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Arlington police lieutenant put on leave for writing he wants to combat violence with more violence
By adamg on Tue, 10/30/2018 - 12:35pm
UPDATED, 2:55 p.m.
A police lieutenant who used a column in the Massachusetts Police Association's newsletters to criticize Colin Kaerpenick and other police critics and who said it was time to unleash police to use violence against violent criminals, has been relieved of duty, at least temporarily.
Arlington Town Manager Adam Chapdelaine and Police Chief Frederick Ryan said in a statement that that have put Lt. Rick Pedrini - who will soon become the Massachusetts Police Association's executive director - for his columns. Ryan said:
The columns written by Mr. Pedrini in the Sentinel newsletter directly contradict the values, morals and mission statement of the Arlington Police Department. Such remarks risk eroding the public trust that municipal police departments in Massachusetts have worked so hard to build in recent years. I disavow the remarks in the strongest possible terms, and this matter will be dealt with swiftly and certainly.
Chapdelaine added:
I am deeply disturbed by the apparent disregard for human life and for the duty of a police officer shown by Richard Pedrini in the Massachusetts Police Association newsletter. These comments do not represent the mission and values of the Arlington Police Department or the Town of Arlington. The sentiment raised by these comments is disturbing. The Town is taking these comments very seriously, and we will thoroughly investigate this matter.
WBUR reports that after news broke publicly about his columns, Pedriini said his the comments were "satire" never meant for the public to see.
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Comments
Really scary
to read these comments about "human excrement" and "oxygen thief" when describing alleged perpetrators of crime. Be worried, people of Arlington.
Arlington
between this dude and MarkK, I don't know about that place...
Lots of yammering blabbering
Never any thing like catching rapists.
They make exceptions for their buddies.
Oh, but THE T WOULD BRING BLACK PEOPLE TO ROB US ALL.
Oh, wait THE BIKE PATH WILL BRING BLACK PEOPLE TO ROB US ALL.
The sliver of Medford between
The sliver of Medford between the commuter rail and the Mystic River is a long established historically black neighborhood, whose residents walk over to Arlington Center to do their shopping and have always done so. There's plenty to criticize about Arlington without that tired old line.
You ever live in Arlington?
Apparently not.
Lived there for 10 years and saw old ladies get up and clutch their bag because an elderly black woman boarded the bus. Dozens of times!
I was there when the Red Line proposals were still fresh and my neighbor was terrified about the Minuteman Bikepath and spreading rumors about crime and property values, even though we showed him data of crime dropping (and it did drop).
You don't know and don't care to know. These people are still around.
And they always have been
100 years before the Red Line extension proposal, a streetcar line was proposed, to run from Boston out Mass Ave. and Bedford St. in Lexington, terminating at an amusement park at what is now Hartwell Ave. Arlington and Lexington farmers rose up in opposition, saying the streetcar would bring undesirables out of the city, and they would then move to the bucolic countryside. The streetcar was built, and ran for many years. The farmers were right; the city people they feared did move to the country. Of course, those people were Italians and Irish ...
What?
The people who live over there have NOT always done so. Of course, you are too new to the area to remember that West Medford once had its very own Johnnie's Foodmaster that catered to that ethnic market.
Liberty Mutual, who extends
Liberty Mutual, who extends benefits to MPA members, should be asked if they support the new ED’s comments. If you’re a policy holder, be sure to make them aware of your thoughts on this matter.
https://www.libertymutualgroup.com/about-lm/news/media-inquiries
Further, all of the Sentinel advertisers (Prime Motor Group, Cambridge Montessori School, among others) should be asked the same.
Boycott boycott boycott
You know what? No. No boycotts, no "inquiries," and no economic thuggery. No creeping fascism in the name of "safety" and no erosion of the right to free expression of opinions couched in "concerns" about an insufficient amount of sweetness and light.
Up until I read this comment I was thinking maybe APD should make this guy apologize. Now I think I'll keep any reservations about this guy I might have been willing to voice to myself. And point out that minus the "maggot" talk he's mostly right.
Economic thuggery
Where do you think this (expletive's) income comes from? People surrendering their working income voluntarily because they were asked nicely?
No dice Will
I am not an anarchist and never have been, and continue to happily pay the taxes that fund a full-time police force in my town.
Okay, you're not an anarchist
But that's not what I asked you.
I'm glad you feel like you get what you pay for in a police force. I watched multiple cops in helmets walk down Causeway St. on Sunday night with seven customers inside the bar I was visiting, and I wondered how much of that OT could have gone to fixing our schools. At least none of those officers called me a "waste of oxygen."
Gee Will, was that any ordinary Sunday night?
Or could there have been a reason for that OT?
I'm not dense
This exchange will be far more productive for both sides if you stop assuming as such.
You might recall that there was literally a single arrest related to baseball jocularity. I would and could have told you that before it happened, thus preventing the overstaffing of police officers that I saw on Sunday night.
If you've got the perfect staffing solution
maybe you should go into business as a police consultant.
Find me where I said I liked waste. Find me where I said I liked seeing taxes going down the drain for lolz.
But I'm not dumb either. Some money will be mis-spent (cough cough Longfellow cough cough) but that's unavoidable. Getting bent out of shape about a little OT here and there won't fix it but it will make people more defensive and make them work harder to hide their minor indiscretions. And the better hidden the small stuff is, the more practice and room for cover there is in hiding the big stuff.
Let me get this straight...
So:
1. People should look the other way about a "little overtime". (We're paying for it, but yeah, sure, let's let the police 100% discretion on how they spend our money. Makes perfect sense)
2. Scrutiny about overtime makes police hide other "minor indiscretions" (such as? And, seriously, isn't ENFORCING THE RULES their fucking job?)
3. As police work harder to hide their "minor indiscretions" they'll get better at hiding the major ones. (OK, so practice makes perfect, but so what?)
=We shouldn't question how police spend their time, or our money, or they'll steal/commit more crimes.
Sorry, still don't get this. And re: "economic thuggery", bitch, please. If a gas station up the street is staffed by assholes, I go to another gas station. Doesn't make me a thug. If a corporation or person does asshole things, I can choose not to patronize them. Again, not economic thuggery. Look up Rosa Parks if you have a minute.
Dear Bootlicker,
Dear Bootlicker,
Cops know all about "economic thuggery". Just ask the state police members who stole millions from Massachusetts taxpayers. Or there is the Silver Line Tunnel they also stole from taxpayers.
Theft is theft
Threats of economic vigilantism and/or mob violence are in a different category of bad behavior.
you have a problem with the free market?
that's interesting.
I only see consumers making educated choices based on widely available information.
Extra double-plus irony bonus points for you for sincerely using the word "fascism" while apparently making a living on the intertubes defending fascists.
Holy crap. You actually think
Holy crap. You actually think boycotting a company is worse than cops stealing millions of dollars from taxpayers?! You know that boycotting isn't a crime or theft in any way, right? I can't believe this has to be explained to an adult.
Strangely enough, I think I do think that
especially when the boycott looks like the kind of fake-news-driven activism I've seen in the news lately.
Theft robs people of money.
Boycotting Liberty Mutual because they insure the MPA or boycotting advertisers you see on Breitbart or boycotting Citibank or Bank of America or Yeti Coolers because they drank the gun grabber cool aid AND riling up people to get on the band wagon...that robs people of the hope of social cohesion. Over nonsense like an editorial you don't like...that's way worse.
Everyone gets to vote with their feet.
It is the boycotter responsibility to determine whether they changing where they spend their money for a smart reason. It can't be fake news driven if you take responsibility for your decisions. But in fact if a person wants to buy something for a stupid reason they can. If you advertise a lie then its liable.
What is actually stupid is when you take an imaginary wrong (boycotting Liberty Mutual because they do business with an alleged racist) and falsely equivocate it with a wrong defined by several officer's pleading guilty to theft.
Boycotting is non violent. Everything you buy is a decision made by your own free will. Saying "boycott" doesn't force me to do anything. Some boycotts are stupid, but they are not immoral.
What you are saying is that
What you are saying is that you hate capitalism and personal choice. And you don't understand what "theft" means. If I decided to grow my own basil instead of buying it I have not stolen anything from Whole Foods. Again, I can't believe I have to explain this to an adult. You are truly dumb. No one is under any obligation to give their money to corporations.
I guess to you "social cohesion" means people licking boots of killer cops and being happy with American gun owners killing thousands of people per year. No thanks. If you voted for Trump and claim to be for "social cohesion" then that is more evidence of your ignorance. He offers Americans nothing but divisiveness, obvious lies and misdirected rage.
... crickets ...
... crickets ...
Wow you just can't help digging this hole deeper
Please tell me you're one of those libertarian morons that think stop signs are a violation of your right to travel freely.
Stop signs are theft.
Libertarians and stop signs
A Libertarian respects the private property of others. It would be a grossly disrespectful act to drive one's car directly at another person's car, and damaging it.
This nominal Libertarian views stop signs as an aid in carrying out those beliefs. Taking turns is a construct in which I'm happy to make voluntary engagement.
I think I speak for everyone
when I say that the suspense over whether you think this guy is right or not was killing us
Hey everyone here's this
Hey everyone here's this fuckstick again telling you how it will be. Roman says no boycotts, no inquiries, no economic thuggery. Discussion over. Stop telling me how to think you fucking fuck. Stop telling me how things will be. I reject your worldview.
I am not the antagonist here
I reject any worldview that says it's OK to hold anyone's livelihood hostage to agreement with your politics. That's you. You do nothing but tell people how to think or else vague anger. Stop please. I won't tell you how to think if you don't tell me how to think.
I said nothing about my
I said nothing about my politics. you don't know them. i don't need to offer my worldview to know that i disagree with yours. and i will always tell you to go fuck yourself. so, go fuck yourself.
Take it easy guy.
I'm not forcing you to do anything but I am telling you why I said what I said.
If you don't feel like reciprocating it's no skin off my back.
Shrinking violet. I always
Shrinking violet. I always knew you were full of shit.
What?
As in: huh?
Are you trying to goad me into saying something? Well...why don't you just pretend I did.
Wilt under pressure. It’s a
Wilt under pressure. It’s a good show. Keep it up.
I don't get it
Do you think you've won something?
Nope, you do. and now I’m
Nope, you do. and now I’m living in your head. Ha.
If you say so...
Just make sure I'm not living in yours too.
No worries there chief. I
No worries there chief. I laugh at clowns.
"no boycotts"
Interesting to see you're pro bus segregation - somehow, I'm not particularly surprised. Better to have segregation than "economic thuggery", I suppose.
Once again...what. ever.
You call me a racist every chance you get. That's your way I suppose. I'm not a racist, but you won't believe me because you need to believe that I am one.
I didn't call you a racist
Might want to check your reading comprehension - I said you were against the tactics that led to the end of the segregation of public buses in the South. Which leads me to believe that you support segregation more than you do boycotts, since apparently there's no justification for "economic thuggery".
Now, why that is, I can't say - but I'm not surprised you'd prefer that you support the actions of the police, even things like racist policies or violent threats, over the free expression of the citizenry. And I'm even more unsurprised that you're not willing to stand up and acknowledge the implications of your statements.
No dude
I'm against Sleeping Giants type economic thuggery that makes life hell for everyone a little and for a few people a lot just because those few people hold opinions you disagree with.
There's a difference, you know there's a difference, and just because you don't like Breitbart without having read a word of it doesn't justify your cynical partisanship or turn it into a noble endeavor.
Breitbart?
It isn't a matter of liking or disliking - it is a matter of Breitbart deliberately falsifying nearly everything and lying about the rest.
Mind making a coherent point?
You said you were opposed to boycotts as "economic thuggery". I pointed out a famous boycott example that you were apparently opposed to (and I note, you still haven't said whether or not that was an acceptable use of boycotts, so I have to conclude you're more pro-segregation). I don't see what Breitbart has anything to do with anything here and I don't see what's partisan about that.
How about you try making a coherent argument to begin with, or try actually standing up to the convictions that you claim to hold, even when the conclusions aren't going to be particularly popular or if you don't want to admit them to yourself?
This is performance art
Like come on, you can't like the taste of boots that much.
How about free speech?
Economic thuggery and creeping fascism? Really? How about free speech?
Conservatives love to wax on about free speech. The constitution protects us from government restrictions on free speech. That's all. Unless the government comes in and denies the guy's right to air his opinion in a public forum, there's no free speech issue. The cop is--obviously--entitled to his opinion; he is not, however, entitled to a job (though I bet his union thinks he is), or entitled to be free from public scorn. If I want to call this guy an asshole, I have the right to do so.
That's where boycotts come in. The courts, in their infinite wisdom, have determined that spending money can constitute political speech. If I choose to boycott something, I am exercising my right to free speech. If a private corporation bows to that boycott, it's exercising its right to free speech. So the political speech of others should be silenced to avoid hurting a policeman's feelings? His right to free speech revolves around denying free speech to others? Believing something like that would involve an almost fetishistic worship of authority and the power of uniformed officers--you might even call that a product of "creeping fascism."
We're in strange days when authoritarian boot polishers think they're part of a revolution...
Oh, see, he was just funnin'
WBUR reports:
Which somehow doesn't make things sound much better.
Oh, like '911 is a Joke'
I bet this clown totally laughed at that song.
But he said it in print
If he thought the public would not hear of his writings because they were in a police magazine, he may have a different body part inserted in another location. Or he may just be stupid.
... so now he’s cracking
... so now he’s cracking jokes at the expense of his fallen comrades? Riiiiiight.
Well the "...never intended
Well the "...never intended for wider consumption" part of that statement is probably true.
It's always the same story
It's always the same story with these guys. Using a trade publication to broadcast their hate and bigotry under the guise of humor and pretend it's really not supposed to be read by the very targets of their hatred or the public at large.
Also, asking companies to explain their position in relation to the content of the publications where they buy advertising is the right thing to do.
Schroedinger's Asshole
Says something terrible and then, depending on the reaction, decides whether he was "joking" or not.
Meanwhile
The Boston Police Patrolmen's Union endorsed a domestic abuser, so I guess beating your wife isn't so bad as believing black lives matter.
The mean streets of Arlington
Just got a lot meaner. Dirty Harry actually believes that Arlington is Gotham city.
This guy shoiuld not be carrying a gun.
n/t
Not only should this guy not be carrying a gun, but
He doesn't belong a cop....or in law enforcement, period.!
Does he believe
That he should be allowed to openly carry firearms to the exclusion of everyone else?
WHY? BECAUSE THEY SAID SO.....
"Suitability" standards in MA, which fly in the face of SCotUS rulings & the 14th amendment, say yes.
This is also why cops with disqualifying convictions for drunk driving, domestic abuse, and assault are on the job with guns (carry on the badge). Anyone else would be prohibited by federal or state law disqualifications.
I, for one, appreciate the MPA taking this opportunity...
... to let us know clearly who they are and what they stand for.
Bullies and thugs
Classic "only joking" bullshit suitable for after gym class wedgies.
Let him speak for the Lt.
Here you go Lt. Pedrini...
Just Kidding Fred Armisen GIF from Justkidding GIFs
Yikes
Kaboodle, he said whaaaaht?
Original post updated
Arlington has put him on paid leave while the town administrator and police chief investigate.
you uh
might want to have your team of copy-editors recheck the update
The kind of "jokes"
a person is drawn to tells us a lot about who they are. Of course, there are also a lot of cowards who hide behind the lie that they were "only joking."
People should be exterminated! Get it! HAHA!
No wonder why 99% of
No wonder why 99% of successful comedians are liberal.
Daily Show competition
They tried to run a conservative counterpoint to The Daily Show at one point.
The 1/2 Hour News Hour was about as painful as you'd expect and had a short life.
Fact check
I do not think I have ever relied on the Guinness Book for a fact before, but according to them, the most successful comedian in the universe is not only conservative, but also a bit to the right of President Donald J Trump.
Logic check
"The most successful comedian is conservative" neither supports nor refutes the claim that "99% of comedians are liberal"
In related news, "Yao Ming is 7 feet 6 inches tall" neither supports nor refutes the claim that, "On average, Norwegians are taller than Chinese people"
Off the bat
Right off the bat we narrowed the focus to successful comedians... not all comedians.
In this argument, that statement would have to fall in line with something like: "On average, tall Norwegians are taller than tall Chinese people"
Pax Centurion
This is similar to the Pax Centurion newsletter that the Boston Police Patrolmen Association puts out that trashes liberals, minorities, and a substantial portion of the city they signed up to serve and protect but clearly can't stand.
Everyone settle down, and have no fear;
he'll be back on the job as soon as soon as our attention is on the next MSP scandal, Trump saying something racist/homophobic/misogynistic, etc. These guys never go far.
Tame in comparison to the heyday of the BPPA Pax Centurion
where you could always find some good wingnut conspiracies.
The lieutenant may have written those pieces
But who was the editor who allowed them to be published?