Keith Pounds

By Guest Columnist Keith Pounds

I have to include a short note on the recent episode of the Florida State Trooper chasing a local police officer from Miami-Dade County. I’ve taken the time to watch the entire video, so before you comment make sure you watch it too.

While even the media pundits are still to skittish to remark too extensively on the matter, I’ll give you my interpretation before the Elitists convince you that something else happened, when it actually didn’t.

The State Trooper finally pulled over the local officer – after having chased him 12 MILES for 4 minutes and 57 seconds traveling up to speeds of 120 miles per hour – and the local police officer first refused to get out of the car. Then he dared to tell the State Trooper that “the handcuffs aren’t necessary.” Then, repeatedly said, “I can’t believe this” to the State Trooper. He gave the poor excuse of having been speeding at 6 am because he was late for his off duty job at a local private school. In the video, the local cop is even heard saying that “there are high level people there,” as if to suggest that the State Trooper might get in trouble for pulling him over.

We’ll sidestep the issue of why this local cop was burning up the taxpayer’s gas money going to an off-duty job in a Taxpayer’s vehicle, when he should have been driving his own personal vehicle.

There is some issue about the State Trooper pulling a gun on the local cop while the local cop sat in the car refusing to expose his hands. But what would you expect this Trooper to do after chasing someone at speeds up to 120 miles an hour for almost 5 minutes and 12 miles? As far as the State Trooper knew, the person in the car could have killed an officer and stolen his car.

: FHP Trooper Watts arrests Miami Dade Police Lopez for excessive speeding

What do you think that local cop would have done if he pulled YOU OVER doing 120 MPH for 12 miles? Safe to say that you would have had some bruises, a black eye or two plus some HEFTY criminal charges.??I have many close friends who are police officers. In fact, in my hometown, one of my closest friends has been on the job for over about 15 years. I know firsthand that far too many local cops have an “us versus them” mentality. That is to say, far too many genuinely hate the general public and think that we are the reason their job is so crappy.

The primary reason is that their training is horrible.

Forget the “blue wall of silence” argument. Fact is, these are government employees who have outrageous salaries and benefits. Even in tough economic times they receive horrible personality training and are (not unlike many, but not all school teachers) are constantly told how wonderful they are by Liberals and Conservatives to the point that they forget they work for us.

This local cop should give thanks that he was pulled over by a State Trooper (those who typically receive very highly regarded training) and not by a local cop (who typically joined the force because, like school teachers and social workers – couldn’t get a job anywhere else because his intelligence level isn’t high enough).

??I doubt it will happen, but I hope some talking head will separate agents like State Troopers, and even military members, from local police officers. Some of us are bit tired of local cops receiving undue recognition as heroes when far, far too many of them are on the force only because they are local boys who can’t get a job anywhere else.

No offense to my dear friends who are serving – but you know who you are. I have had this discussion with them many, many times.

Keith Pounds is a Lebanon/Grenada-era veteran having served as a Corpsman (Combat Medic) in the U.S. Navy and with the Marine Corps where he earned the designation of Surface Warfare Specialist, and specialized in Combat Casualty Care and Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Warfare.

He holds an MBA with a concentration in Organizational Psychology and is the originator of the blog Keithpounds.com. He is also the author of several books including “The Psychology of Management” and “You’re Hysterical: How Modern Feminine Hysteria has Eliminated the Male Role in Society.”