Hey, if everybody had his own gun . . . . . .

Jacksonville, FL. 130 homicides in 2006. 800,000 population. OK, it’s not the Green Zone, but surely it is the Red Zone? A new year? 8 homicides by January 12. 2 more added by January 20. In ‘06 that worked out to 1 "KIA" for every 6,200 people in Jax. A homicide every 2 days, 19 hours, on average. All year long. Hey, if everybody had his own gun . . . . . .

I suppose we’ve all heard about last year’s police cover-up of another botched DEA home arrest (say invasion) turned fatal? In Chicago, I think. A grandmother. A harmless old black lady home alone, when 8 or 10 police began to break down her front door, yelling and shouting. Alarming is to put it mildly. Frightened near unto death is more likely. Well, that’s how it ended. Thanks to 7 police bullets. For one grandmother. Overkill?

Home invasions are fairly common nowadays - too many DEA cops and not enough beat cops? But there is no glamor in patrolling. No excitement. No rush of adrenalin. No camaraderie. No headlines. No million dollar drug cache confiscated, to get a 20 second segment on the Evening News. And a rewarding bump to the top of the promo list.

Hmm? You don't suppose drug dealers leave those big “drug finds” behind from time to time as if doing their bit to keep the current unproductive program in place? Like the "cost" of doing business? Reminds me of “Let them eat cake,” as Queen Marie Antoinette is reputed to have said.

Back to the home alone grandmother. Looking like a band of Darth Vaders, shouting, screaming like a drunken mob. Who would not be frightened? Old age is no guarantee against gang rape. She did the only intelligent thing, she grabbed her .22 pistol and opened fire on the intruders. She was not so accurate - she barely nicked one man - as the well-armed, well practiced and face masked, armor vested police who managed to shoot her 7 times! Score, Cops 0, Dead Citizens 1. Oops. Wrong house number. Sorry about that.

Preliminary investigation pointed to a wrong address given by a “reliable informant.” Equally disheartening was the tactics used by the police before the door break-down - apparently no warning was given - and then followed the disgusting and lame efforts by the police spokesperson to assign blame to the homeowning victim. One lie was followed by another lie. But it all came down the laziness, the neglect not to double check the reliable informant's information, and adding perhaps the over-training of police in SWAT tactics. A chance to perform weould not be missed!

Q. Why don't we prosecute lying spokespersons? Surely they are interfering with an on-going investigation? Obstructing justice? Giving false information to the police is a crime, why not make the police giving out false information to us a crime? And hold the Chief of Police personably responsible? I'll bet you’d hear a different story then! As it is now, we have a country filled with Tony Snow, Jrs. We taxpayers pay people to lie to us? How did that happen?

I do not so much blame the individual police officers - see following - except for their failure to follow procedure. At first blush, a minor offense. A matter of but 5 or 6 seconds. Speak first, kick second. But in this instance, that seemingly minor failure to follow protocol resulted in the death of an innocent person. Perhaps it would not have made a difference? Perhaps it would.

Should the police “shooters” be charged with negligent homicide? No. Not based on what I know today. But I would put them on 6 months unpaid leave. A penalty they would remember. OTOH, I would treat more severely the on-site officer-in-charge. OIC. He would have to stand trial for negligent homicide. Equal justice under law. Yes, RHIP but it also must take responsibility. Additionally, this criminal case would be the only means the public has of ever finding out what went on inside the DEA types before such raids. We know the DEA concept is failed. Why we keep it up I do not know or understand. After 40 years of ragged, unequal and all to frequently inept enforcement, illicit drugs are more plentiful and cheaper. Hmm?

Aside. Do you think there ought to be a school to send police spokespersons to learn these 2 vital lessons: 1) tell the truth, and 2) take responsibility? And which “responsibility” also means “accountability” which means lets take a closer look at the Chief of Police. Remember HST? The Buck Stops Here? Today’s spokespersons have to be glib but neither truthful nor accurate. Geez!

Where did I hear your home was your castle? Oh, that must be in England where they really do have castles? Anyone here ever read the 4th Amendment? Or are you stuck at Amend Two?


Second Issue: Do You Think Police Give Equal Response To Victims? Do you believe there is Equal Justice Under Law in America?

An 18-year-old Jacksonville youth was shot and killed by a narcotics officer at a Spring Park apartment complex on Saturday night. Dozens of detectives and deputies secured the scene, gathered evidence and talked to witnesses. Vehicular traffic was not allowed in or out of the complex for the rest of the evening. So you are inconvenienced? So what? How about sending the Chiefs of Police to Public Relations school? Better yet, to Human Relations school.

Good Gawd A’mighty! Smells like a cover-up in the making. We can assume the “narcotics officer” was not wearing a policeman’s uniform. We can also assume he was bearded, and ragged in his appearance. Sort of like a movie version of a hooligan. The extra CSI was probably meant to look for or “find” the gun the 18 year old surely must have brandished to the undercover cop? Unless there is something missing here, this story does not explain the huge effort at a crime scene which looks to be rather straightforward. No explanation was offered. Citizens are to take what the establishment gives them and go away.

Second Story. A 68-year-old Orange Park man well-known to local police is accused of murder after a woman shot five times in his home Friday afternoon dies. The County Sheriff's Office said they had responded to Wierer's home more than 100 times on various calls. Because they knew Wierer had a gun, officers had instructions to always send two officers when responding to his address.

A neighbor told Channel 4 that Wierer lived in the home alone since his wife died a couple of years ago.

Hey, if everybody had his own gun . . . .

Let's make NON-gun carriers get a license!


[edit on 1/21/2007 by donwhite]