Yesterday, Art Cop Vandelay made a comment I very much appreciate: “…the transformative nature of knowledge”. I would like to drop some possibly transformative knowledge here.

The National Crime Information Center (NCIC) is “an electronic clearinghouse of crime data available to virtually every criminal justice agency nationwide”. When an officer pulls you over and takes your license and registration, they are running your info through your state’s CIC and NCIC for possible wants and warrants. 

A misdemeanor warrant in your county or state does not usually pop up as a hit in NCIC. Felony warrants, stolen articles (laptops, generators, etc.), and stolen vehicles automatically get entered into both the state and national systems.  

When a stolen vehicle is entered into the system, if the info is available, the vehicles VIN and the license plate [the plate itself is entered into the state and NCIC systems separately from the vehicle in case it is removed/replaced after the theft] associated are placed in the system. When law enforcement runs either, it comes up on their screen as an “outstanding” or stolen vehicle. Usually instantly. Like snap your fingers instantly.

Stolen vehicle “hits” are treated as felony or “hi-risk” stops. Which means that the officer that discovers it whilst driving down the road makes the stop (usually waiting for another unit before initiating that stop) pointing guns at the vehicle/occupants. It can be very tense and major fuckups can and do occur.

Now, if you are still awake through that context, allow me to transport your brain to Cocoa, FL:

On November 13th, just 12 days ago, Brevard County Sheriff’s deputies killed two Black teens. Their statement at the moment is that they believed the vehicle matched the description of a “possible” stolen car that had fled from another deputy in the Cocoa area. 

There is video, from a nearby residents porch, of the officers following the car around a corner in the neighborhood. Even in that short time, they could have and probably did run the plate on that car. 

The information received from a routine license plate check that any officer around the country does is this: The registered owner(s) name/driver license number/associated address, the vehicles make (Ford, Chevy, etc), model, style (2D for 2 door coupes, 4D for 4 doors, PK for pickup, TT for semi, and so on), and most times the color of the vehicle is also included. 

Since this vehicle was NOT reported stolen, no hit would have come up. Just the registration information. If it was a stolen vehicle and the theft had just occurred, typically dispatch would have put out an APB over the radio with a description and whatever information (color, plate, number of occupants, approximate time of theft, direction of travel, etc) that they had at the moment. Then they would eventually enter the information into the system. 

Another video, this one from the porch of one of the victims, shows him getting into the backseat of the vehicle. Immediately a deputy is tailing them from the residence and a few minutes later, two Black boys are dead.

The only officer (just the one!) that fired (9.Fucking.Shots!) Feared For His Life™. So much so, that he continued firing even AFTER the vehicle had passed him and he was out of any possible danger. I am 100% confident they ran that plate and it matched perfectly to the vehicle they were chasing and not a single stolen hit came up. I am also confident in saying that these officers scared the shit out of these boys when they pointed their guns and the young driver reacted in fear. Real fear, not the trademarked bullshit fear that sworn people with their guns fucking use.

I said Goddamn!

There were two guns found in the car afterwards. Is that relevant?

NO.

If they had pointed those guns at the officers, THAT is the justification you would be hearing about now. The Sheriff’s Department is aiming to smear these dead kids like they deserved to get dead. Like Botham Jean with weed in HIS apartment where former officer Amber Guyger murdered him. Botham’s bowl of ice cream and the cannabis put her life in danger. GTFOH.

This is already overlong and there is so much more I want to share about NCIC and your local/state systems. Next week I might make your wigs snatch themselves. 

There’s a holiday tomorrow. I hope you enjoy it and safely.

Still: Mcsquirrel yada, yada, yada!