The American Spectator

Reader Mail

(Page 4 of 12)

/p>

It must be really nice to sit back and watch others risk their lives so that reporters and the public can comment on their actions at a later time and date. Bitch, moan and groan about the use of less than and deadly physical force does nothing to further a discussion that need not be the lead story of reporters who have less than ideal knowledge concerning the use of force and not getting hurt or killed in the line of duty. I do not know the complete background of Mr. Macomber. He obviously knows even less about the use of force.

So what if an officer used a Taser to subdue a person in a wheelchair armed with a pair of scissors. Would Shawn the reporter care to enter this fray and disarm this person with his notebook? No smart ass remarks are necessary to make an officer's life even more difficult than it is. I dare Shawn to undergo the complete hiring, training and background evaluations to become a Police Officer. I dare him to work alone on foot in some of the nation's most dangerous areas. I dare him to use less than deadly force or prepare to use deadly physical force and be prepared to accept the media and societal consequences after using such force. If Mr. Macomber was a real man he would walk in an officer's shoes and he would wilt at the end of the day assuming he survived it.

Perhaps we should use court opinions in regard to the use of force and apply it to reporting. You need not really know much about anything to become a reporter. Just ask Jayson Blair and the N.Y. Times. You need a lifetime to learn the rules, laws, paperwork and daily experiences to become a proficient, tactically aware officer.

Grow some testicles Shawn, get a real dangerous police job, and then you can offer an informed reasoned, articulate and accurate answer to the really pressing questions of professional law enforcement. The use of force is no joke. Ask the young Marine who shot a Terrorist in Fallujah? He acted reasonably and so did the officer that used Taser to disarm a man with a pair of scissors. Just because a person is in a wheelchair definitely does NOT make him or her any less dangerous. Just a bit less mobile. Care to dispute this observation, Shawn?

p>Hey Shawn care to compare surgical scars from my multiple line of duty surgeries. Eight in total including three grueling and life threatening spinal surgeries after being seriously injured by an emotionally disturbed person. That night I wish I had the option to use a Taser on the individual that tried to take my life. I ended up saving his. I don't think you have the testicular fortitude to do what I had to do or what the officers you comment on had to do. Anytime, any weather, anywhere with anyone you will loose. Have a Merry Christmas, because there are rough men and woman here and abroad who stand at the ready to do violence so that you can sleep at night. br> -- PO John Dineen NYPD (RET) br> Bayside, New York /p>

Bravo Mr. M! You've done it again! I remember some time ago I was watching a documentary on the more euphemistic -- but surely more accurate -- "less lethal weapons," and having some thoughts similar to yours. Certainly if I could more expediently end a confrontation by shooting a deranged man with a beanbag, I would do so. I like quick, no risk (to myself) solutions to problems...heck, that's the American way! I wondered silently about the possible up-tick in force applied by police if they were all to be armed with rubber bullets, beanbags, glue guns, tasers, or any of the other seemingly ridiculous contraptions featured in the documentary, and what that might mean for petty offenders and people caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. A moment later, the microwave dinged signifying that my nachos were done and I forgot all about the documentary.

A few weeks ago I purchased and played through a new video game called Half-Life 2. The game is played from a first-person perspective, and when the game begins you are ushered into a Gestapo-like police state. The police are everywhere, and in the beginning they are all armed with electrified clubs that don't do any permanent damage, but certainly get the point across if you commit any heinous crimes like approaching a door you are not cleared for, or not picking up a piece of trash when the cops order you to. The police in this game -- called "Citizen Protection" -- terrorize the civilians and occasionally things get out of hand, which eventually leads to a slaughter of innocents by more heavily armed members of the team.

That got me thinking. Could the violence without consequence that the "less lethal" weapons provide lead to a more general acceptance of police violence? Once a greater level of police violence is accepted, could it quickly escalate into acceptance of police involved shootings for trivial crimes? Could we one day wake up in the world of Half-Life 2 without realizing how we got there? If the police now are tasing little girls for truancy and we accept it, it can't be too far off that an adult male could be shot for a more serious crime...like shoplifting.

p>It seems to me that the central tenet behind conservatism as we know it is responsibility. I have great respect for what the police do for us every day, but I believe your central point is correct. The power wielded by the police comes with great responsibility, and someone must watch the watchers. I guess we are that someone. br> --

topics:
Foreign Policy, Economics, Islam, Hollywood, Movies, Law, Military, Iraq, Conservatism