{"id":182613,"date":"2026-05-17T08:00:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T12:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/valorguardians.com\/blog\/?p=182613"},"modified":"2026-05-16T20:43:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T00:43:35","slug":"stupid-people-of-the-week-214","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/valorguardians.com\/blog\/?p=182613","title":{"rendered":"Stupid people of the week"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_182614\" style=\"width: 409px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-182614\" class=\" wp-image-182614\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/valorguardians.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1992-dodge-d-150-pro-street-1.png?resize=399%2C266&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"399\" height=\"266\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/valorguardians.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1992-dodge-d-150-pro-street-1.png?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/valorguardians.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1992-dodge-d-150-pro-street-1.png?w=400&amp;ssl=1 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 399px) 100vw, 399px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-182614\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">&#8217;92 Dodge D-150<\/p><\/div>\n<h3>Suspect in brazen Cambridge shooting has criminal history<\/h3>\n<blockquote><p>25 Investigates has learned that the man who opened fire on police in a brazen daylight shooting in Cambridge Monday afternoon is 46-year-old Tyler Brown and has a criminal history spanning nearly 20 years.<\/p>\n<p>While authorities have not yet officially confirmed his identity, a source confirmed the shooter\u2019s name and identity with 25 Investigates. Boston 25 also obtained court records for a man with the same name and birthdate with a violent history of targeting law enforcement.<\/p>\n<p>Brown\u2019s record spans nearly two decades, including prior firearm and drug convictions.<\/p>\n<p>Court records obtained by Boston 25 News show that in 2020, Brown fired thirteen rounds at Boston police officers in the South End. At the time of that shootout, Brown shot nearly three times as many bullets as two Boston police officers did in response.<\/p>\n<p>Records show he was already on probation for a stabbing and witness intimidation.<\/p>\n<p>Despite a recommendation from the district attorney for a ten-to-twelve-year prison sentence, a Suffolk superior court judge handed down only five to six years. Because that sentence was served at the same time as his probation violation, he was released back into the community after just a few years.<\/p>\n<p>At the time, the district attorney\u2019s office publicly slammed the judge\u2019s decision, calling the light sentence \u201cdisappointing\u201d and an insult to the officers who were nearly killed.<\/p>\n<p>A law enforcement source told Boston 25 News that Brown was supposed to meet with his parole officer on Monday. The parole officer was allegedly concerned for Brown\u2019s well-being and when Boston Police officers went to locate him in Dorchester, Brown was not at his residence.<\/p>\n<p>Shocking video sent to Boston 25 shows the gunman opening fire indiscriminately on the usually busy street. Returning gunshots can be heard and the suspect can be seen reacting to a gunshot that either nearly missed him or hit his upper body.<\/p>\n<p>Witnesses described how the rifle-wielding suspect had opened fire before being shot by police.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA guy holding a rifle, a semi-automatic rifle&#8230;I ran. He just started shooting out of nowhere, and he shot a lot,\u201d Mobil worker Dennis Rodriguez said. \u201cThe guy who was shooting, they shot him down over there.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Source; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.boston25news.com\/news\/local\/25-investigates-suspect-brazen-cambridge-shooting-has-criminal-history\/TNCMIDKIF5EY3MWRGFWCYDGEUY\/?outputType=amp\">Boston 25 News<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>N.J. councilwoman refuses to apologize after saying \u2018Mexicans know what to do with grass.\u2019<\/h3>\n<blockquote><p>Two weeks after a Willingboro councilwoman said \u201cMexicans know what to do with grass,\u201d she refused to apologize at Tuesday\u2019s council meeting and lashed out at two residents who criticized her during public comment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo say somebody does something great and you take it to (mean) something offensive, there must be something wrong with that individual,\u201d said Councilwoman Rebecca Perrone, who said she is Guatemalan and Puerto Rican. \u201cThis is not an apology. I didn\u2019t offend anybody.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnly the devil will listen to that comment and try to throw dirt on it,\u201d Perrone said.<\/p>\n<p>The controversy unfolded during a discussion on April 7 about township officials looking for a company to do landscaping work. Perrone, a Democrat in her second term, tried to praise landscapers who did work at her home recently.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCertain cultures of people that just know what they\u2019re doing, and Mexicans know what to do with grass,\u201d Perrone said at the April 7 meeting. \u201cI\u2019m not kidding with you. They cut a big tree down by my house, all Mexicans. The tree was bigger than the Empire State Building as far as I\u2019m concerned.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Perrone then commented on the workers\u2019 height.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd they\u2019re not tall people,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p>As Perrone made her comments, the township attorney walked over to her, whispered in her ear and tried to steer the conversation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh, am I saying something? I\u2019m not supposed to say Mexicans are good at grass?\u201d Perrone asked.<\/p>\n<p>After another council member discussed his attempt to get bids for landscaping work for the town, Perrone began to walk back her remarks before she appeared to double down on her previous comments<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI will refrain from generalizing about the ethnicities and races of people,\u201d Perrone said on April 7 before adding \u201cSo you hire people that know what they\u2019re doing and they\u2019re skilled. That\u2019s their area. Hire the right people. You don\u2019t get pizza from the Chinese restaurant.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I get sued for saying that, sue me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>At Tuesday\u2019s meeting, Mayor Samantha Whitfield made it clear Perrone was speaking for herself.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStatements that generalize or stereotype any group regardless of intent do not reflect the values of respect and inclusion that we strive to uphold here,\u201d Whitfield said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI understand why many people may have found these remarks troubling and it\u2019s important to acknowledge that words matter, especially in a public forum,\u201d Whitefield added. \u201cI also want to be clear that the comments made on April 7th and tonight, do not reflect the views of the entire council.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Earlier during Tuesday\u2019s meeting, two residents called on Perrone to be held accountable for her remarks.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs Black people we have faced a lot of adversity,\u201d said township resident Dexter Roddy, who is Black and explained he has neighbors who are Mexican.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMexicans are not the only ones that are good with grass or making grass grow,\u201d Roddy said. \u201cI have another neighbor on my other side, and he looks just like me, and his grass is green. I think if we don\u2019t want people to say \u2018all Black people like fried chicken and watermelon\u2019, we have to keep that same energy when we make our statements.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another resident, William Weston, also called for Perrone to be held accountable. \u201cIt was inappropriate and it\u2019s concerning that you don\u2019t seem to grasp that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Willingboro\u2019s population of about 32,500 is 68% Black, 15% Latino and 11% white, according to 2024 U.S. Census estimate.<\/p>\n<p>A request for comment from Perrone was not immediately returned.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Source; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/articles\/n-j-councilwoman-refuses-apologize-205032791.html?guccounter=1\">Yahoo!<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Georgia Driver Skips Traffic, Then Turns Stop Into a Masterclass in What Not To Say<\/h3>\n<blockquote><p>Driving recklessly is already a bad move. Doing it with a police officer directly behind you is the kind of decision that usually ages poorly.<\/p>\n<p>Escalating the situation once you are pulled over by getting argumentative? That falls squarely into \u201cIt\u2019s a bold strategy, Cotton. Let\u2019s see if it pays off for \u2019em.\u201d In this case, it did not.<\/p>\n<p>The Duluth Police Department in Georgia shared video of the incident on Instagram, showing a driver using a gore area to pass traffic before cutting back in front of other vehicles.<\/p>\n<p>He was not just taking a shortcut. He was doing it with Officer Mateo directly behind him, watching the entire thing unfold in real time.<\/p>\n<h4>Duluth Police Say Driver Created a Dangerous Situation<\/h4>\n<p>In its Instagram post, the Duluth Police Department did not mince words, saying the driver \u201crecklessly used the gore area to pass traffic,\u201d cutting back into the lane and putting other drivers at risk.<\/p>\n<p>According to the department, the maneuver happened in active traffic and forced other vehicles to react, which is exactly how situations like this turn into crashes. It was not subtle, and it was not missed.<\/p>\n<p>The post itself reads like both a recap and a warning, making it clear this is exactly the kind of behavior officers are looking to stop before someone gets hurt.<\/p>\n<h4>The Stop Took an Immediate Turn<\/h4>\n<p>When Officer Mateo initiated the stop, things did not cool down right away. The driver, who appeared visibly upset, immediately escalated the encounter instead of dialing it back.<\/p>\n<p>At one point, he asked the officer, \u201cYou wanna shoot me now?\u201d which is about as ineffective a strategy as you can come up with during a traffic stop.<\/p>\n<p>To his credit, Officer Mateo did not take the bait. He remained calm, professional, and focused on bringing the situation back under control.<\/p>\n<h4>Driver Admits He Lost His Cool<\/h4>\n<p>As the stop continued, the tone shifted. According to Duluth Police, the driver acknowledged he needed to calm down, even as he tried to explain what set him off.<\/p>\n<p>He pointed to what he described as \u201cstupid slow\u201d drivers as the reason for his frustration, which is a familiar argument in situations like this. Then he caught himself mid-thought.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut I can\u2019t be blaming nobody else because of what he did to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It is one of those rare moments where you can actually see the realization happen in real time, after the decision has already been made.<\/p>\n<h4>What Is a Gore Area\u2014and Why It Is Not a Shortcut<\/h4>\n<p>A gore area is the striped section of pavement you see where lanes split or merge, usually marked with diagonal white lines that are hard to miss.<\/p>\n<p>It is not a lane, and it is not there for convenience. It is designed to separate traffic flows and give drivers a buffer zone so movements stay predictable.<\/p>\n<p>Using it to pass traffic removes that buffer entirely. Instead of controlled movement, you get sudden lane changes and drivers reacting at the last second, which is exactly how crashes start.<\/p>\n<h4>Reckless Driving in Georgia Carries Real Consequences<\/h4>\n<p>Under Georgia law (O.C.G.A. \u00a7 40-6-390), reckless driving is not just a ticket you shrug off. It is a misdemeanor that comes with real penalties.<\/p>\n<p>A conviction can mean up to 12 months in jail, fines up to $1,000, and four points added to your license. Courts can also impose probation, community service, or require driver education courses, depending on the situation.<\/p>\n<p>For drivers under 21, a reckless driving conviction can trigger an automatic license suspension, and for others, repeat offenses can lead to the same outcome. Insurance companies also tend to take notice, and not in a good way.<\/p>\n<p>If a reckless driving incident leads to serious injury or worse, the situation can escalate into felony charges with significantly harsher penalties.<\/p>\n<h4>Arrest and What the Police Did Not Release<\/h4>\n<p>Duluth Police say the driver was ultimately arrested for reckless driving, along with additional charges, after continuing what they described as a profanity-laced outburst during the stop.<\/p>\n<p>The department did not release the driver\u2019s identity in the Instagram post and did not provide a full breakdown of all charges filed.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, the focus remained on the behavior itself and the message that accompanied it. Police departments often release videos like this as part of their social media strategy, not just to show what happened, but to make a broader point that actions on the road have consequences.<\/p>\n<p>It is the same reason cases like this tend to gain traction beyond a local audience. The goal is not just documenting one driver\u2019s bad decision, but putting a real-world example in front of other drivers in the hope it curbs the same behavior before it leads to something worse.<\/p>\n<h4>Reactions Pour In on Duluth Police Instagram<\/h4>\n<p>After the video was posted, the comment section filled up quickly, and the tone was about what you would expect from the internet.<\/p>\n<p>Some commenters joked about the vehicle involved, with a few calling it the \u201cnew Altima,\u201d while others focused on the driver\u2019s reaction during the stop, describing it as \u201cself-snitching\u201d in real time.<\/p>\n<p>There were also more serious takes, with some pointing out how easily the situation could have ended in a crash, especially given how the maneuver forced other drivers to react.<\/p>\n<p>A smaller group tried to argue that overly slow drivers contribute to road rage situations like this, though most responses pushed back on that idea, noting that frustration does not justify reckless decisions.<\/p>\n<h4>The Part That Matters<\/h4>\n<p>The Duluth Police Department\u2019s post makes two things clear, even without naming the driver or listing every charge.<\/p>\n<p>First, using a gore area to pass traffic is not just cutting in line. It is a move that removes the safety buffer built into the road, putting everyone else at risk.<\/p>\n<p>Second, if your plan after getting pulled over is to argue your way out of it like this, it probably won&#8217;t go the way you think.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Source; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/articles\/georgia-driver-skips-traffic-then-223837445.html?guccounter=1\">Yahoo!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Suspect in brazen Cambridge shooting has criminal history 25 Investigates has learned that the man who opened fire on police in a brazen daylight shooting in Cambridge Monday afternoon is 46-year-old Tyler Brown and has a criminal history spanning nearly 20 years. While authorities have not yet officially confirmed his identity, a source confirmed the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":664,"featured_media":182614,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[185,603],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-182613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","category-stupid-criminals"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/valorguardians.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1992-dodge-d-150-pro-street-1.png?fit=400%2C267&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4ozh1-Lvn","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/valorguardians.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/valorguardians.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/valorguardians.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valorguardians.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/664"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valorguardians.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=182613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/valorguardians.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182613\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valorguardians.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/182614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/valorguardians.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=182613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valorguardians.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=182613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valorguardians.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=182613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}