"I've known Joe for the better part of the last five years. I've always known him to be a very principled advocate for his whatever cause he supported. I used to know him as a man who wouldn't let politics get in the way of personal relationships. I've tried to maintain a friendly personal relationship with Joe despite our few political differences, but he's made that very difficult for me lately. Certainly Joe has dealt with his share of personal tragedy -- and done so gracefully I might add.
"Lately though he seems to have grown more negative and antagonistic. I interpreted that behavior as a response to the Ben Franklin page, which he described as "vile" and said he did not want to be associated with. Unfortunately, the above post is indefensible and seems to be more than just "poorly worded." If he doesn't want to be associated with Paul Smith, this sort of post doesn't help."
Also, when a Sterling Heights resident, Alex Moose, chimed in this morning, Judnick seemed to soften his stance by saying that he agrees "100%." Here's what Moose had to say:
"It's disgusting what people have to say about (law) enforcement.
"I'm a little biased since I'm going to school for law enforcement and I'll defend it any day, but it's come to the point where anything that happens in law enforcement reflects all officers.
"Yes we have bad cops who do bad things, and that reflects on all of law enforcement. Example being this weekend in Texas, where the cop pulled his firearm on the teens.
The media and everyone blew that out of proportion and made it a bigger deal than it should have been.
"Now because of that they're making a movement to kill officers.
"Reminds me of NYPD officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos, who were executed because officers in another state killed an urarmed teen.
"People are sick in the head and have to realize our officers are here to help us. I have nothing but the most respect for sterling heights and it's police, and hopefully this garbage movement doesn't plague our city."
*****
 |
| Judnick |
A city council candidate in Sterling Heights posted a
Facebook message late Tuesday night expressing concerns about blacks who are
angry about recent racially charged policing incidents and he advised the city’s
officers: “When there is any doubt … shoot!”
The remark came in the context of the national debate over
an incident in which white police officers in an upscale Dallas suburb
aggressively broke up a pool party held by black teens celebrating the end of
the school year. One of those McKinney, Texas, officers has resigned after his
actions were denounced by his police chief.Judnick said in his Facebook message that he is concerned about “blacks wanting to kill cops.”
Judnick is part of a loosely aligned slate of candidates for the seven-member city council in November. They are led by mayoral candidate Paul Smith, who has been sharply criticized for bigoted statements about President Obama, gays and Muslims.
Sterling Heights Mayor Michael Taylor, Smith’s election
opponent and a frequent critic of the council slate, quickly criticized Judnick’s
comments.
“Is this going to be on campaign literature? ‘Residents of
Sterling Heights, I’ve advised the police if there is any doubt about your
behavior to shoot first and ask questions later … vote Judnick 2015,’” Taylor
wrote on Facebook.Judnick was citing angry online messages that carry the hashtag #KillThePolice. He referred to those comments as a social media "site."
Joe DiSano, a prominent political consultant with Macomb County ties, also jumped into the fray with this provocative Twitter post:
"Sterling Heights Council Candidate Joe Judnick and key Smith ally seems to urge police to kill all blacks.”
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