I think I may be getting on a theme, here…
(via FOXNews)
No, this wasn’t some guy who is stealing rare or endangered plants (yes, there are such things), but a landscaper raising the Texas Star Hibiscus, among other things. Now the Texas Star Hibiscus has a superficial resemblance to the evil marijuana plant. Add a “concerned citizen” and the fun begins.
“All of a sudden, they burst in with their guns loaded, pointing at me, screaming, ‘Get on the floor! Get on the floor!'” northwest Harris County resident Blair Davis told KHOU-TV.
Hm-m-m, OK. I can see this, even though I don’t like it. A drug bust is a dangerous place to be if you’re a cop.
At one point, the officers discussed whether the bamboo in the window might be the demon weed as well, Davis told the Houston Chronicle. They also asked him what he planned to do with the watermelons and cantaloupes growing out back.
Queue the “Twilight Zone” theme, please.
Officers, even I can tell the difference between demon weed and bamboo. And what’s he going to do–gene-splice pot and watermelon with his Tom Swift Home Genetics Lab Kit? (“You can get high and handle the munchies at the same time!”) For cryin’ out loud, doesn’t Harris County, Texas train their drug cops on the visual identification of a marijuana plant?
At least we have a decent ending for this guy. His house isn’t damaged (or at least it isn’t reported to be) and he does get a “citizen’s information card” with the words “closed-report” written on it.
I don’t have anything particular against the police, but I do have a thing about stupid police. It seems to me that, as citizens, we have a right to expect that the law enforcement officers we pay for are well-trained and taught some basic manners, such as apologizing when you make a mistake–even an honest one.
On the same link at FOXNews, the next story down is about a man, a pregnant wife about to give birth, a traffic jam, a cop and a traffic citation. The punch line?
“The policy is to bring paramedics to the location,” Sgt. Richard Perez of the Fairfax County Police Department told reporters. “There’s no exception to the rule.”
I hope at some point in his life, Sgt. Perez has that same attitude applied to him by someone in authority.