It’s safe to say that this country no longer has peacekeeping forces. Modern police departments in this country are are paramilitary forces. Instead of trying to find nonviolent solutions to community problems the paramilitary forces that call themselves police jump to violence in a frighteningly short amount of time. A man in Iowa called the police on his son, who had taken his truck. What happened next was, sadly, predictable:
James Comstock refused to buy a pack of cigarettes for his 19-year-old son, Tyler, and now he’s planning his son’s funeral.
“He took off with my truck. I call the police, and they kill him,” James Comstock told The Des Moines Register on Tuesday. “It was over a damn pack of cigarettes. I wouldn’t buy him none.
[…]
Police began pursuing Tyler Comstock of Boone after his father reported the truck stolen. The truck belonged to a lawn care company.
Ames Police Officer Adam McPherson pursued Comstock into the heart of ISU’s campus. During the chase, Comstock rammed McPherson’s car. The truck eventually stopped, but Comstock revved the engine and refused orders to turn it off.
McPherson fired six shots into the truck. Comstock died from two gunshot wounds, according to the Iowa state medical examiner’s office.
This kind of shit pisses me off. I’m sure somebody will claim that Comstock’s act of ramming the police cruiser authorized the cops to use deadly force. That doesn’t sit well with me. With the vast toy box police officers have at their disposal, barring violent action on behalf of a suspect, there is little need for officers to enter a high-speech case. Deploying spike strips along the speeding vehicle’s path can immobilize it, which puts the ton and a half threat out of commission.
But the real lesson is simple. If you’re thinking about calling the police stop, think, and reconsider. Do you really want costume-clad thugs with a history of brutality and puppycide intervening? Is there are better, more peaceful way to solve your problem? These are questions you should give serious consideration to before picking up the phone and dialing 911.