STORM2K

Here in Mississippi we have small communities that cannot afford to pay for qualified police protection. It's not uncommon for officers to start at 20K. Here's the problem. If you have a clean criminal record and a valid drivers license you can become an officer without any prior training. The stipulation is that you attend the police academy within one year of your date of hire. We recently lost an officer in the line of duty. He had been on the job less than one month. While pursuing a crack cocaine dealer he lost his life. He was killed with his own 9MM. His replacement is a young man that is gung-ho. Everyone he stops, he forces them to leave their vehicles and place their hands on the hood. Sounds like a safe practice only problem is that some women noticed he was stopping mostly women. Turns out 98% of his traffic violation citations were female. Needless to say....he's gone.

We have another pending problem. On November 2, 2008 our community goes non-smoking. A new ordinance. Most of our officers smoke. What is it going to be like when dispatch and patrol officers cannot smoke? I remember when I quit the ciggies back in '95. The first week was HELL.

You would be better off with no cops than a bunch of Barney Fifes strutting around.