Larry Wilmore Destroys Fox News For Pushing Mythical 'War On Cops'

[markpkessinger]

22. Something to be on the lookout for in this faux "War on Cops" bullshit . . .

Back in September of 2013, there was a post on DU titled, "8 Police Officers Dead this month. So far." I'm not sure why, exactly, but I was skeptical of the claim, and decided to do a bit of research. I searched the Internet for coverage about each of the deaths listed on that post. And it turned out my skepticism was well-founded. This was the response I posted at the time after I had done my research:

You know, the police really don't do much to inspire confidence and credibility when they use statistics in a false and misleading way. I decided to do a little Snopes-style checking on your list. The first two are absolutely false -- the officers did not die in the line of duty. The third, fifth, sixth and eighth on the list are clearly legitimate line-of-duty deaths. The fourth is technically a line-of-duty death, but it resulted from something that can happen to anybody who drives a car; it is not a risk that is unique to being a police officer. In the case of the seventh on the list, Van Perry, he had a heart attack shortly after making an arrest; so yes, he died AT work, but not necessarily BECAUSE of it.

Look, I have family members who are police officers, so I am NOT anti-cop. But I also know enough about the culture of law enforcement in this country to know that police have a tendency to inflate line-of-duty statistics, and that is what is being done here.

1. Stockwell -- not killed in the line of duty, but in a car accident on the way home from his shift (see http://blog.al.com/live/2013/09/orange_beach_police_officer_di.html )
   
   
2. Jones -- not killed in the line of duty; collapsed and died suddenly while attending a motorcycle training event (see http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/23440426/veteran-detroit-police-officer-collapses-dies-at-motorcycle-event )
   
   
3. Buenting -- legitimate; see http://www.messengernews.net/page/content.detail/id/569751/Jamie-Buenting-identified-as-police-officer-who-was-killed.html?nav=5010
   
   
4. Allford -- technically legitimate -- killed when his cruiser crashed after a tire blew out; yes, he was working at the time, so technically it qualifies as a 'line-of-duty' death, but tire blow-outs can happen to anybody who drives a car, and sadly sometimes they cause serious accidents;
   
   
5. Butterfield -- this one is legitimate; see http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57602211-504083/paul-butterfield-mich-state-trooper-shot-and-killed-during-traffic-stop-report-says/ ;
   
   
6. Freeman -- legitimate; killed in accident that occurred during a vehicle pursuit; see http://www.odmp.org/officer/21829-deputy-sheriff-michael-neal-freeman )
   
   
7. Perry -- Questionable. Died of a heart attack shortly after making an arrest. Line of duty, or dealt a lousy genetic hand? (See http://www.odmp.org/officer/21826-corporal-van-perry )
   
   
8. Johnson -- legitimate; shot and killed while investigating a suspicious vehicle (see http://www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2013/09/02/mgk-community-law-enforcement-mourn-loss-one-draper-shooting/ )

The takeaway is that police and their allies will shamelessly distort statistics in an effort to garner public support, so one should always approach any claims like this with a healthy dose of skepticism!