Maybe I'm missing something here because when I heard this soundbite from the radio, I couldn't understand.... a retired cop said that "when he was on the force, he hated thieves more than murderers". I'm hoping maybe a retired cop here can explain this to me. I have no clue.
My buddy was pulled over on Christmas day (I was with) a long time ago. We were close to our destination and decided to pop the top on some beers. Well, my buddy blew a stop sign he didn't see at full speed - and the cop was waiting. He got us both out of the truck and began a series of questioning. Where are the drugs? Where are the guns?
We didn't have drugs or guns, and I told the main cop (he called for backup, two more came) I didn't do drugs. He promptly reminded me alcohol was a drug, and that makes me I liar. He said, "if there's anything I hate most is a dopehead". I told him he was barking up the wrong tree (sir), and his pals won't find anything. He detained us for about 30 minutes while running ID's and my friend let him search the truck (stupid I know). They were looking for any excuse to take us in. In the end my buddy got a ticket for the stop sign, and that was it. Why we both didn't get ticketed for open containers was a shock to us both. There was a twelve-pack between the seat, with two taken out - and only a few sips taken from each can. We had just gotten off the freeway and were only a mile from our destination. They just made us pour out the open ones.
I had a funny (not ha-ha funny) feeling if we were not white and they knew we were expected somewhere soon, those guys would have beaten us up and fabricated charges. I could tell they just wanted one of us to make a move they could use as an excuse to pull the batons out. The tension was thick, so neither one of us gave them that chance, "yes sir, no sir" and our hands were always visible. They were corrupt as hell. This is in a small jurisdiction (Patton Village) that is cited in Texas law books as one that generated most of their income from stopping travelers on the state highway 59 (about one mile is in their jurisdiction). They were ordered by the state Supreme Court to cease that practice as it is unconstitutional.
Sorry I didn't have an answer to your question. I was wondering what was up this guys ass too. I had almost forgotten about it until you brought up weird cop statements.
Thieves also steal your life. The steal all the things you have acquired by spending your time working.
You actually expect someone here to explain the personal beliefs of someone you heard on the radio? I here all kinds of opinions on the radio every day that make no sense and can't be explained.
My all time favorite was from former NYC Mayor Ed Koch. He was on the radio defending Bill Clinton. He said that he would not want Clinton to be executor of his estate, but he's fine with him as president.
[snip]
Most likely he had just pulled too many dead bodies out of cars driven by drunken idiots who were to stupid to obey simple traffic control devices, easily read by a five year old, and who still blamed the cops for their situation.
It's too bad they didn't rough you up a little, it might have taught something you obviously have never learned.
Jon
From my sideline experience I would say that most murders tend to be more or less one offs. Serial killers are rare even today. So, while the murderers are nasty people, then tend to impact and tear up the lives of a small number of people. Also, for the most part, they tend to be easier to catch. Burglars on the other hand, violate people and do their damage over a wider swath and often for much longer. They are also much harder to catch .
The never-ending frustration for doing paperwork about stolen TV's and car radios and NEVER getting to shoot anyone :o) Cops I know hated paperwork :o) When they catch murderers, they might become heroes for a moment at HQ, perhaps even make the newspaper. Catch a robber/burglar? Capt. just want numbers more than anything.
Usually more respectable than junkies who grab car radios to finance their next fix and are usually drunk/high and stupid when apprehended.
Cops hate domestic violence calls and, probably, traffic stops with uncertain outcomes....don't know until they search the car whether one has a load of drugs and a gun or two...lots of dead cops have met their end during traffic stops. One I know was jumped by three guys from the truck he pulled over...thanks to the variety of self-defense utensils he carried (and quick reactions) he put all three in the hospital. OTOH, he looked after the homeless people on his beat, made sure they weren't freezing or starving and, on occasion, gave them a few bucks for a drink :o)
There is a town like that in Florida...central..can't recall the name. Just a crossroads with a speed trap. I can understand nailing tourists who fly through MY TOWN at 20 over the speed limit, and for the need to pay the mayor with $ that aren't local taxes :o)
One nice deputy in SC (or GA? seems like there was a submarine base not too far down the road) drove 20 miles on a Saturday morning when I locked the key in the trunk of my car and picked up another key. Somebody at the station had borrowed the gadget normally used to open locked cars...
It's because in America, human life has very little value compared with possesions.
People will shoot someone to stop them stealing a TV.
A land of low moral values.
I personally don't think thieves are worse than murders, but they should be shot none the less.
It sucks to have to share civilization with savages.
Let's make the equation a simple one for the simpleton from the UK
I work X hours using my skills, that I paid time and $$ to acquires and my time - which is a limited and irreplaceable asset, of unknown quantity to acquire my possessions. So in effect my possessions are paid for with parts of my life, which again is a limited and irreplaceable resource of unknown quantity.
Then some low-life comes along and decides that they somehow have the right to steal parts of my life from me, just because they're too lazy to work for it themselves That's IMMORAL Stopping such a predator from stealing is MORAL Also, doing nothing to stop such a predator, by failing to protect your life's work is IMMORAL
You harry, by siding with a thief are just as immoral as that thief.
See how simple that was.
Well at least we're fortunate that immoral savages like harry are far away.
This has to rank as one of the dumbest things I've ever seen posted. And that says a lot. Like someone stealing a TV from your home has a longer and more profound effect than someone murdering your mother.
Go figure....
If you never have been there, you would never see the stop sign. It was deliberately obscured IMO.
I'm not saying it's okay to drink and drive, we were young and dumb.
Chances are the murderer offed someone you DIDN'T know. So, the next time you're standing in a longish line at the movie theater (or Chick-fil-A's), ask yourself if you are better off...
As an ex-LEO, I'll be glad to add my experience.
But first, have you ever driven by a prison and noticed some inmates working outside the walls, cutting grass, washing cars, and so on?
Almost all the outside trustys are murderers!
Here's why: Most murders (or manslaughters) are crimes of passion and are one-offers. If the stimulus that precipitated the killing is absent, well, the person is unlikely to kill again.
Further, murderers are basically rule-followers. You tell an murderer-trusty to check out a lawn mower, cut the grass, and be back at 4:30, his response will be: "Right, boss." And you can depend on him checking-in at 4:25. (Trustys are not the same thing as general prisoner work gangs. Work gangs, on the prison farm or doing swamp reclamation, are guarded.)
Now a burglar or thief is NOT a rule follower, has no respect or others or their property. He started his escapade with a plan to undertake harm. He INTENDED to violate the law and did so, perhaps many times, before he was caught.
Thieves cannot be trusted. They are internally evil.
That was part of the problem I think. On Christmas day you're not exactly getting the "A team" on duty, all the rookies gotta work the holidays. We were all about the same age, and these hicks probably were looking for some 'action'.
Low moral values? Well, first, there's the Eighth Commandment: "Thou Shalt Not Steal." In my state, we noticed there are no penalties provided for any of the Ten Commandments, so we sorta fleshed out the edict:
Texas Penal Code - Sec. 9.42. DEADLY FORCE TO PROTECT PROPERTY. A person is justified in using deadly force against another to protect land or tangible, movable property:
(1) if he would be justified in using force against the other under Section
9.41*; AND (2) when and to the degree he reasonably believes the deadly force is immediately necessary: (A) to prevent the other's imminent commission of arson, burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, theft during the nighttime, or criminal mischief during the nighttime; OR (B) to prevent the other who is fleeing immediately after committing burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, or theft during the nighttime from escaping with the property; AND (3) he reasonably believes that: (A) the land or property cannot be protected or recovered by any other means; OR (B) the use of force other than deadly force to protect or recover the land or property would expose the actor or another to a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury.Note one of the offenses covered by this section is "Criminal Mischief During the Nighttime." This offense is a catch-all for toilet-papering a house, doing wheelies in someone's yard, general graffiti, "he who pisseth against the wall," smelling funny, and other egregious anti-social behavior.
--------- Texas Penal Code - Sec. 9.41. PROTECTION OF ONE'S OWN PROPERTY. (a) A person in lawful possession of land or tangible, movable property is justified in using force against another when and to the degree the actor reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to prevent or terminate the other's trespass on the land or unlawful interference with the property...
Not sure about Texas, but years ago, the law in many states was that it was against the law to _be_drunk_ and drive, not necessarily against the law to drink while driving.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.