http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/01/24/au ... latestnews I would say that being extra cautious would be prudent in the next few days if you are involved in any LEO encounter. On the other hand fox is the most alarmist news organization in the world.
I noticed this, too, and to be honest, this is really bad for all of us that openly carry firearms. Be careful out there. Prayers for all the officers and their families.
It is a tragedy when any officer is hurt or killed in the line of duty. However, to characterize this as a "war" against police is irresponsible and lacking in fact and logic. Fact#1 - These cases are not related. Fact#2 - The number of officers shot in the line of duty is still a tiny percentage of officers in this country. The recent events do not affect this percentage significantly. Fact#3 - The greater concern should be with the overall amount of violent crime against people in general, and the fact that it is severely under-reported by the media. If the sheeple understood that the war is by criminals against all of us, they would arm themselves against the robbers, rapists, and murderers, taking some of them out of commission, and you'd see the crime rate plummet. That would make things better for both civilian and police alike.
Cops being targeted nationwide? http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/01/24/au ... latestnews I'm sure most criminals view LEOs as the enemy. There may be a lot of good people out there critical of LE, but for the most part (a HUGE majority) it is criminals that are doing the shooting.
Re: Cops being targeted nationwide? It does appear that there are more recently than I have ever remembered. I close friend of mine was shot and killed on duty in early December in Orlando. Since then, just in FL and GA there have been several in Tampa, Miami, Marietta, etc.
Re: Cops being targeted nationwide? How many "regular folks" were shot and killed in the same time frame?
Re: Cops being targeted nationwide? The numbers seem to be consistent with the range over the last 30 or so years. It seems that there is an inherent risk to dealing with the criminal element on a daily basis.
Re: Cops being targeted nationwide? I abhor these police shootings but isn't it a bit of a stretch ? A man makes arrangements for the police to try and pick him up on a warrent so that he can shoot whatever officers arrive ? Several people arrange to have traffic stops so they can shoot the officers ?? A man goes into Walmart, act suspicious so that someone will call 911 bringing officers that he can shoot ??? The sheer number of crazies is high, no doubt about that, but a concerted attempt to target officers ?
Re: Cops being targeted nationwide? No, it is just a sad conquisidence that they happened in this cluster of time. But I am sure the Brady Campaign will use it to bolster their talking points to ban guns.
Re: Cops being targeted nationwide? I agree...plus with 3 strikes and the fact that prison sucks most bad guys are willing to fight as opposed to going back to prison. To be a LEO is and always will be a tough position to be in.
I just wish the media would include whether the shooter could even legally own or carry a firearm. Do this for every gun crime they report. Most of the time the shooter, by laws on the books now, shouldn't even have access to a weapon (knives and sharp sticks included). Instead the public and lawmakers just want to pass more laws that the criminals violate anyway.
Re: Cops being targeted nationwide? I won't be able to find the thread now cause I am too lazy to look for it, however, a LONG time ago I posted here that the collapse of the mental health system in Georgia and Nationwide was going to lead to more and more confrontations that end badly, not JUST for officers but for the entire population. Right now, today, there are over 200 people languishing in county jails who have committed violent felonies, who have been found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI) that you property tax payers are paying for that there is NO BED FOR IN A MENTAL HEALTH FACILITY IN GEORGIA. One such inmate has been confined in a county jail in legal limbo for 26 months. I say that to say this.....I don't agree whatsoever that there is a nationwide conspiracy to attack cops. I do say that the total disregard of mental health and behavior disorders will in fact lead to more situations that law enforcement responds to, and someone is gonna die, or get hurt. Not to mention the cost to other families and people as well. This is just beginning ya'll..... I will rant later about closing prisons and prison beds, but for now, the mental health issue will do.
Re: Cops being targeted nationwide? My wife works for county outpatient mental health, and from what I've heard, it may actually be worse than the good Sheriff is leading you to believe.
Re: Cops being targeted nationwide? I just reported myself re this thread. There was a thread already posted about this: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=55708 and I posted it in the wrong subforum.
Re: Cops being targeted nationwide? In Augusta, four hundred "patients" will soon hit the street, when Gracewood closes. Most are "intellectually impaired", and will become fodder for the criminals already on the street. Some have violent histories, and will likely be off of medication in short order. What then? I'm with SO. This is large part related to the breakdown of our mental health systems. Couple that with the fact that courts will not give maximum sentences, and we have too many on the streets with "two strikes", and things can go bad in a hurry. If our economy collapses anymore, we're likely to see the anarchy that we all fear. And it's at this very time that liberals want to disarm us? Be vigilant, be safe, and be involved!
This is just another reason why all law abiding people should stand up with and back our law enforcement. I believe that most of us here do, in spite of the bad treatment from some of the unprofessional LEO. As mentioned earlier, however, there have been a lot more non LEO killings during this same time. All of these killings, whether LEO or innocent people is bad. In the battle of good versus evil, there are three groups of people: Group One: This is the largest group thank goodness. They are the basic law abiding citizen that goes to work every day and tries to make a decent living to provide for their family. They pay stupid taxes, vote (some), watch American Idol, and strive for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Most of this group support law enforcement (except when they get a traffic ticket) and do not believe that any law enforcement is bad. The majority of this group can be classified as “sheepleâ€. A smaller part of this group does not bow down quite as easily. They mostly believe in the “Constitution†and do not condone bad behavior from government or law enforcement. Sometimes they even “act up†in an effort to make things right. These are not all of the types of people in the law abiding group, but you get the picture. Most of the people in group three are also in this group. Group three are all good guys. None of the people in group two are in this group. Group Two: This is the next largest group. These people do not conform to the norms of society. They usually do not like work and will do criminal things to keep from doing it. They rob; steal, rape, murder, and anything else it takes to get what they want from group one. They have varying degrees of mental deficiency that leads them to most of their errant decisions. This group totally hates law enforcement, because law enforcement hinders their life choices. This group also hates group one and most everyone else. Group Three: This is the smallest group. They are law enforcement. They are in direct confrontation with group two and sometimes with group one. Most of this group has a desire to make things better for society by confronting group two. Some of them have a hard time discerning between group one and group two. This group is a small club. They protect and cover each other no matter what. This group is somewhat effective at keeping group two to a minimum (when the courts work with them). Group three are all good guys. I read a forum once where someone from here was arguing with a LEO in LA who was complaining that they had such a hard job because group two was so much larger than group three. This same LEO was also rigorously supporting department policy that alienated group one from group three. How neat would it be if everywhere, group one and group three stood united against group two!!!!! If any of this makes sense to you, please PM me to explain it. It’s just something that I’ve wanted to say for a long time because the ever increasing divide between group one and group three can only hurt us all!!!
Re: Cops being targeted nationwide? Sheriff, one major fix would be to put only the worst criminals behind bars (and keep them there). Then you'd have a lot of space to keep the mentally ill. There's too many people in jails and prison for stupid stuff, but are not violent criminals. Let them get back to their lives and working to support themselves instead of being a drain on the public coffers. Let's bring back public whippings for crimes that fall short of prison worthiness. And indentured servitude to force thieves to pay back their victims.