Friday brought news that a police sergeant over in Ohio was caught on camera stealing popcorn. He apparently paid for one but can be seen on the security cameras carrying two out the door. He has reportedly done this more than once. Wish this were an isolated incident. A couple of months ago one of our local cops here in Arizona was busted for stealing donuts.
Yes, I know these are minor crimes but it speaks to a much larger issue; what kind of cops, what twisting of morals are we allowing those who are sworn to uphold and enforce our laws? How can our citizenry be expected to follow the law when everyone in authority, to include our own President, think themselves above those laws? If this continues we can expect even greater societal turmoil and lawlessness.
And even these little minor infractions give credence to those creeps who would like nothing better than to see all laws ignored. And it makes it so much easier for those thugs down in Ferguson to cry police brutality and be given some level of believability. We see these few rotten cops and it becomes all to easy to paint them all with a broad brush.
Sadly, though this Ohio cop was suspended without pay, most of the time the Police give these minor miscreants a slap on the wrist, suspend them with pay for a time, then send them back on the street. Bad policy. Cops ought to be held to a higher standard than the average citizen, simply because of the responsibility they are charged with; enforcement of our laws.
The military is not without sin, but, per capita, I'll wager that military men and women follow an ethical and professional road much higher than the general populace. That's because we were governed by the Uniform Code of Military Justice which is far tougher in meting our punishment for even non-criminal but ethical violations. Try getting caught lying just once in a military academy and you're out on your ass. If adultery is your game you don't want to be in the military...you get busted for that too. And the military doesn't deal much in shades of gray; it's either black or white with little room to maneuver anywhere in between.
So, if the military can be held to higher standards why the hell not the police also? My brother was a career cop, a damn fine one...managed to serve over three decades without relying on the power of his badge to tarnish his soul and advance his own well being. Oh sure, he got half off a meal as soon as he entered a restaurant in uniform, his coffee was cheap, but he was raised not to lie, cheat, or steal by a good mother, so he didn't.
So let's cull out these sneak thief cops that think the law is only for the civilian. At least, let's take away that nice salary for a year and let him come back on probation, if at all. I'm a huge fan of those who serve and protect so let's remove the rotten apples and give the thugs no excuse at all for labeling the whole barrel as bad.
Sometimes a bag of popcorn is more than a bag of popcorn.
