| The Color Of Authority I was assaulted and battered on the property of a phoenix hospitallast week. There were many witnesses. There is surveillance footage of the assault and battery. There is no police report. Oh I demanded a report be made. The assailant is about 6 foot tall, medium to muscular build, wearing all dark clothing, dark boots. Real clean cut with a blond flat top haircut. No facial hair. Almost a hometown quarterback looking type of guy. Maybe mid twenties. This man identified himself as a OFF DUTY Phoenix police officer. He was in full Phoenix police department Uniform WITH duty belt equipped with all of the usual implements of force and restraint one would expect to see attached to a protector of the people. He further identified that he was currently employed by the hospital and was acting on behalf of the hospital, via the "house supervisor" demanding I leave the hospital property. Leading up to this assault and battery, I asked this man if he knew who Dr. M L***. He said no. I explained to him, I had Just had a conversation with Dr. L***, The Vice President of the Hospital, And produced the business card that Dr.L*** had presented to me, after listening to my story, telling me that If I needed any help from him to contact him(preferably by paging him). He replied don’t care, the house supervisor asked him to have me escorted from the property, this mans accomplice, a short dumpy man advised me, if I did not leave and attempted to contact Dr. L*** again that evening, I would be ARRESTED. WELLLLL, it hit me. Who or what is a "House Manager"? so I stopped an asked, What is a house manager? The man dressed in the Phoenix Police uniform pointed and only said, keep moving. I complied. Can I at least get this house managers name, I questioned? The man said, I don’t have the name. I asked the dumpy man, in a white supervisor’s shirt. Do you have the name of the supervisor? He replied, we are having shift change and I don’t know who is coming on. Well, we are now at the curb, I stop, turn with confusion in my face, and say WAIT, If no one knows the name from where this request has been made, and a shift change is in progress, how was this request made? The Assault and Battery The man in police uniform grabbed my left shoulder and a hand full of my shirt, spun me around and shoved me into the street, barking, keep moving or I will arrest you. If, ANY OTHER PERSON in Phoenix Initiated this same act, they could be prosecuted for assault and battery. This man was not on duty, although he is a sworn officer of the law, the minute he received one penny compensation from Private Corporation, clocked in as a representative or agent for that corporation, he stopped enjoying the protection from prosecution for his action as a police officer. He consciously gave that up to be a hired gun, instead of a peace officer. ITS TIME TO STOP Because of incidents like this, it is time to stop allowing sworn peace officers to present the visual illusion of the color of authority, while being paid by private corporations. This is a conflict of public trust and a clear abuse of intent of the authority entrusted to our policing agencies to operate under the easily identifiable color of authority. At that hospital, without verbal interaction, and lengthy explanation, one cannot distinguish between a on duty peace officer, and a privately paid, biased, individual,; who is being paid and only acting in the interest of the hospital, not you as a citizen. |
