City Manager names Price Robinson new Police Chief. Is it too soon to start giving advice?

According to a news release from the Midland Police Department, city manager Courtney Sharp has named Price Robinson as the new Police Chief, and that's good news for the city of Midland, Texas. Chief Robinson has been with the MPD since 1980, and having served as interim chief for the past several months surely gave him an edge. A promotion from within the department probably sits well with the MPD employees, too.

Good job Mr. Sharp, and congratulations Chief Robinson. So is it too soon to start giving the new Chief advice? Probably not, let's throw in two cents worth anyway.

I've attended a couple of MPD awards banquets over the past few years. And each time it was great to see the fine and deserving men and women of the force honored publicly.

However, here's my beef. At each ceremony there was a medal of valor or some other award given to the officer or team of officers who were involved in the killing of a civilian by the police. It seems almost routine that these killings are eventually validated by investigating authorities, so there will no doubt be those who disagree with me on this, and I respect that -- I'm only speaking for myself here. But as a civilian watching someone get an award for killing another civilian left me feeling a little bit queasy.  Yes, we want our officers to protect and serve with valor. But we also want our fellow citizens to live to see another day, and if it's a bad guy/gal, live to see his/her day in court. If the ultimate goal of a police officer is to defuse a dangerous situation, then a resolution leaving a dead civilian doesn't seem like a successful outcome and shouldn't deserve an award.

So here's my suggestion: Give an award to each officer who has NOT killed a civilian in the past year. Better yet, simply stop giving out the awards to those involved in the shooting of civilians.

I don't want to give them any ideas here, but I suppose they could address the issue by banning civilians from the awards program.

In any event, we should welcome and congratulate Chief Price Robinson.  I feel sure he will be a good chief and make us proud of the Midland Police Department.

Updated 12/17/08 re comments. The comments left on 12/17/08 are not appearing for some reason. If you left a comment and it doesn't appear here, please be patient. Here's what Typepad says:

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Rest assured that I value your comments whether you agree or disagree. (And on this post most seem to agree about Chief Robinson and disagree about the awards.)

Comments

[Les]

I would hope the award is for facing a deadly situation and surviving rather than for the killing of the civilian. Was that not the essence of the presentation?

[Les]

Oh yeah, and I offer my congratulations to Chief Robinson.

[polees]

Sorry. Next time I'll let the guy kill or take hostage the innocent civilians standing 20 feet away. Or I'll just throw myself at him and hope for the best. Would it make you feel better if I gave the medal back?

[Dom Evets]

I would think the award appropriate if innocent lives were spared death or injury as a result of the officer's action.

[Geo]

Les -- You asked if the essence of the award was for facing a deadly situation and surviving rather than the killing of the civilian. Maybe it was. To verify that we would need to see a medal of valor given to someone who did that but didn't kill a civilian.

Polees --- If you were the recipient of such an award please give us the details of the incident.

Dom Evets -- You are right. If innocent lives were saved then the officer's actions would have been appropriate. That depends on the circumstance. In a circumstance in which the victim was held down by police, pointed his finger at the police and was shot dead it's difficult to count the lives saved.

To all -- Some of these incidents were probably captured on video tape, but the public never sees them. How about making the tapes public.

[Dennis]

Obviously, this blogger has not been in a situation invovling a firefight. As a former Dallas Police SWAT member, I can tell you that the confrontation involving the use of deadly force against a "civilian" (in my book, once someone commits an offense, they are offenders, not just civilians) usually involves putting one's life on the line. To put yourself into a situation where the use of deadly force is warranted (and please be advised: deadly force works both ways!) is always dangerous. The use of deadly force also means protecting the innocent civilian who may be standing by, the innocent hostage, or the helpless child who is caught in the crossfire of a drug dealer's "payback." So, the next time an officer receives a medal of valor, think back and ask YOURself, where were you? I'll be damned if someone says I have to take a bullet or die as part of my job to protect you. My job is to take care of you, the city, and to come home to my family and kids. And yes, Chief Robinson will be a damn good chief!

[bob]

I agree with you here. In the end, they do what they got to do, don't always have a lot of time to plan and make choices. And cops hopefully aren't motivated by opportunities for awards.

But killing someone is a less than ideal solution to a standoff, or a perp running away.

[Suzanne Scism Hildebrand]

You are dead wrong on this one. No Police Officer wants to take a life and they always have to live with the fact that they did, no matter what the circumstances. You owe this Police Officer. and all the others out there who have been forced to use deadly force, an apology. Just remember the person who resists or who places others in peril has made a conscious choice and if they pay the ultimate price, so be it. It was their call. Police Officers are law enforcers, not social workers, regardless of how our liberal society tries to make them babysit those who choose to violate the law. As a former TCLEOSE Commissioner and the proud wife of a 47 year law enforcement officer, I'll thank the Police Officer any day before I'll be concerned about the criminal.

[Geo]

Test 3. Comments working yet?

[Geo]

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