In February, 2015, 17 year old Deven Guilford traveled a road in Eaton County Michigan. He noticed an oncoming vehicle with extremely bright lights, so he flashed his high beams in an attempt to get the other driver to lower his lights. Sheriff Deputy, Sgt. Jonathan Frost decided to pull Deven over for flashing his lights. Deven was shocked, especially after Sgt. Frost stated he knew his lights were too bright. But, as we all know, Sgt. Frost’s main job is generating revenue, and not protecting citizens. Perhaps he had not yet reached his revenue quota for the month? Anyway, Deven, while lying face down on the ground, refused to put his hands behind his back, so Sgt. Frost tased Deven. Then, when Deven rolled over a scuffle ensued, ending with Sgt. Frost shooting Deven 7 times, killing the unarmed teenager.
No charges were brought against Sgt. Frost, as he was, eh um, “cleared” of wrong doing. Still, the citizens of Eaton County and the state of Michigan paid out over $2,000,000.00 because Sgt. Frost was, eh um, “cleared” of any wrongdoing. Maybe if law enforcement’s main goal was to provide safety for citizens, rather than generate revenue for the government, Deven would still be alive today.
In another instance that might sound like pure fantasy, Sheriff Todd Entrekin, in Etowah County, Alabama purchased a $740,000.00 home on the gulf shore coast late last year, after paying himself a $750,000.00 bonus, for saving that amount from feeding his prisoners over 3 years. Apparently, Alabama allows Sheriffs to keep any money they save in feeding their prisoners. And, rather than giving it back to those people who are forced to pay his salary, or putting it toward his department, or even giving it to charity to feed and clothe the poor, Sheriff Entrekin thought it better to purchase a beach house for himself.
Sheriff Entrekin actually stated that the citizens of his county have been targeted with “fake news”
stories about his buying his beach house, when admitting the claims. And more, that he “can’t change the optics”. Keep in mind, those citizens’ medium income is only $40,000.00 a year. Sheriff Entrekin then justified his theft by saying it’s the law! One also should keep in mind that the Sheriff proposes their own budget in most counties. Why was it set so high that he could pocket $750,000.00 from only 3 years? Why was the budget not reduced, when it resulted in such a high surplus?
The following paragraph is from my November, 2017 article: “When a law denies freedom, it is immoral. Whether it is based upon racism or bigotry [of any kind], it is still immoral. Worse, it makes criminals of people who simply wish to be free and labels them immoral. At the same time it protects racist and bigoted lawmakers and law enforcers, and labels them as moral. Thus, the individual is forced to become a law abiding racist and/or bigot, or a criminal, under the laws.”
Sgt. Frost and Sheriff Entrekin are moral, by the standard of laws which deny freedom, as was Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, who were together responsible for over 60 million murders, not including the deaths from combat and/or starvation of displaced civilians in WW II. Indeed, the laws protecting the Judge’s at Nuremberg (Nuremberg 1, as I like to call it), when they sentenced people to death for disobeying Hitler’s immoral laws, were also laws that denied freedom. And, like Hitler and Stalin, the laws protecting Sgt. Frost and Sheriff Entrekin are moral, by the standard of denying freedom.
However, if the standard of the law is freedom, then immoral laws are those which: encourage revenue generating, rather than the protection of citizens; allow a Sheriff to buy a beach house with money taken by force from citizens who can barely feed themselves; make it a crime to be free; and severely punish those who harm none, while treating those who harm others with little concern.
The question is, do you support freedom? If you wish to be free, then demand it from your legislators, mayors, judges, and your local and county and state police forces. Do not accept, “I’m only doing my job”, as an excuse to be immoral. After all, the Nazis used that one too.
Till next month, as always, keep rolling on.
Disclaimer: This is an informational article only. It is not to provide individual legal advice. If you need legal services, feel free to contact me, or any attorney of your choosing.
