Patterico's Pontifications

1/10/2011

While We’re Raising Questions — I Have a Few About Sheriff Dupnik

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 5:52 pm



All weekend, we have heard that we just don’t know what motivated Jared Loughner — but regardless of whether the evidence is there, recent events certainly raise the issue of whether he was motivated by extreme right-wing rhetoric.

For example, watch the introduction to this clip:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Forgive me if it sounds like I am co-opting the “we don’t know, but let’s raise this partisan non-sequitur anyway” format, but I have some questions about our friend Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik. And unlike the questions our lefty friends have been raising, these questions seem legitimate.

At this point, we just don’t know whether Sheriff Dupnik missed (or deliberately passed up) an opportunity to prosecute Jared Lee Loughner for criminal threats, possibly preventing a tragedy.

And we just don’t know whether that is the reason that Dupnik has been thrilling cynical lefties with his brazen partisan politicization of the Giffords shooting.

But regardless of whether the evidence is there, recent events certainly raise the issue of whether local law enforcement officials in this country spew partisan nonsense to divert people’s attention from their own failings.

As someone who works in law enforcement, I am well aware that it is all too easy for members of the public to play Monday morning quarterback and accuse law enforcement of having dropped the ball. That said, Dupnik has certainly acted more like a shrill lefty New York Times columnist than like a sheriff devoted to things like evidence. What’s more, a blog called The Cholla Jumps is making some direct accusations:

This is the report that Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik has been dreading since the tragic event on Saturday January 8.

The sheriff has been editorializing and politicizing the event since he took the podium to report on the incident. His blaming of radio personalities and bloggers is a pre-emptive strike because Mr. Dupnik knows this tragedy lays at his feet and his office. Six people died on his watch and he could have prevented it. He needs to step up and start apologizing to the families of the victims instead of spinning this event to serve his own political agenda.

. . . .

Jared Loughner has been making death threats by phone to many people in Pima County including staff of Pima Community College, radio personalities and local bloggers. When Pima County Sheriff’s Office was informed, his deputies assured the victims that he was being well managed by the mental health system. It was also suggested that further pressing of charges would be unnecessary and probably cause more problems than it solved as Jared Loughner has a family member that works for Pima County. Amy Loughner is a Natural Resource specialist for the Pima County Parks and Recreation. My sympathies and my heart goes out to her and the rest of Mr. Loughner’s family. This tragedy must be tearing them up inside wondering if they had done the right things in trying to manage Jared’s obvious mental instability.

Is there anything to this? Certainly the blogger is correct that Loughner had threatened people and acted bizarre, and that Pima law enforcement knew about this. Even absent this “The Cholla Jumps” post, we certainly know — because Dupnik has admitted it — that Loughner had been called to the attention of Pima law enforcement before, specifically in connection with death threats.

We know that the Arizona Daily Star reported on January 8 that:

The suspected shooter has made death threats before and been contacted by law-enforcement officers, but the threats weren’t against Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Dupnik said. The suspect is unstable, Dupnik said, but the sheriff would not say he is “insane.”

We know that NPR confirmed:

“As we understand it, there have been law enforcement contacts with the individual where he made threats to kill,” Dupnik said during a press conference Saturday evening. But he wouldn’t say who those threats were aimed at.

We know that CBS News reported that Lougher’s community college professor had called 911:

“Class started and, five minutes later, he raised his hand. I guess he got the idea. He asked, ‘Could I go to the library and do the assignment and come back before class is over and turn it in for full credit?’ And I said, ‘No, that it would be half-credit, because it was due at the beginning.’ And again, he started his rant about the Constitution, pointing to the flag, pointing to the Constitution up at the front of the room, and at that point, he wouldn’t stop, so I asked the students to be calm and wait, and at that point I went to the next room, and alerted my lab staff that there was a situation, and I called 911.

Hill asked, “Were you fearful for your safety or for the safety of your other students at that point? Did he seem that he was violent in any way?”

Scheidemantel answered, “He was not violent in any way, and he did not threaten anyone directly. But I did feel uneasy. I know the students were feeling uneasy. And so we called 911, and two officers came out. They removed him from the room and talked to him for awhile, and then one of the officers came to talk to me.”

Scheidemantel said the school and police backed her up appropriately.

“Pima, I have to commend them. Backed me up and was right there. One officer talked to him for about a half-hour outside the classroom, and I think they realized that he was not thinking rationally, and the other officer mentioned something about maybe special ed or whatever.

I’d like to hear that 911 tape.

I’d like to see those police reports.

I’m interested enough, in fact, that I am filing an open records law request for the documents. Do I expect the Dupster to comply? Well, willful violation of the law can lead to damages, so . . . we’ll have to see.

As for The Cholla Jumps, I am trying to get in touch with the author of the post, to ask: Who are you? What’s your evidence? Whom did Loughner threaten?

There are limited answers to some of those questions already.

His “About” page at his blog says Kelley is a Navy veteran who was “a Balkan area, Middle East North Africa, Southwest Asia, and Gulf Area analyst for the Naval Security Group and the National Security Agency.”

He has a Twitter account at @thechollajumps, where an intriguing message caught my eye: “Gunman Loughner threatened bloggers in past.”

Bloggers, eh? Like Mr. Kelley himself??

Well, as I say, I am working on contacting Mr. Kelley. I’ll let you know what I hear back.

Because, you know, there are questions that need to be answered.

UPDATE: Thanks to Instapundit for the link. If you like what you see here, bookmark the site and please do return!

106 Responses to “While We’re Raising Questions — I Have a Few About Sheriff Dupnik”

  1. Attack the messenger.

    TGF (3d36ce)

  2. Exactly.

    Chris Hooten (2b9678)

  3. Dupnik is awesome people get slaughtered like animals in his jurisdiction but good ole Dupnik… you hand this feller some lemons and he’ll make you some tasty dirty socialist obamawhore lemonade.

    Obama should invite Dupnik to the White House for a lemonade summit so they can exploit the dead and injured to the fullest extent possible I think.

    happyfeet (aa4bab)

  4. Dupnik is right, he lives there. I’m so glad they carried his news conference live on Fox News.

    TGF (3d36ce)

  5. It is about time to tone down the effing rhetoric. We don’t need to lay blame to do that. Sheesh.

    Chris Hooten (2b9678)

  6. I’ll play along.

    Let’s assume the sheriff is correct in his comment, that the suspect was channeling evil Palin waves.

    Wouldn’t that impact the defendant’s ability to receive a fair trial? Also would it not affect the prosecutions efforts to obtain a conviction, if the suspect is indeed guilty?

    Before you answer, consider the likely jurisdiction of the case and who the prosecuting attorneys likely will be working for (in the sense of their department and not the American people).

    Ag80 (e03e7a)

  7. hey buddy wanna tone down that rhetoric whatchu trying to do get somebody killed jeez

    happyfeet (aa4bab)

  8. I’m sorry but is was Dupniks job to protect the congresswoman

    oh and the little girl and those other people that were slaughtered

    thats under the protect and serve thingy on their shields

    EricPWJohnson (d84fb0)

  9. I don’t remember him mentioning any party, or persons, or sources of said “vitriolic rhetoric”. I think we know where most of it comes from, though, so he didn’t need to… Stopping it is more important than laying blame or scoring points.

    Chris Hooten (2b9678)

  10. The “effing” rhetoric, Hooten?

    I’ll thank you to tone it down.

    Patterico (8aec69)

  11. I apologize for inciting violence and hatred. Thank you, happy, for the admonishment.

    Ag80 (e03e7a)

  12. They were at a shopping mall. Was he supposed to sit there in front of her, 24/7?

    Chris Hooten (2b9678)

  13. That was actually very funny. Respect.

    Chris Hooten (2b9678)

  14. What of the supposed LEO contacts would or should have made a data base accessible to gun-purchase background check?

    Richard Aubrey (59fa91)

  15. I’m sorry but it was Dupnik’s job to protect the congresswoman

    oh and the little girl and those other people that were slaughtered

    thats under the protect and serve thingy on their shields

    EricPWJohnson (d84fb0)

  16. I think sending money to those who partner with terrorists is more disturbing than a little rhetoric. Don’t you, Hooten?

    Patterico (8aec69)

  17. (last comment was for Patterico)

    Chris Hooten (2b9678)

  18. Darn, that didn’t last long.

    Chris Hooten (2b9678)

  19. You’re welcome, Pat.

    Ira

    Ira (28a423)

  20. Can you feel the love in the room? Can you people?

    Chris Hooten (2b9678)

  21. Hooten

    The Sheriffs 0ffice was informed of the event and yes on weekends sheriffs are expected to patroll major shopping areas – all the time

    EricPWJohnson (d84fb0)

  22. goodnight on this thread.

    Chris Hooten (2b9678)

  23. There is no evidence Hooten’s money went to buy bombs but that is no reason not to address the serious problem of funding those who partner with terrorists.

    Patterico (8aec69)

  24. Didn’t he mention Rush today? I may have misheard. I’m fairly certain he admonished one party for preventing the good that another party was trying to accomplish for the American people.

    He may have been talking about Democrats, but that would be odd since he’s a Democrat.

    Ag80 (e03e7a)

  25. As the saying goes: don’t go away mad …

    Patterico (8aec69)

  26. Why do you hate people, Chrissy? And why do contribute money to those who do as well? Why, Chrissy, WHY?

    You need to stop associating with hatemongers like Friedman, because we all know what kind of effing rhetoric that scumbag’s been spewing out of his blowhole for years now.

    Why do you link yourself to those who incite violence and hatred towards those who they disagree with, Chrissy? Do you get a thrill up your pants leg when they talk that way?

    Dmac (498ece)

  27. Patterico

    Velvet underground? Hooten gave those morons money?

    Geeez, though no one could “best” imdw guess I was wrong again..

    EricPWJohnson (d84fb0)

  28. So the gutless violence – associating coward turned tail and ran. As usual, he can spew it out, but certainly cannot take it – ever.

    Dmac (498ece)

  29. who’s giving Mr. Sheriff Dupnik a run for his money in making good use of the dead peoples is our friend Viv Schiller’s National Soros Radio – they don’t let a story go by without telling their rich white listeners about the connection between the killings and the obamacare repeal vote…

    Republican leaders quickly postponed the week’s planned House action — a repeal vote on the nation’s new health care law. Instead, lawmakers will consider measures condemning the attack, and in memory of those who died.

    That’s very clever to conflate the two cause it maximally exploits the dead and the suffering of the injured for a good dirty socialist cause.

    happyfeet (aa4bab)

  30. I thought I was being polite. Oh well.

    Ag80 (e03e7a)

  31. Hootie and his blowfish reminds one of the MFM – if you present any facts that cause them agita, they run away.

    Dmac (498ece)

  32. #

    goodnight on this thread.

    Comment by Chris Hooten — 1/10/2011 @ 6:17 pm

    AKA, the crank is going to spam the thread for the next several hours.

    What a strange arrogant weirdo. He often announces ‘goodnight’ like he’s the center of attention.

    Kids: this is why you shouldn’t smoke tons of weed. You turn into a goofball. I will say this: Hooten’s said a lot of strange things, and he’s shilled a lot for an evil person, but he’s harmless. There are trolls here who send that ‘dangerous’ vibe, but Hooten doesn’t. He’s just so wrong about some things that he has no defense other than to whine.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  33. hooten when you had
    your head handed to you was
    it nicely gift wrapped?

    ColonelHaiku (15abe7)

  34. TGF – William Yelverton, does that stand for Trans Gendered skin Flautist?

    crissyhooten wants to be loved after all of the deceitful and hateful comments he has directed at us? F@ck you.

    JD (b98cae)

  35. one Clarence Dupenik
    buffoon or half-wit? you be
    the judge and jury

    ColonelHaiku (15abe7)

  36. They don’t call it “dope” for nuthin’, Dustin…

    ColonelHaiku (15abe7)

  37. Clarence Dupenik… a
    mind like steel trap… face only
    wolverine could love

    ColonelHaiku (15abe7)

  38. Sheriff Dupnik is the creep that said he wouldn’t enforce Arizona’s new immigration law. Nice guy. At least that is the word on the street.

    PatAZ (537b43)

  39. Pat, given that this is your neck of the woods, what’s the feeling toward him by the locals? Is it as polarized there in the sate as it is nationwide re the blame game being played?

    Dana (8ba2fb)

  40. PatAZ, it sounds like he’s far more interested in politics than the law. A Sheriff announcing the law doesn’t matter? Lovely. Interesting that Brewer is honoring the process. Liberals demand you honor the process when it favors them, and then demand they be permitted to dishonor the law if they don’t like it.

    This guy is shilling for the public to ignore the immigration problem. That’s not good law enforcement. See really sad thing is that this matter causes a lot more suffering than the tremendous suffering this Jared shooter caused.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  41. Part and parcel of the inflamed rhetoric is the dishonesty of Democrats falsely blaming Republicans for violence, often violence committed by Democrats.

    And lo and behold, we find Dupnik seemingly blaming Republicans for violence that was in his power to prevent.

    Coincidence? I think not.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  42. It seems to me that the idiotic sheriff has been setting up the shooter for a diminished capacity defence everytime he says that he is disturbed or unstable.

    agesilaus (a6551f)

  43. And lo and behold, we find Dupnik seemingly blaming Republicans for violence that was in his power to prevent.

    Exactly. And that’s why I wonder how it’s playing with the locals. Are they seeing through it or caught up in the – rhetoric?

    Dana (8ba2fb)

  44. Pima county needs to elect itself a new Sheriff.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  45. One massive anti-Democrat backlash coming right up! Can you say, “Wellstone funeral”?

    Llarry (7c8d21)

  46. Why do the leftist f@ckers ignore the fact that their gunman slaughtered a 9 year old girl and a Republican Judge too?

    JD (395555)

  47. Dana, I’m not really that close. Pima County is about 4 hours away. I do know it really made the news when he came out with not supporting SB1070. I suppose there are plenty of liberals over that way for him to keep getting reelected.

    Like I should talk. The loathsome Grijalva was reelected in my district. Hopefully the districts will be redrawn and we can get rid of him.

    When I read Jared’s mother worked for the county and the Sheriff’s department discouraged threatened people to continue with complaints against him, it made me sick.

    So true, Dustin, playing politics and possibly looking for his 15 minutes of fame. I hope it backfires on him hard.

    PatAZ (537b43)

  48. While I’m on a rant … I think it was Paul Krugman that said Giffords was the only Democrat elected in November from Arizona. How little he knows, as the (as I said before) loathsome Grijalva was reelected also.

    PatAZ (537b43)

  49. I posted this on an earlier thread but I think it bears repeating.

    Last summer Sheriff Dupnik dismisses problems with illegal immigration, says “right wingers” are the real problem.

    At 5:45 he downplays the threat of Mexican drug cartels north of the border – after a deputy sheriff in the next county had just been shot with an AK47 by a Mexican drug smuggler and these signs were being erected by the US Bureau of Land Management within his own county.

    I’d say the sheriff has a well established history of choosing to ignore that which doesn’t fit his political preconceptions.

    Blue Ox (ff919a)

  50. Hooten and TGF – What are Loughner’s favorite talk radio shows? Has the Sheriff released that information?

    Why did the Sheriff refer to that discredited Chamber of Commerce smear the left started in his Fox interview? Even the White House admitted they had no facts to support it.

    daleyrocks (e7bc4f)

  51. There was a time there was a no cockier human being in the world than a Texas sheriff. They believed they were gods sent down from heaven to run the county as they saw fit and they ran their counties any damn way they wanted to and pity on those who got in their way, including the feds. Thank God those days are over. But this is the kind of wild west sheriff Dupnik reminds me of.

    One question everyone keeps asking is why there was no police presence at Gabby Gifford’s meet and greet. I wondered that myself. I live in a county of 50K+, but anytime 20 people gather in my county, our great, and REPUBLICAN sheriff is either there himself, or has one/two of his deputies at the gathering. A little community has a volunteer fire department bar-b-que and the sheriff’s office is present. And having been to a number of political meet and greet events, the Sheriff himself is always there.

    Now, one thing bothered me about Dupnik; when asked by Megyn Kelly if he had any evidence that lead him to believe that over-the-top rhetoric on the part of the right contributed to the shooter’s motives he replied “No, not yet.”

    Not YET? What the hell does that mean? No, his investigation hasn’t found anything or no, not yet and he will make sure he finds something?

    Dupnik needs to step down. If he wants to run for a political office where he can spew his crap, he needs to do that. Otherwise, his sole purpose is leading an investigation into a henious act of carnage that happened under his watch. The voters of Pima County didn’t elect him to trash people, they elected him to protect them and so far, he has failed miserably.

    Memo to Sheriff Dupnik:

    this ain’t Tombstone and you damn sure ain’t no Wyatt Earp.

    retire05 (e0b7e7)

  52. Retire05 has a damn good point. Dupnik’s refusal to just follow the facts and then bring them to the judicial system is obvious in many ways, but it’s really amazing that he’s explaining these deaths on a basis he has no evidence for, but appears hell bent to locate.

    This just isn’t the way he should do his job, period.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  53. I would think the Pima County Sheriff’s Department has a record of incident reports and they should go back at least ten years. And I would think those records can be obtained under FOIA requests.

    What I want to know is: if there were incidents of previous complaints of death threats from Loughner, were the deputies really telling people who complained that Loughner was under “observation” and was getting psychological treatment? If that is the case, there is a strong case for impeaching Dupnik.

    retire05 (e0b7e7)

  54. Dupnik refused to appear on O’Reilly.

    “Even though there is no proof that he ignored prior incidents with the shooter,” I must guess the new info about has shut him up.

    Patricia (3aa1fd)

  55. Dupnik refused to appear on O’Reilly.

    Frankly, that was a good move. It’s also pathetic, since his vague accusations are so obviously attacks on FNC, including O’Reilly. He’s a lawman, and he’s not willing to face the people he is accusing anymore. He was willing to blurt it out to Meghan Kelly when the topic was simply what he’s coming up with in the investigation, but a interview where he will have to face up to what he’s doing? Well, he’s at home washing his pink bloomers.

    I feel sorry for the men and women who work for him. This is pathetic. good move for him, though, as it’s clear he can’t win on a discussion of what the hell he’s trying to do.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  56. sheriff Dupnik should charge Palin.

    JD (395555)

  57. JD, who is being the insensitive prick?

    Chris Hooten (2b9678)

  58. __________________________________________

    Sheriff Dupnik

    Everytime I see his name, for some reason I think it’s “Sheriff Nudnik.” Or “Sheriff Dipshit.”

    As more information comes out, it’s obvious that Jared Loughner was more ridiculously deranged and dangerous than even assumed previously. And that Sheriff Nudnik (or Dipshit), if only because he appears to be a “progressive” cop, probably is the type who would have been more worried about Loughner’s self-esteem, civil rights and, say, access to good healthcare and well-funded public education than whether he was dangerous or not to the public at large.

    Mark (411533)

  59. You and your ilk are, crissyhooten.

    JD (395555)

  60. Unanswered questions seem to be my wont. At least I try.

    Ag80 (e03e7a)

  61. The feds should charge DailyKook Marcos for putting a “target” on Gabby Gifford on his website.

    See how that works, Hooten?

    retire05 (e0b7e7)

  62. 9. I don’t remember him mentioning any party, or persons, or sources of said “vitriolic rhetoric”. I think we know where most of it comes from, though, so he didn’t need to… Stopping it is more important than laying blame or scoring points.
    Comment by Chris Hooten — 1/10/2011 @ 6:11 pm

    — He has to RUN for sheriff, hootie. He is a registered Dem that runs as a Dem.

    On a personal note, when I lived in Tucson I conducted business with the sheriff (I’m a restaurant manager). One good thing I will say for him: he never bounced a check.

    Question: How do you suggest we (they?) ‘stop’ the vitriolic rhetoric?
    Fairness doctrine? Censorship czar?

    Icy Texan (d3f791)

  63. All this smoke after someone saying rhetoric in this country is over-the-top….almost made me forget that Tom DeLay once again demonstrates te corrupt nature of Republican rule c. 1995-2006.

    Geez, almost like you guys want to attack a sheriff since he ain’t some wingnut, instead of of noting that the Hammer will be in the Joint for a year or two. I guess it depends on what one thinks “news’ is. High-ranking former Congressman going to jail versus beating up on a guy who had a problem with Glenn Beck warning people to stock up on dried food and guns

    A gong and cymbal symbolizing nothing = right wing obsessions. Still, at least Patterico learned something from Andy Breitbart: it ain’t about the facts; it’s about the attack

    timb (8f04c0)

  64. He’s not a lawman. He appeared with Megyn Kelly this morning and within 2 minutes he was complaining about political ads from outside the country where you don’t know the source who paid for the ad, and the accusations are false, blah, blah, blah.

    Straight DNC talking points on Citizens United.

    That interview puts him squarely in the political arena, and he lost any “cover” he had as a law enforcement figure out simply to do justice.

    He’s fair game, and I intend to weigh in heavily as I accumulate information about him.

    shipwreckedcrew (436eab)

  65. Sheriff Klieg Lights did his part to make our society more civil by appearing on Olberdouche’s show tonight.

    Steely Dan (25b260)

  66. Anger. Hate. Angry hate. BUNNIES. typical.

    JD (395555)

  67. Timb:

    Squirrel!

    Ag80 (e03e7a)

  68. JD, who is being the insensitive prick?

    Mr. Hooten, I thought you had said good night on this thread.

    You’re like my children. You say good night but then you keep coming back out.

    The difference being that my children have not given money to the partners of convicted terrorists.

    Patterico (c218bd)

  69. Whoops! Darn, that didn’t last long.

    Chris Hooten (2b9678)

  70. “I guess it depends on what one thinks “news’ is.”

    timb – How long has DeLay been out of office? Your comment just reinforces the left’s penchant for dancing on corpses. Thanks.

    daleyrocks (e7bc4f)

  71. He has a Twitter account at @thechollajumps, where an intriguing message caught my eye: “Gunman Loughner threatened bloggers in past.”

    I believe that had already been noted in your quote from the blog – “local” bloggers were specifically mentioned:
    “Jared Loughner has been making death threats by phone to many people in Pima County including staff of Pima Community College, radio personalities and local bloggers.”

    geetarman (25784a)

  72. Hmm. This jerk reminds me of good old Mike Nifong, who similarly doubled down on his claims about the defendants in the Duke University Lacrosse “rape” case. Nifong wanted a splashy prosecution to help his re-election campaign. But Dupnik may be in a far worse position — he not only needs to back up his claims about right-wing “vitriol,” he might also need to cover his ass for not responding to two years of complaints about Loughner.

    Loughner is in Sheriff Dupnik’s custody, right? Are we absolutely sure that Dupnik isn’t above coaching Loughner on what he needs to say to get better treatment in jail, or even to get support from the Sheriff’s office for lenient sentencing?

    Murgatroyd (fd5fcd)

  73. Loughner is no longer in Sheriff Dupnik’s custody. He’s the property of the feds now.

    Icy Texan (d3f791)

  74. Good!

    Murgatroyd (fd5fcd)

  75. Because, you know, there are questions that need to be answered.

    That’s not even rhetorical; those are serious questions.

    Christoph (8ec277)

  76. “The difference being that my children have not given money to the partners of convicted terrorists.”

    Did Hooten know he was partner’s with a convicted terrorist at the time? I mean, that seems relevant.

    Christoph (8ec277)

  77. “It is about time to tone down the effing rhetoric. We don’t need to lay blame to do that. Sheesh.

    Comment by Chris Hooten — 1/10/2011 @ 6:05 pm”

    You are a dumb jackass.

    Christoph (8ec277)

  78. The bad thing for Deppity Depshit is that there’s gonna be a paper trail on his Department’s contacts with this Loughner whacko. I think that the Sheriff knows this, and is scared-to-death of us connecting the dots that he is indirectly responsible for this shooting. Hence his effort to deflect and redirect the causality for this event. Typical of the very worst in public-service.

    deMontjoie (1f5c49)

  79. They thought the “vast right wing conspiracy” was bad. Just wait till they meet the army of Davids head-on [in the sense of doing due dilligence at rooting out the evidence, not in any violent sense whatsoever… sheesh].

    Teki Setsu (dc7699)

  80. Another question: if local law enforcement knew he is mentally unstable, how he was allowed to buy firearms legally?

    grrr (df5774)

  81. What I find most odd is the statement in the Cholla Jumps quotation as follows:

    “It was also suggested that further pressing of charges would be unnecessary and probably cause more problems than it solved as Jared Loughner has a family member that works for Pima County.”

    The implication of this statement is that the Sheriff’s department treats relatives of Pima County employees differently from the way it treats ordinary citizens. In particular, they are not charged with crimes they have apparently committed, simply because they are related to Pima County employees. (A similar consideration elsewhere apparently applied in the case of the mass murderess Bishop when she killed her brother.)

    In the best of worlds all citizens are treated the same way and in this case it seems that six lives might have been saved if that had happened after the threats.

    In olden times the aristocracy, namely high government officials and their relatives received preferential treatment, as this murderer did. Is this the way Pima County operates?

    It reminds me of the Tom Lehrer line: ” and nothing could be done because he was the mayor’s son”

    Daniiel (47e3ea)

  82. What are Loughner’s favorite talk radio shows? Has the Sheriff released that information?
    Comment by daleyrocks

    Daley- I know for a fact that Loughner has a radio that he can get Rush, Beck, and Hannity. He probably also has a computer and internet connection that can view this site.

    I also know for a fact that the sheriff works in an area where there is drug smuggling, and drug smugglers prefer to work with corrupt law enforcement officers.

    I also know that it sometimes rains in Arizona, and there are rattlesnakes.

    But don’t blame me if you are hiking in Arizona, get caught in the rain, look for shelter under a rocky overhang and get bit by a rattlesnake. Because that rattlesnake was put there to protect the hideout of the drug smugglers. The sheriff also lives in an area that has rain and rattlesnakes.

    I think there is more logic in that comment than in all the nonsense about Loughner’s actions being linked to anything from Sarah Palin or “R wing rhetoric”.

    Maybe schizophrenia is contagious, because there are many people out there exhibiting the classic symptom of “loose associations”, trying to link things together that have nothing to do with one another.

    I want to see the “Journolist” talking points about this.

    The mental gyrations these folks are making would be funny, if they weren’t lying and purposefully trying to deceive the public, which is disgusting and without excuse.

    Maybe SNL will find a way to laugh at the commentators without being insensitive to the victims.

    Since I’m a conservative and everything I say motivates others to do things, I want to see a way to hold responsible those who commit journalistic malpractice. Maybe somebody rich could donate money to award a prize every year to the top 10 worst offenders. We can get Bro. Bradley to help pick a judging committee. There, I expect it to be done by next week, and I’ll blame Katie Couric if it doesn’t happen, because she purposefully ignored this story so people wouldn’t be able to hear about it.

    Of course, now that I think about it, all those who are T*a*r*g*e*t*e*d by this diatribe wouldn’t see the point.

    By the way, should we start a letter writing campaiogn to get that store to change it’s name and symbol? At least in Arizona?

    I will now try to do other things than try to express my outrage at the way this has been handled in the media.

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  83. Perhaps this was one of those instances in which the police really did act stupidly…

    Uh, Clem (10cd76)

  84. It is increasingly apparent that Sheriff Dupnik is not fit to shine the shoes of Paul Blahrt, Mall Cop.

    Gregory of Yardale (07425b)

  85. Sheriff Dupnik is the laughing stock of Pima County. He is long overdue for mandatory retirement. He has forgotten how to run an investigation without inserting his personal comments.

    Tyco (541f5c)

  86. I’m curious – if the sheriff is fond of making wild accusations without a shred of evidence (his recent strut isn’t the first time), is he really the sort of person who should be IN CHARGE OF POLICE?

    Meanwhile, if I had been convicted of a crime where Dumhik had a hand in putting the case together, I’d be pushing for a retrial now.

    Calvin Dodge (c24b9e)

  87. Mark – I can’t decide if my favorite nickname is Dumhik or Demhak.

    Calvin Dodge (c24b9e)

  88. Botanical note: if you ever visit AZ, beware the jumping cholla. It is a segmented cactus with long spines; the tip of each spine has tiny barbs. If you touch the tip of a spine, the barbs hook into you. When you try to pull away, the whole segment busts loose and then you wind up with a dozen spines stuck in your skin. Yes, it happened to me, dumb amateur naturalist that I am.

    Cholla: look, but don’t touch!

    gp (72be5d)

  89. Thank you Patterico for doing the job the Media Wing of the Democrat Party will not do. I look forward to your findings. Sheriff Dupnik has already stated on FOX News with Megyn Kelly that he had absolutely NO PROOF other then his opinion that this shooter, this nut, this killer was anything more then a menace to society that he and his department was aware of for years and did NOTHING about. If he likes rhetoric, here is some for him, Sheriff Dupnik and his police department are guilty of allowing this punk to kill the citizens of his jurisdiction. They did not do their job and people are now dead because of that fact. I am curious if they ignored him because his mother sat on the Pima County Board.

    JadedByPolitics (d652e9)

  90. ==curious if they ignored him because his mother sat on the Pima County Board==

    Nah, Jaded. Not likely. That funny stuff only happens in Chicago.

    I will say that even at this late date there has seemingly been a dearth of curiosity about, and reportage on, Jared’s parents, family situation and upbringing. I guess I do find that to be kind of curious. But then, in fairness the media has other memes to exploit with respect to the Gifford tragedy, other hills to take, and there are after all only 24 hours in a day.

    elissa (1c8564)

  91. “88.Thank you Patterico for doing the job the Media Wing of the Democrat Party will not do.”

    Second.

    The Sheriff is transparent but catching this SPOS takes a Left-coaster with balls sans regard for personal impunity.

    gary gulrud (790d43)

  92. Here is a question that is driving me crazy.
    Why is no one in big meia digging into the fact Jared Loughner had several run ins with the Sherriffs office? He had made threats against multiple people multiple times and nothing was done why is that? It is obvious to me Dupnik is in full CYA mode I read somewhere that Loughners mother was a city employee (but this is not confirmed) was there influance from her to keep her son out of jail or the mental facility? That is what needs to be investigated this guy could have been stopped on multiple occasions if the police had bothered to do thier job and I am beginning to suspect the Sherriff was up to his neck in it. He knows a fire storm will start if this gets to the MSM and thy persue it, just based on what you posted above there is no doubt in my mind the Sherriffs office dropped the ball on this one big time. This smells just like what happend with Katrina instead of putting the blame were it belonged on the state and city government the MSM went into full Bush derangement mode and laid all the blame were it did not belong as a result New Orleans is as vulnirible today as it was then.

    Oldcrow (2b09b0)

  93. Does Dubnik know Amy Loughner? how well? If so, why did he not mention this in his first news conference and distance himself from the investigation?

    kate (25a7f5)

  94. Dubnik has been Sheriff of Pima County for 28 years. They have dealt with numerous episodes involving Jared Loughner. I cannot envision a circumstance where it is shown that Dubnik didn’t know the parents of the suspect.

    And I’m willing to bet that he will not be involved in the investigation of this matter further. It now belongs to the FBI and the Department of Justice prosecutors in Phoenix or Washington DC.

    shipwreckedcrew (58dde3)

  95. How about when obama said “If they bring a knife to the fight, we will bring a gun”. This guy is an obtuse, pompous fool.

    James 4:14 (761e9e)

  96. If the event had been a second amendment,restore the constitution,etc. rally, would the sheriff’s office have not been there????? Doubtful.

    hellferbreakfast (bce335)

  97. Time Magazine addresses how to evaluate people like Jared Loughner. The article says he showed 6 separate symptoms of mental illness, and talks about what Loughner’s schools, teachers, and classmates should have done.

    Even if this is all true, where is the discussion of what the police should have done in their frequent contacts with Jared, not to mention the duty his parents had to deal with their troubled son? Why are they getting a pass?

    DRJ (d43dcd)

  98. what the police should have done in their frequent contacts with Jared,

    They should have promised his threat victims that he was already under control of the system, told them to not press charged, and neglected to do a 2 minute investigation of his myspace and youtube, where they would see his obvious reference to his gun and what he was going to do with it. And, of course, run to the cameras to blame people who had nothing to do with the unfortunate outcome.

    Oh wait… that’s what they did, rather than what they should have done. My mistake.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  99. OMFG!

    The “official” responses from the MSM to this deranged Jared Loughner’s shooting, wounding Representative Gabrielle Giffords and 13 others, killing six, is reminiscent of the Reichstag fire in 1932(?) that propelled A. Hitler into his position as Absolute Leader of the Reich.

    “Never let a crisis go to waste”, speaketh Rahm Emanuel, former chief of staff to Hussein Obama. The leftists and anarchists, with Democrats as their minions, and with their toadies, the MSM, are milking this tragedy in order to make the Centrists and Conservatives in Congress – and the population at large – look like perpetrators of consummate evils.

    It has come to this: Hussein Obama and his puppet masters (Georgie Soros, the Hungarian Vampire, anyone?) want this episode to lead to rioting in the streets by the leftists that Hussein Obama is beholden to.

    Hussein Obama is using the “fortunate” wounding of Representative Gabrielle Giffords by the deranged Jared Loughner as the Entry Point for further disruption of the historic United States of America.

    Quaoar (226e61)

  100. CBS Poll…60% say political rhetoric NOT to blame for shooting.

    “We must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.”
    -Ronald Reagan

    TGiF (8bb0ee)

  101. DRJ-

    As I mentioned elsewhere, with our laws the way they are, it might (might I say) turn out there wasn’t more they could have done,
    BUT
    that in no way excuses the vile blameshifting of the sheriff, but makes it worse, as he knows why the killings took place, and if he doesn’t know, he should be immediately removed from office for being incompetent.

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  102. I say crank up the rhetoric. Weed out the clowns. If mere words and little circles that look like targets can set these nuts off, well they need to be removed from society eventually.

    Should the American public walk on egg shells as not to offend a fragile ego??? Where is the call that: the fragile ego will have won, then?

    cruiszn (3b7134)

  103. Would someone please explain to me how one would denote districts on a map in order to call for them to receive extra attention/effort?

    The crosshairs are a device with a long history of use — and only a disingenuous shyster would ever attempt to claim it was anything resembling a call for violence. I suppose arrows would do, but aren’t they likewise a projectile?

    The daily cooze, er… Kos… issued a similar map, which had literal target circles instead of crosshairs — but naturally that’s different because he’s a fellow-traveller.

    Likewise, his site’s headline “…she’s DEAD to me!” (emphasis in original) — posted ~36 hours before the shooting, no less! — was perfectly acceptable.

    Which is – no doubt – why he thought felt it prudent to scrub the post not only from his site but from the Google cache as well… Not that he was trying to HIDE anything, mind… (rolleyes…)

    Personally, I am of the opinion that we need MORE heated rhetoric – not less. We’ve been silent for far too long, and it’s that silence and longsuffering forbearance of The Enemy’s evil which has brought us to the brink of utter tyranny.

    We are engaged in a civil war. At this point it’s a “cold war” – but make no mistake: this is about our entire way of life and system of Government. The Enemy — collectivists all — wishes to destroy what remains of our Republic, and our national sovereignty, in favor of their global-governance utopia.

    They’ve captured our entire education system and our entire media apparatus. They also own most of the bureaucracy of government – the unelected portion. We OTOH have most of the “Talk” stations on the AM dial, and the one truly neutral cable network — which is proof of the extreme leftard bias of the rest in that neutral seems right-wing by comparison.

    What we also have are principles – those of Freedom, personal Liberty, and Constitutional, limited Government. Many of us believe these principles — and the Liberty they promise — to be valuable and important enough to be worth dying for if necessary in order to pass them to our children. It should be obvious that anything worth dying for is also worth killing for — if necessary.

    Ergo, it is a demonstrable fact that “2nd Amendment remedies” are a perfectly valid option of last resort. They’re our “if all else fails,” G*d-forbid, backup plan.

    It’s time we stopped pretending otherwise, and instead proudly proclaimed the truth!

    YES! Before we will allow the destruction of the Liberty passed to our care by our forefathers — before we will submit to tyranny, and the ultimate enslavement of our children, we will avail ourselves of the very same rights and duties claimed by our Founders — the right to abolish an out-of-control Government by any means necessary, and erect in its place one more suited to the preservation of our founding principles.

    Da*n straight.

    Utimately, this is why we will win. Our enemy are cowards – perfectly willing to have others do the fighting but not willing to take any real risks themselves.

    We’ve let them shout us down for too long. I – for one – will no longer be silenced.

    Give me Liberty, or give me DEATH!

    DD

    Dedicated_Dad (73dbf6)

  104. PS: It should be obvious to any thinking, rational adult that nobody wants violence. The phrase “last resort” means just that — the stated option is no option at all until all possible alternatives (short of submission to tyranny) have been exhausted.

    We ain’t there yet – in fact I’m not even sure we can see it from here.

    /obvious

    DD

    Dedicated_Dad (73dbf6)

  105. Well well well….I see that other shoe is starting to drop for the good sheriff. It seems the Pima County Sheriff’s office was familiar with Jared Loughner before the shooting, being called to his family’s home on multiple occasions.

    Hear the bell, Dupnik, it tolls for thee.

    NYT story

    radar (ebf05b)

  106. Why do you think he is suddenly NOT talking?

    The Pima County Sheriff’s Office today released a statement that they had NO knowledge of reports or complaints about Loughner.

    So either the Sheriff lied, or the Dept is lying. Either one screws them, and means Sheriff Dips**t will be looking for a new job come next election.

    Scott Jacobs (d027b8)


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