The author is going overboard on this one. Yeah, I understand that now - looking back - the Covid scare is declining and society is beginning to loosen up.
BUT if you are a cop (just like a soldier), and you decide to disobey orders to enforce the law, you’d better have a damn good reason. Because you might not just be fired, you yourself might be prosecuted. Furthermore, social distancing might be a misdemeanor, but what if the accused ignores you and keeps doing it? What if they refuse despite repeated warnings? All of a sudden it goes from cop trying to be a courteous to cop stuffing you in a squad car.
Let’s be frank. This whole Covid thing is new territory. Hopefully it will NOT become the new normal for handling emerging infectious diseases, but give the cops a break this first time around. 2020 is shaping up to make the 911 event of 2001 a tiptoe through the tulips.
Oath breakers acting like thugs deserve no breaks. When I see sheriffs deputies in Texas using Mraps pointing ar-15s at people to break up a peaceful protest, police in California arresting somebody for surfing on a beach that’s completely empty, or threatening a mother on her property because her child was seen playing with another child in her neighborhood, I lose all respect for law enforcement. They are more concerned about their jobs or pensions rather than the oath they took and the constitution.
I believe law enforcement is building a template for the future based on their actions during this crisis.
I do NOT believe they’ll return to “normal” once the crisis has passed. They’ve seen what they can get away with. They’ve got increased power over the citizenry in their hands, and they’re not going to give it up willingly.
Constitution? What’s that? They’re wearing the Constitution on their belts, with plenty of extra clips just in case.