Posted on 01/09/2002 12:14:37 PM PST by t-shirt
It appears our initial impressions of Columbine and law enforcement 'shortcomings' were fairly accurate, doesn't it?
On a more serious note didn't the initial reports say only the deputy at the school directly exchanged fire with Klebold or Harris? What happened to the other 150 rounds the police fired. Who were they shooting at?
You're joking, right?
You mean you don't like all these SEAL wannabees running around getting their rocks off kicking in other people's doors?
Former Marquette County Sheriff Steve Sell has a different take.
"Quite frankly, they get excited about dressing up in black and doing that kind of thing," he said.
From this thread.
This SWAT thing will destroy the moral authority of the police.
Excellent!
The cops KNOW what is right and have the tools and authority and experience to carry it out.
They apparently did not.
The two young adult males were not actually "sane" as far as "normal" people would define it. Their act was MORE terrifying, but probably more connected with their status in life as deranged youths on prozac and ritilan...
The cop who kills in cold blood and lies about it to cover his arse, is more disgusting than a KNOWN criminal who makes no pretense at "righteousness" within the culture. The criminal is doing as expected. The cop is behaving JUST as badly as that criminal by the act, but worse because of our expectation of him to do what is right as an "upholder" of the laws WE gave him to enforce, and which he is sworn to obey. Killing an unarmed youth and lying about it IS worse if you are a cop, from a MORAL standpoint.
The cop has not only killed, but violated our trust, and besmirched the character of all the good cops who are out there everyday. He has killed the kid, and our trust, and killed to some degree the very integrity of all the other cops that are out there. For that reason there ARE aspects of this cowardly act by a cop that ARE far worse societally than the acts of two whackjob kids on the prescription form of crack...
It's our trust that has been violated, not just the ACT of killing. The cop violated our moral trust, and we are all feeling the impact. I would say that even you have been negatively impacted by this guys actions. What he has done, and what you have said in his defense, has probably NOT made any points with your fellow freepers. The guy hurt YOUR reputation by what he did. Deny it if you choose... but the guy hurt you when he hurt the kid and lied about it. He hurt us all.
Word of advice... YOU continue to be the best cop you can, if you are one.
I thought that needed repeating.
LEO's described as above are just government agents of force, functioning at the behest of government on the behalf of government. Often the interest of government organizations & functionaries is at odds with the interest of the people. The object of the 'To Protect and To Serve' clause is what? Government? The People? They are not the same.
I always carry on or about my person:
a) A tape recorder.
b) A single-use 35mm camera (cuz it's light & fairly small)
These things are good to have handy for many things. Encounters with LEO, as we have seen. Also in case of an auto accident, after checking to see if everyone is ok , snap a few shots of the cars before anyone moves them and of the other people involved etc. Also if you see some suspicious looking middle-eastern guys doing something that seems strange or out of place TAKE THEIR PICTURE & RECORD WHAT THEY ARE SAYING. That is no violation of law.
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