Posted on 06/11/2013 7:26:38 AM PDT by servo1969
Chiefs of Police Completely Misrepresent Law Enforcement
As the gun control “discussion” continues, the liberal politicians resort to their age old tactic when discussing “public safety” matters, which in this case includes limiting our constitutional rights. The specific tactic which I am referring to here is their trotting out a series of Police Chiefs to tell the American people what Law Enforcement thinks. While this tactic may play well with their liberal, gun-grabbing constituency and the average low information voter, it breeds distrust of the cops in those on the opposite side of the subject. The purpose of this article is to try and dissuade the fears of you, the law abiding, 2nd Amendment protecting, gun owners of America. I have seen many a comment by folks who are justly concerned about the erosion of their right to bear arms; comments evoking both a fear and loathing of law enforcement for the role the commenter perceives law enforcement might play in enforcing new gun control measures.
Let me quickly dispel any thoughts you may have that the average working cop is coming for your guns. You should not remotely consider that Police Chiefs (and I mean specifically Police Chiefs, not Sheriffs) speak for those whom they command. They most certainly do not! Police Chiefs are politically appointed administrators who, for fear of losing their cushy jobs, toe the line of the of the city officials who appointed them. Those people who work under the police chief have absolutely no say in the chief’s selection, and more often than not, the chief and those who work under him/her are often at odds over many things, including how to run the day to day operations of the department.
Line level law enforcement, the actual people on the streets, those who deal with the results of crime on a daily basis, those who would actually be tasked with any gun ban enforcement, are overwhelmingly strong supporters of the average citizen’s rights to firearms and to self-protection. I do not make that statement off the cuff; in fact I will now offer evidence to back that statement.
I work for a metropolitan department that has approximately 1800 sworn officers. In my 17 year career on that department, I can count on one hand the number of coworkers who have ever been in favor of stricter gun control laws. I have many friends in law enforcement, on various departments, and their experience is the same on their departments, several of which are police departments. In fact, last night I had a long phone conversation with an person who is not only a ranking administrator for a local agency, but he is also the owner of a firearms accessory manufacturing company, and he echoed the same thoughts. However, since all that is just my personal anecdotal evidence; let me offer more significant evidence.
To lend a little credibility to my claim that line-level cops are supportive of gun rights, I offer a survey conducted by POLICE Magazine in which they concluded “More than 88 percent of a diverse population of American law enforcement officers who read POLICE Magazine gave a thumbs up to the Second Amendment of the Constitution.” That survey is not the only one conducted of cops which showed overwhelming support for citizen’s rights to guns. Noted gun rights supporter and author, John Lott documents several surveys with similar results here.
Paul Howe, former Delta operator involved in the event that the movie “Blackhawk Down” made famous, and renowned firearms training expert for both military, law enforcement and civilians, recently penned an article in which he discusses his impression of the overwhelming attitude of the cops he has trained. He says: “Local Police and Sheriff Departments are the backbone of who protects American Citizens. A Sheriff or Chief of Police would have to give the order for his people to begin to seize weapons. Their people would either comply or see it as an illegal order and refuse.” Howe discusses the whole scenario much more in depth in that article which you can find here.
Quite the opposite of the Police Chief, the office of Sheriff is an elected office, and while actual law enforcement experience is not necessary to hold the office, the public would be hard pressed to elect someone as the head law enforcement official for the county unless he/she had experience. As an elected official, the Sheriff more closely represents the attitude of those residing in his area of responsibility. Additionally, the Sheriff and can be held more accountable to those under his command because without the support of his employees, the Sheriff would be hard pressed to get reelected.
Consider the stance of the National Sheriffs’ Association: “(the) National Sheriffs’ Association supports the rights conferred by the Second Amendment and further recognizes the ultimate authority of the courts in interpreting the scope of those constitutional rights.” You can find their public statement on the topic here.
Consider the stance of the Utah State Sheriffs’ Association: “as the duly-elected sheriffs of our respective counties, we will enforce the rights guaranteed to our citizens by the Constitution. No federal official will be permitted to descend upon our constituents and take from them what the Bill of Rights—in particular Amendment II—has given them. We, like you, swore a solemn oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, and we are prepared to trade our lives for the preservation of its traditional interpretation.” Their entire letter to President Obama can be found here.
Consider the number of Sheriffs nationwide, and even now including some Police Chiefs, who have publicly stated their opposition to new gun control measures or infringements of the 2nd Amendment. The list currently includes 463 individual Sheriffs, 4 Police Chief and 18 State Sheriffs Associations. That list can be found here.
Finally, consider the opinion of Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent who served for 17 years. He was recently asked to participate in a discussion on gun control on a local news broadcast. During the conversation, the subject of police chiefs comes up, and Bongino slams them, rightfully so. Watch the video:
[Link below]
While I am greatly concerned about the rapidly expanding erosion of our constitutionally guaranteed rights, not the least of which is the right to bear arms, I do not fear local law enforcement attempting to do anything in violation of the 2nd Amendment, nor should you. If push ever came to shove, I think you would be pleasantly surprised how many cops would be on your side.
Your comments, concerns and questions are always welcome, Matt
Chiefs are appointed by LIBERAL SQUISHES, in major urban centers, and serve at their pleasure.
BUT, that doesn’t mean the rank and file are unwilling to implement their policies.
Check the behavior of the Denver PD.....among many....
Just following Orders... Is often the claim of many people.
A lot of big city police chiefs look forward to becoming elected officials themselves and will conform their own views to the dominant culture in City Hall.
But as to the willingness of rank & file cops to obey unlawful orders to search & to seize - THAT is the question!
Bedrock truth. They are all beholding to their liberal city managers which make up 86% big city leadership.
Those who see themselves as the thin blue line which protects the citizenry from the savage elements of society will, of course, welcome reinforcements in the form of armed and responsible citizens.
Your typical big city police chief is and example of the former. My county sheriff is an example of the latter.
Yea, right.
Those people arrested for having two more rounds in the magazine than the new NY State law allowed?
Those people were not arrested by police chiefs.
The truth is, cops are not the friends or allies of people interested in preserving civil liberties. They’re just interested in carve-outs in gun control laws. Look at NY State. Look at other “blue” states, look at their attempts in Texas, etc: Cops’ interest in “gun rights” stops when they have theirs. All the rest of you “civilians” can go pound sand.
That's not a slam on cops, they serve a necessary function. But they do work for the state, and the needs of state actors must never preempt the rights and needs of private citizens.
In many locales the police seem to have forgotten that they too are civilians.
“Towns don’t need tanks!”
There are a lot of LEO underlings that want to be Chief, as well. They, also, will happily toe the leftist line.
Sorry but I know many LEO’s and have all my life and I know that this is no myth.
When I correct cops on their “civilian” vs. “police” attitude, you should see the looks of contempt I get.
The guys who are former military who are now LEO’s, however, “get it.”
Have to agree. NY State is the worst. Under Federal Law properly certified and qualified retired etc LEOs can carry a concealed weapon in all 50 (Or 57 Obama states, the added 7 only counted in the Democrat column). NY State arrested one such carrier and it was thrown out.
The NYS cops must really want jobs as bank guards - that is all they are qualified to do. I apologize if I stepped on any dedicated guard or conservative NYS LEO.
As far back as 1962 the ONLY cops who wanted gun control were politically appointed Chiefs of Police.
Cops on the street were just the opposite.
bookmark
And NY police, and those in CA ...
They'll come for your guns and kill you if you resist, all the while whining about how "dangerous" their job is, when it's not even among the top ten.
Fortunately, in the little town where I live our Chief of Police is somewhat more serious about the 2nd amendment. He presents the class and range portion for concealed carry for free to any resident quarterly on his own time.
Peace officer’s are now law enforcement. The are paid to enforce the laws and get sovereign immunity for it. Those laws have been multiplying on what seems to be a logarithmic scale.
What’s their incentive to preserve liberty?
Are you claiming John Lott is a liar?
John Lott is a very nice academic, but like most all academic, he’s a little short on real-world experience.
Quoting John Lott when you’re getting your car searched and your guns seized without a warrant by some cop on the roadside will get you exactly nowhere.
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