There
has been an alleged (sometimes obvious) case of excessive force being
employed by law enforcement officers making the national news on a
regular basis lately. After attending the Mayweather/McGregor prize
fight in Las Vegas, Nevada on August 26th, [Michael
Bennett], a star NFL (Seattle Seahawks) defensive end,
found himself with a knee in his back and a pistol pointed at his
head.
In
all fairness, I cannot blame the cops for initially taking Bennett
into custody. For they were responding to shots being reportedly
fired in a nightclub section of a casino, and there was this rather
large (6'4”, 274 pounds) man hiding behind a slot machine, who
attempted to run away when he saw them. Quite frankly, I would have
shot him for daring to wear such a hideous suit of clothes out in
public. (Just kidding...kinda.)
Seriously,
I have been made well aware of not having the natural temperament to
be a law enforcement officer. For I would want to put a hole in
someone just for giving me grief over enforcing a minor infraction
while letting a person get away with just about anything up to murder
if they were nice in their dealings with me. No, neither way is
acceptable.
Maybe
not. For fearful constituents demand greater protective measures
while oppression breeds rebellion that adds all the more to the fear.
It is literally the proverbial vicious circle.
Be
assured that it is really not any worse now than it has been down
through the ages. For it is just that with more and more always
carrying cell phones with the capability to record videos that can be
instantly broadcast to billions, less and less goes unnoticed.
Nonetheless, law enforcement has brought much of their trouble
upon themselves. For instead of seeking to treat everyone they meet
on their beat as those they have sworn to protect and serve until a
situation warrants a different approach, far too many officers assume
that far too many are guilty (or at least probable perpetrators) of
some criminal activity. Yes, race has proven to be a factor.
Much
of that comes from the top down. I still shake my head in disgust
over hearing the answer given by the chief of police in Los Angeles,
California during a press conference twenty-some years ago. He was
asked why so many of the officers under his command generally treated
people so disrespectfully. His answer was, “We are not out there
on the streets to make friends. We are out there to keep the peace.”
Come
on now, would you not be much more likely to feed the police
information if you were on a friendly basis with at least the
officers you regularly see in your area, which could make their job much, much easier? Why is this so hard for law
enforcement to understand and cultivate?
Speaking
of disrespect, it now appears to be standard procedure for officers
to always aim for center-mass when pulling the trigger of their
firearm, which is likely to result in the death of a suspect. Should
not anyone authorized to carry a firearm be skilled enough to simply
wound someone when no other means can be used to take them into
custody? Yes, there are situations where a wounded suspect would be
even more of a danger to innocent bystanders, but there have been
many killed by officers who did not need to die.
On
the other hand, I can see where killing a suspect would save the
authorities a lot of money. For there would not be any expenses for
hospitalization incurred—not to mention no trial and incarceration
expenses.
Yes,
defending against a wrongful death lawsuit has to be quite
prohibitive, but bullies tend to not worry about such. Who else
would want to wear a badge if things keep going as they have been?
Speaking
of bullies, they are generally cowards by nature, and how cowardly is
it to shot first at someone just thought to be armed? This has been
happening far too often.
As
with everything else, it is all in accordance unto our Heavenly
Father's will, but just because He has allowed things to go bad does
not mean that they have to stay that way. In many cases, bad
situations are meant to encourage us to want to get closer to Him.
Of
course, I could be woefully deceived. What say you?
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He was singled out because he was a man in the wrong place at the wrong time, the word black does not need to be placed in that sentence. If he were to put himself in the shoes of the officer perhaps he would have acted the same. And how is it that a football player who is used to all the roughness on the field is crying about being tackled by a cop working in a high stress situation trying to keep people safe. I have no sympathy for Mr. Bennett.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, my dear Ann!!! Neither do I believe that race had anything to do with the incident involving Bennett, which is why I left it out of my description of him. Sadly, there are plenty who will play the race card, which adds even more to the vicious circle.
DeleteIt's bad enough when people in ordinary businesses abuse their authority, but when those who carry a gun do it...!
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, I too am one of those who shouldn't carry a loaded firearm. If I were a policeman, the first punk who called me a "pig" would get shot.
Thanks for stopping by, my dear Silver Fox!!! Well, if the shoe fits... (LOL?)
DeleteJerry I agree with all of you! Ridiculous!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, my dear Sandie!!! So, you would have also shot him for wearing that? (LOL?)
Delete...it's ever since people decided the little rules don't count anymore, or have changed, that everything has snowballed into decline. Lack of respect. Both ways.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, my dear Shadow!!! You are right that there is two sides to the issue. I decided against including such in this piece because of having a follow-up in mind that will focus more upon the attitude of not heeding a cop's directive because of thinking that they have done nothing wrong in the first place.
DeleteThanks for stopping by, my dear Adullamite!!! I will continue to defend the right to bear arms, but there is more and more about our American society in general that I find very disturbing. Be assured that I have been given more to expound upon.
ReplyDelete