Why I Still Support “Stop and Frisk”
I caught a lot of grief recently for a column that I wrote recently arguing that local law enforcement should use its own version of “stop and frisk” as part of a strategy to address Indianapolis’ growing murder problem.
I was accused of being insensitive to the black youth who would likely be the targets of such tactics. Well, after having a conversation Sunday with community activist Pastor John Girton, Jr. I am more convinced that “stop and frisk”, done properly, will work.
Girton is doing a 30-day vigil at 30th and Martin Luther King, Dr to draw attention and seek solutions to some of the violence that is plaguing Indianapolis.
And I asked Girton about the unlicensed guns that a lot of the bad guys have and how do you go after the illegally possessed weapons while still respecting the 2nd Amendment? Girton had a pretty good response that he got from a grandmother. He told me that many of the people who live with the bad guys know where the illegally possessed guns are, but are afraid to do anything, for fear of their safety. A fair point.
This is why I thought local law enforcement should set up a simple hotline number that these folks can call, so when Pookie leaves with the house with his piece, the cops know he is out and the urban terrorist can be arrested and taken off the street. Grandma’s call and warning to law enforcement can easily give them the probable cause that they would need to make the stop, frisk and subsequent arrest.
I’ll leave it to law enforcement to work out the exact details, but you can’t complain about police “picking on black youth” when the it’s the family, who I argue is our first line of defense in going after the bad guys, is the one who is letting the cops know where the little “robin hoodlums” are.
And for those of you who don’t like my idea, here’s a fun fact. Since Girton began his campaign early this month there have been nearly 10 murders here in Indy. Maybe if someone had been stopped and frisked, someone else might still be alive today.
By the way, you can hear my entire conversation with Girton by clicking here.
