While there has been a lot of ugliness lately, some good has already come out of it.
It seems there are many citizens who are now interested in how the city government works. They are interested in the roles of the city manager and the city council. City council includes the mayor, who is an elected council member that the other members of the council choose to be mayor for that year. Side note, the county commission is similar, with the commissioners selecting one of their number to serve as the lead.
On the downside, there are many commenters who want a certain police officer hung in the city square, his body dismembered and his head hung on a pike, without any charges being brought or even a completed investigation.
Imagine if everyone was treated that way. There are plenty of video clips of apparent street sales of illegal substances floating around, but no one demands the individuals on those clips be drawn and quartered right now, today, without charges or trial.
You can’t have it both ways.
I am in no way defending the actions the body cam video appears to chronicle. But everyone is entitled to due process whether it be an officer or a drug dealer. The law applies equally to everyone, or it should.
If it had been two guys mixing it up in the alley and the video turned up on social media, there would be an investigation to find out the circumstances and who was involved.
Again, I’m not saying there shouldn’t be consequences, but for the love of Pete, let’s wait for the investigation to be completed and the results issued before we pick up our pitchforks and light the torches to burn down the village in our outrage.
We don’t treat other suspects that way, even though some probably deserve it. If you want cops to be bound by the laws they are sworn to protect and uphold, they must be protected by those same laws and processes, just like everyone else.
That will take some time. Until then, do what everyone on social media is saying the officer should have done. Calm down and de-escalate.
Closed caption to the mental midget who called in a bomb threat to city hall. You are going to be caught. The authorities take that kind of thing very seriously. They are going to find you whether you’re on Weigle or in Washington. Terroristic threats are a federal offense. It won’t be the locals or the state agencies coming after you. It’s going to be the big guns.
And a cautionary note to kids who think calling a school with such a threat is a great way to get out of classes for a day or so. Don’t. Even if you consider it a joke, a prank, the feds don’t see it that way. You’ll wind up going to juvie and come out with a record. And that’s no joke.