Local Shooting Tragedy

When I arrived at work around 3pm yesterday afternoon, I received a cell phone call from my wife, who was also at her workplace. It seemed that a terrible disturbance had occurred not very far from our home, on the road that I usually travel on go to work (but not this time). It seemed that a man was walking up and down the street, yelling at people in cars, sometimes attacking them, and banging on the cars' windows. And he was apparently beating up a woman he knew in one of the cars. A Sheriff's Department officer, who had been in the area only to serve subpeonas, tried to calm down the disturbed individual, a young man. But he became more aggressive and angry, so the officer used his Taser on him. But the effect was only temporary, for this enraged person lunged at the officer and both tried to strangle him and reach for his gun. Whereas the officer had to shoot him, resulting in his death.

This was a major news story for Gainesville and raises several questions. First of all, as far as I am concerned, the officer's actions were exemplary and in the line of duty, protecting the public. There were many witnesses to what happened. But we are left with a death, along with the loudly grieving family members. They were very quick to arrive at the scene and express their closeness to the killed individual. But really how close? What was the connection, if any, between them and the young man's rage? And if they knew what was going on in his mind, why didn't they do anything to help alleve his distress? Or did they?

None of the passengers in the various involved cars pulled out a gun, as far as I know. There may have been someone (or more) who had one handy should the need have arisen. By all accounts, the news outlets are putting a very pro-police spin on this story. But I'm seeing this slightly differently. Let me explain.

Everywhere I have worked, management puts the pressure on its employees to always be "busy" doing something. On my present job, a part of my responsibilities is to observe how mail is being processed through a very large, complex, and expensive sorting machine. I have to be vigilant in this so that parcels won't jam in the machine, for not only can the parcels become damaged, but the machine can be damaged as well. There is also a personal safety factor involved here. But as I am calmly walking back and forth observing the running machine, it appears to some supervisors that perhaps I am not "busy" enough, and should go do something else. Management, as a rule, tends to make its employees engage in what I call "busywork": doing things that don't really contribute to productivity, but "look" good to anyone passing by.

Now let's go back to the police. They are also under pressure by their management to engage in the "busywork" of cranking up citation numbers and "enhancing" revenue by pulling over citizens for minor traffic violations. When I see a police car parked anywhere (away from the coffee shop, that is), it is usually in a spot designed either to clock motorists' speeds or to catch motorists not coming to complete stops at stop signs. They also tend to congregate at public parks, apparently hoping to catch some poor soul engaging in "suspicious" activity there (whatever that's supposed to be). Instead, they should be concentrating on their primary mandate, which is to protect the public. It was just happenstance that the officer in this tragic local story was driving by at the exact moment that he was needed.

We can't expect our police to be everywhere all the time, nor would we want that type of scenario. Sure, we have cell phones and 911, which can greatly speed up police reaction time. But we would have a better level of protection if the police were freed from their busywork and allowed to perform their primary function, which is to protect the people by patrolling regularly throughout the city without agendas. This would involve a more passive, observing type of job behavior and would not necessarily look "busy" to management. But it's what we need more of, not less.

Otherwise, we may see a rise in citizens who take the law into their own hands, all under the umbrella of their own interpretation of the Second Amendment. If this happens, expect little restraint on their part!

But that having been said, I salute and greatly appreciate that very brave officer who stood up the protect the people. He suffered injuries during the incident, and my hopes and wishes are with him and his family. As well as those aggrieved by the young man's death.