Yeah. Okay. So, we are all in awe of Air Marshalls. Our very own law-enforcing post-9/11 Sky Police.
Uh huh.
Nice to know they can smuggle coke as well as the next person. Or, better..
:rolleyes:
Who gets to police the Air Marshalls?
Cartooniverse
We ALL get to police them, by becoming Air Marshall Dopers !
Oh. Wait. That’s what the article is about already… 
Ya just have to laugh.
Or scream. Whichever.
Moving thread from IMHO to The BBQ Pit.
As I’m sure you know like any other law enforcement type force there are internal officials that monitor them.
I’m guessing your question was rhetorical, though.
Well, if I know this administration, what we’ll get is a new law passed specifically forbidding drug trafficking for air marshals, the introduction of a new cabinet level position to oversee air marshals, and a new police function in charge of air marshal smuggling: Sky Troopers.
-Snerk- Excellent Team Name. I see you have some familiarity with the inner machinations of this current Administration. Look, no doubt from reading the cited article ( and a few others online ), the government agency that caught these jokers is taking this seriously and is going to try to prosecute them. Because it’s drugs, they might even get a conviction. My guess is that they will strike a plea deal in a year or two when it comes to trial, and strip the guys of their Air Marshall status.
What I want to know is whether or not, if they make a deal like this but are not actually convicted of a felony, if they are immediately going to get jobs in a local police department.
Martin Hyde, the question wasn’t actually rhetorical at all. In a very complicated and dangerous situation ( aboard an aircraft ), we as citizens are trusting that the plainclothes Air Marshalls are on board, in a healthy and safe frame of mind, and able to perform their duties at all times without an compromise.
What would have happened if the guys doing the smuggling had to actually engage a violent or dangerous person en route? The subsequent careful screening of every single item on board might well have revealed the drugs and/or money.
Apparently we really DO need a special boutique law barring Air Marshalls from smuggling drugs on board an aircraft, because they hold themselves rather far above the law. If they didn’t, they never would have pulled this kind of crap, now would they?
And before some cop-luvvin’ Doper rails in here pissed off because I’ve painted all of these guys with a broad brush, I am perfectly aware that some of them are law-abiding law enforcement officers who do a stressful dangerous job every day, with care and focus.
Then again, some of them aren’t, are they? We get to hold these men and women to a higher standard. We get to hope that they’re not criminals, not drug smugglers who have been bought out by organized crime and are operating at the whim of those outside the law. It is not unreasonable to demand that law enforcement officers not go out of their way to break the fucking laws they swore to uphold.
Which does raise a fascinating question. I’ve looked, I can’t find the exact oath these guys take. However, they are federal government employees, and law enforcement to boot- I’d be shocked if they weren’t “sworn in”. Shit my father was a civil servant in an agency, and took at least two oaths that I am aware of. A Loyalty Oath, and a Secrecy Oath. These guys, ( and gals ) must have been sworn in.
So, we know their word ain’t worth shit.
Something that worries me about all this is - if there’d been a surprise search on the plane or some such, would the marshalls have planted the drugs on a passenger so they could get away with it?
Interesting that the actions of two men who were caught and are being prosecuted by the US Attorny’s office somehow indicate that the hundreds of other officers are somehow corrupt and out of control.
I see the fallibility of two men who’s illigal activities were discovered show that the department is capable of policing themselves. Man, you should hear the stories I hear from my forgien born coworkers about the police back home. :eek: l
It’s not an unreasonable demand to make. It is unreasonable to pratically expect it. It is not just Air Marshalls. Just about every Law Enforcement agency is tainted by a (IMNSHO very) small minority of officers who believe their badge makes them above the law. These criminals in cop’s clothing smear feces on the badges of every hard-working, honest officer trying to do his job out there.
Obviously, somebody was policing the Air Marshalls, uncovered these criminals dope smuggling, and arrested them. So what’s the question?
That guy seems to be doing a bang-up job so far.
How many were caught smuggling? How many Air Marshalls total are there?
Two.
That’s a secret (as you will find by reading the article).
To further answer the title question, from the article:
At least Cartooniverse is not screaming for the Marshalls to be swinging from six feet of rope tomorrow, and acknowledges that the process of prosecuting these men will likely take over a year.
Check post #6. I could not have been more clear in my statement.
You are saying two men were caught. You are saying there are hundreds of other officers who are Air Marshalls. ( I will take your word for it, that there are least two hundred currently working.)
Your statement begs the next question: Do you truly believe that these are the only two Air Marshalls who are smuggling drugs or other contraband- specifically because they do get to bypass TSA Security screenings? If so, I applaud your optomistic outlook. If not, then whence your post?
According to the article, there are thousands. No, I don’t think that they’ve rooted out all corruption. It behooves the Air Marshalls, as it does every law enforcement department, to vigilantly guard against, find, and prosecute any cases they uncover. Law enforcement officers are often in roles ripe for corruption; too many (and any is too many) take advantage. Some, sadly, never get caught. Is the solution then “no cops”?
Maybe it’s robots? Androids? Lobotomized officers? Charging Colin Farell with rape for looking at a 14 year old actress?
Hell, I’m all for increasing the national law enforcement budget for more enforcement of all the laws, including those broken by law enforcement employees. And pay them more so they’ll be less susceptable to the pull of ‘easy money’.
Time to call in Vic Mackey and the Strike Team.
Sure you could have.
I think it’s likely that they are the only ones currently. It’s a bitch getting through all the requirements to get into federal law enforcement and it weeds out most of those with detrimental qualities. However its still not perfect. And that’s why they have a system for policing the police. And it works.
Hopefully not, who knows though.
What you’ve identified in your post is the fact that “things fuck up.” Were you unaware that this could happen within law enforcement? No one disagree with you that it’s bad, no one disagrees with you that it shouldn’t happen, and no one disagrees with you that they should be punished.
But what’s with the broad-brush and the rhetoric? What’s with blaming the administration? The idea of blaming someone for something they have no realistic chance of even knowing about is ridiculous. The idea that every flaw within government is instantly the fault of the President is ridiculous.
You’re also trusting that the pilot isn’t drunk, that the mechanics didn’t rig the plane wrong and et cetera.
When you drive (if you drive) on the interestate you’re trusting that the guy in front of you isn’t going to do a donut at 70 miles per hour and kill 5-6 people in the process.
Yeah, you’re right, in society we put our lives in each others hands all the time. Sometimes we put our lives in the hands of law enforcement, sometimes in the hands of people like pilots and mechanics.
I agree, it’s important that Air Marshalls be regulated, it appears they are. I don’t know what you’re advocating though, are you saying we have to condemn the entire concept of Air Marshalls simply because two of them have been found to be corrupt?
While were at it I guess we have to condemn all police officers, all pilots, all interstate drivers, all Americans, all humans.
It’d be a bad, fucked up situation. Fucked up situations happen. We try to prevent them, we failed here. What more do you want? Stricter regulations, okay, lets hope that happens. I still don’t see where this is cause to be painting with such a broad stroke, and I still don’t see where you are making and argument advocating much of anything.
Criminals will commit crimes because they see a benefit to it and they do not believe they will get caught. That will never change no matter how many laws you pass.
Good.
Yes, we do. No, it isn’t. Again, I fail to see the point in all this.
You’re arguing that 1) law enforcement officers shouldn’t be criminals 2) it’s bad when they are. There’s nothing to disagree with, there’s really not even a point to all of this. There’s especially not a reason to create a rambling post that doesn’t really mean anything.
We know the word of some of them “ain’t worth shit.”
Fair enough. I’m not inclined to agree. First of all, for the fifty-thousandth fucking time, refer to Post # 6- I am not painting with a broad brush accusing the thousands, is it, of Air Marshalls of being criminals. Jesus Christ, who’s painting now?
What would I prefer?
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Random and frequent drug testing. Not of bodily fluids alone. Of clothing, baggage and personal effects. Anything that will show that they’re carrying contraband.
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More frequent updates on background checks on Air Marshalls. If they are updated every 5 years, make it once a year. Not very hard these days to do that. Who are they spending time with? Who are they calling on their cellular phones? Drug dealers. Hmm.
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Make them pass through TSA Screening. See, nobody BUT TSA screeners can see those X Ray machines. Who would know but them, if an Air Marshall is walking through. It is not as though that group is the only group passing through TSA checkpoints on a daily basis who are carrying firearms. We all know this to be true- law enforcement folks fly all the time with weapons AND ammunition. So? Make the Air Marshalls pass through screening, including having their bags examined. Cause, yanno, packs of bills and kilo’s of coke, that kind of jumps out to a screener.
You said, what do I want- stricter regulations? Yes, exactly that. That’s why I asked, " Who polices the police? It is NOT going to cost millions to make those folks pass through TSA Screening. I know it’s not. You know it’s not.
And, you know what? A rant goes in the Pit. A logical debate based deeply in cite and example goes into G.D. I pitted, and here it is, and yet I am offering a few suggestions as to what I really do wish would go down in the coming months and years.
Do I think anything will change? Of course not. However, you attack me for writing a post that shows anger and dismay at a crime like this? You are correct- drivers drive drunk, etc. etc. All of your examples are splendidly correct.
There are millions of registered drivers in the U.S.A. There are, what was it, a few thousand Air Marshalls? These are not regular private folks. They indeed must be held to a higher standard. I call bullshit on even using drivers, or toll takers, or airplane mechanics as an analogy. ( Pilots? GOOD analogy. Their level of responsibility is higher than most folks’ jobs, IMHO. )