Carnage and Contempt for Others

Today, only hours apart, two more people died on the roads of central Florida. I mention these senseless deaths for two very important reasons. First, and foremost, both of the men killed today were law enforcement officers. Second, and much more troubling, both men were killed in the most disturbing type of traffic crash; the hit and run.

Deputy Michael A. Callin, a 26-year-old motorcycle officer with the Orange County Sheriff's Office, was conducting traffic enforcement in the area of Universal Studios when a speeding driver ran him over and fled the scene. Deputy Callin's femoral artery was severed, he lost part of his right leg, and eventually died from his injuries.

The second crash claimed the life of Haines City (Polk County) police officer Phoenix M. Braithwaite who was killed in a head-on collision with a mini-van as he was riding to work on a motorcycle. The driver of the van tried to overtake other vehicles on the two lane roadway hitting and killing Officer Braithwaite. Officer Braithwaite had been with the 42 officer Haines City Police Department for only TEN months.

In these cases both suspects have been located and arrested, but this side of the story only makes me more upset. The nineteen year old driver, whom it appears, deliberately ignored, then aimed for and killed Deputy Callin was, like the suspect in my February 17th posting, driving with a suspended driver's license. In fact he's had over a dozen violations over the last two years for driving without a license, not paying tickets and Failure To Appear for court.

The driver who killed Officer Braithwaite appears to be an illegal alien and may not even have a valid license (reported but unconfirmed at this time).

These deaths highlight the fragility of life and I encourage you all to enjoy and cherish every day as if it were your last. They spotlight the fact that if two trained law enforcement officers can fall victim to these renegades who thumb their noses at the law and at society as a whole then YOU are just as vulnerable. Most importantly these deaths underscore AGAIN what I have said every time I am asked:

The drivers who killed BROWARD COUNTY DEPUTY SHERIFF RYAN SEGUIN (on 2-15-06), ORANGE COUNTY DEPUTY SHERIFF MICHAEL CALLIN, and HAINES CITY POLICE OFFICER PHOENIX BRAITHWAITE legally, morally, and any way you slice it SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DRIVING!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't say it any clearer than that. If those drivers had obeyed the law and we as a community had made sure he didn't drive, all of these men would be alive today.

As for us, we ignore these things because we think they don't directly affect us and are really "not that big of a deal". After all "who really gets hurt by traffic law breakers?", "It's another type of taxation", "The State just wants more money".

These are not, "victimless crimes". I challenge any of you to look these officer's parents, wives, and children in the eyes and tell THEM this is a victimless crime.