PANTAL MONIUM

Sometimes there are events that result in major changes in society. One such change took place about a week ago in New York City. Policer Officer Daniel Pantaleo was fired and stripped of his pension because of the use of a choke hold during the arrest of Eric Garner. It is important to note that Officer Pantaleo was never charged with a crime.

To the liberal left, this was not enough. Check out the following quote from Salon:

Every cop in that video was involved in Eric Garner’s killing; they have innocent blood on their hands.  The only difference is that Pantaleo just lost his job, which is not justice. The rest of them are still working, which is criminal.

The police have a very different view of this. They saw a man resisting arrest and a police officer trying to take him under control. By the way, Eric Garner was 6’3” and weighed 395 pounds. Any of you want to volunteer to get in a wrestling contest with him? The liberal left only saw an officer grab him from behind with what looked like a choke hold. But, if you have ever watched an MMA match you quickly learn the difference between what looks like a chokehold and what actually is a chokehold. If a fighter actually gets a chokehold on an opponent the fight is almost immediately over. In addition, the MMA fighter in the chokehold never says “I can’t breathe.” That is because if you actually can’t breathe, you can’t talk. Instead they tap their hand on the canvas.

But facts are irrelevant to the left. They never miss the opportunity to exploit tragedy. They never resist the chance to demonize the police. Here in California liberals passed AB392, which was gleefully signed by Governor Newsom. It will take effect January 1 and will modify the conditions under which a police officer can use deadly force from when it’s reasonable to when it necessary. That seems like a minor change but it is not.

For example police will be able to use lethal force on a fleeing felon only if that person is threatening violent harm to the officer or someone else. This is easy to understand. A police officer stops a vehicle. The officer pulls his fire arm and demands the driver to show his or her hands. If the person fails to do that and particularly if they reach for something, the police officer may shoot them. The reason for that is that there is an enormous risk that this person is reaching for a gun. Now, however, the person in the vehicle knows that the officer cannot shoot them. They must wait until there is an imminent threat. They must actually see and gun and they must be positive it is a gun. Then, when there is a threat, they must try to use non-lethal methods first.

Here is Sacramento this all arose out of the Stephen Clark case. A neighbor reported someone breaking into cars. When police arrived, they spotted Clark leaping fences and running through backyards. When they followed him into a backyard, with poor lighting, he apparently pointed his cell phone at them. They thought it was a gun so they shot him. This happened to be the backyard of his grandparents, but police had no way of knowing that.

The locals, led by Black Lives matters, went nuts. Even though the police were not charged, this is still viewed by Black Lives matters as murder. They succeeded in persuading the current Governor, Gavin Newsom, to sign legislation that even the pathetic Governor Brown would have vetoed.

Now, with the Pantaleo decision, even if you don’t shoot someone, using the wrong level of force will get you fired, if not arrested. The response to this decision by the New York Police commissioner was instant and dramatic. In less than one week arrests are already down by 27%. The number of criminal summonses issued fell nearly 29%.

Here are the instructions given to police by the police union:

“We are urging all New York City police officers to proceed with the utmost caution in this new reality, in which they may be deemed ‘reckless’ just for doing their job,” he said. “We will uphold our oath, but we cannot and will not do so by needlessly jeopardizing our careers or personal safety.”

In other words, police will start enforcing the law exactly the way the liberal left wants this done. The results will be beyond catastrophic. Crime rates are guaranteed to skyrocket, not just in New York City, but everywhere. Any smart police officer, familiar with this case, is going to hesitate before confronting a criminal under anything less than ideal situations. When in doubt, back off and call for back up. You have already seen how this works. The police eventually show up, with an armored vehicle, body armor, helmets and face shields. They surround the suspect, but do not take any immediate action. Instead, they negotiate. Only when the suspect is talked into surrendering is an arrest made.

Criminals are also well aware of this. They also understand that if they run, the police cannot shoot them. It won’t be long before police pursuits will also be banned. Criminals now know that police cannot even attempt to physically restrain them, unless they represent an imminent threat to the police. Tasering someone is out of the question. If the police try to restrain them, they will start yelling: “I can’t breathe.”  Previously they would have yelled “hands up don’t shoot,” but even that is no longer necessary. Criminals know that police can’t shoot even if they don’t have their hands up. There will be more and more serious injuries and deaths of police officers who hesitate at the wrong moment. Police will be increasingly hesitant to confront criminals. This will result in a catastrophic rise in crime. The most devastating impact will be on minorities living in Democratic controlled cities with gun control. People who can no longer count on the police to intervene also cannot have a gun available to defend themselves. Criminals will have no problem getting guns.

This will happen at the speed of light. By this time next year, the results will be horrific and impossible to ignore. Donald Trump will cruise to re-election, not just because of a booming economy, but because there will be a universal demand to restore law and order. CNN will never quite figure this out.

TDM