(Via Say Uncle)
But these things need to get out there and people need to know what is going on.
Cops get a burglary call with a bad address. Homeowner, taken unawares, panics. Armed guest does not and draws her weapon. And one of the deputies…draws down on a circuit court judge. And then has the incredible stupidity to tell her…wait for it…
“… I was fearing for my life.”
You don’t suppose they’re being taught that phrase, now do you?
Like Uncle, I hope she makes a case out of this. A Federal freaking case. I hope one or more law enforcement certs get permanently lifted. Maybe even a bit of prison time is in order.
How often does this need to happen? How many people need to suffer because an over-militarized police force screws up? (O-o-oh, look! That last one is another poor dead bastard courtesy of the Las Vegas police. Michael Crooks got off easy….)
Yeah, I’m getting tired of this, and I’m angry. It just keeps happening and happening and happening, but we just get told it was “justified” because “I was fearing for my life.” No the hell it isn’t justified. Not in a free society. Sure the police have a crappy dangerous job, but that doesn’t give them the right to go overboard just because “I’m going home tonight.” If there is a different set of rules for them than for us, then none of the rules are worth a tinker’s damn.
The stupid thing is that you could still have all the SWAT teams and no-knock warrants you want and still fix this. Make the officer who shoots provide some realistic evidence for being in fear of his life. You know, like I would have to if I used my gun to defend myself. How far do you think I’d get in court if all I did was say “I was scared for my life” if there was no physical evidence or witnesses to back that up? Exactly right–all the way to prison.
This country is going down so many different toilets at once that it’s getting hard to hear myself think for the water gurgling.
This happens because police officers are no longer taught to operate with courtesy in the community. It happens because so many cops have been sued by perps or watched scumbags walk because of a technicality. This happens because of the "Us and Them" philosophy in too many departments.
It happens because of poor training, peer pressure, plummeting morale, and sorry-ass leadership. The more stories like these come to light, the less cops are respected, and that triggers more incidents, more cover-ups, more closing of the ranks.
Won't be long before they send a SWAT team to take down a serial parking offender.
I live and work in South FL. I know the Judge in question and I am sure she was not all polite a sweet to the responding deputies. She has a chip on her shoulder and thinks she is better than everyone else and treats people in her court room like crap. She was the head judge for a period of time and that was taken away from her. We are only hearing her and her family's side of the story. I work in Law Enforcement and yes we do have idiots around but listen to this story without all the facts. Many people that I work with are preppers and excellent cops and people.