26 American Police Beat: January 2018 Stop right there! In the name of The Holy Spirit! God’s army patrol – what could possibly go wrong? Some like the idea, but others see a very slippery slope T here are a lot of people worried about the possi- bility that Sharia law will someday be im- plemented on US soil. Saudi Arabia and other oppressive regimes like Iran and Sudan use reli- gious police to make sure religious law is being followed to the letter. But in the USA, many citizens take great comfort knowing there’s a firewall between a given officer’s religion and the secular laws that they’re sworn to uphold. The guy that runs an or- ganization called “God’s Army” says what he’s doing is just winning souls for Christ. But there are bound to be a few questions about the police uni- forms and the guns. God’s Army senior pastor Richard Tamayo is a retired New York City police detective. Like a lot of East Coasters, he retired to Arizona and now can- vasses neighborhoods in the Phoenix area where he talks to residents about God and crime. “The main purpose of God’s Army is to save souls. Our secondary pur- pose is to save lives,’’ he said. Tamayo says God’s Army is just a volun- teer group made up of very religious former law enforcement and mili- tary professionals. “We understand the culture of law enforce- ment; we understand the community,” Tamayo told reporters with the Arizona Republic. Tamayo said God’s Army is about helping lo- cal law enforcement by be- ing “a presence that helps fight crime.” The Phoenix Police Department had no com- ment on God’s Army when contacted by the Arizona Republic. “[Tamayo] believes in his mission 1,000 per- cent,” David Hummer, a U.S. Air Force military police veteran told re- porters. Hummer is one of Tamayo’s volunteers. “ T h e d r i v e that he exhib- its in a sense drives me.” B u t i f the guys are just trying to recruit new Christians, what’s up with the guns? “We understand the type of dangers there are in areas that we go to, gang areas and prostitution ar- eas, that we are dealing with this specific element, that we have to go in there prepared for anything,” he said. Still, the God’s Army folks look a lot like sworn officers. Eric Was- son, owner of North Val- ley Bicycles, spoke to Tamayo briefly while he was investigating a local robbery as a civilian. Wasson said he orig- inally thought Tamayo and his partner were Mar- icopa County Sheriff’s Office deputies because of their attire. “It’s a scary proposition that they’re investigating crimes,” Wasson said. Tamayo was a 13-year veteran of the New York City Police Department when he found salvation. He describes his religious awakening in a book he titled “The Bible De- tective Finds Jesus and the Queen.” But what’s terrifying to many (in this case religious police volun- teers investigating crimes and carrying weapons) seems like common sense to others. Jack Blanchard, a 28- year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Depart- ment, told the Republic he’s contacted Tamayo about getting a God’s Army unit up and run- ning at LAPD. One of Tamayo’s big talking points is that God’s Army puts more cops on the street at no cost to the taxpayers. “Our poli- tician, Jesus, has put more cops on the street — with- out promising anything,’ Tamayo said. ★ “THE MAIN PURPOSE OF GOD’S ARMY IS TO SAVE SOULS. OUR SECONDARY PURPOSE IS TO SAVE LIVES.”