With that said, I happen to disagree with many of the public
opinions I have seen following the Michael Brown case and most recently the
case of Eric Garner.
I was raised to respect authority and to obey the law. For
this reason, I can honestly say that I have never had an unpleasant run-in with
police.
Had Eric Garner not resisted arrest, police would never have
had to use additional force. Mind you, I’m not giving police officers the green
light to use excessive force, but life is made up of choices. Eric Garner chose
to break the law, he chose to resist arrest.
This weekend in South Bend, Indiana, the Women’s Basketball
team chose to wear shirts supporting Eric Garner. The shirts read, “I can’t breathe.”
While it is their right to express their Freedom of Speech,
I am disappointed in their choice to do so on this topic.
December 13th was the 11th anniversary
of the death of two local Mishawaka Police Officers, Brian Verkler and Thomas
Roberts. The basketball team claims they didn’t realize the coincidence, I don’t
think it matters.
Police officers should be respected and appreciated for
putting their lives on the line each day.
Only they know how it feels to have a split second to react to a
suspected criminal. Hindsight is 20/20 and the media and public can rehash and
scrutinize the actions of police repeatedly.
If only officers had the luxury of taking a few minutes to really study
the situation and ask questions before they have time to react. Unfortunately,
that just isn’t the case.
In the case of Michael Brown, I can’t even begin to believe
the backlash from the whole situation. It saddens me to see what they are doing
to their town. Because a young man was
shot, a young man who was believed to be making poor choices, hard-working
residents have lost their businesses due to looting.
I’ll never understand how that makes sense. People are
outraged at what they consider the “wrong doing” of one person, so they
continue to wrong others.
I haven’t blogged on this topic because I’m so tired of
hearing about it that I could scream.
But Saturday’s display by the Lady Irish was somewhat
upsetting. Over the years I have gotten to know several of the surviving family
members of police officers who have been killed in the line of duty and no one
seems to be outraged about the violence shown to them. Where was the outrage
when they couldn’t breathe? They weren’t breaking the law. They were trying to
serve and protect….
These recent stories and the decisions of both grand juries
not to indict have tarnished the thousands of police officers who help others
on a daily basis. Remember, we don’t
know the whole story of what happened. We
only know what the media has focused on.
The grand jury has the most information, much of what is not made
public.
It’s not about hiring more minority police officers, it’s about
respecting authority and making choices that are good and honorable. These two
cases could have totally been avoided had better choices been made.
I hope you will consider joining me to support our local
police officers on Sunday, December 21st at Eddy Street Commons
between Noon and 3pm. For more information visit https://www.facebook.com/events/956417591055115/?sid_reminder=6571633308176744448
Well said. You have eloquently communicated exactly how I feel. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteLou Putnam.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSo because these people didn't make what you consider good and honorable choices, they deserved to DIE?
ReplyDeleteEB - No where in this blog does it mention that I think that Eric Garner should have died. I am simply saying if he had made better choices, the entire issue would not have happened.
ReplyDeleteNo one has the right to kill. Especially by those who are here to serve n protect. I think it was GREAT they wore the shirts. WAY TO GO LADY IRISH!! I guess u'll be taking that White Privilages class they have at Notre Dame now, huh? Police have been mistreating n stereo typing black ppl since u brought ua over here in chains. Even the law abiding black citizens. If u cld walk a mile in our shoes, just once, u wld be singin a different tune. Have u ever walked in a store n be followed around simply bcuz of the color of ur skin??? I have n i'm light skinned!!! I watched them walk behind me n watch me, all the while missin the young white girl who was in there robbing them blind!!! I didnt say a thing. Served them right. Put my shoes on n walk in them. N no, i didnt steal them. I work hard for my money n anything else i may need.
ReplyDeleteThis entire argument breaks down once you realize that men who carried semi-automatic weapons and fired them inside 1) a crowded movie theater and 2) an elementary school, killing people on both occasions, were taken into police custody. Alive. That those two men were also white may or may not have any bearing on it. That said, the severity of their crimes was exponentially higher than Eric Garner's or Michael Brown's, or even the two of them combined. If ever there was a time to justify the use of lethal force, I would think it would be in cases where the suspects are actively killing people and wounding still others.
ReplyDeleteThat is not to say that all police officers are bad. There are bad police officers, though. A lot of them. Hiring more minority officers may not help the issue, but prosecuting officers who use their badges to break the law definitely will.
TFTB - But they did die, without a rightful trial for their crimes. When you title this post 'I can breathe... I obey the law', you are very simply saying that those who don't obey the law don't deserve to breathe.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
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