Officer Down (and out...)

Story (smh)

Sgt. Robert Ralston, a member of Philly's finest, was wounded in the line of duty last month while on a routine patrol in West Philadelphia. He was hit once in the shoulder, but was able to make a full recovery. The culprits were 2 as-yet-unidentified black males, who absconded after shooting Ralston in cold blood and leaving him for dead. Ralston, a brave officer who took a bullet while attempting to protect and serve Philly's dangerous streets, is a hero and deserves commendation for his valor in the face of danger.

Well, in Sgt. Robert Ralston's mind anyway. Reality tells a different tale in which the bullet that wounded him came from his own gun, Ralston was never in any danger that he didn't put his own fool ass in, and the black males who so cruelly shot an officer of the law not only weren't there at the time, but do not exist at all. Yes, that's right, umf'ers...it's all a stupid, pointless lie, and Ralston admitted to it yesterday after an investigation into the matter yielded several inconsistencies. That's pig talk for "they got to the bottom of his bullshit"...and he didn't exactly make it hard to dig through.

The powder left on his shirt when he was shot matched..drumroll, please...his own 9mm police issue service revolver! (You would think if you were gonna pull off some cockamamie nonsense like this, you would at least use somebody else's gun...hello, aren't you a cop? Ain't you supposed to know these things?) Not only that, but the angle of penetration that resulted from the gunshot wound was only possible had he been holding the gun that shot him...doesn't this dickhead watch "CSI"? Anybody with cable TV and an active interest in cop dramas could have figured that this now ex-bacon boy was full of shit...but apparently that was too much to think about for this would-be hero. I can't figure out whether he's a worse cop or person.

We haven't even gotten to the part that I find most interesting...the fact that the imaginary fiends who shot him had to be black. Really, now? Ralston said he made this claim because West Philly is predominantly black and it made the most sense. K', Robbie...that's cool and everything, but here's my thing. The cultural rift between black folk and law enforcement is well documented...it's a fact, folk in "urban" (that's spelled b-l-a-c-k) neighborhoods tend to distrust and revile the police. Shit like this really doesn't help blue/black relations.

Now what if they had never found out that Ralston was lying? How many young black males who "fit the description" would have been picked up, questioned, detained...god forbid, actually prosecuted for the shooting of Ralston. When Robert Ralston pulled the trigger on his sidearm, he also put a bullet in the trust that Philadelphians (many of which who are black) have in the people who are supposed to help keep them safe...and there may not be stitches big enough to close that wound.

Ralston is being suspended for 30 days with the intent to dismiss him from the force, and will have his badge number retired so no officer will ever wear it again, but that's too good for him if you ask me. (If I had my way, that wound he gave himself would have hit a blood vessel, causing him to bleed to death and sending that little piggy can cry "wee wee wee" all the way to hell.) He should see jail time for falsifying a police report and be locked on a predominantly black cell block...let's see if his shoulder isn't the least of his worries. (Fuck the police?) Of course, he won't...but if he can imagine, so can I. I can only hope next time a cop decides to shoot himself, it's in the frontal lobe...just sayin...