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UNARMED WOMEN Well, thank God – somebody in the Sangamon County Sheriff’s office finally got to the real source of crime in our streets – unarmed women. [See “Shocking development,” by Bruce Rushton, Aug. 2.] We’ll assume that Deputy Travis Koester’s actions – which, no matter how you slice it and dice it, constituted an armed assault on an unarmed woman – were, in fact, done in accordance with “how he was trained,” as he said himself early in the video. We can only hope that Chief Deputy Jack Campbell, once he is done “training” his employees to use such “justified force” to rid the streets of Springfield from this mendacious menace, will seek higher office on either a state or federal level. Then, and only then, will normal citizens either statewide, or possibly within the whole country, be able to take a deep breath of relief, knowing that they have finally been granted sanctuary from the legions of unarmed women who pose such a grave threat to the public safety. Doug Wilson Springfield
PROTECT AND SERVE I have watched this video multiple times to find any reason for this officer acting this irrational [see “Shocking development,” Aug. 2]. He is out of line and this is proof of how unconstitutional the police system has become. He ignored all individual rights. It is ridiculous to me that we as people have to take this because his bosses think he was justified. Maybe whoever does the hiring shouldn’t look for robo cop and look for someone who is going to make a difference in the community, not take advantage of civilians with his badge. The fact that his superiors don’t think he did anything wrong just lets you know how screwed up these people really are. “Protect and Serve” – that’s their job. This man scared and hurt that poor woman. From illinoistimes.com
BAD NAME I personally have no problem with how this deputy chose to stop this vehicle and I have no problem with him arresting the driver. My problem is how he treated the female passenger and I think that is what most people who have commented here are riled about as well. All of us surely want to be protected by our law enforcement officers. But officers like Travis Koester give all law enforcement agencies a bad name. They are not God. From illinoistimes.com
PROTECTION FROM POLICE This officer has no business wearing a uniform or having any power. He is a child in a costume. These people did not deserve to be stopped, arrested or harassed by this man. Neither of them were drunk and the driver was not driving erratically. The only one who disobeyed the law was the arresting officer.
If Jack Campbell thinks he is going to run for sheriff after the citizens have had an opportunity to view this video, he had better do an about face. By standing by this officer, he is supporting abuse of the law. This officer should be disciplined and the citizens arrested should be issued an apology. Many of us will be following this story closely. We can object at the voting booth.
There are way too many Springfield citizens who are being harassed by the police under the suspicion of a DUI. Most of them are not intoxicated and are subjected to this type of humiliating treatment. There is little we can do when put in this situation except pay attorneys thousands of dollars to protect us from those hired to serve. From illinoistimes.com
ASSAULT WEAPONS The governor is proposing a ban on assault weapons, large capacity magazines, large caliber ammo and certain quick-firing shotguns. These proposals, while seemingly reasonable, have nothing to do with a determined unstable person obtaining what they need to complete their agenda on perceived enemies.
We have politicians who have no need for any weapons since they have protective units at all times yet want to deny the public the ability to protect themselves legally. I would suggest that the political factions who are anti-firearm pay attention to what is real as opposed to what is perceived. Michael Abrams Springfield
