I'm sure by now, you have all seen the outrage over the ICE agents pictures being circulated and tacked to telephone poles. It's tacky. And, it may be illegal, I don't know.
I worked in small -town law enforcement for 37 years. And, before you consider it like Mayberry RFD, consider that I carried three of my buddies to their graves. Small-town law enforcement is still dangerous. There was no reason to doxx us, everyone in town who cared knew who we were. It was no secret, our wives, our children, out homes. Not a secret.
Sometimes my kids would wonder why I didn't have their pictures on my desk. I had to explain that I didn't want to make it easy for the bad guys. It was no secret, but there is no sense making it easy.
I do have the feeling that today's law enforcement is too scared. I know the job is tough, but it is the job. If the doxxing is illegal, charge the ones who do it. Simply cite the law, get a warrant, and put their asses in jail. Then, get on with doing the job.
3 comments:
There is no such thing now as a "safe" town, village, or city. My hometown here in West Michigan, named Hesperia, a village of about 1,000 in a square mile, there is a very large drug problem mostly Meth.
The reasons for this are varied, but mostly it is due to the very large lack of jobs and poor people. There used to be many well paying factory jobs in the city of Muskegon which at one time had the largest gray iron foundry in America. My dad spent his entire life working there, about 35 miles south of Hesperia. Other jobs involved the automotive industry and military equipment building, such as tanks, etc.
Hesperia used to have their own police force, but due to budget cuts and a lack of finances plus some financial fraud, I think that they no longer have their own police and depend on the county sheriff and the Michigan State Police for law enforcement.
I actually attended the MSP academy between my junior and senior years of high school, for one week, doing what the troopers do in their training. This was back in 1977 so things have changed but it was one of the best experiences in my life.
A co-ed program supported by our American Legion post, it was the first time I ever shot a handgun, the reliable old .38 special revolver, 4" barrel and all. Sadly I never had a handgun of my own until age 30, but now I am a very involved gun owner and a CCW holder here in Michigan. And no, while the news media and the Democrats here in Michigan warned of "blood running in the streets and traffic accidents turning into gunfights" we instead have seen nothing but positive reports of CCW holders.
Best wishes and thank you for your service both in the military and as a law enforcement officer.
One change, IMHO, is the bad guys no longer 'fear' going after a family or kids in order to get an officer to back down. Back in the 70s, the force would have dropped everything to hunt that individual down and make sure s/he was prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
I've always maintained there are Peace officers, and bullies with badges. Mass respect for the former. For those in law enforcement whose first priority is "officer safety", find another career.
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