Flip Side: Travel a little over 2300 miles to Coeur d'Alene Idaho and fast forward a month later and we'll discover that another officer Sargent Greg Moore was killed by a man who stole his patrol car after he received a 1:30 am call to check on a suspicious person in a local neighborhood. A little while after reaching the area, Moore called into dispatch for information on one Jonathan Renfro. Not long after the request, a neighborhood resident called 911 after hearing what sounded like gunfire and there appeared to be someone lying in the street. Unfortunately the person turned out to be Moore. After the report another officer from a nearby town, Post Falls, witnessed a Coeur d'Alene squad car race by him at a high rate of speed. He gave chase reaching speeds of 125 mph and lost sight of it. He then found the cruiser abandoned. Multiple jurisdictions established a perimeter and two hours later a police dog nabbed Renfro when he would not comply and come out from his hiding spot under a tractor trailer. Renfro has been charged with 1st degree murder among other charges and could face the death penalty.
Two officers, two stories, two sides, same end result. Someone died. The only difference? What side of the gun they were on. The common similarity? The unknown. Each officer had absolutely no idea what they would discover when called into action. Neither could possibly have known what they would encounter and that their individual encounters would turn lethal. One officer dead, one officer on trial essentially for his life. One officer given a hero's farewell, the other has the public at the ready to crucify him. The randomness of the job itself can make one famous or infamous at the firing of one bullet or the swing of one baton. The question is just exactly where do we draw the line of justification when it comes to lethal force? Most of us do not have the slightest idea what it's like to put our lives on the line every day we go to work. Well......maybe at Stop & Shop.... on triple coupon day..... next to an assisted living community. Those senior citizens looking for a deal on Breyer's vanilla can be surprisingly deadly.
All kidding aside, (for the moment) before I go any further, my loyal reader, I'd like to share with you my philosophy on just exactly who becomes a police officer. If you'll allow me.... In all my encounters with the police (positive and negative) I have discovered three separate types of people with three different reasons. They are as follow with estimated percentages:
Type 1. 20% (And I'm being generous. It's probably a lot lower). People who genuinely care about others, their community and the law and want to serve society and the greater good. (Hot Fuzz pun not intended but acknowledged). Although the lowest percentage, I consider them the most honorable of the three.
The other two types are split evenly percentage wise but do have distinct differences in their reasons of why they pursued a career in law enforcement.
Type 2. 40%. The high school bully. Simply because after the age of 22ish the bullies find that there is no ne left to bully because no one will put up with their crap anymore but they still want to be a bully. What better way of continuing their adolescent, idiosyncratic hazing than by pinning a badge to their shirts?
Type 3. 40%. The bullied. Constantly harassed by Type 2, it is their way to become the one who is finally in charge and they're going to make everyone pay for what's been done to them over the years.
There is one other type that I do acknowledge although is usually a subcategory to each of the three types. I call it the "Tackleberry" factor. Someone that just like to shoot guns for any reason and usually does more harm than good. I'm sure, my fellow Observer, that somewhere along the line you've run into at least one of these types, if not all three.... Especially if you like your accelerator pedal too much.
With that being stated, you can probably tell that I'm not that "gung ho" over the boys and girls in blue. I appreciate what they do but more often than not I find myself questioning their motives about why they're doing it. Be it self sacrifice or self serving, at face value it's hard to tell which is which until it's too late and a weapon is drawn.
Front Side: This week Bill Maher made the claim on Real Time that the police believe they are infallible. Although I usually enjoy Mr. Maher's tongue in cheek viewpoints and agree with him on a lot of his Observations, I feel that he left a very important factor out of his statement. The police may very well believe that they are infallible but it's only because our society made them believe it. Public opinion of police actions is a constant roller coaster ride of thumbs ups and downs. The latest generation of rookie blues are riding the public high of 9/11. Police and other first responders became super heros virtually overnight. Posters, hats, t-shirts, commercials, news stories, political praise, awards, ceremonies, and memorials all praising what these men and women did for us and do for us everyday. Followed a few months later by the ever rising support for our military personnel it's not surprising how many adolescents at the time grew up a few years later wanting to be a police officer if not pursue a military career. Not to mention the twentysomethings at the time that decided to join up, spot on.
Flip Side: Jump ahead 14 years and you find the same society riding the low side of that public opinion ride. The police, who a little over a decade ago, that we were singing nothing but exalted praises about have been brought back to reality and are now being seen in a not so honorable light. Controversial police shootings and actions have tainted the saints in blue garb attitude that a lot of Americans shared. When the public deems that you can do no wrong it's very easy to perceive yourself as infallible. Just as quickly, as that opinion wanes enough, it's just as simple for the public to see no right and find fault in all.
The one thing that the public does not seem to realize is that no matter how we hold police in regard, we have to recognize that they are human. As human as your grocer, gas attendant, landscaper, insurance agent or that guy in town that is always hitchhiking and flips off the people that don't pick him up..... and he's always got that look on his face in your rear view mirror. Just because some people put on a badge and carry a weapon does not make them any less human than you or me. Although some may carry a higher opinion of them because of what they do, it does not change the fact that they make mistakes. We all do. And those mistakes, badge or no badge, on occasion, may take a life. We are all responsible for our own actions and just as accountable when those actions result in a tragedy. Strictly an Observation. If you'll excuse me, there's a Police Academy marathon on AMC.
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