Miami-Dade Police Union Boss Tells Residents to Buy Guns for Protection If the Mayor Cuts Budget—They're Both Good Ideas on Their Own
Wherever there's a budget cut being proposed or implemented somewhere in this country, there's someone who benefits personally from that spending ready to make any kind of claim and engage in any kind of fearmongering that could possibly keep his gravy train from getting derailed.
In Miami-Dade, Florida, the mayor has proposed cutting $64 million in police funding in his latest budget (PDF). The cut is projected to cost 250 police jobs, provided the union isn't willing to compromise with the government. It would involve disbanding units including tactical narcotics, special response, and something called a "Sport Unit."
The union boss, naturally, is not interested in compromising with the county government. Instead he's warning residents of lawlessness (and not from his cops).
John Rivera, president of the Miami-Dade Police Benevolent Association, said, "If the mayor's not going to provide security, then my recommendation, as an experienced law enforcement officer for nearly 40 years, is either buy yourself an attack dog, put bars on your windows and doors and get yourself some firearms because you're going to have to protect yourselves. We won't be able to."
Rivera inadvertently gave good advice whether or not the mayor goes through with the cuts. The Supreme Court has ruled previously that police officers don't have any specific obligation or duty to protect any specific person. As seen by the variety of specialized units under threat from the cuts, the police in Miami-Dade appear to spend a lot of time doing the kind of police work that doesn't specifically relate to maintaining anyone's personal safety—things like narcotics unit actually have the opposite effect.
A few years ago Michael Bloomberg suggested cops go on strike until the gun control laws in this country become stricter, as if police violence wasn't a problem. Mike Riggs' response works here too.