I made the statement at a comment at CJ's Blog today-
"We are becoming a country of wimps."
Bye-Bye John Wayne.
Hello Dustin Hoffman.
Let me propose a scenario and get your reaction to it. And I realize and accept that everyone will react differently. I know my military and (limited) law enforcement experience will definitely affect my response...
You're driving down the Interstate and up ahead you see the flashing lights of a patrol car off the right side of the road... a traffic stop.
As you get closer you can see something odd is going on...
Is that a scuffle?
Closer yet, and things become more clear...
Two people are fighting. The law enforcement officer is trying to subdue a person much larger than himself/herself, and things are NOT GOING WELL.
Obviously, considering the officer has a sidearm, this is a VERY dangerous situation.
(Law enforcement officers are all too frequently killed with their personal sidearm.)
Okay reader... what's your reaction?
Do you stop and assist the officer?
Do you get on the phone and call for help?
Do you stop and then try to flag others to stop and help?
Do you drive on, not wanting to "get involved"?
That's apparently what happened to the cop at CJ's link...
Bystanders stood and watched, offering no assistance to the cop as he tried to subdue two women (both nearly his size) who were getting physical with him. (You NEVER, EVER touch a police officer!)
And that's what scares me most...
Cops do a job most of us don't want to do. We don't want to do it because we know they have to do uncomfortable, sometimes incredibly stressful things in their line of work...
The video shows a cop in just such a situation.
He could have used some help.
None was offered.
What would you do?
12 comments:
My dad is a cop and I'd like to think that I'd probably stop to help.
There's been time when my dad's off duty and we're traveling somewhere and he'll stop and help a police officer that has someone pulled over on an otherwise deserted stretch of highway.
The cautious part of me says I should stop and call for help, as I'm coming to terms with being a small, half-crippled female.
The realistic side of me says, I'd actually get my nice solid cane out of my trunk (I only need it on bad days, but it's right there with the survival gear), and start looking for body parts to take out of commission - if I didn't pass it up in favor of the crowbar. So, I'd bust myself back down to sling or cast again - not the first time I've decided the pain was worth it!
This is probably part of why my large male friends really want me to start carrying concealed, especially in the Lower 48. Then again, with a knock-down drag-out fight, I'm not sure I could safely shoot the assailants and miss the nice police officer, so heavy club it is.
Immediately call 911 for back up; become the officer's partner.
Okay, not fair of me to jump in this discussion but...
There is a side to your premise that you may not be thinking about: how is the cop going to feel about you jumping in?
Added stress at first - is this person coming to help me or the jackass I'm wrestling with?
If you ever do render aid to an officer in such a situation I suggest you do one thing - tell the cop you want to help. "Hey man, what can I do to help you?" and when his/her back up arrives, step out of the situation and keep your hands clearly visible.
Cops aren't super heroes. We're just humans...
But these days we're expected to be freakin' perfect; no temper, no feelings, no fear...
My response to those expectations?
F you and the horse you rode in on.
cjh
Having two police officers in the family, I am really certain I would pull off as soon as possible and get out of my car and put use every bit of my wimpy female body to help that officer.
I have no idea how in the name of God anyone could ignore a struggle between an officer and a suspect.
I actually had to aid an officer in taking down a hit and run perp.
I wound up putting my knee on his neck and leaned down real hard. He offered his hands when his head turned purple.
Never stand like sheep when help is needed.
Pick another dude, but not Dustin Hoffman-
He got the girl in The Graduate;
Pulled a .45 on a Nazi and tossed diamonds in his face in "The Marathon Man"; Survived the Sand Creek Massacre in "Little Big Man"; Tossed boiling water and sugar in the face of one attacker, lured another into a bear trap and beat the one remaining intruder to death with a golf club in "Straw Dogs";
DH is a maniac! Beware of quiet men.
I get your point. They're are plenty of "Metro-Sexual" types in movieland to pull from. DH aint one of them.
You may be right, CP.
But after Rock Hudson and Paul Newman I learned a VERY hard lesson...
The person we see on the big screen is called an actor for a reason!
(And "Straw Dogs" is a movie I frequently refer to when I'm making the point that even limp-wristed lefties can reach a breaking point.)
Got any stories about Dustin, the individual? I'd love to be wrong about him!
He is a family man. You'll never see him in the tabloids. He keeps his family safe and away from the camera's. On the set of "Outbreak" he sat at the crew table for lunch and engaged a dear friend of mine in a conversation. A producer came by,interrupted the conversation and began asking questions of Mr. Hoffman.
Mr. Hoffman looked at the producer and told him that he was in the middle of a conversation and that he would have to wait. The producer slumped off.
Another story about DH is that while on set his little boy came to visit. A prop man gave a hockey stick to the boy to play with and at the end of the visit the prop man told the child he could keep it. The boy told him "no thank you, I didn't earn it". Very few big time actors teach their children such values and as we all read in the papers too often those children have a tragic end because of being exposed to excess on all levels.
DH is truly a very kind man.
Oh and by the way-
I've been working with Tom Hanks these past few weeks. His limo takes him to and from the set each day. Have any clues what make and model the limo is?
A hot,lime green Ford Fiesta.
First, to answer your hypothetical question, I would stop, while calling 911, and loudly offer the officer any assistance I could.
The females in the video are lucky to be still sucking air, and I am in awe of the officer for having the restraint to not pull out the sidearm and start ventilating anything that moved towards him.
History lesson - I have aided officers in situations. I have asked loudly if they needed assistance, and what kind, and did as they asked with very little deviation from their stated plan. As soon as the situation(s) was under their complete control, I would back off; after it was settled down I asked if they needed a statement from me, left contact information, and then departed.
In all three cases they were grateful for my assistance, took my statement, and I never heard anything about any of the situations ever again. Funny how citizen's statements shut down the perp's lawsuits about police brutality.
I would immediately call 911 to apprise them of the situation giving the location, etc. Then I would offer my assistance to the officer and foloow his/her instructions. I doubt that I'm stong enough to enter the fight and be of any use but I would at least offer my assistance.
mkquilts
White Leftists would simply drive by; at most they would pull out their cell phones to record the horrible beatdown by the cop.
Me? Even at my age I'd help in a hot second and have done so twice in the past ten years. But I'm still not retired.
I am so glad I'll BE retiring in about a year or so. People get the kind of law enforcement they deserve. Which is why I'm glad to be going.
Oh, the stories I could tell you.
BZ
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