DC Cops Abandon Streets
I’m very pro-cop. I’ve had cops in my family, I understand it’s a tough, thankless job. But, I’m downright frustrated with cops in the Metro DC area, not the cops really, but their leadership and their unions. Take this story from the Washington Times this morning;
D.C. residents frustrated with the failure of city police to curb packs of teens beating and robbing Southeast residents have turned to the volunteer crime-stoppers D.C. Guardian Angels.
“It’s a situation that has frankly spiraled out of control,” said Commissioner Neil Glick of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6B, which represents the southeastern area of Capitol Hill.
[…]
Mr. Glick said the Metropolitan Police Department has presented no solid plans to combat crime near the station.
[…]
David K. Kamperin, a commander for the police department’s District 1, said violent crime in the area is down 29 percent within the past month compared with last year, including arrests for three robberies near the Metro station.
[…]
Commander Kamperin said much of the anxiety over crime may have been caused by a few recent incidents.
So the police say the citizens’ concern over crime is just a matter of perspective. Crime is actually down since last year…that should give the victims some measure of relief, I’m sure. So the citizens are turning to the Guardian Angels. The Angels don’t actually go out and intercede in crimes being committed, all they do is patrol on foot in their uniforms…you know, like cops did in those old 1940s movies.
These days, you can’t pry a cop in the Metro DC area (yeah, I’m including you cops in Montgomery County, MD, too) with a crowbar. The only time I’ve ever seen a Metro DC cop outside of his car was inside a Starbucks or walking to the Popeye’s Chicken takeout window on F Street.The only Montgomery County Police I’ve seen outside their cars is in the Wheaton Mall food court.
I’ve seen DC cops do their best not to arrest hippies during protests, even when the cops were assaulted. When my grand daughter was assaulted the other night, my daughter pointed out the perpetrator to a Montgomery County cop, he said there was nothing he could do about it because he didn’t see the assault. WTF? He couldn’t even get out of his car to tell my daughter that.
Does it sound like I have an axe to grind? No, not really. Like I said, I have a lot of respect for the work cops do, but when I see a cop whose idea of traffic control at a busy intersection with a broken traffic light is to sit in their car in the center of the intersection with the overheads flashing, I tend to think that they need supervision. When I see no police presence on subway platforms or busy bus stations, but I see tons of transit cops driving around the streets (where they have no jurisdiction) in $30,000 SUVs, I begin to wonder who’s in charge.
When I see transit cops tackle a 13-year-old girl because she’s eating french fries on the subway platform, but they ignore the bums and hobos panhandling and accosting commuters on the same platform, I wonder why we even have cops when all we need is a squad of grannies who go around and whack folks eating on the Metro with a switch.
But, the cops who do the job for the sake of the community and not because they get to wear ninja suits, should be asking themselves why a community has to call in civilian volunteers, with virtually no training, to the job of policing. I know there’s good cops out there. Why aren’t you speaking up for the people you’re sworn to protect?
Category: Politics
