The Boston police officer accused of using his BPD-issued weapon to hold up a Roslindale gas station was drunk, off his medication and troubled by his cancer-stricken father on the day of the brazen daytime heist, his attorney said yesterday,Yeah, there all kinds of mitigating circumstances for "what happened" as opposed to what he caused. I like the previous pass for the "domestic incident," the history of injury claims, and especially think the "chest pains" are a nice touch...as well as the thought of an armed Boston cop on meds.
See, the argument goes: If a highly trained "Only One" like this can get himself into such a jam, what chance would one of we poor mortal sovereign citizens have? After all, who knows what crises we will have to face in life?
Or as the Brady's tell us:
Law-abiding citizens with the best intentions underestimate how hard it is to use a gun for self-defense successfully. Even highly-trained police officers lose control of their handguns; according to the FBI, 5 out of 41 law enforcement officers (12%) killed by gunfire in the line of duty in 1999 were killed by an adversary with the officer's own service weapon. And police officers know that the very sight of a gun can escalate a situation, so that instead of simply losing your wallet, you can lose your life. That's why almost every major law enforcement organization - including the International Brotherhood of Police Officers and the International Association of Chiefs of Police - opposes the weakening of CCW laws. (See Law Enforcement Relations)
So best to leave it to the professionals--like Officer Jones.
Here's the address for Faulkner Hospital, in case anyone wants to send him a "Get Well" card...
[Via Brian F]
6 comments:
Guess who else needs money and has a cancer-stricken father. My list of therapeutic treatments never included gambling and armed robbery, though.
This makes me wonder again why intoxication is a valid excuse. I've never had reason leave me even in my less risk-averse years. I just go from wobbly to unconscious. Am I unique in this respect?
This past New Year's Eve was driving- and weapons-free, not to mention crime-free. I guess some of us are just plain trustworthy, and ever expanding tests of fitness aren't that useful.
Same here, TJH. Being intoxicated never made me want to rob people either. How come this guy isn't charged with DUI too?
If you can't drink and be polite, as well as law abiding and peaceable, I can't see you being mature enough to be issued a gun either.
The fact that he was previously charged with domestic violence just makes it all the better, aye?
And what would have happened to the station employee if he'd shot the officer in self-def...
Oh wait, this is Boston, never mind
Thomas said:
"How come this guy isn't charged with DUI too?"
Beats me. He drove all the way from Uncasville, Connecticut to a suburb of Boston, without running into a state trooper? I know someone who was not so lucky.
But let me get this straight: he was not intoxicated enough to run off the road, or get spotted by a police patrol... all the way up I-95 (or 395), but he was too drunk (according to his attorney) to be entirely responsible for his actions when he got to his destination? I don't recall Foxwoods handing out cases of liquor for the road.
Anyway, they're hitting him with armed robbery and assault, so the DUI probably matters very little at this point.
Sorry, Ledyard. That other casino is in Uncasville. Same part of the state, anyway.
We had a cop draw down on someone up here because he didn't like the way the guy did his order of beef jerky. The cop was off duty and in plainclothes.
One part of me wishes that such a cop would get shot in self defense, just out of morbid fascination to see what would happen. (Interestingly enough, we have a statute hear, that if a person is found not guilty because of self defense, the state pays for the persons costs associated with the trial.)
The way the government works, they'd probably charge the shooter with obstructing official duties or some such, though.
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