Standing up against the anti-police axis

On May 11, in Franconia, New Hampshire, 48-year-old police Cpl. Bruce McKay pulled over a 24-year-old, longhaired ne'er-do-well named Liko Kenney for speeding. The two had met before -- in 2003, Kenney pled guilty to assaulting McKay during an arrest.

Now, Kenney blithely informed McKay that he would prefer to deal with another officer. Then he drove off. McKay quickly followed in his patrol vehicle. About a mile down the road, he forced Kenney off the road, then pepper-sprayed Kenney to subdue him.

Kenney then pulled out a handgun and shot McKay four times. As McKay staggered toward his vehicle to call for help, Kenney drove over him with his car, killing him.

Ex-Marine Gregory Floyd, passing the murder site in his car, saw what was happening. He stopped his vehicle, grabbed McKay's gun and shot Kenney to death.

McKay was a solid police officer, the father of a 9-year-old girl. He was scheduled to marry his fiancee in July. Kenney was a hippie with violent tendencies -- his own aunt took out a restraining order against him.

Yet the town of Franconia, New Hampshire is split over the McKay homicide and the Kenney death. "It's a tragic situation -- two men lost and two families devastated," mourned local store-owner Steve Heath. Local florist Jean McClean called McKay's murder "vigilante justice."

In Los Angeles, a continent away, pro-illegal immigration activists continue to flay the Los Angeles Police Department. On May Day, illegal immigration advocates held two large rallies. The first rally proceeded without a hitch. The second rally, attended by 10,000 people in the Mexican gang-infested MacArthur Park area, devolved into chaos around 6 p.m.

Protesters began throwing rocks and bottles at police officers, refusing to disperse after ordered to do so. Local teenagers -- likely gang members -- began obstructing streets with plastic garbage cans. Some threw material at cars; one threw a hubcap, while another bashed at a bus with a piece of wood. Members of the LAPD responded by advancing on the protesters, firing foam bullets into the unruly crowd and restrainedly batoning resistant protesters. No one was seriously injured.

Nonetheless, allegations of police brutality followed immediately on the heels of the protest. Leading the charge against the LAPD was Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. On May 17, Villaraigosa spoke at another MacArthur Park rally. "We're here because we love this great country and we want to share in the American dream," Villaraigosa stated in Spanish. "Only with justice can we get to peace." LAPD Chief William Bratton has already reassigned the two ranking officers at the rally.

In the 1960s, counterculture anti-war protesters routinely labeled police officers "pigs." Today, the counterculture has become part of the legitimate culture. An alliance has formed between those who wish to break the law and their former-hippie enablers. And that alliance is hell bent on crippling police officers' ability to protect and serve the public.

Americans are rightly cautious with regard to police power -- no one wants to see brutality become the rule rather than the exception. But the answer isn't castrating the police every time a violent protester meets the business end of a foam bullet. In the wake of the Rodney King beating and the Rampart scandal, the LAPD hobbled itself, adopting insanely restrictive self-policing standards that devastated morale and recruitment. Predictably, gang activity flourished.

No other group of people endures the level of hatred police officers do; none acts with more honor under fire. But we cannot expect the police to pursue crime with alacrity if we cut their Achilles tendon. Sympathizing with cop killers is cutting the Achilles tendon. Throwing officers under the bus for responding to violence is cutting the Achilles tendon. There will be no one left to protect and serve if we continue to watch idly as anti-police radicals sharpen their scalpels.

Ben Shapiro is a regular guest on dozens of radio shows around the United States and Canada and author of Brainwashed: How Universities Indoctrinate America's Youth.

Be the first to read Ben Shapiro's column. Sign up today and receive Townhall.com delivered each morning to your inbox.

Ben Shapiro certainly picks up on a current in our culture that is against the police. Libs have always hated them. Still, police are often not blameless in how they are perceived. It isn’t just the 60s counter-culture. We have a lot of really good policemen, but we also have a lot who see their badge and weapon as a means of exerting power. There are also a lot of prosecutors who are quite fond of their power. Corruption at the local level doesn’t help. Yeah, the cops are the good guys, but real life isn’t Dragnet.

Some cops are good guys. Some are just heavily armed, highly organized and full of self-pity. And some, especially the managers, are cynical manipulators of the image of cops as the self-sacrificing, noble defenders of the citizenry.

What cops really are is society's janitors; they clean up the messes and take out the trash, which is good and respectable work. But they get paid well for what they do, with better than average benefits and retirement, and when I read these threads which imply that we owe them, I say "bullsh!t." Commercial fishermen get killed at twelve times the rate cops do but have the grace not to pound their chests over the fact.

I, for one, would not lose a wink of sleep if the police started UNrestrainedly "batonning" a few of these dirtbags.

Score - Injustice 1 - Justice 0

Unlike the author, I can understand the angst felt by the locals in all this. Two men lay dead because of a speeding ticket. While Officer McKay did not deserve his fate, the fact is that both men would be alive today if Officer McKay had not pursued Kenney after the first stop. After the stop, Officer McKay had all the info he needed to ticket the driver. He could have written it up at the end of his shift and the citation would be in the mail the next day. Was there really any sound reason for the second pursuit?

As the article notes, there was already a history between these two men. Chances are Kenney was seething during the initial stop, especially once he saw who the ticketing officer was, while Officer McKay was likley relishing the moment for the same reasons. It's possible that Kenney drove away to prevent his anger from getting the best of him.

The article states that McKay forced Kenney off the road after about a mile in the second pursuit. Did McKay give Kenney a chance to pull over in the short time the second pursuit lasted? Given the short distance covered and the short time that implies, that doesn't seem likley. Forcing another vehicle off the road could cause injury or even death to that driver. Given these circumstances, Kenney, rightly or wrongly, may have been in fear of his life and acted accordinly as so many Freepers say they would do if threatened for their lives.

Given the attitudes and demeanor of some police officers, it's not out of the realm of possibilities that McKay is now seething with anger over Kenney leaving his presence before he's finished the ticketing and whatever other minor indignities he may have wanted to inflict on Kenney. You know, the "Respect my Authority" syndrome that inflicts many police officers. This may explain Officer McKay's aggressive tatics in the second pursuit, which might be considered an over-reaction to Kenney's driving away.

What likely happened here is an unnecessary escalation of the stakes caused by personal animosity that may have been present in both men toward each other. If Kenney hadn't driven away early, both would be alive today. If Officer McKay had just let him go and had the speeding citation mailed, both would be alive today.

Well, my my my...

It seems the anti-police animous isn’t reserved simply for the aging hippie population and criminals...

Perhaps “pulling back” and not engaging the criminals is something the police officers SHOULD be doing. After all, it seems that is what a lot want them to do. Personally, I wouldn’t mind if my husband and other family members put their own safety above that of the “civilians”. If what they do and the professional manner in which they, and most OTHER cops, do their jobs is not enough for all of you, then it seems reasonable for you NOT to call 911 the next time you get offended.

Perhaps “pulling back” and not engaging the criminals is something the police officers SHOULD be doing. After all, it seems that is what a lot want them to do.

At least you seem to understand the point I was trying to make. As I mentioned in my post, Officer McKay didn't deserve his fate, but given what is presented here he may have unwittingly contributed to it. To my knowledge the first act of violence exhibited in this situation was when Officer McKay forced Kenney off the road. It seems to me that action raised the stakes much much higher than what was warranted here. There may be facts unknown to me that might cause me to change my mind, but until then I have to call them as I see them based on what is before me.

Personally, I wouldn’t mind if my husband and other family members put their own safety above that of the “civilians”. If what they do and the professional manner in which they, and most OTHER cops, do their jobs is not enough for all of you, then it seems reasonable for you NOT to call 911 the next time you get offended.

Whether you believe it or not, I'm not "anti-cop". What I am interested in are just laws justly enforced, good relations between the police and ordinary citizens, and the safety of police officers. If Officer McKay did indeed make a mistake here which contributed in eliciting Kenney's violent actions, it's important that we recognize that fact so that his mistake isn't repeated in the future.

FWIW, I think much of the problem concerning policing today is a result of unjust laws that have been on the books for several decades, leading to unjust punishments for millions of people over that time. I'm specifically referring to the WOD. If these laws are indeed unjust, it should surprise no one that there is a lot of pent up anger toward the police as they represent the front lines of this injustice (through no fault of their own). If I'm right, changing the drug laws to where they mirror the laws governing alcohol could only benefit your family and friends who work as police officers. You and they might want to pay a visit to leap.org - Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.