tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26747401317398808222012-02-16T19:07:27.095-06:00Welcome To Nick's PlaceNick’s Place is located in Weston, Texas near the corner of Main and Chicken. A small town with few people – we wave to each other as we pass driving down little country back roads.
Here you’ll mostly find things that are on Nick’s mind. Things that bug, amaze, outrage or just simply make him laugh.
Lately Nick’s been on a tear about the unnecessary use of SWAT teams across the country and the militarization of our police forces.Nick Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599829850388685929noreply@blogger.comBlogger141100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2674740131739880822.post-26865307569811469952007-06-20T12:50:00.001-06:002007-06-20T12:52:21.379-06:00MCKINNEY POLICE HALL OF SHAMEMCKINNEY POLICE HALL OF SHAMEJun 19, 2007 | 11:53 AMCategory: News Report This Post MCKINNEY, TEXAS POLICE HALL OF SHAME IT SURE SEEMS to me that since the hiring of Doug Kowalski in 2000 as McKinney’s Police chief, we’ve seen an on-going pattern of continued corruption and criminal activity within our police department. If I remember correctly, Kowalski was apparently demoted for poor Nick Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599829850388685929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2674740131739880822.post-88991608060320348282007-05-21T09:53:00.000-06:002007-05-25T16:24:36.145-06:00Police Officer Versus Citizen SafetyPolice Officer V. Citizen SafetyWhen I was a kid, a long time ago, we were taught that police officers were our “friends” and to go to them if you were ever in trouble. I know today that may sound a little “Mayberry-esque” but things were really quite different than they are now. And along the way, things have changed – slowly; but nonetheless inexorably changed. You see back in the day, police Nick Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599829850388685929noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2674740131739880822.post-43053046962401991172007-02-27T13:14:00.000-06:002007-05-25T16:22:27.569-06:00SWAT Teams and BalanceEvery now and then I get a comment from some amazingly ignorant people. Despite making it very clear that I am against the militarization of our police forces - some numbskull says I should be "balanced" and show both sides. I am very clearly in concert with the use of a special force in hostage situations, etc. - which is very, very rarely the case when a SWAT team is deployed. Mostly it's just Nick Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599829850388685929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2674740131739880822.post-12481383435913238642006-12-29T10:13:00.000-06:002006-12-29T10:52:31.619-06:00AGGRAVATED ASSAULT AGAINST COP: SPIT??When you read those heart rendering reports about how dangerous it is to be a cop remember the adage about statistics and liars.We already know from FBI and Bureau of Labor Statistics that cop fatalities by felony (being shot in the line of duty, etc) are extremely rare. Also remember when looking at this figure you have to discount the 4 or 5 times each year the cops shoot themselves:http://Nick Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599829850388685929noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2674740131739880822.post-7216476078899520832006-12-27T13:14:00.000-06:002006-12-27T13:35:59.992-06:00"Click It, Or Ticket" - Unless You're A CopWe've all seen the ads on mandatory wearing of seat belts: "Click It, Or Ticket" the announcer intones as a county mounty hands out ticket after to ticket to people not wearing their seat belts.I know this is going to be shocking - but just guess what the most prevalent reason for the rise in police deaths in 2006 over 2005? Police not wearing seat belts and dying in car crashes! As reported by Nick Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599829850388685929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2674740131739880822.post-56441407627286405742006-12-27T12:32:00.000-06:002006-12-27T13:08:09.653-06:00Indianapolis SWAT Officer Loses His Assault RifleWell here we go again.Just like in Florida last month we have a case where a police officer's weapons were stolen from his car. According to WISH-TV:"The officer was attending a church function when the thieves broke into his vehicle and took the guns. One was a Christmas present for the officer's son. The other was the officer's police issued AR-15 assault rifle."Luckily these guns have been Nick Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599829850388685929noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2674740131739880822.post-51005182481475019042006-12-21T09:52:00.000-06:002006-12-21T14:12:39.082-06:00SWAT Team - I Shot The Sheriff - Actually He Shot Himself"Six people were detained after a drug raid at a home in the 4000 block of North Bonita Street in Casa de Oro, authorities told NBC 7/39. Officials said the officer was hurt when he tripped in the messy yard and accidentally shot himself in the foot.Officers used flash bangs to enter the homes while serving search warrants on two homes."This news found athttp://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/10574920/Nick Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599829850388685929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2674740131739880822.post-4753878962169885812006-12-21T09:50:00.000-06:002006-12-21T10:07:27.604-06:00SOCIOPATHS AND THE SWAT TEAMQuite a number of articles have been written about the “wrong” types of people being drawn into the ranks of SWAT teams. For example, Al Lorentz, former Marine sniper; former Airborne Ranger in the Texas National Guard wrote:"I have a confession to make, as a professional soldier: I don’t like SWAT teams. I don’t like the concept of SWAT teams. I don’t like the way SWAT teams are deployed. And, Nick Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599829850388685929noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2674740131739880822.post-42885240160380533652006-12-21T09:48:00.000-06:002006-12-24T15:29:35.582-06:00SWAT Team - Advantages v DisadvantagesFrom "Breaking Rank: A Top Cops Expose' of the Dark Side of American Policing"By Norm Stamper - 34 year police veteran and former chief of the Seattle Police DepartmentEnjoy!NickA Rational and Objective Examination of the Advantages and Disadvantages of the Police Paramilitary Bureaucracy (PMB)Advantages Gives cops a chance to play soldier Nick Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599829850388685929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2674740131739880822.post-38704728225432111892006-12-21T09:40:00.000-06:002006-12-24T15:30:43.842-06:00SWAT Team - Member Charged With Murder"The difference between the quasi-military and the civil policeman is that the civil policemen should have no enemies. People may be criminals, they may be violent, but they are not enemies to be destroyed. Once that kind of language gets into the police vocabulary, it begins to change attitudes."- John Alderson, The Listener, 1985From the Charlotte Observer Posted on Tue, Dec. 12, 2006. The Nick Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599829850388685929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2674740131739880822.post-14965842407389595852006-12-21T09:38:00.000-06:002006-12-24T15:31:56.118-06:00SWAT Team - Is Police Work All That Dangerous?A while back I became interested in the question of whether or not Police work is as dangerous as it is made out to be.To find out I compared the number of police deaths by felony and accident provided by FBI reports for 2005 to vehicle (auto & motorcycle) fatalities provided by the NHTSA for 2004 (complete 2005 statistics were not available).While any life lost is a terrible thing – the news is Nick Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599829850388685929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2674740131739880822.post-84169521940637272282006-12-21T09:35:00.000-06:002006-12-24T15:32:14.328-06:00Man Sues City After SWAT Team Shoots HimEarlier today I sent the following letter and article by David Holden of the Huntsville Times (see below) to my City Council Members:Dear Members:Wow - a SWAT team shoots a cripple innocent man, investigates and clear themselves (now there’s a surprise), and the city is getting sued for $7.5 million dollars!I’ll bet the city council just can’t wait for the publicity, professional and personal Nick Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599829850388685929noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2674740131739880822.post-23168444556561413832006-12-21T09:30:00.000-06:002006-12-24T15:32:39.367-06:00WHY THE SWAT TEAM WEARS BLACK MASKS AND OTHER IMPORTANT RUMMINATIONSAnother letter to a City Council regarding the need for SWAT teams:Dear City Council Members,The following excellent article was written by Darryl Eberhart, Editor of “Tackling Tough Topics” and is submitted for your edification and consideration. This article yet again leads to the question of why do we need a SWAT team in our City? What are the cost benefits of having and maintaining it, etc.? Nick Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599829850388685929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2674740131739880822.post-31210871796246406952006-12-13T21:57:00.000-06:002006-12-21T09:48:49.375-06:00Out of the Mountains: Drug War horrorsOut of the Mountains: Drug War horrorsNick Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07599829850388685929noreply@blogger.com0