Police Officers - Some Animals are More Equal Than Others

David's National Gun Rights Examiner covers his ongoing "Only Ones" series of posts, found on his blog.

Too often I think Police Officers put themselves on pedestals as somehow more empowered and a higher class of citizen - the Police definitely do it to themselves. How often do you hear Police refer to their fellow citizens as "civilians", as if somehow the Officer is different than them.

I am a big fan of what I call the "Goose and Gander" approach to the Police and the laws they must follow when off duty. What is good for the goose (the Police) is good for the gander (All Law Abiding Citizens). For example, if the citizens of a state can not, for example, carry a gun in their daily lives, Officers should have to turn in their guns to the armory at the end of the shift. If things are bad enough that those Officers need guns off duty, laws should be passed to allow all qualified citizens to carry guns daily, and the officers can carry under those laws.

It is obvious from the various abuses, extension of ludicrous "professional courtesy", etc. that are perpetrated by the Police these days, that allowing them to be exempt from certain laws that the now believe only apply to the citizenry they are supposed to "serve", is resulting in the Police using their perceived elevated status as an entitlement to eschew following other laws by committing such offenses as DUI and theft, even occasionally murder. David Codrea's Only Ones series is definitely an eye opener as to the abuses perpetrated by Police every day. David admits himself that there are more emails pointing out these various offenses than he can even put into his blog without corrupting its core message.

I believe it is far past time to bring the Police down a peg. We can either hold them accountable to the maximum extent of the law in order to act as a check and balance on the extra power that they believe they wield, or we can repeal any and all laws that are meant to apply special powers to off duty Police Officers and let them follow all of the laws that their fellow citizens must follow.

Ultimately, you can not have it both ways. You can not wield more power and be held less accountable than everyone else. You must either be treated just like everyone else, or expect to have the book thrown at you if you violate the trust that has been placed upon you by your fellow man. Until this is done, we can be sure to expect ever more serious and violent Police misconduct.