AREA OFFICIALS COMMENT ON POLICE ISSUES

A recent national poll of 15,000 police chiefs and sheriffs by the National Association of Chiefs of Police gave an idea of the feelings of law enforcement officer across the country.

Cape County Sheriff John Jordan and Jackson Police Chief Marvin Sides were presented with the same questions to see how the national sentiments stack up locally.

A few of the questions were singled out for additional comment.

The first deals with how the community views local law enforcement. The question cites scandals over the past years that have tarnished the image of police officers nationally.

Jordan said he believes the people of Cape Girardeau County view their law enforcement agencies in a favorable light.

"I believe in our area most people do respect law enforcement officers and treat them in that general manner," he said. "There are certain individuals, however, that do not trust anyone and that includes law enforcement officers. This type of individual will look to find fault with whatever you do and literally thrives on rumors."

Sides said local citizens rely on their own experiences with law enforcement in forming their opinions.

"I would agree that law enforcement has taken some hits," Sides said. "But in all fairness you must look at the locality of circumstances. It is very easy, but potentially misleading, to base your opinion of law enforcement from a few isolated incidents."

A question relating to response time proved to be more complicated to answer.

"It really depends on the situation," Jordan said. "In some cases the answer is yes, in some cases the answer is no. The definitive answer is almost always in the hands of the perpetrator."

Sides said it was important not to overlook the nature of the crime.

"Much has been made over the years in relation to response by police to crimes in progress," he said. "Often times we pay more attention to response times than we do to the underlying reason for the call. If a person is bent upon doing harm to another person, I'm not sure he wouldn't attempt to carry out his plan even if law enforcement officers were on the scene, or reasonably near."

A question concerning increasing speed limits, which have already been raised recently Missouri, brought a strong response from Jordan.

"No. Some people are driving all too crazy at the current levels," he said. "I feel this would be a grave mistake and I emphasize grave."

A question that has been under debate nationally for years, one of violence on television, seemed to be unquestionably negative in Jordan's opinion.

"Children are impressionable," he said. "They are not learned, they are learning and a great deal of learning comes in the form of seeing. My opinion is that our children are being exposed to too many unhealthy, distasteful and violence-oriented subjects in what they are seeing in movies or on television."

The question of high-speed pursuits, which are potentially dangerous to innocent people, could not be taken at face value.

"Most high-speed pursuits turn out not to be merely a traffic offense," Jordan said. "It may be person in the speeding car just robbed a bank or service station. They may have killed or assaulted someone and that crime may not even be reported yet.

"Yes, we in law enforcement are held liable for our actions during a pursuit. We are scrutinized if we cause a wreck because we pursue. We are also scrutinized if we choose not to pursue and the person travels down the road five miles and murders your loved one just to steal another car to get away in. Commission or omission, both are easily spelled 'litigation.'"

A recent situation involving a citizen complaint about an officer that turned out to be an innocent mistake, answered the question of whether the Cape Girardeau County sheriff investigates all allegations of misconduct, another question on the survey.

Jordan said the sheriff's office received a call from an obviously upset woman who claims she saw an officer zipping up his trousers on the sidewalk and did not think it was appropriate for deputies to be "standing around urinating in public." She gave the number of the vehicle the officer was driving and Jordan said he followed right up on it.

"We launched a little investigation. As soon as the officer came in we asked him about it," Jordan said. It turns out a deputy was working with his bloodhound, Southern Bell, on a particularly hot day and had removed his uniform shirt, leaving a t-shirt on, while training the dog. When he was done he put the uniform shirt back on and was tucking it in when the complainant saw him. "Even if it did seem a little far-fetched, it was necessary to establish that it didn't happen."

The complainant didn't leave her name so the sheriff had no way of clarifying the matter with her. The only true damage that came from the matter was an unflattering nickname that the deputy will have to live with for a while.