Brickbat: Depressing Outcome

Yobro10 / Dreamstime.com

Dallas County, Texas, sheriff's office general orders say a deputy who dies off duty will be given certain honors during his funeral, including a deputy standing watch beside his casket, an honor guard and a final call broadcasting his badge number on the radio. But Interim Sheriff Marian Brown provided none of those honors to deputy Omar Calderon, even though his widow requested them. Brown's reason? Calderon committed suicide after battling depression. "Due to the nature of Deputy Calderon's death, the sheriff's department does not want to condone nor appear to glamorize suicide," Brown said.

Comments

[Telcontar the Wanderer]

Initial plans to further drive the point home by having a rented hot air balloon hover over his grave with a flashing neon sign saying "NOBODY LIKED THIS GUY" were sadly foiled by inclement weather.

[perlchpr]

They were, however, able to get one of the K-9 units to piss on his newly laid headstone.

[Eddy]

Yet they would import the whole Scottish population (if they could) to play bagpipes at the funeral of a cop who croaks while executing a no-knock drug raid.

[Cyto]

Yeah, I was trying to figure out which aspect was the brickbat. It seems that denying benefits because a death was by suicide while suicide is one of the popularly reported maladies affecting police officers related to their work was the intended brickbat.... but the profligate spending of taxpayer dollars for police funerals was an equally likely target.

[Eddy]

But if they're going to be selective in whom they honor, maybe the the two U. S. Marshals who died enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act can be struck from the honor roll.

[Eddy]

...or deputy marshals, but in any case they're on the honor roll.

[Eddy]

Minority report by Charles Sumner against compensating the widow of the slave-catching marshal James Batchelder.

[Eddy]

Abolitionist (and future U. S. Marshal) Frederick Douglass published this on the widow Batchelder's pension:

"...the U. S. Senate has voted the widow of the ruffian Batchelder a pension three thousand dollars; the slaveowners of Savannah intend to present her with a thousand dollars; from Alexandria, she is to receive another thousand. Profitable dying this - very. By the way, cannot some 'smart' Abolitionist, in due time, when the *mourning days are over,* just walk into the affections of Mrs. B., and see that this money is properly and honorably expended? Let the money be expended in sending fugitives to Canada; or in buying weapons to be placed in their hands, to defend 'their lives,' their liberty,' and their 'sacred honor.'..."

[gaoxiaen]

Key point. "Or in buying weapons to be placed in their hands."

[sarcasmic]

a deputy standing watch beside his casket, an honor guard

Do the officers doing these tasks do it on their own dime, or are they soaking up overtime?

If it's the latter, then fuck them. If these dead guys are so honorable, then their fellows should be willing to take time off do these things. If they won't do it without taxpayers padding their paychecks, then the corpse didn't deserve the recognition.

It's not like it happens that often.

[Cynical Asshole]

Do the officers doing these tasks do it on their own dime, or are they soaking up overtime?

Whichever one fleeces the taxpayer.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Otherwise we'd all be killing ourselves just to get sent off to Valhalla in style.

[SQRLSY One]

Actually, I can see more than a tiny grain of truth in that... There have repeatedly been incidents in which areas of the nation (especially among high-school-aged kids) experience waves of "copy-cat suicides"... We see all the attention and "glory" (!?!?! ugh !!!) given to the suicide-victims- of-themselves, and then others want to "get some glory too", I guess...

It stinks to the Highest Heavens! So I for one am glad to see the "honors" withheld... The pissing away of public resources to do the honors in general, is another issue altogether in my mind...

[target]

sheriff: no one kills an officer in my town and gets away with it, no one.

[SQRLSY One]

We'll punish the killer, even if he's already dead, dammit!!!!