PAX Centurion - November / December 2014

www.bppa.org PAX CENTURION • November/December 2014 • Page 23 Expires December 2014 O n behalf of many Boston police officers, I  wish to express outrage at your editorial of October 21 st , “After Pumpkin Festival chaos, plenty of blame to go around.” The sole, total and absolute blame rests squarely with one group of individuals: the drunken, privileged morons who ruined a family festival in a quiet New Hampshire town and acted like spoiled children. Your naïve suggestion that video footage of the riot “…won’t make it especially difficult….” to identify the drunken punks disre- gards the fact that many, if not most, of the college-age idiots were outsiders, not Keene State students. Ditto your suggestion that “the best punishment…would be to publish their names….” Really? Do you know how few people actually read a newspaper nowadays, or care that their name is published? For most of these over-educated dolts, publishing their names is a badge of honor, and without a criminal prosecution, nobody can prove anything. Hanging a scarlet letter around their necks while Mommy and Daddy continue to pay their tuition means nothing. Outrageously, you cite a report from the riots at UMass Amherst (the “Barney Blowout,” March, 2014) by Ed Davis, former Boston Police Commissioner (that cost the taxpayers an estimated $150,000 to learn what we already knew) which asserts that “the donning of riot helmets and the use of chemical munitions had the effect of creat- ing confusion and perpetuating the unruly behavior of the crowd.” Neither Ed Davis nor any member of the Globe editorial board has personally experienced out-of-control drunks throwing bottles and rocks. Bureaucrats, politicians and newspaper editors sitting safely behind their computers have no appreciation for what the police at Keene State (or UMass) were forced to endure. The suggestion that that that cops “donning riot gear” somehow contributed to the chaos is nothing short of revolting and disgraceful. Soft-cloth, regular-duty, police hats offer no protection from rocks and bottles. As an old police axiom goes, “when you’re up to your (butt) in alligators, it’s a little difficult to remember that management wanted you to drain the swamp.” – James W. Carnell, Area A-1 Representative, Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association ...and our response or a Pumpkin Festival gone awry in Keene, police shouldn’t respond to civil unrest with weaponry out of a war zone. (Reprinted from the Boston Globe, Tuesday, October 21, 2014.) Unable to make ends meet? Are creditors hounding you? Are you about to lose your home because of debt? Call us today to find out how FILING BANKRUPTCY might be the answer for you. Don Green Law Office of Donald E. Green (A full service law firm) 2235 Washington Street Roxbury, MA 02119 (617) 442-0050 • toll free (877) DON-GREEN As we have over the past 30 years, we offer a discounted fee to police officers Don Green Annette Hill Green Attention To all members of the Boston Police Relief Association – Active Duty or Retired If you need to change your beneficiary or you are not sure of who your beneficiary is you can contact the relief office at 617-364-9565. If you leave a mes- sage your call will be returned and if necessary the paperwork will be sent out to you. Thank you. William F. Carroll, Clerk, Boston Police Relief Association 281 Neponset Ave. Dorchester 617-265-2665 Full Day Preschool – $40.00 Secure Play Area 4,000 sq. ft. 3 Classrooms 2 yrs. 9 mo. to 6 yrs. Massachusetts Early Education License #291031 • Daughter of a BPPA Retiree Neponset Preschool www.NeponsetPreschool.com