Hurricane Irma: Polk sheriff warns IDs will be checked at evacuation shelters

[Tommy_Carcetti]

Source: Tampa Bay Times

Hurricane Irma's potential landfall is still days away, but the Polk County Sheriff's Office made minor online waves Wednesday morning with a pair of tweets warning sex offenders and citizens with arrest warrants against seeking refuge in local storm shelters.

In the event that a serious storm event causes local shelters to open, the account tweeted, "If you go to a shelter for #Irma, be advised: sworn LEOs will be at every shelter, checking IDs. Sex offenders/predators will not be allowed."

A later tweet followed up, "If you go to a shelter for #Irma and you have a warrant, we'll gladly escort you to the safe and secure shelter called the Polk County Jail."

The second tweet received over one thousand replies, many of which were critical of the Sheriff' Grady Judd's pronouncement

Read more: http://www.tampabay.com/news/weather/hurricanes/hurricane-irma-polk-sheriff-warns-ids-will-be-checked-at-evacuation/2336439

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Miss a court date, drown to death. Unbelievable.

Someone wants to be the next Joe Arpaio.

[Iliyah]

1. Humanity, where has it gone?

[maxrandb]

10. Humanity died a long and painful death when 2,000 Cookie-Cutter Hate Radio Stations started

broadcasting nothing but Nazi filth.

Tell me again why there are colleges that have their football games broadcast on stations that offer nothing but hate and white supremacy for the other 164 hours a week.

Hate Radio needs to be destroyed...ONE LOCAL STATION AT A TIME

[gilligan]

34. Yeah man.

[samnsara]

2. im have mixed feelings about this....

[Tommy_Carcetti]

3. Mixed?

A public official is sending signals intimidating citizens who are doing nothing more than seeking shelter. Sometimes with families.

And it could also be a shout out against undocumented individuals seeking shelter as well.

There's nothing mixed about my reaction to this. It's horrendous.

[Arkansas Granny]

8. Yep, he's basically telling them to go to jail or risk death.

[christx30]

17. I think it depends on the crime.

If it's sex stuff with kids, yeah. Jail or drown. Of it's attempted murder or armed robbery, then, yes. Jail or drown.

But if it's traffic tickets or a possession of controlled substances, then they should be allowed to shelter.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

18. And how exactly do they determine who might have a warrant out for what crime? nt

[Evergreen Emerald]

22. its listed

They can tell

[Tommy_Carcetti]

23. Listed where?

How do they match the name on the list with the people coming into the shelter?

[jmowreader]

30. It's not that hard

The county has a database of warrants. They can use a computer to check IDs against it.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

31. So an ID check.

An ID check to get into an emergency shelter.

How lovely.

[jmowreader]

33. Yes, and that's what he said he was going to do

The lawsuits from families of people who died rather than risk Boss Judd's wrath should be entertaining and enlightening.

[left-of-center2012]

12. I understand

On one side, you want to offer shelter to all.
On the other, you want to protect kids from sexual offenders.

You'll be attacked for having "mixed feelings".
Possibly by people who wouldn't let sexual offenders near their kids.

[Bradical79]

20. I understand mixed feelings

I'd very much be cool with arresting sex offenders and murderers if it didn't involve a blanket warrant search advertised beforehand. A category 5 hurricane barreling down on your state isn't the time to be playing tough guy cop. You don't pull this shit with innocent lives at stake.

[denbot]

35. What a piece of shit sheriff..

And you have mixed feelings.. hmmm

[niyad]

4. and, if one is undocumented, don't even bother--just go drown.

[Orrex]

5. What about Attorneys General who perjure themselves?

I'd love to see Sessions the Evil Elf turned away at the door.

[snowybirdie]

6. That particular sheriff

has been a right wing ass for years. Publicity hound in the mold of Arapiao. Despicable!

[Bradical79]

21. Yet a few long time members here support him :-(

I just couldn't hold back my rage at that. Democrats supporting a racist sherrif who's trying to get people killed in the name of law and order.

[Coventina]

26. I saw that. Really disgusting.

[unblock]

7. if he cared about law enforcement, he would have just done this without tweeting about it in advance

there's no public service angle to tweeting this first.

best case is he talks someone who he figures needs to be arrested out of showing up at a place where he could have easily arrested them. basically he's telling fugitives how to evade arrest.


so aside from being an a**hole, he's also an idiot.

[Va Lefty]

9. Agreed. He's an asshole and proud of it!

[cstanleytech]

11. If anyone dies in that county due to not being allowed shelter or to scared

due to not wanting to be arrested I hope that their family or heirs sues the sheriff and the county for their deaths.

[exboyfil]

27. An entire family dies

because Dad has unpaid parking tickets.

I see no reason for the message except throwing red meat.

[titaniumsalute]

13. And that is why Polk County continues to be a shithole

[Tommy_Carcetti]

14. Well, I'm not going to attack the county itself, but the sheriff sure is a shithead.

And I'm sure he has company with other shitheads, both inside and outside Polk County.

[titaniumsalute]

15. Polk County is the most redneck place I've ever been to

Seriously it should be in South Georgia. Winter Haven, Plant City, Lakeland. Ugg.

[MrScorpio]

16. ...Because that's what a dick would do.

[Girard442]

19. Back in the 60's there was a bumper sticker.

"Don't like cops? Next time you're in trouble, call a hippy."

A lot of people have discovered along the way that calling a hippy (as in left-ish volunteer organizations) was exactly the thing to do.

[LakeArenal]

24. Bring us your humble masses yearning to be dry and sheltered..

..and we'll arrest them while they are suffering.. It's the Republican thing to do...

[Native]

25. Mother Fuckers!

[oasis]

28. "Exposed my client to danger while transporting him across town to jail."

The exact wording of the lawsuits may vary.

[blogslut]

29. Grady Judd

Florida's own Sherriff Joe.

[jmowreader]

32. Grady, Grady, Grady...

Are you trying to save lives in the aftermath of the worst hurricane the US has ever seen, or are you auditioning for a role in the Trump Administration?