Governor-elect Josh Shaprio has established seven transition advisory committees, including a Public Safety Committee headed by former Under Secretary of the Army Patrick J Murphy. Members of the committee also include Northampton County Sheriff Rich Johnston and Allentown Police Chief Charles Ronca.
16 comments:
Bernie, explain to me in what capacity does Sheriff Dick Johnson know anything about public safety when the guy doesn’t even leave his office?
His last name is spelled Johnston. Perhaps you're the dick.
"when the guy doesn’t even leave his office?"
And this sounds like someone who sits at his station all day watching.
I thought this sherriff does consider him and his deputies law enforcement??? Why would he be part of this ??? You,Bernie, and all those other people who made ,or tried to make fools of the deputies should tell him to refuse. He has nothing to do with law enforcement or public safety.
What you or the Deputies think is immaterial. What the Pa. General Assembly and Pa. Supreme Court think is what matters. You are only limited law enforcement. Your primary role is serving papers and providing security at the courthouse. Sheriff Johnston was named top the public safety committee and is well qualified. Many of the roles performed by deputies in and around the courthouse make this a safer community.
I respect most of the deputies and consider them very professional. I did not make fools of the deputies. I'm sorry, but the people at that meeting did that to themselves. They may want to make me out to be the bad guy, but should look in the mirror. More than once, I have stood up for deputies, but not when they are wrong.
A large portion of their complaint at that meeting was their desire to go out and knock heads during a protest outside the courthouse. Had you done so, and without any real legal authority, you would be exposing the county to all kinds of liability. There would need to be changes in the law before sending you out like that. In addition to being illegal, you are poorly trained to deal with disruptive people. You may have the same certifications, but you lack the training. Nit long ago, you lost a criminal case against a bench warrant defendant where the evidence is pretty clear that you both used excessive force and acted outside your authority. The county will soon be sued. I have no idea why anyone would want to be in that situation and am leery of those who do.
Your definitely off by what you say about the powers of the deputies. You are especially wrong about the 2 you are talking about in that trial. The jury may have found the man not guilty but that does not speak to the power of deputies arresting on a bench warrant. The sheriff, who reads this blog, should speak up about that event because everyone knows the truth and he was involved with it as well. There is video that has even made its way to Facebook showing the lawful arrest..
Out of one side of your mouth, you smear the Sheriff. Out of the other side, you expect him to back you up. What I do know is that a Northampton County jury acquitted a 55 yo defendant accused of resisting arrest after he turned himself in on an outstanding bench warrant. Oh I'm sure you have carefully edited video. What the jury saw was enough for them to reach the conclusion they did. Do you have the hospital report as well?
"A silent surveillance video shows two deputies each grab one of Giammarinaro’s arms, pull him out of a chair, pull his arms behind his back and take him to the ground.
"Giammarinaro showed up at the hospital on Oct. 30, 2021, where X-rays revealed a broken arm, according to a motion filed by his attorney."
https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/northampton-county/2022/11/man-acquitted-of-charge-he-resisted-arrest-by-northampton-county-sheriffs-deputies.html
And now the county will get sued.
Thanks.
This is why the Sheriff you berated did not want you spilling into the street to respond to protesters after the Presidential election. You are certified, but lack the experience most police officers have in dealing with these situations. Maybe you should listen to him instead of braying before County Council in what really was a thinly disguised effort to get a better contract.
You were flat our wrong when you used excessive force and broke someone's arm. You were flat out wrong when you wanted to pour gasoline on people who were exercising their first amendment rights. Instead of listening to goofs like Steve Lynch, maybe you should listen to your boss.
So much anger. The fact is none of us were there. Trying to defend the deputies or the sheriff or the 55 year old is ridiculous. Maybe deputies should stop posting on this blog and either read it or stay off it. We are at the point of accusing 2 people of excessive force. The courts can sort that out with the law suits. Clearly Bernie knows who's commenting so the deputies doing so should stop before they get in any more trouble.
No fun in that!
I'd say that if these deputies broke someone's arm, they used excessive force.
What will happen is the county will be sued in federal court and will end up paying. It will be settled. You and I both know that.
And when I point out their use of excessive force, the first thing they do is run behind the man they were just smearing.
Excessive force should lead to suspension if not termination. That's a serious offense. I hope that the sheriff/county does the right thing.
I believe the deputies receive yearly use of force and defensive tactic training.
Since I did not personally witness what happened I am not judging their actions in regards to excessive force.
If their techniques caused the injury, the agency which provided the training should be held liable, not the County.
The county should file a civil suit against this entity to protect itself if the deputies are found to be at fault for the injury
There are hundreds of “excessive force” complaints across all law enforcement agencies in Northampton County, and all of them either get dismissed or settle out of court. You never hear about them, and that’s by design.
The Northampton County Sheriff Deputies get leading-edge training, some would argue that they get better use-of-force training than most local municipal police departments, so questioning their expertise in the matter is arbitrary. The deputies involved in the incident were highly trained and reacted to an unfortunate high-stress situation that escalated out of control fast, and the appropriate use-of-force was used in the incident. Whether a jury agreed or not is immaterial, because they reacted exactly how they were trained.
But keep stoking the fire in support of your perceived benefit Bernie, the sheriffs department still has your back either way.
Stay well.
A jury has spoken. This defendant was NOT resisting. It necessarily follows that the force used was excessive.
I agree the Sheriff's Department is very well trained and a highly professional force. But what they don't have and what municipal departments do have is plenty of experience answering calls. I'll disagree with your assertion that appropriate force was used in this instance. This is something that could have been resolved without breaking someone's arm. Excessive force was used and the county will be or already has been sued. Many civil rights complaints are dismissed or settled. This one will be settled. The county will have to pay. There will be a complaint filed in federal court and the county will be pressured to settle.
Do I think sheriffs should be authorized to conduct investigations and make arrests in all state matters? Yes. But the law limits what they can do. Unfortunately, most county sheriff offices are highly political and lack the training that NC has. As a result, the Pa State Police has lobbied hard against any expansion. I do think that sheriff's departments that are certified should have powers identical to a regular police officer.
That incident proves just how correct Rich Johnston was when he refused to give you the green light to inject yourself into a protest after the Presidential.
Are these deputies on leave while the excessive force claim is being investigated.
What message is being sent to the public when one freely turns himself in to render a wrong and then gets beat up in the County Courthouse that symbolizes justice
Are these deputies on leave while the excessive force claim is being investigated.
What message is being sent to the public when one freely turns himself in to render a wrong and then gets beat up in the County Courthouse that symbolizes justice
What you or the Deputies think is immaterial. What the Pa. General Assembly and Pa. Supreme Court think is what matters. You are only limited law enforcement. Your primary role is serving papers and providing security at the courthouse. Sheriff Johnston was named top the public safety committee and is well qualified. Many of the roles performed by deputies in and around the courthouse make this a safer community.
I respect most of the deputies and consider them very professional. I did not make fools of the deputies. I'm sorry, but the people at that meeting did that to themselves. They may want to make me out to be the bad guy, but should look in the mirror. More than once, I have stood up for deputies, but not when they are wrong.
A large portion of their complaint at that meeting was their desire to go out and knock heads during a protest outside the courthouse. Had you done so, and without any real legal authority, you would be exposing the county to all kinds of liability. There would need to be changes in the law before sending you out like that. In addition to being illegal, you are poorly trained to deal with disruptive people. You may have the same certifications, but you lack the training. Nit long ago, you lost a criminal case against a bench warrant defendant where the evidence is pretty clear that you both used excessive force and acted outside your authority. The county will soon be sued. I have no idea why anyone would want to be in that situation and am leery of those who do.
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