Two letters in the LA Times today perpetuate our stereotype of Santa Monica residents as over the top, out of touch liberals.

The first is from a Walter Johnson in Santa Monica:

I am appalled to read that in Long Beach the penalty for shooting a police dog is immediate execution. And I’m also shocked to read that there is more concern over the loss of this dog than there was over the loss of the suspect’s life, and more concern over the loss of this dog than there was over the grief and loss suffered by the suspect’s family.

… What did the officers do to help the real person? Where does human life fit into the Long Beach Police Department’s standards?

Mr Johnson may have missed the part in the original story that read “A police gang unit tried to contact the parolee late Sunday night — a routine activity, Cannan said. … The man ran out a back door, and officers pursued. He turned at one point and fired at the pursuers, who returned fire.”

The Long Beach Press Telegram picks up the story of the three separate shootouts:

A police K-9 named Ranger, a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois, was sent to lure out Murguia (the suspect). That’s when Murguia started shooting at the 11 SWAT officers, who returned fire. (emphasis ours)

and finally, with Murguia wounded under the house, officers told him to come out so he could be treated, but instead he allegedly picked up his gun and pointed it at the officers, initiating the third round of shooting.

“What did officers do to help the real person?” Mr. Johnson wails. For one, they gave him several chances to surrender after he had tried to kill them. But Mr. Johnson, being from Santa Monica, predictably jumps to the criminal’s defense.

But when we weigh where our sympathy should be: dog — or scumbag — it’s with the dog.

Technorati Tags: liberal, Santa Monica

This entry was posted on Friday, October 7th, 2005 at 2:09 pm by A Senior Administration Official and is filed under Los Angeles Times, California Schemin'. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.