Of course we Washingtonians are thrilled the current occupants of the White House are getting around our town.
President Barack Obama has played hoops at a local gym, attended a pro basketball game at Verizon Center and read to our public school students.
First lady Michelle Obama has made forays to schools and lunched with the mayor at Georgia Brown.
The Obama daughters go to school in D.C. and invite their buddies to the big house for sleepovers.
What a change from the previous residents of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue! The Bush girls partied a few times in Georgetown, but, for the most part, George and Laura Bush seemed to hold their noses every time they left the White House grounds and ventured into our streets.
It’s safe to say we are willing to endure the occasional hassles of Obamajams from the passing presidential motorcades. And we understand that extraordinary measure must be taken to ensure the first family’s safety.
But must that extend to disarming our off-duty police officers?
Check out the order sent out by the Metropolitan Police Department on Feb. 26, the day before Obama was scheduled to see the ballgame at Verizon Center. It said the Secret Service had developed a security plan and added: “They have informed the MPD and neighboring police agencies that off-duty members attending the game will NOT be allowed to carry firearms into the arena.”
Furthermore, off-duty cops could not check their weapons into a safe at the arena; and by department rules they couldn’t lock them in their cars. In short, an off-duty cop would have to leave and return home unarmed.
Big deal, you might say. Who cares if a few cops have to leave their weapons at home?
Cops care. I care, because the narrow ruling makes the city less safe.
Under D.C. law, off-duty officers are required to carry their badges and weapons, except in a few instances. By law they have to take police action if they see a problem. Without their guns, D.C. cops are vulnerable to being whacked by bad guys if they cannot defend themselves; and they cannot protect us.
Take the case of Oliver Smith. In February of 1997, Officer Smith was robbed at gunpoint as he got out of his car after work near his home. When the robbers discovered his badge, they executed him.
“We lead the nation in off-duty officers getting murdered,” says police union chief Kristopher Baumann.
What, then, is the wisdom of disarming our cops when they might be in the presence of the president?
Seems to me it makes the president less secure.
“It endangers not only the lives of the police officers,” Baumann says, “it also jeopardizes the safety of citizens.”
As a one-time request, the Secret Service’s disarming off-duty cops did no harm; but taken to the next level, where off-duty cops in restaurants or schools have to be unarmed, it becomes dangerous.
At best, it’s a bad precedent, for the president and for his neighbors.
E-mail Harry Jaffe at [email protected].
