What do you do with the clowns who choose to take off running when law enforcement attempts to stop them? Just last week there was a shooting in OKC where a citizen chose to run from the police and ended up shooting at an officer who was putting down "stop sticks" in an effort to end the chase. The runner was then shot and killed by police.
The debate in our house starts when we get into whether or not a police chase should have even taken place in this case. (Keep in mind my wife is criminal defense attorney.) Evidently the chase started when an OKC police officer attempted to stop a driver who was not wearing his seatbelt. Her argument is that there should never be a high-speed chase that starts with an attempt to stop someone for a seatbelt violation. My argument is the chase didn't start until the criminal decided to ignore the flashing lights and attempted to elude the officer.
We have this discussion oftern - almost everytime someone runs from a police officer and it makes the news. Who's right? Of course I think I am. I see this as a right and wrong issue. Whether or not I have done anything wrong, the law says when the flashing lights come on behind me, I must stop. There are no allowances for "there was no reason to stop me so it's OK to run."
My wife obviously believes she's right. She contends that since I'm not persecuted by the police, I don't understand why people run. Further, she tells me that it is the police officer's duty to protect the general public. "How does a high speed chase in a residential area protect the public?"
I argue that it takes a criminal with no regard for public life off the streets. She argues that it can't be worth the risk to the public to pursue the criminal. I argue if the criminal would just stop he might not be a criminal and there would be no chase.
It's almost a chicken or egg argument. I won't chase you if you don't run and I won't run if you don't try to stop me.
It's not often that I get engaged in a debate where there is no clear winner. This is one of those cases. Please feel free to share your thoughts. Maybe you can convince me she's right or convince her that I'm right.
