What to do when a cop gives you an order? Well, most of the time it’s a good idea to obey first, complain later. They have guns, you see, and that tends to be the big unequalizer.
But yesterday, I received a nastygram from a tough cop named Jim Donahue. He was the subject of a post a while back about some other cops who didn’t think too highly of him for calling them “grunts” in a story he wrote at officer.com, a cop website. Donahue wasn’t just an ordinary cop. He’s an important cop. No need to ask him. He’ll let you know regardless.
Donahue was pissed because he was not treated with the respect he deserved by other cops. No ring kissing. No bowing and scraping. Instead, they treated him the way they treat civilians. Like dirt. Donahue was not amused, and he let the other cops know about it. You see, it’s not like Donahue, who was out of uniform at the time, expected cops to treat people civilly. As he explained,
“I am wearing my only sweatshirt, which has a breast emblem from my previous department in Michigan. I just got my “high & tight” haircut tuned up yesterday. It would not be a great leap of faith to think that I may be a retired cop, a current cop, or minimally, related to law enforcement based upon my appearance and demeanor.”
That’s right. Donahue looked like a cop, and when you look like a cop, other cops should at least show you the respect due a fellow officer.
Included in my post was a photograph of Donahue, showing exactly what he meant. He looks like a cop. And not a pretty-boy, TV type of cop either. More like the type of cop who would smack down some big-mouthed, jeans with a hole in the knee and Mr. Natural t-shirt kid for mouthing off to him. You would have to be fool to mistake Donahue for anything but a cop. Of course, it he had a can of beer in his hand and a smoke dangling from his lips, he could be mistaken for a redneck on a Fox TV cartoon show. He’s got that cartoonish quality about him.
By now, you’re probably wondering, so what does this he-man cop’s cop look like, that he’s willing to rip his fellow officers for not showing him the respect he deserved. Well, Donahue doesn’t want you to know, so he sent me this email:
Dear Sir/Madam –
Yesterday, I became aware of a posting on a blog. The display page of that blog leads me to believe that you either own the rights to the site or that you are in control of it.
My picture is displayed on that site. The picture was taken from Officer.com which is a copyrighted publication of Cygnus Business Media.
I must insist that my picture and any likeness of me be removed immediately.
Jim Donahue
Sir/Madam? Sharp as a tack, this Donahue. But aside from the density of his approach to life, he did “insist.” I considered the possibility of cowering in fear of Jim Donahue. Then the feeling passed.
It must be painful for a man as commanding as Jim Donahue to have received my response, for he’s surely not used to people who don’t comply with his commands. After all, he’s 110% American and cop through and through. He said so. His dad was in the Battle of the Bulge. So was mine, who told me that Donahue’s father wore army boots. If only I had a picture of the two of them together.
I may not agree with your statements, but I would die defending your right to say them.
Go for it Jim, inconsistency notwithstanding. So you’re ready to die for my right to publish your photo, the one that you’re demanding I remove? You do realize that’s called suicide, right? That’s illegal, Jim, not to mention a sin. You a sinner, Jim?
The short version of my response to Donahue is “bite me.” You put your appearance in issue, and I used your photograph to make the point. Don’t like having it on a scummy criminal defense lawyer blawg like this? Bummer. Be a man and take it, you wussie with your “high and tight” hairdo. You were tough enough to call out other cops for not treating you with the respect due a fellow officer, but not tough enough to bear having your image shown to the public you pretend to serve and protect? Exactly.
Like all bullies who hide behind their shield, Jim Donahue is big-mouthed blowhard. He tried to spin his personal annoyance at being treated like a civilian by claiming he was just trying to teach other cops that they should follow the golden rule when dealing with the public. But that, of course, was either nonsense or idiocy, given his self-description to make the point that nobody could have mistaken him for other than a cop. Even the cops couldn’t stand this guy.
Donahue didn’t care much for my response, which included the fact that he should anticipate that he was going to be my poster boy today. He responded:
Feel free to do whatever you wish as far as future comments. Yours it not the kind of company I choose to keep.
I believe you, Jimbo. In fact, I would bet money that you wouldn’t want to keep company with my kind. But my kind is going to keep a close eye on your kind, particularly noting as many of the wrongs your kind does to my kind together with the stupid crap that flows from your kinds mouth, pens and keyboards. You keep writing online, and I’ll keep calling you out for being an ignorant, hypocritical poster boy for people who are undeserving of a shield and gun. And my kind isn’t afraid of calling your kind exactly what you deserve, despite your self-serving 110% American crap. Save it for the civilian review board. I’m not buying.
I bet that most civilians do what you say when you issue a command. After all, you certainly look like a cop who means business. But not this one. Bite me, Donahue. Or shoot me, whichever suits you. You know where to find me.
Special thanks to Jdog for his artistic, yet tasteful, image of Jim Donahue’s deepest personal thoughts. Copyright 2009 Jdog. All Rights Reserved.
Update, March, 2011: Calls and emails coming in from some folks who, inexplicably, aren’t overwhelmingly impressed with Donahue’s importance or law enforcement bona fides, to let me know that he was busted on March 16, 2011 by the Broward County Sheriff.
If Donahue didn’t like my using his picture before, my bet is he’s really going to dislike my use of his picture below:
Name: JAMES DONAHUE
Gender: M
Race: W
Age: 63 (on date of arrest)
Height: 601
Weight: 195
Eyes: BLU
Hair: BLN
Facility: Joseph V. Conte Facility
There have been days when I think I’m a master of scornful invective directed at those who deserve it. (I know; that’s pretty arrogant of me, but…)
But me ‘ats off, guv. Best I was able to come up with was to point out his few obvious dishonest rhetorical tricks, and make a dick joke.
“Bite me, Donahue”? Three words that will follow him all across the Intertubes, every time he flashes his badge.
Perfect.
I’m just the conduit for those who inspire my thoughts and words.
Those glasses don’t make him look like John Lennon, Scott. More like … Perez Hilton maybe?
It’s cool to be brave on the Intertubes.
Perez who?
Poor guy! To think some one would treat him like an average person. He looks more like he belongs to the Waffen S.S. than a police department, but that seams to be the standard now along with some police tactics I have seen. Oh ye my Father was at the Battle of the Bulge also, but he dint say much about this guys father, nothing I would repeat.
More often that not, I find myself siding with police when it comes to pissing matches. But I rarely see the worst side of them too. Even in NYC on vacation a few months ago, I found the NYPD respectful and courteous – contrary to my preconceived notions.
But for those time that I don’t find myself in agreement with them, I’m extremely very much not in agreement with them.
This guy starts off calling citizens “civilians.” Unless he is in the military or a reservist, he is a civilian too. (And since we’re all chiming in here… My grandfathers/step-grandfathers were in the Pacific theatre during WWII. Except for one who stayed at Iwo Jima, once they left the service, they became civilians.)
He makes the assumption that he should receive special treatment and is taken aback that he didn’t.
Sir Robert Peel is spinning in his grave because of guys like him.
Probably worth looking at the Peelian Principles every now and then, although they likely have little relevance to this particular badged thug:
1. The basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder.
2. The ability of the police to perform their duties is dependent upon the public approval of police actions.
3. Police must secure the willing co-operation of the public in voluntary observation of the law to be able to secure and maintain the respect of the public.
4. The degree of co-operation of the public that can be secured diminishes proportionately to the necessity of the use of physical force.
5. Police seek and preserve public favour not by catering to public opinion, but by constantly demonstrating absolute impartial service to the law.
6. Police use physical force to the extent necessary to secure observance of the law or to restore order only when the exercise of persuasion, advice, and warning is found to be insufficient.
7. Police, at all times, should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent upon every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.
8. Police should always direct their action strictly towards their functions, and never appear to usurp the powers of the judiciary.
9. The test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with it.
Your post contains a link to Donahue’s photo at http://www.officer.com. It seems as if Donahue posted the photo there.
If he doesn’t want his pic appearing in your post, he can simply yank it.
Shhhh. Don’t be giving the secrets away. But if the photo should get pulled, there’s a plan B.
Before you give Mr. Donahue credit for being a cop/former cop, consider the following statement: “Jim Donahue has been passionate about the power of utilizing information technology to streamline work processes ever since his first job after graduating from Michigan State University. At Moore Greens, a regional wholesale florist on Detroit’s west side where he rose from buyer to president, Donahue led the transition from typewriters to computers by automating procedures that dated back to the company’s 1931 start.” This is from the website of his company Sterling Solutions of America. This guy is not a police officer, he’s a walking cop cliché. He’s a florist who watched too much Dirty Harry and Lethal Weapon. I realize your site is not focused on appreciation for law enforcement, but please do not include him in the ranks. This guy is only interested in law enforcement for two reasons: 1) he can backdoor his way into being part of the cop brotherhood; ;and 2) he makes more money as a consultant to police agencies if he presents himself as a cop/former cop. If you need any further evidence of what this cop groupie actually is see these links:
http://www.officer.com/web/online/On-the-Street/Ten-Pounds-of-Ugly-Fat/21$44118
http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20090408/NEWS03/90408032/1020/rss17
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/north/epaper/2008/04/28/sutton0429.html
http://www.sterlingyes.com/index0.html
Well, well. He’s a crafty one, that Jim Donahue. He said :
First, I am not a retired cop. I remain active in the profession and work the streets. But, at middle-age, I have the appearance of someone who could be retired. I consult agencies and I train cops around the country, as well.
While technically true apparently, clearly designed to mislead. My apologies to all real police officers everywhere.
What a piece of SHIT this THING is (calling him a man is an insult to real men and calling him an animal is even MORE degrading to animals)! IT is b/c of THUGS like him that this country has the problems it has w/police!
How disgusting!
Your Family, Unwiting Stars
Your Family, Unwiting Stars
Your Family, Unwiting Stars
Your Family, Unwiting Stars
Wow. I can’t believe the hate that is being spewed on this blog. I would have thought that you and Mr. Donahue go way back and he wronged you in an unforgivable way. Apparently, and by your explanation, that is not the case. You simply developed an opinion based off a stereotype you and others hold over the police, assuming he is an egotistical phony. Have you spoken with Mr. Donahue or met him personally? I’m not saying you’re right or wrong but to draw such conclusions from so little information is irresponsible. This is supposed to be a criminal defense blog. If hypocritical is something you accuse Donahue of being, then perhaps you should re-read your article. I’m sure many cases have been won by attorneys such as yourself forming a case around the fact that an officer discriminated, stereotyped, or made other inferences about a person based race, ethnicity, or religion, and formed an opinion based on those things. Here you are doing the exact same thing. Your argument is based upon his profession, thereby lumping all of law enforcement into one homogeneous group that thinks and acts a like. You ought to be ashamed. After reading this blog, I now think that defense attorneys are uneducated, thin-skinned, cop-hating, narcissists. I’ll make sure I carry that perception with me and never miss an opportunity to bad mouth all attorneys, because they’re all alike any…
We will miss your love and admiration greatly.
By the way, Donahue is not now, nor was he ever, a cop. He’s a cop wannabe.
Cop wannabes can be more of a hazard than the real thing,as for facts maybe Chris should have checked his.
Just ran across your “update” on JD. He’s not a police officer. He is, or was, from what I can tell, an unpaid police reserve, or volunteer, or as some cops refer to them, a “scab”, for a small nasty suburb of Detroit. His musings from his virtual bully pulpit were never anything more than gratuitous posturing by someone who spent more time trying (and failing) to “be the police” than actually doing police work. He is an embarrassment as far as I’m concerned. Not all police officers wear their “policeness” on their sleeves like this clown does, or tried to do. I’ve never been to police week and never felt the need to go. According to this dufus that means I’m somehow lacking as a policeman. I’ve had partners killed on the job but realize it’s more dangerous do be a clerk at a convenience store than to be a policeman in most towns (let alone an unpaid police RESERVE). Neither I, nor any cop friend I know, have ever indulged in trying to make this job appear more dangerous than it is in order to pander to cops’ or non-cops’ TV-based preconceived notions about what this job is all about. Please understand this. Interesting how just about all references to this guy have been removed from the police website in question. Any idea what he was actually arrested for? Your link says “other”. I guess this is just karma for a guy who advanced an image of himself as a scrupulous police standard for all of us lesser officers to emulate.