Stories of the year: Bay City police union garners national attention with controversial billboards

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.mlive.com/news/bay-city/index.ssf/2010/12/stories_of_the_year_bay_city_p.html

Published: Saturday, December 25, 2010, 10:00 AM

Tension between City Hall and Bay City Police played out on national television when Officer Don Aldrich, secretary and treasurer of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 103, appeared on Fox News’ “Fox and Friends” program in July to discuss his union’s controversial billboards.

The billboards took issue with the city’s decision to lay off five police officers amid a budget crisis in which city officials were working to trim $1.6 million from their budget.

At a cost of about $1,400 for a month, the union placed the billboards at the intersections of Saginaw Street and Columbus Avenue, Euclid Avenue and Fisher Street and Henry and Smith streets. The billboards showed a masked man pointing a gun at viewers.


Times FileThe billboard paid for by the Bay City police officers union questions the city's decision to lay off officers.

FULL story at link.

[davidinalameda]

1. at least the gunman isn't black

[Book Lover]

2. Smart thing to do

And gee, wasn't it nice that the cops have a union that has the money and wherewithal to do this? Maybe if other workers were unionized .. nah, never happen.

By the way, Merry Christmas Steve. You make DU worth coming back to.

[pretzel4gore]

3. so the city has to photocopy $100 bills?

to cover costs...when bushinc was throwing $ trillions away on bs 'tax cuts' and useless wars the nation's police were eager to kill/die for the chickenhawk bush administration...all those big tough men stood by and watched the olde sod get sold for a song to foreigners (a rich man is foreign to all tax collecting entities, ie only the middle class and poor pay taxes)
btw, more then 30 thousand police officers younger then 40 retire each year on full pension-they can be heard on hate radio/foxnews and rest of the chickenhawk media advocating tax cuts for mister pig...

[spin]

4. If I lived in Bay City, I would consider buying a firearm for self protection ...

I would give the same advice to many people living in other cities forced to cut back on their police force.

While many may feel the current situation may not warrant such such a drastic approach, I feel it's wise to be prepared. Better to buy and learn to use a firearm now rather than wait until more police are laid off and the situation really goes downhill.

I realize that many will take offense at this advise and I also understand that firearms are not for everyone. First a person has to decide if they are responsible and mentally stable enough to accept the responsibly of owning a firearm.

Firearms are not for you if ...

1) You tend to abuse alcohol or other mind altering drugs.

2) You suffer from anger management problems or have severe mental problems which may interfere with your ability to reason.

3) You live in a volatile relationship with a significant other.

4) You have children and are unwilling to take measures to safely secure your firearm from their curiosity.

5) You would be unwilling to shoot another person to stop an attack that would seriously endanger or result in the death of you or your family.



Of course merely owning a firearm is not enough.

You need to understand gun safety which means unless you have lots of experience with firearms, you should take a gun safety course.

You also should be very proficient with your firearm. You should practice with it on a regular basis. Shooting accurately is far more difficult than the movies portray. Your ability to shoot accurately also is severely decreased in a stressful life or death situation.



Police lay offs have prompted the advise to be firearms in other areas of the country.

Sheriff spread thin, so get a gun, judge advises
Ashtabula has too few deputies now, he says
Saturday, April 10, 2010 2:51 AM

CLEVELAND -- A judge's solution for residents feeling less secure because of budget cuts in one Ohio county: Carry a gun.

Judge Alfred Mackey of Ashtabula County Common Pleas Court advised residents yesterday to be vigilant and arm themselves because the number of deputies has been cut in half because of a tight budget. He also urged neighbors to organize anti-crime block-watch groups.

"They have to be law-abiding, and if they are not familiar with firearms they need to take a safety course so they are not a threat to their family and friends and themselves," Mackey said yesterday.

Mackey, whose comments were first broadcast Thursday by WKYC-TV in Cleveland, was expressing concern about budget cuts that have trimmed the sheriff's department from 112 to 49 deputies in the county, which is Ohio's largest by land area.
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/04/10/sheriff-spread-thin-so-get-a-gun-judge-advises.html

Toledo Mayor tells residents police can't protect them
Submitted by cbaus on Thu, 05/07/2009 - 23:10.

When word of significant cuts to the Toledo police force first came out, one senior police officer issued the following recommendation to city residents:

"Buy guns. Invest in precious metals: lead, gun power and brass."

And now, Mayor Carty Finkbeiner is admitting the reason why this is such good advice:

"Violent crimes, shootings, are not ever prevented by the presence of a police officer, no matter how many thousands of police officers you have."

Saturday, May 2 marked the first full day since 75 Toledo police officers turned in their badges and guns, and according to the Toledo Blade, word of the significant cuts in the Toledo police force is on the street.

"There ain't a side of Toledo you can go where they do not know the police is going to be laid off," one resident is quoted as saying.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php

[ZombieHorde]

5. Seems like a good union. nt