Posted on 01/23/2007 10:28:33 AM PST by Neo-Luddite
TIJUANA, Mexico -- The police department has issued about 60 slingshots to officers in the violent border city of Tijuana, where soldiers confiscated police weapons two weeks ago on allegations of collusion with drug traffickers.
Municipal police spokesman Fernando Bojorquez said Monday that the slingshots, along with bags of ballbearings, were given to officers patrolling areas of the city visited by tourists.
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Tijuana's police force of 2,000 officers has been without guns since Jan. 5, but some patrol alongside armed state police.
President Felipe Calderon sent 3,300 soldiers and federal police to Tijuana at the beginning of January to hunt down drug gangs. The soldiers swept police stations and took officers' guns for inspection amid allegations by federal investigators that a corrupt network of officers supports smugglers who traffic drugs into the U.S. The weapons are still being checked.
About 100 police demonstrated outside Tijuana town hall on Monday demanding the return of their guns. "The arms are our tools for work," said officer Juan Manuel Nieves. "Do they want more police to be killed?"
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
...or we could ask the Shell Answer Man 8^)
i think to myself: this is felipe calderon's way of showing these cops what he thinks they are worth and persuading them to resign and find productive employment or at least employers who don't mind competence.
By the way, Calderon is right.
correction: don't mind INcompetence.
That might be better
...yeah, 'cause after all, the Shell Answer Man's got the answer to just about everything 8^)
So, can he tell me why we drive in a parkway?
Sure he can...
...he can also explain how Teflon sticks to the pan but nothing sticks to it
...tell you the answer to life, the universe, and everything
...and explain how THAT happened despite the laws of the universe 8^)
Admittedly, he is not as knowledgeable as Chuck Norris or God...
Can he define the Universe and give me 2 examples?
I'm sure he can...
He's not omniscient--and he can't explain anything related to Chuck Norris.
Well...of course....no one can explain the phenomenom of Chuck...
yes, this is true...
In fact, let me do some research...let's see...Google..."C-h-u-c-k N-o-r-r-i-s"...I think I will click on "I feel lucky..."
> If they did, don't underestimate the power of a slingshot. I have seen one fire a steel ball the size of a .50 caliber bullet through the door of a car.
I have one that will do exactly that -- at very short range. It would still smart mightily at 200 ft.
Interesting. I haven't heard of this initiative by Calderon before. Is he seriously making a run at cleaning up some of the corruption?
Good luck to him. Really.
It sounds silly, but it strikes me as a smart move. The cops with slingshots are patrolling alongside soldiers with firearms. Ideally, they should have all been suspended while the authorities investigate which ones are more crooked than Bill Clinton's schwantz, but that wasn't practical, and this way it's easier to keep an eye on them.
I salute the Mexican authorities for finally doing something about all the cops in bed with the narcoterrorists, and I hope the Tijuana operation provides a model that can be rolled out to Juarez, Nogales and Matamoros, among others.
I have a soft-air pellet gun for that. It's battery-powered and full-auto, about 5 rounds a second and about 175 fps. I'm looking to chase them off, not to kill them, because then I'd have to dispose of the carcass. And frankly, if I could negotiate with the wee beasties, I'd be happy to give them the run of the yard if they'd just stop trying to gnaw their way into my attic.
I'm close enough to neighbors that a firearm, bow or crossbow would get me in legal trouble; I'm not sure about a slingshot. My rodent harassment device, as I've dubbed it, is made of clear plastic; I'm not looking for verisimilitude, and I'm not looking for the hassle of a neighbor or passer-by who thinks I'm stalking fuzzy-tailed tree rats with an actual firearm.
I also have a single-shot soft air pistol, a replica of a Walther P22, that's more accurate with a higher muzzle velocity. But when the object is rodent harassment, it's more effective to pepper the little SOB with dozens of shots on or near his furry little butt than a few better-placed ones.
I think my long-term solution to the squirrel problem is going to be to put an owl box high in one of my trees, and let the rich pageant of life run its course. It seems more practical than my other idea, which was to adopt a pet bobcat or ocelot.
I may swipe that for a tatoo.
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