Your Aurora Police Department

Once again, the professionalism and integrity of the Aurora Police Department is on display for all to see:

Two Colorado police officers traveling to represent their department at another lawman's funeral are on desk duty after authorities say they took an alcohol-fueled ride through Wyoming with their emergency lights flashing and a beer cooler in the back seat.

Idiots.

These guys are also 30 year vets, which makes me wonder whether the Aurora Police Department attracts bad cops...or makes them.

You would think the sheer jackassery of this incident would point to a rookie still testing the boundaries of what he can get away with, not a pair of cops with decades of experience.

But then again, we're talking about the Aurora Police Department here and can't assume that "decades of experience" implies any kind of expertise. It could mean they're just really good at being bad cops...

The Great White Hope

I think it's funny that former Democrat Rick Perry is going to be running for president of a country that he has mused about seceding from.

Riding

The video revolution continues. Here's one of me on the bike with some cool angles courtesy of my special camera mount.

I Want Some More

Dan Auerbach has a solo album, which is almost like saying there's a Black Keys album I didn't know about.

Picked it up. Love it.

Bad Investments

The guys at work were talking about how much money they lost in the stock market over the last couple of years.

We're talking tens of thousands of dollars. One guy said he had about 40 grand in his 401K and it's down to 7 grand. Ay yai yai!

Being the smug asshole I am, I said, "Guess how much I've lost in the market?"

Zero.

It just seems to me that putting your money in a mattress is a safer bet. Sure, you'll lose out to inflation, but that's what, 3%? You stick 40 grand in your mattress and unless you have mice, it won't come out as $7,000..

Not the Stars....but Should have Been

When Antoine Fuqua's King Arthur first came out, I was all hot to see it because A) Clive Owen being a bad ass is fun to watch and B) I was all hot for Keira Knightley at the time.

Now, after having watched it a few times, I'm not impressed with Clive Owen's character, who is less a badass and more of a speechmaker and possibly the most boring King Arthur ever put to film, and I'm over my Keira Knightley fascination.

But I love Stellan Skarsgaard as the evil Saxon king, have a soft spot for the two Rays (Stevenson and Winstone, even though their talents are largely wasted), and Mads Mikkelson.

Indeed, those four guys are the only things about King Arthur that "work."

Another Police Shooting

This time not in my neighborhood, and for good reason, too. A guy breaks into a woman's house (he probably knew her) and beats her up, possibly raping her, then flees, leading police on a high speed chase down a tight residential street. (Yeah, sorry, dumb criminal, going fast in a car with a Lo Jack won't help you get away, but it might get you a nice PIT maneuver.)

For purposes of my "fuck the police" meme, though, I want to highlight this part of the story:

This was the first fatal officer-involved shooting for Denver police in a year. The last fatal shooting was Aug. 1, 2010.

Let that sink in for a second.

In Denver -a city larger than Aurora, more populous than Aurora, with more crime than Aurora- the police have managed to do their job without killing anyone in a full year.

Of course, there's a reason for this. A couple years ago, the Denver Police were as out of control as the Aurora Police. But the mayor (now the governor) took steps. He implemented a Police Reform Task Force and hired a police watchdog, an "Independent Monitor" they call him. Not only that, there has been several cases of Denver police being not only disciplined but also outright fired for misconduct.

In other words, Denver cops know that if they screw up, they'll be held accountable. They know that if they want to go Dirty Harry over a botched arrest (for $50!) then they won't get much support from the brass. They might find themselves stocking the shelves at Home Depot instead of being trusted with a gun and a police cruiser.

Accountability works.

Bad Cop of the Day

Patrolman Daniel Harless of Canton, Ohio is in trouble. Why, you ask?

For saying, amongst other things, stuff like this:

"I swear to god man this little bull crap you pulled has me so hot," the officer said. "You know what I should have done? I tell you what I should have done. As soon as I saw your gun I should [have] taken two steps back, pulled my Glock 40 and just put 10 bullets in your ass and let you drop. And i wouldn't have lost any sleep. Do you understand me?"

Officer Harless, quit Canton. Leave Ohio. Move to Aurora, apply for a job with the APD.

You'll fit right in....