Written By Ed Nowicki
Many of you are familiar with Lt. Col. Dave Grossman’s brilliant metaphor, On Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs, published in The Police Marksman, November/December 2005 issue. In it he equates the role of law enforcement to be similar to that of a sheepdog, protecting the herd (society) from the wolves. I absolutely agree with Col. Grossman’s observations. There is another predator that I see lurking among the sheepdogs. While this predator may not be as physically dangerous as a wolf, he’s vile in other ways. He prefers the sheepdog as his prey in order to satisfy his voracious appetite for cash. These parasitic predators are the werewolves who hide in plain sight among the sheepdogs.
Many werewolves had the responsibility of being sheepdogs, but most performed that job rather poorly. Werewolves are only loyal to themselves. They believe that their “for sale” opinions are the only right ones, and they will attack those who speak differently. They see themselves at the top of their food chain, and will prey upon anything in order to gorge themselves with cash.
Exactly what do I mean by werewolf? Werewolves are the individuals who mainly serve as expert witnesses against law enforcement officers and their agencies. Most of the big money they make involves use-of-force issues. They normally offer their services to the highest bidder, but it’s usually working for plaintiffs’ attorneys. Werewolves self-righteously justify what they do as; “Bad officers and bad police behavior should be stopped and officers held accountable.” This is absolutely true – no argument here! However, these werewolves try to do a bait-and-switch on us. Werewolves testify that the officers and their behavior was bad, even if it is not the case. They sell out for cash!
I’ve seen officers’ careers, reputations, marriages and lives destroyed by sanctimonious, self-serving use-of-force “experts.” They blend into the law enforcement culture and frequently offer law enforcement training programs of their own. The more that you participate in their training programs, the more legitimacy you give them. When you attend their training programs, you enhance their credibility and provide them ammunition to use against your brother officers.
Werewolves wear the $$$$$ sign as their mark of the pentagram and for them, the moon is always full as long as they can prey upon legitimate law enforcement. We need to bring werewolves into the light and expose them for what they really are. We need to kill them with silver bullets of truth. If you or your agency are sued for excessive force, you should try and find out who the “expert” for the plaintiff is. He may be an experienced and dangerous werewolf. You guys are cops and you know how to investigate, so investigate the plaintiff’s expert witness. Chances are he has given previously conflicting testimony. Your interrogation training stressed how lies are difficult to remember. It’s no different for werewolves not remembering their lies, since their motivation is money, not truth.
If you find out some whopper lies told by any of these “experts,” you may even want to contact officers from these experts’ previous cases. You may find a silver-bladed prosecutor willing to criminally charge the expert or you may be able to get litigation initiated against the alleged expert. If you are successful, help spread the word through electronic law enforcement bulletin boards or various police associations. If we can’t behead the werewolf, we may still be able to castrate him.
There are probably some werewolves that will read this commentary. Remember, they often hide among sheepdogs and pose as sheepdogs. They will be offended by what needed to be said. Werewolves need to understand that I always have the Christmas spirit in my heart for all of them, which I will prominently display with the mistletoe that I will wear on the back of my pants - just for them. They can all honor the mistletoe! Take care and STAY SAFE.
NOTE: The comments and opinions expressed are strictly my own.
About the Author
Ed Nowicki is part-time police officer for the Twin Lakes (WI) Police Department, and the executive director of ILEETA (www.ileeta.org). He can be reached at ed@ileeta.org.