(Originally published in CNSNews.)
While the nation has watched Memphis and the crimes of certain law enforcement officers there, it continues to ignore what is happening to other policemen across the nation.
In Selma, California, the police department had its first officer killed in the line of duty. He wasn’t killed in an accident or some other mishap. This police officer was trying to do his job “to protect and serve” and he was ambushed and murdered. He didn’t even have time to return fire.
He is one of six law enforcement members to die in the line-of-duty in the first month of 2023. Of those officers, half of them were shot, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.
This shooting happened on January 31, 2023. A homeowner flagged down Officer Gonzalo Carrasco, Jr. and said there was a suspicious man on her property. Carrasco went to investigate, and the man shot him several times. The man then fled the scene.
Carrasco was rushed to the hospital where he later died.
Multiple law enforcement agencies searched for the suspect, and the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office found him a short distance later with the weapon a short distance away. The suspect was a felon on probation. He was charged with murder, being a felon in possession of a gun and ammunition, and probation violation.
Carrasco had been with the Selma Police Department for two years. He and his girlfriend were expecting their first baby. Now, this man will never get to know his child.
So while people are protesting the unjust and brutal killing of Tyre Nichols, where are the similar protests against the man and culture that think ambushing and murdering an innocent person is acceptable?
The suspect was a multiple offender. He had been arrested in the past for firearms possession and robbery. The reason he was out on probation was California’s prison realignment law.
“The shooter is an admitted gang member and has been arrested for several felony offenses that were prosecuted by the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office for charges related to robbery, weapons, and drugs,” Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp wrote.
After the anti-police movement ramped up in the wake of George Floyd’s 2020 death, law enforcement officers began retiring or quitting in large numbers. Many of those who remained on the job transferred to smaller departments where there was generally less crime and danger to their person.
Well, Selma is a small city of less than 27,000 residents located between Bakersfield and Sacramento. It has 30 sworn officers.
How much abuse do we expect policemen to take? They are human beings, and they can only bear so much mistreatment before they say: “To hell with the job!” and quit.
That seems to be what short-sighted leftists want by accusing the police of crimes while turning a blind eye to injustices perpetrated by others and “mostly peaceful” protests that do more harm to black lives than the police.
While we certainly should hold law enforcement to conduct standards, if society doesn’t support those police officers who do measure up, we wind up with what we are seeing now, a society where everyone is unsafe.
