© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D.
Three recent
In all three cases there is no evil intent on the part of the offender; rather, these are normal citizens who got crossways with our laws. They have been lawful their entire lives, until now. Surprisingly, the authorities treat them like they are mass murderers.
In the first case the couple was out with their dog. The husband stayed in the SUV while the wife shopped. The husband ran out of water for the dog and went into the store to get a bottle. The SUV windows were partly down. When he got back a police officer told him to sit in the car until animal control arrived.
The husband and wife were irate because the dog was fine. They sat a while and then a while and then a while longer. The husband got out and tried to reason with the officer. The officer arrested the man for not staying in the car, but had to transport the old man to the hospital because, while sitting handcuffed in the back of the police car, he had a heart attack.
The wife was arrested at the hospital because she was standing next to her husband who was in a wheel chair. She moved him over to a chair so she could sit down because she has a prosthetic leg. The officers observed her for a few minutes sitting with her husband. Then they went over and threw her to the ground and arrested her for not following their earlier orders to stand exactly right there on her one leg. The detention facility would not even take her because she had a blood pressure that was way too high.
The second old-timer was pulled over for not wearing a seatbelt. He had a doctor’s note saying because of a medical condition he should not wear a seatbelt. The officer was rude, wrote the ticket and refused to look at the note. After signing the ticket, the man threw the pen down in disgust. So he was arrested roughly and injured by the officer who later got a reprimand, but the nature of it was not made public.
Finally, a husband and wife were discovered to have numerous animal-rights violations at their home. Their faces were splashed on the news numerous times when they were arrested. Neither has ever been in trouble.
It’s wrong to use power when it’s not necessary
None of these three examples made the best choices, but neither did the police. Because the police have all the power, using it when it is not necessary is wrong. Many people believe that the thugs and the police are the same; the citizens must try to avoid both.
I think of the police taking on the “violent people” to be able to make our streets safe for citizens. It is dangerous work and we thank the police in our prayers for their bravery. But not when they use their power on normal, everyday citizens who do not have evil intent.
I am especially concerned with the animal-rights violations being treated as if there was evil intent. When the violations were noted, these gentle people should have been helped rather than humiliated and devastated by our legal system. There was no reason to handcuff any of the above examples except that the system has lost its soul.
Sometimes fiction helps me think about the correct role of the police in our society. Be it Dirty Harry movies or The Andy Griffith Show, I see how Harry dealt with violent criminals and Sheriff Andy Taylor dealt with ordinary citizens.
The fictional Sheriff Andy Taylor did not seem to have any interest in coming on hard and strong with citizens of that little town. His deputy, Barney Fife, however, waved his pistol around, despite it being unloaded, and carried his one bullet in his shirt pocket. People sometimes call an overzealous policeman Barney.
Andy got people to do the right thing without having to come on strong, while Barney wanted to handcuff citizens at the slightest cause. Sheriff Andy looked at coming on strong as the very last thing he should do to citizens. This is not to say that if dealing with a dangerous criminal Sheriff Taylor would stand around saying, “Aw shucks.”
Too many Barneys
There is a huge difference between the thugs and gangsters that plague a town and cranky citizens who get crossway with the authorities. Even more important to this discussion is that the armed robbers are fundamentally different than the citizens with an animal control problem.
Every time the police push citizens around, it must be really important or the citizens learn to view the police with distrust. When I was growing up most young boys, myself included, wanted to be a policeman. Today, it is not so. There are too many instances of the police being Barney.
Please battle the violent drug-pushers, kidnappers, murderers, rapists and gangs. Leave the battles with normal citizens to administrative functions.
Swickard is a weekly columnist for this site. You can reach him at michael@swickard.com.