On Tuesday, May 5, 2015, at 1:30am, a low-life, scum, felon
was roaming through my neighborhood with a gun. I was peacefully sleeping.
Officer Sgt. Greg Moore came cruising through and saw a “suspicious individual.”
He stopped the man and asked for his identification which he submitted for a
background check. The felon then shot the officer, stole his gun while he lay
on the ground, and drove off in the police car. I guess Mr. Felon thought it
would be better to shoot and kill an officer rather than be apprehended as a
felon with a gun in his possession. Officer Moore passed away later that day.
The shooting took place just a block over from my home.
I own a gun. It is always locked away in a safe. This
incident makes it clear that there truly are bad guys just outside my house in
the middle of the night. One could easily kick in the front door or break in
through a window. There I would be with my gun in my safe. More and more, I feel
the need to have this weapon out and available. I am very grateful for police
who choose to keep patrol and put themselves between citizens and criminals.
They lessen the likelihood that I would need to hold a weapon and defend
myself. I believe they would be more proficient at it than I.
In the past year, there have been several cases in the national
news of people being killed by police while they attempt to apprehend those
people. The cries of race and police use of excessive force are at a fever
pitch. Though this needs to be assessed and police actions always need to be
monitored because of the position of power they hold and the very fact that
they carry lethal weapons, there is great danger in generalizing from the
incidents in the news to the belief that all police are bad and deserve to be
hated.
The review of Sgt. Moore’s life and service to community are
a reminder of the good that police serve.
It has been proven over and over
in studies that humans’ perceptions are easily skewed. The human mind focuses
on significant, unusual events which stand out and then the mind generalizes,
usually mistakenly, without taking in all of the data. People in various American
cities are rioting based on emotion and perception. Over this week, my entire
community has come out in support of the police. My neighborhood gathered in
the park to raise donations and to sign a petition to rename our park after Sgt. Moore in his honor. Many of us appreciate those who choose to serve as police
and daily put themselves in harm’s way to protect the rest of us. I would
prefer to not have to use my gun. Last Tuesday, Sgt. Moore stepped in front of
any one of us in my neighborhood who may have encountered the felon carrying a
gun.
No comments:
Post a Comment