In Praise of the Pullman PD

The Pullman police have gotten plenty of bad press as of late. I don’t think there’s any point in repeating what has gone on and what has been said about them, as anyone in this area is probably well aware of it all, and anyone reading from afar could just insert their own prejudices against cops everywhere into the blank if they don’t happen to know the details.

I want to write about what the Pullman PD do right, and as fate would have it, this involves two incidences I have been personally involved in within only days of each other. I’m going to share with you my recent experiences with our local law enforcement officers to remind everyone – fans and critics alike – that we really do need these men and women in uniform, and that we ought to appreciate them more than many seem to.

The first incident occurred just this past weekend. Basically, my roommates and I were throwing a pig roast at our house, an event for which we required a small admission fee of all guys who joined us (women got in free). A few arrogant, entitlement-minded narcissists attempted to crash the party. I caught them and threw them out, but they returned with friends of theirs and refused to leave. Right before my roommates, guests, and I commenced with beating these idiots into pulp, the Pullman PD arrived and trespassed them from our property at our request and left us to enjoy our party. Though admittedly somewhat frustrating (because I think a lot of people out there deserve/need a sound beating), this outcome was best. It’s all thanks to our local police forces.

The other incident occurred just this evening. Long story short, my roommates and I stopped an attack on a young woman by her ex-boyfriend near our house. Within minutes, a Pullman PD officer was here to assist her and interview us. While he was doing this, another officer had caught and detained this young woman’s attacker in another part of town. If there is justice, he will be in prison; this is not the first time he has attacked the poor girl, as she told my roommates and I.

The Pullman PD are frequently called many names, accused of being racists, of only picking on students partaking in relatively benign behavior while ignoring real crimes, etc. It would be obviously wrong to say that they do not sometimes make mistakes, but too often it seems that their human errors are all that they are given credit for, and frequently their errors are blown out of proportion in shameless attempts at exploiting unfortunate events for personal or special-interest gain. My examples to the contrary are admittedly few as they are personal examples, but it is obvious that many more of a similar nature exist in the memories of others. I offer my few positive experiences to remind everyone that, despite a lot of the local lefty rhetoric against our officers, they are essentially good people – people who can make mistakes, like any of us, but who rise to the occasion and do good works, sometimes at risk of personal injury and even death, when they are called upon to do so, and all for our benefit.