In case you missed it, the police in Dinuba, California were chasing three car-jacking suspects at high speed when they ran, head-on, into a pick-up truck carrying a family of seven. All five children were ejected from the vehicle and all five have died. All three car-jackers died also. Not one person in the accident was wearing a seat belt. Over 3,000 innocent people have died collaterally as a result of high-speed police chases in the last 10 years. Predictably, citizens are blaming the police for chasing the car-jackers but, is this what we want as a society who lives by the rule of law?
As a criminal, is the new place of refuge now your car? If you rob a liquor store, snatch a purse, or sell crack on the corner, as long as you beat the police to your car and start driving, you are free to go because they won't chase you?
I hate it for this family and any people who lose lives because criminals fleeing the law, lose control of their car and kill the innocent but, shouldn't we be putting the blame on the ones who're responsible....the criminals? Perhaps if California had stricter laws regarding fleeing police, rather than the most lenient in the nation, say....mandatory 20 years hard-labor for the very first offense, maybe these guys would start thinking before taking off.
What do you think? Should the police be discouraged from pursuing criminals because of the possibility of collateral damage or, should they be encouraged to chase down these vermin and beat the crap out of them when they catch them? I say if a guy endangers the public by running from the cops in a car, when he gets caught, he should receive a Rodney King beating and the cops are absolved of any stupid brutality or excessive force charges. But that's just me.
6 comments:
Allow police to terminate on sight, the moment the criminal refuses to surrender and has the means of harming innocent victims and apparent intent to disregard the danger they pose.
To me, grossly endangering public safety while fleeing screams voluntary forfeiture of the criminal's rights, willfully and deliberately attempting to infringe upon those of others.
After all, if they can justifiably shoot a deaf man carrying a rake in his own backyard for not putting the rake down when yelled at to do so and continuing to walk toward the police officers, in protecting their own potential safety and others in the vicinity, why shouldn't the police be allowed to use deadly force in this kind of situation? (Then again, most everyone in Detroit does all manner of weird crap most people wouldn't do...)
Yes Angie, blaming the police for collateral damage and then instituting a policy of not chasing the bad guys is counter to the police pledge to protect and serve, if you ask me.
i think it is okay for the police to chase the criminals as long as they should also be VERY responsible for their actions. If more would be harmed if they chase, I think there are other ways of catching criminals rather than harming innocent people.
Long Island Gal, why are you blaming the cops? Isn't it the criminals' faults for running in the first place? When you spank your child, if you have one, is it your fault he got spanked or is it his own fault?
I like Angie's remedy...just shoot 'em if they run.
Why should the police be responsible for the actions of the criminals who chose to flee, endangering the lives of all innocent citizens? The police do NOT conduct high-speed chases in a reckless manner, by any means.
Maybe if people would stop mommy-coddling the criminal element and their ilk in this society, rendering punishment that is deterrent rather than slaps on the wrist and pats on the head, telling them it's not their fault but SOCIETY'S fault they are the way they are, we'd see a lot less crime and no longer be reading stories in the news about criminal flight resulting in the deaths of innocent children and their families - KILLED 100% BY THE CRIMINAL, 0% BY THE POLICE, WHO ARE DOING THE JOB WE PAY THEM TO DO.
VERY responsible...
It annoys me when people think law enforcement should have some sort of super powers - as if they shouldn't ever let their emotions or adrenaline come into play. They're human.
They're criticized for being too rough. They're in so many potentially dangerous situations - they've been through it enough that they know it's either get control of the situation or they're likely to get hurt. They are pretty good at knowing when things have a good chance of getting ugly.
They deal with the assholes so the public doesn't have to, but the public is constantly picking at them.
As far as car chases - I'm with Angie too! The speeding car is a deadly weapon - shoot them.
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