Who's At Fault? The Police, Of Course...

In the last few weeks, liberal politicians aspiring to this nation's highest office have publicly renounced law enforcement for political gain.

Not surprising. In this day and age, it's almost expected.

A few years ago, Ferguson, Missouri became a flashpoint of unrest and rioting after a white police officer shot and killed an unarmed black man. The predominant....and wrong...public perception, boosted along by media and television news talking heads, was that the victim had been trying to surrender and had his arms in the air; protesters, with their arms raised, chanted "hands up, don't shoot!" nightly on our television screens as Ferguson burned.

A St. Louis county grand jury, after hearing days of testimony from eyewitnesses to the incident and being presented with forensic evidence, later determined that Officer Darrin Wilson had acted in self-defense as Brown charged at him; the 6'04", 292-pound victim had initially attempted to take Wilson's service weapon as the two struggled inside the officer's cruiser. 

A separate federal grand jury later came to the same conclusion, yet left-leaning Dems seeking their party's nomination in next year's presidential election still espouse the 'hands up, don't shoot' narrative.

In recent days another, far less intense incident happened locally. A man, running for Mansfield City Council, was stopped for a traffic violation. During the course of officer contact the violator opened his vehicle's center console, whereupon the officer believed he observed the top slide of a semi-automatic handgun. The officer and his back-up both drew their service weapons, though they didn't point them at the driver. Cruiser video shows both policemen holding their guns at their sides, pointed downward.

The candidate was not taken into custody but was cited for driving while under suspension.

Since then, the council candidate has called for a public summit; in attendance will be the city's Chief of Police. Based on past personal experience, the police will be guilty in a large segment of the public's eye before the summit even starts; the local print media's parent company is already attempting to make the incident a national story.

If Michael Brown would have complied with Officer Wilson's instructions he would be alive today. Likewise, had the council candidate not chosen to drive an automobile while his license is suspended, I wouldn't be writing this post.

Personal responsibility for one's decisions and actions needs to make a comeback.