Nearly 100 teens marched in front of the Police Headquarters in Chicago in protest of the police administrators equipping officers with semi automatic rifles. The group, organized by the Southwest Youth Collaborative, is a nonprofit organization. Here is a link to the article in the Chicago Tribune.
The group marched on the police headquarters carrying signs like “Stop the War on Youth”. Is there a war on youth? The group was mentioned to have expressed concerns that they didn''t trust police with the high-powered weapons and worried gangs would be encouraged to bolster their own arsenals. Why are these concerned citizens believing this would be the outcome?
There are many reasons to include first and foremost, remember… this is in Chicago, the same city which has now brought us the new president elect and an army of liberal thinking left. It is part of the agenda of some left thinking people to take away guns and the right of gun ownership.
It is not my intent to express my feelings about gun ownership in this blog. The possible explanation of how a group could feel so strongly as to protest this issue may suggest their position on gun ownership. They must believe that not arming the police sufficiently to react to criminals is the appropriate action for a community to take. The Southwest Youth Collaborative has as one of its purposes to “ build power and self-determination among low-income youth and families and seek to create a leadership and power base for disenfranchised young people” and to create a "unique model of organizing that develops intergenerational, multi-racial, and gender balanced leadership for social justice and institutional change around the issues affecting youth”.
This is a group of “community organizers” that focuses on pushing an agenda… “working together for a just future” (all information was taken from their site http://www.swyc.org/)
How does the police arming themselves go against this group's agenda? This group has decided to attack the police for attempting to protect the members of the group. Police react to the criminals in a community. They are not going around carrying the rifles in a militaristic fashion. The concern that gangs are going to arm themselves in response to the police getting rifles is rationalizing illegal activities for legal actions. Let me explain, the police can legally own and carry these weapons. The gangs cannot legally own of carry these weapons. When police take action they do so under the authority given to them by the municipal, county, state or United States Constitution. The gangs or criminals do not act under any recognized authority.
In my opinion, the patrol rifles are an asset to the police force. They are an effective weapon and one the police should not only be allowed to carry, but should be encouraged to carry with them. It is the responsibility of the community to react to the actions of their police force. They should protest those things which are illegal or go against the community’s sense of well being and protection. It is my position the majority of the community’s intent is for the police to be properly armed to protect the citizens. With this position in mind, before we make our opinion about a headline in a newspaper, we should research the specific arguments. In this instance, we should better understand the intentions of the group staging the protest, better understand the legality of the issue, and the intent of the police to make the changes. I believe in this case, the police are right. The protestors have an agenda which starts out against the police force. It is legal for the police to have the weapons. Their intent to have the rifles is to better protect the community.
In conclusion, leave the police alone in this matter. They are right.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
Hollywood Police Image is Wrong
While I was surfing the internet, I came across an article from the New York Times. It was in the Op-Ed section, so right away you realize a few things… this is from the most liberal paper in the country and in a section where they do not have to back anything up with sources. The article/post the author wrote upset me. It is propaganda and in keeping with the “Hollywood” image of police officers. Here is a link to the article.
There is so much put out to the public from the media about the bad police officer. This image, portrayed in movies, television, music, newspaper and now the internet, has become so pervasive it is believed this is the way officers really are. It has become the public’s perception that ALL police officers are bad, racist, out to circumvent the justice system, disgruntled and for lack of saying it any other way… criminal. Well, I have heard enough and wish to speak out against this.
The officers I know and work with are good, honest, hard working men and women.
They know how and when to act within the law. They extend themselves and go out into their communities to serve the public risking life and limb for principles they feel are vital to the well being of society. I have lost a friend and co-worker fighting for these principles. This profession is a commitment to all things that are good. Officers enter this profession willing to lay down their life for the service of these principles. Justice, Law, Fairness, Opportunity and Freedom are the only powers they are armed with. Sure, we police the streets with guns and weapons, but the real police power is only granted to the officer from the community. This power is entrusted to the officer. It can be taken away. Police are only empowered when the community allows them to be. Over and over again, officers reach into their own pockets and take time away from their own families to make a community a safer place to live.
The frequency of the bad cop image in the media infuriates me. Officers work without a sense of thanks from the communities they protect. This is a thankless profession. It is a profession based on the principle that a person is “innocent until proven guilty” and thanks to this media image, every police officer accused of wrong doing is “guilty until proven innocent”.
I would be in error if I did not point out that there are officers who are in the wrong. This is true with any profession. How many times does it make the front page headline of your hometown paper when a mailman is arrested? An employee at the corner hamburger restaurant arrested? The mechanic at the tire shop arrested? Not very often I am sure. I guarantee you each time a police officer is arrested there is a headline. This goes back to the trust empowered to the police from the community. This trust is violated when an officer does wrong. There is no violation of trust from the public when the fry guy at the local hamburger shop is arrested.
This transition of Hollywood’s police image began transforming in the late 70’s. It came into full swing with the Rodney King incident. We need more media images where police are doing a great job, caring for the public and the trust the community has entrusted them with. Until more of these images are out there, our society will continue to decline and fail to trust those sworn to keep our society whole.
So, the next time you are stopped by a police officer, realize first they are just doing their job. Give them the benefit of the doubt that they are not the stereotypical Hollywood bad police officer. Remember when you need a police officer it is not that they are never around. It is that they are busy doing a thankless job helping probably an ungrateful citizen who is in crisis. In all my years of doing this job, I have never been called to a house because it was a birthday party and they needed help blowing out the candles on the cake…
it is because someone has thrown the cake across the room in a drunken rampage.
There is so much put out to the public from the media about the bad police officer. This image, portrayed in movies, television, music, newspaper and now the internet, has become so pervasive it is believed this is the way officers really are. It has become the public’s perception that ALL police officers are bad, racist, out to circumvent the justice system, disgruntled and for lack of saying it any other way… criminal. Well, I have heard enough and wish to speak out against this.
The officers I know and work with are good, honest, hard working men and women.
They know how and when to act within the law. They extend themselves and go out into their communities to serve the public risking life and limb for principles they feel are vital to the well being of society. I have lost a friend and co-worker fighting for these principles. This profession is a commitment to all things that are good. Officers enter this profession willing to lay down their life for the service of these principles. Justice, Law, Fairness, Opportunity and Freedom are the only powers they are armed with. Sure, we police the streets with guns and weapons, but the real police power is only granted to the officer from the community. This power is entrusted to the officer. It can be taken away. Police are only empowered when the community allows them to be. Over and over again, officers reach into their own pockets and take time away from their own families to make a community a safer place to live. The frequency of the bad cop image in the media infuriates me. Officers work without a sense of thanks from the communities they protect. This is a thankless profession. It is a profession based on the principle that a person is “innocent until proven guilty” and thanks to this media image, every police officer accused of wrong doing is “guilty until proven innocent”.
I would be in error if I did not point out that there are officers who are in the wrong. This is true with any profession. How many times does it make the front page headline of your hometown paper when a mailman is arrested? An employee at the corner hamburger restaurant arrested? The mechanic at the tire shop arrested? Not very often I am sure. I guarantee you each time a police officer is arrested there is a headline. This goes back to the trust empowered to the police from the community. This trust is violated when an officer does wrong. There is no violation of trust from the public when the fry guy at the local hamburger shop is arrested.
This transition of Hollywood’s police image began transforming in the late 70’s. It came into full swing with the Rodney King incident. We need more media images where police are doing a great job, caring for the public and the trust the community has entrusted them with. Until more of these images are out there, our society will continue to decline and fail to trust those sworn to keep our society whole.
So, the next time you are stopped by a police officer, realize first they are just doing their job. Give them the benefit of the doubt that they are not the stereotypical Hollywood bad police officer. Remember when you need a police officer it is not that they are never around. It is that they are busy doing a thankless job helping probably an ungrateful citizen who is in crisis. In all my years of doing this job, I have never been called to a house because it was a birthday party and they needed help blowing out the candles on the cake…
it is because someone has thrown the cake across the room in a drunken rampage.
Funny Cop Story
In most of the northern states, there is a policy of checking on any stalled vehicle on the highway when the temperatures drop in to the single digits or below.
One morning in March 2004 about 3 AM, a Wyoming State Trooper responded to a call of a car off the shoulder on the outside of the town of Casper.
The trooper located the car, with the engine still running, stuck in the deep snow alongside the highway. Pulling in behind the stalled car with his emergency lights on, the officer walked to the driver’s door to find a man passed out behind the wheel. And a near empty bottle of vodka in the seat beside him.
The trooper tapped on the window and the drive woke up, seeing the police lights in his rear view mirror and the trooper standing next to his car, the man panicked. He jerked the gearshift into drive and hit the gas. The car’s speedometer was showing 20-30-40… then 50 mph… but it was stuck in the snow.
The trooper, having a sick sense of humor, began running in place next to the speeding, but stationary, car. The driver was totally freaked, thinking the officer was actually keeping up with him.
This went on for about 30 seconds when the trooper yelled at the man ordering him to “Pull over!” The driver obeyed, turned his steering wheel, and stopped the engine.
Once out of the car the drunken driver asked about the trooper’s special training and just how could he possibly run 50 mph. The bewildered man was arrested, still believing that a trooper had outrun his car!
One morning in March 2004 about 3 AM, a Wyoming State Trooper responded to a call of a car off the shoulder on the outside of the town of Casper.
The trooper located the car, with the engine still running, stuck in the deep snow alongside the highway. Pulling in behind the stalled car with his emergency lights on, the officer walked to the driver’s door to find a man passed out behind the wheel. And a near empty bottle of vodka in the seat beside him.
The trooper tapped on the window and the drive woke up, seeing the police lights in his rear view mirror and the trooper standing next to his car, the man panicked. He jerked the gearshift into drive and hit the gas. The car’s speedometer was showing 20-30-40… then 50 mph… but it was stuck in the snow.
The trooper, having a sick sense of humor, began running in place next to the speeding, but stationary, car. The driver was totally freaked, thinking the officer was actually keeping up with him.
This went on for about 30 seconds when the trooper yelled at the man ordering him to “Pull over!” The driver obeyed, turned his steering wheel, and stopped the engine.
Once out of the car the drunken driver asked about the trooper’s special training and just how could he possibly run 50 mph. The bewildered man was arrested, still believing that a trooper had outrun his car!
Officer's Bad Day At Work
Alright, I saw this in the news and just had to comment on it….talk about a bad day at work. Here is the link to the article on a 35 year old man, arrested for DUI, urinating on the officer while being driven to jail. (read the article from Policeone.com) This is absurd. I have been in many situations where a prisoner wants to go to the bathroom. I have had them actually relieve themselves in the back of my car on numerous occasions. (This is never a pretty sight, although it is always a little satisfying having your prisoner walk into booking at the jail when they have wet on themself- the other prisoners usually get a good laugh at seeing a grown man who peed in his pants) Thankfully, I have never had one of them urinate on me. 
Okay, this is the best picture I had for a bad day at work. I couldn't bring myself to post a picture a someone unrinating. I think we can all relate to how this feels... of course, we could always do without the Jedi mind tricks.
Okay, this is the best picture I had for a bad day at work. I couldn't bring myself to post a picture a someone unrinating. I think we can all relate to how this feels... of course, we could always do without the Jedi mind tricks.
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