Well, here we go again: Police officer slain in Philadelphia. The officer, who was forty (40) years old, was gunned down in a bank robbery on Saturday morning, May 3, 2008. The manhunt had spread to New Jersey by Saturday evening. Mayor Michael Nutter has put into effect a thirty-day mourning period. He said that this is a tragedy for the police force and for all of Philadelphia’s citizens.
I’m not angry, once again, as a result of the city suggesting that we hold a thirty (30) day mourning period for the slain officer. I’m not angry, once again, because a manhunt has spread to New Jersey. Of course, it is a great tragedy for the family of the officer, and I am tired of hearing about policemen being killed in the line of duty.
Was disgruntles me is the audacity that this city has for placing the value of the lives of a police officer over and above the lives of its citizens. In 2008, there were 392 homicides, of which, one was a police officer. Of all of those murders, only one manhunt went into effect: the one carried out for the suspected killer of the policeman. In that situation, as well as the current one, the powers that be have the same tired statement to present: They’ve killed one of our own and we will not stop until the suspect is in custody.
One of the first things out of the Mayor’s and Police Chief’s mouths is that these criminals are so ruthless that they will shoot at and kill a police officer. The problem with that statement is that the policemen signed on for that duty. It should very well be a policeman that is fired upon rather than a citizen. A citizen is unarmed and did not sign on to fight criminals. Therefore, it should be more of a shock that criminals would shoot citizens than policemen. That statement is always followed by “They’ve killed one of our own and we will not stop until the suspect is in custody”.
Where is the manhunt for the suspects in the murders of the other 391 homicides? Why is it such a tragedy that a policeman was killed, but, just another day in the ghetto when a citizen is killed? Why is it that the police will search non-stop for a cop-killer, but end a search the next day for the killer of an average citizen? Why is it such an awful and despicable thing for a criminal to shoot at a police officer, but a humdrum event when a citizen is shot?
Now, it’s 2008, and it’s all begun anew. Another tragedy has taken place – the death of a police officer in the line of duty, killed by a ruthless bank robber. It is truly a tragedy, and my condolences go out to the family. However, I am sick and tired of hearing that the city feels that the loss of a policeman’s life is a far greater loss than that of an ordinary citizen. I’m tired of the streets filled with police cars when a policeman gets shot, yet devoid of the same when a citizen is shot. When will the city realize that a citizen’s life is just as valuable as a policeman’s? When will the police begin to pursue a criminal who has harmed a citizen with the same fervor as when a policeman has been harmed? When will the hypocrisy end?
Did I happen to mention that of the 392 homicides in 2007, three-hundred-eleven (311) were of African-American decent. . . ordinary citizens?
This is blackstarr saying “Vive La Renaissance!”
copyright © 2008 blackstarr
Renaissance, New Millennium, policeman killed, Chief Ramsey, one of our own, Stop and frisk, officer down, Michael Nutter, homicides, black and hispanic neighborhoods
