Lets Hope the Arm of the Law is Long

Good morning, blogosphere. I come before you baffled and amazed at something I just watched and read from WSPA News 7 out of Wellford, South Carolina, which is located in Spartanburg County. There, the Mayor has decided that the police officers that serve and protect her city are no longer allowed to chase... not in vehicles... not on foot... not for a misdemeanor... not for a felony... not at all. Take a moment to watch the video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDS-bmf4YQQ

You know, being a police officer, I can understand agencies being restrictive on their vehicle chase policies as car pursuits can be dangerous for innocent people, limiting them to felony only policies (e.g. if a someone kills someone and then runs from the police, we can still chase). Foot chases... well, they aren't much of a danger for anyone other than the suspect and the officer, so I have no issues with liberally pursuing people who flee on foot. However, this woman has totally restricted law enforcements ability to do its job. The Wellford police chief said in this interview that he believes his people can identify the suspect and get a warrant, catching them at a later time. In some cases, this may be the case, but what if it is someone from outside your city or state that has just committed a robbery where someone has been killed? He may go down the road and do the same and kill someone else. In my opinion, not a good idea to let that person get away without doing every thing in your ability to stop them. The Mayor justifies that something like that will never happen in Wellford... what a joke. Bad things happen in small towns just like big cities and you must be PREPARED to deal with it!

Sheriff Chuck Wright of the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office (whom I personally have great respect for) has stated that he believes this is illegal, going against an officer's Constitutional oath and he has forwarded the memo to the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED). Kudos to you, Sheriff Wright for standing up for what is right and fighting for these men to be able to do their jobs. He has also stated his office would step up patrols in the Wellford area to apprehend criminals (thank goodness for the poor citizens of Wellford).

People... this is absolutely nuts. I am just glad that I work for a Mayor and a Chief that would allow me to pursue a murderer if the need ever arises. I certainly hope the people of Wellford get this woman out of office as soon as possible so that the Wellford Police Department can do its job.

As Chris Cato says in his interview, "Lets hope the arm of the law is really long, because in Wellford, it has no legs."


The full interview with the Mayor can be seen here and the full article can be read at the same link:
http://www2.wspa.com/spa/news/local/article/mayors_memo_may_handcuff_police_officers/26918/