Every now and then I see something in a news report too stupid to believe. Today’s quote comes from the Chicago Tribune. The gang banger and defendant in question is was found guilty of taking some pot shots at some of Chicago’s finest.
“It comes down to who do you believe, honest cops or a gang banger,” said Assistant State’s Atty. Joseph Ruggiero. “What is this guy doing carrying around a loaded weapon in a high-crime gang area?”
Now, granted, the defendant is probably a scum-bag gang banger who was dumb enough to take pot shots at Chicago cops. But, let’s think about what the Assistant State Attorney said for a bit. His logic is a bit weak.If I was to carry around a gun for personal protection, where would I carry it? The nice safe neighborhoods, where I would never need it? Or, maybe, just maybe, the bad neighborhoods.And there isn’t much point to carrying around an unloaded gun. So the fact that the gun was loaded doesn’t mean much either.So it basically comes down to believing the Chicago cops. Which is real easy these days.
November 27, 2007 at 3:26 pm
While I like Chicago cops and think that they, like most big city cops, are much preferable to suburban cops, I have to agree that the ASA’s statement is pretty dim.
Leaving aside the obvious stupidity exposed by Angry Libertarian, these days you really can’t just take “honest cops” on faith in Chicago. Too examples of dirty, abusive, and bullying cops.
In any event, the court has already determined who to believe and, indeed, sided with the cops, so there’s no reason for the ASA to even be shooting off his big fat mouth…