When government fails in its primary responsibility

I couldn't help but notice the case of Joe Horn. No, not the NFL wide receiver, but the resident of Pasadena. No, not California, but Texas. Wizbang has the details:

Around 2 in the afternoon of November 14, 2007, Pasadena resident Joe Horn, age 61, called 911 to report the break-in at his neighbor's house. So far, so good, and no one has a complaint. But as he waited, Mr. Horn became concerned on two points: He mentioned fear for his own safety, and a growing annoyance that the burglars would escape before the police got there. It was at this point where, according to the 911 tape, Mr. Horn threatened to shoot the burglars:

"911 OPERATOR: Mr. Horn, do not go outside the house.

JOE HORN, TEXAS RESIDENT: I'm sorry. This ain't right, buddy.

911 OPERATOR: You're going to get yourself shot if you go outside that house with a gun. I don't care what you think.

HORN: You want to make a bet? I'm going to kill them.

911 OPERATOR: OK? Stay in the house.

HORN: They're getting away."

Joe Horn took his shotgun, went out to confront the burglars as they were leaving his neighbor's house, and shot both to death. That much is agreed by all parties. Immediately, questions came up:

1. Horn said ahead of time that he would kill the men. Did this make it premeditated murder?
2. Horn also said in that 911 tape that he feared for his life. Did this help his case?
3. The police are not known for fast responses, except when imminent danger is known. Did Horn's warning that he would shoot cause the police to make an effort to arrive sooner?
4. The law allows citizens to use deadly force under certain situations. The law states that deadly force can be used against burglars to prevent them fleeing the scene, even of a neighbor's house, but specifies that this applies at night, but makes no statement about a mid-afternoon burglary. Was that law intended to grant a basic or restricted right to use deadly force?

Those questions alone could make an interesting debate. But the scale quickly grew. Two days after the incident, the story broke on national news, largely as a question of gun rights.

Wizbang continues, hitting the nail on the head:

Regardless of whether Joe Horn was right or wrong, there is a strong discontent in the way police respond to calls. [Full disclosure; I have been robbed or burglarized several times in my life - in none of those cases did the police respond within two hours of the crime, in none of those cases was evidence collected in a professional or serious manner, and (no surprise) in none of those cases were the criminals apprehended or punished] People realize that because of the sheer number of crimes committed and the limited resources of the police, the probability is that most non-violent crimes against ordinary people will not be solved, and some of the violent crimes as well. The need for self-defense is frankly beyond dispute. Yet some towns have gone to the point of punishing citizens for protecting themselves, their families, and their neighbors. This has finally reached a point where public outrage against a bias in favor of the crooks is demanding government recognition.

Indeed. Naturally, in this case, we also have a racial hate monger who is trying to stir up hatred of Joe Horn for defending his neighbor's property.

In my own burglary, the Marion County Sheriff's Department came out quickly and sent a detective the next day, but none of the property was recovered and no one was ever caught. In my car theft, the Pittsburgh Police Department did an incredible job, finding my stolen Firebird 5 hours later -- stripped. No one was ever caught that we know of, but the car, amazingly enough, was put back together and we still have it today.

As I have said before, law enforcement does not take property crimes seriously. The platitude that "things can be replaced, but people can't," has become institutionalized in our "justice" system. It is unfortunate, not just because it ultimately means no justice for the victim of such crimes, but because it's a logical fallacy on so many counts.

For instance, who makes the call that "thingts can be replaced, but people can't"? Not the burglar, for they are at least risking their liberty and possibly their life for the burglary. The victim may or may not, but it should be the victim's call. If society makes that call, then there is no incentive for the burglar to stop burglarizing. The police cannot catch them, and the victim is denied any defense of their proeprty, particularly if they are small of stature.

Furthermore, it simply is not true. If my Firebird is stolen today, I'll never be able to replace it. Stupid GM doesn't make them anymore. And no car available today is anywhere near as good-looking.

Finally, the emphasis in our crime prevention and resolution is on murder. The problem is that people don't move out of a neighborhood because of a murder. The chances that you will be murdered at random are exponentially smaller than your chances of being burglarized or having your car stolen by someone you don't know. That is what destroys neighborhoods. That is what destroys spirit. Seeing your hard work improving your life and your lot destroyed and the law unable and, worse, unwilling to do anything about it.

And people are tired of it. This is where the increased use of weapons t protect homes comes from. Ultimately, this is where the Minutemen come from. When government refuses to protect its people, the people will protect themselves.

unfortunately, those exponentially smaller chances of being a victim of murder by a random assailant were not good enough for a woman in Baltimore, however. Michelle Malkin has the details:

As Sarah Kreager, 26, tried to sit down on a Baltimore City bus Tuesday, police say, a middle-schooler told her she couldn’t. When she attempted to take another seat, a middle-schooler wouldn’t let her. Finally, according to police, Kreager just sat down.

She was “immediately attacked” by nine students — three females and six males — from Robert Poole Middle School. They punched and kicked her at 2:59 p.m. at the intersection of 33rd Street and Chestnut Avenue, according to Maryland Transit Administration police.

Kreager was dragged off the bus and her boyfriend, Troy Ennis, attempted to get her back on, police said.

She sustained “serious injuries” and had to be transported to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, according to a police report.
Examiner.com Related Articles:

Kreager suffered two broken bones in her left eye socket, police said.

“She had eye muscles that were damaged,” a police report states. “She had deep lacerations on the top of her head and another above her neck.”

Two seats and the bus’ rear glass were destroyed during the attack, police said.

The bus driver on the No. 27 line quickly called police, who responded and arrested the nine juveniles, said Jawauna Greene, an MTA police spokeswoman.

All nine suspects, ages 14 and 15, were arrested and charged with aggravated assault…

…The suspects in the incident are black. The victim is white, according to the police report.

Ugh! There is more:

Maryland Transit Administration Police said last night that they have found no evidence that the severe beating of a 26-year-old woman on a city bus this week was provoked and that they are investigating the attack as a possible racially motivated hate crime.

Nine middle school students have been charged as juveniles with aggravated assault and destruction of property in the Tuesday afternoon attack on a woman and her male companion on the No. 27 bus.

Police said yesterday that they have determined that there were two additional victims in the case - a third passenger and the bus operator who came to his assistance.

Investigators were examining video from a surveillance camera on the bus but had not completed their analysis…

…Jawauna Greene, an MTA spokeswoman, confirmed that investigators were considering racial hostility as a potential motivation for the assault, which left the female victim, Sarah Kreager, 26, with broken facial bones and other injuries after she was punched, kicked and dragged off the bus. Her male companion, Troy Ellis, was also beaten, but not as severely.

“We are at this point investigating it as a hate crime,” Greene said.

Greene said the suspects, who have been released to their parents, are African-American while the two originally identified victims are white. Marzola said the suspects are also believed to have menaced an elderly passenger, who is white, and to have assaulted the bus operator, an African-American male who defended his passenger.

“He probably saved this gentleman’s life,” Marzola said of the operator. The MTA declined to identify the driver, saying they consider him a witness to a crime.

Police said no evidence had been found to back up the claims of suspects’ parents that Kreager or Ellis had provoked the incident by spitting or displaying a knife.

Greene said that at the time the incident reports were taken, no child reported any spitting or knife being pulled. Gavrilis said the operator hadn’t mentioned any provocation.

The media coverage here is not exactly reaching Duke Lacrosse proportions, is it? I thought not.

Even so, now, the victim has been put in the witness protection program. I wonder why. Could it be because her name is now public while those of the "children" who allegedly attacked her are not?

Could it be because she has been the target of one of those "anti-snitching" campaigns that have the effect of protecting criminals?

Could it be because the thugs who allegedly attacked her are still walking the streets, where they and their friends can practice witness intimidation?

Let's be clear here: I don't know what happened on that bus. But given the attitude toward crime expressed above, the government doesn't exactly give me confidence that it has the intention or ability to protect this victim, punish the perpetrators and prevent this from happening again. Heck, it won't even identify the alleged perpetrators. It is already sending a message that they are more important than the victim. I bet the Duke lacrosse players wish such anonymity had been granted to them, and they weren't even guilty.

For all I know, these nine alleged assailants may not be guilty. I strongly suspect they are, but it is only a suspicion.

I'll leave my spiel about the increasing thuggishness of teenagers and the dangers of riding buses (you never know who's on there with you) for another day.