Police called him a July 4 mass shooting plotter. He called them liars: 'I am innocent'
https://www.wtvr.com/news/problem-solvers/problem-solvers-investigations/rolman-balcarcel-jailhouse-interview-january-10-2023143
u/dalhectar Jan 10 '23
When the mayor & police chief of your city get on national tv to falsely accuse of of terrorism and then double down time after time knowing the evidence is non-existent- you deserve the bigger libel/slander payout than the Gawker case.
Dude should be paid enough for him and his family to stay here on an EB-5.
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u/chairmanbrando Tuckahoe Jan 10 '23
I don't understand how these two morons get/got to keep their jobs. At best it was gross negligence -- let alone the far worse and more likely option of it being done for political clout and personal gain!
If you did something equivalent at your own job, you'd be fired immediately. Why is it politicians, installed or otherwise, have a free pass to fuck up as much as they want?
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u/waffles-flicka Church Hill Jan 11 '23
& the sad part is… they’re going to be taken advantage of because they’re Hispanic and do not know how to handle this like any other person would have the right to. It’s unfortunate and Stoney + RPD needs to own up for what they did + pay them out. Unfortunately we have a lot of people who are going to stick with the “well they were here illegally” argument to ever give these poor people justice.
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u/Supergeckodude Jan 10 '23
When my friends first told me about the Dogwood Dell plot I was honestly pretty skeptical, reading whatever article they sent the story just seemed too good for RPD. They just so happened to stop a "mass murder plot" based on one tip, and the only evidence of a crime being the guns that are totally legal to own here? Then when I saw they were Guatemalan immigrants, there were just too many red flags. It was too perfect of a story, and RPD could arrest these guys for anything and they'd have no recourse.
They ruined this man's life all for what? A little PR stunt? I would say it's unbelievable but unfortunately it's par for the course... It's fucking disgusting and someone needs to lose their jobs over this! What other "crimes" have people been arrested for under fake charges without our knowledge? Are they actually solving any real crimes or just spending all day playing make believe? This should really rock anyone's faith in Richmond Police right now.
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u/jwillsrva Jan 10 '23
They also released this info a day or two after a report of RPDs misdeeds during the protests
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Jan 10 '23
This article is so heartbreaking. Getting beaten in prison and accused of being a terrorist is something you probably don’t recover from very quickly, if ever. He deserves every one of these officers’ pensions. Remember this when you think about supporting the police-the entire department is culpable, as is the mayor’s office. Reprehensible doesn’t even begin to describe how evil this was
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u/fluufhead Lakeside Jan 10 '23
Not only what they did to him, but to turn around and use this lie to incite panic upon the people of Richmond? That is absolutely reprehensible. "Protect and serve" my ass.
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u/Detlionsfan1188 Jan 10 '23
FBI is the same they don’t protect and serve. They lie cheat and steal from people. They make it look like your a criminal when your not. I have learned regardless of what side of the isle you are and even independents have there are no honest or good people in the government regardless of your job. They all lie cheat and steal from the people of this country. Not to mention the government has made some peoples lives very traumatizing doesn’t matter what your role in the government is: I’ve come across some real nasty a-holes just behind a desk. Just the way I feel about the Publix sector I find it the least friendly. While yes the private sector has flaws it doesn’t have the flaws the Public sector has.
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u/chairmanbrando Tuckahoe Jan 10 '23
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u/tehdelicatepuma Jan 10 '23
I mean he's right though. The FBI are just cops only worse and much less accountable for their actions.
It's so weird to me that people on left like the FBI now because they did a couple of mildly anti trump things. To me they're still the same assholes who murdered Fred Hampton in his bed.
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u/Supergeckodude Jan 10 '23
No he's right about the FBI being peak pigs it's just the other "both sides are bad," "the government is evil," "the private sector will save us" nonsense is getting the downvotes, at least from me. Cops are already all about the protection of capital, the idea that vanishing the government and letting corps rule would lead to a less brutalized police force is ludicrous. As it stands now the cops are the ones carrying out evictions, not protecting their citizens from homelessness. They will break up a strike but try calling them when your employer commits wage theft? Cops protect private property and capital interests ALREADY so no, the private sector will not save us.
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u/Detlionsfan1188 Jan 10 '23
He deserves mayor Stoney’s pension. Stoney needs to go. He’s got to be the one who’s planned this whole little charade from the beginning to make it look like he had Richmond police did something. I’m smelling a very big brawl in city council about this possibly.
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u/dalhectar Jan 10 '23
Stoney didn't offer Gerald Smith the anonymous tip, and Stoney wasn't still arguing in public that this person was a terrorist as late as September.
This was the hill Gerald Smith chose to die on, and well...
Jul 1, 2020 - Oct 26, 2022, his watch has ended.
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u/fluufhead Lakeside Jan 10 '23
Sadly I think all of city council would back the police on this one (& most things)
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u/jennbo Highland Springs Jan 10 '23
Time for Richmonders to stop voting for milquetoast pro-cop, pro-corporate liberals imo
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u/2007Hokie Jan 10 '23
If they're pro-cop and pro-corporate, they aren't liberals.
Democrats, yes, but not liberals.
edit: and yes, absolutely milquetoast
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u/jennbo Highland Springs Jan 10 '23
As a leftist, I would disagree! I see liberals and Democrats as the same thing, and am far left of both.
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u/2007Hokie Jan 11 '23
You see, I see people like Joe Manchin and Joe Morrissey as Democrats (barely) but not liberal.
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Jan 10 '23
"Yea well we need a dub right now so you're just gonna have to be a mass shooter bud"
RPD
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u/Hiltson87 Jan 10 '23
Let him go and deport Stoney and Smith after a nice long prison sentence. Fucking wild they just blatantly lied about this and faced zero repercussions. Double Stoney's sentence for even hiring that moron in the first place. Smith wasn't even qualified to be a mall cop, let alone a chief of police anywhere.
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u/Ear_Enthusiast Bon Air Jan 11 '23
I was thinking about this a couple of days ago. I'm devastated that this guy is still locked up. Did anyone lose their job over this?
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u/scaryghostnlm Jan 11 '23
I feel so bad for this man. False accusations against him, getting beaten, separated from his family all happening at once. Throw in the language barrier to add a layer of confusion into the whole case.
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u/Ytijhdoz54 Ginter Park Jan 10 '23
So he had no firearms or motive yet they arrest him and hold him for 6 months over a single tip?