Nothing New Here
Just more senseless gun crime in Boston.
Well, that puts that question to bed, anyway.
Yes, we all agree he should be locked up.
If I had spent the better part of the evening getting shit-faced and driving drunk around the city, while carrying a loaded gun, and then decided, at 4:30 in the morning, to shoot a cop who was trying to prevent me from driving any further, I suspect I'd be looking at some serious jail time.
But, then again, I'm just an ordinary citizen.
Why do I have the unsettling feeling we're about to see the latest episode of the "But, I'm the Victim Here" defense strategy - used most effectively in recent weeks by Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy - unfold here?
I hope I'm wrong, and thiscop scumbag gets put away for a long, long time, just like one of us commonfolk would, given the same set of circumstances.
But I'm just not seeing that happening here.
I'm seeing a lengthy "investigation" on the horizon, the final write-up of which will likely contain the phrases "accidentally discharged", and "the gun, which Officer _______ believed to be unloaded, then went off", and one asshole cop submitting to drug and alcohol counseling in a union-approved method of job/pension/gun rights preservation - a nice little "get out of jail free" card, unavailable to us mere mortals.
Tell me I'm way off base here.
Please.
UPDATE: Northeast Shooters Forum member, Chris, provides this excellent tie-in to the above-mentioned story.
Boston Globe:
Chris:
Heh.
And, lest you think that Menino's declining of Romney's offer was based entirely on his need to protect his fragile, yet grossly over-inflated ego...
Yeah, that's what the BPD needs...more overtime opportunities.
Well, while you're busy "defending" your own against those grave threats to the city's well-being, what say you let the State Police come in a start defending the good people of Dorchester and Roxbury from the armed thugs who have turned those neighborhoods into their personal shooting galleries?
A Boston police officer sent a .40-caliber round speeding through the hip of a fellow officer early yesterday morning in West Roxbury as the two argued over whether he was sober enough to drive, sources said.
Well, that puts that question to bed, anyway.
The injured cop, Officer Joseph Behnke, was taken to Brigham and Women's Hospital where he was treated and released for a non-life-threatening wound, police said.
The shooting capped a night of drinking by Boston cops that began on a boat docked off the Venizia in Dorchester, wound through more Dorchester bars and landed at Behnke's West Roxbury home, a high-ranking police source said.
The shooter was attempting to leave the home when Behnke approached, telling him he was in no shape to drive and asking him to stay. The source said an argument ensued and the shooter pulled his Glock .40-caliber semi-automatic, shooting Behnke in the hip.
"It's a disgrace," the source said. "For a cop to pull out his gun and shoot another cop is a disgrace. He should be locked up."
Yes, we all agree he should be locked up.
If I had spent the better part of the evening getting shit-faced and driving drunk around the city, while carrying a loaded gun, and then decided, at 4:30 in the morning, to shoot a cop who was trying to prevent me from driving any further, I suspect I'd be looking at some serious jail time.
But, then again, I'm just an ordinary citizen.
Why do I have the unsettling feeling we're about to see the latest episode of the "But, I'm the Victim Here" defense strategy - used most effectively in recent weeks by Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy - unfold here?
I hope I'm wrong, and this
But I'm just not seeing that happening here.
I'm seeing a lengthy "investigation" on the horizon, the final write-up of which will likely contain the phrases "accidentally discharged", and "the gun, which Officer _______ believed to be unloaded, then went off", and one asshole cop submitting to drug and alcohol counseling in a union-approved method of job/pension/gun rights preservation - a nice little "get out of jail free" card, unavailable to us mere mortals.
Tell me I'm way off base here.
Please.
UPDATE: Northeast Shooters Forum member, Chris, provides this excellent tie-in to the above-mentioned story.
Boston Globe:
Mayor Thomas M. Menino declined an offer yesterday from Governor Mitt Romney to have State Police help bolster Boston's understaffed patrol force as it tries to stem a tide of crime.
Chris:
No wonder Mumbles doesn't want State Troopers 'helping' out the Boston PD. They might just 'help' too much.
Heh.
And, lest you think that Menino's declining of Romney's offer was based entirely on his need to protect his fragile, yet grossly over-inflated ego...
But Boston's police unions complained about involvement of outside help in those efforts, saying that Boston officers should be offered opportunities for overtime before officers from other law enforcement agencies are brought in, said Police Superintendent in Chief Al Goslin. The unions filed complaints against the department alleging unfair labor practices, Goslin said.
Yeah, that's what the BPD needs...more overtime opportunities.
"We're still in the process of defending against those," he said.
Well, while you're busy "defending" your own against those grave threats to the city's well-being, what say you let the State Police come in a start defending the good people of Dorchester and Roxbury from the armed thugs who have turned those neighborhoods into their personal shooting galleries?
