It's Time to "Profile" Potential Killers of Abortion Providers
I was uneasy when some years back the term "racial profiling" wiggled its way into the language of police critiques, and stuck. To my ear, "profiling" has a vaguely sociological ring to it, as in, for example, the study of patterns of police misconduct.
What's wrong with words like "racism" or "racial discrimination"? Why soften the reprehensible ritual of police officers stopping and interrogating, citing or arresting people solely on the basis of race? Further, now that the term is radioactive it has tainted a useful label for all kinds of necessary and important police work.
Case in point: the killing of Dr. George Tiller. Is it not valuable for the police--not to mention those who perform legal abortions--to have a "profile" of those "pro-life" zealots who are bent on visiting violence against abortion providers?
Now that he is dead and buried, the physician who heroically took cases no other doctors would touch (including, most famously, that of a 9-year-old impregnated by her father), we must ask ourselves, What did we know about this killer? More to the point, what did the local police and the FBI know about Scott Roeder before he pulled the trigger in that Wichita church?
Turns out, law enforcement knew a slew about the man: his repeated acts of vandalism, his stalking of Dr. Tiller, his endless threats against the doctor, his conviction for carrying explosives in his car. His verbalized, before-the-act justification of wiping out abortion providers.
But did they "profile" him, using today's understanding of the expression? In other words, did they single Roeder out for special attention? Employ surveillance tactics, keep an eye on his comings and goings? Did they issue frank, no-nonsense warnings? Did they, for that matter, take seriously Tiller's concerns about the stepped up, worrisome protest activity taking place outside his clinic in the weeks leading up to his death?
There's an axiom in police circles: If someone is determined to kill another there's not a whole lot you can do about it.
Hogwash.
Murder, at least certain forms of it, is an avertable crime. We now know, for example, that an effective, aggressive law enforcement response to domestic violence is murder prevention; the same can be said for certain types of stranger-on-stranger violence. Not all the time, of course. But often enough that the police, paying careful, sustained, individualized attention to people like Roeder, could dramatically reduce violence and save lives.
As far back as 1982, we learned that anywhere from 5 to 20 percent of all criminals commit approximately 80 percent of all (non-drug related) crimes. When a criminal like Scott Roeder establishes a clear pattern of violent and destructive behavior he cries out to be "profiled" by the police. Especially in an era when people like William James O'Reilly (whose Fox TV producers engage in their own form of stalking) demonize the legal conduct of doctors like George Tiller. (O'Reilly's smirking self-righteousness cannot mask the fact that he's helped inflame the passions and harden the criminal resolve of the fixated edges of the anti-reproductive rights movement.)
It's heartening to note that Attorney General Eric Holder has dispatched U.S. Marshals to abortion clinics across the country in order to provide an extra measure of protection and security.
But why does it take yet another killing to spur responsible law enforcement action?
Follow Norm Stamper on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CopsSayLegalize
Nancy Northup: Misremembering Dr. Tiller: How Law & Order Got It Wrong
It's never a good idea to look to primetime television for a fair and accurate depiction of the abortion debate. Without fail, TV writers stretch...
Loading comments…
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
http://www
Great PBS piece on the terror abortion providers endure to provide the medical care women need. Please note the part about the woman who used to be pro-life, and even picketed - who later found herself in the position of terminating a pregnancy and is now pro-choice. Again, it's a personal issue and personal choice - one that can only be made by the person in the situation!
If the police had arrested Roeder for his multiple violations of the FACE law, there'd be no need to "profile" him--and Tiller would still be alive.
That said, if the FBI keeps a close eye on people they have reason to think will perform terrorist acts on US soil, why shouldn't they do so on all terrorists.
That should have done many years ago because this man was helping women that needed it and now we are going to hear about women that are going to use wire hangers the women and their babies are going to die.
I guess the idea for all this anger is to kill the mothers that need this help to able to have the babies that are not harming the mother.
Well, sadly the religious zealots think God makes the choice who lives and who dies when a women is pregnant and the baby is harmful to her health. I guess they don't care if both mother and baby die, because god said so.
Well, I say....let
The problem here lies with those who incite others to kill. This is a crime. It's illegal to incite a riot. It's illegal to incite a bank run. It's illegal to exhort others to kill. It's illegal to yell fire in a crowded theater. These are not forms of protected speech. What I hear from the anti-abortion leaders is speech that tries to tell me that those who perform abortions are murderers, criminals, the most horrible people on the planet, etc., which serves to dehumanize them and make it okay to murder them.
I've spoken with some friends of mine who are just regular folks and who opposed abortion. Their reaction to this killing is shocking to me. When the topic of the doctor's murder comes up, they coldly respond with "Yeah, but think of all the babies he murdered." They're not sorry at all that the doctor was killed. And these are just everyday people who've been hardened to the idea of murder! Imagine how someone who is mentally unbalanced reacts to the rhetoric heard from the anti-abortion folks and the screamers on Fox News. (By the way, these friends I refer to get all their input from Fox News, have for years, so this hardening of attitude is a result of their watching Fox.)
It's time to start bringing the law to bear in the form of criminal charges against those who exhort others to kill.
I want a camera in everyone's home - except mine of course. Also audio recordings 24 hours per day - except in my home.
Also, we need an army of expert experimental psychologists to view these tapes and prescribe the proper drug to those potentially violent people.
Also, upon the advice of those same experimental psychologists, the police are to be able to come into any home -except mine - and seize all kitchen utensils, brooms, mops, frying pans, rolling pins, shoes with high heels, all shoes that do not have rubber soles.
All of this must be done immediately! Oh, it's already too late, somebody used a bad word while I was typing this.
Thank you,
Robert Walker
Better yet: "It's Time to Profile Potential Threats to American's Constitutional and Civil Liberties-such as champion of surveillance state and Big Brother Stamper"
Mr. Cheney? Is "Robert Walker" a new alias for you?
This guy sounds like an ex-bush aide! Liberty for securtiy, thats what its going to cost you! This is pathetic! They are using a tragedy to exploit you! DONT BE FOOLED!
What he is suggesting is a larger push to set up survelliance on those with established criminal records with a pattern for increasing their activity. This, not only, would have helped in Dr. Tiller's case, but also in the case of yesterday's shooting in D.C.
I was against the Patriot Act, and the entire Bush mindset, just as much as anyone. However, these zealots often start small in their criminal activities and with each crime get more violent until someone is dead. Chief Stamper outlines a way to stop this, and I think he is heading in the right direction.
Typical of the radical left wingers, who cry rivers over the violation of civil liberties of racial minorities and alleged "terrorists" -rightly so-yet when they feel that they are in the ascendancy attempt to squash the right of free expression for those with whom they disagree.
Remember-depriving another of his or her liberty represents the potential loss of your own. Nothing is as volatile as the political pendulum, and when it swings back to the right, will those now practically calling for the internment of right to lifers and NRA types all of a sudden become civil libertarians again? Of course! Hypocrisy belongs to no one political party or position.
I think this is the same dangerous talk that will take away people's rights even more. I have NO FAITH that domestic violence laws have decreased violence. Given that I was convicted of domestic violence and I have never hit a women in my life, I saw many people in my class that were there for the most minor issue. Domestic violence laws have destroyed marriages and caused minor problems to become dangerous. Restraining orders are handed out like candy and people arrested for phone calls due to the rules of the restraining order, and all it does is escalate situations. In California, women use restraining orders as a tool in a divorce. At times I have said horrible things about my ex but words versus putting what you say in action is two different things. People saying things in extreme anger should not be a crime. It is hypocracy to put people in jail cause they felt like killing someone in the moment and I don't know too many people who haven't flown of the handle with words at some point. I personally have a lot of hatred toward Wall Street and our gutless politicians but ACTING ON MY WORDS is a huge leap. We already have 25% of the world's prisoners, and only 5% of the population. We don't need a worse POLICE STATE.
Obviously I can't comment on your experience (although it sounds dreadful), but surely abuse of certain laws doesn't in itself negate the need for those laws? You may have "NO FAITH that domestic violence laws have decreased violence" but that doesn't mean that Mr Stamper's assertion isn't based on strong evidence (and, presumably, his own personal experience in law enforcement). I can see that the past hit a nerve for you, but your comment doesn't really address the central thrust of the post: that anti-choice extremists should be profiled and monitored as other criminals and terrorist are, to prevent more killings.
Correction: I can see that the POST hit a nerve...
Oops.
"put people in jail cause they felt like killing someone in the moment and I don't know too many people who haven't flown of the handle with words at some point"
Do not make death threats. It sounds like the restraining order was necessary.
"I have NO FAITH that domestic violence laws have decreased violence. "
According to the DOJ, domestic violence is decreasing. I give a lot of credit to better laws and better law enforcement. Hopefully this trend continues.
http://www
"Domestic violence laws have destroyed marriages" - it is not the laws that destroy the marriages, it is the domestic violence. Domestic violence leads to the death of over 1200 women every year. Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women. The leading cause of death for pregnant women is a physical attack by the father. Domestic violence is NOT a minor problem to the woman being abused or the children watching it happen.
"people arrested for phone calls due to the rules of the restraining order"
When the restraining order says "do know make a phone call to this person" then a sensible law-abiding person DOESN'T MAKE PHONE CALLS. The person is not arrested just because of a phone call, the person is arrested because the phone calls is evidence that they have no respect for the law.
No matter how angry someone is, they cannot use their lack of self-control as an excuse to ignore Court orders or to threaten others.
So this would mean domestic violence in relationships is way down due to ALL THESE EFFECTIVE LAWS. Oh yeah, we have gotten rid of drugs with our 25 year drug war.
And DUI laws have taken all the drunks off the road. I will tell you what, what has resulted is law enforcement has enriched thenselves with forfieter laws, owning dui schools, owning tow companies that take your car and inpound it was 30 days, etc.
Of course, there is plenty of REAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND DRUNK DRIVING within law enforcement but they take care of there own so you really don't know the extent of the violence. No one really knows what really goes on until caught in the system. California is OUT OF CONTROL with their enforcement and most young people have a DUI for only doing what there parents did, having a few drinks with their friends at a bar. Funny what the parents did in their 20's is setting these people up for multiple DUI's. It so happens that the founder of MADD got two DUI's and has stated that she thinks drinking is not the problem but those with BAC's above .15 and those that are cronic drunks. Social drinking should not be a crime but you don't see these people wanting to make drinking illegal...
It's the same kind of law enforcement that allowed people to go to flight school while being funded by Bin Laden's mother. While the Bush family friend Bandir Bush spirited out the Bin Laden family out of the country when know one was allowed to fly. Selective law enforcement.
**Groaaaaannnn** Why is it that whenever there is a discussion on how to step up security in terms of domestic terrorism (which is what Scott Roeder is, as well as the guy who shot up the Holocaust Museum in D.C.) some of us on the Left have to evoke Bush at every turn. Chief Stamper is not trying to say, 'profile everyone', he is trying to call for increased law enforcement attention on these zealots whose criminal activities keep getting worse with each arrest.
RIght ! I saw that movie with the Oracles that could see a murder before it happened and then they just go and arrest the would be killer . I think Tom Cruise was in it. That's a really good idea.
Thank you Mr. Stamper for this article. I've felt your way for a long time in that the courts make the laws and its up to the police forces to uphold the laws and protect innocent citizens from law breakers. Where is the protection for health care personnel who are providing a legal sanctioned service to their community. Where is the protection for security personnel at a museum that stands to inform and teach history to those who didn't live through it. The police forces of today are run by lazy, stupid thugs who are plain and simply not doing their jobs.
And all you clinic protesters believe your feelings and faith also are above the law by traumatizing people that are following the law. Stop being so narcissistic by believing your beliefs are better than others and leave innocent people alone.
good observations!!
well said
How about, instead, we just put pro-lifers on the Southern Law Center's Hate Group list and be done with it? Since apparently disagreeing with abortion means you might inadvertently inspire someone to kill an abortion doctor.
That is not the point the article is trying to make. OBVIOUSLY, there is a huge difference between someone who disagrees with abortion and someone who kills an abortionist. There is also a difference between someone who expresses their anti-abortion views and someone who consistently decries a doctor performing LEGAL operations as a murderer and uses inflammatory language to enforce their point. Try being a little less glib, eh?
But if they think you're killing a human child, and they call it murder, that's their right to do so. Free speech. It's really not that different.
Yeah, because those who would profile abortion doctor stalkers are too stupid to realize that many people are opposed to abortion who aren't nutjobs!!
That makes no sense.
Maybe we should follow OR's lead, and start our own website with pic, name, address of repeat anti-choice offenders. Why not? Free speech and all.
Yes, we need to do something in this area. These anti-abortion terrorists should be treated as the Osama Bin Laden bunch. The reason is that Anti-abortion people (violent ones) have a similar take on this issue as conservative Muslim extremists and this is a dangerous mix. I can see them coming together to do Jihad on the abortion clinics across the nation. This seems to me to be a very real and sad possibility.
Those so-called law and order republicans are apologists for right wing extremists like Dr. Tiller's murderer and the latest anti-Semite murderer in DC.
Yes for profiling to prevent crimes! All of them. Even flying planes into buildings! Yay!
You must be logged in to comment. Log in or connect with
