Police bravery award deserves praise

The Bay of Plenty Times ^ | 13 September 2010

[UncleHambone]

There are few jobs as dangerous as policing.

Every day in the Bay, the men and women who put on the trusted blue uniform go to work not knowing exactly what they will encounter.

The worst-case scenario is a life-threatening situation - and that's exactly the position Constable James Muir, a Tauranga dog handler and father of two, found himself in just over three years ago.

Two teenage boys shot at Mr Muir with a high-powered rifle during an 8km police pursuit.

Once the cars had come to a stop, the constable and other officers retreated for cover as one of the armed teens pointed the gun at them.

The teen pulled the trigger but the gun did not fire. In the seconds that followed, Mr Muir released his dog Neo, who latched on to the teen.

After a brief struggle, the offender was overpowered and the other boy surrendered.

On Saturday, this paper carried the story of how Mr Muir has just been awarded the Charles Upham Award for Bravery - a prestigious award for a person who risks their life in an outstanding act of heroism.

Mr Muir is the first Bay officer and just the sixth in the country to receive the honour.

He deserves the highest praise and it is satisfying to publish positive articles about the police.

As an institution, the police are often in the public spotlight and sometimes criticised.

But their job is never easy and often dangerous.

There have been several high-profile assaults on police officers this year, including one where a constable was left in a coma after being attacked by a mob of teenagers.

Between the 2004-05 year and 2008-09 total assaults on police increased by a third, from 1869 to 2481, while serious assaults increased 38 per cent, from 298 to 412.

There were 23 assaults on police in the Bay of Plenty in June 2010, compared with 27 for the same month last year.

Nationally, there were 170 assaults on police officers last month compared with 212 in June 2009.

Justice Minister Simon Power is to introduce legislation to Parliament that would make judges consider a harsher sentence for attacks on police or Corrections officers.

Such legislation is long overdue.

Thankfully, incidents involving firearms are still rare.

Having said that, the names of officers such as Len Snee, Don Wilkinson, and Duncan Taylor are forever etched in our minds.

They were shot for just doing their job and trying to protect the public.

Thankfully, other heroes in blue have come through unscathed.

James Muir is one of them.

[rednesss]

"There are few jobs as dangerous as policing."

Except of course all of these jobs.

Fisherman - Fatality Rate: 200 per 100,000

Logger - Fatality Rate: 61.8 per 100,000

Airplane Pilots - Fatality Rate: 57.1 per 100,000

Farmers and Ranchers - Fatality Rate: 35.8 per 100,000

Roofers - Fatality Rate: 34.7 per 100,000

Ironworkers - Fatality Rate: 30.3 per 100,000

Sanitation Worker - Fatality Rate: 25.2 per 100,000

Industrial Machinist - Fatality Rate: 18.5 per 100,000

Truckers and Drivers/Sales Workers - Fatality Rate: 18.3 per 100,000

Construction Laborer - Fatality Rate: 18.3 per 100,000

Police - Fatality Rate: 14.0 per 100,000 - Traffic remains the largest cause of death for 12 years running, according to data from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. Guns, meanwhile, killed 49 officers.

[Tainan]

You might include a note that this story is from New Zealand.

[UncleHambone]

Topics: Australia/New Zealand

Was there somewhere else where this information was expected?

[UncleHambone]

I am not sure where you got your data, but I assume it is just a different data set from the BLS. I found this article that includes additional information, mainly that it is a list of over 5,000 occupations (which have an average fatality rate of 4.3 per 100000), so it would still be accurate to say that there are few jobs that are more dangerous than policing.

This BLS paper also indicates that traffic deaths are a bit more than half the number of homicide deaths, in contrast to your data.

[Enterprise]

Except of course all of these jobs.

Fisherman - Fatality Rate: 200 per 100,000 - murdered by mackerel armed with high powered rifles.

Logger - Fatality Rate: 61.8 per 100,000 - murdered by pine trees armed with high powered rifles.

Airplane Pilots - Fatality Rate: 57.1 per 100,000 - murdered by Piper Cubs armed with high powered rifles.

Farmers and Ranchers - Fatality Rate: 35.8 per 100,000 - murdered by corn stalks armed with high powered rifles.

Roofers - Fatality Rate: 34.7 per 100,000 - murdered by asphalt shingles armed with high powered rifles.

Ironworkers - Fatality Rate: 30.3 per 100,000 - murdered by steel beams armed with high powered rifles.

Sanitation Worker - Fatality Rate: 25.2 per 100,000 - murdered by turds armed with high powered rifles.

Industrial Machinist - Fatality Rate: 18.5 per 100,000 - murdered by lathes armed with high powered rifles.

Truckers and Drivers/Sales Workers - Fatality Rate: 18.3 per 100,000 - murdered by Peterbilts armed with high powered rifles.

Construction Laborer - Fatality Rate: 18.3 per 100,000 - murdered by gangs of bricks armed with high powered rifles.

[starlifter]

You beat me to it.

The tripe that law enforcement is one of the most dangerous jobs in America is right up there with Obama claiming he will make this better. Both are pure BS.

[tarawa]

Sounds to me like the dog should have received the honor.

[rednesss]

High powered rifles!!!!!

The interesting finding from the federal government's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS): Officers themselves aren't buckling up. A surprising 39 percent of officers killed in car crashes since 1996 didn't have their seatbelt fastened. And younger officers might not be doing any better; those aged 20 to 39 account for 69 percent of all fatal crashes, according to Sheriff.

According to the FARS analysis, says Sheriff, 42 percent of fatal law-enforcement officer deaths involve a single-vehicle impact with an object off the road—with the front of the vehicle in 48 percent of crashes. The majority of crashes occurred on a dry, straight, level stretches of roadway. And 24 percent of fatal crashes involved the ejection of the occupant—indicating the seatbelt wasn't fastened.

[UncleHambone]

I think Enterprise’s point was that in none of the other jobs was their a risk of someone shooting/assaulting the worker just for the occupation they are in.

I noticed soldier, marine, airman and firefighter didn’t make the top ten either. Do you want to crap on them, too?

[Enterprise]

Thanks. Police Officers are sometimes killed BECAUSE they are police officers, and these are not “accidents” to be lumped in with other dangerous occupations. And just as you pointed out, our service members are killed because of the uniform they wear.

[Enterprise]

Of all drivers, officers should be the most aware of the possibility of serious injury or death in accidents wherein someone was not wearing a seat belt.

If officers age 20 to 39 are the most impacted, it is because officers above age 39 tend to get into desk jobs and not drive as much. Considering that a sworn officer has a 1 in ten chance, each year, of sustaining a serious injury, age 39 is remarkable for someone to still be in patrol. And driving is but one factor in the things that injure officers.

Remember also, that many officers are killed while driving to assist someone in distress. It does not really excuse them from not wearing a seat belt, but it must be kept in mind because if they were not enroute on that particular call to assist someone, they would not have died. It could be said of the other occupations that if they weren't doing that particular job, they too wouldn't have died. The main difference is that the officer dies trying to help a total stranger.

February 25, 2010: Deputy Joel Wahlenmaier, Fresno County Sheriff's Department. Killed by a man armed with a high powered rifle.

Officer Javier Bejar, Reedley Police Department, assisted on the call Wahlenmaier was shot. Bejar was also shot by the gunman with the high powered rifle, and he died March 1, 2010.

[rednesss]

Is there such a thing as a low powered rifle?

[Enterprise]

Yes

[rednesss]

Are you any less or any more dead after being shot with a low powered rifle??? Or could the term high powered rifle be used simply for dramatic effects much like the liberal loonies like to use the term assault rifle to describe everything??? You do realize that more people are killed with a .22 than any other caliber of gun??? Unless you consider the tiny .22 to be “high powered”.

[Enterprise]

You didn’t ask about fatalities. You asked if there was such a thing as a low powered rifle.