Friday, June 06, 2008

Is This The Tape That Shakes The Sheriff's Race?

GREENE COUNTY DEPUTIES HANDCUFF WOMAN AFTER SPEEDING STOP
22-year-old didn't stop immediately because she feared the car could be a fake cop --- Decided to Keep Driving to Well-Lit Area
WATCH THE KY3 NEWS REPORT --- AND THE DASHBOARD VIDEO HERE
***ANGRY CALLS FROM WOMEN RING KY3 PHONES OFF THE HOOK
***
***ALSO: CANDIDATES FOR SHERIFF WEIGH IN
WATCH MY KY3 NEWS DECISION 2008 REPORT **HERE
ONLY WEBB BELIEVES THEY WENT TOO FAR
Republican Mark Webb: "If I'm the Sheriff today, and those are my officers out there, I'm going to start looking for ways to take corrective action, and maybe provide training."
Republican Jim Arnott: Deputies acted "appropriately . . . did the right thing."
Republican Gene Thomlinson: "I didn't see that the officer did anything wrong in what he did. This was a situation where the officer was using his best judgment I think."
Democrat Mike Ramon: "She did what she needed to do to protect herself from her state of mind. The officers did what they needed to do to protect themselves . . . I think this is a happy ending."
Democrat Jerry McGeeHee: "I would've told my daughter to do the same thing."


6 comments:

whistleblower said...

"Whenever a motorist sees red and blue light behind them and there is any doubt that the
officer is genuine, we recommend the following actions:
1. Reduce your speed and drive safely to the closest well lit area, such a police or
fire station, hospital emergency entrance, even a mini mall or convenient type
store where you will not be isolated or alone."


http://www.northbarrington.org/documents/MicrosoftWord-LakeCountySheriff.pdf

Police Impersonator plagues Denver

Both, the young lady and the police officers, did the smart thing. However, I think the prosecuting attorney should drop the failure to yield.

Brad Belote said...

Will this affect the sheriff's race?

Not likely. Unless one of the candidates wants to make an issue of it. Even then, he's going to be sticking his neck out.

If this happens on August 3rd, maybe. But we've got two months to go and there's nothing here that suggests any of Merritt's men who are running were directly involved in what happens on the tape.

Frankly these are the moments when we need the Ozarks' version of Keith Olbermann to call Sheriff Merritt out on the actions of his officers and his own response to what happened.

Paul Seale said...

Or it could be the new's attempt to make a big story out of something which is in all sense of reality - minor.

Did anyone get beat? No.

Did the officers abuse the young lady? Nodda.

What did the officers supposedly do which was eeeviiilll? They followed policy charged her with a violation.

Does that mean the policy is perfect? Nope. It certainly can go under review and maybe should be explored.

However, instead of hyping the incident and creating an issue in an other wise uneventful race - maybe we should let the courts hash it out first.

Beyond bringing to the issue public's attention, I think restraint should be sought until after the legal process is finished.

Oh, and Olbermann is the in the same class as Bill O'Rielly. Its all about making up stuff for maximum exposure for themselves. I believe they both fail miserably and hurt policy and cultural discourse - but thats within their Constitutional right. (doesnt mean they are correct, though)

Kris said...

Paul, you obviously don't get the point. Nobody thinks Greene Co. Sheriff's Deputies are going around beating up or abusing young women during traffic stops.

I think citizens of this county deserve to have a reasonable understanding of what they should do in a situation similiar to this young lady. It appears to me that under Sheriff Merritt or under the possible tenures of Arnott, Thomlinson or Ramon.... we won't know what to do.

This is very serious... when police impersonators are committing crimes against unwitting motorists, the issue needs to be taken seriously. Adopt a policy and let it be known in the public.

Matt said...

Mark Webb set himself apart from the other candidates with his analysis of the situation and courageous stand. This leads me to believe that he has the right experience and correct judgment to be Greene County's next sheriff.

Anonymous said...

Anyone who works with or has contact with the Sheriff's department on any type of regular basis knows that Mark Webb is far more qualified to be Sheriff than Jim Arnott or any of the other candidates. The Sheriff's department sorely lacks in training and education when compared to agencies such as Springfield PD. Mark can and will change that.