By Robert A. Vella
The news coming out of Ferguson, Missouri keeps getting weirder and more troubling.
After a St. Ann police officer was suspended earlier this week for pointing an assault weapon at protesters in Ferguson and threatening to kill them, two more St. Louis area police officers have been suspended for similarly bizarre behavior.
From Yahoo News – Suspended St. Louis Police Officer: “I’m Into Diversity, I Kill Everybody”
A St. Louis County police officer, who was seen pushing a CNN anchor during protests in Ferguson, Mo., this week, was suspended from duty after a controversial video surfaced, in which he fashions himself as a merciless killer.
“I personally believe in Jesus Christ as my lord and savior, but I’m also a killer,” said officer Dan Page, a 35-year veteran, in the video. “I’ve killed a lot. And if I need to, I’ll kill a whole bunch more. If you don’t want to get killed, don’t show up in front of me. I have no problems with it. God did not raise me to be a coward.” Page added, “I’m into diversity — I kill everybody. I don’t care.”
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The comments, which were made before members of the Christian organization, the Oath Keepers, also included his story of going to Kenya in search of “undocumented president,” Barack Obama. “I flew to Africa, right there, and I went to our undocumented president’s home,” Page said, holding a picture of him in Kenya. “He was born in Kenya.”
From Wikipedia – Oath Keepers:
Oath Keepers is an American nonprofit organization[1] that advocates that its members (current and former U.S. military and law enforcement) disobey any orders that they are given if they believe they violate the Constitution of the United States.[2]
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The Oath Keepers were founded on March 2009 by Stewart Rhodes and incorporated in Las Vegas, Nevada as a non-profit corporation.[3][4] Rhodes is a Yale Law School graduate, a former US Army paratrooper, and a former staffer of Congressman Ron Paul.[5] The Oath Keepers as a group have grown to include chapters in many states across America.[6]
From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch – St. Louis County officer suspended over video, Glendale officer suspended for Facebook comments:
Glendale officer Matthew Pappert was also suspended after posting on social media that he thought the Ferguson protesters should be “put down like rabid dogs.”
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Pappert was suspended after posting on Facebook that the Ferguson protesters were “a burden on society and a blight on the community,” according to posts preserved by news and opinion website “The Daily Caller.” Another post that appears to come from Pappert says the “protestors should have been put down like rabid dogs the first night.”
From USA Today – KKK raising money for Ferguson police officer:
A Missouri chapter of the Ku Klux Klan is planning a fundraiser this weekend for the Ferguson police officer [Darren Wilson] who shot and killed Michael Brown, an unarmed black teen.
“All money will go to the cop who did his job against the Negro criminal,” according to New Empire Knights of the KKK.
From the Inquisitr – Public Calls For Shutdown Of Officer Darren Wilson GoFundMe Flooded With Racist Comments:
There is a growing cry for the shutdown of an Officer Darren Wilson GoFundMe account that has raised over $217,000 for the officer. The fund-raising site has denied requests to pull the page, but is deleting all inappropriate comments, though not before social media followers catch screenshots of them and broadcast to make sure the world knows the sentiments being expressed by some in support of the officer.
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The site’s TOS also says that accounts cannot encourage abusive or racist language, yet in the view of many, Wilson’s page is a magnet for just that.
I was going to add some (hopefully) enlightened commentary to conclude this post. But after proof-reading it, I said to myself in utter disgust: “What would be the point?”
The Secular Jurist 
Really quite appalling what’s coming out of Ferguson. This quote is particularly chilling, to me, and is almost the sort of thing you can’t make up:
“I personally believe in Jesus Christ as my lord and savior, but I’m also a killer,” said officer Dan Page, a 35-year veteran, in the video. “I’ve killed a lot. And if I need to, I’ll kill a whole bunch more. If you don’t want to get killed, don’t show up in front of me. I have no problems with it. God did not raise me to be a coward.” Page added, “I’m into diversity — I kill everybody. I don’t care.”
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Indeed, that quote seems to reveal psychopathy.
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Perhaps so. What troubles me is the self-selection for individuals like this that positions of authority – such as police forces – inevitably bear witness to.
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Yes, the psychological traits of individuals who seek positions of authority remain an important phenomenon for study. Although, I am more interested in the institutional structures which are tasked with limiting abuses of power than I am in the personal motivations which cause it. As Lord Acton inferred (“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”), megalomania is part of the human condition. It is the responsibility of our social institutions to hold power accountable. Obviously, the St. Louis County Police Department was negligent in that duty – until the Ferguson story broke – with respect to officer Dan Page.
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I’m wondering if these incidents are an indication of a wider problem of particularly severe racism either in Missouri, or at least within the Ferguson police dept., as opposed to a few individuals who happen to be extremely racist.
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In other words, I’m wondering how many people think those same thoughts, and just haven’t been caught saying them?
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The problem appears widespread, from stop-and-frisk in NYC to stand-your-ground in Florida to St. Louis County in Missouri and on to law enforcement personnel in Los Angeles who have been convicted of numerous criminal charges. All cops are not racists, far from it, but sinkingark hit the nail on the head by questioning the motivations of people who seek positions of power. Furthermore, police agencies are tightly-knit units where loyalty to, and solidarity with fellow officers is paramount. If an officer gets into conflict with citizens, his blue-brothers are sure to back him up. Then, there’s the issue of blacks and other minorities being underrepresented in law enforcement.
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Good points.
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I thought the KKK was dead and buried! I guess I was wrong!
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Unfortunately, it still exists.
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That is so messed up on how the officers and the community are handling this problem. I think that there should be some kind of limit to this. How is the KKK even allowed to say some bullshit like that. They really make their own self look bad and with the police force. They are acting worse then a child would. I hate people that are still viewing people because of race. I hope he does get locked up because this is uncalled for.
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