Florida police sergeant fired for having Trayvon Martin shooting targets

[NeoConsSuck]

Source: CNN

A Florida police sergeant was fired for possessing several so-called Trayvon Martin shooting targets, authorities said Saturday.

Sgt. Ron King of Port Canaveral Police Department was fired Friday after an internal review investigated how he offered the hoodie paper shooting targets to two fellow officers, said John Walsh, interim CEO of the Canaveral Port Authority.

The officers, who saw King with the targets in his police vehicle, declined the offer, Walsh said.

"Port Canaveral Police Department considers that behavior unacceptable," Walsh said of King's conduct.



Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/13/us/florida-trayvon-martin-targets/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

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Florida. Whod'a thought?

[Lamonte]

1. Guns

He is probably not a liberal.

[pkdu]

2. Oh he wasn't just a Police Sergeant ...

From his Linkdin page...he was also "the lead firearms instructor"

Ron King
"Because Tactical Isn't Always Practical"
Cape Canaveral, Florida (Melbourne, Florida Area) Law Enforcement

Ron King's Overview

Current
Police Sergeant at Port Canaveral Police Department
Firearms Instructor & Personal Safety Consultant (Owner/Operator) at Practical Tactical Products & Training
Past
Manufacturer's Rep/Domestic Law Enforcement Sales at Point Blank Solutions, Inc.
Lieutenant at Melbourne Police Department
Connections
175 connections
Ron King's Experience

Police Sergeant
Port Canaveral Police Department
Government Agency; 201-500 employees; Maritime industry
January 2011 – Present (2 years 4 months)

Currently a night shift Watch Commander, responsible for supervision of sworn and non-sworn staff and approval of reports. I am also the lead firearms instructor and responsible for managing department training needs.
Firearms Instructor & Personal Safety Consultant (Owner/Operator)
Practical Tactical Products & Training
July 2007 – Present (5 years 10 months)

Practical Tactical Products & Training services include classes required for citizens to obtain their Concealed Weapons Permit, Advanced Concealed Carry Training, Weapon Platform Specific Training, C2 Taser sales and training and Tactical Training for the Law Enforcement Professional. We also research, consult and market products that we feel really work for the armed citizen and armed professional.

Just because it's made of of black cordura and velcro, then some marketing guy called it "tactical" doesn't make it practical for the armed citizen or professional.

Ron King is a career Police Officer with over 20 years in the patrol, undercover investigations and tactical training and SWAT arena.

Please visit me www.teampracticaltactical.com
Manufacturer's Rep/Domestic Law Enforcement Sales
Point Blank Solutions, Inc.
Public Company; 501-1000 employees; PBSO; Law Enforcement industry
December 2006 – May 2010 (3 years 6 months)

Lieutenant
Melbourne Police Department
January 1985 – November 2006 (21 years 11 months)

[Grins]

11. A Lieutenant and now a Sergeant...?

Different jurisdictions have different policies, ranks, etc., but

"Lieutenant, Melbourne Police Department, January 1985 – November 2006"
and
"Police Sergeant, Port Canaveral Police Department, January 2011 – Present"

Cause me to think, "Oh..?"

[Fastcars]

19. Probably maxed out his retirement at the first

I know a lot of firefighters and LEOs and they often change jobs once they have reached a point of greatest return on their retirement. Then they sign on somewhere else to work long enough to qualify for a second retirement check.

[olddots]

3. berlin 1933

[tabasco]

4. Law enforcement attracts stupid people

This fucking idiot was actually promoted to Sergeant.

Local communities should demand HIGHER STANDARDS for law enforcement recruits.

[JI7]

6. it shows how bad Zimmerman must have been to be rejected by them

[csziggy]

12. Zimmerman applied to the Sanford PD, not the Melbourne PD

Different towns, different counties.

[olddad56]

7. I'm not sure if they always attract them, or the job changes them.

[etherealtruth]

18. you make a good point

I am inclined to believe it is both.

[MichiganVote]

5. Man you gotta be some kind of special stupid for this

That boy was someone's son. The family is grieving. That's so totally reprehensible.

[Marrah_G]

8. That is really sick

I'm glad someone turned him in.

[Baitball Blogger]

9. They will never learn.

[RGinNJ]

10. With that kind of mentality ...

I hope they can get an impartial jury jury down there. Trayvon and his family deserve justice.

[Ash_F]

13. Here's a link with a picture

http://thegodlessliberal.blogspot.com/2012/05/shooting-targets-resembling-trayvon.html

I think the fact that he's just holding some ice tea and skittles could be poignant social commentary against the injustice of his death, though I don't know what the intention of the artist was.

The fact that this officer actually wanted to shoot the targets makes it clear he had no such intention and is just a bigot. Good on the officers who turned him in and the superiors who fired him. Maybe there is some hope for reform in this country.

[hrmjustin]

14. This guy is a sick racist!

I am glad he was fired, but how many like him are there? One too many!

[Earth_First]

15. Hundreds. Thousands too many. n/t

[Judi Lynn]

16. Fired Port Canaveral sergeant says targets were training aids

Fired Port Canaveral sergeant says targets were training aids
By Jerry Hume, Reporter
Last Updated: Saturday, April 13, 2013, 11:32 PM



PORT CANAVERAL --

A Port Canaveral police officer out of a job after allegations he brought targets resembling Travyon Martin to a gun range is speaking out.

Sergeant Ron King was terminated by Port Canaveral’s police chief Friday. He released a videotaped statement on Youtube late Saturday evening.

In the video, King said he and the Trayvon Martin family were being used as pawns to further political agendas in the police department.

"I am being accused of using a Trayvon Martin sillhouette target for firearms training in a manner that is less than professional. I take these allegations seriously and I find that others are accusing me of something that I just plain did not do," King said.

More:
http://www.cfnews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/news/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2013/4/13/port_canaveral_polic.html

[dixiegrrrrl]

17. Is he saying...

"I am being accused .......in a manner that is less than professional."?
or
" using a Trayvon Martin sillhouette target .....in a manner that is less than professional."?

'Cause neither makes any sense.

[Heywood J]

20. I thought he was saying the latter. (NT)

[ProgressiveProfessor]

21. No hearing or due process?

This will be quietly reversed once the uproar has died down. That is the well established pattern when local LEOs behave badly