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Jewish World Review May 11, 2005 / 2 Iyar, 5765 In praise of the police By Michelle Malkin
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
When was the last time you thanked a cop? And wouldn't it be nice if, for
just a brief moment, the mainstream media would hold a ceasefire in its
incessant cop-bashing crusades?
There are good cops and there are bad cops. But national press outlets,
predisposed to harp on law enforcement as an inherently racist and reckless
institution, hype the hellions at the expense of the heroes. Case in point:
The hysterical feeding frenzy this week over reports of a cop shootout
gone awry in Compton, Calif., and of a Seattle officer who reportedly
Tasered a pregnant woman over a speeding ticket.
As Jan Golab writes in a cover story for The American Enterprise magazine
this month on how political correctness undermines policing: "Today, cops
all across the United States battle a foe as destructive as crime itself:
the presumption of common prejudice. This view has been fanned by a media
elite which has made 'diversity' its virtual religion." The anti-cop bias,
Golab notes, comes through the national MSM's "sins of omission— the
stories never told. Propaganda, as Orwell said, is in what gets left out."
Thus, we'll be subjected to wall-to-wall coverage of the Tasered pregnant
lady and the shot-out SUV. But you won't see Peter Jennings reporting on
the tragic loss of Denver Detective Donald R. Young. The married father of
two and a recipient of the police Medal of Honor was shot three times from
behind last weekend in a cold-blooded ambush. Police believe the tattooed
young assailant, a suspected illegal alien, has fled to Mexico. Det. Young
had received numerous awards during his 12 years on the Denver police
force. He was awarded the police department's medal of honor and a
distinguished service cross.
And you won't see Larry King talking about the murder of undercover vice
Sgt. Gerald Vick in St. Paul, Minnesota at the hands of a reputed gang
member of the Vice Lords. Sgt. Vick was a Medal of Valor winner who had
rescued two children in a raging house fire in 1990. The local St. Paul
Pioneer Press recounted his heroism:
In 1990, Vick pulled [Rachel] Patterson's 3-year-old son clear of a fatal
house fire on Sherburne Avenue in St. Paul. Then he broke through a window,
crawled beneath the smoke and took her unconscious 15-month-old daughter
out. He went back in to rescue her husband and 5-year-old son, but it was
too late.
For his efforts, Vick won the department's highest honor the Medal of Valor.
"Officer Vick saved my life," said Patterson's daughter, Kacheala Willis,
now 15 and in the 10th grade at a high school in Houston, Texas. "I hope he
makes it into heaven."
Sgt. Vick leaves behind a wife and two children.
Det. Young and Sgt. Vick may not be on the media' radar screen, but they
will undoubtedly be on the minds of those gathering in Washington, D.C.,
this week to commemorate National Police Week. The event kicks off on
Friday with a much-needed reminder of the grossly underappreciated
sacrifices American men and women in blue have made to protect us. At the
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, the names of 415 fallen
officers will be read and added to the memorial.
The sponsors of the memorial reminds us that since the first recorded
police death in 1792, there have been more than 16,500 law enforcement
officers killed in the line of duty. There were 153 law enforcement
officers killed in 2004. New York City has lost more officers in the line
of duty than any other department, with more than 580 deaths. California
has lost over 1,350 officers, more than any other state.
Daniel Felten, a former cop, soldier, and blogger
(
"Some people reach a point where they can't face another dead body, another
senseless murder, another grieving family member. Or another dead police
officer. Then there are some who can do the job every day, for 20 or 30
years. I thank G-d for people like that."
Me, too. Thank you, officers. From the bottom of the heart: Thank you.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Michelle Malkin is the author of, most recently, "In Defense of Internment: The Case for Racial Profiling in World War II and the War on Terror". (Click HERE to purchase. Sales help fund JWR.)
© 2005, Creators Syndicate |
Arnold Ahlert | |||||||||||
