CLICK HERE FOR HERZIG BRIEFING
Mayor Will Brief
Public On Shooting
In 7 p.m. Statement
By JIM KEVLIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com
ONEONTA – Mayor Gary Herzig plans to brief the public on today’s shooting when Common Council convenes at 7 p.m. today.
Then he’ll issue a press release describing what happened at 1:30 p.m. on River Street, when it appears a police officer shot a knife-wielding man in the chest, perhaps twice.
“I’m still gathering information,” he said a few minutes ago, adding that he believed the man who was shot was still alive.
While declining to release too many details, Herzig did say the wounded man is white, and was medevacked from the city by helicopter, but he didn’t know to where.
He said, if possible, Police Chief Chris Witzenburg would join him at this evening’s announcement. “Right now, he’s pretty busy,” Herzig said.
The mayor could not recall the last time an OPD officer shot anyone, if ever.
People who are employed as Peace Officers should have to be trained in NEGOTIATION. As a matter of fact this should be a course as part of the curriculum in schools, so that everybody in our society has acquired training in NEGOTIATION skills.
There has been a substantial shift in police training over the last several decades, where the police trainees are thoroughly indoctrinated that their—- PRIMARY OBJECTIVE—- in every interaction— is to “TAKE CONTROL”—-which is taken to mean different things by different officers.
And this #1 priority—of getting “CONTROL” can become an OBSESSION with many officers, and they are allowed by their police departments to
conduct themselves with NO LIMIT on their obsession–to be in CONTROL.
Rather than attempting to analyze a situation and try to approach everyone in a calm and respectful manner to diffuse tensions—
these CONTROL OBSESSED officers CAUSE tensions to become ESCALATED, by interacting in an abusive and physically intimidating manner which creates EXTREME fear and stress in people—(NOT a good result).
Police training needs to change so that the emphasis is to treat people respectfully as a PRIORITY.
Also, Marijuana needs to be legalized—nationally, and then people who use it can grow it or purchase it legally and the police won’t have to waste time and our limited resources on something that wastes a lot of time. (Marijuana, like alcohol should not be used in an excessive manner, and preferably people should learn to be happy without substances.)
As for alcohol abusers, and drunk driving this is still a problem and fines and jail time should be increased until people learn to STOP drinking and driving.
We should also teach our children not to become ALCOHOLICS, or to use any substance as a way to escape dealing with problems in their lives.
Our society has been trained by the alcohol companies continual and ONGOING advertising campaigns—- that “COOL PEOPLE” NEED to use Alcohol to “ENJOY” any social event, and to have fun in life.
So sad that SO many people in our society are actually sheeple,
and follow the advertiser’s messaging —-and learn to —-
NEED alcohol in order to interact at social gatherings. (but isn’t it interesting to note—- that even though these many people who NEED to use alcohol or marijuana to interact socially— and have FUN,
—they ALL think they’re “REALLY COOL”). I think they are not very interesting, creative or fun.
It would be great if people could try out new and different ACTIVITIES maybe every month or so, and then they would find more interesting things to do in life than habitually drinking.