First-Responders Abuses

Murder is legal; policemen are bullies; money buys justice; and, our legal system is sorry:

In May, 2013, Fort Worth police officers Richard Hoeppner and Benjamin B. Hanlon went to the wrong house and Hoeppner shot an innocent 72-year grandfather seven times, killing him. The officers blamed their GPS system, poor lighting, etc. On January 29, 2014, a grand jury failed to indict the officer. This (so-called) “public servant” not only shot and murdered the grandfather, but he shot him seven times. Think about that. Do you suppose that shooting the man six times might have been plenty? After the sixth shot, what prompted the officer to shoot the seventh time, other than making sure that the murder was complete, probably in order to ensure that the only honest witness to the crime couldn’t testify? If the grandfather had murdered the officer, there is no doubt that he would have been charged. So, in Texas, police officers are apparently above the law, with the freedom to murder. Hanlon, was later fired for falsifying a report unrelated to this incident.

In December 2013, State District Judge Jean Boyd sentenced a North Texas teenager, Ethan Couch, to 10 years’ probation for driving under the influence and killing four pedestrians and injuring 11. His attorneys successfully argued that the teen suffered from “affluenza” and needed rehabilitation, and not prison. While on probation, Couch then committed more crimes and fled to Mexico with his mother.

On 01/24/14, Josh Brent, a Dallas Cowboy, killed his buddy when he crashed his car while driving while intoxicated. He was sentenced to 10 years probation. A Dallas Cowboy can kill someone and get only probation. This is despite that facts that he was a felon; he was a habitual offender; he had prior DWIs; he had prior DUIs, he was under the influence of alcohol and drugs; he had no drivers license; and, he had no insurance.

On March 16, 2014, a video went viral of Albuquerque policemen opening fire on a mentally ill homeless man, James Boyd, who was no threat to them and turning away from them. They shot him six times. While he lay helpless, they continued shooting and they released a police dog on him and let it chew him up. These are just bullies who like to scream, “Drop your weapon,” and “Get down on the ground;” and, fix tickets.

How many times have Dallas policeman (alone) shot and killed an unarmed mentally impaired man or an unarmed teenager?

In July, 2013, teenager Ye Meng Yuan didn’t die when a plane crashed at San Francisco International Airport. She actually survived the impact, only to die minutes later after a fire truck ran over her. First-responders initially claimed that she was accidentally run over because she may have been covered in firefighting foam. The truth didn’t come out until six months later when a video revealed that emergency workers saw Ye’s injured body on the ground before she was fatally struck. Nobody was prosecuted.

Sometimes the decisions of our first-responders backfire. On June 30, 2013, 19 firefighters decided which way the wildfire at Yarnell, Arizona was moving. They were wrong, and it overran them, costing them their own lives.

Our policemen are paid well, with our tax dollars. Our veterans get essentially free health care for their PTSD, etc., with our tax dollars. They can all get 50 years of retirement after only 20 years of service (only the public sector), with our tax dollars. They get their perfect job of excitement, public recognition, and discounts on everything from free meals to lower interest rates on mortgages and insurance.

In 2013, a police office in the DFW area stopped to help someone on the side of the road. He was struck and killed by another car, so he gets honors funded by the taxpayers. Hundreds of officers in hundreds of emergency vehicles, some from various states up to 1500 miles away, formed a parade for miles at his funeral, all at taxpayer expense. When a civilian does it, and it wasn’t even his job, he goes unnoticed and his family can’t even afford an obituary in the newspaper.

All of these first-responders chose to do what they love. They know the risks, and they weren’t drafted. They wanted the adrenalin rush. They also wanted to be well-paid, have free healthcare, and free retirement after only 20 years of service, all paid for by the real heroes here: the honest American taxpayers. All government workers are a burden to all taxpayers. They milk the system, and some of them are necessary, but we shouldn’t forget about the taxpayers who pay for all of it.

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