Kershaw County Sheriff and Federal Agent Jim Matthews Claims Tactics Save Lives; Continues to Build Police State
Kershaw County Sheriff Jim Matthews is claiming his tough tactics are the reason for a 70% drop in DUI related deaths in the rural South Carolina County. 70% decline sounds like a major victory for this former DEA agent and is being used by the sheriff and his media guru wife, Heather Hoopes, to tout what a great thing he has done for the county … but things are not always as they seem.
Last year, there were 4 DUI related deaths in Kershaw County, out of 62,000 residents. The sheriff claimed there was an epidemic of drunk drivers in Kershaw County, even though the numbers clearly show that there is little problem relative to the total of residents in the county. This year, there are a total of 4 DUI related deaths and yet the sheriff wants to ignore two of those and claim a great reduction. This is just a tactic used by law enforcement to justify their actions and their jobs. If we see a drop from 7 to 5 deaths the percentage drop is great even though relative to the total population it is insignificant. State wide there were 26,000 DUI arrests out of a total population of 3.2 million which is 0.008125% of the population; hardly an epidemic, but it does make some great headlines for the government propaganda machine.
DUI deaths fluctuate with each passing year as does the total number of highway deaths, which can be attributed to many factors including weather, what day a holiday falls on, or even how many squirrels are on the roads – but there is little to prove that anything the sheriff or SCHP does effects these numbers. For fun, let’s take the 12 deaths in Kershaw County from last year and divide that by the number of residents within the county, 62,000. This easy math problem shows that the percentage of residents killed in accidents is 0.0001935% of the entire county population. The sheriff says there was an epidemic of drunk driving deaths, but with a total of 4 alcohol-related deaths, the percentage of residents killed is small, around 0.0000645%.
Of course Matthews, along with almost every other law enforcement officer, will never talk about these numbers because it makes their jobs seem insignificant and the cost benefit does not add up. That is why they use the total number of deaths, whether higher or lower, as the starting point because any change at all gives greater credence to either how good a job they are doing or why they need more money, cops, and heavy-handed tactics to battle a boogeyman that really does not exist.
This is not to say I advocate driving while intoxicated; it is merely to point out that law enforcement plays with the numbers in order to justify anything they do and secure more funding. The fact is, drunk drivers are a very small percentage of the overall population and law enforcement, along with all their proponents, have created an illusion that there are drunks in almost every vehicle on the road.
Politicians, media, and law enforcement use statistics to baffle the public with bullshit.
It is important to recognize that whenever government itself enters into policy debate, it has the ability to drown out all other voices, and has done so in the law enforcement arena here.
As the NHTSA website shows, law enforcement is well versed in these tactics. They use them for great effects when talking about drugs, DUI’s, rapes, robberies and many other scenarios. The federal government is law enforcement’s best friend providing anything needed to sway public opinion, influence judges, and even prosecute cases.
Sheriff Matthews and his media propaganda are touting his use of aggressive tactics as a reason for lower death rates and a great accomplishment, even though they know it has nothing to do with law enforcement in general. Had the number gone up Matthews would be touting an epidemic and calling for more money and cops to defend against the tide of DUI’s. Every media outlet around Kershaw County promotes the law enforcement line while all voices in opposition are ignored or demonized as radicals or extremists.
Whenever you hear law enforcement use statistics grasp a large box of salt to take with what is being espoused because hidden behind these statistics is the underlying truth. They are playing with the truth to promote their own agenda. Remember, it is a game for money and power and it is that plain and simple.
“We’re out to change behavior”, Matthews said,” We’re not out to ruin someone’s day.”
The administrator of the KCSO Facebook page said the following about checkpoints. Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office @ Tim Taylor:
I am not a fan of those checkpoints, but the courts have ruled them legal. Not the old drug checkpoints which are not, but the DUI checkpoints are. I don’t even like the term “checkpoints.” It has a sinister connotation. I would rather have officers out patrolling.
Then, in an article on the KCSO page, SC trooper Kelly Hughes states, “We will have a lot of DUI checkpoints; we’ll have saturated areas where we see most DUI crashes occurring and we’ll have some nighttime safety belt enforcement.”
Matthews has never denied the use of checkpoints, just said that he does not like them. His deputies regularly participate in partnership with the Highway Patrol in order to give him some sort of plausible deniability.
Fear is the tool of law enforcement and Matthews’ officers are under “orders” to make traffic stops for any infraction no matter how minor and to gain the driver’s permission to search the vehicle. This is done by intimidation and threat. Usually, the officer will say something like, “do you mind if I look inside the vehicle?” If the driver questions the officer, the response will be along the lines of, “If you have nothing to hide, why don’t you want me to look in the vehicle?” They may even say something like, “it will be a lot easier on you if you cooperate.” They may even threaten the driver with a warrant, but the whole stop was in fact made to garner a contact and make a search – what is known in the realms of the DEA as” fishing for gold.” The idea is twofold, first to make every person afraid of police and second, increase tickets and arrests to make it look like they are really making a difference and raise revenues. These tactics borderline on terrorizing the population, in particular, the youth of the county, and should not be tolerated.
If we are going to tolerate these kinds of actions, then why not have checkpoints at all intersections? Why not install breathalyzers in all vehicles? Remember, if it is fair to all and it is for the safety of all, why should you mind if every time you get in your car you must blow into a tube before starting it? Now that is going too far, you say? What’s the difference between checkpoints and in car sobriety checks other than the frequency of the check? And, would it make the roadways even safer? And, if you don’t drink and drive what do you have to hide? Is there something that you are not telling us?
“I have been stopped many times,” stated one 19 year old man, “They always want to search my car. I have gotten only one ticket and that was for a seatbelt, but it always comes down to the search.”
“I refused to let them search my car and the guy started threatening me and yelling” said another young driver, “they target all us young people. All my friends hate them.”
One older man from Kershaw County stated, “Matthews and his goons have a rob and pillage policy. They claim that all this ticketing saves lives but people still speed down the interstate and they keep writing tickets. I think it is about money and power and less about safety.”
“All he wants is his face on the TV,” said another. “He cannot prove that his gestapo tactics have changed anything except people don’t trust them anymore,” the 40-something mother of three said.
“Matthews won’t even talk to someone who complains, he has some guy named Templar that runs interference for him. His town hall meetings reminded me of something that the Nazis would have. You had to submit written questions and the sheriff went through them and only answered those he wanted to and ignored the others. He is a coward; I think he is a small man scared of his shadow.” stated yet another Kershaw County resident.
Force and intimidation are the tools of tyrants no matter if it is for good or evil.
To place a population in a perpetual state of fear is the mark of a tyrant and to force those same people to pay for its application is despotism. With every passing year, the American surveillance police state becomes increasingly powerful and overreaching. Each time the public allows these tyrants another encroachment on the rights of individuals, the Constitution fades in its importance.
Each and every step of the way, the excuse given is that it is all for the safety and security of all and we, as individuals, must give up a little more of our rights in order to protect us all.
Where do we draw the line in the sand? When is enough, enough? The past one hundred years has seen the growth of a police force that looks and feels more like an occupying force rather than a sheriff elected to protect the rights of the individual from majority rule.
We have become a nation in living in fear, promoted and kept alive by those who swore an oath to uphold the Constitution and the rights contained within. Government and law enforcement have partnered together, each standing to gain power and control, at every infringement of individual rights, and grow their respective organizations.
DUI related deaths in Kershaw County are not down 70%, yet the sheriff is painted as a hero; but the king has no clothes.
Their lie is they are providing security; the truth is they are taking away freedom.
Sheriff Matthews has been well trained in police state tactics, as his web site shows, including media propaganda and public information training (Edward Béarnaise would be proud) from the DEA as well as airport Interdiction at the NWO’s Denver Airport again under the DEA. Matthews and his lovely wife, Miss Heather, are now seeking a major increase in funding as he continues to use the federal playbook to justify his vision of a world of safety by force.
In what can only be characterized as self-promoting conceit, Matthews blames county council and the people themselves for not providing him with everything he wants for his police state.
“The powers that be and the public have allowed this problem to increase over time and now we are faced with an expensive fix,” Matthews wrote in an article in the Camden based Chronicle and Independent, a longtime supporter of Matthews. The “expensive fix” he is referring to is revealed as he compares his department with the adjacent county of Lancaster who has 12 deputies per shift while Kershaw County has either 6 or 4 depending on the time of day.
He writes that both departments responded to “approximately” 43,000 calls for service over the course of last year. “They (Lancaster County) have about 10,000 more residents. The difference is they handled this with 12 deputies per shift. As a result Lancaster’s response times are significantly shorter and ours remain unacceptably long. Lancaster can prevent crimes while we are relegated to simply responding to them after they occur.”
There are many things about this statement that are revealing, so I will take each in order.
First, Matthews plays on words when he writes 43,000 calls for “service.” As 911 calls come in, they are routed to the proper service (law enforcement, EMS, or fire) and one may respond while another may not; in fact most calls are for EMS services according to sources in the Kershaw County Emergency services department. So the truth is, Matthews has exaggerated the case load of both departments to again push his agenda.
Second, Matthews claims the Lancaster is able to prevent crimes even though they respond to the same amount of “calls for service.” How does Lancaster prevent crime? Are the phone calls coming in coming from psychics or do they have some kind of pre-crime squad intervening? The fact is, cops rarely (very rarely) prevent anything. Response time is rarely critical as by the time a call comes in the crime has already been committed and the police are there to clean up and make a report.
Matthews wants a massive increase in funding estimated, if fully implemented, to be a $2.5 million increase in addition to the doubling of the KCSO budget since 2009, which was primarily funded through a solid disposal waste fee passed by Kershaw County Council in 2012 raising $1.5 million half of which went to the KCSO.
Sheriff Matthews may actually believe his rhetoric; after all, he has spent his entire adult life within the halls of the federal government’s law enforcement indoctrination centers and has been trained in the art of propaganda. Matthews is a government agent, one of the best, and he is doing his masters bidding.
Slowly, one step at a time, hidden behind the cloak of safety and security, Matthews is building, with the help of his friends, the Fed and local politicians, a brutal, massive, expensive, police state.
Matthews is not alone. Across the nation police departments and sheriff offices are being infiltrated with federal agents like Matthews. They come in on white horses, armed with honors galore and once in office they start to build their little part of what will ultimately become a full-fledged totalitarian police state where citizens will be subject to stop at any time day or night.
They promise security, but what you get is tyranny.
As the New Year begins, Kershaw County citizens, as many across the nation, will be forced to pay for their own enslavement by those who claim the opposite. What is up is down. Lies have become truth and right has become wrong.
The people will be subjected to another massive propaganda assault by the government and promoted by media outlets across the land.
Will the people be fooled again? Of course and Kershaw County residents will move one step closer to 1984. The big question is, how much more will they take? The sad answer appears to be, whatever their masters dictate.
Feel free to make your own voice heard by contacting the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Department. Their contact information is listed below:
Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office
Sheriff Jim Matthews
803-425-1512
This article was written by Jeff Mattox and shared via CopBlock.org’s ‘submit‘ tab.
