FBI Agents Terminated

I’ve been a cop for almost 30 years and I’ve had tense situations to handle. Small groups (families are always fun) and larger ones (an illegal alien protest in 2019). Each has their issues, but never did I think I will surrender to the protestors. I was in a George Floyd protest in June 2020, and things got very tense. I remember thanking an ACLU lawyer for deescalating around 20 very agitated college students. 

Now I come to this incident. I remember seeing this photo and wondering “WTF?” You kneel like that you are putting yourself in a weak position. More than that, it encourages your opposition by them seeing you not lined up. In a Special Reaction Group, you have your officers in a line, side by side (see a Roman legion). This prevents penetration by an opponent and it is intimidating.

 

Policing must be assertive, and to say the least these agents were not. What I’m seeing is encouraging aggressiveness by the rioters. It looks like preemptive surrender on the field.

 

                             FBI agents kneel during a protest on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., on June 4, 2020, 

                                           over George Floyd's death. Some FBI agents who knelt to honor Floyd had reportedly been fired, 

                                           although it is not clear which ones.  

 

FBI agents fired after kneeling at George Floyd protest in 2020: reports

​The FBI has fired nearly two dozen agents who were photographed kneeling amid the George Floyd protests in 2020, according to reports. 

An estimated 20 agents have been dismissed, according to The Associated Press, which reported that many of those terminated had already been reassigned to lower-profile duties in the years since…

…The photographs at issue reportedly showed a group of agents taking a knee during one of the demonstrations in Washington, D.C., following the May 2020 killing of Floyd in Minneapolis. 

Kneeling was widely used by protesters and supporters after Floyd’s death to signal sympathy with the Black Lives Matter movement and a call for racial justice… 

…The FBI Agents Association condemned the firings as "unlawful," warning they violated civil service protections. 

"This is a dangerous precedent," the group said, arguing the bureau punished employees for a split-second de-escalation decision in a volatile moment.

“Split-second de-escalation decision in a volatile moment.” Excuse me? I see two possibilities, both of which are very bad. One, you could be basically surrendering the field to the rioters. Agents, do I need to remind you that your are there to keep order, not to encourage chaos?

 “Some FBI agents who knelt to honor Floyd?” Are you serious? You are honoring a thug felon like that? Kneeling to “deescalate” (only encouraging the rioters) is an abomination. More to the point you keep your politics out of your work. If you are really honoring a criminal like that you don’t deserve the badge. I said it. 

 

Perhaps (likely) we’re not getting the full story. One thing is sure, like him or not, Director Patel is more law and order minded than his predecessors (hello Mr. Comey). I don’t see him tolerating leftist political operatives in his force (Mr. Strzok). This is a step in the right direction.