The warning was related to the shooting of a congressman Monday night in Clay County, about 100 miles northwest of Fort Worth, near the Texas-Oklahoma border. Monday`s warning, which came on cell phones for a full four hours after a shot was fired by a Clay County official during a 7 p.m. traffic stop, doesn`t quite fit that bill. Nor does it appear to be the case in the incident that set off Monday`s nightly alarm. According to the details of the warning, law enforcement was looking for a white four-door Cadillac, with few details available about the driver of the car. But what is a blue alert and what triggered a Monday night? Here`s what you need to know: The sheriff`s office posted screenshots on Facebook of two complaints received about the Blue Alert from Texans who said they live hundreds of miles from Clay County, as well as a recording of a Houston man calling to say he “doesn`t have a business. to receive alerts when your agents have a boo-boo.” We all remember the warning that arrived on our phones at 11:22 p.m. on Monday, August 16. Blue Alerts has been active in the state of Texas since Governor Rick Perry signed an executive order in 2008 to expedite the arrest of criminals who seriously injure or kill law enforcement officers. Only law enforcement agencies can ask the Department of Public Safety to issue a blue alert.
Within days of the alarm, the car stopped by Clay County Representative was found and the shooter himself — a man identified as Joshua Lee Green of Arlington — was taken into custody. Clay County Sheriff Jeffrey Lyde said Arlington`s SWAT team found Green at an Arlington hotel around 10 a.m. Wednesday. After his arrest, Green was brought back to Clay County, where he is now accused of assaulting a police officer. Based on Miller`s assessment, DPS followed proper protocol Monday night. She shows a flyer about the incident posted on the DPS`s specific alert Twitter account with as much information about the suspects and vehicles as the ministry had as evidence at the time. It specifically says that the tweet was sent “at the time the alarm was activated.” Blue alerts can be broadcast on television and radio stations; mobile phones and wireless devices, overhead highway traffic signs, and other secondary alerts – similar to how AMBER Alerts are commonly issued. In order for the DPS to issue an alert, the requesting authority must determine that the suspects pose a serious threat to the public or other law enforcement officials, and detailed descriptions of their vehicles must be available. According to the DPS, a blue alert must meet the following criteria: “We had no idea who he was, and 38 hours later he is handcuffed,” Lyde said.
“It`s just a testament to the great work of Texas law enforcement when we come together to solve something.” People across the state of Texas are now wondering, “What is a blue alert and why did I only get one on my phone?” Alerts are designed to gather information from the public in order to catch criminals who kill or seriously injure local, state, or federal law enforcement officials. The state issued the alert looking for a man accused of shooting and shooting a deputy at the Clay County Sheriff`s Office southeast of Wichita Falls Monday night. “I believe that in this way they will be more effective and lead to less vigilant fatigue,” he wrote. It is not uncommon to receive a blue alert for incidents far from your environment. That was true for many Texans who were annoyed by last night`s warning and complained about it on Twitter. This is not quite the reference for a blue alert. According to the direct wording of Perry`s executive order, a blue alert is only issued if “a law enforcement officer has been killed or seriously injured by an attacker.” Law enforcement agencies must then determine whether, after initial actions, the attacker poses a serious risk or threat to the general public or other law enforcement officials. Monday`s warning was requested by the Clay County Sheriff`s Office.
According to Texas DPS, the criteria for a Blue Alert are: A Quick Story About Blue Alerts: When Governor Rick Perry signed Executive Order RP-68 on August 18, 2008, he made Texas the second state to open its citizens to receive these alerts. 13 years later, 36 states across the Union are using these Blue Alert messages to alert the public to dangers and seek help apprehending violent criminals who have killed or seriously injured local, state, or federal law enforcement officials. Objectively, according to the letter of the law, there are reasonable doubts as to whether national law enforcement acted appropriately in issuing Monday`s Blue Alert.
