The killers? The Cop Cabal that runs the Delaware House Of Representatives. And, yes, that guy again, Governor John Carney.
I’m sure you all remember the photo op outside of Leg Hall in the wake of the George Floyd death at the hands of the Minneapolis cops. All solemnity, and vows to ensure that Black Lives really Matter.
It was all a sham. You don’t have to take my word for it. All you have to do is to look at the membership of the so-called Law Enforcement Accountability Task Force, and you will see that no accountability will be forthcoming.
Rather than taking action in the aftermath of this one killing among a spate of incidents of police violence, the Powers That Be…formed a Task Force. With a final reporting date in…2022.
The Chair of the Task Force was appointed by the Speaker of the House who, of course, is a retired Delaware State Police Captain and Troop Commander with 25 years of police duty. Who better to deep-six police reform than a Black state legislator who was a 30-year veteran of the New Castle County Police Force prior to becoming an Executive Assistant to then-County Executive Tom Gordon? (Well, somebody had to make sure that Tom’s and Sherry’s his-n-her handcuffs were suitably, um, lubed.) The ex-cop in question is Franklin Cooke, who has now betrayed his constituents in order to cover for the Thin Blue Line. It’s a real shame that J. J. Johnson didn’t stick around for another term or two. His replacement is, to put it mildly, compromised.
Perhaps, just perhaps, if the rest of the Task Force consisted of open-minded citizens who are concerned about police accountability, which is what the Task Force is supposed to be about, Cooke could perhaps have served as a more-or-less honest broker. Instead, it’s packed with cops. Including all three of the ‘public’ members appointed by John Carney. Let’s start there. Here are the public members who Carney appointed. See if you can detect a theme:
Chief Patrick Ogden: Delaware Police Chief’s Council. Chief Ogden is a twenty–six–year veteran of Delaware law enforcement. He was selected to lead the University of Delaware Department of Public Safety as Chief of Police in 2009. Before this appointment, Chief Ogden served for 22 years with the Delaware State Police.
Lt. Thomas J. Brackin: Delaware State Troopers Association. Lt. Brackin has 33 years of experience with the Delaware State Police and has served as the President of the Delaware State Troopers association since 2012.
Frederick Calhoun: Just retired as Head of FOP Lodge 5. That’s Fraternal Order Of Police. You may recall that his retirement dinner was not w/o controversy. This snippet will remind you of how the Cop Cabal has controlled this so-called reform effort:
He was presented that night with an award from State Representatives (Our PAL) Valerie Longhurst, Larry ‘Three Pensions’ Mitchell, Franklin ‘The Honorable Chair’ Cooke and Senator Jack Walsh for reasons passing understanding.
John Carney could have named any three public appointees to this Task Force. Instead, he nominated perhaps the three people most likely to kill any police accountability in Delaware to those posts. All cops. Not a single person who has been remotely impacted by the lack of police accountability. Which, truth be told, applies to the entire Task Force.
There’s more. Speaker Pete also appointed Randall Hughes, who has been the Georgetown Police Chief for six years following a 24-year career with the Delaware State Police. He was a Major when he retired.
Not done yet. Because the cops apparently didn’t already have enough officers to deep-six this Task Force, the Colonel of the Delaware State Police was also given an appointment. That appointee is Melissa Zebley, Colonel of the Delaware State Police. Just look at all those white faces.
Oh, and Rethug legislators Ruth Briggs King and Brian Pettyjohn are on the Task Force. Didn’t Pettyjohn try to bring a gun on a plane? I, uh, think he skated.
The only person on the Task Force who has publicly expressed concern about policing in Delaware is Attorney General Kathleen Jennings. That’s it.
Here’s a complete list of the members.
Click on the link below that reads ‘LEATF Task Force Members Bios’ to read about all of the Task Force members. I defy you to find the name of one person who has been impacted by the police tactics that have been reasonably well-documented in Delaware.
You won’t find one because the Task Force was chosen to protect the police from the disinfectant of sunlight and to prevent any reforms that would reign in their tactics. That’s what happens when you have a Cop Cabal running the show and a governor who can’t (stealing from Al) find his ass with both hands.
It’s a disgrace. Personal to Jea Street: Run for the legislature and/or find people who share in your outrage to do so. Get rid of these non-entities who enable the Cop Cabal to retain power. Unless the Cop Cabal is brought down, what we see will ever be thus.