Who Guards the Guards: Who Arms Those Who Shouldn’t Be Armed?
The San Francisco Chronicle offered an interesting story, and it is disturbing to say the least:
“The FBI and the Richmond Police Department are investigating allegations that two officers recruited teens from the department’s Explorer program into their private security firm, illegally armed them with guns and sent them to patrol the city’s most dangerous housing complexes, The Chronicle has learned.
“After two of the Explorers complained about their jobs, they had a falling-out with their mentors. The officers then hired a private investigator who used attractive decoys to try to coax one of the young men into a drunken-driving arrest, according to the women who took part in the setup.”
The story later adds that officers bought the pair pistols when the youths were just 19 and 20 years old!
The paper further notes:
“The officers, Danny Harris and Ray Thomas, are on paid leave and have accused their department of targeting them because they are African American.”
Is there any part of this story that isn’t truly upsetting?
[SFGate: Richmond cops accused of hiring, arming Explorers]
Better Way to Get “Guns” Off the Street
The NBC affiliate in Augusta, Georgia is reporting that there has been a major crackdown in drug dealers and other criminals, and the result could be big. This is the sort of “getting guns off the street” measure we like. This wasn’t a nonsensical attempt to “buyback” the guns, but rather go after the actual criminals. The news site reports:
“Dozens of drug dealers and hundreds of thousands of dollars in drugs and guns are off the streets in Aiken, Edgefield and Richmond counties. The drug sweep included officers at the local, state and federal levels.”
One arrest at a man’s house resulted in said home – which was already condemned – being raised to the ground, while he faces 30 years in prison. Kudos to the law enforcement involved in this case. This is the kind of efforts we’re happy to report about at FirearmsTruth.
Gun Crime Problem in California
California has some of the worst gun laws in the country, at least for those law-abiding citizens who wish to own a firearm. But clearly the liberal leaning officials in the state must look the other way when criminals are involved with guns. This according to KGO-TV in San Francisco, which offers this take on gun crime in the City of Richmond:
“Thousands of bullets were taken off the streets of Richmond in just the past three months. Richmond police say they confiscate at least one gun each day and it is creating a backlog of cases which makes it harder to convict.
“When asked what happens if you get caught with a gun for the first time, Richmond resident Kenan Shackelford says, ‘Oh basically you get a slap on the wrist, you’re going home [with] an ankle monitor or maybe probation.’ He says he knows this because he just got out for armed robbery.”
We must ask, why are law-abiding citizens treated like criminals when it comes to gun rights in California, whilst the real criminals get a slap on the wrist and are sent home? This is the problem with the state of gun laws in this country, and it is clearly getting worse. Criminals do bad things with guns, but it is society at a whole that pays the price.
