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Permalink Reply by Sarah Doli on October 21, 2009 at 11:44am

Unbelievable. Disgraceful. Tactless. Sickening.

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Permalink Reply by Ronin on October 22, 2009 at 1:14am

Any individual who belongs to a profession has special knowledge of the consequences of their actions concerning that profession. For example, doctors, pharmacists, nurses know about the pros and cons of using controlled substances. They should be held to a higher standard. I have always felt that stronger penalties should be applied. There is always "impaired" attached to them and they are urged or forced to get help. They receive a probationary period then they are returned to full status. I went through this years ago with a junkie ex-wife who obtained her drugs by "shorting" her patients and using their pain meds herself. This made more onerous because she specialized in oncology care. Can you image her nor giving a full dose to someone in cancer pain. She then tried to blame me for an untoward reaction she had because I gave her some antihistamines that she said caused her reaction. I had to sit in a meeting with her, her supervisor, a social worker and a psychologist because I wanted a divorce on the spot. So yeah, seeing a professional get extra support really sticks in my craw.

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Permalink Reply by Sean on October 24, 2009 at 8:18am

This also reminds me of the many times I switch on the news to see relatives protesting an obviosly fair sentence against thier son/cousin/whatever that commited a hanouse crime. I never really see anyone complain about those moments, yet when its the cops everyone's gotta hold their shit and go crazy.

I am not saying what the guy did was right, but it seems like people like to jump on cops but ignore.

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Permalink Reply by Joey on October 29, 2009 at 2:29pm

Haha!

Oh. You weren't kidding. So we're just going to ignore the fact that police regularly do things that would see a normal person locked up for a very long time and it typically only results in a paid suspension. Covering up their misdeeds by destroying evidence also generally results in a paid vacation. Falsifying evidence to lock up an innocent person? Paid vacation.

What you see is people beginning to reject the idea of a militarized police force that considers innocent citizens enemy combatants. People go crazy for a reason. It's because the police automatically close ranks to protect their own, no matter how guilty the person might be. When you defend someone that's obviously guilty of abuse, you become just as guilty as they are.

This is why people in general are starting to dislike the police. And the only people with the power to reverse the trend are the police themselves.

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Permalink Reply by Ron Peacemaker on October 29, 2009 at 5:49am

Let's make the conditions even more simple. On the one hand, you have a police officer who received an honorary dinner and award from MADD for having the most DUI arrests in the year. On the other, you have a teacher honored as teacher of the year. Each were arrested on DUI charges after being initially stopped with only simple traffic violations. There is no loss to property or injury to selves or others. Both alcohol levels were .08 percent. Both lose their jobs and it's the end to both careers. Which one is more palatable in this case?

It is not the teachers that are stopping me while I go about my business at sobriety checkpoints without probable cause in violation to my civil rights. It is not the teachers in the ads on tv and on the radio stating that they are watching and if I drink and drive “they will find me and I will go to jail”. And it is not the teachers that are following me late at nite with their cruiser up my arse trying to make me nervous so that I'll make a mistake and give them probable cause to pull me over because statistically 1 in 2 cars have a driver that has been drinking at a late hour.

You don't toss anyone in the gutter because they screwed up big-time. You help them. The victims' family and friends help each other. That's what it's all about. I ain't feelin' no love here, people. Damn the drunk driver to hell, is that how it is? I would hope that each of you would support a co-worker (of long standing), a close friend or a family member who made a horrid choice or chose a destructive lifestyle which resulted in a terrible loss.

As for the allegation that a citizen would not have this support: apparently, given the attitudes I've seen, that's pretty accurate! We all need to support each other through the bad and the good. That detective has a family that is suffering because of his actions. They need help. Fortunately, they are getting it because his fellow employees give a damn. This man will never be looked at by them with the same respect but hopefully with the same love and will have to live with those deaths for the rest of his life. Plus, he will most likely do time regardless of what you think.

The benefit was not in good taste. The relatives of the two young men killed have reason to be upset that this benefit took place. There are ways of going about things. They did not think of the impact on the families of the two individuals that lost their lives. I agree that regardless of what the office has done there are still bills and the family still has to make it through this difficult time but there are ways to do it that would show a much greater sensitivity to the victims' families. You throw benefits for people with cancer or when a family has lost a loved one in an accident not for getting drunk and allegedly killing two people on the express way and leaving the scene. They could have had a private collection writing checks directly to the officer's family or to the officer himself. It has the appearance that the police enforce the laws if it's us involved but if it's one of their own, they are going to take care of them. If one the the boys that were killed was the one driving, and he slammed into the back of a cruiser killing two police officers. Try having the benefit for the boy and his family at THAT hall. Where's that compassion then?

There was just a better way of handling it.

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Permalink Reply by Scott on October 29, 2009 at 12:33pm

Ha! This makes the cop appear as the victim! Yes, a fundraiser is definitley in bad taste. Moral support from family and co-workers is one thing but this is ridiculous! Law enforcement should be held to a higher degree of responsibility. Many years ago I was arrested for narcotics sales and my co-workers never raised money to pay my bills! LOL! Now I am outraged! I suppose the police department used taxpayer money to hold this fundraiser.

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Permalink Reply by Wiley Coyote on October 29, 2009 at 1:50pm

A similar thing happen where I live. An off duty cop ran over 2 old ladies, killing one and maiming the other. He was drunk and texting on his cell phone. He lost his job as a cop and was sentenced to 6 months in the county jail, of which he only did 3 or 4. After getting out of jail he was hired as a dispatcher for the local ambulance service. If he had been the average joe from my city he'd have gotten the book thrown at him. The other infuriating part was the DA. Here's a guy that's always in the paper, on the radio, etc. preaching about how tough he is on drunk driving. Im not surprised in the least. One of our former city judges was a raging alcoholic, who'd wreck his car on a regular basis. Was he ever charged for anything? Hell no, not even the ride home that the cops would give him. They'd even drive his car home unless he wrapped the damn thing around a pole. Which he did.
There's a definite double standard for the powers that be.

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