Checking IDs
Grady Judd, Florida’s Joe Arpaio.
Florida sheriff is telling certain members of the population in Polk County that they won’t be welcome at shelters in the area, and his statement has spurred controversy as Hurricane Irma barrels towards the state.
The Polk County Sheriff Twitter account tweeted Wednesday that law enforcement officers would be checking IDs at every shelter in the county. The purpose, the account said, was to turn away sexual predators.
The sheriff of Polk County, whose photo is on the Twitter account, is Grady Judd.
Of course sexual predators aren’t the only people who will be scared off by that announcement.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida spoke out against his language, saying Judd was “exploiting a natural disaster and endangering lives.”
Our response to the dangerous #HurricaneIrma tweets of @PolkCoSheriff Grady Judd, threatening arrests for people seeking shelter. pic.twitter.com/V4MKC9nfTw
— ACLU of Florida (@ACLUFL) September 6, 2017
With this series of tweets, @PolkCoSheriff Grady Judd is exploiting a natural disaster and endangering lives. https://t.co/OXVVuifFPu
— ACLU of Florida (@ACLUFL) September 6, 2017
.@PolkCoSheriff: please focus on preparing for Irma, not burnishing your Joe Arpaio-style 'tough cop' credentials with irresponsible tweets.
— ACLU of Florida (@ACLUFL) September 6, 2017
Be safe, Floridians.
Why doesn’t he just come out and say it: only white people are welcome at the shelters? Oh, can’t do that. Must pretend we are protecting the womenfolk.
WTF? So, crowded shelter, loads of people, many in groups of family and/or friends, one of the strongest storms in history bearing down… and his priority is making sure noone’s going to take advantage of the situation to commit a sexual offense?
I mean, don’t get me wrong, there are bastards who would use any situation for sexual gratification, but is that really the biggest worry he’s got? I’d have thought looting would be a much bigger risk.
(OK, yes, I do know that, as iknklast says, this is a thinly veiled excuse. And not a very good one. Surely he could have come up with something better?)