Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
Police Lives Matter. So Does My Life.
Matthew Walter suggests in The Week that the only proper response to the (very) questionable killing of Botham Jean by an off-duty Dallas police officer is to disarm the cops.
I think we should consider the possibility of a return to a style of policing in which officers do not, under ordinary circumstances, carry guns or wear black body armor. Bandying weapons around is not the best way to promote respect for the law.
I hate to give such obvious clickbait the clicks it was asking for, but some ideas are so egregious they need to be nipped in the bud before they can spread. There are so, so many things wrong with Mr. Walter’s arguments, it’s hard to know where to begin, but I would start with a quick perusal through the Active Self Protection YouTube channel, where there are literally hundreds (if not thousands) of examples of armed off-duty policemen saving lives because they were at the right place and the right time and had the right tools and skills to solve the problem as it happened.
And it’s not just policemen: The 2nd Amendment of the Constitution declares that Americans of all occupations have the right to carry a firearm for the defense of themselves and others, and Heller v. D.C. and McDonald v. Chicago only reinforced that common-sense gun law. I don’t get to decide when and where an emergency is going to happen and I will need to rely on my training and equipment to save a life, and neither do policemen.
Now, to be fair, there are a lot of questions surrounding the death of Botham Jean. It looks, by all accounts, to be a really, really bad shoot, and charges will probably be filed against Amber Guyger for her actions that horrible night. It’s also a lesson for those of us to carry a firearm on a regular basis to be absolutely sure your target represents an immediate deadly danger before we draw our guns. A bright flashlight (or better still, turning on a light switch) could have saved a life here. Let this be a lesson to us all.
In the end, it’s crying shame that we need to expend the time and effort to fight the idea that the cops should be unarmed, when a simple police ride-along would have cured Mr. Walter of his fevered wish for a disarmed police force. Once you realize that you don’t get to pick the time and place when you might need to defend your life with a gun, carrying a gun all the time makes a lot of sense, cop or not.
Published in Law
Female cops do tend to make one giggle.
I believe she lived on the 3rd floor, and he lived on the 4th.
Here’s a story from Missouri earlier this year that takes all the roles and stage directions we’ve been discussing here and changes them inside out with equally but reversed tragic consequences.
Wrong house but a meth den. Missouri certainly is the “show me” state for dysfunction recently.
Missourians have loved meth for a long time.
The qualification course in many cases is conducted quarterly, more than enough to allow you to carry concealed off duty.
A light switch would have made more sense than a trigger in this case. Knowing what you are shooting at (and where you are) is kind of important, no?
Yes, it is. Combined with her apparent lies, the case is looking a lot more like pre-meditated murder than manslaughter. Remember, pre-meditation only takes an instant.
I’ve been following the Dallas case, would you care to share the sources to the info that concerns pre-meditated murder?
Mostly it’s based on her statements that have turned out to be inaccurate, the fact that she made a noise complaint just recently, observations by neighbors, and the obvious fact that no one in their right mind shoots at dark objects in a dark room.
I find it curious that she felt entitled to bark “commands” at the poor gentleman. There was no reason for her to believe she was in danger, she was only concerned that her orders were not complied with.
She has no business carrying a gun, and pretty much no matter what else we find out, she really needs to be in jail.
So you have seen and read the actual transcripts of her interviews with the Dallas PD detectives, and the Texas Ranger’s investigators?
Fine. They’ll be able to ace the civilian test then. And of course, they can carry the card, if it’s required of civilians as well. While we’re at it, they can leave their badge at work when they go home.
They’ve already aced the tests in law classes that must be passed in their Police Academy training.
I doubt it. Everyone can’t be at the top of their class. Some people are better than others. Training programs vary in quality. They’re human beings and no different than civilian counterparts.
No, but it’s not looking very good. I’m not on the jury, I can judge for myself with what has been presented by the police. It’s pretty shameful that the police felt a need to announce that they found ten joints in the dead man’s apartment. It’s irrelevant and needlessly stains the poor man.
You are certainly free to present your opinion on what you think the charges should be. However opinions are not necessarily based upon fact. You’ve answered my questions on sources. I won’t bother you anymore with this question.
Absent facts from the police, we go with what they tell us. It’s funny how they drag out all the facts when it’s beneficial to the police.
I suspect Dallas will convict its third cop for murder, adding to the other two recent ones.
Just as with the judges and district attorney being jailed in Williamson County, Texas, the question is only whether they are so corrupt that they can’t even protect the corruption, or they’re so squeaky clean that they don’t put up with any taint of corruption.
Whenever you are driving a car, you are using it. When you are carrying a gun, it’s with you. Cars don’t kill a lot of people while they are parked, and guns don’t kill many people while holstered.
But yes, carry insurance is important anyway.
Car insurance must be purchased prior to needing it to be viable. Legal insurance confers no special benefits that you can’t get afterwards, and usually has very limited coverage. At least that’s been what I’ve observed. I think you’re better served by saving your money an getting an attorney at the point you have a need. Perhaps this would make a good post, discussing the value of legal insurance.
It’s irrelevant that she’s a cop too. But people keep bringing it up.
I don’t see how. If she was not a COP I expect she would have been arrested much sooner.
When determining how much insurance you need, beyond the legal minimum, is how much of a target you would be if you become liable (car accidents and gun incidents apply).
If you make a lot of money and have a lot of assets, that makes you a more inviting target when deciding whether you’re worth suing.
If you’re dealing with possible criminal liability, being able to hire a good lawyer without bankrupting yourself might be worth it, especially if you have a family.
How come there are any left?
I read an article about it a long time ago. It’s just incredible how big of a deal it is in that state.
We lived there, in the north-central portion of the state where abandoned farms are notoriously vulnerable to becoming meth labs. Our veterinarian once told us that her clinic was a frequent target of burglars seeking drugs and related paraphernalia — so much so that she eventually moved it closer to town to decrease the number of break-ins.
Why would you expect that?
Anecdata: George Zimmerman wasn’t arrested until 6 weeks after he shot Trayvon Martin.
Trayvon Martin jumped on Zimmerman and attacked him. Zimmerman never should have been arrested in the first place.
This woman entered a man’s home and shot him dead. Anyone who enters someone’s home and shoots them dead should be arrested that night. Had this man entered her home and shot her dead, her a cop, he would have been arrested that night. The cops would protect the other cop. Come on, man.
That’s hardly even debatable. In fact, the Brotherly Association of Police would ensure that had Botham been armed and gotten the drop on her, the next arriving cops would have been sure to kill him. No question about that in my mind.