Police Killed the Bikers?

Over the past few days, numerous news sources have been covering the story of the biker shootout in Waco, Texas, where nine bikers were killed and numerous were injured. It has been said that police were aware of the growing animosity between the groups.  Well, now, one source reports that the dead were actually killed by the police.

According to CNN, the police anticipated trouble and already had officers on location when the fighting erupted. The bikers are said to have fired at each other AND the officers, who returned fire.  A total of 18 people were taken to the hospital, although The Last Refuge reports that a total of 27 people were shot by police. It is not known if the number of those taken to the hospital includes any of those killed . However, what IS known is that no officers were injured.

It can be argued that the presence of the officers resulted in fewer people being killed, but were those killed the ones that fired at police, resulting in returned fire that killed them? If so, would the lack of police presence have prevented the fatalities?  If the groups were already shooting at each other, the likelihood of there being fewer fatalities without police presence is slim because the groups might have been a bit less reserved when shooting at each other.

While this incident can hardly be properly compared to other situations where unarmed men have been killed by police, it goes to show that people no longer fear or respect the uniform as a means of order and authority. Not fearing the position is less of a concern than the lack of respect. Every living being should be given a certain amount of respect, and some positions require not MORE respect but more of an obligation to stay within the boundaries of respect.

Considering the rivalries between the motorcycle gangs, it is understandable for police presence to be elevated. Other restaurant patrons probably considered themselves fortunate. But some in other communities see the police more so as authorized terrorists.  This thought undoubtedly stems from a number of irrational actions by- and interactions with law enforcement.  SOMETHING needs to change quickly before we find ourselves in a lawless society.