SDSUsnowboards said:
The petition is to get the officer booted plus legal action afterwords.
I would be in favor of something stronger than a 2 week suspension without pay. I would not be in favor of taking the guy's job then fining and jailing him because it's my opinion that the story seems incomplete.
I doubt what was typed in that article was the whole story and I think there might have been underlying factors leading to the officer's response... That and my mistrust of the media in general (news IS a business with an agenda to sell). If the petition was different I would sign, but I only express my opinion so that maybe people would consider what this means before crucifying someone they don't know for something they don't know all the facts about.
Yours is a point that has been brought up in other places too. I'll agree with you that asking for criminal charges or revoking of his pension is a little much but 15 days leave is not punishment, it's a vacation. As a law enforcment officer his job is to protect and serve. That is not something that is at will or applies to only certain members of the public, It applies to everyone, every day. Law enforcment MUST remain impartial to physical, cultural and economic circumstances AT ALL TIMES. Wearing that badge absolutely MUST hold them to a higher standard, period. It does not give them the right to determine who lives and who dies and who deserves help and who does not. Trooper Peasley did exactly that in this instance and by doing so made the choice to no longer fulfill the duties and oath that he took upon entering law enforcement.
If you were unfortunate enough to hear the tapes played on the news yesterday morning as I was, you can easily hear from his tone and attitude that he had no care, interest or concern for Mr. Sawyer.
I personally do not believe that his actions were criminal, they do however warrant at bare minimum demotion and a full retraining. He was not simply insensitive, he was neglegent in fulfilling his duties, not once but twice in a matter of minutes. Could simply have staying on the phone, gathering facts to assess the situation and giving instruction to the caller on immediate care been a factor in saving Mr. Sawyers life? We will never know, but instructing someone who is panicked in those precious minutes when someone is bleeding out can mean the difference in life or death BEFORE professional medical attention arrives.
This isn't about being insensitive or not giving a kind word to a child, this is about total and complete disregard for human life which is a luxury that law enforcement is not allowed.
As for the petition asking for the harshest of penalties, experience has taught that you always ask for the maximum and work down from there. I didn't write the petition and I don't believe for a second that criminal charges or revocation of his pension will occur but rather that huge support of that strong of a punishment will help send the message that merely giving him 2 weeks off is just not enough.
