• Classifieds
• Archives
• About Us
• Contact Us

News

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

RTM Votes to Postpone Taser Funding Request

Westport’s Representative Town Meeting (RTM) tonight voted to postpone consideration of a police request for funds to purchase Tasers until its September meeting.

The vote to postpone, which came after almost two hours of debate, was 21-7 with two abstentions. The legislative body will take up the request at its Sept. 2 meeting.

All 10 members of the public who spoke before the vote either opposed the request or said more information was needed. Most RTM members also voiced a desire for additional information, some saying that a Department of Justice study was under way.

The Board of Finance on Feb. 6 had approved the request to appropriate $24,000 from the asset forfeiture account to purchase the devices which deliver a shock to its targets. (See WestportNow Feb. 3, 2007)

“We have been researching Tasers for quite some time now, and I do not see any downside to making them available to our officers,” said Chief Al Fiore in making the request. “I believe that this is a necessary tool for our officers.”

A number of Westport police officers in uniform and plainclothes observed the debate but no one other than Fiore spoke.

Comments:     Comment Policy

It clearly seemed that everyone who wanted this issue postponed till September, said so because they wanted questions answered.  All the while, every question posed, could have been answered last night.

Exactly HOW does the public know what our police officers NEED anyways? Do they do the job they do?  Do they put THEIR lives on the line every day while most of us sit in an office behind a computer screen?

Chief Fiore (and others) have bent over backwards to acquire this tool primarily for the safety of his officers and for the public. I thinks it’s a shame that this was postponed......(more like beaten to death)

As far as the “rubber stamping” is concerned, the money that would be used for these tasers was acquired via asset forfeiture.  Or in laymans terms, money that comes as a result of our officers doing an exceptional job, i.e seizing vehicles, drugs, etc.

You people really need to open your eyes and realize how professional and responsible our police officers are.  We are fortunate to have the BEST in Fairfield County, (In my opinion).  Have a little trust and faith in them.  We all have NO problem calling them for every little dilemma in our lives that we aren’t capable of handling ourselves, but we can’t give them another tool to help protect us and themselves?  And like Chief Fiore said, everything is all about training, so what is the problem?

Let’s be realistic here people.........

RTM member Chris Grimm is right in invoking the traditional doctor’s oath by Hippocrates, “I will abstain from all intentional wrongdoing and harm.” Our police are in the curing business too, responding to situations where one of us might hurt, and definitely is bothering, someone else. While curing, they must do no harm.

The RTM is also right in waiting for more information on what tasers do, good and bad, especially the study by the U.S. Department of Justice due to finish this year.

Police Chief Al Fiore, finally, is right in his honorable declaration, reaffirmed to me personally last night, that he will not take advantage of the charter provision that allows him to bypass RTM approval of tasers, if he spends less than $20,000 to buy them.

You readers missed an amazing RTM meeting last night, where everyone involved did right. Not including me, nine members of the public gave eloquent, un-prewritten, accurate and personally impressive short speeches. It was the first perfect RTM meeting I can remember, out of hundreds.

New moderator Hadley Rose shone, nipping at the heels of anybody who meandered past five minutes or wandered off the subject, and showing a knowledge of Robert’s Rules more detailed than any of the eight moderators I remember.

With regards to the following; “While not minimizing the inherent risks and challenges of being an officer anywhere, this is Westport.  It isn’t Bridgeport.”

While I don’t know you personally, You seem like an intelligent guy.  However making a statement like that is just pure ignorance.  A scumbag is a scumbag no matter where he/she is from.  Any scumbag can get in their car and drive to a town like this where they know people are complacent and don’t lock their doors at night.  Westport sits in between Norwalk, Bridgeport and other big cities.  Let’s not forget I-95, Rt. 15, and Rt.1 all pass through town too.

Just because this is Westport does not mean that ONLY Westport people are the only ones police deal with. Read the police blotters once in awhile.  The majority of scumbags and high risk arrestees are NOT from Westport. 

Just a couple days ago, Stamford Police used a taser 3 TIMES just to attempt to sudbue a suspect AFTER 3 officers were injured trying to subdue him without using it.  This was done BEFORE any other weapons in their arsenal were used.

I must make a note in my journal – this is quite possibly the first time I find myself in agreement with Mr Grimm and Mr Royce on the same day.  Thanks to both of you for taking a stand.  It was actually a pleasure to be at Town Hall and not feel compelled to speak because so many others shared my concerns.

The taser appears to be a tool in search of a mission in Westport.  If you give a man a hammer, he will find problems that look like nails.  I’d like to be sure we have a few nails before buying the hammers.  So far, I am not convinced. 

Mr Millazzo, if I understand your reasoning, the requests of the Chief should not be questioned because he knows best.  Are you suggesting that he is infallible?  I believe our Chief is an intelligent and honorable man, and I value his insights when making such a request.  I also appreciate that he isn’t going around the RTM by making smaller purchases to achieve his goals.  However, I think that the purchase of Tasers is a strategic decision that warrants public input.  While you are correct that our officers have to deal with people from all over, once purchased, we will all be in their vicinity on a regular basis.  Many of us want to be sure that such a scenario actually makes us safer.

Also, I think it is important, when using specific examples to bolster one’s argument, that they are in fact accurate.  Your description of the Stamford incident doesn’t sound like the account in the paper.  The suspect was still in his car when he was tasered twice through the window for refusing to exit.  The two officers sustained injuries after breaking his window and yanking him from the car before tasering him a third time.  From the newspaper account, it sounds like the officers had cause to arrest him, and to use force.  However, the taser failed to subdue him twice under ideal conditions when he was sitting in the car, unable to harm anyone. I’m not sure relying on a taser after that was advisable.

This morning I read about 2 cases where tasers were used to subdue suspects who refused to sign speeding tickets.  One was a woman in Seattle who was 8 months pregnant.  She was driving her young son to school, and she was late. I’m sure the impact on her son will be more lasting than the marks on her neck, where she was tasered through the window. The other case involved a man in Utah who was tasered while his pregnant wife looked on from the car.  The entire episode was recorded on the police car’s video, making me wonder about the importance of a signature acknowledging receipt of a ticket.

Are our officers better trained and more thoughtful than those who tasered these errant motorists?  I would hope so.  However, in a time of great stress, I think the likelihood of error with a taser is high enough to warrant caution. 

Let’s learn more about their proposed use.  I encourage the Chief to come to the next meeting with a comprehensive plan that more clearly demonstrates the need, and that allays the fears of the public.  Otherwise, I will continue to oppose this purchase.

My mother lives in the area and sent this article to me.  I’m glad to hear people wanted more answers before proceeding.

I am right now looking at an article in the Danbury News Times from Wed, 3/5/08: “Upstate NY Man Dies After Tasered By Police Officer.” Cardiac arrest at 37 years old… hmmmmm.  Maybe they aren’t so safe?

What do the Westport PD need the tasers for?  Is it for drunken kids? Is it for mentally ill?  If a cop does not like how someone looks at them can they taser them (and trust me - I know THIS does happen)?

One option that’s a whole lot less violent and more beneficial to everyone - investing in CIT Training, a wonderful program that trains police officers in specific ways to work with the mentally ill.  Nati’l Assoc of Mental Illness (NAMI) has reams of info on this and would be delighted to help the Westport PD set this up.  Post a comment if you want more details and I’d be happy to get names and #s.

I think Mr. Grimm does the BOF disservice when he says that the BOF “rubber stamps these smaller expenditures that are unnecessary and unpopular, will show greater scrutiny and act in a Hypocratic manner”.

Having served on both the RTM and the BOF, I know that both bodies sometimes spend inordinate amounts of time on small items.  It’s not wrong to do so and both boards continue to do so.  We did spend a lot of time debating it at the BOF meeting—admitedly not as much as the RTM did in this case.

I know for one when I first saw the request I asked myself, “Why in the world does Westport need tasers?” I spent quite a lot of time on what I knew is a controversial subject including reading a report from the CT legislature on the subject: http://www.cga.ct.gov/2006/rpt/2006-R-0166.htm, that was written in 2006 but which indicated among other things which CT communities have tasers and the issues regarding training.  I also found it instructive that all our surrounding communities do have tasers, even Weston.  I then spent about 2 hours reviewing various web sites, pro and con, on tasers and looked at Youtube.com videos of both police and non police use of tasers.  I am sure at least some of the BOF members spent similar amounts of time reviewing the subject. 

Ultimately I was persuaded by the nature of the tasers that we are purchasing (with video imaging when they are turned on) (I know it has obvious limitations), the training of the police force in their use and the fact that the police who use them will be tasered (if that is a word) (and I know it will be for a much shorter time than what may be used in reality).  I am concerned about mis-use but have faith in Chief Fiore and the Westport Police Department and their training programs.  I also think that in situations where the sole alternative is to draw a weapon and fire, it can be a better solution.

I acknowledge that it is a controversial subject and that individuals have strong views in favor of or against tasers, but the main purpose of my writing this is to assure readers that, in fact, at least some of the BOF members, perhaps all, spent meaningful time researching an expenditure which comes from an account which is for restricted use and not from taxpayers’ wallets.  You may disagree with our vote on this, but we generally do our homework.

Charlie Haberstroh
Board of Finance

Thanks, Mr Haberstroh.  For your service, and for providing this information.  Personally, just knowing that an officer has had the experience of being tasered before being authorized to use one does a lot to reduce my concern.

I learned at the RTM Public Protection Committee meeting and as as Charlie points out, officers in training only get a 1 second shock, while the standard initial shock given in the field is 5 seconds. With many people given multiple 5-second shocks.  The 1 second shock given to officers in training makes for great PR value and helps Taser close many sales, but it does not give a realistic experience of what people in the field actually experience.

Many forces have stopped allowing their officers to be tased in training, largely due to many documented cases of officers suffering career-ending injuries during the tasing. 

John McCarthy
RTM District 9

Yes, Mr. McGee, I do in fact live out of town right now, but as stated above my mother lives in the area.  I grew up in the area and almost all my many siblings live there. So I am still active in the issues surrounding lower Fairfield County and have vested interest as to what goes on there. As for being out of touch… not really… I and my family feel very strongly about the misuse of tasers by police officers, even college-educated ones.  The stories and pictures you see and hear about are on the news are many and vicious (even right here - above). I am attaching some from YouTube. It seems a large part of the problem comes from the policies put in place by the police dept and how those policies are ENFORCED.  We have a relative who is mentally ill and was arrested out of state and tasered for calling a police officer a name.  Interestingly, this taser report is not in the police report. Was the cop who tasered this individual college educated?  I don’t know.  How did that get by his superiors? Mis-use does happen like it or not. Thank you for bringing to the public’s attention the fact that Westport has a CIT Program IN PROGRESS. Kudos to the police dept there for doing this. It is reassuring to know that Westport is one of the towns in the area to understand the importance of CIT training and not mishandling the mentally ill.  I understand Ridgefield has also just signed on.  Our family applauds this.  I stand by my opinion that more research needs to be done and that the policy behind the use, mis-use of these tasers is very significant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMpEr-MOSyk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMaMYL_shxc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqbmasNeOmM&feature=related

Hey McGee.....Thanks for the comment.....about time someone with some common sense joins in here.  Love the way you think.

Maybe the Police Department should institute a ride along program ???  The “ride-alongers” can only be brought to the dangerous police calls such as a bank robbery or burglary or a combative person on a traffic stop. But make sure they have to sign a waiver as to not hold the town liable for any injury/illness that may occur as a result of anything that CAN happen on any given shift.  I’ll be the first to sign up. 

Funny tho, the officers don’t get to do that.  Yea, they’re paid well, but let’s be real here, no amount of money is worth getting hurt, contracting AIDS or something similar, or even beling killed.  Any of these can happen in a split second.

Here’s my idea--- Maybe we should ask the wives, husbands, AND children of our police officers if they want their loved ones to carry tasers. Maybe they will get a little extra sleep at night knowing their mom or dad is that much safer. No idiot said that police are going to taser some drunked stupid kid.  Let their parents handle that.

Apparently people just don’t get it.  I think I’ve said it before, but who cares.  Who are the VERY FIRST people we call EVERY TIME when ANYTHING goes wrong?  Fire Dep’t? EMS? Selectman’s Office?  Nope...we all call the police.  Maybe next time you call the police because your alarm goes off for no reason and your shi**ing your pants, think of what they are going through.  They are the ones who WILL encounter a burglar if there is one in your house.  THEY will be the one to put THEIR lives on the line for you.  Give them some credit.  This is becomming a complete disgrace.  You people should all be ashamed of yourselves.

Maybe then I’ll just use my own $20,000 and “donate” the tasers to our police

Given the sentiment expressed here and at the RTM, both pro and con, it looks like the taser issue is a little controversial.  Seeing that, doesn’t it makes sense to think about and discuss the issue more fully rather than rush into things?

I voted to postpone, but I did it with some trepidation, for I really felt that we should have spent a little more time fleshing out more of the issues prior to a postponement.  However, postponement was in order, for the public has expressed nothing but concern regarding arming our police with tasers, and frankly, the case for purchasing them hadn’t been made.  It would have been interesting to hear more from the administrative side on why we need tasers.  Just for the record, I personally haven’t made up my mind on whether or not to approve the taser purchase.

KDG/RTM Dst-9

I am a retired Police Inspector of the Westport Police Dept since 1994. I still find it amusing that people on the RTM who have NO KNOWLEDGE of police work, their equipment and tactics would prevent the duly appointed Police Chief to purchase equipment which he deems to be beneficial to his men. By all accounts, Chief Fiore has done a good job as chief, so why would anyone deny, or table a request for proper equipment. I know that the First Selectman would trust his department heads to make major decisions of running their departments. Of course there is extensive training and guidelines set up by the chief, and the money is from the asset forfeiture money which can only be used to enhace the equipment of the department. I actually was surprised that the department wasn’t already equipped with the Taser, as it is widely accepted across the country as a valuable tool in Police work. It is not only to be used in a situation where you would shoot someone, but to temporarily disable a combatant, who very well might cause an officer to be injured. I know that there are many officers injured in the day-to-day duties relating to arrests, and if they could be prevented it would be a huge benefit to the department. Please, quickly rethink the decision to table the Taser issue and let the department get current equipment that could save serious injury to the department members.  Thank You S. Smith

In a town where the police are notorious for messing with teenagers, I can only imagine the REAL use these tasers are going to get. Everyone is aware of the fact that cops treat teenagers like **** in this town. Who is going to get more attitude from a cop if they get pulled over: a 50 year old man or woman or an 18 year old kid driving his dad’s Mercedes or Lexus?

Westport cops don’t have as much non-traffic violation crime to attend to as other towns’ cops do so perhaps it gives them something to do. I have heard many stories of police busting into parties where teenagers are drinking and acting irrationally: tackling kids who they believe are trying to run away, smashing bottles at their feet, and screaming and cursing. I would be willing to bet 95% of the taser victims will be these teenagers at parties. Think about it.

My issue with the tasers isn’t the funding, but rather the legitimate questions of: “Why do our cops need a device that very likely will do more harm than good? Has our department ever had an issue of our officers being assaulted? Under what scenarios would these devices be used? How many times have our officers gotten in a situation where they wished they had a taser?”

In a city I could see why tasers might be desired. In a town like this where we have a very low number of violent-crimes, I don’t see why we need to arm our officers with a very abusable and unnecessary device. 

Let me end by saying I have the highest respect for the job our officers do- perhaps that is why we have so little crime. I have always felt comfortable around our officers and I know they are all well-trained and intelligent. However, when it comes down to the issues our town faces, such as little violent crime and high amounts of teenage drinking, I just see so much potential for abuse. Perhaps we should just keep things the way they are. Thank you and I realize this will be a controversial post. Let me hear it

I am one of the Board of Finance members who voted unanimously for the police department request for Tasers. Like Charlie, I spent hours reviewing the available literature, watching the videos, benchmarking other similar towns, and speaking with public safety personnel.

While the BOF generally reviews appropriation requests primarily on financial merit and/or departmental need, this request solicited far greater discussion than larger requests.  The funds were to come from a criminal forfeiture account (e.g., drug raids, etc.) rather than taxpayer funds, so the discussion focused on the police department’s due diligence. Few members of the public spoke on the issue.

My vote was based on my research and in my confidence in the police department’s due diligence. I actually shifted my intuitive feeling about the request (from being against to being for) after completing the research and questioning the police department.

Here are a few highlights:

1) One Westport EMS responder recalled to me an incident in a neighboring town where he was saved from imminent harm by a police officer using a taser on a man attacking him.

2) Towns around Westport where police have use of tasers include: Darien, Fairfield, Greenwich, and New Canaan. These towns have similar demographics to Westport. Westport’s police department should have comparable capabilities and tools.

3) Training and policies are crucial. There are definite best practices available regarding when to use this type of force, the steps to follow after taser use including first aid if needed, how to document usage, and an investigative policy. The Westport police chief assured us that all these issues were formally addressed.

In response to Mr. Wright’s comment, the only reason it is “controversial” is because of the pure ignorance and disrespect to the Police.  Let me start by asking, where do you come up with the theory that the police are “notorious for messing with teenagers”?  I would also like to know where you get the information as to how the police act irrationally at teenage drinking parties.  Could all this information possibly come from the teenagers themselves, who do not want to tell their parents what they were really doing and exaggerate the facts. 
Mr. Wright’s comment as to the REAL use the Tasers would get is completely absurd.  According to Mr. Wright, the teenagers in Westport are marked targets and should not go out in the streets otherwise they would get tasered.  To say that 95% of the people that would be tasered would be the kids at drinking parties just shows that you have no idea for one, about what Tasers are used for, and for two, you have no idea what is involved in the day to day function of a police officer and to comment on their behavior is a disrespect to their service.  I will agree with you that there is a lower number of violent crimes committed in Westport and that is because the Police do an excellent job.  Please do not say that you have the highest respect for the job Police do and that you feel comfortable around the Officers because they are intelligent and well trained, because the comments you just made show truly the opposite. 
Let me ask you, do you think that the Police Officers in Weston and Ridgefield have more violent crime than Westport?  Those officers are equipped with Tasers.  Do they act irrationally and go around tasering drunken teenagers? I haven’t heard of that happening.  I understand why people can be against the use of a Taser.  The only publicity Tasers receive is when something bad happens.  How about the hundreds of times Tasers are used and you do not hear anything.  Does Mr. Wright only believe that the Westport Police only deal with teenagers at house parties?  How many times do you during your business day interact with people arrested for murder, manslaughter, armed robbery or other violent offenses?  I guarantee you that the Officers in Westport deal with these types of individuals more than you would want to know.My advice to the RTM is to approve the funding for the Tasers so the officers in Westport can perform their jobs and continue to keep the residents of Westport and themselves safe.

Mr. Grimm is quit to post inks against Tasers. I believe that alot of the facts for postponing the vote was based on Canada.  Here is an article reporting that Ontarior Police will purchase 100 Tasers.

http://www.officer.com/online/article.jsp?siteSection=1&id=40531

It’s funny to see Ridgefield used as an example, considering their selectmen heard the research and turned down the purchase for 4 consecutive years.  The police there acquired tasers with money from an anonymous donor.  From all reports, that seems to be going well (extreme sarcasm intended there).

As for Ontario, with a population of over 7,000,000 (with 70% living in cities), is that a reasonable comparison?  Nobody here has asserted that there is no place for tasers, only that Westport may not be that place. 

Finally, if there is any doubt about the data from the manufacturer, which appears to be critical, and there are active cases asserting that the training may be dangerous to our officers, what harm is there in getting more information?

SIMPLY PUT....Unless you people are doing their jobs on a daily basis, you need to keep your mouths shut.  Enough with the ignorant statements and bogus facts and statistics you are pulling from the internet.  There are over 900,000 police officers in this country.  If a mere handful or so have had negative reactions to the taser while being certified in its use over the past 5 years?  So be it.  Same goes with pepper spray, CN gas, CS gas, etc.  They all have that, and have been trained similarly with it. You people are beating this to DEATH! Leave it be for God sake and just let them do their jobs without your nonsense input.  We don’t see them coming to OUR jobs and giving their 2 cents on how we should do our every day tasks, and voting on wether or not we should have a latte machine in the company kitchen.  And for the king of ignorance himself, saying that police treat their children poorly in this town?  Let’s get everyone off the pedestal for a moment here and realize that if these kids had ANY respect at all for authority, things might be a bit different.  After all.....a 16 year old that’s been boozing it up all night with 200 friends has a great deal of credibility.  After all, it’s the cops fault they got arrested, not their own.  Right?  That all starts on the home front.

It seems no one wants to comment when the Police in Westport do an excellent job, so I will post this comment where everyone seems to be.  Maybe this will give a glimpse of what our Polie deal with during their daily job. 
How can this be?  There was a violent crime in Westport?  This people, is one of the reasons the police officers in town should have Tasers.  For people to live their lives and think that nothing can happen in Westport is ridiculous.  You know when bad things happen?  When you get too complacent. The police department should have every necessary tool at their disposal to keep the residents of the community they protect safe.  The judge in this case called the suspects crimes “sadistic”.  I remember someone saying under the article about the RTM postponing taser funding, “that this is Westport, not Bridgeport”, “nothing happens here”.  Well, the cold, harsh reality is that it does happen here.  If I recall correctly, these two individuals were arrested in Westport, while committing one of these burglaries.  They also committed a home invasion burglary (in another town) and injured an elderly man because he was in their way.  The victims in Westport of these two criminals are only fortunate that they were not home when the “sadistic” criminals broke into their homes or they might have met a similar or worse fate.  You must understand that criminals not only go after the easiest targets, they also want to get the biggest reward for their effort.  So, if a criminal wants to break in a steal from a house, where is his greatest reward?  A house in Bridgeport or a house in Westport?  The public and the RTM must realize that Westport is not protected by a little bubble.  Criminals come here to commit crimes and the sooner they realize this and provide the Police with the necessary equipment, the safer the community and the officers will be.  Please allow the funding for the Police Dept to acquire Tasers as another tool in the fight against these criminals.

I am not going to comment further on why tasers or why not tasers, despite Mr. Grimm’s request that I do so.  I don’t know anything about newsinferno.com, the source that he quoted and don’t want to try to judge postings on a website which could be posted by anyone.  The site that I referred to in my earlier comment was a study by the CT legislature. I looked at others, but discounted “news” stories by entities or individuals I did not recognize and could not easily verify.  As I am sure he is aware, the internet is full of misleading “stories” and innuendos.  Perhaps Mr. Grimm would like to corroborate the findings mentioned by newsinferno.com and explain why none of the suits seem to have been adjudicated despite the length of time—7 years, 5 years since apparent filing.  My point is merely that since one can find literally almost anything on the internet, one should to be extremely cautious in quoting “facts” from unnamed sources. (I have no reason to believe that newsinferno.com is incorrect or correct in its “reporting”.)

Charlie Haberstroh
Board of Finance.

From the Arizona Republic:

Type Size Navajo County school locked down after gunman threatens woman
Associated Press
Mar. 6, 2008 04:51 PM

JOSEPH CITY - Navajo County sheriff’s officials say a man threatened his girlfriend with a gun at an elementary school Thursday.

Deputies rushed to Joseph City Elementary School just before 10 a.m. when a woman called to report her boyfriend had pointed a gun at her while she was outside the school office.

Sheriff’s official say they ordered the school secured and launched a search for the 19-year-old Jerdane Dixon.

He was found at a nearby truck stop and ran from deputies. They caught up with him and subdued him with a Taser, then discovered he had tried to slash his throat with a knife. He was in surgery late Thursday afternoon at a Winslow hospital.

Interesting.

Charlie Haberstroh
Board of Finance

Clearly, I am only pointing out there are articles pro and con on tasers. 

The debate is in the RTM which as the legislative branch of Westport government is the proper place to have a public forum on the subject to set public policy.

Since there are logical arguments to be made on both sides of the “Taser” issue, we might consider having a broader discussion here. How you feel about Tasers probably has a lot to do with your view of human nature. Do you believe that well-intentioned people are, for the most part, able to keep things running well? Then you’re probably pro-Taser, pro-nuclear energy, pro-Iraq War. Do you consider humans well-intentioned but a bit disorganized and prone to error? Then you’d probably prefer not to trust them with tools that can lead, even unintentinonally, to anyone’s death.

You can guess I’m on the “fallible people” side of the road. I simply don’t understand why we would want to put another dangerous tool into play in what is already a complex and difficult dynamic.

In many, many situations nationwide, Tasers have been used for “compliance,” not when the officer is not at risk, but on unarmed people who simply refuse to follow orders. I’d like to think our officers wouldn’t go there. But as a parent, I know how often I resort to the “big guns” (grounding, allowance withholding) when other tactics would be more effective—and this is with children I love! Anger and frustration are difficult to overcome, especially when trust between community members has eroded.

We’re living in a time when “customer service” doesn’t exist and customers are rude to salespeople. When teachers can’t reprimand children without fear of being sued. And when many people feel the town bodies (BoE, RTM, P&Z;) don’t treat them fairly. Not by any bad intent, but because people, and their systems, are imperfect.

I don’t think it’s any secret that the level of trust between the police force and part of the town population is at its nadir. Is it that many of our kids are rude and entitled? Probably. Are the cops less than thrilled with some of the adults they “serve,” who act similarly entitled and treat them poorly? Sure seems like it. Are citizens tired of watching other people “get away with” cell phone use, tailgating, and cutting each other off? Absolutely. Are they frustrated by police officers who themselves flout the law—speeding (no sirens or lights) or not signaling? I know I am. Why would we want to introduce a frequently misused and potentially lethal weapon into that equation?

We can continue to up the ante in the belief that the times require more weapons, stronger locks, and bigger security systems, putting more and more distance between “us” and “them.” Or we can own up to the fact that we are never, no matter what artillery we amass, guaranteed to be safe. The best we can do is learn to see each other as people—something we are doing less with each weapon we buy.

Beautiful.

You need to Register and be logged in to post comments. If you are already registered but are not logged in, you can Login here.

Name:

Email:

Location:

URL:

Remember my personal information

Notify me of follow-up comments?

Submit the word you see below:

Please note by clicking on "Submit" you acknowledge that you have read the Terms of Service and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Inappropriate posts may be removed.

<< Back to main

Register / Log in

Registration is required to post comments.
Register  •  Login

SPONSORS

We all need help facing difficult
life issues.

Ann Abram, PhD
Certified Psychoanalyst

Individuals, Couples,
Groups Psychotherapy

203-299-0478
www.drannabram.com

Top Driver,
the nation's premier driving school, is now in Westport at
830 Post Road East

To enroll, call
1-800-374-8373
or go to
topdriver.com