A Question of Values
Re: Hot Pursuit by Rochelle Renford (April 5-11)
So now car thieves have bleeding-heart advocates who are trying to prevent needless death and mayhem from high-speed car chases. Don't worry about retrieving the stolen car or apprehending the delinquent in it. Mustn't violate the car thief's rights.
As I read your story, I fully anticipated the now standard weeping & wailing relative, lamenting that his/her little repeat felon was a good person. Sure enough, I wasn't disappointed.
Call me cynical, but I'm sick of car thieves (rapists, murderers, drug dealers, you fill in the blank) who want to hold law enforcement responsible when they're injured during a chase or capture. When they're gunned down by police because they assumed a threatening posture, the officer is immediately put under a microscope. Why isn't it the other way around? Why shouldn't they be held accountable for refusing to surrender or threatening the officer while he's doing his job?
When they're killed, count on survivors of these fine, upstanding individuals to be on TV or in the paper, sobbing, wringing their hands in disbelief that this fate has befallen their loved one. The only thing that should surprise the survivors of these career criminals is that it didn't happen sooner. To add insult to injury, they frequently even file suit. Where have our values gone?
Here's a solution: If you don't want to die or be maimed in a high-speed chase, don't steal a car! Doesn't get much simpler than that.
James White
Tampa
This article appears in Apr 26 – May 3, 2001.