By Carlos Miller
The sad part about this story is not the fact that cop shot an unarmed fire chief from behind during an altercation over speeding tickets inside an Arkansas courthouse.
Nor is it the fact that the prosecutors decided they are not going to file charges against the cop who pulled the trigger.
And it’s not even the fact that these same prosecutors are planning on filing misdemeanor charges against the wounded fire chief for his role in the scuffle.
We already expect that from our legal justice system.
The sad part is that there will no doubt be apologists will come on this discussion thread and attempt to rationalize the cop’s behavior.
They will say the fire chief had it coming to him because he showed contempt of cop to the seven cops in the courtroom by not respecting their authority by complaining about over the speeding tickets. They will say the seven Jericho cops feared for their lives even though they were going up against the fire chief who was obviously unarmed after entering the courthouse.
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Fernandez, as I mentioned in a 
18 responses so far ↓
1 Nemo // Sep 4, 2009 at 3:31 AM
“I didn’t break the law, I AM the law”
- Judge Dredd
2 Difster // Sep 4, 2009 at 3:55 AM
Queue “Dueling Banjos.”
3 Michaelk42 // Sep 4, 2009 at 4:33 AM
@Nemo
But I think we should remember, Judge Dredd is a JUDGE. No mere cop would last 5 seconds in Megacity One.
4 Anon // Sep 4, 2009 at 8:52 AM
Where the hell is the attempted murder charge?
5 xdamousex // Sep 4, 2009 at 9:03 AM
The fact that the prosecutor does not even know the name of the officer who discharged his weapon in a courtroom and injured another officer shows that she did not even investigate the incident in the first place.
Looks like a corrupt small-town dictatorship that you come across every now and then in these isolated locales. I imagine higher authorities will get involved as this story spreads.
6 Ms Calabaza // Sep 4, 2009 at 10:02 AM
Difster’s got it right! LOL
7 Darwin // Sep 4, 2009 at 10:27 AM
Carlos,
Just because you got spanked for defending PAMPer (Passive/Aggressive Malicious Photographer) misconduct, doesn’t mean you’re always wrong. You have pointed out a valid instance of police/just-us system misconduct.
A couple questions: What does this post have to do with the theme “photography is not a crime; its a first amendment right?” Do you just have a hard-on for skanky cops?
8 Janie // Sep 4, 2009 at 11:33 AM
“Sheriff’s deputies patrolled Jericho until the 1990s, when the city received grant money to start its own police force…”
A federal grant for a police force for fewer than 200 people? I wonder if there was a genuine need for a police force or if the grant was part of the ubiquitous, unending “War on Americans?” (AKA, the “War on Drugs.”)
9 Mr. Ben // Sep 4, 2009 at 12:45 PM
Cop: “Hello, Fire Dept? The police station’s on fire.”
Fire Chief: “Bummer…” /click/
10 Ron // Sep 4, 2009 at 12:58 PM
I’m sure there is another side to the story. Perhaps the chief was reaching for one of the cops guns.
I don’t believe anything I read on this blog.
11 Nemo // Sep 4, 2009 at 1:13 PM
Ron believes there’s /always/ another side of the story which justifies police misconduct, apparently. Better to believe the police are never wring, and this site is never right, I guess.
Feh
12 Jon Quimbly // Sep 4, 2009 at 5:39 PM
One officer per 25 residents. The ratio in my town is nearly ten times that, at 225 residents per cop.
Financing a small town via a traffic ticket quota system is a really bad idea. That town is one excessive-force lawsuit away from insolvency…
They could have gone after tourism… cheap farmland… retirees… internet startups… but no. Like a leach, the town attached itself to its’ residents wallets by writing everybody expensive traffic citations.
Maybe it’s time to shut down the municipal corporation and switch back to county services.
13 fishbane // Sep 4, 2009 at 9:09 PM
I don’t believe anything I read on this blog.
I fail to understand why you would read and bother to comment if that is so.
14 Ariel // Sep 4, 2009 at 9:47 PM
Ron,
You can follow up on all these stories of police abuse of powers or get-out-of-jail-free-cards elsewhere. Carlos may editorialize at times, but it is his blog and his interpretation of events. Generally, he is correct on his outrage, except about Republicans as a group. ;>)
The fact is, you don’t want to believe it. The police have gone from protectors of the Peace to protectors of the State. Face it, Ron, if a cop stops you and there is an altercation or you’re accused of anything, you’re a criminal in the minds of people like you. And whatever happens to you, you deserved it. And no matter what you say, the cop is right and you’re a criminal who must be lying. The only class of people, the only job people like you give 100% certitude to is the police. But you, Ron, and anyone else is a criminal if the police say so. They don’t give a damn if you back them or not, if they say you assaulted them with your face against their knuckles, you did; if they say you interfered with their duties because you asked a question as to why they were beating someone senseless, then you did. At least to people like you.
Ron, cops are people not symbols, not constant heroes. People are good, not so good, and bad. Cops are people.
Do you really believe all cops never ever violate the law? Never act unlawfully? Never use excessive force, never violate your rights, never beat people bloody just because they can? You enable the bad ones, Ron, you help make them bad. People like you.
15 JoyLeaf // Sep 4, 2009 at 9:59 PM
Mr.Ben, LOL that was my thought as well. The police and the prosecutors if they live in the area covered by that fire dept. had best practice fire saftey and pray they do not have a fire. I belong to a vol. fire dept. and I would be tempted to sit on my hands if that call came in.
16 Ariel // Sep 4, 2009 at 11:07 PM
But you would go anyway, wouldn’t you? The temptation would fade quickly.
One of the reasons that “officer safety” bothers me is not that I want officers not to be safe but that I realize they use it to justify cowardice. “I didn’t hire on to get hurt” is something a fireman realizes to be an excuse for cowardice.
17 JoyLeaf // Sep 4, 2009 at 11:41 PM
Yes, most likely I would go, I do not ask who the house or land belongs to. I joined to help protect our little community and everybody in it. But Darn, I would enjoy that moment of thought of turn about.
18 Pilot_MKN // Sep 16, 2009 at 10:46 PM
I have a friend in law enforcement who believes just like Ron does. No matter how many stories I show this friend, he always takes the cop’s side and insists that I “don’t understand” because I’m just a silly civilian.
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