Editor's Blog: To The Protesters & Haters

This morning on the news I saw a report about a group of moms who marched in protest from the Justice Department in DC to the capitol.  Reportedly, every mom in attendance had “lost a son to police violence,” and they were calling for action.  Among the list of “action” items they demanded were the firing of police officers, firing investigators, firing prosecutors, firing judges… and replacing any elected official who didn’t support their demands.  Wow.  So, as I understand it, they wanted everyone in the legislative and judicial branches of government replaced and they want every police officer, and anyone who doesn’t prosecute them, fired.  I thought about that for a moment, pondering the implications and realized exactly what it is those women were asking for: the removal of every legal barrier that might slow their children down from committing a crime.  They want their children free to violate the law without fear of any type of punishment or repercussion.

Watch Video of the Protest

Okay, folks: listen up.  Here’s the deal.  I firmly believe that any loss of life is unnecessary, but “unnecessary” and “unavoidable” are two different things.  I’ll NEVER espouse increasing the already high risk to our law enforcement professionals just so ANYONE’S mom can sleep easier at night, comfortable in the knowledge that no matter what law their child may break; no matter what threat their child may present; no matter what uncivilized act their child may commit, there will be no threat of harm from anyone.

To those moms I say this: If you’ve never been in a fight for your life, how dare you question the manner in which I defend MY life!  As a 30+ year police veteran I have been in a lot of fights in the course of performing my duties.  I can say, without equivocation, that not a single one of those fights would have occurred if the suspect in a crime had obeyed lawful orders and not resisted arrest.

I’ve got news for you mothers of criminals:  we police don’t LIKE to fight.  WE get hurt.  WE run the risk of life altering and/or life threatening injury.  OUR moms, husbands, wives, children and other family all have to worry about whether or not we’ll make it home at the end of our shift and we’re not out committing crimes.  We’re out there patrolling to prevent crime and arrest those who victimize others.

I’ve been in a lot of fights to prevent someone else from being hurt or victimized.  That potential victim has a mom too. How dare you think your feelings for your criminal child are stronger or of greater value than the feelings of any other mother.  While I understand that no mother wants to lose her child, I submit to you that the choice is the child’s.  If your child CHOOSES to go out and commit a crime then they’ve CHOSEN to risk encountering the police in an enforcement role.  If that child (and a child can be any age) then CHOOSES to fight the police, the child has CHOSEN to risk injury or, if they threaten the life of the officer or another person, potential death from the use of lethal force.

The other thing that astounds me is how many of these CHILDREN are adults.  Once a person hits the age of eighteen, they are legally adult in our nation.  While they are eighteen or nineteen, the term “teenager” may still apply but they are NOT minor children.  They are legally adult and responsible for their own actions.  They can vote. They can enlist. They can buy tobacco products, rifles, etc.  They can enter binding contracts, get married and so on.  How can they be responsible enough to do all that but not be held accountable for their own behavior?  The whole point of them being a legal adult is that they’ve reached the age where they are now responsible for themselves and their actions.  THEY have assumed responsibility for the course of their life and their parents (if they had anything resembling that) are no longer responsible for them.

Look, when a 14-year old kid takes a gun to school and goes on a rampage shooting other children, the unfortunate required action is to immediately neutralize the threat; that means shooting that 14-year old kid.  NO COP wants to do that.  NO COP can do that without suffering emotional trauma.  The large majority of us have kids and can’t avoid the thought of, “What if that was my kid?”  None of us want to go there.  THAT is an example of a CHILD having lethal force used against them by the police.  It’s unfortunate and sad and unavoidable once that child picks up a gun and goes on a murder spree.

When an 18-year old MAN attacks someone… a police officer, a shop owner, a woman, a teacher… it doesn’t matter who.  If a MAN attacks someone and presents the threat of bodily harm, unless they immediately obey the police order to stop and surrender themselves to an arrest, then they must be physically subdued for the safety of whomever it is they’ve presented a threat against.  If they resist that arrest; if they fight back and present a deadly threat to the law enforcement professional, then that MAN has willfully chosen to kill (his intent defined by his actions) another human being and that human being has every right to NOT be a victim.  They have the right to fight back with any and all means available and if that means the MAN committing the crime gets hurt or killed, it’s what he brought on himself.

Let’s look at this a different way.  Moms of criminals, if your son went out to rape a woman, would you tell the woman to just put up with it? To not defend herself?  If you’d say, “No. She should be able to defend herself,” then who decides just what actions that victim female can or can’t take in defending herself?  If, in the course of that rape, your son is choking her and she fears that he means not only to rape her but also to murder her, can she kill him in self-defense?  Would you demand action against a victimized woman who killed your son instead of letting him rape and murder her?  If not, then why would you demand action against ANY victim who defended themselves from murder committed by your son?

I know I’m tilting against the wind.  I know that the moms of criminals will likely never read this blog entry and if they did they’d still somehow find a reason why their ADULT child shouldn’t be held accountable for their own behavior; they’ll find a way to blame someone else… anyone else for their child’s behavior.

The worst beating I ever took on the street in a fight as a police officer came at the hands of a five foot three inch tall, one hundred and forty pound man who was doped up.  In the course of trying to arrest him, myself and another officer were both injured, our uniforms shredded, radios broken, handcuffs (one pair) broken and the store we were in fairly well destroyed.  Yes, that subject got injured in the fight to get him arrested.  Yes, that subject needed medical attention before going to jail (more for the effects of the drugs he was on than the injuries received during the arrest).  Yes, I was in fear for my life throughout that fight and we came damn near using lethal force because all else had failed.  I am five feet ten inches tall and weighed about 185 at the time.  The other officer was six feet two inches tall and weighed 245.  And that one little guy, hopped up, beat the living crap out of both of us.  Now, if that REALITY lives in my memory and has been used as a reference in training during officer survival courses, what makes anyone think that a man well over six feet tall and weighing over three hundred pounds (over twice the weight of that guy who beat me so thoroughly) wouldn’t present a threat easily perceived to be potentially lethal?

Moms of criminals:  GET OVER YOURSELVES.  Instead of blaming the police for doing their jobs, recognize that your children aren’t being hunted for sport.  Cops don’t go out wondering how many notches they can get on their guns that day.  Cops would be delighted if every suspect was 100% compliant, never resisted arrest and we never had to fight.  Heck, cops would be delighted if no one ever committed a crime!  But if your “child” (that person you gave birth to that is now full grown and of adult age or darn close to it) goes out and commits a crime, it’s our job to arrest them.  If they resist arrest or commit a crime of violence, you should expect that force will be used against them as necessary to affect the arrest and/or to defend ourselves in the course of doing our duties.  If you don’t like the fact that your offspring might get injured, or did get injured, because they have absolutely no regard for the law or those who enforce it, go look in the mirror and ask that parent you see looking back at you what they did wrong.  The cops didn’t do anything wrong.  YOU somehow failed your child.  YOU somehow didn’t impart to them a reasonable and healthy respect for the law.  YOU somehow didn’t impart to them the need to comply with lawful orders.  YOU somehow didn’t teach them the value of respecting the men and women in our nation who wear a badge and risk their lives, protecting all of us from YOUR child.

Quit holding cops responsible for the behavior of YOUR child.