Wednesday, July 06, 2011
These officers should have been terminated
Dangerous, stupid, immature conduct inside police stations should not be tolerated. both officers drew weapons. A handgun was discharged. Although no one was hurt, one week unpaid supervision as discipline is a joke! Tampa PD has apparently dumbed down it's expectations for its officers.
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I recall several tragic cases of gun horse play among law enforcement personnel, both of which proved fatal. The earliest incident occurred when I was at a young impressionable age living aboard Hamilton, AFB in California. It involved two Air Policeman apparently bored while standing guard. According to the story, they began horsing around with their sidearms when one gun discharged killing the other guard. The details regarding the second case, which I heard about while on active duty myself, is lost to memory. Senseless and preventable gun accidents like these helped to form my deep respect for and safe handling of firearms.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the poorest judgement was demonstrated by both of these men. There exists a substantial investment in them, however. The important next step then is to carefully determine if this is the last act of buffoonery or the first. There's no blood. The value of this opportunity does not lie in meting out the wages of stupidity. It lies in teaching the real meaning of maturity and responsibility.
ReplyDelete44 & Ridgway, thanks!
ReplyDeleteRidgway: I agree that this is a teaching opportunity. However, the message the PD sends is that this is not a serious problem. If you want the troops to get it and take it seriously, you have to terminate the examples. Yes, the dept. has an investment in these officers. However, it would strike me that it is more important to safely serve and protect the public than protect an investment in two obviously immature individuals. By the time someone reaches adulthood, basic personality traits are set and are extremely difficult to change. I stand by my claim-they should have been fired. IMHO, the PD's actions are just another example of the nation-wide malaise termed "dumbing it down."