in his recent piece on what he dubs the “Bloomberg Syndrome,” Victor Davis Hanson, the Clio of punditry, faults a number of local politicians like Pima County sheriff Clarence W. Dupnik for neglecting the task they were elected to perform in order to grandstand on issues of global import:
Just as disturbing as the incoherence of Dupnik’s demagoguery was his apparent professional incompetence. As the sheriff’s nationally televised blame narrative imploded, it was also disclosed that Loughner had a long record of aberrant behavior and substance abuse in Pima County — known to local law enforcement, including Dupnik’s own department.
More disturbing still, if Dupnik were right that a pre-existing climate of conservative-engendered hate was not only pervasive in Tucson, but might also prompt an unstable person to kill, why had he not dispatched at least one of his 500 officers to patrol the open-air public event sponsored by Democratic congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords?
Dupnik is a good example of the increasingly common bad habit of local politicians to resort to cosmic sermonizing when more mundane challenges go unaddressed. In Dupnik’s case, it is hard to monitor all the nuts like Loughner in the sheriff’s department files to ensure they don’t get guns and bullets and pop up at political events, but apparently far easier to deflect subsequent responsibility by sounding off on political issues.
(Via Instapundit.)
This sage scholar does show some sympathy for Dupnik et al: “It is a human trait to focus on cheap and lofty rhetoric rather than costly, earthy reality.” Read the whole thing as he also offers a nice synopsis of the problems plaguing California under once and current Governor Jerry Brown.
NB: Changed the title since I initially posted this.
This guy’s gonna get Nifonged.
Further, I agree with Coulter. Loughner sounds more like Bill Maher than Sarah Palin.
Dupnik was instantaneously positioned for his 15 minutes of fame and he did not waste a nano-second in flushing out his bile.
How many liberals are there who are just itching to be seen and heard babbling their disjointed cause and effect doxology of the left? When you sift through Maddow, Matthews, Schultz, and the rest like them, you can scarcely come out of it with a single fact to be explored. It is all sound and fury and excoriation and finger-pointing.
I really, really want the leftists to lay out their factual cases against Palin, Beck, Limbaugh, Hannity, Bush and all their other bugaboos. The universities are jammed, crammed full of genius liberals who are constantly harping while continually not disproving the so-called lies they harp about.
Really, leftists are pathetic. Every time they dredge up “evidence” it is to repeat some asinine talking point that only shows the door to an echo chamber. Leftists control the ABA and the ACLU. You would think a committed legal scholar could make a case now and again against Limbaugh, Beck, Palin, etc.
Living just outside the city, I can tell you Bloomberg is no Giuliani. Giuliani knew how to handle his teams and keep them on his side. He would have had guards at any political event and the plows would have run on time. He took a cesspool of crime (under the very likeable and liked by even me Ed Koch) and turned it 180 degrees. You could suddenly walk on the streets even at night; it was an entirely different atmosphere. It was very disheartening to see the conflicts erupt between various teams after the unity on 9/11, but Bloomberg just wasn’t up to the job. And agreed – it’s one hell of a tough job, but Giuliani did it. Well. He was the only person outside of Fred Thompson I’d have voted for in the last election. C’est la vie.
Dupnik…now I don’t care so much that Loughner was able to get a gun; I’m FURIOUS that there were no uniformed policemen at the event – how is that even possible?? It would be literally unthinkable here. I don’t know any mayor or police chief or *anyone* who would consider allowing a political event without police presence. Maybe they do things differently in Arizona, but I still find it unconscionable. And for that alone Dupnik is an utter fail. Period.
Heliotrope, at least Maddow waited until the blood was dry. MarKOS was screaming about Palin literally MINUTES after the shooting. No one but me at that moment asked “Where were the cops?”
By the way, while I’m bugging you fine people, can *anyone* explain to me how the police system out there works? Because here, “Sheriff”s are for pretty much one thing – transportation. They will pick you up and bring you to the jail, I think they serve subpoenas and such…but for the most part they’re like taxis. What each town has is a police department with a chief. Now if Congressman Frank Pallone were coming to my town for an open-air event at Shop-Rite, the mayor would see to it the forms were properly filed and the chief of police would immediately order X number of uniformed policemen from town to oversee the event. I mean, there wouldn’t be any question whatsoever about having uniformed, armed police there. So why is Tucson only run by a sheriff and where’s the police chief? Why weren’t there any policemen there by HIS order nevermind the sheriff? How does the hierarchy differ?
Can’t speak for Pima County, but generally SO operates law enforcement in the county outside of city limits. They can, however, operate county wide within city limits if necessary. Also, like here in Polk County, FL, many small towns have switched their law enforcement over to the county to save money.
PCSO has pretty much everything a law enforcement entity in a big city would have: Helicopters, bomb squad (including dogs and a robot), SWAT (including an armored personnel carrier), K9 units, narcotics, homocide, crossing guards, civilian patrol (for minor accidents and what not), internet crimes task force etc. You name it and they probably have it. Oh, and remember that guy that had the pedophile handbook on Amazon a few weeks ago? It was our Sheriff Grady Judd had him arrested at his home in CO.
I would guess that the Tuscon shooting took place in an unincorporated suburb of the city and therefore the investigation is being handled by the SO.
I lived in Houston for almost 10 years. There you have the Sheriff’s Office, Constables, METRO (bus system) police, HPD and highway patrol to contend with. Constables were usually the process servers, but they could pull you over for speeding as well. I can attest to that.
And if you murder or kidnap someone, you could have the Texas Rangers on your ass.
So…WHO would have been in charge of putting armed officers at the scene of the crime??? Was it that sheriff? Or was it a CO? WHO???
I have never gotten a clear picture of how many people were at the Giffords event. I guess it didn’t draw the TV people, because all the evidence seems to be from security tapes.
Yet, it must have been publicized because it drew the judge to drop by and the assassin to gear up.
Lots of small political events take place without police protection or presence. I know a City Council woman in NYC who takes a table at every street fair in her district to talk with constituents. Sure there are police in the area, but she does not have a cop standing watch.
Dupnik is more responsible for not taking closer attention to the assassin who was on his radar than for sending a cop to stand around. The assassin could have just as easily walked up to the cop and shot him first and then turned his mayhem on Giffords and the crowd. The assassin did not expect to make a clean getaway.
Well evidently, it’s Pima County’s jurisdiction. If you’re asking why there were no officers there to provide security, I would say that it’s because there were none requested.