It's important that we begin with the premise that the overwhelming majority of law enforcement personnel adhere to a strict code of conduct called the Officer's Creed. It states, "A policeman's fundamental duty is to serve mankind; to safeguard lives and property, to protect the innocent against deception, the weak against oppression or intimidation, and the peaceful against violence or disorder; and to respect the Constitutional rights of all men to liberty, equality, and justice."

These men and women have sworn to protect and serve and faithfully put their lives on the line for the communities they defend. There are more than 800,000 law enforcement officers now serving in the United States, and they facilitate over 10 million arrests every year. The vast majority are handled by the book.

But on Monday, May 25, the four officers who apprehended George Floyd failed all of us. The calamitous video depicted George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man in Minneapolis, handcuffed and pinned to the ground, pleading for his life while a soulless, callous white police officer named Derek Chauvin methodically eliminated Floyd's vital signs. The event has proven to be the catalyst for a nationwide firestorm that has brought dozens of American cities to their knees.

But what began as non-violent objections quickly devolved into lawless pandemonium in many locations.

History has demonstrated that peaceful protests can be the agents of change, but each day as the sunsets across America the pale-face demons donning black masks and the black T-shirts rise like parasitical vampires sucking the righteousness from these demonstrations. Minneapolis, Atlanta, New York, Oakland, Los Angeles, Washington, and Chicago are just a few of the municipalities converted into bloody battlegrounds as neighborhoods filled with family-owned businesses were looted and burned all in the name of social justice and equality.

Anarchists bent on destruction and criminals provided an opportunity to loot hijacked the death of George Floyd for their own ends.

Havoc, fire, and chaos reigned when the thieves and plunderers had the upper hand. Minnesota stood by and watched as a police precinct fell into their hands and burned. Portland witnessed the beating of an older man holding an American flag as his attacker shrieked, “We’re done with people like you.”

In Alabama, a reporter was thrown around and robbed on live television; San Jose featured rioters with crowbars and hammers blocking the highway traffic, smashing car windows with complete impunity. Elderly shop owners in Rochester were routed by half a dozen men 40 years their junior with metal ladders and a wooden 2X4. In Dallas, onlookers giggled and laughed as a store owner lay motionless in the middle of the street, left for dead after being repeatedly struck in the head by a rock.

Seeing such conduct, my sympathy fades. My rage now is real. In too many instances, the worst people in America have taken control.

The mixed messaging emanating from the Oval Office hasn’t helped. As the city violence began to metastasize, President Trump missed an opportunity for unity, instead, settling on communicating through a juvenile series of callous Tweets, arguably fueling the already smoldering fire. The stupid stunt of hitting Washington protesters with rubber bullets and pepper spray so he could ingest a ludicrous, hollow photo-op with a Bible was absurd.

But far greater blame lands on the shoulders of the weak-kneed, naive blue-state mayors and governors. Epicenters like Minnesota, New York, Washington DC, Oakland, Detroit and Chicago are all run by liberal leadership fearful of bad optics, consistently offering up excuse after excuse, allowing the hordes of hooligans to strike relentlessly, ripping apart everything that stands in their path. Infernos on every other street corner, ransacked businesses looted until empty, all while law enforcement is ordered to sit and watch. The political hierarchy deference in ignoring curfews, aiding and abetting the incendiary blitz and rage, has enabled the defiant rebellion. The results were cataclysmic.

What will you do if the riots come to Norwich or New London?

The radicals have exploited the message of empathy, jackals intent on animalistic savagery. These agitators hide in plain sight, bogarting a memorandum of hope to unleash furies of brutality and violence.

There is a difference between peaceful protesters, agitators and anarchists. We should embrace the millions who fight for equality but must condemn the thousands whose goal is anarchy.

Lee Elci is the morning host for 94.9 News Now radio, a station that provides "Stimulating Talk" with a conservative bent.