Police Officer Lives Matter

Police Lives Matter Black Lives Matter, of course. So do White Lives, Brown Lives, Yellow Lives, and Red Lives. All human lives matter in this country. It’s called equality. Police Lives also Matter. Not more, not less, not special, but because without the police, all human lives will be worthless in this country. The Thin Blue Line preserves the law and order necessary for a civilized society. The gangs, drug dealers, thugs, looters, and petty criminals will take over the cities, especially the inner cities, without the police. Look at Baltimore today. I was first in Baltimore about 20-25 years ago for a meeting. One did not safely venture a few blocks outside the Inner Harbor. We were in Baltimore for a conference two summers ago. The safety radius was much greater. The homicide rate is up 56% this year, from 138 last year to 215 so far this year. The 215 Baltimore homicides trail only the much larger Chicago with 294. Most Baltimore homicides and other increases in crime occurred after the Baltimore riots and the police demoralization. And now, the police presence has vanished in much of the crime ridden sections of the city. We forget seedy Times Square, the unsafe subways, and the otherwise crime ridden New York City prior to Mayor Giuliani and Police Chief William Bratton. The Big Apple is now falling back under Mayor De Blasio and Police Chief William Bratton. Police nationally are demoralized, scared of being 1) attacked, 2) prosecuted, and 3) vilified. Officers often patrol, on foot or car, either by themselves or in pairs, which make then sitting ducks for any assassin. Officers Wenjiun Liu and Rafael Ramos were shot to death sitting in their patrol car in Brooklyn on December 20, 2014 by a crazed assassin, who came up from Baltimore to kill cops. The Reverend Al Sharpton led an anti-police rally protesting the Eric Garner killing a week earlier in which marchers yelled: “What do we want? Dead cops! When do we want it? Now!” Later that evening, several thugs attacked two NYPD Police Lieutenants on the Brooklyn Bridge. Mayor De Blasio, during his campaign and after his election, badmouthed the police. President Obama has also trashed the police, further contributing to the anti-police animus. Harris County Deputy Darron Goforth was gunned down while filling gas in his car at a gas station last week. There is no outcry by the Black Lives Matter crowd about Blacks gunning down officers, of any color. Black lives matter, but most of the crime and homicides are Black on Black. Police shootings constitute but a small percent of the homicides. However, one wrongful shooting is one too many. There is no outcry by the Black Lives Matter crowd about Blacks criminals victimizing Blacks. All lives matter. The Black community has justifiable claims against heavy-handed policing in their communities, often by white cops. The times are changing. Prosecutions indict and police departments terminate police officers who had no justification for using deadly force against African-Americans, such as the North Charleston, South Carolina video of the cop killing the fleeing suspect, and then planting a Taser to claim self-defense. He’s in jail awaiting trial. Emphasis on police shootings detracts from the greater problems of municipal corruption and failed social policies, which impoverish the African American youth in the inner cities. All Lives Matter. Police Officer Live