This is not a statement in support of killing police officers, but this may be part of the problem:
“We’re very well aware of the society that we’re living in right now and the time,” he said. “And that there are some not-so-positive views of law enforcement that a segment of our population holds.”
“If we don’t provide the service in the area that we do, with the personal-type service that we do, we’re nothing more than an occupying army,” he said.
Sergeant Parizek said, “We’re going to do what we can to keep ourselves safe” adding that the police would continue to “answer the call” as expected.
I wonder where we could start looking for the cause of those "not-so-positive views of law enforcement" ...
Obviously, police officers have a right to defend themselves -- the same right that ALL citizens have. The problem is that some officers extrapolate from that to the point that they believe anything they do is justified if it means they get to go home at the end of their shift. And that leads to cops harassing people who shouldn't be harassed, cops beating people who shouldn't be beaten, cops shooting people who shouldn't be shot, and cops killing people who shouldn't be killed. It won't get better until law enforcement starts cleaning up its own house.
I don't know about Des Moines but, in some communities (unfortunately), answering the call "as expected" equates to an expectation of jack-booted thuggery. Therein lies the problem.
