Cyclist in boise

Argh -- just watched season 5 on DVD this week and was apalled at the portrayal of the all-powerful CTU. What with all the blabbering of protocols, sockets, throwing people in holding/detention, arrests, escapes, re-arrests, mis-management, insanityand general professional bureaucratic confusion it struck me as a horrible picture. Yes, it's "television land" but still, it was pretty awful.

My wife (Russian) is insistent that we get the other seasons ASAP, she loves the way they have all these Russian criminals and terrorists as well as the American President.

And we wonder where the rest of the world gets their generally low opinion of the American system?

Sigh......

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Argh -- just watched season 5 on DVD this week and was apalled at the portrayal of the all-powerful CTU. What with all the blabbering of protocols, sockets, throwing people in holding/detention, arrests, escapes, re-arrests, mis-management, insanityand general professional bureaucratic confusion it struck me as a horrible picture. Yes, it's "television land" but still, it was pretty awful.

My wife (Russian) is insistent that we get the other seasons ASAP, she loves the way they have all these Russian criminals and terrorists as well as the American President.

And we wonder where the rest of the world gets their generally low opinion of the American system?

Sigh......

Click to expand...

Good Afternoon Mr. Sweetwood, Thank you for your e-mail. I hope that I will able to satisfactorily address your concerns. First I would like to give you some additional information on this incident and then explain the reasons for our response. The situation was originally reported by a highway worker to the School Resource officer at Centennial High School. The worker reported a high school age boy riding a bicycle and carrying some type of long gun, possibly a shotgun. The young man was riding his bike towards the high school. This situation is a bit different than an individual riding a bike and carrying a handgun in a holster. This person was school aged, carrying a potentially offensive weapon capable of doing great damage, and was approaching the area of a school. Public safety is the primary mission of the police department, and in an age where school shootings are becoming more common, this situation has to be addressed when brought to the attention of a police officer. Now you could argue that numerous cops searching for one subject is overkill but how do you put a number on the safety of our children? Having been a patrol officer for over 20 years I don't see this as unreasonable, given the time and area to be searched. Anyway I assume the commander on the ground that day had good reason to deploy his resources as he did. At least people can't complain that the cops were sitting in a donut shop doing nothing! School lockdowns are always the decision of the school, with advice from law enforcement, but I do support the principals' decision to lock down both area schools. A lockdown simply means that access to and from the building is restricted. Classes continue in a normal fashion but it does help deter someone from entering the building, and it helps law enforcement in their area search by minimizing foot and bike traffic. It is true in this case that a crime had not been confirmed, but we prefer to be proactive rather than reactive when public safety may be at stake. I do understand the current economic situation, and that I am tasked with the responsibly use of taxpayer dollars, but I would rather expend the resources and discover that nothing is wrong, than to ignore information and have a tragedy erupt that we could have prevented.

Sincerely,
Captain Randy Roper
Community Outreach Division
Boise Police Department 333 N. Sailfish Ln Boise Idaho 83704

"Sweetwood, David B WO1 MIL USA USARPAC" <david.sweetwood@us.army.mil> 11/15/2009 6:10 PM >>>

By KBCI Web Staff BOISE - Two Treasure Valley schools were in lockdown mode for a short time Wednesday morning. Lynn Hightower, Boise Police spokesperson, said that at about 11 a.m., a motorist on Milwaukee Avenue called police and told them they saw a cyclist that may have had a gun. As a precaution, Capital High and Valley View Elementary were placed on lockdown. Fifteen officers responded and searched the area, but were unable to locate a cyclist with a gun. By 11:20 a.m., the schools were back open. Officers are still combing the area

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Dear Boise Police Dept.,

Why would you waste so many man hours/money on something that is a non-issue, and wasn't even against the law. In the state of Idaho it is legal to openly carry a firearm, and as long as the cyclist who may have had a gun wasn't on and staying on school property there was no crime to investigate. According to Idaho Code (highlighted below) they cyclist could have even been riding to school with his/her children and dropping them off, and still been within the laws of Idaho. In these times of very limited jobs and tax revenue, our local, state, and federal government need to take a very close look at how they spend their time and money. Investigating incidents like this when there was no crime being committed are completely unacceptable. As the enforcers of the laws, you should be aware of what those laws are. You as police officers expect us to know what the laws are and not break them, we as the public expect you to know what the laws are and uphold them.

Sincerely, David B. Sweetwood

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The worker reported a high school age boy riding a bicycle and carrying some type of long gun, possibly a shotgun. The young man was riding his bike towards the high school. This situation is a bit different than an individual riding a bike and carrying a handgun in a holster.

Click to expand...