The ACLU teams with Local Druids to Attack Christian Police Officer…The Christian Side Of The Story
Posted on August 30, 2005
Perhaps you heard the MSM Version Of This story.
GREER, S.C. — The American Civil Liberties Union is demanding that the city of Greer drop all charges and apologize to a Greer couple who claim they were targeted by police because of a religious bumper sticker.
I just got this in the email:
I am the Greer SC Police Officer under attack by the ACLU
Hello
Thanks for covering my story. The full story (and not just what the ACLU
wants you to read) can be found on our churches website at
www.mtlebanonbaptistchurch.org
So here it is:
During my 14 years as a volunteer police officer for the city of Greer SC I tried to make a difference in the lives of anyone I encountered in crisis situations. The night of June 10th God placed Tony and DJ Gainey into my path during a traffic stop. Each time I worked in uniform I prayed for a chance to be in a place where God could use me. That night, like others before, He answered my prayers.
Although the Gainey’s have told many stories about the events of that traffic stop, I have maintained silence. This is for two reasons. First, the Greer police department placed me on suspension pending an internal affairs investigation and asked me to make no comments. And the second reason is that God had yet to give me a response. The Greer Police Department has now cleared me of any wrong doing and found the charges made against me by Tony and DJ Gainey to be unsubstantiated, and God has also revealed his plan to me.
During the last two months literally thousands of Christians have responded with prayers of support. The result has been that I’m now blessed beyond understanding by the continued showing of support from family, friends and other Christians. Entire churches have lifted me up in prayer resulting in both immediate and future blessings. For this I am humbled and very thankful.
During my silence, the Gainey’s have propagated lies about the details of the traffic stop. During this time I have become the source of a countless attacks against my character throughout the United States and in foreign countries. A little time spent on the web searching for either “officer Tony Stewart”, “DJ Gainey” or “Debra Gainey” reveals more versions of the events of that night than can be read. While a few of the sites simply mention the claims of the Gainey’s and the ACLU, many others elaborate on what a skunk I am.
From the comments made on many of these sites it’s clear that far too many people will believe anything they read. There are a few websites that are wise enough to withhold their judgment until all facts are known, but they number in the minority. It seems that people will follow the loudest voice they hear. And the voices that are making the most noise are not interested in the truth.
Until the court case against the Gainey’s has been settled I am not at liberty to discuss the details of the traffic stop. The city has subpoenaed me as a witness in the case and I will honor that obligation just as if I was still a sworn officer. During my 14 years, although I had the opportunity (as reserve officers in Greer could write tickets and drive cruisers while alone), I never wrote a single traffic ticket or drove a police cruiser as I found this to be in conflict with my desires to help others in distress. Neither the tickets written for the Gainey’s nor the initiation of the traffic stop was my doing.
There have been distortions of the truth that will become known over the next period of time. There have been many claims made to the police department, our Governor, the news media and other agencies that have caused my family and myself some harm and stress. I am not a stalker, or a profiler and no restraining order is needed against me. Reasonable people already know this without an explanation from me. And better yet, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, knows the truth.
The city of Greer is a wonderful place to live and raise a family. There are no police officers that are out looking for cars to stop and harass, and profiling has never been present. All of the officers I worked with impressed me as professionals who care about people and their department has never profiled anyone. However there comes a time when enforcing laws is a duty none of them avoid. This was the case on June 10th when another officer wrote tickets for serious traffic violations and presented them to the Gaineys. I will miss serving the city of Greer, but I know that the citizens will continue to be served by a team 2nd to none.
Many of the TV stations, websites and newspaper sites I visited also slammed Greer unfairly. As of this writing, all that has been heard is one voice. The City of Greer does not deserve the bad publicity running rampant across the web, newspapers and TV channels. And it has even spread to other countries. As for me, I have been lifted onto the shoulders of Jesus Christ himself and have no fear of tomorrow.
The motives for the Gaineys to make charges against me were two fold. One of those was to make enough noise so as to force the police department to drop their charges. The dismissal of all four of the reserve officers due to budgetary reasons came at an unfortunate time, which may have looked suspicious to some. I can only say that I hope a creative approach to solving their budget problems will one day allow them to reinitiate this program, as it was a resource that helped the other officers do their jobs more safely. I doubt that I would ever be asked to return, but I have no hard feelings. I enjoyed serving the people of Greer.
The 2nd motive of the Gaineys can be understood by visiting their website where they advertise classes in witchcraft and magic. My firm stance for Jesus Christ is in stark contrast to the agenda of the Gainey family. The traffic stop of June 10th presented the Gaineys with an opportunity to promote their cause while waging a campaign against public servants in general and me in particular. EMS, Fire and Police officers are constantly asked for advice from people they encounter. If referring people in crisis to a pastor, bible study or church is removed from their list of responses evil will have won a major victory. It would not be appropriate to list the location of this website since this would only promote their cause further. And as anyone searching the web will find out, witchcraft is everywhere and not just in the Lake Robinson area of Greer.
At this stage, the ACLU and the Gainey’s are hoping for things to use to their advantage. So, I must be careful even when sharing the truth, as there is already a history of ignoring or distorting truth. It saddens me that some people are quick to judge and that some people are quick to act without knowing all the facts.
As a Christian and a volunteer police officer, I constantly desired to help people. That night I heard a cry for mercy from a lady who told of hard times and living on food stamps. I heard that the trip to Walmart to get needed groceries was unfairly interrupted by the arrest of her husband. And the towing of a car that could not be legally driven without insurance or tags would add further burdens to a family she described as without hope. I heard that some of the groceries would spoil and that they had no money to replace them.
This was the chance that I prayed for. I responded by asking her if I could mail her a letter about a bible study at Mt. Lebanon Baptist church where I told her the search for answers to the questions she asked could begin. I wanted her to meet my Pastor Mark Smith who God uses every day to show people the way to better days. I wanted her to know what the support of a church family like mine could do for her. Before we parted I presented her with $40 dollars to help with the spoiled groceries.
Extending God’s compassion is a lesson I learned from studying the life of Jesus and from the members of the Mt. Lebanon congregation and I hoped that she would see this compassion in my act. I also knew that if she could meet my church family that she would have help to shoulder her burdens. None of my actions were against her will as she led all conversations and I simply responded to her lead.
Frankly, my witnessing to her was planned for the bible study that I prayed she would attend. All of my comments came as a result of her questions as to where she could turn to improve her luck. It could well have been that she wanted to play on my sympathy as a means of getting their charges dropped. This tactic has been used on officers many times. But Caesars laws can’t be violated as a method to introduce someone to God’s perfect plan for their lives. That’s also why stopping a car for an illegal reason would have put me outside of God’s will and any attempt to show her the face of Jesus after that would not have been blessed.
The real witnessing came in a letter I mailed to her home after she was asked for permission and her address, which she freely gave. Visiting her website where the letter and envelope are posted clearly shows a Greer address while their personal papers she accused me of improperly using showed a Greenville address. Here also I could not violate man’s laws of privacy to do God’s work. At some point in the future I know that a foundation of lies will be replaced with the truth. There is evidence to support the fact that there was no illegal traffic stop and no invasion of privacy involved. The reason for the car stop will be seen eventually, but the Gaineys already know the real truth.
God knows that I’ve always prayed for a chance to tell groups of people about how he changed my life and how there are none that can’t be healed. I have many stories that if told, will point others to the healing power of Jesus Christ. This traffic stop now gives me the chance to do just that. I’m now confident that churches will invite me to speak as a result of the media attention. God answers prayers in amazing ways. He also replaces things unjustly taken with far more abundant blessings. I will no longer serve the citizens of Greer. But I look forward to what God will replace those blessings with. Without the events of that night, I could have never been as effective in spreading his word, as I will now be. What an amazing way God has to accomplish his will.
From the thousands who have offered me support came a group founded by Mr. William Renfrow, called United for Christ. This group and their attorneys are now developing a response to this situation. Currently they are receiving counsel from the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ). The ACLJ is another Christian based organization that works to preserve the rights of Christians. And I am pleased to say that my friend and Christian attorney - Matt Henderson is also praying over this matter. Don’t mistake these comments as to indicate that we have a planned attack of our own. Quite the opposite! We will stand on Romans 12:21.
Once our plans are completed the absolute power of God to turn evil into good will be seen. While I’m not at liberty to discuss this plan until it’s finished, I will say that what is planned will come as a powerful and permanent response to those who believe that it’s against the law for public servants who are asked for counsel, to mention Jesus.
In closing, God’s signs are all around us. As evidenced by the fact that the place the Gaineys chose to stop their car during this traffic stop, was in the parking lot of 2nd Baptist church in Greer. Setting the scene for an event of His doing is something I have grown to expect from God. On that holy ground he reached out to someone in need and on that holy ground DJ Gainey accepted his offer initially. It was only afterwards that she chose to push away his hand. Continually ignoring his outstretched arms is not a wise move. This I said in a letter to her and it’s not a threat from me at all.
God is clearly reaching out to the Gaineys and continues to do so. A battle between them and me does not exist. The real battle is between God and Satan. There is also a battle waging to rob public servants who desire to answer pleas for help spiritually with a threat of violation of civil rights. Satan started his work against us in the Garden of Eden with lies and he’s had a lot of experience at it since then. There is a way to answer honest pleas for help spiritually without violating any of man’s laws. There may never be a way to out shout the voice of misdirection though.
I ask for continued prayers for my family and myself. But I also ask that you pray that the Gaineys see the hand of God in their lives. God orchestrated some powerful situations to reach them and he has not given up. As you pray, ask God to show them unmistakable signs in their lives that he loves them and is calling them to him. I welcome the future opportunity to speak to groups, but believe that this testimony would be more powerful if a converted witch and persecutor of Christians also had a testimony to share.
It is our pleasure to cover your story, and we want you to know you will be in our prayers, as well as the Gaineys. Continue praying for God’s guidance. Perhaps He has opened the door of opportunity to speak a message through you to many who would not have heard otherwise. May God bless you.
Thank you Outside The Beltway
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7 Responses to “The ACLU teams with Local Druids to Attack Christian Police Officer…The Christian Side Of The Story”
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Awesome. I’m eagerly awaiting the time when the whole truth can be exposed.
Great, we should make all police officers Christian missionaries and have them try to help the infidels by proseletyzing them on the beat.
Hey Jake, you can’t make someone a Christian. God calls them to do this.
This guy really digs god. I hope he was following US law and not christian law. Hard to tell from what I just read
I hope that email isn’t real because I think he just sealed his fate and the fate of that police department.
It’s one thing for a government official to suggest someone find guidance from a higher power, it is another thing for that officer to suggest his own church and pastor. What if the officer were Islamic and used his time in a government uniform, on the government dime, to encourage people to visit his mosque?
Maybe the woman does need spiritual help but the officer went about it in the wrong way.
I see nothing this police officer did wrong since for the government including the courts to say he can not invite individuals to his church would be prohibiting his free exercise of religion and that is a no! no! according to the U.S. Constitution. I understand the ACLU jumping in as the are always trying to establish their Atheistic religion,which they call Secularlism, as the official religion of the United States but if the government were to agree they would be violating the 1st Amendment and that is certainly forbidden. Of course you could always try to prove the officers practice of his first Amendment rights was somehow violating the ideals the Constitution was ordained and established for, but I just don’t see how it did.
Kerwin –
If you think it proper for an on-the-clock government official to solicit on behalf of their religion then I wonder how people would act if the situation were reversed?
What if the cop was the druid and the plaintiffs were the Christians? Imagine getting pulled over for a burned out brake light and the officer, seeing a cross hanging from your rear view mirror and seeing your agitation, suggests that you would be better served by the teachings of his religion?
If we’re concerned with a cop’s freedom to exercise their faith, what other actions will we have to allow under other guaranteed rights? Let’s say a driver with a bumper sticker supporting Pres. Bush is pulled over for a minor traffic violation. Should we allow police officers, during the course of their duties, to comment to drivers about why they shouldn’t support Pres. Bush? Freedom of speech, isn’t it?
The man, once he begins work as a police officer, transforms into an agent of the government. With very limited exceptions, his rights are mitigated by the authority his position holds. Do you really want people with the authority of levying fines or imprisonment have the freedom to confront you about your faith, your lifestyle, your political ideals? The officer clearly meant well, but he failed to respect the boundaries between his life as a private citizen and deacon of his curch, and his life as an officer of the law.
I’m not sure how to express the point any plainer. If we still cannot agree that the officer’s judgement was poor in this case then I’ll be very interested to read your response to the questions I pose above.