Friday, August 21, 2015

[EDITORIAL] Our Officers at Risk

Officers at risk ferguson MO - Google Search
With the second wave of Ferguson protests marking the anniversary of the police shooting of a black teen — who assaulted and robbed a store clerk and then assaulted an officer when he attempted to detain him — there’s been a renewed, and ongoing, focus on the actions of police in such situations.

Police continue to be under the microscope — and on cellphone video — but many allegations of police brutality are absolutely absurd, and some tales are fabricated.
We’re not saying all cops are saints and their actions under stress are always correct.
Certainly there are bad apples in police departments, just like there are bad doctors, lawyers, even journalists.
And like all of us, they’re human and make mistakes.
But for the most part, based on our experiences dealing with police for many decades, the majority are sincere in their jobs to “serve and protect” citizens and property.
The fact is that police, deputies and other law enforcement officers daily face the risk that they will be assaulted, and wounded as they go about their job of investigating crimes and apprehending criminals. Sometimes they face danger in responding to routine calls.
It happened last week in Franklin County when a deputy encountered a suspect while investigating an armed robbery at a Villa Ridge business.
After hours of searching, a deputy answered reports of a suspicious man in a subdivision not far from the business. He approached the man who at first appeared cooperative.
Then the situation quickly changed and the deputy found himself looking down the barrel of a handgun the suspect pulled from his waistband.
In that instant, with his life on the line, he took action and charged the suspect. During an ensuing scuffle over the deputy’s gun, the suspect was shot in the head, but was not seriously wounded.
It turned out that the suspect has a long history of violent crimes in several states and was free on parole after serving a number of years in a federal prison. He now is facing new charges in Franklin County.
That is just one dramatic example of the dangers deputies face each day.
Over the weekend, a man who was arrested for assaulting his girlfriend on a float trip on the Meramec River fought deputies when they tried to take him into custody. He had to be stunned with a taser gun.
It’s another example of the risks that officers undertake to provide a peaceful society for all of us.
Like others, we’re fed up with all the jabs, both verbal and physical, being taken at police!

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