Taking Responsibility - Not a Difficult Concept to Grasp!

I was not going to post today. But my response to bobby g's latest comment became very long, and it made a strong enough point that I thought it should be added as a separate post. The last paragraph here really summarizes my point, the rest just explains it in more detail.

As you read, keep in mind that when I talk about FWPD, I am referring to the bureaucratic structure rather than the individual patrol officers. As far as the latter group goes, I have met some that are very good, and others that are at least slightly bad. But for the most part, they are just doing what they are told.

But the FWPD Command Staff can not offer this same excuse. They are FWPD, and responsibility for the organization as a whole and for any of the individual officer rests squarely upon each of these eighteen people. If a mistake happens, and they do nothing to correct it, then they have automatically assumed responsibility for the mistake themselves.

So, bobby g, this one's for you.

When you said: One thing you bring up about a "police-sanctioned" drug neighborhood is that the police often feel (or are told from the top down) that areas like this are fine (as long as they keep killing each other). It's when those few survivors (like us) are STILL IN those areas that points of contention arise. you hit the nail right on the head.

Watching a drug dealer cry foul over the actions of another dealer or over slight transgressions by the police is comical. You get what you deserve when you agree to play this game.

But I know an old man down here that was told by a neighbor that the dealers were using his car to hide their drugs. He did not have confidence in FWPD because of the way they mishandled a prior incident. So instead of calling the police, he stayed up that night with a loaded shotgun in hand, and watched out the window for the dealers to come near his car. If FWPD ignores our pleas for help, and they do not properly address the problems themselves, they are inviting us to become vigilantes. I believe there is legal standing for this argument.

I believe that I have a reasonable expectation that I should be able to walk about my home, my property, and even my neighborhood without fear of being molested by armed criminals. The FWPD has accepted the mandate to provide a reasonable degree of safety for the citizen's of this city. By paying taxes that fund FWPD, I have offered consideration from my end of the agreement and a legally binding contract has thus been established.

In the past, the situation was frequently such that I had to drive around the neighborhood for several minutes, reconnoitering the area before I felt that I could safely approach my own home. That certainly meets the legal definition for apprehension or intimidation which means such acts constitute an assault against me.

If FWPD fails to deliver on their promise of providing public safety, then I should reasonably be allowed to act as my own rescuer from this assault, thus invoking the doctrine of Danger invites rescue. At this point, FWPD would become the tortfeasor, and be forced to assume financial responsibility for any suffering which I might incur while doing that which they had contracted with me to do themselves.

Of course I'm no lawyer, and all that legal B.S. above was pulled from my memories of an old business law class I took and wikipedia. Any real lawyer would be able to quickly point out a serious contradiction in the terms I used. But I think the logic is still solid. If the police will not ensure my safety, then I must do so myself.

But even if a forlorn citizen could make a legal rationalization for an act of self-defense, most of us are not professionally trained to handle this type of situation. So if FWPD forces us to take care of the problem ourselves, it's likely to not turn out very well. When FWPD uses a blanket approach and fails to distinguish between the good, the bad and the down right ugly among the people in this neighborhood, they cause the problem to become far worse. They might not be the source of the problem, but they are certainly a big part of it.

The day after my house was firebombed, a FWPD officer said something very inappropriate to me. This was too serious an offense to ignore, so I called the desk sergeant and asked who I could speak with about it. He referred me to Internal Affairs. I told them I did not want to file a formal complaint. I just wanted to know if our telephone conversation had been taped. If it was, I wanted Chief York to listen to it, then tell me if he thought the officer had acted inappropriately.

I was told that they could not even check to see if the tape existed unless I filed a formal complaint first. Here I just wanted to have a private conversation but apparently that was not an option. The only means I was allowed for addressing this problem was to file a complaint.

Then, after filing this complaint, they summarily dismissed it without investigation or explanation. Again, I tried to reach Chief York to talk about the matter off the record but received no response. So the only option available to me was to file a formal appeal. It took more than a month for their "investigation" this time, and I expect they had to spend a bit of money having their lawyers review it.

In this complaint, I accused a high ranking officer of racketeering, and their only response was to say "We disagree." They did not invite me to come before them to explain myself or to answer any questions. They gave no real explanation for their dismissal. They gave no detailed response to my complaint. Their letter of response may as well have just said "Dear sir, Fuck You! Sincerely, the City of Fort Wayne."

I did not want to make noise, I did not want to broadcast my story publicly, but the stubborn refusal of FWPD to simply engage me in dialogue has left me no choice other than to air their dirty laundry for them.

If you shit your britches, wouldn't it be prudent to excuse yourself and clean up the mess? Only an idiot tries to just act like it never happened, and ignores the fact that people are pointing at him and saying "Hey, you stink. I think you need to change your underwear."

We all screw up sometimes, but it's how we react to this that is most important. FWPD shit their britches and is either unaware of it or is just trying to act like it never happened. There is a major malfunction with the FWPD, and this needs to be corrected.

Recommended Training Video for FWPD Command Staff