Band of Bullies

Chris Dale

First of all let me acknowledge the need for a police force in this country of maniacs with guns. But at what point do the police become as much of a problem as the criminals? This is the story of how I met Detective Chris Dale, of the Broward County Sheriffs Department, and two of his friends.

This morning I went to the hospital to pick up Mark and bring him home. He still has pneumonia, but the doctor said it would be okay if he went home. We weren't home for more than ten minutes when somebody was knocking at the front door. Through the bedroom window, where I was, I asked "who's there?". "THE POLICE! OPEN UP!". "What can I do for you? Who are you looking for?", I asked. "JUST OPEN THE DOOR, NOW!!" a voice bellowed back. I looked out the window and saw three young men, in bullet proof vests, with guns, badges, and all matter of accouterments attached to them. Once again I asked who they were looking for, and the fat one (Detective Chris Dale), once again bellowed "OPEN THE DOOR, BEFORE I BREAK IT DOWN!!".

I don't know how it is where you live, but here in South Florida, it is common to see, on the evening news, home invasions perpetrated by people claiming to be police officers. So I was hesitant to just open up the door. I went around to the front door, opened it a crack and asked what was going on. "Do you know John Doe (I'm using John Doe to protect the guilty)"? I answered yes, and they started pushing past me into the house. I told them they couldn't come in without a search warrant, and the fat one yelled at me, "WE DON'T NEED ONE, GET OUT OF THE WAY". Before I knew it they were in the house searching for John Doe. When they saw skinny, sick, Mark sitting at the dining room table, the fat assed cop said "JOHN DOE ISN'T HERE? THEN WHO IS THAT?", and he held up a picture of a black man next to Marks face. "HE LOOKS JUST LIKE HIM TO ME."

Mark

John Doe

It so happens that I do know 'John Doe'. He is a friend of Mark's and I did let him stay in one of our apartments for a few weeks between other tenants, a year ago. An apartment with a different address than ours. He paid me rent for the time he stayed, and he moved out promptly when I got a long term tenant. He doesn't look anything like Mark other than the fact they both have African heritage. He is a lighter skin color than Mark and has a more rugged face. The cop only saw a black man in my house, and assumed that must be who he's looking for. When we started protesting this assumption, the fat cop threatened to throw us both on the ground. I continued to point out that the face on his arrest warrant looked nothing like Mark, and he yelled back, "IT DOES TO ME!". Mark's friend, John Doe had violated a restraining order to stay away from his boyfriend. Even though he had violated it at the request of the boyfriend so they could get together for some of that good makeup sex, the Sheriff's Police wanted to arrest him... or somebody who looked kind of like him.

Not once in the entire time these thugs were here did they speak in a civil tone to me or to Mark. The fat one, who looked to be pumped up on steroids and donuts, started to belittle Mark and threaten him with physical violence. After showing them our drivers licenses and proving who we were, they started to leave. There was no apology, just continued threats that they could still arrest us as they walked out the door.

The one thing I do regret is that I didn't call 911 and ask for the Wilton Manors Police to come over before I opened the door, because these guys really could have been home invaders. Since this morning we have called numerous agencies, including the internal affairs division. That was a joke, because it became apparent from the start, that they would back up their officers to the end, right or wrong.

If you want to know what happened to the bullies who picked on smaller kids, and kids with disabilities when you were in grade school. If you want to know where that guy who punched you in the head when you were in high school ended up, some of them became cops. And that's regrettable, because there are so many good cops. It is a sad time in this country when a man feels more threatened by the people who are paid to protect him, than by those who we are paying them to protect us from.