Not the San Francisco Police Department: SFPD Officer Nick Birco was killed July 26, 2006 when his police car was struck by a stolen van occupied by suspects who had just committed an armed robbery and were being pursued by SFPD units.
This video was of a press conference given by a member of the SFPD brass.
I think the police brass have had enough of turnstile justice.
Lex, what is the SFPD Brass’s name? Nick Birco was killed last year in July? Need more info on the guy who gave the press conference, was it recent?
R/Lee
PS – This guy needs to be the Govorner of California…
Lex, just found out he was prolly the head of the SFPD Union…
fwiw…
still don’t now his name though…
Why is it that it takes a dead cop to get outrage? What if this guy had hit a soccer mom and her two kids? Would the police outrage been there then?
I’m with this guy, no problem, on the criminal and how he should have already been in a cell. What I wonder about is why crime against a police officer gets better treatment and more investigation than crime against me.
In some states, killing a cop is a death penalty offense, and killing a citizen is not. I want the same consideration. Crime done to me and mine deserves the same level of attention, anger, and response.
In fact, if that sort of attention was paid, more of the bad guys would be off the streets and the cops (and us) would be safer.
ASM:
Why is assaulting or killing a cop a more serious crime? Why are we more disturbed by the lack of care given our war veterans than in other cases of bureaucratic neglect?
Because they, like police officers, voluntarily put themselves in the line of fire for our defense.
Unless you want everybody to assume the responsibility of protection for themselves, we will always need professional “sheepdogs”. It’s therefore incumbent on the flock (society) to protect the sheepdogs, lest the sheepdogs decide the flock is no longer worth protecting.
I agree Steve. Injury to a police officer is far more aggressively perpetrated; they are the “long arm of the law” and a disregard for that authority does deserve a harsher punishment.
In 1991 a State Trooper in CT – Russell Bagshaw, age 28 – was investigating a disturbance at a gun shop. He interrupted a burglary in progress and before he could even radio for help, he was shot multiple times. He was discovered about 30 minutes later by a firefighter on his way home, who noticed the strobe lights.
The 2 burglars were brothers; one got life without possiblity of parole. The other, the shooter, received the death penalty – which is appropriate for shooting an officer, particularly for one who hadn’t even gotten out of the car yet.
I don’t believe this makes a civilian’s life worth less, I just believe it acknowledges that the Trooper put himself into harm’s way to protect an innocent store owner.
I knew that my viewpoint would not recieve agreement. I have close relatives that are LEO, and understand the reaction. However, by saying my life, or the lives of my children, is worth less than the life of a police officer, it makes the bad guy more likely to shoot me, thinking that it will not be as aggressively investigated, and if caught, he will recieve less of a sentence.
No problem with the death penalty for murdering a policeman, just want the same penalty for murdering a schoolteacher, a computer tech, all of us, sheep and sheepdogs alike.
ASM826.
Having been engaged in the pursuit, apprehension and prosecution of murderers for the last 13 years, I can tell you that not one of them considers the investigation that will follow his/her act, nor the penalty he/she will receive. Sometimes is for the thrill, sometimes to even a score, sometimes it’s to eliminate a witness. Except in rare cases, the killing of a police officer is the result of a “fight or flight” choice on the part of the killer.
The majority of killers do not repeat their offense, but a cop killer is much more likely to kill again, and his victims may fall into the, “to whom it may concern” category, your school teachers, computer techs et al.
I’ve spent months investigating gang murders in which that day’s suspect was likely to be the next day’s victim. We still care. Are police killings taken personally? You bet your a**! Just as we took it personally when a Bubba was lost to a SAM site.
To expect otherwise, is to admit you don’t understand the culture of men and women who place themselves in harm’s way, regardless of the uniform they wear, or whether they drive an F/A-18 or a Ford Crown Victoria.
The death penalty? Unless you live in Texas or Florida, forget it. I have several men on death row; and they will outlive me.
BomberMan,
Of course you take it personally. It’s seen as a hit inside the circle. I would not expect anything different, and understand completely.
When it is your wife, mother, sister, or daughter that is the victim of a violent crime, that is a hit inside your circle, too. I assure you then that you are outraged, you take it personally, and you want everything done, whether or not a law enforcement officer was involved. Being told that the violence done to them is somehow less worthy of the outrage of the society is one more outrage.
I understand you guys can’t be everywhere, and that even an immediate response often leaves the violence over before you arrive.
There was a woman here locally, abducted while she changed her baby’s diaper on the car seat at a pharmacy. She was later murdered, beaten to death with a tire rim. Her baby was thrown in a field. The baby was found alive, sunburned and dehydrated.
The prep got life. He appealed. Here’s the link to that appeal. Scroll down and read the “Facts” section, and tell me anyone involved in this deserved to live.
http://www.aoc.state.nc.us/www/public/coa/opinions/2005/041504-1.htm
Watching the video reminded me of a local case – 16 year old kid with a lengthy record for car theft, among other things. At his last appearance, where if I recall right, he was on bail at the time he was picked up for some offence, somebody “forgot” to ask that he be held for other outstanding warrants. He was released on an undertaking.
A few days later, he and some friends stole a car, ran from the cops and hit a woman’s vehicle as they went through a red light, killing the woman. Led to a big inquiry being held as to how the justice system handled (or failed to handle) this out of control kid (his mother had specfically asked for him NOT to be released on bail because she knew she couldn’t control him).
The best they came up with something along the lines of the fact that the kid had ADHD, didn’t get the therapy he needed and had either been suspended or had just stopped going to school. Can’t remember all the details. But basically just a lot of useless information/details.
I checked out ASM826’s link – it’s hard to say that what that guy did is somehow “less” than killing a cop. I know – I’m mising the point.
But I think the only thing you can really take away from it all is how badly the system often functions. Doesn’t seem to matter where you live. And I don’t think any of us really scream loud enough about it often enough.
ASM826 & Michelle,
There is little doubt that the killer in the NC case is deserving of an instant death sentence, not a sterile passing after years of appeals (the average appeal in California takes 17 years).
My unit will handle in excess of 425 homicides in the average year; and I will concede that some detectives do not show the appropriate empathy for the victims’ family, probably due to the volume we deal in. I teach a homicide investigations to new detectives from around the western states, and I have brought victims’ family members in to address the impact that a detective’s perceived attitude can have on the family.
Michelle, the system is broken, and no-one knows it better than victims’ families and police officers. The only way to effect change is through the vote – prosecutors and judges are elected (except federal judges who are appointed for life, and often remain on the bench well into their 80’s).
Felons who receive plea bargains and sweetheart deals should be required to live nextdoor to the judges who sentenced them.
As an old retired cop, this isn’t an unfamilier story. I submit that people get the level of law enforcement they deserve based upon what they support. Eternal vigilence is the rule. Common sense has gone missing in our society. We excuse horrific behavior and praise tolerance of other cultures, lifestyle choices, and all the while are willing to trash the cops and mistrust power—until we ourselves are victimized—then we dial 9-1-1…..wakeup !
It is a viscious circle. On one side there isnt jail space (im not talking about prisons) to hold each and every offender. So we set up a matrix system. On the other hand, in order to get more beds the tax payers have to pony up more funds, we have to hire qualified people to run them and in most cases tax increases are voted down. im in corrections and see first hand some of the injustice when repeat offenders are continously released by the courts. Its a tough pill to swallow. The comments that Officers “voluntarily” put thier lives on the line is naive at best. A poster and commercial i saw years ago said it best. It showed a picture of a dark alley and the caption said ” You say you wouldnt go in there for a million dollars, Police go in there for alot less”.