Bad Boys, Bad Boys, What Ya Gonna Do?

BAD BOYS, BAD BOYS, WHAT YA GONNA DO?......................

Imagine my pride when I hear that my local county sheriff’s department has made yet another collar of a beer-stealing scofflaw.....Imagine my dismay when I hear of how the “collar” was made......

Apparently, the beer thief stopped at a little Mom and Pop store to make his heist. The target: a case of beer. A whole case. 24 cans. Retail value – $18.00. Stop the presses! Send out the Bat Signal!!!

Well, we can’t have our citizens worrying about the random theft of cases of beer, can we? The answer? An all-out assault on beer thievery. Our deputies, ever zealous to uphold the letter of the law, come out and learn what the beer bandit was driving.

Lo and behold, they see the get-away vehicle. What ensues? A high-speed chase. The Deputies deploy "stop sticks" to pop the thief's tires. The beverage bandit crashes into a house, several parked cars, and a garage. The beer pilferer is apprehended. Justice is served.....Or is it?

Imagine the following:

1. The robber or the police hit a small child walking across the road.

2. The thief or the police get involved in an accident with another innocent car and driver.

3. The thief loses his life or is paralyzed by the impact of crashing into the parked cars.

4. An innocent person sitting in a house gets smashed by the thief's car.

I could go on and on. But the point is this, was the high-speed chase over a case of beer justifiable? Is it OK for the police to engage in an activity that puts the citizens of this county at risk over the theft of a single case of beer? As it is, the bandit rammed some parked cars. Was he insured? Probably not. If not, then he has done thousands of dollars of damage to property in the county as a result of the chase. The $18 case of beer has turned into $5000 of repairs to vehicles and possible unpaid hospital bills for the driver.

Where do we draw the line? If it is OK to enter a high-speed chase over a case of beer, is it OK to chase the six-pack thief? What if he nicks a 42 ouncer? What justifies the risk of a high speed chase in our county?

There is a point at which the police should use common sense in deciding whether to chase a criminal. The theft of a case of beer does not justify a high speed chase. It is incumbent upon our Sheriff to lay down guidelines to ensure that this type of high-speed pursuit is done only in cases where the risk is justified. It is incumbent upon the citizens of this county to demand accountability in the sheriff’s department when this type of behavior occurs.

Blawgerman