Your home is not your castle in Harris County

[seamusTX]

Not if you look "furrin," that is.

A Sikh family in Harris County (Houston) came home to find that their house had been broken into. They called 911 to report the break-in. When a deputy arrived, he questioned the family about the recent Mumbai terrorist atrocity and made references to "Muslims."

When he noticed a woman's sheathed ceremonial knife, which the Sikh religion requires all adults to carry, he treated her as a threat and drew his Tazer. When backup arrived, they handcuffed family members and put some of them on the floor.

A supervisor finally ordered the deputies to release the family and leave their home.

No leads are available on the burglary.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/met ... 50136.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Federal civil rights lawsuit at 10.

- Jim

[nitrogen]

You must have forgotten! Turban == TERRORIST!

I lost count how many times I had to explain that Sikh != muslim. Even in Northern California (where I lived when the 9/11 attacks happened) where they are very prevalant, you'd think people would know.

It's so easy to ridicule and hate what you don't understand, be it Christians, Sikhs, Jews, Atheists, or whatever.

Laugh if you want, but Police Officer is a job I really think diversity training should be important for.

[seamusTX]

Most forces take diversity training seriously. These guys must have slept through the course.

The character Punjab in the comic strip Little Orphan Annie was a Sikh, from the Indian province of Punjab (duh). He could cut the legs off a fly with a sword. That is the heritage of that people.

- Jim

[nitrogen]

Most forces take diversity training seriously. These guys must have slept through the course.

The character Punjab in the comic strip Little Orphan Annie was a Sikh, from the Indian province of Punjab (duh). He could cut the legs off a fly with a sword. That is the heritage of that people.

- Jim

When I lived in AZ and now in Texas, I'd agree with this statement far more than when I lived in California. Strange, that.

And yeah, Punjab was awesome.

[seamusTX]

Which statement? Diversity training? California has more immigrant groups than any other state, except possibly New York.

If the police forces there are not fulfilling their mission, well, I don't live there or go there.

- Jim

[nitrogen]

Which statement? Diversity training? California has more immigrant groups than any other state, except possibly New York.

If the police forces there are not fulfilling their mission, well, I don't live there or go there.

- Jim

Yeah, Diversity training. You'd think that because they DO have lots of immigrant groups, they'd take it seriously. Not really so.

The LEO's in Texas and Arizona that I 've delt with in both states were FAR more professional than the ones in California.

[iratollah]

Harris County area LEOs receive diversity training at Holocaust Museum Houston and I've heard that it's an extremely popular course that gets very positive feedback from the officers who take the class.

[srothstein]

We used the representatives from the Holocaust Museum last year for an addition to our diversity training. They are great and the course was well received. We had to use it as an addition because it did not meet the TCLEOSE requirements for the diversity course. You can add to it as much as you like, but you must meet their minimums.

Most LEOs in Texas take the diversity problem seriously but they have not taken the training seriously recently. One of the problems is that TCLEOSE did not change the required course for an extended period of time and you had to take it every two years. The first time was good, but by the third time, it was less appreciated. That is why we added to it.

TCLEOSE just redid the course finally, and this time designed it with much mroe than is required by law. It now has a 4 hour basic class plus about 5 different 4 hour add on modules. You only get 8 hours each time (which is now every four years too), so I can teach different areas each time and keep the interest up.

And given all of the above, I still cannot explain the deputies actions in this specific case. Of course, I will give my standard caveat that we only have one side of the story, but if it is correct then the deputies behavior is inexcusable. Even if they were Muslims, they can still carry weapons in their own home just as anyone else can. They can still be victims of a crime and should be treated professionally.

I have had the somewhat humorous duty in the past of taking burglary reports from known burglars. No matter who the victim is, they are the victim of the crime and it should be handled the same no matter what the victim did elsewhere or when. If the deputies had been correct about the people being Muslims and possible terrorists or supporters, they just blew a great chance at getting intel on the terrorists. If the deputies had done their job right, and been right in their beliefs, the deputies could possibly have prevented the next 9-11 attack. This makes their behavior even less excusable than for other similar cases.

[CompVest]

The LEO's in Texas and Arizona that I 've delt with in both states were FAR more professional than the ones in California.

I was a California Highway Patrol Officer and I am rather insulted by this statement. There are good and bad cops everywhere. I think it is better to not to make sweeping statements. My experience is that CA officers are just as good/bad as any others.

[seamusTX]

I did not make that statement. I have been to California for about five days in my life, and I had no interaction with the police.

- Jim

[Keith B]

I did not make that statement. I have been to California for about five days in my life, and I had no interaction with the police.

- Jim

I think it was just a editing issue. The original quote was Nitrogen's.

[BobCat]

This may be off-topic but the part about the dagger reminds me of a science-fiction story from the 1950s.

Briefly, on a distant planet in the far future, a Sikh police officer confronted a group of outraged citizens (an armed mob at that point) outside the jail where a very bad guy was being held.

They stopped and talked, and the leader said he wanted to come into the police station, with a couple of his friends, to discuss the situation with the top officers - just wanted to make sure the bad-guy did not slip away, make sure the cops held on to him for trial.

So the Sikh officer says, ok you can come in, but no weapons. The other guy looks at the Sikh's dagger on his belt, and the Sikh officer gets the point and says, "Sidearms do not count as weapons" - so the citizens were limited to holstered pistols for their visit (no rifles or energy weapons).

The line "Sidearms do not count as weapons" struck, me and has stuck in my mind all these years. Sidearms are normal accouterments that nobody ought to feel threatened by.

As for the original story - I do hope the family sues and wins, but that will not give them their peace of mind back.

Regards,
Andrew

[nitrogen]

The quote was mine, and I stand by it, but it was meant more toward the local LEO's than the CHP.

I've lived in California for more of my life than anywhere else; and the amount of LEO thuggery and ignorance experienced and saw first hand from the locals was unbelievable.

Your department, the CHP, had to be sued to stop racial profiling in 1999 for instance. I give them props because instead of digging their heels in, they did work to find acceptable solutions to the rest of their community. IF only everyone else followed their example, law enforcement in the state would be much less of a joke than it was when I lived there.

That right there gave the CHP more respect in my eyes than any of the local LEO's in the state

[CompVest]

The LEO's in Texas and Arizona that I 've delt with in both states were FAR more professional than the ones in California.

I was a California Highway Patrol Officer and I am rather insulted by this statement. There are good and bad cops everywhere. I think it is better to not to make sweeping statements. My experience is that CA officers are just as good/bad as any others.

Corrected