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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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A disturbing trend, Is it becoming more dangerous to be a law enforcement officer?
by Kim Russell
Posted: 04.20.2011 at 5:50 PM
savesendprint
Kim Russell
Kim Russell is a news anchor and reporter with NBC25.
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Friend Kim Follow Kim Contact Kim Kim's feed 222|moreVideoImagesSaginaw County Sheriff
Retrieved from Keith Speers on facebook. With our police numbers reduced , this really hits home. Our police can't even have tasers to protect themselves in certain situations!
»Michigan has already lost three officers killed in the line of duty this year.
Read more: Local, Crime, Zapata, Eric Zapata, Larry Nehasil, Trooper Jeffrey Werda, Police Safety, Police Officer Shot, Police Officer Killed, Saginaw County Sheriff
“Unfortunately this incident follows an alarming trend nationally in that violence against officers is increasing at an alarming rate,” said one of Public Safety Officer Eric Zapata’s fellow officers during a press conference Tuesday.
Officer Zapata died after authorities say he was shot in the head and chest during a shootout in a Kalamazoo alley. The suspected gunman later shot and killed himself.
Officer Zapata was responding to reports of gunfire when he approached a suspect.
On average over the past decade, 168 officers died on duty every year, but in recent years the United States has fortunately seen below average rates of death.
In 2009, 132 law enforcement officers died on duty according to the FBI. Then in 2010, we saw 160 deaths. We are now less than a third of the way through 2011, and so far The Officer Down Memorial Page reports 60 officers have been killed.
Three of them are Michigan officers. Livonia Police Officer Larry Nehasil died in a shooting in January. Michigan State Police Trooper Jeffrey Werda died earlier this month in a crash in Taymouth Township, while rushing to help other officers. Kalamazoo Officer Eric Zapata is the most recent officer lost while protecting and serving in Michigan.
“As a law enforcement officer for 25 years, I don't remember a time when I've seen this many officers attacked,” said Saginaw County Sheriff William Federspiel.
The sheriff says it seems society in general is becoming angrier with law enforcement. The anger sometimes is fueled by postings on social media websites that may or may not be true. Another factor may be budget cuts. When there are fewer officers on the streets, officers have less back-up, and their jobs become riskier.
“If we have fewer officers on the street, what message are we sending to the criminals?” asks Sheriff Federspiel. “We now have one show up, where before we had 3 or 4. It's a bad message to send and it’s dangerous for our officers.”
The sheriff says studies need to be done to determine what could be driving this trend. In the meantime, these deaths are a tragic reminder that no police call is routine.
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Thu Apr 21, 2011 4:28 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Monday July 10,2006 at the Senate Democratic Policy Committee hearings, Police Chief Gary Hagler testified that in 1999 the Flint Police had 338 sworn Police Officers. That number was cut in 2001 and 2002 to 237, a 30% decrease. Without clerical help the police were required to sacrifice policing time to spend on clerical duties.
The CATT (Crime Area Target Team) consisted f 18 officers and 3 supervisors. Trust me when I say these guys looked like officers on steroids, they were so big and muscular. Between january of 2005 and May of 2006 they had:
2,513 felont arrests
3,051 misdemeanor arrests
$208,000 in illegal narcotics seized
$173,000 in cash forfeitures
210 illegal firearms off the street
Today Chief Lock says we have 128 officers. |
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Thu Apr 21, 2011 4:56 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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DPC Hearings
Senate Democratic Policy Committee Hearing Monday, July 10, 2006 1:30 p.m. - 3: 30 p.m. ... Senator Byron L. Dorgan Chairman, Democratic Policy Committee. Senator Harry Reid ... Gary Hagler Chief of Police, Flint (MI) Police Department ...
http://dpc.senate.gov/dpchearing.cfm%3Fh%3Dhearing34 - Cached |
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Thu Apr 21, 2011 4:58 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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| Citizens want the right to carry stun guns and our Flint police can't have tasers. |
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Fri Apr 22, 2011 2:24 pm |
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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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quote:
untanglingwebs schreef:
Citizens want the right to carry stun guns and our Flint police can't have tasers.
Apparently they can't have night sticks or large 3 cell flashlights, either. So if verbal commands don't work, that only leaves their firearm. |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Fri Apr 22, 2011 5:46 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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| Then they end up under investigation for abuse of power. |
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Sat Apr 23, 2011 7:09 pm |
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bRianex
F L I N T O I D
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| Taser's nowadays are becoming a great issue!., How about you, what can you say? |
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Whatever is at the center of our life will be the source of our security, guidance, wisdom, and power. |
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Sun Aug 21, 2011 9:09 am |
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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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| Tasers are a temporary deterrent. Handguns are permanent. |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Sun Aug 21, 2011 10:49 am |
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