Joe McDonnell

Damned if you do or damned if you don’t This is a letter in response and defense of the Albuquerque Police Officer involved in an accident in which a young boy died and in response to the segment involving the Parkland shooting in which the police officers were being criticised for the loss of the brother’s sister’s life, because they didn’t respond quickly enough. It was a tragedy that that young boy died and it’s a tragedy that the officer involved suffered injuries, as well as the lifelong remembrance of that accidental death. The police officer is a kind, thoughtful, sincere man who will forever have that on his conscience. I don’t mean to either compare losses nor argue the merits of which is the greater tragedy; the loss of life is always great, but I would like to mention that the officer involved is damned no matter which. Imagine if you will your feelings if you were on the other end of that fateful call to which this police officer was responding. Imagine that it was your throat or arm or gut that the perp had at arms length. And imagine that the police department had a speed limit on response times! In the time it could take, should the police be still enjoying their donuts or personal shopping or kibutzing with another officer, those seconds that were not shaved off with a speedy response could be the seconds that you or your loved ones could have had your throat slit and be bleeding out. When you ask yourselves, “Where is a cop when you need one,” the seconds that this conscientious officer was trying to save might have been the cop that YOU needed. When you ask yourselves, “Where is a cop when you need one,” the answer could be the unfinished donut. The answer could be hiding behind cars and/or adjusting their kevlar protective vests. The answer could be kibutzing with another officer. The answer could be a speed limit imposed by the uproar caused by this officers zeal/need to respond and the disastrous consequences; imposed by a police department hoping to avoid litigation and the media spotlight. So, a police officer will always be “Damned if he does or damned if he doesn’t! – damned if he responds too quickly or damned if he doesn’t respond quickly enough! Which “Damned” would you rather them be? All those so quick to villify and damn this officer would be the same ones would blame and crucify that officer had he NOT responded quickly enough!