Mr. WEO Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 (edited) Quote from the linked article: "It's supposed to be six months, I actually did it in a condensed timeframe. I couldn't say an exact, day to day, but it was a four-month period I think. It was from the very beginning of the year. Man it was study after study, test after test. It was a load," he said. Williams instructors told us at last week's graduation that the football star tackled the work like a pro. "Was he there everyday in the classroom with everybody?" we asked Stewart. "He was in the class there everyday," Stewart said. "He did the full 660 hours of classroom instruction?" we asked. "Yes. Yes," he said. "What was it like spending 660 hours of classroom time with Mario Williams?" we asked class valedictorian Brad Hoover said. We have NFL players committing murder, PED's, pot, drunk driving, manslaughter, animal abuse, etc. and the media wants to attack a quiet guy who wants to be a cop???? Sensationalism and a 24 hour news cycle is the death knell of all that is good in our society. Here, let me help you with the rest of the article... "A preliminary report obtained by 13 Undercover shows the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement got a complaint that a cadet did not get training or complete the course up to applicable standards. In the report, the name of the cadet in question is blacked-out by the agency, but again, we've learned from multiple sources that the cadet is Mario Williams. According to state investigators, the preliminary findings support the complaint's allegations. In a scathing letter, TCOLE executive director Kim Vickers told the school that "Until further notice, operation of the law enforcement training academy agreement is suspended" and that "Lone Star College is not authorized to conduct any further law enforcement training." When state investigators went to the academy to investigate. They say they were met with an "institutional lack of cooperation," delays and a refusal to produce documents. On July 9, law enforcement commission staffers evaluated the academy itself and found numerous violations of both statutes and rules. And that's why they shut them down. " This part was a chuckle: "We tried to reach Williams through his new team in Buffalo, but were told he is traveling. " Reporting that an NFL star who cut a few corners to become some sort of cop, resulting in his schools closure is hardly the death knell of what is good in our society. Talk about sensationalism.... Edited August 2, 2013 by Mr. WEO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Is that the same Brad Hoover who used to play in the NFL? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackFergy Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Here, let me help you with the rest of the article... "A preliminary report obtained by 13 Undercover shows the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement got a complaint that a cadet did not get training or complete the course up to applicable standards. In the report, the name of the cadet in question is blacked-out by the agency, but again, we've learned from multiple sources that the cadet is Mario Williams. According to state investigators, the preliminary findings support the complaint's allegations. In a scathing letter, TCOLE executive director Kim Vickers told the school that "Until further notice, operation of the law enforcement training academy agreement is suspended" and that "Lone Star College is not authorized to conduct any further law enforcement training." When state investigators went to the academy to investigate. They say they were met with an "institutional lack of cooperation," delays and a refusal to produce documents. On July 9, law enforcement commission staffers evaluated the academy itself and found numerous violations of both statutes and rules. And that's why they shut them down. " This part was a chuckle: "We tried to reach Williams through his new team in Buffalo, but were told he is traveling. " Reporting that an NFL star who cut a few corners to become some sort of cop, resulting in his schools closure is hardly the death knell of what is good in our society. Talk about sensationalism.... This hard hitting journalism to call into question the credentials of a millionaire who wants to assist in law enforcement (as opposed to murdering and doing drugs) is the exact kind of reporting I hope to see more of in the future...I am now making "Deadspin" my home page. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazed and Amuzed Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Who cares? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorkington Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Who cares? Bills fans, apparently. We just can't stop getting worked up over "drama" in relation to Mario. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 I'll take this "drama" over the real drama other teams have been experienced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 (edited) Here, let me help you with the rest of the article... "A preliminary report obtained by 13 Undercover shows the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement got a complaint that a cadet did not get training or complete the course up to applicable standards. In the report, the name of the cadet in question is blacked-out by the agency, but again, we've learned from multiple sources that the cadet is Mario Williams. According to state investigators, the preliminary findings support the complaint's allegations. In a scathing letter, TCOLE executive director Kim Vickers told the school that "Until further notice, operation of the law enforcement training academy agreement is suspended" and that "Lone Star College is not authorized to conduct any further law enforcement training." When state investigators went to the academy to investigate. They say they were met with an "institutional lack of cooperation," delays and a refusal to produce documents. On July 9, law enforcement commission staffers evaluated the academy itself and found numerous violations of both statutes and rules. And that's why they shut them down. " This part was a chuckle: "We tried to reach Williams through his new team in Buffalo, but were told he is traveling. " Reporting that an NFL star who cut a few corners to become some sort of cop, resulting in his schools closure is hardly the death knell of what is good in our society. Talk about sensationalism.... Sometimes stories that appear to be factual don't necessarily give a full picture of the situation. There are occasions in academies that the students for a variety of reasons might not fully participate in the classroom work yet pass the tests on the individual subject matter. If you don't attend a class on search and seizure law but pass the test on the subject you are demonstrating the required proficiency. Law students don't always attend class but if they pass the test at the end of the course they are certified in that subject matter. You can be studying to be a doctor and not attend a particular class on chemistry. If you pass then you pass. If you attend all the clasess and fail the test then you fail. You can have a doctor from one country going to another country who doesn't take the required course work but passes the qualifying test. That doctor is certified even if his course work from where he came from was far from being comparable in the new country. In some police academies shooting takes up a large part of the curricular. Shooting can be a frequent endeavor during the 6 or 9 month course work. If a person doesn't participate in many of the shooting sessions but at the end of the course scores very high in the shooting tests with a variety of weapons then the student has demonstrated an adequate level of proficiency. I know of cases where a police officer from one jurisdiction joins a department in another jurisidiction. There is really no need to duplicate the topics that the transferring candidate already knows very well, such as shooting and an understanding of a number of police topics such as the law and search and seizure, crime scene, driving courses, ethics, writing reports etc. In that scenario the training length can be very short. If a police candidate is a certified EMT is it necessary for that candidate to attend the class on first aid? I don't think so. The candidate still has to take the test but if he didn't attend the class on that subject matter it didn't hinder that student in understanding the subject matter. It's not unusual for a police cadet who gets injured or suffers an extended illness or a cadet who has to leave the academy for a family emergency back home to have an individual schedule set up when the candidate returns to duty . Sometimes in those situations the training is done on a fast paced one on one basis to get the candidate fully caught up and then certified with his course work. The only point I'm making here is that the reported story can be true yet not fully reflect the situation. Edited August 2, 2013 by JohnC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 This hard hitting journalism to call into question the credentials of a millionaire who wants to assist in law enforcement (as opposed to murdering and doing drugs) is the exact kind of reporting I hope to see more of in the future...I am now making "Deadspin" my home page. Look, he apparently didn't do the full program and they gave him a diploma. Because of this the school has been shut down. I'm not calling into question his "credentials" ("millionaire" or not)--the state of Texas says he doesn't have any, and now neither does his alma mater. A school (especially one that trains police) closed down by the preferential treatment they gave to a celebrity is certainly news. Sometimes stories that appear to be factual don't necessarily give a full picture of the situation. There are occasions in academies that the students for a variety of reasons might not fully participate in the classroom work yet pass the tests on the individual subject matter. The only point I'm making here is that the reported story can be true yet not fully reflect the situation. John, the state disagrees with you. They are satisfied that this isn't at all what you are describing. I'm sure Mario attended with good intentions but he didn't complete the training and they passed him anyway. Then they weren't forthcoming with info for the investigation. Now they are closed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 (edited) John, the state disagrees with you. They are satisfied that this isn't at all what you are describing. I'm sure Mario attended with good intentions but he didn't complete the training and they passed him anyway. Then they weren't forthcoming with info for the investigation. Now they are closed. He is being enmeshed in a controversey that he didn't want to be involved in. (You made that observatin.) The authorities investigated a complaint of preferential treatment for a high profile person. The facility didn't cooperate to the extent that satisfied the investigators and in addition the investigators found some other issues with the operatiion. Is the training center permanently closed? Or is it closed until there is better cooperation and other problem areas are fixed? I'm not a fan of Mario the person. But in this case I'm sympathetic towards him. He was trying to do something positive by exploring his interests in police work Much to his surprise he ends up getting caught in the swirl of controversey. It is well known that he has a genuine interest in police matters. He has donated money for police cars in Houston. On this issue I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt that he was acting with good intentions. Edited August 2, 2013 by JohnC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted August 3, 2013 Share Posted August 3, 2013 Is that the same Brad Hoover who used to play in the NFL? That dude sucked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just in Atlanta Posted August 3, 2013 Share Posted August 3, 2013 Just wait until you see what a bad tipper he is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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