The Ususal Suspects

Let me start off by saying that I am and have always been a big supporter of the police.  I may not be a big supporter of police bureacracy. 

I have been following the Westroads shooting in Omaha since I grew up there and spent much of my youth either working or hanging out at the Westroads.  My father walked the Westroads nearly every morning after his heart surgery.  His friends still walk the Westroads over 25 years later.  My family still shops at the Westroads.  It left me stunned when I heard about the shootings there last week.

I watched the news events surrounding the Virginia Tech shootings and how concerns about the shooter were ignored.  My brother in law was assaulted by a fellow employee at his work, his tires have been slashed and he receives threatening voicemails and texts from the persons responsible, and the police tell him they can't do anything to get this guy off the streets.  I guess they're hands are tied until there's a body. 

On the opposite end of the spectrum, if you're read this blog from the beginning you know that I had to put up with Officer Friendly in Westwood Kansas because I drove home from work in the Plaza area.  It apparently is their job to nab as many drunk drivers as possible and use any mean available to do it.  I was pulled over several times a month for such things as "swerving, license plate light out or no signal for a lane change."  I have to wonder how many "real" drunk drivers went by while Officer Friendly was wasting my time and his. 

So here's what has rubbed me the wrong way.  In all these cases, Virginia Tech, the Westroads and even in my brother in law's case, police were notified of these people's behavior and yet nothing happened.  The Westroads shooter was turned over to Bellevue police who said he was out of their jurisdiction and turned it over to the Sarpy county sheriff who did nothing.  Concerns about the Virginia Tech shooter were virtually ignored.  I can't tell if police just aren't interested in getting these suspects off the streets or are impotent from the administrative level or what is going on. 

Maybe it's just more important or easier or whatever to just pull over motorists with burnt out license plate lights.  Do you wonder if some of these tragedies could have been prevented.  Of course, we'll never know and some situations like this may have been prevented, we just don't know.  But we do know after the fact that someone on Sarpy county Nebraska dropped the ball and 9 people are dead. 

Maybe less ticket quotas and more real police work..Let's live up to what it says on the cars, "To Serve and Protect". 

That is all....Peters out!