Silent Sam vandals now seeking to topple Chapel Hill cop

Just as we’ve been warning you, the statue is only the beginning — the tip of the iceberg:

A Chapel Hill police officer has been put on paid leave following questions about a tattoo on his forearm of the Roman numeral three encircled with stars.

“The pervasiveness of the concerns raised by many regarding his display of a tattoo that is associated with the ‘3 Percenters’ has caused the Department to question his ability to function effectively as a police officer within this community,” Police Chief Chris Blue said in a statement.

The Three Percenters is an organization the Southern Poverty Law Center describes as “antigovernment.” It has dozens of chapters nationwide and describes its goal as “to utilize the fail-safes put in place by our founders to reign (sic) in an overreaching government and push back against tyranny.” […]

Yeah, tyranny.  Like elected government officials ordering the cops to allow hooligans to run rampant and destroy public property.

MORE:

[…] The Chapel Hill police officer’s tattoo closely resembles the Three Percenters’ logo. His forearm also features a tattoo of the words “We the People” in the font of the preamble to the U.S. Constitution. That tattoo is popular among members of the patriot movement, a loose network of people in favor of unfettered gun rights and small government that grew out of the militia movement of the 1990s.

The town identified the officer as Cole P. Daniels. He joined the department on Aug. 5, 2014, the town said.

Daniels was placed on paid administrative leave Monday, the police chief’s statement said. That was one week after a photograph of Daniels taken near the Silent Sam Confederate monument the night protesters took it down began circulating widely on social media.[…] 

Okay, so the oh-so-helpful drivebys have named this guy.  So, it’s now easier for the antifa and SJW nutcases to go stalk and harass him and his family. (You couldn’t pay me enough to work in Chapel Hill.)

So, he’s being scrutinized for having a tattoo that LOOKS LIKE something that offends the vandalism crowd?

MORE:

[…] Daniel Hosterman, a Durham photographer working on projects about white supremacy and fascist and anti-fascist organizing, posted the photograph to Twitter, and it was retweeted more than 700 times.[…]

Lots of demand for that, I’m sure.  So, he just wandered over to Chapel Hill and stumbled across this mayhem?

MORE:

[…] Hosterman said he took the photograph about 8:15 p.m. on Aug. 20. Many of the protesters that had been surrounding Silent Sam’s pedestal had left to march down Franklin Street, and Daniels was among the officers that remained near the statue, he said.

Blue has not agreed to an interview with The News & Observer and has not responded to a list of written questions submitted a week ago.

Daniels will be on leave until the town completes its investigation, Blue said in the statement. The scope of the investigation was not specified.

Chief’s statement

Here is the chief’s full statement.

“The Chapel Hill Police Department placed Police Officer Cole Daniels on Administrative Leave with pay on Aug. 27, 2018.

“The pervasiveness of the concerns raised by many regarding his display of a tattoo that is associated with the ‘3 Percenters’ has caused the Department to question his ability to function effectively as a police officer within this community. Therefore, the Police Department initiated an administrative investigation in accordance with our Town’s Personnel Ordinances and policies and procedures. Daniels will remain on leave pending the outcome of the investigation. Consistent with our Council-Manager form of government, and our Town’s Disciplinary Process, any potential serious disciplinary action will be taken in consultation with the Town Manager’s Office and the Town’s attorneys.”[…] 

Oh, Officer Daniels is soooooooo getting thrown under the bus.  The howler monkeys are demanding it.

It appears Daniels stands a real good chance of being punished WORSE — loss of employment — than anyone who has been  charged with the actual rioting and vandalism.

Stuff like this has got to depress / piss off the remaining police staff.  The higher-ups have demonstrated they will throw you overboard in an Orange County minute.  How are you supposed to police a locale when the inmates run the asylum?

Hopefully, Officer Daniels will rebound and find employment in a locale where policing is taken seriously and the citizens and government take the rule of law seriously.