Friday, January 13, 2012

There are scores of reasons why I wouldn't live in Massacusetts on a bet

This is one of them.
McKay is the young father who, seeing a local druggie breaking into his truck and stealing the tools he uses to pay the bills, confronted him, subdued him and held him for the police. When the police arrived, they found the bad guy had a knife, a billy club and — thanks to the unarmed McKay — a broken jaw.

Instead of thanking McKay for helping get an armed criminal off the streets, Swampscott officials charged him with a felony. As a Swampscott police spokesman said at the time, “We don’t urge anybody to fight back. We want them to call us.”
This particular story had a "happy" ending - the District Attorney declined to prosecute - but things might have turned out differently if it hadn't been for the publicity generated by the Boston Herald. The police can't have it both ways. They cannot, on the one hand, insist that they're not liable for not protecting you and your property, and on the other, prevent you from protecting yourself and your stuff.

Update: Daytona Beach authorities have a more commonsensical attitude (H/T: Jeff).
Posted by at

9 comments:

  1. mojoJanuary 13, 2012 at 5:30 PM

    Missing info: what was the felony he was charged with?

    "Aggravated self-defense"?
    "Failure to Roll Over"?
    "Conspiracy to Prevent Crime"?

    ReplyDelete
  2. JeffSJanuary 13, 2012 at 5:40 PM

    More likely "Aiding and Abetting Common Sense And Basic Decency", mojo.

    TW: bangn. Agreed, AI. "BANG!" and the criminal is dead.

    ReplyDelete
  3. JeffSJanuary 13, 2012 at 5:43 PM

    PS:

    Here's a palate cleaner, where Common Sense and Basic Decency prevail.

    But then, it didn't happen in Taxachussets.

    ReplyDelete
  4. YojimboJanuary 13, 2012 at 7:29 PM

    "Failure to co-exist"

    ReplyDelete
  5. Michael LonieJanuary 13, 2012 at 9:09 PM

    "When seconds count the police are only minutes away."

    If they get there at all.

    ReplyDelete
  6. MinicaptJanuary 13, 2012 at 9:33 PM

    Publish the name and photo of the policewankers who made the arrest/laid the charges. Then perhaps they will determine that 'pissing people off' might be professionally counter-productive.

    Cheers

    ReplyDelete
  7. jonahJanuary 14, 2012 at 4:47 AM

    Massachusetts drivers are some of the rudest sonsabitches on the road.

    How is it that people like that can submit so meekly and surrender
    themselves to Kennedys and statists
    and be so slave minded?

    ReplyDelete
  8. PacoJanuary 14, 2012 at 8:54 AM

    Jonah: It has also been my recollection that they are the rudest (and among the worst) drivers.

    ReplyDelete
  9. MinicaptJanuary 14, 2012 at 5:32 PM

    And they speak bad French.

    Cheers

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)