No good deed…

I would like to take a moment and thank the Chico Police Department traffic enforcement unit.  In particular, I would like to congratulate two particular Officers, Travis Johnsen and Tony Ferreira.  Between the two of them in 2008, they made 448 DUI arrests (208 and 240 respectively).  Think of that.  Here are two very hard working Police Officers who were able to take 448 drunk drivers safely off the street where they could do no harm. 

At a recent MADD awards presentation, these Officers were given honors for their efforts.  The nearest any other agency got to their arrests by an individual Officer, was an Officer with approximately 150 arrests from the Redding area. 

According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), in 2007 there were 12,998 people killed in drunk driving “accidents”.  Think of that.  Nearly thirteen thousand people died from a completely preventable incident.  Where else can you get such a guarantee?  100% of the people killed in those drunk driving “accidents” could have been saved should one or more drivers chosen not to drive impaired by alcohol. 

How many people are killed by handguns, compared to automobile collisions?  Can you guess?  What does “Lifetime” the channel for victims tell us?  The reality is quite the opposite of what is often presented in the media. 

In 2005, 788 people were killed accidentally by handguns.  In that same year, 16,885 people were killed in automobile collisions.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2005 (the latest year tallied), in their WISQARS unintentional death statistics site, firearms are involved in 0.6% of accidental deaths nationally. Most accidental deaths involve, or are due to, motor vehicles (39%), poisoning (18%), falls (16%), suffocation (5%), drowning (2.9%), fires (2.8%), medical mistakes (2.2%), environmental factors (1.2%), and bicycles and tricycles (0.7%). Among children: motor vehicles (45%), suffocation (18%), drowning (14%), fires (9%), bicycles and tricycles (2.4%), falls (2%), poisoning (1.6%),environmental factors (1.5%), and medical mistakes 0.8%). 

 

For more, the CDC has a really good DUI Factsheet. 

So, while firearms are vilified, DUI’s are defended, which brings me to my next point and to the title of the story.  Despite the tremendous effort that these two dedicated Police Officers put forth, some in the community seek to challenge their efforts and make disparaging remarks about their success.  I recently opened a copy of the Chico News and Review and found an advertisement for a local attorney’s office.  The add loudly displayed the following: “CHICO POLICE MISCONDUCT INVESTIGATED”.  Really.  The advertisement hints that this attorney (who gets his money by defending drunk drivers) is investigating “misconduct, manufactured or exaggerated evidence, stake out of bars, gender bias, etc.”  Really.

Apparently the Chico Police Department has Officers out there “mis-conducting” themselves (I know it’s not a real word), making up evidence, staking out bars (what’s illegal about that?), and being biased towards people because of their gender (uh, what?). Apparently in our zeal to uphold the law we are going to place our lives, our livelihood, and our freedom on the line so we can “frame” a few extra citizens.  Let’s think about that.  What in the world would it benefit the Officers?  Extra pay?  No.  Prestige?  Beyond the occasional write up in an obscure blog…no. 

In fact, what it does do for the Officer, is bury them in endless paperwork, days away from home working overtime going to court, and apparently being lambasted by ads in local papers. 

No, I propose a different theory.  One that will not please the masses who have been proverbially spanked by the Po-lice.  How about this?  Maybe the Officers in question are extremely dedicated individuals.  Maybe they have character that goes far beyond the average person (myself included).  Maybe they have found their particular niche in the department and are running full bore to get as many people who are breaking the law (placing in danger every other responsible citizen who chose not to drink and drive), off the streets.  Maybe they’ve felt the pain of all those MADD mothers and caught the vision that they can do some good to lessen the tragedy of these preventable deaths.  Yeah, maybe that. 

I suppose I’ll never understand what it is that makes some blame law enforcement for doing their job.  Often times, when I meet new people and they find out what I do, they regale me with tales of an Officer with nothing better to do than to harass them for speeding.  This gets pretty old, pretty fast and I usually ask them, “And what law weren’t you breaking?”  Zinger! 

Please don’t get me wrong.  I believe in defense attorneys.  I truly do.  If it were not for men and women willing to keep the government in check, our country would have fallen to total governmental control a long time ago.  Ever increasing control seems to be in the nature of governments.  What I do not believe in, however, are lawyers who conjure up nonsense in order to defend their clients.  Worse yet, are the semi-delusional ones who disregard basic decency in order to do so. 

This ad is a huge boon for the attorney in question.  Here are two benefits to placing such a disparaging ad:  1) Increased business from those “wronged” by the “lying cops.”  2) Well, I guess that’s about it. 

Whether the “allegations” are true or not, he makes money.  Dab a little sprinkling of sensationalism and watch the money roll in.  That’s the benefit of making accusations, whether it be allegations of dishonesty, racism, or whatever.  In our “Jerry Springer” society, the onus is placed on the accused to prove that they are not whatever it is they are being accused of.  The irony, is that this attorney is biting the proverbial hand that feeds him.  If it were not for Law Enforcement Officers arresting drunk drivers, he would be out of business (this one at least). 

I have no personal agenda against this lawyer.  I have heard frankly that he is a pretty good defense attorney.  I do however feel that his add is in poor taste and only serves to disparage the department as a whole and to bring him more paying customers.  I’m sure it has worked on both points. 

So, despite the tremendous success of these Officers, the Chico Police Department traffic enforcement unit is once again being reduced.  Due to budgetary constraints placed on the department, one of the Officers is going back to patrol.  This from a unit that has already lost two motorcycle Officer positions.  This new move leaves the traffic unit with one motorcycle Officer and one auto based traffic Officer plus a supervisor to deal with the tremendous traffic problem in Chico. 

So next time you get a citation by a traffic Officer, you should probably go out and buy a lottery ticket, ‘cause this just may be your day playing the odds.