Law Enforcement Issues

[Henry Hawk]

  And so one good deed lets them kill unarmed and innocent people.  Give me a break. 

How many unarmed and innocent people have been killed TROLL....you act like there are hundreds of cases.  You honestly think that there are more bad cops than good cops?

[Purplelady1040]

  And so one good deed lets them kill unarmed and innocent people.  Give me a break. 

They don't kill unarmed and innocent people when doing a good deed. You really are delusional.

[Palehorse]

They don't kill unarmed and innocent people when doing a good deed. You really are delusional.

Really? Then what is going on in the incident below, which started this topic?

This time in Madison County, and Edgewood to be exact.

Sunday, a young married couple on their way home from church, were rear-ended by this off duty Edgewood cop; doing 92 miles an hour and full on plowing their vehicle from the rear on state road 32 just outside of Lapel.

The hit caused the victims vehicle to hit a utility pole, broadside and passenger side first; killing the husband (passenger) and severely injuring the 9 month pregnant wife who was airlifted and had her baby delivered via emergency c-section. Mom and baby are doing okay, but daddy is dead.

The off duty cop was booked for OWI, and has admitted to using Hydrocodone and Xanax.

http://www.wthr.com/story/25216273/2014/04/10/edgewood-officer-charged-in-fatal-crash

He was officially charged today with:

Ct-1 Operating While Intoxicated Causing Death, I.C. Code 9-30-5-5, as a Class B Felony (Causing death of another person to wit Jesse Sperry)

Ct-2 Operating While Intoxicated Causing Serious Bodily Injury, I.C. Code 9-30-5-4, as a Class D Felony. (Causing serious bodily injury to another person to wit Rebecca Sperry)

Ct-3 Reckless Driving, I.C. Code 9-21-8-52, as a Class A Misdemeanor.

The Madison County Prosecutor also has added the charge of Reckless Homicide as a Class C Felony, I.C. 35-42-1-5.

What you will not read in this story:

My wife and I babysat our grandson on Saturday night, overnight, so our daughter and her husband could attend a memorial race for their late friend who had passed away unexpectedly a few weeks ago. Our daughter is pregnant and due in August, but despite feeling exhausted by the events activities, agreed to go along with the group of friends to a "new" local lounge for a toast in his honor.

This "new" lounge is currently being referred to as the "New Ramada Inn", after a now defunct and torn down hotels former bar that the areas young and rambunctious crowd used to frequent. It is owned and operated by the former owner of the Ramada Inn, and like the former Ramada Inns Lounge, it hires a certain off duty police officer to act as security into the wee hours. That "officer" is none other than James Foutch, and he was still at that bar at 4:00am when my daughter, her husband, and their party left the establishment. And he was very much under the influence at that time.

Most of the crowd knew him and were friendly with him, since he represented the power to toss them out, as well as the law.

So it was no surprise to our daughter that he was the one who had caused this horrific accident. . . I wonder if anyone has dropped the tip line any of this information???? 

[Purplelady1040]

Really? Then what is going on in the incident below, which started this topic?

Yes, I remember that article but I am talking about officers who while in uniform doing good deeds not off duty. You are always going to have a few bad officers who spoil the reputation of those who do a good job and work hard at the job.

[Palehorse]

Yes, I remember that article but I am talking about officers who while in uniform doing good deeds not off duty. You are always going to have a few bad officers who spoil the reputation of those who do a good job and work hard at the job.

So that begs the question; how is the militarization of law enforcement, via the procurement and deployment of military equipment and tactics, impacting all officers, as well as public relations between those who police and the policed?

[Purplelady1040]

So that begs the question; how is the militarization of law enforcement, via the procurement and deployment of military equipment and tactics, impacting all officers, as well as public relations between those who police and the policed?

Good question and one that I don't know will ever be answered!

[Palehorse]

Good question and one that I don't know will ever be answered!

Ferguson is a microcosm of the answer.

And those of you reading this need to understand that what is going on there is going to be happening in your state / city / town if something isn't done to positively influence the root causes for the whole situation.

[Purplelady1040]

Ferguson is a microcosm of the answer.

And those of you reading this need to understand that what is going on there is going to be happening in your state / city / town if something isn't done to positively influence the root causes for the whole situation.

Here is a situation that happened here PH. Guy has his vehicle stolen by some black teens and an adult. Gets his vehicle back and a week later, they try to steal it again. They get caught and juveniles were suppose to be in detention. They then go to an adjoining county, try to steal one and take off after hurting someone and on a police chase. Now, why the juveniles were released has been the topic of discussion and the adult should not have been let out. Granted they didn't kill anyone but what if they had killed a white person? Would the blacks been sympathetic or would they have said that the white person was trying to hurt the blacks?

[Henry Hawk]

So that begs the question; how is the militarization of law enforcement, via the procurement and deployment of military equipment and tactics, impacting all officers, as well as public relations between those who police and the policed?

When hundreds of angry men and women decide to burn a neighborhood, turn over cars and loot because they just won or lost an NBA championship or when someone is killed by a cop....the law must be prepared to handle it.

Have we gone to far? What is to far?  Where should we draw the line?

I understand your concern and to an extent I agree with you, but I see where a certain amount of "militarization" for a lack of a better term must be need to handle certain situations.

[Exterminator]

When the bad guys are armed with assault rifles, the good guys should be as well.  Militarization of law enforcement has nothing to do with equipment but with attitude.  At some point, the focus changed from going out to serve the community to going out to conquer it.

[Henry Hawk]

When the bad guys are armed with assault rifles, the good guys should be as well.  Militarization of law enforcement has nothing to do with equipment but with attitude.  At some point, the focus changed from going out to serve the community to going out to conquer it.

bingo!

[The Troll]

How many unarmed and innocent people have been killed TROLL....you act like there are hundreds of cases.  You honestly think that there are more bad cops than good cops?

  They don't "keep" records of cop killings, so they say.  But there has been many, too many and they practically all get off.    Just go to You Tube and put in cops killing citizens and you will see a small slice of all the murders they commit.    My god boy, you're so damn slow.   

[Purplelady1040]

When the bad guys are armed with assault rifles, the good guys should be as well.  Militarization of law enforcement has nothing to do with equipment but with attitude.  At some point, the focus changed from going out to serve the community to going out to conquer it.

You said it!

[Palehorse]

. . .  At some point, the focus changed from going out to serve the community to going out to conquer it.

Yes.

[Palehorse]