With bullets still flying in Philly, Democrats focus was on gun control. The LEO’s being gunned down was a prop in their narrative. The misguided message highlights that every day, thousands of men and women put on a uniform with the understanding that they may never come home. Good guys with guns, they are vilified and scrutinized by a segment of the public who doesn’t want LEO’s, but can’t behave enough to survive without them.
All LEO’s are good people.
False.
Most LEO’s are good people.
True.
LEO’s risk their lives to make ours safer. They are an essential component in the Justice System, and without them disorder would prevail. They perform their duties under extreme scrutiny, with every split second decision subjected to months long review. The good deeds are expected, while the rare bad deeds are magnified.
The Philly PD recently investigated some posts made by their officers on social media. Reportedly racist, bigoted remarks demeaning the good citizens of Philly.
323 officers participated or commented on the page. Their force is comprised of 6,300 sworn personnel. The department released over 300 disciplinary files of the officers involved in the incident. Of the 323 cited, only 153 have ever had a civilian complaint lodged against them. One officer stands out: According to WHYY,
Of those cited in the latest release, 12th District Officer Marc B. Marchetti tops the list. The patrolman has been named in 16 different civilian complaints since 2015 — about one complaint every three to four months. In that same period, the vast majority of PPD officers received zero or one complaint.”
Officer Marchetti is the purported author of this social media comment, regarding a woman who used a firearm to fend off a home invasion.
“Would have been better to see at least one guy shot in the head”
Ohh. Yeah. It’s completely offensive to state that a person committing a home invasion should be shot in the head. Because criminals have feelings too. But even if we should care that an officer stated something akin to my feelings…. the force is 6,300. Of that number only 323 are involved in the social media incident. Then, of those 323, only 153 have ever been the subject of a complaint.
Someone needs to adjust the undies, because those numbers are crazy low.
#BlueLivesMatter crowd=
“Why are all those Black animals in Philadelphia so disrespectful to the Philly police?”Philly Police= pic.twitter.com/bJkvj2Ooul
— Tariq Nasheed 🇺🇸 (@tariqnasheed) August 15, 2019
As the bullets were flying and cops were getting shot, what did the officers of the Philly PD do? They rescued four Black Muslim women from the apartment building where the shooter had staged his standoff. Yes. The officers didn’t look at race, ethnicity, or religion before rushing these citizens to safety. They just saved them. I suspect that after a few well deserved rounds these “Good Guys” will shrug it off as just another day at the office, and prepare to do it all again.
Not all bystanders on the scene were appreciative of the LEO’s presence. Some observers taunted the officers, and threw objects at them. A barricaded criminal was firing a weapon, meanwhile a group of bystanders was taunting the police. These people were taking advantage of a highly charged situation in the hopes of causing an altercation with the officers. Camera at the ready, they were aggressively antagonizing the people standing between them and flying bullets. Explicitly to make the police look bad and go viral.
Yelling, screaming, and throwing things at officers that have PROTECTED YOU for 4 hours during an active shooting? Classy. WTH is wrong with you? #Philadelphia #Philly #phillypd #philadephiapd #philadelphiapolice #phillyshooter #phillyshooting @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/rUBmb65O9x
— Brooke (@BrookelynnML) August 15, 2019
Groups like “Black Lives Matter” view LEO’s as a bad guys. Guys who needlessly hand-cuff people accused of minor infractions. Obviously a traffic stop doesn’t warrant handcuffing the occupants.
Last week CHP Officer Andre Moye Jr. made a routine traffic stop. The driver wasn’t restrained. While Andre was completing impound paperwork in his cruiser, the driver withdrew a rifle and shot him. The driver was a felon, with a long history of incarceration. If anyone should have been restrained during a traffic stop it was this guy. Because the culture is to immediately second guess the LEO, Officer Moye erred on the side of safety. Not safety for his life, but his reputation and career. He leaves behind a wife, and parents.
LEO’s target minority youth. The kids are not criminals.
In June an off duty LAPD LEO was eating dinner at a taco stand. Officer Juan Jose Diaz saw someone tagging a wall, and ordered him to stop. The confrontation ended when the young man returned with a group of friends, claiming membership in a local gang he flashed a gun. As the group was leaving, shots were fired and Juan was killed. His girlfriend watched as he lay dying in the street. He was 24, leaves behind a devastated family and a legacy built on his dream of helping the gang riddled community he escaped.
2016 was the year of unprecedented targeting on LEO’s. Multiple states saw attacks on Law Enforcement Officers. Most notably was the ambush attack in Dallas, Texas. The most LEO lives lost in a single incident since 9/11. In a hate filled rage, the gunman was incited by recent LEO shooting incidents in Missouri and Louisiana. The media hype preceding any investigation led to riots and civil unrest. The gunman specifically target Dallas PD officers, better if they were White. His ambush covered multiple locations, and ultimately killed 5 officers.
These “Good Guys” leave behind children, spouses, siblings, and parents. Their legacy is indicative of most LEO’s. One where serving others comes at the cost of personal sacrifice.
Law Enforcement Officers serve countless roles in society. They fill the cracks in their communities. The kids who have nothing are often the beneficiaries of generous LEO benefactors. Stations hold school supply drives for kids who don’t have necessary supplies. Officers are on the frontlines in communities wracked in violence. For every gang shooting, there is an officer who officially notifies the family. The drunk driver who wipes out a family is arrested by the officer who has kids at home. Every knock on a door has the potential for bad outcomes. Sometimes the officers are delivering life altering news, and sometimes they are serving a warrant on a criminal. Every knock on the door is going to change a life. Day in and day out.
The media rarely reports on the grind of Law Enforcement. It’s not the type of story that drives clicks and revenue. Black Lives Matter doesn’t focus on the officers who sit with kids on the stoop and give them a 10 minute rest from life in a crime riddled neighborhood. Those stories don’t support their agenda.
We can support them. We should support them. Even if it’s just a “hey, thank you.” My son does this all the time. I admit, sometimes it makes me cringe. “Thank You for Your Service” is almost trite in our society. But my sweet 14 year old son still manages to pass along his gratitude to those good guys we meet in our daily travels. Maybe it’s a lesson we can all take to heart. It may offset some of the mass messaging from the MSM and protest groups like BLM. It will absolutely be appreciated by the people who put on a uniform and are “Good Guys With Guns.”
Featured Image: Pixabay License: Free Image Cropped 400×400
Scott says: Good post Narcissi, the scum that inhabit that neighborhood (not far from where I grew up) definitely have more in common with, and more support for the criminals involved in this incident than the do the cops protecting them. IMHO, it’s far past time for an “Escape from New York” approach to this crap.. wall off these areas, and let them implode. Once they’ve self destructed, tear down the wall and rebuild. Decades of demonrat rule has caused these areas to rot to the core.
Thanks Scott. I feel bad for the good people tarnished by bad people. Including the many in this neighborhood who just want a safe place to live. I agree with the Escape from NY theory, but would like to limit it to the fraction of people who make life so dang challenging for the rest of us. Maybe a Survivor setting where teams comprised of specific groups battle for dominance. It can be televised so they feel validated, meanwhile the rest of us can just be free of their particular brand of crazy indulgence. While changing the channel. 😉
Scott says: That could work as well. But knowing that neighborhood, I’m not sure that “many” is the right word to describe those just wanting a safe place to live.. “a few” or “a couple” might be more accurate … whatever word you use, they are definitely the minority, that area is a step below a cesspool..
Scott says: It is very sad, I agree, it was a once very nice working class neighborhood, but the exodus of industry from the area, followed by an infestation of those who view welfare as a family legacy, and drugs as a way of life, along with the total breakdown of families gives you just this result, EVERY time… there are plenty of cities that prove this.
Thanks again for all the insightful posts from you and the other ladies here!
GWB says: Social Media Versus Reality
I’m a big fan of “I don’t care what you say or feel, as long as you act properly.” Actually doing your job properly is what matters.
And that’s why I’m a huge foe of “hate crimes” and “hate speech” laws. The idea that someone should be punished (more) for why they did something is atrocious. Even worse for saying something unrelated to any action.
Black Lives Matter doesn’t focus on the officers who sit with kids on the stoop
Time for a rant. But not because this is a bad thing.
Rather, because it shouldn’t be the cop doing this. Or shouldn’t have to be. This is exactly why I get perturbed by “our last line against anarchy”, “thin blue line” and other such bromides about the police. WE are supposed to be the pillars of our communities. WE are supposed to be the law and order in our towns and neighborhoods. WE are the citizens whose duty it is to maintain our communities. As Peele said, the police are just paid representatives doing full-time what WE are supposed to be doing every single day as citizens. if WE aren’t doing those things, then the cops won’t be able to, either.
One of the problems in these troubled neighborhoods is that the cops are often not from there. Oh, they’re often from the same city, but seldom from the neighborhoods they patrol. So, the idea that police are “outsiders” is reinforced. Of course, a big reason the cops aren’t from there is because they are such rotten neighborhoods. Very few good men come out of them, and the ones that do often move far away. But, until the neighborhood itself works to fix itself, all the outside “law and order” won’t help much. I’m not saying that police officers can’t come from outside. But there has to be a fundamental buy-in from the community.
Oh, and don’t think “Chicago” when you think community. That’s much too large. “Chicago” doesn’t have a gun violence problem, certain communities within Chicago have a gun violence problem. (I use “gun violence problem” because that’s how it’s often framed, though the real problem isn’t guns but a culture of violence.)
I’m all for the police as our representatives in law and order. But if the communities (including yours and mine, where there might not be a “gun violence” problem) don’t take back their duties and responsibilities as citizens, there isn’t anything that will stop the spree shootings, the war zones that are portions of our inner cities, or the deterioration of our republic.
/rant
NC says: As always, I enjoyed reading your insights. I will respond, but right now I’m trying to wrap up last minute incidentals before a two week vacation to Oahu. I’m sure after a few days of sun and vitamin sea my attitude will improve. Of course my tone… well that’s a bit much to expect. We’ll have to see after next week’s post.
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