Are We Living in the Wild West?

I live in an area where it seems the Wild West has returned in regards to shooting law enforcement officers. Two Broward Sheriff's Officers were gunned down in two weeks. The first, Maury Hernandez, 28, whom was actually off duty, was shot in the head after a traffic stop. He remains on life support but is showing slight improvement. His shooter, David Maldonado, 23, told police he shot at Hernandez because he didn't want to be in jail when his baby was born. What police found in his house was absolutely chilling. Silhouette targets from the gun range hung up with bullet holes predominately in the head - known as head shots. Sounds like a Hollywood movie plot, doesn't it? Maldonado is no angel when it comes to his criminal history. Numerous tickets and warnings for traffic violations, license violations, etc. He was also known to brag to his friends about shooting a cop. When Deputy Hernandez pulled him over for running a couple of red lights on his motorcycle, he identified himself as an officer, his badge visible, Maldonado physically pushed Hernandez before turning to run, fired at the Deputy shooting him in the head. Hernandez himself called for help after he was hit. His wife and family members remain diligently by his side at a local hospital.

The latest shooting from last week involved another BSO Deputy, Chris Reyka. Reyka, 51, a father of 4, his eldest son is being deplored to Iraq, was gunned down while looking for stolen vehicles in a local drug store parking lot. Although Reyka was wearing his body armor, he was shot at least 5 times. According to Sheriff Jenne of the Broward Sheriff's Office, Reyka did not have his gun drawn. According to local news reports, Reyka was exiting his vehicle to investigate a white sedan, someone exited the car and began shooting. That vehicle and killer(s) are still being sought at this moment. The current reward is over $106,000.00 and will be profiled on America's Most Wanted this week.

When did 2007 turn into the wild west? I am far from naïve, believe me, but when shooting police officers as well as law abiding citizens turns into a game of sport, things have gone too far. This is not a Hollywood movie where some rogue citizen or police officer is going to ride in on a Harley and save the day by changing society or the way we live. This is the reality of living in a world where things and people have become too disposable. Of course all big metropolitan cities have similar problems. I've worked with law enforcement personnel so I've seen different sides of situations. Obviously this has never been a safe profession and with every passing day there are new worries on the streets of our cities. Gang wars, firearms, abductions, robberies, assaults, terrorism, the list goes on and on. Of course we all have our own solutions and points of origin to blame. These people pulling the triggers, at least in these two cases, are not scared and confused teenagers with their brains lost in video games. These are adults. So, where do we lay the blame? I am not writing this to give solutions to the problem. Mainly because I don't have one. Getting rid of guns all together? Sure, sounds good in theory. But the reality of it is, if you want a gun, you can get one. Gun shows, pawn shops, etc are abundant. Hand guns, assault weapons, military weapons, if you can imagine it, you can probably find it, as long as you're willing to dish out the cash. And when you look at the situation many of the guns on the street are not registered so there's no record of them even being out there never mind who the owners are.

So, I leave the end of this article open. Everyone has an opinion, everyone has a solution. What's yours? One thing I know you can do is write your congressman or someone in charge. If that doesn't get you any satisfaction, contact your local newspaper or news station and give them your two cents. Start a petition, contact local police agencies and see what you as an individual can do. The only way we may be able to curb the final outcome of duels, drive by's and face to face confrontations in the streets is through education and understanding. No one wants to live in a 'police state' with curfews in place. As cliché and corny as it may be, come on people, can't we all just get along?