTFO.

[Jack Bauer]

Since we can't count on you to report anything positive, let me help.

http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/09316.pdf

I am sure you will disagree because it doesn't support your opinion, but at least it is based on research and facts.  

[XLFD]

I think reporting on a large band of citizens becoming involved in their community's law enforcement problems, like they did in Barry Township, is a positive step in correcting what obviously is a dereliction of duty by the local police force. 

The link you present is hard to dispute in most respects.  Communities becoming involved in policing when there are obvious problems with the status quo of law enforcement, is exactly what happened in Barry Township.  The problem which all the citizens seem to comprehend, deals with a reserve officer force abusing their authority, and a chief who doesn't seem to get it.  The reserves in Barry Township outnumber the full time officers by 850%, and nobody in that community seemed to know it other than the supervisor and the chief. 

Community policing and community watches are great and effective concepts.  Reserve officers can also work out, but as I thought I have made clear throughout, they need to be legitimate, accountable to the community (not just the police chief or other officer), and receive reasonable training, background checks, psychological testing, etc. if they are to carry guns and use the power of the office.  Otherwise, they become a liability to the community, and a clear and present danger to everyone, including themselves.

[XLFD]

I checked up on the authors of the study and they are bona fide attorneys and/or professors of criminal justice at National University, so I will not totally dismiss their credentials based on their academic pedigree.  However, the paper really isn't saying much more than it saves budget money to utilize reserve officers and volunteer citizen groups over regular police officers, without mentioning much beyond that. 

Jack Bauer seems to think it says something, but even the title shows that the authors weren't very precise or scholarly:  "Reducing the cost of crime through reserve police officers and volunteer citizen patrol".   It doesn't even make sense.  Jack may want to review his positive contributions, LOL.

[Willy]

I understand the need for reserve police officers but if a regular officer is required to have certain training to become an officer then why in the world would a reserve officers be exempt from those requirements. Why not have an all reserve force?  No training, no pay, just hand them a weapon and send them on their way.

[XLFD]

 If you remember our thread on Oakley, Michigan the large reserve force of 100 officers to handle a 300 population town, pretty much shows that they had people who would "buy the badge" for money and effectively have no formal training, background check, or even nearby residency requirements.  If some police officers think having a badge grants them extra rights over others, just apply that to the reserves who often have no set limitations to their power by their office.

[XLFD]

This just in from Fox 17 about the situation in Barry Township.  Another meeting, more calls for action:

"BARRY TOWNSHIP, Mich. (June 23, 2014)– The Barry Township Police Department is at the center of a community controversy.   Dozens spoke out during a city hall board meeting Monday, some saying the department over-staffed and overly aggressive.

With nearly 2,300 people living in town, the department has four full-time and four part-time police officers, in addition to 34 reserve officers.

It’s a number that people who live there, like Tony Corsariol, said is too high.

“People don’t come by as much…people don’t come to town,” Corsarial said.

People avoiding the area, is something Corsariol said isn’t necessarily due to the amount of officers in town, but because they’ve grown fearful of the officers.

“These guys pull their guns out on a daily basis,” Corsariol said.

Many others also spoke out in anger about an alleged incident where a business owner was injured by one the officers while being placed under arrest. They even questioned the need for the amount of reserve officers on duty. Saying, 34 of those officers aren’t necessary with the small amount of people who live there.

However, an officer with the department also spoke, saying he’s been the victim of assaults while on duty. That, if it weren’t for reserve officers, he’d have to wait 15 minutes for back-up to arrive from Hastings, which ultimately puts his life in danger.

The board announced that they think the citizens’ concerns should be looked into. They wrote a letter to Michigan State Police asking them to investigate the accusations of harassment and if they’re staffing too many reserve officers.

A follow-up meeting is expected to take place on Tuesday, July 1.

Read more: http://fox17online.com/2014/06/23/west-michigan-community-claims-po...