Richmond cops allegedly hired, armed teen Explorers

[alp227]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

The FBI and the Richmond Police Department are investigating allegations that two officers recruited teens from the department's Explorer program into their private security firm, illegally armed them with guns and sent them to patrol the city's most dangerous housing complexes, The Chronicle has learned.

After two of the Explorers complained about their jobs, they had a falling-out with their mentors. The officers then hired a private investigator who used attractive decoys to try to coax one of the young men into a drunken-driving arrest, according to the women who took part in the setup.

The young man, Sergio Rios, now 21, and his best friend, 22-year-old Orlando Torres, are at the center of the investigation. The officers, Danny Harris and Ray Thomas, are on paid leave and have accused their department of targeting them because they are African American.

For years, the officers headed a program created to give aspiring cops a first look at the job. But Rios and Torres told The Chronicle that Harris illegally bought them pistols for guard duty when they were 19 and 20 years old, respectively.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/04/05/MNNA1IO6BD.DTL&ao=all

[Ian David]

1. This sounds like something out of Reno 911. n/t

[provis99]

2. they rip off a couple of Hispanic teenagers and then play the race card.

Despicable.

[stockholmer]

3. Explorer Scouts Trained by government to take on vets, terrorists, more (NYT)

Scouts Train to Fight Terrorists, and More

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/us/14explorers.html?_r=2&hp

"IMPERIAL, Calif. — Ten minutes into arrant mayhem in this town near the Mexican border, and the gunman, a disgruntled Iraq war veteran, has already taken out two people, one slumped in his desk, the other covered in blood on the floor.

"The responding officers — eight teenage boys and girls, the youngest 14 — face tripwire, a thin cloud of poisonous gas and loud shots — BAM! BAM! — fired from behind a flimsy wall. They move quickly, pellet guns drawn and masks affixed.

“United States Border Patrol! Put your hands up!” screams one in a voice cracking with adolescent determination as the suspect is subdued. It is all quite a step up from the square knot.

The Explorers program, a coeducational affiliate of the Boy Scouts of America that began 60 years ago, is training thousands of young people in skills used to confront terrorism, illegal immigration and escalating border violence — an intense ratcheting up of one of the group’s longtime missions to prepare youths for more traditional jobs as police officers and firefighters.

“This is about being a true-blooded American guy and girl,” said A. J. Lowenthal, a sheriff’s deputy here in Imperial County, whose life clock, he says, is set around the Explorers events he helps run. “It fits right in with the honor and bravery of the Boy Scouts............”

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edited to change lede

[Occulus]

4. Based solely on the photo, I think this needs to be completely defunded and dismantled RIGHT NOW

That is one damn chilling picture right there.

[BulletproofLandshark]

5. All that's missing is the brown shirts. n/t

[formercia]

6. Children soldiers in America.

Africa has nothing on us.