Brickbat: Eyes on the Road

Six people, including police Lt. Gregory Totz, were taken to the hospital after a chain reaction vehicle crash in St. Petersburg, Florida. Witnesses say Totz pulled into traffic without looking. Totz was on patrol for prostitutes, and witnesses say he appeared to be looking for streetwalkers.

Comments

[Adans smith]

He was trolling for pussy?

[antisocial-ist]

Like you never pulled into traffic because you were staring at a hooker's ass.

[invisible furry hand]

Totz has had a fun career:

Totz, 53, has been involved in five shootings in his three decades on the force. All were ruled justified by the department. Two were fatal, the last in 1998 when, police said, a man tried to take Totz's weapon and throw him over a railing.

[Libertarian]

I remember, as a school kid, a cop coming in and talking to the class. Inevitably, one of the questions we asked him is if he'd ever shot his gun. His answer was "no" and that he might never have cause to fire it. This was the 70s (I think), possibly the 60s.

[Suthenboy]

My father in law was with the sheriff's department in Calcasieu parish for more than 50 years. Thirty of those were as a patrolman and then detective. During that time he fired his gun once. A man tried to run a roadblock so he shot the guys radiator out with his marlin 30-30.

[Jerryskids]

So who is going to be charged in the incident? The other drivers for interfering with a police investigation or the nearest prostitute for causing the crash?

[invisible furry hand]

The car manufacturer for not fitting it with WhoreCam

[Adans smith]

Hey at least the hookers are doing honest work

[Libertarian]

You know, if the government hadn't made prostitution illegal.............

[Almanian!]

...then unemployment would be higher since we'd need fewer cops.

WHY DO YOU HATE EMPLOYMENT, Lib???!

[Suthenboy]

OT - I was up all night so I may miss morning lynx.

Posting this here now:

http://www.politifact.com/trut.....hstand-cl/

When you fan the flames of racism you only have to prod one side. Naturally that escalates things and the other side responds in kind.

I should point out to the morons that voted for the community organizer-in-chief that this is what a post racial america looks like.

[Libertarian]

Speaking of Garner:
"He's a model of what we want a police officer to be," said Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association.

THAT'S THE PROBLEM.

[Suthenboy]

Once upon a time the cops mostly went out when a complainant called them. If on patrol they kept an eye out for theft, vandalism, assault etc.

Now there are so many finable infractions and arrestable offenses that they can lay hands on virtually anyone they run across any time they run across them. They are scored by how many arrests they make and how much fine money they bring in.

Those two situations require very different kinds of policemen.

I disagree. That attitude is a symptom of the problem. The problem is the ocean of laws and regulations the political class is drowning us in, or you might say the political class itself.

[Libertarian]

I hear you, BUT..... many of us were complaining that the Brown case was sullied by Brown's actions before the incident (i.e. robbery). Now, with Garner, we have an almost perfect case, and the conservatives and many libertarians are focusing on cigarette taxes!

The average person believes taxes, in general, are absolutely necessary, but they also believe that choking a non-violent person to death is wrong. I think we are blowing a great chance at building a coalition to fight police brutality.

[sarcasmic]

Government is force. It is violence. It is a blunt instrument. All enforcement is going to be brutal. From major crimes to petty crimes, it doesn't matter. The only tool the government has is violence. So every piece of legislation, from laws prohibiting murder to laws requiring children to wear bicycle helmets, will be enforced with violence.

So yeah, the problem is indeed too many laws, since the enforcement of even the most petty offense can lead to death at the hands of the enforcers.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I said this before, but my encounter with Tamapa cops (I know different city) was, well, not exactly a memorable one. They looked a tad to ready to crack skulls. Maybe Tampa is a rough town but we were coming out of a hockey game and a drunken idiot in penny loafers was mouthing off.

Still, the cops reaction while following him was scary. I felt he was escalating the problem when he could have just let the guy walk on without trying to make a point of authority.

Meh.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

too.

[dantheserene]

"Totz was on patrol for prostitutes"
That seems a bit more on the nose than they're usually willing to admit.

[DWC]

Gotta break a few eggs...

[Brett L]

I'm sure they drug tested him and searched his car for contraband just like any other citizen who is cruising for prostitutes and causes serious injuries in wreck, right?

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