The Police Battle

Someone posted a picture on Facebook of a Colorado police officer, in Mesa county, that was shot recently by a 17yr old. I found the story, and it’s sad. The officer, a father of two, is supposed to be taken off life support soon.

What disturbed me, however, was the text with the photo. The person sharing noted that, well, I’m not sure how to summarize, so I’ll leave the text here:

“A cop kills a teenager and people go crazy. Why didn't he taze him he is only a kid. He should have subdued him, he is just a kid. Cops need better training. Cops shoot first ask questions later. Cops are trigger happy. Cops are racist. They shot him because he was black and they were scared.

This is the headlines and stories the majority in this country follow. You fall victim to the propaganda. You make me absolutely sick to my stomach sometimes. I consider you the weak and pitiful of this great country.

How come there is no outrage or attention about the 17 year old kid who shot Deputy Derek Geer of Mesa County Sheriffs Office in Colorado?

The deputy did what you all beg law enforcement to do. He attempted to taze the teen and was subsequently shot multiple times. I'll repeat he attempted to TAZE the kid and was SHOT multiple times.

Deputy Geer is now on life support at the moment until his organs can be donated.

You see Deputy Geer swore an oath to protect and serve. At this very moment his life is ending while at the same time his organs are being removed so he can continue save others.

Deputy Derek Geer you are a TRUE HERO and should be honored by all.

Sadly only those in his family and community and his brothers and sisters in law enforcement nationwide will be the ones to really give a rat's ass about Deputy Geer.

To those still patrolling the streets I beg you to block out the noise from the naive and untrained naysayers.

DO YOUR JOB and do it well, as you are trained, and never worry about what others will think. Do the right thing always but never lose sight of the number one goal. Go home to your loved ones at the end of your shift.

I ask for those that cared enough to read this to please take a moment of silence for Deputy Derek Geer. If you feel inclined share this with others so maybe people will begin to understand.

”

I don’t know if this person is former LEO, but he appears to own some business that is related to security. I am not going to disclose who this is, but if you want to search FB, feel free.

I don’t think this is wrong, or not completely wrong. However it’s a distortion. There are cops that behave poorly. The call here to do your job and do it well is great. I think most people believe in that. However in a number of cases, we have seen officers aren’t behaving as they are trained. They aren’t doing their jobs. They are letting their emotions run them, just as many criminals do.

Should officers always Taser someone? No. Should they always shoot them? No. There needs to be some restraint, some caution, and certainly some help in protecting officers. I am all for more tax money to give them protection equipment.

But I also want responsibility. There are some cops, a minority, that do not deserve the protection of their fellow officers. They need to be removed from the force, and some effort made to transition them to other jobs.

There are many cops that need better counseling and support for the stress and danger they face. We need to support and help them.

Calls for #BlacKLiveMatter don’t say all cops are bad, or that they shouldn’t arrest, or even shoot, criminals when necessary. However they shouldn’t abuse their power, which is the concern. And, by the way, amazingly enough, I found this in the National Review.