Editor’s Note: As of this writing North Miami Beach police officer Ericson Harrell remains suspended with pay pending an internal investigation centering on his social media activity. Harrell’s case is similar to that of James Tracy in that his employer has taken issue with the policeman’s extracurricular commentary on the American police state and mass casualty events principally because of its content.
Now Florida public employers within the purview of the Southern District of Florida may very well be using the TracyvFAU decision as precedent to discipline workers based on speech-related “thought crime” offenses. There is no dispute that such employers and their legal advisors are aware of the court’s decision, and that the State of Florida fought vigorously to establish such a legal precedent. Please see our previous discussion of Officer Harrell’s situation here.
TheMaven.net
(May 6, 2018)
A South Florida cop suspended for comments he made on his personal Facebook page explains his views in detail.
The media had a field day mocking North Miami Beach police officer Ericson Harrell last month for suggesting on his personal Facebook page that the victims of the Parkland school shooting were “paid actors.”
The media attention resulted in Harrell placed on paid suspension while his agency “investigates” his comments.
But it’s been more than a month now and the only thing to investigate is whether or not Harrell made those comments while on duty, which may be a violation of department policy.
After all, Harrell never made those comments in his capacity as a police officer.
Instead, he made them on his personal Facebook page to his friends and followers, whom he says consists more of police accountability activists than police officers, including myself, who met him in person years ago.
In fact, he makes no mention of being a police officer on the About section of his Facebook page, not that he makes it a secret either as he frequently speaks out against police abuse on his page.
That being said, I believe some of his views about mass school shootings are far-fetched and irrational; based more on speculation than substance; a conspiracy-laden dogma arising from a complete lack of trust in the government.
But I also believe he is one of the sanest cops in the United States, which may help you understand my view of cops in this country.
This, after all, is a cop who is fully aware of the growing police state in this country, especially for those who stand up for their Constitutional rights; a cop who runs a YouTube channel called “The Penitent Cop” where he tries to educate people about their rights when dealing with police.
But I’ve been told my views are also radical, so I am posting the entire interview above to allow you to judge for yourself. Please let us know what you think in the comments section.
Joining us in the interview was First Amendment attorney Marc Randazza, a longtime PINAC reader who also asked Harrell some questions.
Harrell, a 19-year veteran of the North Miami Beach Police Department, said he had a red pill awakening a few years ago while looking into the conspiracy theories behind 9/11.
That led him to question the government about everything, especially about mass shootings, many which he describes as being hoaxes, including the Sandy Hook school shooting and the Las Vegas massacre.
And while it’s understandable such comments may offend the family and friends of the victims slain in those shootings, it’s not like he tagged them in his post.
As mentioned before, the only thing his department can discipline him for is if he was making those posts during work hours, which he says he does not remember if he did or not.
But even if he did make those comments during work hours, that is much more preferable to me as a taxpaying citizen than having him spend those hours destroying the lives of innocent citizens, which takes place daily in cities throughout the United States.
But then again, I am considered a radical for my views, so maybe I’m failing to see what the big deal is here.
Thank you for sharing this uplifting, hope-building story. There really is such a thing as a patriotic and good cop.
I certainly hope and pray that the North Miami Beach Police Department will take VERY GOOD CARE of the exemplary Officer Harrell.
Considering what’s happened to certain cops in Florida recently, I sure hope that Officer Harrell and his family are all (legally) packing heat and watching their backs–and that he has already made public statements that he is in excellent health and would never commit suicide…
I certainly agree with you Marie. Because I would move my family out of that city and pack heat in the shower. The cabal don`t like dissenters.
The Editor notes the similarity between the cases of Officer Ericson Harrell and that of James Tracy. The parallel is apparent in the press as well. I fear for the exemplary officer, to borrow Dachsie’s phrase, and for his pension. He’s getting the same press Tracy got in the run-up to his firing.
For example: the ubiquitous Jerry Iannelli, reporter and thought-scold for several South Fla news outlets, who likes to editorialize, says, “Harrell has somehow remained a cop despite spouting a litany of seemingly insane conspiracy theories online and in person.”
“Spouting” is a favorite action word of Iannelli’s. He’s accused Tracy of spouting. He said, “Tracy was able to use what little legitimacy he had as a professor to… spout off about virtually every other shooting since Sandy Hook.” And, “It is, frankly, astounding that Tracy’s career at Florida Atlantic has lasted so long.”
Like the elite media’s other public opinion goals, the belief that one’s employment should depend on the acceptability of one’s speech is forged in the press. Along with the usual ‘conspiracy’ derision, the meme that your-job-depends-on-your-opinions (even if expressed outside of work), is presented as obvious in the news media. It is then routinely parroted back in the readers’ comments. You can watch the predictive programming live.
Iannelli predicted that the jig was up in Tracy’s case. Now, he’s taken up Harrell’s story. Not a good sign.