I am sitting here in Trujillo, Honduras watching the funeral of two Miami-Dade police officers who were killed in the line of duty last Thursday. Killed in the line of duty...It sounds so cold, so civilized. What really happened is they were slaughtered when the mother of the killer ask the officers into her apartment and the killer opened fire.
I'm not going to talk about what fine officers these two were, nor about how many family members are left behind, including children. That will be covered by the media and during the eulogies being offered. Suffice it to say the memorial service had to be held in the American Airlines Center, where the Heat plays, to accommodate the crowds of police officers from around the country attending.
What I do want to talk about is, why the hell was this monster on the streets and who the hell is the judge that put him on administrative probation, which means no reporting or supervision, after a warrant for his arrest for homicide was issued?
Now, I know I am suppose to feel sorry for this poor, undereducated young man. After all, this is a young man that Society has neglected since he was born. It is Society's fault that this young man has been classified as a career criminal since he was 17 years old. It is Society's fault that he felt he had no choice but a life of crime, since all Society did for him was provide subsidized housing; Food Stamps; free school breakfast and
lunch; a free education; free after school care; free camps in the summer; free medical care and medicines, and money to live on.
The legal system never gave him a break, a second chance. The prosecutors who could have charged him as an adult while he was a teen kept him in the Juvenile system until he was charged with armed robbery. He had been out of jail three months when he decided to commit suicide by cop, because "they were going to kill me anyway." If you want a detailed account of the repeated slaps on the hand Simms was given by judges, you can read it here, Miami Herald.
So what can we do? In Florida we vote on who will sit on the bench. We can keep a list of the judges who let these criminals go, time after time, and when election time comes we can vote them out. There are those who think this is not possible because of the campaign money that they have for political ads. Yes, we can. We don't have to listen to the ads. We can listen to the facts. This can be done in other states, too.
We can hold rallies in the streets, as is our Constitutional right. I am not advocating speech that invites violence, just speeches that convey the message that we want career criminals kept in jail. We can insist that it is insane that the crimanals are better armed than our police officers. In this incident, the criminal had a .40 caliber Glock semiautomatic with 17 rounds in the clip. The officers had 9 mms.
Let's inform our judges that we want the 10-20-Life laws enforced. Let's outlaw the sale and use of assault rifles. Don't tell me that it would interfere with your right to have hunting weapons. The only thing you can hunt with an assault rifle is a human, and they are not fit for eating. While we are at it, let's take a page from Honduras's gun laws. Not only do you have to register the gun, but register the ammunition every time you buy it. And don't tell me that abridges your right to bear arms. You have to register your car and have a license to drive it, and it does not interfere with your personal property rights
Let's enforce the laws against aiding and abetting and conspiracy and put the mother's behind in jail. Her son shot two police officers, and in Florida that means everybody involved goes to jail for life without parole.
This animal had the advantage in that he knew what his plan was, but the police officers did not. He had the advantage because his mother did not warn the officers that he was in the house and had a gun. The officers had on their vests, but a vest does not stop a head shot, and the criminal had time to aim.
So, why am I in Trujillo, Honduras, watching a funeral service in Miami? Because I have a son-in-law who is a police officer. He is out there every day, putting his life on the line. I am watching the funeral out of respect for him and for the respect for the slain officers.
Do I feel sorry for Johnny Simms? Not one bit. Do I feel sorry for his mother? I should, as I have lost a son, but no, I don't. She knew what her son was and she did not do anything to try to stop him. Do I mourn him. Never in a million years.
And that is Miss Pittypat's Truth for the day.
