6 PO Shot, 1 LODD - Ogden, Ut - 1/4/2012

[JohnnyOV 2]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45881535/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/#.TwWnT6lwjow

OGDEN, Utah — A police officer was shot dead and five colleagues were wounded as they tried to serve a drug-related search warrant late Wednesday, authorities in Utah said.

RIP Agent Francom. Speedy recovery to all other affected in this heinous crime

[ex-commish 490]

May the deceased officer rest in peace and may the others recover quickly.

[PFDRes47cue 653]

I am getting very sick of waking up in the morning and hearing about tragedies in the emergency services community.

Thoughts and prayers are with the injured officers and may the deceased Officer rest in peace.

[joetnymedic 43]

You know, I was going to actually start another topic because my post doesn't really directly have anything to do with this incident, but in a way it does. More often than not lately LE has been having incidents where they are coming under fire from suspects. I personally kind of but not really pay attention to the amount of officers getting shot or killed in the line of duty because even though I'm not a LEO, it's still friggin depressing as hell. I think 2011 I've heard of more cops, firefighters and EMS personnel getting killed than I have in many years and that sucks. Coupled with the fact that the general public for the most part dismisses it as being part of "the job" and pretty much taking any branch of public safety for granted as they all did pre-9/11. The lawmakers are the ones that really get my goat for the most part and these last 2 years have taken the cake so to speak. Cut this back cut that back, the FD doesn't need this, cops don't need these. Firefighters getting laid off, pensions going out the windows being replaced by 401K's it's just friggin ridiculous. Not to disrespect my brothers and sisters in LE or the FD, but I have to tell you as screwed up as EMS is, I'm glad I was working EMS instead of either of those professions. Why? First, I could work 2 or even 3 places at the same time (you know what I mean hold down 2 or 3 jobs) if I needed to or chose to. cops and firefighters, you're limited to one employer pretty much. Sure you might be able to switch departments, but you start from the bottom all over again and you are still limited including OT. And If I get pissed at ABC Ambulance I can always say screw this and apply to XYZ Ambulance hand in my two weeks and C-Ya. Can't do that at either of the other places. Sure for now, the benefit packages in an Fd or PD may be better right now, but I'm sure the powers that be will find a way to start chopping into those too all in the name of balancing a budget or whatever. Now back to the more important part. This past week, I read about an ATF agent getting killed by friendly fire during a drug store robbery. Bad enough it was a friendly fire incident, but I'm sure the guy wasn't technically "on duty" so to say but I hope since he was trying to uphold the law and protect and serve, that ATF will recognize this as a LODD and take care of his family. The second thing which is more important and related to this post and the fact that LE keeps getting shot at more and more and the main reason I decided to post. Brownsville, TX the other day. A 15 y/o boy for whatever reason, decides to punch a fellow student in the face, then comes out with what appears to be a handgun and proceeds to hold all of his classmates at bay. School goes into lockdown mode PD is called and responds. The subject is told to put down his weapon, refuses to over whatever period of time and three of the officers open fire on him and neutralize the threat. After this point, they find out that the weapon was a pellet gun. So I'm online today and I come upon that story and I also talk to several friends that are LE. Now mind you my mind was already set on which way I was going with this, but I listened to my friends trying to pursuade me that it was a good shoot. Fact is that's where I was going from the beginning as I thought it was also. Now I will say, I wasn't there to see the incident, and I just like everyone else outside of the department involved and those that were in the school have nothing to go on except for published reports and we all know how accurate and reliable the media is. I'm sure that we can all just take whatever they give to us and treat it as "gospel". Fact is brothers, we all know media puts whatever spin on their stories that best suit them. Many of you know me and know that after I left EMS for a year I worked the desk at News 12 in Norwalk, so I have direct media experience. The one plus thing I think I accomplished in Norwalk at least is I drilled through their heads that there is good in public safety and that should be publicized also - hence News 12's Hometown Hero's which usually occurs around EMS week as well as the fact that If I hear of something good I am on the phone pushing them to cover it in the right direction and manner (given the fact I still do their radio work when I'm up to it, I still kind of have my foot in the door there also). Anyway, the current spin on Brownsville is the poor kid as well as the poor kids family, bad cops. I read some of the comments and I was literally almost sick enough to go in the bathroom and puke. For the most part and don't get me wrong, I feel for the kids family, I have kids myself and if anything happened to them, even though there are times when things are strained, these are still my kids, I'd be broken up to no end. But while people are condemning the cops for shooting a kid, I think they are losing the big picture here. The kid was pointing a loaded weapon at the offiers, he was instructed numerous times to place the weapon down and he failed to do so. He was a threat to anyone in the building including those officers. Oh did I say loaded weapon? It was a pellet gun. Might have been empty even. But the fact is the officers had no idea at the time that it was a loaded weapon or not, therefor for the safety of all involved including the officers and even the suspect himself, the weapon had to be considered just that, a loaded weapon and the person holding it since he had gone as far as he did, had to be considered dangerous and might go to extremes. This is what I am trying to say. A lot of those people making comments in the paper and on different media sites are getting their information just as I did, via the media. That said, the media should be more responsible and let the public know that these officers didn't just wake up that morning and over coffee say hey, you know what, it's been a pretty slow week, lets go kill ourselves a 15 y/o kid. These guys were called for a person who had already shown an act of violence and was now inside a school full of teenagers as well as staff with a presumed weapon. Hello, those cops had a responsibility to keep everyone in that building safe and get as many out without injury or worse and they had the right, that's right I said they had the right to go home at the end of their shift. They were faced with a tough decision when the time came and they had a split second to make that decision. That choice and it's result are now written in stone and cannot be changed. While a lot of the public have passed judgement on these guys, they shouldn't be. While they think they know what happened and how they would have reacted, they weren't there. They weren't exposed to the incident directly. They don't work the streets as each of you do everyday and I did back in the day. They for the most part don't know what can happen if someone decides he wants to take as many people as he can before he goes. I guess maybe what I am saying other than the fact that every day when each and every one of you guys, as well as a lot of my friends and even family go to work out there everyday, there is no guarentee you are coming home at the end of your shift and I think that the publics general view on that is that it comes with the territory sucks. I think that budgetwise, public safety should close to NEVER be on the chopping block to save money considering the purpose of public safety is to save lives and property and you just can not put a price tag on a human life. I know there is not a damn thing I can personally do to stop anyone in public safety no matter what branch from dying while out there serving, but damn at least let the public who they are serving at least back them the hell up. I know both in my heart as well as in my mind those cops had to have all kinds of crap going through their heads in that split second. I'm sure many were thinking of their families and the fact that they might never see them again as well as all kinds of other crap. But again in both my heart and my mind, I know that they made the right decision in taking down the subject. And not to sound cold or callous, but I'd rather see that kid shot and killed than to have had the story I read say 3 more cops killed LODD because some kid opened up on them. I know I rambled here and there and probably confused the hell out of some of you as it's late and I'm tired as hell writing this but I'm sure most of you if not all caught the jist of what I was trying to say for the most part. Simply this, people, the general public, law makers, etc need to respect those in public safety as they are out there serving you the public, keeping both you and your property safe and even keeping some of you alive. I guess I'll end this before getting sidetracked again as I'm literally falling asleep writing this-lol. Just please ladies and Gentlemen, realize this, each day each and everyone of you put your uniform on and go out there to work. You are providing a great service to your fellow man and you aren't getting paid a hell of alot to do it but that's not the reason you're doing it is it? No, you are doing it because it's in your heart and in your soul to help others and make this world we live in a better place. Never forget this my brothers and sisters. Because of what you do every day out there this is a better world and YOU, each and every one of YOU make a difference every single day. You provide a great service to your fellow man and while some may not realize or see it I do and I thank each of you from the bottom of my heart. NOW let me go in close these last few words - STAY SAFE OUT THERE y'all got more work to do next shift - LOL

Joe