1 00:00:04,879 --> 00:00:07,160 Speaker 1: What's going on? Thank you so much for listening to 2 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:09,640 this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon 3 00:00:09,679 --> 00:00:12,519 to three on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you 4 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:16,719 want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, 5 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:19,239 my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, 6 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:22,640 go to thepeakclendarshow dot com. Make sure you hit the 7 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:25,160 subscribe button. Get every episode for free right to your 8 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:27,719 smartphone or tablet. And again, thank you so much for 9 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:31,160 your support. I'd like to welcome back to the program 10 00:00:31,239 --> 00:00:33,920 the auditor for the State of North Carolina, Dave Bullock. 11 00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:36,560 Speaker 2: How are you, Auditor Bullock peek. 12 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:38,640 Speaker 3: I'm doing great. It's a great day to be a 13 00:00:38,719 --> 00:00:39,479 North Carolinian. 14 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:40,600 Speaker 2: Okay, yeah, I agree. 15 00:00:41,119 --> 00:00:46,119 Speaker 1: So you put out your office put out this special report. 16 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:49,920 This is a preliminary report, not the final report on 17 00:00:50,359 --> 00:00:54,920 the Charlotte area transit systems security. And as is the 18 00:00:54,960 --> 00:00:59,200 case with these audits, these reports, you give the agency 19 00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:02,600 or government that you auditing the opportunity to respond. You 20 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:05,319 give them an advance copy and then they can address 21 00:01:05,359 --> 00:01:07,519 things in it that gets put out as part of 22 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:11,560 your report. And the Mayor of Charlotte vy Lyles wrote 23 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:16,319 in her letter in response, to the preliminary report that 24 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:20,120 the report appears to suggest that the private security company 25 00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:24,519 is not qualified, but fails to offer specific evidence to 26 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:28,400 support this conclusion. So I guess I'll ask, is your 27 00:01:28,439 --> 00:01:33,040 office suggesting that this firm PSS is not qualified to 28 00:01:33,159 --> 00:01:37,200 be the security contractor and provide that service for Charlotte 29 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:39,000 Area transit system. 30 00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:42,519 Speaker 3: Nowhere in our report do we say the firm that's 31 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:46,879 currently contracted is not qualified. That's the mayor reaching, in 32 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:51,079 my opinion, I think anybody who reads the report. In fact, 33 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:53,680 there is a line in our report that says we've 34 00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:58,159 not made a determination on the results or qualifications or 35 00:01:58,239 --> 00:02:03,239 quality service that the contractor who is currently contracted with 36 00:02:03,319 --> 00:02:06,879 the city to provide security on the CAT system is 37 00:02:07,439 --> 00:02:10,439 qualified or not. We haven't made that determination yet. Now 38 00:02:10,439 --> 00:02:14,319 we're going to ask questions about the actual service delivery 39 00:02:14,719 --> 00:02:19,680 as we dive deeper into the security that the City 40 00:02:19,719 --> 00:02:22,319 of Charlotte is providing to writers of CATS. 41 00:02:22,879 --> 00:02:25,439 Speaker 2: Now and the I guess. 42 00:02:25,439 --> 00:02:28,039 Speaker 3: She's made that up. She made that up. 43 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:31,080 Speaker 1: She made it, yeah, because and she gives her She 44 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:34,400 gave herself some I guess wiggle room here by saying 45 00:02:34,639 --> 00:02:38,919 the report appears to suggest, right, So it's not like 46 00:02:39,039 --> 00:02:42,479 a direct assertion. I think she's leaving herself some wiggle room, 47 00:02:42,479 --> 00:02:44,840 but I just wanted to give you the opportunity to respond. 48 00:02:45,039 --> 00:02:47,800 Speaker 3: Well, yeah, and I appreciate that, but I think that 49 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:50,360 that comes from the fact that we did point out 50 00:02:50,439 --> 00:02:52,360 and we've not made a judgment. Look, it's up to 51 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:55,840 the political leadership of the City of Charlotte, who are 52 00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:59,719 elected by the people to make certain policy decisions, and 53 00:03:00,719 --> 00:03:06,199 is spears from the contract that the leadership and managing 54 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:10,479 and the Charlotte decided that at least a large part 55 00:03:10,599 --> 00:03:14,120 of the security contract that was executed in twenty twenty 56 00:03:14,199 --> 00:03:19,240 two would be limited to only firms that qualified under 57 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:24,919 the Charlett Business Inclusion Program, which quite frankly is DEI right. 58 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:27,240 Speaker 1: So they split the contract and this is really and 59 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:29,599 maybe I'm in the weeds on this, but I used 60 00:03:29,639 --> 00:03:32,439 to cover this city council so as a reporter years ago, 61 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:35,159 so I've sat through a lot of these contract RFPs 62 00:03:35,199 --> 00:03:39,280 and stuff. And it's so they split the contract for 63 00:03:39,599 --> 00:03:44,560 armed security versus unarmed security. They made the armed security contract, 64 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:48,400 which appears to be the larger contract the unarmed security contract. 65 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:52,039 They then said that had to be essentially an MWBE 66 00:03:52,319 --> 00:03:57,120 minority women owned business enterprise, and then the armed component 67 00:03:57,599 --> 00:04:01,000 that would just be open bid for anybody with the qualifications. 68 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:06,120 But then after a year they fired the armed security 69 00:04:06,159 --> 00:04:10,159 contractor and they just folded it into the contract that 70 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:14,080 existed for the unarmed service provider and there was no 71 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:15,120 competitive Get it. 72 00:04:15,159 --> 00:04:18,680 Speaker 3: Right, You've got it right. That's the preliminary finding, and 73 00:04:19,079 --> 00:04:22,560 it's important, I think, for the people of Charlotte to 74 00:04:23,399 --> 00:04:27,519 have the full story, which is why we preliminarily released 75 00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:32,560 this as we develop our full report. Because the City 76 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:35,759 of Charlotte's making rapid changes to the way they provide 77 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:38,439 security and the way they're doing things on CASS, we 78 00:04:38,519 --> 00:04:40,839 felt it was important for the people of Charlotte to 79 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:44,399 have some context as to maybe why some of these 80 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:48,360 changes were necessary. Go back to twenty and eighteen. In 81 00:04:48,399 --> 00:04:52,199 our report, it shows that the city spent five point 82 00:04:52,279 --> 00:04:57,240 nine million dollars on sixty eight to eighty eight armed 83 00:04:57,720 --> 00:05:03,079 security officers. The twenty twenty two contract, which was the 84 00:05:03,319 --> 00:05:08,399 successor contract to the twenty eighteen contract, the split contract 85 00:05:08,439 --> 00:05:13,079 you just aptly described. They tripled the budget to more 86 00:05:13,079 --> 00:05:17,120 than eighteen million dollars, but decreased the number of armed 87 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:21,879 guards by at least half. At least forty percent was 88 00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:24,560 our conclusion because it was sixty eight to eighty eight 89 00:05:24,639 --> 00:05:27,000 armed guards, but could have been slashed by as much 90 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:31,040 as half because the new contract only provides as many 91 00:05:31,079 --> 00:05:35,000 as thirty nine armed security guards, with one hundred and 92 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:39,120 eighty unarmed security personnel. 93 00:05:38,959 --> 00:05:41,519 Speaker 1: Right and armed in this case, you identifying the report 94 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:45,199 means armed with a firearm or a taser, so it's 95 00:05:45,199 --> 00:05:47,120 not even not even guns. 96 00:05:47,879 --> 00:05:52,120 Speaker 3: So well could be it, couldn't you know? From our 97 00:05:52,160 --> 00:05:56,519 preliminary review, it appears that most of the armed security 98 00:05:56,560 --> 00:05:59,720 personnel do carry glocks, and so that would be a 99 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:03,519 fire arm, but the contract allows for an armed security 100 00:06:03,560 --> 00:06:07,560 guard to also carry a taser. The conclusion that I 101 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:10,680 think is easy to make here is that in twenty 102 00:06:10,759 --> 00:06:14,439 twenty two there was a clear policy change by the 103 00:06:14,439 --> 00:06:19,120 political leadership in Charlotte away from the use of armed 104 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:21,240 security on the CAT system. 105 00:06:22,040 --> 00:06:26,279 Speaker 1: So the on the contract that was not competitively bid 106 00:06:26,319 --> 00:06:30,519 when it was folded into the existing unarmed security contract 107 00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:33,759 is there are there requirements that the city is supposed 108 00:06:33,759 --> 00:06:38,000 to go out and get competitive bids. Isn't that? Isn't 109 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:40,319 it always the case? Or are there some exemptions or 110 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:42,000 exceptions where they don't have. 111 00:06:41,959 --> 00:06:42,319 Speaker 2: To do that. 112 00:06:43,399 --> 00:06:45,800 Speaker 3: Well, Pete, it's a little unclear because of the peers 113 00:06:46,439 --> 00:06:50,600 that after eight months of having this split contract that 114 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:54,199 that's when they indeed folded the armed portion end to 115 00:06:54,279 --> 00:06:58,959 the primary contractor who is on the job currently. So 116 00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:03,680 that's unclear and in full disclosure. We're digging into the 117 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:09,000 mechanics of that. Again. We've released this preliminarily primarily because 118 00:07:10,199 --> 00:07:11,759 there have been a lot of changes and a lot 119 00:07:11,759 --> 00:07:14,720 of announts changes from the City of Charlotte, and is 120 00:07:14,759 --> 00:07:17,000 really important because a lot of these details have not 121 00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:19,000 previously been released to the public. 122 00:07:19,279 --> 00:07:24,240 Speaker 1: Right well, at the Charlotte City Council meeting from I 123 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:28,600 think the twenty second I believe it was the co owner. 124 00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:30,959 So the owners are Lee Ratliffe, who is a former 125 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:35,000 public information officer for CMPD and his wife, longtime CMPD 126 00:07:35,120 --> 00:07:35,959 officer as well. 127 00:07:36,199 --> 00:07:37,480 Speaker 2: They owned PSS. 128 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:42,360 Speaker 1: She was there and she left the impression that everybody 129 00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:47,279 that they hire on at PSS goes through the same 130 00:07:47,639 --> 00:07:52,040 law enforcement training as CMPD. Do you know that to 131 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:54,560 be the case or not, because it doesn't seem like 132 00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:57,680 what you found in the audit that does not seem 133 00:07:57,680 --> 00:07:58,240 to be the case. 134 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:04,199 Speaker 3: Well, preliminarily found is that the minority of the eighteen 135 00:08:04,279 --> 00:08:07,240 point four million dollars or so a year that is 136 00:08:07,319 --> 00:08:11,319 spent on security of the CAT system is clearly spent 137 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:16,480 on unarmed personnel. So if they go through the Charlotte 138 00:08:16,560 --> 00:08:19,319 Police training, they're doing so, but at the same time 139 00:08:19,439 --> 00:08:22,959 not carrying a firearm. Again, that's a policy choice that 140 00:08:23,079 --> 00:08:26,600 is clear the City of Charlotte has made. Now to 141 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:29,839 your point, that's one of the questions we're digging into deeper, 142 00:08:29,959 --> 00:08:34,480 is exactly the deliverables, because I want to point one 143 00:08:34,519 --> 00:08:38,919 thing out is is that you know what raises questions 144 00:08:39,159 --> 00:08:43,080 what are the metrics right that the City of Charlotte expects. 145 00:08:43,360 --> 00:08:46,879 The mayor has said they're performing. In fact, I think 146 00:08:46,919 --> 00:08:49,919 there was a release this morning that they're performing exceptionally 147 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:54,960 and doing everything. They're performing as they are expected to perform. 148 00:08:56,919 --> 00:08:59,399 I think what is the real question that's been raised 149 00:08:59,399 --> 00:09:04,000 heraped is what are the metrics? Give us the numbers, 150 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:07,519 give the specifics of how you say they're performing. 151 00:09:07,960 --> 00:09:11,879 Speaker 1: There's a Charlotte City councilman, Edwin Peacock asked for the 152 00:09:11,919 --> 00:09:15,039 crime stats and asked for sort of a crime map, 153 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:17,840 a heat map, like where are the hot spots of crime? 154 00:09:18,279 --> 00:09:20,960 And they and cats could not provide that and said, 155 00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:25,200 but PSS, they know those areas. But PSS then didn't 156 00:09:25,279 --> 00:09:27,600 tell us where those areas are. So it's kind of like, 157 00:09:27,639 --> 00:09:30,120 how are you making decisions? To your point, like, how 158 00:09:30,159 --> 00:09:33,440 are you making staffing decisions if you're not tracking where 159 00:09:33,519 --> 00:09:36,679 the hot spots are? And you don't because you obviously 160 00:09:36,759 --> 00:09:39,279 don't have the information to provide to the city council, 161 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:42,320 Like this would seem to me to be a pretty 162 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:44,519 obvious stat that you would be able to deliver, but 163 00:09:44,559 --> 00:09:44,879 they're not. 164 00:09:46,159 --> 00:09:48,519 Speaker 3: Well, that's part of the questions that I think have 165 00:09:48,639 --> 00:09:51,440 been raised here and that's why we wanted to deliver 166 00:09:51,559 --> 00:09:55,559 this preliminary report, is to get it into the arena 167 00:09:55,600 --> 00:09:59,559 of public discussion, because the public deserves answered. Look, we're 168 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:03,360 doing this audit and this investigation on cash on behalf 169 00:10:03,360 --> 00:10:06,639 of the service workers, the students, the fans of the 170 00:10:06,679 --> 00:10:12,080 panthers that use this system all the time, and quite frankly, 171 00:10:13,399 --> 00:10:17,960 the parents of Areno Zuliska asked in their public statement 172 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:21,200 for additional oversight on this contract. So we're hoping to 173 00:10:21,279 --> 00:10:22,639 answer that call as well. 174 00:10:23,480 --> 00:10:25,759 Speaker 1: North Carolina Auditor Day Bullock. Anything else you want to 175 00:10:25,759 --> 00:10:27,759 add that you think is important for people to know 176 00:10:27,799 --> 00:10:28,720 before we let you go. 177 00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:34,240 Speaker 3: I do, I really think that. I hope this provides 178 00:10:35,159 --> 00:10:39,720 an opportunity for the City of Charlotte to move forward 179 00:10:39,799 --> 00:10:45,840 with security and not double down and say everything's okay, 180 00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:50,000 because clearly there was a policy change and the people 181 00:10:50,039 --> 00:10:53,840 of Charlotte and the writers of Cats deserved the maximum 182 00:10:53,960 --> 00:10:57,840 security possible. So I look at this as an opportunity, 183 00:10:57,879 --> 00:11:01,600 a point in time where the community can move forward 184 00:11:02,080 --> 00:11:04,639 to make the City of Charlotte and the Transistor is 185 00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:06,320 some better moving for them. 186 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:08,960 Speaker 1: North Carolina Auditor Dave Bollock, thanks so much for your time, sir, 187 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:10,720 Thanks for the work, and we look forward to the 188 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:12,759 final report when it's completed. 189 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:15,559 Speaker 3: Yes, sir, thanks Tate, all right, take care, thank you. 190 00:11:15,919 --> 00:11:16,279 Speaker 2: All right. 191 00:11:16,279 --> 00:11:18,120 Speaker 1: If you're listening to this show, you know I try 192 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:19,919 to keep up with all sorts of current events, and 193 00:11:19,960 --> 00:11:22,000 I know you do too, And you've probably heard me 194 00:11:22,039 --> 00:11:26,279 say get your news from multiple sources. Why well, because 195 00:11:26,279 --> 00:11:28,960 it's how you detect media bias, which is why I've 196 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:32,320 been so impressed with Ground News. It's an app and 197 00:11:32,559 --> 00:11:35,440 it's a website and it combines news from around the 198 00:11:35,480 --> 00:11:38,159 world in one place, so you can compare coverage and 199 00:11:38,279 --> 00:11:42,080 verify information. You can check it out at check dot ground, 200 00:11:42,399 --> 00:11:45,440 dot news slash pete. I put the link in the 201 00:11:45,440 --> 00:11:48,679 podcast description too. I started using ground News a few 202 00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:51,440 months ago and more recently chose to work with them 203 00:11:51,440 --> 00:11:54,240 as an affiliate because it lets me see clearly how 204 00:11:54,360 --> 00:11:57,759 stories get covered and by whom. The blind spot feature 205 00:11:57,799 --> 00:12:00,480 shows you which stories get ignored by the left and 206 00:12:00,600 --> 00:12:04,559 the right. See for yourself check dot ground, dot news 207 00:12:04,919 --> 00:12:08,039 slash pete. Subscribe through that link and you'll get fifteen 208 00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:11,159 percent off any subscription. I use the Vantage plan to 209 00:12:11,159 --> 00:12:14,639 get unlimited access to every feature. Your subscription then not 210 00:12:14,679 --> 00:12:17,679 only helps my podcast, but it also supports ground News 211 00:12:17,720 --> 00:12:22,519 as they make the media landscape more transparent. So yesterday 212 00:12:22,759 --> 00:12:26,440 the auditor put out the Auditor's office put out this 213 00:12:26,519 --> 00:12:30,879 preliminary report. I have read it twice because you always 214 00:12:30,879 --> 00:12:33,720 get something extra, you know, when you read through it 215 00:12:33,759 --> 00:12:35,600 the second time, So I read it first last night 216 00:12:35,639 --> 00:12:37,799 when it came out. I read it again this morning, 217 00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:42,080 marked it up with way too much highlighter, which really 218 00:12:42,200 --> 00:12:46,279 works to my disadvantage because I end up highlighting so 219 00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:50,720 much that I don't get to it's if everything is 220 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:54,879 a top priority, nothing is the top priority anyway. So 221 00:12:55,600 --> 00:13:00,279 this is from the press release from the Auditor's office. 222 00:12:59,679 --> 00:13:05,480 They site well, they say the solicitation for the security 223 00:13:05,519 --> 00:13:12,399 contracts was guided by a Charlotte Business Inclusion Requirement CBI 224 00:13:12,919 --> 00:13:18,320 okay CBI, which is essentially the program that Charlotte has 225 00:13:18,320 --> 00:13:21,679 had for thirty years or so to try to award 226 00:13:21,799 --> 00:13:28,559 contracts to mwbs minority women businesses, enterprises right women owned 227 00:13:28,720 --> 00:13:33,320 and minority owned businesses, and they try to In the past, 228 00:13:33,399 --> 00:13:36,960 they set quotas and they were worried about getting sued 229 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:38,879 over that, so they changed the law. And that was 230 00:13:38,879 --> 00:13:41,600 back in the early two thousands. This was a big, 231 00:13:42,320 --> 00:13:47,480 big debate on council and so they have these targets 232 00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:51,840 that they always try to hit. This is a pretty 233 00:13:51,840 --> 00:13:57,000 explicit contract that was put out for proposal, an RFP 234 00:13:57,120 --> 00:13:59,240 request for proposal, and I'm going to get to it. 235 00:13:59,279 --> 00:14:01,360 I'm just kind of giving you the broad scope of 236 00:14:01,360 --> 00:14:04,240 it first. And they went back to the Auditor's office, 237 00:14:04,279 --> 00:14:08,200 went back to twenty eighteen and started tracking the contracts 238 00:14:08,399 --> 00:14:11,399 and the personnel. That's really what this is focusing on 239 00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:14,720 is the contracts and the personnel, Like, there's no data 240 00:14:14,759 --> 00:14:19,200 in here. So somebody asking me if there was any 241 00:14:19,320 --> 00:14:25,080 kind of accounting for fair collection, and no, there's nothing 242 00:14:25,120 --> 00:14:28,519 in here about fair collection. Right, there's no comparison. Like 243 00:14:28,559 --> 00:14:31,399 I was curious when I started reading, I was like, Oh, 244 00:14:31,399 --> 00:14:33,600 are they going to have any kind of comparison to 245 00:14:33,799 --> 00:14:39,519 transit systems of our size? What's their security footprint? How 246 00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:44,039 many armed versus unarmed personnel do these other transit systems 247 00:14:44,080 --> 00:14:47,919 have That would be you know, of a comparable nature 248 00:14:48,080 --> 00:14:51,360 an open system like we have, not like a turnstile system. 249 00:14:52,279 --> 00:14:54,639 How many people do they use to police those systems? 250 00:14:54,840 --> 00:14:55,279 Speaker 2: Don't know? 251 00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:02,000 Speaker 1: So from twenty eighteen through twenty twenty, there were three 252 00:15:02,200 --> 00:15:09,559 different security firms that CATS had contracted and so the 253 00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:16,159 original contract was with G four S Secure Solutions. G 254 00:15:16,279 --> 00:15:18,879 four S Secure Solutions, I'm just going to call them 255 00:15:18,919 --> 00:15:22,679 G four S, and they, as you heard Dave Bollock say, 256 00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:26,879 they had a contract that provided for between sixty eight 257 00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:33,159 to eighty eight armed guards, armed security. The current contract 258 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:38,879 with PSS and we heard some disagreement at the city 259 00:15:38,919 --> 00:15:43,759 council level. Lawana Mayfield was like it's not PSS, it's PPS. 260 00:15:44,679 --> 00:15:46,840 And I thought Brett Kagel was making a mistake, the 261 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:49,200 interim CEO of CATS, I thought he was making a mistake, 262 00:15:49,320 --> 00:15:51,960 just mixing up the acronym. But no, in fact he 263 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:56,600 was correct. PSS is the company that because it's a 264 00:15:56,600 --> 00:15:59,480 PPS doing business as PSS, So. 265 00:15:59,519 --> 00:16:00,799 Speaker 2: Either one is fine. 266 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:05,559 Speaker 1: Anyway, So the current contract has the armed security figure 267 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:09,399 at just thirty nine. So it went from between sixty 268 00:16:09,399 --> 00:16:11,720 eight to eighty eight, so let's just call it seventy eight. 269 00:16:11,799 --> 00:16:16,320 It went from seventy eight to thirty nine. Meanwhile, the 270 00:16:16,399 --> 00:16:22,039 contract value went from six million to eighteen million, So 271 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:25,480 you have a twelve million dollar increase in the contract 272 00:16:25,679 --> 00:16:29,960 cost and a decrease in the armed security personnel figure. 273 00:16:30,600 --> 00:16:34,320 Why is that important? In my mind, that's important because 274 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:40,000 armed personnel would theoretically cost more money. Right, They're going 275 00:16:40,039 --> 00:16:43,240 to cost more money to train, more money and equipment. 276 00:16:45,080 --> 00:16:48,000 So why now the mayor has said, well, we have 277 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:51,679 increased security personnel by over one hundred percent, right, but 278 00:16:51,879 --> 00:16:54,720 the focus of that has been on the unarmed guards, 279 00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:59,000 the unarmed component, right. And this is what this is 280 00:16:59,039 --> 00:17:01,960 what stuck out to me, and I mentioned this with 281 00:17:02,039 --> 00:17:05,920 the auditor is that. In the city council presentation, the 282 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:10,720 representative from PSS said that the training they go through 283 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:14,799 is the same or greater than Charlotte Mecklenburg Police. And 284 00:17:14,839 --> 00:17:18,480 at one point, I believe it was Councilwoman Renee Johnson asked, 285 00:17:18,960 --> 00:17:22,599 how are you able to recruit so many people for 286 00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:26,119 your company? We're having a hard time staffing up CMPD. 287 00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:29,519 How are you able to recruit so many people so quickly? 288 00:17:30,119 --> 00:17:33,319 And she never got an answer to that, but now 289 00:17:33,359 --> 00:17:37,000 we know why. It's because you're not actually at the 290 00:17:37,079 --> 00:17:39,759 level of CMPD. I don't know who you're comparing in 291 00:17:39,799 --> 00:17:43,880 your two hundred and nineteen total personnel footprint. I don't 292 00:17:43,880 --> 00:17:48,759 know who is qualified at that law enforcement level. You 293 00:17:48,799 --> 00:17:51,000 said they all go through the same training, So how 294 00:17:51,079 --> 00:17:54,680 much training actually is that. Here's a great idea. How 295 00:17:54,720 --> 00:17:57,799 about making an escape to a really special and secluded 296 00:17:57,839 --> 00:18:00,680 getaway in western North Carolina just a quick drive up 297 00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:03,839 the mountain and Cabins of Ashville is your connection. Whether 298 00:18:03,880 --> 00:18:06,759 you're celebrating an anniversary, a honeymoon, maybe you want to 299 00:18:06,759 --> 00:18:09,599 plan a memorable proposal, or get family and friends together 300 00:18:09,640 --> 00:18:12,359 for a big old reunion. Cabins of Ashville has the 301 00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:15,240 ideal spot for you where you can reconnect with your 302 00:18:15,279 --> 00:18:18,519 loved ones and the things that truly matter. Nestled within 303 00:18:18,559 --> 00:18:22,119 the breath taking fourteen thousand acres of the Pisga National Forest, 304 00:18:22,359 --> 00:18:25,160 their cabins offer a serene escape in the heart of 305 00:18:25,200 --> 00:18:28,200 the Blue Ridge Mountains. Centrally located between Asheville and the 306 00:18:28,319 --> 00:18:31,079 entrance of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. It's the 307 00:18:31,119 --> 00:18:35,200 perfect balance of seclusion and proximity to all the local 308 00:18:35,200 --> 00:18:40,680 attractions with hot tubs, fireplaces, air conditioning, smart TVs, Wi Fi, grills, 309 00:18:40,799 --> 00:18:44,039 outdoor tables and your own private covered porch. Choose from 310 00:18:44,119 --> 00:18:48,279 thirteen cabins, six cottages, two villas, and a great lodge 311 00:18:48,319 --> 00:18:51,960 with eleven king sized bedrooms. Cabins of Ashville has the 312 00:18:52,039 --> 00:18:55,359 ideal spot for you for any occasion, and they have 313 00:18:55,400 --> 00:18:59,000 pet friendly accommodations. Call or text eight two eight, three 314 00:18:59,119 --> 00:19:02,160 six seven seventy sixty eight or check out all there 315 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:05,079 is to offer at Cabins offashville dot com and make 316 00:19:05,160 --> 00:19:08,720 memories that'll last a lifetime. Here's a message from the 317 00:19:08,799 --> 00:19:13,000 text line. If city Council was truly interested in increasing 318 00:19:13,039 --> 00:19:16,519 security for the transit system, they could increase the proposed 319 00:19:16,519 --> 00:19:18,599 sales text to one and a half cents, and dedicate 320 00:19:18,599 --> 00:19:22,359 those extra funds to pay for CMPD officers and security 321 00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:25,640 related technology in the Transportation division. Not sure if they 322 00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:28,519 could hire and retain enough officers given the current shortage, 323 00:19:28,720 --> 00:19:32,039 but it would be better than what they are proposing now. Also, 324 00:19:32,559 --> 00:19:37,799 the statement from Miss Ratliffe from PSS that she made 325 00:19:37,799 --> 00:19:42,160 about her sworn officers receiving the same training the CMPD 326 00:19:42,359 --> 00:19:46,559 officers received was misleading. While it's true they may be 327 00:19:46,799 --> 00:19:52,640 bled certified as CMPD officers are CMPD officers receive approximately 328 00:19:52,680 --> 00:19:56,240 one hundred and fifty additional hours of training and are 329 00:19:56,319 --> 00:20:01,200 required to complete twelve weeks of additional train and devaluation 330 00:20:01,359 --> 00:20:04,839 after graduation. They are not cleared to patrol on their 331 00:20:04,880 --> 00:20:08,960 own until they successfully completed those extra twelve weeks. That's 332 00:20:08,960 --> 00:20:12,480 not to mention the ongoing training that CMPD officers complete 333 00:20:12,759 --> 00:20:16,079 each year. That is above and beyond what private company 334 00:20:16,119 --> 00:20:19,359 police do. You get what you pay for. The city 335 00:20:19,519 --> 00:20:23,559 made strategic financial decisions to provide security. 336 00:20:23,119 --> 00:20:26,559 Speaker 2: On the cheap. That is what it looks like. 337 00:20:27,839 --> 00:20:34,279 Speaker 1: Also, the way the contract was not rebid competitively, but 338 00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:42,079 rather just folded into the contract for PSS. 339 00:20:41,799 --> 00:20:43,880 Speaker 2: It just reeks of cronyism. 340 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:46,920 Speaker 1: I'm just gonna I'm gonna say, like, I don't know 341 00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:49,240 that to be true, but that's what it looks like. 342 00:20:49,799 --> 00:20:52,720 That's what it reeks of. Smells like it. I guess 343 00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:55,359 I should say, looks like it and smells like it. Okay, 344 00:20:56,200 --> 00:20:59,200 you have first the decision. Hang on, let me go, 345 00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:04,799 let me go to They provided a helpful timeline in 346 00:21:04,839 --> 00:21:10,759 the preliminary report. Twenty eighteen, City of Charlotte enters into 347 00:21:10,759 --> 00:21:15,200 the contract with G four S. They then amend that 348 00:21:15,319 --> 00:21:20,559 contract in twenty twenty one, so three years later. Then 349 00:21:20,599 --> 00:21:24,319 two months after that amendment they amended again because at 350 00:21:24,319 --> 00:21:29,960 that point G four S became Allied Universal, so I 351 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:33,759 think they got bought out by another company. A year later, 352 00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:36,880 less than about six months later, that contract gets amended 353 00:21:37,599 --> 00:21:43,039 and then amended again in April. Then the email goes 354 00:21:43,079 --> 00:21:47,160 out in June of twenty twenty two on new security 355 00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:51,640 solicitation notes that unarmed security services are only open to 356 00:21:51,839 --> 00:21:58,240 CBI firms. This is like minority women business owned firms. 357 00:21:59,799 --> 00:22:03,759 So this is when they split the contracts, saying the 358 00:22:03,799 --> 00:22:10,799 bigger contract is for the unarmed portion for the armed 359 00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:13,960 portion that's going to be a separate contract. So in 360 00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:17,160 other words, they knew and they said this. There are 361 00:22:17,319 --> 00:22:21,200 quotes in here from meetings where they touted this as 362 00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:23,680 a good thing. This is going to be a really 363 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:30,200 good way to get minority owned businesses city contracts. So 364 00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:33,720 it seemed like they and I don't know this, but 365 00:22:33,839 --> 00:22:36,119 this is what it seems like, is that they split 366 00:22:36,200 --> 00:22:41,279 the contract in order to award it to a company 367 00:22:41,319 --> 00:22:51,920 based on race or sex, right, and they touted it. Now, 368 00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:53,720 did they know it was going to go to PSS. 369 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:57,359 I don't know that. I don't know that, but PSS 370 00:22:57,400 --> 00:22:59,119 had done work for the city before. And this is 371 00:22:59,160 --> 00:23:01,480 a pretty standard thing in the city of Charlotte, where 372 00:23:01,599 --> 00:23:05,279 you have like one or two firms in these different 373 00:23:05,359 --> 00:23:11,160 areas like architectures. Harvey Gant's firm, Harvey Gant would get 374 00:23:11,480 --> 00:23:16,599 contracts all the time from the city because his firm, he's, 375 00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:20,240 you know, the former mayor of Charlotte, but also he's black, 376 00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:22,920 and so he would then check the box for a 377 00:23:22,960 --> 00:23:26,519 black owned business. And I've heard stories too about how 378 00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:29,799 he would kind of lend himself to other businesses so 379 00:23:29,839 --> 00:23:31,839 they could score the contract, and he didn't he would 380 00:23:31,880 --> 00:23:34,680 just take a fee and then they would do the work. 381 00:23:36,599 --> 00:23:39,400 I believe Leeper Construction is another one, also a former 382 00:23:39,480 --> 00:23:42,480 Charlotte City councilman, Ron Leeper. He was gone by the 383 00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:47,039 time I started covering the city. And so is that 384 00:23:47,039 --> 00:23:49,240 the same sort of dynamic going on here? I don't know. 385 00:23:49,279 --> 00:23:51,839 I don't know how many other firms were qualified and 386 00:23:51,920 --> 00:23:54,000 actually could bid on the work and could you know, 387 00:23:54,079 --> 00:23:57,559 had the capacity to do this kind of of a contract. 388 00:23:58,039 --> 00:24:01,160 But in June of twenty two they split the contracts. 389 00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:05,839 They then put them out for a request for proposals. 390 00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:11,279 They do an amendment with the allied contract that they 391 00:24:11,519 --> 00:24:17,759 still have. They then approve a new contract two contracts 392 00:24:17,759 --> 00:24:24,200 because they're split, one for PSS for the unarmed and 393 00:24:25,079 --> 00:24:29,359 a company called Strategic Security Corporation. Strategic they got the 394 00:24:29,519 --> 00:24:34,359 arm the armed guards contract. PSS enters the contract for 395 00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:38,640 the unarmed security in July of twenty three. Two months later, 396 00:24:38,759 --> 00:24:44,680 Strategic enters into its contract. A month after that, the 397 00:24:44,720 --> 00:24:48,519 contract is amended with PSS where they add more unarmed guards. 398 00:24:49,599 --> 00:24:54,440 Then the contract amendment gives PSS for the contract amenden 399 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:58,359 gives PSS the contract for armed security services in June 400 00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:03,720 of twenty twenty four, so it seems like Strategic didn't 401 00:25:03,759 --> 00:25:07,079 even have a full year. Okay, now, according to this 402 00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:13,480 report from the auditor, they basically terminated Strategic for failure 403 00:25:13,519 --> 00:25:14,119 to perform. 404 00:25:14,759 --> 00:25:15,799 Speaker 2: But we don't know why. 405 00:25:16,480 --> 00:25:19,559 Speaker 1: There isn't any it says here in twenty twenty two, 406 00:25:19,759 --> 00:25:22,640 the request for proposal for unarmed security was targeted only 407 00:25:22,680 --> 00:25:28,000 to businesses registered with CBI, But then when they scrapped 408 00:25:28,039 --> 00:25:31,240 it with Strategic, they never explained. There's no record, at 409 00:25:31,319 --> 00:25:34,400 least in the report that they had. They're still trying 410 00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:38,720 to figure out what exactly did they not perform? 411 00:25:38,839 --> 00:25:41,720 Speaker 2: What was that due to? What was the failure to perform? 412 00:25:41,759 --> 00:25:43,640 Speaker 1: Because if they're not doing the contract, then yes you 413 00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:46,720 can fire them, but at that point you should have 414 00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:50,440 put it out for another competitive bid to get somebody 415 00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:53,359 else involved. But they did not do that. They just 416 00:25:53,440 --> 00:26:00,559 handed it off to PSS, and that smacks of favoritism. 417 00:26:00,839 --> 00:26:06,119 So in twenty two they are told you're that you 418 00:26:06,160 --> 00:26:09,680 are you're going to be taken over this contract or 419 00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:12,920 I'm sorry in a twenty four In June of twenty 420 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:18,000 twenty four, the contract amendment gives PSS the contract for 421 00:26:18,079 --> 00:26:23,480 the armed component, but they don't actually take over until 422 00:26:23,599 --> 00:26:24,559 fourteen months later. 423 00:26:25,559 --> 00:26:27,200 Speaker 2: I'm sorry, hang on, no, no, no, no. 424 00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:29,839 Speaker 1: They take over six months later, and then eight months 425 00:26:29,880 --> 00:26:33,160 after that is when Arena Zarotzka's murdered. So they had 426 00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:35,599 fourteen month window from when they were told they're getting 427 00:26:35,599 --> 00:26:37,839 the contract for the armed security, so they needed to 428 00:26:37,839 --> 00:26:41,640 start ramping up at that point, right, They had six 429 00:26:41,680 --> 00:26:45,920 months to prepare. They take over the contract in December 430 00:26:45,960 --> 00:26:51,319 twenty twenty four, and Arena Zarutskas murdered in August of 431 00:26:51,319 --> 00:26:54,480 twenty five, so that is a fourteen month window. And 432 00:26:54,519 --> 00:26:57,799 in that fourteen months they never ramped up enough security 433 00:26:57,799 --> 00:27:01,440 personnel that they were still behind when they went before 434 00:27:01,519 --> 00:27:05,279 Charlotte City Council last month to say we're still trying 435 00:27:05,319 --> 00:27:07,440 to hire to get to the two nineteen. They had 436 00:27:07,480 --> 00:27:10,160 a fourteen month window to ramp up and they didn't 437 00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:13,240 before Arena's death and they didn't do so they didn't 438 00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:16,799 get it done. And they only have thirty nine armed guards. 439 00:27:17,519 --> 00:27:20,880 That's not enough for one per train. They're forty eight 440 00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:23,920 light rail trains and maybe more. Voters give them more 441 00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:27,640 money to build some more lines. You know, stories are powerful, 442 00:27:27,680 --> 00:27:30,759 They help us make sense of things to understand, experiences. 443 00:27:31,039 --> 00:27:33,319 Stories connect us to the people of our past while 444 00:27:33,359 --> 00:27:36,759 transcending generations. They help us process the meaning of life, 445 00:27:36,839 --> 00:27:40,720 and our stories are told through images and videos. Preserve 446 00:27:40,839 --> 00:27:44,200 your stories with Creative Video. 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That's what your photos and videos are. They 457 00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:22,079 are your life told through the eyes of everyone around 458 00:28:22,119 --> 00:28:24,400 you and all who came before you, and they will 459 00:28:24,400 --> 00:28:27,759 tell others to come who you are, visit creative video 460 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:34,079 dot com. So from the text line, this is from 461 00:28:34,200 --> 00:28:37,559 Dave who says, Pete, what is it you said before? 462 00:28:38,039 --> 00:28:41,279 That liberals muscle their way in blow everything up? And 463 00:28:41,279 --> 00:28:44,680 then want the same respect. That sure sounds like Charlotte 464 00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:47,160 eighteen million. I don't know how many pockets that went into, 465 00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:50,440 at least that's what it looks like. So you've talked 466 00:28:50,440 --> 00:28:53,920 about this the you know, the the Fabian Society, which was, 467 00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:56,359 you know, we're gonna give, We're gonna we're gonna turn 468 00:28:56,519 --> 00:29:00,880 Western society socialist, but we're gonna do it slowly. Their 469 00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:04,920 original mascot was literally a wolf in sheep's clothing. 470 00:29:05,119 --> 00:29:07,200 Speaker 2: That was on their banner. 471 00:29:07,559 --> 00:29:10,240 Speaker 1: They literally had that on their banner, and then they 472 00:29:10,240 --> 00:29:12,599 were like, maybe this is a little too overt, let's 473 00:29:12,680 --> 00:29:13,279 take that off. 474 00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:16,599 Speaker 2: But yeah, this is the way that. 475 00:29:18,200 --> 00:29:21,359 Speaker 1: This is the way that Marxists operate is they go 476 00:29:21,480 --> 00:29:28,079 into an institution that has built up credibility and reputation 477 00:29:28,480 --> 00:29:31,759 over you know, a long period of time with people 478 00:29:31,839 --> 00:29:34,839 doing good work of all political stripes. But they go in, 479 00:29:34,920 --> 00:29:40,039 they build up you know, the worth, the value of 480 00:29:40,079 --> 00:29:46,240 this institution, and if left unguarded, parasites then descend and 481 00:29:46,319 --> 00:29:52,319 they they destroy all of the stored value and then 482 00:29:52,359 --> 00:29:56,200 they will move on to another institution. You see this 483 00:29:56,240 --> 00:30:00,400 happening in the churches, where you've got this parasitic mind 484 00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:05,960 as Goad said calls it. They don't go and start 485 00:30:05,960 --> 00:30:09,640 their own churches. They go into yours and they hollow 486 00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:13,880 it out, and then they walk around with the shell 487 00:30:14,119 --> 00:30:17,759 of the institution as like a skin suit and demand 488 00:30:18,319 --> 00:30:24,279 the level of respect that the institution deservedly had prior 489 00:30:24,359 --> 00:30:30,039 to the hollowing out right, And I kind of get 490 00:30:30,039 --> 00:30:32,039 the sense that that's what we're looking at in all 491 00:30:32,079 --> 00:30:34,279 of these big cities that are run by democrats. 492 00:30:34,319 --> 00:30:35,759 Speaker 2: This is what happens. 493 00:30:36,240 --> 00:30:37,960 Speaker 1: You get people that are in there and look a 494 00:30:37,960 --> 00:30:42,519 lot of people that go into you know, go into politics. 495 00:30:43,160 --> 00:30:49,400 They score pretty high on sociopathy, okay, and psychopathy. They 496 00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:56,759 do politics, media law, those are like the big categories. 497 00:30:57,319 --> 00:30:59,680 So I say that as one who is in media. 498 00:31:00,359 --> 00:31:04,039 So yeah, there's a personality type that goes in there, 499 00:31:04,039 --> 00:31:06,599 and the politics really doesn't matter. If you've got people 500 00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:09,160 that are in there with the dark tech trad personality traits, 501 00:31:09,319 --> 00:31:12,519 they don't care about the politics. The ideology doesn't matter 502 00:31:12,559 --> 00:31:15,400 to them. It's the power that's all, and they'll just 503 00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:18,519 shed whatever ideology they need to shed in order to 504 00:31:18,599 --> 00:31:23,039 achieve more power. Which is why it's always kind of 505 00:31:23,079 --> 00:31:25,119 interesting to me that you get democrats that run these 506 00:31:25,119 --> 00:31:27,440 big cities and they claim like, you know, we're the 507 00:31:27,480 --> 00:31:29,279 party of government and all this, and it's like, well, 508 00:31:29,319 --> 00:31:32,119 then why do you run it so poorly? Why does 509 00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:35,359 it not seem to work anywhere you guys operate it? 510 00:31:37,559 --> 00:31:45,799 Kimberly said, this makes me sick. Dude, Hang on a second. 511 00:31:45,799 --> 00:31:52,240 This is from Andrew, but this is from yesterday. This 512 00:31:52,319 --> 00:31:56,279 is from today. Oh okay, so no, no, not in Charlotte. 513 00:31:56,279 --> 00:31:58,759 Almost like doing a payout behind closed doors to a 514 00:31:58,839 --> 00:32:01,920 chief of police. Yeah, that would never happen. That would 515 00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:08,000 never happen. This is from a random number. Glad to 516 00:32:08,079 --> 00:32:10,839 know we are the tenth safest city. Just wonder how 517 00:32:10,839 --> 00:32:14,160 those numbers work with the city having shootings every day. 518 00:32:14,440 --> 00:32:18,920 Nowhere in this discussion about security on the transit, do 519 00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:21,039 I hear that we hired the best? I did hear 520 00:32:21,160 --> 00:32:22,440 we hired based on race? 521 00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:24,200 Speaker 2: Right? 522 00:32:24,240 --> 00:32:28,079 Speaker 1: And that is also an element to this story. Now, 523 00:32:28,880 --> 00:32:33,000 because of this kind of DEI policy that the City 524 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:37,039 of Charlotte has been engaged in for thirty years, it 525 00:32:38,519 --> 00:32:43,400 makes the normal person, any normal person aware that this 526 00:32:43,640 --> 00:32:48,200 system exists now has to ask because of the policy, 527 00:32:48,640 --> 00:32:52,599 not because of the individuals or the winner of the 528 00:32:52,640 --> 00:32:56,680 contract for no other reason, just by the mere existence 529 00:32:56,720 --> 00:33:00,480 of the program. Now the question is asked of every 530 00:33:00,720 --> 00:33:05,000 single MWBE did they actually earn it? And that's not 531 00:33:05,160 --> 00:33:08,720 fair to them. That's the trade off here, right, As 532 00:33:08,759 --> 00:33:11,279 Thomas Soule says, there are no solutions, only trade offs. 533 00:33:11,519 --> 00:33:13,519 This is one of the trade offs. By the way, 534 00:33:13,559 --> 00:33:15,480 this is also one of the lies that people are 535 00:33:15,480 --> 00:33:18,599 telling on the left about Charlie Kirk his comments and 536 00:33:18,640 --> 00:33:21,079 I've played it a couple of weeks ago about the 537 00:33:21,079 --> 00:33:24,480 Black Airline pilots. He was talking about the use of 538 00:33:25,519 --> 00:33:32,160 United Airlines they were going to hire based on dei quotas, 539 00:33:32,839 --> 00:33:35,240 and what that does is then it forces anybody getting 540 00:33:35,279 --> 00:33:39,200 on the plane. It now raises the question in their minds, like, 541 00:33:39,319 --> 00:33:42,119 wait a minute, is this guy actually qualified to fly 542 00:33:42,240 --> 00:33:45,079 the plane or was he just somebody that they hired 543 00:33:45,119 --> 00:33:50,960 based on race or sex or whatever. And people shouldn't 544 00:33:51,039 --> 00:33:53,119 think that way. We don't want people to think that way. 545 00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:55,480 I don't want people thinking that way. But when you 546 00:33:55,519 --> 00:33:59,519 have these programs, people start thinking that way because that's 547 00:33:59,519 --> 00:34:03,359 what the pro makes you do. So now that's part 548 00:34:03,400 --> 00:34:07,839 of this discussion as well. Does PSS actually have the 549 00:34:07,880 --> 00:34:12,519 capacity to fulfill the contract requirements. Why did they go 550 00:34:12,639 --> 00:34:15,599 from under the G four S company when they were 551 00:34:15,639 --> 00:34:17,760 running the security and they had one hundred and eight 552 00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:22,159 security personnel one hundred and eight and between sixty eight 553 00:34:22,199 --> 00:34:26,079 and eighty eight of them were armed one oh eight 554 00:34:26,639 --> 00:34:28,960 up to eighty eight of the one oh eight were armed. 555 00:34:29,360 --> 00:34:32,679 Now thirty nine out of two hundred and nineteen are armed. 556 00:34:33,840 --> 00:34:37,920 That is a decision, right, That is obviously an explicit 557 00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:41,199 intentional decision that was made. Now who made that decision, 558 00:34:42,480 --> 00:34:45,639 we don't know. The auditor doesn't know either. The office 559 00:34:46,039 --> 00:34:48,199 that his office that did this report, they don't know 560 00:34:48,239 --> 00:34:52,360 that either. But that remains to be investigated. How much 561 00:34:52,360 --> 00:34:58,079 of a role did the did this CBI program play 562 00:34:58,159 --> 00:35:03,639 in the decision? Was PSS actually qualified to take on 563 00:35:04,320 --> 00:35:05,800 both contracts or. 564 00:35:05,840 --> 00:35:09,320 Speaker 2: Maybe one but not the other. We don't know. We're 565 00:35:09,320 --> 00:35:11,719 gonna find out. We're gonna find out. 566 00:35:11,760 --> 00:35:13,920 Speaker 1: And I think the City or Cats was supposed to 567 00:35:13,960 --> 00:35:16,119 do a press conference today but they pushed that off, 568 00:35:17,079 --> 00:35:21,280 which is not a great sign. All right, that'll do 569 00:35:21,320 --> 00:35:23,880 it for this episode. Thank you so much for listening. 570 00:35:23,960 --> 00:35:26,119 I could not do the show without your support and 571 00:35:26,159 --> 00:35:28,880 the support of the businesses that advertise on the podcast, 572 00:35:29,239 --> 00:35:31,320 so if you'd like, please support them too and tell 573 00:35:31,320 --> 00:35:33,079 them you heard it here. You can also become a 574 00:35:33,079 --> 00:35:37,760 patron at my Patreon page or go to dpetecleanershow dot com. Again, 575 00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:40,559 thank you so much for listening, and don't break anything 576 00:35:40,559 --> 00:35:45,519 while I'm gone.