Advice From Dear Ol' Dad

Last week, a young man was shot and killed by the Trenton Police Department, and many people were enraged. It was even called murder. I was not there, so I cannot testify as to what happened. I can, however, add a few thoughts to this sad situation. Blogolanders, as you know I am White Anglo-Saxon Prostestant - a WASP. I grow up in a pleasant house in a pleasant neighborhood with both parents involved. As my sister and I reached the age when we could travel about on our own, Dear Ol' Dad gave us both a piece of advice - NEVER, EVER MOUTH OFF TO A COP. This advice is too often ignored which causes problems; so many of the incidents here in Trenton could be avoided if citizens followed instructions - even if the cops are wrong! The place to sort this out is the stationhouse and/or the courtroom. Running from the cops or ignoring an order only makes everything worse. I gave my son this advice. Now, for the really hard part. A very hard truth. Cops, and everyone else, are not trained to wound, to shoot in the leg, or the left thumb. They are trained to hit the torso dead center. They are trained to shoot to kill - NOT WOUND. A wounded person is as dangerous as one not wounded.
So please, Trentonians, if you have a run in with the police, co-operate. If the cops were wrong, you can sort that out later.