I have heard for many years, and still hear it all the time now because of my position, about how cops are suspicious of everyone, or treat everyone as if the person were a criminal. Or I hear people talk about how the cops "kept their hands on their guns" all the time. "Why can't cops treat people as just people unless they know the person is a criminal?" I refer you to today's tragedy in Harford County, Maryland.
The Sheriff's Office there received a call from a local restaurant requesting that an officer come check out an elderly gentleman who has been sitting in the restaurant for over an hour but has not ordered anything. Plus he was disheveled, maybe homeless.
The first officer to respond located the elderly man sitting in a corner in the back of the restaurant. The deputy set down next to the man and began talking with him. Witnesses said the deputy was trying to find out if the man needed food, was thirsty, etc. The witnesses said the deputy made no move to detain the man or do anything other than offer him a meal. While the officer was talking, the man pulled a pistol out of his clothing and shot the officer in the head, point blank. The elderly man then just shoved the dying officer out of the way and walked out of the restaurant.
Within minutes more police officers responded to the frantic 9-1-1 call that an officer had been shot. A deputy located the fleeing suspect and confronted him. Somehow the suspect was able to shoot the officer, who then returned fire, as did two other deputies who arrived seconds after the man shot the second deputy. Between the second wounded deputy and the others, one or more of the officers fatally wounded the suspect. Unfortunately the second deputy died as well.
Two officers killed by a "elderly, possibly homeless" man who, it turned out, was a wanted felon. I cannot fathom why the man was able to shoot a second officer, when responding officers should have been ready for a gun fight and ready to shoot to kill. But I was not there so I do not know any of the circumstances.
Back to my point. As I said, I have been asked many times over the years, right up to just a few days ago, why police officers seem to treat civilians like criminals, or why officers seem to keep their hands on their guns even though they are talking to "regular" people. What would people have said if the deputy had walked into that restaurant with his gun drawn, ordered the elderly man down to the floor, cuffed him, and then found nothing? Excessive force! Police brutality! The cop was scared! Well, the truth is, as was borne out in this tragedy, the police MUST be very cautious, must always remember that the person to whom they are talking COULD BE A WANTED FUGITIVE. Or, the person could simply be a "crazy" person who suddenly shoots the officer due to paranoia or some other psychological problem. Regardless, the cop is just as dead.
In Odessa, Texas a few years ago, the police in that city were called because a certain man and woman, who had been fighting and assaulting each other for years, were once again fighting and assaulting each other. The police had been to this house numerous times, and some of the officers knew both the husband and the wife. Several officers had been to their house multiple times. Over the years police officers had suggested that these two people consider divorce, since they were dangerous to each other. But they stayed together and fought night after night for decades. But finally one Saturday evening the wife ran to a neighbor's home for refuge. The neighbors called police, and the police responded, as usual, fully expecting to simply talk with the husband (an ELDERLY MAN, by the way), calm him down, and everything would continue as usual. But that evening things turned out differently.
A police sergeant and a patrolman knocked on the elderly man's door. Seconds later they were literally blasted off the front porch by several rounds from a twelve-gauge shotgun. This from a man who had never lifted a finger toward the officers before. Seconds later a third officer, who had stationed himself behind the home, called out to the other officers to find out if they were hurt. They of course did not answer. The officer then stealthily made his way to the front of the house where he saw the dying officers lying in the grass. As the third officer passed a window, he himself was cut down by multiple shotgun blasts. Two officers died that night, and the third died less than a week later.
These officers, like the deputy in Maryland, placed themselves in harms way because they chose to confront elderly people with the least force possible, in the kindest way possible. And they paid for this choice with their lives. So next time you see an officer approach an "elderly person" or a pregnant lady or anyone else with hands at the ready to use weapons, with eyes on cover, with two or three officers when there is only one person to talk to, just remember this incident in Maryland today, or the murder of the three Odessa officers. THIS is why officers cannot afford to ever be off their guard.
Years ago when I was still a police officer, there were numerous times I approached vehicles, especially at night, with my gun already drawn (though concealed from the driver's sight), or when I had my hand on the gun butt ready to draw even though I was talking to elderly people, to obviously emotionally disturbed people, or just to someone I did not know. I survived nearly two decades in law enforcement, sometimes due to skill, but many times due to luck and God taking care of an idiot. I do not believe I was a better officer than any officer who was shot or otherwise murdered on the job, I just survived somehow. I know from a civilian standpoint, people may wonder why cops are so suspicious, always alert, always watching people...and it is because of incidents like that in Maryland today. So maybe people will realize that officers are in danger at all times when they are at work. People should also realize that criminals do not wear signs identifying themselves. Cops MUST be careful.
My prayers and my sympathy go out to the families of those officers killed in Maryland today, as well as to the families of the Colorado officer who died today of wounds suffered several days ago.
The Thin Blue Line in Heaven has three more heroes tonight.
God Bless America
The Sheriff's Office there received a call from a local restaurant requesting that an officer come check out an elderly gentleman who has been sitting in the restaurant for over an hour but has not ordered anything. Plus he was disheveled, maybe homeless.
The first officer to respond located the elderly man sitting in a corner in the back of the restaurant. The deputy set down next to the man and began talking with him. Witnesses said the deputy was trying to find out if the man needed food, was thirsty, etc. The witnesses said the deputy made no move to detain the man or do anything other than offer him a meal. While the officer was talking, the man pulled a pistol out of his clothing and shot the officer in the head, point blank. The elderly man then just shoved the dying officer out of the way and walked out of the restaurant.
Within minutes more police officers responded to the frantic 9-1-1 call that an officer had been shot. A deputy located the fleeing suspect and confronted him. Somehow the suspect was able to shoot the officer, who then returned fire, as did two other deputies who arrived seconds after the man shot the second deputy. Between the second wounded deputy and the others, one or more of the officers fatally wounded the suspect. Unfortunately the second deputy died as well.
Two officers killed by a "elderly, possibly homeless" man who, it turned out, was a wanted felon. I cannot fathom why the man was able to shoot a second officer, when responding officers should have been ready for a gun fight and ready to shoot to kill. But I was not there so I do not know any of the circumstances.
Back to my point. As I said, I have been asked many times over the years, right up to just a few days ago, why police officers seem to treat civilians like criminals, or why officers seem to keep their hands on their guns even though they are talking to "regular" people. What would people have said if the deputy had walked into that restaurant with his gun drawn, ordered the elderly man down to the floor, cuffed him, and then found nothing? Excessive force! Police brutality! The cop was scared! Well, the truth is, as was borne out in this tragedy, the police MUST be very cautious, must always remember that the person to whom they are talking COULD BE A WANTED FUGITIVE. Or, the person could simply be a "crazy" person who suddenly shoots the officer due to paranoia or some other psychological problem. Regardless, the cop is just as dead.
In Odessa, Texas a few years ago, the police in that city were called because a certain man and woman, who had been fighting and assaulting each other for years, were once again fighting and assaulting each other. The police had been to this house numerous times, and some of the officers knew both the husband and the wife. Several officers had been to their house multiple times. Over the years police officers had suggested that these two people consider divorce, since they were dangerous to each other. But they stayed together and fought night after night for decades. But finally one Saturday evening the wife ran to a neighbor's home for refuge. The neighbors called police, and the police responded, as usual, fully expecting to simply talk with the husband (an ELDERLY MAN, by the way), calm him down, and everything would continue as usual. But that evening things turned out differently.
A police sergeant and a patrolman knocked on the elderly man's door. Seconds later they were literally blasted off the front porch by several rounds from a twelve-gauge shotgun. This from a man who had never lifted a finger toward the officers before. Seconds later a third officer, who had stationed himself behind the home, called out to the other officers to find out if they were hurt. They of course did not answer. The officer then stealthily made his way to the front of the house where he saw the dying officers lying in the grass. As the third officer passed a window, he himself was cut down by multiple shotgun blasts. Two officers died that night, and the third died less than a week later.
These officers, like the deputy in Maryland, placed themselves in harms way because they chose to confront elderly people with the least force possible, in the kindest way possible. And they paid for this choice with their lives. So next time you see an officer approach an "elderly person" or a pregnant lady or anyone else with hands at the ready to use weapons, with eyes on cover, with two or three officers when there is only one person to talk to, just remember this incident in Maryland today, or the murder of the three Odessa officers. THIS is why officers cannot afford to ever be off their guard.
Years ago when I was still a police officer, there were numerous times I approached vehicles, especially at night, with my gun already drawn (though concealed from the driver's sight), or when I had my hand on the gun butt ready to draw even though I was talking to elderly people, to obviously emotionally disturbed people, or just to someone I did not know. I survived nearly two decades in law enforcement, sometimes due to skill, but many times due to luck and God taking care of an idiot. I do not believe I was a better officer than any officer who was shot or otherwise murdered on the job, I just survived somehow. I know from a civilian standpoint, people may wonder why cops are so suspicious, always alert, always watching people...and it is because of incidents like that in Maryland today. So maybe people will realize that officers are in danger at all times when they are at work. People should also realize that criminals do not wear signs identifying themselves. Cops MUST be careful.
My prayers and my sympathy go out to the families of those officers killed in Maryland today, as well as to the families of the Colorado officer who died today of wounds suffered several days ago.
The Thin Blue Line in Heaven has three more heroes tonight.
God Bless America
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