Is anyone else beginning to feel like cops are really just a bunch of babies? It’s as if they spent generations in the top five of white suburban kids’ “What I want to be when I grow up” lists and, for 32 seasons, had the show Cops calling them “bad boys” and making policing look sexy. Then, the big, bad Black Lives Matter boogeyman came along and ruined everything. Now, they’re throwing temper tantrums and collectively threatening to take their ball and go home.
The latest instance of this comes out of Nevada, where a public library expressed its support for the BLM movement and a county sheriff got all in his wittle feewings about it and told the library (and I’m paraphrasing here), “You can’t call us to solve your cwimes anymore, so there!” *sticks out tongue*
The Washington Post reports that last week, the Douglas County Public Library released a statement announcing a virtual meeting held Tuesday by the Library Board of Trustees, which the public was invited to attend. The board said it would discuss things like pandemic preparedness, budgetary issues and the library’s plans for the future. Included at the end of their release was a “Possible Diversity Statement for discussion” in which they declared that “The Douglas County Public Library denounces all acts of racism, violence and disregard for human rights. We support #BlackLivesMatter.”
Well, the mere inclusion of “Black Lives Matter” was enough to bring out Douglas County Sheriff Daniel Coverley’s inner spoiled brat and he responded to the Library’s statement by saying the library wouldn’t get to call 911 anymore.
“Due to your support of Black Lives Matter and the obvious lack of support or trust with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, please do not feel the need to call 911 for help,” Coverley wrote in a letter to the library Monday. “I wish you good luck with disturbances and lewd behavior.”
First of all, nowhere in the library’s statement is the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office even mentioned, so it’s unclear why Sheriff Waah Waah, I Want My Binky felt so personally attacked, but he sure as hell responded with big hit-dog-hollering energy.
Coverley included in his letter statistics that show police shootings of unarmed Black people have declined and he cited that data as proof that systemic racism in policing is nonexistent. What Sheriff Waah Waah, I Wanna Watch Paw Patrol doesn’t understand is that police shootings of unarmed Black people are only one aspect of what the BLM movement fights against.
The killing of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman is what planted the seeds for the Black Lives Matter uprisings. His death didn’t involve the police at all—just as Ahmaud Arbery’s death didn’t involve the police but still has managed to inspire BLM protests. Eric Garner died while police were trying to arrest him for selling loosies. His death, along with the shooting death of Mike Brown, kicked off the BLM hashtag. Garner wasn’t shot by cops; he died after being put in a chokehold—just as George Floyd died of asphyxiation while in police custody and Floyd’s case is what sent the movement into overdrive.
Coverley’s letter did mention the “tragic and preventable death of George Floyd,” but no police brutality statistics outside of shooting incidents were included at all. There were also no statistics showing how many officers were prosecuted and convicted for shooting unarmed Black people. It’s almost as if Sheriff Waah Waah, I Need a Diaper Change but I Don’t Want One doesn’t actually understand what Black Lives Matter is about at all.
Anyway, a Douglas County spokesperson later told the Reno Gazette Journal that Coverly was basically just talking shit and that the sheriff’s deputies will still be responding to calls from the library.
Coverly attempted to explain his tantrum in a statement posted to the Douglas County Facebook page Tuesday.
“This has been a difficult time to be a law enforcement professional and can be disheartening when we perceive that our office may be under attack,” Coverley wrote. “My response was rooted in my belief that these issues need to be openly discussed in a way that values diversity and law enforcement.”
Again, nobody mentioned your office, bro. Stop crying.