#historical note that officers did have uniforms but had to provide them themselves

[gringolet]

notes on hair and uniforms on the hms camelot in 1811!

i have a lot of thoughts on the matter

[politicsprose]

2017 Holiday Newsletter

Welcome to the 2017 Politics and Prose Holiday Newsletter. As always, we’re proud to present a selection of some of the year’s most impressive books. Happy holidays to all!

American History

Scored for six voices, Revolution Song (@wwnorton) traces the evolution of the idea of freedom in America from the early 1700s to roughly 1830. Many of the nation’s historical landmarks are here: the Stamp Act, the Continental Congress, Valley Forge and the war’s major battles, but Russell Shorto isn’t retelling the story of the American Revolution. Rather, he uses events to show what his six protagonists made of them. George Washington is the most familiar of these figures, but Shorto portrays the complicated man behind the imposing Founding Father, showing us the aspiring officer’s over-developed sense of honor and his reputation among Native Americans as the “Town Destroyer.” Washington found “something charming in the sound” of bullets and was so fashion conscious that he designed the uniforms for the Virginia militia. His British counterpart, who began life as a Sackville then inherited a fortune from a family friend and became Lord George Germain, provides the base-line for “freedom”: it depended on lineage and loyalty to the king. For Abraham Yates, an Albany shoemaker turned lawyer, patriot, and anti-federalist, freedom meant casting off the shackles of class. By the time Yates was involved in writing the New York constitution, he had assimilated Enlightenment thinking and advocated equal rights for all. But “all” meant European men. Shorto’s interwoven narratives highlight how one person’s idea of liberty ignored that of others. The “cause of humanity” American patriots such as Yates proclaimed did not include free black men who’d bought themselves out of slavery, like Venture Smith, or Native Americans such as the Seneca leader Cornplanter, or “wayward” women like Margaret Coughlin, the daughter of a British officer who fell in love with Aaron Burr, was forced to marry an abusive English soldier, ran away, and supported herself with a series of affairs with wealthy men. These three complete Shorto’s dramatis personae, and their long-overdue stories are riveting and heartbreaking. - Laurie G.

The Oxford History of the United States series (to which magna opera such as McPherson’s Battle Cry of Freedom and Gordon Wood’s Empire of Liberty belong) marks its latest installment, The Republic for Which It Stands: The United States During Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865-1896 (@oupacademic). The volume begins with the funeral of Lincoln—compared to whom the presidents that follow are disappointing in all but their facial hair—and continues through the 1876 election.  A Stanford historian of Native Americans and the American West, Richard White deftly dismantles the stock cutouts of lone robber barons that have long populated this “historical flyover country.” With lively prose, ambitious scope, and an all-too keen sense of irony, he gives us a vivid depiction of an age of contradictions. White considers Reconstruction and the Gilded Age to have “gestated together” on sublime post-Civil War ideals, both quickly scaled back “to the unforgiving metrics of recalcitrant reality.”  With balanced, tenderly evoked portraits of the “uncommon men and women,” the dizzying spin of technological progress, political corruption, immigration, urbanization, Westward expansion, crusading causes, economic inequality, and high-minded hope, are brought to a pace at which we can make out the foundations of the similarly complex epoch we now inhabit. - Lila S.

A rightfully monumental biography, Ron Chernow‘s Grant (@thepenguinpress) is a finely crafted portrait of a complex man. Chernow, awarded the Pulitzer for his life of George Washington, details the life of the Civil War general Ulysses S. Grant by exploring the underbelly of military success. He starts by exposing Grant’s vulnerabilities, which figured in the future commander-in-chief’s memoirs as the modest ambitions of a young soldier at West Point. Suspecting he lacked the skill to succeed as a warrior, Grant was nonetheless determined to lead and command. He studied hard. Became a skilled equestrian, developed strong mapping skills, and eventually proved himself on the battlefield, despite skepticism from journalists and fellow soldiers who were aware of Grant’s struggle with alcoholism. Chernow also illuminates much about Grant’s staunch criticism of slavery, his resignation from the army, his newly formed political awakenings, and infamous financial problems. Later, as the eighteenth president, Grant emerges from the tragedy of Lincoln’s assassination and his own scandals as “America’s most famous man” who, as Mark Twain notes, “saved the country from destruction.” Prepare to be deeply immersed in this account of an immortal American life. - Bob A.

Wars Hot and Cold

Editor, biographer, and storyteller Michael Korda has a very particular set of skills, and they are all masterfully employed in Alone: Britain, Churchill and Dunkirk, Defeat into Victory (@liverightpub-blog). Merging history with memoir, Korda expertly weaves the events of May 1940 with the dramatic effect they had on his family. The rise of Winston Churchill, the German war machine marching across Europe, and the unprecedented, inspiring rescue of allied soldiers at Dunkirk are all here, humanized by the author’s own memories of his famous movie-industry family and his escape from London as a child. Compellingly and comprehensively written, peppered with pictures and maps, Korda’s book takes an immense, seminal, and now mythic event and makes it live again from both a global and a personal perspective. - Bill L.

The fifteenth book from acclaimed journalist Marvin Kalb, entitled The Year I Was Peter the Great (Brookings), is a memoir focused on one tumultuous year, 1956. Kalb was then a twenty-six-year-old Russian-speaking graduate student assisting the American ambassador as a translator at the U.S embassy in Moscow. As Khrushchev’s shocking, year-long campaign of de-Stalinization unfolded, Kalb was there as an eyewitness, meeting Russians of all types, assessing their attitudes and opinions, and watching them size up their American visitor too. This is a fascinating and highly entertaining story about a momentous year in Russian history—one especially relevant in the era of Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. - Lissa M.

World History

Serious history buffs will appreciate the new perspective on the decline of the Roman Empire offered in The Fate of Rome: Climate, Disease, and the End of an Empire (Princeton). While experts and armchair historians have spent years debating the human causes that contributed to the downfall of the great empire, Kyle Harper argues that it was brought to the brink of destruction by a larger, less manageable force: nature. He demonstrates that the Roman Empire was able to flourish due to an ideal climate, but when climate stability began to decay so did the fortunes of Rome. And while the Romans benefited from increased migration, travel, and trade, these factors also permitted the spread of a variety of deadly diseases. The author is clearly an expert in his field, and he makes a compelling case by drawing on modern developments in fields such as DNA sequencing, epidemiology, and climate science. As Harper lays out in his book, perhaps the Romans’ greatest mistake was holding on to the belief that they had “tamed the forces of wild nature.” These environmental factors, along with human error, helped to bring about the destruction of one of the greatest empire’s the world has ever seen. - Alexis J. M.

Dan Jones has a well-deserved reputation as one of the most captivating and lively historians, proving that well-researched historical narratives need not be dry and impenetrable. Templars: The Rise and Spectacular Fall of God’s Holy Warriors (Viking) is his best work to date. It has the advantage of dealing with a fascinating and often ill-used subject, but Jones elevates the Templars above conspiracy theory histories to uncover the fascinating history within, from their military campaigns, Outremer Crusader states, their financial acumen and extensive properties, to the knights’ eventual downfall. This volume is possibly the most comprehensive modern history of the Templars, told by an incredibly talented chronicler and interpreter of facts and sources. It is a must-have for any history bookshelf. - Anton B.

[christopherappel-blog]

Flying High

On Flying High

This story was meant to be a framed story somewhat like the princess bride. It was about a person eighty years old or older retelling a story from their lives. I did my best to write my narrator Dusty as sort of a combination of my own grandfather, and the many vets I have met in my life. I love listening to their stories, their humor, and their attempts to teach a lesson and be relevant. That’s what I tried to pull from as I wrote Dusty. Dusty’s tale flying high is one of my favorite pieces because it is a historical fiction about something I love, WWI fighter pilots. I love the whole idea of people risking their lives just to fly these planes, let alone do battle in them. In my view they were kind of like modern knights, even if they never saw themselves this way. My inspiration came from a War movie called Flyboys. The actual movie is extremely fictional, but it does draw from some facts. Because I love the movie, I did some research into the people it was based on, and did my own fictional retelling. If I had to pick out the best part about Flying High, it would be the characters. When I created them, I did my best to create believable characters with true to life dialogue.

I hope you enjoy.

“Now gather round children, I’ve got a story fer ya. This isn’t one of your moving pictures, this is a real story.”

“Don’t you mean movies Grandpa Dusty?” the boy, Oakley said.

“Move what?” Dusty said.

“Movies, like on the television…” the girl, Annie began.

“Bah, televisions. Those aren’t real stories, this is a real story. It all starts with some prince getting shot. Your home country of France was involved in a war against a nasty German dictator.”

“Hitler?” Annie asked.

“Hitler who? This man was named Kaiser Wilhelm II. He was so off his rocker, that when the Germans attacked France, the United States wouldn’t help our relatives out.”

“But Grandpa, if the U.S. didn’t help the French, how come you fought in the war?” Oakley asked.

“I was a member of a squadron known as the Lafayette Escadrille. It was a unit led by the French, but filled with American Volunteers like myself. We wore French uniforms and everything. Hell I remember my first day of training. None of us knew how to put the leather straps of the flight suits on, and quite honestly we were in over our heads.”

-

Arrival

“Hey guys, I figured it out. It’s kind of like putting a harness on.” Victor Chapman said.

“You know it might be a little easier if the damn instructions weren’t  in French.” said Dusty.

“That’s what we get for deciding to fight for these damn Frenchies.” James McConnell muttered.

“Hey I may not speak it, but I’m French.” said Dusty.

“Maybe, but you’re also American, as are the rest of us. We don’t belong here, but the French need our help.” Chapman said as he helped the other two into their flight suits.

“Do you remember where we’re supposed to go?” McConnell asked.

“Yeah we’re to report to a base just outside of... uhhh Luxel.” Chapman said as he read a handwritten note from Dr. Gros.

“I think it’s pronounced Luxeuil.”

“Who cares Dusty.”

Once they finished getting changed the three of them made their way towards Luxeuil’s airfield. They navigated as best they could in a foreign country, but they still managed to be fashionably late.

“Sir, we are here to report for duty.” Dusty and the other two saluted who they assumed was their commanding officer. “You are Captain Thenault right? We were told to report to you.”

“That is correct.” the man replied with a thick French accent. “You boys are late.”

“Sorry, first time in France.” McConnell said.

“Fall in line with your fellow countrymen.” Thenault said.

The three of them joined the other Americans standing at parade rest in front of Captain Thenault, who then proceeded to address the line of men in front of him. “Bonjour et bonjour messieurs. Au nom de la France, je vous remercie pour votre service. Vous êtes parmi les premiers Américains à rejoindre notre noble conflit et …” he paused due to the general look of confusion he was met with. “Umm, do any of you actually speak French?”

A few muttered no’s and some head shaking confirmed Thenault’s suspicions.

“Well, I just wanted to thank you young men for choosing to fight on behalf of the French. Your benefactor, Dr. Edmund L. Gros, has seen to the costs of your training, housing arrangements, and anything else you’ll need. Do please try to at least pick up some French while you’re here, it’s a bit disingenuous to volunteer to fight on behalf of a country whose language you can not understand.”

After an initial tour of the airfield, the men were driven to the building in which they would reside while training and fighting for the French. Their quarters happened to be a Grand Hotel within Luxeuil.

“Hot damn if this isn’t the nicest place I’ve ever slept in.”

“Be respectful Dusty, Dr. Gros was kind enough to put us up in a suite befitting foreigners fighting for a country other than their own. I’m sure the Hessians slept better than the British Imperials.” stated Norman Prince.

Prince was a veteran pilot, and the one who had proposed the idea of American volunteer fighting in a squadron that they might actually make a difference. Dr. Gros relished in the idea and had give it his full support. Prince, Dusty, Chapman, and McConnell were also joined  by Elliot Cowdin, Laurence Rumsey, Kiffin Rockwell, and William Thaw.

“You mean to say we’re expected to die, so they’re treating us nice so that we won’t have any regrets.” Cowdin announced, as he did, there was a general look of uneasiness among the other men.

“Quiet now!” Prince responded in an attempt to regain control.

“He’s right.” Chapman yelled even louder. “These damn flying machines have only been around for fifteen years, and we’re supposed to what fly with them?”

“The French Nieuports we are going to be flying are a top of the line aircraft, we’ll be fine.” Thaw said as he pushed up his glasses. He was off to the side reading a book while propped up against the wall. “And if you were so uneasy about flying, why did you volunteer for this anyhow?”

“Like Dusty says, it was the right thing to do. It doesn’t matter if I’m scared, someone has to help the Frenchies fight the Krauts. Ever even heard of a French war victory?” Chapman said.

There was a slight pause, a calm of  sorts, and all the men began to laugh. They knew what was on the line, and while it bothered them, they had all come to do the right thing. Fight in a war the French couldn’t possibly win on their own. With a general sense of camaraderie in place, they all began to pack in for the night.

-

“Hold on a minute Grandpa, you got to stay in a hotel?” Annie asked.

“Of course I did. Times were different back then. Man oh man was it a nice place. We each got our own suite with three rooms. You had a sitting room, dining room, kitchen, and then your bedroom. They were furnished with some of the best European pieces you’ve ever seen.”

“That’s so not fair Grandpa, I want to stay in a nice French hotel.” Annie said.

“Maybe you’ll get to if we get involved in another World War.” Dusty said followed by a slight chuckle from both him and Annie.

“That’s not funny you guys.” said Oakley.

“You haven’t asked anything, are you sure you’re even paying attention Oaks?”

“I mean the stories alright so far, but why were you guys so afraid to fly? You know you’re more likely to die in a car crash than when you travel by plane.” Oakley said.

“Well you see, the planes we flew were a bit different. We were lucky to get those damn things moving over a hundred miles an hour, and they flew like rocks.”

“Even if they didn’t fly well, it must have been cool to fly some of the first planes.” Oakley said.

“To us they weren’t ‘the first planes.’ They were just planes, and we just flew them. That was that, nothing special. Where was I?”

“You had just gotten to the part where you guys got to the hotel.” Annie chimed in.

“Ah yes, once we got settled in, the work began.”

-

Training

Their training took several months. They began with a general knowledge of aerodynamics, Captain Thenault taught them how lift worked, and why these machines could even get up in the air. This seemed to ease everyone’s nerves about flying, at least somewhat.

They learned battle strategy, and how to work as a squadron in the air. They were taught things like angle of attack, and they were given a chance to fire the Vicker’s MGs that their Nieuports would be equipped with.

Once they’d learned the basics of flight, and had practiced the rudimentary combat skills and ideas they would need in air to air and air to ground combat, they were ready to fly. They flew in pairs, a trainer in back, and the trainee up front at the controls. The experience was exhilarating for them. Soaring over a mile in the air at unimaginable speeds, it was incredible. It wasn’t too long before they all began to fly solo.

The excitement of flying, and the pride they took in the idea of defending their allies against an evil Empire had erased any inhibitions the Americans had.

Once they had all become proficient pilots, their individual strengths and weaknesses had become evident. Chapman and Thaw were the best at aerial maneuvers, but Rockwell, Rumsey, and McConnell had better aim. Cowdin was the most cool headed and logical in the high pressure situations that their training had provided. Prince and Dusty were tied for all around best pilots.

One night near the end of their training, Cowdin brought up the question of their identity as a squadron.

“You guys…” he began. “What should they call us?” he asked. They all turned their attention to Cowdin. Some were playing cards, some having private conversation, and Thaw as usual was reading from a book.

“How about Blue Angels?” Dusty proposed.

“Why Blue Angels? It sounds kind of lame for a group of badass combat aviators like ourselves.” McConnell asked half joking.

“Well I figured because our uniforms are blue, and because we soar in the sky like angels.” Dusty said.

“I don’t know, I don’t think it’ll stick. Don’t we want a name that people will remember?” Chapman asked.

“How about Lafayette Escadrille?” Thaw offered looking up from his book.

“It’s got a nice ring to it, what does it mean?” Prince asked.

“Well  I was reading the other day and…” Thaw began.

“You were reading? Big surprise.” Cowdin said. They all proceeded to laugh.

“Hold on, give him a second, I want to hear this name out.”

“You know how the French have been our Allies as long as we’ve been a country, even before that?” he paused. “Well back during our revolution, there was a Frenchie named Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette. He was a key figure in both our revolution, and their own. I think we should call ourselves Lafayette Escadrille in honor of him. Escadrille simply because it’s the French word for squadron, and we are a French squadron after all.”

“So you have been learning your French after all.” said a voice with a familiar French accent.

Everyone snapped to attention. “Sir.” they all said in military unison.

“At ease gentlemen.” Captain Thenault said. “So Lafayette Escadrille, this is to be your name no?”

“We hadn’t exactly decided, but it felt as thought there was a general consensus regarding the validity of that name.” Prince said in his usual take charge manner.

“It is decided then. You shall be known as the Lafayette Escadrille. Just in time too, your first mission is in a week, and your planes are currently on their way. Now that you are officially a squadron, what shall your mascot be?” Captain Thenault asked.

“Mascot?” Dusty responded.

“Oui, of course a mascot. You need a symbol of some sort to be painted on your planes so that in the air you can recognize each other and fight as a unit.”

“Well it should be symbolic, but maybe also a little intimidating. Something that strikes fear into the Krauts.” Chapman said.

“Well we’ve got a French name how about an American symbol?” McConnell added.

“I think I have an idea.” Dusty said.

“No we are not putting fucking angels on our planes, blue or otherwise.” Chapman said.

“It’s not that, I was thinking we have an Indian war chieftan as our mascot.” Dusty said

“That’s actually not a bad idea.” said Thaw. “The Indians do have a tendency to strike fear into their enemies using only their appearance, and they are the original Americans.

“Sounds like it’s settled then Captain.” Prince said. “We are the Lafayette Escadrille, the flying Indians.

-

“You were in the Lafayette Escadrille?” Oakley said in a voice of disbelief.

“So you’ve heard about us eh?”

“Heard about you? We’re studying WWI in history, I was assigned to study your squadron for my project. Grandpa you’re friends are in my history book.” Oakley fetched his textbook from his book bag and flipped to a page with an old black and white photograph and a caption that read ‘Lafayette Escadrille circa 1916.’

“Yep that’s us, I’m the one right in the middle.” Dusty pointed at a figure

“Grandpa, you’re practically a walking piece of history, that’s so cool.” Annie said

“I don’t know if I should take offense to that, or if i should take it as a compliment.”

“Maybe a bit of both.” Oakley said. The three of them laughed.

-

First Mission

The air was cold on the morning of their first mission. They briefing had been short, and the Escadrille was excited. This was to be the maiden voyage of their newly manufactured and newly painted Nieuports. Each man had been granted his own personal plane, owned of course by Dr. Gros, but they felt personal sentiment towards their crafts nonetheless. This was part in fact to the hand painted Indian chiefs on each of their planes. They would represent America with Pride and honor.

Their first aerial engagement was helping to support ground troops in the battle of Verdun. Five days into the fighting, the Escadrille took their first aerial victory. Rockwell had shot down a German Fokker. Dusty and Prince soon scored victories of their own.

In the battles that followed everyone managed to earn an aerial victory, and both Dusty and Prince had achieved the title of ace for having achieved five aerial victories each. The mood at the hotel had become that of a celebratory sports team after a major victory. They had all become quite confident with their abilities in the air, and life was good. They had the power of gods, flying thousands of feet above their French comrades on the ground. Nothing could touch them. Or so they thought.

Rockwell was killed on a routine scouting mission, and Prince perished while single handedly taking on a bomber. This rocked Dusty and the other men, two of their comrades had perished in such a short span. They were reminded of their mortality.

Their success on the other hand had a widespread effect on their fellow Americans. Over fifty recruits joined their ranks, and they became notorious as a unit. The Germans soon learned to fear the flying Indians. Some continued to perish, but others filled the space they left, but dusty never forgot Prince or Rockwell.

It wasn’t long before the United States entered the war, and when that happened the Lafayette was dissolved. Dusty joined the 103rd Aero Squadron with many of the other members of the Lafayette.

Chapman signed on to fight with an infantry unit citing that fighting in the trenches was safer then soaring through the air. He’d never been a fan of flying, and was happy that he was able to serve in a way he was comfortable with.  He perished when his rifle misfired and killed him.

As the war drew near to an end, the original members of the Lafayette had been spread into various units of Aero squadrons in order to share their flying experience with the greener American pilots. With the United States fighting against the Germans, it was only a matter of time before the war was won in favor of the French American allied forces. Dusty never saw another member of the Lafayette for the rest of his life.

-

“So they just split you guys up like that, that’s not fair.” Annie said.

“There was nothing we could do, even though we fought under the French for a time, once the U.S. joined the war we had to answer to them.”

“That kind of sucks Gramps.” Oakley said.

“That’s life.” Dusty sighed with a voice of resignation. “It’s not so bad though, I mean I did meet your grandmother after the war. She was such a fox.”

“Ewww.” The kids groaned in unison.

“Thanks for the story Grandpa.” Annie said.

“Did you learn anything from it?”

“Just that you and grandma were young and less gross once.” joked Oakley.

“Hey now, one day you’ll be old and gross too.” Dusty joked back. “But really did you guys learn anything.

“I learned that you’re a pretty cool guy gramps.” Annie said.

“Here here.” Oakley seconded the sentiment.

“Oh geez kids, I love you guys.” as he said that he began to blink rapidly, and the room began to swirl.

As everything began to settle, an old but familiar voice said. “We love you too Dusty.”

Dusty looked up, and to his surprise, Captain Thenault, and the rest of the Lafayette were standing in front of him. “Does this mean what I think it means.”

“It happens to all of us.” Prince said.

“At least I got to tell them one last story.” Dusty said.

[mastcomm]

Why the N.Y.P.D. Dropped One of Its Oldest Crime-Fighting Tools

For more than a century, the New York City Police Department has required its officers to keep a detailed, handwritten memo book while on patrol.

“It’s basically our bible,” said Officer Ramses Cruz, who joined a platoon of officers writing down patrol assignments in oversize black leather binders at a recent afternoon roll call at the 90th Precinct Station House in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Officer Cruz’s locker at the station house holds dozens of completed memo books chronicling his 23 years in the department, with details about big arrests, countless 911 calls and even what time he took lunch.

The memo book may be the department’s oldest policing tool, one that has appeared in countless movies and television shows and become as much of a staple as the gun, handcuffs or the nightstick.

But they are about to become a thing of the past.

The department is retiring handwritten memo books by Feb. 17 in a transition to a digital version — an app on officers’ department-issued iPhones. Instead of making entries by hand, whether with flowery script from ink-dipped pens in Victorian-era New York or ballpoints today, officers will type in their notes, which the app will send to a department database.

The transition represents a major shift in the way the department regards this daily record keeping by more than 30,000 of its uniformed members, and it will vastly revamp how the department can access memo book information.

In addition to the books’ historical importance, entries can become important legal documents. Department officials say the transition will help eliminate possible abuses, such as faking entries, and having to sort through indecipherable handwriting.

After arrests, officers have long turned over relevant entries — on crime scenes and on statements made by suspects or witnesses, for example — to prosecutors, and were expected to bring their books to court if they were called to testify.

The memo books largely stayed with the officers, who were required to safeguard them even after retirement, since the books could be subpoenaed as evidence in future criminal, civil and departmental trials.

But now the department, not the officer, will keep that information. Officers and department officials may search entries — those made since the transition, anyway — by date or keyword, instead of rummaging for old memo books stored in lockers.

This means the memo book entries can be used as valuable crime-fighting data, said Deputy Chief Anthony Tasso, commanding officer of the department’s Information Technology Bureau.

“It gives us the abilities we did not have before, when memo books were left in officers’ lockers and we didn’t have access to a vast amount of information,” Chief Tasso said.

But the transition also concerns police union officials, who fear that the increased accountability of officers’ whereabouts and actions will be used to further scrutinize officers.

Officers’ entries are logged with the time and location information provided by the officer, and the department will have real-time access to those entries.

“We’re already subjected to more oversight, more bureaucratic burdens and more workplace surveillance than any other job in the public or private sectors,” said Patrick J. Lynch, president of the Police Benevolent Association, a police union.

The New York City officer’s tool kit is ever-changing. Revolvers have been replaced by 9-millimeter semiautomatic pistols, wooden nightsticks have largely given way to expandable batons and uniform slacks have been replaced by cargo pants.

But the memo book has remained standard-issue gear. The format of the books, also known as activity logs, has not changed in decades. They have been turned out at a rate of 10,000 per month in the department’s printing section, in Police Headquarters.

Every few months, officers are issued a fresh log to insert into their binders, which they typically carry in a pants pocket. They are reviewed and signed — or “scratched” — by supervisors during patrol tours, to monitor the officers’ activity.

Soon, supervisors will do this with a finger swipe on an officer’s phone screen. They will also be able to monitor officers’ entries remotely.

For perspective, most officers will finish their careers without ever firing their guns. But the memo book is used constantly for entries on a range of subjects, from traffic-ticket details to testimony that can affect the outcome of a major criminal case.

The content — meal times, police car mileage, patrol assignments and 911 responses — can help get an officer commended, or disciplined.

“We live and die by these books by virtue of what we write in them,” said Officer Shaun McGill, 47, who is assigned to the First Precinct in TriBeCa. His memo book from being the first officer to arrive at the World Trade Center during the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, has become a keepsake.

Department officials say that digitizing the logs will streamline the log-entry process and relieve officers of carrying the bulky books, and also reduce paper waste.

“It’s not just going from paper to a digital app — it’s changing the culture,” said Chief Tasso, who called the change part of a technological expansion of the department’s policing method for crime-fighting, not for surveilling officers.

Since the department began issuing smartphones in 2015, some 37,000 iPhones are now in use, he said, adding that the phones give officers the ability do quick searches themselves of department databases, instead of waiting for busy radio dispatchers to relay information.

The app, which the department developed and tested with input from its officers, has fields for officers to enter details about their patrol shifts, their police vehicles, 911 responses and other information, including photos.

The standardized format will allow the department to collect “clean data,” Chief Tasso said, instead of sifting through handwritten entries in log books that varied widely depending on an individual officer’s note-taking preference.

Since 911 calls are already routed to officers’ phones, the dispatcher’s 911 information will be bundled into an officer’s digital log entry for that call, the chief said.

Frank Serpico, the former police detective who helped expose corruption decades ago, called memo books ineffective monitors of officers because “no cop is going to put anything in his memo book to incriminate himself.”

But the new system, Mr. Serpico said, could prevent old abuses, like officers leaving open space in their books to allow them to add entries retroactively.

“Guys used to leave blank pages so they could go back and add observations just to get a judge to give them a search warrant on someone,” he recalled in a phone interview.

Many major departments across the country do not use log books, and many already require officers to log 911 call response on patrol car laptops.

Still, some officers bemoaned the loss of official handwritten logs, which many officers regarded as professional journals that after retirement remained as touchstones to their careers.

“There’s a lot of nostalgia to keeping these logs,” said Officer Michael Ignatz, a 14-year veteran at the 90th Precinct. “I’m a pen and paper guy, so it’s a big change. For the younger guys, it’s an easier transition.”

Sometimes the books intersected with an officer’s personal life, such as when William Olmeda met his wife, Sandra, while he patrolled Far Rockaway, Queens, in the 1980s. He made sure to write her number in his memo book.

“I knew I had met someone special and since the memo book has such a great level of importance in memorializing your actions, it was something I wouldn’t lose,” said Mr. Olmeda, now retired. “We’ve been married 30 years, and I still have it.”

For Officer McGill, his memo book entry for his ground zero response in 2001 helped him qualify for medical treatment for Sept. 11 survivors.

His entries early on that Tuesday morning were mundane: He grabbed a patrol car with half a tank of gas and 18,701 miles on it to patrol Sector EFG, a stretch of blocks that included the World Trade Center.

The minimal entries show a transition from a 10-53, a vehicle collision, to an entry that outstripped departmental response codes: “World Trade Center crash necessitated emergency response priority.”

Officer McGill lost most of his gear that morning, including his uniform shirt, as he rescued numerous people in the towers and escaped the collapse of the North Tower by seconds. But he struggled to save two things: his badge and his memo book, in which he made entries later while still reeling from a near-death experience.

“I knew the gravitas of that day,” he said, “and I had to finish entering it in my book.”

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Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals – December, 2019

This post summarizes criminal and related decisions published by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in December, 2019. Decisions of interest to state practitioners will be posted on a monthly basis. Previous Fourth Circuit case summaries are available here.

Where search was conducted pursuant to valid inventory search procedure, discovery of firearm was inevitable

U.S. v. Seay, 944 F.3d 220 (Dec. 4, 2019). In this case from the Eastern District of Virginia, police were called to a hotel to assist removing a “difficult” occupant. Officers went to the room and the occupants (the defendant and a woman) agreed to leave. The defendant carried a clear plastic bag when he left. Officers searched the room after they left, finding a bullet in the toilet and drug paraphernalia wrapped in women’s clothing. The defendant and woman were brought back to the room and interviewed separately. Officers decided to arrest the woman for the paraphernalia but wanted to determine who owned the other property. The woman acknowledged that the property in the clear bag was jointly owned by her and the defendant. A gun was found inside the bag and the defendant was indicted for possession of firearm by felon. He moved to suppress. The trial court granted the motion as to the defendant’s statements during the interview in the hotel room but denied the motion as to the firearm, finding that the gun would have inevitably been discovered. The defendant appealed.

Inevitable discovery is an exception to the exclusionary rule that allows evidence obtained by illegal means to be admitted if the evidence would have inevitably been discovered “by lawful means.” Lawful means include valid inventory searches. An inventory search must “’be conducted according to standardized criteria,’ such as a uniform police department policy[,] and conducted in good faith.” Slip op. at 6. Here, the officers testified at suppression about the police department’s standard policy to search and catalog the property of arrestees “before or at lockup.” Had the woman requested that the bag be given to the defendant, officers would have cataloged its contents before releasing it under the policy. These procedures helped protect officers from accusations of theft by arrestee and to ensure that no contraband entered the detention center. Here, probable cause existed to arrest the woman and policy dictated searching her property. The gun therefore would have inevitably been found. That officers had “limited discretion” under the department’s policy to decide whether or not to inventory each piece of arrestee property on camera did not render the inventory search invalid. The district court’s denial of the motion as to the gun was therefore unanimously affirmed.

(1) No reasonable expectation of privacy where phone was abandoned; (2) Defendant failed to demonstrate violation of Sixth Amendment right to impartial jury

U.S. v. Small, 944 F.3d 490 (Dec. 6, 2019). This case from the District of Maryland involved charges of federal carjacking and related offenses. The defendant robbed a victim of a car at gunpoint. That car was located three days later with the defendant driving. When officers tried to apprehend the defendant, he led them on a high-speed chase that ended when he crashed the vehicle into the fence at Fort Meade. The defendant fled on foot and evaded police throughout the night but was located and arrested in the morning. During the search the night before, officers located items discarded by the defendant, including his cell phone, shirt, and hat. Law enforcement noticed that the cell phone had missed calls from a number identified on the phone as “Sincere my Wife.” An officer called that number back and determined that the defendant was the likely owner of the phone. Later that morning, officers again used the phone to contact “Sincere,” answered one of her calls, and recorded the phone’s serial number. The government later obtained search warrants to obtain the phone’s historical cell site location data, all of its calls, texts, internet history, and records on another phone that was in contact with the defendant’s phone on the date of the offenses. The records produced pursuant to those warrants incriminated the defendant and a co-defendant. The defendant moved to suppress the warrantless searches of his phone. The district court denied the motion, finding that the phone had been abandoned. The defendant was convicted at trial. Post-trial, the defendant claimed that the trial court’s denial of his motion to excuse and examine two jurors for potential improper contact violated his rights to an impartial jury. The trial court denied this and other post-trial motions, and the defendant appealed. The Fourth Circuit unanimously affirmed.

(1) Under Abel v. U.S., 362 U.S. 217 (1960), a person has no reasonable expectation of privacy in abandoned property. Property that is merely lost is not abandoned. There must be some voluntary action by the defendant that supports finding the defendant renounced his interest in the property. In the words of the court:

A finding of abandonment is based ‘not [on] whether all formal property rights have been relinquished, but whether the complaining party retains a reasonable expectation of privacy in the articles alleged to be abandoned’. To determine whether the defendant maintains a reasonable expectation of privacy in an item, the court performs ‘an objective analysis’ which considers the defendant’s actions and intentions. Id. at 18 (citations omitted).

Here, the defendant left the cell phone in the area following his crash, along with the vehicle, its contents, his shirt, and his hat. He was actively fleeing police and likely discarded the items to avoid detection. The cell phone was found within 50 feet of the defendant’s bloody shirt. The phone was found in a grassy area, away from “a place where [someone] normally might be,” and this indicated that the defendant intended to discard it. A rational defendant might well decide to abandon their phone, given the potential for cell phone tracking. While it was possible that the defendant might have lost his phone, it was unlikely under these facts. “[W]hile phones occasionally slip out of pockets, shirts do not accidentally fall off their wearers—at the exact same moment as hats—and cars do not ditch themselves after a crash.” Id. at. 20. These circumstances amply supported abandonment and the motion to suppress the cell phone was properly denied.

(2) The trial court did not err in denying the defendant’s motion to excuse and question two jurors. During trial, Jurors number 5 and 11 reported feeling “watched” when coming to and from the courtroom and saw cell phones in the hands of some people outside the courtroom that could have filmed them. The trial court made inquiry of the jurors, increased security in and around the courtroom, and advised the jurors to report any other concerns to the court. The trial court did not inform the rest of the jury about the worries of these jurors based on concerns that the information might be more prejudicial than helpful, given the lack of detail regarding the incident. On appeal, the defendant complained that these acts violated his rights to an impartial jury under the Sixth Amendment.

Under Remmer v. U.S., 347 U.S. 227 (1954), “any private communication, contact, or tampering directly or indirectly, with a juror during a [criminal] trial about matters pending before the jury is . . . deemed presumptively prejudicial.” Id. at 22. When the defendant shows there was improper outside contact and that such contact “reasonably draw[s] into question the integrity of the verdict,” the government must demonstrate the contact was harmless in order to defeat the claim. Id. The defendant here failed to meet his burden to show the Remmer presumption applied. First, it wasn’t clear that there was any extrajudicial contact at all—the jurors in question only reported feeling watched. “’Watching’ can hardly be described as ‘communication’ or ‘contact,’ both of which imply an active exchange of information of some sort.” Id. at 24. While “watching” a juror might rise to the level of an improper influence in some circumstances, there was no evidence here to support that finding. Second, the trial judge took appropriate measures in response to the jurors’ reports: He treated the concerns seriously, increased security, advised them to report any additional concerns and ensured they knew how to do so. Rejecting the claim, the court noted: “The judge took a measured, thoughtful approach to the jurors’ concerns. These modest steps were proportionate to what the situation required.” Id. at 25. The district court did not err in denying this motion either and the convictions were unanimously affirmed.

Summary judgment to prison officials for denial of access to televised Friday prayer service and beard grooming policy reversed; remand for proper application of RLUIPA and Free Exercise standards

Greenhill v. Clarke, 944 F.3d 243 (Dec. 6, 2019). The plaintiff was a Muslim inmate with an extensive and “ongoing” disciplinary record in state prison in the Western District of Virginia. He was denied television access while housed in the prison’s most restrictive unit and sued, claiming that the prison’s refusal to allow him to participate in televised Friday prayer service violated rights under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (“RLUIPA”) and the First Amendment. He also challenged the prison’s policy on beard length on the same grounds. The district court granted summary judgment to the defendant-prison officials, finding the policies did not create a substantial burden to the plaintiff’s rights. The Fourth Circuit vacated and remanded.

Prison policy dictated that inmates in the most restrictive housing unit were denied all access to television. The prison provides a “step-down” program, whereby inmates can earn television (and other) privileges back, but the plaintiff refused to participate. The prison justified this policy as a means of improving conduct of the inmates and to enhance overall security. This was improper to the extent the policy interfered with the plaintiff’s religious practice. “While television access in general may well be used as a carrot to encourage inmate improvement and overall safety, access to religious exercise is a right and may not be so used.” Slip op. at 13. The fact that the plaintiff’s disciplinary issues led to the burden on religious practice was irrelevant under RLUIPA. RLUIPA requires the government to justify substantial burdens on religious practice by demonstrating that the policy achieves a compelling government interest and is the least restrictive means to do so. The “blanket” television ban here was not the least restrictive alternative, particularly in light of several alternatives to the total ban suggested by the plaintiff during the course of litigation. The district court erred in focusing on the merits of the “step-down” program to grant summary judgment without properly considering the plaintiff’s rights, and the matter was remanded for the prison to attempt to justify its ban under the correct standard.

The trial court also found that the grooming policy did not impose a substantial burden on the plaintiff’s religious rights. The policy dictated that an inmate would stay in segregated housing unless and until the inmate shaved his beard to the permissible length. This was enough to qualify as a substantial burden. That the prison had changed its grooming policy during the litigation indicated the original policy was similarly not the least restrictive means. The district court’s judgment as to the grooming policy was therefore also vacated and remanded.

While the Free Exercise clause provides lesser protections for inmates than RLUIPA, the plaintiff here stated claims for a violation as to each policy, and the district court erred in determining these policies were reasonably related to legitimate penological goals and did not impose substantial burdens on the plaintiff’s religious rights. The district court erred here for largely the same reasons as the RLUIPA claims and these claims too were remanded for application of the proper First Amendment standard. Concluding, the court observed:

Reasonably accommodating individual religious practice can have a demonstrably positive effect on prisoner adjustment and rehabilitation and, as a result, on the prison security environment as a while. In contrast, restrictions that unreasonably impede individual religious practice under the banner of prison security are likely to have the opposite effect. Id. at 19.

(1) Right to discovery and review by prison officials of surveillance footage in prison disciplinary hearing was not clearly established at the time; but (2) insufficient evidence supported the petitioner’s disciplinary violation

Tyler v. Hooks, 945 F.3d 159 (Dec. 17, 2019). The petitioner was an inmate in state prison in North Carolina serving a 347-month sentence. He received a disciplinary violation for making a knowingly false statement about prison staff that could have exposed the staff to criminal liability (if true). The inmate had accused a guard of sexual assault. The prison determined the accusation was “unfounded” and began investigating the inmate for possible violation of the rule above. The inmate denied making a false statement. Two officers provided statements, with one disclaiming any knowledge of the events and the other stating only that the inmate’s accusation was unfounded after investigation. The investigator reviewed surveillance video and found it did not corroborate either parties’ statements. At disciplinary hearing, the inmate requested the video. It was unclear whether or not the hearing officer watched the video herself and it was not introduced into the record of the hearing. The inmate was found responsible for the violation and lost 20 days of good-time credit as a result. Following an administrative appeal, he sought habeas review in superior court, but the court summarily denied the petition. The state appellate division similarly declined review without comment, and he sought federal habeas relief. According to the inmate, the fact that the hearing officer did not review the video surveillance recording violated due process. He also complained that no evidence supported the violation. The district court granted summary judgment to the prison officials, but the inmate appealed, and the Fourth Circuit granted review.

(1) As to the video, the inmate argued that the hearing officer should have reviewed the footage personally, pointing to recent circuit precedent. See Lennar v. Wilson, 937 F.3d 257, 271 (4th Cir. 2019) (recognizing limited due process right to discovery and review by prison officials of surveillance footage in prison disciplinary violation context). Lennar was the first time this right was recognized, which occurred well after the petitioner’s state appeals—if anything, precedent at the time indicated that there was no such right. “[A]t the time of the entry of the denial order by the North Carolina Supreme Court, no clearly established federal law required [the hearing officer] to personally view the requested video as part of the disciplinary decision.” Slip op. at 15. This claim therefore failed to meet the “formidable burden” to qualify for habeas relief from a state court conviction, as the state court decision was not “contrary to, or . . . an unreasonable application of, clearly established federal law[.]” Id. at 7-8.

(2) Superintendent, Mass. Correctional Institution v. Hill, 472 U.S. 445 (1985), requires “some evidence” to support a prison disciplinary violation. “Some evidence” is evidence with at least some minimal probative value. This “exceedingly lenient standard” looks only at whether or not the violation could be supported by the record. Here, no evidence supported the violation. The one officer’s bare statement that the inmate’s allegation was “unfounded” added nothing to the evidence. The prison investigator’s report after watching the video indicated it neither confirmed nor contradicted either version of events. The other officer’s statement that disclaimed any knowledge of the events whatsoever likewise failed to amount to some probative evidence. None of this showed that the inmate possessed the intention to violate the regulation and finding a violation on this evidence violated due process. The petitioner was therefore entitled to habeas relief and the restoration of his good-time credit. “[T]his is the very rare case where federal habeas will be available due to a total absence of evidence in the record, even under the “some evidence” standard, to support a disciplinary conviction.” Id. at 23. The matter was therefore remanded with instructions for the petition to be granted.

Dismissal without prejudice for anti-shuttling violation under the Interstate Agreement on Detainer Act affirmed

U.S. v. Peterson, 945 F.3d 144 (Dec. 16, 2019). Two inmates in South Carolina state prison were indicted in federal court for drug distribution from prison and were tried together. Both were placed under a federal detainer and moved into federal custody. One inmate was improperly sent back to state custody, in violation of the “anti-shuttling” provision of the Interstate Agreement on Detainers Act (“IADA”). The district court dismissed both indictments without prejudice in response to the violation, and the government re-indicted, securing convictions at trial.

The “anti-shuttling” provision of the IADA requires “the indicting jurisdiction [to] retain custody of a prisoner and dispose of his charges before transferring him back to the sending jurisdiction.” Slip op. at 6. The remedy for violation of the ani-shuttling provision by a receiving state is dismissal with prejudice. But where (as here) the receiving jurisdiction is the federal government, the district court has discretion to determine whether to dismiss with or without prejudice. The court considers the following factors:

(1) The seriousness of the offense; (2) the facts and circumstances of the case which led to the dismissal; (3) the impact of a reprosecution on the administration of the agreement on detainers and on the administration of justice. Id. at 7.

These were serious offenses involving distribution of methamphetamine from a state prison with attendant serious penalties for conviction, and both inmates were already serving long sentences for other serious offenses. The first factor therefore supported dismissal without prejudice. As to the second factor, the defendants showed that South Carolina has been violating the IADA on a systemic level for years. However, in this case, the defendant was shuttled back to state custody as a result of his own actions. The defendant requested to be closer to his defense counsel in order to prepare for trial and was placed back into state custody as a result of the trial court and U.S. Marshalls Service trying to accommodate the request. Nothing showed that the government sought the transfer in order to secure an advantage at trial or was otherwise acting in bad faith. The second factor therefore supported dismissal without prejudice. As to the final factor, the defendant did not identify any resulting injustice or prejudice to his case. Further, “the federal government has a weight interest in resolving on their merits crimes as serious as those before us; the ‘corrosive and devastating effects’ of methamphetamine on society compel as much.” Id. at 12. The district court did not err in dismissing the indictments without prejudice and its order was unanimously affirmed.

The court rejected other timing challenges under the IADA and the Speedy Trial Act, as well as various evidentiary challenges, and unanimously affirmed.

The post Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals – December, 2019 appeared first on North Carolina Criminal Law.

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New Post has been published on http://drubbler.com/2017/02/21/kiev-ukraine-leads-to-the-creation-of-the-crimean-tatar-autonomy-in-kherson/

Kiev Ukraine leads to the creation of the Crimean Tatar autonomy in Kherson

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Alexander Kurkin, February 22, 2017, 1:01- REGNUM

the last few weeks events around the krymsko-Tatar battalions “Asker” as are the focus of media attention. 18 February the Russian FSB officers in Crimea during the illegal crossing of the State border was detained Ibrahim, Zajtullaev-Seit fighter credited with questionable glory of the public association “Asker”. Investigators and the press Zajtullaev told that the “Asker” are preparing militants for reconnaissance and sabotage on the territory of the peninsula and border crossing points, in particular.

the unexpected revelation of the word detainee no steel. Since the victory of the Crimean spring and Ukrainian law-enforcers, and radical nationalists have repeatedly pointed to the role of Crimean Tatar as a key factor in the return of the peninsula to Ukraine. The idea caused serious doubts, since a majority of the Crimean Tatar population in a referendum said “Yes” and “no” to Ukraine, to a huge failure of some “professional” Crimean Tatars in Kyiv. No wonder, because the “Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people” (organization banned in Russia) lost his direct link with the people on whose behalf it two decades steadily beating out grants of Western countries, trying to finance various funds from Turkey and was friends with the Salafists of Hizb-ut-Tahrir (the organization is banned in Russia).

For 20 years, the leadership of Mejlis, mainly represented by Mustafa Dzhemilev and his successor Refata Chubarova, mastered the very convenient for scheme operation problems of Crimean Tatars. In fact illegally monopolizing itself representational responsibilities of the Crimean Tatar people, Dzhemilyov and his colleagues studiously were exposing themselves to Western countries and international organizations as, ostensibly, the only political force able to save his people from destruction and facilitate his return to their historical homeland. Kiev authorities for many years diligently touted itself as the Majlis only possible mediators of real and potential conflicts, whether the land question, the proliferation of Islamic fundamentalism or ethnic clashes. That any little things somehow related to the Crimean Tatars, the Majlis immediately moved to blackmail Kiev, threatening riots and clashes, the convincing arguments in the spirit: “you do not want uncontrolled aggression and ghazavat so entrust the matter to us, we all settled, you know us. With all this, the Majlis has not been an official representative body of the Crimean Tatars, and only arbitrarily spoke on behalf of the people.

this schema punctually has worked for two decades for the Majlis, and to Kyiv. Of course, the problems of Crimean Tatars themselves in doing so did not dare. Settlement of the land issue had dragged on for years and when Ukraine and did not materialize, the krymsko-Tatar language did not give State status and Salafis, openly and generously financed by Arab funds, continued to preach their ideas on mosques and meeting houses, increasing the degree of public pressure. Thus, the word State Duma Deputy, former Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Crimea, Ruslan Bal’beka, called “medzhlisovcev krovopijcami on the body of the Crimean Tatar people”, have your confirmation.

after the referendum in the usual scheme of interaction of the Majlis and Ukrainian authorities came to an end. Crimean Tatar language, alongside Russian and Ukrainian, became a State in the Russian Republic of Crimea. Many members of the Majlis, as Crimean Tatars are not employed in the Organization, decided to take advantage of the opportunities provided to Russia and begin to address the problems of the peninsula, entering the difference government structure of Russia. Examples are the aforementioned Ruslan Bal’bek, the head of the State Committee of the Republic of Crimea in cases of inter-ethnic relations and deported citizens Zaur Smirnov, Advisor to the Russian President’s Envoy in Crimea Iskander Bilyalov, Vice Mayor of Simferopol Tejfuk Gafarov and others.

medzhlisovcev Minority fled the peninsula and drove away to Ukraine. Dzhemilevu Chubarova and under the General grief about the loss of Crimea Ukrainian Patriots managed to scrounge some Poroshenko’s unimaginable before privileges. In March 2014 year Majlis was recognized by the Ukrainian authorities the Supreme executive authority of the Crimean Tatar people and received an article in the State budget. So, the year 2016 according to the website of the President of Ukraine from the State budget for the activities of the Majlis is allocated 40 million hryvnas. All this time Dzhemilevym, Chubarovym and their colleagues continued to speak out on the need to create separate ideas of the krymsko-Tatar battalions by analogy with volunteer units of the Ukrainian nationalists. However, the requisite number of Crimean Tatars Kiev for this purpose medzhlisovcy dial could not.

in addition to the usual eye Dzhemilev and Chubarova, opportunities okrylili and businessman Lenura Isljamova, decided to do professionally Crimean Tatar nationalism. To Crimean spring Islyamov business, owned more than 20 companies in Russia and Ukraine, including several Moscow banks, transport companies, as well as the notorious channel ATR that broadcasts predominantly Crimean-Tatar. Referendum and provided opportunities for the Russian authorities will bex the Tatars in Crimea have allowed Isljamovu to enter into the power and take the post of Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Crimea. However, two months of his service devoted personal decision Islyamov business problems and his own PR. As a result, the State Council sent Isljamova to resign.

then Islyamov went to Kiev, where he obtained Ukrainian citizenship. In September 2015 year Lenur Islyamov became one of the founders (along with the deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of Dzhemilevym and Chubarovym) and, in fact, the main ideologist of “civilian blockade” of Crimea. Under this activity, Mr. created public Union “Asker”, which together with militants of “Azov” and Ukrainian “Corps Volunteer the right sector (organisation banned in Russia) was to monitor, skipping, car inspection on all PPC between Crimea and Ukraine.

wanting to show a more active and before Kiev and Turkish authorities than Dzhemilev and A. Chubarov, Lenur Islyamov immediately took a more radical position. He was the Chief INSPIRER of creation on the basis of the “Asker” (listed on the only public organization) full volunteer battalion, which has the name of the Nomana Chelibidzhihana. Chelibidzhihan was the leader of the short-lived civil war the Crimean people’s Republic of China, said the independence of Crimea and the rebirth of Crimean Tatar statehood. Isljamovu was able to negotiate with the Turks created supply battalion. In particular, in the fall of 2016, he noted that volunteers from Turkey, sent 250 sets of military uniforms, and that country’s Defense Ministry, he said, is already providing military assistance to the “Askeru”.

in the long term this battalion was to provide an honorary mission of preparing the return of Crimea Ukraine, through acts of sabotage on the territory of the peninsula. But it is in the long term, and to start the “askerovcami” was tasked to blockade of the Crimea. However, even with this are having serious problems. For starters, steering blockade Majlis managed to razrugat’sja with all the rest of its participants represented Ukrainian nationalist organizations. Representatives of the Volunteer Corps ceased participation in the Ukrainian siege because Majlis completely removed them from their joint decision. The militia regiment of “Azov” noted the impossibility of joint action with the “askerovcami”, they said, instead of the propaganda of their religious beliefs.

challenges formed Crimean Tatar battalion changed several times: from reconnaissance and sabotage to the police. The truth is that law and order functions «askerovcy» understood somehow differently. By December 2016 year came down to the fact that residents of the village of Kalanchak in southern Kherson region gathered at the people’s Assembly and began to create self defense Squad of locals from continuing acts of banditry, robbery and looting by people in camouflage uniforms. In parallel, Dzhemilev on behalf of Majlis calls on the Crimean Tatars do not go far from the peninsula and stay at Kherson region. The Majlis also nominated draft establishment on the territory of five southern Kherson region autonomy of Crimean Tatars, the guardian which will be generated by the battalion name Chelibidzhihana.

However, in addition to Kyiv Chubarov and Dzhemilev are actively negotiating with Ankara. 16 − 17 December, they held a formal meeting with the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Mr. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Ahmet Davutoglu, Prime Minister Erdogan and President. During the meetings, deputies of the Verkhovna Rada, also shared their plans on the establishment of the krymsko-Tatar units, noting that Ukraine pulls on his creating and its possibilities in this regard are very limited, and robing duty weapons, uniforms, food and health care could finance Ankara. Instead of all the forces promised lobbying Dzhemilev in Kiev on a free trade zone agreement with Turkey.

Like blatant medzhlisovcev conduct and criminal actions “askerovcev” began to cause serious disturbances even those Ukrainian nationalists who believed Crimean Tatar factor important in the destabilization of the life of the peninsula. So, Dmitry Kirchinsky, said: why do we need the second Crimea with the same problems? All separatists are bad — and Russian and Crimean Tatar. Battalion only need to be created in order to lawfully engage in racketeering, rather than fighting in the zone of ATO.

Unchallenged looting “askerovcev” has led to the fact that on the night of 12 to 13 February “Asker” clashed with the near part of the APU. As a result, Ukrainian law-enforcers force took the volunteer base, where they found an impressive arsenal of illegal firearms and ammunition. It turned out that the strength of the battalion to be created does not exceed 80 people so far and they are collected, that is called with the world on a string. Attended even dubious personalities from Arab countries. Probably affected ties with the Islamist medzhlisovcev «hizbutchikami» («the Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami, an organization whose activities are prohibited in the Russian Federation).

the following day, after talks with Defence Minister Poltorakom Chubarova, Commander of the military unit responsible search based on “Asker”, offered a public apology for the incident and “misunderstandings”. As Poltorak offered “askerovcam” voluntarily write statement and join the ranks of “Crimean” Marines, where service is expected to Crimean Tatars and representatives of other peoples of the Crimea.

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