Tuesday Tidbit from Asst. Chief Magdich: Happy Tuesday readers! It’s time for another one of my ramblings and I wish that my mind was in the same place that it was last week, but it’s not. I am tired and, if I am honest, I’m getting more than a little miffed at the negative press all police are getting in the national news. What is understandable, but disturbing as well, is the fact that my colleagues seem to be fed up too. I know people are angry and the national media continues to put logs on the fire, but it seems the whole goal of many out there is to totally dehumanize all police officers that stand between chaos and order. Media negatively imply and narrow minded individuals that may have had an encounter that they did not like the outcome of, squawk about the thin blue line and espouse that the law enforcement community conspires against this group or that group and it is a choreographed mission to keep people downtrodden and to cover our own sins. I hate to break it to you folks, but we are just not that organized and your efforts in the end will just serve to thicken the line. There have been recent nationally reported incidents that have certainly painted law enforcement in a bad manner. These cases were taken to a grand jury and a group of average citizens presented with all of the facts, facts that all of the rest of us are not aware of, and came to the conclusion that by the letter of the law, no crime was committed. That does not mean that families are not entitled to grieve and/or be angry. That doesn’t mean that every LEO agrees with it either. I have said before, especially looking at a situation from an administrative standpoint, just because we don’t like how it was handled or would have handled a situation different, does not mean anything wrong was done, legally or administratively. I have seen a lot of vehement diatribes from angry citizens and angry members of the law enforcement community. While I know emotions are high on both sides, in the end, it is not productive, because people on each side of the argument just rally behind the point of view closest to their own and make the gap wider. Last week, I was laid up a couple days and while flipping through the channels, I happened upon an opportunistic talk show host who had the families of the young man from Ferguson and the man from New York. After some self serving rhetoric, the host actually asked the mother of Michael Brown if she thought her son deserved to be shot 6 times. Really!!!! In July of this year, an officer in Indiana responded to a call of a man with a gun, shots fired call. As he swore an oath to do, Officer Perry Renn and his partner responded to the scene and encountered the suspect. The suspect had a lengthy criminal history, in spite of being in his mid twenties. As the officers exited their car to confront the threat, a gun battle ensued and Officer Renn lost his life. The family of the shooter, more or less, blamed the officer by stating he would never have been shot if he would have just stayed in his car. What!! When recruiting, there is an adage that says, something like, “concentrate more on a number of good applicants than a good number of applicants”. You see the difference. Unfortunately, that gets more and more difficult. With two tiered pay systems, decreasing benefits, pension systems under attack, and national media painting us as a rogue militia, the number of good candidates gets smaller as national demand grows. What does that mean? You’re pretty sharp, you’ll figure it out. On a good note, today will be another “Shop With a Hero” day in Oregon. This one will be held at Meijers in Oregon. It is sponsored by Meijer’s and financially supported by Meijers. Participants will be given a $100.00 store card and, with the assistance of a public servant, will shop for items for their families and a little something for themselves. Tomorrow at the municipal complex the annual Christmas Basket program takes place. Both events are for families having a tough time of it. Both events are great and very uplifting and represent what we should all be looking to be a part of all year long, looking out for one another. On behalf of the men and women of the Oregon Police Division, let me say thank you for your support. May all of you and yours have a safe and Very Merry Christmas. Have a great week!
Posted on: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 17:46:52 +0000
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