KILLER COPS ?

Today’s Houston Chronicle has an article on a growing trend in shootings by the police in Harris County. In 2007, 32 civilians were shot, 12 being killed. In 2008 it was 36 and 16. As of September 24 of this year the toll already stood at 44 and 20.

Houston city police officers had the highest number of shootings – 24 as of September 24, up from 21 in 2008 and 19 in 2007. As of September 24, Harris County sheriff deputies shot six civilians this year, down one from the seven shot last year.

Here is a little quiz. The reason for the increase in shootings is:

(A) fewer cops on the street because overtime funds were cut
(B) the rise in unemployment has led to more thefts and drug use
(C) cops are not prosecuted for shooting civilians
(D) laws have been passed that allow more people to carry guns
(E) all of the above
(F) none of the above

Sorry, but if you guessed E, you were wrong.

The head of the Houston Police Officers Union says it’s A and B. He lays the blame for the increased shootings on the cutting of overtime pay by the city council and on the rise in unemployment. The overtime cuts led to a shortage of officers on the street. The unemployed have a lot of idle time on their hands and, when they run out of money, they turn to stealing and drugs.

A notorious black Houston activist says it’s C. He blames the increase in shootings on a “culture” in which cops are rarely prosecuted. “There have been too many shootings involving HPD officers, or Harris County deputies, where they have shot, wounded and even killed unarmed young men,” he said. “And, yet, these cops are being exonerated and no-billed [by grand juries].”

A spokesperson for the Harris County District Attorney says it’s D. “I don’t want to blame the legislature, but the laws have become quite a bit more flexible about a person’s ability to carry a weapon,” she said. "If more people have the access and it becomes easier to carry them, there tends to be more shooting and more situations involving police officers.”

Criminal justice professor Larry Hoover, the director of the Police Research Center at Sam Houston State University, says it’s F. He blames the increase on “short-term random fluctuations.” “I don’t think there’s been any social, demographic, economic or crime change that explains the increase,” he said.

Professor Hoover noted that “over-all, homicide rates fluctuate fairly broadly in a given jurisdiction, and it should come as no surprise that police-related shootings might do the same by chance circumstance.”

I happen to agree with Hoover. So my answer, which I think is the correct one, is also F.

You can expect the head of the police union to blame police pay issues - city council budget cuts of overtime pay in this instance - and a shortage of cops for the increase in shootings. And you can expect a notorious black activist to blame it on a racist justice system. He accuses the cops of shooting down “unarmed young [black] men,” conveniently disregarding the fact that almost all of those shot by the police were armed.

As for the Harris County District Attorney’s spokesperson, she is full of shit! She said she does not want to blame the legislature, but that’s exactly what she’s doing. To blame the laws that allow licensed citizens to carry a gun is a real crock of shit! Those are not the people who have been involved in police shootings. Hey stupid, it’s the criminals, and they cannot get licensed!

Leave it to the Harris County Sheriff’s spokesman to take advantage of the fact that the six shootings by deputies so far this year are one less than last year. He attributed the reduction to training and the use of Tasers. That’s another real crock of shit! You can rest assured that HPD gives more and better training to its officers than does the sheriff’s department.

Furthermore, the sheriff's department has relatively few officers on patrol, thereby reducing the number of on-sight life or death confrontations. And speaking of the Tasers, an officer would be a suicidal fool if he resorted to using a zapper instead of his gun in a life-threatening situation.

The sheriff's spokesman also overlooked the fact that the high crime inner city neighborhoods patrolled by HPD lend themselves to more shootings than the unincorporated neighborhoods patrolled by sheriff’s deputies.

Often you see where the media refers to the number of previous shootings an officer has been involve in, if there were any. This is highly unfair because it implies that some officers are trigger happy. Circumstances will place some officers into numerous life or death situations while others may never find themselves staring death in the face.