Monday's Odds and Ends

485 Deaths - A woman and her boyfriend were hit by separate cars and killed on Interstate 485 around 10:00 last night, after they got out of their vehicle during an argument.

The N.C. Highway Patrol identified the woman as Terri Lynn Stevey, 30, of Sherrills Ford. 

Troopers haven't identified the man because they haven't notified his family, but investigators say he was Stevey's boyfriend. 

According to police Stevey was traveling with her mother and her boyfriend, when she got into a fight with her boyfriend. She jumped out of the car and her boyfriend ran after her. 

Troopers said they don't expect charges to be filed against either driver who struck the pedestrians. 

Cedar's Take: The impressive police response, Cedar counted more than two dozen CMPD, Pineville and NCHP Cruisers last night. The fatality investigation closed down the 485 inner loop for more than 2 hours. 

Stevey has priors listed with Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Department for prostitution and auto theft. 

Carolina Panthers Win - But Panthers' fans are the biggest losers. At the start of the 4th quarter with the score 13-23 fans started heading to their cars. By the 2 minute warning the Bank of American stadium was half empty.

 

 Can't imagine what television audiences think. Some of the best plays of the game happened during the last five minutes, including the final Washington possession that resulted in a interception thrown by John Beck. Cam Newton was 18 for 23 posting a 256 yards passing number. Cedar's Take: Great game, nice win and prefect weather so what is up with all the fans leaving early. Do these same people leave before the end of a movie, do they leave church before the collection plate is passed. I just don't get it. 

Occupy Charlotte - Well there is not much to report other than a bunch of people hanging out in a mini tent city, two arrests, toilet issues, and a community dinner on Saturday. 

Of note the Occupy Charlotte group holds "tribal council" meetings each evening and on Thursday they voted some creep named Tom Shope off the island. 

Seems Shope is missing the point of the occupy movement, mainly capitalism is bad. 

Turns out Shope claims he owns a business license in the name of "Occupy Charlotte". Shope was tying to think ahead and score some big bucks with Occupy Charlotte logo ware. 

More from the Charlotte Observer is here.\\

   

  

Cedar's Take: Bad news for Shope, Cedar Posts has already filed for a Occupy Charlotte Trademark Registration. Cedar has also applied for Trademark protection for "Lavatory Occupied" and "Occupy Your Mind" as well as "Pre-Occupied" 

CMPD Riot Squad - Which is officially called "CEU" (Civil Emergency Unit) has been training all CMPD officers in crowd control. 

Jeff Tayor's The Meck Deck which is now penned by Tara Servatius offers an interesting take of CMPD's preparations for next year's Democratic Convention. "The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has lost control of uptown three times since 2005 and in all three incidents, the culprits have mostly been teenagers. In 2005, a violent, unruly mob raged through uptown after the fireworks. The next year, a massive brawl broke out after the New Year’s Even celebration, with 40 arrests. Police made changes to those events and others uptown because of the violence, and confidently proclaimed they’d solved the problem only to lose control of uptown again on Memorial Day this year, this time to a likely gang related crowd of “as many as 30,000 people,” the Charlotte Observer reported. One person was murdered execution style in that one before police got it under control. Another was shot. Now nearly all of the department’s 1,700 officers are getting training in how to deal with riots ahead of the 2012 Democrat National Convention, WSOC-TV reports. At the helm? CMPD Deputy Chief Harold Medlock, who assures us that: “… that this is not all new to Charlotte. Several hundred officers have already been trained in riot control and have been called in to handle trouble in uptown twice in the last five years.” Yah, and no offense guys, but that didn’t go so well. The rest of Tara's post is here.

911 Calls For Service 2007 Email

Back in 2007 prior Chief Rodney Monore's arrival, CMPD Officers rolled out the vastly improved CMPD.org web site the center piece of which was the 911 calls for service.

Last year Chief Monroe ordered the 911 Calls For Service removed from public view.

Check out Crime in Charlotte's take on the lacking Significant Event Log and missing 911 Calls for service here.

The email announcing the 911 Calls For Service from 2007 is below.

Sent: Wednesday, January 10, 2007 1:05 PM
Subject: FYI - Check out the redesigned CMPD.org website

The Charlotte-Mecklenbu Police Department is kicking off the new year (and the new district plan) with the launch of its redesigned Web site.

We launched the new site at noon – it's a "soft launch" (internal promotion only) for a short time so you can see it and we can identify any links or information that needs to be changed.

The goal is to maintain the new site with the most up-to-date information and features to provide you and citizens with timely, accurate info and new services. This is a new beginning, not an end so log on and browse around! When you find things that need to be fixed, just let me know. And if you think of new things we should add, we'd love to hear your ideas.

Now, when Internet users visit www.cmpd.org, they will find a much more user-friendly site with new services and features. "It's easier to use, there's more information and it's better looking," said Police Chief Darrel Stephens.

While many of the navigational options will be familiar to users, the redesign better organizes information and provides handy features like a drop-down menu with quick links to the most frequently-requested services.

In addition to reorganizing the site's information, the newly redesigned site provides such new features as:

Calls for service – just log on to see what kinds of calls for service the department is working. Because some calls to 911 do not require a police officer or the situation as initially reported turns out to be something else entirely, the system is on a 30-minute delay.

Then, calls for service throughout CMPD's jurisdiction are posted.

You can see all calls, sort by division and see calls going back up to 8 hours.

"We get calls from neighbors and reporters asking what's going on," said Major Marc DeLuca who oversaw the project. "Now, everyone can see basic information about why police officers are at a particular location." The detail goes down to block ranges.

Videos – Crime prevention, CMPD Today episodes and more with the click of a mouse

"Notify Me" subscription service – get information sent to you automatically, including a pilot project with the South Division to provide alerts and other division-level information to subscribers

News – the latest news and information – no need to wait for a TV newscast!

And there's more! Take a look around, let us know what you think!

The redesign was done using in-house resources in Corporate Communications and CMPD.

Julie Hill
Public Affairs Office

Right To Remain Silent

From June 1, 2008, until October 31, 2009 NYPD officer Adrian Schoolcraft secretly tape-recorded his superiors at the 81st precinct ordering cops to downgrade felonies to misdemeanors as well as make unnecessary arrests.



Made without the knowledge or approval of the NYPD, Schoolcraft taped 100s of hours during his time in the 81st Precinct.

The story broke in 2010 when The Village Voice (here) began publishing segments of the tapes and interviews with Schoolcraft.

Since the story of Schoolcraft's tapes broke, the top commanders of the 81st precinct have all been given departmental charges and/or been transferred.

The follow-up to the Village Voice five part series was done by NPR's Ira Glass who interviewed Graham Rayman of the Village Voice and Adrian Schoolcraft and it is here.

Throughout the NPR piece you will hear Graham Rayman refer to "CompStat" and it is CompStat that drives CMDP numbers as well.

Ira Glass: And finally, with the 81st precinct under new supervision, the numbers on serious crime have risen by 10-15%. Are the crimes going up, or it is just closer to the true amount of crime that was already there, only now being recorded?

Cedar's Take: Listening to this one hour broadcast I couldn't help but think the whole thing sounded a little too unbelievable, just like the many stories I've heard from CMPD Officers.

If you don't believe your ears, then you can read the entire transcript which is here.

Ivory Chappell Arrested Outside of Atlanta - Officer Kunz Released from CMC Main

From: "Fey, Robert P."
To: Media Release
Sent: Friday, October 21, 2011 9:17 AM
Subject: Case Update: Detectives investigating an ADW on a CMPD Officer in the Westover Division


Case Update: Friday, October 21, 2011 9:15 a.m.
Officer Kunz was released from CMC earlier this morning. He does not have any broken bones in his arms or legs, but may have broken ribs. He will see a doctor today to follow up on treatment for soreness and bruising to his chest area.

Homicide Unit Detectives signed warrants on the suspect, Ivory Chappell, DOB: 05/23/1983, for ADW on a Law Enforcement Officer and Felony Hit and Run. VCAT began tracking Mr. Chappell as soon as they were assigned the case and quickly determined that he was in Georgia, east of Atlanta. VCAT contacted the FBI Task Force in Atlanta request their assistance. Mr. Chappell was arrested at 4940 Tadmore Lane, Lithonia GA, by the DeKalb County Police Department. The Georgia State Patrol assisted with the investigation as well. Mr. Chappell will be housed at the Dekalb County Sheriff’s Office until he clears extradition. The Dodge Charger was recovered and will be towed to Charlotte for processing. Mr. Chappell had an outstanding OFA (Order for Arrest) out of North Carolina at the time he fled the scene

Officer Charles Adkins is the officer who fired the shots at Mr. Chappell as he fled the scene last night. He has been employed with the CMPD since January 22, 2007, and is currently assigned to the Westover Division as a patrol officer. He has been placed on Administrative Leave pending the outcome of the Internal Affairs investigation into the incident.

Friday Wrap Up!

CMPD Officer Down - Nothing like hearing "Shots Fired Officer Down" as it is screamed across a police radio. It was so unexpected that I wasn't sure if I heard it correctly or if it was locked on to a CMPD Channel before the call was repeated.

CMPD Officer Chris Kunz took the full force of a late model Dodge Charger as a black male suspect deliberate hit the Officer and sped away. Kunz hired in 2008 is in good shape and is expected to make a complete recovery.

More details at the Charlotte Observer which is here.

CMPD Chief Monroe came to the scene and talked with reporters, but wouldn't offer any details except to say that they know who the suspect is, but he declined to give the man's name.



Officers were searching for a black man with a mohawk hairstyle, possibly driving a white late-model Dodge Charger with a damaged hood or maybe a tricked out black van?

Cedar Posts Bonus: This is the second time this year Kunz has been hit by a car.

Mayor Pat McCory Wants Occupy Charlotte to hit the road. Saying "Where do they draw the line?" says McCrory. "If they let one, do they let 10 -- or 1,000? . . . That's not good for the economy, for public safety, and it's surely not sanitary for our city."

McCrory has been yucking it up for local media types saying that if the city lets protesters camp out on city-owned property during during the DNC event it will "Look like Woodstock but without the good music."

Occupy Charlotte Toilet Issue - Seems the lack of bathrooms for their sit in crowd has become an issue. The city won't let them put a porta john on the grass or on the street unless it can be moved. Cedar posts to the rescue.



At the risk of becoming an Occupy sympathizer I forwarded the number 704-375-8988 for Porta-Jon of the Piedmont suggesting they get a trailered unit that they can move as needed.

Cedar's Take: Even dumb asses need to use the bathroom.

Cedar Bonus: Matthew Ridenhour's take on the Occupy Charlotte Porta Jon issue is here. Good Stuff!

Idiot Tweet of the Week!

@NatalieNews Natalie Pasquarella:
#BreakingNews Update: Chief Monroe says they are looking for a suspect vehicle -- CMPD officers fired 3 shots, unknown if they took effect

Took Effect? Really?

entrata in vigore?

The Arab Spring Becomes The Winter of Our Discontent

The opening lines of Shakespeare's Richard III speak to history and the realization that despite our intentions we often find ourselves unhappy with the results of our transgressions.

The US effort in Libya at a cost of 1.1 Billion, came to a dramatic conclusion as photos of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi's bloody corpse were circulated via cell phone and the internet. A stark reminder that when the US supports the downfall of dictators the end result is often less desirable than the prior disagreeable arrangement.



President Obama, has blindly continued the troubled path set down by the Bush Chaney era. In fact the Obama administration has managed to politically destabilize eight counties vs Bush's two, and Obama has done it in half the time.

Qadfafi's execution, and it was an execution. contrasts with the peaceful demonstrations that began on February 17 in Cairo. As the demonstrations in Cairo turned violent so do all demonstrations.

As Americans we are ignorant of Arab history and for some reason we expect a different result as each dictator falls.

Iron fisted rulers keep order by killing or imprisoning those who cause trouble. The press is censured, dissent is eliminated and the end result is crime is low, protests don't happen and life has order. The American experiment in democracy work because our country dealt with dissent with an "Iron Fist", just ask the Indians, the Southerns, the African Americans in the 1960's. Ask the Spanish, the Hawaiians, and the Filipinos.

Reality is harsh, but we need to understand that democracy in the Arab world is not and never will be the same as democracy in the west.

The Obama administration as with the Bush administration in 2002 has no answer for the "now what?" question.

And so as winter's chill winds gather we Americans turn our backs and walk off stage.

Cedar Bonus: The best coverage of Qaddafi's death is

here

from CBS News.

Another Supporter For Giving The Tasers Back To CMPD

Meet Tim Martin, who was arrested this past weekend for assault on a government official, resisting a public officer, and intoxicated and disruptive.

Tim says CMPD gave him a major beat down (the report says he fell, twice), and points out that Officer's "Could have just tased me".

Well Tim they could have but they don't have tasers anymore.

CMPD Reports Drop In Crime Again!

Are you surprised? Well you shouldn't be, Chief Monroe always reports that crime is down. Even when they are forced to report a certain crime has increased they have a handy bag of excuses and add the "over all" crime is down.

But City News Watch takes issue with CMPD's claim of victory over the issue of prostitution along The Plaza corridor.

What City News Watch discovered is that CMPD's own numbers don't true up. On one hand the numbers don't support the claim that there was a big problem with hookers in the area of 36th and The Plaza. While citizens report calling 911daily to report prostitutes wandering the street, the calls for service report doesn't match up. In fact the reports show there were only a few calls regarding prostitutes. So if there were no reports aka calls for service, then why the major effort to "crack down" an non-existent problem of hookers working the area.

CMPD Command Staff seem to be as my grandmother used to say "talking out of both sides of their mouths".

City News Watch has all the numbers here.

CMS Middle School Student Target of Attempted Kidnapping

Glory Street and Tiffany Rose Place is near North Tryon and Sugar Creek.

South Charlotte Middle School Principal Lisa Bowen has emailed parents news of an attempted kidnapping from a SOUTH CHARLOTTE MIDDLE SCHOOL bus stop.

"Yesterday evening (Monday) an attempted kidnapping was made on a South Charlotte Middle School student as she walked from her bus stop to her home" in North East Charlotte.

"After arriving at her stop at Glory (Street) and Tiffany Rose (Place, near North Tryon and Sugar Creek Roads North East Charlotte), a car pulled up and a man tried to grab her and put her in the car. The student fought her way free, ran from the scene, found another student and they called for help. She is safe and at school today. Extra security is in place at the stop.

CMSPD and CMPD are working to investigate the situation."

Cedar Posts' Bonus: At the risk of sounding like a "Loony Tunes" conspiracy theorist it seems rather odd that the main stream media didn't cover this attempted kidnapping until after this morning's CMPD presser had wrapped up.

Cedar Update: Looks like I blew it, turns out WSOC ran the story on Monday night. Hell Mrs. Cedar even saw the story. I didn't and neither did most of Charlotte. Troubling is the fact that without the significant event log, and the live calls for service there is no way to know what is going on. CMPD's effort to spoon feed the media tidbits of information as it chooses is just all kinds of wrong. More wrong than my error in overlooking the WSOC report.

Today's PR event to tout again lower crime numbers, coincidentally was held in the Eastway Division service area at the corner of 36th Street and the Plaza. Which just happens to be 1.5 miles from where the attack occurred.

Interestingly enough Deputy Chief Kerr Putney pointed out that a suspected reason there has been as a reported increase in commercial burglaries is due to reporting. Since "cases where burglars break into public storage centers and steal from multiple units, each vandalized unit is considered one burglary".

Getting The Big Story Not Easy For Charlotte's Reporters When It Comes To CMPD

In the world of news and breaking stories, "if it bleeds it leads" and the only thing better than being first is having the exclusive story. That thinking set the stage for the 1974 hit movie starring Walter Matthau and Jack Lemon. The back story is at IMDB.

The remake of the 1934 classic centers around Hiddy Johnson a "crime beat" reporter in Chicago during the 1920's who had a reputation for doing whatever it took to get "big scoop".

Back in the day the Charlotte Observer was a power house of big scoop and "exclusive" stories. Now days the first story belongs to mainly the world of online and on air news, but still the "exclusive" goes to those who are willing to strain the limits of journalistic integrity and push the envelope past broadcast news into the realm of tabloid reporting.

Raw footage, live feed and of course gonzo reporting from operations like TMZ still garner the most attention. After all who doesn't like a good play by play car chase on live television?

But what limits are Charlotte's local media willing to push to get that exclusive or first to report news story?

Prior to Chief Monroe's arrival CMPD had an open door policy. The department had little choice since the Observer had an overnight crime reporter and photographer on staff. They pretty much camped out at the department's old headquarters on 4th Street, prior to the staggering decline in advertising revenue seen during the last decade. The city editor's desk was manned 24/7 as well and the crime beat was more than one reporter's only job.

Today's Observer is a ghost town. Steve Lyttle with the Observer works the news tidbits the old fashion way; via scanner and a network of police and fire wannabes supplemented with an occasional call to CFD's Rob Brisley or an email to CMPD's Robert Fey or Rosalyn Harrington. The result is a paragraph or two that shows up on the online edition often loaded with typos that are worked out over the course of the morning.

WBTV's Derrick Rose and "Cam Man" Ron Lee are one man bands that cover the overnight and early morning breaking news. Both do a top shelf job. Murder and mayhem are their lives but seldom do they get the kind of in depth exclusive report that WSOC has been getting from CMPD lately.

CMPD's revolving door Public Information Office and apparent "black listing" of certain reporters has effectively put CMPD into news blackout mode cutting most stations out of the loop.

Gone are the days of "anonymous sources" who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Chief Monroe's goon squad has let it be known they will not tolerate anyone speaking to the press.

Former WBTV reporter and one time NYPD Officer Rob Tufano has become an expert at delay, deny and minimize. Often seen in the background doing a classic "face palm" as Chief Monroe goes off script during CMPD pressers, when asked about Cedar Posts Tufano says he "ignores" the blog.

But report something not to the Chief's liking and you'll find yourself on the shit list as Fox News discovered after CMPD's Vicki Foster demanded face time with one reporter's boss. A meeting that was declined by Fox News Producers.

Cedar Posts has warned other reporters not to quote the blog or risk losing access to CMPD, and their response has been on more than one occasion, "what access?".

How far are you willing to go to get the story from CMPD? - One reporter dropped a story after she found herself on the other end of an unwanted overture. Nothing like having to take one for the team in order to get the story.

Who decided that WSOC would get a heads up on a staged SWAT Team raid last week? And then there is Tuesday's exclusive look at CMPD Officers training in preparation for DNC 2012.



What did they do or not do that earned them favored status?

A exclusive interview with Chief Monroe isn't really exclusive when all he does is read from a carefully crafted script and answers a few softball questions.

Which is exactly what WCNC's Sonja Gnatt delivered back in February of 2010. That interview is here.

But since then it seems Chief Monroe has found a new interest in WSOC's Erica Bryant.

Back in July WSOC ran a series of "exclusive" interviews with Chief Monroe. You can watch one of the segments with Erica Bryant here.

Yet WSOC's staff claim that CMPD is impossible to work with.

There is a break out from Main Stream Media when Paul Brown nailed an interview with Chief Monroe earlier this year. But again he doesn't play hard ball the Chief either.



Cedar's Take: Why is it that Rodney Monroe only does "exclusive" interviews with black journalists? There I said it, so go ahead and call me a racist. I admit I'm not as color blind as I thought.

Better yet why the wall of secrecy at CMPD, why has the once open police department become a citadel of information. A fortress of spin, deny and delay. Why are CMPD Officers afraid to talk to the press, the broadcast media and even bloggers? Even off the record?

It is not just about transparency it is about the basic rights of a free press. The right to unrestricted access. Ask any reporter if they trust Rob Tufano, ask yourself, do you? I didn't think so.

Cedar Posts understands that the police have always had a love/hate relationship with the press but lately it seems that it has become rather slanted to loving a few favorite news operations while hating all the others.

This is not openness, this is not a police department, this is a regime.

Tuesday Odds and Ends

Two Dead Bodies Apparent Heroin Overdose - News36 is reporting on the deaths of two people who found in an apartment in Uptown Charlotte.

Police are calling this a death investigation. They say there was no sign of foul play and it's not clear how the victims died.

But privately officers are looking at the possibility that both victims died from a drug overdose. If that is the case it will be up to the medical examiner to make that call.

The victims' names have not been released, but they are between 20 and 30 years old.

Filed Under Dumb Crook News - WBTV is reporting the following:

Two men called police looking for help after two men stole their drugs and money late Saturday night, police said.

The incident happened between 11 am Saturday until 12:30 am on Sunday when a 65-year-old man and a 36-year-old man said their cocaine and marijuana was stolen, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said in a report.

"Officers were flagged down by victim," in the 100 block of Marmion Road, police said in the report. "Victims advised unknown suspects were invited into the address after knocking on door."



Once the two men were inside the "suspects robbed victims of listed property by brandishing a black firearm." The stolen items were $1100, cocaine powder and marijuana.

Police said Monday that it is very unusual for victims to report that drugs have been stolen. On the report, the two victims, both unemployed, are listed as being under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

Police said that the two victims were not charged despite the fact they claimed to have their drugs stolen. Both men suffered minor injuries.

It's unclear to what extent police will help the men recover their stolen items, but the incident has been placed under investigation.

Christopher Hailey Candidate for Charlotte City Council At-Large - Hailey ran against Democratic Mecklenburg County Sheriff Chipp Bailey last year and lost.



Now he's back and running for a Charlotte City Council seat and he's quoted as saying the supports Chief Rodney Monroe and his department. But he also wants an eight-year term limit for the chief "because after eight years you get complacent."

The rest of the Charlotte Observer's interview with Christopher Hailey is here.

WSOC is again playing catch-up - This time taking a piece from Pundit House reporter by Mark Pellin City Pays Big Bucks To Be Left In The Dark that was posted last week. The short of Mark's work is that Charlotte pays Duke Energy nearly a million dollars each year for street lights that don't work.

Even Andy Dulin who seldom challenges consent items balked at giving Duke Energy $258,000 to install 31 pedestrian lights and eight street lights along Kenilworth Avenue at about $6,500.00 each.

“I’m going to blow,” said Council member Andy Dulin, after learning details of the Duke contract “We have been paying, for what might now be years and years and years, $9.90 a month for street lights that don’t work,” Dulin said. “On my walk this morning, I passed at least 10.

“This has got to be fixed – quick,” he said. “This is nuts.”

The item passed anyway with only Dulin and Barnes voting no. WSOC's story where they claim they discovered that the city pays $9.99 for lights that don't work is here.

In Other Dumb Crook News - This is not the first time scavengers tried to sell a pile of power company wire to a scrap yard. Just the first time it included a big chunk of the pole.



Officer to the driver "Do you have any idea why I stopped you?".

Another Charlotte Observer Fail - The Observer is running a series of articles on local candidates including the one referenced above on Christopher Hailey. But the subhed for each article is "Decision 2012".

Cedar Posts wonders if they are just slack or maybe they don't know that Charlotte City Council's election date is November 8, 2011?

Operation Popcorn

If you are like Cedar Posts the last thing you need sitting around the house is a gallon sized tub of Carmel popcorn.

Yet when the Cub Scouts come calling you are more than willing to hand over a few dollars to help the newly minted junior salesman at your front door make his goal of selling a ton of carb and calorie rich gourmet popped kernels.


Cub Scout Alex Grandson of CMPD (retired) Sgt Whit Neal and Officer Dianne Neal

You also know there are thousands of men and women over in Afghanistan and other overseas bases who get more than enough exercise chasing down Taliban bad guys and would appreciate the taste of home while stationed at some end of the earth Marine Corps outpost like "FOB Delaram" in the Nimruz Province of Afghanistan.

Cedar Posts has found the perfect answer:

You can help the Cub Scouts and feed the troops half a world away by clicking on this link OPERATION POPCORN and and clicking on the Military Donation tab.

This $35 purchase ships assorted popcorn products to the men and women of the U.S. Military on behalf of the Boy Scouts of America.


Military Sealift Command civil service Capt. Robert Holley, master of ammunition ship USNS Flint, checks the inventory list of popcorn cases. More than 2,500 cases of popcorn were shipped to Flint as part of Operation Popcorn. Operation Popcorn is a gift donation by the Boy Scouts of America and the Weaver Popcorn Company of Indiana. Cases of popcorn will be shipped to Sailors deployed around the world. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Maebel Tinoko

Thanks to people like you who purchase this item, Trail's End Popcorn Company and the Boy Scouts were able to ship $11 million dollars worth of popcorn to US Troops last year.

By clicking HERE, and placing an order the Boy Scouts should be able to exceed that number for the 2011 Operation Popcorn.

Thank you for Supporting our Troops and The Boy Scouts of America.

Cedar's Bonus:

More photos from Operation Popcorn are here.

Inside Occupy Charlotte

Those who follow Cedar Posts' view of the current "sit in" across from CMPD Headquarters know that I consider this annoyance just the first of many as DNC 2012 rolls into Charlotte.


Photo Provided Cedar's answer, Get Off My Lawn.

I don't like strange people taking a leak in the bushes, even more so when they can't verbalize why they are camped out in the first place. Seriously they don't have a clue what they are protesting except to say corporate greed.

The liberal answer to the Tea Party? Since we had the Arab Spring already is this the American Fall or just an excuse for people who like to camp out and smell bad to pitch a tent in an otherwise quiet section of Uptown Charlotte?

Whatever the reason Cedar Posts is open minded so here is an interesting View of Occupy Charlotte from Angela Boatright-Spencer:

Sunday afternoon with DJ, Tabby, Ben, Alex, Bobby, Jon, Walter, Tina, Chris, Tina, Jeremy and Yuri, 20-somethings, mostly, encamped on a lawn near the intersection of North Davidson and East Trade streets, carrying out the mission they have accepted: transforming the world from one based on money, hierarchies and corporate greed to one based on fairness, equality, and the Golden Rule -- "do unto others." This is their platform, one echoing across the globe as the movement known as Occupy Wall Street gains momentum.

"I was tired of seeing a world run by money," says 20-year-old DJ from Mooresville, when I asked, "so...why are you here?" He stretches out his jean-clad legs on the grass, leans back on his hands. "I saw what was going on on Wall Street, saw this as a great awakening for the American people. ...Speaking up has really been lost in the past three decades, since the 60's." Tabby, also 20, nods her head in agreement. The couple has been camping out since October 8th, when Occupy Wall Street began in Charlotte.

The scene just across from the Police Station on East Trade is eeriliy reminiscent of the 60's sit-ins, or, perhaps, Woodstock, without the rock music and with more sense of purpose. There isn't a lot of levity here. Young people, mostly in their 20's, mill around an encampment with 32 brightly colored tents. They wear jeans, t-shirts, bandannas, and tatts. Some body parts are pierced. The sun is warm, the sky a bright Carolina blue as the group sits in a circle under a shade tree. But this is no picnic. This is young people taking action in the best way they know how. "I was sick of being an armchair critic," Alex, 19, tells me. "It was time to do something and not just complain about it."

The rest of Angela's story is here.

Cedar's Take: What is funny to me is that we have all these vocal fringe groups, Tea Party, Occupy Charlotte, and NAACP, Rainbow Collation, PUSH, Act Up!, LGBT, and so on, but none of these represent mainstream America, the reason is we are too busy, working, paying our taxes and taking care of our kids.

More photos from OccupyCharlotte.org are here.

Everett Wilson a Halloween Tale

Photo Credit Gigi

Wind pushed steadily against the palmetto trees, their stiff fronds rustling in the midnight barrier island breeze. Gathered around the fire far from the abandoned plantation house were a dozen shadows.

Their voices rose and fell on the wind and the smell of salt air mingled and danced with that of pluff mud and smoke from burning live oak and cypress logs.

All Saints Eve was not celebrated until the 1890’s but that didn’t stop share croppers during the days of reconstruction from telling stories filled with macabre and horror as the South Carolina autumn began to give way to the chilled nights of a southern winter.

The civil war had not so much ended, but rather faded away. Tales of battles and bravery were common way to pass the early evening hours in the years after the great war.

On this night out of earshot of women folk the men shared drink, tobacco and tales. The young boys came along soon after their chores were done and their sisters and younger brothers had turned in for the night.

The place was hard to find, a single path led across the salt marshes and through the groves of 100 year old live oak, and it was surrounded by yellow jasmine and thorny brambles.

The oldest of the men was Samuel Wright. When he spoke his corn cob pipe wavered back and forth unless he was packing it with the tobacco he had cured himself.

“Tell us a story Pappy” the young boys pleaded.

Samuel ignored the youngsters and continued to silently pack his pipe.

“Come on just one story….” The boys begged again.

“I’ll tell you about the three little nigger boys who wouldn’t never keep quiet” Samuel scolded.

“Ahhhh we didn’t mean nothing” they said together.

Samuel put a flame up to his pipe and took a deep draw. Then he slowly exhaled and puffed a ring that paused in mid air for a moment and then rushed off like a ghost into the moon lit night.

“They were divining up souls” he said softly in his deep voice.

“Who was dividing up souls?” the boys asked intently.

Samuel Wright leaned toward the boys “God and the DEVIL” he said wide eyed and with emphasis on the devil.

The young boys jumped back but remained silent.

“What was that fella’s name?” Samuel inquired out loud to no one in particular.

“Wilson I recall, Everett Wilson”. Offered another man.

The young boys leaned in towards Samuel and moved closer to the fire.

“Yes sir that was his name he was a trouble maker and inherently mean, so it was no surprise when Everett Wilson met his end that the story of his death would be told over and over again.” Announced Samuel Wright to the young faces before him.

“How mean was he?” Asked the youngest boy.

Another man spoke up out of the darkness and joined in the tall tale. “He was so mean that he once cut off a dog’s ears because the dog wouldn’t come when he was called.”

The boys spoke quietly among themselves, the youngest tugging on both his ears trying to imagine how he'd hear without his ears.

The truth is that Everett Wilson was pretty damn mean, and he was a thief. He would steal just about anything he could get his hands on, and of all the things he stole he loved to steal whiskey. But the only way Everett could drink the liquor was to hide out in the swamp at night. He didn’t mind the snakes, and the bugs but he couldn’t swim and was deathly afraid of the water.

During the early days of the Civil War the Devil made his was way south looking for souls. The word among those who lived and worked the rice fields south of Charleston was that the Devil and God made a pact. They would simply divide up the souls of those killed in battle evenly as long as the war raged across the low country. There were just too many dead to sort out the good from the evil souls so the pact was agreed to.

One day Everett Wilson stole a bottle of whiskey from the town doctor and just after dark he made his way to his secret place in the high marsh on a dry spot encircled with sea island grass.

Wilson was a towering man, he wasn’t a free man but he did just whatever he pleased. No one wanted his work because he had such a mean streak. But as mean as he was he was no match for the drink and soon passed out with his lantern and bottle by his side.

The night wore on and well after dark, Wilson awoke from his drunkenness to the sound of voices. He lay there staring at the full moon overhead and listened as the voices broke out in song, songs he didn’t’recognize.

"Them’s must be Yankee songs", Wilson thought to himself.

The wind blew gently across the moonlit marsh as Wilson dared to look above the sea oats and grass across the low lying levee he could see a fire and shadows moving about.

"Yes sir them's Yankee troops and many of them as well", Wilson said out loud but in a hushed voice.

Wilson lit his lantern that he had carefully wrapped in a wet burlap sack to hide the light. If needed he could remove the cover should someone approach. But he wasn’t about to announce his presence unless he had to, for fear that they might steal his liquor.

A dozen miles away the members of the 14th South Carolina Volunteer Infantry McCalla Rifles walked quietly in the darkness. There were no songs and no idle talk as they walked single file along the sandy road in silence. Though the night was still damp with the afternoon’s heat there was a definite chill in the air. A chill that meant winter would soon settle over the coastal islands of South Carolina. It was the 31st of October 1862.

Close to midnight the men slowed their pace, the smell of smoke in the air was enough to let them know Yankees were no more than a little piece away. They moved ahead on lighter heels and soon discovered that indeed the Yankees were camped just the other side of the levee that held back the brackish waters of the Edisto River and allowed the rice to thrive.

The plan of attack was simple, outnumbered the volunteers would strike fast and hard hopefully killing a few Yankees and then retreat into the woods and then to a rally point 2 miles away.

Everett Wilson had drank more of his whiskey and dozed off to sleep again when he rolled over to find the tide on a full moon, had pushed the waters of the Edisto River up to his high spot in the marsh. Abruptly he sobered up realizing that he was surrounded by water. Wilson was afraid that the tide wouldn’t begin to recede and he might drown, but a much worst fate was about to seize upon the man.

Suddenly gunfire ripped through the night, smoke could be seen coming from the far tree line near the road. The full moon shined brightly only to be outdone by brilliant flashes from the muskets of the rebel infantry.

As the Yankees sounded the alarm, there were also screams of pain as the rebel bullets found their mark. But the bullets were also hitting the marsh around Wilson. Expectedly return gun fire erupted from the Yankee camp. Before he could react a Yankee bullet whistled by Wilson’s head and knocked his hat into the water.

Shots were coming from both sides now and Everett Wilson was square in the middle of the crossfire. Wilson tried to run, but in each direction was water, deep cold water. In the confusion and his drunkenness Everett Wilson pulled the burlap cover off his lamp and raised it so that the soldiers would stop shooting. For reasons only known to Everett Wilson he stood up and waved the lantern in a mindless move that was met with bullets from both sides

In all eighteen musket balls ripped into Wilson’s body most before he fell to his knees. Nine bullets from the Union side nine from the Rebel’s.

At the midnight hour on October 31st 1861 as Everett Wilson lay dying the Rebel attackers retreated. The Yankees had also run to safer ground leaving their dead behind.

Between midnight and when dawn’s first light rose to meet the stars, Everett saw God and the Devil in the tall marsh grass and thick fog coastal fog. They were dividing up the souls.

“One fer me, One fer you, One fer me, One fer you” the Devil was saying.

In total 11 Union soldiers were dead and when the Devil took the last soldier Wilson figured God would get him and he would go straight to heaven.

Having divided up all the dead the soldiers God and the Devil looked at Wilson. Wilson’s soul pleaded for God to take him but God said it was the Devil’s turn. But the Devil wanted no part of Everett Wilson saying “Hell has enough trouble makers and thieves”.

And with that the God and the Devil vanished into the darkness.

To this day among the marsh grass and the pluff mud just before dawn you can hear him calling out, some say they’ve seen Everett Wilson rise up from the water waving a lantern with one hand and holding a bottle of stolen liquor in the other.

Wanted neither by God or the Devil he wanders the banks of the Edisto River each night calling out for his soul to be taken.

“You best listen for him because if he calls your name and you don’t answer he’ll cut off your ears and steal your soul.” Samuel Wright told the young boys who were all silently nodding up and down with their mouths agape.

With that two of the men who had snuck off unknown to the young boys reached out from the darkness behind them and grabbed the boys by their ears.

The old men laughed as the boys ran for their lives and screamed out in horror of having their ears hacked off by the ghost of Everett Wilson.

Soon the men were passing the bottle again, and the boys recovered and caught their breath.

Then in the silence they all saw it, across the fog shrouded salt marsh the light of a lone lantern appeared and then vanished into the night.

And no one said a word.

Corn Maze 911 Call a Sad Sign of The Horror Ahead

No doubt you've seen the headline, or watched the national press coverage of the young Massachusetts couple who got lost in a corn maze and had to be rescued by the police.


The Connors Farm corn maze is located in Danvers, Mass., about 23 miles north of Boston.

After about an hour in the maze, darkness began to fall. The couple, who were there with their 3-week-old baby, panicked and placed a desperate call to police. They were rescued within 20 minutes.

The Danvers police released an edited transcript:

Woman in tears: Hi, I just called. I'm still stuck at Connors Farms. I don't see anybody. I'm really scared. It's really dark and we've got a 3-week-old.

Police officer: Your husband is with you?

Woman: Yes. But my baby...

Police officer: A police officer is on the way. Can you put your husband on the phone?

Husband: I see lights over there at the place, but we can't get there, we're smack right in the middle of the corn field.

Woman: I don't know what made us do this, it was daytime when we came in, we thought if we came in someone would come in and find us... We can hear [the police officers]... Oh, my goodness. The mosquitoes are eating us alive, and I never took my daughter out, this is the first time. Never again.

Woman: This is embarrassing.

The couple have yet to be identified but their plight and panic is troubling and sadly symptomatic of gen-y often call generation "next" adults raised by helicopter parents.

Over the last 25 years the hovering parent has evolved to a standard. The concept of no child left behind, massive parental oversight, soccer moms, tethered kids, home schooling, lock step education and pass fail grading has resulted in adults who can't solve even the slightest of problems.

It this case it meant picking a direction and forcing their way through 25 feet of corn stalks to the parking lot and their car.

Cedar Posts lives in a nice quiet South Charlotte neighborhood, for the most part we are well removed from crime on our dead end street.

A dozen homes away there is a large family, four, five maybe six kids. Whenever the kids are out playing the parents are present. They set up lawn chairs and keep a steady eye on the kids.

Besides protectors of real or imagined predators, these hovering parents are also well meaning problem solvers. They are quick to jump up to address any issue, they fix broken toys, upright fallen bikes, retrieve lost balls, mediate all disputes no matter how minor. And therein lies the trouble.

It starts with a preschool puzzle, the square piece won't fit into the round hole and the hover parent is quick to place the round piece in baby's hand.

The hover parents are always there, at soccer games they step up to help their child tie his shoes, and wipe her nose. They make calls, they arrange rides, pack their kids bags and speak to the coach about playing time.

They never miss a game, fail to complete a school project on time, or help look up answers on wikipedia for their precious child.

In college they will stop at nothing to make sure their daughter is a success, tending to every possible detail and intervening on even the shortest of notice.

I have employed college graduates who where incapable of problem solving. It was impossible for them to think outside the box or on their own. It is not that they were dumb, they simply never were given the opportunity to fail and try again. It doesn't take long to learn than their parents were of the hover variety.

Hover parents have raised an emerging generation who can't think for themselves, adults who are entering the work force, and having families yet they lack the basic skill set to survive even the most trivial of challenges, including a corn field.

The Highlights Reel NFL Films

When I was a kid the best part of Saturday was watching the Highlights Reel from NFL Films.

If you were around 30 years ago you might recall Charlotte once had an Athletic Club, called the CAC for short. The Club is gone but the memories are still fresh.

Well a good number of Saturday's were spent at a Father and Son lunch which the club ran a 16mm film of the prior Sunday's games. NFL Films even back in the day was the Warren Miller of football. Miller shot and narrated snow skiing films may have started the voice over narration and slow motion film style but NFL Films took it to new extremes.

By many accounts the company founded by Ed Sabol and today run by his son Steve is a story of amazing success. Sabol was a clothing salesman whose only film experience was shooting 8mm silent movies of his 14 year old son's football games when he won the rights to film the 1962 NLF Championship Game.

On August 6, 2011, Ed Sabol was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of fame as a major contributor to the National Football League.

Back prior to VHS NFL Films cameramen had the best angles and film gave a crisper view of the key plays of the week. It was HiDef compared to what came across the television during the game in the 80's. The closeups, slow mo and tight on the spiral, a reference to the frequently-used slow-motion shot of the spinning football as well as the full impact audio gave an amazing perspective to the past weekend's games.



But it was the narration that made NFL Films a success. The late Harry Kalas and Scott Graham, both voices of the Philadelphia Phillies, and the famous John Facenda, the late WCAU-TV anchor called by some "The Voice of God" brought drama to each play.

In addition to the great narration voices, NFL Films also dubed sound bites of local radio broadcasts over key plays, because radio announcers were typically more enthusiastic about their home teams than are network television broadcasters.

Today NFL Films paints an amazing canvas of football's epic battles.

But I miss those father and son lunches of long ago.

Cedar Bonus: Steve Sabol interviews Steve Smith

CMPD's Recruiting Trip to Puerto Rico Nets How Many Spanish Speaking CMPD Recruits?

Policía de Puerto Rico, better known in Puerto Rico as La Uniformada attest a protester.

On Friday Puerto Rico’s Justice Department filed a motion denouncing a scathing U.S. federal report on the island’s police force.

The motion, calls the 116-page federal report unreliable, flawed and biased, and it says the methodology used to reach its conclusion was “rather obscure.”

Still the Caribbean territory is acting to solve problems outlined in last month’s report by the U.S. Justice Department’s civil rights division. It alleged that the 17,000-officer police force has unnecessarily injured hundreds of people and killed numerous others and that it has routinely conducted illegal searches and seizures.

Not exactly the place you would expect CMPD to try to recruit new police officers, is it? But from May 23 to May 26 of this year CMPD command staff went to the island nation to do just that.

At the time of the trip CMPD Captain Gerald Smith told News14: "Right now, we are probably on track at the minimum, to test about 500 candidates for positions here at the police department".

Smith went on to say the trip to Puerto Rico will help them find Spanish-speaking officers which will help them achieve a more varied police force.

So how did the trip go?

Where any of the recruits from the recent graduating class from Puerto Rico? How many CMPD officers went on the trip? Were spouses allowed to go on the trip as well? What was the cost of the trip?

These are some of the questions that one concerned citizen has been asking CMPD without any success for over a month.

Cedar Posts suspects that the trip was nothing more than a Chief Monroe perk for a couple of his command staff and that the number of officers recruited is zero. But maybe CMPD will provide the answers soon.

Charlotte City Council Technology Fail

According to the City of Charlotte web site the "City Council minutes are semi-verbatim and are available on the web and for general distribution approximately 2-3 weeks after a Council meeting date."

So why haven't the Charlotte City Council minutes been updated since July 18, 2011?

I would expect that minutes would be posted within 24 hours. What is the hold up?

Charlotte City Council Minutes or lack of are here.

CMPD Swat Officers Swarm House To Arrest Crackheads

The CMPD Bust that was a Bust.

Makes you wonder what CMPD was thinking. Flash bang through the window and busting down both front and rear doors during a pre-dawn raid just to arrest two low level crack heads and a woman who couldn't or wouldn't produce an ID, doesn't make a lot of sense.

Maybe there was more to this then the local press is reporting. But Alexis Jackson was charged with failure to produce, Sekeena Woodard was charged with a misdemeanor possession charge, Desmond Nelson was charged with having some pot, some cocaine and a gun, and just for fun maintaining a place for sale of drugs and within 300 feet of a school. Clearly CMPD was expecting something bigger.

But Charlotte does stop amazing there, the Charlotte Observer ran this headline and photo early this morning.

SWAT Team Raids Central
Avenue Boarding House



Clearly not the photo they should have included with the headline. Admittedly the day care is located next door to the house that CMPD raided, the one in the background.

But the fun doesn't stop with the Observer's Faux Pas, check the spelling of the Daycare sign. Excellence is spelled wrong. And you ask me why I'm concerned about our city?

Cedar Update: An interesting back story has emerged. Seems WSOC was the only news crew on hand to take footage of CMPD SWAT members surrounding the house. So why would CMPD Command Staff give a heads up to WSOC and no one else? Looks like quid pro quo for WSOC hushing the 911 Calls for Service story.

Dumb Crook = Dead Crook Matthew Ward's Shocking End

The Charlotte Observer is reporting that 29 year old Matthew Warren Ward is dead after being electrocuted late Monday night.

Seems the Stanley man was trying to steal copper wire from a Duke Energy substation.

"A 911 call about 11:40 p.m. Monday reported a possible fire at the Duke Energy substation on Hovis Road in Stanley. Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze, but they couldn't reach Ward's body because of downed power lines that were still active.

Gaston County Police believe Ward committed a similar theft at the same location less than a week ago. He had numerous charges in break-ins and thefts, which were pending trial."

Just to give you an idea of what might have happened check out this video.



Cedar's Take: I'm pretty tired of dark interstate highways and dumb crooks. Charlotte's I-77, 85 and 485 are darkened canyons of asphalt and concrete because some jerk was able to yank the wires out and sell them for scrap at a local junk yard. The profits go to the scrap dealer and the crook and the tax payers get stuck with the bill.

Answer: Establishment of a city ordnance and state law that prohibits the purchase of copper wires and tubing by junk and scrap dealers. Isn't this what law makers are supposed to do?

CMPD Changes Watch Commander's Log Reporting

Back in 2007 CMPD began providing the "Watch Commanders Log" aka Significant Event Log on line. The reasoning behind this change is explained in the email below which "City News Watch" has obtained. The email also mentions the 911 calls for service.

From: "Fey, Robert P."
To: Media Release
Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2007 7:49 PM
Subject: Significant Event Log

Clarification as to why we are no longer e-mailing the WC Log:

I understand there are some misunderstandings about why the Watch Commander's Log no longer being emailed and wanted to clear that up. I apologize if we weren't clear when we introduced it to you yesterday.

We are no longer emailing the Watch Commander's Log because we don't need to. It is now available to everyone on our web site, although with significant improvements. The WC Log was only kept after hours and then emailed in the morning -- so you had to wait for it, and it was typically only shared with CMPD personnel and media. The new Log now covers 24 hours, is updated on our web site as close to real time as information becomes available and now everyone has the opportunity to view these events without worrying about being on a distribution list. That means citizens have better access to this information, which augments with 911 Calls For Service feature that has been online now for a few months.

Please call me if you have any questions.

Robert P. Fey Public Affairs Officer
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department
601 East Trade Street Charlotte, NC 28202
rfey@cmpd.org
704.336.2338 o 704.619.4169 c 703629

The reversal of this position at CMPD reflects Chief Monroe's leadership model of hide, distort, confuse and deny. The Watch Commander's Log and the 911 Calls for Service reports now removed from public view is a clear sign of a "closed and secret society". One that we as citizens of Charlotte can not tolerate.

While WSOC TV continues to tell the public that the 911 Calls for Service issue has been corrected nothing could be farther from the truth.

Tuesday's Check This Out!

WSOC TV picked up Cedar's CMPD "Calls for Service" story on Monday's 6PM newscast. - WSOC's coverage is here and Cedar Post's prior story here. It didn't take long for Chief Monroe to get on the phone to WSOC and then call his plumbers to start some "spin control" on the WSOC story. By 4 pm today CMPD's mouthpiece Erica Bryant, was on the air saying everything was back to normal with regards to the CMPD Calls for Service.

Well BULLSHIT!

Cedar Posts has been bitching about the "Significant Event Log" and the "LIVE" unfiltered 911 "Calls for Service" for months. This "live" information has been missing, not for one month but since last year when CMPD removed the live "Calls for Service".

The reason this information was removed from the CMPD.org web site is that certain "bloggers" Cedar Posts for one, were noticing that a call of a possible ADW, showed up on the police reports as an "unlawful concealment", a burglary in progress was being reported as a miscellaneous incident. The dots were too easy to connect and it was all there in black and white.

Chief Monroe's troll Erica Bryant may tell you that "all is well" but nothing could be father from the truth. Again Cedar Posts is calling on Charlotte City Council to force Chief Monroe to return the Significant Event Log and the live 911 Calls for Service on line now!

On Monday Morning Mecklenburg County Sheriff Detention Officer Terry McConico called CMPD 911 to report that he was the victim of a "hit and run" accident. - However, Officer McConico failed to mention that he had also fried off several rounds at the fleeing SUV that had struck his car from behind.

Not surprisingly at the same time 911 dispatchers were chatting with Officer McConico they were besieged with calls regarding multiple gunshots being fired at the same location.

CMPD reports that McConico has been issued an infraction for a CCW Permit Violation (failure to disclose that he had a valid permit and was carrying a concealed handgun when approached by an officer).

Note, the first violation of this General Statute is an infraction; subsequent offenses are a Class 2 Misdemeanor. McConico was also issued a criminal summons to appear in court by a magistrate for Shooting a Firearm in the city limits.

The vehicle, a 2011 Jeep Compass which struck Officer McConico's car, was later located and determined to be a rental car that had been reported stolen.

Cedar's Take: Mecklenburg County Sherrif Chip Bailey needs to terminate Officer McConico employment effective Monday Morning. On the other hand I don't blame Officer McConico in fact I'd likley do the same, which is why you don't want Cedar Posts as a cop.

Charlotte's Main Stream Media is playing catch-up to Cedar Posts stories from nearly a year ago - WSOC TV reported last week that Charlotte-Mecklenburg police are testing a "new tool" to track crime in the Queen City.



"The Charlotte department is one of a few across North Carolina to participate in a state study of mobile fingerprint scanners. Officers in the Eastway Division have had the machine for a month and have caught citizens giving false identities."

WSOC's story is here. And Cedar Post's story from November 2010 is here.

Cedar's Take: Doesn't it make you wonder what is going on? Seems to Cedar that WSOC is being spoon fed news stories by CMPD. What was once the leading news organization in the Carolina's has been reduced to a bunch of talking heads.

WBTV dug into the taser story following up on numbers reported a few weeks ago - "According to figures released by CMPD officers deployed tasers on average 8 times a month since 2005.

Officers in our city have used tasers 638 times since January 2005.

In releasing the report to city council CMPD said Tasers there were 272 incidents where suspects received minor injuries, and 12 times that the devices were not used properly.

According to police chief Rodney Monroe, the order has been placed for new tasers.

Training should begin by next month and the devices are expected to be on street starting in December."

Cedar's Take: Told you CMPD officers would be without Tasers for another 2 months, epic fail and smoke screen. Leaving our officers without Tasers is just all kinds of wrong. Bonus: If there were 12 times that Tasers were not used properly, what are those times and what are the details?

Charlotte City Council received a nice presentation on CMPD's request to purchase 208 new police cars. - But staff resource assisant city manager Eric Campbell is unprepared for the gentle push back he gets from Charlotte Council members so a call is made for a member of the CMPD Command Staff to answer a few questions.

Watch the fun begin when Andy Dulin asks about the 5 million dollar purchase. The video is here with Katrina Graue at 1:17. Dulin gets major props for humor and suggesting that buying Impalas is dumb when we know they are a poor fit, and then he points out how much he likes the Dodge Chargers.

Dulin also seems amazed and slack jawed when Graue admits that CMPD has no idea where 50 "new" police cars went to. He questions the need for so many unmarked cars when the idea he thought was to increase police presence. Councilman Barnes is equally stunned when the Deputy Chief can't explain why the department would by the Chevy product.

Could it be that Charlotte City Council is finally getting the message that CMPD's spending is out of control? I wouldn't bet the farm.

Baseball Gives Detroit Something to Cheer About!

While New York fans face palm away the weekend, Tiger fans can celebrate a season in which two of baseball's power house teams Boston and New York suffered epic implosions.

All this grief may find fans wishing for a simpler time.

So here word for word is Who's on First:

Abbott: Well Costello, I'm going to New York with you. You know Bucky Harris, the Yankee's manager, gave me a job as coach for as long as you're on the team.

Costello: Look Abbott, if you're the coach, you must know all the players.

Abbott: I certainly do.

Costello: Well you know I've never met the guys. So you'll have to tell me their names, and then I'll know who's playing on the team.

Abbott: Oh, I'll tell you their names, but you know it seems to me they give these ball players now-a-days very peculiar names.

Costello: You mean funny names?

Abbott: Strange names, pet names...like Dizzy Dean...

Costello: His brother Daffy.

Abbott: Daffy Dean...

Costello: And their French cousin.

Abbott: French?

Costello: Goofè.

Abbott: Goofè Dean. Well, let's see, we have on the bags, Who's on first, What's on second, I Don't Know is on third...

Costello: That's what I want to find out.

Abbott: I say Who's on first, What's on second, I Don't Know's on third.

Costello: Are you the manager?

Abbott: Yes.

Costello: You gonna be the coach too?

Abbott: Yes.

Costello: And you don't know the fellows' names?

Abbott: Well I should.

Costello: Well then who's on first?

Abbott: Yes.

Costello: I mean the fellow's name.

Abbott: Who.

Costello: The guy on first.

Abbott: Who.

Costello: The first baseman.

Abbott: Who.

Costello: The guy playing...

Abbott: Who is on first!

Costello: I'm asking YOU who's on first.

Abbott: That's the man's name.

Costello: That's who's name?

Abbott: Yes.

Costello: Well go ahead and tell me.

Abbott: That's it.

Costello: That's who?

Abbott: Yes.

PAUSE

Costello: Look, you gotta first baseman?

Abbott: Certainly.

Costello: Who's playing first?

Abbott: That's right.

Costello: When you pay off the first baseman every month, who gets the money?

Abbott: Every dollar of it.

Costello: All I'm trying to find out is the fellow's name on first base.

Abbott: Who.

Costello: The guy that gets...

Abbott: That's it.

Costello: Who gets the money...

Abbott: He does, every dollar. Sometimes his wife comes down and collects it.

Costello: Whose wife?

Abbott: Yes.

PAUSE

Abbott: What's wrong with that?

Costello: Look, all I wanna know is when you sign up the first baseman, how does he sign his name?

Abbott: Who.

Costello: The guy.

Abbott: Who.

Costello: How does he sign...

Abbott: That's how he signs it.

Costello: Who?

Abbott: Yes.

PAUSE

Costello: All I'm trying to find out is what's the guy's name on first base.

Abbott: No. What is on second base.

Costello: I'm not asking you who's on second.

Abbott: Who's on first.

Costello: One base at a time!

Abbott: Well, don't change the players around.

Costello: I'm not changing nobody!

Abbott: Take it easy, buddy.

Costello: I'm only asking you, who's the guy on first base?

Abbott: That's right.

Costello: Ok.

Abbott: All right.

PAUSE

Costello: What's the guy's name on first base?

Abbott: No. What is on second.

Costello: I'm not asking you who's on second.

Abbott: Who's on first.

Costello: I don't know.

Abbott: He's on third, we're not talking about him.

Costello: Now how did I get on third base?

Abbott: Why you mentioned his name.

Costello: If I mentioned the third baseman's name, who did I say is playing third?

Abbott: No. Who's playing first.

Costello: What's on first?

Abbott: What's on second.

Costello: I don't know.

Abbott: He's on third.

Costello: There I go, back on third again!

PAUSE

Costello: Would you just stay on third base and don't go off it.

Abbott: All right, what do you want to know?

Costello: Now who's playing third base?

Abbott: Why do you insist on putting Who on third base?

Costello: What am I putting on third.

Abbott: No. What is on second.

Costello: You don't want who on second?

Abbott: Who is on first.

Costello: I don't know.

Abbott & Costello Together:Third base!

PAUSE

Costello: Look, you gotta outfield?

Abbott: Sure.

Costello: The left fielder's name?

Abbott: Why.

Costello: I just thought I'd ask you.

Abbott: Well, I just thought I'd tell ya.

Costello: Then tell me who's playing left field.

Abbott: Who's playing first.

Costello: I'm not... stay out of the infield! I want to know what's the guy's name in left field?

Abbott: No, What is on second.

Costello: I'm not asking you who's on second.

Abbott: Who's on first!

Costello: I don't know.

Abbott & Costello Together: Third base!

PAUSE

Costello: The left fielder's name?

Abbott: Why.

Costello: Because!

Abbott: Oh, he's centerfield.

PAUSE

Costello: Look, You gotta pitcher on this team?

Abbott: Sure.

Costello: The pitcher's name?

Abbott: Tomorrow.

Costello: You don't want to tell me today?

Abbott: I'm telling you now.

Costello: Then go ahead.

Abbott: Tomorrow!

Costello: What time?

Abbott: What time what?

Costello: What time tomorrow are you gonna tell me who's pitching?

Abbott: Now listen. Who is not pitching.

Costello: I'll break your arm, you say who's on first! I want to know what's the pitcher's name?

Abbott: What's on second.

Costello: I don't know.

Abbott & Costello Together: Third base!

PAUSE

Costello: Gotta a catcher?

Abbott: Certainly.

Costello: The catcher's name?

Abbott: Today.

Costello: Today, and tomorrow's pitching.

Abbott: Now you've got it.

Costello: All we got is a couple of days on the team.

PAUSE

Costello: You know I'm a catcher too.

Abbott: So they tell me.

Costello: I get behind the plate to do some fancy catching, Tomorrow's pitching on my team and a heavy hitter gets up. Now the heavy hitter bunts the ball. When he bunts the ball, me, being a good catcher, I'm gonna throw the guy out at first base. So I pick up the ball and throw it to who?

Abbott: Now that's the first thing you've said right.

Costello: I don't even know what I'm talking about!

PAUSE

Abbott: That's all you have to do.

Costello: Is to throw the ball to first base.

Abbott: Yes!

Costello: Now who's got it?

Abbott: Naturally.

PAUSE

Costello: Look, if I throw the ball to first base, somebody's gotta get it. Now who has it?

Abbott: Naturally.

Costello: Who?

Abbott: Naturally.

Costello: Naturally?

Abbott: Naturally.

Costello: So I pick up the ball and I throw it to Naturally.

Abbott: No you don't, you throw the ball to Who.

Costello: Naturally.

Abbott: That's different.

Costello: That's what I said.

Abbott: You're not saying it...

Costello: I throw the ball to Naturally.

Abbott: You throw it to Who.

Costello: Naturally.

Abbott: That's it.

Costello: That's what I said!

Abbott: You ask me.

Costello: I throw the ball to who?

Abbott: Naturally.

Costello: Now you ask me.

Abbott: You throw the ball to Who?

Costello: Naturally.

Abbott: That's it.

Costello: Same as you! Same as YOU! I throw the ball to who. Whoever it is drops the ball and the guy runs to second. Who picks up the ball and throws it to What. What throws it to I Don't Know. I Don't Know throws it back to Tomorrow, Triple play. Another guy gets up and hits a long fly ball to Because. Why? I don't know! He's on third and I don't give a darn!

Abbott: What?

Costello: I said I don't give a darn!

Abbott: Oh, that's our shortstop.

October 5, 1993 CMPD Officers Andy Nobles and John Burnette Were Murdered In the Line of Duty

On October 5, 1993, Officers Andy Nobles and John Burnette  were responding to a call about a suspicious vehicle in Boulevard Homes.

After the officers confirmed that the vehicle had been reported stolen and that the driver was a wanted person, the driver ran into a nearby wooded area. 

The officers caught up with the suspect, and a struggle ensued. During the fight, the suspect was able to grab one of the officers' service weapon and shoot both of them. The suspect was later apprehended after an intense manhunt.

Officer Nobles was 26 Officer Burnette was 25.





 

 

In Case You Missed It Shawn Massey Sues CMPD and Meck DA

Last week Shawn Giovanni Massey filed a lawsuit in Federal Court after spending 12 years behind bars for crimes he didn’t commit.


Massey on the right in 2010.

Massey was released from the Maury Correctional Institution last year after former Mecklenburg County District Attorney Peter Gilchrist secured a Superior Court order vacating Massey's conviction on multiple counts of second-degree kidnapping, as well as one count each of felonious breaking and entering and robbery with a dangerous weapon.

Massey's federal lawsuit alleges that Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers fabricated a witness statement saying Massey wore his hair in cornrows on the night of the attack. The victim had described her attacker as wearing the distinctive braids.

Massey was freed after a group of Duke University law students researched his case and compiled years of photos showing he always wore closely cropped hair, including a jail mug shot taken just 11 weeks before the crime.

The lawsuit seeks damages in excess of $10,000.

A copy of the lawsuit is here.

More profound is the case file and summary from Duke Law School which is here.

The short version is that Massey who was no stranger to CMPD was a prime suspect in the crime but cultural differences, and an overbearing assistant district attorney pushed the case along even though there was substantial doubt that the perp was really Massey.

CMPD detectives failed on several occasions to explore other suspects, or follow additional leads, instead focusing on building a case against Massey.

In the end Massey could not have been the perp based on the victims identification because his hair was too short for cornrows.

Cedar's Take: Officers did their part, but the system failed when in the face of mounting evidence to the contrary officers and the Mecklenburg DA's office pressed on with the case. What seems lost is that justice is not a conviction, justice is the truth. In this case the truth is Massey was not guilty of these crimes. Those that stand in the way of the truth also stand in the way of justice.

What Ever Happened to Central Avenue?

This from the Charlotte Observer:

A Charlotte man trying to cross Central Avenue late Saturday was hit and killed by a van traveling outbound in the 3100 block.

Chandra Phuyel, 27, was attempting to cross Central just before midnight when he walked into the path of a Honda Odyssey driven by 40-year-old Nga Phan, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said.

Medic responded, but Phuyel died on the scene.

Phan was uninjured. The crash is under investigation by CMPD's Major Crash Investigation Unit. Witnesses should call Detective Kevin Allred at 704-336-8862.

First my sincerest condolences to the family of Chandra Phyyel and prayers for Nga Phan.

Chandra Phyel? Nga Phan?

20 years ago it would have been Larry Smith hit and killed Ben Williams. What the hell happened to East Charlotte?

John Edmonds October 1861

One Hundred and Fifty years ago today, October 3, 1861, my great great grandfather grabbed his musket and signed up with the "Dixie Boys" of Company "A" of the 26th Alabama Infantry Regiment in Tuscumbia, Alabama.

During the following 21 months he marched with the boys to some of the war's most famous battles.

Yorktown
Richmond
Williamsburg
Seven Pines
Mechanicsville
Cold Harbor
Marven Hill
Boonesboro
Antietam
Fredricksburg
Chancellorsville
Gettysburg

"From the siege of Yorktown, April 5 to May 3, 1862, in which it took part, until the close of the war, the regiment was always in the battle front and won imperishable renown."

Captured at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863 he was neither slave owner or nor rich.

A farmer who was born in Laurens in the upstate of South Carolina. He raised sheep and cattle on land too poor to grow cotton with too little water to grow rice. They had no reason to own slaves rather his father had relied on 11 sons and 3 daughters. Yet when the call to arms went out he joined the cause without a second thought.

I suspect that the whole mess could have been resolved had the politicians worked things out in a civil manner and paid attention to the fact that the world around them was changing.

The abolitionists in 1861 found that slavery was a hot button in the North and used it as the rally cry to end a practice that was only 30 years from becoming out dated and inefficient as mechanized farming began to sweep across the nation.

Now 150 years later revisionists continue to create a war that was nothing more than an epic battle to free the black man from the abusive plantation owners. A battle where in the end good triumphed over evil.

As the line between fiction and fact continue to erode, there are those among us who are left to remind those less knowledgeable and more gullible that the war was not about slavery. In fact now to suggest that the war was about anything but slavery is considered politically incorrect.

The fact is the war of "northern aggression" came about because the Southern States no longer wanted to be apart of the Union. The reason for their departure was the erosion of states rights. By standing up to the inherently corrupt Northern Bullies the South threatened to upset the Union's balance of trade with Europe.

Southerners simply saw a federal government that had overstepped the bounds of sensibility and had infringed on state's rights and the right of self governance far too long.

I imagine that my grandfather saw the future of our Federal Government, a Federal Government much as it is today and he didn't like what he saw.

Cedar's Bonus: Out of 1,111 known members of the 26th Alabama; 360 are known to have died 32%, 93 finished the war in prison or on furlough after being released, 2 escaped from a prisoner of war camp, 10 joined U. S. service, 146 are known to have been discharged or resigned, 39 are known to have deserted and 387 have some partial records.

Amazingly there are two John Edmonds, John Edmonds and John A. Edmonds. Both enlisted in the 26th Alabama O'Neal's Infantry. They signed within days of each other and were both captured at Gettysburg. Cedar's Grandfather was the older of the two.

Details of the 26th Alabama's history is here.

Pilot Humor

 

Who says the FAA doesn't have a sense of humor? 

The Portsmouth International Airport at Pease, NH RNAV (GPS) RWY 16 approach is reported as the first GPS approach the FAA developed. 

The fixes are named in order, ITAWT, ITAWA, PUDYE, TTATT. 

The missed approach procedure, is a climb to 3000 on a track 165 degrees to the next fix called IDEED! 

Of course Tweety Bird is for an approach from the west, the initial approach fix (IAF) from the east is called "SATAN". Go figure. A copy of the Approach Plate PDF file is here.

Why You Should Demand The Return of CMPD's Significant Event Log and Calls for Service

Both CMPD's "Significant Event Log" as well as "Calls for Service" need to be returned to public access.

We know the reason they were removed; Chief Rodney Monroe was concerned that the two online reports gave a troubling perception of crime. In Monroe's empire if you hide the crime reports and the numbers, then crime is perceived as down.

On Friday WBTV reported the following:

Two teen girls and a young woman were held at gunpoint when a suspect robbed the Smoothie King Wednesday evening.



The incident happened just before 9 pm at the business at 9831 Rea Road, according to a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police report.

There were two 16-year-old girls and a 22-year-old woman working in the business when a man came in with a gun, police said.

The man got $200 in the robbery and then fled the store that is in the Blakeney Shopping Center, police said.

The girls and woman were not hurt, police said.

The man has not been found yet, but police are investigating.

WBTV was the only mainstream media to report the incident, even so WBTV's report came nearly 48 hours after the robbery occurred. Meanwhile the thug is still on the loose and most citizens remain unaware that the person they saw running down Rea Road wasn't out for a late night cardio workout rather a felon who had just robbed a business, threatened 3 young women in the heart of South Charlotte.

Selective Crime Reporting by Chief Monroe needs to stop, and Cedar Posts is now calling on Charlotte City Council members Dulin and Cooksey who represent South Charlotte as well as Mayor Foxx and all other council members to request that Chief Monroe return the "real time" Significant Event Log and Calls for Service to public access.

I've done my part now cut and past this letter to do yours:

mayor@ci.charlotte.nc.us, jasonburgess@charlottenc.gov, warren@warrencooksey.com,pkinsey@charlottenc.gov,JamesDistrict2@aol.com, district3_turner@yahoo.com, barnesdistrict4@aol.com, n3157w@yahoo.com, andy@voteandydulin.com, epeacock@ci.charlotte.nc.us, info@davidhowardclt.com
councilmancannon@gmail.com

Re: CMPD Significant Event Log and Calls for Service

Dear Mayor Foxx Charlotte City Council Members:

Earlier this year the Charlotte Police Department removed citizen internet access to the CMPD Significant Event Log and CMPD Calls for Service.

It is my belief that an informed public is a safe public and these two on line reports are important tools that provide the public with information on a real time basis.

Please request that Chief Monroe restores these public services at once.

Sincerely,